Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw song)

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"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. It Template:Esccnty in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna, winning the contest, becoming the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision wins.[1][2]

As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks.[3] In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]

Background

Conception

"Puppet on a String" was written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter,[5] and recorded by Sandie Shaw.

Selection

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) internally selected Shaw as Template:Esccnty for the Template:Escyr of the Eurovision Song Contest. She had never been taken with the idea of taking part in the contest but her discoverer, Adam Faith, had talked her into it, saying it would keep her manager Eve Taylor happy. Taylor wanted to give Shaw a more cabaret appeal and felt that this was the right move – and also felt that it would get Shaw back in the public's good books as she had recently been involved in a divorce scandal.[6]

Shaw performed the song as one of five prospective numbers for the contest on The Rolf Harris Show. Of the five songs, "Puppet on a String" was Shaw's least favourite. In her own words, "I hated it from the very first 'oompah' to the final 'bang' on the big bass drum. I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune".[7] On 25 February 1967, Shaw performed the five songs on Template:Esccnty, the national final organized by the BBC to select the song she would perform in the contest. The winner was chosen by postcard voting and on 4 March the BBC announced that "Puppet on a String" had won the competition becoming the British entry for Eurovision.[8]

Shaw also recorded "Puppet on a String" in French –as "Un tout petit pantin"–, Italian –"La danza delle note"–, Spanish –"Marionetas en la cuerda"–, and German –"Wiedehopf im Mai"–.[9]

Eurovision

On 8 April 1967, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Script error: No such module "Lang". in Vienna hosted by Script error: No such module "Lang". (ORF), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Shaw performed "Puppet on a String" eleventh on the night, following Template:Esccnty's "Ik heb zorgen" by Louis Neefs and preceding Template:Esccnty's "Hablemos del amor" by Raphael. Kenny Woodman conducted the live orchestra in the performance of the British entry.[10]

At the close of voting, the song had received 47 points, placing it first in a field of sixteen, and winning the contest[11]

Aftermath

As a result of it winning the Eurovision Song Contest, "Puppet on a String" became Shaw's third number one hit in the UK –a record for a woman at the time– and was a big worldwide smash. Globally, the single achieved sales in excess of four million, making it the biggest-selling winning Eurovision track to date.[12] Some estimates suggest this makes the track the biggest selling single by a British female artist of all time.[13]

Shaw performed her song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen.[14]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart
Chart (1967)[2] Peak
position
Argentina (ACPVP)[15] 1
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[16] 2
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart) 13
Denmark (Danish Singles Chart)[17] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 5
France (Institut français d'opinion publique)[19] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 1
Italy (Musica e dischi)[21] 8
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[22] 2
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[20] 1
Netherlands (Mega Top 30)[23] 1
New Zealand (PPNZ)[24] 2
Singapore (Radio Singapore)[22] 3
South Africa (Entertainment Monitoring Africa)[25] 3
Spain (Cadena SER)[26] 1
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[27] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 1
Venezuela[28] 6
West Germany (Schallplatte)[29] 1

Sales

Region Copies
Belgium 45,000[30]
Germany 750,000[31]
Worldwide 4,000,000[32]

Legacy

Cover versions

The song was covered in over 200 versions in over 30 languages.[33]Template:Better source needed

Covers include:

In popular culture

The song was featured in The 1975 Bulgarian Cartoon Buffo-Synchronists by Proiko Proikov and the soundtrack of the 2021 film Last Night in Soho.[60] In July 2024, the song was sampled by English singer Jade, for her debut single titled "Angel of My Dreams".[61]

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:S-endTemplate:Sandie ShawTemplate:Eurovision Song Contest 1967Script error: No such module "Navbox".Template:List of Eurovision Song Contest winnersTemplate:Songs of Europe (Eurovision)Template:Authority control
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check Eurovision Song Contest winners
Template:Escyr Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  7. ↑ Shaw, Sandie: The World at my Feet. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1991. Template:ISBN
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  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  12. ↑ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official Celebration. Carlton Books Ltd, 2015. Template:ISBN
  13. ↑ Kelly, Mike. Wot Pop: 50 Years of Hits 1952-2002 - A-Z of Hitmakers Plus the UK's Top 5000 Singles. Southgate Publishers, 30 September 2002. Template:ISBN
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