Aussievision's ranking of Eurovision 1974 songs

This year marked the 50th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win with Waterloo. It is evident that ABBA is arguably the biggest act that has come out of Eurovision. Victory in the contest launched the band's international music career.

However, winning Eurovision 1974 was not a foregone conclusion for ABBA. The contest was possibly one of the most competitive Eurovisions ever.

The United Kingdom was represented by the already well-known Olivia Newton John (who us Aussies are very proud of). Italy was represented by Gigliola Cinquetti, who scored a dominant Eurovision victory in 1964, receiving three times more points than the runners-up.

Whilst the Netherlands' Mouth and MacNeal had already had a top ten US hit with How Do you Do in 1972.

To help uncover this fascinating Eurovision year and celebrate the 50th anniversary of ABBA's victory, we at Aussievision have decided to rank the entries of Eurovision 1974.

Contest Background

The 1974 contest was held at The Dome in Brighton, England. The BBC stepped in to host this year's Eurovision after 1973 winners Luxembourg declined to stage the show for the second consecutive year.

Katie Boyle stepped in for presenting duties for a fourth time, a record that remains today.

17 countries took part in the contest on April 6, 1974. Greece made their Eurovision debut this year. France was also due to perform, but withdrew a few days before the show as their President Georges Pompidou passed away and a national day of mourning was scheduled for the date of the contest.

You can see full details of the entries as well as their placement at the official contest at this link.

Aussievision team rankings

Now let's look at how the Aussievision team has ranked the entries from Eurovision 1974. Twelve Aussievision contributors awarded points to their ten favourite songs in the same manner as the current Eurovision voting system (1st - 12 points, 2nd - 10 points, 3rd - 8 points, then all the way down to 10th - 1 point). Here are the results in ascending order:

17th to 11th

17. Jacques Hustin - Fleur de liberté (Belgium) - 7 points

16. Poogy - Natai La Khaiai (Israel) - 8 points

15. Romuald - Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va (Monaco) - 16 points

14. Paulo de Carvalho - E depois do adeus (Portugal) - 20 points

13. Anne-Karine and the Bendik Singers - The First Day of Love (Norway) - 21 points

12. Korni Grupa - Generacija '42 (Yugoslavia) - 21 points

NB: Yugoslavia received points from four contributors, as did Norway. However, Yugoslavia is placed higher as it received a set of 10 points, whilst Norway's highest mark was 8 points.

"Really interesting composition... and costumes. I love the mixing of elements and the lyrics are quite a juxtaposition from the tone which I like." ~ Saskia

11. Cindy and Bert - Die Sommermelodie (Germany) - 25 points

Our Top 10

10. Piera Martell - Mein Ruf nach dir (Switzerland) - 26 points

Highs: 8 points from Saskia, 6 points from Fleur and John Christian

Lows: 0 points from Jamie, Melanie, Hayley, Craig, Dale, Joel and Sam

9. Marinella - Krassi, thalassa ke t'agori mou (Greece) - 29 points

Highs: 10 points from Fleur, 6 points from Sam

Lows: 0 points from Dale, Emma, Melanie, Saskia and Jamie

"I loved the traditional Greek sound of the Bouzouki in this song. Quite a good debut. It reminds me of a lot of Greek music from that time as many of our family friends were Greek. I really enjoyed this song and wow, what a career that Marinella has had. A true Greek icon." ~ Fleur

8. Peret - Canta y sé feliz (Spain) - 38 points

Highs: 10 points from Dale, 7 points from Jamie and Saskia

Lows: 0 points from John Christian, Steven, Fleur and Joel

"There is something mesmerising and dramatic about Peret's performance. From the way he plays the guitar to backing artists clapping and vocals. It's a fantastic performance, a catchy song and it absolutely fills the full three minutes. Love it!" ~ Dale

7. Tina Peynolds - Cross Your Heart (Ireland) - 43 points

Highs: 8 points from Craig and Melanie, 7 points from Joel and Emma

Lows: 0 points from John Christian and Dale

6. Ireen Sheer - Bye Bye I Love You (Luxembourg) - 46 points

Highs: 8 points from Hayley, 7 points from John Christian, 6 points from Craig and Jamie

Lows: 0 points from Dale and Saskia, 2 points from Steven and Fleur

5. Carita - Keep Me Warm (Finland) - 59 points

Highs: 12 points from Fleur, 10 points from Joel, 7 points from Hayley and Steven

Lows: 0 points from Saskia, Craig and Dale

"This tune is definitely an easy-listening grower, and one that I keep going back to listen to. I love that Carita is able to belt out disco-lite vibes whilst playing the piano and delivering a solid vocal performance at the same time." ~ Joel

"Very underrated song from Finland. I honestly think it is one of their best entries and it has aged reasonably well. A strong performance that deserved better in 1974. Caritas Holmström is a very talented performer and I am happy that she had a great music career after Eurovision. This was a strong year, but this song was my favourite." ~ Fleur

4. Mouth and MacNeal - I See a Star (Netherlands) - 62 points

Highs: 12 points from Melanie, 10 points from Hayley, 8 points from Sam

Lows: 0 points from John Christian, Steven and Fleur

"You cannot help but sing and whistle along and I'm a sucker for Eurovision whistling. Also puppets!" ~ Melanie

"This is just such a cute and sweet song! It is very catchy as well." ~ Hayley

3. Olivia Newton-John - Long Live Love (United Kingdom) - 70 points

Highs: 10 points from Emma and John Christian, 8 points from Steven and Jamie

Lows: 0 points from Saskia and Fleur

"Before she became famous with Grease and Physical, this song brought Olivia name recognition. It is more of a cheery song that would put a smile to your face if you were depressed." ~ John Christian

"I'm not a huge fan of this song per se but am mesmerised by the beauty and charisma of our own ONJ's performance. It's an effortless performance and that shows off her trademark vocals well before she became a household name." ~ Emma

2. Gigliola Cinquetti - Sì (Italy) - 74 points

Highs: 12 points from Craig, 10 points from Jamie, Steven and Sam

Lows: 0 points from Joel and Hayley

"There's a real cinematic quality to this one which gives it an edge on some of the other quite nice ballads in this year's lineup. Gigliola is obviously a star, but it's the melody and chord progression which really tug at the heartstrings and stuck with me immediately from my first listen." ~ Craig

"Gigliola Cinquetti returned to the Eurovision stage 10 years after winning in 1964 as a 16 year old with her song Non ho l'età. Her 1974 Eurovision song Sì has a beautiful melody especially in the chorus and evokes many emotions. If it wasn't for ABBA, Gigliola Cinquetti may have won Eurovision for a second time. Interesting Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) delayed the broadcast of the 1974 Eurovision by two months as it partially coincided with the 1974 Italy divorce referendum and they didn't want Gigliola's song, which means Yes in English, being a subliminal message for voters." ~ Jamie

"Easily my favourite of Gigliola’s Eurovision songs, this is an interestingly structured and well-performed song that stands out from the crowd and - in my view - goes beyond the more standard and very Italian submissions of the era." ~ Steven

"An absolutely mesmerising and magical performance by a Eurovision legend. This beautiful ballad has so much depth and emotions to it. I love how the song weaves through peaks and troughs, with the haunting and atmospheric second verse being my favourite part. The entire piece and performance has a timeless quality to it. I’m certain if Gigliola hadn’t bumped into ABBA this year, she would have become the first Eurovision performer to win twice." ~ Sam

1. ABBA - Waterloo (Sweden) - 131 points

Highs: 12 points from Dale, Joel, Hayley, Emma, Steven, Melanie, Saskia, John Christian, Jamie and Sam

Lows: 3 points from Fleur

"This is, obviously, THE quintessential Eurovision song because it propelled this act to superstardom and it brought the rise of awareness about Eurovision to other parts of the world." ~ John Christian

"It's an obvious 12 points for a reason. Not only is the best song of 1974, it is one of the greatest Eurovision songs and winners of all time. Brilliant pop song, great outfits and staging, though I do think the vocals could have been better!" ~ Dale

"How could I not choose ABBA for my 12 points? I have been a lifelong ABBA fan and I do wonder if they would have had as much success as they did if they had not won in 1974. Clever songwriting, the girl's voices are spectacular together and it really stands out from the rest of the pack. I adore ABBA!" ~ Hayley

"ABBA was well ahead of their time with this performance of Waterloo along with many of their other songs. I remember listening to their records in the mid 1970s when my parents used to play them at full volume on their record player and they quickly became one of my favourite bands at the time. Their music has stood the test of time and they would not be out of place performing at Melodifestivalen here and now. The world was not ready for them in 1973 when they finished third at Melodifestivalen with Ring Ring, but their performance of Waterloo in 1974 certainly changed that and had a lasting impact on both the music industry and me personally" ~ Jamie

"No surprise here. Whilst not my favourite ABBA song by any means, Waterloo stands head and shoulders well above most of the other acts and entries. It’s just so much fun!" ~ Steven

"I mean it's Waterloo, it's almost unfair to compare a song that is so well known. Since I've grown up knowing this song it has a big advantage over all the others in this selection." ~ Saskia

"My 12 points have to go to Sweden for this iconic performance which launched Abba's career. Apart from being a bloody great song, Waterloo really stood out as an entry that was far more contemporary than all the other songs it was competing against. It truly was a groundbreaking moment for the competition." ~ Emma

"ABBA is my favourite band of all time and the reason I got into Eurovision, so there was no way this wasn’t going to be my number 1. On paper this entry shouldn’t have worked: bringing glam rock to a contest saturated by winning ballads at the time, having a song title linked to war, and before 1974 no band had ever won Eurovision. However the risk absolutely paid off. In terms of their Eurovision performance, Agnetha’s striking blue outfit for me is the highlight. Thank you ABBA for sparking my passion for Eurovision!" ~ Sam

"Eurovision songs don't get much more iconic than this ABBA classic! Not only did it translate to global stardom for the group, but it has also stood the test of time to remain a favourite from ABBA's long list of hits." ~ Joel

Results under 1974 voting system

1974 was actually the final year Eurovision wasn't scored under the current voting system.

The Brighton contest saw each country consisting of 10 jurors who gave one point each to their favourite song, resulting in each country awarding 10 points. This is why ABBA won with the seemingly meagre score of 24 points.

Let's see the countries that would have scored marks from the Aussievision team under the Eurovision 1974 voting system:

• 1 point to Finland from Fleur

• 1 point to Netherlands from Melanie

• 1 point to Italy from Craig

• 9 points to Sweden from Dale, Joel, Hayley, Emma, Steven, Melanie, Saskia, John Christian, Jamie and Sam.

ABBA dominates

No matter which voting system is used, ABBA with Waterloo absolutely dominates the Aussievision team's ranking of the Eurovision 1974 contest. However there are many other wonderful entries from that year's show that we hope you have enjoyed as much as we have.

Thank you ABBA and the rest of the Eurovision 1974 cohort for the music!

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