Lucie Jones - this lady will always deserve plenty of exposure in my blog. Partly due to her amazing performance in Kyiv and also because she gave me continued hope that the UK are on the way up, out of the depths of the 2000s and striding forward into the 2020s. A superb singer, extremely photogenic and also particularly adept with social media and being interviewed by the press (that's Ian Muller's "Europe-Ian Interview" microphone there) - if only the Eurovision public had loved "Never Give Up On You" as much as the juries, or indeed me! She also links in nicely to this post, something that has been sitting in my draft folder since before the New Year...
My ESC Top 250 votes for last year!
How does the UK entry for 2017 fit into that, I hear you ask? Well, I'll tell you - I know that Lucie wasn't able to be voted for during the 2016 session (I am certain that she will chart quite highly this New Year's Eve) but my theme for this year was
My Top Ten Entries from the United Kingdom
I like to spice up my votes each year - I suspect that some fans trot out the same list every chart but that would bore me to tears! Let's remind myself how I picked my lists year by year:
2013 - Vocals
2014 - Staging and Choreography
2015 - "Eurovision Beauty"
Some interesting lists there, I hope you'll agree, with some artists appearing in more than one year. I had to admit that the chances of many, if any, of my top ten this time making the Top 250 was pretty slim but I have spotted that three of my choices for the 2016 list made it into the finished product. The main reason for this would be that only one of my selections were in the 21st Century and anyone who follows this process each year will know that there is a great deal of 'short-term memory' when it comes to entry selection on the whole...
Enough of the sarcasm, on with my rundown. There were 59 entries for me to choose from (remember Lucie wasn't counted as number 60 yet) - I have ended up with four winners, three runner-ups, two thirds and an eighth placed finisher, possibly one of the most recognisable lower level top ten placings ever. There's even Phil Coulter and Bill Martin's pension fund in there somewhere...
1 Point :"Boom Bang A Bang" - Lulu (UK 1969)
"Or The One With The Nonsense Title"...
One of the 'infamous four' winners in 1969 and the last of them to get a point, the only one from the last jury Finland - if you have read my blog, I have covered this song in a bit of detail a few years ago. I won't rehash all the history again but the first thing that I would say about a lot of the best Eurovision winners is that they all have an instant hook, they all are sung by an artist who is totally confident with being on that stage and on television and the entry could also win in other years. These were the days of the UK being the 'big cheese' at the Contest - just having had a win and a second the previous two years, another win with a top UK pop star known across the world was always on the cards and if the show had been in the televoting era, Lulu would probably have romped home with the win. Anyway, why does this entry get into my top ten?
- Lulu acts this superbly well and connects with all the cameras and crowd, demonstrating why she was given her own tv show and this gig;
- The song is wonderfully infectious and just screams 'earworm' - tell me that you don't recognise this song from the first few bars instantly, 42 years on;
- She gets as much out of this entry visually as she can, given that we were still in the era of 'stand still and sing';
- She adds the lovely little touch of shouting 'Olé', thereby 'playing to the home crowd'!
2 Points : "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit" - Gina G (UK 1996)
"Or The One That Was Nominated For A Grammy"...
Now here is one of the songs from our last 'purple patch' as far as Eurovision success is concerned - the last song from the Contest to truly 'go global' due to its huge pop appeal. In the 21st Century, "Ooh Ahh..." probably would have wiped the floor with all comers at most ESC's where the public had at least a 50% share of the vote but in 1996, the last one before any sort of televote was present, the juries consigned this to 8th place. To be fair to them, it did all look a bit shambolic and the vocals from Gina weren't the best at times - an entry 'ahead of its time', ten years later with better camera direction and stage effects would almost certainly given the UK another win.
The song itself is a classic Eurodance track and it never fails to fill the dance floor at any Eurofan gathering, despite its unexpectedly low finish of 8th.
Gina looks absolutely amazing in her (or was it Cher's?) Paco Rabanne dress and deservedly will always be associated with this track but perhaps more for the studio version itself than the live one. It's still adds a very uptempo and contemporary (for the time) entry to my top ten - ninth and two points. It was also one of only three of my list that made it into the actual 250 - number 147 (up from 249 last year)...
3 Points : "Love Enough For Two" - Prima Donna (UK 1980)
"Or The One Where Danny Finn Stole The Show"...
Six piece group Prima Donna get my three points and 8th place in my list but for me, the focal point was always Danny Finn, now sadly departed from this earthly Eurovision 'stage'. A superb singer in an age where how well the song was sung was key to success, "Love Enough For Two" may have been formulaic with its 'three couple' format and even quite cheesey but as I said in my tribute to Danny, there was something quite comforting, lyrically pure and very uplifting about this song.
I also have to say that in an age where on stage gimmicks were few and far between, the colour of the six singer's outfits, made with a guy and girl having the same but NOT being in the same couple on stage, was strikingly effective.
This is an entry that always makes me smile, always gets me singing along to the words and even swaying slightly along with the group on stage! Sally Ann Triplett made it back to the Contest with Bardo and Kate Robbins went onto being a successful singer, actress and comedian but these two minutes and 55 seconds will always be with us and provide a wonderful tribute to one of the UK's best Eurovision singers...
4 Points : "Puppet On A String" - Sandie Shaw (UK 1967)
"Or The One With The Bare-Footed Superstar"...
Another UK entry that I have already covered a long, long time ago in my blog (28 July 2013, blimey!) and an entry that is still relatively timeless, mainly due to the pleasurable connotations with people's childhoods (fairgrounds) and the style, poise and delivery of the song by this very visually stunning pop star. Like Lulu at number 10, Sandie Shaw was by this time a veteran of the relatively new medium of mainstream television shows and a recognisable music icon across Europe and it showed - all the looks to camera, all the facial acting and the joy she showed as she sung "Puppet", despite the abhorrence she has had for the song for most of her career!
As I mentioned in my article, it was possibly the first Eurovision entry to be cynically written and styled for the Contest itself
but all of those fairground noises, the references to this pleasurable pastime throughout, together with how Sandie looked with her now iconic bare feet all combined to give the UK its first win and provide Eurovision with one of its biggest landslide winning margins ever (proportionately). I love this song for Sandie's vocals, her performance but most of all for that initial bassoon to the ending drum and all of the up-and-down music matching the carousel movement that all of us have experienced. Another to make me smile and make me sing, this was my 7th place and four pointer...
5 Points : "Come Back" - Jessica Garlick (UK 2002)
"Or The Only One From The 21st Century"...
It says a lot of how I feel about most of the UK's creativity for Eurovision since our last win in 1997 that the only entry to make it into my personal top ten is this one from 2002. It's also the only ballad in my list but hey...
WHAT A BALLAD!
There aren't a lot of those during the history of Eurovision that grabs my attention and even my heart but this one does bigtime. It is a classic gentle love song about heartbreak, nothing too complicated, just Jessica pleading for her one time love to return to her and she delivers that sentiment so perfectly that, like all good actresses, you believe that she is singing this directly to you. That delivery was heightened by Jessica's "doe eyed" look and even the mad tasseled outfit she was wearing that night, suggesting vulnerability but the best bit of this entry is her singing - her voice is perfect for the song and despite a slight faltering in hitting one of the high notes, this is always a stand out song for me in the Contest. I still have no idea how this was third and Marie N won - maybe it was 'Death Slot 2' that did for our Jess! If Euro Discos ever had a 'slow song' at the end of the night, this would have to be one of the major contenders for that role - it is a beautiful song, Jessica delivers it almost perfectly and it is totally deserving of my sixth place and five points...
6 Points : "Are You Sure?" - The Allisons (UK 1961)
"Or The One Four Years Ahead Of Its Time"...
There's the old joke about musical styles and tastes at Eurovision being twenty years behind what is actually happening in the music chart - my number five entry was probably just four years ahead of its time Contest-wise but was of a style that had been popular in mainstream pop since the mid 1950s (definitely from the days of Buddy Holly). Bob Day and John Alford provide such a wonderful set of harmonies during "Are You Sure?" with such understated delivery that the real message of the lyrical content gets a little overlooked - the song is almost on a par with "If I Were Sorry" by Frans but 55 years earlier in the basic message:
"You'll Regret Leaving Me"!
Look up the lyrics - this is a heartbreak love song but the guys are really pointing out that their ex-love is the reason for their relationship falling apart and yet the other party will regret it more. And it is that dark undercurrent to this entry that you don't pick up on at all when you listen to these two superb vocal virtuosos that appeals to me - that and those harmonies. I could listen to this all day - only one step up from an acapella and yet I think that this entry is so timeless but also of its time, if that makes any sense. The earliest entry on my list of ten and fully deserving of my six points...
7 Points : "Congratulations" - Cliff Richard (UK 1968)
"Or The One Which All Non-Fans Think Won Eurovision"...
Yep, it's Cliff, it's possibly the most recognisable song to come out of Eurovision and probably the one that earns Phil and Bill the most royalties every year! Who would have thought that the chorus and in particular THAT one word would now be linked with anything but the Contest - weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs etc. An intentional songwriting stroke of genius or just serendipity? Who knows but this is now regularly recognised as the favourite UK Eurovision entry and often has pride of place when songs from Eurovision past are trotted out. This is at my position number four due to all of those reasons and the fact that it is now so ingrained in my psyche that the first few notes immediately start this entry running through my head over and over again. The only downside of this entry when I watch it?
It is clearly obvious that Cliff cannot dance or perform any sort of coordinated movement on stage!
Aside from that, this song about Cliff being so happy that his love is in love with him that he has to tell everyone is a classic sing-a-long song and so suited for the Contest, another triumph for Bill Martin and Phil Coulter...almost. Second was obviously not the right result as far as this entry was concerned on the night - unfortunately it doesn't get any better on my list, as it gets my seven points...
8 Points : "Save All Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood Of Man (UK 1976)
"Or The One To Have Eurovision's First Choreographed Dance Routine"...
Yet another of our five winning entries (guess which one didn't make my top ten?) and the most successful UK song to date, sales wise. It is also the first Eurovision entry of any note with a choreographed routine from beginning to end - hugely stylised with the suits and huge shirt collars for the guys and berets and jumpsuits for the ladies, along with those iconic, if now rather cringeworthy, moves throughout. It is another entry where, from the first striking of the glockenspiel and drums, you know instantly what the song is and it is yet another one that plays the whole out in your head! I have already covered this before in my blog and the fact that "Save All Your Kisses For Me" is about a dad singing for his young child makes this an endearing tale, if a little sickly sweet at the end. It got my eight points for the whole package - why?
Because it was so slickly staged, that Martin Lee took the lead so dramatically with Lee, Nicky and Sandra all playing a massive role in the presentation and that the music fitted so beautifully with the orchestral accompaniment.
This was a well deserved winner in 1976 and a very fine third place from me - it is a shame that its age prevents this entry from getting higher up the Top 250, with position 234 being its spot in 2016 (down from 115 in 2015). Hopefully it will never drop out completely...
10 Points : "Love Shine A Light" - Katrina And The Waves (UK 1997)
"Or The One That Is Eurovision's Timeless Anthem"
There's a reason that gospel and evangelical songs stay popular and do not seem to age with time - they are inspiring, they are joyous and they sound wonderful without fitting into any pigeon-holed genre of the present time. "Love Shine A Light" is such a song - call it gospel inspired, anthemic or a 'call to arms for the world', this entry is one of the most awe inspiring entries ever sung on a Eurovision stage. I said in my article on this winning song that even in its 1997 guise this entry would give any current Contest a good go and be 'there or thereabouts at the end of the evening'. I'm prepared to go further now...
Katrina And The Waves, performing as they did in Dublin, would win most Eurovisions!
This would have beaten Salvador and Jamala, along with most winners of the early 21st Century. The only ones who I think would have held this off would have been Helena, Alexander, Loreen and Conchita, purely because of their staging and back stories. This is an amazing entry - Katrina gave one of the best vocal gig performances ever, the simplicity of the act is an amazing strength and combined with that wonderfully inspirational lyrical content, you have near as damn it the perfect band staging for Eurovision. It is one to sing out loud, one to hark back to the last great UK entry and one to reflect on in order to realise that this is the standard we need in the UK to stand a chance of winning again. A lot of other fans love this song too, even 20 years later - position 46 on the chart (admittedly down a touch from 31 in 2015). The runner-up on my UK Eurovision list and my ten pointer - no place for the rip-off skirts in top ten...
12 Points : "Beg, Steal Or Borrow" - The New Seekers (UK 1972)
"Or The One With The Maxi Dresses And The Three Amigos!"
Long time readers of this blog would have known what my number one choice would be, as it was in my top ten of 2013 with my overall favourite vocals (fourth there). Beaten into one of the UK's fifteen second places by one of the most recognisable winning songs of all time ("Après toi"), this love song to a former lover screams out 'perfect entry' to me. It has:
- An extremely catchy singalong song;
- Music you can dance, sway or tap your toes to;
- A very confident group performance of its time;
- A superb visual delivery between Lyn Paul and Peter Doyle as the two main components of this flirty interaction;
- Perfect vocals with some ad libbing from Doyle to keep things interesting;
- And even those bizarre suits do not detract from this amazing entry (the dresses were the fashion, apparently)!
It's going to take a VERY special entry to displace "Beg, Steal Or Borrow" from this position, my favourite entry ever from the United Kingdom. Not sure what that could even sound like, to be honest - this is such a superb song and performance and even shot so effectively for 1972, all five of the group lined up at the front of the stage and each singers given the focus when called upon. There was never going to be any other song getting my twelve points in this list - it's just a shame that I'm possibly one of the only ones to think that way!
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So this was all linked to the ESC Top 250 vote, the final chart of which was played on New Year's Eve 2016. Who won? Well, for the FIFTH year in a row, it was this lady:
Notable movements in 2016?
- Turkish entries got a boost, with noticeable moves up for Sertab, maNga, Hadise and even Athena;
- Serbian entries did similarly well, Maija and Zeljko jumping upwards too;
- Kasia Kowalska made a spectacular leap up from 248 in 2015 to 55 this year - no idea why:
At least my list compared favourably with the Radio Times'"Best UK Eurovision Entry Of All Time" poll - Cliff, The New Seekers, Gina G, Brotherhood Of Man and Sandie Shaw all finding that top ten.
So I've done vocals, staging, beautiful female singers and now my UK top ten...
So I've done vocals, staging, beautiful female singers and now my UK top ten...
I'll have to get my thinking cap on ESC Top 250 2017!