Eurovision 1964: Italy win by a 32 point margin and Portugal joins the Nul Points Club on its first attempt

Health and safety would slap a bannister on that staircase these days.

(a) This is the only other bit of Eurovision '64 known to exist, which gives you an idea of how the show began and what the stage was like. Annoyingly, no shots of the scoreboard seem to exist - and considering the impressive result recorded on said board by the end of the show, that's a crying shame.

(b) The 1964 Contest is the only one so far to have been interrupted by an onstage protestor. Once the Swiss entry had been performed, a student with a placard reading 'Boycott Franco and Salazar' - referring to the then dictatorships in Spain and Portugal - got in front of the cameras. The production team cut to a shot of the scoreboard.

(c) Gigliola Cinquetti was 16 years old when she represented Italy with Non Ho L'Eta. The song is said to translate as 'I'm Too Young to Make Love', a racy sentiment for such a beuatiful tune. At the end of her performance she received a thunderous response from the Tivoli Gardens crowd. So much so, she had to pop back on stage again for a second bow to the audience before the applause came to an end. From that moment on, the result was sealed.

From Volare in 1958 onwards, the Italian entry was time and time again coming through as the big hit from each Contest, so 1964 brought the victory they very much deserved.

(d) Which must have been a kick in the shins for the UK entrant. One of the biggest stars to ever sing for GB - although it tends to be forgotten that he did - Matt Monro was eventually touted as the closest Britain ever got to producing its own Sinatra. He already had the Bond theme From Russia With Love under his belt by the time he took to the stage in Denmark.

The song I Love the Little Things was written by the legendary Tony Hatch, the man who still earns a quid or two whenever the theme tune from Neighbours wafts over the airwaves. This was also the year Hatch's theme for Crossroads would make its TV debut and his portfolio went on to include Petula Clark's Downtown, Don't Sleep in the Subway and I Couldn't Live Without Your Love, plus the themes from Emmerdale Farm, Sportsnight and The Champions. His contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest finished a very, very distant second to the winner.

Matt Monro sings for the UK (audio only). A surprisingly shaky performance from the normally reliable vocalist - but you can tell at the end that the crowd still loved it.

(d) The Dutch entrant, Aneke Grohl, hailed from Indonesia.

(e) Portugal made its Eurovision debut in 1964 and are still entering to this day. Antonio Calvario's Oração failed to score a single point from the juries. Forty-five years later, the Portuguese still await their first top-five placing.

(f) Italy's win redefines the word 'crushing'. Gigliola won with 49 points out of a possible 75. The UK was second with just 17. This meant Eurovision was off to the home of the San Remo Song Festival - the event which inspired the creation of the Song Contest itself. And poised to join in the fun there was a country who would go on to dominate the event in later years.

Over in Dublin, Ireland was preparing its Eurovision debut...