Eurovision Song Contest: Riga 2003

Eurovision is a much maligned event and considered by many to be somewhat of a joke musically. This may be true some of the time but the 2003 event held in Riga, Latvia was a definite exception and produced some very fine and original music. It might be best remembered for The United Kingdom's entry scoring "nil points" but that fact should just be considered and put aside as trivia because the contest and consequently this album has a lot to offer. The contest was won by Turkey's Sertab Erener with "Every Way That I Can" which I personally thought was an average song and very much sounded like what could best be described as ...  Read the complete review

British national pride is always something that's bruised as easily as a peach. Whilst in the sporting arena, the boot of Jonny Wilkinson gave at least the English something to cheer about in 2003, Britain suffered a musical humiliation when scoring 'nul points' at the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga, Latvia back in the May. The Scouse duo Jemini who sung for the UK blamed the war on the Iraq and tampered monitors for their lack of scoring. You don't need to be Miss Marple to realise that there were two more obvious reasons why the UK was stuck behind the Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Federal Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia... The 'Eurovision ...  Read the complete review

INTRODUCTION The Eurovision Song Contest is a strange phenomenon. For years now, since I was a little girl, it has been a tradition to watch it on TV. However, during the programme, it is part of the experience to criticise the songs, mock the costumes and snigger at the nul pointers. The Eurovision is, of course, naff. But we love it. This year, four of our household decided to write down our scores for each act too, so we could compare notes afterwards and fairly decide who to vote for. I found that by the end of the evening, I was pleasantly surprised by how many of the songs I actually liked. A few days afterwards, I was still going round ...  Read the complete review