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Winners of the 1970s - What happened to them?

19 August 2011 at 01:09 CEST

The 1970s was a very iconic decade for Europe's favourite TV show. It is a decade that produced some of the contest's most memorable winners, some of whom are still household names today. 

Take a look below at the ten winners who took Europe by storm in the 70s.... And maybe, just maybe you will recognise a few of them! 

1970 - Dana (Ireland)


Born Rosemary Brown in 1951, Dana began her life in a musical family. She walked in the footsteps of her mother and father and won talent competitions, subsequently catching the eye of a producer in 1965 after winning a folk music competition. 

Dana made an attempt enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, coming second in the Irish National Song Contest with the song Look Around. The next year she was invited to compete again with the song All Kinds Of Everything, which went on to win the competition on the 21st of March 1970 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was Ireland's first ever win at the competition and her song was a hit all over the world. 

After the competition, Dana went on to have mixed success, releasing various singles and albums. She also tried out a bit of acting and released an autobiography. Outside of music, Dana went on to have a formiddable career as a politician, coming third in the Irish presidential election in 1997. In 1999 she was elected to the European Parliament and tried to enter local politics in the early 2000s. 

Most recently Dana has put her political career on hold and returned to showbusiness, appearing on a celebrity dancing competition and released her own record label. 

1971 - Séverine (Monaco)


Séverine appeared under a number of stage names before entering Europe's favourite TV show. Early in her career she was known as "Celine" when performing with various bands and then in 1968 she appeared as "Robbie Lorr" performing at the Golf Drouot music club in Paris.

In 1969 the stagename "Séverine" appeared and she signed a record contract. Her success came when she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Contest held at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland on the 3rd of April 1971. Her song, Un banc, un arbre, une rue became an instant hit all over Europe.

Following her win, Séverine had success in her native France but most notably in Germany where a number of her songs were big schlager hits. She also appeared on the coveted programme, ZDF-Hitparade a number of times and appeared in the German national final in 1975 and 1982 where she came 7th and 10th respectively.

Most recently Séverine has released further material as well as performing back in France and in 2006 she accompanied the Monaco's delegation to Athens. She has also been working as a singing teacher in Paris.  

1972 - Vicky Leandros (Luxembourg)


Vicky Leandros was born in 1949 on the island of Corfu in Greece, into a musical family. Her father Leo Leandros was already an established artist and composer. Vicky grew up in Germany and started singing at a young age, releasing her first single in 1965.

In 1967, Vicky represented Luxembourg in Vienna with the song, L'amour est bleu, which came 4th. It was a however, a huge hit all over world and has been covered by many artists.

Vicky continued to release singles and appeared on a number of TV shows, including hosting a show on the BBC in the UK called Music My Way, before once again representing Luxembourg in 1972 with the song Après Toi. This was again a huge hit for Vicky and paved the way for a long career, which saw her have success in Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan inparticular.

Throughout the 80s and 90s Vicky's success continued and she notably recorded the German version of the Titanic sound track, My Heart Will Go On in the late 90s.

Most recently, Vicky was elected councillor in the town of Piraeus in Greece and subsequently became the deputy mayor. She resigned from this position in 2008. Her career as a singer has also continued, releasing her own material and taking part in the 2006 German final with the song, Don't Break My Heart. She continues to record and perform all over Europe.  

1973 - Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg)


A French native, Anne-Marie David had a career before entering the Eurovision Song Contest. She performed in musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar and also submitted a song to the French national selection in 1972. 

In 1973 her big break came when she won the contest for Luxembourg with her song Tu te reconnaîtras. This was Luxembourg's second victory in a row and was a close competition. However, this didn't stop Anne-Marie from having a successful career post the contest. 

Her career took her all over the world and she particular success back home in France as well as in Norway and probably most notably Turkey. She also made an appearance at the 1979 contest, representing France with the song Je suis l'enfant soleil coming third. More recently she retired from her career in music but has made various appearances on TV and also performed on the Eurovision Song Contest 50th anniversary show, Congratulations in 2005 in Copenhagen. 

1974 - ABBA (Sweden)


Arguably the contest's most successful ever band, ABBA is one of the biggest selling groups in the world, selling millions and millions of records. However, their beginnings are humble. In the early sevenities they formed, although not under the name ABBA, and recorded a number of songs together. In 1973 they also entered the Swedish final with the song Ring, Ring but it failed to make it to the contest in Luxembourg. 

In 1974, they were invited by broadcaster SVT to enter Melodifestivalen once again. This time Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Björn entered the song Waterloo, winning the right to represent their native Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, UK. They won with a comfortable margin and their song topped the charts all over Europe and the world. 

Their success did not stop there by any means. They continued to top the charts with singles including Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Money Money Money, One Of Us, Thank You For The Music, Gimme Gimme Gimme and many many many more. Their albums also charted high and went gold and platinum in a number of countries. 

In 1983 the group split up after more than a decade of phenomenal success but their careers continued. Agnetha and Frida continued to perform and released music although Agnetha did shy away from the spotlight for a long whilst after ABBA split up but has recently released new material. Benny & Björn continued their careers as writers and have worked closely together on new music, have performed in bands and precided over musicals including the world famous and very successful Mamma Mia, which also became a box-off superhit when it was turned into a film. 

ABBA's revival still continues and their songs are iconic. One of the Eurovision Song Contest's biggest treasures. They also won the title of Europe's favourite song from the contest at the 2005 Congratulations show held in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

1975 - Teach-In (The Netherlands)


The Eurovision Song Contest in 1975 was won by the band Teach-In with the song Ding-A-Dong. The band was to say the least, very dynamic. and its members were changed numerous times ahead of, and after, the contest. 

At the time of the contest in Sweden, the band was made up of Getty Kaspers, Chris de Wolde, Ard Weenink, Koos Versteeg, John Gasbeek and Ruud Nijhuis. With this change came a new sound. Before the contest, the original members had some success and managed to break into the Benelux Market in 1974. 

Immediately after the contest, the band had some success with Ding-A-Dong and were exposed to the international market. Unfortunately there was a number change of members in 1976 and the career outside of the Netherlands was pretty much over. They did top the charts in their home market but with another change of membership it was game over for the band. 

However, this is the last time the Netherlands won the contest and Ding-A-Dong will also be remembered as a Eurovision Song Contest classic. 

1976 - Brotherhood of Man (United Kingdom)


Started in 1968 as The Brotherhood Of Man by record producer Tony Hiller, the group's members were very different to the line up that appeared in the Hague, in the Netherlands. The original group has some success, most notably with the song United We Stand, which was a hit in a number of countries. 

The members of the band changed and then by the time of the contest in 1976 was made up of Martin Lee, Nicky Stevens, Sandra Stevens and Lee Sheriden. They won the song with Save Your Kisses For Me which became a huge hit and brought the contest back to the United Kingdom. It was also voted as one of the top 14 best songs in the 50th anniversary show of the Eurovision Song Contest, Congratulations

After the contest the band continued to release singles, having a lot of success all over Europe and the world. They had number one hits in the UK with the songs Angelo and Figaro as well as successful album chartings and other top 20 singles in a number of countries. However, they success started to fizzle out and they split up. 

In 1986 the band renunited and have been together ever since, performing all over the UK and continental Europe. They also appear at numerous Eurovision Song Contest fan events and other related shows and have appeared in UK national finals and in documentaries, encouraging present day British entries as they prepared to follow in their footsteps. 

1977 - Marie Myriam (France)


Marie Myriam was born in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo and is of Portuguese origin. In 1976 she released music and had her first taste of success before representing France at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest held at the Wembley Conference Centre in London. 

Her song L'oiseau et l'enfant took home the trophy and became France's most recent victory at the contest, not having won since. 

After the contest, Marie continued her success by producing songs for children and cartoons. She also represented France at the Yamaha Music Festival in 1981, coming ninth. Later on she kept producing music and performing but decided to take some time out to raise a family and put her career on hold until the late 90s. 

Most recently Marie's face has appeared on TV screens all over Europe as she has been the spokesperson for France in Eurovision Song Contest, announcing the votes for the country she once represented. 

1978 - Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta (Israel)


Izhar Cohen began his career in Israel in the early seventies performing in a music festival and have radio success with his music. He was also born into a musical family and his brothers were all in the business. 

His big success came in 1978 when he won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi, providing Israel with its first ever victory in the competition. This was a hit and put Israel firmly on the musical map of Europe and brought the contest to Jerusalem in 1979, where Israel won again. 

After entering the contest, Izhar had a lot of success at home singing in musicals and releasing music. He also tried his luck at Europe's favourite TV show in 1985 in Gothenburg, Sweden with the song "Olé, olé", which came fifth. Later on in 1987 and 1996 he also tried his luck but failed to make it through to the competition. 

More recently Izhar has stepped away from music to a certain extent and not much is known of his current career. He is however married and has a child. 

1979 - Gali Atari & Milk and Honey (Israel)


Gali Atari & Milk and Honey achieved a remarkable feat in 1979 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest, giving Israel their second victory with the song Hallelujah. The contest was held in Jerusalem, Israel. 

Before the contest Gali had some musical success by being recognised by a producer at the tender age of 15. She performed at a number of festivals but like every young Israeli had to do military service and her career was pretty much suspended until this was finished. 

In 1978 Gali performed in the Israeli national final with the song Nesich hachlomot. This failed to qualify but in 1979 she entered the competition with Milk and Honey and won. Hallelujah was an international hit and the song was released in many languages. It was also performed by all the performers of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999, also in Jerusalem, as a show of support and peace for the victims of the conflict in the Balkans. 

Gali continued to perform with Milk and Honey after the contest and now has a career focused around her home market, where she works with many famous artists and composers.