Editorials & Opinion

Withdrawal skandal – Ten Eurovision gems that never happened

6. Dany – La Vie À 25 Ans


The selection
France was still one of the big shots of Eurovision back in 1974. Ok, their last victory was five years ago (a victory they even had to share) and they’d missed out on the top ten twice in a row, but still: France was a nation you could count on. 29 year old Danièle Graule, known as Dani, was chosen to represent her nation in Brighton. The song she was going to sing was a song about life when you’re 25: La Vie À 25 Ans.
What was the skandal?
In this case, there was no skandal, but a national loss that caused Dani to miss out on her Eurovision ticket. She was, I assume, on her way to Brighton (or maybe she was there already), when the sad news broke in her home country: France’s iconic President, Georges Pompidou, had died unexpectedly. The president was still in office when he died of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. France was mourning and so Dani’s entry was withdrawn from Eurovision. A decision we can all fully understand. Furthermore, French singer and Luxembourg’s 1973 winner Anne-Marie David didn’t attend the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest for the same reason.
How would this have done?
It wouldn’t win. Or come second, third or fourth. Let’s be clear here, no one could beat ABBA, Gigliola followed the entire Eurovision recipe, Mouth & MacNeal were stars and Olivia Newton John was a star waiting to be born. Seeing however that the atrocious Israeli entry (really, it’s bad) Natati La Khayay grabbed seventh place, I think it’s safe to say Dani would’ve scored approximately there. Sixth, seventh – somewhere in that area.

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