Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special: The Final Instalment

Here it is folks, my final tribute to all things Eurovision and what better way to end this spectacular special than with my favourite two acts to come out of the competition.

Consisting of Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston, Mike Nolan and Bobby G, Bucks Fizz represented the UK in the 1981 contest with Making Your Mind Up and won.

How Bucks Fizz managed to win the competition is beyond me. The singing was off key, the dancing amateurish and let's not even go there on the costumes. Despite this blot in Eurovision history, I am awfully glad they did win. If not for the competition, they would not have gone on to have a very successful career.

I turned 14 in 1981 and Bucks Fizz were without a doubt my favourite band and remained so for many years.

They released many singles, with three of them reaching number one in the UK. They were also very successful throughout Europe and even as far afield as Australia.

Of all the albums Bucks Fizz released, my favourite is Hand Cut which was released in 1983.

The artwork alone was worth the price I paid. Of all their album sleeves, this to me is the one that is the most visually stunning.

The reason I love this one the most is down to one track alone. That track is "I'd Like to Say I Love You".
It is such a beautiful song and I cannot believe the record company did not feel it worthy of a single release.
I am sure it would have proved to be a massive hit for them if they had.

Bucks Fizz are still performing, though they are now two separate groups. They have not had a hit single or album for years. Personally I think their demise from the charts was due to over exposure in the early 80's (Rihanna take heed) which resulted in the fans turning away from their music.
I was not one of those fans and continued to buy and listen to their music.

Of all the tracks Bucks Fizz recorded I have chosen my favourite three and they are:

Number 1 - I'd Like to Say I Love You
Number 2 - Tears on the Ballroom Floor
Number 3 - Golden Days

Whilst I love Bucks Fizz as a group, Cheryl Baker has always been my favourite and it was a travesty that her one attempt at a solo pop career went unnoticed. She released a fantastic version of "If Paradise is Half as Nice" and it should have been a massive hit for her.
I think I was one of the few that bought it and I still own it along with all my other Bucks Fizz albums and cd's.

I have two Bucks Fizz related dreams. One is to meet the original members of the group. The other is to write a musical based around their songs. I already have an outline for it and who knows, one day it may just happen


And so to the act who joins Bucks Fizz as my favourite to come out of Eurovision and who else could it be but the amazing Abba.
Consisting of Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-frid Lynstag, Benny Andersonn and Bjorn Ulveaus, they represented Sweden in the 1974 contest and won with Waterloo.

Abba went on to become one of the most successful acts to ever come out of Eurovision and one of the most successful bands in the world.
Selling millions of singles and albums, they were Sweden's biggest export for years.They are famous throughout the world and have influenced many of today's artists with their music.
How anyone can not like Abba is a mystery to me. Their music is ridiculously good and can be enjoyed by any age.

Of course, they have a huge gay following but I do not love Abba because I am gay. To me, ones sexual orientation does not determine who you will like music wise. That is not what music is about. Music is how it makes you feel inside. With their music, Abba have the ability to make you feel happy, sad, excited and many other feelings.

Abba split up many years ago and that alone is proof of how good they are as their music still sells by the millions.
There is always talk of a reunion and I know that if a concert were to be announced, it would sell out in an instant. One can hope that maybe one day they will make that announcement.

Choosing my favourite three Abba tracks was a difficult task. There are just so many that I love. Nevertheless I have managed it and here they are:

Number 1 - The Winner Takes it All
Number 2 - Thank You for the Music

Number 3 - Happy New Year

There is only one word to describe this song and that word is "perfection".

So there is..my favourite two acts from the many years of the contest.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my Eurovision Special. I have absolutely adored writing it and looking back at the many highlights.

If you agree or disagree with my choices, please feel free to send me a message or maybe even a comment about my blog in general. If you really like the blog then pass the link onto your friends. Whilst my specials have been for all ages, some of my earlier blogs are a little on the rude side so please be cautious if you do pass the link on.

All that is left for me to say is tune in Saturday 26th for the 2012 Eurovision Contest from Baku and wherever you are in the world, I hope you enjoy the show.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special. The Sequel

As promised folks, here is who I believe should finish in the top 3 for this years Eurovision Song Contest being held in Baku.

In reverse order we start with:

Number 3 - Love Will Set You Free by Engelbert Humperdinck (UK)

At 75, Mr Humperdinck is one of the oldest artists to represent the UK in the contest.
Though I think he will struggle with the high note at the end, I still think the UK will do well with this beautiful ballad.


Number 2 - Standing Still by Roman Lob (Germany)

This song has already been a huge hit in Germany, reaching number 3 in the charts.
If it does well on the night,I can see it charting quite highly over here in the UK.
Mr Lob has the full package -  stunning looks, amazing voice and a lovely song. The only downside is the video is quite similar to one by the not as amazing Daniel Beddingfield.


Number 1 - La La Love by Ivi Adamou (Cyprus)

I do love my dance music and this entry from Cyprus is superb.It should do well with the gay audience and who knows, maybe this could be the year we see quite a few Eurovision hopefuls do well in the UK pop charts.

That's my top 3 for you. Do you agree with my choices or have I got it completely wrong?
There is only one way to find out and that is by tuning in to BBC1 on Saturday 26th May.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Just two more to go folks. Any ideas as to which act is going to make number one? Why not leave a message and we will see if you guess correctly.
And so to my penultimate Eurovision favourite.

Number 2 - L'oiseau et l'enfant by Marie Myriam (France)

Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marie represented and won the contest for France in 1977 with this amazing song.

I love the French language, so it is no surprise that a song or two in the language would feature in my top 10 and this one simply is the best. I do not speak or even understand French but this song is pure pleasure to my ears.

The song was released in the UK under the title The Bird and the Child and reached number 42 in the charts. It really should have been top 10 and shame on us Brits for not making it so.

You will have noticed the lovely Angela Rippon at the start of the video, who hosted the contest for that year. Though I am a gay man, I have always had the slightest of crushes on Ms Rippon. I think it was the dance routine she did on the Morcambe and Wise show that was the cause of this crush. Now aged 67, she still looks as stunning now as she did back then.

Until next time, when I will reveal my number one Eurovision act, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

The top spot in my countdown looms ever closer. Have any of your favourites featured in my chart. Maybe it's my next choice?

Number 4 - Hallelujah by Gali Atari and Milk and Honey (Israel)

This song won the 1979 contest but only just. Spain were in the lead and looked set for victory until they awarded 10 points to Israel.

Gali was a solo performer and joined Milk and Honey for Eurovision, leaving the band soon after.

The performance on the night was perfect and whilst the audience wasn't on the scale of recent Eurovisions, they received an astounding round of applause and were obviously one of the favourites.

The song itself takes me back to my childhood and reminds me of happy times with my family.

It's one of those songs that builds up as it goes along which I absolutely love.

After winning Eurovision, it did very well in the European charts, reaching number 5 in the UK.

Milk and Honey tried representing Israel in the contest two more times but failed to reach the final on both occasions.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special: Half way there!

That's right folks. We're at the half way stage with my Eurovision countdown. I hope you have liked my choices so far.
Ready for the next one?

Number 5 - This is My Life by Euroband (Iceland)

The duo are the very handsome Fridrik Omar Hjorleifsson and Regina Osk and they represented Iceland in the 2008 contest.
After giving one of the best performances of the night, they only managed to finish in 14th place. A top 5 placing was much deserved and one can only imagine how gutted they must have felt, especially as there were some absolutely appalling songs that scored better than Euroband. Proof, yet again, that tastes in music differ from Country to Country. Either that or there are lots of tone deaf viewers out there.

Never let it be said that Iceland cannot produce a good dance track. This one really is a beauty and I can just imagine myself and many other guys dancing our socks off to it in Queens Court. It could even warrant a dance around a pole too.

The song itself did not chart in the UK but  did reach number 2 in their home
country.
With the right amount of promotion, I honestly believe this song could have been a hit in the UK and Ireland and who knows, maybe even the USA?

Those of you who know your Eurovision may recognise the voice before the start of the above video. That's right, it is the legend that is Sir Terry Wogan who sadly hosts the show no more. The political scoring became too much and he wasn't enjoying hosting the show because of it. A sad loss for us Brits but he was replaced with a good choice in Graham Norton.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Welcome to my Eurovision countdown and I must say it is proving to be quite a task.
So many fantastic songs throughout the years and picking just ten is exhausting, not that I'm complaining. It's been lovely looking back through the archives of the contest.

Who is the next entry in my top 10? Read on and all will be revealed.

Number 8 Bobbysocks La Det Swinge aka Let it Swing (Norway)

Bobbysocks were Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreassean and together they won the 1985 contest for Norway with this quirky little swing number.
They give a winning performance full of sparkle and energy and the orchestra, well what can you say except it is a swing song and when those instruments start a playing, boy do you want to swing.

Bobbysocks reached number 44 in the UK charts with their Eurovision winner and continued to work together until 1988. Up until their split, they released 3 albums and 10 singles. In 2010, a compilation album was released to celebrate 25 years since they won Eurovision and whilst not as successful as their previous releases, it did introduce them to a whole new audience.

Today, Eurovision's look has totally changed from the look of 1985 with everything produced on a much grander scale now. If Bobbysocks were to sing in the contest today, I doubt it would be a winner but I guarantee the audience would be up on their feet swinging to their hearts content.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Naveen - part 2

Myself and Naveen had found a quiet spot in Queens Court and were chatting along nicely. His parents still lived in India and he was in the UK on his own.
It was quite amusing listening to him talk, as there were certain words he couldn't quite master. I had to be quite alert when he came across one so I could guess what he was trying to say. There were the odd few where I had to ask him to repeat the sentence. On one, I had to ask him at least three times to repeat it and in the end just pretended I understood. Even though it was a bit tiresome, I did also find it rather cute of him.
He was very attractive but his dress sense, which consisted of a white shirt and black trousers, was not appealing. It was smart but not very trendy and I do like a man who makes the effort to impress.
I asked if he had come straight from work, thinking that maybe this was why he was dressed this way, but he had left his job a few weeks ago and was now unemployed.
This did not bode well with me but I didn't show it and he did say he was trying to find something else.
It was at about this time that the curly fries I had ordered arrived. On the subject of curly fries, can I just say Queens Court..there were far too many. I had ordered for one but there was enough for two or even three people. Still, better too much than too little.
I offered Naveen some of the fries but he declined. Looking at his figure, I got the impression that he was careful with what he ate and fries were a no no.

We ordered another round of drinks and then got down to the serious stuff. I asked why he went for older men and in particular, why me?
He had had enough of one night stands with guys his age who said they wanted more but finished it after they had got what they wanted. I could relate to this.
The reason he fancied me? Well I'd like to say it was because of my dashing looks and Adonis like body but he just said I seemed like a nice guy. It was enough to keep me interested and we continued to chat.
He loved to walk, watch horror films and was studying architecture at university.
I told him quite a bit abut myself and he seemed to be genuinely interested.
We finished our drinks and as we had been in Queens Court for a couple of hours, I asked him if he'd like to go somewhere else? He thought that was a good idea.
I suggested we go for a cuppa and as he had told me he liked to do this, why not take a steady walk to my place? He thought this was an even better idea.
We thanked the bar staff and off we went, though as soon as we set foot outside, I regretted my suggestion to walk. It was freezing!

Want to know what happened next? Tune in next week to find out.

Until then, I bid thee farewell.