The 5 strangest Eurovision performances
Eurovision Song Contest
/
Dan Fitch /
27 April 2011 /
2
Brotherhood of Man haven't aged well.
Dan Fitch takes a look at the most weird and wonderful performances at Eurovision.
The Eurovision Song Contest has always had a reputation for featuring some strange performances, but it seems as if things have been getting a little weirder in recent years.
Here are the five strangest Eurovision performances.
5. 1990 - Spain
As Eurovision songs go, Bandido by Azucar Moreno was actually quite credible and became a hit all over Europe and Latin America. Unfortunately on the night, the performance by Azucar Moreno didn't go smoothly.
The Spanish were the first country up and due to a tape technician not starting the pre-recorded backing track on time, the singers and band stood around twiddling their thumbs in silence for a couple of minutes while Terry Wogan took the p@*s out of them. Remarkably Spain would finish fifth in the competition, after they eventually figured out how the tape player worked.
4. 1998 - Germany
Some people say that the Germans don't have a sense of humour. We hope that they do, as otherwise their 1998 Eurovision representative Guildo Horn and his performance of Guildo hat euch lieb (Guildo loves you), is even harder to explain.
Guildo begins his act slowly, as he sits on the side of the stage wearing a large cape, but once he's jettisoned the over-sized garment, he puts in an energetic display that includes audience participation, climbing high above the stage and most memorably, a cowbell solo.
3. 2002 - Greece
If you're like us you've probably wondered what The Fall frontman Mark E.Smith would look like if he performed at Eurovision dressed as Robocop.
Luckily in 2002, Greece chose the Smith-lookalike Michalis Rakintzis to represent them at Eurovision, singing the catchy number S.A.G.A.P.O. Wonder no more!
2. 2006 - Finland
When you think of Eurovision you think of dancing girls, sequins and electronic pop. What you don't think of is a Scandinavian heavy metal band dressed as terrifying monsters.
So it was something of a surprise when Finland choose Lordi to represent them in Eurovision, singing 'Hard Rock Hallelujah'. The choice was controversial, with Finnish religious leaders calling for the President to veto their entry and groups in Greece claiming that the band were satanic. They say that the devil has the best tunes and perhaps that's why Lordi won the 2006 song contest, to give Finland their first Eurovision title.
1. 2008 - Ireland
No country has ever won the Eurovision Song Contest as often as the Irish, but they weren't taking it seriously in 2008 when they decided to be represented by a puppet named 'Dustin the Turkey'.
Dustin performed a song called 'Irelande Douze Pointe', which included lyrics that mocked the contest and blatantly appealed for maximum points from the judges. It wasn't a successful ploy and Dustin was booed during his performance and failed to qualify for the final. The moral of this story is that you should never send a singer with a rubber face to represent your nation at Eurovision. Which is bad news for Pete Burns' hopes of singing for the UK.
Daniel Abbott | 28 April 2011
Dan Fitch you have no idea who Lordi is so you shouldn't be putting them down and you should just shut up and don't review music.
Sod you.... | 05 May 2011
How on Earth can you mock the great lordi what is wrong with you...??