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Austria entered the contest in its second year, and spent most of their first decade playing it safe. Their first win came in 1966, on Udo Jürgens' third attempt in as many years, and this coincides with the first of their entries to make it to our own top five (Udo's second try being the only other '60s entry in our top ten). For various reasons, Austria boycotted huge chunks of the '70s, and perhaps this isolationism bears some responsibility for what would happen on their return: their entries for '76 and '77 are very clearly tongue-in-cheek, with hints of self-parody. The '77 entry also extends the remit of its mockery to include the contest as a whole: the verse is an attack on the music industry while the chorus is in part a joke about Austria being mistaken for Australia, but also a cunning way of getting around the language rules (something also achieved by Austria in 1966). Austria, then, can be characterized as a cheeky, playful sort of nation, which may explain why they are not averse to the kitschier end of the musical spectrum. Certainly, most of their better entrants have been a bit on the daft side in one way or another.

As with most of the better Eurovision nations, the semi-finals have taken their toll, to the extent that Austria withdrew totally in 2008, only being tempted back in 2011 on account of the contest being held next door in Germany. They made it to the final that year, and this proved encouragement enough to stick around. Three years later and they managed to get their second win: a drag act singing a moving ballad. You might see it as the perfect blend of Austria's previous achievements in the contest.

	1pt	1965	AV: unplaced Eur: 4th
	Udo Jürgens - "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen"
	In 1964, Austria submitted chanson-tinged Jürgens and secured their second-highest placing yet. Clearly they were onto a winner, and so in 1965 they gave him another go. And he gave them a new best score thanks to this little number. There he is, sat in the dark at ahis piano, getting heavier and heavier with the keys as the song and the string section spiral out of control. We didn't give it any points in 1964 because there were a load of amazing women being amazing that year and us Udo didn't really get a look in, but it's a good song all the same, and a good little formula they've got going; they should totally try it again...
	2pts	1996	AV: 4th Eur: =10th
	George Nussbaumer - "Weil's dr guat got"
	There's a bit of a Pebble Mill vibe to this one, as blind pianist George Nussbaumer guides us to the light with a lively gospel number, complete with changes in tempo and plenty of energy. Hallelujah!
	3pts	2014	AV: 5th Eur: 1st
	Conchita Wurst - "Rise Like a Phoenix"
	"Rise Like a Phoenix" (the lyrics can be easily modified if you ever find yourself on a coach to a rugby match) was bearded drag persona Conchita Wurst's third stab at being the Austrian entry, and there can be no question that it went "big in the hall": perhaps a little too big to the point of intrusion (the whole of Denmark singing along in the chorus). Here was the most Bondish number of 2014: a dramatic stab; a quiet, simple verse; a rolling bridge with an appropriately rising scale to the soaring chorus; a tweaked bridge on the repeat that's saturated with Bassey; and lots of flame effects to hammer home the imagery. The themes of the song (transformation; triumph over adversity) put this alongside "I Belong" and "Let's Get Happy" at the front of the Eurovision Gay Anthem Songbook.
	4pts	2018	AV: 3rd Eur: 3rd
	Cesár Sampson - "Nobody but You"
	Leading our table for the slick side of the coin in 2018 was Austria's Cesár Sampson, resplendent in his rubber t-shirt. He made full use of the elevating pneumatics at the centre of the stage as he sang a soulful little number (with a hint of James Blake) that one of us was still humming when she woke up the next morning.
	5pts	1980	AV: 2nd Eur: 8th
	Blue Danube - "Du bist Musik"
	Austria's 1980 entry was particularly slick, blending a funky, synth-draped easy listening verse with a soaring, aspirational chorus. The 1980s have arrived. No prisoners will be taken.
	6pts	1971	AV: 1st Eur: 16th
	Marianne Mendt - "Musik"
	Our second musikal number in a row, 1971's entry was... a full on assault. Loud, brash, brassy, with the flutes of hell in the instrumental; a clatter of rhythms and violence sung by the impish and deep-voiced power-station that was Marianne Mendt. Lordi was probably summoned up during this performance. It was the first song of the night, and in our view the best.
	7pts	1966	AV: 4th Eur: 1st
	Udo Jürgens - "Merci, Chérie"
	Sweden's 1965 entry had been in the English language, initiating the formal introduction this year of the rule that a song must be in a native tongue of the entrant nation. It is amusing therefore that the victorious Austrian entry had its title in French: Udo Jürgens made his third appearance in as many years with the martially inflected piano ballad "Merci Chérie". It's a stirring performance to melt even the strongest gusset.
	8pts	1982	AV: 6th Eur: 9th
	Mess - "Sonntag"
	Super-twee. This adorable little number looks suspiciously like Robert Webb guesting in a Smack the Pony sketch. Sundays have never felt so jolly.
	10pts	1976	AV: 6th Eur: 5th
	Waterloo and Robinson - "My Little World"
	In 1976, Austria returned from three years of self-imposed isolation. There is more than a hint of self-parody from Waterloo and Robinson (seemingly a sort of Asterix tribute). Their song is a knee-bending anthem to sticking with what you know: "I just love my little world / I don't need no new sensations." It is strangely camp.
	12pts	1977	AV: 1st Eur: 17th
	Schmetterlinge - "Boom Boom Boomerang"
	No surprise as to our favourite Austrian entry. Boom Boom Boomerang is arguably the first song to take the piss out of the contest. The perfection lies not only in the song, but also in the performance itself: the double-sided costumes, the cigars, masks and £5 notes, and most importantly: the delightful choreography. Even the delicate first movement is timed exquisitely with the rotation of the stage-set. That the costumes make their legs look really skinny just adds to the fun. A well observed take on the likes of the Les Humphries singers last year, as a song and a performance it is both a cynical satire and an entertaining song-and-dance tour-de-force; simultaneously for and against everything that Eurovision stands for. But screw that; it has silly dancing and the lyrics "Boom boom boomerang snadderydang / kangaroo, boogaloo, didgeridoo / ding dong, sing the song / hear the guitar twang / Kojak, hijack, me and you".