Eighteen countries participated in the contest - setting a new record for the highest number of entrants in the competition until that point. Sweden returned after being absent from the previous edition, while Ireland made its debut.
Luxembourg won for the second time with the highly controversial "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" sung by the French singer France Gall, and written by Serge Gainsbourg, which later went on to be a massive hit in almost all European countries. It was the first winning song since the Netherlands' "Een beetje" in 1959 to not be a ballad, being the first pop song to ever win the competition. For the fourth consecutive year, four countries all scored nul points; Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain - all of which finished with no points for the second time in the contest's history.[1]
Location
Sala di Concerto della RAI, Naples – host venue of the 1965 contest.
The contest took place in Naples, the capital of region Campania in southern Italy and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. This was Italy's first hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest. The host venue was the then new Sala di Concerto della RAI (RAI Concert Hall) belonging to the RAI Production Centre of Naples, founded few years prior to the contest. It is located in Viale Marconi in the district of Fuorigrotta. The structure has three TV studios for a total of 1227 m2 and capacity of 370 persons, used for the filming of programs and fiction and an auditorium. The Neapolitan song archives are also housed in it.[1][2]
18 countries took part, with the Eurovision Song Contest reaching its highest number until then. Sweden returned after a one-year absence, and Ireland entered for the first time. Ireland and Sweden would later become the most successful countries in the competition, scoring seven wins each.
Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs. The points were totalled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5, 3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points. If only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order.
Ingvar Wixell, the Swedish participant performed his song in English instead of the original Swedish title "Annorstädes vals". The native languages were used for all of the other participants. This led to a rule being introduced for the next 1966 edition, that meant all participants had to perform their songs using one of their national languages.[1]
Contest overview
The contest took place on 20 March 1965, beginning at 22:00 CET (21:00 UTC).[6]
Each country nominated a spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country via telephone. Known spokespersons at the 1965 contest are listed below.
Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs. The points were totalled and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5, 3, and 1 votes in order. If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points. If only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order.
Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its networks. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as "passive participants". Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers.[12]
In addition to the participating countries, the contest was also reportedly broadcast in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union via Intervision, with an estimated audience of 100 million viewers.[4][13] Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
Kathy Kirby slaps France Gall after narrow victory
According to France Gall herself,[46] the UK act Kathy Kirby - who finished second - had upon hearing she had lost to Gall, ran over to her dressing room and slapped her.[47] In an interview she stated: "The British candidate was very disappointed because she should have won, according to her and everybody… And finally, it was me. Me, who didn’t care at all. I recall a slap: Did she enter my dressing-room only to insult me? I don’t know. Anyway, the memory that I have of it is a slap." [48]
Serge Gainsbourg's feud with the orchestra
The French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, who was the songwriter for the Luxembourgish act "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", was infamously known for his provocative comments and behaviour. The orchestra at the contest had interrupted the country's rehearsals due to a disagreement with the Luxembourgish delegation, resulting in Gainsbourg threatening to withdraw the entire act unless they cooperated. An agreement was eventually reached, allowing Gall to win the contest.[48]
Notes
^On behalf of the German public broadcasting consortium ARD[5]
^ abRoxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 369–381. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
^Thorsson, Leif; Verhage, Martin (2006). Melodifestivalen genom tiderna : de svenska uttagningarna och internationella finalerna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Premium Publishing. pp. 54–55. ISBN91-89136-29-2.
^"Radio | sabato 20 marzo". Radiocorriere TV (in Italian). Vol. 42, no. 11. Turin, Italy. 14–20 March 1965. pp. 54–55. Retrieved 24 January 2023 – via Rai Teche.
^"Boletim do dia" [Bulletin of the day]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal. 20 March 1965. p. 18. Retrieved 28 December 2022 – via Casa Comum.
^"Sobota 20. března" [Saturday 20 March]. Československý rozhlas a televise (in Czech). Vol. 32, no. 12. 15 March 1965. p. 7. Retrieved 19 May 2024. (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
^ ab"A TV műsora – szeptember 6-12" [The TV program - September 6–12]. Rádió és Televízióújság (in Hungarian). 6 September 1965. p. 23. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022 – via MTVA Archívum.
^"Eurovision Song Contest: Young Singer Wins Title for Luxembourg". Times of Malta. Birkirkara, Malta. 22 March 1965. p. 2.
