Après toi

"Après toi" (French pronunciation: [apʁɛ twa]; "After you") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 performed in French by Greek singer Vicky Leandros, representing Luxembourg. The song was written by Leandros' father Leandros Papathanasiou, also known as Leo Leandros, under his pseudonym Mario Panas. This was Vicky Leandros' second entry in the Contest. In 1967 she had finished fourth with "L'amour est bleu" (better known under its English title "Love is Blue") which subsequently went on to become a worldwide hit when covered by French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat.

"Après Toi"
German release sleeve
Single by Vicky Leandros
from the album Vicky Leandros
B-side
  • La Poupée, Le Prince Et La Maison (several countries)
  • Despues De Ti (Spain and Latin American countries)
Released1972
GenreChanson
Length3:31
LabelPhilips
Songwriter(s)
  • Mario Panas
  • Yves Dessca
Producer(s)Klaus Munro
Luxembourg "Après Toi"
Eurovision Song Contest 1972 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Composer(s)
Mario Panas, Klaus Munro
Lyricist(s)
Yves Dessca, Klaus Munro
Conductor
Klaus Munro
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
128
Entry chronology
◄ "Pomme, pomme, pomme" (1971)
"Tu te reconnaîtras" (1973) ►

Description

"Après toi" is a dramatic ballad, 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".

The song was performed seventeenth on the night (following Belgium's Serge & Christine Ghisoland with "À la folie ou pas du tout" and preceding the Netherlands' Sandra & Andres with "Als het om de liefde gaat"). By the close of voting, it had received 128 points, placing it first in a field of 18.

Originally, the song was written with German lyrics ("Dann kamst du") and was submitted to the German Eurovision national selection process. When the song did not qualify for that competition, Yves Dessca, who had co-written the lyrics of the 1971 winning song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", penned French lyrics and the song was chosen internally to represent Luxembourg. Dessca remains the only author/composer ever to score back-to-back Eurovision victories.[1]

Cover versions

Vicky Leandros also recorded the song in an English language version, "Come What May", which was widely released around the world . In South Africa it was a number one hit, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland it reached number two in the charts of both countries. Leandros also recorded the song 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).

"Après toi" was succeeded as contest winner in 1973 by Anne-Marie David singing "Tu te reconnaîtras", also for Luxembourg.

As with "L'amour est bleu", "Après toi" has been afforded a number of translated cover versions including "Jak mám spát" (Czech) recorded by Helena Vondráčková, "Keď si sám" (Slovak) recorded by Eva Kostolányiová, "Rakastan saavuthan" (Finnish) recorded by Carola Standertskjöld, "Posle tebe" (Serbian) recorded by Lola Novaković, "Vắng bóng người yêu" (Vietnamese) recorded by Thanh Lan, "Si te vas" (Spanish) recorded by Paloma San Basilio, "Vad än sker" (Swedish) recorded by Ann-Louise Hanson, "Etter deg" (Norwegian) recorded by Lillian Askeland and Gro Anita Schønn, "Sled teb" ("След теб", Bulgarian), recorded by Lili Ivanova, and "Aşk mı bu" (Turkish), recorded by Ayla Algan in 1973.

The English version "Come What May" was covered by Filipina singer Pilita Corrales on her 1976 album Live At The Riveira With Pilita Amado Vol. 2.

Charts
Charts (1972) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 23
Belgium/Flanders (Ultratop)[3] 3
Belgium/Wallonia [4] 1
Dutch (Dutch Top 30)[5] 1
France (SNEP)[6] 1
Germany (Media Control) 11
Ireland (IRMA) 2
Malaysia [7] 3
Norway (VG-lista[8] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [9] 1
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[10] 1
United Kingdom (Official Singles Chart)[11] 2

References
  1. O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History. Cartlon Books UK, 2010. ISBN 978-1847325211
  2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 175. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  3. "Ultratop.be - Vicky Leandros - Après toi". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  4. books.google.fr/books?hl=fr&id=6icEAAAAMBAJ&q=Apr%C3%A8s+toi#v=snippet&q=Apr%C3%A8s%20toi&f=false
  5. Steffen Hung. "Vicky Leandros - Après toi - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  6. "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-01-06. Select "Vicky Leandros" from the artist drop down menu
  7. books.google.fr/books?hl=fr&id=xCgEAAAAMBAJ&q=Apr%C3%A8s+toi#v=snippet&q=Apr%C3%A8s%20toi&f=false
  8. Steffen Hung. "norwegiancharts.com - Vicky Leandros - Après toi". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  9. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (26 August 1972). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 16 April 2018 – via Internet Archive. Après toi. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help); |last= has generic name (help)
  10. "Vicky Leandros - Après toi - hitparade.ch". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  11. "VICKY LEANDROS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
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