Open Web Player
This is a Class A package of that which you and I may call "our kind of music", if your kind of music happens to be pure cheese. The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual tribute to cheese, and there is enough of the stuff here to put France out of business. If you are a Eurovision person, or if you are in general a consumer of unquestionably naff but enjoyable music then this is for you. As I gather this is a British product, there is obviously a slant towards the contributions made by the UK - although no half-decent Eurovision compilation would in any case be complete without Bucks Fizz - but the rest of the Eurovision community is well represented, including Israel's Milk and Honey with "Hallelujah", Celine Dion with Switzerland's 1988 power-ballad winner "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi", the very un-Dutch sounding Mouth and MacNeal and their 1974 terrace-anthem-soundalike "I See A Star", some of the numerous Irish winners including Mr Eurovision himself, Johnny Logan, and a bunch of Swedes called ABBA. It isn't all cheese; there are some quite classy tunes on offer, including "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue" - Monaco's only Eurovision winner, from 1971 - "Love Enough For Two" by Prima Donna (a solid British entry in 1980) and, indeed, the perfectly respectable contributions of Mr Logan. But we go right off the Camembert scale with Teach-In, and "Ding-A-Dong". If you want a song that defines Eurovision, it's that one. If Eurovision is your thing, then you will love it. If Eurovision isn't your thing, then what the hell are you looking at this for?
The British selection include runners-up and near-misses as well as the winners, so along with your Bucks Fizzes and Sandie Shaws you have Clodagh Rodgers, Lyndsey De Paul & Mike Moran, The New Seekers and Bardo - whose "One Step Further", in my opinion, is one of the best British entries (despite finishing seventh in 1982).
But seriously - "Ding-A-Dong". Play it loud on your car stereo while cruising along on a bright summer's day. You'll want to bottle those few minutes and open them again whenever you feel down.
Another review noted the absence of "Knock, Knock, Who's There?" by Mary Hopkin, and I would go on to add "One Step Out Of Time", which was Michael Ball's fine effort from 1992. In fact, this could easily have been a three or even four-CD compilation. But, such as it is, this is well worth a listen, even if it does include the abysmal "Teenage Life", by Daz Sampson - a painful contrast to Britain's past achievements, and a hint that we should call it a day. Either that or recall the Brotherhood of Man (my aunt had a weird crush on the one with the moustache).
With the purchase of a CD or Vinyl record dispatched from and sold by Amazon, you get 90 days free access to the Amazon Music Unlimited Individual plan. After your purchase, you will receive an email with further information. Terms and Conditions apply. Learn more.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
