Eurovision Viewing Tip

[Gus]

Oh so you are watching 

Denmark have gone to crazy television mode today.
Royal wedding all day followed by eurovision song contest. 

[woollypigs]

Naa I got ITV1 on the pc but it is well hard to hear what John Travolta (in Be Cool) is saying when you have two girls going "Denmark 10 points" etc etc

[Noodley]

YARRR!

Vote Pirrraaaaatee!

..d

Noodley Jnr voted for the Latvian Pirates 
Good to see others in the UK also went with the Pirate theme and awarded them 10 points.

[Mike r]

I liked the French entry. He reminds me a little of Alexander Marcus, but without the beard YouTube - Alexander Marcus - Papaya

[Greenbank]

Sydney Youngblood! If only I could!

And this:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/PcL91Ut6-gY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/PcL91Ut6-gY&rel=1</a>

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I looooove Eurovision. I watched it in the Cameo cinema on the big screen, with a hundred or so like-minded folk. They let you take drinks from the bar in, and they gave us party poppers and those things you blow into to make a tooty noise. It was fab. I liked Bosnia-Herzegovina - brides knitting while Helena Bonham Carter dances round a washing line, Latvia - pirates, France, Israel and Spain. As you can see, I like the more ridiculous ones, although I'm sure France thought they were being deeply artistic. The Cameo bar didn't have any Advocaat so I had to do without my traditional Eurovision snowballs, and had Grand Marnier till they ran out and then Cointreau.

[Really Ancien]

Unfortunately I have to watch all of it to judge the current status of antipathies and friendships, Serbia seem to have been forgiven by their neighbours and the Russians were being heavily kowtowed to, probably because of the oil and gas pipelines as Ken Bruce alluded to. The song certainly didn't justify the win. I voted for Azerbijan, I hadn't laughed so much in years. The pirate thing was pure panto without even the menace of Captain Hook.

Damon.

[rogerzilla]

Terry's not happy:

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Wogan 'may quit Eurovision role'

[microphonie]

I liked the French entry. He reminds me a little of Alexander Marcus, but without the beard <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7XzLbGssArQ&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/7XzLbGssArQ&rel=1</a>

Sebastien Tellier: he's completely bonkers!  <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gu1fTcGdS8A&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Gu1fTcGdS8A&rel=1</a> is his best work though. Gorgeous.

[Jaded]

Oh shame, oh, disaster! I had to go to a party and I missed the whole thing! It was held about a mile from where I stayed in Belgrade in Feb. I wonder if they showed the appartment blocks I looked out onto...

[border-rider]

Terry's not happy:

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Wogan 'may quit Eurovision role'

"Indeed, western European participants have to decide whether they want to take part from here on in because their prospects are poor."

He said that on air last night, right at the end. I dunno - do we really enter to win ? Isn't part of the fun the complete joke that is the partial voting,  and the strong chance UK will come last ? I think he's taking it way too seriously.

[Jaded]

They should change the rules about voting - so you can't vote for neighbours, or countries that speak the same language, or countries that disagreed with invading Iraq or any country that doesn't have the iPhone.

[Pete]

They should change the rules about voting - so you can't vote for neighbours, or countries that speak the same language, or countries that disagreed with invading Iraq or any country that doesn't have the iPhone.

...or perhaps for a genuinely fairer competition they should invite Mr. Mugabe in to superintend the voting...

To be honest, this little kitsch-fest has passed me by these past 40 years, and I know little about it.  However I thought all the political posturing, cosying-up to close cultural neighbours, etc. etc., was all part of the game and an essential part of the whole performance!  Wouldn't it just be plain boring otherwise?  I do remember sitting through a performance back in the 1960s (it was my parents' suggestion that we watch  ) when a certain Sandie Shaw scooped the title for the Brits - I do remember she got no votes from Spain in the process.  Why?  Just that we were in a wee tussle with Franco over Gibraltar at that time.  Plus ça change...

[Si]

I think it high time that we realised that we were taking it much too seriously with our entries.  I mean, in electing to send Andy Abrahams people were trying to select a song with the chance of winning based upon the quality of the song/singer.  When are we going to follow Ireland's lead and give to the contest what it deserves?  I reckon we ought to get the Churchill Insurance dog to be our next entry, singing a rap song that has lyrics consisting entirely of "oh, yesy yes yes" why a set of semi naked dancers, dressed as bull dog bitches, girate around the stage.

[Really Ancien]

  I reckon we ought to get the Churchill Insurance dog to be our next entry, singing a rap song that has lyrics consisting entirely of "oh, yesy yes yes" why a set of semi naked dancers, dressed as bull dog bitches, girate around the stage.

Someone's told you about the Azerbaijani entry then.

Damon.

[Valiant]

I think they should not mention  countries until the vote is over

[andygates]

But then Turkey would enter "O Turkey My Turkey" with signature turko-shamanic banghra every time...

I voted for the Azerbaijani angel, just for that awesome falsetto and gilded fauxhawk.  Was it just me, or were the three Shakira-likes indistinguishable from each other? 

I was staggeringly drunk, which is the best way to experience Eurovision. 

[Valiant]

I have to say it looked amazing in HD.

Serbia had the best song in my opinion, didn't understand a word of it but it sounded nice.  I quite liked Icelands song 

As for Greece, pah! Armenia' where it's at!

[Noodley]

What happened to the Irish puppet?  I didn't see it...

[Valiant]

They were knocked out in the semi'?

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I think it high time that we realised that we were taking it much too seriously with our entries.  I mean, in electing to send Andy Abrahams people were trying to select a song with the chance of winning based upon the quality of the song/singer.  When are we going to follow Ireland's lead and give to the contest what it deserves?  I reckon we ought to get the Churchill Insurance dog to be our next entry, singing a rap song that has lyrics consisting entirely of "oh, yesy yes yes" why a set of semi naked dancers, dressed as bull dog bitches, girate around the stage.

That was pretty much Daz Sampson's entry 2 years ago. A friend and I are plotting to enter as naked mulleted ninja pirates on iceskates with a backdrop of lighthouses made out of shells.

I felt a bit sorry for Andy Abrahams. His song was a bit ropey - very 80s Luther Vandross - but he can sing and his X-factor experience has given him the ability to go out and perform just one song very well to an audience who want someone else to win. It's not his fault he never stood a chance of winning.

Did you know that if you watch the show on digital and press the red button, you get subtitled translations of the lyrics? Makes it even more amusing.

[andygates]

His song was thin.  Diluted Lighthouse Family stuff, with an arrangement that managed to swamp his voice AND no decent hook.  You gots to have a hook.

[little miss mac]

It wasn't just the ropey arrangement - the acoustics were ghastly too. Though I suppose at least that makes a level playing field for awfulness.

[Jaded]

You gots to have a hook.

For Eurovision, indeed.

Preferably through the scrotum, but I suppose a cheek would do.

[Really Ancien]

I recorded the show so I could see the more bizzare items again. I thought Terry sounded a bit lacklustre in comparison with Ken Bruce's decent analysis of the musical merits of the entries leavened by a dry wit.

Damon.