This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
So, new year and back we go to 1992 … You remember 1992?, no?? Well there were contests in a different century too you know!
This is a story of many tries. Soleil, soleil, performed by Géraldine Olivier, was first submitted in French to the French-speaking broadcaster, Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR), for Switzerland’s Eurovision selection. It failed.
A German-language version was then submitted to Schweizer Fernsehen (SF DRS), and wouldn’t you know it? The plucky little song won the Swiss final in Lugano on 23 February 1992, with 51 points. A golden ticket!
Only to be disqualified.
The reason was that the same song and artist had been entered in more than one regional selection, breaching the rules. The disqualification was announced on 9 April, so Soleil, soleil never made it to the contest in Malmö. It was replaced by the runner-up, Daisy Auvray’s Mister Music Man, which finished 15th of 23 countries with 32 points.
Enterprising?, yes … also very silly because the song is every kind of shite!
If you fancy contributing to the vault, get in touch. Nominate a song and say why you feel it deserves to be locked away forever.
