Making Your Mind Up: Difference between revisions

"Making Your Mind Up"
"Making Your Mind Up"
Song
B-side	"Don't Stop"

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"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and a UK Number-one single. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having being formed just two months earlier. From 2004 to 2007 the BBC used the name Making Your Mind Up for their Eurovision selection show in honour of the song.

Background

Origins

In late 1980, songwriter Andy Hill teamed up with John Danter and composed "Making Your Mind Up" with an eye to entering it into the A Song for Europe finals the following year. Working with his then girlfriend, Nichola Martin, a former singer, they set about recording a demo of the song to enter. This featured the vocals of Hill, Martin and Mike Nolan, a singer Martin had worked with before. Martin then set about gathering a line-up to enter the song with, based around her and Nolan. With the song already entered under the name Bucks Fizz, Martin and future manager, Jill Shirley recruited Cheryl Baker, Bobby G and Jay Aston to the line-up, with Martin herself dropping out. The song secured an entry into the final along with another Hill/Danter composition, "Have You Ever Been in Love", which would be performed by Martin and Hill under the name Gem.^[2]

Martin and Shirley secured a recording deal with RCA Records and Hill spent a week at Mayfair Studios in London with the group recording the song and its B-side. Backing vocals on the record were supplied by Alan Carvell, who also went on to be one of two backing singers in the Eurovision performance. The song was published by Paper Music, which was a year-old publishing company owned by Billy Lawrie – himself a songwriter and brother of singer Lulu.^[3] Choreographer Chrissie Whickham, a former member of dance troupe Hot Gossip, spent two days with the group working on the dance routine.^[4]

The lyrics of the song are largely meaningless, although it can be argued that they are about making the decision to commit to a serious relationship.

Eurovision success

On 11 March 1981, Bucks Fizz performed "Making Your Mind Up" at the Song for Europe finals and despite being up against favourites and current chart group Liquid Gold, won the contest with ease.^[5] From this point, the group undertook much promotion of the song around the UK, including an appearance on Top of the Pops, whereby the single entered the UK charts at 24. The following week it rose to No.5 and on 4 April the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest was staged in Dublin. In a close contest throughout the voting procedure, "Making Your Mind Up" managed to secure a victory, beating second-placed Germany by a mere four votes.

The song is held in affectionate regard by many Eurovision fans, and is generally considered to be a good example of a pop song from the Contest. Reaction was less favourable to the group's performance of the song, which was considered to be off-key, and led to much criticism that the members were chosen more for appearance than vocal ability.^[6] In addition, the performance is remembered for the point at which the two male members of the group removed the skirts of the two female members – only to reveal shorter skirts beneath them.

Aftermath

"Making Your Mind Up" went to No.1 in the UK following the victory and remained there for three weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling songs of the year.^[7] It also saw the group in high demand throughout Europe, with the single hitting No.1 in many countries and charting in the top ten in Australia. The record eventually sold four million copies worldwide.

The single began a run of 20 UK hits for Bucks Fizz and was quickly followed up by "Piece of the Action" and debut album, Bucks Fizz.^[8] At the end of the decade, "Making Your Mind Up" was No.47 in the UK top selling singles of the 1980s.^[9] Despite the success of the song, fans of the group don't consider it to be a good representation of their work, while member Cheryl Baker doesn't rate it as one of their best songs.^[10]^[11]

In the Eurovision, the song was succeeded as a UK entry by "One Step Further" by Bardo, who were managed by the same team as Bucks Fizz. As a winner, it was succeeded by "Ein Bisschen Frieden", sung by Germany's Nicole.^[12] The song title has also given the name to the UK selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest.^[13]

The now infamous skirt rip of the dance routine (which was mirrored by Mick Jagger and Tina Turner at 1985's Live Aid) has appeared in many contests since that time – most notably as part of Latvia's Marie N's performance of "I Wanna", which won for Latvia, in 2002.^[14]^[15]

"Making Your Mind Up" was spoofed by many artists following its success, with alternative titles: "Me vas a volver loco (You're Going to Drive Me Crazy)" (by Spanish group Parchís), "Rock and Roll Cowboy" by German singer Maggie Mae and "It's Only a Wind Up" by British comedy group Brown Sauce.

Track listing

"Making Your Mind Up" (Andy Hill / John Danter) (2.39)
"Don't Stop" (Andy Hill / Nichola Martin) (4.08)

Chart positions

Country	Peak position
United Kingdom^[7]	1
Ireland ^[16]	1
Austria ^[17]	1
The Netherlands^[18]	1
Belgium^[19]	1
Spain^[19]	1
Israel^[19]	1
Denmark^[19]	1
Sweden^[20]	2
Norway ^[21]	2
New Zealand^[22]	3
Switzerland^[23]	3
Germany^[24]	5
Australia ^[25]	6
South Africa ^[26]	7

References

^ BPI award certification and release date
^ "Beauty and brains behind Bucks Fizz”, David Wigg, Daily Express, 15 June 1981
^ “Brendan Martin's Euro Diary”, RTE Guide 10 April 1981
^ The Bucks Fizz Story Glassbeach Media - DVD documentary
^ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | Eurovision Song Contest 1981 participants
^ Weekend Star (Irish newspaper), Eurovision 81 review
^ ^a ^b Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
^ Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz
^ Buzzjack.com - Top selling singles of the 1980s
^ Bucks Fizz early years - Fans top 40, 2007
^ Nul Points, BBC documentary, 1993]
^ Eurovision Song Contest 1982 | Year page | Eurovision Song Contest - Belgrade 2008
^ BBC Radio 2 - Making Your Mind Up
^ Rolling Stone website - Live Aid appearance on Jagger with Turner, 1985
^ eurovision.tv - Marie N performance
^ Irishcharts.ie - Irish Chart details
^ Austrian Charts
^ Dutch charts
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books UK ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
^ Swedish chart
^ Norwegian charts
^ New Zealand charts
^ Swiss charts
^ German charts
^ Australian Chart Book, 1970-1992
^ South African Charts

Preceded by "This Ole House" by Shakin' Stevens	UK number one single 18 April 1981 - 2 May 1981	Succeeded by "Stand and Deliver" by Adam and the Ants
Preceded by What's Another Year by Johnny Logan	Eurovision Song Contest winners 1981	Succeeded by Ein Bisschen Frieden by Nicole
Preceded by Love Enough for Two	United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981	Succeeded by One Step Further

[1] BPI award certification and release date

[2] "Beauty and brains behind Bucks Fizz”, David Wigg, Daily Express, 15 June 1981

[3] “Brendan Martin's Euro Diary”, RTE Guide 10 April 1981

[4] The Bucks Fizz Story Glassbeach Media - DVD documentary

[5] Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | Eurovision Song Contest 1981 participants

[6] Weekend Star (Irish newspaper), Eurovision 81 review

[UKChart-7] Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up

[8] Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz

[9] Buzzjack.com - Top selling singles of the 1980s

[10] Bucks Fizz early years - Fans top 40, 2007

[11] Nul Points, BBC documentary, 1993]

[12] Eurovision Song Contest 1982 | Year page | Eurovision Song Contest - Belgrade 2008

[13] BBC Radio 2 - Making Your Mind Up

[14] Rolling Stone website - Live Aid appearance on Jagger with Turner, 1985

[15] urovision.tv - Marie N performance

[16] Irishcharts.ie - Irish Chart details

[17] Austrian Charts

[18] Dutch charts

[OConnor-19] O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books UK ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3

[20] Swedish chart

[21] Norwegian charts

[22] New Zealand charts

[23] Swiss charts

[24] German charts

[25] Australian Chart Book, 1970-1992

[26] South African Charts

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 == Background ==
+=== Origins ===
 In late 1980, songwriter [[Andy Hill (composer)|Andy Hill]] teamed up with John Danter and composed "Making Your Mind Up" with an eye to entering it into the [[A Song for Europe]] finals the following year. Working with his then girlfriend, Nichola Martin, a former singer, they set about recording a demo of the song to enter. This featured the vocals of Hill, Martin and [[Mike Nolan (singer)|Mike Nolan]], a singer Martin had worked with before. Martin then set about gathering a line-up to enter the song with, based around her and Nolan. With the song already entered under the name Bucks Fizz, Martin and future manager, Jill Shirley recruited [[Cheryl Baker]], [[Bobby G]] and [[Jay Aston]] to the line-up, with Martin herself dropping out. The song secured an entry into the final along with another Hill/Danter composition, "Have You Ever Been in Love", which would be performed by Martin and Hill under the name Gem.<ref>"Beauty and brains behind Bucks Fizz”, David Wigg, ''[[Daily Express]]'', 15 June 1981</ref>
-Martin and Shirley secured a recording deal with [[RCA Records]] and Hill spent a week in the recording studio with the group recording the song and its B-side. Backing vocals on the record were supplied by Alan Carvell, who also went on to be one of two backing singers in the Eurovision performance. The song was published by Paper Music, which was a year-old publishing company owned by Billy Lawrie – himself a songwriter and brother of singer [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]].<ref>“Brendan Martin's Euro Diary”, ''[[RTE Guide]]'' 10 April 1981</ref> Choreographer Chrissie Whickham, a former member of dance troupe [[Hot Gossip]], spent two days with the group working on the dance routine.
+Martin and Shirley secured a recording deal with [[RCA Records]] and Hill spent a week at [[Mayfair Studios]] in London with the group recording the song and its B-side. Backing vocals on the record were supplied by Alan Carvell, who also went on to be one of two backing singers in the Eurovision performance. The song was published by Paper Music, which was a year-old publishing company owned by Billy Lawrie – himself a songwriter and brother of singer [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]].<ref>“Brendan Martin's Euro Diary”, ''[[RTE Guide]]'' 10 April 1981</ref> Choreographer Chrissie Whickham, a former member of dance troupe [[Hot Gossip]], spent two days with the group working on the dance routine.<ref>''The Bucks Fizz Story'' Glassbeach Media - DVD documentary</ref>
+The lyrics of the song are largely meaningless, although it can be argued that they are about making the decision to commit to a serious relationship.
+=== Eurovision success ===
 On 11 March 1981, Bucks Fizz performed "Making Your Mind Up" at the Song for Europe finals and despite being up against favourites and current chart group [[Liquid Gold]], won the contest with ease.<ref>[http://www.esctoday.com/annual/1981/participants.php Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | Eurovision Song Contest 1981 participants<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> From this point, the group undertook much promotion of the song around the UK, including an appearance on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', whereby the single entered the UK charts at 24. The following week it rose to No.5 and on 4 April the [[1981 Eurovision Song Contest]] was staged in Dublin. In a close contest throughout the voting procedure, "Making Your Mind Up" managed to secure a victory, beating second-placed Germany by a mere four votes.
+The song is held in affectionate regard by many Eurovision fans, and is generally considered to be a good example of a pop song from the Contest. Reaction was less favourable to the group's performance of the song, which was considered to be off-key, and led to much criticism that the members were chosen more for appearance than vocal ability.<ref>''Weekend Star'' (Irish newspaper), Eurovision 81 review</ref> In addition, the performance is remembered for the point at which the two male members of the group removed the skirts of the two female members&nbsp;– only to reveal shorter skirts beneath them.
-"Making Your Mind Up" went to No.1 in the UK following the victory and remained there for three weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling songs of the year.<ref>[http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=9298 Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It also saw the group in high demand throughout Europe, with the single hitting No.1 in many countries and charting in the top ten in Australia. The record eventually sold four million copies worldwide.
+=== Aftermath ===
-<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Eurovision 81.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Performance at Eurovision 1981]] -->
+"Making Your Mind Up" went to No.1 in the UK following the victory and remained there for three weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling songs of the year.<ref name=UKChart>[http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=9298 Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It also saw the group in high demand throughout Europe, with the single hitting No.1 in many countries and charting in the top ten in Australia. The record eventually sold four million copies worldwide.
-The song is held in affectionate regard by many Eurovision fans, and is generally considered to be a good example of a pop song from the Contest. It has a strong beat and catchy lyrics. Reaction was less favourable to the group's performance of the song, which was considered to be off-key, and led to much criticism that the members were chosen more for appearance than vocal ability. In addition, the performance is remembered for the point at which the two male members of the group removed the skirts of the two female members&nbsp;– only to reveal shorter skirts beneath them. This move (which was mirrored by [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Tina Turner]] at 1985's [[Live Aid]]) has appeared in many contests since that time&nbsp;– most notably as part of [[Latvia]]'s [[Marie N]]'s performance of "[[I Wanna]]", which won for Latvia, in 2002.<ref>[http://members.aol.com/pstults/biography.html Rolling Stone website - Live Aid appearance on Jagger with Turner, 1985]</ref><ref>[http://www.eurovision.tv/index/main?page=66&event=316#event_info_316/ eurovision.tv - Marie N performance]</ref>
+The single began a run of 20 UK hits for Bucks Fizz and was quickly followed up by "[[Piece of the Action]]" and debut album, ''[[Bucks Fizz (album)|Bucks Fizz]].''<ref>[http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=3429 Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> At the end of the decade, "Making Your Mind Up" was No.47 in the UK top selling singles of the 1980s.<ref>[http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85041 Buzzjack.com - Top selling singles of the 1980s]</ref> Despite the success of the song, fans of the group don't consider it to be a good representation of their work, while member [[Cheryl Baker]] doesn't rate it as one of their best songs.<ref>[http://www.bucksfizzearlyyears.co.uk/top404.htm Bucks Fizz early years - Fans top 40, 2007]</ref><ref>''Nul Points'', BBC documentary, 1993]</ref>
-The lyrics of the song are largely meaningless, although it can be argued that they are about making the decision to commit to a serious relationship.<ref>[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gary.hart/lyricsb/bucks.html Making Your Mind Up lyrics]</ref>
 In the Eurovision, the song was succeeded as a UK entry by "[[One Step Further]]" by [[Bardo (band)|Bardo]], who were managed by the same team as Bucks Fizz. As a winner, it was succeeded by "[[Ein Bisschen Frieden]]", sung by Germany's [[Nicole (German singer)|Nicole]].<ref>[http://www.eurovision.tv/index/main?page=66&event=298 Eurovision Song Contest 1982 | Year page | Eurovision Song Contest - Belgrade 2008<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The song title has also given the name to the [[Eurovision: Your Country Needs You|UK selection process]] for the Eurovision Song Contest.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/eurovision/mymu/ BBC Radio 2 - Making Your Mind Up<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
+The now infamous skirt rip of the dance routine (which was mirrored by [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Tina Turner]] at 1985's [[Live Aid]]) has appeared in many contests since that time&nbsp;– most notably as part of [[Latvia]]'s [[Marie N]]'s performance of "[[I Wanna]]", which won for Latvia, in 2002.<ref>[http://members.aol.com/pstults/biography.html Rolling Stone website - Live Aid appearance on Jagger with Turner, 1985]</ref><ref>[http://www.eurovision.tv/index/main?page=66&event=316#event_info_316/ eurovision.tv - Marie N performance]</ref>
-"Making Your Mind Up" was spoofed by many artists following its success, with alternative titles: "Me vas a volver loco (You're Going to Drive Me Crazy)" (by Spanish group [[Parchís (group)|Parchís]]), "Rock and Roll Cowboy" and "It's Only a Wind Up".
+"Making Your Mind Up" was spoofed by many artists following its success, with alternative titles: "Me vas a volver loco (You're Going to Drive Me Crazy)" (by Spanish group [[Parchís (group)|Parchís]]), "Rock and Roll Cowboy" by German singer Maggie Mae and "It's Only a Wind Up" by British comedy group Brown Sauce.
-The single began a run of 20 UK hits for Bucks Fizz and was quickly followed up by "[[Piece of the Action]]" and debut album, ''[[Bucks Fizz (album)|Bucks Fizz]].''<ref>[http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=3429 Chart Stats - Bucks Fizz<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> At the end of the decade, "Making Your Mind Up" was No.47 in the UK top selling singles of the 1980s.<ref>[http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85041 Buzzjack.com - Top selling singles of the 1980s]</ref> Despite the success of the song, fans of the group don't consider it to be a good representation of their work, while member [[Cheryl Baker]] doesn't rate it as one of their best songs.<ref>[http://www.bucksfizzearlyyears.co.uk/top404.htm Bucks Fizz early years - Fans top 40, 2007]</ref><ref>''Nul Points'', BBC documentary, 1993]</ref>
 == Track listing ==
@@ Line 74: / Line 78: @@
 !Peak<br />position
 |-
-|[[UK Singles Chart|United Kingdom]]
+|[[UK Singles Chart|United Kingdom]]<ref name="UKChart"/>
 |align="center"|1
 |-
@@ Line 83: / Line 87: @@
 |align="center"|1
 |-
-|[[Dutch Singles Chart|The Netherlands]]
+|[[Dutch Singles Chart|The Netherlands]]<ref>[http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Bucks+Fizz&titel=Making+Your+Mind+Up&cat=s Dutch charts]</ref>
 |align="center"|1
 |-
+|[[Belgium]]<ref name=OConnor>O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books UK ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3</ref>
-|[[Belgium]]
 |align="center"|1
 |-
-|[[Spain]]
+|[[Spain]]<ref name="OConnor"/>
 |align="center"|1
 |-
-|[[Israel]]
+|[[Israel]]<ref name="OConnor"/>
 |align="center"|1
 |-
-|[[Denmark]]
+|[[Denmark]]<ref name="OConnor"/>
 |align="center"|1
 |-
-|[[Swedish Singles Chart|Sweden]]
+|[[Swedish Singles Chart|Sweden]]<ref>[http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Bucks+Fizz&titel=Making+Your+Mind+Up&cat=s Swedish chart]</ref>
 |align="center"|2
 |-
-|[[Norwegian Singles Chart|Norway]] <ref>[http://lista.vg.no/album_info.php?AlbumOp=show&albumId=3256&albumtype=song&albumtype_id= Norwegian Charts]</ref>
+|[[Norwegian Singles Chart|Norway]] <ref>[http://lista.vg.no/album_info.php?AlbumOp=show&albumId=3256&albumtype=song&albumtype_id= Norwegian charts]</ref>
 |align="center"|2
 |-
-|[[New Zealand Singles Chart|New Zealand]]<ref>http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Bucks+Fizz&titel=Making+Your+Mind+Up&cat=s</ref>
+|[[New Zealand Singles Chart|New Zealand]]<ref>[http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Bucks+Fizz&titel=Making+Your+Mind+Up&cat=s New Zealand charts]</ref>
 |align="center"|3
 |-
-|[[Swiss Singles Chart|Switzerland]]
+|[[Swiss Singles Chart|Switzerland]]<ref>[http://swisscharts.com/search.asp?search=making%20your%20mind%20up&cat=s Swiss charts]</ref>
 |align="center"|3
 |-
-|[[German Singles Chart|Germany]]
+|[[German Singles Chart|Germany]]<ref>[http://www.charts-surfer.de/musikcharts.php?dedes German charts ]</ref>
 |align="center"|5
 |-

v t e Bucks Fizz
Bobby G Cheryl Baker Mike Nolan Jay Aston Shelley Preston
Studio albums	Bucks Fizz Are You Ready Hand Cut I Hear Talk Writing on the Wall
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits The Story So Far The Ultimate Anthology The Lost Masters The Very Best of Bucks Fizz The Lost Masters 2 - The Final Cut The Best of the Lost Masters and More!
Live albums	Live at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon
Singles	"Making Your Mind Up" "Piece of the Action" "One of Those Nights" "The Land of Make Believe" "My Camera Never Lies" "Now Those Days Are Gone" "If You Can't Stand the Heat" "Run for Your Life" "When We Were Young" "London Town" "Rules of the Game" "Talking in Your Sleep" "Golden Days" "I Hear Talk" "You and Your Heart So Blue" "Magical" "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" "Love the One You're With" "Keep Each Other Warm" "Heart of Stone"
Other songs	"What's Love Got to Do with It"
Related articles	Discography Songs The Fizz The F–Z of Pop Christmas with the Fizz Smoke & Mirrors Everything Under the Sun Andy Hill Peter Sinfield Ian Bairnson Co-Co Brooks United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

v t e United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
Discography National selection (Contestants)
Participation	1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022 2023 2024
Artists	Andy Abraham Olly Alexander The Allisons Michael Ball Bardo Belle and the Devotions Black Lace Blue Patricia Bredin Brotherhood of Man Bucks Fizz Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson Ronnie Carroll Co-Co Josh Dubovie Electro Velvet Emma Jade Ewen Scott Fitzgerald James Fox Nicki French Jessica Garlick Gina G Mary Hopkin Engelbert Humperdinck Imaani Samantha Janus Javine Jemini Joe and Jake Bryan Johnson Lucie Jones Katrina and the Waves Kathy Kirby Lindsay Live Report Love City Groove Lulu Kenneth McKellar Molly Matt Monro Mike Moran Mae Muller The New Seekers James Newman Olivia Newton-John Lynsey de Paul Precious Prima Donna Michael Rice Cliff Richard Rikki Clodagh Rodgers Frances Ruffelle Ryder Sam Ryder Daz Sampson Scooch The Shadows Sandie Shaw Sonia SuRie Sweet Dreams Bonnie Tyler Vikki
Songs	"All" "Are You Sure?" "The Bad Old Days" "Beg, Steal or Borrow" "Believe in Me" "Better the Devil You Know" "Bigger than Us" "Boom Bang-a-Bang" "Children of the Universe" "Come Back" "Congratulations" "Cry Baby" "Dizzy" "Don't Play That Song Again" "Embers" "Even If" "Flying the Flag (For You)" "Give a Little Love Back to the World" "Go" "Hold On to Our Love" "I Belong" "I Can" "I Love the Little Things" "I Wrote a Song" "I'm Never Giving Up" "It's My Time" "Jack in the Box" "Knock, Knock Who's There?" "Let Me Be the One" "Long Live Love" "Looking High, High, High" "Love City Groove" "Love Enough for Two" "Love Games" "Love Is..." "Love Shine a Light" "Love Will Set You Free" "Making Your Mind Up" "A Man Without Love" "Mary Ann" "A Message to Your Heart" ~~"My Last Breath"~~ "Never Give Up on You" "No Dream Impossible" "One Step Further" "One Step Out of Time" "Only the Light" "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" "Power to All Our Friends" "Puppet on a String" "Ring-A-Ding Girl" "Rock Bottom" "Runner in the Night" "Save Your Kisses for Me" "Say It Again" "Say Wonderful Things" "Sing, Little Birdie" "Space Man" "Still in Love with You" "Storm" "Teenage Life" "That Sounds Good to Me" "Touch My Fire" "We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony)" "Where Are You?" "Why Do I Always Get It Wrong" "You're Not Alone"
Note: Entries scored out signify where the United Kingdom did not compete

v t e Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Countries	Austria Belgium Cyprus Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Israel Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Yugoslavia
Artists	Bacchelli Marty Brem Bucks Fizz Debbie Cameron and Tommy Seebach Yiannis Dimitras Jean Gabilou Habibi Island Finn Kalvik Seid Memić Vajta Modern Folk Trio and Ayşegül Carlos Paião Jean-Claude Pascal Peter, Sue and Marc Sheeba Björn Skifs Riki Sorsa Emly Starr Lena Valaitis Linda Williams
Songs	"Aldri i livet" "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" "Dönme Dolap" "Fångad i en dröm" "Feggari kalokerino" "Halayla" "Het is een wonder" "Horoscopes" "Humanahum" "Io senza te" "Johnny Blue" "Krøller eller ej" "Lejla" "Making Your Mind Up" "Monika" "Playback" "Reggae OK" "Samson" "Wenn du da bist" "Y sólo tú"