Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957

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Denmark in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Participating broadcasterStatsradiofonien
Country Denmark
Selection processDansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957
Selection date17 February 1957
Competing entry
Song"Skibet skal sejle i nat"
ArtistBirthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler
Songwriters
  • Erik Fiehn
  • Poul Sørensen
Placement
Final result3rd, 10 votes
Participation chronology
◄1956 • 1957 • 1958►

Denmark was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 with the song "Skibet skal sejle i nat", composed by Erik Fiehn, with lyrics by Poul Sørensen, and performed by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler. The Danish participating broadcaster, Statsradiofonien, organised the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1957 in order to select its entry for the contest. This was the first-ever entry from Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the first-ever entry performed in Danish in the contest.

Statsradiofonien had wanted to take part in the first contest in 1956 but registered too late.[1]

Before Eurovision

[edit]

For the Danish selection, Statsradiofonien established the rules in cooperation with the songwriters associations Dansk Komponist Forening and Dansk Revyforfatter- og Komponist-forbund.[2] On 3 January 1957, the broadcaster invited these associations as well as the Dansk Forfatterforening to submit songs for the Danish selection.[2] 117 songs were submitted.[3][4] A jury consisting of Flemming Weis (Dansk Komponist Forening), Axel Thingsted (Dansk Revyforfatter- og Komponist-forbund), Kai Mortensen (Statsradiofonien) and Mogens Kilde [da] (Statsradiofonien) chose six of them for the national final.[2][3]

Melodi Grand Prix

[edit]

Statsradiofonien held its national final titled Melodi Grand Prix at Radiohuset in Copenhagen on 17 February 1957 at 20:20 CET (19:20 UTC).[5][3] It was broadcast on Statsradiofonien Fjernsyn and also on Program 2.[5] The program was hosted by Sejr Volmer-Sørensen.[5]

The entries were performed by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler.[3] Both performed two songs as soloists and they also performed two songs as a duo. The artists were accompanied by Statsradiofonien's danseorkestret under the direction of Kai Mortensen.[3][5] The songs were arranged by Arne Lamberth, Poul Clemensen and Otto Francker [da].[3] An expert jury of ten people watching the show from a separated studio selected the winning song.[3][6] The jury included Peter Deutsch [da], Flemming Weis, Jens Warny, Harald Krebs, Axel Thingsted, Poul Hamburger, Susanne Palsbo, Mogens Kilde [da], Kay Rostgaard-Frøhne, and Jørgen Vibe [da].[7][4][6]

Jury president Susanne Palsbo announced the result.[8] The songwriters of the winning song were only revealed at the end of the program.[8] Only the top two were announced, which turned out to be the two duets. "Skibet skal sejle i nat", written by Erik Fiehn [da] and with lyrics by Poul Sørensen [da], was the overall winner and would become the first Danish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.[8][9]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Place
1 Birthe Wilke "Chanson ordinaire" Otto Francker Unknown
2 Gustav Winckler "Fatamorgana" Sophus Brandsholt, Poul Christoffersen
3 Gustav Winckler "Hele verden venter på vår" Eric Christiansen, Anni Weimar
4 Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler "Kærlighedens cocktail" Otto Lington, Carl Andersen 2
5 Birthe Wilke "Længslernes veje" Eric Christiansen, Carl Andersen Unknown
6 Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler "Skibet skal sejle i nat" Erik Fiehn, Poul Sørensen 1

Releases

[edit]

"Skibet skal sejle i nat" was recorded and released on an EP of the same title, with the runner-up entry "Kærlighedens cocktail" also included.[2] After the contest, Gustav Winkler has recorded a German version of the song ("Das Schiff geht in See heute Nacht") with Bibi Johns.[10] Winkler himself appeared as Gunnar Winkler on this record.[10]

At Eurovision

[edit]

Denmark was the first Nordic country in the competition.[11] For the Eurovision Song Contest in Frankfurt, the lyrics were shortened in order to fit into the maximum duration of three and a half minutes recommended by the rules.[2] The Danish entry was visually one of the most impressive ones that year: to illustrate the content of the song Winkler was dressed up as a naval captain and Wilke wore a raincoat with a purse in her hand.[10][12] Furthermore, a tar vat was brought on stage to create a harbour atmosphere. A characteristic of the song is the bass clarinet playing low notes, imitating a ship's foghorn.[13] Additionally, the song is famous for the kiss the duo exchanged at the end of the performance.[14][12] The kiss lasted longer than planned, due to a stagehand omitting to signal for it to end.[2]

The Danish entry was performed ninth on the night, following France and preceding Switzerland.[15] At the close of voting, Denmark had received ten votes in total, placing the country third among the ten participants.[2] Denmark would remain the most successful debuting country in the Eurovision Song Contest until Poland finished second on its debut in 1994. However, Denmark has only received votes from three of the other nine countries, most notably five votes from the Netherlands.

The contest was televised on Statsradiofonien TV and on radio station Program 2, both with commentary by Svend Pedersen.[16][17]

Voting

[edit]

Every participating broadcaster assembled a jury of ten people.[18] Every jury member could give one vote to his or her favourite song.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Radio og Fjernsyn: Velkommen Eurovision" [Radio and TV: Welcome, Eurovision]. Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). 25 May 1956. p. 6. OCLC 1367883859. Udsendelsen [...] bød paa international Sangkonkurrence med Deltagelse af Eurovisionens Lande med Undtagelse af Danmark, Storbritannien og Østrig, som havde meldt sig for sent. [The show [...] offered an international song contest with the participation of the countries of Eurovision, with the exception of Denmark, Great Britain and Austria, which had registered too late.]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g de Mylius, Jørgen (2001). Det danske Melodi Grand Prix 1957-2000 (in Danish). Søborg: DR Multimedie. pp. 11–17. ISBN 87-7047-967-4. OCLC 163420341.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Det er ikke én vals". Berlingske Aftenavis (in Danish). Vol. 209, no. 40. 16 February 1957. p. 12. OCLC 1367999921.
  4. ^ a b "Hvilken melodi skal repræsentere Danmark?". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Vol. 209, no. 48. 17 February 1957. p. 16. OCLC 1367883859.
  5. ^ a b c d "Alle tiders programoversigter – Søndag den 17. februar 1957" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Foraarets melodi vælges i aften". Politiken (in Danish). Vol. 73, no. 139. 17 February 1957. p. 19. OCLC 224543818.
  7. ^ "En melodi af seks vælges i aften". Dagens Nyheder (in Danish). Vol. 89, no. 48. 17 February 1957. p. 18. OCLC 1367881714.
  8. ^ a b c "Vindermelodien var af Erik Fiehn og 'Poeten'". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Vol. 209, no. 49. 18 February 1957. p. 4. OCLC 1367883859.
  9. ^ "Fiehn vandt musikkonkurranse". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Vol. 209, no. 49. 18 February 1957. p. 1. OCLC 1367883859.
  10. ^ a b c Larsen, Johannes. "Eurovision Nostalgia 1957: Birthe Wilke". EuroSong News (64): 9. OCLC 646616951.
  11. ^ Tøpholm, Ole (2009). De største øjeblikke : Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (in Danish). København: DR. p. 8. ISBN 9788776808464. OCLC 488268103.
  12. ^ a b Gambaccini, Paul; Rice, Jonathan; Brown, Tony (1999). The Complete Eurovision Song Contest Companion 1999. London: Pavilion Books Limited. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-86205-243-7. OCLC 60223350.
  13. ^ Faurholt, Jakob; Gravesen, Finn; Smith-Sivertsen, Henrik (2014). Grand Prix Sangbogen (in Danish). København: Wilhelm Hansen Musikforlag. p. 39. ISBN 978-87-598-2872-4. OCLC 910071957.
  14. ^ Pedersen, Jostein (1996). Historien om Melodi Grand Prix (in Norwegian). Oslo: Bladkompanieet. p. 8. ISBN 82-509-3467-9. OCLC 1028290637.
  15. ^ "Final of Frankfurt 1957 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Danmarks melodi blev nummer tre". Dagens Nyheder (in Danish). Vol. 89. 4 March 1957. p. 4. OCLC 1367881714.
  17. ^ "Alle tiders programoversigter – Søndag den 3. marts 1957" [All-time programme overviews – Sunday 3 March 1957] (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Grand Prix Eurovision 1957 de la Chanson européenne". Bulletin de l'U.E.R. (in French). 8 (41). European Broadcasting Union: 109–113. January–February 1957. OCLC 473721192.
  19. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Frankfurt 1957". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.