Welcome Monaco to the Eurovision Top 100 list, but maybe not with the song you expect: “Marlène” from 1970.
Monaco joined the Eurovision fray a few years in and they had some decent songs, winning the contest once and coming back briefly in time for the semifinal era. During such a long history of participation, there are bound to be some forgotten treasures. After all, that’s why the whole Eurovision rewatch from the beginning happened, and why this list exists.
1970 was a tumultuous year for Eurovision. Numerous countries sat out the contest because 1969 was a disaster on stilts, leaving just 12 nations. However, 1970 Eurovision was productive: It gave us the first postcards, and it gave us three songs on the Top 100 list. You have already seen one, “Wunder gibt es immer wieder.”
Vital Information: “Marlène”
| Song | Marlène |
| Performed By | Dominique Dussault |
| Written By | Eddie Barclay, Henri Dijan, & Jimmy Walter |
| Country | Monaco |
| Year | 1970 |
| Language(s) Performed In | French |
| How It Fared | 8th Place (5 Points) |
| Was It Fair? | Not at all |
What I Liked
This song was all class. It had a very different vibe to every other song, and who could know that a song about Marlene Dietrich could be so catchy. Then again, they said that Marlene Dietrich could never do well in the Snatch Game, and Sasha Velour showed them how it’s done.
I thought very highly of the lyrics; they were quite well done, and miles better than the dozens or hundreds of cliché songs we see. She idolizes Marlene Dietrich but talks about how she could never match up to the former’s greatness. It tells a story with style, and she performed it exactly as she should have. The juries did this song dirty.
Other Facts
- Monaco would go on to win the Eurovision Song Contest the following year.
- She performed 10th out of 12 songs at the 1970 contest. Unfortunately for her, she had to perform in between Julio Iglesias and Katja Ebstein, both songs being on this Top 100 list as well.
- Monaco received more points from France than any other country, which makes sense, as Dussault is French.
Make Marlène Proud and Watch It
That’s right: Marlene Dietrich will smile down upon you if you watch the YouTube video of the performance. I cannot confirm this, but I suspect it.
