Sandie Shaw peaks to No.1 across Europe with her Eurovision Song Contest winning song “Puppet On A String”
In 1967, one of the most memorable songs to have won the Eurovison Song Contest in Europe, “Puppet On A String” by Sandie Shaw achieved global sales in excess of 4 millions
Sandie Shaw peaks to No.1 across Europe with her Eurovision Song Contest winning song “Puppet On A String”
One of the most memorable songs to have won the Eurovison Song Contest in Europe, “Puppet On A String” by Sandie Shaw was written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. The song was written to represent the U.K at the popular European song contest in 1967 as part of a five song group. The catchy Pop melody of the song won the contest hands down on 8 April 1967 in Vienna, Austria, though it has always been felt that this was partly due to her existing popularity on the continent as well as her unique stage presentation appearing barefoot during the performance. At the time, Sandie Shaw already was a popular name across Europe, having scored No.1 hits with “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Long Live Love”. But despite her popularity or of the songs in Europe, Shaw never was able to break into the U.S market, being her success limited to Europe. Sandy Shaw however wasn’t too fond of the song, and as she stated later: “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.” Never the less, the song won the contest giving Britain their most memorable entry at the contest and on April 27 it peaked to No.1 on the U.K singles charts, her third Number One hit in the K which was a record for a woman at the time. Throughout 1967 it was one of the most successful singles in Europe peaking also to No.1 in several countries all over the continent. In Germany, the single was the biggest seller of the entire year, reaching sales of over 1 million copies and globally achieving sales in excess of 4 million, making it the biggest selling winning Eurovision track to date. Shaw also recorded “Puppet on a String” in French (“Un tout petit pantin”), Italian (“La danza delle note”), Spanish (“Marionetas en la cuerda”), and German (“Wiedehopf im Mai”). “Puppet On A String” has been covered in over 200 versions in over 30 languages.
Look back: Sandie Shaw performs “Puppet On A String” at the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria
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