| "Long Live Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the Belgian release | ||||
| Single byOlivia Newton-John | ||||
| from the albumLong Live Love | ||||
| B-side | "Angel Eyes" | |||
| Released | March 1974 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:46 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | John Farrar | |||
| Olivia Newton-John singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composers | ||||
| Lyricists |
| |||
| Conductor | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 4th | |||
| Final points | 14 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Power to All Our Friends" (1973) | ||||
| "Let Me Be the One" (1975) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Long Live Love" onYouTube | ||||
"Long Live Love" is a song by Australian singer, songwriter, and actressOlivia Newton-John composed and written byValerie Avon andHarold Spiro. Itrepresented the United Kingdom in theEurovision Song Contest 1974 held inBrighton.
The song's composers,Valerie Avon andHarold Spiro, had worked together as staff writers forBelwin Mills Publishing since 1970 and had placed songs with several artists: Newton-John had recorded the Avon/Spiro composition "Don't Move Away" as aduet withCliff Richard, the track serving asB-side to Richard's 1971 hit "Sunny Honey Girl".
"Long Live Love" was the third time Avon and Spiro had submitted a co-composition of theirs to theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for consideration forA Song For Europe, its national selection for theEurovision Song Contest, having finished fourth in a field of sixin 1970 with "Can I Believe", and having finished sixth in a field of sixin 1971 with "In My World of Beautiful Things".
The BBC had internally selectedOlivia Newton-John as its performer for the19th edition of theEurovision Song Contest. She introduced one of each of the six nominated songs on a broadcast ofJimmy Savile'sClunk Click television show onBBC One; on 23 February 1974 a television broadcast entitledA Song For Europe 1974 announced the tally of viewers' mailed-in ballots, with "Long Live Love" the clear victor at 27,387 votes, becoming theBritish entrant for Eurovision.[2] The runner-up, "Angel Eyes" –which was Newton-John's favourite–[3] gained 18,018 votes.[4]
Newton-John made recorded versions of all the songs she had performed for consideration for Eurovision, these tracks making up half ofLong Live Love, a December 1974 Olivia Newton-John album release, with "Angel Eyes" being utilized as the B-side of the single release of "Long Live Love." She also recorded a German-language version of "Long Live Love".[5]
On 6 April 1974, the Eurovision Song Contest was held atThe Dome inBrighton hosted by the BBC, and broadcast live throughout the continent. Considered a strong contender, Newton-John performed "Long Live Love" second on the evening, followingFinland's "Keep Me Warm" byCarita Holmström and precedingSpain's "Canta y sé feliz" byPeret. The conductor for the British entrant wasNick Ingman and Newton-John was backed by a five-woman chorale which includedthe Ladybirds, the trio who had sung backup forSandie Shaw on her victorious performance of "Puppet on a String" in the1967 contest.[6]
At the close of voting "Long Live Love" had received 14 points to place in a three-way tie for fourth[4] in a field of 17, "Bye Bye I Love You" byIreen Sheer singing forLuxembourg and "Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va" byRomuald singing forMonaco also having accrued 14 points.[7] Newton-John admitted post-contest: "I was never really happy with the song I had to sing."[citation needed]
"Long Live Love" was succeeded as British entrant at the1975 contest by "Let Me Be the One" byThe Shadows. Olivia Newton-John would be the last solo act to represent the UK at Eurovision until the1985 contest.
On 10 August 2022, the Eurovision's official YouTube channel uploaded, with permission of the BBC, the song's Eurovision performance in Brighton in tribute to Newton-John after her death.
In the British Isles "Long Live Love" charted in the UK with a #11[8] peak and reached #9[9] in Ireland: the track also afforded Newton-John a #11 hit in her adopted homeland of Australia.[10] In anticipation of a boost from its expected strong Eurovision showing, "Long Live Love" was widely released throughoutmainland Europe with the track having its highest global impact in Norway with a three-week chart peak tenure at #3,[11] being kept from #1 by the chart-topping 1974 Eurovision victor "Waterloo" (ABBA) with first "Devil Gate Drive" (Suzi Quatro) and then "Seasons in the Sun" (Terry Jacks) at #2.[12] However "Long Live Love" did not afford Newton-John widespread European success, otherwise charting only on Belgium's Dutch chart (#7) and in Finland (#9).[13][14]
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Renderings of "Long Live Love" in Norwegian and Finnish were recorded by respectivelyGluntan [no] ("Det er et sted")[18] andPäivi Paunu ("Kun rakastaa").[19] Anthony Newley covered the song and it was issued as a single (MGM M12744) in the U.S. in 1974
