All Kinds Of Everything
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Below you can find the twelfth and final set of songs in the "All Time Eurovision Top 100" 

Positions in the chart have been determined using a mixture of the success that the songs found at the Eurovision Song Contest (50% weighting), whether they were chart hits in the countries they represented and beyond (40% weighting), their ranking in the "Congratulations" show which celebrated fifty years of the contest (5% weighting) and the lasting impression they have made, looking at the hits on the Google search engine (5% weighting). Please note that the MP3 of the songs will only be available for a limited time.   

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"ALL KINDS OF EVERYTHING"
Country: Ireland
Year: 1970
Singer: Dana 
Songwriter: Derry Lindsay & Jackie Smith
Result : 1st

5

Before the Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland was a small island on the periphery of mainland Europe with emigration and sport as the only major links with fellow Europeans. RTÉ first entered the contest in 1965, achieving a series of good results before Ireland's sixth entry brought the country its first Eurovision win. Over the next thirty years there would be a record breaking six other victories, but none would have the impact of "All Kinds Of Everything". The sentimental ballad written by amateur songwriters Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith was already a major local hit before representing Ireland in Amsterdam, where it was seen as one of the pre-contest favourites, along with Mary Hopkin for the U.K. and Spain's Julio Iglesias.    

Eurovision Performance (above) and 1981 Eurovision Gala (below)

Dana, born Rosemary Brown in London in 1951 was raised in Derry in Northern Ireland. Having just missed out on representing Ireland in Madrid in 1969, when she finished 2nd to Muriel Day in the National Song Contest. Following a runaway victory in both the 1970 Irish selection and at Eurovision, Dana became an international recording star.

"All Kinds Of Everything" was one of the most successful Eurovision winners commercially, topping the charts all over Europe and in the following six years Dana scored several other hits including the perennial favourite, "It's Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas. In 1979 she topped the Irish charts with "Totus Tuus", a song which she wrote and recorded to mark the first visit of The Pope to Ireland. In the 1980s Dana moved to the United States when she became popular performer on evangelical television. Returning to Ireland, Dana stood as an independent candidate in 1997 Irish Presidential election, coming a very creditable third. From 1999 to 2004 she served as  member of the European Parliament before returning to entertainment, releasing four albums since the turn of the century and becoming a popular star on Irish television.   

"PUPPET ON A STRING"
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1967
Singer: Sandy Shaw 
Songwriters: Bill Martin & Phil Coulter
Result : 1st

4

The United Kingdom first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957, but it took ten years for the first victory. The first British winner came in 1967 in Vienna  when twenty year old Essex girl Sandie Shaw scored one of the easiest victories in the contest's history with the up-tempo pop song "Puppet On A String". Sandie burst onto the music scene as a 17 year old, scoring an international hit, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me. A series of hits followed, including U.K. #1 "Long Live Love" in 1965. In 1967 the BBC chose Sandie to sing all the songs in the U.K. Eurovision selection and the public chose "Puppet On A String" written by Scotsman Bill Martin and Northern Ireland's Phil Coulter.

Eurovision Performance (above) and French version (below)

"Puppet On A String" was the favourite to win the contest in Vienna, but few could have expected the song, with Sandie famously performed barefoot, to be such a decisive winner. In the end it scored more than twice as many points as the runner-up, Ireland's "If I Could Choose" sung by Sean Dunphy. "Puppet On A String" became a multi-million selling international hit, with Sandie also recording versions in French, German, Spanish and Italian. Despite a confession that she was not fond of the song, it became her biggest hit.

Sandie's career as an international star continued for a few years after Eurovision and she remained a popular entertainer for decades after her hits dried up. Her place as a pop icon of the 1960s is undisputed and she attracted some notable fans, including most famously, Morrissey who recorded with Sandie in the 1980s. In 1984, Sandie's cover version of The Smiths "Hand In Glove", returned her to the UK Top 30 and she made several successful tours of British universities. Songwriters Martin And Coulter returned to the contest in 1968, finish second with "Congratulations" sung by Cliff Richard and in in 1975 with "Toi" which came fifth for Luxemourg.      
"EIN BISSCHEN FRIEDEN" (A Little Peace)
Country: Germany
Year: 1981
Singer: Nicole 
Songwriters: Ralph Siegal & Bernd Meinunger
Result : 1st

3

Germany was one of the original seven countries that entered the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, but it took a quarter of a century to produce a winner of the event. Nicole Hohloch (born in Saarbrücken in 1964) just missed out on representing her country in 1981. The song "Flieg Nicht So Hoch, Mein Kleiner Freund" was the runner-up in the German final, but went on to be a big hit in Germany also charting in Austria and Switzerland. he following year Nicole teamed up the famous songwriting team of Seigel & Meinunger to win the German final. The simple peace anthem "Ein Bisschen Friden" was performed last in the running order in Harrogate and once the voting started, it was clear that Germany was the winner.    

Eurovision Performance (above) and English version (below)

Despite he tender years Nicole showed an amazing maturity in her performance and very impressively performed the song in four languages for the reprise. "Ein Bisschen Frieden" was not only recorded in German and in English (as "A Little Peace", but also in French, Spanish, Italian Dutch, Danish and Russian. Following its Eurovision win the song topped the charts all over Europe and soon became one of Eurovision's most popular songs, becoming a favourite in children's concerts throughout Europe. 

While Nicole would never score another major international hit, she became one of Germany's most popular singers in the years following her Eurovision win. Her career took her into the famous German schlager circuit and she was also the winner of the German Schlagerparade in 1991 with the song "Ein Leises Lied". Songwriters Ralp Sigel and Bend Meinunger have written more Eurovision entries that anyone else, although they have not always worked together. AS well as several German entries, they has also written songs for Luxembourg and Switzerland and in 2009 they have teamed up again to write Montenegro's entry.
"WATERLOO"
Country: Sweden
Year: 1974
Performers: Abba 
Songwriters: Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Stikkan Anderson
Result : 1st

2

Sweden's first Eurovision entry came in 1958, but in the next fifteen years the closest they came to winning the contest was a distant second place in 1966. However in 1974 that was to change and the song that would finally bring Sweden its first victory would not only change the Eurovision Song Contest but would also launch the international career of one  of pop music's all time most successful acts. The group Abba came together when four of Sweden's most successful singers, songwriters, instrumentalists and songwriters came together in the early 1970s. In 1973 they lost out in the Swedish Eurovision selection with he song "Ring Ring". Nevertheless the song became a hit, not only in Sweden, but in several other countries.

"Waterloo" composed by band members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with lyrics by the group's manager Stikkan Anderson won the Swedish ticket for Brighton in 1974 and soon topped the local charts. However at Eurovision it was not the clear favourite, as the entries from Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K. were also seen as being serious contenders for the victory. However following an unforgettable performance, it quickly became clear that Sweden was on course for it first Eurovision win, although the victory was a narrowly won one.       

"Waterloo" was soon topping the charts all over the World, with the band also recording versions in French and German. In the twelve months that followed, it appeared that Abba might not be able to fully capitalise on their Eurovision success, however when "S.O.S." became an international chart-topper in 1975, Abba went from strength to strength and a string of internal hits followed. Abba went their separate ways in 1983, but have continued remain popular with succeeding generations of music fans. "Mamma Mia" a musical and movie featuring their songs has become an international success and Abba have sold over 400 million records and CDs. In 2005, "Waterloo" was voted the greatest Eurovision song of all time.    

Eurovision Performance (above) and Swedish selection (below)
"SAVE ALL YOUR KISSES FOR ME" 
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1976
Performers: Brotherhood Of Man
Songwriter: Tony Hiller, Lee Sheridan & Martin Lee
Result : 1st

 

1

While "Waterloo" may be the popular choice, based on the result of a public vote and the ongoing popularity of Abba, it is not the all time Eurovision #1, based on our criteria. That honour belongs to the United Kingdom's 1976 winner, "Save All Your Kisses For Me" performed by Brotherhood Of Man.

Eurovision Performance (above) and preview video (below)

In 1976, the BBC decided to have a multi-artist national final for the first time in 13 years, rather than the process of having one act perform a selection of potential Eurovision entries. In a very exciting vote, regional juries chose Brotherhood Of Man and "Save All Your Kisses For Me" by just two points, giving them the ticket to The Hague.

The catchy song with its sing-along chorus became an instant hit, topping the U.K. charts, before going to Eurovision and also charting in several other countries. Despite the fact that it opened the contest, the U.K. entry was the hot favourite to win and once the voting started, there was a close two horse race with the French entry "Un,Deux, Trois" . In the end, it was "Save All Your Kisses For Me" that triumphed, receiving votes from every country and the top points from seven juries.

"Save All Your Kisses" written by group members Martin Lee and Lee Sheridan and manager Tony Hiller soon became a massive international hit, becoming the biggest selling Eurovision entry of all time, clocking over six million sales and becoming the U.K.'s biggest selling single of 1976 and hitting the American Hot 100.



Performing at the 2009 Croatian selection.

While a different line-up of Brotherhood Of Man had had an international hit with "United We Stand" in 1970, it was the formation of Sandra Stevens, Nicky Stevens, Martin Lee and Lee Sheridan that not only won the Eurovision Song Contest but went on to score two further chart-toppers with "Angelo" and "Figaro" in the following year. After the hits came to an end in 1978, Brotherhood Of Man continued to tour both in the U.K. and in Europe and they continue to be a popular cabaret act and over thirty years after winning the contest, they continue to appear at Eurovision shows and national selections. In 2005, "Save All Your Kisses For Me" was voted the fifth best Eurovision song of all time at the special anniversary  show staged in Copenhagen.  

Those who might wonder how it is the all time Eurovision number one, should remember that no other song has achieved as high a relative score in the contest as "Save All Your Kisses For Me", which gained  over 80% of the points available to it. To put this in a current context, the winner in Moscow would have to score 338 points to equal the U.K.'s 1976 winning score. Added to that is the fact that "Save All Your Kisses For Me" is clearly the biggest seller, having sold over  a million copies more than Abba's "Waterloo", although of course the 1974 winner would have notched up more, if you were to include sales of albums.