Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit More Eurovision

PRS for Music reveals chart of Most Played Eurovision UK Entries

With the 65th Eurovision Song Contest final fast approaching this weekend (22 May 2021), PRS for Music has revealed a chart of the Most Played Eurovision UK Entries.

Topping the chart is 1996 entry Ooh Aah…Just a Little Bit, performed by Gina G.

This year marks 25 years since the Australian-born singer was chosen to represent the United Kingdom, when the 90s high energy Euro-pop tune placed eighth at the 41st Eurovision Song Contest. While it missed out on victory in the grand finale, its impact across the globe highlights why, a quarter of a century on, we still can’t get enough of this British guilty pleasure.

Last year, Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit received 478,636 seconds (or 5.5 continuous days) of UK radio and TV airtime, proving to be an enduring favourite with the British public, earning its place at the top of the PRS Most Played Eurovision UK Entries Chart.

Written by PRS for Music members Steve Rodway and Simon Taube, Ooh Aah…Just a Little Bit spent 27 weeks in the UK Official Singles Chart, peaking at Number 1. International commercial success followed and across the Atlantic it spent 30 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, earning Gina G a GRAMMY nomination in 1997 for Best Dance Recording.

Based on data provided by PRS for Music, the organisation which represents the rights of over 155,500 songwriters, composers and music publishers, the chart lists the 20 most played United Kingdom Eurovision entries broadcast across UK radio stations and TV channels in 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled in 2020. Embracing the Eurovision spirit however, the British public still backed singer-songwriter James Newman’s entry, My Last Breath, which places second on the PRS Most Played Eurovision UK Entries Chart. My Last Breath was written by Newman alongside acclaimed British songwriters Adam Argyle, Ed Drewett and Iain James. James co-wrote the winning song for Azerbaijan, Running Scared performed by Ell & Nikki, at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. Newman is also a featured songwriter on BRIT Award-winning hit Waiting All Night, performed by Rudimental featuring Ella Eyre.

James Newman will return this year as the United Kingdom’s hopeful Eurovision entry, with his newly penned hit, Embers. The track was co-written alongside some of the UK’s most sought-after songwriters and producers Samuel Brennan, Tom Hollings, Conor Manning and Danny Shah.

Also featured in the PRS Most Played Eurovision UK Entries Chart is 1981’s winning song, Making your Mind Up, composed by John Danter and Nigel Hill and performed by Bucks Fizz. Formed especially for the Eurovision Song Contest, Bucks Fizz created one of the most memorable moments in Eurovision history with that famous on-stage costume transformation.

1967 Eurovision winner Puppet on a String, performed by Sandie Shaw, and 1968 entry Congratulations, performed by Cliff Richard, also appear in the PRS Most Played Eurovision UK Entries Chart. Written by PRS for Music member Bill Martin, who sadly passed away in 2020, both songs were co-written with Martin’s longstanding writing partner, Phil Coulter.

Sixty-five years on, the Eurovision Song Content continues to divide the nation. Love it or hate it, its entertainment value and ability to mint certified pop classics can’t be denied. The PRS Most Played Eurovision UK Entries Chart is testament to the brilliance of British songwriting and performance. In the contest’s long history, only once has the United Kingdom had to finish with ‘nul points’. 

About PRS for Music

Here for music since 1914, PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 175,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers. Redefining the global standard for music royalties, PRS for Music ensures songwriters and composers are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. 

For 110 years it has grown and protected the rights of the music creator community, paying out royalties with more accuracy, transparency and speed. In 2023, PRS for Music paid out £943.6m in royalties and collected a record £1.08 billion in revenues. prsformusic.com