1979 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Edition number - 24

Date - March 31, 1979

Host broadcaster - IBA, Israel

Host city - Jerusalem

Venue - Binyanei Ha-Uma

Hosts - Daniel Pe'er / Yardena Arazi

Director - Yossi Zemach

Producer - Alex Giladi assisted by Ralph Inbar

Stage designer - Dov Ben-David

Musical director - Yitzhak Graziani

Orchestra - freelance orchestra

Interval act - "Shalom '79", dance group performance to a medley of Israeli songs (including 'Lakotsrim heidad' / 'Belev ehad' / 'Shir sameach' / 'Shibolet ba-saddeh' / 'Etz ha-rimon' / 'Hevenu shalom aleichem')

Scrutineer - Frank Naef

Number of entries - 19

Winning entry - 'Hallelujah' Milk & Honey (Israel)

Winning songwriters - Shimrit Orr / Kobi Oshrat

Winning orchestrator - Kobi Oshrat

Winning conductor - Kobi Oshrat

Note 1 - Although Turkey held a national final to determine a candidate for Jerusalem, the country withdrew under economic and political pressure of a group of Arab states. Its chosen entry is given at the bottom of the participants' list below

Note 2 - Italy's contribution 'Raggio di luna' by Matia Bazar was the first Eurovision entry officially not to make use of the Eurovision orchestra, preferring a full backing track. In Eurovision 1966, Domenico Modugno had also disdained making use of the festival orchestra, but he had been accompanied live by a combo of musicians of his own choice instead, led by Angelo Giacomazzi

Designer of the remarkable stage of the 1979 contest in Jerusalem was Dov Ben-David

RESULT

1st place (125 votes)

ISRAEL

Song title – “Hallelujah”

Rendition – Milk & Honey = Chalav Oudvash (Gali Atari / Samuel Bilu / Reuven Gvritz / Yehuda Tamir)

Lyrics – Shimrit Orr

Composition – Kobi Oshrat

Studio arrangement – Kobi Oshrat

(studio orchestra conducted by Kobi Oshrat)

Live orchestration – Kobi Oshrat

Conductor – Kobi Oshrat

2nd place (116 votes)

SPAIN

Song title – "Su canción"

Rendition – Betty Missiego

Lyrics – Fernando Moreno

Composition – Fernando Moreno

Studio arrangement – Rafael Ferro

(studio orchestra conducted by José Luis Navarro)

Live orchestration – Rafael Ferro / José Luis Navarro

Conductor – José Luis Navarro

3rd place (106 votes)

FRANCE

Song title – "Je suis l'enfant-soleil"

Rendition – Anne-Marie David

Lyrics – Eddy Marnay

Composition – Hubert Giraud

Studio arrangement – Guy Matteoni

Live orchestration – Guy Matteoni

Conductor – Guy Matteoni

4th place (86 votes)

WEST GERMANY

Song title – "Dschinghis Khan"

Rendition – Dschinghis Khan (Steve Bender / Henriette Heichel-Strobel / Wolfgang Heichel / Leslie Mándoki / Edina Popp / Louis Hendrik Potgieter)

Lyrics – Bernd Meinunger

Composition – Ralph Siegel

Studio arrangement – Norbert Daum

Live orchestration – Norbert Daum

Conductor – Norbert Daum

5th place (80 votes)

IRELAND

Song title – “Happy Man”

Rendition – Cathal Dunne

Lyrics – Cathal Dunne

Composition – Cathal Dunne

Studio arrangement – Cathal Dunne

Live orchestration – Cathal Dunne

Conductor – Proinnsías Ó Duinn

6th place (76 votes)

DENMARK

Song title – "Disco tango"

Rendition – Tommy Seebach

Lyrics – Keld Heick

Composition – Tommy Seebach

Studio arrangement – Ole Høyer

(studio orchestra conducted by Ole Høyer)

Live orchestration – Ole Høyer

Conductor – Allan Botschinsky

7th place (73 votes)

UNITED KINGDOM

Song title – "Mary-Ann"

Rendition – Black Lace (Alan Barton / Terry Dobson / 

Colin Routh / Steve Scholey)

Lyrics – Peter Morris

Composition – Peter Morris

Studio arrangement – Peter Morris

Live orchestration – unknown

Conductor – Ken Jones

8th place (69 votes)

GREECE

Song title – "Socrates"

Rendition – Elpida

Lyrics – Sotia Tsotou

Composition – Doros Georgiadis

Studio arrangement – Doros Georgiadis

Live orchestration – Doros Georgiadis

Conductor – Lefteris Chalkiadakis

9th place (64 votes)

PORTUGAL

Song title – "Sobe, sobe balão sobe"

Rendition – Manuela Bravo

Lyrics – Carlos Nóbrega e Sousa 

Composition – Carlos Nóbrega e Sousa

Studio arrangement – Fernando Correia Martins

Live orchestration – Fernando Correia Martins

Conductor – Thilo Krasmann

10th place (60 votes)

SWITZERLAND

Song title – “Trödler und co.”

Rendition – Peter, Sue & Marc feat. Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri (Peter Reber / Susan Schell / Marc Dietrich / Pfuri Baldenweg / Anthony Fischer / Kniri Knaus)

Lyrics – Peter Reber

Composition – Peter Reber

Studio arrangement – Peter Reber / Rolf Zuckowski

Live orchestration – Peter Reber / Rolf Zuckowski

Conductor – Rolf Zuckowski

11th place (57 votes)

NORWAY

Song title – "Oliver"

Rendition – Anita Skorgan

Lyrics – Philip A. Kruse

Composition – Anita Skorgan

Studio arrangement – George Keller

Live orchestration – George Keller

Conductor – Sigurd Jansen

12th place (51 votes)

NETHERLANDS

Song title – "Colorado"

Rendition – Xandra (Sandra Reemer / Mac Sell / Paul Vink / Ton op 't Hof / Ferdy Lancée / Okkie Huijsdens)

Lyrics – Gerard Cox

Composition – Ferdi Bolland / Rob Bolland

Studio arrangement – Piet Souer

(studio orchestra conducted by Harry van Hoof)

Live orchestration – Piet Souer

Conductor – Harry van Hoof

13th place (44 votes)

LUXEMBOURG

Song title – “J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux”

Rendition – Jeane Manson

Lyrics – Jean Renard

Composition – Jean Renard

Studio arrangement – Hervé Roy

Live orchestration – Hervé Roy

Conductor – Hervé Roy

14th place (38 votes)

FINLAND

Song title – “Katson sineen taivaan”

Rendition – Katri Helena

Lyrics – Veikki 'Vexi' Salmi

Composition – Matti Siitonen

Studio arrangement – Paul Fagerlund

Live orchestration – Paul Fagerlund

Conductor – Ossi Runne

15th place (27 votes)

ITALY

Song title – “Raggio di luna”

Rendition – Matia Bazar (Antonella Ruggiero / Giancarlo Golzi / Carlo Marrale / Aldo Stellita / Piero Cassano)

Lyrics – Salvatore Stellita / Giancarlo Golzi

Composition – Piero Cassano / Carlo Marrale / Antonella Ruggiero

Studio arrangement – Matia Bazar

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

16th place (12 votes)

MONACO

Song title – “Notre vie c'est la musique”

Rendition – Laurent Vaguener (Jean Baudlot)

Lyrics – Jean Albertini / Didier Barbelivien

Composition – Jean Baudlot / Gérard Salesses / Paul De Senneville

Studio arrangement – Gérard Salesses

Live orchestration – Gérard Salesses

Conductor – Gérard Salesses

17th place (8 votes)

SWEDEN

Song title – “Satellit”

Rendition – Ted Gärdestad 

Lyrics – Kenneth Gärdestad

Composition – Ted Gärdestad

Studio arrangement – Lars Samuelson / Janne Schaffer

Live orchestration – Lars Samuelson / Janne Schaffer

Conductor – Lars Samuelson

18th & 19th place (ex aequo, 5 votes)

BELGIUM

Song title – "Hey nana"

Rendition – Micha Marah

Lyrics – Guy Beyers

Composition – Charles Dumolin

Studio arrangement (Charles Dumolin version) – Charles Blackwell

Live orchestration – Willy Heynen / Francis Bay

Conductor – Francis Bay

AUSTRIA

Song title – “Heute in Jerusalem”

Rendition – Christina Simon

Lyrics – André Heller

Composition – Peter Wolf

Studio arrangement – Peter Wolf

Live orchestration – Peter Wolf

Conductor – Richard Oesterreicher

Withdrawn entry

TURKEY

Song title – “Seviyorum”

Rendition – Maria Rita Epik & 21. Peron (Gökhan Akçay / Erden Erdem / Haluk Öztekin / Andreas Wildermann)

Lyrics – Maria Rita Epik

Composition – Maria Rita Epik

Studio arrangement – Tuğrul Karataş & 21. Peron

Live orchestration – Tuğrul Karataş

Conductor (Turkish final) – Tuğrul Karataş