"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 co-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" | |
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![]() German release sleeve | |
Single by Vicky Leandros | |
from the album Vicky Leandros | |
B-side |
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Released | 1972 |
Genre | Chanson |
Length | 3:31 |
Label | Philips |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Klaus Munro |
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Eurovision Song Contest 1972 entry | |
Country | Luxembourg |
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) ► |
"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]
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. 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 [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 Filipina singer Pilita Corrales on her 1976 album Live At The Riveira With Pilita Amado Vol. 2.
Charts (1972) | Peak position |
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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 |
Après toi.
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(help)Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest winners 1972 |
Succeeded by "Tu te reconnaîtras" by Anne-Marie David |
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