EBJ’s top 10…UK entries in Eurovision history!
If you asked me right here, right now, to name the Eurovision nation I support unconditionally…I’d say Sweden, duh. That has nothing to do with the subject of today’s post, of course – I was just hoping to throw you off track (and remind you that Sweden is the one, they’re my number one, the only treasure I’ll-STOP IT, JAZ!).
The UK, on the other hand, isn’t a participant I always wave a flag for, but they have had more than their fair share of successes in contests past. Every year for the first twenty years of their participation, they finished in the top 10, with eighteen of those finishes in the top five. Clearly, they knew what they were doing back in the day, and the people – be they people on juries or, later on in the 1990s, people at home on the couch – responded accordingly.
As I’m people too (believe it or not) I’m going to take this chance to vote for my faves from Royaume-Uni, if only in retrospect and with make-believe points. I’ve been on a trip through the ESC archives, and here are the ten songs from the land of Cliff Richard that I had to bring back with me as souvenirs.
1 point goes to Are You Sure? by The Allisons (1961)
I find voices that are in perfect harmony hugely satisfying. Are You Sure? plays up to that satisfaction by neatly weaving together the vocals of Allison 1 and Allison 2 (I am currently too lazy to Google-remind myself of their names) into a very cute little ditty about some she-devil who’s callously walking out on one (or possibly both) of these guys. It’s an entry that might prove too saccharine for some, but I find it refreshing to listen to in this day and age, when the pinnacle of pop music is Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda. Okay, so that statement’s clearly untrue, but humour my desire to be dramatic, won’t you?
2 points go to Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit by Gina G (1996)
I think we can all agree – I think – that in spite of that cringeworthy ‘Hey girls!’, Gina G was robbed of a top 5 finish in Oslo. Getting through three minutes in that dress without something falling out was a prize-winning achievement in itself, but COME ON! This song is boss. It’s got an irresistible thumping beat, a disco/Eurodance flavour that Alcazar could only dream of recreating, and, when competing in the contest, managed to be both oh-so-90s and ahead of its time. I guess my fellow Aussie Gina found solace in the fact that Ooh Aah became an international hit, whilst Ireland’s winning song The Voice…well, didn’t. I guess that’s proof that the real Eurovision winner isn’t always the one on top of the scoreboard.
3 points go to Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz (1981)
This has got to be one of the happiest songs of all time. It’s definitely the happiest song to incorporate skirt-ripping (and to be proudly sponsored by Velcro). It hasn’t dated particularly well, but stick this on at a Eurovision party, or a party being attended by anyone who was a sentient being in England in the 1980s, and the dance floor will be packed faster than you can say ‘don’t let your indecision take you from behind’ (tee hee!). Sometimes I feel like MYMU is one big, long chorus, with the levels of catchy so consistent throughout, and listening to it in 2015, it has a cheesiness that’s charming rather than revolting. At least as far as I’m concerned.
4 points go to Save All Your Kisses For Me by Brotherhood of Man (1976)
So it turns out the UK were big advocates of adorability back in the day, as their third winning entry is as cute as The Allisons’. Save Your Kisses For Me isn’t just SO PRECIOUS IT HURTS, however. It also has a very M. Night Shyamalan plot twist in which we discover that the aforementioned kisses that must be saved are not from an adult spouse, but rather *gasp* a three-year-old child (presumably one of their children…). But mainly, it’s just precious. Tip of the day: make this your first pick next karaoke night, and throw in some of the original choreography just because. If your friends laugh at you, make it known you won’t be saving any smooches for them anytime soon.
5 points go to Come Back by Jessica Garlick (2002)
Who doesn’t love a good ballad? Well, probably lots of people. But I’m not one of them, and if you’re not interested in hearing my opinion, I have no idea why you’re reading my personal blog. As a connoisseur of fine ballads, I can say with authority that Jessica Garlick’s is up there with the second-best of them (or should I say the third-best?). There have been plenty of better ballads in the ESC, before and after she took to the stage in her Pocahontas costume (#WANT) but I still really enjoy Come Back. It’s a simple, well-sung entry that builds nicely before calming the eff down and then soaring again on that final money note. No stripteases or glitter-blowing required.
6 points go to Better The Devil You Know by Sonia (1993)
The UK went retro with Sonia, and her amazing purple catsuit. It didn’t totally work for them (if looks could kill, Sonia’s laser-beam death stare would have incinerated Niamh Kavanagh on the spot) but it was a top-notch effort nonetheless. Sonia’s one of those artists who almost sounds better live than in studio, and she sang and generally performed le crap out of Better The Devil You Know, which more than made up for the weaknesses in the lyrics. As a standalone song, the main drawcard here is how instant and infectious it is, and though I think Ireland’s winner was a very good one, I think I would’ve been happy if the UK had added another trophy to their collection at this point.
7 points go to Say It Again by Precious (1999)
Hi, my name is Jaz, I’m twenty-three, and I’m still the same girl-band and boy-band freak I was fifteen years ago. I was raised on the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, so any act that vaguely resembles either of them AND entered Eurovision – i.e. Eden, Prime Minister or XXL – is bound to rate highly with me. Precious = a British girl band including a woman who’d go on to join Atomic Kitten = musical royalty in my eyes. In terms of my ears, Say It Again is always well received. R & B doesn’t usually go down well in the contest, and this was no exception by UK standards – at the time, 12th was one of their worst-ever results – but I’m a fan, and that fact that this song finished lower than the likes of Love City Groove is inexplicable to me.
8 points go to Where Are You? by Imaani (1998)
There’s not a whole lot you can say about this entry, though I could go on for hours about the painful yet wonderful 90s-ness of Imaani’s hair and outfit. My short and sweet description of the song would go something like this: three minutes of simple but very effective pop. There was a lot of that in the field in Birmingham, with the majority of it scoring well. I wouldn’t dare complain about the UK coming second to Israel, partly because it would be a cardinal Eurofan sin to diss Dana International, and partly because Dana did have a little extra something (and no, I don’t mean…THAT) which helped her forge ahead. But give me the option to listen to either Diva or Where Are You?…and I’ll be all like, ‘Who do you think you are? Don’t tell me what to do! Back off!’. Then I’d probably pick the latter.
10 points go to I Can by Blue (2011)
As if you didn’t know this was coming, especially after my earlier boy band/girl band speech. I still believe this song had ‘WINNER!’ written all over it, and if it wasn’t for a performance that wasn’t so much a complete disaster as it was just wrong all over (Lee Ryan’s vocal fail not included as that was definitely a disaster) it might’ve at least had ‘respectable top five finish’ written all over it. After the Josh Dubovie Incident of the previous year, and the many fails the UK had experienced leading up to the Düsseldorf show, the anthemic I Can gave us a glimmer of hope that Jade Ewen’s success hadn’t been a fluke. And I suppose Blue’s almost-top-10 result – an excellent one in comparison to the likes of 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010 – proved that it wasn’t. Kind of.
And finally…
Douze points go to Why Do I Always Get It Wrong? by Live Report (1989)
Oh, but you don’t, Live Report. You actually got it super right on this occasion, apart from the whole ‘losing to a song that most of us think is one of the weakest winners, like, EVER’ thing. Now, to clarify, I actually like Rock Me as a song. It’s fun, it’s catchy, and lead singer Emilija had one of the best quiffs in Eurovision history until Jedward came along. But as a winner, it does suffer from a bit of Running Scared syndrome, otherwise known as ‘how the hell did that happen?’. So as much as I don’t like to say that certain songs ‘should’ have won, I’m going to imply it here. Why Do I Always Get It Wrong is the height of UK Eurovision excellence for me because I love 80s music, and I love ballads, and the combination of those two loves here does things to me. Report’s front man Ray helps that along with his effortless vocals in and out of the recording studio. Fashion aside, there’s nothing about this entry that doesn’t work for me.
EBJ extras: Puppet On A String by Sandie Shaw (1967); Let Me Be The One by The Shadows (1975); Rock Bottom by Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran (1977); Love Shine A Light by Katrina & the Waves (1997); Even If by Andy Abraham (2008).
Aaaaaaand cue the complaints! JK. I meant cue the commenting of your personal favourites from the United Kingdom over the last fifty-nine years, interwoven with gushing praise on how amazing you think I am. That’s not asking too much, is it?
*awkward silence*
Fine then! That’s all for today, but stay tuned to EBJ this week for some Georgia talk. Plus, sticking with the UK and continuing my ‘Vienna Wishlist’ series, I’ll be revealing who I’d draft in to represent them in 2015 if I had the power. To anyone at the BBC reading this: I really, really, really would like that power. In the immortal words of Cyprus 2002, GIMME.
eurovisionbyjaz.com 
9 Responses to “EBJ’s top 10…UK entries in Eurovision history!”
Ullo, ullo, young Jazzy.
I guessing with this sudden flood of EBJ posts, someone must be on holidays??
I’m going to cheat a bit here.
A number of your point-getters and ‘extras’ were also scoring in my first-cut top ten (namely, Imaani, Bucks Fizz, Sandie Shaw, Gina G, and Brotherhood of Man), but I’m going to deliberately omit them, and give you a de-EBJ-ified ladder, just to add a bit of fresh ‘pourquoi pas’ (even though it’s now weirded me out seeing what’s actually floated to the top!)
“But nevertheless” … Here goes:
Un point: Scott Fitzgerald, Go, 1988
Felt so sorry for him, all the pressure of being Scottish, and tellling his ex-main squeeze to go in his song, and then being pipped at the post by “she-without-whom-they-should-not-have-departed”. Poor Scotty — His heart really did get broken that night.
Deux points: Jemini, Cry Baby, 2003
Whoa now, I know, I know, relax, don’t freak out! — I’m not tone deaf. But I’m giving points here to the version of the song that would be ‘sung in heaven’: in time and in key, and with slightly more inspiring choreography. And again, there may be an element of a ‘sympathy vote’ here. I’m such a softy.
Trois points: Bardo, One Step Further, 1982.
Hmm. Not quite sure how this got here. They just seem to have a nifty bit of daggy chemistry going, along with an earworm-y chorus. As for the choreography, I think the coach must have given a last-minute instruction “When in doubt, show them some ankle”, and it somehow got lost in translation.
Quatre points: Prima Donna, Love Enough for Two, 1980.
Yikes – Wha? Actually, what’s the point of going to the Fair, if you’re not going to eat fairy floss? This one is just so gob-smackingly, over-the-toply … “SWEET” — I couldn’t resist.
Cinq points: Long Live Love, Olivia N-J, 1974.
Ah, Olivia. So much blue. But I do wonder how this one would have fared with a bit of Lulu-esque ‘oomph’ behind it.
Six points: All, Patricia Bredin, 1957.
Another one I didn’t see coming. But somehow this one pushes the simple, gentle chanson buttons for me. Other positives: Patty’s eyes are so wide apart, she’s definitely not a criminal. And I always say, if you can’t get it all over with in a minute and fifty-two seconds, well then you’re not really trying.
Sept points: Sing Little Birdie, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, 1959.
Folks, it’s just … fun. It rolicks. There’s whistling. And a fake bird. And that thing where the happy chappy switches to singing higher than his lady friend, whatever that phenomenon’s called. And they’re just enjoying themselves so much. Seriously, why can’t life be like that?
Huit points: Beg Steal or Borrow, The New Seekers, 1972.
I like the harmonies, and the freshness. And I reckon they should be regarded as honorary Aussies (New New-Hollanders?), given the “Old” Seekers were from Down Under.
Dix points: Power to All Our Friends, Cliff Richard, 1973.
A classic, in a classic year. Catchy as. And who can fault the genius of Cliff’s “stuff-the-rabbit-in-the-broken-drain-pipe” gesture. Power to the wine! (Did it have a hand in the compilation of this list, I wonder? …)
Douze points: The Bad Old Days, Co-Co, 1978.
All I can say is — For some reason I really like it. And one of the band members looks like a young, beclown-ed Stephen Fry. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
And, hey, so why do so many UK songs have negative titles: Rock Bottom; Don’t Play That Song Again; A Man Without Love; Why Do I Always Get it Wrong; No! – Dream Impossible?
So, in the end, 8 of my 10 were in the 70s and 80s, as well as two from my ‘real’ list that I left out. Int’resting. Other ones I have a soft spot for are Molly (of course), Frances Ruffelle (94), and — believe it or not (actually, you’ll believe anything after seeing my points above) — the “charmin” Daz Sampson!
One that got away of course was Australian singer Shirley Abicair’s rendition of ‘Little Ship’, which should have been one of the UK songs submitted for the 1956 competition, but the EBU deadline had sailed before UK got its act together. I haven’t been able to find a recording or the music of that song … but I’m sure it was a little ripper, and would definitely have won.
Perhaps give us an easier job next time, Jaz: Our faves from the Czech Republic? Or Morocco?
Bye now.
Ali
PS: I’ve now put my data into the ESC-doppelganger-ometer, per your suggestion, but I’m not sure that it was designed for self-referentiality, because it somehow came up with Toni Xucla, which surely can’t be right. I’ll keep tinkering … (=0P
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I don’t know about a ‘flood’! A slightly-more-powerful-than-normal trickle, perhaps. Sadly I’m not on holidays, but in the terrifying and awkward jobless stage between uni graduate-to-be and adult life, so in between having panic attacks I’m trying to get the Eurovision juices flowing!
I bet Scott Fitzgerald would have liked to tell Miss Dion where to ‘go’ that night, if you know what I mean. I personally would have told her to go change her outfit, for god’s sake. A voice like that needs something that won’t make a hundred million people run from their lounge rooms screaming like banshees. Business on top, party for those with no fashion sense on the bottom.
You won’t get a freak-out from me re: Cry Baby. I, too, see good in it. And after reading the story from Gemma and Chris’ POV, I just feel terribly sorry for them.
When you say ‘Lulu-esque oomph’ do you mean Olivia should have let rip with an ‘Olé!’ at the end of her performance? JK, JK. Although I would actually like to see that.
Beg, Steal or Borrow is a good ‘un. That is all.
I have a hard time deciding whether Congratulations>PTAOF or vice versa. I guess it depends on whether one is in the mood for something chirpy or something anthemic. Or if you’re wanting to see Cliff in his Austin Powers garb or not…
Any group featuring a Stephen Fry lookalike is okay with me! Just okay though, in this instance – I can’t confess to having the same attraction you do to Co-Co’s effort. But I will admit to chanting along with Daz Sampson’s schoolgirl posse everytime I hear Teenage Life. And when they opened the desks and threw all the flags into the air…sigh. I wanted to be one of those stripy dancers so bad.
I find it amusing that the UK evidently missed the memo on when the first ESC was actually taking place. I bet Lys Assia does too, if she’s of the same opinion as you that if Royaume Uni had made it, they’d have MADE IT.
All right…favourites from Morocco it is. Good luck!
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Ali, I just wanted to tell you that I came across my old ’45’ of Prima Donna’s UK entry of 1980 last night and gave it another listen (after years of stagnating in a box in the attic).
I don’t know why, but I remembered your comment on this, looked it up again and think you are absolutely right: IT IS gobsmackingly, over the top in the most beautiful way and SWEET. It has always been my ‘secret love’ of all UK entries and I was surprised and happy someone shares it with me. Also glad that it made it into your favourite list at # 7, probably I wasn’t brave enough to rank it! 😉
By the way, I LOVE funfairs … and fairy floss! 😉 But it’s always too much for me alone, maybe we could share one next time?! NO ‘Kirmes’ without fairy floss and fairy ice-cream and roasted almonds! And I write that in the weeks of Oktoberfest(s) everywhere; I’d better go now and have some ;-))).
Liebe Grüße from Germany to Australia and have a good week,
😉
Wolf
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Hey Jaz,
Happy New Year (late, but better late than never, right!?) and all the best for you in 2015!
May we have a fantastic ESC year!!!
BTW, I love your new design of EBJ, it looks amazing! Great artwork! 🙂
But now on with the topic; I am pretty much your opinion as you will see! Here are my fav Top 10 UK entries of all time:
#10 Olivia Newton-John – Long live love (1974): this Australian lady was one of the heroines of my youth. I loved her in the 70’s and early 80’s! Okay – this song is not really a milestone of her career (so wasn’t her night dress), but it’s nice. And it was the beginning of her European career! I stll love “Magic” from that trashy movie called “Xanadu”, it still belongs to my all-time favourite list of 80’s songs ever! Oh, and I had a pin with her on my jeans jacket in those days. So now it’s out ;-)!
#9 Belle & the Devotions – Love games (1984): I liked their ‘Cyndi Lauper’ outfits and their song was a lot different to all the cheesy stuff that year. I know it’s always a part of “Strange Eurovision entries ever” in every ESC documentary, but I think it was a good pop song which did quite well in the contest according to the scoreboard.
#8 Gina Geeeee – Ooh … Aah … Just a little bit (1996): from the only contest I didn’t watch on TV (because we had been disqualified) since 1974, this one is the only song I still remember from that year. It was a hit in Germany and it should’ve won, in my opinion! It is so much better than “The voice” which is my least favourite winning song of them all. Gina fitted perfectly into the 90’s, musically and visually!
#7 Jessica Garlick – Come back (2002): I am also a fan of this song, and Jessica did a pretty good job on stage. And I am absolutely your opinion, quote: “It’s a simple, well-sung entry that builds nicely before calming the eff down and then soaring again on that final money note.” And not to forget the very good backing vocalists that carried the song from behind.
The UK needs something like this again; where are the strong vocal girls du Royaume Unis?
Bring’ em up!!!
#6 Sandy Shaw – Puppet on a string (1967): believe it or not: this is the most successful and biggest selling Eurovision single of all time in Germany! Yes, it sold more copies than “Waterloo”, “Ein bisschen Frieden” or “Satellite”, and it is still popular and sounds as good and fresh as in the old days. So Germany loves POAS and I do, too.
#5 Blue – I can (2011): I am not a huge fan of boybands like “Blue”, but I like the voice of Lee Ryan. I think he’s a great singer and dancer. And having seen them live in Düsseldorf in 2011, made this song more memorable to me. And I don’t think that their performance was that weak or bad as a lot of people describe it, to me it was O.K.! They would have deserved a Top 10 placement more than Lena did in 2011. Last remark: I really love Lee’s debut album as a solo artist from 2005 and this track is my favourite from it:
#4 Live Report – Why do I always get it wrong (1989): what a surprise! I belong to team LR, too! And this beautiful song should have been the winning song in 1989. This entry is sooo much better than “Rock me” from Riva that I will never understand how they could win over Live Report! To me it is one of the hardest moments in Eurovision history because the UK definitely deserved the victory this time!
#3 Brotherhood of Man – Save your kisses for me (1976): this song and performance are so cute, one simply must love it, not?! Those were the days in which Eurovision winners were not only successful in Europe, but had worlwide success, and this song is the proof for it. I think the whole world loved this song, and if I watch it today, it is such a wonderful memory to think back at these old days. And of course it won because of the message: ‘parents love their children’ and that was understood in all of the countries!
#2 Katrina & the Waves – Love shine a light (1997): now I’m coming to the British National anthem of 1997! After their performance it was totally clear that they would win the contest. Katrina was such a strong performer on stage and again their message was universal. This proofs that if the UK has a strong performer with a strong message on stage, everything is possible, even a win! This song also fits perfectly to the pictures from Paris yesterday; let me say that “Je suis Charlie” aussi!
… and I think you guessed it already:
#1 Imaani – Where are you? (1998): My all-time favourite from the UK is Imaani from 1998, and I would have loved to see her (or Chiara) winning that Eurovision night, because I adore this song to pieces! And I am with you: this song sounds much fresher than “Diva” does today. I am so glad that you chose it in your Top 10. To see it under your favourite UK entries makes my day ;-).
it was as always a pleasure to read your fantastic blog, and I am already looking forward to the next one.
Read you soon,
Wolfgang
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Wolfgang! Hello, and Happy New (ESC and otherwise) Year to you too! Thanks for taking the time to comment your UK list – it’s much appreciated. Especially since a) we’re not in total disagreement, and b) I now get to judge your musical preferences 😉
#10 – I do like this song, but that dress was much less appealing. If it wasn’t for her clearly styled hair, I’d think she’d just rolled out of bed and onto the Eurovision stage!
#9 – Still a bit too cheesy for me, I’m afraid!
#8 – I want to start by saying NO WAY should Germany not have made it to the contest in ’96. Planet of Blue was right up my street (not at the time, obviously…I had no idea what Eurovision was back then, but in retrospect, LOVE it). Although I can kind of understand why the juries didn’t rate it. Anyway, of course I agree with this! Gina was so 90s in the best way, but she still seemed ahead of her time compared to a lot of her competitors.
#7 – Kudos to the backing vocalists, of course! The last time the UK tried something like this again (’09) lo and behold, they managed to make the top 5. Perhaps they should have bribed Ruth Lorenzo to represent them in Copenhagen instead of Spain. There’s a lady with British connections who can belt out a ballad! They could always try and nab her for Vienna, I suppose…
#6 – Cute. Just cute! I reckon it’s dated pretty well, too.
#5 – Your comment about Blue’s performance makes me wonder if it came across worse on TV than it did in the arena. It was more the visuals – mainly the lights and the giant heads – that bothered me more than anything else.
#4 – I don’t like to say that any entry besides what did win “should” have won…just because the one that won did so according to the rules at that time, and so be it! But in this case, yeah, I think it should have been a UK victory. Even though I like Rock Me more than most. WDIAGIW is one of my all-time favourites!
#3 – You definitely have to love it! It’s cute for sure, but I don’t think it’s too cute. Basically, it strikes a good balance.
#2 – I agree, this was head and shoulders above the rest when you look back at all the acts. I think I’ve listened to it too much over the years, so I’m a bit over it nowadays, but I can still appreciate it for what it is. To think this is the same country that sent That Sounds Good To Me…
#1 – YAY! And you would have seen this live, yes? So I guess the answer to Imaani’s question for you would have been ‘In the audience’.
Thanks for reading 😀
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Haha fabulous as always, I am a sucker for Love Shine a light though, i think perhaps when i am drunk, i cant help but sing it at the top of my voice. The other i love is Touch my Fire by Javine. I think she did a pretty awesome job of that one 🙂
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LOOOOOOOOOOOVE shine a LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHT *falls off karaoke stage* Is that how it goes? Or are you a suave, sophisticated drunk? XD Either way, feel free to get someone to video you in action and send it to me!
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Hi Jaz,
First, any mention of anything connected to the gorgeous Helena of Greece/Sweden is more than fine by me, absolutely no apologies needed! If you have read my blog entries, you’ll see that Ms Paparizou features a bit…a lot!
As for the UK, you know that I am biased but I have to say that the reason we did so well in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s was really down to our pop culture and the fact only us, the Irish and Malta could sing in English! Love your choices, a couple of words comment from me on each, if I may?
The Allisons – Ahead of their time
Gina G – Would have won with televoting
Bucks Fizz – dresses won it
Brotherhood Of Man – choreography broke the mould
Jessica Garlick – best entry this century by far
Sonia – belted it out but the Irish were king
Precious – not my cup of tea, sorry!
Imaani – Dana was the story that year
Blue – Live performances no good
Live Report – loads of people love this, I never really got it. He sings brilliantly live, he was at our Eurobash (http://eurovisionthroughtheages.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/lmbto-eurovision-journey-continues-my.html and http://eurovisionthroughtheages.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/lmbto-eurovision-journey-continues-my.html)
I obviously have a soft spot for “Let Me Be The One”, it being the name of my blog and all…
Great article, looking forward to the next one Jaz!
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So I have your full permission to let my Helena flag fly? Woohoo! The woman is amazing, although her Eurovision winner ain’t one of my favourites. ‘Die For You’ was better, and she’s had plenty of better songs since ’05. But that’s just testament to her fabulosity – that her winning song is one of her weakest, in my opinion of course!
You make a good point about the UK heyday. You guys still have an incredible music scene though, so it’s a shame that isn’t carrying through to Eurovision for whichever of the many reasons we could come up with. I really had high hopes for Molly last year, and watching the performance now, I still think she deserved better. I don’t think she came across as nervous and switched-off as some people believe, and the costuming, staging and graphics were all on point (I still want to recreate her outfit). I actually enjoy watching it more in hindsight than I did at the time, though.
You’re probably right about Gina G. I still don’t see why she was ranked quite so low, even without that televoting support. The crowd went wild for her, and she really fed off that energy. Okay, so that high ‘Ooh ooh ooh hoooo!’ was a bit questionable, but…ugh. The Voice was pretty much as opposite to Ooh Aah as you can get, with the exception of Eimear being a man not wearing a dress (though her dress was also on the opposite end of the spectrum to Gina’s).
Oh, it was all about Dana in 1998 for sure! Whether that was with regards to her song, her story or the death threats she received, Imaani couldn’t compete. I’m actually surprised she did as well as she did in a reasonably strong year with multiple big faves. I’ve just overplayed Diva over the years whereas Where Are You? is still fresher to my ears, so I prefer it. It’s more toned-down Europop too, which helps.
I had to watch Blue’s performance again to remind myself of how unfortunate it was, and it really, really was. It could have been a lot worse, but nothing gelled. The green lighting was heinous, their giant heads were disturbing, the costuming just wasn’t quite right, and the vocals…well, Lee’s mostly to blame for the weaknesses there. 5th in televoting was generous really! I’m still pretty devastated by this outcome due to my attachment to Blue and the ultra-high hopes I had for the song to potentially win. Separate the song from that performance, though, and I still love it.
So I’m not as deep in the minority with Live Report than I thought? Excellent. Thanks for linking me to your Eurobash piece! I’m very jealous, but I loved what I read about Ray. I had no idea he’d attempted to represent Malta post-Lausanne! Hardly recognise him out of that leather jacket and neck-tie thingy.
I never would have guessed you had a regard for LMBTO!!
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