Eurovision 2011

[UnquietDad]

Getting in early here..

Our song by Blue is, disappointingly, shit. As shame, as this year the UK has the right idea, teaming up songwriters with an established act rather than any of the combinations of choice which have been used in the past.

However, .

It has a choon worthy of the Pet Shop Boys, a pretty-boy in a cool jacket, and exploding glass. Give up, everyone else.

I remember once loving the Portuguese entry (a late 1980s one, I can see the room I'm watching it in, but can't quite pinpoint the year, 1989 possibly?) until my Portuguese speaking friend told me it was all about Portuguese empires and colonialism and how their time was coming again.

The UK needs a proper band to enter, a Britpop-type young and hungry vocals-bass-guitar-drums combo channelling Merseybeat. A bit like Blur in 1995. Dated, but that's what people in Europe might subconsciously expect a British entry to be like.

1989 - 'Conquistador'.

Re previous post, Finland I meant, not Portugal - sorry.

Also, for Israel this year!!!! with a song called "Ding Dong".

Ding Dong, sing along...

Agree re semis throwing up gems that deon't make it to the final.

One of my Eurovision all-time favourites (non-ironic, honestly) has got to be Germany's 2006 entry, by Texas Lightning.

Also really liked last year's entry for Armenia .

disclaimer: I actually like real, proper music normally (Floyd, Smiths, REM, Gabriel, Muse, rock, indie). My cheese-liking is only reserved for Eurovision. :)

Me too!
(I am listening to Croatia 1993 as I type )
I have my music folder open on the puter and there's Dylan, Floyd, classical of every genre, you name it, it's there, and then there's my Eurovision folder....

Ah but which is your favourite year?

Mine is a toss up between 1993 and 1994 - the years all the devolved eastern bloc countries really got involved! Slovakia 94 (rock on!), Slovenia 1993 and Bosnia 1993 is probably one of my all time favourites.

My sister and I used to know all the songs 1991-1995 - we used to test each other going 'Denmark 1992?' and then the other would have to sing it!

I agree, favourite countries have been Israel, and France as a general rule. Nowadays I rate any nation who sing in their own language :)

That's it, I think, the own language songs have always done it for me.

I liked 1989 very much, but agree that 1992, 1993 and 1994 were good ones too.

I feel it all started to go a bit awry after 1995. There were even a few wilderness years when I didn't watch. (would have, but my Mum forgot to record them, and it didn't seem as tragic as it would once have)

Which was the Bosnia one when the group literally had to run and jump on a plane out of Sarajevo and they had to leave their conductor behind so another lovely conductor stepped in? Must have been when they were in the thick of things? Blonde male singer, being patriotically Bosnian? I've always had a soft spot for the Balkan songs (to the point that I thought I might have to go there as an English teacher to snare me a young whippersnappin' broody chappy)

Yes - Bosnia 1993! The lead singer's voice tone was just amazing. Bosnia 1994 was the couple who held each other a lot.

I even taped Newsnight in 1993 about the Bosnian entry!!

I agree about the Balkans tracks - often in a minor key, fantastic language to listen to day after day :)

I too 'gave up' watching 1996-2001 I think. I used to record them on video in the early 90s and then get everyone to shut up and hold a microphone to make an audio tape! Until I realised that Radio2 broadcast the entire thing and I could record a decent copy.

I even spent hours listening to 'Mama Corsica' in 1993 waiting for my French ORal GCSE thinking it would help!!

Eurovision has come in useful on a couple of occasions when at weddings on the continent and a track comes on. I can 'sing along' to them (phonetically) and everyone thinks I know Swedish etc! 'Ellll oooo isssssse!'

Sorry - I never get to talk about this stuff with anyone :)

I think my favourite songs are (in no particular order):

Greece 1976 'Pahaghia Mou' sung by Marisa Koch
Italy 1984 'Treni di Tozeur' sung by Franco Battiato and Alice
Spain 1983 'Quien Maneja mi Barca' sung by Remedios Amaya
Italy 1964 'Non Ho L'Eta' sung by Gigliola Cinquetti (missed this as I wasn't born)
France 1969 'Un Jour Un Enfant' sung by Frida Boccara
Netherlands 1969 'De Troubadour' sung by Lenny Kuhr
Yugoslavia late 60s 'Jedan Dan' with balalaika, troubadourish theme
Sweden 1996 'Den Vilda' sung by One More Time -- I thought they were way better than Ireland who won
Sweden 1974 (Abba)
Netherlands 1984 'Ik Hou Van Jou' sung by Maribelle
Ireland 1972 'All Kinds of Everything' sung by Dana and I liked Niamh Kavanagh's winning song too
Bosnia 1993 I loved too

And Patricia Kaas (France 2009) as well as Tu Te Reconnaitras, Anne Marie David (France) and Apres Toi (Luxembourg?) Vicki Leandros

Oh yes, I can still sing along in Dutch, Bosnian (er, what language would that actually be? ) Russian, you name it, I'm Eurofluent in it ( and I remember the clingy 1994 Bosnian couple.)
This morning I listened to some more of my favourites, including the Gigliola one (I remember my Mum singing that to me when I was little, she loved it) Gali Atari, Hallelujah (eatyour heart out Jeff Buckley ) and from last year, Norway, Ireland and the Butterfly people (Bielorussia I think?)

Oh Math, you need Volume 1 CD2 of the Boxed set....it covers 1969 through to Johnny Logan (What's another year?)

What have I unleashed?! There are some real Eurovision anoraks here!

Some years the winner is really obvious. From the first few bars of it was obvious it would win.

was robbed.

I want to know how come the UK won in 1997.
I mean, it was a good Eurovision song, I still play it when I'm having one of my Eurovision moments....but the UK doesn't win because everyone hates us.
Was it really a magic wave of love and light created by Saint Tony to hoodwink not just us, but the whole of Europe? (and Israel )

I'd forgotten Nocturne! Perusing my collection (because Nocturne is actually filed in my Irish music file and not my Eurovision file) T'was good though. (and I like to regale people with useless facts like it was written by the same bods who wrote the melody for You Raise Me Up)

Katrina & The Waves won because that was the last time we had a really good song. I think the "everyone hates us" thing is a bit of a red herring. For the last 12-13 years we have had songs which have ranged from the average to the awful. Don't forget that, for a song to get ANY points, even 1, it has to be in the TOP TEN songs on the night out of 30 or so.

James Fox was OK, as was Jessica Garlick, but there were better songs on the night.

UQD - I'm also astounded at the incredible Eurovision knowledge here. I am not worthy.

Excellent link to Latvia's 2000 entry. It filled my heart with a special kind of Eurovision happiness.

Does anyone remember Love City Groove?

"baby baby baby, you know you drive me crazy...."

I remember. That was one year that my friend recorded for me (on good old cassettes) and sent me over. Rather fortuitously, LSG were at the end of side 1 and I didn't get all of it.

Also robbed, in 1994 -

My ears! My ears!

What about the woman in the mahooooosive red frock and the waily waily voice? Can't remember if she was Russian or Polish but her frock was so offputting. 1995?

1994. Russia. The frock should have won.

I think was robbed, though I liked Katrina and the Waves.