Eurovision Top 100, #20: I See a Star (The Netherlands, 1974)

At number 20 on the Eurovision Top 100 list, it’s “I See a Star,” the Dutch song from 1974 which may have gotten overshadowed.

Well, okay – fine.  It did get overshadowed, but when you consider what song and band won that year, it is understandable.  Even though this one fell short, it was still a very different, inventive performance for this era at Eurovision, leaving one of the best impressions of a song that this website has held.

Yes, this song was in English, like that other song we’ve alluded to from 1974. For a few years in the 1970s, the “native language rule” was lifted.

Vital Information: “I See a Star”

What I Liked

One thing that was apparent right away is that Big Mouth was beautifully eccentric.  Mouth and MacNeal contrasted well with each other: Him being a big ball of wild, chaotic energy and her being a more mainstream singing voice.  Both did well at their roles, and both were very good singers. Speaking of “chaotic energy,” I’m not saying he was Guildo Horn or anything like that, but for the 70s, he was very different for this contest.

This song was fun, from the mood it set to the silly props.  For 1974, this was a groundbreaking performance.  What’s unfortunate for them is that a few songs before it was an even more groundbreaking song that just happened to launch one of the most popular super-groups of all-time.

Other Facts

• “Mouth’s” real name was Willem Duyn.  He passed away in 2004.
• Maggie MacNeal represented the Netherlands a second time in 1980, this time as a solo artist with the song “Amsterdam.”
• While this song did not win in 1974 – and given who it lost to, it’s understandable – the Netherlands won again in 1975.
• The Netherlands went 12th in the 1974 running order.

“I See a Star,” and a Video

And when you get to YouTube, you’ll find it there.