ESC 2015: the return of the nul points

When the current points system was implemented in 1975, one of the important things about it was that it was thought to make it impossible for any country not to score.

They should have seen flashing lights of warning in 1975 and 1977 when Turkey and Sweden, respectively, only received points from one country each.

In 1978 Jahn Teigen made his grand entrance and made sure once and for all that it was fully possible to cling on to your zero all the way through. In 1981, Finn Kalvik did the same.

There is no shame in ending on nul points, that must be said. You might have a better average result than other songs that happened to slide into top ten in one or two countries. You had bad luck, that's all.

The responsible people back in 1975 must have felt happy lately as there was no country leaving the final without any points for twelve years, but this year the big zero returned with a vengeance. Not only did we have a double nul-pointer - like in 1983 and 1997 - but this time the host country left the voting without a single point. This has never happened before.

It also puts Austria in some kind of lead if you so wish - together with Norway - after having finished without any points three times since 1975.

It only makes sense to count nul-pointers since 1975, since the voting systems changed a lot before that. Some years it was very easy not to score, some years impossible. So here they are: all that songs that failed to score under the current system. Any personal favourites among this bunch?

1978 Norway – Jahn Teigen / Mil etter mil
1981 Norway – Finn Kalvik / Aldri i livet
1982 Finland – Kojo / Nuku pommiin
1983 Spain – Remedios Amaya / Quién maneja mi barca?
1983 Turkey – Cetin Alp & The Short Wave / Opera
1987 Turkey – Seyyal Taner & Grup Lokomotif / Sarkim sevgi üstüne
1988 Austria – Wilfried / Lisa Mona Lisa
1989 Iceland – Daniel / Það sem enginn sér
1991 Austria – Thomas Forstner / Venedig im regen
1994 Lithuania – Ovidijus Vysniauskas / Lopsine mylimai
1997 Norway – Tor Endresen / San Francisco
1997 Portugal – Celia Lawson / Antes do adeus
1998 Switzerland – Gunvor / Lass’ ihn
2003 United Kingdom – Jemini / Cry Baby
2015 Austria - The Makemakes / I Am Yours
2015 Germany - Ann Sophie / Black Smoke

3 x nul points

When watching the 1994 Eurovision I remember a strange feeling emerging when, almost halfway through the voting, as many as seven countries were still clinging onto nul points.

(Then came Malta and punctured no less than four zeros on that scoreboard. By an extraordinary co-incidence they also went on to receive high marks from all of the countries in question. Lucky break.)

In the end, only Lithuania was left with a no points score and that felt unfair. I'm not really a fan of nul-pointers, I tend to feel mainly sorry for the people involved. It's a little bit of a relief that nobody ended pointless in a final since UK's Jemini in 2003.

This year - when every country will leave sixteen countries out in the cold - the risk is greater than ever that an entry will not make it into the top ten of any country. Especially as so many entries are similar to each other. Nineteen slower songs fighting for more or less the same attention - it is obvious that a couple of these will fall through.

France. UK. Austria. Poland. Hungary. None of these should feel particularly safe tomorrow.

If there has to be nul points anywhere at the end of the voting I am hoping for an old dream of mine to come true: the multiple nul-pointer. Since the introduction of the current voting system, we twice had two countries sharing last place with no points.

I'd like to see a three-way zero: three countries (or more) left with no points. Just for the sake of it.

When we finally get somebody failing to score in a final after this long time, it would be easier if several delegations shared the fate instead of one single performer standing there in the negative spotlight. And if we get several countries left with nothing as the voting is coming close to the end, the bottom of the scoreboard could well be more interesting to follow than the top.

ESC 2013: will there be nul points?

When I started following Eurovision back in the day, one thing was almost as big a question as what country would win: who will be the no-pointer of the year? It was a thrilling little prospect that had stayed with the viewers ever since the phenomenon first appeared at the contest in Paris 1978.

Of course songs had failed to score before as well, but one of the main objectives of the current voting system - inaugurated in Stockholm 1975 - was that it would make it impossible for countries to end up without a single point.

It worked for a couple of years, then came Jahn Teigen in his red pants and Garbo sunglasses and managed to cling on to his zero throughout the entire voting. The unthinkable had happened and since then a total of fourteen songs have failed to score in a eurovision final.

Jahn Teigen - Mil etter mil (Norway 1978)

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the last song to get nul points in a final. The reason is of course the semifinals - most songs running the risk of not enthusing anyone get lost already at an early stage and are spared their Saturday night humiliation.

But maybe this year could be different.

There are fewer songs in the semi-finals, which makes it relatively more easy to qualify. The chance is higher that a song will make it to tenth place in its semi thanks to low but consistent points - and then this song will be far too weak to stand a chance in a grand final with tougher competition.

Norway almost became a victim of that last year in Baku - they barely made it to the final where they only got low, random points from three countries.

I also wonder how Europe will recieve the Spanish entry in Malmö. It is nice, pleasant and well sung, but will it manage to make it into the top ten of any country's voting? Especially now that neither one of their friendly neighbours - Andorra and Portugal - are in the competition.

Would I want to see a new nul-pointer, then? 

Not particularly. I have always preferred to see everyone get at least one or a handful of points for consolation. 

If it has to happen, what I'd like to see is a multiple nul-pointer. Twice there have been two countries tying for last place with nul points, but we never had three or more countries performing that very stunt with the current points system.

Unless that happens, I'd prefer points for everybody so that this one remains the last non-scorer ever in a eurovision final.

Jemini - Cry Baby (United Kingdom 2003)

Nul points: United Kingdom 2003

Today, as I was preparing breakfast, I took out the old compilation tape of the 2003 Eurovision from Riga. I think I bought it in Estonia, since we were going hiking with a friend who only had a cassette player - not a CD - in his car.

Anyhow.

It has been nine years from Riga, which means that the contest has gone through most of its ageing process already. Most of the songs have survived quite well, to be honest. Even the songs that used to annoy me for being too simple feels OK (Cyprus, for instance).

Even the big nul-pointer sounds quite good. On the day of the final I predicted that Ireland, Malta or the UK would be the nul-pointer of the year, but my jaw dropped when it actually happened.

The UK had always been unbeatable and whatever they sent in, they seemed to earn a bucket full of points, even when it didn't deserve much.

To start with, "Cry Baby" didn't even sound like a disaster entry. It had a clear hook, a useful handle, and it felt somehow more inspired than many other UK entries. Definitely a step up compared to Lindsay Dracass.

Even the preview felt OK. A bit anemic, but OK.



Jemini - Cry Baby (United Kingdom 2003 preview)

The real disaster started on location in Riga. Sending in an inexprienced act isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself - an artist in the making can use the experience to grow and make progress during the week - but Jemini seemed to have none of the qualities needed.

The final kiss of death came with the final performance: so out of tune it could make ears bleed, so over-excited it almost became awkward to watch. (The BBC delegation only made things worse by suggesting that the poor result was due to politics, as anyone with ears and eyes easily understood the real reasons.)

Still - the UK had always collected points in the past, also with dismal entries. But this time everyone made thumbs down. Nul points. The last nul pointer to date in a Eurovision final.

An important event, proving that nobody is safe in the new world of Eurovision. Everyone has to make an effort. A good point, indeed.

(And yet, Israel would have deserved last place even more in 2003. But that's a different story.)



Jemini - Cry Baby (United Kingdom 2003)

Nul points: United Kingdom 2003

After Gunvor's defeat, it took another five years before anyone had to face the grim reality of ending with nul points in the protocol. But in Riga, one of the giants of the contest was to recieve a most concrete slap on the face by a united Euroland.

Arguably, the UK is the strongest competitor ever through eurovision history. They won five times, they were runner-up no less than fifteen times, and they produced more commercial hit singles than any other country in the running.

In the mid-90's, the BBC made a brave effort to keep the ESC alive by upscaling the national final, sending more modern and chart-friendly songs into a contest rapidly running out of steam. After hosting the 1998 contest however, the BBC commitment ebbed away and the UK entries became less and less spectacular.

And in 2003 it happened - what I had seen as completely unthinkable before - the UK ends in last place without a single point. The UK always used to attract some votes and attention and somehow managed to ride on their own reputation as the sole real pop nation of Europe.

With an entry like Jemini the last pieces of that reputation crumbled to dust. If the UK is such a pop nation, how can they cough up something like this? How can the nation of Beatles, Rolling Stones, Oasis and Dusty Springfield have themselves represented by people like these?

Nul points?

Yes. It was not the weakest song on offer in Riga (I still find this chorus pretty catchy) but there are different standards for different countries and Europe could no longer turn a blind eye to how the UK was treating their pop heritage.

In a way it stands out as the perfect end of an era. This was the last year of the old formula with no semi finals, new countries were emerging and the old giants had to struggle.

To have the biggest giant score zero looks almost like a monument and a farewell to the old times of Eurovision.



Jemini - Cry Baby (United Kingdom 2003)

Nul points: Switzerland 1998

Swiss starlet and media darling Gunvor won a comfortable victory in the national final, the first public selection organised in Switzerland for many years. She went to Birmingham with a song she had written herself, backed by former entrant Egon Egemann (Switzerland 1990) and four backing singer, attracting notable media attention from her domestic press.

What she didn't know was that the Swiss press was about to go all dirty on her and disclose spectacular details of her private life during eurovision week. The details, far too many and un-appetising to be re-told here, as well as the entire passage of events can be found in the excellent Tim Moore book "Nul Points".

Given the pressure suddenly put on her, Gunvor stepped out in style and gave a brave, almost heroic, performance of her entry. In this year, the first with full televoting, she however failed to make it into top ten in any country.

Which means nul points in the end.

Nul points?

Even without the story of how viciously Gunvor was treated by the Alpine tabloids and gossip mags, I always found this nul-pointer particularly inexplicable.1998 had its fair share of odd and underwhelming entries (Greece, Spain, Turkey, the list goes on) and I never understood quite why Switzerland would deserve the nul points.

It does prove a point of mine, though. If your entry is horrible or bad in an outstanding way, it will appeal to at least a certain number of people for its entertainment value. If your entry is nice, people will nod their heads, smile and think to themselves "That's nice", but nobody is going to vote for it.

In the world of televoting, "nice" means "bad". Tough luck for Gunvor.



Gunvor - Lass' ihn (Switzerland 1998)

Nul points: Portugal 1997

Dublin 1997 offered us another double nul-pointer, just like in Munich 1983. If Norway's entry really deserved its fate altogether, I can't help but feeling a bit sorry for Portugal.

The Portuguese entry is a fine and slightly experimental ballad with a big, breezy chorus and an atmospheric, tense verse with a suggestive spoken response from the backing singers. Normally the juries should have recognised the musical qualities of this composition.

But you have to deliver also. And neither Célia nor her boys delivered.

The backing group has a most unfortunate lack of timing in their delivery and according to press reports Célia was completely out of tune during many rehearsals, including the one the juries listened to. Why would a jury invest their points in somebody who sings badly?

Nul points?

No no no. Shaky delivery or not, this is still a very pleasant and slightly original ballad entry in a year that still saw too many ballads in the line-up. And if a song as dull, predictable and formulated as the Irish could end in second place, then Portugal would deserve at least a tiny complimentary point or two.



Célia Lawson - Antes do adeus (Portugal 1997)

Nul points: Norway 1997

Almost every country with a national final did this at some points: award the victory to somebody because he/she had bravely taken part so many times, regardless of the song on offer.

It is never a good idea, not for anyone involved.

Tor Endresen had been offering entries that were old-fashioned but delivered with a touch of class, still. There was always something forgiving about his entries and he came across as quite easy to like.

So why Norway decided to send him off with his weakest effort is a mystery that remains to be solved. This song is even more old-fashioned but also rather simple-minded, not to mention retro in a bad way in a year when Eurovision decided to look forward and become modern again.

1997 stands out very clearly as the year when the ESC decided to save itself and start looking and sounding relevant again. It was obvious from the word go that "San Francisco" would float like a solid piece of rock under these circumstances.

Nul points?

No doubt. Norway came last undeservedly on many occasions, this is not one of them. This song lacks severly in every department and is clearly one of the worst songs of the year. It doesn't look good, it doesn't sound good and it has nothing to say. A well deserved zero.



Tor Endresen - San Francisco (Norway 1997)

Nul points: Lithuania 1994

It is quite logical, actually - the more countries take part, the bigger the risk of not gaining any points. In 1994, fourteen countries were left with zero by each jury compared to only seven in 1982.

Halfway through the voting, it seemed Dublin would see not only the first winner ever to gather more than 200 points, but also the first multiple last place since the 70's. No less than eight countries were still left with nul points before Malta started scattering their points all over the place.

The 90's were sad days for Eurovision in many ways: low ratings, no entries became hits and, in order to avoid relegation, some countries traded points with each other. You can spot this very easily by comparing voting patterns, and it went on until the EBU decided to centralise all televoting in 2003.

The only one clinging on to the big zero at the end of the voting was poor Ovidijus from Lithuania, whose delegation clearly had not been to any points-trading-parties during that week.

Nul points?

Oh no. This song is maybe not the best entry under the sun, but there were many weaker ones who got saved by their trading partners. When this sweet and melodic lullaby was left with nothing it was largely due to tricks and games, and had very little to do with music. Which was shameful for the entire contest.




Ovidijus Vyšniauskas - Lopšinė mylimai (Lithuania 1994)

Nul points: Austria 1991

In Zagreb there were points for everyone, but in Rome it was back to humiliation again. And quite some humiliation, to be honest.

Thomas Forstner landed Austria's best placing for many years in Lausanne 1989, and had, in spite of a less than active recording output, become a well-loved pop star on home ground. Now he came back to show, once and for all, that he was more than just a one-hit-wonder.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. The rather sophisticated pop arrangement used in the national final was replaced by a very square and old-fashioned sound when getting the RAI orchestra treatment, leaving Thomas with a pretty undynamic entry. He tried to compensate with a nervous smile, but the juries would have nothing of it.

Austria's second nul-pointer in three years was a fact.

Nul points?

Clearly not a masterpiece on any level, it was hardly the only song best filed under "flat and square ballad entry" of 1991. Why would Thomas and Austria deserve the nul-pointer more than Luxembourg, Ireland or Germany?

Sometimes bad luck is a more important factor than what you sing and how.



Thomas Forstner - Venedig im Regen (Austria 1991)

Nul points: Iceland 1989

After the first three Icelandic entries had all ended in sixteenth place, the Icelanders went to Lausanne hoping for basically any outcome except being sixteenth.

As always, be very careful what you wish for.

Young and inexperienced Daniel has later admitted he was not too keen on going to Lausanne in the first place, and when he got there he found himself being one of a large bunch of ballads. Clearly, the ballads were stealing points from each other, leaving the jury craving uptempo so much they voted Yugoslavia into first place.

In a situation like that, being mysterious and introverted did not help much and Iceland found itself last with no points.

Nul points?

A bit harsh, indeed, but in the long run a good thing. This fiasco saw Iceland make a change of tactics and send more easily accessible entries to Eurovision, and Daniel focused on other kinds of music that suited him better.

In my mind, Iceland did not have the weakest entry in the 1989 line-up, but you also need luck to gain points. This team had no luck and just came across as one ballad too many.




Daníel - Það sem enginn sér (Iceland 1989)

Nul points: Austria 1988

It was a confident Austrian delegation that arrived in Dublin in 1988. The national entry had been well recieved on home ground, was a commercial success in the domestic charts and was tipped, by the local press, to do really well in the competition.

Austria had not made top five in twelve years - now the newspapers were confident that all would end well.

They were wrong - very wrong. Austria fell between the chairs and ended with not a single mark on the scoreboard.

Wilfried made an unsuccessful attempt at blaming politics for his failure - referring to the current Waldheim scandal - resulting in the press, who had tipped him to do really well, labelling him a sore loser whose career took a Finn Kalvik-esque turn for the worse.

Nul points?

Well, I don't think so. There is a certain tension and atmosphere in this song that appeals to me, and there is a raw quality in Wilfried's voice that adds to the drama.

But on the other hand, I can see all the jurors in a room thinking this song nice at the same time as they easily find ten songs they like more. This song is nice, and nice will never win at the ESC.



Wilfried - Lisa Mona Lisa (Austria 1988)

Nul points: Turkey 1987

After the spectacular double-zero in Munich 1983 came a few leaner years in Euroland where no song was left without points. If it was because the juries were more understanding or because the competing countries became less daring may be debatable, but all entries were awarded for their efforts.

Maybe the Turks were lured into a fraudulent feeling of security, that you were among friends at eurovision, and that among friends you would dare show your real self.

Think again, Turkey.

Seyyal Taner, backed up by Melis Sökmen and her band Lokomotif, were apparently the light of every party in Brussels and started to stand out as something of a dark horse beforehand. Could a knockdown contribution like this be the sensation of the year?

Of course not. The juries didn't understand anything. Who did those Turks think they were?

Nul points?

I don't understand what the juries were thinking. In my book, it is always better to stand out from the others and be brave, bold and different. Seyyal's melody was clearly one of the best of the year.

Had entries like this managed to win jury approval instead of rejection, and had the juries dared to encourage the more spectacular entrants, it is quite possible that the audience interest in the ESC would not have dropped like it did during the 90's.



Seyyal Taner & Grup Lokomotif - Şarkım sevgi üstüne (Turkey 1987)

Nul points: Spain 1983

By 1983, the press had picked up big time on the "pick the nul-pointer"-game, trying to predict the non-scorer with the same zeal as identifying potential winners. In Munich, the journalists had a field day as they predicted not only one but two nul-pointers.

Turkey's pseudo-operatic madness was really easy to spot, but so was the exotic-flavoured number from Spain.

What made Spain eligible in the nul-points department was neither a lack of courage nor talent, rather the complete inability to conform to the standards of the contest. Back in the day you needed to sound like everybody else in order to score, or the juries would have nothing of it.

Bold and daring entries usually got an ice cold reception and the tempestuous flamenco-inspired performance of Remedios stood out way too much to gain approval. The press had their way and two songs shared the fate of not getting a single point from anyone.

Nul points?

The mere thought of this exciting and intriguing entry being in any way comparable to the Turkish fiasco makes me feel a little bit ill. It was a sign of the times - the bright and shrill 80's - that anything different and slightly off-beat was thrown into the garbage without further consideration.

A wonderful entry, very well performed by a tremendous singer. Could have been winning material in another time and another place.



Remedios Amaya - Quién maneja mi barca (Spain 1983)

Nul points: Turkey 1983

When the 1983 entries were presented in my local newspaper, the description of the Turkish entry went something along the lines of this: "After the national final, the national press was disappointed as they believed it could be hard for the selected song to win in Munich."

That could very well qualify as the understatement of the century.

From beginning to end, this creation is a complete mess that can't make its mind up whether to be a parody or a hommage, or indeed whether to be opera or something completely different. Nobody in their right minds could for a single moment have thought this song capable of anything but a splendid and complete fiasco.

In many ways, it is the eurovision equivalent of a disaster movie, a three minute all-singing all-dancing version of "The Towering Inferno" . Terrifying and very entertaining at the same time.

Nul points?

Oh yes. This is the stuff that real nul-pointers are made of. Hysterical and bouncy, calculated but misconcieved, humourous and yet deadly serious. A masterpiece in its own little way.

I only wish Çetin Alp would have been able to see the whole thing from a distance and see all the adorable and naïve charm of this musical shipwreck, but I very much doubt he ever did.





Çetin Alp & The Short Wave - Opera (Turkey 1983)

Nul points: Finland 1982

Joking successfully is not easy, since humour has a tendency of translating rather badly.

The 1982 Finnish entry is said to have been an attempt at writing the worst eurosong ever, and the national final expert jury (probably finding themselves slightly above average taste and a bit too posh for a contest as simple as this one) thought it would be funny to send the protest song off to Harrogate.

It was a bad idea for many reasons. First of all, this bunch of "experts" overlooked some really good quality songs (most notably "Mitt äppelträd" by Ami Aspelund) in the national heat. Secondly, it is nothing but a waste of time and money to enter a song you don't even believe in yourself to a contest like the ESC.

And, perhaps most notably, the attempt failed. "Nuku pommiin" is nowhere near the worst eurosong ever.

In fact, it is a brave attempt at doing something radically different on a eurovision stage. A noisy relative to the 1967 Monegasque entry, also dealing with the risk of the world getting blown away in a nuclear disaster, dressed up in the heaviest rock gear ever heard until then at the ESC.

Nul points?

Well, why not? If you send in something bold and daring, you always run the risk of displeasing the audience. Taken that into consideration, it is better to be edgy and pushy on last place than bland and mediocre in the middle.

Mission accomplished, I guess.



Kojo - Nuku pommiin (Finland 1982)

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)

Nul points: Norway 1978

The good people of EBU really thought it would be impossible not to score with the new points system introduced in 1975, and it did work well until Jahn Teigen bumped into the construction and wrecked the whole thing.

Possible sensing that his song lacked international appeal to score in its own right - there is quite a good song going on here with a pretty nice set of lyrics - Jahn decided to add a few extra touches in order not to get forgotten by the juries.

Legend has it he also managed to enrage certain important people at Norweigan television, who swore he would never be allowed back on screen if he went ahead with his planned performance.

I seriously don't think Jahn aimed not to score. I think he seriously expected just to stand out from the rest and gain a few more points than the Norweigan contributions tended to do at the time, but as the end of the voting came closer and he was still yet to score, the air lifted in the green room - Jahn has told the tale himself afterwards.

Since everybody knew Israel was going to win and could not be beaten anymore, everyone started cheering for Norway, hoping for Jahn to keep the zero, thus writing himself into the history books. Not even neighbour country Sweden, last country to vote, had any points to spare and the success was a fact. Depending on how you see it.

Nul points?

Absolutely! The song is pleasant and catchy and completely eclipsed by the flamboyant performance. Under normal circumstances, a song like this would have scored 14 points and nobody would remember it apart from the real hardcore fans.

Being the first "real" nul-pointer of all time, it has been given eternal life and it keeps popping up here and there as soon as anyone makes a collage of memorable moments at the ESC. Well done, Jahn.



Jahn Teigen - Mil etter mil (Norway 1978)

The dreaded Nul Points...

Part of the Eurovision legend is of course the risk of scoring zero in the final, getting a place in the history books as being the song nobody liked even a little bit.

Nul points. No points.

To be fair, only nul-pointers from 1975 and on count - before that, the system of points varied a lot. Some years it was extemely easy to be left with nothing, while some years it was impossible.

Most countries up until 1971 saw each country having a jury of ten members, each one giving one point only to their favourite song. If you were everybody's second fave, you would score zero. A very hard world. Especially 1962 - 1965, where four countries per year were mercilessly left without points.

1971 - 1973 saw a different system, where the lowest score possible was two points per country judging you, created to ensure that nobody was left with no points. However, this system was hard to follow (and generated a fair share of tactical voting), so it was scrapped too.

From 1975 and on the system has remained unchanged - every country awards points to their top ten countries, and this is where it gets interesting. This system was, partially, introduced to spare countries from the shame of not scoring.

It worked so-so in all fairness.

But it certainly added to the entertainment value. Some years it was more exciting to see who would score a big fat zero than who would win. Since 1975, a total of fourteen songs had the misfortune of being left without points in a eurovision final.

I'm about to go through them and judge them - did they deserve their fate? (Spolier alert: a few of them truly did.)

Songs only I like: Austria 1988

I could run a parallel series called "Austrian songs only I like". Just like Portugal, Austria has had certain difficulties in touching the hearts of the Eurovision mainstream. Quite a few years have seen viewers, jury and fans alike make thumbs down and reach for their remote controls.

Which I find a bit unfair, honestly. Austria have sent in so many original entries and I have learned to love quite a few of them.

Like this one. But it took a few years, to be honest.



Wilfried - Lisa Mona Lisa (Austria 1988)

Back in the day, when I was 12, I didn't care much for this one, to put it mildly. Apparently, the bookies in Ireland saw and heard something I didn't, and according to press sources the nul points came as a bit of a shock for the Austrian delegation.

Their song was doing well in the charts back home and in his general disappointment, Wilfried let a political comment slip and all hell broke loose. He said at a press conference that nobody wanted to vote for Austria due to the Waldheim scandal (google it, kids!) and that his song was a victim of this.

Not a particularly popular thing to say. The papers had a field day ripping Wilfried to shreds, labelling him a sore loser, and it took many years to wash off that label.

What about the song, then? I find it pretty touching, if slightly repetitive, but heartfelt and honest. Wilfried sings his heart out (with maybe not every single note in tune) and this could certainly have deserved a few little points from somewhere.

Those points could possibly have saved Wilfried's reputation.

If you like this song too, or at least doesn't think it should have been a nul-pointer, please leave a comment as usual.