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© Massiel
Controversial documentary
Spain: How Franco cheated Cliff of victory in Eurovision 1968
The Spanish entrant Massiel won the competition forty years ago with the ditty 'La, la, la' robbing the British crooner of the title by only one point in a nail-biting finish.
Sir Cliff, who was knighted in 1995, represented the United Kingdom with the hit song 'Congratulations' in the contest in April 1968 held at London's Royal Albert Hall and strongly led the competition until the last moment when Spain's entry surged ahead.
A documentary filmmaker has now revealed that Spain's only ever Eurovision win was down to behind the scenes negotiations by television executives from Spain's state run channel.
Director Montse Fernandez Vila claims that RTVE (Spanish broadcaster) executives toured Europe offering cash and promising to buy television series and contract unknown artists from other Eurovision member states to influence the vote in the prestigious singing competition.
”There is evidence that votes were bought to secure a win for Massiel,” said the director discussing the documentary “1968. I lived through the Spanish May”, broadcast on Spain's Sexta channel.
At the time the winner of the competition was decided by a jury comprised of 10 members from each of the 17 countries participating. Each member awarded one point to their favourite song.
With the emerging tourist industry on the Spanish Costas the regime of fascist dictator General Francisco Franco hoped that a Eurovision win would boost its popularity both at home and abroad.
”The regime was acutely aware of the need to improve their image,” Ms Fernandez Vila told Spanish daily newspaper 20 Minutos.
"Looking back at the parties that were organised and the way Massiel was turned into a national hero - it seems a bit excessive for a song festival but it all served to glorify the regime,” she said.
Massiel, now 60, whose real name is Maria Felix de los Angeles Santamaria Espinosa, went on to become one of Spain's best loved singers and re-released her Eurovision entry in 1997 with a hip hop beat.
The song 'La la la' sparked controversy from the start. The original version penned by Duo Dinamico was in the Catalan language but the Franco regime insisted the words be sung in Spanish.
Sir Cliff, now 67, made a second attempt to win the Eurovision Song contest when in 1973 he represented the UK with “Power To All Our Friends”. But he only reached 3rd place behind artists from Luxembourg and Spain.
In Britain he has sold more records than either Elvis or the Beatles - his worldwide sales total 250 million - and he was the first rock star to be honoured with a knighthood.
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@ La Espabilá
I'm completely agree with you
Death to La sexta
Death to Chiki
See you in Moscow 2009!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and Ring Ring later became much more a popular song than You Are Summer (You never tell me no)
So does that mean Melodifestivalen 1973 was rigged too?!
Oh god, it's all over Australian news too.
They're of course leaving out most of the information, just stating it as fact, and using the defense of "Cliff Richard is more popular, and nobody knows who massiel is or remembers that song"
Okay, so Nel Blu Di Pinto Del Blu is more famous than Dors, Mon Amour, so that means that Andre Claveu cheated? god some people are stupid.
[i]her real name is [u]Maria Felix de los Angeles Santamaria Espinosa[/i][/u]
lol, actually it's the funniest line in the article 
(greetings to Molly 
)
I don't know what happened 40 years ago, but i know what happened this year!
THE WHOLE SELECTION PROCESS BY TVE THIS YEAR IS TYPICAL OF A BANANA REPUBLIC.
FRANCO IS NOT DEAD IN SPAIN...
BOO THE CHIKI CHIKI
BOO TVE
BOO CHANNEL SIX
BOO EL TERRAT
Gert
It has nothing to do with Cliff not getting over it - he has had 100 hits in the UK since. Massiel is still waiting for her second one.
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Just had a thought and it's probably been mentioned but...
[i]IF[/i] Cliff won in 1968, then the UK should be awarded the victory because then we'd have 6 wins, AND 3 wins in a row. 1967, 1968 and 1969 - equalling Ireland's record!
dont forget west end eurovision its going to be a great night, panel members include frances rufelle sally ann triplett and cheryl baker
@ gert this article was first released in spain so you cant say its cliffs fault, cliff was interviewd on tv today and said its 40 years ago its in the past, so he isnt that bothered , so please check the source of the article before complaining
well, by chance I saw the news report last night on La sexta "news" (a very loose term as it generally follows the same tone as the rest of la 6 trashy programmes), building up to the big, revealing "documentary" to be shown on Thursday night I think. If I remember correctly they mentioned that "countries ike Bulgaria and Poland were promised this and that"...er, hola! in 1968?!! so if they can't get these facts right, imagine what the rest of the documentary will "reveal". And to answer the question why would a Spanish TV channel (not UK one) want to blacken the name of massiel etc? well look at la sexta, pro-socialist government, anti PP (right-wing party still with many ties to the Franco regime etc), so they will even include Eurovision in the whole anti-fascist mix. Don't misunderstand me, I am totally pro-socialist party here in Spain and have no sympathy with the PP but I completely disagree with "state-controlled, biased" channels, I mean isn't that exactly what Franco did with TVE? who knows? maybe this so-called documentary will provide us with real facts, but I doubt it..this is the channel which imposed Chiki upon us, I suppose as some kind of "protest"? (and to make cash), so dear viewers and Euro fans, "ver es creer" (seeing is believing)...
And even if this conspiracy is true, where is the evidence Cliff lost because of it. Maybe France lost it's points to Spain, robbing Isabelle Aubret from her second victory.
Cheat or no cheat, Massiel's song was way better then Cliff's, so..
This just shows to me Cliff still is not over his loss. Massiel's song was a much better composition, and Massiel performed in a billion times better than Cliff performed his song. It were the song and Massiel's charm, warm voice and professional behavior that led to Spain's win. It won, it's 40 years later now, and I don't think we should discuss it.
IMO, the greatest cheat of all time was Norway 1963, when the Norwegian jury was asked to re-read their votes and the second time the votes were quite different - they awarded the victory to Denmark instead of Switzerland. There's some neighbourly voting for you! (You can look this up at Wikipedia ("Eurovision Song Contest 1963" 
or at YouTube - there's a video of it).
@molly parton - darling all blood vessels in tact here . i suggest if you are from the pplanet irony you get on with those shirts and blouses
It's really coming to something when people are now arguing about a contest held 40 years ago. Life is littered with hard-luck stories. Yes the UK should have won in 1968 but we didn't. We should have won in 1989 but we didn't. Germany should have won in 1981 but it didn't. Spain should have won in 1973 but it didn't. Get over it.
This is another lie from de Chikili(Shit)Sexta T.V. and it is based on a stupid colecction of mistakes, gossip and rumours but nothing is true. Massiel, all the spanish eurofans are with you.
And in 1956 Luxembourg allowed the Swiss jury to vote on their behalf.
did i go crazy, or does this article really say that 1968 was Spain's only victory??? Spain also won a year later, together with UK, Netherlands and France...
Get your facts right, please...
- Night Elf
Yeah, 1956 was hilarious because it was so obviously fixed!! The EBU were based in Switzerland, it was Switzerland hosting the contest, and oh . . . . . Switzerland won!! Coincedence, I think not
I don't think this is the only case... of course UK was the winner of 1968...but do you think this is the only year that was set up ???? I don't think so.
In 1956 votes where never reviled to the public, they just pronounce winner...
- Kevin Knight
Are you due your hearing test soon by any chance!!!
(I suppose it's a matter of personal opinion, no hard feelings meant! )
This is appaling! I hate General Franco.
Congratulations was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better.
So we all know Congratulations was the true winner, not Spain!
What's a bribe and what isn't? Last year Malta put a bottle of Maltese wine (but no corkscrew) in every commentary box. And Belarus the most gigantic box of chocolates and bottle of vodka you have ever seen. Oh - and Belgium tried the box of chocolates trick again.
Kevin Knight -
You need a hearing aid honey.
i'm british, and i can say that im glad spain won, the song was way better than our one
I have to be honest that Cliff Richard is probably responsible for some of the worst music ever released in the world. One song springs to mind - the Millennium prayer - Yuck!!
- Night Elf
Don't worry, its not your computer, Its because the "ubb" codes aren't working, and haven't been for quite a while now. But I don't get the links either, so I don't think it is your computer
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