BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds reveal the nation’s favourite Eurovision song!

ABBA’s Waterloo has been revealed as the UK public’s favourite Eurovision song following an online vote. Hear the top 50 on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds

"The success of Waterloo changed everything for us as a band, so we would like to thank all the Eurovision fans who voted for the song!" — Frida Lyngstad

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BBC Radio 2

ABBA’s Waterloo has been revealed as the UK public’s favourite Eurovision song following an online vote. Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz came in second, Love Shine a Light by Katrina and the Waves came third, with Brotherhood of Man’s Save Your Kisses for Me in fourth, and Sandie Shaw with Puppet on a String coming fifth.

Voters were asked to select between three and fifteen of their favourite Eurovision songs from the last 65 years with the results being compiled for a special show - The UK’s All-Time Eurovision Top 50 - presented by Ken Bruce. The show will be available on BBC Sounds from 8pm, Tuesday 18 May, and on Radio 2 from 1-3pm, Saturday 22nd May, ahead of the Grand Final of Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam that night - which will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.

Frida Lyngstad of ABBA says: “Waterloo was our first song under our new name, ABBA, which - after we performed it to audiences across Europe thanks to Eurovision - became a huge global hit. The success of Waterloo changed everything for us as a band, so we would like to thank all the Eurovision fans who voted for the song!”

Presenter, Ken Bruce says: “Well, who’d have thought it? Waterloo comes top but as ABBA sang, ‘I feel like I win when I lose’ - a massive 18 of the Top 50 are UK songs, so well done us!”

Laura Busson, Radio 2 Commissioning Executive, says: “Waterloo has consistently been a Eurovision favourite ever since it won back in 1974, which just shows the talent ABBA had right from the very beginning. The song has stood the test of time extremely well, incredibly almost five decades on. Do tune into The UK’s All-Time Eurovision Top 50 on BBC Sounds and Radio 2 which will be getting the party started ahead of the Grand Final.”

Fascinating facts about Waterloo:

On 6 April 1974, the song was the winning entry for Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton - the first time Sweden had won. The interval act that year was a performance by The Wombles

Waterloo was the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. Before then, they were known as Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid

The single became a number one hit in several countries. It reached the US top ten and went on to sell nearly 6million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles in history

In the UK, it was the first of nine number one singles for ABBA

The Contest in 1974 was the first time ABBA had been seen across Europe

The band considered submitting another song to Eurovision, Hasta Mañana, but decided on Waterloo since it gave equal weight to both lead vocalists Agnetha and Anni-Frid, while Hasta Mañana was sung only by Fältskog

The group broke from convention by being the first winning entry in a language other than that of their home country; prior to 1973 all Eurovision singers had been required to sing in their country's native tongue, a restriction that was lifted briefly for the contests between 1973 and 1976 (thus allowing Waterloo to be sung in English). The former rule was reinstated before ultimately being removed again in 1999

Famously, the UK failed to award ABBA any points on the night

The Top 20 in order are as follows:

ABBA - Waterloo (Sweden, 1974)
Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (United Kingdom, 1981)
Katrina and the Waves - Love Shine a Light (United Kingdom, 1997)
Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses for Me (United Kingdom, 1976)
Sandie Shaw - Puppet on a String (United Kingdom, 1967)
Loreen - Euphoria (Sweden, 2012)
Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria, 2014)
Johnny Logan - What's Another Year (Ireland, 1980)
Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes (Sweden, 2015)
Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit (United Kingdom, 1996)
Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (Norway, 2009)
Cliff Richard - Congratulations (United Kingdom, 1968)
Dana - All Kinds of Everything (Ireland, 1970)
Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang (United Kingdom, 1969)
Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now (Ireland, 1987)
Michael Ball - One Step Out of Time (United Kingdom, 1992)
Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland, 2006)
Nicole - Ein bißchen Frieden (Germany, 1982)
Dana International - Diva (Israel, 1998)
The New Seekers - Beg, Steal or Borrow (United Kingdom, 1972)

The UK’s All-Time Eurovision Top 50 is compiled by this year’s host broadcaster NPO. The UK results are fed into a wider top 50 taken from across many countries who are taking part in Eurovision.

BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to radio station, with a weekly audience of 14.4 million (Rajar Q1, 2020). The network’s presenters include Michael Ball, Zoe Ball, Tony Blackburn, OJ Borg, Ken Bruce, Craig Charles, Rylan Clark-Neal, Fearne Cotton, Sara Cox, Jamie Cullum, Gary Davies, Vanessa Feltz, Paul Gambaccini, Bob Harris, Ana Matronic, Cerys Matthews, Trevor Nelson, Paul O’Grady, Dermot O’Leary, Mark Radcliffe, Liza Tarbuck, Jeremy Vine, Johnnie Walker, Jo Whiley, Claudia Winkleman and Steve Wright.

Source BBC Radio 2

May 18, 2021 4:00am ET by BBC Radio 2  

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