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Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Johnny Blue", composed by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, and performed by Lena Valaitis. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), selected their entry through a national final. Valaitis had previously taken part in the German final in 1976.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | ARD[a] – Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) | |||
| Country |  Germany | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Ein Lied für Dublin | |||
| Selection date(s) | 28 February 1981 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Lena Valaitis | |||
| Selected song | "Johnny Blue" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 132 points | |||
| Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Before Eurovision
editEin Lied für Dublin
editBayerischer Rundfunk (BR) held the national final at its television studios in Munich, hosted by Katja Ebstein who represented Germany in 1980. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 500 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriters | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Janz | "Steine" | Paul Janz, Michael Kunze | 2355 | 10 |
| 2 | Nina Martin | "Männer" | Nina Martinique | 2292 | 11 |
| 3 | Taco | "Träume brauchen Zeit" | Janine Terlohian, Kathrin Brigl | 2269 | 12 |
| 4 | Lenz Hauser | "Moment" | Harald Stümpfl, Lenz Hauser | 2856 | 8 |
| 5 | Thomas Fuchsberger | "Josephine" | Thomas Fuchsberger, Joachim Fuchsberger | 2956 | 7 |
| 6 | Rudolf Rock and Die Schocker | "Mein Transistorradio" | Michael Cretu, Michael Kunze | 2735 | 9 |
| 7 | Lena Valaitis | "Johnny Blue" | Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger | 5023 | 1 |
| 8 | Martin Mann | "Boogie Woogie" | Rudi Bauer, Gerd Thumser | 4039 | 3 |
| 9 | Jürgen Renfordt | "Barfuß durch ein Feuer" | Walter Gerke, Mick Hannes | 3963 | 4 |
| 10 | Leinemann | "Das Ungeheuer von Loch Ness" | Ulf Krüger, Jörn-Christoph Seelenmeyer | 3921 | 5 |
| 11 | The Hornettes | "Mannequin" | Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger | 4304 | 2 |
| 12 | Peter Cornelius | "Träumer, Tramps und Clowns" | Michael Cretu, Michael Kunze | 3769 | 6 |
At Eurovision
editOn the evening of the final Valaitis performed 3rd in the running order, following Turkey and preceding Luxembourg. The 1981 contest is noted for providing one of the closest and most exciting voting sequences in Eurovision history, with the lead changing hands regularly between France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. With two countries left to vote there was a three-way tie between Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, all on 120 points. Switzerland was the next to vote, and turned out to be the only country which failed to award any points at all to "Johnny Blue", while giving 8 points to the United Kingdom. A maximum 12 points to Germany from the final jury in Sweden was not to be enough, as the Swedish jury also awarded 8 points to the United Kingdom, making Bucks Fizz the contest winners by 4 points. Germany finished runners-up for the second year in succession.[2] The German jury awarded its 12 points to France.[3]
The show was watched by 10.14 million viewers in Germany.[4]
Voting
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Notes
edit- ^ Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
References
edit- ^ ESC National Finals database 1981
- ^ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ ESC History - Germany 1981
- ^ Quotenmeter; AGF; GfK. "TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer". Statista. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.