Not many 70-year-olds spend their nights with pop singers in sparkly catsuits, nightmarish monsters barking out heavy metal, or 160,000 giddy Europeans staring at them as they get progressively more drunk. There is only one, in fact – the Eurovision Song Contest. To celebrate its uniqueness, we have spoken to some of the most interesting people ever involved with the contest to tell their tales. Happy seven decades of Eurovision!
Lordi: A Win That Brought Trauma
Mr Lordi, frontman of Finnish metal band Lordi, winners in 2006, recalls how they entered the Finnish national contest thinking they had no chance. “We just wanted some free TV for our new album. Then we won the popular vote by a landslide.” In Athens, international media swarmed them. “We would arrive in the press room in our full costumes, and the press would go, ‘Oh, fucking hell, that’s Lordi!’ and run to us. We thought that was normal. Turns out we were stealing the spotlight, and some were really angry. There were official complaints.”
On the night, Lordi was sick with a fever. “It is so hot in that costume you have your own mobile sauna. It is all latex, which does not breathe, so you are wearing a full body-sized condom. I could not do my screams or hit the high notes. Still today, 20 years later, I am really displeased with it.” Winning was crazy – Finns could not believe it. But within a year, backlash began. “A lot of metal and rock people resented us for winning. We did not play a single show in Finland for four or five years. Nobody wanted us. We were a joke. It was really hard to cope. The song was not written for Eurovision; everything we did was from the heart. I still carry trauma from that.”
Epic Sax Guy: From Meme to National Hero
Sergey Stepanov, saxophonist of Moldovan band SunStroke Project, placed 22nd in 2010 and 3rd in 2017. “Going to Eurovision was always a dream. When I was young, I would watch with my mother, and the artists seemed like spacemen. In Moldova, everybody watches it.” In 2010, they had little money. “We had no idea how big Eurovision could be for us. We were happy to come 22nd.” Then a friend called: “You are a meme: Epic Sax Guy. You are famous in the United States!” Until that moment, Stepanov had no idea what a meme was. “There were so many YouTube views. Now we were like the spacemen. One night after a performance, two big guys tried to start a fight. I told them I was Epic Sax Guy, and one said, ‘Oh my God! I have the best sex in my life to your music!’” In 2017, before going on stage, the president of Moldova called. “He said, ‘Guys, are you ready to do a miracle?’ We came third. After, we were invited to the presidential palace and given a medal – the highest honour for a musician in our country. Only five people have ever received it.”
James Newman: Nil Points and a Call from Chris Martin
James Newman represented the UK in 2021 and became the second British act to score nul points. “I was driving when the radio announced they had cancelled Eurovision. It was brutal; we had already premiered the song. But it was Covid – what could you do?” The next year, he was the UK entry again. “Getting into the contest was scary. There was a huge quarantine tent – like 28 Days Later vibes – and if anyone tested positive, we all had to go home.” On the night, “I thought I was going to win. The arena was cheering. But when they said ‘UK – nil points,’ it was tough. I had a few beers, so I jumped up and sprayed my beer. The whole room cheered.” The next day, people were nice. “On Monday, my manager texted: ‘Chris Martin wants to call you.’ We FaceTimed, and he said, ‘Don’t let it get you down – I know what it is like to have those moments.’ It was amazing.”
Eddie Friel: Father Ted’s Inspiration
Eddie Friel came 14th for Ireland in 1995. “Two friends wrote a song and asked me to sing on a demo. Unbeknown to me, they sent it to the Irish Song Contest. I performed it and won. The Irish press asked how I felt about going to Eurovision. I said I was not going, but I went with the flow.” Before the contest, Dubliners were jaded. “Ireland had won so many times; rumours swirled that RTE could not afford to win again. But that was ridiculous.” After the contest, Friel returned to his happy life. “A few years later, an Australian girl said, ‘Father Ted did a sketch on your song!’ The My Lovely Horse episode is definitely based on me. It was only a year or two after my performance. I found it funny – I was not offended.”
Graham Norton: The Garden Shed Commentator
Graham Norton, BBC commentator since 2009, says, “The first time you go to Eurovision, it is overwhelming. It is like the Olympics – it takes over a city for weeks.” He notes that other countries think he makes barbed comments, but that is a hangover from Terry Wogan. “I do not take the piss out of all of it. It is becoming harder because there is an annoying level of competence now. It was more fun when hosts were rubbish.” Occasionally, he says something barbed. “I was a bit rude about Italy one year, and that did not go well.” The best part is being there. “I sit in what is really just a garden shed with a Perspex window. It is the biggest TV show in the world, and we broadcast from under the stairs. I love it.” His big advice: “Find out what plane the UK act is getting home and be on a different one. There is only so many positives you can say. When I retire, that will be my advice. I can still hold my wee for four hours – you do not get wee breaks. My retirement will be based on my bladder.”
