Isn’t it often the way that you can tell where someone’s from, just by their name? If it ends in ‘dottir’, it’s usually Icelandic. Or if it ends in ‘ić’, it’s usually from a lot further south-east.
So imagine Europe’s surprise when today’s birthday boy Mikel Herzog Herzog turned up singing for Spain. Well, he’s of Basque stock but his name is still more central European. Who says Eurovision performers aren’t a diverse bunch. Well our Mikel did his stuff solo in 1998, but had been part of Cadillac and La Década, both of which we saw in stage in the 1980s. They must have whetted his appetite for Eurovision success. His song was, in my humble opinion, not a bad effort – for Spain. So a 16th place must have been a bit disappointing. Or it was that Europe was still confused by his name.
Mikel is 62 today.
Feliz cumpleaños, Mikel!