Playback

About Playback

"Playback" was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, performed in Portuguese by Carlos Paião. The song is a moderately up-tempo number. Paião satirizes the "singing in playback", which he explains is in fact miming to pre-recorded music (the anglicism "playback" is used in Portugal to mean "lip synch", broadened from "playback singer"). By doing this, he points out, one does not have to risk singing out of tune or missing notes. He sang the song with the help of four backup singers, who were dressed in multicolored jumpsuits and acted as robots of sorts, emphasizing the playback theme. From left to right, these singers were Pedro Calvinho, Cristina Águas, Ana Bola, and Peter Petersen. The song was performed fifteenth on the night, following the United Kingdom's Bucks Fizz with "Making Your Mind Up" and preceding Belgium's Emly Starr with "Samson". At the close of voting, it had received 9 points, placing 18th in a field of 20. It was succeeded as Portuguese representative at the 1982 Contest by Doce with "Bem bom". more »