What is the best-selling Eurovision song of all time?
When pressed as to who reigns supreme in the Eurovision Song Contest record sellers, it’s likely you’ll be thinking of Sweden’s biggest musical export.
They were a monster. Once, the UK’s Brighton Dome was treated to ‘Waterloo’ at the 1974 contest and won handsomely with a six-point lead. ABBA dominated the pop world for the next seven years, enduring as a Eurovision behemoth and one of the musical heavyweights of the decade, whether the punks liked it or not.
Yet, while over 72 million certified sales are nothing to be sniffed at, one other Eurovision winner crushes ABBA with their unit shifts. Representing Switzerland in 1988, French-Canadian yodeller and ‘Queen of the Power Ballads’ Celine Dion was thrust from regional Quebec star to global titan off that year’s ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’, setting the stage for the following decade’s chart-conquering album and single sales, boasting a whopping 151m certified sales and standing as Canada’s most lucrative artist.
It’s been a while since the UK won, however. Try as they might, it’s been nearly 30 years since any Brit has walked away with the coveted glass microphone trophy, Katrina and the Waves triumphant with their ‘Love Shine a Light’ entry way back in 1997.
The UK do wield a Eurovision milestone up their sleeves despite their barren trophy cabinet, counting the contest’s most commercially successful single in its 70-year history.
So, what is the best-selling Eurovision song?
While ABBA’s ‘Waterloo’ stomper isn’t far behind, 1976’s Eurovision winner just inches it as the contest’s ultimate unit shifter.
Not Bucks Fizz, Sandie Shaw, or even Lulu, but record producer Tony Hiller’s saccharine pop outfit Brotherhood of Man. Initially dreamed up by co-singer Lee Sheriden, the pop quartet conceived of the perfectly twee fodder for the contest’s tastes, weaving a charming ditty of a man’s lament at leaving his loved one behind every day as he goes to work, only to reveal that the tugger of his heartstrings is in fact his three-year-old daughter.
Well, it worked. Winning the contest, ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’ saw Brotherhood of Man clean up the competition at The Hague and release their defining hit, reaching number one in the UK and another 30-odd countries with over 6million copies sold worldwide. Helped by ‘Angelo’, ‘Oh Boy (The Mood I’m In)’ and ‘Figaro’, the quartet would play nostalgia circuits and shows for decades, calling it a day in 2020 with fellow singer Martin Lee passing away four years later.
“This is what fascinates us – many people who come to our shows weren’t even born when we had our hits, yet they know the songs – it astounds and humbles us to see them there, singing along,” Hiller reflected to PRS’ M Magazine in 2011.
Adding, “We have a whole mixture coming in. We’re still enjoying it, still love it. People send us photos, we’re in touch with our fans on Facebook, and we’re still having fun, after 40 years…we must be mad!”
