No need to spend a huge amount of time introducing this. Terry Wogan does the job adequately in this clip from the 1990 Eurovision from Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia.
Wogan wasn't in any way expecting what he and the rest of us had to see. This was one of those genuine Eurovision moments.
Yes, it's true. We might have been hearing the music but the dancers and the "backing group" couldn't hear a thing. Hence the confusion as they stood centre stage wondering what the hell was going on.
And of course, in case you're wondering, Bandido were singing for Spain at the beginning of the contest. This was one hell of a live TV mess.
It wasn't all bad. The two Spanish ladies (and don't be any doubt, they OWN the stage) came back fighting delivering a damn good performance and a well deserved 5th place.
The song has lived on in numerous remixes since then and secured Spain a well deserved place in Eurovision history.
Why Spain from 1990 today? Well, it would have been Spain from 1988 or 1992. But the final decision was made by EuroDave2000 who seems to be quite knowledgeable about these things. Many thanks to him.
If, like me you're not too taken with the quality of the clip above, you can always visit this version which, disappointingly, doesn't allow me to embed in this blog, the rotters.
2 comments:
Not quite correct about the stuf-up, Jon - as I understand it, the conductor couldn't hear the backing tape in his headphones, and when he finally could hear, it commenced at the wrong point.
This completely stuffed Azucar Moreno's choreography, so they stormed offstage in a huff as their uncertain guitar player gallantly mimed his little heart out and the floor manager gets the audience to give somebody an inexplicable round of applause. Classic stuff.
Regardless of the error, I've never really liked this one. I once called it "musicalised shouting" - and those women are quite scary. Another irritating thing is that this is possibly the second most instrumental song in Eurovision history, which doesn't help.
Oh, Talkon, I think the fact that it's the second most instrumental song makes it stand out for me!
The false start was heart stopping at the time, gripping television, particularly as it was the first song of the night.
I think the girls are great too! I remember resolving to find a 7" single of this record at the time, which I eventually did.
Jon, you're reviewing all the good songs so early!! There's gotta be some dross coming soon....?
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