You must remember these guys. Good, because I don't.1 Can you name a Eurovison song contest winner, apart from Abba?
2 Can you name a Eurovision winner from a country other than your own?
3 Can you name a song that they sang other than their Eurovision entry?
Given that the contest has been on the air since the 1950's it is remarkable how little music it has produced that people can actually remember. Every year a parade of badly dressed clowns serve up the blandest, most forgettable music the human mind can devise and so after 1000's of songs we only ever remember ABBA. I suppose it is a testament to Swedish resilience that they ever managed to live down their 1970's victory since for virtually everyone else winning Eurovision has been a one way ticket to oblivion.
The post was prompted by the news that the Czech republic is pulling out of the contest due to record low viewing figures. A moment of sanity which we can only hope proves as contagious as swine flu. Who wants to spend four hours hearing European politics set to bad disco? Last year I jokingly predicted who would get the maximum score from each country in Eastern Europe based on their geopolitical alliances with 80% accuracy much to the amazement of my daughter, who being only eight at the time thought people voted for songs because they sounded nice. Oh the naivity of the young.
For many it seems Eurovision the continuation of politics by other means. Carl Von Clauswitz is humming in his grave.
1 comment:
Given that the Chezch Republic only joined in 2007 (and never as Czechoslovakia) the allusion to "record low ratings" is a bit misleading. Well, a lot misleading.
Eurovision has launched a lot of careers and not only those who win become successful.
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