Ein bißchen Frieden

"Ein bißchen Frieden" (pronounced [aɪn ˈbɪsçən ˈfʁiːdn̩]; lit. "A Bit of Peace") is a German-language song, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel (music) and Bernd Meinunger (lyrics) for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, United Kingdom.[1] It was performed by 17-year-old German high-school student Nicole Hohloch, resulting in Germany's first win at the Eurovision Song Contest by a record margin of 61 points, setting a new record for the largest winning margin that lasted until the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. Nicole's single is still the only Eurovision entry to top the sales charts in every territory it was released in.

"Ein bißchen Frieden"
German release cover
Single by Nicole
from the album Ein bißchen Frieden
English titleA Little Peace
Released1982
Length3:00
LabelJupiter
Composer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ralph Siegel
  • Robert Jung[1]
Alternative cover
English version cover
Eurovision Song Contest 1982 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Nicole Hohloch
As
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
161
Entry chronology
◄ "Johnny Blue" (1981)
"Rücksicht" (1983) ►
Music video
"Ein bißchen Frieden" (live in 2015) on YouTube

Background

After winning the contest, Nicole performed the reprise in four different languages: German, English, French and Dutch.[2] She decided on the spur of the moment[3] to do this, to the bewilderment of her backing group. She later released recordings in five additional languages across Europe: Danish, Italian, Russian, and a German-English-Dutch combination and a German-English-Italian combination. It topped the charts in many countries, and the English version was the last Eurovision winner to top the charts in the United Kingdom. The English version also holds the honour of becoming the 500th British Number One.[2]

"A Little Peace", the English version (translated by Paul Greedus), was released in predominantly English speaking territories and reached number 1 on the charts in the UK and Ireland, among others.[4][5][6]

According to composer and producer Ralph Siegel, the single sold 2.5 to 3 million copies.[7]

The song was chosen in an internet poll conducted by the European Broadcasting Union in 2005 as one of the 14 most popular songs in the history of the Eurovision, and was one of the entrants in the Congratulations 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, held in October 2005. Although Nicole was not at the concert, it was re-enacted by dancers equipped with white guitars and a live orchestra as the original footage was shown in the background. "Ein bißchen Frieden" finished as the seventh most popular song in the history of the contest.

Cover versions

"A Little Peace" was covered by Daniel O'Donnell for his 1997 album I Believe.[8]

"Ein bißchen Frieden" was covered in Slovene as "Malo miru" by Irena Tratnik and also by Oto Pestner, in Czech as "Jsme dĕti slunce" by Jaromír Mayer, in Croatian as "Malo mira" by Ana Štefok, in Danish as "En smule fred" by Susanne Lana, in Hungarian as "Egy kis nyugalmat kívánok én" by Neoton Família, in Polish as "Troszeczkę ziemi, troszeczkę słońca" by Eleni Tzoka, in Spanish as "Un poco de paz" by mexican singer Laura Flores and in Finnish as "Vain Hieman Rauhaa" by Katri Helena. In 1996, the Swedish techno/folk/bluegrass band Rednex, known for their hit Cotton-Eye Joe around that time, did a cover of "Ein bißchen Frieden", also played in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song has since been rendered in Dutch as "Een Beetje Vrede" recorded by Kathleen Aerts for her 2009 album In Symfonie.

Monica Forsberg wrote lyrics in Swedish as "En liten fågel", and the song became popular among dansband groups. It was recorded in Swedish by Stefan Borsch on his 1982 album En liten fågel[9] as well as releasing it as a single the same year[9] and Mats Bergmans on his 2004 album Vänd dig inte om.[10] It was also recorded by Ingmar Nordströms on 1982 album Saxparty 9.[11]

German techno-punk band DAF released "Ein bißchen Krieg" ("A Bit of War") as a response to the supposed sentimentality of the song.

Charts

See also

References
  1. "Credits". hitparade.ch (in German).
  2. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 224–5. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  3. Nicole Seibert (25 May 2015). Eurovision at 60 (Television production). UK: BBC Four.
  4. "charts.org.nz - Paul Greedus".
  5. "Irish Charts 1982 to 1984".
  6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 408–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. Goslich, Lorenz (23 April 1983). "Nicole wurde ein teures Mädchen für das Fernsehen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). p. 13. ISSN 0174-4909. OCLC 644830569.
  8. A Little Peace (cover) at MusicBrainz
  9. "En liten fågel" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 1982. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  10. "Vänd dig inte om" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  11. "Saxparty 9" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 1982. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  12. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  13. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Nicole". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 183. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  15. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden". VG-lista. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  16. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  17. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 20, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  20. "Nicole – Een beetje vrede" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  21. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 218. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. "Nicole – Ein bißchen Frieden". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  23. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1982" (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  24. "Jaaroverzichten 1982" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  25. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1982" (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  26. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1982" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  27. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  29. Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
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