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 back to my Eurovision top 10 countdown and the next entry is a controversial choice due to the fact that it is mostly instrumental.

Number 6 - Love Symphony by Quartissimo featuring Martina Majerle (Slovenia)

Quartissimo are a string quartet who between them play the violin, viola and cello and play them rather well too. Martina, who originates from Croatia, joined the quartet for this Eurovision entry because rules state an entry must contain lyrics. Slovenia's entry was originally instrumental.

I absolutely adored this entry for the 2009 contest but, unfortunately for Slovenia, not many others did. It failed to reach the final having only scored 14 points in the semis.

Was the lack of support because we don't actually hear a word from Martina until 1 minute 14 seconds into the song? There is more instrumental than singing throughout the duration of the number and maybe viewers just did not perceive it as a song.
Whatever the reason for it's failure to make it to the next stage, I honestly believe it deserved to progress.

Unfortunately for Quartissimo, their track failed to make an impression on the pop or classical charts but thanks to the official Eurovision website, it is one of the many tracks on my ipod.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell and if you like what you have read, please feel free to leave me a message or ,better still, pass the link onto your friends and family.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Hi folks and welcome to the next recipient to earn a place in my Eurovision Top 10.
Without further ague, let us proceed.

Number 7 Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (Norway)

Winning the competition for Norway (though Alexander originates from Belarus)  in 2009 with a total of 387 points, the highest score in Eurovision's history, is this beautiful song.

Yes Mr Rybak is rather dashing and would look very nice on my arm but it is for the song that he features in my top 10.

I love the simplicity of the lyrics and in the way he delivers the vocal. Add to that his stunning violin playing and it's not hard to see why he was one of the favourites to win.

Alexander reached number 10 in the UK charts which, given the fact that the day when Eurovision winners did well had long gone, was quite an achievement. It went to number 1 in 7 other countries.

Since his top 10 debut, there has been nothing else from him, at least not in the UK.

Over in Norway, he did lend his voice to their dubbed version of the 2010 animated film "How to Train Your Dragon".

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.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Here we are folks. The next entry in my Eurovision countdown.

No 9 It's All About You by Juliana Pasha (Albania)

Albanian singer Juliana Pasha represented her country for Eurovision 2010 and came a very disappointing 16th place.

2 songs stood out for me in 2010's contest. This one and the entry from Iceland which finished 19th. Both songs were well staged, with the singers giving it their all and both received rapturous applause.

Why their scores were so disastrous is a mystery to me and just shows how different a countries taste in music can be.

Maybe it's my taste that is strange as the UK only gave Albania 1 point. Could it have been Juliana's uncanny resemblance to Jane Beale from Eastenders that cost her points with the UK's voters?

Personally, I felt that she should have finished top 3 and it is a travesty that she did not.

  

So why has this song ended up in my top 10? Because it's a fantastic dance song full of energy and great vocals with good backing vocals too, that's why. Plenty of songs were sung on the night but it was this that stole the show for me.  

Germany won the contest with a rather dull song called Satellite and that is all I have to say about that one.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

 

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Well here it is folks. The start of my Eurovision Countdown and where better to start than number 10.
If any of you agree with my choices or have any favourites of your own, just leave me a message.

Let the Eurovision frivolities commence.

No 10 One Step Further by Bardo (UK)

The Uk's entry for 1982's Eurovision was this jolly little song.
Bardo were actually tipped to win the contest but, as you will see watching the video, their performance on the night was less than average.
Luckily for me, I had heard the song already and absolutely loved it.
It was never going to win an NME award for best song but who cares. It served it's purpose by being a fun song with a catchy tune and, at the time, was good to dance to. What can I say, I'm gay and sometimes my musical tastes can be quite strange.

Sally Ann Triplett and Stephen Fischer were Bardo and formed just for Eurovision with plans to further their new found pop career after the contest.
Things did not get off to a good start with the act finishing 7th on the night. They fared better with the release of the song when it reached number 2 in the charts.
Unfortunately none of their other releases charted and they joined that elite group known as One Hit Wonders and separated.
They reformed under a new name and also became a duo romantically with Sally giving birth to their son in 1990 (thanks to Wikipedia for that little snippet of information).
A few years later, the relationship ended and they went their separate ways.

I honestly believe that if their performance had been better on that forsaken night, they would have indeed won the contest and who knows how the the future of Bardo could have turned out?

I am still the proud owner of One Step Further on 7" vinyl though I am not the owner of a record player. Thanks to YouTube, I recently listened to it again and was reminded of just how much I loved it and the temptation to download it from Amazon is proving very hard to resist.

Until next time, I bid thee farewell.

Guilty Pleasure - Eurovision Special

Yes folks, you read that correctly. The Eurovision Song Contest is indeed one of my guilty pleasures.

My earliest memory of watching Eurovision is in 1976 with my family. I was a mere 9 years old and Brotherhood of Man won the contest for the UK with Save all Your Kisses for Me. Who could ever forget that dance and don't any of  you dare deny that you didn't have a go at those moves like I did.

Eurovision was a big part of our life and we never missed it. We'd had our electricity cut off one year and were so desperate not to miss it that we made do with the radio.
There we were with a few candles and Eurovision blurting out of a small speaker. It was bliss and one of the memories I treasure most.

Katie Boyle and Terry Wogan were of course the King and Queen of Eurovision but I think Graham Norton is proving to be a most excellent host. As with his predecessors, you can tell he absolutely loves everything about it.

These days it has become a little too political with countries awarding points to their neighbours just to keep them happy, for fear of possible invasions or a ban from fishing in the other countries waters.
Never the less, I still love it and and even more so now that each year it is on, I visit my good friend Andy to watch it with him. We even go as far as awarding our own points and trying to predict who will win. I love it but Andy adores it. I'm not kidding, the man is like the encyclopedia Eurovision.

So why do I love it so? I could say it's because I'm gay and because it is as camp as Christmas. I could even say it's because sometimes the songs are so bad and the artists so ridiculous you just have to laugh out loud. There could be the possibility my addiction to Eurovision is all down to the hosts and their hilarious comments.
It is, however, none of the previous. The reason I love it so is quite simply because the contest unites countries through the art of music. Millions of people watch it every year and with each passing year, it becomes bigger and better and more importantly it becomes even more loved.
Yes there are those who ridicule it but they still watch it.
I think the Eurovision Song Contest will be with us for many more years and I would love it see it evolve into the World Song Contest. Not sure if the BBC could spare a whole day to show all the acts taking part but it sure would be fun to watch.

Leading up to this years contest, I will be compiling my top ten Eurovision acts. The list will contain acts that won and some that didn't and thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I will do my utmost to include a video (hopefully from the contest) for each one.

I hope you find it an interesting and enjoyable edition to my blog and please feel free to let me know your favourite Eurovision acts or songs.

Until next week when we start with number 10 in our countdown, I bid thee farewell.