We have a winner!

And, lo, the most popular Irish Eurovision Song is: Linda Martin with Terminal 3.

Hurrah to her.

Oh, and Dima Bilan for Russia won Eurovision. My observations:

• Marija and her Frankenstein brides would have completed LaGaylia Frazier's Dr Frankenstein from this year's Romanian preselection so well.
  
  
• Vlad from Romania is still doing that odd left-leg lift he does. Watch it - once you see it, you can't ignore it.
  
  
• Why was Sirusho wearing black, white and grey? Wear something colourful!
  
  
• Bosnia's knitting brides were the aces.
  
  
• The plucky Icelandic duo worked the cameras so well.
  
  
• I still think Ani Lorak + her men in illuminated boxes were robbed.
  
  
• I was very impressed that Sebastian Tellier had a globe on stage. Pity he didn't do much with it.
  
  
• Spain's falling down dancer was the comedy highlight of the evening for me.
  

More to come soon on Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia - on my trip, I only spotted one Eurovision star: Boaz from Israel. His arms are very impressive, but he's teeny tiny! Bless little Boaz.

Eurovision 2008

Welcome to Eurovision Week! 

Bloggers and news site are agog with the idea that the 2008 top 3 may well be the same as the 2007 top 3: namely, Serbia, Ukraine and Russia. 

So, let's look at last year, and see what we can learn for this year...

• The name Maria - or variants of - is a success symbol with Marija Serivofic winning, and Greece's Yassou Maria in the Top 10.

So, for 2008, step forward this year's only Maria from Norway!

• Turkey came in 4th with a song all about having candy.

Step up Greece's Kalomira who's come as a Quality Street.

• Both Russia and Serbia swathed their stages in red last year - will red be the colour to watch this year?
• Bulgaria came fifth with some dated dance music - good news for this year's lovely Icelandic entry.

• And lastly, 2007 was the year of baco-foil clad drag queen Verka Serduchka. Who will take on that mantle this year? Step forward one Charlotte Perrelli!

Enjoy Eurovision!

Vote for your favourite Irish Eurovision song!

It's the final, and here are our finalists. We've whittled down the 40-odd entries to these five. Earlier, I held a semi-final which pitted the ten round winners against each other. It was dramatic: Liam Reilly -v- Dawn Martin, Sheeba -v- Maria Christian, Chris Doran -v- Linda Martin (T3), Sean Dunphy -v- Muriel Day & Butch Moore -v- Eimear Quinn.

And thus, here are the finalists - so what do you think? Which is your favourite? Vote!

First up, Dawn Martin with Is Always Over Now? from 1998.

Next, from 1969, it's bopping Muriel Day singing about The Wages of Love.

And now, Ireland's only winner in the final - Eimear Quinn from 1996 with The Voice.

And the penultimate entry: from 1984 - Linda Martin with Terminal 3.

And finally, the immensely amazing Sheeba from 1981 with Horoscopes.

So, vote vote vote for the winner!

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 10

Phew! Finally we reach the last round of Irish Eurovision songs - and this time, we've got some likely lads. Thanks to all who have voted thus far - and please leave your votes in the comments.

By Thursday, I will whittle all the votes down to a 5 song final - which will stay open until Eurovision Day on 24 May. And then we'll know the most popular Irish Eurovision song.

First up, a video of Ireland's 1995 entry - Dreamin' by Eddie Friel. Ireland had won for the 3 years previous to this entry - thankfully this wasn't as successful.

Let's jump back 30 years now to 1965, and Ireland's very first entry, Walking the Streets in the Rain by the greatly-named Butch Moore. (No direct video, I'm afraid - but you get to enjoy Poupée de Cire, Poupée du Son so everyone wins)

Next, from the following year, the ever-better-named Dickie Rock with Come Back to Stay.

And, finally, the last Irish Eurovision entry for our selection: 1976's When by Red Hurley.

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 9!

Nearly there! Everytime Ireland hosts the Eurovision, we're always told that the Irish are a nation of singers. These songs are all about singing and song.

First up, another Irish winner - this time from 1994 - Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan with Rock 'n' Roll Kids.

Now, from 1978, here's legendary Irish singer Colm CT Wilkinson with his entry Born to Sing. This is fantastically pompous.

From one Irish troubadour to another, here is 2006's entry: Every Song is a Cry for Love by Brian Kennedy. Days before this Contest there was a debate on Irish national radio about whether Brian should kneel or not. Brilliant.

And, finally, Ireland's frankly ridiculous 4th win in 5 years - here is the very talented Eimear Quinn with The Voice.

So: which is your favourite? Vote in the comments!

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 8!

Ireland: we're a generous, loving nation. We love the world and all its peoples - or so you'd think from this lot of Irish Eurovision songs which have the theme of love or the world. Which is your favourite? Vote below by leaving a comment!

First up, from 1990, is Liam Reilly with Somewhere in Europe. Fans of geography pop will love this place-name-dropping number.

Next, from 1971, when Ireland hosted the Eurovision for the first time, is Angela Farrell with One Day Love. What a lovely pink frock she had!


Next up, from 1972, is Ireland's only song in Irish. Here's Sandie Jones singing Ceol an Ghrá, which means Song of Love. I love this - the only pop song in Irish that I know.



And , last but not least, from 2003, the first winner of You're A Star, Mickey Joe Harte with We've Got the World Tonight.

So: Vote for your favourite!

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 7

Right, this vote needs to get a move on tout suite. So, over the next 4 days, we'll have a rapid vote round. Then I'll whittle the songs down to a 5 song final, and we'll choose our Favourite Irish Eurovision Song.

This round is all about Questions.

First up, 2005's tykes Donna & Joe with their ridiculously question-marked Love? I loved Donna & Joe - finally a decent pop song from Ireland. Hurrah and huzzah for them.

On to 1973, and it's Maxi again who we last saw back in Round 1. Here she in - resplendent in a flouncy 70s smock-frock with Do I Dream?

Yet another of Ireland's winners: this time, from 1992, Linda Martin with Why Me? It's not a patch on Terminal 3, but a classy song none the less.

The year before, 1991, Ireland send Kim Jackson who asked the question Could it be that I'm in love? She really ought to know, I would say. Could it be your winner?

And, finally, from 1998, Dawn Martin with Is Always Over Now? I bet you're thinking the same thing about this vote.

So, tell me what you think. And if you want to vote in any other round, click or scroll down.

Erlendas' map of Lithuania, and a map of Europe

I asked my friend Erlendas, from Lithuania, to draw Lithuania. Here is his map.



Having now collected just under a third of Europe's country, the eventual map of Europe is shaping up.

Vote! Favourite Irish Eurovision song - Round 6

Sound the dayglo pop klaxons! The vote for your favourite Irish eurovision song has reached the 80s mega-round. Here are the Irish entries from 1980, 1985, 1986 and 1988. It's huge hair a-go-go!

First up, from 1985, Maria Christian with Wait until the weekend comes. 80s factor: points for the hair, and powder blue mermaid-tail skirt, but no dayglo.

1986 next, and Luv Bug with You Can Count on Me. Definite 80s factor in this, with that fabulously massive oversized count. It's not dayglo, but another powder colour: pink. Maybe Ireland was too timid to go full on dayglo.

Let's jump back to the early 80s - Johnny Logan wins with What's Another Year, but no dayglo.

And lastly, from 1988, Jump the Gun with Take Him Home. No dayglo.

So, please vote in the comments. The klaxons remain unhorned; as examples of 80s pop, these are not top!

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 5!

The vote continues to Round 5. This round is the Something of Something round. Now, I'm not suggesting Irish songs are formulaic, but these 4 have titles structured blah of blah. But which is your favourite?

How about Ireland's first ever Eurovision winner? Wee Dana from Derry with All Kinds of Everything. Bless her little cotton socks!

Or what about Pat McGeegan's effort from 2 years earlier? He sang about his Chance of a Lifetime.

Ireland really were on a Something of Something roll in the late 60s when 1 year later, 1969, we sent the lovely Muriel Day with The Wages of Love. What a great name! Amazing dress! Brilliant key-change bit!

Next up, a jump of 30-odd years to 2000, and the very timely Millennium of Love by Eamonn Toal and his hair.

So! Vote vote vote for your winner. NB: Should nobody vote (cough), Muriel Day will win this round hands down.

Icelandic map by Thor

I've collected Iceland for my 'Globe' Project. This is Iceland, as drawn by Thor, a Retro Bar Douze Points regular.

Realising Thor was Icelandic - I don't meet many Icelandic people - I grabbed my chance.

It's also made me realise - I'm unlikely to meet many people from Vanautu, Tonga, and a huge wealth of nations... So I'm going to change this project to be a collection of European countries maps. It will henceforth be EuroRevision.

London Eurovision Party

Last night's UK Eurovision Party was an amazing night - how could it not be with that line-up? My highlights:

• Passing Ani Lorak on the stairs as I went in.
• Seeing Malta's Morena on the VIP balcony bopping along to Eurovision hits
• Seeing Nanne Gronvall on the VIP balcony finger-clicking and singing Making Your Mind Up
• Cheryl Baker - Queen of Advertising - advertising Bucks Fizz's Greatest Hits
• Malta's Morena bouncing up and down to perform Vodka
• Iceland's Euroband doing a medley of Eurovision hits, and then the fantastic This is my life
• Nanne Gronvall bringing on backing dancers.
• The Armenians that showed up to support Sirusho

• The sheer bonkers-ness of Bosnia's Laka
• Ani Lorak performing Shady Lady
• Ani Lorak's topless buff dancers - she knows her audience.
• Dancing to Hero again and again and again

Here's Ani Lorak performing Shady Lady

And here is Nanne doing Hall Om Mig. Brilliant!

Vote! Your favourite Eurovision song from Ireland - Round 4!

This is a random round - if you can find a common thread in these songs, you're something of a genius (aside from being Irish and in Eurovision, obviously).

So, in chronological order, first up, from 1967, is Sean Dunphy with If I Could Choose. Sadly, youtube doesn't have the whole performance, so you'll have to make do with a mini-soundclip in this Contest roundup (he pops up around the 6 minute mark).



Next, from 1975, it's The Swarbriggs - minus their 2. Here's That's What Friends Are For.



And now, from 1979, here is Cathal Dunne with Happy Man.



And, lastly, from 1993, the second of Ireland's famous three-in-a-row victory, Niamh Kavanagh with In your eyes. This was voted Ireland's favourite Eurovision entry a few years ago - will it be your favourite?



So, Millstreet calling, etc. Please leave your votes in the comments.

Vote! Favourite Irish Eurovision song - Round 3

Onwards from the losers of the last round to some of Ireland's glittering winners. This is the "Oh, it's you again!" round - those entrants who know when they're onto a good thing, and come back to the Eurovision stage.

First up, the man dubbed Mr Eurovision, Johnny Logan. Here he is, second time round for Ireland, in all his white-suited glory.

Hot on his heels is the singer of his song Why Me?, the one and only Linda Martin. She's quite the celebrity in Ireland these days, but this is her first Eurovision attempt - the fantastic Terminal 3. Linda came second with this (and seems to be wearing Johnny Logan's suit). Will she win your votes?

Next up, former showband boys The Swarbriggs. Having come 9th in 1975's Eurovision, they came back (with 2 lovely ladies) to compete in 1977. The brilliantly-named Swarbriggs Plus 2 sang It's Nice to be in Love Again and came 3rd.

Finally for this round, an entrant who has not done Eurovision twice, but has tried. Marc Roberts, our representative in 1997, entered our national final this year but couldn't compete with Dustin. In 1997, Ireland had won 4 of the previous 5 Eurovisions - nobody wanted another Irish win. This came 2nd.

So, your votes please! 12 for favourite, 6 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd (or just whatever you like, and I'll work it out!). Remember: all the previous rounds are open until the end of the first 10 semi-finals, so vote on those too!

Vote! Favourite Irish Eurovision song - Round 2

Ireland have won Eurovision 7 times, making us the most successful Eurovision countries (if you just count wins).

However, we have finished quiet spectacularly badly on more than one occasion. 2007 was the nadir, when we finished last in the final.

This round is the Paddy Last round. Which of these losers is your favourite? 12 points for your fave, 6 for 2nd favourite, and 3 for your 3rd.

First up, Kiev Connolly & Missing Passengers from 1989. You might rightly ask 'who?' as surely nobody remembers this. It came 21st and was Ireland's lowest placed entry until then. Poor Kiev.

Next, from 2004, Waterford man Chris Doran. He won You're A Star, but wasn't popular with the Euro-voters. Maybe it was his sub-Westlife oversized white jacket? As an aside: I love the stage for this song, it's all shimmery.

And next, 2007's Disaster Dervish. I still maintain Dervish are a good act, but not on TV. It's painful to watch.

Next, from 2002, is Gary O'Shaughnessy with Without your love. I don't think this is all that bad, but it came 3rd last. Its failure led RTE to rethink our entrants and invent the You're A Star competition.

And last of this motley crew is 1999's The Mullans. Their song was called When You Need Me, and clearly nobody did as they came 18th. Oh dear.

So which of this likely lot is your favourite? This is Millstreet Calling, leave your votes in the comments.

Vote for your favourite Irish eurovision song!

Inspired by the delightful Chig, who last year ran a vote to find the favourite UK Eurovision entrant, I'm going to start a vote to find the most popular Irish entrant.

Ireland are sending a turkey this year, whose ditty is gently ribbing the Contest. Has the Irish love affair ended? If so, what will be the swansong? Let's find out.

Eiresong Eurosong: Round 1

Here's how it will work: there are 40-or-so songs, divided into 10 groups. A winner from each group goes to semi-final stage with two automatic byes to the final. A Final of 4 songs will then battle it out. Exciting stuff. So let's go.

The first round are Songs That Are Acediscovery Favourites. They're all a bit poptastic. Leave your votes as follows: 12 points for your favourite, 6 for middle, and 1 point for number 3 in your selection.

Song 1, from 1974, is the lovely Tina with Cross Your Heart. Irish women everywhere were wearing that Criss-Cross Playtex number come summer 1974.

Song 2, from 1982, is the Duskeys with Here Today, Gone Tomorrow. The Duskeys weren't all Duskey by name. One was Sandy Kelly who went on to release many a country album in Ireland.

Song 3, from 1981, is the band Sheeba with Horoscopes. Marion Fosset, the woman who is shown last, was a circus ring-mistress, and Maxi (her in the middle) is still broadcasting in Ireland. Maxi is a legend, and was part of the trio Maxi, Dick & Twink. Brilliant.

So that's it! This is Millstreet Calling - what are your votes please?!

(You can vote right up until the end of the 10th round, so there's nothing stopping you.)

I Got Around

Just over a year ago, I went to see ace synthpoppers Dragonette play their showcase. They gave out Oyster card holders emblazoned with "I Get Around", one of their song titles.

Sadly today, I have to decommission my Dragonette Oyster holder as it has fallen apart.

Eurovision in London

It's not often that Eurovision performers come to London, but when they do, I fizz with excitement

Billed as the biggest Eurovision event in London since the 1977 Contest, the UK Eurovision party have the strut-tastic diva that is Ani Lorak, the 90s dance-a-thon poppers from Iceland, and I'm sure many more to come. Colour me excited.

More details at: http://www.ukeurovision.com/

Random Ani Lorak fact. Her name is really Karolina, which spelled backwards is Ani Lorak. And, to whet the appetite, here she is being fierce and fabulous with a veritable army of dancers at this year's Russian National Final.

Place Quote: Gypsies & Communism

'Most Gypsies liked communism because it gave them houses, paid them to have children,' adds Henry, who grew up in East Germany. 'They don't see the faults in the communist system as we do. Censorship never affected them as they had no desire to read Western literature or talk of politics. And when the revolution came Gypsies were the first to lose their jobs in the factories'.

• Garth Cartwright, Princes amongst men, p.209

Place Quote: Yugoslav immigrants in New Zealand

Many Yugoslav immigrants shared my West Auckland suburb, relieved at escaping a nation that had known so much grief during the first half of the twentieth century. Yet they surely missed things - cafés, markets, farm smells, local humour, weary blues, old buildings, the ruins of history, messy everyday stuff that knits a community's soul. And the Gypsies. I bet, tucked up in their suburban comfort, hearing the sound of lawnmowers and sprinklers, radios and TVs, they missed the chatter and music and nuisance of the Gypsies.

• Garth Cartwright, Princes amongst men, p.146-147