Après toi

"Après Toi"
German release sleeve
Single by Vicky Leandros
from the album Vicky Leandros
LanguageFrench
B-side
  • "La Poupée, Le Prince Et La Maison" (several countries)
  • "Después de ti" (Spain and Latin America)
Released1972
GenreChanson
Length3:31
LabelPhilips
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Yves Dessca [fr]
Producer(s)Leo Leandros
Eurovision Song Contest 1972 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Composer(s)
  • Mario Panas
  • Klaus Munro
Lyricist(s)
Yves Dessca
Conductor
Klaus Munro
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
128
Entry chronology
◄ "Pomme, pomme, pomme" (1971)
"Tu te reconnaîtras" (1973) ►
Official performance video
"Après toi" on YouTube

"Après toi" (French pronunciation: [apʁɛ twa]; "After you") is a song recorded by Greek singer Vicky Leandros, with music composed by her father Leo Leandros under his pseudonym Mario Panas, and German composer Klaus Munro [de], with French lyrics by Yves Dessca [fr]. It represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 held in Edinburgh, winning the contest.

Background

Conception

"Après toi" was composed by Leandros' father Leandros Papathanasiou, known as Leo Leandros under his pseudonym Mario Panas, and German composer Klaus Munro [de], with French lyrics by Yves Dessca [fr]. It 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".[1]

Eurovision

Originally, the song was written with German lyrics as "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 Eurovision winning song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", penned French lyrics and the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) internally selected it as its entry for the 17th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Dessca remains the only author/composer ever to score back-to-back Eurovision victories.[2]

In addition to the French version, Vicky Leandros recorded the song in English as "Come What May", 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.[1] This was Leandros' second entry in the Eurovision Song Contest as she had finished fourth in the 1967 contest with "L'amour est bleu".

On 25 March 1972, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Leandros performed "Après toi" seventeenth on the evening, following Belgium's "À la folie ou pas du tout" by Serge & Christine Ghisoland and preceding the Netherlands' "Als het om de liefde gaat" by Sandra & Andres. Klaus Munro conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Luxembourgian entry.[3]

By the close of voting, the song had received 128 points, placing it first in a field of eighteen, and winning the contest, ahead of the British entry "Beg, Steal or Borrow", performed by The New Seekers.[4] "Après toi" was succeeded as contest winner in 1973 by "Tu te reconnaîtras", sung by Anne-Marie David, also for Luxembourg.

Aftermath

In the Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 22 October 2005 in Copenhagen, Anne-Marie David performed the song as part of the interval acts.[5]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 23
Belgium/Flanders (Ultratop)[7] 3
Belgium/Wallonia[8] 1
Dutch (Dutch Top 30)[9] 1
France (SNEP)[10] 1
Germany (Media Control) 11
Ireland (IRMA) 2
Malaysia[11] 3
Norway (VG-lista[12] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [13] 1
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[14] 1
United Kingdom (Official Singles Chart)[15] 2

Sales

Region Sales
France 800,000[16]

Legacy

"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 [sk], "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 [nb] 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 John Gummoe of the Cascades on a 1972 London Recordings single, and by Filipina singer Pilita Corrales on her 1976 album Live At The Riveira With Pilita Amado Vol. 2.

References

  1. ^ a b "Après toi - lyrics". The Diggiloo Thrush. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023.
  2. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History. UK: Cartlon Books. ISBN 978-1847325211.
  3. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1972". Eurovision Song Contest. 25 March 1972. BBC / EBU.
  4. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 1972 scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  5. ^ "Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision Song Contest. 22 October 2005. DR / EBU.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 175. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be - Vicky Leandros - Après toi". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  8. ^ "Billboard - Hits of the world - Belgium (French)". Billboard Magazine. May 20, 1972. p. 56. Retrieved June 23, 2024 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Steffen Hung. "Vicky Leandros - Après toi - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  10. ^ "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
  11. ^ "Hits of the World - Malaysia". Billboard Magazine. 26 August 1972. p. 72. Retrieved 2 July 2024 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Steffen Hung. "norwegiancharts.com - Vicky Leandros - Après toi". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  13. ^ "Hits". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 26 August 1972. Retrieved 16 April 2018 – via Internet Archive. Après toi.
  14. ^ "Vicky Leandros - Après toi - hitparade.ch". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  15. ^ "VICKY LEANDROS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  16. ^ "Phonogram Registers 19 Percent Sales increase in 1st 6 Months". Billboard. 7 October 1972. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest winners
1972 		Succeeded by