 The story is more interesting than the music, 2009-06-01
I've never cared for the Eurovision song contest. A few good songs - even a few great songs - have emerged from it, but the vast majority of Eurovision songs are of a questionable quality. So why did I buy this book? Well, I saw it at a very low price when I was hunting for bargains and my instant reaction was No! But on further reflection, I realized that it might be useful to me. First, the statistical information might occasionally be useful to me as a reviewer. Second, the actual story of Eurovision, especially the dubious voting practices, might be of interest in itself. Reading about Eurovision wouldn't force me to actually listen to any of the music, so I decided to buy and do not regret the purchase.
There are between two and four pages devoted to each year's contest from 1956 to 2006, plus a Euro-stats section that brings together all kinds of statistics, some of which are more useful than others. One of the tables shows which countries have competed most frequently. Only Germany has entered every contest, though it failed to pre-qualify for the final in 1996. Britain (in 1956 and 1958) and France (in 1974 and 1982) have each missed two contests. France's omission in 1974 was due to the death of their president a few days before. Other statistics show how many times each country has won or finished last in the main contest. Statistics are also shown for individual performers, composers and conductors, as well as for pre-qualifying (which the book incorrectly calls semi-finals - even if this is the official term, it`s still wrong). One of the intriguing aspects of the pre-qualifying is that it offers no real guide to how those songs will do in the main contest, even relative to each other.
The very first contest was staged in 1956 and featured just seven competing nations although three other nations including Britain declared their interest too late, so were excluded. That first contest allowed two entries from each nation, since when one per nation has been the rule. From the very first contest, the music performed at the contest has mainly steered clear of popular trends although there have been exceptions. Even when internationally popular songs made their debut at Eurovision, they didn't always win, though Abba proved that they do occasionally. Did you know that Volare began life as a 1958 Eurovision entry, coming third under a different title? The winning French entry succeeded in France but nowhere else.
Voting controversies are an integral part of Eurovision. The first major controversy occurred in 1963 when, it seems, there were problems with the Norwegian jury. After trying to cast their votes at the appointed time, they actually cast their votes at the end, but some of the numbers were different. With their original votes, Switzerland would have won instead of Denmark. Another controversy came in 1968 when Britain's Cliff Richard lost by a single point to the Spanish entry. This time, the Germans were suspected. (Surely not revenge for a different type of contest two years earlier?) Controversy over votes has been a feature of Eurovision ever since, and not just about individual entries. Much has been said about political voting. We know that some countries will always vote for their friends and against their enemies. Being just a song contest supposedly unconnected with politics, this type of voting is frowned upon but surprises nobody. As this book only covers the period to 2006, it necessarily omit's the 2007 contest, in which eastern European countries voted almost exclusively for each other, resulting in the total domination of the contest by these nations. I've heard talk of splitting this contest, already unwieldy, into east and west, but I don't know if it will actually happen. Meanwhile, they keep changing the voting system in the hope of minimising corruption.
The book also gives an insight into the rules governing the contest. Apparently, the rules are (or at least were; rules can always change) strict about the language used to sing the song, but not about the nationality of the performer. Yes, Eurovision is a world unto itself.
From a musical perspective, Eurovision is as irrelevant as it ever was, but with all its shortcomings - or maybe because of them - it has a fascination all of its own. This book does a good job of reflecting on the contest's ups and downs, but doesn't tempt me to investigate the music further.
Updated & Expanded, 2007-03-28
I bought the two earlier editions of this book, but I wasn't sure I was going to get this new version, as the 2nd hadn't really added anything much, other than the 2005 chapter. But when I saw this new 2007 book, I was really impressed with the expansion of the Eurostats and the new 2006 chapter. Plus, the annoying errors from the first book seem to have all been corrected, which is welcome in something that really is the definitive guide to my favourite show. I really like the Lordi cover too! Really recommend this book to any Eurovision fan as a must have and a great book for anyone to read in general.
Great book!, 2007-03-26
I've been into Eurovision for as long as I can remember and always wondered why there wasn't a definitve guide and history published before. This book fills that gap perfectly. Everything you'd want to know and loads of things you've probably never thought of. Certainly the Eurostats section has tons of stuff to mull over. I really think this is a great book with great layouts and illustrations. Love the look of the author too! Yum!
All the fun of the fair!, 2007-03-26
Although I'm not much into Eurovision as a rule - I watch it every year though - I'm a huge fan of Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Clodagh Rodgers (and other Britgirls) so I wanted to have this book for that reason. Of course these three cool popettes featured in their relevant Euro years, but I surprised myself by finding so much more to enjoy in this book as well. It really was a stroll down memory lane and brought back so many things about the contest I'd forgotten over the years. It's got some really cool photos and is really well laid out. I love the way the colour schemes and fonts reflect the passing of the decades and changes in style and fashions. It covers everything very well and is obviously written out of affection for this venerable institution. Even Sandie Shaw has softened her long held hatred towards the show. Maybe this book helped :-) A great read!
Love Eurovision? You'll love this!, 2009-02-24
Any Eurovision fan will treasure this 200 page trip down memory lane. John Kennedy O'Connor's labour of love is packed with voting tables, photos, statistics and a year-by-year commentary. It's everything we fans could have wished for. As a reference book it's invaluable for settling puzzlers like just how many times Norway has come last or which singers weren't natives of the country they sang for. I'm forever dipping into my copy. Ignore the couple of reviewers here who marked this down. Clearly the book they'd prefer would be unsellable to a mainstream audience and let's face it, unless this book sells in quantities there'll be no further installments. And that is my only issue with this great book; as soon as it's published it's quickly out of date. The most recent copy stops at the 2006 contest where Finland's Lordi triumphed...ie three contests ago. Here's hoping for a much anticipated update.
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