December 20: Arja Saijonmaa

This will be short and snappy and in general just a very direct hommage to a performer that entered national finals for Eurovision four times and would have been a worthy winner on three of these.

("2005? Did she deserve to win in 2005?" I hear you cry. Maybe she wasn't the best but considering the hot mess Sweden sent to Kyiv, she would at least have made the event more fun.)

As for Finland 1990, I will insist - until I go blue in the face - that there is nothing really wrong with the chosen entry. It just didn't work, that's all. I still like it.

But imagine Arja Saijonmaa entering that stage in Zagreb, being the last of 22 participants, and just impose her presence onto everyone present. Preferably with a slightly more elegant stage performance than at the national final.

A top five for Finland? Not unthinkable, good people.



Arja Saijonmaa / Gabriela (Finland NF 1990)

December 18: Gruppe Papageno

After scoring their best placing for many a good day in 1989, Austrian tv decided to work a bit harder on their Eurovision involvement and staged a televised national final for the first time since 1984.

If press exposure was what they were after, they got it as the eventual winner first collapsed on stage during the performance before getting itself disqualified a few days later.

It's a bit of a shame that this pre-selection has gone down in history as a bit of a mess due to these mishaps as the general line-up was quite strong. I don't mind the entry they sent off to Zagreb in the end, but Gruppe Papageno would have made a more interesting package.

This piece of Austropop must have made an impact on more people as me as it sometimes pops up on various hit samplers in Austria. Lead singer Stella Jones would later go on to represent Austria in Dublin in 1995 as well as doing backing vocals for George Nussbaumer a year later.

ORF kept the national final format also in 1991 when, unfortunately, most entries were highly mediocre and the winner landed Austria in last place with nul points.



Gruppe Papageno / Papagena (Austria NF 1990)

December 9: Shift

Being bonkers is an underrated quality at the ESC. That breathtaking mix of being bouncy and upbeat and cheerful and very much in the face of audiences.

This little gem from the 1990 Dutch final ticks every single one of these boxes and a few more. Not only does it come in a tempestuous orchestral arrangement - it also has the widest smiles you ever saw and some of the most ridiculous dancing ever known to mankind.

Most adults wouldn't dance like that in public unless they were dangerously intoxicated but I wish more people would. And I wish Shift would have made it to Zagreb instead of Maywood's nice but not too exciting ballad.



Shift / Helemaal (Netherlands NF 1990)

Tobson takes on Melodifestivalen 1990

I said I would go through the Swedish finals of the 1980's and with the 1989 edition the eighties effectively ended. But my childhood/adolescent love and admiration and appreciation of the contest would linger for a few years more, so I decided to extend the series to contain the Melodifestivalen finals of my mental 80's instead.

And that leads me back to Gothenburg, where the 1990 final was held. Their approach to the whole thing had shifted a bit and tried to connect with the younger audience that their recent rock shows had attracted by having the youthful Carin Hjulström take over the presenting.

There were even some attempts to bring the sounds of newer generations into the lineup, with mixed results. And then there was the big comeback: Carola would sing in public again after several years of low profile and Bible studies.

Picture borrowed from aftonbladet.se

10. N'Gang / Vi vill ha värme
This was the most obvious attempt at appealing to a younger audience. This rock band tried to be hard and street and cred but lands in a deserted wasteland somewhere between rock and schlager without really being either one. Three minutes of empty posing.
Grade: 1/5

9. Loa Falkman / Symfonin
It isn't really good but it is fascinating: a rather pompous opera star performing an equally pompous dansband aria in a mix curious enough to make several jaws drop. Became a major commercial success after the contest and is today fondly remembered for its entertainment qualities. But not good, no. Not as such.
Grade: 1/5

8. Edin-Ådahl / Som en vind
Two sets of brothers sang heavenly and that was what the juries wanted. Apparently. This song always passed me by, it did at the time and it still does. It has its moments, it is well sung. But it is also pretty bland and pointless.
Grade: 2/5

7. Lotta Engberg / En gång till
Lotta Engberg was still a real household name and possibly the Queen of the Svensktoppen chart. This song fall well into her standard repertoire but was too lean and too meek to make any bigger impact in a contest like this. Well performed but lacking in profile.
Grade: 2/5

6. Peter Jöback / En sensation
A seemingly most self-assured young man entered the stage; dancing and flirting with the camera but as he fell through in the voting, Peter Jöback would prove way more sensitive than most reviewers thought at the time. He would slowly but steadily build himself a name as one of Sweden's top singers but this MF fiasco was to remain a sensitive issue for many years afterwards. Not that it really was a fiasco - a likeable little song that is a tiny bit too superficial for its own good.
Grade: 2/5

5. Lizette Pålsson / Sången över havet
Lizette was named the only serious threat to Carola by one of the evening newspapers and was reportedly very disappointed as she failed to live up to expectations. This is a pleasant, traditional schlager anthem of a sort that perhaps felt a little bit too old for the juries.
Grade: 3/5

4. Elisabeth Andreasson / Jag ser en stjärna falla
People keep mentioning "Kärleksmagi" from 1984 as the song where Bettan sang badly but nobody seems to remember this time when she used up her voice during rehearsals and had nothing left to give during the live show. The song is good but unfortunately turned into some sort of rock entry as the orchestra was unable to reproduce the hard, electronic sound of the studio version.
Grade: 3/5

3. Sofia Källgren / Handen på hjärtat
According to Lasse Holm, someone had thought up a cool and extraordinary stage show - nicked from Broadway - that would suit this song perfectly. During the first rehearsals it turned out Sofia hated it and was reduced to tears. It all had to be redone in no time which shows. You can tell the show isn't focused and Sofia doesn't sing as well as she could have. That live performance might well have hindered the song from becoming a bigger hit and much like Peter Jöback it would take some years for to Sofia to really establish herself.
Grade: 4/5

2. Lisbet Jagedal / Varje natt
Instead of pretending to be modern (like N'Gang) it is better to go full stop old-fashioned schlager and that's what this hairdresser did. A song tailor-made to be belted out in the shower or any place at all, really. Lisbet would never become a star but made a good career for herself on the dansband circuit.
Grade: 4/5

1. Carola / Mitt i ett äventyr
There it was - the big comeback - and Carola was sparkling. She was impeccably styled, she had a new trendy haircut and a song that really seemed to fit her like a glove. When the juries rejected this, maybe they gave her a blessing in disguise - like what happened to Abba when "Ring Ring" didn't win. One thing was perfectly clear: the Swedes had missed their Carola a lot and in the long run she would be the winner.
Grade: 4/5

Conclusion:
After the previous year where some major pop stars battled it out, it was visible that the contest suddenly had much less of a finger on the pulse. Or it would have been visible hadn't Carola's big comeback been standing in the way. What could have been a temporary slip was rather the first sign of the recording industry beginning to shy away from melodifestivalen.

In a parallel universe:
Since the winner only made it to 16th place in Zagreb it is a pretty safe assumption that most of the closer contenders would have topped that. It doesn't feel like Carola would have been a winner there, so it was maybe for the better than she got to wait another year. Maybe a completely reshaped Sofia Källgren in better vocal form could have made an international impression?



Carola / Mitt i ett äventyr (Sweden 1990 NF)

Tobson takes on 1990

It's not time to dig into this year's entries just yet - I will need some more time to listen and evaluate and find eventual pros and cons there - so I thought I'd throw myself headlong into another year that has meant a great deal to me.

I was 14 back in 1990, very happy to see Yugoslavia host the contest. Yugoslavia had for years been one of my fetish countries that I always liked, always supported, always cheered for.

They had such good songs and such a pretty and unusual flag, and judging from their preview clips it seemed to be a country where everyone were always happy and cheerful and playful. I was blissfully unaware of the things cooking underneath the surface and was just very pleased with the show offered to the world by Televizija Zagreb.

A number of years - perhaps 1985 to 1990 - have been so formative to me, that many of the songs feel like old friends. They are hard to rank and even the bad ones have redeeming qualities in my eyes. But if I had to rank all 22 songs of 1990, it would look a bit like this.

22. Sweden - Edin-Ådahl / Som en vind
This song never meant a lot to me, really. It was a disappointing winner of the national final and I never understood the fuss about it. Not bad, only very insignificant.
Grade: 1/5

21. Ireland - Liam Reilly / Somewhere in Europe
Pretty much the same case as with Sweden. Not a bad tune, but completely let down by the forced travel-log lyrics that try to squeeze in every thinkable square, street, hill or field you could ever imagine in Europe.
Grade: 1/5

20. Switzerland - Egon Egemann / Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus
Good in parts. I like the powerful intro, the chorus is catchy and the violin break adds character. Just too bad that the different parts don't come together very well. And Egon is not the right performer to paint over the cracks either.
Grade: 1/5

19. Norway - Ketil Stokkan / Brandenburger Tor
A very cheerful approach to the recent fall of the Berlin wall. They mean well and the song isn't bad as such, but contributing such a feather-weight song about an event of such gravity must be the most out of place ESC entry celebrating anything or anyone since Sweden's Forbes ended in last place with their ode to the Beatles back in 1977.
Grade: 2/5

18. Germany - Chris Kempers & Daniel Kovac / Frei zu leben
Another effort that probably means well but just shoots over the goal. Given Ralph Siegel's usual eye for detail, it is odd that he chose two performers that don't match each other vocally (and who don't really seem to like each other a whole lot either). If Norway is too cheerful to suit the matter, then the German entry is too stiff.
Grade: 2/5

17. United Kingdom - Emma / Give A Little Love Back To The World
Singing cheerful songs about difficult subjects were very much the order of the day back in 1990, and Emma wanted to save the world with her little song. Inoffensive but easily forgotten.
Grade: 2/5

16. Netherlands - Maywood / Ik wil alles met je delen
A good song let down by a really lacklustre performance, which in itself is inexplicable. Maywood had been successful for at least twelve years and were very experienced performers. Maybe they felt this being perhaps one of the last opportunities to shake some life back into their career got the better of them?
Grade: 2/5

15. Austria - Simone / Keine Mauern mehr
Another song about that famous wall. Not bad, but again too light to seem to take its subject seriously. The lyrics could be about a first kiss or cotton candy just as well as about a capital political change in Europe.
Grade: 2/5

14. Greece - Christos Callow & Wave / Horis skopo
This one doesn't really work either but I always had a soft spot for this chorus. A better performance would have been good - who thought up that strange arrangement for the backing vocals? - but it didn't deserve the bashing it got.
Grade: 2/5

13. Cyprus - Anastasio / Milas poli
Cyprus did their best to sound like the current pop songs you heard in the charts, but the song doesn't live up to the high ambition. Especially the chorus falls a little bit flat. And if I call the performance a complete styling disaster it would still be flattery.
Grade: 3/5

12. Denmark - Lonnie Devantier / Hallo Hallo
Denmark on auto pilot. The same type of song, the same type of chorus, the same type of singer that they had already entered many years in a row. Not a bad package but the whole concept was getting a bit old by then.
Grade: 3/5

11. Finland - Beat / Fri?
Finland's first entry in Swedish is far better than most people think. It's catchy little ditty and Beat look striking in white. The lyrics are equally poor to several others this year but the group's diction isn't very good - they mumble quite a few of the words - and that actually works to their advantage.
Grade: 3/5

10. Italy - Toto Cutugno / Insieme: 1992
A good winner, a quality winner. Well sung. But in retrospect it stands out as a competent but fairly anonymous winner - it would have been more fun with a colourful or more modern or more personable winner. But not a bad one at all.
Grade: 3/5

9. Portugal - Nucha / Há sempre alguém
Another of those years when the juries totally neglect the Portuguese entry and I can't see why. This one is personable and should be pretty accessible. Second last? Unbelievable.
Grade: 3/5

8. Luxembourg - Céline Carzo / Quand je te rêve
A fine song from the producers behind Dalida - one of my all-time favourite singers - that would have needed a more convincing live performance. This one also works a lot better in its studio version where it can happily ignore the three-minute-rule and let the tempo change by the end flourish into two minutes of brilliance.
Grade: 3/5

7. Belgium - Philippe Lafontaine / Macedomienne
The beauty of growing older is that you can suddenly appreciate songs you discarded completely in your youth. Where my teen self just heard a boring monotonous ballad, I hear a moody and most melodic love song, very delicately performed.
Grade: 3/5

6. Turkey - Kayahan / Gözlerinin hapsindeyim
Back in the day when Turkey had to contribute spectacular masterpieces in order to even get close to a top ten finish, a gentle and laid back attempt like this one would stand a chance similar to the one of a snowball in hell. Gentle, likeable and original.
Grade: 3/5

5. Iceland - Stjórnin / Eitt lag enn
Iceland's first really good placing and a firm favourite of mine at the time. It is still charming and appealing, but also a late shot at the Scandinavian successful sound of the 80's, enhanced by an energetic and stylish performance.
Grade: 3/5

4. Yugoslavia - Tajči / Hajde da ludujemo
The last sigh of the host country as a happy, carefree place where songs could be bouncy and whimsical without any looming shadows anywhere. Tajči was pure dynamite and the chorus with its "čokolada" hook is the happiest of the year.
Grade: 4/5

3. Spain - Azúcar Moreno / Bandido
I didn't understand at the time just how bang-up-to-date the Spanish entry was with its pumping house piano and its groundbreaking mix of dance culture and folklore. Remembered for the technical hiccup at the start of the performance, but it also launched these sisters into stardom in the latin music world. Highly deserved.
Grade: 5/5

2. France - Joëlle Ursull / White And Black Blues
One of the biggest problems with the juries were that they were often put together very randomly, not necessarily by people interested in pop music. Had the 1990 jury been a bit more hit friendly, Joëlle would have been the runaway winner and could have pushed the ESC in a more interesting musical direction. A shame. This would have made a perfect winner.
Grade: 5/5

1. Israel - Rita / Shara barechovot
I didn't understand this one at all when I was 14 and was pleased that the juries held them back. Today I think the juries should have seen what I didn't: what a bold and daring entry this is, beautifully sung by Rita. Intriguing, sophisticated, sexy, tasteful. Not the song I would have wanted to win, but my personal favourite.
Grade 5/5



Rita - Shara barechovot (Israel 1990)

Drama Made in Austria

I just couldn't leave this gem untold - the Das Beste Story really deserves a blog post of it's own. For the first time in six years, ORF decided to stage a national final to find their eurovision entry and "Ein Lied für Zagreb" wasn't a bad final at all.

There were many good songs and the show itself was pretty slick. Lizzi Engstler - who had previously sung for Austria as one half of the duo Mess back in 1982 - was chosen to host and did it in a slightly forced but mighty jaunty way.

Lizzi would get to work hard for the money before the show was over - when song eight entered the stage it was the start of a drama that would tickle the Austrian imagination for days. The duet fittingly called Duett only made it halfway through the song before Monika, the female singer, suddenly falls over and faints on live television.



Duett - Das Beste (Austria NF 1990)

When you are aware that she's not hurt, the ensuing studio chaos is most entertaining to watch. Dear Lizzie isn't quite sure of how to proceed - or indeed how to kill time - and starts rambling on about how much Monika had looked forward to this evening and - with the biggest smile - tells the audience how the singer had lost 20 kilos prior to the final and how that possibly could be the cause of her fainting. Empathy, anyone?

Soon enough Monika recovered, Duett got to perform a second time and "Das Beste" won a clear victory. Right after the show, people started voicing their suspicions that the whole incident had been planned in order to grab a sympathy vote. A newspaper headline even had a doctor stating that "nobody faints like that".

In the end the song was disqualified anyway - not because of the fainting incident, but because it had already taken part in the 1988 German semi-finals without qualifying.

Instead runner-up Simone went to Zagreb and bagged herself a respectable tenth place there, while next year's Austrian final had a new rule stating that every performer gets one chance only to perform. If you faint - you're out. Empathy, anyone?



Duett - Das Beste without fainting (Austria NF 1990)

Drama Made in Germany

I haven't been an altogether faithful follower of national finals this year and given all the negativity that had surrounded this year's German selection I didn't plan to watch it at all.

Anyhow I tuned in just in time for the second round, where the four finalists performed their second songs of the evening and thought to myself that this wasn't bad at all. Good songs and good performances - and when the two best ones out of the four I had heard in full length made it to the final knockout round I was rather pleased.

And then it happened, the tv event of the year. Clearly under pressure and not happy at all, winner Andreas Kümmert announces that he has no intention of going to Vienna and hands the victory over to runner-up Ann-Sophie. For a split second or two nobody on stage has any idea what to do while time is ticking, the show is ending and an acceptable ending must be improvised at once.

I can't help it but I love it when live television goes out of hand. When it suddenly turns real, when real emotion shines through, when it's not just a song contest anymore. The winner should smile and the loser should cry, not the other way around, and when the unexpected happens we feel that all the participants are real people, like the rest of us.

Many people have tried to explain why Kümmert stepped down like this - it has been suggested he has personal problems or were pressured by his record company to take part - but I prefer not to speculate. If he felt stepping down was the right thing to do, he is probably right in doing so.

The responsibility lies with the organising broadcaster, in this case NDR. They should of course make an effort to make sure every participant is prepared for the big occasion and understand that taking part in the national final also means you are obliged to go to the ESC in case you win. If they had doubts about a participant, they should pressure him or her before the show instead.

Apart from creating some unforgettable television drama, Kümmert has also possibly undermined Ann-Sophie quite a bit by his actions. But when a winner proves ineligible, you pick the runner-up instead. That's how the system works.

And even if the Germans did their best, nobody can still steal the award for Best Drama from this gem where the female half of Duett faints halfway through the song and gets fat-shamed by presenter Lizzi Engstler as she tries to keep the show going. Priceless.



Duett - Das Beste (Austria NF 1990)

Runner-up: Ireland 1990

It could be hard to believe, but Ireland's 1990 eurovision entry - ending in a tie for second place with France - was in fact a soft and humble ballad performed by a male singer. Shocker.

Jokes aside, playing it safe used to be Ireland's favourite game in the ESC and depressingly often they got away with songs that were pleasant but not much more than that.

This one has its moments. It's melodic and the piano man approach makes it feel pretty intimate. Liam Reilly has a pleasant voice and if you really want it to, the whole package could remind you a bit of Elton John.

Again the big problem is in the lyrics, possibly vaguely inspired by the big ongoing political changes of Europe at that time. More than anything this is a list of places worth a visit around the continent, like random Tripadvisor pages set to music.

Everytime it almost gets close to the listener, on the brink of containing real emotion, there is a new cascade of tired name-dropping of famous sights until nothing of it could possibly mean anything to anyone anymore.

A deserved 2nd place?
Compare this one to the fresh, attractive and tempestuous French entry it shared its runner-up position with. Does this one measure up? Not even close.



Liam Reilly - Somewhere In Europe (Ireland 1990)

Runner-up: France 1990

After winning in 1965 and placing 5th in 1967, French music legend Serge Gainsbourg entered Eurovision a third time, less than a year before his death. True to his own style, and very much like during his previous attempts, he was determined to again push the limits for what you could get away with in this competition.

What he achieved was nothing less than a revolution. In the past, ethnic and exotic entries had been praised for being "genuine" and "real" before getting completely ignored by the juries who left them to crash and burn and the end of the results.

Joëlle Ursull deemed the original title "Black Lolita" unnecessarily provocative, thinking the set-up in itself being rather risky. Never before had a non-white performer been trusted to represent France at Eurovision and Gainsbourg agreed to alter the lyrics.

"White And Black Blues" entered the contest the way a tropical storm would. Not only was it very different but it also felt modern and hit-friendly and the juries almost bought it.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes. In retrospect it's a bit of a shame that Joëlle Ursull didn't win but at that time, a good placing for a breakaway entry like this was as good as a victory. Also it would broaden people's idea of what kind of song could work at Eurovision, paving the way for a lot of modern, inspiring and successful etno-songs in the years to come.

The video can not be embedded but you can watch it here.

Well, isn't that a lovely outfit?

Ever since I was a very young Tobson, I've been totally fascinated by this Eurovision Song Contest in so many different ways. It seems I'm never running out of new angles that make me love this show even more.

I like it for the uniting factor - one of few things that brings all of Europe together for a mutual activity. I like it for the music, obviously. Few things cheer me up like a good eurovision entry. And I love it for the positive political dimension, how it brings people closer and showcases new ideas and thoughts even to corners of the world where the governments would prefer as little enlightenment as possible.

But I also love the show elements, of course. And I'm never averse to a great outfit. So here - for your entertainment as you wait for this year's extravaganza to take off - I collected a non-exhaustive list of favourite outfits through the years.



Anne Karine Strøm - Mata Hari (Norway 1976)

What could be better than a little bit of gold? The correct answer must be: a whole lot of gold, preferably from head to toe. If you can match it with the biggest sunglasses you could possibly wear before your neck goes snap, then it's all for the better. Wonderful Anne Karine entered eurovision history as the only solo performer to end in last place twice - a complete disgrace.



Linda - No goodbyes (Netherlands 2000)

Must be so awkward when you check your calendar and realised you double booked and have to perform at Eurovision that very day you promised to go camping with your dancers? Linda went for a creative solution and decided to hit two birds with one stone and do both things at the same time. The best "look-what-I-hid-under-my-dress"-effect ever.



Youddiph - Vechni strannik (Russia 1994)

I love this creative red dress that allows the singer to change her appearance completely several times throughout her performance only by making some simple, tasteful movements. Understated, elegant and sophisticated.



Rita - Shara barechovot (Israel 1990)

I must admit to being a lover of colour and I think the smart black dress is just about the most boring option anyone could come up with on a eurovision stage. Black is safe and uncreative and I think the large audience watching you deserve more of an effort than that. But then there are the little black numbers you just can't refuse. Rita looks absolutely stunning and captivating. Mind you, she could probably wrap a towel or an old circus tent around her and still look stunning, but she really works this one to perfection. 18th place? Well done, juries.



Salomé - Vivo cantando (Spain 1969)

I never had the chance to ask her in person, but I am assuming that Salomé shares my point of view that  a stage outfit is something you design and craft specifically, not something you go out and buy in a shop. I'd like to see the shop selling this particular piece. Full of tassels and tiny stones - to weigh the tassels down and give them a life of their own - it weighs five kilos and would probably not qualify as a comfortable garment on any occasion. And that sort of makes it perfect for the stage.

Iceland - I Love You

I know that I have admitted to not being a huge fan of the Icelandic entry this year. I must also confess that I have doubts as to whether it will pass on to the final or not.

But dear Iceland, don't let this tiny detail come between us.

Iceland has been one of my most constant sources of joy and happiness in the ESC ever since their debut back in 1986. I thought their first entry was a terrific little pop pearl, and I never quite grasped why it scored so badly.



Icy - Gleðibankinn (Iceland 1986)

Then - in 1990 - I really thought Iceland could win it. Stjórnin were so nice and so much fun and I thought their song to be a most delightful little schlager. A fourth place was not bad, but I was a tiny bit disappointed that it didn't do even better.



Stjórnin - Eitt lag enn (Iceland 1990)

And to mention just one more Icelandic gem - I know that the joke was not universally understood, but I thought Silvia Night was brilliant back in Athens. Loud, obnoxious, silly and irresistible.

How anyone could not see the joke and think Silvia to be a real person is beyond me. Possibly the joke got a bit out of hand before the semi final was over, but in general Iceland provided great entertainment.

Like they tend to do most years.



Silvia Night - Congratulations (Iceland 2006)

France goes World

Up until the early 80's, France owned the Eurovision in many ways. They had a very distinct formula that most of their entries kept close to, and they almost exclusively landed among the five best placed songs every year.

In the 80's, however, the formula grew tired and the votes stopped coming in. France Télévisions (or Antenne 2 as the channel was still called) first scrapped the national final, then decided to depart from anything France had ever sounded like before.

In 1990, the head of entertainment Marie-France Brière called up the mythical Serge Gainsbourg and asked him to create another eurosong - twenty-five years after winning with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" - and he brought in a very exotic element indeed.

Joëlle Ursull was part of the zouk movement - exotically flavoured music from the Caribbean - and she was taken in to perform "White And Black Blues", a song rending hommage to the diversity and colourfulness of the French population.

France, who in all fairness never cared much for minorities and such through history, found themselves pushing the limits for how you could look and sound at Eurovision. The likes of Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia had tried being exotic, but when an established country like France did the same thing - then the votes started flowing in. See the live performance here.



Joëlle Ursull - White And Black Blues (France 1990)

This was the start of something new and given the commercial success of "White And Black Blues", the French decided to push the limit even further. Given the tension surrounding the current Gulf War, it was a strike of genius to select Tunisian-born Amina to perform a distinctly Arab-flavoured song that contemplated the world order in a quiet, understated way.

The new formula worked again, and Amina was only a tiny rule paragraph away from winning the whole thing in Rome. See the live performance here.



Amina - C'est le dernier qui à parlé qui à raison (France 1991)

By 1992, more countries had picked up on the exotic vibe, making rastaman Kali stand out less with his creole entry in Malmö. Some negative publicity, emerging from some not too cleverly formulated statements given by the performer, may also have been the reason for a slight decline compared to the previous years. And honestly, maybe this song was slightly less striking as well.



Kali - Monté la riviè (France 1992)

It might look like France tried to go back to their old formula a bit in 1993, but selecting a song partially in a national minority language was, in fact, a statement in its own right. The song fared well at Eurovision, less so in the charts, but the performer was to carve a solid place in French showbiz in the coming years.




Patrick Fiori - Mama Corsica (France 1993)

The two following years, France2 (the new name given to Antenne2 in 1993) explored other musical landscapes, but were back on the etno track in 1996 - now putting a more serious emphasis on minority matters as the French entry - for the first time - was performed completely in a minority language - Breton.

It was a clever idea, given the Irish domination as well as the Celtic flavour of the 1995 Norweigan winner, but the selected song was ultimately too thin to break through to the juries. This was the first real French flop at Eurovision for ten years.




Dan Ar Braz & L'Héritage des Celtes - Diwanit bugale (France 1996)

The last entry to date selected by France2 (but we didn't know it yet at that time) was another truly exotic offering. Legend has it, it was favoured by the channel after one of the old masters of television entertainment (Pacal Sevran) openly called the song unsuitable for Eurovision.

Maybe the old monsieur was not all wrong, after all. 1998 was the first year when televote was in (almost) full use, and what had impressed the juries did not necessarily work with the viewing audience. Despite enthusaistic reviews from the press, the French entry crashed and burned, ending second last.



Marie Line - Où aller (France 1998)

Since then, France has gone in different directions, again trying to broaden the idea of what a eurovision entry could look and sound like. But one thing is for sure - culturally, the importance of these French entries in the 90's could not be over-estimated. They helped breathing new life into the Eurovision formula, as well as promoting less square and uniformly "european" expressions on stage.

Hats off to France - it didn't get them a victory, but in the long run it did change the public perception of what was possible to get away with and not. Well done.

You would hardly recognise the Turks

It is hardly an understatement to say that Turkey struggled during their first twenty-five years in Euroland. Whatever star performers or hit choruses they sent in kept coming back home largely ignored and with a minimum of points to their names.

In the 80's, Turkish television started to look for qualified help in order to make their own entries more appealing. The song that won the national final was sent off to some music company (often in Germany) that would add a helping touch here and there.

Some years, they did far more than just the odd fine tuning. Some years they added long segments, cut whole verses out and - in severe cases - added a hook or a whole chorus.

Watch and compare for yourself. How would the original versions have fared at Eurovision?

1984 - Luxembourg




Bes yil once, on yil sonra - Halay (Turkey 1984 national final)

Most of this song is fully recognisable from the national final, but recieved a somewhat softer arrangement and a less busy choreography. And - a chorus, including a handle for the juries to hold on to. Result - a 12th place, which was the best Turkish showing until then.



Bes yil once, on yil sonra - Halay (Turkey 1984 eurovision version)

1986 - Bergen



Klips ve Onlar - Halley (Turkey 1986 national final)

For some reason, I can only find a very short clip of the national final version of this one but I think you will get the big picture. This entry is, in short, a complete mess. A heap of good ideas thrown together with no structure and nothing in particular going for it.

The musical helpers slowed down the pace considerably and added a very contemporary sound to the final arrangement, which resulted in Turkey's first ever top ten showing.



Klips ve Onlar - Halley (Turkey 1986 eurovision version)

1988 - Dublin



MFÖ - Sufi (Turkey 1988 national final)

This is a schoolbook example of how little it takes to turn something promising into something really good. These two versions are not so far apart, really. What is added is - again - a more modern touch to the sound as well as a distinctly oriental flavour and an instrumental hook most europeans would understand as typically Turkish.

The final version also has a better flow and sounds more melodic and catchy. It was quite rightly mentioned as a dark horse and possible outside at Eurovision, before finishing in a most disappointing 15th place.



MFÖ - Sufi (Turkey 1988 eurovision version)

1990 - Zagreb



Kayahan - Gözlerinin hapsindeyim (Turkey 1990 national final)

The first minute is almost the same, only the arrangement is different - more pompous and old-fashioned than the final version - but then the original throws itself head first into a difficult, un-catchy chorus. The production company would have nothing of it and cut it all out, replacing it with a much simpler singalong, still with a slightly oriental feel.

This was not a huge success and ended in 17th place in Zagreb, but I suspect the original version would have fought it out in a battle for the very last places.

Not bad, but in no way user friendly.



Kayahan - Gözlerinin hapsindeyim (Turkey 1990 eurovision version)

Tobson's Winners: 1986 - 1990

For me, personally, these five years are the most important in Eurovision history. Possibly not the best. I can't tell. I know them by heart, the songs and the performances, I grew up with these songs.

Even the bad ones feel like old friends. I can understand them, explain their weaknesses. Like them a little bit anyway. Forgive them for not being masterpieces.

It also makes picking out favourites even harder. It is like selecting one favourite among your children. Almost.

What I am trying to say is that for every favourite picked in this chapter, there are several other candidates close behind in the running. One day I will dissect these years in detail here on the blog.

But now for my personal winners.

1986 - Germany



Ingrid Peters - Über die Brücke geh'n (Germany 1986)

1986 offers one of my favourite selection of entries ever. Here is a wide range of styles and moods, many really good choruses and a heap of really good performances.

Switzerland and Luxembourg offer very strong songs, Turkey is a real gem, Portugal has a great pop number, France and Norway are fun, Yugoslavia is tender and the list goes on.

But this German song is like a wonder of elegance and craftmanship. It has a large and breezy sound, it has a very strong handle of a chorus and it is brilliantly sung by Ingrid Peters.

In retrospect, the lyrics are also touching, as a love song between the "two Germanys" to build a bridge, to understand each other and to have a peek over the wall.

Less than four years later the wall would crack down, and you could see right through it.

Real winner:
Sandra Kim - J'aime la vie (Belgium)


1987 - Turkey



Seyyal Taner & Lokomotif - Sarkim sevgi üstüne (Turkey 1987)

Another year bursting full of personal favourites. Belgium, Italy, Yugoslavia, Finland, Cyprus, Spain, Norway... the list is neverending.

But the Turks knock the socks off everyone. Mainly because they were really doing what I have already pinpointed as my favourite asset: they do their thing without trying to be loved by everyone.

They were loved in Brussels throughout the week, seen as a possible surprise act, appearing on stage like a musical thunderstorm, breaking every rule concerning how you should sound, look and act on the eurovision stage.

That earned them a big fat zero in the end. Not one of the twenty-one juries considered this entry worthy of a single point. Even the famously neutral SVT commentator made a remark how strange he found that verdict.

If you were different during the late 80's, the juries would punish you. These days, standing out from the rest is an asset. I like the new world order better.

Real winner:
Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now (Ireland)


1988 - Luxembourg



Lara Fabian - Croire (Luxembourg 1988)

Out of these five years, I find 1988 to be a somewhat weaker edition compared to the others. Anyhow, there are a few songs that are absolute top class. Like Israel. Like Turkey.

And like Luxembourg, introducing Lara Fabian, in a few years time set to be a huge household name in the entire French-speaking world.

This is an attempt at the classical French ballad again, the kind that would just walk in and floor all competition. But despite being powerful and lyrical, it didn't quite make it all the way.

She was beaten by another icon to be of French song, Céline Dion. Her career needed the victory more, as it apparently opened doors for her American career. But Lara's song is stronger. My winner.

Real winner:
Céline Dion - Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland)


1989 - Italy



Anna Oxa & Fausto Leali - Avrei voluto (Italy 1989)

I almost had to call this a tie in the end. How can I judge which one is better, this one or Finland? And then we have Turkey a very close third. And Spain a very close fourth.

But there is a raw, untamed energy and wrath in this song that I find overwhelming. Also this one breaks out from the eurovision formula in a nice way that proved a bit too much for the juries.

But the juries have possibly never been less up to the task than in 1989. They hardly do a single thing right, the entire voting is a mess. The final result is a farce.

Yugoslavia won with a happy song, but hardly their most convincing effort ever. More commercial songs, like Sweden, Austria and Germany, were left behind. When the winning team is welcomed on stage, the audience gives them a glacial reception with no cheers and no applause.

Rather a revealing image of where the ESC was heading for the next couple of years.

Real winner:
Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia)


1990 - Israel



Rita - Shara barechovot (Israel 1990)

Late 1989 had shaken Europe and by 1990, the landscape looked different. New times with no possibilities, and maybe this made the juries a bit braver again.

They did favour more classical songs like Ireland and Iceland, sure, but also gave high points to daring choices like France and Spain.

However, the demanding and experimental pop lament from Israel prooved too much and Rita landed the second worst result of the Jewish state until then. It does take a few listenings, admittedly, and maybe the juries simply didn't have the time to break into it fully.

But this is a lovingly crafted little masterpiece of a song, belted out with gusto and conviction. Maybe not the song you whistle in the shower the next day, but a very fine piece of pop art.

Real winner:
Toto Cutugno - Insieme: 1992

Cyprus 1990: evolution in reverse

After a series of internal and semi-internal selections, Cypriot broadcaster RIK decided to put on a real full-blown national final for the first time in 1990.

The enthusiasm was quite big on home ground, and the winning song was greeted with quite a lot of enthusiasm.



Haris Anastasiou - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 national final)

Maybe the voice left a little bit to be desired, but it looked quite right and up to date, and it sounded even more so. Calculated and copied straight off the Stock/Aitken/Waterman drawing board, bien sur, but putting the finger quite precisely on the current musical chart trends.

RIK also made a good and funny preview clip for the song, and more than one follower must have started believing Cyprus could make a bit of a splash in Zagreb.



Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990 preview clip)

But then something went wrong - very wrong - as the team hired the stylist from hell. Or did they hire a stylist at all?

Stretch denim and a tourist t-shirt? Now really?

And while good old Haris had seemingly worked on getting has vocals together, the backing group do their best to shout the whole thing to death. As a result, a perfectly good, up-to-date pop song ends in a pale 14th place.



Anastazio - Milas Poli (Cyprus 1990)

The whole performance lacks the punch and the bounce that the backing track has. And the lack of style would make any jury member reach for the remote.

Anastazio already had ESC experience as a backing dancer for Cyprus in Brussels 1987, he must have noticed already then that it pays off to make a good visual presentation.

So, what's the excuse here?

Back in the day, when Spain made an effort

While waiting for the not too exciting revelation which of tonight's nine rather tame candidates will represent Spain, the land of temper and passion, in Düsseldorf, I will close my eyes and remember the day when Spain pushed things forward in this contest.

Here are five Spanish entries with sparkle and attitude, five entries that wanted something, five entries that have left an impression.



Salomé - Vivo cantando (Spain 1969)

This entry is great fun from beginning to end. Salomé is in a great cheerful mood, she dances and sways and her dress dances along. Catchy, with several key changes and an explosive ending.



Lucia - El (Spain 1982)

A tempestuous tango, energetic and sexy, performed with grace and sensuality. Very Spanish at the same time as it pokes fun at some Spanish stereotypes.



Remedios Amaya - Quien maneja mi barca? (Spain 1983)

Bold and dignified, exotic and seductive, chanceless at a time when all eurosongs should sound the same in order to score. Nul points was a hard blow on Remedios personally, but unlike most most other entries of the night, she has not been forgotten.



Azucar Moreno - Bandido (Spain 1990)

Almost shockingly contemporary back then with a heavy backing track and an exotic flavour that hit home better with the juries than Remedios did. The performance got a false start when said backing tracks wouldn't start like they should, but in the end the sisters left Zagreb with a fifth place.



Eva Santamaria - Hombres (Spain 1993)

Yet another remarkably modern entry, unfortunately without the strong backing track. In the hands of the Irish orchestra, most of the modern parts were left in ruins, but this was anyhow the first entry ever with rap elements in the contest.

Iceland 1990: the first taste of success

Iceland had a difficult beginning at the ESC: despite high hopes and a very good dose of the strongest confidence, their first entry landed in a lackluste 16th place out of twenty entries in Bergen 1986.



Icy - Gleðibankinn (Iceland 1986)

Icy were followed by two more 16th places and then a nul pointer. Was Iceland bound to be a hopeless little nation at the edge of the world, never going to achieve ESC success?

All it needed was for someone to do their homework properly. For 1990, some Icelandic composers took a careful listen to what kind of sounds and rhythms had worked well for Sweden, Norway and, above all, Denmark in the near past.

The result was a very cheerful little song called "Eitt lag enn", a jaunty euroschlager you could twist again to. Performed by Stjórnin (Grétar & Sigga), Iceland managed to make quite an impression and ended on a fourth place in Zagreb. Iceland's first taste of success!



Stjórnin - Eitt lag enn (Iceland 1990)

Iceland has only managed top five placings on two more occasions: 1999 and 2009, both times ending in second place. Icelandic thunder seems to strike roughly every tenth year. Does that mean victory in 2019?

Sigga entered twice more, (once with Heart 2 Heart - basically an enlarged version of Stjórnin - and once as a solo singer) trying to better herself, ending in 7th and 12th place respectively.



Heart 2 Heart - Nei eða já (Iceland 1992)



Sigga - Nætur (Iceland 1994)

Israel 1990: Rita didn't impress the juries

In 1990, Israel abandoned their traditional national final and decided internally that Rita, one of the country's top singers at the time, should represent them in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

The song, "Shara barechovot", didn't sound like the typical Israeli ESC-entry: there was no happy sound, no dancing backing group, no clearly defined chorus for people to sing along to.



Rita - Shara barechovot (Israel 1990)

When the juries have been re-introduced during the last few years, it has been in order to promote the more demanding entries that the audience may not be able to grip on a first listening. The juries in 1990 failed to do just that - they understood nothing of Rita's ambitious performance and left her with an 18th place, which was Israel's second worst showing until then.

Had the local juries back in Israel done their job properly, then Rita's ESC statistics could have been a lot more impressive. She had her big breakthough in the 1986 national final, sporting a yellow jacket that people talked about for a long time after the show, ending in 4th place with "Shvil habricha" - also a more demanding entry but with a very contemporary sound and a chorus with obvious hooks.

How would Rita have done in Bergen had she been selected in 1986?



Rita - Shvil habricha (Israel NF 1986)