In 1979 , Black Lace recorded their first single , " Mary Ann " , for ATV music and a recording contract followed with EMI . As the song required a more ' throaty ' vocal , Alan Barton was switched to being lead singer , with Steve Scholey moving to backing vocals for the band 's recordings , but remained as lead singer on live performances . The song won the BBC Television 's '' A Song For Europe '' . Other television appearances around this time included '' Nationwide '' , '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop '' , '' Top of the Pops '' and '' Juke Box Jury '' . At the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest , held in Israel , the band finished seventh and " Mary Ann " only reached No. 42 in the UK Singles Chart , probably due to the short period between the ' Song for Europe ' and the actual contest , just three weeks . The band 's follow-up single , " So Long Suzy Baby " , failed to chart in the UK , ( as EMI could n't decide on which track should be used , and delayed on the planned release date ) but achieved success in Europe . Black Lace found great success with live performances and TV shows , notably in Poland and Bulgaria , and on TV in East Germany , West Germany and Spain
1979 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1979
Black Lace