Product Description

Published to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, this is the official, the first and the definitive history of the annual event that is now a global phenomenon. The fun and the feuds, the high points, the dismal lows, the scandals, the most outrageous outfits, the innovators and the copy cats, this glorious book captures the singular flavour of Eurovision, charting its journey from the first competition in 1955 - just seven entrants, broadcast from a tiny venue in Switzerland with a studio audience of 200 - to the international extravaganza watched by 300 million viewers that it has become today. It's a completely unique event in modern pop music, with its own agenda entirely, that has spawned almost as many anti-heroes as it has stars. Illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photos, and rare memorabilia including artwork for singles, this book is a nostalgic and resplendent celebration of an at times eccentric competition that is adored by hundreds of millions. It is as compulsive as the show itself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #198613 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
John Kennedy O'Connor has been a fan of Eurovision ever since he can remember. He has every single sleeve for every Eurovision entry, and is passionate about the show. He is an Englishman living in San Francisco and this is his first book.

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Reference book for Eurovision.
The writer of this particular book certainly knows his stuff. That's the first impression that I got from reading this work. The facts are well presented and it highlights what happened in each Eurovision Song Contest, except possibly 1956, it was a little bit vague in that area. However, considering the whole contest that year was mysterious to say the least, nobody knew how the voting system worked because it was done in secret, I can forgive him.

What could have been useful is a table on how each country voted in each year. That is made up for however by the facts and figures at the back of the book, including a top ten of all four voting systems given in percentage form. I found that a very helpful guide in many ways. It also gives a list of all the countries that have participated in Eurovision's entries, again a useful reference.

The book layout is colourful and presented in the right way. It can be used either as a reference book or as a casual read. As a celebration of Fifty years of Eurovision, I cannot fault it. It's a must have for all fans of the contest

A must for all ESC fans!
A great book with excellent pictures. A definate must for all Eurovision fans. However, I can only give it 4 stars as there are a lot of editorial mistakes in it. For example, on the 1989 scoreboard, the UK is referred to as "Unite Kingdom". Similar mistakes include writing what should be "20" as "2" - very confusing. The author is also unsure whether he is using British English or American English, and uses both, which I suspect has occurred through translation. Finally I was amused by black text over a very dark picture of Lulu so you can hardly read it! Other than that - this book is a smashing read!

Boom Bang-a-Brilliant!
One of TV's greatest phenomenon's and longest running show's, The Eurovision Song Contest reaches it's 50th edition in 2005 and (ironically for a BBC show) Carlton Books are publishing this remarkable book to mark the occasion, in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.

Author John Kennedy O'Connor has wonderfully captured the spirit of this annual tele-visual kitsch fest in a lavishly illustrated book spanning the entire history of this much maligned show that started as a one off event in a small Swiss theatre in 1956, with just seven competing nations, and is now a two-day event featuring upwards of forty countries, some from well beyond Europe's borders.

Covering all the highs and lows of the competition and including intriguing and little-known backstage gossip and anecdotes, O'Connor's style is wonderfully entertaining and provides a genuinely interesting and slightly ironic tribute to the contest and the stars and songs that have featured in it over the years. The book is divided into two distinct sections. The monochrome era of the show from 1956-1967 is covered in double page chapters; whereas the colour broadcasts from 1968 all get four pages each. The entries and results for every year are included alongside numerous and very rare colour and black and white photographs of the artists as well as artwork for all the winning singles, together with their international chart history. Most fun of all, O'Connor has compiled a fascinating "Eurofacts" section that covers all of the trivial statistics that fans crave and that intrigue the general viewers. If you want to know what colour scheme is best to wear if you want to win - you'll find it here! Most people know which nation won the most contests, but which country finished 16th most frequently? Which nation is best at choosing the winner, or worst for that matter? Who conducted the most number of entries and for the most number of nations? It's all here and a lot more.

I really enjoyed the style and wit of this author. He has successfully managed to produce an in depth look at the contest without taking it all too seriously and yet write a genuinely enthusiastic and fascinating history of the competition that everyone loves to hate. His flair with words is wonderful and makes for a very entertaining read. Here's to another 50 years of fun!