| "Après Toi" | |
|---|---|
 German release sleeve | |
| Single byVicky Leandros | |
| from the album Vicky Leandros | |
| Language | French |
| B-side |
|
| Released | 1972 |
| Genre | Chanson |
| Length | 3:31 |
| Label | Philips |
| Composers | |
| Lyricist | Yves Dessca [fr] |
| Producer | Leo Leandros |
| Eurovision Song Contest 1972 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist | |
| Language | |
| Composers |
|
| Lyricist | Yves Dessca |
| Conductor | Klaus Munro |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 1st |
| Final points | 128 |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Pomme, pomme, pomme" (1971) | |
| "Tu te reconnaîtras" (1973) ► | |
| Official performance video | |
| "Après toi" onYouTube | |
"Après toi" (French pronunciation:[apʁɛtwa]; "After you") is a song recorded by Greek singerVicky Leandros, with music composed by her fatherLeo Leandros under hispseudonym Mario Panas, and German composerKlaus Munro [de], with French lyrics byYves Dessca [fr]. Itrepresented Luxembourg in theEurovision Song Contest 1972 held inEdinburgh, winning the contest.
"Après toi" was composed by Leandros' father Leandros Papathanasiou, known asLeo Leandros under hispseudonym Mario Panas, and German composerKlaus Munro [de], with French lyrics byYves Dessca [fr]. It is a dramaticballad, with the singer telling her lover what will happen to her once he has finally left her for someone else: "After you I will be nothing but the shadow of your shadow".[1]
Originally, the song was written with German lyrics as "Dann kamst du" and was submitted to theGerman Eurovision national selection process. When the song did not qualify for that competition, Yves Dessca, who had co-written the lyrics of the1971 Eurovision winning song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", penned French lyrics and theCompagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) internally selected it asits entry for the17th edition of theEurovision Song Contest. Dessca remains the only author/composer ever to score back-to-back Eurovision victories.[2]
In addition to the French version,Vicky Leandros recorded the song in English as "Come What May", in Italian "Dopo te", German "Dann kamst du", Spanish "Y después", Greek "Móno esý"Μόνο εσύ, and Japanese "Omoide ni ikiru"思い出に生きる.[1] This was Leandros' second entry in the Eurovision Song Contest as she had finished fourth in the1967 contest with "L'amour est bleu".
On 25 March 1972, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at theUsher Hall inEdinburgh hosted by theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Leandros performed "Après toi" seventeenth on the evening, followingBelgium's "À la folie ou pas du tout" bySerge & Christine Ghisoland and preceding theNetherlands' "Als het om de liefde gaat" bySandra &Andres. Klaus Munro conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Luxembourgian entry.[3]
By the close of voting, the song had received 128 points, placing it first in a field of eighteen, and winning the contest, ahead of theBritish entry "Beg, Steal or Borrow", performed byThe New Seekers.[4] "Après toi" was succeeded as contest winner in1973 by "Tu te reconnaîtras", sung byAnne-Marie David, also forLuxembourg.
In the Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competitionCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 22 October 2005 inCopenhagen,Anne-Marie David performed the song as part of the interval acts.[5]
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 23 |
| Belgium/Flanders (Ultratop)[7] | 3 |
| Belgium/Wallonia[8] | 1 |
| Dutch(Dutch Top 30)[9] | 1 |
| France(SNEP)[10] | 1 |
| Germany(Media Control) | 11 |
| Ireland(IRMA) | 2 |
| Malaysia[11] | 3 |
| Norway (VG-lista[12] | 2 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[13] | 1 |
| Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[14] | 1 |
| United Kingdom(Official Singles Chart)[15] | 2 |
| Region | Sales |
|---|---|
| France | 800,000[16] |
"Après toi" has been afforded a number of translated cover versions including "Jak mám spát" (Czech) recorded byHelena Vondráčková, "Keď si sám" (Slovak) recorded byEva Kostolányiová [sk], "Rakastan saavuthan" (Finnish) recorded byCarola Standertskjöld, "Posle tebe" (Serbian) recorded byLola Novaković, "Vắng bóng người yêu" (Vietnamese) recorded byThanh Lan, "Si te vas" (Spanish) recorded byPaloma San Basilio, "Vad än sker" (Swedish) recorded byAnn-Louise Hanson, "Etter deg" (Norwegian) recorded byLillian Askeland [nb] andGro Anita Schønn, "Sled teb" ("След теб", Bulgarian), recorded byLili Ivanova, and "Aşk mı bu" (Turkish), recorded byAyla Algan in 1973.
The English version "Come What May" was covered by John Gummoe ofthe Cascades on a 1972London Recordings single, and byFilipina singerPilita Corrales on her 1976 albumLive At The Riveira With Pilita Amado Vol. 2.
Après toi.
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest winners 1972 | Succeeded by |
