Gwendolyne

"Gwendolyne"
Eurovision Song Contest 1970 entry
Country	Spain
Artist(s)	Julio Iglesias
Language	Spanish
Composer(s)	Julio Iglesias
Lyricist(s)	Julio Iglesias
Conductor	Augusto Algueró
Finals performance
Final result	4th
Final points	8
Appearance chronology
◄ "Vivo cantando" (1969)
"En un mundo nuevo" (1971) ►

"Gwendolyne" (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwendoˈlin], sometimes spelt "Gwendoline") was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, performed in Spanish by Julio Iglesias.

The song is a ballad, with both music and lyrics by Iglesias himself, written about his first girlfriend, the titular Gwendolyne, a French girl whom he met at the age of 20 while still a law student and a goalkeeper for Spanish football team Real Madrid. In 1963, Iglesias was involved in a near-fatal car accident, which ended his football career, left him in rehabilitation for considerable time and indirectly led him to start learning the guitar, as a means of physical therapy.

Iglesias began composing his own music; in 1968 he entered and won the Benidorm International Song Festival with the song "La vida sigue igual" ("Life goes on the same way") and shortly thereafter he signed with the Spanish branch of Columbia Records. His participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in March 1970, held in Amsterdam, was his first major international TV appearance. "Gwendolyne" went on to become his first number 1 single in Spain and was also a modest commercial success in a few other countries in Europe and South America. His international breakthrough single "Un canto a Galicia" followed in 1972.

The song was performed ninth on the night, following Luxembourg's David Alexandre Winter with "Je suis tombé du ciel" and preceding Monaco's Dominique Dussault with "Marlène". At the close of voting, it had received 8 points, placing 4th in a field of 12.

Iglesias recorded "Gwendolyne" in five languages: Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. The song was also the title track to his second Spanish studio album, released in 1970, and subsequently also included on his eponymous international debut album in 1972. The song reached number one in Spain.

It was succeeded as Spanish representative at the 1971 Contest by Karina with "En un mundo nuevo".

Sources and external links

• Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1970.
• Detailed info and lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "Gwendolyne".
• Official site, Julio Iglesias, interview on Eurovision, 2009.
• ESCtoday.com, interview with Julio Iglesias on Eurovision, 2009.
• Rateyourmusic.com, discography Julio Iglesias.