tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91766471008712535622011-04-21T19:54:20.956-07:00Listening to every Eurovision song ever performed and blogging about it. <br> It's like the Classic FM Hall of Fame, only worse.Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-15780467249161190092008-06-07T08:13:00.000-07:002008-06-09T04:17:52.127-07:00

I'm wondering whether I'm a little biassed when it comes to this song. Zemrën E Lamë Peng is a potent reminder of a time when in the run up to the 2008 contest when I found myself working on a special Eurovision-related project myself. I had this track playing in my ears morning, noon and night. The song is a convincing one, with a heart-wrenching set of chord progressions which communicate pain

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-79037731806266508612008-06-07T07:55:00.000-07:002008-06-09T00:05:00.052-07:00

If there was an eastern Europe bias in the results from the 28 country strong semi-final this year, Albania didn't benefit from it.This was to be the second year running Albania had failed to get through the semi-final stage ending up with a disappointing 17th place. A shame really as "Hear My Plea" sung by Aida & Frederik Ndoci is, based on a very simple comparison with their previous efforts,

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-5032084253136180682008-06-07T07:27:00.000-07:002008-06-07T07:50:36.294-07:00

Oh deary me. Every time I watch this video I feel terribly sorry for Luiz Ejlli singing Zjarr E Ftohtë for Albania in 2006 whose performance to get the country through the semi-final that year.Don't get me wrong, the boy can sing and doesn't suffer from any obvious on-stage nerves in terms of his voice production (quite possibly the result of having participated in the "Albanian" Idol equivalent.

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-76120863274828580412008-06-04T12:20:00.000-07:002008-06-04T12:45:14.559-07:00

As the Thoroughly Good Eurovision bus makes its long and windy journey through the myriad of offerings, there are one or two things are slowly becoming clear to me. I am beginning to enjoy this massive process rather more than I thought I would. And I'm beginning to remember useless facts, useless scores and random song titles. I am, at last, embracing the inner geek.Take Albania's efforts, for

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-3810951450778664542008-06-03T09:38:00.001-07:002008-06-03T15:05:59.686-07:00

The Albanians certainly went to a great deal of effort selecting their artist to represent the country at their first ever Eurovision in 2004. Seventeen year-old Anjeza Shahini beat twenty-nine other hopeful representatives in the RTSH (Albanian TV) song festival (Festivali i Kenges) with her song "Imazhi yt". What makes the Albanian song quite interesting is that it began life as something a

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-11055973618705301332008-06-02T10:01:00.000-07:002008-06-02T10:19:11.997-07:00

At last, a vague sense of self-satisfaction as I complete a smallish chapter in this riduclously unwieldly Eurovision-related blog. Yes, this is the final contribution from Moldova (until some time in 2009) and on that basis I am feeling a little bit smug.Natalia Barbu performed for Moldova in 2007 with "her" song Fight, a vast improvement on Loca from the previous year, but something which

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-61804102543707538192008-06-01T10:32:00.000-07:002008-06-01T10:39:20.237-07:00

One of the problems with setting myself the challenge of listening to every Eurovision song and then blogging about them, is that I do have to write about the ones I don't like. That's quite a challenge when the damn blog is prefaced "Thoroughly Good". After all, in a way, what's the point if I don't like them? (It's about being "thorough", that's what it's about. Geddit?)Still, in pursuit of a

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-40147608831789079392008-05-30T09:41:00.000-07:002008-05-30T09:59:35.123-07:00

Talkon's correct. Moldova does have an impressive past when it comes to Eurovision (or at least their first contribution stands head and shoulders above the rest at least) as this, their debut performance in 2005 clearly demonstrates.Boonika Bate Doba - translated as "Grandmama beats the drum"- is edgy and fresh and sufficiently different from anything else heard in the contest without alienating

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-30439304606626422342008-05-29T09:34:00.000-07:002008-05-29T09:47:25.221-07:00

Whilst I'm still able to look at the 2008 contest without breaking out in hives, take a look at Moldova's splendid little effort from this year, Century of Love sung by Geta Burlacu. The version above is the one from their national selection show. I'll confess that I fell for this song big time the moment I saw the national selection video but, just as with quite a lot of acts this year, the

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-30383967874907723502008-05-26T14:04:00.000-07:002008-05-29T00:17:43.347-07:00

If ever there was a song to continue my self-indulgent stroll through the endless hours of songs which graced the Eurovision stage, it's this one.Forty-eight hours after Andy Abraham gave a sterling performance in Belgrade of a song I loved the first moment I heard it in rehearsals nearly three months before, I like a lot of people am left feeling bereft. Watching the video back now I'm still

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-30153514548479210122008-03-10T12:08:00.000-07:002008-03-10T12:34:34.394-07:00

Today saw quite a startling discovery in terms of Eurovisionness (if that's a word).I reckoned the time had come to reveal a seminal Eurovision song to the world. It is Teach-In's Ding Dinge Dong (or is it Ding A Dong? I really can't be sure even though I have researched it in three different places) from the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest which saw my interest in Eurovision reignited.Around about

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-45783688457045582772008-03-06T12:23:00.001-08:002008-03-06T12:37:32.744-08:00

Chris clearly understands what this week has been about. And his suggestion was a song I'd forgotten all about. Listening to it did, at first, raise a smile if only because I recalled how I'd rather taken to it's solitary tone so quickly when I heard it in 1990. A couple of minutes in however, it did rather tap into the dark side.That's the thing about this song. As marvellously indulgent the

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-34114948759568742122008-03-04T10:04:00.000-08:002008-03-04T10:21:16.699-08:00

Maybe it's because I am in a spectacularly foul mood today and ready to hit out at anyone who dares to come near me that I've picked out this shameful example of Eurovision hideousness. It's a cautionary tale about what happens when people start letting their woeful lack of understanding about tv performances spiral out of control.Just imagine it. What we need is someone singing this song whose

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-60329998708290136842008-02-29T03:50:00.000-08:002008-02-29T03:53:32.481-08:00

I look at this video of Carola singing "Invincible" for Sweden in 2006 and think only one thing. Let's throw as much as we possibly can at the lighting budget and pour the rest into the rental of the wind machine assuming, of course, there's something left over from the costume work. It should come as no surprise that this particular song actually makes my skin crawl. Don't get me wrong. It's

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-89883488258146536582008-02-27T13:00:00.000-08:002008-02-27T13:14:36.583-08:00

As requested by Chris, stalwart commenter on this still relatively new blog, I am indeed moving on from Italy 1974 to something slightly more predictable and a little more recent. Well, I say recent I do actually mean from fifteen years ago. Sonia, bounced up and down on the Eurovision stage in 1993 singing her perky number "Better the devil you know" and coming in a marvellous second place in

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-18346399786299565562008-02-25T00:47:00.000-08:002008-02-25T01:01:23.470-08:00

Another confession needed for the latest Thoroughly Good Eurovision video. This isn't something I'd actually heard that many times before, still less realised it originated from the 1974 contest. I didn't stumble on the song trawling the internet either. My attention was drawn to Gigliola Cinquetti singing "Si" for Italy solely because of a meeting I was in with a new colleague in which I ended

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-46389310036390517642008-02-14T10:45:00.000-08:002008-02-14T10:52:00.845-08:00

Bless this bunch of laid back Estonian representatives from 2003. Their's was a good song, with a fresh sound (possibly imitated from other bands I can't quite put my finger on right now) that offered something of a relief from all the others on offer in the 2003 Contest.Simple, yet effective. Well executed. In tune and a tub-thumper to boot.Shame it came 14th that year.

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-53632316161135916252008-02-13T00:39:00.000-08:002008-02-13T00:51:24.283-08:00

Here's an example of something the UK does best. The recipe is really quite straightforward.1. Get a good song with a convincing sound. Keep the idea simple. Don't let it get out of hand.2. Get a reasonably low-key singer who can carry a tune. He may not necessarily immediately appear young and hip or, indeed, made for television. The key thing here is making sure he can deliver the song.3. Make

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-42222227283886806502008-02-08T10:32:00.000-08:002008-02-09T02:48:12.648-08:00

I've got guilty pleasures on the brain, clearly. So, seeing as I have, now seems to be a good time to reveal another one. Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats for Sweden's contribution to the European pop music canon. A song called Boogaloo sung by the adorable, if colour-blind, Ms Lotta Engberg. The song didn't do badly in the ranking (it came twelfth the year Johnny Logan won with his

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-40283626156593786302008-02-07T09:31:00.000-08:002008-02-09T02:48:29.721-08:00

I make no apology for the fact that this song, sung by "Hot Eyes" in the 1988 Eurovision does much to stimulate the over-production of serotonin in my simple, naiive mind. It has nothing to do with the fact that Denmark ranked 3rd at the end of the contest behind Celine Dion and the UK's Scott Fitzgerald. Quite apart from being one of the most difficult song titles to pronounce, Ka' Du Se Hva'

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-53133092938378089652008-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:002008-02-09T02:48:47.724-08:00

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-52777573581578904692008-02-01T10:30:00.000-08:002008-02-09T02:51:58.311-08:00

Israel's song from 1985. The perfect little Friday night party song. High octane, tight skinned drums and simple but colourful dance routine. I defy anyone who listens to this not to feel their heart rate increase just a little bit when the string players do their stuff in the final few bars of the song. And, in case you didn't already know, the lead singer, Izhar Cohen, had previously won the

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-88155653292545357402008-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:002008-01-30T10:15:56.619-08:00

Not for the first time over the past five years do I find myself asking the question “Why is the Eurovision so terribly important to me?” It’s a question I unexpectedly found myself asking a week before the 2002 Eurovision in Tallinn, Estonia. It was a moment which left an indelible mark.I remember exactly where I was sitting and what I was doing at that moment. Sat at my grey desk, overlooking a

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-27891698911176709472008-01-26T10:04:00.000-08:002008-01-28T06:48:25.862-08:00

Roll up, roll up for my most favouritist song in the Eurovision Song Contest ever. No estas solo, sung by Patricia Kraus', represented Spain in 1987 at a contest which oozed visual style both in it's presenter Viktor Laslo and the set. It makes me tingle watching it. And yes, I do watch it in its entirety from time to time even now. Kraus' performance is powerful, even if her make-up is a little

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-45641247612453624932008-01-26T09:26:00.000-08:002008-01-27T12:22:42.483-08:00

If ever there was a song which defies the Eurovision stereotype most people thrust upon the television show. You might listen to this for the first time and think "What the bloody hell is this nonsense?" This "nonsense" was the song which won for Luxembourg in 1965, sung by a 17 year-old understated glamour-puss France Gall and written by none other than Mr Serge Gainsbourg himself. I always

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-78769772973864147362008-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:002008-01-26T08:46:17.106-08:00

In Eurovision circles there's a massive question mark over the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest, which this song from Denmark sung by Grethe Ingman won.John Kennedy O'Connor's Eurovision book raises the thorny issue again about whether the songs were pre-recorded by the BBC in the event they hosted from the then newly built Television Centre in West London.Look closely and you'll not see any

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-62014303229663471222008-01-25T10:59:00.000-08:002008-01-25T11:14:37.069-08:00

No offence to the composer (who was also the lyricist) Paul Curtis who wrote the UK's effort for the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, but this song does meet the "dross criteria" spectacularly well.It did do well and it struck a chord with many at the time. It hooked in to the concern being focussed on environmental issues - some things haven't changed really. It ended up coming sixth. And whilst

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-29631880172313265532008-01-24T16:30:00.000-08:002008-01-24T16:35:34.035-08:00

Keen to meet the demands of the handful of people who read and comment on this Thoroughly Good Eurovision blog, I hereby offer up what I consider to be a terribly fine example of a Eurovision effort. And of course, by effort I really do mean "effort". I might even go as far as to say that this presentation from Switzerland at the 1990 Eurovision truly is utter dross. I don't even know or care

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-91137144416360565392008-01-24T06:44:00.000-08:002008-01-24T08:46:27.877-08:00

Lindsay Dracass sang for the UK in 2001. I remember watching it on the night and thinking it was OK. It struck a chord even though I didn't realise it. Her live performance was pretty good given the demands of the song and her relatively young age. She carried off the performance well. She did us proud. The crowd went wild at the end when she hit the top note. Just take a look at the video

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-84016727369906329082008-01-22T23:59:00.000-08:002008-01-23T00:16:29.943-08:00

I remember this song well from the 1993 Eurovision. The Croatian band Put gave the audience a stylish performance with their song Don't Ever Cry. It was terribly simple, terribly sad and terribly hopeful all at the same time. Given events in Croatia at the time, the song's title seemed the complete opposite to how I felt at the end of it. I was certain it would win when I heard it for the first

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-25579060183432225812008-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:002008-01-22T11:21:11.510-08:00

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

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-72853682493853240052008-01-21T09:26:00.000-08:002008-01-21T10:06:11.453-08:00

Personally speaking, 1976 was quite a good year in Eurovision terms. No, I don't mean because the UK romped to victory with Brotherhood of Man's Save all your kisses for me. More, there were a number of smashing songs. My favourite is, without doubt, Marie Christy singing Toi, la musique et moi. This song has gone through a rigorous test procedure this afternoon and come out good in all reports.

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-7352328342545661572008-01-20T12:05:00.001-08:002008-01-20T12:08:01.149-08:00

The UK didn't always used to be bad at Eurovision. We did churn out some quite good stuff every now and again as this smashing performance from Imaani in 1998 clearly shows. Yes, I'm biassed.

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-20668595519176276562008-01-20T05:15:00.001-08:002008-01-20T12:08:29.614-08:00

Yet another confession to be made with this particular Eurovision song, one which won for Greece in 2005. It wasn't until a few days ago I discovered that Helen Paparizou actually sang for Greece in 2001. That lack of simple knowledge is really quite shameful. (Listen out for the hoards of "serious" Eurovision fans chase after me with rusty spears as a result.)This is not the only confession here

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-58827815342800217702008-01-19T13:00:00.000-08:002008-01-19T13:18:57.229-08:00

Heard this for the first time this evening.Is that bad? I mean, this being the UK's song for the 1972 Eurovision and me being born in 1972 and everything? I mean, really? Is that bad? Am I a really shit Eurovision fan?I really enjoyed it listening to it for the first time this evening. It seemed terribly me.

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-83663860210352645322008-01-19T09:27:00.000-08:002008-01-20T05:28:55.774-08:00

Die for You featured in the 2001 Eurovision. I didn't actually realise that until only yesterday. Up until that point I'd known Die for You was a Eurovision song (and a surprising one at that) but hadn't known when it featured or who had sung it. Somewhere after the UK last hosted the Eurovision (back in 1998) and 2002 I lost interest in the Eurovision for some reason. I still recorded it on

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-69909928955990307852008-01-17T12:36:00.001-08:002008-01-17T12:49:52.573-08:00

Imagine yourself in her shoes. You’re Canadian, standing on a stage in Norway, singing a song in French, representing Luxembourg. A floor manager gives you and your backing singers a shove on to the stage. You’ve got to stride into position, stand upstage on your own, looking confident. For god’s sake smile.In front of you, somewhere in the dark void, are thousands of people, smartly dressed,

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-36372701406975239182008-01-16T12:24:00.000-08:002008-01-16T13:30:46.139-08:00

Love is Blue may not immediately strike the passer-by as the most typical Eurovision song to feature first in this blog. The song sung at the 1967 Eurovision by a 14 year-old Vicky Leandros doesn’t conform to all the usual Eurovision stereotypes.There’s no key change for a start. There’s no oompah-oompah sound. No eye-catching costumes.That was all to come in later years. Some even consider it

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9176647100871253562.post-57600831405954395262008-01-15T00:06:00.000-08:002008-01-15T00:53:24.101-08:00

It's early. Well, earlier than I would normally get up, get dressed and start writing. The wind is blowing hard, rain hitting the window pane. The prospect of setting out in that weather is a grim thought.Fortunately, I have a distraction. Late last night I started doing a spot of research. Referring to a well thumbed copy of John Kennedy O'Connor 50 Years Eurovision Song Contest The Official

Jon Jacobnoreply@blogger.com4