ESC in the UK Chart
A quick pop-picking look at how the UK entries and contest winners have fared in the British pop charts. Where shaded, the UK and the winner were the same! NB. We are now using the top 100 as the cut-off point (even when only the top 75 was published at the time).
Recent changes to how we consume music are reflected in the latest years. The download era saw many more Eurovision entries make the chart in the week after the contest. Conversely the addition of streaming into calculating the chart has been very detrimental.
| 1956 | Lys Assia | X | No Entry | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Corry Brokken | X | Patricia Bredin | X |
| 1958 | Andre Claveau | X | No Entry | n/a |
| 1959 | Teddy Scholten | X | Carr & Johnson | 12 |
| 1960 | Jacqueline Boyer | 33 | Bryan Johnson | 20 |
| 1961 | Jean-Claude Pascal | X | Allisons | 2 |
| 1962 | Isabelle Aubret | X | Ronnie Carroll | 46 |
| 1963 | Grethe & Jorgen Ingmann | X | Ronnie Carroll | 6 |
| 1964 | Gigliola Cinquetti | 17 | Matt Monro | X |
| 1965 | France Gall | X | Kathy Kirby | 36 |
| 1966 | Udo Jurgens | X | Kenneth McKellar | 30 |
| 1967 | Sandie Shaw | 1 | Sandie Shaw | 1 |
| 1968 | Massiel | 35 | Cliff Richard | 1 |
| 1969 | Lulu/Salome/F.Boccara/L.Kuhr | 2 | Lulu | 2 |
| 1970 | Dana | 1 | Mary Hopkin | 2 |
| 1971 | Severine | 9 | Clodagh Rodgers | 4 |
| 1972 | Vicky Leandros | 2 | New Seekers | 2 |
| 1973 | Anne-Marie David | 13 | Cliff Richard | 4 |
| 1974 | Abba | 1 | Olivia Newton-John | 11 |
| 1975 | Teach-In | 13 | Shadows | 12 |
| 1976 | Brotherhood Of Man | 1 | Brotherhood Of Man | 1 |
| 1977 | Marie Myriam | 42 | De Paul & Moran | 19 |
| 1978 | Izhar Cohen & A-Beta | 20 | Coco | 13 |
| 1979 | Milk And Honey | 5 | Black Lace | 42 |
| 1980 | Johnny Logan | 1 | Prima Donna | 48 |
| 1981 | Bucks Fizz | 1 | Bucks Fizz | 1 |
| 1982 | Nicole | 1 | Bardo | 2 |
| 1983 | Corinne Hermes | 89 | Sweet Dreams | 21 |
| 1984 | Herreys | 46 | Belle & Devotions | 11 |
| 1985 | Bobbysocks | 44 | Vikki | 49 |
| 1986 | Sandra Kim | X | Ryder | 98 |
| 1987 | Johnny Logan | 2 | Rikki | 96 |
| 1988 | Celine Dion | X | Scott Fitzgerald | 52 |
| 1989 | Riva | X | Live Report | 73 |
| 1990 | Toto Cotugno | X | Emma | 33 |
| 1991 | Carola | X | Samantha Janus | 30 |
| 1992 | Linda Martin | 59 | Michael Ball | 20 |
| 1993 | Niamh Kavanagh | 24 | Sonia | 15 |
| 1994 | Harrington & McGettigan | X | Frances Ruffelle | 25 |
| 1995 | Secret Garden | 90 | Love City Groove | 7 |
| 1996 | Eimarr Quinn | 40 | Gina G | 1 |
| 1997 | Katrina & The Waves | 3 | Katrina & The Waves | 3 |
| 1998 | Dana International | 11 | Imaani | 15 |
| 1999 | Charlotte Nilsson | 23 | Precious | 6 |
| 2000 | Olsen Brothers | X | Nicki French | 32 |
| 2001 | Padar & Benton | X | Lindsay Dracass | 33 |
| 2002 | Marie N | X | Jessica Garlick | 13 |
| 2003 | Sertab Erener | 72 | Jemini | 15 |
| 2004 | Ruslana | 47 | James Fox | 13 |
| 2005 | Elena Paparizou | X | Javine | 18 |
| 2006 | Lordi | 25 | Daz Sampson | 8 |
| 2007 | Marija Serifovic | X | Scooch | 5 |
| 2008 | Dima Bilan | X | Andy Abraham | 67 |
| 2009 | Alexander Rybak | 10 | Jade Ewen | 27 |
| 2010 | Lena | 30 | Josh Dubovie | X |
| 2011 | Ell & Nikki | 61 | Blue | 16 |
| 2012 | Loreen | 3 | Englebert Humperdinck | 60 |
| 2013 | Emmelie de Forest | 15 | Bonnie Tyler | 93 |
| 2014 | Conchita Wurst | 17 | Molly | 23 |
| 2015 | Mans Zelmerlow | 11 | Electro Velvet | X |
| 2016 | Jamala | X | Joe & Jake | 81 |
| 2017 | Salvador Sobral | 97 | Lucie Jones | 73 |
| 2018 | Netta | 49 | SuRie | 50 |
| 2019 | Duncan Laurence | 29 | Michael Rice | X |
| 2020 | n/a | X | James Newman | n/a |
| 2021 | Maneskin | 17 | James Newman | 47 |
| 2022 | Kalush Orchestra | 38 | Sam Ryder | 2 |
| 2023 | Loreen | 2 | Mae Muller | 9 |
| 2024 | ???? | Olly Alexander | 42 |
Footnotes:
In 1958 the third placed song “Volare” by Domenico Modugno (Italy) made #10 in the UK chart, cover versions by Dean Martin, Marino Marini, Charlie Drake (!) and Bobby Rydell also charted.
In 1959 the sixth placed song “Ciao Ciao Bambina” by Modugno made #29 in the UK chart, a cover version by Marino Marini (once more!) also charted.
In 1960 the eighth placed song “Romantica” by Renato Rascel (you guessed, Italy) was covered by Jane Morgan and made #39.
In 1961 the fifth placed song “Al Di La” by Betty Curtis (yup, Italy) was covered by countryman Emilio Pericoli and made #30.
In 1964 the sixth placed song “Warum Nur Warum” by Udo Jurgens (Austria) was covered by that years UK entrant Matt Monro in an English version called “Walk Away”. While Matt’s own entry failed to chart, “Walk Away” made #4 in the UK.
In 1966 the winning song “Merci Cherie” was covered in English by Vince Hill and made #36.
In 1967 the fourth placed song “L’Amour Est Bleu” by Vicky Leandros (Luxembourg) went on to be covered by many artists over the next year. The Paul Mauriat Orchestra made #12 and Jeff Beck made #23 with instrumental versions, both in early 1968, and the Dells combined it in a medley with “I Can Sing A Rainbow” making #15 in 1969.
In 1968 the tenth placed song “Marianne” by Sergio Endrigo (Italy) was translated into English and covered by UK entrant Cliff Richard, and made #22 in late 1968.
In 1969 the three winning songs other than Lulu’s failed to crack the UK chart.
In 1974 the songs placed second and third both made #8 in the UK chart. They were “Go” by Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy) and “I See A Star” by Mouth & MacNeal (Netherlands).
In 2000 the winning song “Fly On The Wings Of Love” by the Olsen Brothers (Denmark) failed to chart but a cover by XTM & DJ Chucky Pts Annia made #8 three years later.
In 2007 the second placed song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” by Verka Serduchka (Ukraine) made #28 and the third placed song “Song 1” by Serebro (Russia) made #99.
In 2008 the third placed song “Secret Combination” by Kalomira (Greece) made #71.
In 2009 the second placed song “Is It You” by Yohanna (Iceland) made #49, the twentieth placed song “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang” by Alex Sings Oscar Swings (Germany) made #85 and the twenty-fifth and last placed song “Lose Control” by Waldo’s People (Finland) made #100.
In 2010 the twelfth placed song “Allez Ola Olé” by Jessy Matador (France) made #81 and the sixth placed song “Me And My Guitar” by Tom Dice (Belgium) made #85.
In 2011 the eighth placed song “Lipstick” by Jedward (Ireland) made #40, the third placed song “Popular” by Eric Saade (Sweden) made #76 and the fifth placed song “New Tomorrow” by A Friend In London (Denmark) made #78.
In 2012 the sixteenth placed song “La La Love” by Ivi Adamou (Cyprus) made #77.
In 2013 the eighth placed song “Tomorrow” by Gianluca (Malta) made #66, the fourteenth placed song “You” by Robin Stjernberg (Sweden) made #72 and the fourth placed song “I Feed You My Love” by Margaret Berger (Norway) made #80 .
In 2014 the runner-up song “Calm After The Storm” by The Common Linnets (Netherlands) made #9, the third placed song “Undo” by Sanna Nielsen (Sweden) made #40, the ninth placed song “Cliche Love Song” by Basim (Denmark) made #46, the fifteenth placed song “No Prejudice” by Pollaponk (Iceland) made #70, the twenty-third placed song “Coming Home” by Firelight (Malta) made #82, the thirteenth placed song “Hunter Of Stars” by Sebalter made #85, the fourth-placed song “Not Alone” by Aram MP3 (Armenia) made #88, the twenty-sixth and last song “Moustache” by TWIN TWIN (France) made #89, the eleventh placed song “Something Better” by Softengine (Finland) made #93 and the eighth placed song “Silent Storm” by Carl Espen (Norway) made #97.
in 2015 the fourth placed song “Rhythm Inside” by Loic Nottet (Belgium) made #69 and the runner-up song “A Million Voices” by Polina Gagarina (Russia) made #97.
In 2016 the fifth placed song “If I Were Sorry” by Frans (Sweden) made #61.
In 2018 the runner-up song “Fuego” by Eleni Foureira (Cyprus) made #64
In 2019 the sixth placed song “Spirit In The Sky” by KEiiNO (Norway) made #61 and the runner-up song “Soldi” by Mahmood (Italy) made #73.
In 2020 when the contest did not take place due to the Coronavirus pandemic the Icelandic entry “Think About Things” by Dadi Freyr made #34.
In 2021 the fourth placed song “10 Years” by Dadi Freyr (Iceland) made #43, the fifth placed song “Shum” by Go_A (Ukraine) made #59, the runner-up “Voila” by Barbara Pravi (France) made #62, the sixth placed song “Dark Side” by Blind Channel (Finland) made #66, the sixteenth placed song “El Diablo” by Elena Tsagrinou (Cyprus) made #86 and the third placed song “Tout l’Univers” by Gjons Tears (Switzerland) made #93.
In 2022 the twentieth placed song “Snap” by Rosa Linn (Armenia) made #21, the tenth placed song “Give That Wolf A Banana” by Subwoolfer (Norway) made #47, the third placed song “SloMo” by Chanel (Spain) made #56 and the fourth placed song “Hold Me Closer” by Cornelia Jakobs (Sweden) made #59.
In 2023 the runner-up, “Cha Cha Cha” by Kaarija (Finland) made #6, the fifth placed song “Queen Of KIngs” by Alessandra (Norway) made #10, the third placed song “Unicorn” by Noa Kirel (Israel) made #45, the fifteenth placed song “Who The Hell Is Edgar” by Teya & Salena (Austria) made #48, the nineteenth placed song “Solo” by Blanka (Poland) made #56, the seventh placed song “Because Of You” by Gustaph (Belgium) made #63, the ninth placed song “Promise” by Voyager (Australia) made #79, the twelfth placed song “Break A Broken Heart” by Andrew Lambrou (Cyprus) made #92, the sixteenth placed song “Evidemment” by La Zarra (France) made #94 and the sixth placed song “Heart Of Steel” by Tvorchi (Ukraine) made #95.
Preselections
In 1961 “Dream Girl” by Mark Wynter, fourth in the UK final, went on to make #27.
In 1962, “Never Goodbye” by Karl Denver, fourth also, went on to peak at #9.
In 1971, “Another Time, Another Place”. fourth (do you sense a pattern here?) in Clodagh Rodgers Song For Europe, was taken to #13 by none other than Englebert Humperdinck!.
In 1973 “Help It Along/Tomorrow Rising”, which were respectively placed third and fourth in the UK selection, scored a double A-side #29 hit for Cliff Richard.
In 1974 “Ring Ring” by Abba, which was runner-up in the previous years Swedish final, made #32.
In 1975 “Don’t Throw It All Away”, which placed fourth in the UK selection, made #20 for its composer Gary Benson.
In 1980 “Here We’ll Stay” placed 11th in the UK selection but three years later made #100 for Frida (of Abba).
In 1981 “Have You Ever Been In Love” finished fourth in the UK selection but a year later made #10 for Leo Sayer. Also “Don’t Panic” by Liquid Gold achieved #42.
In 1982 “Fantasy Island” failed in the Dutch final but a cover went on to very soon achieve #5 in the UK chart for Tight Fit.
In 1995, several songs from the UK pre-selection charted after a very high profile selection show. Just look at this: *I Need You” by Deuce #10, “Go For The Heart” by Sox #47, Londonbeat “I’m Just Your Puppet On A (String!) #55, “One Gift Of Love” by Dear Jon #68.
In 1996, “I Gave You Everything” by Code Red, runner-up in the UK final, attained #50.
In 1997 “You Stayed Away Too Long” by Joanne May, third in the UK final made #76.
In 1998 “When We’re Alone (We Dream)” by Collective, fourth in the UK final made #93.
In 2000, “Only The Women Know” by Six Chix, runner-up in the UK final, attained #72.
In 2001, “To Die For” by Luke Galliana, which made the last eight of the UK selection but not the televised final, made #42.