Janus went on to become a successful actress, starring in the sitcom Game On and the soap EastEnders. Despite her achievements, her entry into the Eurovision is frequently remarked upon. She has said regarding the experience that her failure in the contest devastated her at the time and thought it would spell the end of her career. She has also called her appearance "ridiculous", in that she was dressed in a pink mini-dress while singing about starving children and says the lyrics of the song are burned into her memory forever.[1]
Like the previous year, composer Paul Curtis submitted a topical entry for consideration; this time, the subjects were the less fortunate, suffering from poverty and starvation. Janus sung of the contrasts between the people who "are hungry just from being born", and the people who have too much, with "their only hunger being greed". The "message to [the] heart" refers to Janus imploring the better-off to, at the very least, say a prayer for the less fortunate, ending with the well-known John Bradford quotation, "There but for the grace of God, go I". The melody of the song is up-tempo.
Selection processedit
Janus won the right to perform at the contest, held in Rome in March 1991, by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where she was the third singer to perform. As in the previous three years, the winner was picked via a nationwide telephone vote. Janus won over second-place finisher Brendan Faye by only 13,000 votes, in the slimmest margin since the telephone vote was introduced.
At Eurovisionedit
On the night of the contest, Janus was dressed in a pink mini-dress, flanked by three women (Zoe Picot, Lucy Moorby, and Nikki Belsher) in white mini-dresses. She was also joined by two other "ghost" backing singers, masked by a music stand at the back of the stage: Kit Rolfe, who had competed for the UK before in 1984 with the song "Love Games" (which, it was claimed, had also used "ghost" singers offstage), and Hazell Dean, who had worked extensively with Stock, Aitken and Waterman in the eighties.
In Rome, the song was performed twentieth on the night, after Spain's Sergio Dalma with "Bailar pegados", and before Cyprus' Elena Patroklou with "SOS". At the end of judging that evening, "A Message to Your Heart" took the tenth-place slot with 47 points. It was the worst showing for the United Kingdom since 1987, and resulted in the 1992 Song for Europe being retooled as far as telephone voting was concerned.
Chartsedit
After Eurovision, the song placed at No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart, and was in the chart for 3 weeks which was considered a big surprise by many.[2]
^"The UK's highest charting Eurovision stars revealed!". Retrieved 2015-05-10.
External linksedit
Lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush
April 11, 2024
message, your, heart, written, composed, paul, curtis, united, kingdom, entry, eurovision, song, contest, 1991, performed, singer, actress, samantha, janus, paul, curtis, also, penned, previous, year, entry, give, little, love, back, world, single, samantha, j. A Message to Your Heart written and composed by Paul Curtis was the United Kingdom s entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 performed by singer and actress Samantha Janus Paul Curtis had also penned the previous year s entry Give a Little Love Back to the World A Message to Your Heart Single by Samantha JanusB side Heaven is a Place for Heroes Released29 April 1991 1991 04 29 GenrePopLength3 00LabelSony Music EntertainmentSongwriter s Paul CurtisEurovision Song Contest 1991 entryCountryUnited KingdomArtist s Samantha JanusLanguageEnglishComposer s Paul CurtisConductorRonnie HazlehurstFinals performanceFinal result10thFinal points47Entry chronology Give a Little Love Back to the World 1990 One Step Out of Time 1992 Janus went on to become a successful actress starring in the sitcom Game On and the soap EastEnders Despite her achievements her entry into the Eurovision is frequently remarked upon She has said regarding the experience that her failure in the contest devastated her at the time and thought it would spell the end of her career She has also called her appearance ridiculous in that she was dressed in a pink mini dress while singing about starving children and says the lyrics of the song are burned into her memory forever 1 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Composition 1 2 Selection process 2 At Eurovision 3 Charts 4 References 5 External linksBackground editComposition edit Like the previous year composer Paul Curtis submitted a topical entry for consideration this time the subjects were the less fortunate suffering from poverty and starvation Janus sung of the contrasts between the people who are hungry just from being born and the people who have too much with their only hunger being greed The message to the heart refers to Janus imploring the better off to at the very least say a prayer for the less fortunate ending with the well known John Bradford quotation There but for the grace of God go I The melody of the song is up tempo Selection process edit Janus won the right to perform at the contest held in Rome in March 1991 by winning the UK national final A Song for Europe where she was the third singer to perform As in the previous three years the winner was picked via a nationwide telephone vote Janus won over second place finisher Brendan Faye by only 13 000 votes in the slimmest margin since the telephone vote was introduced At Eurovision editOn the night of the contest Janus was dressed in a pink mini dress flanked by three women Zoe Picot Lucy Moorby and Nikki Belsher in white mini dresses She was also joined by two other ghost backing singers masked by a music stand at the back of the stage Kit Rolfe who had competed for the UK before in 1984 with the song Love Games which it was claimed had also used ghost singers offstage and Hazell Dean who had worked extensively with Stock Aitken and Waterman in the eighties In Rome the song was performed twentieth on the night after Spain s Sergio Dalma with Bailar pegados and before Cyprus Elena Patroklou with SOS At the end of judging that evening A Message to Your Heart took the tenth place slot with 47 points It was the worst showing for the United Kingdom since 1987 and resulted in the 1992 Song for Europe being retooled as far as telephone voting was concerned Charts editAfter Eurovision the song placed at No 30 on the UK Singles Chart and was in the chart for 3 weeks which was considered a big surprise by many 2 Chart 1991 PeakpositionUK Singles Official Charts Company 3 30References edit Radio Times interview April 2006 A Message to Your Heart Official Charts Company Retrieved 2009 05 18 The UK s highest charting Eurovision stars revealed Retrieved 2015 05 10 External links editLyrics from Diggiloo Thrush Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Message to Your Heart amp oldid 1151105649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
