December 6: Liquid Gold

One of my rules in the world of Eurovision is never to argue with a winner. If a song goes on to win the international final, it was the right choice. Regardless if I like it or not.

Not only do I like Bucks Fizz. I love them. Their discography is very dear to me and I followed their career very closely. I am happy that they won and I am most aware that the rest of their success would never have happened hadn't they won first the UK final, then the ESC in Dublin.

But that knowledge doesn't stop me from loving the runner-up even more. Just like Waterloo is hardly Abba's best song, neither is Making Your Mind Up one of the strongest in the repertoire of Bucks Fizz.

Don't Panic is such a wonderful fluffy disco cake with too much of everything stuffed into the mix. Slightly frantic and totally over the top it would never have won in Dublin but I love it very dearly. Should have been a worldwide hit and that's my final word.



Liquid Gold / Don't Panic (United Kingdom NF 1981)

Tobson takes on Melodifestivalen 1981

The 1981 Melodifestival is really the odd one out in many ways. There was no sort of open competition where people could send in entries and had only five songs in the running, written by the five composers achieving most success in the Svensktoppen chart during the last year.

The show didn't even have its own slot but was organised as an appendix to another popular entertainment show. Björn Skifs took his second victory in four attempts and got to show himself in a tight, body-hugging outfit on the stage in Dublin.

Björn Skifs with host Janne Carlsson. Picture borrowed from oppetarkiv.se

Ranking the songs really is a real walk in the park. Very easy to know what is good and what is not. Had I been the jury, the evening would have ended this way:

5. Anders Glenmark / Det är mitt liv, det är jag
Anders Glenmark is a great composer, arranger, producer and occasionally a nifty hitmaker in his own right. However, I never got my head around this particular song which fails to trigger any major emotion in me apart from stress.
Grade: 1/5

4. Janne Lucas / Rocky Mountain
Following up his silly but charming song from 1980 with this even sillier but weaker ditty about musical Indians singing scales together every day at eleven sharp. Not unpleasant but pretty pointless. And nowhere near as charming as Växeln hallå.
Grade: 2/5

3. Björn Skifs / Fångad i en dröm
Björn Skifs and his songwriting partner Bengt Palmers were about to turn the opportunity down as they were busy writing their musical Spök and had no time throwing anything else together. Instead they decided to enter one of the musical's tunes and get a bit of free promotion. The song won and the show went on to be a smash hit, running for a long time on stage in Stockholm.
Grade: 3/5

2. Kicki Moberg / Men natten är vår
Abba were about to start recording "The Visitors" but Agnetha Fältskog took precious time off and composed an entry, complete with the first lyrics Ingela "Pling" Forsman ever competed with in MF. Today an event like this would have blown all competition out of the water but for some reason the juries largely overlooked this one. Maybe because newcomer Kicki Moberg was nervous and sounded slightly sharp and shrill when singing live, but this entry clearly deserved better than a last place.
Grade: 4/5

1. Sweets 'n' Chips / God morgon
Chips temporarily had to change their name due to another band claiming the right to that band name, and sported a new and better line-up compared to the year before. Lasse Holm and Kikki Danielsson were still there, now accompanied by Tania who had been performing solo in 1980 and a brand new talent named Elisabeth Andreasson who was about to make quite a mark on ESC history. This was slick, elegant and catchy but it seems the juries were reluctant to vote for any song entered by the Mariann label. At least for the time being.
Grade: 4/5

Conclusion:
It remains puzzling as why SVT decided to downgrade Melodifestivalen this year as well as why it was so hard for the juries to reward anything coming from the countryside hit factory in Skara. "God morgon" would have been a fresh and energetic ending to the ESC lineup in Dublin and my guess is it would have improved the Swedish showing a bit. An eighth place, perhaps?

Runner-up: Germany 1981

For many years, this was my favourite Siegel-penned entry to ESC. It may have slipped a bit in my ranking since then but I still find it tasteful and elegant - not words I'd necessarily use in connection to all of his catalogue.

Lena Valaitis is - very much like Katja Ebstein before her - a classy performer that manages to keep the whole entry pretty much down to earth.

Still, it's very Siegel by the numbers in some ways. Especially in the sense that it's not just a straight-forward song: Ralph Siegel was always very fond of a backstory.

1981 was the official year of the blind, so of course he would write a song that would connect to that theme. Still it's kept simple and efficient with lyrics about a boy getting bullied for being blind only to grow up to be a famous musician whose songs spellbind the audience. That's all. No special effects. No excesses. How I wish the Siegel entries could have stayed that way forever.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes, by all means. Perhaps I think Switzerland's "Io senza te" would have deserved the silver medal even more but this is fine too.



Lena Valaitis - Johnny Blue (Germany 1981)

Nobody's favourite but mine, part 3

What fun it has been making the list of songs I thought I was the only person alive under God's divine sky to like and enjoy. Part 1 and Part 2, however, taught me many people share my odd taste so here we go with five more songs that somehow seemed to appeal to the mainstream of eurofans.



Rikki - Only The Light (United Kingdom 1987)

I was only 11 years old at the time and didn't really understand what the Swedish commentator meant when he implied the UK was in an outright downhill and no longer delivered anything really convincing to Eurovision. I thought this song was fun and catchy, and Rikki's backing group provided dance moves even I could manage. What was there not to love?

Besides, the Swedish commentator had no idea what a REAL downhill looks like, and neither did the UK until some twelve-thirteen years later. Rikki did end in a 13th place - the worst UK placing until then - but somewhere in Liverpool a real disaster called Jemini was just waiting to happen.



Marty Brem - Wenn Du da bist (Austria 1981)

This is actually a really lovely little song. Gentle, sensitive, heartfelt. It is well sung and is overall a rather catchy ballad. It just tries really hard to distract anyone from noticing. The composer was quoted as being unhappy with the confusing arrangement in the beginning of the song. Had I been him I would have worried a whole lot more about the performance as such. Where do I begin?

I would have loved to have a look inside the head of the Austrian choreographer. What can he have been thinking? Some heavy dancing would be nice. Backwards dancing would be even better. And somebody has to wear a helmet. Dancing has never been stranger.



Pas de Deux - Rendez-vous (Belgium 1983)

When the expert jury overwhelmingly voted Pas de Deux as winners of the 1983 Belgian final it would be a real understatement to call the studio audience enthusiastic. They whistled, booed and most left the hall before the winner's reprise was over. I guess Belgian audiences prefer heartfelt ballads about mothers to more experimental stuff.

And experimental it was, made to annoy rather than please, with it's distinct rhythm, it's intense brass arrangement and its constant repetition of one single line that doesn't really mean anything. It is close to what Greece is doing this year - presenting a set of rhythms and hooks rather than an old-fashioned song - but back in the early 1980's it was far too avant-garde to go down particularly well. At least the Spanish jury liked it and gave it eight points.



Baby Doll - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991)

Just to make one thing very clear: there isn't the slightest hint of irony here, no tongue in cheek. I really think this song is fun and happening and that Baby Doll is a most spectacular performer. If you are looking for fine singing this will perhaps be slightly disappointing but it is not likely do bore you at least.

Since Yugoslavia had done well four years in a row I was convinced this one would be top ten material and was a bit shocked to see it end second last with only one point from Malta, beaten by a whole bunch of soporific ballads.



Vlado Janevski - Ne zori, zoro (FYR Macedonia 1998)

Not too surprising that a televoting audience that had lived through endless ballads with flute and violin and pretty harmonies and an Irish win-athon would go for something more cheerful and upbeat when they finally got the power in their hands, but it is a shame that they overlooked this last song on the night. Vlado is a really cool cat who wrote himself a really good song - a sort of Leonard Cohen of the Balkans - that would have deserved a lot more attention than this. At least they would have deserved a neighbourly top mark or two.

Nobody's favourite but mine, part 1

Sometimes I get the impression there is a certain kind of eurovision fan who only watches the contest in order to get to criticise as many things as possible. To just slam every song they hear and rip them to shreds.

I admit it can be great fun to do just that. When you find something that is really terribly bad and you manage to find just the right words to explain why something makes your ears bleed and your heart cry.

It's just that I'm so incredibly fond of liking things. I can often find redeeming factors in most really weird entries and in general I like so many more things than I dislike. So just to prove my point I will present you a number of songs only I like. Here are five songs I like very much to most people's honest surprise and incomprehension.



Afroditi Fryda - Clown (Greece 1988)

Famously, the jury in the national final selected a winner only after pointing out how underwhelming all candidates were and recommending the national tv company to pull out of the competition instead of sending either one to a sure defeat in Dublin. If that anecdote is true - it has been attached to a number of Greek national finals through the years - the jury were not entirely wrong as the song received a grand total of ten points.

I disagreed with juries - business as usual - and found an attractive sadness in between all the compulsive laughter. When I finally saw a translation of the lyrics I realised it was all in my head as there wasn't the slightest trace of ambiguity or darkness. I still love it anyway. Ha ha ha ha!



George Nussbaumer - Weils dr guat got (Austria 1996)

Eurovision and gospel music has always been a hard nut to crack. Quite a few entrants have tried through the years without really getting it right. It becomes a bit too polished and soft and harmless to leave any real traces or reveal any deeper emotion. Except perhaps for this bunch of crazy Austrians.

The song is perhaps not all that remarkable in itself and I wasn't really blown away by the preview clip, but the live performance is the closest thing we ever came to a perfect re-enactment of a tropical hurricane. The backing group - including Stella Jones and Bettina Soriat who both represented their country as solo singers in the 90's - become so incredibly animated and worked-up that you suspect the hall will run out of oxygen before the song is over. Not everyone's cup of tea but I find it irresistible.



Oleksandr - Hasta la vista (Ukraine 2003)

Isn't it strange that Ukraine - famous for doing everything right in the ESC - would start out by getting more or less everything wrong in their debut entry? The cheesy lyrics, the old-fashioned arrangement, the Kermit-the-frog-at-the-opera vocals and the most peculiar dancer in the background. It is all so puzzling. What were they thinking? Were they convinced they had a winner on their hands? The worst part still is that I've grown remarkably fond of it over the years. For all the wrong reasons, mind you. But very fond all the same.



Modern Folk Trio & Aysegül - Dönme dolap (Turkey 1981)

I'm surprisingly easy at times, I have to admit to that. Shake a piece of homemade disco muzak Made in Turkey in front of me and my knees will turn into jelly. If it is performed by three distinguished gentlemen in white, accompanied by a cheerful lady, performing a choreography that should be simple but that seems to pose a real challenge for the group, I'll be even happier. If you top it with a shockingly nonsense set of lyrics - stating that life is a merry-go-round as it goes up and then down again - I'll just roll over and admit I'm defeated.



Daisy Auvray - Mister Music Man (Switzerland 1992)

This is what I suppose happened: Poor Daisy didn't get out much and this time she decided to really live the moment to the fullest. She had enjoyed a glass of wine or two and felt lovely and vibrant and alive and wanted the whole world to know. She grabbed a microphone, decided to put her happiness into song and asked the band to strike up an old-fashioned sound that would suit her perfectly. How was poor Daisy to know this was not a karaoke bar at all but the Swiss national final?

Seriously, though. This was so violently out of sync with any kind of musical trend or fashion back then, but time has been really kind to this in comparison to many other entries from the same year. Perhaps not the best song there ever was, but the whole performance is sweet. And endearing. And that must be worth something too.

Nul points: Norway 1981

The old saying goes that thunder never hits the same spot twice, which is both true and not true.

The shock of a country failing to score had just about ebbed out when the very same country failed to score a second time. What was up with Norway? What made them fail not just once but twice?

In 1978, Jahn Teigen had managed to turn failure into success and build himself a neat career thanks to his failure.

Finn Kalvik had done the complete opposite - he had managed to build a very firm career in both Norway and Sweden and had a prestigious collaboration going on with Benny Andersson of Abba (who had produced Finn's album as well as his entry - Agnetha and Frida sang the backing vocals on the studio version).

He had stood up against Abba's famous record label manager Stikkan Andersson, insisting to go to Eurovision with "Aldri i livet" and no other song. He had everything to lose from this devastating result and his career never fully recovered afterwards.

Nul points?

Absolutely not. 1981 is not a particularly strong year, but none of the songs in the line-up would have deserved a no-score. Finn's song is gentle, poetic and melodic, but suffering from a visually lacklustre and vocally uninspired performance.

Finn lets his own song down, but the juries were still way harsher than what was called for.



Finn Kalvik - Aldri i livet (Norway 1981)

Song Of The Day: Turkey 1981

Many people have, through the years, sung songs about life and love being much like a merry-go-round. In that sense, this song is nothing unusual.

During the late 70's and early 80's, many countries contributed disco songs with disco strings for Eurovision. Nothing unusal there either.

The disco songs were often performed by a goodlooking woman, which is also the case here.

What makes this one stand out is that pretty Aysegül have been paired up with three men that don't stike me as typical disco regulars in any way. (Not that they can't handle the choreography. Looks can decieve.)

Also, most disco hits were depending heavily on some kind of hook or catchy chorus. This song has nothing of the kind. It is pleasant and trots along, but it is not the kind of merry-go-round that will leave you breathless and exhausted.

So the juries went for a much more energetic ride called Bucks Fizz and left the disco Turks in second last place with only nine points.



Modern Folk Trio & Aysegül - Dönme dolap (Turkey 1981)

Tobson's Winners: 1981 - 1985

Now we are quickly approching the times that formed my idea of what Eurovision was and what it was supposed to sound like.

The first ESC I know I saw at least fragments of is 1983. The night of ESC 1984 was spent at my uncle's and as he had no functioning tv set, I had to content myself with the radio broadcast. Then we came home in time for the voting, so I remember seeing my native Sweden win.

In 1985 and 1986, I was allowed to sit up until Sweden had performed, then it was time for bed. And 1987 was the first year I saw in full.

My ideas of these years and songs have been formed through cover versions on tape, the odd newspaper article I happened to come across and very fluid memories from here and there.

And then, when I finally saw the live versions, I had to change my mind. Again and again. My old ideas and likes and dislikes crashed into what I really saw and heard. And if I was the judge now, these are my winners.

1981 - Portugal



Carlos Paião - Playback (Portugal 1981)

I admit that this is a pretty odd choice. But 1981 is a pretty odd year. It contains a handful of real pearls mixed up with a whole bunch of mediocre songs that are not really bad (not a single song is outright bad in 1981) but that fail to make a difference.

This portuguese piece of plastic pop surely makes a difference. It is obnoxious, repetitive, pokes fun at showbiz in general and is performed in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion by Carlos and his strutting backing vocalists.

I love the entries that come to Eurovision not craving to be loved. A great portion of attitude and a distinct will to be different is more than enough for me.

Real winner:
Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (United Kingdom)


1982 - Spain



Lucia - El (Spain 1982)

Provocation seems to go down well in my list. At the time, this had a pretty distinct taste of politics, aimed at the host country.

But provocation alone is boring. The urge to do something different in a contest that was turning more and more streamlined is a far more interesting trait.

And this song may be political, but it is also furious, tempestuous, sexy and funny. Again, completely lacking a will to kiss up and be gentle and loveable.

The european juries wanted a little peace but I'd rather like a bit of tango.

Real winner:
Nicole - Ein bisschen Frieden (Germany)


1983 - Luxembourg



Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau (Luxembourg 1983)

The last real outburst of The Classic French Ballad, up until this point crushingly superior to most genres in the ESC but now rapidly losing in strength.

Other winds were blowing, other tempos climbed the charts, other moods hit home better with the audience. But once Corinne Hermès stepped onto that stage in Munich, it was as if nothing had ever happened and that a big ballad in French would always beat everything else.

The French ballad wouldn't sink away over night, there would be more songs of this kind. In 1988 and 1993, Luxembourg and Switzerland would actually place rather high with this kind of song.

But the era was over. And what a worthy ending, with one of the strongest and most elegant winning songs ever.

Real winner:
Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau (Luxembourg)


1984 - Italy



Alice & Franco Battiato - I treni di Tozeur (Italy 1984)

One question will always haunt me. When there is a song like this one in the running, what kind of jury favours a ditty like "Diggi-loo diggi-ley" instead?

What do they look like? Do they have ears? What do they have for breakfast? And who decided that they, out of all people in the world, should be on the Eurovision jury?

This Italian entry was stylish, original and immensly beautiful, the kind of victory that could have injected some well-needed commercial interest at a point were just that started to ebb away from the ESC.

Shame on the juries.

Real winner:
Herreys - Diggi-loo diggi-ley (Sweden)


1985 - Finland



Sonja Lumme - Eläköön elämä (Finland 1985)

Gothenburg 1985 looked very exciting as two countries that had never fared well in the contest were tipped as likely winners: Norway and Finland.

We all know how the story goes as Norweigan Bobbysocks stormed to victory and Sonja Lumme from Finland somehow slid into oblivion and ended in a ninth place. If it had anything to do with being drawn at the dreaded second starting position or not, we will never know.

"Long Live Life" has anyhow turned into a eurovision evergreen, well loved by fans as well as the general audience in Finland. And rightly so. A powerful chorus and a powerful performer who squeezes every drop of schlager juice out of her song.

Eurovision in Bergen 1986 was a very attractive setting. But Helsinki would not have been out of place either.

Real winner:
Bobbysocks - La de swinge (Norway)

A tribute to Nella

One of my favourite eurovision personalities are no longer with us as Nella Martinetti lost her battle after years of illness.

Bella Nella never got to represent Switzerland as a singer, but wrote the lyrics for four Swiss entries (three of which made top five).



Peter, Sue & Marc - Io senza te (Switzerland 1981)



Mariella Farré - Io così no ci sto (Switzerland 1983)



Daniela Simons - Pas pour moi (Switzerland 1986)



Céline Dion - Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland 1988)

A very nice set of songs on placings, ending in Switzerland's last victory to date. Now that must have been enough for any songwriter to gain lasting respect and appreciation, one would think.

But no, sadly not. Not when you are a rounded and robust little woman with a faiblesse for German schlager and volksmusik, which was what Nella performed herself.

She even won the Grand Prix der Volksmusik in 1986 with the bouncy little number Bella Musica and she mainly sung catchy little numbers like this one:



Nella Martinetti - Forte fortissimo

Universally, for some reason, female performers doing lightweight music seem bound to attract ridicule. Nella was no exception. Her outgoing personality paired with an unfortunate ability to tell the press a bit more than they needed to know about her private life turned her from award-winning singer and composer into a laughing stock.

In recent years she stated in interviews that she knew all of Switzerland was laughing at her, adding that she has cried more than laughed during her life.

The question I ask myself is why the world of showbiz has to be like this. Male singers can go on performing, doing their same act far longer than is appropriate without losing their fans. Female singers get laughed at.

I can't help feeling that the world could have been a whole lot nicer to Nella. As for her music, love it or loathe it, but as a performer it is obvious that she just wanted to amuse her audience.

I wish they would have had the wit to laugh with her, not at her.



Nella Martinetti - Bella Musica

Songs only I like: Austria 1981

This kicks off another series on this blog, where I celebrate my odd favourites. In short: I put the spotlight on songs only I like.

The first one is a lovely ballad, but most people fail to notice as they get distracted by the rather odd stage performance.



Marty Brem - Wenn du da bist (Austria 1981)

Marty had already represented Austria the year before as part of Blue Danube and opened the 1981 ESC in Dublin in style by drinking the national drink of the host country in his postcard and smiling sweetly into the camera.

On stage, he is helped (if that is the word I am looking for) by four ladies of which one sings and the others... well, they interact.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall at the meeting where the radical decisions concerning this performance were taken. Who decided the dresses? Who decided the choreography? And why didn't they listen to the song before doing so?

After three minutes, the audience is left confused and the juries only gave it a total of twenty polite points.

Too bad that nobody ever got to notice what a sweet song this really is, heartfelt and sincere, with a very fine vocal delivery by Marty, whose career never really recovered after this.

I like it anyway, and I could be the only one. If you're with me on this one, please leave a comment to let me, Marty and all the Austrians know you are around.

Bucks Fizz were better outside the ESC

There are some ESC acts that I love - but not so much because of their eurovision output. Is there anyone out there who seriously thinks "Waterloo" is the best track Abba ever came up with?

Eurovision is often a good start and a good springboard, and the ones who manage to go on to lasting fame then develops into something bigger and better than they were at the time of going into their eurobattle.

Another one of those bands is clearly Bucks Fizz, who could celebrate the 30th anniversary of their victory a couple of days ago. To make myself perfectly clear - there is nothing wrong with Making Your Mind Up. It's a good winner, bubbly and happy and clappy stuff. But it is absolutely not the best track of the Fizzes.



Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (UK 1981)

After winning, Bucks Fizz achieved what nobody would have expected them to do - the group assembled to win the British final and nothing else merged into a real band that started putting out hit singles. With several songs in the UK top ten, they were one of the most consistent chart acts of Britain in the 80's.



Bucks Fizz - My Camera Never Lies



Bucks Fizz - Run For Your Life



Bucks Fizz - Easy Love (not a hit single, but a personal favourite)



Bucks Fizz - New Beginning

In fact, Bucks Fizz go down in history as one of my favourite Eurovision acts, and if you are not familiar with their career it is not too late to check them out.

(But don't mind the clips of them still going around touring. Stick to the 80's and all will be fine.)

Runner-up: United Kingdom 1981

Given the poor UK record of recent times it might be hard to remember, but back in the day even some big names took part in the British national finals from time to time.

In 1981, Liquid Gold was a firmly established disco act with chart success in America as well as a UK #2 hit single under their belt when they decided to give Eurovision a shot.

They didn't sound like your typical ESC output at the time and looked even less like it:



Liquid Gold - Don't Panic (UK NF 1981)

A real disco hit by a real disco band - that would have been something to enter in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, where far too many of the contestants were polite little songs more eager not to disturb rather than to entertain. A risky choice, but had Liquid Gold met success, it could have pushed Eurovision mainstream in a very different direction.

Instead, the juries went for a group created especially to perform at A Song for Europe: the happy clappy foursome that was Bucks Fizz.



Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (UK 1981)

Despite singing somewhat out of key in Dublin, ripping the skirts off worked wonders and Bucks Fizz not only scored a 4th victory for the UK but also went on to have a solid career with several top hits in the years to come.

What if the more established Liquid Gold had won the UK selection instead? What would the outcome have been in Dublin?