Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Trödler und Co.", written by Peter Reber, and performed by Peter, Sue, Marc, Pfuri, Gorps, and Kniri. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry for the contest through a national final.
Before Eurovision
Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1979
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1979. The broadcaster received 109 total song submissions (50 in French, 35 in German, and 14 in Italian). In late November 1978, an internal jury shortlisted 26 songs before ultimately selecting eight to take part in the selection, with three being performed in German and Italian and two in French.[1][2] Among the participants were Peter, Sue and Marc— who represented Switzerland in 1971 and 1976 and repeated this in 1981. Biggi Bachmann previously won a national final from Liechtenstein in 1976, but did not enter the contest as the country did not have a television broadcaster associated with the European Broadcasting Union.[3]
Shortly before the final, "Amour, on t'aime" by Alain Morisod and his group withdrew as the group disbanded. The song was resubmitted to the 1982 Swiss national final, where it was performed by Arlette Zola and won.[1][2][4]
Swiss German and Romansh broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen der deutschen und rätoromanischen Schweiz (SF DRS) staged the national final on 28 January 1979 at 21:00 CET in Zürich.[1] It was presented by Christian Heeb, with Peter Jacques conducting the orchestra. Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta— who won Eurovision for Israel in 1978 — and Cissy Houston made guest appearances.[5][6]
| R/O | Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) | Language | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Lyricist | ||||
| 1 | Biggie Bachmann | "Musik, Musik" | Ambros Baumann | Beat Hirt | German |
| 2 | Rita Pavone | "Dieci cuori" | Mario Robbiani | Italian | |
| 3 | Groupe Atlas | "Moi je viens d'un pays" | Pierre Alain | French | |
| 4 | Salvo Ingrassia | "Senza te" | Ambros Baumann | Salvo Ingrassia | Italian |
| 5 | Peter, Sue, Marc, Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri | "Trödler und Co." | Peter Reber | German | |
| 7 | Ruby Manila | "Shake Hands" | Ruby Manila | Pierre Studer | German[a] |
| 8 | Sandro Caroli | "La nostra favola" | Sandro Caroli | Italian | |
The voting consisted of regional public votes which were sent to the three divisions of SRG SSR (DRS, TSR, TSI: German, French, and Italian speaking, respectively), a press jury, and an "expert" jury.[1][7] Applications for viewers from Switzerland and Liechtenstein to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 20 January, and 50 viewers from each canton were randomly selected to cast their votes to their broadcaster divisions via phone call.[7] The winner was the song "Trödler und Co.", composed by Peter Reber and performed by Peter, Sue, Marc, Pfuri, Gorps, and Kniri.
| R/O | Artist(s) | Song | Regional Juries | Press Jury |
Expert Jury |
Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRS | TSR | TSI | |||||||
| 1 | Biggi Bachmann | "Musik Musik" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 6 |
| 2 | Rita Pavone | "Dieci cuori" | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 4 |
| 3 | Groupe Atlas | "Moi je viens d'un pays" | 5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 2 |
| 4 | Salvo Ingrassia | "Senza te" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| 5 | Peter, Sue, Marc, Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri | "Trödler und Co." | 8 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 37 | 1 |
| 6 | Ruby Manila | "Shake Hands" | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 3 |
| 7 | Sandro Caroli | "La nostra favola" | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 5 |
At Eurovision
At the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, the Swiss entry was the eighth entry of the night following Greece and preceding Germany. The Swiss conductor at the contest was Rolf Zuckowski. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 60 points in total; finishing in tenth place out of nineteen countries.
Voting
Each participating broadcaster assembled a jury panel with at least eleven members. The jurors awarded 1-8, 10, and 12 points to their top ten songs. Until 1980, the votes were given in the order the awarded songs were performed in, rather than in ascending numerical order.
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References
- ^ a b c d e "Sept Aspirants a la Glorie" [Seven Aspirants to Glory]. Radio TV – Je vois tout (in French). 25 January 1979. p. 46-47. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ a b c d "Schweizer Ausscheidung - Finale Suisse - Finale Svizzera 1979". Vorstadt Music & Records. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ "TV-Grand Prix ohne Biggi Bachmann" [TV Grand Prix without Biggi Bachmann]. Liechtensteiner Volksblatt (in German). Schaan, Liechtenstein. 31 January 1976. p. 6. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Liechtenstein State Library.
- ^ "Les Étoiles de Télé Hebdo" [The Stars of Télé Hebdo]. Le Nouvel illustré (in French). 10 January 1979. p. 24. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ "TV — Samedi 27 Janivier" [TV — Saturday 27 January]. Radio TV – Je vois tout (in French). 25 January 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ a b Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1979 (Video) (in German). 28 January 1979.
- ^ a b "Finale suisse du Concours Eurovision de la chanson 1979 — Votez pour la chanson de votre choix!" [Swiss Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 — Vote for the song of your choice!]. Le nouvelliste (in French). Vol. 12, no. 9. 12 January 1979. p. 13. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via E-newspaperarchives.ch.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
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- ^ Contains some words in English
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