The First Day Of Love
Encyclopedia
"The First Day of Love" was the Norwegian
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
, performed in English
by Anne-Karine Strøm
. This was the first occasion on which the Norwegian entry had not featured any lyrics in Norwegian
.
The song is an inspirational number, with Anne Karine singing about the regenerative power of love. She sings that everyone in the world wants the same thing, love, and that by moving towards that goal the human race is becoming closer.
The song was performed fourth on the night, following Spain
's Peret
with "Canta y sé feliz
" and preceding Greece
's Marinella
with "Krasi, Thalasa Ke T' Agori Mu
". At the close of voting, it had received just 3 points and perhaps unjustly, the song came last, placing joint 14th in a field of 17.
Anne Karine and her backing singers, Ellen Nikolaysen, Bjørn Kruse and Philip A. Kruse Kruse, had all represented Norway in the 1973 Contest
as part of the vocal group The Bendik Singers.
In the 1976 contest
, Anne Karine Strøm would represent Norway for the third and final time with the disco oriented song "Mata Hari
", she would finish with 7 points, and 18th out of 18 entrants, thus awarding Strøm the unique accolade of being the only performer in history of the Eurovision Song Contest, to have finished in last place more than once, a record she still holds as of 2010.
Anne was succeeded as Norwegian representative
at the 1975 contest
by fellow Bendik Singer Ellen Nikolaysen
with "Touch My Life (With Summer)
".
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
Eurovision Song Contest 1974
The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of the United Kingdom...
, performed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Anne-Karine Strøm
Anne-Karine Strøm
Anne-Karine Strøm is a Norwegian singer, best known for having taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in six consecutive years between 1971 and 1976, winning on three occasions and representing Norway in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1973, 1974 and...
. This was the first occasion on which the Norwegian entry had not featured any lyrics in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
.
The song is an inspirational number, with Anne Karine singing about the regenerative power of love. She sings that everyone in the world wants the same thing, love, and that by moving towards that goal the human race is becoming closer.
The song was performed fourth on the night, following Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's Peret
Peret
Pere Pubill Calaf , known as Peret, is a Catalan Spanish Romaní singer, guitar player and composer, and the main representative of Catalan Rumba. Peret is known for the song Borriquito, and he represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and performed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona...
with "Canta y sé feliz
Canta y sé feliz
"Canta y sé feliz" was the Spanish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton, United Kingdom. It was sung in Spanish by Peret....
" and preceding Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
's Marinella
Marinella
Marinella is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has released 66 personal albums and has been featured in albums of other musicians.-Early life:She was born Kyriaki...
with "Krasi, Thalasa Ke T' Agori Mu
Krasi, Thalasa Ke T' Agori Mu
"Krasi, thalassa kai t' agori mou" was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, performed in Greek by Marinella...
". At the close of voting, it had received just 3 points and perhaps unjustly, the song came last, placing joint 14th in a field of 17.
Anne Karine and her backing singers, Ellen Nikolaysen, Bjørn Kruse and Philip A. Kruse Kruse, had all represented Norway in the 1973 Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1973
The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the eighteenth Eurovision Song Contest and was held in Luxembourg. The language rule forcing countries to enter songs sung in any of their national languages was dropped, so performers from some countries sang in English....
as part of the vocal group The Bendik Singers.
In the 1976 contest
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...
, Anne Karine Strøm would represent Norway for the third and final time with the disco oriented song "Mata Hari
Mata Hari (song)
"Mata Hari" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed in English by Anne-Karine Strøm.The song is an up-tempo number, in which Strøm sings about the difficulties she faces in life. The cure for these, she sings, is to borrow some of the mystique of Mata Hari, to whom...
", she would finish with 7 points, and 18th out of 18 entrants, thus awarding Strøm the unique accolade of being the only performer in history of the Eurovision Song Contest, to have finished in last place more than once, a record she still holds as of 2010.
Anne was succeeded as Norwegian representative
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
Norway has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1960 and only been absent twice: in 1970, when they boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, when they did not qualify....
at the 1975 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1975
The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the contest hosted by SR and held in Stockholm, Sweden. The arena for the event was the newly built Stockholm International Fairs in Älvsjö in southern Stockholm. ABBA's victory in Brighton the previous year gave Sweden the right to host the...
by fellow Bendik Singer Ellen Nikolaysen
Ellen Nikolaysen
Ellen Helen Nikolaysen is a Norwegian singer/actress. She participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 as part of the Bendik Singers group with the song It's Just A Game and again as backing vocalist for fellow Bendik Singer Anne-Karine Strøm in 1974 before competing in her third...
with "Touch My Life (With Summer)
Touch My Life (With Summer)
Touch My Life , alternatively You touched my life with summer as it states the Eurovision official website, was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, performed in English by Ellen Nikolaysen....
".