EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 1995. More: tomorrow.

EUROVISION

1956-2022

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS

(in chronological order)

 

This year’s Contest will see the 70^th song declared a winner. Caffè Lattè lists all of the past winning entries and other songs that have had a lasting impact on the Eurovision Song Contest.

1995

For a record-breaking third year in a row Ireland hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. It was agreed prior to the event that, should the Irish entry win in 1995, there would be no compulsion to host the Contest again. To avoid a lengthy final, the European Broadcasting Union decreased the number of competitors to 23. The bottom 7 countries from 1994 had to miss out. These nations were: Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania. For the 1995 event, the 5 countries that had been relegated the previous year were welcomed back: Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Denmark and Belgium. This was the first ESC without a Swiss entry since its inception. Germany was now the sole founding nation from 1956 to participate every year.  

 

NOCTURNE Secret Garden

Norway

 

The Norwegian entry had a Celtic feel to it. The violinist Fionnula Sherry was Irish. “Nocturne” proved controversial as it was more of an instrumental than a ‘song’. It only consisted of two dozen words. The entry collected 148 points, leaving Spain’s “Vuelve Conmigo” in second place with a score of 119. Secret Garden brought a second ESC win for one of the nations that often struggled to finish high.

 

LOVE CITY GROOVE

Love City Groove

United Kingdom

 

The Eurovision Song Contest’s entries have often been criticized for being too conservative and outdated. In 1995, the United Kingdom was represented by a rap song. This was the genre’s first appearance among the entries. “Love City Groove” finished in equal 10^th place, sharing the ranking with Malta. Eurovision was reflecting the shift in the public's musical tastes.