Rock Bottom (Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran song)

"Rock Bottom" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran. It was also written and produced by de Paul and Moran and released on the Polydor record label. Originally it was written for the group Blue Mink;[1] and submitted unbeknown to de Paul and Moran as an entry for "A Song For Europe" by the publishers and when it was selected, de Paul agreed to perform the song if Moran would join her.[2] On 9 March 1977, "Rock Bottom" was selected to represent the UK at the "A Song for Europe 1977" event held at the New London Theatre, presented by Terry Wogan.

"Rock Bottom"
Cover of vinyl single
Eurovision Song Contest 1977 entry
Country
Artist(s)
With
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
2nd
Final points
121
Entry chronology
◄ "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976)   
"The Bad Old Days" (1978) ►

The jaunty sing-a-long song says that when people are in a bad situation they should work to solve problems and not be pessimistic about tragedies. Apparently it represented the situation at the time; Eurovision 1977 was almost cancelled due to budget restrictions and it was delayed by five weeks due to a strike by cameramen and technicians.[3] The BBC, who had to host the contest that year, did not give the song its whole-hearted support because it was the favourite to win the contest and, if it had won, then they would have to finance and host the 1978 contest.[4]

The song contest was planned to take place on 2 April due to the cameramen and technicians being on strike, but it was rescheduled and finally took place on 7 May.[5][6] The song was performed ninth on the night, following Portugal's Os Amigos with "Portugal no coração" and preceding Greece's Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy with "Mathima Solfege". At the close of voting, it had received 121 points, placing second in a field of 18 entries.

It was preceded by "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man as the British representative at the Eurovision Song Contest and succeeded by Co-Co with "The Bad Old Days". De Paul was the last established and well-known international artist to enter the contest for the UK until Scott Fitzgerald in 1988.

"Rock Bottom" charted in several European countries, topping the charts in Switzerland, no. 2 in Austria, no. 4 in Germany, no. 6 in Sweden (no. 4 on the Poporama chart),[7] no. 7 in Ireland and Norway and no. 10 in France and Israel. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached no. 19.[8] It also made no. 13 on the Radio Luxembourg Top 30.[9] On the basis of sales from the record-buying public of Europe, it was the winning entry, outperforming the contest's winner,[10][11] a quarter of a million copies being sold in Germany alone,[12] where it was the 38th best selling single of 1977.[13] After the Eurovision Song Contest, it was released as one of the tracks on an EP in Portugal entitled "Conjunto Pentagrama" ("Pentogram Set"), together with the French entry "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant", the Irish entry "It's Nice To Be In Love Again" and the Monaco entry "Une Petite Française".[14]

In a ranking by The Daily Telegraph of all of the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entries over the last 59 years, "Rock Bottom" came in at no. 9[15] and a year later they wrote "Not just a fun, honky-tonk tune, but also a rather memorable performance. Moran and de Paul were dressed in fetching Edwardian morning-suits, sat back-to-back playing a pair of duelling grand pianos."[16] In an analysis of all Eurovision Song Contest songs that entered the German singles chart, it was ranked number 20, based on number of weeks on the chart and charts positions achieved.[17]

The duo also recorded a German version of "Rock Bottom" called "Für Immer" with German lyrics by Marianne Rebesky,[18] which also had healthy sales figures in German speaking countries,[11] and this version was covered by the band Wir.[19] De Paul and Moran's version of "Für Immer" appeared on the CD Greatest Hits - Lynsey de Paul.[20] Instrumental versions of the song also appeared on James Last's album Auf Last Geht's Los. Other versions have been recorded by the Studio Group, Armi & Danny (Danny (Finnish singer), Jörgen Petersenin Orkesteri, Ted Weber, Brothers Of The World, Leni, Günter Noris, Inger Lise (Inger Lise Rypdal) & Stein (Stein Ingebrigtsen), Daniel Janin, Annette Klingenberg & Johnny Reimar, Bingos, and The Hiltonaires and, most recently by jazz guitarist Denny Wright.[21]

The song has featured on Eurovision compilation albums such as This Is... Eurovision,[22] Ultimate Eurovision Party!,[23] Favoriet Van Follet - 18 Unieke Eurovisiesongs (18 unique Eurovision songs)[24] and Stars Of Eurovision,[25] as well as a number of de Paul's compilation CDs. It was also a track on the CD double album Die Ultimative Chart Show - Die erfolgreichsten Piano-Hits aller Zeiten in 2010, which made the Swiss and Austrian albums charts.[26] In 2018, the song was one of 16 songs chosen as 1970s Eurovision classics on a specially released vinyl album that also featured ABBA, Brotherhood Of Man, Baccara, The New Seekers, Anne-Marie David and Gigliola Cinquetti.[27]

Charts

References
  1. "Lynsey de Paul Exclusive FemaleFirst Interview". Femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  2. "Rock Bottom - From the Album 'Hit Singles Album' - LdP Music Store". Lynseydepaul.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  3. "Eurovision Song Contest London 1977". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  4. "BBC hoped to come Rock Bottom in Eurovision Song Contest". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  5. "Eurovision Song Contest London 1977". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  6. Billboard, 16 April 1977, page 66
  7. "May 19, 1977 - poporama.nu". Poporama.nu. 19 May 1977. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 145. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. "Radio Luxemburg Top 30 (UK) – 1977". Hitnoteringen.nl. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  10. Steffen Hung. "Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran - Rock Bottom". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  11. Record World, Spotlight on Germany, 21 January 1978, page 20
  12. Billboard, 3 December 1977
  13. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  14. "Conjunto Pentagrama - Eurovisao". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  15. Tristram Fane Saunders (12 May 2017). "Eurovision: every single UK entry ranked, from worst to best". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  16. Saunders, Tristram Fane (5 May 2017). "Eurovision: every single UK entry ranked, from worst to best". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  17. "Eurovision-Hits Deutschland - Top 100 Auswertung (ab Monat 06/1959". Chartsurfer.de. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  18. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  19. "WIR [DDR] - Rock Bottom". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  20. "Lynsey De Paul - Greatest Hits". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  21. "Denny Wright - Trad Jazz Feelings (CD)". Discogs.com. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  22. "Various - This Is... Eurovision (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  23. "Various - Ultimate Eurovision Party! (CD)". Discogs.com. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  24. "Discogs Login". Discogs.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  25. "Various - Stars Of Eurovision (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  26. "- Die ultimative Chart Show - Die erfolgreichsten Piano-Hits aller Zeiten". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  27. "Seventies Euro Classics (Vinyl) - Demon Music Group". Demonmusicgroup.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  28. "Austriancharts.at – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  29. "Ultratop.be – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  30. "Ultratop.be – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  31. "Lescharts.com – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  32. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  33. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  34. "Swedishcharts.com – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  35. "Swisscharts.com – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  36. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  37. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran – Rock Bottom". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  38. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1977". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  39. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1977". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  40. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
Preceded by
"Save Your Kisses for Me"
by Brotherhood of Man		 United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
1977		 Succeeded by
"The Bad Old Days"
by Co-Co
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