Welcome
to the
final of The Eurovision That Never Was 2014!
Thanks to everyone who’s taking part – and congrats to the first-time
qualifiers ;) Get listening, but make sure you read the information
about voting before you set about it.
Here are this year’s entries (running order © random.org).
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01 Soviet Union 1963 - Pust wsiegda budiet sonce
(Tamara Miansarowa)
02 United Kingdom 1999 - Will You Wait For Me (Kavana)
03 Romania 2005 - Love Me (Morandi)
04 Italy 1969 - Sono triste (Ornella Vanoni)
05 Spain 1972 - Tema de amor (Daniel Velazquez)
06 United Kingdom 1978 - Whenever You Want My Love (The Real Thing)
07 Poland 2012 - Prawdziwe powietrze (Loka)
08 Norway 2013 - Lost (Lasgo)
09 Israel 1967 - Kol hashavua lach (Hachalonot Hag’vohim)
10 Italy 1982 - Non succederà più (Claudia
Mori & Adriano Celentano)
11 Poland 2013 - Thank You Very Much (Margaret)
12 Romania 2012 - Dalinda (Alex Mica)
13 United Kingdom 1974 - Born With A Smile On My Face (Stephanie de
Sykes)
14 Lithuania 1969 - Vėjas man pasakė (Danutė Neimontaitė)
15 Spain 1975 - Con los granos de la arena (Realidad)
16 Finland 1984 - Ollaan hiljaa vain (Anja Niskanen)
17 France 1976 - J’ai besoin de toi, j’ai besoin de lui (Nicole
Croisille)
18 France 1974 - J’aime la vie avec moi (Christian Delagrange)
19 Yugoslavia 1963 - Eden baknež (Blaga Videc)
20 Greece 2013 - Ginete (Pantelis Pantelidis)
21 Yugoslavia 1972 - Na, na, na, na (Josipa Lisac)
22 Moldova 2004 - Dragostea din tei (O-Zone)
23 France 1972 - Une belle histoire (Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar)
24 United Kingdom 1979 - Lay Your Love On Me (Racey)
25 Belgium 2002 - Honeybee (Belle Perez)
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And here's the link to download them...
General link: http://www.multiupload.nl/QSXF48QUZV
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Voting
1. You must vote. If you don't, you’ll be
disqualified. Simple as that. (You'll also be disqualified if you let slip what
your entry is prior to the sponsor revelations.)
2. Voting is also open to non-participants.
3. Voting is in Eurovision style: 1-8, 10 & 12 points, and you can't vote
for your own entry.
4. The email address for your votes is the same as per submissions: etnw2014@gmail.com. Please make your email subject line “Name’s votes”. Using your
name, obviously ;)
5. The deadline for voting is next Tuesday 28 January.
6. Remember that you’re not simply voting for your favourites: you should reward good matches. (Go back and read
the earlier posts if you’re still not sure how to go about it.) Of course, if
you find 10 entries you think are all perfectly authentic, you can then rank
them according to taste.
7. The results show next Wednesday 29 January may be
'live' again, with sponsors giving their votes themselves – which means
that everyone should make the effort to be available. I’ll confirm (or
otherwise) and provide more information in due course.
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Bios
01 Soviet Union 1963 – Pust wsiegda budiet sonce
This song was released by
Ukrainian-born Tamara Miansarowa – a singer who proved popular not only
throughout the Soviet Union, but also abroad – in 1962. Had the mishmash of
former SSRs been taking part in the contest under the old hammer and sickle
back in the day, both song and artist would have fitted in seamlessly with the
contest held in 1963.
02 United Kingdom 1999
– Will You Wait For Me
This song was released by British
singer Kavana in 1999. By this time the UK had adopted a policy of national finals
incorporating unknown acts alongside those that had experience but no longer had
a current recording contract. (Kavana’s second album, Instinct, had failed to chart, leading to the termination of his
deal with Virgin Records.) Will You Wait
For Me is a ballad with typical Eurovision stylings.
03 Romania 2005 – Love
Me
This song was released in 2004 (or
2005, depending which source you believe) by Romanian group Morandi – (three or)
four years before they would be shortlisted to take part in their country’s
national final. Love Me could easily
have been one of Romania’s efforts to win the contest in the mid-’00s, with a
sound that isn’t all that different from their entries at that time. Like Tornerò, it would go on to become a hit
in parts of Southern and Eastern Europe.
04 Italy 1969 – Sono
triste
This song was released by Italian
songstress Ornella Vanoni in 1968. Vanoni was a very popular singer at the time
and even took part in Sanremo. Despite never winning the festival, if she had
she might easily have been chosen to represent Italy at Eurovision.
05 Spain 1972 – Tema
de amor
This song was released
by Spanish singer Daniel Velazquez in 1972. Daniel was a popular singer around this time,
taking part in both the 1969 and 1976 national finals. (Although Salome had
already been chosen to represent Spain in 1969, other singers also sang her
songs in the final.) He was also competing in other song festivals during this
time, so there’s every chance he would have had another shot at ESC.
06 United Kingdom 1978
– Whenever You Want My Love
This song was released in 1977 by
the Liverpudlian group The Real Thing, who were discovered (like many artists
who took part in A Song For Europe) through the TV show Opportunity Knocks.
Following 1977 – the year that ESC went about as disco as it was ever going to
– it stands to reason that the UK’s most successful disco soul act from the
period would follow that route in 1978… with a second-rate variation on their
bigger hits in an attempt to boost an already fading career.
07 Poland 2012 – Prawdziwe powietrze
This song was released by five-piece Polish group Loka in 2012 and was
their debut single – and an immediate chart-topper in their country. Initially
opting out of the contest in Baku for financial reasons, TVP nevertheless
relented, deciding to cut costs and boost flagging interest in Eurovision by
selecting their entry internally and picking a local artist currently popular
in the national charts. Loka and Prawdziwe
powietrze seemed the obvious choice.
08 Norway 2013 – Lost
This song was released by Belgian
group Lasgo in 2009. While not exactly the same, it resembles the sound of
Adelen’s Bombo and is in the same
dance/pop genre.
09 Israel 1967 – Kol
hashavua lach
This song was released in 1967 by
the Israeli trio Hachalonot Hag’vohim or ‘The High Windows’, one of whose
members would go on to take part in the 1978 Israel Song Festival only to lose
out to the ultimate winner of that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Perfectly
representing the pop-rock sounds of California that were all the rage on the
beaches of Tel Aviv in the late ’60s, it would have made a great debut entry
for Israel in Vienna.
10 Italy 1982 – Non
succederà più
This song was released by Italian
duo Claudia Mori and Adriano Celentano in 1982. Everything about it says
Eurovision. Wess & Dori, Al Bano & Romina, Claudia &
Adriano, Alice & Battiato, Al Bano & Romina, Anna & Fausto,
Alessandra & Fabio...
11 Poland 2013 – Thank
You Very Much
This song was released by Polish
singer Małgorzata Jamroży (stage name Margaret) in early 2013. After failing to
qualify for the final in 2009 and 2010, coming last in its semi in 2011 and
taking a year out in 2012, Poland decided to return to Eurovision with a young
new singer and a modern sound, hoping the contemporary approach would pay off
in the contest in Malmö.
12 Romania 2012 –
Dalinda
This song was released by Timişoara-born
Alex Mica in 2012, becoming one of the biggest radio and club hits in Romania
that year. It represents a style of music that has been quite popular in
Eurovision this decade, and is similar to the country’s actual entry in Baku,
the Spanish/English Zaleilah.
13 United Kingdom 1974
– Born With A Smile On My Face
This song was released in 1974 by
Essex singer/songwriter Stephanie de Sykes, who was the co-composer and
lyricist of the UK’s ESC entries in 1978 and 1980 (and, more obscurely, the
English version of Ahava hi shir lishnaim,
the 1977 Israeli entry). Cheesy as cheddar, with a happy-clappy melody and la
la las, it doesn’t get much more UK-at-Eurovision than this!
14 Lithuania 1969 –
Vėjas man pasakė
This song was released by Lithuanian
singer Danutė Neimontaitė in 1969. A massive hit in the country, it made her a
household name and would have made her a shoe-in for Eurovision had Lithuania
been taking part at the time.
15 Spain 1975 – Con
los granos de la arena
This song was released by the
Granadina de Atarfe-based group Realidad in 1974. A typical Spanish hit from
the era, it followed in the footsteps of Mocedades – who were quoted at the
time as saying: “Let’s send Realidad! Everyone wants that feeling of the sun
and the beach that the song brings, and Europe is sure to enjoy something so
Spanish!” The general consensus was that the song would be an improvement in
any case on the previous year’s entry, Canta
y sé feliz.
16 Finland 1984 –
Ollaan hiljaa vain
This song was released by 16-year-old Finn Anja Niskanen in 1984. Clearly
inspired by the success of Sweden’s teen singing sensation Carola the previous
year in Munich, Finland opted for the young newcomer to represent them in
Luxembourg with the classic pop jingle Ollaan
hiljaa vain. Needless to say the plan backfired, with the song scoring a
mere 9 points – leaving the Finns languishing at the tail end of the scoreboard
yet again.
17 France 1976 – J’ai
besoin de toi, j’ai besoin de lui
This song was released in 1976 by
French singer Nicole Croisille, who had taken part in the country’s national
final two years previously. The French were frequent frontrunners in the
contest (at least until the ’90s), whether they entered something experimental
or cheesy, banal ballads. J’ai besoin de
toi… may be just as cheesy as the actual French entry from 1976, but is
arguably better, and could perhaps have brought the country another victory a
year early.
18 France 1974 –
J’aime la vie avec moi
This song was released by French singer Christian Delagrange
just a month before ESC 1974. Dani was originally meant to represent France in
Brighton, but when her uncle President Pompidou died she pulled out. French HoD
Bruno Berberes had disliked Pompidou ever since he broke up their secret
relationship six years previously, so in spite of the national tragedy he chose
not to pull France out of the contest. Instead he rushed in Delagrange, a young
friend of his, who proved a popular choice among the European judges – placing
third on the night.
19 Yugoslavia 1963 –
Eden baknež
This song was released in 1963 by
the Macedonian singer Blaga Videc. With a title meaning ‘One Kiss’, it has the
story, the melody, the flare and the rich orchestral sound of the early
Yugoslavian entries (although neither singer nor song have any connection to
the contest itself). The language is just a bonus :)
20 Greece 2013 –
Ginete
This
song was released in 2013 by Greek singer Pantelis Pantelidis, who has no
connection to Eurovision but whose popularity is on the rise in the country –
and this song sounds exactly like the kind of thing Greece would send to the
contest.
21 Yugoslavia 1972 –
Na, na, na, na
This song was released by
Zagreb-born singer Josipa Lisac in 1973. A textbook example of Yugoslav pop
from the 1970s, it is exactly the kind of thing the federation would have
entered at the time. Josipa would go on to take part in Jugovizija in 1987.
22 Moldova 2004 –
Dragostea din tei
This song was released by
Chişinau-based boyband O-Zone in Romania and Moldova in 2003 and worldwide in
2004. It was a very popular eurosong that charted around the globe and became
the band’s best-selling single. Its youngest member, Arsenium, would go on to
represent his homeland at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens in 2006
with the song Loca featuring Natalia
Gordienko and rapper Connect-R.
23 France 1972 – Une
belle histoire
This song was released in 1972 by
Frenchman Michel Fugain, who was well on the way to making the name he would
soon earn for himself in his homeland. A typically strong-melodied chanson populaire, with lyrics by the
infamous Paul Delanoë (writer of many a Francophone ESC entry), it is perfectly
matched to the sound and feel of the country’s entries around this time.
24 United Kingdom 1979
– Lay Your Love On Me
This song was released by Weston
Super Mare’s Racey in late 1978 and was a hit in early 1979 – one of a series
the group would score in the UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Groups
were the norm for UK entries at Eurovision around this time, which tended to
have a slightly retro feel to them. Racey have no connection to the contest bar
the fact that their writer, Mike Chapman, also wrote songs for Agnetha
Faltskog.
25 Belgium 2002 –
Honeybee
This song was released by Belgian
singer Belle Perez in 2001, two years after her first stab at representing the
country and four years before her final attempt to do so (to date). With lyrics
that are typical Eurovision, it fits well into the poppy 2002 contest – in
which some equally cheesy songs did pretty well.
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Good luck to all the sponsors! I hope you enjoy this year’s contest.
