No, not Fork Handles! FOUR CANDLES for the age of my blog...
Some of you will know where this reference comes from but for those of you not old enough to be alive in September 1976, this is the classic comedy sketch from which it is lifted:
Comedy was so much gentler then!
As for Eurovision, maybe it was as well - "Save All Your Kisses For Me" had won at the Contest that April (yep, it wasn't always May for the Final) with what could be considered the first effective choreographed staging. Talking about UK winners, it was only just before my last birthday post that I eventually finished my review of the fifth and last one from Katrina And The Waves. It just shows you how involved I have become with Eurovision in general now - so many categories I was going to cover that I listed during the first few months of this blog, all the way back in July 2013, so few completed! So what has happened during year 4 then? Much different to the previous three? Let's recap:
- My FIRST Birthday post is a 'blog mission statement' - what I planned to do administratively from then on. Blimey, surprised it's had 613 views as the writing is so dry, maybe fans like Eden's "Happy Birthday"?
- Was my SECOND Birthday post any more interesting? By that time (17/07/2015), I had actually done some real life fan stuff that I could talk about...okay, boast about! Some things I summarised have continued to this day - OGAE Second Chance Contest Juror, Eurobash attendee, starting Eurovision Beauty, providing 'expert' Eurovision opinion on radio and blogging continually over the Eurovision fortnight. It was a bit "look at my blog, isn't it amazing" but I suppose that's what birthdays are for...
- Last year, there were THREE candles on the LMBTO Birthday cake, literally! One item that was there was my stats about how many posts per year - 46, 62, 74...only 63 this year! Slacking or taking the blog in a totally different direction? I had a list of my five 'most viewed posts' - Nena is still way out on front with 3200 views. My 'alternate reality' post hit a chord somewhere...
So what will be the content of Birthday post number 4? Well, it's all going to be about me again, isn't it? This year just gone can be summed up in words...
I Became A Eurovision Interviewer
It all started at last year's Eurobash in Manchester with Joe and Jake, Paddy and this gorgeous lady:
It then continued to my first foreign NF in Estonia, where I met the superbly talented and extremely understanding Kerli:
After initially meeting the songwriter of this year's Czech and Polish entries at the UK NF, I interviewed Greig Watts of DWB Music Ltd:
And I wound up interview duties for the year by chatting with Norma John, Kasia, Jana, Martina, Chris West and my favourite interviewee at the London Eurovision Party press event, Levina:
Lessons learnt with each one and hopefully my preparation with questions already in place (apart from the unexpected chat with author Chris West, where I 'winged it') helped me to not look totally amateurish! More interviews planned for this coming year - I'm trying to work out a way of videoing my interviews solo but I'm not quite sure how to do that...
I also participated as a real juror on the OGAE SCC UK Jury for a third time (selecting the winner twice out of three years) and helped out with the SECHUK Jury, which in turn made it easier to score my rankings nearer Kyiv. No disrespect intended to either panel but for me, they didn't compare with Eesti Laul's Press Team asking me to be a stand-in juror at the Dress Rehearsal and pretend to be an Estonian ballet dancer!
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So what for next year? It seems as though I've done most things now at least once when it comes to Eurovision, all bar the big one...
Unless there is some major disaster, I plan to attend next year's Contest in Portugal, wherever that may be. The only decision that I need to make is whether I attend as a civvy (fan) or as 'press' (blogger). I await the decision as to where it will be staged and when (will it be anywhere other than here?):
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I'll then see how the season pans out but I feel more inclined to experience the atmosphere of the shows as a fan the first time I attend...
What I will be doing next year is seeing more live performances by Eurovision artists - Eurobash, UK and foreign NFs, promo Parties and hopefully Eurovision itself. Looking back over the past four years of my blog, I have seen quite a few artists perform mainly Eurovision stuff and other live material - I thought it would be good to flag up my five favourites:
ZOË at London Eurovision Party 2016
This was memorable for me partly as this was perhaps the best performance at my first London Eurovision Party but also because this lovely lady was so emotional at the end of it. It was obvious that ZOË had no idea the love that Eurovision fans had for her and her song, and her crying at the end made everyone in the crowd love her even more! Definitely one of my favourite live moments at a Eurovision event...
Whogaux & Karl-Kristjan ft. Maian at Eesti Laul 2017
The song that I wanted to go to Kyiv from Estonia was "Spirit Animal" but the entry that has stuck in my head ever since my 50th Birthday, March 4th this year, when I had the most intense celebrations ever (Juror at Dress Rehearsal then watching the Final from the restaurant at the Saku Suurhall) is this one. When I first heard this, Maian's vocal style seemed almost childlike but live it so works in this cute tale of love between a geeky guy in a hat and this lady in her summer dress, both decked out in designer trainers! Their interaction isn't all lovey dovey but it is fun and low level flirtatious - together with the vocals and that engaging electronic rhythm, this is the track that will always say to me "Estonia in 2017", more so than Kerli's and definitely more so than "Verona"...
Joe and Jake at Eurovision : You Decide 2016
My first UK NF and these guys were clearly the best sounding act in the hall (despite the horrendous acoustics of the O2 Forum), with this brain attacking earworm of a song that had me singing the chorus by the second minute! Ellen and me were sitting beside the sound desk and they looked the part from there. J&J really only had Bianca Claxton as competition on the night and deservedly went to Stockholm as our representatives - shame they didn't do better but having interviewed them at last year's Eurobash, they loved the experience and now have a new group of fans that will be with them forever...
Natasha St-Pier at Eurovision's Greatest Hits Concert
This was the best performance by far at the Greatest Hits Concert at the Eventim Apollo, in my eyes anyway. Not quite sure what she was wearing in London but Natasha's vocals and passionate delivery blew me away in 2015, much as it did in 2001 in the Parken in Copenhagen. Absolutely spellbinding and worth the admission fee, hotel bill and rail tickets on its own (but with the bonus of 14 other acts singing 20 of their songs) - this was the memorable moment of that night, of which there were many, all enjoyed from the Circle, seat R60...
Lucie Jones at London Eurovision Party 2017
I have to say that this lady has one of the most pure voices I have heard since starting the blog and I could have flagged up her UK NF performance but again the acoustics on ground level at the Eventim Apollo were awful. I therefore chose my self-shot footage of her at the LEP earlier this year, accompanied by the crowd at the Café de Paris - one of those moments where the UK artist and the UK Eurovision fans truly bond and Lucie must have realised that she had our total and absolute support. Every Eurovision fan recognised that she had an amazing voice, she had stage presence and came across superbly when dealing with press and other media types. It's such a shame that despite all of that recognition, 15th was as good as it got for our best entry for years. Another moment in my blogging career where I will always remember this moment...
Just to tidy up my Birthday celebrations, I'll do what I always do and reveal how many views I have had to date. Remember that LMBTO has been going for four years now - last year at this time I had just over 152,000 views. What do I have now?
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Wow...just, well, wow!
I know that, like most writers, producing articles here does my ego no end of good and it also is a place where my thoughts on Eurovision are written down for posterity, chiseled in stone and therefore a place of permanent record. I still thoroughly enjoy writing all of this and the move into 'press duties' has galvanised me even more to blog, venturing into audio and video, alongside the written word. I have to say that I am really looking forward to the new season of Eurovision, especially as I plan to take that last major step - physically attending the Eurovision Song Contest.
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I also participated as a real juror on the OGAE SCC UK Jury for a third time (selecting the winner twice out of three years) and helped out with the SECHUK Jury, which in turn made it easier to score my rankings nearer Kyiv. No disrespect intended to either panel but for me, they didn't compare with Eesti Laul's Press Team asking me to be a stand-in juror at the Dress Rehearsal and pretend to be an Estonian ballet dancer!
"Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be Toomas Edur"
So what for next year? It seems as though I've done most things now at least once when it comes to Eurovision, all bar the big one...
Going to the Eurovision Song Contest itself!
Unless there is some major disaster, I plan to attend next year's Contest in Portugal, wherever that may be. The only decision that I need to make is whether I attend as a civvy (fan) or as 'press' (blogger). I await the decision as to where it will be staged and when (will it be anywhere other than here?):
What I will be doing next year is seeing more live performances by Eurovision artists - Eurobash, UK and foreign NFs, promo Parties and hopefully Eurovision itself. Looking back over the past four years of my blog, I have seen quite a few artists perform mainly Eurovision stuff and other live material - I thought it would be good to flag up my five favourites:
ZOË at London Eurovision Party 2016
This was memorable for me partly as this was perhaps the best performance at my first London Eurovision Party but also because this lovely lady was so emotional at the end of it. It was obvious that ZOË had no idea the love that Eurovision fans had for her and her song, and her crying at the end made everyone in the crowd love her even more! Definitely one of my favourite live moments at a Eurovision event...
Whogaux & Karl-Kristjan ft. Maian at Eesti Laul 2017
The song that I wanted to go to Kyiv from Estonia was "Spirit Animal" but the entry that has stuck in my head ever since my 50th Birthday, March 4th this year, when I had the most intense celebrations ever (Juror at Dress Rehearsal then watching the Final from the restaurant at the Saku Suurhall) is this one. When I first heard this, Maian's vocal style seemed almost childlike but live it so works in this cute tale of love between a geeky guy in a hat and this lady in her summer dress, both decked out in designer trainers! Their interaction isn't all lovey dovey but it is fun and low level flirtatious - together with the vocals and that engaging electronic rhythm, this is the track that will always say to me "Estonia in 2017", more so than Kerli's and definitely more so than "Verona"...
Joe and Jake at Eurovision : You Decide 2016
My first UK NF and these guys were clearly the best sounding act in the hall (despite the horrendous acoustics of the O2 Forum), with this brain attacking earworm of a song that had me singing the chorus by the second minute! Ellen and me were sitting beside the sound desk and they looked the part from there. J&J really only had Bianca Claxton as competition on the night and deservedly went to Stockholm as our representatives - shame they didn't do better but having interviewed them at last year's Eurobash, they loved the experience and now have a new group of fans that will be with them forever...
Natasha St-Pier at Eurovision's Greatest Hits Concert
This was the best performance by far at the Greatest Hits Concert at the Eventim Apollo, in my eyes anyway. Not quite sure what she was wearing in London but Natasha's vocals and passionate delivery blew me away in 2015, much as it did in 2001 in the Parken in Copenhagen. Absolutely spellbinding and worth the admission fee, hotel bill and rail tickets on its own (but with the bonus of 14 other acts singing 20 of their songs) - this was the memorable moment of that night, of which there were many, all enjoyed from the Circle, seat R60...
Lucie Jones at London Eurovision Party 2017
I have to say that this lady has one of the most pure voices I have heard since starting the blog and I could have flagged up her UK NF performance but again the acoustics on ground level at the Eventim Apollo were awful. I therefore chose my self-shot footage of her at the LEP earlier this year, accompanied by the crowd at the Café de Paris - one of those moments where the UK artist and the UK Eurovision fans truly bond and Lucie must have realised that she had our total and absolute support. Every Eurovision fan recognised that she had an amazing voice, she had stage presence and came across superbly when dealing with press and other media types. It's such a shame that despite all of that recognition, 15th was as good as it got for our best entry for years. Another moment in my blogging career where I will always remember this moment...
Just to tidy up my Birthday celebrations, I'll do what I always do and reveal how many views I have had to date. Remember that LMBTO has been going for four years now - last year at this time I had just over 152,000 views. What do I have now?
Wow...just, well, wow!
A QUARTER OF A MILLION VIEWS...
(near enough!)
- An increase on last year's figure of 98,000 - in one year.
- My best ever month, May 2017, of just over 16000 views.
- Most posts averaging about 500 views in the first month.
Absolutely amazing - thank you to all of you who regularly read this blog, who are prepared to return each post and read my words, look at the pictures/videos that I select to link the prose together and just enjoy my take on this world we love called Eurovision!
I know that, like most writers, producing articles here does my ego no end of good and it also is a place where my thoughts on Eurovision are written down for posterity, chiseled in stone and therefore a place of permanent record. I still thoroughly enjoy writing all of this and the move into 'press duties' has galvanised me even more to blog, venturing into audio and video, alongside the written word. I have to say that I am really looking forward to the new season of Eurovision, especially as I plan to take that last major step - physically attending the Eurovision Song Contest.
So here's to my fifth year of Eurovision blogging
and to being in Portugal in May -
Who is joining me?