Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1985

The Swedish Final was held on March 2nd at the SVT TV Studios in Malmö, hosted by Eva Andersson. The 10 songs were reduced to 5 finalists, after which the winner was chosen by the votes of 9 juries, with each jury being split according to the age of its members.

In order to save money for the staging of the Eurovision Song Contest itself, the competition to select Sweden's national entry, Melodifestivalen, was a low-budget version in 1985.

Bra vibrationer, sung by Kikki Danielsson,written by Ingela Forsman and composed by Lasse Holm, won.

Results:

01. Bra vibrationer - Kikki Danielsson, 56 points
02. Ta min hand - Dan Tilberg, 49 points
03. Eld och lågor - Göran Folkestad, 35 points
04. Piccadilly Circus - Pernilla Wahlgren, 29 points
05. Jag vet hur det känns - Li Berg, 20 points

other participants:

Vänner - Susanne Frölén
Nu har det hänt igen - Ritz
Morgonluft - Per-Erik Hallin
1 + 1 = 2 - Bel Air
Sjung din sång - Stefan Borsch

For the final, in which Sweden performed in 16th position, the song's title was translated into Good Vibrations. It did very well in the voting and came third with 103 points, 20 points behind the winner.

***

Ann-Kristin Kikki Danielsson (born May 10 1952 in Osby, Sweden) is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She is also famous for yodeling in some songs. Kikki Danielsson gained her largest popularity in the Nordic region from the late 1970s until the late 1990s. She also gained popularity at the US country stage during the 1980s. In 1986, she had the Kikki i Nashville TV show.

Totally, she has participated nine times at the Swedish Melodifestivalen and one time at the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix. She has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1982 (as a part of the Swedish pop and country group Chips with the song Dag efter dag, finishing 8th) and in the 1985  with the song Bra vibrationer, finishing 3rd.

Participations at Melodifestivalen:

1978:‎ Miss Decibel (with Lasse Holm & Wizex), 2nd
1980: Mycke' mycke' mer (as a member of Chips), 4th
1981: God Morgon (as a member of Sweets 'n' Chips), 2nd
1982: Dag efter dag (as a member of Chips), 1st
1983: Varför är kärleken röd, 2nd
1985: Bra vibrationer, 1st
1992: En enda gång, 4th
2002: Vem é dé du vill ha (with Elisabeth Andreasson & Lotta Engberg), 3rd
2006: Idag & imorgon, 10th

Participation at Norwegian national final:

2003: Din hånd i min hånd (with Elisabeth Andreasson & Lotta Engberg), 4th

Kikki Danielsson was born in Osby, but was adopted and lived on a farm in Älmhult, Småland from the age of five. There, she became the only child in the family while her younger sister was adopted to another place. As a five-year-old girl, Kikki Danielsson made her first singing performance, which occurred at the local Sunday school's Lucia party in her Småland home church, singing the Christmas song När Jesusbarnet låg en gång. As a child, she sang in the local church choir.

As a 17-year old girl, Kikki Danielsson begun as a singer in dansband Nickies and in 1973 she switched to another dansband, Wizex, with which she participated at the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1978. She left Wizex in 1982, but as a member of the pop and country group Chips, she participated at the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1980, 1981 and 1982. She has also been a popular Svensktoppen artist, with hits as the Melodifestivalen songs, but also other songs, like Papaya Coconut in 1987. She willingly sings country and has contributed in radio and TV shows in the U.S. in the 1980s.

During the second half of 1984, she married Swedish musician Kjell Roos, who led the dansband Roosarna, with which she sang between 1990 and 1999. In 1985 she gave birth to their first child. In late 1987 she released the Christmas album Min barndoms jular. Together with Roosarna, she had many Svensktoppen hits during the 1990s. In 1994, the dansband of the year prize at the Grammis was awarded to Kikki Danielsson & Roosarna. In 1999 she separated from Kjell Roos. However, the musical co-operation re-started in 2003.

Kikki Danielsson has also sang at the 2001 Stockholm Pride. Together with Lotta Engberg and Elisabeth Andreasson she participated at the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2002, together they called themselves Kikki, Bergarn & Lotten, had an own dinner show during the second half of 2002 and participated at the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix in 2003. They also started a successful collaboration with the Swedish brand "twilfit" designing stretchy yet fashionable t-shirts.

Kikki Danielsson participated at Melodifestivalen 2006 with the song I dag & i morgon, written by Thomas G:son and Calle Kindbom, which reached the final in the Stockholm Globe Arena, where it finished at the 10th and last place.

From November 28-December 17, 2006, she toured Sweden with a band on the Julstämning med Kikki Christmas concert tour.

Her periods of problems with alcohol have been a popular topic of the Scandinavian press, as has her weight problem. Because of her weight problem, she appeared in Du är vad du äter, the Swedish version of You are what you eat, in 2006 where she made great progress and lost several pounds.

In January 2010, it was announced that Kikki Danielsson together with Sören Sulo Karlsson and The Diamond Dogs would record the single Maybe I'll Do, and on July 13 2010 she appeared at Allsång på Skansen. On 13 April 2011 she released the album Första dagen på resten av mitt liv, where she worked together with Sören Sulo Karlsson.

In 2012 kikki Danielsson starred in the film Sean Banan inuti Seanafrika, the film was panned by critics.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1984

The Swedish Final was held on February 25th at the Lisebergshallen in Gothenburg, hosted by Fredrik Belfrage. The 10 songs were reduced to 5 finalists, after which the winner was chosen by the votes of 9 juries, with each jury being split according to the age of its members.

The winner were the three brothers Herrey, consisting of Richard, Louis and Per. Their song was called Diggi-loo diggi-ley, and was written by Britt Lindeborg and Torgny Söderberg.

Results:

01. Diggi-loo diggi-ley - Herreys, 49 points
02. Sankta Cecilia - Göran Folkestad & Lotta Pedersen, 41 points
03. Rendez-vous - John Ballard 39 points
04. Kall som is - Karin and Anders Glenmark, 33 points
05. Livet är som ett träd - Vicki Benckert, 27 points

other participants:

Nu är jag tillbaks igen - Janne Önnerud
Schack och matt - Caron Tetsill
Labyrint - Per-Erik Hallin
Kärleksmagi - Elisabeth Andreasson
Tjuvarnas natt - Thomas Lewing

Sweden was the first country to perform at ESC in 1984. In the voting, they received not less than 5 "douze points" from the other 18 countries. Finally the brothers were victorious, with a total of 145 points-8 points ahead of Ireland. Sweden had won exactly 10 years earlier, then represented by ABBA.

Here you can find more information about the Herreys.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1983

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 1983, was held on February 26th at the Palladium in Malmö, hosted by Bibi Johns. 
The 10 songs were reduced to 5 finalists, and the winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.

The Winner, being the first participant ever to get maximum points from all of the eleven juries, was the 17-year old and then unknown Carola Häggkvist,
who quickly went on to be one of Sweden's most popular singers. The song she competed with was called Främling.
It was written by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg, who had also written the previous winning song together.

Results:

01. Främling - Carola Häggkvist, 88 points
02. Varför är kärleken röd - Kikki Danielsson, 45 points
03. Se - Karin Glenmark, 37 points
04. Marionett - Ritz, 34 points
05. Bara en enda gång - Ann-Louise Hanson & John Ballard, 27 points

other participants:

Här är min sång till dig - Kerstin Dahlberg
Vill du ha mig efter gryningen - Peter Lundblad & Agneta Olsson
Nu börjar mitt liv - Karina Rydberg
Okej, jag ger mig - Maria Wickman
Värmen som du gav - Nils-Åke Runesson

At the ESC in Munich Sweden ended up with 126 points and a 3rd place. It was also Sweden's 3rd best placement so far.

***

 
Carola Maria Häggkvist (born 8 September 1966), better known as Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter.

She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music. Her debut album, Främling, sold around one million copies and remains the biggest-selling album in Swedish music history. She has also worked as a songwriter. During her 25-year long career, she has recorded many top-selling albums and singles and is referred to as Sweden's most prominent female singer. Some of her biggest hits include Främling from 1983, Tommy tycker om mig from 1984, Fångad av en stormvind from 1991, All the Reasons to Live from 1992, I Believe in Love from 2001, Genom allt  from 2005 and Evighet from 2006.

Carola Häggkvist has represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions: in 1983 finishing 3rd, in 1991 winning the contest and in 2006 finishing 5th.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1982

The Swedish Final was held on February 27th at the Liseberghallen in Gothenburg, hosted by Fredrik Belfrage. The 10 songs were reduced to 5 finalists, which were then voted on by 9 juries that were formed according to the ages of its members.

The winning song, Dag Efter Dag, was written by by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg.

Results:

01. Dag Efter Dag - Chips, 64 points
02. Någonting har hänt - Lena Ericsson, 39 points
03. Hey-hi-ho - Liza Öhman, 33 points
04. Hallå hela pressen - Chattanooga, 28 points
05. Kärleken lever - Ann-Louise Hansson, 25 points

other participants:

Hand i hand med dig - Little Gerhard and Yvonne Olsson
Då kommer min ängel - Charlie Hilson
Här har du din morgondag - Annika Rydell and Lars Westman
Fender 62 - Shanes
Dags att börja om igen - Maria Wickman

At the ESC in Harrogate Sweden came 8th with 67 points.

***

Chips was a Swedish country and pop group, formed in 1979 by Kikki Danielsson and Lasse Holm, and split in 1983.

Chips finished 4th in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1980 with the song Mycke' mycke' mer, with Lars Westman, Lisa Magnusson, Mats Rådberg and Monica Silverstrand as background singers. After Melodifestivalen 1980, Britta "Tanja" Johansson also became a member. In 1980, the album, Chips was released and short after this, Elisabeth Andreassen became a member. Just some weeks after this, they toured the former West Germany. In Düsseldorf the TV-show Show-Express became a great success for them.

Under the new name Sweets 'n Chips, which they used since a dansband also said they owned the right for the name Chips, the group competed at the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1981, and finished second with the song "God morgon". A little bit later the group was reduced to two members. Lasse Holm stayed as songwriter, but leftt all the singing for Elisabeth and Kikki.

With only Elisabeth and Kikki on stage, Chips won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1982, with Elisabeth Andreassen and Kikki Danielsson singing the song Dag efter dag. They represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 in Harrogate in the United Kingdom, there they finished 8th.

After the 1982 Swedish Melodifestivalen success, the album Having a Party was released, and sold around 100 000 copies in Sweden. They toured the northern parts of Europe and had a successful 1982. However, the group was split in 1983. This because they didn't get more success outside Sweden and Norway, and also because both Elisabeth and Kikki had their solo careers.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1981

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 1981, was held on February 21 at the Cirkus in Stockholm, hosted by Janne Carlsson. The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.

After a tight race, the winner was a song called Fångad i en dröm, which was performed by Björn Skifs. Björn wrote the song together with Bengt Palmers.

5th, and last, came Kicki Moberg with the song Men natten är vår, written by Agnetha Fältskog and Ingela "Pling" Forsman.

Results:

01. Fångad i en dröm - Björn Skifs, 59 points
02. God morgon - Sweets 'n' Chips, 57 points
03. Rock 'n' Roll Mountain - Janne Lucas Persson, 50 points
04. Det är mitt liv - Anders glenmark, 41 points
05. Men natten är vår - Kicki Moberg, 28 points

At the ESC Sweden came 10th with 50 points.

***

Björn Nils Olof Skifs (born 20 April 1947 in Vansbro, Dalarna, Sweden) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, actor, and screenwriter.

Björn Skifs formed his first musical group Slam Creepers’ in 1963. Slam Creepers’ split in 1969 and he went on to form a new band, Blåblus, in 1972. As Blue Swede, the band had a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with a cover of Hooked on a Feeling. Björn Skifs left the band in 1976 to pursue a solo career. He recorded the duet Med varann with Anni-Frid Lyngstad for his 1975 album Schiffz.

Björn  Skifs appeared as The Arbiter on the original studio album for Chess, released in 1984. A single and video, The Arbiter's Song was released in 1985. Skifs also recorded several demos for the album, including One Night in Bangkok, later performed by Murray Head. Skifs did not perform the role on stage; in the original London production the character was played by Tom Jobe.

Povel Ramel gave Björn  Skifs the Karamelodiktstipendiet in 1984.

Björn Skifs represented Sweden twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, both in the 1978 contest and in the 1981 contest. In 1978 he came 14th with the song Det blir alltid värre framåt natten and in 1981 he came 10th with Fångad i en dröm. In 2000 he hosted Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Björn Skifs participated 4 times at Melodifestivalen:

1972: Andra kan väl också se, 9th
1975: Michelangelo, 5th
1978: Det blir alltid värre framåt natten, 1st
1981: Fångad i en dröm, 1st

In 2002 he had a major hit with the song Håll Mitt Hjärta which is a Swedish version of André de Lang's song Same Ol' Story. It stayed on Svensktoppen between 27 April 2003 and 8 January 2006 for a total of 142 weeks.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1980

For the 25th Eurovision Song Contest, the Swedish entry was chosen in the national selection Melodifestivalen 1980. The Swedish Final was held on March 8th at the SVT TV Studios in Stockholm, hosted by Bengt Bedrup. The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. Tomas Ledin won with the song Just nu!, which he had written himself.

Results:

01. Just nu - Tomas Ledin, 112 points
02. Växeln hallå - Janne Lucas Persson, 96 points
03. Hit men inte längre - Liza Öhman, 94 points
04. Mycke' mycke' mer - Chips, 75 points
05. Låt solen värma dig - Ted Gärdestad & Annica Boller, 57 points
06. Utan att fråga - Kenta, 56 points
07. Jag ger mig inte - Eva Dahlgren, 48 points
08. Å sjuttiotal - Tania, 41 points
09. Tusen sekunder - Paul Paljett, 32 pointa
10. För dina bruna ögons skull - Lasse Lindbom, 27 points

At the final in The Hague, he came 10th (out of 19) with 47 points.

***

Tomas Folke Jonas Ledin (born 25 February 1952, in Rätan, Sweden) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He grew up in the town of Sandviken.

Tomas Ledin started his career in 1972 when his first single, Då ska jag spela, was a big hit. Other successful songs followed: Blå, blå känslor (1973), Knivhuggarrock" (1975), Festen har börjat (1976), and I natt är jag din (1977). At the beginning of the 70s, Ledin was influenced by hippie fashion and demonstrated against the Vietnam war. He also took part in a Swedish stage production of the musical Gospell in 1975 and performed in 140 concerts in the Swedish folkparks in 1977.

In 1979, ABBA member Benny Andersson offered him a chance to record for the group's company Polar Music. The singer joined ABBA on their 1979-1980 tour as a backing vocalist, but also got the opportunity to sing his own composition Not Bad at All during the show. Tomas Ledin also appeared on the ABBA Live DVD and on the Super Trouper Video.

Tomas participated several times at Melodifestivalen:

1972: Då ska jag spela, 8th
1977: Minns du Hollywood, 5th
1978: Mademoiselle, 5th
1979: Det liger i luften, 2nd
1980: Just nu, 1st

He won the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 1980 and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest that year with Just nu!. The song was a big hit in Scandinavia, but also in Greece and Portugal since Ledin recorded an English version, Right Now!.

In 1982, he released the duet Never Again with Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA. The song reached number one in Chile (in its Spanish version Ya nunca más) and was popular across Europe. Ledin also composed Take Good Care of Your Children, which Agnetha Fältskog released in 1983 on her album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Another composition by the singer, I Got Something, was released by Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA on her album Something's Going On.

In the 80s, Ledin was very successful in Scandinavia but his career abroad failed to reach the same level. He nevertheless toured Germany and the Netherlands on a small scale in 1982, and the following year, he played in front of 60,000 people at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, in a show with other international acts.

He decided to put an end to his career in 1984 and started to act as a producer for Record Station, his wife's record company. He discovered other singers and successfully produced artists such as Pugh Rogefeldt and Magnus Uggla. In 1985, he organized a concert for ANC featuring several Swedish artists.

Three years later, Tomas Ledin started to compose again and wrote songs in English. The album Down on the Pleasure Avenue was released but was not successful. Ledin was very disappointed but started to compose again, in Swedish this time. He started to enjoy success again in 1990 when he released a compilation and a new album, Tillfälligheternas spel, and has been one of the best selling artists in Sweden since then.

In 2000, 260,000 copies of his compilation album Festen har börjat were sold in Sweden, which meant he was awarded three platinum records there. The same year he was also awarded a gold record in Finland for the first time. In 2002, he went on the biggest tour ever planned in Scandinavia and performed in 27 shows in Sweden and 8 shows in the rest of Scandinavia. More than 250,000 people saw this show in Northern Europe.

He has been married since 1983 to record company president Marie Ledin, daughter of Stig Anderson.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1979

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 1979, was held on February 17th at the Cirkus in Stockholm, hosted by Ulf Elfving. The winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. The popular pop singer Ted Gärdestad won with the song Satellit, which was composed by himself, while the lyrics were made by his brother, Kenneth Gärdestad.

01. Satellit - Ted Gärdestad, 105 points
02. Det ligger i luften - Tomas Ledin, 96 points
03. Om jag skriver en sång - Eva Dahlgren, 85 points
04. Det känns som jag vandrar fram - Ola+3, 85 points
05. Mer än bara över natten - Kjell Hansson
06. Tillsammans - Tomas Adolphson & Anders Falk, 58 points
07. Var det här bara början - Py Bäckman & Py Gang, 45 points
08. Nattens sång - Pontus Platin, 44 points
09. En egen fela - Timjan, 39 points
10. Johnny the Rocker - Magnus Uggla, 22 points

The contest was held in Jerusalem, and Sweden performed 15th. Ted finished only 17th out of 19, with 8 points.

***

Ted Gärdestad (born Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad, 18 February 1956 – 22 June 1997 in Sollentuna, Sweden), was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician.

At he age of fifteen Ted contacted Stig Anderson, who recognized Ted's talent and offered him a contract and introduced him to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. In fact, all four members of ABBA worked with Ted in different capacities throughout the 1970s. After Ted released a couple of very successful singles he became very popular in Sweden.

Ted participated several times at Melodifestivalen:

1973: Oh, vilken härlig dag, 4th
1975: Rockin' and reelin', 7th
1977: Det bästa som finns (sung by Lena Andersson), 8th
1979: Satellit, 1st
1980: Låt solen värma dig (a duet with Annica Boller), 5th

After an unsuccessful return to Melodifestivalen in 1980 and disappointing sales of his albums Ted dropped out of the music scene at the age of 25. Having left the music business Ted had a brief and unsuccessful stint at acting and shortly thereafter began exploring meditation and Eastern religions. In 1983 he became a Bhagwan disciple and changed called himself Swami Sangit Upasani.

In 1986 Olof Palme, the Swedish Prime Minister, was murdered. Ted was wrongly mentioned in the Swedish media as the 33-year-old, a suspect in the investigation of the assassination, an accusation that naturally hit him hard.

On June 23 1997 it was announced that Ted at the age of 41 suddenly had decided to end his life by jumping in front of a train. This came as a shock to the entire nation.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1978

The Swedish Final was held on February 11th at the Cirkus in Stockholm, hosted by Ulf Elfving.  The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.  After the voting, there was a tie for first place, therefore the 11 juries were contacted again and asked to choose between Det blir alltid värre framåt natten, sung by Björn Skifs, and Miss Decibel sung by Kikki Danielsson & Lasse Holm with Wizex. Björn Skifs won by 8 votes to 3. Det blir alltid värre framåt natten was written and composed by Peter Himmelstrand

Results:

01. Det blir alltid värre framåt natten - 108 points
02. Miss Decibel - Kikki Danielsson & Lasse Holm with Wizex, 103 points
03. Nattmara - Pugh Rogefeldt, 85 points
04. Längtan om livet med dig - Göran Fristorp, 85 points
05. Mademoiselle - Tomas Ledin, 78 points
06. Idag är det vår - Pastellerna, 52 points
07. Åh, evergreens - Kenneth Greuz, 50 points
08. Harlequin - Harlequin, 49 points
09. Lilla stjärna - Jörgen Edman & Polarna, 29 points
10. Nåt som gör dej glad - Thomas Munch, 11 points

At ESC in Paris, 22 April, Björn Skifs intended to cause controversy by singing in English, which could make him disqualified. Instead, he sung a part of the song in nonsense-words, but fortunately only the Swedes knew the lyrics were wrong. He finished 14th (out of 20).

Björn Skifs represented Sweden twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1978 and in 1981.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1977

Sweden did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 due to demonstrations against commercial music.

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 1977, was held on February 26th at the Cirkus in Stockholm, hosted by Ulf Elfving. 965 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition.The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. Winner was the song Beatles with a group called Forbes. It was a tribute to the rock band The Beatles, who had split up some years earlier, and was written by Sven-Olof Bagge and Claes Bure.

Results:

01. Beatles - Forbes, 117 points
02. Johan B. Lund - Svante Thuresson, 75 points
03. Sommaren -65 - Landslaget, 73 points
04. Åh, vilken sång - Greta & Malou, 72 points
05. Hollywood - Tomas Ledin, 63 points
06. Trädets rot - Jan Lundegren, 60 points
07. Charlie Chaplin - Eva Rydberg, 57 points
08. Det bästa som finns - Lena Andersson, 55 points
09. Ola mä fiola - Kenneth Greuz & Eric Öst, 47 points
10. Du och jag och sommaren - Mats Rådberg, 19 points

The contest was held in London, and Forbes performed 12th. The voting went on to be a disaster. Sweden received only 2 points from Germany , giving them their first last place since 1963. To date, there has not been anymore.

***

Forbes was a Swedish dansband of the 1970s.

The band represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the entry Beatles. The song is about the British band of the same name. Despite the popular topic of the song, Forbes ended in 18th and last place and mustered only two points. It was one of the worst placements ever for a Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The band consisted of Peter Forbes, Roger Capello, Claes Bure, Peter Björk, Anders Hector and Chino Mariano.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1975

Thanks to ABBA's victory the preceding year, Sweden hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. Their entry was chosen in Melodifestivalen 1975 which was held at the SVT TV Studios in Gothenburg on February 15th, hosted by Karin Falck. The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. Lasse Berghagen won with the song Jennie, Jennie, which he had written and composed himself.

Results:

01. Jennie, Jennie - Lasse Berghagen, 117 points
02. Sången lär ha vingar - Gimmicks, 93 points
03. Bang en boomerang - Svenne & Lotta, 84 points
04. Som min vän - Göran Fristorp, 59 points
05. Michelangelo (Men så svara då) - Björn Skifs, 55 points
06. Lady Antoinette - Hadar Kronberg with Glenmarks, 48 points
07. Den gamla jukeboxen - Landslaget, 47 points
08. Rockin' 'n' Reelin' - Ted Gärdestad, 47 points
09. Skall vi plocka körsbär i min trädgård - Ann-Christine Bärnsten, 30 points
10. Oh, Juicy - Nils-Åke Runesson, 25 points

At the ESC in Stockholm, Berghagen performed 18th, and sung the song in English. This year, the current voting system was for the first time in use. He did not receive any 12's, but finished 8th (out of 19) with 72 points.

***

Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen (born May 13 1945 in Enskede, Stockholm) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actor.

Lasse is a well known singer-songwriter in Sweden. He released his first record in 1965, aged just 19. Four years later, in 1969, he released the single Teddybjörnen Fredriksson, which has become a classic. Other hits include Sträck ut din hand, En kväll i juni and Stockholm i mitt hjärta.

Berghagen won the Swedish 1975 Melodifestivalen with the song Jennie, Jennie. At the ESC in Stockholm he came 8th. He also participated in Melodifestivalen 1974 with the song Min kärlekssång till dig, taking second place (after ABBA).

He hosted the popular summer TV show Allsång på Skansen (Singalong at Skansen) from 1994 to 2003. During his time as host the show increased its ratings from 600,000 to 2,000,000 viewers, which by Swedish standards is considered an impressive rating.

He was married to singer Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson from 1965 to 1968. He is the father of actress and TV personality Malin Berghagen, and the father-in-law of Tommy Nilsson.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1974

The Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest was called Melodifestivalen 1974 and was held on February 9th in Stockholm, hosted by Johan Sandström. The winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. It was, by far, won by the group ABBA. Their song was called Waterloo, which was written by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson.

Results:

01. Waterloo - ABBA, 302 points
02. Min kärleksång till dej - Lasse Berghagen, 211 points
03. En enda jord - Lena Ericsson, 185 points
04. Fröken Ur sång - Titti Sjöblom, 148 points
05. En grön dröm om dej - Inger Öst, 61 points
06. En dröm är en dröm - Sylvia Vrethammar & Göran Fristorp, 31 points
07. Jag minns dej nog - Göran Fristorp, 16 points
08. I annorlunda land - Glenmarks, 15 points
09. Den sista sommaren av mitt liv - Lena Bergqvist, 11 points
10. En mysig vals - Östen Warnerbring, 10 points

Waterloo was originally written in Swedish, but for the ESC final, it was translated into English, which the rules allowed the years 1973-1976. ABBA was one of the favorites to win ESC, held in Brighton, United Kingdom.  Sweden got a total of 24 points, compared to runner-up Italy's 18. This was Sweden's first victory, and ABBA got international superstar status, with a success second only to The Beatles. They have sold a reported 370 million records worldwide. In 2005, the 50th anniversary show Congratulations, Waterloo was chosen the best Eurovision song ever.

***

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music, topping the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982. They are also known for winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, giving Sweden its first victory in the history of the contest and being the most successful group ever to take part in the contest.

ABBA has sold over 370 million records worldwide and still sell millions of records a year, which makes them one of the best-selling music artists. ABBA was the first pop group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin American markets, and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish.

During the band's active years, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus were a married couple, as were Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, although both couples later divorced. At the height of their popularity, both relationships were suffering strain which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Ulvaeus-Fältskog marriage in 1979 and the Andersson-Lyngstad marriage in 1981. As a result, these relationship changes began appearing in the group's music, and later compositions produced more introspective lyrics.

After ABBA broke up in late 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued individual solo careers with mixed success. ABBA's music declined in popularity until several films, notably Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, revived interest in the group, spawning several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name released in 2008 became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2010.

If you want to know more about ABBA, click here for information about ABBA's partcipation at the W.P.S.F in 1972, here for their participation at Melodifestivalen 1973, here for ABBA's participation at Melodifestivalen 1974 and here  for information about their song Bang A Boomerang.

Click here if you want to know more about Agnetha and here for more facts about Frida.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1973

Sweden chose their entry for Eurovision Song Contest 1973 in a national final called Melodifestivalen 1973 which was held on February 10th in Stockholm, hosted by Alicia Lundberg.  10 songwriters were selected by SVT for the competition. The winning song was chosen by an "expert" jury. One of the competitors were Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Björn & Benny who would later be the members of ABBA, but they only finished 3rd. Instead, the winner was the song Sommaren som aldrig säger nej sung by the group Malta. The song's lyrics were written by Lars Forsell, and it was composed by Monica and Carl-Axel Dominique.

Results:

01. Sommaren som aldrig säger nej - Malta, 37 points
02. I våran värld - Ann-Kristin Hedmark, 29 points
03. Ring Ring - Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Björn & Benny, 8 points
04. Oh vilken härlig dag - Ted Gärdestad, 7 points
05. En liten sång som alla andra - Glenmarcks, 7 points
06. Avsked från en vän - Lill-Babs, 7 points
07. Ding-Dong - Lasse Berghagen, 3 points
08. Historien om en vän - Claes-Göran Hederström, 1 point
09. En frusen ros - Inga-Lill Nilsson, 0 points
10. Helledudane en sån karl - Kerstin Aulén & Mona Wessman, 0 points

Malta had, to avoid confusion, change their name to Nova and The Dolls. For the ESC the song was translated into English and got the name You're Summer.

You're Summer is noted as being the first song in the Eurovision Song Contest that was conducted by a woman, composer Monica Dominique. In the song a comparison is made between a lover and the summer. The summer is when life grows in his lover and his lover never tells him no. The most intriguing line of this song is Oh your breasts are like swallows in nesting, written by the well-known poet Lars Forssell, member of the Swedish Academy.

The contest was held in Luxembourg and Sweden was drawn into spot 12. They finished 5th (out of 17).

***

Nova consisted of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp.

Claes af Geijerstam (Clabbe) (born February 6, 1946 in Norrköping, Östergötland, Sweden),  is a Swedish musician, radio personality and DJ who is mostly famous for his talent of rapid speech and his many years as a radio DJ.

He is also known for his role as jury member on the popular Swedish version of Pop Idol during 2004-2006. After the 2006 season, he decided to leave the programme.

Clabbe was part of the pop group Ola & the Janglers in the 1960s and formed the group Malta (later renamed Nova) together with Göran Fristorp. They competed in Melodifestivalen 1973 with the song Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej. They won the contest over ABBA, who finished in third place with their song Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal). As a result of that win, the duo represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, where they translated their song into English with the title You're Summer (You Never Tell Me No) and finished fifth.

In 1979, Clabbe was sound engineer for ABBA's North American and European tour.

Goran Fristorp (born May 26, 1948 in Orebro) is a Swedish artist, singer and songwriter.

He was a member of the duo Malta. Goran Fristorp participated as a solo artist and songwriter several times at Melodifestivalen.

    1974: Jag minns dig nog, 7th
    1974: En dröm är en dröm (duet with Sylvia Vrethammar), 6th
    1975: Som min vän, 4th
    1978: Längtan om livet med dig, 3rd

Goran worked with a lot of artists like Sylvia Vrethammar, the Dutch group Ekseption, Arne Domnerus, Putte Wickman, Anna-Lotta Larsson, Jan Lundgren, the Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and Karoline Krüger. Goran released many successful albums and is still active as a musucian and as a producer.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1972

For the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, Sweden chose their entrant in a national selection called Melodifestivalen 1972. About 1,000 entries were submitted and Sveriges Radio picked 10 of them for the final. The Swedish Final was held on February 12th in Stockholm, hosted by Gunilla Marcus. The winning song was chosen by an "expert" jury with 11 members on it. Family Four, last year's representant, won with the song Härliga Sommardag written by Håkan Almquist.

Results:

01. Härliga sommardag - Family Four, 24 points
02. Sån e du - Sån e jag - Östen Warnebring, 17 points
03. Säg det med en sång - Lena Andersson, 12 points
04. Kärlek behöver inga ord - Kjerstin Dellert, 10 points
05. Kär och sisådär - Kisa Magnusson, 9 points
06. Önskar du mej, så önskar jag dej - Cornelis Vreeswijk, 8 points
07. Krama mig och dansa - Monica Zetterlund, 8 points
08. Då ska jag spela - Tomas Ledin, 6 points
09. Andra kan väl också se - Björn Skifs, 4 points
10. Din egen melodi - Sylvia Vrethammar, 1 point

At the ESC in Edinburgh Family Four finished 13th (out of 18).

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1971

Sweden did not compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, as a protest against the fact that four countries shared the victory in 1969. They were, however, back for the 1971 contest. Five semi-finals, with the same three competitors in all of them, were held in the popular TV show Hylands hörna. All of the semi-finals were held in Stockholm, hosted by Lennart Hyland, the finalists were chosen by the public. The group Family Four won all of the semi-finals, and therefore sung all the songs in the final. The Swedish Final was held on February 27th in Stockholm, hosted by Lennart Hyland. The winning song was chosen by an "expert" jury. The song Vita vidder, written and composed by Håkan Elmquist, won and represented Sweden at ESC, held in Dublin.

Results of the final:

1. Vita vidder, 22 points
2. Tjärnare kärlek, 17 points
3. Heja mamma, 11 points
4. Min sång, 10 points
5. En sång om världen, 9 points

At the ESC in Dublin Family Four finished 6th out of 18, scoring high points from Switzerland and the Netherlands.

***

Family Four were a Swedish pop group who recorded during the 1960s and 1970s. They were made up of Berdnt Öst, Marie Bergman, Agnetha Munther and Pierre Isacsson. They won Melodifestivalen twice, in 1971 with Vita vidder and in 1972 with Härliga sommardag. They went on to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest on these two occasions. They finished sixth in 1971 and 13th in 1972.

Both Marie Bergman and Pierre Isacsson went on to successful solo careers.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1969

Melodifestivalen 1969 was the selection for the 11th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. 2402 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition. This was the first time a tie occurred for first place in the competition.

The Swedish Final was held on March 1st in Stockholm, hosted by Pekka Langer. The winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. After the voting there was a tie for first place, so the jurors had to revote and Tommy Körberg won by 54 votes to 45. The other song, Hej clown was written by Lasse Berghagen and later ABBA member Benny Andersson and was sung by Jan Malmsjö.

Results:

01. Judy min vän - Tommy Körberg, 31 points (54)
02. Hej clown - Jan Malmsjö, 31 points (45)
03. Gång på gång – Sten Nilsson, 13 points
04. Härlig är vår jord - Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 8 points
05. Svensk flicka – Ann-Louise Hanson, 8 points
06. Sommarflicka – Svante Thuresson, 4 points
07. Du ger mig lust att leva – Lena Hansson, 3 points
08. Du ser mig inte - Inger Öst, 1 point
09. L, som i älskar dej - Britt Bergström, 0 points
10. Du skänker mening åt mitt liv - Ola Håkansson, 0 points

At the ESC, held in Madrid, Tommy finished 9th out of 16. Most points came from Sweden's neighbours, Norway and Finland.

***

Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (4 July 1948, Norsjö) is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician.

In 1969, he won the Swedish Recording Industry Award in the category Best Debut Performance.

He is best known for his role in the Benny Andersson–Björn Ulvaeus–Tim Rice musical Chess. For his part in Chess he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier  Award in the category Outstanding Performance by an actor in a Musical. He has also appeared in the Swedish productions of other musicals, including The Sound of Music and Les Misérables.

Tommy Körberg voiced the Beast in the Swedish version of Beauty and the Beast, and also sang the Swedish version of the title song on the soundtrack.
For years, he collaborated with Monica and Carl-Axel Dominique in the experimental group Solar Plexus. In his own performances, he has worked extensively with Stefan Nilsson, and including songs by Jacques Brel.
Körberg is also a frequent performer with Benny Andersson's band, Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO), singing mostly dance music and music by Andersson.

In 2008 he starred in the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Cirkus in Stockholm, and in 2009 he played Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady in Stockholm acting opposite Helen Sjöholm, who portrayed the role of Eliza Doolittle.
In the autumn of 2010 Körberg and his long-time friend Claes Malmberg gave a show in Gothenburg called The Big Bang Show. He also plans to launch a new CD.

Tommy Körberg represented Sweden in the 1969 and 1988 Eurovision Song Contests. In 1969 he came 9th with Judy, min vän and in 1988 he came 12th with Stad i ljus.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1968

Melodifestivalen 1968 was the selection for the 10th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. 2233 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition. The final was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV. The Swedish Final was held on March 9th in Stockholm, hosted by Magnus Banck. The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.

Results:

01. Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig - Claes-Göran Hederström, 23 points
02. Du är en vårvind i april – Svante Thuresson, 21 points
03. Du vet var jag finns – Towa Carson, 15 points
04. Gå och göm dig, Åke Tråk – Mona Wessman, 15 points
05. Här kommer pojkar - Svante Thuresson & Östen Warnebring, 13 points
06. Jag vill tro - Anna-Lena Löfgren, 5 points
07. Jag ser en värld – Gunnar Wiklund, 3 points
08. Låt mej få va' ifred – Cecilia stam, 3 points
09. Fri hos dej - Britt Bergström, 1 point
10. Du och jag och våren - Lars Lönndahl, 0 points

At the Eurovision Song Contest in London, Claes-Göran Hederström sang the song Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig, made by Peter Himmelstrand. It finished 5th (out of 17) with 15 points, including 6 from Norway, the highest number of votes awarded that year.

***

Claes-Göran Hederström (born on 20 October 1945 in Danderyd, north of Stockholm) is a Swedish singer. He made his musical debut on Swedish television in 1967. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, Claes-Göran Hederström represented Sweden with the song Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig, made by Peter Himmelstrand. It finished 5th (out of 17) with 15 points, including 6 from Norway, the highest number of votes awarded that year. The song subsequently topped Swedish top 20 charts and today it is still his most recognised song.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1967

 
Melodifestivalen 1967 was the selection for the ninth song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the eighth time that this system of picking a song had been used. Approximately 1800 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition. The final was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV. The Swedish national selection was for the first time called Melodifestivalen, a name that remains to this day.  Melodifestivalen 1967 was held on February 24th in Stockholm, hosted by Maud Husberg. The winning song was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.

Results:

01. Som en dröm - Östen Warnebring, 24 points
02. En valsfan - Östen Warnebring, 20 points
03. Ren vals - Roffe Berg, 14 points
03. Alla har glömt - Towa Carson, 14points
05. Vem frågar vinden - Towa Carson, 11 points
06. Svart-Olas polka - Sten Nilsson, 8 points
07. Christina dansar - Ann-Louise Hanson, 4 points
08. Men vore du endast en visa - Marianne Kock, 2 points
09. Förlåt min vän – Svane Thuresson, 2 points
10. Sjungas till sömns - Ann-Louise Hanson, 0 points

The Swedish entry Som en dröm, composed by Curt Pettersson and Marcus Österdal and written by Patrice Hellberg finished 8th out of 17 at the ESC in Vienna.

***

Östen Warnerbring (November 22, 1932, Malmö. – January 18, 2006, San Augustin, Canary Islands) was a Swedish singer, musician, composer and lyrics writer who mastered several musical genres. He started out as a jazz musician but over the years, he had huge successes both in the area of popular music and as a singer of Swedish poetry, put into music by himself. In the 1970s, he became one of the first Swedish artists to use his native accent, of the province of Scania in the south of Sweden, also while singing.

He represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 with the song Som en dröm, written by Marcus Österdahl & Curt Pettersson with lyrics by Patrice Hellberg which finished 8th out of 17 at the ESC in Vienna.

Östen Warnerbring made several appearances in the Swedish pre-selection for the ESC.  His first was in the 1959 qualifying competition with the song Kungsgatans blues which finished in fourth place. In 1960 he tried again and although he won with Alla andra får varann, SR decided to send Siw Malmkvist to the Eurovision final in London. Östen Warnerbring performed two songs in the 1962 final. Lolo Lolita was placed fourth and Trollen ska trivas sixth.

Following his 1967 victory, Warnerbring defended his title in 1968 by teaming up with Svante Thuresson and together they took fifth place with Här kommar pojkar. His next appearance, in 1972, saw him finish in second place above a song submitted by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Warnerbring's song, Så’n e’ du så’n e’ jag finished seven points behind the eventual winning group Family Four. His final attempt at Melodifestivalen in 1974 was also his least successful. En mysig vals was placed tenth and last.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1966

Melodifestivalen 1966 (known as the Svensk sångfinal) was the selection for the eighth song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. 898 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition. The final was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV but was not broadcast on radio. The Swedish Final was held on January 29th in Stockholm, hosted by Sven Lindahl. The winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries. The winning song, Nygammal vals, was performed by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson. It was written by Bengt-Arne Wallin and Björn Lindroth.

Results

01. Nygammal vals - Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson, 26 points
02. Monte Carlo - Carli Tornehave, 19 points
03. Vinterrosor - Gunnar Wiklund, 14 points
04. En ballad om för längesen - Ann-Louise Hanson, 9 points
05. Var finns du? - Gunilla af Malmborg, 8 points
05. Härliga Söndag - Carli Tornehave, 8 points
07. Hej systrar, hej bröder - Svante Thuresson, 6 points
08. En röd vals - Gunwer Bergquist, 5 points
09. Vårens vindar - Gunwer Bergquist, 4 points
10. Vad har jag kvar - Gunnar Wiklund, 0 points

***

Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors (born May 12 1940 in Helsinki) is a Swedish singer who is very successful in Scandinavia. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist. In the most recent decades, Lill Lindfors has been known in Scandinavia for her "one-woman shows" in which she mixes music with a lot of comedy. She was one of the first artists who sang samba in Sweden, and she was also one of the first Swedish performers who did stand-up comedy in her shows.

She was married in 1969 to director Peter Wester, with whom she has one child. The couple divorced in 1973. She lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

She was the presenter of the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was most famous for suffering a wardrobe malfunction live, during the contest, after passing through a part of the elaborate set. She later admitted it was a gag, but that it had not been rehearsed beforehand. According to author John Kennedy O'Connor's book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, the EBU was not pleased with this stunt. It remains one of the most iconic moments in the contest's history. She also performed Musik skall byggas utav glädje (My Joy Is Building Bricks of Music) as the contest's major opener.

She has starred in several Swedish TV-shows which have been awarded in Montreaux.

In 1998, she became Sweden's Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF.

Lill Lindfors released a new single in 2006, Ditt Vackra Leende.

Svante Thuresson (born February 7 1937 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz music musician and singer. He started his career as a drummer, before joining the band Gals and Pals in 1963.

In 2002, he released Nya kickar, which rose the classic/jazz charts in Sweden. In 2007, Svante Thuresson and Anne-Lie Rydé performed at Melodifestivalen 2007 as a duo for the opportunity to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. They did not reach the final of Melodifestivalen.

In 1966 Savante Thuresson and Lill Lindfors represented Sweden at the ESC in Luxemburg with the song Nygammal Vals. Much thanks to Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden took their best placement so far  with 16 points and a 2nd place.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1965

Melodifestivalen 1965 (known as the Svensk sångfinal) was the selection for the seventh song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the sixth time that this system of picking a song had been used. Ingvar Wixell performed all of the songs. Eight songs were submitted to Sveriges Radio for the competition, of which two were turned down by Ingvar Wixell. The final was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV and was held on February 13th at Djurgården in Stockholm, hosted by Birgitta Sandstedt. The winner was chosen by the votes of 11 regional juries.

For the first time, one singer sang all the songs in the national final, and Ingvar was also the first male singer to represent Sweden.

Results:

1. Annorstädes vals, 50 points
2. Stilla och tyst, 28 points
3. Förtrollad stad, 13 points
4. Kommer vår, 5 points
5. Varm i dej, 2 points
6. Väldigt vacker, 1 point

At the ESC Ingvar sung the English version of the song which was called Absent Friend.  It was the first ESC entry that was not performed in the country's native language. This led to the introduction from 1966 onwards of a rule stipulating that each country's entry must be sung in one of the languages of that country. This rule was cancelled for the years 1973 to 1977, reinstated in 1978, and cancelled again in 1999.

At the ESC in Naples Ingvar Wixell came 10th.

***

Ingvar Wixell (May 7 1931 – October 8 2011) was a Swedish baritone who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1955 to 2003.

Ingvar Wixell was born in Luleå in 1931. He made his debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm where he was member of the company until 1967.

He made his British debut during the Royal Swedish Opera's visit to Covent Garden in 1960 and in America he appeared at San Francisco Opera (Belcore, 1972) and the Metropolitan Opera.

He was engaged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin 1967 where he was a member for more than 30 years.

Among other roles, Ingvar Wixell sang Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, Amonasro in Verdi's Aida, Baron Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, and the title roles in Verdi's Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Verdi's Falstaff and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Ingvar Wixell ended his career in 2003 and died on October 8, 2011, aged 80.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 1963

The Swedish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 (known as Eurovisionsschlagern, Svensk final) was the selection for the sixth song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the fifth time that this system of picking a song had been used. The Swedish Final was held on February 16th in Stockholm, hosted by Sven Lindahl. Each of the songs was performed twice (firstly with a big orchestra, then with a small orchestra) and the winner was chosen by a jury of "experts", with only the top 3 songs being announced. 816 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition. The final was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV but was not broadcast on radio. Monica Zetterlund performed En gång i Stockholm at Eurovision, and became the first and only artist to score "nul points" for Sweden.

Results:

1. En gång i Stockholm - Monica Zetterlund/Carli Thornehave
2. Storstadsmelodi - Gerd Söderberg/Roffe Berg, Hasse Burman & Charlie Norman
3. Twist till menuett - Carli Thornehave/Lars Lönndahl

Eliminated songs:

Vårens flickparad - Lars Lönndahl/Gunnar Wiklund
Hong Kong-sång - Roffe Berg, Hasse Burman & Charlie Norman/Gerd Södergren
Säg varför - Anna-Lena Löfgren/Ann-Louise Hanson
Rosen och vinden - Per Lindqvist & Ulf Lindqvist/Lily Berglund
Fröken Eko - Lily Berglund/Mona Grain
Scheherazade - Gunnar Wiklund/Tommy Jacobsson
Jag är så trött på allt det här - Mona Grain/Ann-Catrine Widlund
Zum zum zum, lilla sommarbi - Ann-Louise Hanson/Per Lindqvist & Ulf Lindqvist

***

Eva Monica Zetterlund (born Nilsson September 20 1937 in Hagfors, died May 12 2005) was a Swedish singer and actress.

Monica Zetterlund was a singer particularly noted for her jazz work. She began by learning the classic jazz songs from radio and records, initially not knowing the language and what they sang about in English. She went for the melody, rhythm and feeling.

Monica released many very successful records in Sweden. She also interpreted the works of many Swedish national singer-songwriters such as Evert Taube, Olle Adolphson and Povel Ramel, and all through her life interpreted the works of international and American jazz musicians/song writers. She worked with some of the greatest international jazz names including Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Steve Kuhn and Quincy Jones, and in the Scandinavian jazz world with people like Georg Riedel, Egil Johansen, Arne Domnérus, Svend Asmussen and Jan Johansson.

Her long career also included the song En gång i Stockholm; a jazz ballad with which she represented Sweden in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. She finished last,mainly because the song genre was not suitable for the competition. Monica scored the infamous null points, but still managed to remain successful in Sweden. Her collaboration with the comic duo Hasseåtage eventually led to a stage career in revues and films.  She appeared in more than 20 films and television series throughout her life.

She suffered from severe scoliosis, and as a result was forced to retire from performing in 1999. She made her last lengthy official tour in 1997, and gave one of her last concerts at Sweden's Hultsfred Festival. In the last years of her life she used a wheelchair because of her scoliosis. On 12 May 2005, she died following an accidental fire in her apartment in Stockholm.