Eurovision 1991: It's a tie for first place in the year Malta returns, the presenters can't present and a future EastEnder does badly for the UK

To be fair to the Italians, they did consider hosting the '91 Contest in San Remo, in an effort to bring the inspired and its inspiration together. But with the Gulf War being declared in January, security became an issue, so the whole production was moved to Rome and the unusual venue of the Cinecitta Film Studios, where Fellini based many of his projects and large parts of Ben Hur was filmed. Sixteen years later, the Doctor Who episode The Fires of Pompeii would have its Roman exterior scenes filmed there as well (we'll always fit in a Eurovision/Doctor Who crossover when we can). But while Cinecitta was tailor made for film-making, it perhaps wasn't the greatest place to hold a Song Contest - although the ending to this chaotic evening couldn't have been dreamed up by a barful of Hollywood scriptwriters.

No other Eurovision before or since has looked remotely like Rome '91. The stage appeared to be dressed with some scenery left over from Cleopatra and the orchestra is sort-of-shoved over to one side while the entries had to perform in the space that was left. Presenters Gigliola Cinquetti (the 1964 winner and 1974 silver medaller, now 41 years old but looking a lot older) and reigning champ Toto Cutugno introduced each act while reading from clipboards - and usually about four feet away from the nervous singer/s. It all looked very amateurish, very laid back and more like talent night down the Legion as opposed to a competition being broadcast to more than 20 countries simultaneously.

Toto Cutugno - the only man ever to conduct an imaginary orchestra while presenting Eurovision

Problems became even more apparent as the voting began. Gigliola Cinquetti is clearly an Italian icon - the jury's still out on Toto - but it was quite clear that a mastery of either the French or English, the stock parlance for Eurovision, would not be found too close to the top of their respective CVs. Toto became so visibly wound up when the task of translating each score from the jury spokesperson into French and English became too much for him that he constantly called for assistance from Contest scrutineer Frank Naef, who was forced to intervene as the scores were called. Gigliola was far breezier about the whole thing, although you couldn't go as far to say that she found the experience of presenting the Eurovision Song Contest an enthralling one. She looks positively fed up in parts. It's a shame, then, that all the exuberant showboating from Mr Cutugno overshadowed the most exciting result there's ever been.

Your shambolically assembled 1991 facts:

Winner 1991: Carola performs Fangad Av En Stormvind for Sweden

(a) Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time in 1991, with Carola casting aside the monkey of third place in 1983 from her back to triumph with the song Fangad Av En Stormvind. But she had to wait for a stewards' enquiry before she could be confident of victory. After Italy, the last of the 22 juries, had cast its vote, Sweden had 146 points. The only thing was, France also had 146 points. For the first time since 1969, two countries had tied for first place.

But unlike - and inspired by - the mayhem in Madrid, there was now a rule in place to allow one outright winner. As each jury ranks its favourite songs, it was thought only fair that whoever scored the most douzes out of the two acts would be declared the winner. Both Sweden and France had four 12s apiece, so the judges then took the amount of '10' scores into account. With Sweden's five 10s to France's two, Carola was announced victorious after an anxious wait, with the result causing her to do a jig on the green room sofa. With Toto's constant chat and bluster causing the show to overrun by half an hour, Carola reprised her song, which translates as Captured By a Lovestorm, to bring Eurovision's most chaotic transmission ever to a conclusion.

We'll get to the French entry which came second on countback in a minute, but there is absolutely no comparison between the two songs. Carola's song (the hookline of which neatly fits the phrase: 'Grandad and his Warm Wind') was a piece of pap that had been heard many, many times before while the French song was, well, as we said, we're getting to that...

(b) Just as in 1990, there is no embeddable version of the 1991 French entry we can plonk into this Bluffer's Guide, but you can see it here. Amina brought a very different sort of song to the Eurovision stage in 1991 and her originality very nearly paid off. Mixing almost Arabian sounds with a classy, dreamlike performance, C'est La Dernier... was the sort of new-age sound that would take a stranglehold on Eurovision four or five years later but it was just a little too ahead of its time in Rome.

When interviewed by a sympathetic Channel 4 documentary team in 2000, Amina said with a mischievous twinkle her experience was "funny" and, to be honest, she thought the whole thing was a load of rubbish and had little interest in it so long afterwards. Carola, on the other hand, just can't seem to let go of this event as the years have progressed, not content with merely winning it once and has made other shots at the trophy.

Boom Bang a Blog knows which of 1991's two winners it would rather go for a pint with.

Datz a very good attempt at winning Eurovision (oh, my sides...)

(c) When Italy cast its votes at the end of the evening, France was in third place, behind Sweden and Israel. It was Amina that got the douze, with the two front runners ignored altogether, but it was still possible for Duo Datz to take the '91 title right up until the final moment.

Boom Bang a Blog must confess in not seeing the appeal of Kaan (a sentiment we clearly share with the crew of the Starship Enterprise). It's an Israeli Eurovision entry by numbers, but as 1991 was a very weak year songwise, the typical in-your-face anthemics and simple choreography made it stand out - especially when you consider how difficult it was for any act to make an impact on the Cinecitta stage.

Sergio Dalma and his hair taking fourth place. Down girls.

(d) Although the 1991 Eurovision was the second one I watched, it still hadn't quite caught my imagination, probably because this production would make even the die-hards struggle. However, I do remember my older sister and her pal, who were watching it with me, go all giggly and girlie over Spain's entrant, Sergio Dalma.

He did had the voice to go with the cheesy lothario image, however, and Bailar Pegados was Spain's best result in years, finishing in fourth place and getting squeals of appreciation from my big sis whenever a favourable score went his way and Europe was treated to a shot of Sergio in the green room being suitably thankful. Toto Cutugno also made a big fuss of Young Master Dalma as he left the stage which didn't sit that well with the neutrality a Eurovision presenter is supposed to display.

Not that it mattered. Italy didn't vote for him.

"Goodness, are we in Rome? What a coincidence - my song's in Italian!"

(e) As 1991 was a weakish year, Switzerland sending a tribute to its triumphant ditty of three years earlier was enough to secure a top five finish.

And how convenient that, with four languages to choose from, the tongue the Swiss just happened to plump for in a Contest held in Rome was, bless my soul, Italian. Gigliola Cinquettu seemed very pleased to be introducing a song with the title Canzone Per Te as she wandered off stage with her clipboard - probably off to catch QVC in the wings for a few minutes so she could order another very sensible frock to go with the one she was wearing.

All the kids in Valletta dressed like these two in the Summer of '91

(f) The 1991 Contest coincided with Dutch Remembrance Day, so there was no entry from the Netherlands. This vacancy led the EBU to acquiesce and allow the extra-keen Maltese back into Eurovision - for one year only. But when the Maltese entry, Could It be, performed by a pair we presume double-up as a Captain and Tenille tribute act, ended up coming sixth with an impressive 106 points (and the Irish douze) the Eurovision bosses couldn't exactly cast them out into the mean streets of non-participation again so the number of entries for 1992 was bumped up to 23 to allow them in again. Malta haven't missed a Contest since and have done considerably better than the Dutch in the intervening years.

"For ludo you'll still need a pair of dice." At least we think that's what she's singing.

(g) It's a candidate for the most patronising song ever written. Although Band Aid had quite successfully brought home the message about starving children in Africa seven years earlier, British composer Paul Curtis thought Europe needed another reminder as the '90s dawned. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure had sent a message to people's hearts with a stark anthem that resonated with the international populace.

Paul Curtis and the BBC did it by having newcomer Samantha Janus squeezed into a pink basque, dripping in jewellery and caterwauling through a driving rock-pop jingle called A Message To Your Heart. It finished 10th with 47 points and the single made number 30 in the British charts. We can't bear to think about the preachier than a preacherman lyrics, so we'll have to direct you here if you're curious.

Let's get one thing straight. In Eurovision terms, it's a really good tune which has bags more oomph in the studio version and you get a better idea about the impact the UK team wanted to make when you look at the Song For Europe performance. If only that tune had been married with different lyrics, one about falling in love, fancying someone rotten or, perhaps, being held immobile in a lovestorm.

Samantha Janus, of course, went on to far greater success and is now Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders. She refuses to discuss her Eurovision appearance on chat shows and has openly described it as the lowpoint of her career. Really, Sam? It wasn't much fun for the British public to sit through on the night, either.

The oldest woman in the world sings and dances for Yugoslavia

(h) Austria got zilch in Rome and finished last. But very nearly joining them in the nul points club was the previous year's hosts and 1989 winners, Yugoslavia.

Opening the show, Bebi Doll performed the extremely lively Brazil - and only the jury in Malta liked it, awarding it the solitary point it would receive all night.

Good job she was up first and not last. She'd need the extra time to recover in case she won and had to put her aged frame through all that again.

Although it remains the Acorn Antiques of Eurovision and is easier to enjoy now than it was back then, let's be thankful a production like the 1991 Eurovision was a one off.

The Contest was going back to Sweden in 1992 where that precise Scandinavian workmanship soon got things shipshape again. And as 23 nations prepared to assemble in Malmo, it marked the beginning of an unprecedented run of success for the country which is still the most prolific to have taken part in Eurovision.

Bet you can't guess who we're talking about...