The Bad Old Days

"'The Bad Old Days"
Eurovision Song Contest 1978 entry
Country	United Kingdom
Artist(s)	Terry Bradford, Josie Andrews, Cheryl Baker, Keith Hasler, Paul Rogers
As	Co-Co
Language	English
Composer(s)	Stephanie de Sykes & Stuart Slater
Lyricist(s)	Stephanie de Sykes & Stuart Slater
Conductor	Alyn Ainsworth
Finals performance
Final result	11th
Final points	61
Appearance chronology
◄ "Rock Bottom" (1977)
"Mary Ann" (1979) ►

"'The Bad Old Days" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in English by Co-Co.

The song, written by Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater was an uptempo love song, with the narrator recalling 'the bad old days' before they met their current partner.^[1]

On the night of the final, 22 April, the song was performed eighth, following Spain's José Vélez with "Bailemos un vals" and preceding Switzerland's Carole Vinci with "Vivre". At the close of voting, it had received 61 points, placing 11th in a field of 20.^[2] At the time, this was the worst showing yet for the UK in Eurovision, surpassing the 9th place from 1966 which until 1978 had held the dubious distinction. "The Bad Old Days" held the ignominious title until 1987, when the UK finished 13th. Of all the UK entries submitted from 1975-1993, this was the only UK song that did not receive either a 12 or a 10 point score at least once in the voting sequence. The highest score awarded to The Bad Old Days was 8 points from Germany.

The single reached No.13 in the UK during a seven week chart run. The song entered the UK singles chart at no.39 for the week the contest was staged. In the following week, it rose rapidly to no.16. Its eventual peak of 13 occurred three weeks after their failure in the contest.^[3] It was to be the group's only hit.

"The Bad Old Days" was succeeded as the British representative at the 1979 contest by Black Lace with "Mary Ann".

References