Format The competition consisted of six heats held every four weeks starting on 7 May 1956. Each heat had six songs competing and each song was performed twice by two different singers, one accompanied by an orchestra (directed by either
Eric Robinson,
Stanley Black, or
George Melachrino), and one accompanied by a small band. The George Mitchell singers accompanied each show as backing vocalists. The best placing song in each heat, decided by jury panels situated in different cities across the United Kingdom, qualified to the final.
Competing entries The BBC selected 36 entries from over 90 songs submitted by British music publishers. The songs were chosen by a committee chaired by Ronnie Waldman. •
Alma Cogan •
Diana Decker •
Ronnie Hilton •
Dennis Lotis Heat 3 } The titles of the other 4 songs are unknown, other known performers are listed below: •
John Hanson •
Benny Lee Heat 4 Other known performers are listed below: •
Dora Bryan • Bill O'Connor • Doreen Duke
Heat 5 The titles of the other 5 songs are unknown, other known performers are listed below: •
Dennis Hale • Janie Marden
Heat 6 The titles of the other 5 songs are unknown, other known performers are listed below: •
Anne Shelton •
Lee Lawrence • The Coronets The orchestra was directed by
George Melachrino and the small band was The
Frank Weir Quartet.
Final Johnny Brandon, who sang "Everybody Falls In Love With Someone" in heat 4, was replaced by Dennis Lotis in the final as he was in America during the time of the final. Each song used the same orchestra conductor and small band as was used in its heat. == Reception ==