"Puppet on a String" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Sandie Shaw | ||||
from the album Puppet on a String | ||||
B-side | "Tell The Boys" | |||
Released | 7 March 1967 | |||
Recorded | 1967 | |||
Genre | Europop [1] | |||
Length | 2:21 | |||
Label | Pye [2] | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Ken Woodman [3] | |||
Sandie Shaw singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Eurovision Song Contest 1967 entry | ||||
Country | ||||
Artist(s) | ||||
Language | English | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) |
| |||
Conductor | ||||
Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 1st | |||
Final points | 47 | |||
Entry chronology | ||||
◄ "A Man Without Love" (1966) | ||||
"Congratulations" (1968) ► |
"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna, winning the contest, becoming the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision wins. [4] [5]
As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks. [6] In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100. [7]
"Puppet on a String" was written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, [3] and recorded by Sandie Shaw.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) internally selected Shaw as their representative for the 12th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith, had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor happy. Taylor wanted to give Shaw a more cabaret appeal and felt that this was the right move – and also felt that it would get Shaw back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal. [8]
Shaw performed the song as one of five prospective numbers for the contest on The Rolf Harris Show. Of the five songs, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's least favourite. In her own words, "I hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final 'bang' on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune". [9] On 25 February 1967, Shaw performed the five songs on A Song for Europe 1967 , the national final organized by the BBC to select the song she would perform in the contest. The winner was chosen by postcard voting and on 4 March the BBC announced that "Puppet on a String" had won the competition becoming the British entry for Eurovision. [10]
Shaw also recorded "Puppet on a String" in French –as "Un tout petit pantin"–, Italian –"La danza delle note"–, Spanish –"Marionetas en la cuerda"–, and German –"Wiedehopf im Mai"–. [11]
On 8 April 1967, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg in Vienna hosted by Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Shaw performed "Puppet on a String" eleventh on the night, following Belgium's "Ik heb zorgen" by Louis Neefs and preceding Spain's "Hablemos del amor" by Raphael. Kenny Woodman conducted the live orchestra in the performance of the British entry. [12]
At the close of voting, the song had received 47 points, placing it first in a field of sixteen, and winning the contest [13]
As a result of it winning the Eurovision Song Contest, "Puppet on a String" became Shaw's third number one hit in the UK –a record for a woman at the time– and was a big worldwide smash. Globally, the single achieved sales in excess of four million, making it the biggest-selling winning Eurovision track to date. [14] Some estimates suggest this makes the track the biggest selling single by a British female artist of all time. [15]
Shaw performed her song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen. [16]
Chart (1967) [5] [17] | Peak position |
---|---|
Argentina (ACPVP) [18] | 1 |
Australia (Australian Singles Chart) | 2 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [19] | 1 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [20] | 1 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [21] | 1 |
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart) | 13 |
Denmark (Danish Singles Chart) [22] | 2 |
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [23] | 5 |
France (French Singles Chart) [24] | 2 |
Ireland (IRMA) [25] | 1 |
Italy (Italian Singles Chart) [26] | 8 |
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia) [27] | 2 |
Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart) [25] | 1 |
New Zealand (New Zealand Singles Chart) [28] | 2 |
Norway (VG-lista) [29] | 1 |
Singapore (Radio Singapore) [27] | 3 |
South Africa (Entertainment Monitoring Africa) [30] | 3 |
Spain (Spanish Singles Chart) | 6 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] | 1 |
UK Singles (OCC) [3] | 1 |
Venezuela [31] | 6 |
West Germany (Schallplatte) [32] | 1 |
Region | Copies |
---|---|
Belgium | 45,000 [33] |
Germany | 750,000 [34] |
Worldwide | 4,000,000 [35] |
The song was covered in over 200 versions in over 30 languages. [36] [ better source needed ]
Covers include:
The song was featured in The 1975 Bulgarian Cartoon Buffo-Synchronists by Proiko Proikov and the soundtrack of the 2021 film Last Night in Soho . [41]
The United Kingdom held a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1967. It was held on 25 February 1967 and presented by Rolf Harris. Harris's weekly show had been the showcase for the five songs in the competition, which had been performed in successive weeks prior to the final. Harris himself would be the BBC's commentator for the final in Vienna.
Philip Coulter is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009.
"Venus" is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, released as a single in the Netherlands in the summer of 1969. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the song topped the charts in nine countries.
"In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry, released in 1970. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies. Written and composed by the band's lead singer, Ray Dorset, while working in a lab for Timex, the lyrics of the song celebrate the carefree days of summer. The track was included on the second album by the band, Electronically Tested, issued in March 1971.
"Denise" is a song written by Neil Levenson that was inspired by his childhood friend, Denise Lefrak. In 1963, it became a popular top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, when recorded by the American doo-wop group Randy & the Rainbows. A cover version by the American new wave group Blondie, re-titled "Denis", reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1978. Dutch actress and singer Georgina Verbaan covered "Denis" in 2002 and reached number 30 on the Dutch Singles Chart.
"Those Were the Days" is a song composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) but credited to Gene Raskin, who put a new English lyric to Fomin's Russian romance song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu", with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism. It also deals with tavern activities, which include drinking, singing and dancing.
William Wylie MacPherson, known professionally as Bill Martin, was a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario. His most successful songs, all written with Phil Coulter, included "Puppet on a String", "Congratulations", "Back Home", and "Saturday Night". He was presented with three Ivor Novello Awards, including one as Songwriter of the Year.
"Merci, Chérie" is a song composed and recorded by Austrian singer Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, held in Luxembourg, resulting in the country's first ever win at the contest.
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written by American songwriting duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson, whose version reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1964. Sandie Shaw took the song to No. 1 in the UK that same year, while the duo Naked Eyes had a No. 8 hit with the song in the US two decades later in 1983.
"Girl Don't Come" is a song, written by Chris Andrews that was a No. 3 UK hit in the UK Singles Chart for Sandie Shaw in 1964–65.
"Sing, Little Birdie" is the UK entrant song that took second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart.
Puppet on a String is Sandie Shaw's third full-priced album, released on the Pye label in May 1967 on the back of her Eurovision success.
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Sandie Shaw is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" (1964), "Long Live Love" (1965) and "Puppet on a String" (1967). With the latter, she became the first British entry to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She returned to the UK Top 40, for the first time in 15 years, with her 1984 cover of the Smiths song "Hand in Glove". Shaw retired from the music industry in 2013.
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