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Post by politician2 on Feb 29, 2020 21:39:26 GMT
Once again, Eurovision season is nearly upon us, and Britain's entry is reputedly another monstrosity. But there have been a few good entries over the years, although the only one that I can immediately think of is Austria's 1972 effort, which is a rather lovely Mamas & Papas pastiche:
Milestones were actually a pretty good band altogether – their debut album is mediocre, but their second (by which time they'd moved towards soft progressive rock, including a side-long track) is lovely, especially the rhythmically unusual opener "Nachtmittag Im Stadtpark":
Two thirds of the band (Beatrix Neundlinger and Günter Grosslercher) had a second crack at Eurovision in 1977, by which time they'd moved on to the satirical Marxist progressive rock band Schmetterlinge, but their entry ("Bang Bang Boomerang") was a vicious parody of Eurovision music and the powers-that-be did not find it funny.
Have there been any other genuinely good entries over the years?
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 1, 2020 7:50:50 GMT
Have there been any other genuinely good entries over the years? Not that I can recall - but I don't pay it much heed Not even Sandy Shaw was given a credible song for the composition One of the first singles I ever owned was Congratulations by Cliff Richard - I was six years old and really liked it back then so got my Mum to buy me a copy. At that time my singles collection consisted of Congratulations and a Pinky & Perky four track EP. Although widely tipped to win in 1968, Congratulations came second. Documentary film-maker Montse Fernandez Vila claimed that the loss was the result of rigging of the Spanish vote by state television on behalf of the Francoist State. Despite finishing second to Spain's even more risible La, la, la, and by just one point, Congratulations went on to become a far more successful song and a huge hit throughout Europe. Franco was doubtless fuming. |
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Post by personunknown on Mar 1, 2020 9:33:04 GMT
The only one that I ever thought half decent was The Fruit Eating Bears, You Shut The Door In My Face. 1978 and possibly BBCs concession to punk, though more souped up pub rock to my ears. The song didn't even make it out of Britain's own heats, finishing joint last. The winning entry that year was CoCo, The Bad Old Days. youtu.be/2DgtMJq7cpQ |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 1, 2020 10:11:58 GMT
The only one that I ever thought half decent was The Fruit Eating Bears, You Shut The Door In My Face. 1978 and possibly BBCs concession to punk, though more souped up pub rock to my ears. The song didn't even make it out of Britain's own heats, finishing joint last. The winning entry that year was CoCo, The Bad Old Days. Interesting. Thanks PU I have no recollection of that song though vaguely remember the group S'alright innit? |
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Post by personunknown on Mar 1, 2020 10:42:43 GMT
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 1, 2020 12:18:51 GMT
Thanks for the link PU - v interesting
I notice their singles were produced by Vic Maile of whom Lemmy once said...
"Vic's strength was that he understood rock and roll. He wasn't like a lot of producers who simply rely on the readings from the meters on the desk - he was instinctive and he had the same sense of humour as me. Basically he was a c**t!!"
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 1, 2020 12:20:38 GMT
That Pete Silverton review from Sounds is great....  |
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Post by politician2 on Mar 1, 2020 12:25:14 GMT
Some countries took Eurovision quite seriously back in the day, and fielded relatively substantial artists. Mariza Koch, who represented Greece in 1976, made quite a number of highly-rated psychedelic folk albums that are very sought-after by collectors. Her entry, whilst not brilliant, was somewhat above the Eurovision average:
Another interesting effort was France's 1991 entry by Amina, whom I presume was French-Algerian – a haunting Arabic-tinged ballad that got the joint highest number of votes (but was defeated as the winner by some piece of standard Eurotrash that had gained more 12s):
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Post by jsm on Mar 1, 2020 23:00:33 GMT
I liked this one from Sweden
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 2, 2020 10:53:37 GMT
That Eurovision song contest took place at the Brighton Dome triv fans
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 2, 2020 10:55:39 GMT
On the Eurovision song contest more generally, it seems to have become something that many people watch and look forward to, perhaps in a slightly ironic, post modern way (?) or maybe they just like it.
Does anyone here watch it?
I can't imagine a bigger waste of time but this is from a position of relative ignorance
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Post by politician2 on Mar 2, 2020 12:41:30 GMT
It's not something I'd watch unless there was nothing else on. The chances of finding a diamond among the rough are pretty slim, and it's not quite the same without Terry Wogan (although Graham Norton provides a fairly good substitute). Further, the voting is nakedly political and has very little to do with the quality of the songs.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 2, 2020 13:09:39 GMT
It's not something I'd watch unless there was nothing else on Wouldn't you rather read a book? |
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Post by politician2 on Mar 2, 2020 13:53:36 GMT
I tend to do most of my reading online. Usually factual stuff, as I love learning about obscure things. I'm always reading and researching while I watch TV, except for the last couple of hours before bed.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 2, 2020 16:10:45 GMT
I'm always reading and researching while I watch TV So the TV is just background noise? |
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