Those were the days my friend – Dublin 1997
So hands up, I’m laying my cards on the table and hoisting that rainbow flag up that tall glittery mast – I love the Eurovision Song Contest and will continue to love the Contest when I’m old and gray or even worse old and bald. However, for me there was a golden era of the Eurovision Song Contest, the years between 1992 and 1997, when Ireland could not get rid of hosting the thing and the other European participants simply showed up to bulk up the numbers.
Of all the years during this golden age, 1997 has the fondest memories for me, and this is the story of why…
First and foremost, it was the last time Ireland hosted the event. At that time it was a different type of beast, a one show spectacle where you really only heard the songs and saw the performances as they went out live. The sheer joy of not knowing what to expect added to the excitement of the whole thing. The contest held in 1997 is the epitome of everything the contest should be.
From the opening sequence, I knew we were in for a good show. The duo of Carrie Crowley (criminally underused today by RTE) and Ronan Keating were a great hosting pair. I am actually still scarlet for Ronan and his attempts to woo poor Carrie with some horrifically bad French – but more of that later. The stage was small, unusual and very futuristic looking (TV sets anybody).
There were some cracking good songs in the contest that year, not least of all our own Mark Roberts’ Mysterious Woman. The contest itself was won by Katrina and the Waves with a song that used buzz words such as Love, Heart, Light, Together, Boys and Girls to melt the hearts of the viewing public. There were some memorable stonkers (it’s a word) and our beloved Norway got Nul Points. The world just seemed a better place back in 1997.
Anyway, I am not going to bore you to tears with my opinions. Have a look at the 4 videos posted below that give you a rounded albeit brief reminder of just how good the year was.
The opening sequence and proof that Ronan Keating hasn’t had a decent hair style in over a decade. His French dialogue if you can call it that is from 4.40 onwards.
Cyprus had the honour of opening the contest. A brother/sister combo of Hara and Andreas sang “Mana Mou”, an ode to their mother and homeland. It was for me an endearing number and won favour with the viewing public coming 5th out of a field of 25 plus the guy had bushier eyebrows than me – respect!
Italy entered one of my favourite songs of that year, “Fiumi Di Parole” performed by Jalisse. It was a hot favourite to win at the time and certainly is up there with some of my all time favourite entries. Alas the song eventually finished 4th in the contest and Italy have not returned to the Eurovision stage since.
And finally, one of the most memorable performances of that year came from Russia. Alla Pugacheva sang “Primadonna” my descriptions of which can not do it justice. It needs to be watched to be appreciated. Apologies for the slightly bad quality of this particular video.
Ps – I’m not forgetting Paul Oscar and Minn Hinsti Dans but I made the mistake yesterday of repeating a previous post and I’m not making that same mistake again. 
Tags: 1997, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Russia
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Comments (5)
My goodness me, i'd forgotten all about Fiumi di Parole!!! What a wonderful song – still sounds fresh today. Why oh why won't those bloomin' Italians return?!
And Primadonna was…what's the word? Amazing! Not my usual style of song, but i couldn't help but be drawn in by the song and Alla herself.
I still have it all on VHS. Anyone ever have nightmares at the thought of Philip Kirkov and Alla Pugachova consumating their sham marriage? Ewwwwww. Other highlights included Mrs. Einstein for the Netherlands and ENI for Croatia… girlbands from very different ends of the age spectrum!
Was there and very close to the stage too!! 95 is still my fave year but 97 is up there. Great stuff from Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Greece (one of my all time faves, ever!), Russia and France. The presenters were good but looked silly together….. she towered over him physically and professionally.
But '97 is where it was all started going wrong, an experiment with "televoting or voting by phone" and look where that got us.
It was so simple then. Only chance to get to hear the songs beforehand was the preview shows, usually on a Saturday afternoon/evening!
I am very jealous Luke….VERY JEALOUS. 1995 is also a vintage year in my opinion….which gives me an idea for a topic.
Styling you are very correct, I had this on VHS up until a few years back. I wonder is it possible to get DVD's of the older contests?
Fiumi Di Parole is still frequently played on my MP3 player. I must try and locate Primadonna somewhere….
Yes, loads of people sell DVDs of past contests on eBay. I have a load of old stuff on VHS, past contest, documentaries, parodies etc I really must transfer to DVD one of these days!