Songs for Europe – Vol 1 (“Eurovision Song Contest”)

Every year since 1956 millions of people around Europe and beyond have tuned in to watch the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It has become compulsive viewing, as viewers support their favourite song or country, and eagerly watch the performances and anticipate the excitement of the international voting as the show heads towards its climax.

Through examination of surviving archive material and documentation, plus interviews with those involved both behind and front of the camera, this series of books charts the history of the United Kingdom in the contest. Find out more about how the songs were selected to represent the country, and details on the all important voting each year.

This first volume looks at how the contest was created, and how important the BBC were in influencing its development. There is in depth coverage of those contests staged in the United Kingdom, and interviews with artists, composers and production personnel who took part in both the domestic and international competitions.

A detailed and exhaustive work of reference that fans of music and television history will find invaluable and fascinating.

496pp. A5 paperback book in landscape format. Includes an eight page section of colour photographs.
ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6 (pb)
Published 30 June 2012

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gordon Roxburgh was born in Baillieston, Glasgow in 1960, and grew up in the town of Biggar in Lanarkshire. After leaving school he spent three years at Napier College in Edinburgh studying commerce.

In 1982 he moved to London, and spent the next 20 years working in Smithfield Meat Market. After being made redundant he spent a short spell as a prison officer, a job he admits now didn’t suit him. He is currently self employed as a driving instructor, a job which he thoroughly enjoys, and finds learner pupils much less stressful than prisoners.

Two television programmes caught his imagination as a youngster, Doctor Who and the Eurovision Song Contest. With the former he joined the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and spent a couple of stints as the editor on their newsletter Celestial Toyroom. However it was his role as convention organiser that he is best known. He organised several highly successful Doctor Who conventions in the mid 1980s, securing a number of guests who making their debut appearances. A skilled interviewer, he was one of just a handful of people ever to interview second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton on stage. Deciding that it is best to quit while you are ahead, he stepped down from the role in 1987.

With the Eurovision Song Contest, Gordon has twice been involved on the jury of A Song For Europe, including in 1981, the year that Bucks Fizz went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest itself. Since 1994 he has travelled across Europe to attend the international finals, and in the last decade has reported on the contest for various websites. In 2010 he joined the team as an editor on the official Eurovision Song Contest website www.eurovision.tv.