Sing, Little Birdie
Encyclopedia
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the title of the 1959 UK Eurovision
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
. (Polly Brown
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
entrant "Een beetje
" by Teddy Scholten
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
with the UK entrant "All
" by Patricia Bredin
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
with "Puppet on a String
" by Sandie Shaw
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
, Vladimir Lenin
, and Karl Marx
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the title of the 1959 UK Eurovision
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
. (Polly Brown
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
entrant "Een beetje
" by Teddy Scholten
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
with the UK entrant "All
" by Patricia Bredin
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
with "Puppet on a String
" by Sandie Shaw
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
, Vladimir Lenin
, and Karl Marx
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the title of the 1959 UK Eurovision
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
. (Polly Brown
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
entrant "Een beetje
" by Teddy Scholten
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
with the UK entrant "All
" by Patricia Bredin
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
with "Puppet on a String
" by Sandie Shaw
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
, Vladimir Lenin
, and Karl Marx
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The United Kingdom held a national preliminary round to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The semi-finals were held on February 2 and February 5, 1959 and the final was held on February 7, 1959...
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Cannes, following the French victory the previous year....
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. The semi-finals were held on 2 February and 4 February 1960 and the final was held on 6 February 1960...
. (Polly Brown
Polly Brown
Polly Brown is an English singer. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey Honey" - Brown had an international solo hit in 1975 with "Up in a Puff of Smoke".-Biography:Brown recorded with...
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
Eurovision Song Contest 1976
The Eurovision Song Contest 1976, the 21st in the series, was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 April 1976. With Corry Brokken as the presenter – the first time a previous winner of the contest had played hostess – the contest was won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United...
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (1970s band)
Sweet Dreams were an English studio group who in 1974 scored the English hit version of the ABBA song "Honey Honey".-Career:A cover of an ABBA album track, "Honey Honey" was recorded by a session group backing vocalist Polly Brown, who the track's producers Ron Roker and Gerry Shury had admired...
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...
entrant "Een beetje
Een Beetje
"Een beetje" , sometimes spelled " 'n Beetje ", was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. Performed in Dutch by Teddy Scholten, the song was the second victory for the Netherlands in the first four years of the contest's history.The song is more up-tempo than the previous winners...
" by Teddy Scholten
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten was a Dutch singer from Rijswijk, close to The Hague, Netherlands....
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956...
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions....
with the UK entrant "All
All (song)
"All" was the United Kingdom entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 performed in English by Patricia Bredin. At a length of 1:52 minutes, it has the distinction of being the shortest entry in the history of the Contest as well as being the first song to be performed in English.The song was...
" by Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
Eurovision Song Contest 1958
The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third Eurovision Song Contest. The convention that the winning country from a year hosted the following year's contest was introduced in this year. France's win was their first. It was the last time to date that the United Kingdom did not enter the contest...
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
Eurovision Song Contest 1967
The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest. The presenter became confused whilst the voting was taking place, and declared the United Kingdom's entry to be the winner before the last country, Ireland, had announced its votes...
with "Puppet on a String
Puppet on a String
"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" by Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, and Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the title of the 1959 UK Eurovision
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The United Kingdom held a national preliminary round to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The semi-finals were held on February 2 and February 5, 1959 and the final was held on February 7, 1959...
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Cannes, following the French victory the previous year....
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. The semi-finals were held on 2 February and 4 February 1960 and the final was held on 6 February 1960...
. (Polly Brown
Polly Brown
Polly Brown is an English singer. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey Honey" - Brown had an international solo hit in 1975 with "Up in a Puff of Smoke".-Biography:Brown recorded with...
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
Eurovision Song Contest 1976
The Eurovision Song Contest 1976, the 21st in the series, was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 April 1976. With Corry Brokken as the presenter – the first time a previous winner of the contest had played hostess – the contest was won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United...
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (1970s band)
Sweet Dreams were an English studio group who in 1974 scored the English hit version of the ABBA song "Honey Honey".-Career:A cover of an ABBA album track, "Honey Honey" was recorded by a session group backing vocalist Polly Brown, who the track's producers Ron Roker and Gerry Shury had admired...
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...
entrant "Een beetje
Een Beetje
"Een beetje" , sometimes spelled " 'n Beetje ", was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. Performed in Dutch by Teddy Scholten, the song was the second victory for the Netherlands in the first four years of the contest's history.The song is more up-tempo than the previous winners...
" by Teddy Scholten
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten was a Dutch singer from Rijswijk, close to The Hague, Netherlands....
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956...
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions....
with the UK entrant "All
All (song)
"All" was the United Kingdom entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 performed in English by Patricia Bredin. At a length of 1:52 minutes, it has the distinction of being the shortest entry in the history of the Contest as well as being the first song to be performed in English.The song was...
" by Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
Eurovision Song Contest 1958
The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third Eurovision Song Contest. The convention that the winning country from a year hosted the following year's contest was introduced in this year. France's win was their first. It was the last time to date that the United Kingdom did not enter the contest...
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
Eurovision Song Contest 1967
The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest. The presenter became confused whilst the voting was taking place, and declared the United Kingdom's entry to be the winner before the last country, Ireland, had announced its votes...
with "Puppet on a String
Puppet on a String
"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" by Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, and Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the title of the 1959 UK Eurovision
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The United Kingdom held a national preliminary round to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The semi-finals were held on February 2 and February 5, 1959 and the final was held on February 7, 1959...
entrant which took second place at Eurovision 1959
Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Cannes, following the French victory the previous year....
. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded reaching #12 UK.
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson performed "Sing, Little Birdie" in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)/British Finals - the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1959 - on March 2 1959: the duo also performed in the second semi-final of ESC/British Finals on March 5 1959 with the song "That's It, That's Love" making Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson the only act to ever perform two songs in the same multi-artist formatted UK Eurovision pre-selection round, the duo also being double-entered in the national preliminary round for the UK in Eurovision 1960
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. The semi-finals were held on 2 February and 4 February 1960 and the final was held on 6 February 1960...
. (Polly Brown
Polly Brown
Polly Brown is an English singer. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey Honey" - Brown had an international solo hit in 1975 with "Up in a Puff of Smoke".-Biography:Brown recorded with...
would perform two contending songs in the UK pre-selection round for Eurovision 1976
Eurovision Song Contest 1976
The Eurovision Song Contest 1976, the 21st in the series, was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 April 1976. With Corry Brokken as the presenter – the first time a previous winner of the contest had played hostess – the contest was won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United...
but as distinct acts: herself and as a member of Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (1970s band)
Sweet Dreams were an English studio group who in 1974 scored the English hit version of the ABBA song "Honey Honey".-Career:A cover of an ABBA album track, "Honey Honey" was recorded by a session group backing vocalist Polly Brown, who the track's producers Ron Roker and Gerry Shury had admired...
.)
"Sing, Little Birdie" was one of six songs - which did not include "That's It, That's Love" - to advance to the ESC/British Finals final held March 7 1959 at the close of which "Sing, Little Birdie" was announced as the UK entrant at Eurovision 1959; the semi-final and final results for the ESC/British Finals of 1959 were all determined by seven regional panels each comprising fourteen members. At the finals for Eurovision 1959, held at Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
on March 11 1959, "Sing, Little Birdie" finished in second place bested only by the Netherlands Eurovision
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...
entrant "Een beetje
Een Beetje
"Een beetje" , sometimes spelled " 'n Beetje ", was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. Performed in Dutch by Teddy Scholten, the song was the second victory for the Netherlands in the first four years of the contest's history.The song is more up-tempo than the previous winners...
" by Teddy Scholten
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten was a Dutch singer from Rijswijk, close to The Hague, Netherlands....
.
Having failed to participate in the inaugural Eurovision 1956
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956...
due to missing the entry deadline, the UK had made a disappointng Eurovision debut at Eurovision 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions....
with the UK entrant "All
All (song)
"All" was the United Kingdom entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 performed in English by Patricia Bredin. At a length of 1:52 minutes, it has the distinction of being the shortest entry in the history of the Contest as well as being the first song to be performed in English.The song was...
" by Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
finishing seventh in a field of ten: no recording had been made of "All" and the UK had not participated in Eurovision 1958
Eurovision Song Contest 1958
The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third Eurovision Song Contest. The convention that the winning country from a year hosted the following year's contest was introduced in this year. France's win was their first. It was the last time to date that the United Kingdom did not enter the contest...
. The second place showing of "Sing, Little Birdie" at Eurovision 1959 was the first evidence of the UK being a potent force at Eurovision: four subsequent UK Eurovision entrants would take second place at the contest finals before the UK would score its first Eurovision victory at Eurovision 1967
Eurovision Song Contest 1967
The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest. The presenter became confused whilst the voting was taking place, and declared the United Kingdom's entry to be the winner before the last country, Ireland, had announced its votes...
with "Puppet on a String
Puppet on a String
"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" by Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
.
"Sing, Little Birdie"'s most lasting claim to fame is likely as the answer to a trivia question posed on a sketch called World Forum from Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, Episode 25. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
provided the winning answer, beating out fellow panelists Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, and Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. However, in that episode, the song was incorrectly referred to as the winning song (the winning song