Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975
| Eurovision Song Contest 1975 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Malta | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Song For Europe 1975 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 5 February 1975 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Renato | |||
| Selected song | "Singing This Song" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 12th, 32 points | |||
| Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Malta was represented by Renato, with the song "Singing This Song", at the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 22 March in Stockholm. Renato won the national final with "Singing This Song" on 5 February 1975.
Before Eurovision
Song For Europe 1975
Song For Europe was the national final format developed by MBA which determined the song that would represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. The competition consisted of two parts. The first part was the Malta Song Festival 1975, where the top 5 songs would then go on to the Song For Europe contest. The two contests were organised by two separate organisations; the Malta Song Festival was organised by the Malta Song Festival Board, while Song For Europe was organised by the Malta Broadcasting Authority. The use of Malta Song Festival as part of Malta's national final was a cooperation between the two organisations, this led to the broadcaster not actually being in control of the songs in its own national final.[1] It was decided to send a song in English for the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 as the MBA believed that the Maltese language was one of the reasons for their last places in 1971 and 1972[2]
Competing Entries
The Malta Song Festival Board opened submissions in late November 1974 and planned to close them on 20 December 1974, although this got pushed back to 28 December.[3][2] The Malta Song Festival Board shortlisted 12 artists which composers could pick from to perform their songs: Edwin Galea, Mary Rose Mallia, Mary Spiteri, Renato, The Greenfields, Victoria Briffa, John Lucas, Enzo Guzman, Joe Cutajar, Joe Agius, Joe Bugeja, and Bayzo.[2]
| Song | Song (Maltese Title) | Song (English Title) | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayzo | "Bejn lejl u nhar" | "Adorable You" | Edmond Barbara, Clemente Zammit |
| Edwin Galea | "Kantaw ilkoll flimkien" | "Try and Try Again" | Edward Briffa |
| Mary Spiteri | "Id fid" | "Try a Little Love Today" | Victor Fenech, Mary Morey Micallef |
| "Rokna minn qalbi" | "Live for Tomorrow" | Paul Abela, Mary Sant | |
| Mary Rose Mallia | "Il-loghba tal-imħabba" | "Love Is a Gamble" | Carmen Zammit |
| "Min jaf" | "Fly Away Little Bird" | Messina Galea, Marie Therese Stevens | |
| Renato | "Dinja gdida" | "A New World" | Joe Ellul |
| "Idhaq u iccajta" | "Singing This Song" | Sammy Galea, M. Iris Misfud | |
| The Greenfields | "Imħabba għal xulxin" | "Love for You and Me" | Charles Bajada |
| "L-ghanja tal-imħabba" | "Sing a Song of Love" | Charles Mifsud, Charles Bajada |
Malta Song Festival 1975
Malta Song Festival 1975 was held on 1 February 1975 at the Alhambra Theatre. All songs were sung twice, once in Maltese and then again in English, and the top five qualified to Song For Europe 1975.[4]
| Draw | Artist | Song (Maltese Title) | Song (English Title) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Greenfields | "Imħabba għal xulxin" | "Love for You and Me" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Bayzo | "Bejn lejl u nhar" | "Adorable You" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Mary Spiteri | "Rokna minn qalbi" | "Live for Tomorrow" | Advanced |
| 4 | Renato | "Dinja gdida" | "A New World" | Advanced |
| 5 | Mary Spiteri | "Id fid" | "Try a Little Love Today" | Advanced |
| 6 | Mary Rose Mallia | "Min jaf" | "Fly Away Little Bird" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Renato | "Idhaq u iccajta" | "Singing This Song" | Advanced |
| 8 | Mary Rose Mallia | "Il-loghba tal-imħabba" | "Love Is a Gamble" | Eliminated |
| 9 | The Greenfields | "L-ghanja tal-imħabba" | "Sing a Song of Love" | Advanced |
| 10 | Edwin Galea | "Kantaw ilkoll flimkien" | "Try and Try Again" | Eliminated |
Song For Europe 1975
Song For Europe 1975 was held on 5 February 1975 at the Malta Television Studios. The voting was done by 2 separate juries; a 20-member jury consisting of 20 members of the public, 2 from each of Malta's electoral districts, who each gave 1 point to a song of their choice; and an 8-member jury consisting of 7 international juries and a Maltese jury, who each gave 6 points to their favourite song, 3 points to their second favourite, and 1 point to their third favourite.[5][6]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary Spiteri | "Live for Tomorrow" | 35 | 2 |
| 2 | Renato | "A New World" | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | The Greenfields | "Sing a Song of Love" | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | Mary Spiteri | "Try a Little Love Today" | 12 | 3 |
| 5 | Renato | "Singing This Song" | 42 | 1 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Renato performed tenth in the running order, following United Kingdom and preceding Belgium. At the close of voting "Singing This Song" had received 32 points, getting 12th place.[7]
The Maltese conductor at the contest was Vince Tempera.
Voting
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References
- ^ "Euro Song Contest". Times of Malta. 30 October 1974. p. 8.
- ^ a b c "Malta Eurovision contest entry to be in English". The Sunday Times of Malta. 1 December 1974. p. 12.
- ^ "MBA to take part in Eurovision contest". The Sunday Times of Malta. 24 November 1974. p. 18.
- ^ "Swinging Tunes In Malta Song Festival 'Song for Europe' on MTV Today". Times of Malta. 5 February 1975. p. 7.
- ^ "Malta's Song For Europe". Times of Malta. 6 February 1975. p. 9.
- ^ "MALTESE NATIONAL FINAL 1975". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Final of Stockholm 1975". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Stockholm 1975". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.