Rock Bottom

"Rock Bottom" was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran. It was also written and produced by de Paul and Moran and released on the Polydor record label. Originally it was written for the group Blue Mink; and submitted unbeknown to de Paul and Moran as an entry for A Song For Europe by the publishers; when it was selected, de Paul agreed to perform the song if Moran would join her. On 9 March 1977, "Rock Bottom" was selected to represent the UK at the A Song for Europe 1977 event held at the New London Theatre, presented by Terry Wogan. History The song says that when people are in a bad situation they should work to solve problems and not be pessimistic about tragedies. Eurovision 1977 was almost cancelled due to budget restrictions and it was delayed by five weeks due to a strike by cameramen and technicians. The BBC, who had to host the contest that year, did not give the song its whole-hearted support because it was the favourite to win the contest and, if it had won, then they would have to finance and host the 1978 contest, inspiring the plot used in the movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Eurovision: Secrets & Scandals, a one hour long Channel 5 documentary, shown on 13 May 2022, also confirmed that the BBC was secretly relieved that "Rock Bottom" did not win because they definitely did not want to host the 1978 contest. The song contest was planned to take place on 2 April due to the cameramen and technicians being on strike, but it was rescheduled and finally took place on 7 May. The song was performed ninth on the night, following 's Os Amigos with "Portugal no coração" and preceding 's Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy with "Mathima Solfege". At the close of voting, it had received 121 points, placing second in a field of 18 entries. Lionel Blair choreographed de Paul and Moran's piano seated performance, as he had done for the programme deciding the UK's entry that year. In an interview with Gala magazine, Marie Myriam, the contest winner stated that she loved "Rock Bottom".