Many moons ago, the world looked mighty different in many ways. Imagine the Netherlands being a progressive, exciting and interesting competitor - a competitor that would send in progressive, exciting and interesting songs, sung by impressive performers.
Hard to picture after some ten years of Treble, Re-Union, Sieneke and Toppers.
But once upon a time, the Dutch were determined to make a difference and decided to enter a splendid artist like Ruth Jacott. Not only, they also dressed her up with a song like "Vrede".
Maybe it didn't age all that well, but back in 1993 it was shockingly modern for Eurovision. The song incorporated modern elements and Ruth wrapped it up in a warm and sensual air of sparkle and sexiness, back in the day when sexy didn't necessarily mean "minimal outfit".
I would be so happy if the Dutch would find that sparkle again, burst through to the final and achieve their best placing since 1993. So happy. Not to mention so surprised.
Ruth Jacott - Vrede (Netherlands 1993)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
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)
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)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Germany 1980: Beware of apples!
If I keep on like this, I'm afraid the German embassy will soon call me in for a serious discussion on the picture I paint of German music, but I can't resist sharing this masterpiece.
A good friend reminded me about this via Twitter , so here you all get to enjoy Adam & Eve from the 1980 German final. You'll never forget them.
Adam & Eve - Hallo Adam! Hallo Eva! (Germany 1980 national final)
Of course, one's mind fills up with questions after seeing this. How would this song have fared in The Hague? Is that giant apple a real apple? Who decided that the fabric of her dress would pass as skin-coloured? And who are these people?
Adam & Eve were actually a successful schlager act for many years, created by Eva "Eve" Bartova who came to Germany from her native Czechoslovakia in the early 60's. She formed her own band, then set up the duo Adam & Eve.
After a few years, she had the original Adam replaced with Harry Schairer and then the duo really took off. The couple got married and had a number of hit singles, most notably perhaps "Ungarische Nächte" which made it to the no 1 spot of the ZDF-hitparade.
When success ebbed away, the couple split up and Eve again emigrated, this time to the US, where she died of cancer in 1989.
Adam & Eve - Ungarische Nächte
A good friend reminded me about this via Twitter , so here you all get to enjoy Adam & Eve from the 1980 German final. You'll never forget them.
Adam & Eve - Hallo Adam! Hallo Eva! (Germany 1980 national final)
Of course, one's mind fills up with questions after seeing this. How would this song have fared in The Hague? Is that giant apple a real apple? Who decided that the fabric of her dress would pass as skin-coloured? And who are these people?
Adam & Eve were actually a successful schlager act for many years, created by Eva "Eve" Bartova who came to Germany from her native Czechoslovakia in the early 60's. She formed her own band, then set up the duo Adam & Eve.
After a few years, she had the original Adam replaced with Harry Schairer and then the duo really took off. The couple got married and had a number of hit singles, most notably perhaps "Ungarische Nächte" which made it to the no 1 spot of the ZDF-hitparade.
When success ebbed away, the couple split up and Eve again emigrated, this time to the US, where she died of cancer in 1989.
Adam & Eve - Ungarische Nächte
Germany 1996: Surfen surfen, Tag und Nacht!
I gave you "Can Can", so there is no reason why I should not share "Surfen Multimedia" from the 1996 German final.
Germans always had a strong fascination for new technology and more than once stated this fascination in song. So, when the internet came into our lives, why not make a Beach Boys-esque song to celebrate it?
The link is obvious, right? Beach Boys - surfing! Internet - surfing! You're with me, right?
These girls are impossibly happy and cheerful, while something tells me they were yet to see a single webpage.
What the EU-flag tops and the flag skirts has to do with anything is a subject far too deep for my shallow analysis, but click the link. I know you want to. And the EuroCats know it too!
EuroCats - Surfen Multimedia (Germany 1996 national final)
Germans always had a strong fascination for new technology and more than once stated this fascination in song. So, when the internet came into our lives, why not make a Beach Boys-esque song to celebrate it?
The link is obvious, right? Beach Boys - surfing! Internet - surfing! You're with me, right?
These girls are impossibly happy and cheerful, while something tells me they were yet to see a single webpage.
What the EU-flag tops and the flag skirts has to do with anything is a subject far too deep for my shallow analysis, but click the link. I know you want to. And the EuroCats know it too!
EuroCats - Surfen Multimedia (Germany 1996 national final)
ESC reject: Finland 1991
The first Finnish final I ever saw was Euroviisut 1991 - a relative in Stockholm recieved Finnish television on cable, so she recorded it on a VHS videotape and sent it to me in an large envelope. (Oh gosh, this really was back in the day, wasn't it?)
Out of the ten finalists, my instant favourite was Arja Koriseva's "Enkelin silmin". Very direct, very catchy, maybe a tiny bit old-fashioned, delivered in a very cheerful manner by a likeable singer, written by the same successful team that wrote "La dolce vita" in 1989.
The expert jury left "Enkelin silmin" only in fifth place, and opted for Kaija Kärkinen's "Hullu yö" instead.
Kaija Kärkinen - Hullu yö (Finland 1991)
These days, Kaija is a personal favourite of mine as well as another of the songs I can't believe the juries didn't vote for. In Rome, it recieved a grand total of six points and a 20th place.
"Enkelin silmin" became a big hit in Finland and is still seen as an evergreen and is one of Arja's most well-known and loved songs.
I can't help wondering how it would have scored in Rome, also given it would have granted some bouncy sing-along clap-along qualities in a line-up full of ballads.
Arja Koriseva - Enkelin silmin (Finland 1991 national final)
Out of the ten finalists, my instant favourite was Arja Koriseva's "Enkelin silmin". Very direct, very catchy, maybe a tiny bit old-fashioned, delivered in a very cheerful manner by a likeable singer, written by the same successful team that wrote "La dolce vita" in 1989.
The expert jury left "Enkelin silmin" only in fifth place, and opted for Kaija Kärkinen's "Hullu yö" instead.
Kaija Kärkinen - Hullu yö (Finland 1991)
These days, Kaija is a personal favourite of mine as well as another of the songs I can't believe the juries didn't vote for. In Rome, it recieved a grand total of six points and a 20th place.
"Enkelin silmin" became a big hit in Finland and is still seen as an evergreen and is one of Arja's most well-known and loved songs.
I can't help wondering how it would have scored in Rome, also given it would have granted some bouncy sing-along clap-along qualities in a line-up full of ballads.
Arja Koriseva - Enkelin silmin (Finland 1991 national final)
Germany 2006: Vicky should be grateful
The 2006 Eurovision could have seen not just one but two previous winners battling it out for a second victory. Sweden gave Carola renewed confidence while Germany rejected Vicky Leandros in their national final.
Surely Vicky, who sang twice for Luxembourg and who is still a solid name within German showbiz, must have felt a bit deflated when defeated by hobby project Texas Lightning. But in retrospect, maybe she would be grateful rather than anything else.
First of all, her self-composed song may be clean-cut and robust but is, above all, fantastically dull. There is not a single element of surprise during these three minutes, and when the song is so undynamic in itself, Vicky's emotional delivery almost turns comical.
I am a big fan of Vicky and her singing style, so I am quite pleased that she never got to expose herself like this Europe-wide. Now she is left with her dignity in tact.
Also, while Carola's fifth place was not a fiasco it wasn't really a success either. Not a single country had her in their top spot, and no comeback winners have fared well ever since.
Charlotte Perrelli flopped in Belgrade, Niamh Kavanagh crashed and burned in the Oslo final and Dana International didn't even make it out of the semi finals in Düsseldorf. You will not be automatically loved by the audience just because you won the whole thing once.
Vicky Leandros should be very grateful, indeed.
Vicky Leandros - Don't Break My Heart (Germany 2006 national final)
Surely Vicky, who sang twice for Luxembourg and who is still a solid name within German showbiz, must have felt a bit deflated when defeated by hobby project Texas Lightning. But in retrospect, maybe she would be grateful rather than anything else.
First of all, her self-composed song may be clean-cut and robust but is, above all, fantastically dull. There is not a single element of surprise during these three minutes, and when the song is so undynamic in itself, Vicky's emotional delivery almost turns comical.
I am a big fan of Vicky and her singing style, so I am quite pleased that she never got to expose herself like this Europe-wide. Now she is left with her dignity in tact.
Also, while Carola's fifth place was not a fiasco it wasn't really a success either. Not a single country had her in their top spot, and no comeback winners have fared well ever since.
Charlotte Perrelli flopped in Belgrade, Niamh Kavanagh crashed and burned in the Oslo final and Dana International didn't even make it out of the semi finals in Düsseldorf. You will not be automatically loved by the audience just because you won the whole thing once.
Vicky Leandros should be very grateful, indeed.
Vicky Leandros - Don't Break My Heart (Germany 2006 national final)
Friday, October 28, 2011
Germany 1998: Everybody Can Can!
I could say a lot of things about this clip.
For instance, I could say that the 1998 German national final in many ways sounded like a musical madhouse and looked like a freakshow but, in retrospect, was the first serious attempt of bringing Eurovision back to its former glory in Germany.
I heard that the blond girl dancer (who gives the impression of not being able to carry a tune in a bucket) later teamed up with DJ Bobo and was the female vocalist in the 2007 Swiss entry. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
I could point out that the presenter is indeed Nena, one of Germany's top stars, who should clearly be taking part instead of hosting.
I could also say that this was the first really scary proof of things falling apart for Ralph Siegel. First you write Dschingis Khan, Theater and Johnny Blue, only to put your name on something as dubious as this?
But I will content myself with stating that this is so wrong on so many levels, but yet so fantastically entertaining. For all the wrong reasons, sure, but entertainment is never out of place.
Ballhaus - Can Can (Germany 1998 national final)
For instance, I could say that the 1998 German national final in many ways sounded like a musical madhouse and looked like a freakshow but, in retrospect, was the first serious attempt of bringing Eurovision back to its former glory in Germany.
I heard that the blond girl dancer (who gives the impression of not being able to carry a tune in a bucket) later teamed up with DJ Bobo and was the female vocalist in the 2007 Swiss entry. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
I could point out that the presenter is indeed Nena, one of Germany's top stars, who should clearly be taking part instead of hosting.
I could also say that this was the first really scary proof of things falling apart for Ralph Siegel. First you write Dschingis Khan, Theater and Johnny Blue, only to put your name on something as dubious as this?
But I will content myself with stating that this is so wrong on so many levels, but yet so fantastically entertaining. For all the wrong reasons, sure, but entertainment is never out of place.
Ballhaus - Can Can (Germany 1998 national final)
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