One Step Further
| "One Step Further" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Bardo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Lady of the Night" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 2 April 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Epic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Simon Jefferies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Andy Hill | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Silver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"One Step Further", written by Simon Jefferies, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, performed by the duo Bardo, comprising Sally Ann Triplett and Stephen Fischer.
[edit] Background
Bardo won the right to perform at Harrogate by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where they were the seventh act to perform.[1] On the day of the contest, bookmakers Ladbrokes rated the song as the favourite to win at odds of 5-2. Commentator, Terry Wogan also thought the song would be the "outright winner".[2] DJ and well-known Eurovision fan, John Peel stated in an interview that "One Step Further" was his favourite Eurovision song of all time.[3]
At Harrogate, the song was performed fourth on the night, following Norway's Jahn Teigen and Anita Skorgan with "Adieu" and preceding Turkey's Neco with "Hani?". At the end of judging that evening, "One Step Further" took the seventh-place slot with 76 points. Luxembourg and Austria both awarded the UK 12 points that night.
During Preview Week, the music video involved the two going on a date at London's Covent Garden market, viewing, among other things, the vendors and shops in the centre, a Punch and Judy puppet show and animals doing special tricks.
At the night of the Contest itself, the orchestra played the tune in a retro style; the song related the singers' nervousness about seeing one another as they both fancy each other. They are so afraid of being embarrassed, however, that they don't do anything about their feelings. They both lament that if they only took "one step further," they would have been able to conquer these fears.[4] The single version and subsequent live versions used many electronic musical instruments popular in the early 1980s and had more of a contemporary feel than many Eurovision entries. Despite containing a grammatic faux pas ("I could have tooken one step further"), the BBC did not request that 'proper' English was performed at the contest as they had with previous examples of bad grammar in UK entries.
After Eurovision, the song was placed at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, which would be the highest chart placing for a UK Eurovision entry until 1996.[5] The song was the 75th highest selling single of 1982 in the UK, achieving a Silver disc for sales of over 250,000.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ UK NATIONAL FINAL 1982
- ^ Daily Express, 24 April 1982
- ^ 40 Years of Eurovision (Radio Documentary), 1995
- ^ "One Step Further" lyrics
- ^ Chart Stats - Bardo - One Step Further
- ^ BPI - Statistics - Cetrified awards - Bardo
| Preceded by Making Your Mind Up |
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 |
Succeeded by I'm Never Giving Up |
