oneurope.co.uk

Category: Non-Active

  • 6 June – My sweetheart is a girl who is torn by whimsical dreams

    6 June – My sweetheart is a girl who is torn by whimsical dreams

    There’s been a little gap in central Europe of late. A gap which is countries currently having a few years out from our favourite TV show. You’d need to ask their broadcaster why they’re not competing with song, but we do miss them.

    Our friends in Hungary still hold their A Dal competition, but the winner is just that. And in their time, they’ve submitted their fare shore of decent songs. Today’s birthday boy ByeAlex (né Alex Márta) did his stuff in 2013 with the only song that’s been marketed as a remix in the contest itself. It was almost spoken, and he used the approach of having the words on his backdrop. A novel approach for anyone not fluent in Magyar. He finished 10th overall, which wasn’t bad for something in a lesser spoken language like his. And he didn’t need a frock change or a fancy schmancy dance routine. Maybe there is a place for a decent song after all…

    ByeAlex is 41 today.

    Boldog születésnapot, ByeAlex!

  • 1 June – We broke our wings in flight

    1 June – We broke our wings in flight

    Our friends in Romania haven’t had it that good of late. After a good run of form for most of this century, we’ve now only seen them in the Grand Final once since 2018.

    There was even a time when Romania was touted to win our favourite TV show. They’d had a clutch of top ten places and had developed a variety of styles. Obviously, that first win still eludes them. Now that first top ten placing was part sung by today’s birthday girl Monica Anghel. She’d tried several years earlier but hadn’t made it through a special qualification event. But in 2002 the stage belonged to her and Marcel Pavel. Their song was an interesting one that struck a chord, getting two maxima and some other decent scores. It was not contrived or full of gimmicks. It was just two very good singers doing what they enjoy. For that, we should probably salute Monica and Marcel.

    Monica is 54 today.

    La mulți ani, Monica!

  • 31 May – You put your trust in me, I’ll take you through the night

    31 May – You put your trust in me, I’ll take you through the night

    Let’s be honest – our friends in Türkiye/Turkey are sorely missed from our favourite TV show. They added that bit of exotica to proceedings, and were gunning for another win when they abruptly stopped coming along after the 2012 shows.

    Over the years, things weren’t good until 2003 when they only went and won. After that, there was one no-show in the Grand Final but top 10 finishes were generally the norm. In 2007, today’s birthday boy Kenan Cihan Doğulu donned a bright red ringmaster’s jacket, as if he were in a circus. Eurovision? Circus? Surely not. Anyway, his vivacious performance got him a fourth place in the Grand Final in Helsinki. He got five maxima, all from ‘Old Europe’ countries in north-west Europe. It must have been the exotica they craved.

    Kenan is 51 today.

    Doğum günün kutlu olsun, Kenan!

  • 30 May – Nana nanana… nana nana nanana…

    30 May – Nana nanana… nana nana nanana…

    It’s important to remember that our favourite TV show started around the middle of the 20th Century – it’s not just a thing invented in the 2010s for people to show off posh frocks and much arm waving. And with 20th Century Eurovision came countries – well, country – that no longer exists.

    In 1973, today’s birthday boy Здравко Чолић/Zdravko Čolić represented Yugoslavia, a country with several languages, alphabets and attitudes. He sang in either Serbo-Croat or Bosnian, depending on your perspective. It was probably a little odd-sounding to the more western European-orientated viewers that predominated in the contest at the time, so good results were hard to come by… until 1989. Anyway, Zdravko was very enthusiastic in delivery of his song about burning love. Sadly the 32 jurors in Luxembourg making the big decisions didn’t agree. But Spain liked him.

    Zdravko is 74 today.

    Sretan rođendan/Vse najboljše/Срећан рођендан/Среќен роденден, Zdravko/Здравко!

  • 25 May – We built up memories for ourselves, which we then destroyed

    25 May – We built up memories for ourselves, which we then destroyed

    We know that anyone can win our favourite TV show, whether it’s that Nordic country that many fans have as their default 12 points, or whether it’s that outsider that captures the zeitgeist before sinking back into obscurity.

    But have you considered whether every country could host our favourite TV show? Naturally it’s easier for some than for others, but if you’re a smaller broadcaster, whilst you’d love to win, it could provide serious headaches for that broadcaster’s bigwigs. We’d all love to see a Moldovan win, and no doubt they’d do a really good job of hosting, but I’m sure deep down its executives would be a tad worried. Today’s birthday girl Aliona Moon (née Aliona Munteanu) did her country proud by rising to the challenge (geddit) and then finishing 11th in a very tough year. She’d cut her teeth the year backing her pal Pasha Parfeny, and with his help bagged one maximum. Who knows, had she been later in the final, and not up against someone who also rose to the challenge, she may have done even better.

    Aliona is 36 today.

    La mulți ani, Aliona!

  • 10 May – He played for whole days on his piano

    10 May – He played for whole days on his piano

    Do you have a favourite Eurovision band, particularly one from the 20th Century? A few have won the big prize, but far fewer than you would think.

    In the late 1980s, the then Yugoslavia got the wind in the sails and sent a succession of bands, some of which set down a mark to a possible win. Then, in 1989, it came. Riva, fronted by today’s birthday girl Emilija Kokić won the last time the contest was in Switzerland. It was a close thing, maybe closer than the next Swiss contest will be. Emilija and her pals scored fewer maxima than the runners-up, and it did come down to the last set of votes – ironically from Yugislavia. Within a few years, Yugoslavia had had their swansong at our favourite TV show.

    Emilija is 57 today.

    Sretan rođendan, Emilija!

  • 27 April – But if you wanna ninanaj with me

    27 April – But if you wanna ninanaj with me

    Are you a fan of ballads, or do you prefer something faster? It’s true that there’s no consensus in Europe, as we get songs of all varieties wining our favourite TV show.

    Today we go down a more mid-tempo route, which in theory should suit everyone. It came from today’s birthday girl Елена Ристеска/Elena Risteska. She sang for what is now North Macedonia, but was then The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. She could have caused an international incident as in 2006 we were in Greece. They failed to give each other any points, but if you look closely, you’ll see that her country name wasn’t even shortened by an “FYR”. At least their little disagreements have eased now, but it’s fair to say that Elena made history.

    Elena is 39 today.

    Среќен роденден, Елена!

  • 16 April – Your love got me crucified

    16 April – Your love got me crucified

    It may come as a surprise to some people out there, but there were Eurovision Song Contests in the 20th Century. A tall story you might think, but definitely true.

    Today it’s the birthday of one of those performers for whom one go on the stage wasn’t enough. You know the sort. Some have won before and think lightning can strike twice. Or ‘do a Johnny Logan/Loreen’ as the saying goes. Then there are those who almost made it and want to do a little better. And then there are those who do it just for fun. I think today’s birthday girl Dorotea ‘Doris’ Dragović fell into the final category. Here’s the song that gave her her best result.

    Doris is 64 today.

    Sretan rođendan, Doris!

  • 7 April – I’m not an idol who is loved and destroyed

    7 April – I’m not an idol who is loved and destroyed

    Some people just can’t get enough of our favourite TV show. And that’s not just the fans, who are making the best of things after missing out on tickets. Instead, there’s plenty out there.

    Talking of people who can’t get enough, today’s birthday girl Michèle Torr (née Michelle Cléberte Tort) tried twice. And for two different countries. Her motto must have been small is beautiful as those two countries were Luxembourg and Monaco. If only Andorra were still having a go… Anyway, in the eleven years between Michèle’s two appearances a lot changed. We’d gone from black & white to colour, from one scoring system, via another to a third, and it was in far bigger venues. And there was the wonder of soft focus. In 1977 when our Michèle was Monégasque for Eurovision purposes, she finished fourth, which was a good result, as English and French language songs stitched up the top four places. Ironic that a ‘Monégasque’ was singing about being a French girl.

    Michèle is 78 today.

    Bonne anniversaire, Michèle

  • 1 April – I am avoiding all my friends

    1 April – I am avoiding all my friends

    Do you have a favourite contest of all time? One where every song hits the mark, the host(s) do their job to perfection, and the production is just second to none?. Which on is it?

    In other news, in 1985 today’s birthday boy Fuat Güner, along with his pals Mazhar and Özkan won TRT’s Golden Ticket and headed to sunny Göteborg to a contest that surpasses many (if not all others) as the best. Fuat is on the right. They were definitely not selling ice creams, but selling one of Türkiye’s better efforts of the 1980s. They were even so highly thought of they got the gig again three years later. They definitely didn’t “dai” on stage as they even got a maximum from Spain. This is a classic performance from a classic year.

    Fuat is 77 today.

    İyi ki doğdun Fuat!