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.

Preview clip: Yugoslavia 1989

Being the impressionable young boy that I was, there were many things I found extraordinary in the world of Eurovision in the 80's. But one thing that I really loved were Yugoslav entries and, above all, Yugoslav preview clips.

Like in 1989 - I thought it was so funny, so vibrant, so full of life. It seemed they were all so very happy and had such a good time in Yugoslavia.

Little did I know, the whole federation was slowly collapsing and would, two years later, plunge into civil war.

I just loved Riva, I loved the clip, I loved the cheesy little chorus and I was so very happy that Yugoslavia finally got to win.



Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989 preview)

Bad Draw Day: Yugoslavia 1991

Opening the contest should, in theory, make you stand out and be a strong advantage in a long lineup of songs. But it doesn't always help.

After doing really well for a couple of years with their joyful uptempo numbers, Yugoslavia was predicted to score fairly well in Rome with samba-flavoured "Brazil" performed by Baby Doll. However, all juries made thumbs down and only Malta awarded it one poor little point in the end.

A bit strange, given that the 1991 ESC could stand out as one of the slowest ever with huge quantities of ballads, several of which being sopoforic rather than beautiful.

On some level I can understand if Baby Doll failed to reach the quality requirements of the jury, but then - in all fairness - so should the likes of Luxembourg, Ireland and Germany too.

I wonder if Baby Doll hadn't scored a bit better had she had the chance to storm in with her kitschy number after a row of seriously dull ballads instead of singing first?



Baby Doll - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991)

Song Of The Day: Yugoslavia 1984

To celebrate the return of Montenegro, my song of the day highlights one of their finest moments. Depending on how you see it.

Reliable sources claim that TV Titograd won the 1984 Yugoslav final due to extensive cheating (including lots of online whispering), and the song hasn't even got a very strong montenegrin connection at all.

Vlado Kalember was the former singer of Srebrna Krila from Zagreb. Izolda Barudžija had been a member of Aska (representing TV Beograd) in 1982, and in 1983 she provided backing vocals for Yugoslavia together with her sister Eleonora.

Their duet had apparently been turned down by TV Zagreb for the 1984 national final, possibly even with the same song. "Ciao amore" was credited to Montenegrin songwriters (as the rules stipulated this), but the rest of the duo's subsequent album was mainly written by Sarajevo-born Đorđe Novković.

In Luxembourg, Izolda and Vlado (credited as Ida & Vlado) bombed completely and ended second last out of nineteen participants. I never understood why the judges had to be so harsh (or how they could prefer drivel like that song from Switzerland) but those are the rules of the game.



Izolda & Vlado - Ciao amore (Yugoslavia 1984)

The fun doesn't end there, though. You should also check out the duo's hot and revealing video clip - a bit too much so for mainstream taste. Turkish television deemed it improper and refused to broadcast it during their preview show.

What do you say, is this too much skin for your liking?



Izolda & Vlado - Ciao amore (Yugoslavia 1984 preview clip)

ESC reject: Yugoslavia 1987

Josipa Lisac was still in her teens when she first entered a Yugoslav national final for Eurovision. She never won, but manage to turn into a megastar - a monument of pop art with a very special place in domestic showbiz.

She is not only a singer, but also an actress and a style icon with her very own sense of fashion.

When she returned to the Yugoslav final in 1987, Josipa was the sensation of the evening with her modern sound, great presence and a most flamboyant hairdo (that would be outright dangerous if worn in public during rush hour).

This didn't matter much as the juries remained unmoved and left her in ninth place, sending super bouncy Novi Fosili off to Brussels instead, where they equalled the best Yugoslav placing until then.

Since then, Josipa the Great has not bothered to enter any national selections again, but her 1987 selection entry has turned into an evergreen, also covered by Slovenian singer Nuša Derenda.



Josipa Lisac - Gdje Dunav ljubi nebo (Yugoslavia 1987 national final)

Song Of The Day: Yugoslavia 1991

We didn't know it at the time, but this would be the last entry ever entered by Former Yugoslavia as a united nation. Whoever expected a tasteful and dignified last kiss had something complete different coming.

While Yugoslavia was falling apart politically, the country had finally started doing really well at Eurovision and I for one expected this outburst of Serbian samba to score quite heavily as well.

At least the preview looked very promising (apart from the dodgy lip-sync).



Baby Doll - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991 preview clip)

In Rome, apparently, Baby Doll spent her week being unfriendly to staff, singing out of key and telling journalists she was not willing to reveal her exact date of birth but insisting on being in her early twenties (uh, yeah, right).

Despite being the first song in the running and being one of very few uptempo songs in the line-up, Yugoslavia recieved only one poor little point (from Malta) and made its worst showing since 1984.

The year after, Yugoslavia would still be on the scoreboard, even though the country represented had ceased to exist.



Baby Doll - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991)

Baby Doll, or Bebi Dol as she spells it way back home, was a big, established star at home (she still is) and had already come close to representing Yugoslavia on several occasions.

Her 1991 victory had very little to do with music, as the entire voting is tainted with politics. TV Belgrade had decided to win at any cost, but why they decided to promote themselves with "Brazil" of all songs remains a mystery.

The version performed at the national final in Sarajevo was also radically different to the one used in Rome. Had this heavier beat attracted more points or would even the Maltese have made thumbs down?



Bebi Dol - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991 national final)

Preview clip: Yugoslavia 1989

Back in 1989, aged only 13, I might have been the only person alive to see Yugoslavia as a serious contender for victory after seeing the previews. Everyone else claims to have been deeply surprised by Riva taking the crown, but I loved this from the word go.

Especially I loved the cute preview clip, re-telling the story of the English lyrics (while the original lyrics say something completely different). I just loved the happy ending, I loved the movement, the colours and, above all, the sense of fun.

Former Yugoslavia usually made really fun video clips, packed of shiny, happy people who ran around town and did crazy and wonderful things.

I was convinced Yugoslavia was a country where everyone was happy all the time and where fun reigned supreme all day long (and quite a bit into the night as well). Two years later Yugoslavia collapsed into horrific civil war and I realised I am an impressionable fool who knows nothing, and that I should never try to understand the world with the aid of eurovision previews only.

But I still think the clip is really cute.



Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989 preview)

Tobson's Winners 1976 - 1980

The new voting system, designed by Heikki Seppälä of Yle and introduced in Stockholm 1975, was deemed a success and is still in use - but an important improvement was implemented during these five years.

Until 1979, the points were read out in the order of appearance, which made it hard for the scrutineers to follow the action and on several occasions it lead to mistakes on the final result.

The first of song mentioned in this post was a victim of that.

1976 - Yugoslavia



Ambasadori - Ne mogu skriti svoju bol (Yugoslavia 1976)

When all points were counted in 1976, Ambasadori from Sarajevo were left in last place since the French jury forgot to read out their four points aimed at Yugoslavia. This was not corrected until later, and by that time Yugoslav television had already withdrawn - not to return until five years later in Dublin.

"I Cannot Hide My Pain" was a fitting title - minutes before going on stage, lead singer Ismeta had accidentally been hit on the face by a photographer's camera. All makeup was wiped off her face to make sure she wasn't badly hurt, explaining her pale look as there was no time to put it on again.

Ismeta would come back many times as a head of delegation for Bosnia, but never with a song as strong as this one. Melodic, melancholic and very well performed.

In my book, this is the best entry Former Yugoslavia ever sent in. And I am pretty fond of most of their entries.

Real winner:
Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me (United Kingdom)


1977 - France



Marie Myriam - L'oiseau et l'enfant (France 1977)

1977 is another of this crushingly fantastic years in Eurovision. Almost all songs are great little pearls in their own right, and quite a few of them are real masterpieces.

However, this is yet another winner you can't argue with. She is Marie Myriam. The song is L'oiseau et l'enfant. That is very hard to beat.

Pure class from beginning to end. Wonderful in every aspect of the word.

Real winner:
Marie Myriam - L'oiseau et l'enfant (France)


1978 - Germany



Ireen Sheer - Feuer (Germany 1978)

If 1977 is an extraordinarily strong year, then 1978 is the sharp opposite with far too many lean song that are perhaps not bad but unimpressive.

Anyhow, I have three songs that fight it out for my personal top title. The other two are Ricchi e Poveri from Italy and Baccara for Luxembourg, but Ireen Sheer is the one that runs away with the crown.

She is putting on a brave face as the French orchestra completely slaughters what in its studio version is a bang-up-to-date disco song, and she also gives us the first dress trick in eurovision history (if I haven't forgetten something vital).

How this song was beaten by completely insignificant songs from France, Monaco and Ireland is beyond me. But it probably says quite a lot about the juries in use this year.

Real winner:
Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta - A Ba Ni Bi (Israel)


1979 - France



Anne-Marie David - Je suis l'enfant soleil (France 1979)

Yet another very strong edition song-wise. The last 70's was a good era and what went wrong in 1978, we will never know. Here are real gems from Portugal, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland... as well as many others.

(There are also some really horrid bottom-of-the-league stuff as well, but let's not even mention Monaco.)

And again that stage beast that is Anne-Marie David just walks in and wipes the floor with all competition. She nails the camera with those eyes and sings her heart out in a fantastically classy ballad.

A trained eye will note that she uses the same backing group as Ireen Sheer did in Paris. Another trained eye will recognise Yardena Arazi dancing in the postcard (it is Yardena, right?).

Real winner:
Milk & Honey - Hallelujah (Israel)


1980 - Turkey



Ajda Pekkan - Pet'r Oil (Turkey 1980)

If you are looking for the best exotic-flavoured eurosong of all time this is a very hot contender for the title. Catchy, fun and danceable and very well sung, there is no possibility this entry would have placed lower than, say, third these days.

Back in the day, the Turkish entries were still far too different for the juries to digest and despite scoring one top mark, Ajda didn't place better than fifteenth.

At least she did better than the other exotic pearl taking part - Samira from Morocco scored only seven points and ended second last.

Eurovision just wasn't your ideal vehicle if you wanted to be different. Some things do get better with time.

Real winner:
Johnny Logan - What's Another Year

Yugoslavia 1986: Boby was only no. 2

Novi fosili is one of my all time favourite groups to come out of former Yugoslavia. Always smiling, always energetic, always with choruses that would stick to your mind like a chewing gum under your shoe.

In the Yugoslav national finals of the 80's, they were the neverending story, taking part almost every year, always ending close to the top.

In 1986, they competed for the fourth time, this time with the title "Boby no 1". However, Boby had to content himself with being number two. Doris Dragović was unstoppable at the Jugovizija final in Pristina. And rightly so.



Novi fosili - Boby no 1 (Yugoslav NF 1986 - this clip is not from the NF)

The new phosils didn't have to wait for long - their big moment in Eurovision was just around the corner. At the 1987 Yugoslav final in Belgrade, they won and were sent off to Brussels, scoring an excellent fourth place - the best Yugoslav showing until then, equal with 1962 and 1983.



Novi fosili - Ja sam za ples (Yugoslavia 1987 preview)



Novi fosili - Ja sam za ples (Yugoslavia 1987)

Runner-up: Yugoslavia 1989

The 1989 Yugoslav final in Novi Sad was a very tight affair, where the last set of points decided the winner. Nerve-wracking until the bitter end.

Massimo Savic, one of the big favourites was very narrowly beaten into second place by a bunch of newcomers nobody would have considered as real competition. To add insult to injury, something must have gone wrong with the connection to the green room: once the final vote is cast, Massimo looks very happy and obviously thinks he won.



Massimo Savic - Plavi anđeo (Yugoslavia NF 1989)

The winner was a happy little bagatelle, straight out of the early 60's, performed by the hobby band Riva from Zadar. However, with a bit of polish and some good work, they managed to turn their song into quite a catchy little number.

And in a most unexpected twist of fate (probably largely due to a very favourable draw), Riva emerged as the surprise winner in Lausanne. The first and only victory for Former Yugoslavia.



Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989)

What if Massimo would have won in Novi Sad? Would he have managed to secure a Yugoslav victory as well? There is no doubt in my mind that he would have scored pretty poorly, but who would have won then?

Probably one of the other up-tempo numbers on offer, given how few of them were around this year. But which one? Denmark? Finland? Or who?