Every Eurovision song will have its fans. Yes, even that one that you, dear reader, can’t stand. Someone will like it. It’s not so much songs are hated, they are more forgotten.
In other news, do you remember 1999? We were in sunny sunny Jerusalem. We had 23 countries, no orchestra (for the first time) and a possibly excessive opening before the first song. Our friends in Portugal made the trip across several time zones and sent today’s birthday boy Rui (Pedro Neto de Melo) Bandeira. To be fair, RTP had gone because another country decided to sit things out, so it might always have been a tall order to make an impression. Rui beat two countries – one that was hotly tipped and one that is a neighbourr, so at least his country got the Iberian bragging rights in 1999. More remarkably, all of his points came from one televote, and it wasn’t Spain. It just goes to show that his song has many fans out there.
Rui is 50 today.
Feliz aniversário, Rui!