That's What Friends Are For (The Swarbriggs song)
That's What Friends Are For was the Irish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, performed in English by The Swarbriggs.
 "That's What Friends Are For" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Eurovision Song Contest 1975 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | Tommy Swarbrigg, Jimmy Swarbrigg |
| As | The Swarbriggs |
| Language | |
| Composer(s) | Tommy Swarbrigg, Jimmy Swarbrigg |
| Lyricist(s) | Tommy Swarbrigg, Jimmy Swarbrigg |
| Conductor | Colman Pearce |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 9th |
| Final points | 68 |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Cross Your Heart" (1974) | |
| "When" (1976) ► | |
The song is in a moderate tempo, with the singers calling on their listeners to help each other in times of need, because "That's what friends are for". The call is made to everyone in the world, rather than just those who know the needy person at the time.
The performance is notable for the fact that the singers wore identical electric blue suits, taking full advantage of the increasing trend towards bright and eye-catching costumes. The song was performed second on the night (following the Netherlands' Teach-In with "Ding-A-Dong" and preceding France's Nicole Rieu with "Et bonjour à toi l'artiste"). At the close of voting, it had received 68 points, placing 9th in a field of 19.
It was succeeded as the Irish representative at the 1976 Contest by Red Hurley with When.
The song and its accompanying music video were parodied in the Father Ted episode "Song for Europe" with the song "My Lovely Horse".
Chart
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[1] | 2 |
| Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Ireland did not compete | |||||||||||||||||||