"La det swinge" (; "Let it swing") is a song recorded by the pop duo

Bobbysocks! Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson ...

–

Hanne Krogh Hanne Krogh (born 24 January 1956) is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever. She represented Norway alone at the age of fifteen at the "Eurovision Song Contest 1971" ...

and

Elisabeth Andreassen Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known simply as Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician an ...

– with music composed and Norwegian lyrics written by Rolf Løvland. It in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1985 The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1985 in the in Gothenburg, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (SVT), it was presented by Lill Li ...

held in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, resulting in the country's first ever win at the contest. They released the song in the same single with its English version titled "Let It Swing". Following its win, it peaked at number one in the Norwegian and Belgian singles chart, and entered the charts in various countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Background

Conception

"La det swinge" was written –music and Norwegian lyrics– by Rolf Løvland.
Vem e de´du vill ha
' entry at Svensk mediadatabas, retrieved 11 July 2010 It is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. Befitting the subject matter, the song itself is written in an old-fashioned style, with a memorable

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

melody starting the song. The melody arrangement is in

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

style, containing elements of contemporary 1980s music and throwbacks to the 1950s. A. Zandra wrote the lyrics for the English version of the song titled "Let It Swing". Pop duo

–

and

– recorded both versions of the song and originally released them in the same single.

Eurovision

On 30 March 1985, "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks! competed in of the ''

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...

'', the national final organised by Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) to select its song and performer for the of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. For their performances, they both appeared in sparkling, bright purple jackets, worn over black and white outfits; Krogh sported a black-and-white striped floor-length gown. The song won the competition so it became the for Eurovision. On 4 May 1985, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at

Scandinavium Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971. Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...

hosted by

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

(SVT), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Bobbysocks! performed "La det swinge" thirteenth on the evening, following 's "

Magic Oh Magic The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1985 in the in Gothenburg, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (SVT), it was presented by Lill Li ...

" by

Al Bano and Romina Power Al Bano and Romina Power are an Italian-American pop music duo formed in 1975 by then-married couple Italian tenor Albano Carrisi and American singer Romina Power, the daughter of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood actor Tyrone Power. They h ...

and preceding the 's " Love Is" by Vikki Watson. Terje Fjærn conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Norwegian entry. This was the second appearance for both Andreasson and Krogh in Eurovision: in Andreassen had represented in the duo

Chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

with

Kikki Danielsson Ann-Kristin "Kikki" Danielsson (born 10 May 1952) is a Swedish country music, country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She has gained notice for yodeling in some songs. Danie ...

, singing " Dag efter dag"; and in Krogh had finished 17th –second from last– in the contest, with the song " Lykken er". At the close of voting, it received 123 points, placing first in a field of nineteen, winning the contest. It became Norway's first ever win at the contest. It was succeeded as Norwegian entrant at the by "

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

" by Ketil Stokkan.

Aftermath

Andreasson went on to Eurovision on two more occasions – she finished sixth in the , performing a duet with Jan Werner Danielsen, entitled simply, " Duett" and in the , she competed as a solo artist with " I evighet", finishing second to 's " The Voice" by Eimear Quinn. Krogh competed in the as part of the group Just 4 Fun with " Mrs. Thompson", finishing 17th. On 31 March 2015, Bobbysocks! performed "La det swinge" in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary concert ''

Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' (also known as ''Eurovision's Greatest Hits'') was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BB ...

'' held in London.

Track listing

#"Let It Swing" – 2:50 #"La det swinge" – 2:50

Chart history

Weekly charts

; "La det swinge" ; "Let It Swing"

References

External links

* {{authority control 1985 singles Eurovision songs of Norway Eurovision songs of 1985 Number-one singles in Norway Eurovision Song Contest-winning songs Ingmar Nordströms songs Bobbysocks! songs Songs written by Rolf Løvland Schlager songs 1985 songs