149 avsnitt • Längd: 45 min • Veckovis: Onsdag
Eurovision Legends is the biggest podcast about the Eurovision Song Contest. Emil Löfström invites songwriters, artists and other important people from the world of the Eurovision Song Contest for a warm and lighthearted conversation about their Eurovision adventures and careers. How did the songs originate, what happened behind the scenes, who ought to have won the contest and what did the song demos sound like? This and much more in this award-nominated podcast that goes out globally over the internet and on British broadcast radio.
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The podcast Eurovision Legends is created by Emil Löfström. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Having started her career in the Swedish version of pop idol 2004, it took Loreen 7 years before the big breakthrough came. What happened in between and what does she have in common with Leila K.
What was her relation to Melodifestivalen before 2011 and what has this competition meant for her career?
Hear Loreen tell the story of her trip to Baku, memories from Melodifestivalen, art installations on stage, why Danny said no to ‘’Euphoria’’ and why she is back to the contest after already winning it and failing to qualify to the final.
Legend: Loreen
Song: Euphoria (Sweden 2012)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 2016, a Ukrainian trained opera singer sang a song about the deportation of Crimeans in 1944, which could easily also be interpreted as a thinly veiled comment on the recent Russian annexation of Crimea.
It is sometimes hard to remember that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for almost a decade now, but Jamala did try to warn us already back then and sadly she was proven all too correct when Russia invaded the entire Ukraine in February of 2022.
She has currently fled the country, but before the contest in Turin Emil managed to get a rare interview with the Ukrainian hero, hiding in an undisclosed location.
She tells us about her victory in Stockholm, her jobs as a juror on various - often controversial - Ukrainian national finals and of course about the ongoing war. Emil and Marcus also add their own comments on the situation.
Legend: Jamala
Song: 1944 (Ukraine 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
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Many countries in Eurovision seem to have their own "super-composer", and in the case of the Netherlands this person is Hans van Hemert. He wrote the Dutch entries of 1972, 1974 and 1976, and he has made many more attempts, which we of course get to listen to in this episode. It gets really crowded in the virtual podcast room today, as Hans and Emil are joined by Frenk Reemer, brother of Sandra Reemer, Astrid Colle, daughter of Sandra's duet partner Andres, and a whistling parrot.
Hans takes us back to the glorious 70's and tells us about his main inspirations, which are ABBA and kid's songs. We also get to hear about how he made a fool of himself when meeting Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. We get to hear the intimate details about the relations between Mouth & MacNeal, Sandra & Andres and other famous artists that he has worked with.
Hans is still active, so what did the song that he submitted in 2022 sound like? We have the demo!
Legend: Hans Van Hemert
Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), I See A Star (The Netherlands 1974), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Udo Jürgens was already a big star when he first competed in Eurovision for his Austria in 1964. He didn't win, but got the biggest hit after the contest, both with his own version and with covers in various languages. He was back again the year after, and this time he almost competed for another country as well. It took some heavy convincing to get him to return for a third time in 1966, which was when he finally won the contest.
Emil has a nice chat with Udo's son John Jürgens, who tells us about his father's early years in Austria during the second world war, how he rose to fame as a composer and artist and sang his songs not only in German but also in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. We'll also learn about his relation to the contest, and John also tells us about both the positives and the negatives about growing up with such a famous father.
Legend: Udo Jürgens
Expert on the subject: John Jürgens (aka John Munich)
Songs: Warum nur, warum? (Austria 1964), Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen (Austria 1965), Merci, Cherie (Austria 1966) & Tausend Fenster (Austria 1968, Karel Gott)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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An argument in Los Angeles led to the creation of the perhaps most modern song to have taken part in Eurovision until that time, but the road that led Eva Santamaria there was quite a surprise. Hear what she has to say about the orchestral arrangement of the song, about it becoming a feminist anthem, and about who did what with who in Millstreet (hint: "sexo")!
She was one of the favourites to the victory before the show, but who did not want her to win? Eva's memory is almost as good as her ability to laugh, but how come she almost sang the wrong song on stage and what happened with the choreography just days before?
Legend: Eva Santamaria
Song: Hombres (Spain 1993)
Host: Emil Löfström
Interpreter: Ruben Balesteiro
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The "plump chicken from Trondheim" tried to reach Eurovision already at 14 years old, but had to wait another seven years until she finally succeeded with the unusually structured banger "Visjoner". We get to listen to the way too long and extremely different demo that was accepted to Melodi Grand Prix, and we get to hear Merethe's honest opinions about Rolf Løvland's final arrangement of the song for Eurovision. We will also learn what caused her to laugh out loud during her performance, which has made her something of a meme.
Why was this unusually positive 21-year-old treated so badly by the Swedes? Why was she styled like she was a 50 years old character from "Dynasty"? And what was the biggest prize she won in 1992? And despite the bad result in 1992, why did she return already in 1993, something she really regrets today? How did she find her way back to her own music after the debacle and what does she do today?
Legend: Merethe Trøan
Song: Visjoner (Norway 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Two years ago Emil spoke to Maria Mendiola and Cristina Sevilla from (one of the constellations of) Baccara. Since then they have gone viral, made a comeback on the charts and published new music, but on a much sadder note Maria alas passed away in 2021.
Emil and Cristina have a new conversation, revisit some of the topics from the previous interview and Cristina tells us everything about the rather chaotic history of the group Baccara after the split of the two original members Maria Mendiola och Mayte Mateos, since Cristina has the rather unique position of having been the replacement partner of first Mayte and then Maria. What went wrong between them, who was to blame and did they ever bury the hatchet?
This interview was recorded especially for the Podcast Radio station, where Eurovision Legends episodes are currently airing.
Legend: Baccara
Song: Parlez-vous français? (Luxembourg 1978)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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When Albanian singer Hersi Matmuja finally won Festivali i Këngës on her fourth attempt the usual revamp of the song started. How much of a say did she have in this process and why didn't she like the final version? Was it only because it didn't bring her out of the semi-final at Eurovision? How did she and the Albanian people handle the disappointing result and how come she didn't even obtain a record contract? And whose bright idea was it for her to go to Denmark to get a huge back tattoo of the Albanian eagle for the postcard?
In spite of the outcome she has a successful and exciting career, which has taken her to such interesting places as the conservatory in Rome, Auschwitz and even North Korea. Trust me, this girl has stories to tell! And if all goes to plan, will we see her soon again?
Legend: Hersi Matmuja
Song: One Night's Anger (Albania 2014)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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He was the guy who came on from backstage and gave working out in a suit a face, but the musical career of two meter Swedish hunk Robin Bengtsson started earlier than that. An alumn of the Idol franchise, he got his first chance to compete in Melodifestivalen in 2016 and won it already on his second attempt in 2017. But how come he values his first song higher than the one he actually won with?
How have coincidences led to all of his participations, which will number at four times with his song for 2022, which we actually get to learn some things about? How come he has always performed other peoples' songs in Melodifestivalen, despite being a songwriter himself? Why did Kyiv feel so familiar to him despite him not being able to find Ukraine on a map, what did he really think about the winner from Portugal and what about the short Ukrainian guy who refused to lend Robin his equipment?
Legend: Robin Bengtsson
Song: I Can't Go On (Sweden 2017)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Established in the business with successes like Ace of Base in his catalogue, John Ballard started to get invited to participate, mainly as a lyricist, on various projects for Eurovision by Dimitris Kontopoulos. He grants us full access to all the various shenanigans that takes place to create a Eurovision success in some countries where he sometimes has had to write up to 80 (!) different lyrics for the same song, and he speaks his mind about his colleague and songwriting partner Philipp Kirkorov.
What is like to compete for countries such as Russia or Azerbaijan, and what do your colleagues have to say about it? How much is influenced by politics and is a simple Scottish lyricist from Sweden treated as a valued member of the team or only as a talent for hire? How many songs do you present for a superstar like Sergey Lazarev, which songs have made the rounds for several countries and how much has he attempted to compete in either Sweden or the United Kingdom?
We will learn this and much more when John Ballard opens up.
Legend: John Ballard
Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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He has finished top ten four times out of five attempts in Eurovision, but never for his home country nor for the country where he has lived for over 40 years. Who is John Ballard? The legendary lyricist behind such songs as "Hold Me" and "You're the Only One"?
In this first episode we find out why he moved from his native Scotland to the west coast of Sweden, and how he became a household name there with several participations in Melodifestivalen. We of course get to listen to these songs, as well as a version that John hasn't even heard himself, in addition to several attempts that were not selected to compete.
We also talk extensively about, and get to listen to several rare demos from, his long and successful career as a producer and songwriter. He was the guy who discovered one of the biggest bands ever, Ace of Base, and he also is the man behind other groups such as Yaki-da and Bubbles. However, despite all of this success he never again was invited to Melodifestivalen, and he sternly denies any involvement in the Melodifestivalen entry "Nattens änglar" by Jonas Berggren from Ace of Base!?
This is the first of two episodes, where we look at John's rise to fame from a pub musician in Scotland to a very successful producer in Sweden and all over the world, and in the second episode we will take a look at his adventures in Eurovision.
Legend: John Ballard
Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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We continue the story of Eurovision 1997 that started in the episodes with Icelandic Paul Oscar and Katrina and the Waves with one of Katrina's vodka suppliers – Marjolein Spijkers from the Dutch group Mrs. Einstein. The theatrical group was selected to perform all of the entries in the Dutch selection, but were they all agreed that they should do it and did the right song really win?
How come they ditched their expensive outfits just one day before the final and when did they opt for going completely nude?
Did their meager five point result affect their careers and are the Granny Spices still going?
This and much more – like porn looks and "Vechny strannik" – in an interview that does not want to end when Marjolein flips the tables and starts to interview Emil.
Legend: Marjolein Spijkers from Mrs Einstein
Song: Niemand heeft nog tijd (The Netherlands)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Snubbed on a very good chance to win in the cancelled 2020 contest, The Roop fought their way to another victory and finally got to grace the Eurovision stage in 2021. But these were not the first times they have tried out for Eurovision, neither as The Roop nor in other constellations, even though Vaidotas seems a little uncertain on this point!? How do you handle the situation when you have no money? How do you follow up a success like "On Fire"? Have they been subject to ageism? Will we see them in Eurovision again? And most importantly, why so yellow? Robertas Baranauskas, Mantas Banišauskas and Vaidotas Valiukevičius are ready to answer these questions and many more.
Legends: The Roop
Songs: On Fire (Lithuania 2020) & Discoteque (Lithuania 2021)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Following a streak of missed finals for Poland, hopes were higher when Magdalena Tul and the song "Jestem" became popular with the fans and was generally predicted to proceed to the final when she was to perfom first in the first semi final in 2011. The reality became quite the opposite, though, when she not just failed to reach the final, but it turned out that she had actually finished dead last in the semi final.
Did she have technical issues? Should she have chosen a different version of the song? Did she try to take on too many tasks around the performance herself or did she just not have the proper backing from the Polish broadcaster? All these are questions that she has asked herself for ten years and will be answered in this episode when "Lady Tulla" tells us about her greatest regrets from Düsseldorf.
We also learn about her other attempts to reach Eurovision and her newest songs, as well as the upcoming relocation.
Legend: Magdalena Tul
Song: Jestem (Poland 2011)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Having had a huge hit already at seven years old, Frans Jeppsson Wall surprised the Swedish audience when he, almost forgotten, suddenly appeared in Melodifestivalen ten years later with the first ever song he had written as an "adult".
What was it like breaking as a child star, did he even get paid and how does a child handle not winning the awards he has been nominated to?
Hear Frans tell the story of his return to the public eye, when he quickly went from an underdog to the big favourite and the final winner and what it was like representing Sweden at home soil while trying to handle school at the same time. What advice did his grandmother give him, who made him speachless with a hug and which other artist did he sneak out of the arena to be naughty with?
Finally, what has happened since and what is his life like today when he recently left his safe small home town for life in the big city of Stockholm?
Legend: Frans Jeppsson Wall
Song: If I were Sorry (Sweden 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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We continue to listen to the fascinating adventures of Alon Amir in the world of Eurovision, starting in a bed together with Anne-Marie David.
Our first stop is Moscow in 2009 with two political artists and a political song which he pressured the jury to get selected. He hated the city but the vodka consumption increased by each day, and with this the pranks within the delegation.
Then we have the suicide mission to Baku, where Alon was surprised not to return home in a coffin, and the time when he seriously considered burning or shredding the artist's dress.
He had adventures with the rather special Hovi Star all over Europe with a song that they had to pretend to like, we get the explanation to the beef with Douwe Bob, the nasty story of why Russian customs destroyed Hovi's passport, and his drunkenly honest opinion about Sergey Lazarev's birthday cake.
Alon has countless stories about being on various juries around Europe, such as in which country he had to endure 40 rubbish songs in a row and when he fought hard for a song that wouldn't end up in the contest until three year's later. He also tells us about being approached by other countries with suggestions of foul play.
Legend: Alon Amir
Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Most of us Eurovision fans dream of one day playing some minor part to contribute to or nestle your way into our beloved contest, be it by submitting songs, doing volunteer work at an event or why not starting your own podcast about the topic?
Alon Amir from Israel managed to do this for the first time at the tender age of 17 when his job was to light the candles for the 1995 Israeli entry "Amen", candles that they later weren't allowed to bring to Ireland, but they brought Alon anyway.
Through a stunning career at Shlomo Zach's record company, he got to do various tasks related to the Israeli Eurovision entries, and was very much involved in the victory of "Diva" in 1998.
Luckily for us, Alon has no scruples of telling us almost everything about what has happened during all his Eurovision trips.
Why didn't Dana International wear her expensive Jean-Paul Gaultier bird-suit in 1998 and what about the fall in 1999, why does Alon want the EBU to serve food in the green room, how much mafia money can you really make by being a totally inexperienced head of press for Belarus and was it really dangerous to return to the hotel after the semi-final?
Maybe not, but something that was seriously dangerous was to be part of the Israeli delegation in Azerbaijan, a muslim country with an open border to Iran and no guarantees for their personal safety, and Alon tells us about this suicide mission as well.
Alon bubbles over with so many interesting stories and new pieces of information at such a rate that it is hard to know which to focus on here, and to avoid a complete mental overload we will save half of this marathon interview for next week.
Legend: Alon Amir
Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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People all over the world often have a hard time separating the Scandinavian countries, and honestly, who can blame them when we have people like Lise Haavik, who was born and raised in northern Norway, moved to Denmark to study economics, formed a band and a marriage with Danish artist John Hatting (against her father's better judgement, mind you), tried out for the Danish Eurovision ticket a couple of times and finally won the right to represent Denmark, when the competition was held in Norway of all places, with a song and a performance borrowing heavily from a previous Swedish entry?
Set in the world of Danish "happy-schlager", what was the road that led her to this point, what happened to Lise and John's marriage and artistic cooperation, what are Lise's further attempts to reach the Eurovision and why does the classic Danish song "Under stjernerne på himlen" with Tommy Seebach keep recurring during this interview, despite having nothing to do with neither Lise nor John? Or has it?
Legend: Lise Haavik (Trax)
Song: Du er fuld af løgn (Denmark 1986)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Sandra Reemer was one of the dutch great and competed three times in Eurovision during the 1970's. Alas, she is no longer with us so instead we have invited her brother, Frenk Reemer, who has been close to his sister during all the years and is also working on a book about their family.
Let's hear the story about the girl who was forced to leave Indonesia at a very young age and who together with Frenk started singing in local events to gather money for the construction of a church in their new dutch hometown.
From her first single at the age of twelve, which was a cover of the Italian Eurovision entry from 1961, she went from success to success.
Why did she stopped singing solo, how did she meet her longtime duet partner Andres (Dries Holten), why did they split up and was it on good terms?
Apart from the time with Andres, she competed an additional two times in Eurovision; what has she told her brother about this? She later established herself as a gay icon as part of the Dutch Divas together with Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal, but what happened to her career and her mood? Frenk gives us a generous insight into her career and her feelings about it and we get to listen to some never before heard rare gems. Together with Frenk, who himself might become a Eurovision legend in the near future, this episode is in memoriam of a very special Eurovision Legend who left us way too early.
Legend: Sandra Reemer
Expert on the subject: Frenk Reemer
Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976) & Colorado (The Netherlands 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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This is the second part of the interview with Petri Laaksonen, in which our hero finally learns that you don't always win every time you take part. After winning on his first two attempts, Petri continued to submit songs to the Finnish pre-selection, so many that he claims that he is the composer with the most songs in the contest throughout history.
Now with experience and a network of contacts, he co-operated with artists such as Arja Saijonmaa (who finally sung the wrong song), Ami Aspelund (who perhaps wasn't perfectly suited for the erotic lyrics), Jari Sillanpää (who later got a smash hit with a rejected song about Jean Sibelius), Anneli Saaristo (who won with another song), Anna Eriksson (whose song became a huge fan favourite) and Tommi Soidinmäki, although his interest to sing the songs himself grew and grew.
However, it became tougher and tougher to get his songs accepted, not least when the legendary Ossi Runne left the conductor's pulpet to Olli Ahvenlahti, who stopped inviting Petri. (But he did invite himself!)
We get to hear all the details; who was a sore loser, which song was inspired by ABBA and which was inspired by Pet Shop Boys and which artist wanted YLE to postpone the contest two weeks in order to better suit her schedule, and we also get to listen to lots of exclusive demos and early drafts, most of which have been painstakingly excavated by Petri himself and have never been heard before.
Legend: Petri Laaksonen
Songs: Amor Amor (Ami Aspelund, 1988), Oi äiti maa (Anneli Saaristo, 1989), Gabriela (Arja Saijonmaa, 1990), Oot voimani mun (Anna Eriksson, 2000), Kirkas kipinä (Jari Sillanpää, 2009), Seis (Tommi Soidinmäki, 2011) & several other Euroviisut rejects.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The young student Petri Laaksonen was totally inexperienced as a songwriter, but after some encouragement from his teacher he decided to try to take part in the Finnish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Without any connections in the music business, he found lyricist Veli-Pekka Lehto in the phone book and had him write lyrics to the song he had composed, and to their surprise it was accepted. However, the pre-selected artists weren't too keen on his composition, until established artist Sonja Lumme said that she could sing it. Despite being described in media as containing too many weird Finnish vowels and maybe should have been sung in Swedish instead, the song won comfortably and our young and broke composer got to travel to Gothenburg on his own expenses, and almost had to resort to prostituting himself to finance his adventure.
As a fan of the contest, Petri still remembers and tells us everything in detail, both about the participation with "Eläköön elämä" in 1985 and about his second attempt with "Sata salamaa" in 1987, which turned out to be another victory, with an artist who had to be tricked and threatened to return to her singing career. The man who couldn't lose got to travel to Brussels, yet again on his own accord, but a forgotten tape and a stolen item of clothing made sure that neither his trip nor the song turned out exactly as planned.
Legend: Petri Laaksonen
Songs: Eläköön elämä (Sonja Lumme, Finland 1985) & Sata salamaa (Vicky Rosti, Finland 1987)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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He used to be the coolest guy in every Eurovision, but don't you want to hear about when Jon Ola Sand got really angry during the broadcast?
Or why he was so dissatisfied in Birmingham in 1998?
Much happened during his ten years as the Executive Supervisor for Eurovision, and already before that in other roles as Head of Delegation and Producer.
What has he got to say about Azerbaijan? When was he really disappointed in Russia? How close are Liechtenstein, Kosovo and Kazakhstan to compete, Turkey to return and how many countries are blocked by Israel?
Which rule would he change and did he really torture Christer Björkman on purpose?
Jon Ola Sand opens up a year after stepping down as the Executive Supervisor and lets us know why he thrives on chaos.
Legend: Jon Ola Sand
Titles: Head of delegation (Norway 1998-2005), Producer (2010), Executive Supervisor (2011-2020)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
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Most of us believe that ABBA became a huge success all over the world immediately after they won Eurovision 1974, and although their winning entry "Waterloo" made a big impact on the charts all over the world and their manager "Stikkan" Andersson was well prepared to launch them it wasn't really as simple as that.
Björn and Benny competed again as composers in Melodifestivalen already the next year and several of the songs that later became huge hits for ABBA were first floated around to other artists, as we heard from Martin Lee of Brotherhood of Man in a previous episode.
The ultimate expert on ABBA – Carl-Magnus Palm – is back and helps us separate the rumours from the truths.
Why did relations sour with manager "Stikkan" Anderson, has Carl-Magnus heard the story about "Stikkan" and Kobi Oshrat, why did Agnetha Fältskog resurface in Melodifestivalen 1981, did they stay friends and did they ever patch things up with their manager, how many unpublished ABBA songs are there, where did the members' careers go after they "went on a break", what does Carl-Magnus think about the new album "Voyage" and which are his favourite songs from their entire catalogue?
Legend: ABBA
Expert on the subject: Carl Magnus Palm
Song: Waterloo (Sweden 1974)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 1974, a Swedish group changed Eurovision and music forever, but the story of ABBA did not in any way start there.
All four members of ABBA, or five if you include manager and lyricist Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, had their respective careers, in Agnetha's case it was even "international", before they formed the group, and together with the ABBA expert Carl-Magnus Palm we take a deep dive in the roads that converged into the pop sensation that won Sweden its first victory in the Eurovision.
Separately and together, they had already made several accepted and rejected attempts to participate in the Swedish pre-selection, and of course we talk about all of these. Finally they won Melodifestivalen in 1974 without being the outright favourite, and went on to do the same thing at the Eurovision in Brighton. What happened there and which roles did Hotenanny Singers, Hep Stars, Lena Andersson, Brita Borg, Lill-Babs, Tommy Körberg, Lasse Berghagen, Jan Malmsjö, Neil Sedaka, Arthur Greenslade, Titti Sjöblom, Mouth & McNeal and Svenne & Lotta play in this story?
Legend: ABBA
Expert on the subject: Carl Magnus Palm
Song: Waterloo (Sweden 1974)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Manuela Bravo participated for Portugal in 1979, which by many fans is considered to be a really good year, but still she managed to give Portugal one of its best results ever until their victory in 2017. Born from a musical family, she started her career at only five years old, and sixteen years later she was offered the happy-go-lucky "Sobe, sobe, balão sobe" for the Portugese national final after an other artist had turned the song down.
Who was her biggest opponent in Portugal, what does she remember from the Eurovision final in the holy land, and what did she think about the result? She recorded the song in Portuguese, English and French and it's still a classic in Portugal which has been both covered and sampled by many other artists. What does she do these days?
Legend: Manuela Bravo
Song: Sobe, sobe, balão sobe (Portugal 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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With the same origins as the 1993 Croatian representative Put, Martina Majerle has gone on to grace the Eurovision stage with her presence more times than any other Balkan singer, and for three different countries nonetheless. Often in cooperation with legendary songwriter Andrej Babic, she has recorded demos and provided backup lots of times and her eight appearances at Eurovision has made her well-travelled and with stories to tell.
What has been the differences between the different host cities? Why was she the least visible the one time she was the main act? What happens when a backup singer falls down a hole and loses her in-ears seconds before they are to go on stage? And why did she wait so long to finally go solo? The questions are plentiful, but Martina provides us with the answers and also a listen to her latest single.
Legend: Martina Majerle
Songs: Vise Nisam Tvoja, (Croatia 2003) Cvet Z Juga, (Slovenia 2007) Zauvijek Volim Te, (Montenegro 2008) Love Symphony, (Slovenia 2009) No One ( Slovenia 2011) Verjamem (Slovenia 2012) Moj Svijet ( Montenegro 2014) Lighthouse (Croatia 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Paschalis Arvanitidis became a huge star in Greece already with the group The Olympians in the 1960's and then went solo, and even had a brief career in Germany with Leo Leandros, the father of Vicky Leandros. So when he teamed up with three other successful solo artists (Robert Williams, Bessy and Mariana) in Greece to submit the song "Mathema solfege" to the Greek broadcaster for Eurovision 1977, it was basically a done deal as soon as the selection jury recognized their famous voices.
Their participation in London gave Greece what for a long time was their best result ever and the song got hugely popular and globally covered, despite that they experienced sound issues and some weird staging that put the focus on the only member of the group who had an English name, and Paschalis believes that the French winner was a copy of an older song (which one?).
What else does he remember from London, does his very tight outfit still fit, is he still in contact with his band mates, what did the song that he submitted already the year after sound like and what has happened since?
In this episode we make a rapid dash through memory lane of a career that spans seven different decades together with Paschalis and his daughter Zinovia, who helps out with some translating and who is a musician in her own right and collaborates with her father.
Legend: Paschalis Arvanitidis
Song: Mathema solfege Μάθημα Σολφέζ (Greece 1977)
Host: Emil Löfström
Interpreter: Zinovia Arvanitidi
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Way before Alexander Rybak fiddled his way to victory, an Austrian guy brandishing a white violin represented Switzerland with a song about his love for his instrument. The song was allegedly written by his Swiss wife, but was that really entirely true?
In this episode with Egon Egemann we will finally learn the true origin story of the melodic masterpiece "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus", as well as numerous other facts and stories about his career and life. How come he went for a solo career in the first place, when he was having so much success with the huge Austrian band Die Paldauer? What can he tell us about the contest in a crumbling Yugoslavia? What was his role in the disqualified Swiss winner from 1992, "Soleil, Soleil"? What made him participate again behind Gunvor Guggisberg and what was that like? How many more times has he tried out for the contest, is he really a singer and what does he do today?
Legend: Egon Egemann
Song: Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus (Switzerland 1990)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Eurovision 1991 went down in history due to the tied score between Sweden and France, so that the winner had to be decided by tiebreaker. What many tend to forget is that Israel with the song "Kan" was also in the mix, and in fact held the lead for much of the voting process. Since this happens to be Emil's personal favorite of all Eurovision songs ever he has been nagging her for more than a year, and Emil finally gets to talk to Orna Datz, the female half of the married duo who sang it.
We learn that Orna and Moshe actually performed independently as solo artists until they were convinced to form a duo for the Israeli national final in 1987, but after that the audience refused to let them not be a duo again and they were hugely successful. We learn about the rumors about all the different artists who are said to have been offered "Kan" and we get to listen to the original demo with the composer Uzi Hitman, as well as about how Kobi Oshrat and any others contributed to making the song what it finally became. Orna reveals that it felt like the week in Rome took five years off her life, and we get to hear about "Amen" by Liora, who previously in this podcast claimed that Duo Datz changed their mind and wanted the song back. Is this true? And what is Orna's relation to her ex-husband today?
Legend: Orna Datz
Song: Kan כאן (Israel 1991)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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What is the next natural step when you have won Pop Idol, gotten a song from legendary Stig Rästa and won both the jury and the televote in the Estonian national selection? Well, finishing dead last in the semifinal of Eurovision, of course! Or maybe not, but that is the way it happened for young Jüri Pootsmann in 2016.
How could this happen? How did it affect his career? Why the Bond theme? What were the struggles with Swedish Television? What happened to the act? Who gave him flowers? Which famous Swedish Melodifestivalen artist comforted him after the loss? What did Jüri himself think about all this and why didn't he say something?
The questions are many, and they will be answered in this episode, where Jüri shows us that the loss didn't hit him very hard and that he nowadays can joke about it.
Legend: Jüri Pootsmann
Song: Play (Estonia 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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We often hear about the success stories from Eurovision, but Gunvor Guggisberg, now Gunvor Meyer, shows us that despite being treated really roughly by the media and finishing last place with zero points, you can go on to have a great life with a family, your own dance school and a still-going music career.
In this interview we learn that Gunvor really knows Eurovision and what she thought about the result in 1998, about a weird encounter with Guildo Horn behind the scenes, her co-operation with Egon Egemann, her notable dress (nipples, anyone?) and her "modern" attempt as a composer with a song about gay love.
Legend: Gunvor
Song: Lass' ihn (Switzerland 1998)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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How could a Swedish Eurovision representative with one of the worst results ever for the country get to be in charge for the entire show for two decades?
How did his job affect his friends and family, not least his husband/tuft-of-grass Martin Kagemark, who himself is a talented singer who had to take a step back due to Christer's position? We get to hear a couple of Martin's submitted songs. Is Christer a genius and/or a dictator? We let him answer that question himself.
How scared was Eric Saade of German glass shards? How close was Loreen to being disqualified? How has he handled all the criticism? What are his biggest regrets, like any of the songs that were rejected from Melodifestivalen and then went on to be successful for other countries? What can be achieved in 69 panicky days in the Ukraine and when will we see the first American Song Contest?
This is part two of two, where we hear about Christer's work behind the camera.
Legend: Christer Björkman
Song: Imorgon är en annan dag (Sweden 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Christer Björkman is such a huge Eurovision fan that he lied his way into the audience of Eurovision 1991 in Rome, and made someone else pay. He had tried to reach Eurovision for much longer than that, though, since he had unsuccessfully submitted songs from the mid 80's onward (we get to learn about and hear the songs), but it wasn't until he tormented the Swedish artist elite that he actually made it into the Swedish pre-selection.
He was certain that he wouldn't win and was almost replaced by the song-writer during the rehearsals, so which song was his favorite, and how did the surprising victory turn a blue-eyed openly gay man into a brown-eyed closet queen? What chaos did the victory create, how seriously did he treat his participation in Malmö, and what was his opinion about the winner?
What happened after the disastrous result and how come he took part immediately again the next year with a ten-year-old song performed at christenings, and what did the demo with Susanne Alfvengren sound like?
This is part one of two, where we take a look at Christer's journey as an artist.
Legend: Christer Björkman
Song: Imorgon är en annan dag (Sweden 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Sidekick: Marcus Björkander
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Moran Mazor's participation in 2013 can be seen as just yet one of the failed attempts to reach the final that Israel was living through a four-year stretch of, but in this episode we will learn that there is so much more to this "fat girl with glasses", as she humorously describes her former self. She has a wonderful bubbling personality, and we get to learn why we weren't shown more of that in Malmö.
We also get to hear the original demo of "Rak bishvilo", of cheating in the national final, about antisemitic protests in the host city and about how she was discovered by Israel's most famous artist Eyal Golan and how the song was discovered by a Eurovision winner.
We also hear the story of how she has turned her life around in many aspects and if she finally has found love after many years of unhappy single life.
Legend: Moran Mazor מורן מזור
Song: Rak bishvilo רק בשבילו (Israel 2013)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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It's an extremely wild ride when the three party girls from Norway reunite for this episode. Though 21 years have passed, they are still as funny and crazy as they were in Stockholm 2000. They give us the entire unfiltered story from how they were formed, how they got the song (we get to hear the first demo), their own DIY styling (both their Pocahontas outfits and how they wore out the Swedish hairdressers) and all their mad escapades in the contest. We learn about their different personalities, that Lise Monica is still guy-crazy, that Oddrun is dressing and doing her make-up during the interview (where are the knickers?) and that Hanne rivals Emil himself when it comes to Eurovision knowledge.
We also talk about their further attempts to reach Eurovision in this episode were we remember to speak english most of the time!?
But most of all; who went into the closet with a French drummer in Globen (just kissing!?) who bet way too much money and who was the mysterious Eurovision 2000 thief?
Legends: Charmed
Song: My Heart Goes Boom (Norway 2000)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In the flirtiest interview ever on this show, Emil takes on Fabrizio Faniello, the guy who competed twice for Malta with varying results. We finally learn why the performance of "I Do" failed so miserably, how many and which of Fabrizio's songs were originally submitted to Melodifestivalen, about all the ten songs he has tried out with in the Maltese national selection and of his very different memories from Copenhagen and Athens.
Also, what happened to his voice in 2001 and to his outfit in 2006? And what about his lack of outfit in the Maltese national selection in 2004? Why did he give up a promising soccer career? And how did he handle the last place in 2006?
We get to listen to the brand new version of "Another Summer Night" and we talk about his international whistle hit.
And of course we learn the answer to the most important question: Was he single before recording this episode?
Legend: Fabrizio Faniello
Songs: Another Summer Night (Malta 2001) I Do (Malta 2006)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Matia Bazar are known to the Eurovision audience for their appearance with "Raggio di luna" in 1979, but they have been a musical force to reckon with for many years, both in Italy and abroad, and has sold millions of records all over the world. Since their beginnings in 1975 up until present day many different band members have come, gone and returned, and today Emil is joined by old band member Piero Cassano and current member Fabio Perversi.
Why did Piero leave the band to instead write hits for artists such as Anna Oxa, Eros Ramazotti and Demis Roussos? What was the pressing emergency right before they were to go on stage in Jerusalem? How was the support from RAI and how much has the San Remo festival meant to the band? And last but not least, what drove them to become the first act ever in Eurovision history not to use the orchestra, twenty years before it was abolished?
Huge thanks to the always lovely Yanna Yancheva at J&K Productions for setting up the interview, Maria Alexandra for being my interpreter and to Euroteam, Unalira and DM Production.
Legend: Matia Bazar
Song: Raggio di luna (Italy 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Hazal Selçuk was only 16 years old but born from an impressive family consisting of both musical royalty and regular royalty.
Most notable was of course her father Timur Selçuk, who both composed and energetically conducted the classic song "Bana bana", with which Hazal and the group Pan competed for Turkey in 1989.
We learn that Timur decided to compete in order to get his passport back, that Hazal also finished third with a solo song in the same national selection, that she was the cause of the very lively song and dance, about the ethnic costumes, the tension in the band and why young and inexperienced Hazal viewed the competition differently than her more established band members, such as Arzu Ece and Vedat Sakman. She also tells us about how her father replaced members of the Swiss orchestra, how the enthusiastic commentator Jacob Dahlin invited the group to Sweden where they recorded a remix of the song and about Hazal's constant fear of being loved for being her father's daughter rather than for being herself in this very emotional and open-hearted interview where she tells us both her own story and her father's.
Legend: Hazal Selçuk
Song: Bana Bana (Turkey 1989)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Sarai Tzuriel was one of the best knows faces in Israel when she was asked to become the female part of the duo to perform "Yavoh yom" in the Israeli national selection in 1986, together with the composer of the song, Moti Giladi, although she was primarily known as an actor and show host, as was he. But which female superstar was approached first, why were they not popular with the Israeli media, which future Israeli Eurovision participant made her iconic debut in that same selection, why was the song so fast in Bergen, why did they fail and why was Moti angry with Sarai?
Legend: Sarai Tzuriel שרי צוריאל
Song: Yavo Yom יבוא יום (Israel 1986)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Marion Rung started her career at only 15, and it is still going on 60 years later. For 33 of those years she actually held the record for the best Finnish result in the Eurovision, from 1962 when she debuted in the contest at only 16 with the entry "Tipi-tii" which she then beat herself in 1973 with "Tom Tom Tom".
That record held until the long overdue Finnish victory with Lordi in 2006. But Marion has participated in the Finnish selection several more times, many of which she must be reminded of to remember, and she has made countless covers of other Eurovision songs as well as having her two entries covered by others.
How did she get to where she got, what were her experiences when she competed, especially when she was so young, and how come she released a record with traditional Jewish songs?
Legend: Marion Rung
Songs: Tipi-tii (Finland 1962) & Tom tom tom (Finland 1973)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 1989 he came from nowhere and made an impact with a song by Dieter Bohlen, and two years later he returned and faced a very different outcome.
How did Thomas Forstner get this opportunity?
Why didn't he continue his co-operation with Dieter Bohlen and how was he treated by the composers in 1989, when they competed for Germany as well? How did a washing mishap lead to a shortage of purple fabric? And why did everything go so wrong in Rome in 1991?
Legend: Thomas Forstner
Songs: Nur Ein Lied (Austria 1989) & Venedig im Regen (Austria 1991)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Season 3 of the podcasts kicks off with Eurovision royalty, lady Linda Martin, who beside her victory and second place in Eurovision have competed in the Irish national final an additional seven times, many of them with her band Chips in the 1970's.
After making her first appearance in Eurovision 1984 with "Terminal 3", a song that was premiered on Irish TV in a very peculiar setting, her runner-up position was still not quite enough for her.
She continued to be one of the most determined artists to reach that Eurovision victory, not least since Johnny Logan gave her a promise to one day write her a winning song. Linda is forever grateful for what the contest has done for her and tries to give as much back as she can.
We get to hear her new song and remixes of some Eurovision classics, stories from Luxembourg and Malmö and about the collaboration with Johnny Logan and several artists' brothers. Linda also outs herself as a great animal lover who has many rescue dogs at home, but tells us about the time when the animal line was crossed by Jedward's bunnies.
Legend: Linda Martin
Songs: Terminal 3 (Ireland 1984) & Why Me? (Ireland 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Photo: DPA/PA Images
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These are special times and therefore it is time for a very special episode. Right now the artists and composers who will be competing in the Eurovision are getting all the attention, but what about those who almost made it, but not quite?
Michael James Down has competed with 45 different songs in various national finals all over Europe, as an artist and as a composer, but has never won a ticket to the big event... yet! This gives him a unique and broad perspective and in two episodes he will give us full access to all the stories, events both on and off the stage, ups and downs.
He reveals that didn't actually write all of these songs and what happened when Boris Covalli withdrew when he was to compete with a song of Michael's, that later was released by Sergey Lazarev instead. We also learn about the various other artists who have tried his songs and get to listen to those versions, and we get a unique glimpse into the cultural differences between the various national finals. Is it the same to participate in the United Kingdom and in Romania?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
These are special times and therefore it is time for a very special episode. Right now the artists and composers who will be competing in the Eurovision are getting all the attention, but what about those who almost made it, but not quite?
Michael James Down has competed with 45 different songs in various national finals all over Europe, as an artist and as a composer, but has never won a ticket to the big event... yet! This gives him a unique and broad perspective and in two episodes he will give us full access to all the stories, events both on and off the stage, ups and downs.
He reveals that didn't actually write all of these songs and what happened when Boris Covalli withdrew when he was to compete with a song of Michael's, that later was released by Sergey Lazarev instead. We also learn about the various other artists who have tried his songs and get to listen to those versions, and we get a unique glimpse into the cultural differences between the various national finals. Is it the same to participate in Iceland and in Romania?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What is actually the journey for a song written by Swedish songwriters to reach a big Polish artist and then to get internally selected? Why hasn't he published his gigantic hit "Tak blisko" in English, how many of the neon signs from the music video will accompany him to Rotterdam and how many times has Rafal tried to reach Eurovision previously?
Country: Poland
Song: The Ride
Composers: Joakim Övrenius, Thomas Karlsson, Clara Rubensson & Johan Mauritzson
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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How come Lesley Roy was chosen in the first place last year and how did she take the cancellation and was it a no-brainer to say yes to compete this year? Why was it so important to work with Max Martin and why does Ireland struggle hard these days to finish in the top? And why Swedish composers?
Country: Ireland
Song: Maps
Composers: Philip Strand, Emelie Eriksson, Lesley Roy & Lukas Hällgren
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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He is almost the definition of positivity, both in his expression and his message, but still he receives a huge amount of hate. What does he think about this and has he got any useful tips and tricks to share on how to handle it? We will also learn about the amount of chaos we can expect on stage in Rotterdam, whether the laundry machines will be reused there and the secret about how you can come from nowhere with basically no budget and get to represent the mighty Germany.
Country: Germany
Song: I Don't Feel Hate
Composers: Jendrik Sigwart & Christoph Oswald
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Eden Alene is back for Israel and we are of course curious about a lot of things. Why is there no Amharic in this year's entry? Will she break Maja Blagdan's record? Does she have a personal favorite among this years songs? And why was her song from last year - "Feker libi" - so important?
Country: Israel
Song: Set Me Free
Composer: Amit Mordechai, Ido Netzer, Noam Zlatin & Ron Carmi
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Let's find out the truth behind the video clip that caused such a scandal, how close Vasil came to be disqualified by his own country and how much he is ready to tell us about the incident. We also learn about his Eurovision interest, being nervous for Rotterdam and to nail that final long note.
Country: North Macedonia
Song: Here I Stand
Composer: Vasil Garvanliev
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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How big was the pile of songs that Hooverphonic produced and chose from for the 2020 contest, that later got cancelled? Did they simply pick another one of these for 2021? What can we expect on stage, how big is the pressure from home, given that they are one the biggest bands in Belgium, and how has the mood in the band been affected by the return of the previous singer Geike Arnaert?
Country: Belgium
Song: The Wrong Place
Composer: Alex Callier & Charlotte Foret
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Destiny Chukunyere is only 18 years old, has already won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and now she is the betting favourite to win the adult contest as well, for a country that is desperately longing for their first victory. How does she handle that pressure? Also, what does she remember from Tel Aviv in 2019 when she shared a room with Michela Pace, how was this year's song selected and how disappointed was she about the cancelled 2020 contest?
Country: Malta
Song: Je me casse
Composers: Amanuel Dermont, Malin Christin, Nicklas Eklund & Pete Barringer
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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What is the thing about the 1980's, a decade when the two members of the band was hardly even born, and what are their influences? Are the dance moves by Jesper Groth choreographed and do they have an English version of their song recorded? What happened to the song they submitted in 2018 and what more music to they have to be published and discovered by the fans?
Country: Denmark
Song: Øve os på hinanden
Composer: Laurits Emanuel Pedersen
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Gjon Muharremaj from Switzerland has been one of the frontrunners for two years running. How does he handle this? What was the happy accident that brought him to Eurovision in the first place, and how many songs did he write when he got a second chance? Who are his main inspirations, is it a no-brainer for him to choose to sing in French and what can we expect on stage?
Soon to be legendary: Gjon's tears
Country: Switzerland
Song: Tout l'Univers
Composers: Gjon Muharremaj, Nina Sampermans, Wouter Hardy & Xavier Michel
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The story of Tusse starts with the voyage from a refugee camp in Kongo-Kinshasa to finding a new home and family in a small town in Sweden. He also describes his voyage from an outcast to being accepted for the person that he is. Of course we also talk about his musical journey and how he was paired with the song "Voices" in spite of a maths test and a driver's test. But the question remains: Which colour nail polish will he wear in Rotterdam?
Soon to be legendary: Tusse
Country: Sweden
Song: Voices
Composers: Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Jimmy ''Joker'' Thörnfeldt & Anderz Wrethov
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Soon to be legendary: Efendi
Special guest: Tony Cornelissen
Interpreter: Aydan Topchibasheva
Is it true that the song contains a sample from Army of Lovers? How sexy will Efendi be on stage? How was the song created and why is it about the alleged Dutch spy Mata Hari? We will learn all of this and much more when Efendi and her songwriter Tony Cornelissen tells us about the Azerbaijani entry.
Country: Azerbaijan
Song: Mata Hari
Composers: Amy van der Wel, Luuk van Beers, Tony Cornelissen & Josh Earl
Host: Emil Löfström
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Why do a bunch of Finnsh metal artists want to take part in Eurovision, what do they know about the contest and to who or what do they want us all to aim our middle fingers?
Soon to be legendary: Blind Channel
Country: Finland
Song: Dark Side
Composers: Aleksi Kaunisvesi, Joonas Porko, Joel Hokka, Niko Moilanen & Olli Matela
Host: Emil Löfström
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Soon to be legendary: James Newman with sidekick Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden: Judith Gough
How did the song originate, how big is the Eurovision-interest and how many tries had been made before?
What can we expect on stage and whatever will they wear?
Who is the biggest competitor and what are the expectations for Rotterdam??
Country: United Kingdom
Song: Embers
Composers: James Newman, Conor Blake, Danny Shah, Tom Hollings & Samuel Brennan
Host: Emil Löfström
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In 1990, Can Uğurluer finished second in the Turkish pre-selection, but the best thing to come out of this participation for him was that he met the two girls Reyhan Karaca and İzel Çeliköz who he would one year later compete together with and by a song written by his father and Aysel Gürel, the trio won the ticket to the beautiful, but slightly chaotic, Eurovision in Rome.
In Italy, every other delegation treated them nicely, apart from some notable exceptions that he tells us about. We also learn about his co-singer's rather unusual birthday surprise.
Can also shares his opinions about other Eurovision songs and about the fact that his home country no longer takes part in the competition.
Legend: Can Uğurluer
Song: Iki Dakika (Turkey 1991)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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They met when they sang backup for Times Three in 1999, and then they were on.
In 2003 they took to the front of the stage as a duo but were beaten by the song that they agree is the worst song that Malta has ever sent. We are of course talking about Julie Zahra and Ludwig Galea, or as we know them, Julie & Ludwig.
The year after they finally won the ticket to Eurovision with a song about themselves, written by Philip Vella and produced by Ralph Siegel, the memorable "On Again... Off Again..."
In Istanbul they realized that the life of a Eurovision participant wasn't as free and glamourous as they thought when they discovered that they couldn't even go for a walk or to the toilet without bodyguard protection, and that they weren't allowed to do ''it'' in their shared hotel bed (they were certainly ON at the time) in order to stay sharp for their performance.
Julie and Ludwig remember their performance well and tell us about all the funny quirks that happened, and without revealing too much we can just state that Ludwig was certainly no Britney Spears, neither when it comes to his styling nor his dancing abilities.
We also learn what has happened since, and can easily realize that since both of them are now with other people and have kids, they are most certainly off, but stay good friends.
Legends: Julie Zahra & Ludwig Galea
Song: On Again...Off Again
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When the audience left Malmö Arena after Eurovision 2013 they were met by a pre-made sign announcing Eurovision 2014 and pointing in the general direction of Copenhagen. This is how certain the Danish delegation were that they would win, but today's guest, the artist in question Emmelie de Forest, did not have that same confidence.
In hindsight the win was obvious, with the perfect match of the singer and the song "Only Teardrops", a song that already had a history when it was presented to her, contained bagpipes and had been rejected in another country. Of course we get to hear this demo.
What does she remember from Malmö, why has she never watched her own performance, why did she gain weight during the week, why was she barefoot and where did all her hair come from?
We also speak about her other Eurovision attempts as a songwriter and learn about her drummer who handled his flute so well.
Legend: Emmelie de Forest
Songs: Only Teardrops (Denmark 2013) Never Give Up on You (United Kingdom 2017)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Greek singing sensation Mando was certainly not a newcomer when she represented her country in 2003. First she started out internationally as “Mandy” but as we all know greek is the way to go and she became the fully dressed greek version of Samantha Fox.
She made her first try in 1989 to reach Eurovision but lost with only one point, in a mysterious voting with not every juror accounted for…
In 2003 she finally arrived in Eurovision after a long and successful career in Greece, Europe and the United States where she had collaborations with Jessica Simpson, Jean-Michel Jarre and Sertab Erener, who was also her opponent that year.
In an open hearted and frank interview Mando Stamatopoulou talks about her impressive career, spectacular cleavage in Riga, memories from the Eurovision Song Contest and what “Army of Lovers” has to do with this, besides cleavage?!
Legend: Mando Μαντώ Stamatopoulou
Song: Never Let You Go (Greece 2003)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Paul Curtis is an amazing composer, who has written countless great songs that all carry that particular British pop sound. Four times it has lead him to the Eurovision, out of total of twenty attempts, but he has written several hits for other contexts as well.
He generously lets us dive deeply into both his diary and his drawers, when he openly tells us all his stories and lets us listen to the original demos of the songs that made it and those that didn't, with several never before heard tracks.
This second episode starts off with the chaotic competition in 1991, and Paul reveals to us why and how Samantha Janus ruined her voice before her performance. When the BBC started to experiment with different selection formats things got trickier for Mr. Curtis. He tells us why UK representative in 1992, Michael Ball, recorded all the songs in the pre-selection apart from Paul's and why he has such a tough time getting into the competition in recent years that he has even made attempts across the ditch in France with singer Jessica Martinez among other things.
Legend: Paul Curtis
Songs: Let Be Be the One - The Shadows (United Kingdom 1975) Love Games - Belle and the Devotions (United Kingdom 1984) Give a Little Love Back To The World - Emma (United Kingdom 1990) A Message to Your Heart - Samantha Janus (United Kingdom 1991)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Paul Curtis is an amazing composer, who has written countless great songs that all carry that particular British pop sound. Four times it has lead him to the Eurovision, out of total of twenty attempts, but he has written several hits for other contexts as well.
He generously lets us dive deeply into both his diary and his drawers, when he openly tells us all his stories and lets us listen to the original demos of the songs that made it and those that didn't, with several never before heard tracks.
In this first episode of two, we learn that his Eurovision career was off to an amazing start when he won the British ticket in 1975 with "Let Me Be the One", and then he was hooked. Hear the stories about why he wasted a potential winner on his girlfriend who couldn't sing, about his colleague who tended to always be in the room at the right time and what he did to an audience member in Luxembourg. He also reveals that the emerging troubles in the Balkan region could be felt already when he competed in Zagreb in 1990 and lots of other interesting stories.
Legend: Paul Curtis
Songs: Let Be Be the One - The Shadows (United Kingdom 1975) Love Games - Belle and the Devotions (United Kingdom 1984) Give a Little Love Back To The World - Emma (United Kingdom 1990) A Message to Your Heart - Samantha Janus (United Kingdom 1991)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the first time in Eurovision Legends we make an episode not with the person in question, but with a proxy. This is since France Gall is sadly no longer with us, but her fascinating story still needs to be told.
Expert Tobias Larsson tells us about how her career started, the saddest victory moment in Eurovision history, why she broke her successful collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg and where Beethoven and Frank Sinatra fits into all of this.
In memoriam of a very special Eurovision Legend who left us too early
Legend: France Gall
Expert on the subject: Tobias Larsson
Song: Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Luxembourg 1965)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andreas Lundstedt was a huge artist in Sweden with many Melodifestivalen appearances but no victories, not least with his newly split group Alcazar, when he suddenly got an offer from legendary Ralph Siegel to participate in a project to compete for Switzerland.
The multi-national six-person group Six4One was artifically constructed for the contest in Athens, an although the members got along well this is still a cautionary tale about what can happen when a member in a group tries to behave like a solo artist with backup singers, due to an overzealous manager.
Today Andreas has returned to Greece and lives there with his husband, fellow (slightly more selective) Melodifestivalen participant Daniel Mitsogiannis, and this turns into a hilarious conversation about the Six4One project and the rest of Andreas' career. We also get to listen to some exclusive clips of demos, including a real schlager banger penned by Eurovision composers.
Legend: Andreas Lundstedt - Six4One
Song: If We All Give a Little (Switzerland 2006)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Eurovision audience first met Riccardo Fogli in 1983 when he brought Italy back to the contest after a couple of years absence with the song "Per Lucia". But his biggest break actually came the year before, when he won the San Remo festival with "Storie di tutti i giorni", which became a huge hit not only in Italy, but all over the world, and took him to gigs in places like the USSR, where the record sold a million copies.
What happened in Munich, is he willing to tell us about it, what has happened since then and why did he leave Italy's most successful band Pooh back in 1974?
We also get to listen to his latest single and to several artists who have covered or outright plagiarised his songs.
Big thanks to Yanna Yancheva at J & K Productions and Azzurra Music.
Legend: Riccardo Fogli
Song: Per Lucia (Italy 1983)
Host: Emil Löfström
Interpreter: Maria Alexandra
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Eurovision Legends goes political! Because nothing else is possible when the guest of this episode is Mira Awad, who sang for Israel together with Noa at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow.
Born in Galilee to a Palestinian father and a Bulgarian mother, Mira was well-informed about political issues from an early age.
As a singer she tried to represent Israel already back in 2005, but she ended up last. She then got another chance when her duet partner since several years, Noa, was offered the ticket in 2009 and insisted that Mira Awad should join her.
Here we will learn all the details about this historic participation which was considered controversial in both camps and how she dealt, and still deals, with the criticism.
Legend: Mira Awad מירה עווד ميرا عوض
Song: There Must Be Another Way (Israel 2009)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sweden started out in Eurovision as a rather obscure country with old-fashioned songs and less than impressive results, but that all changed in 1968 when the country started to establish itself as the powerhouse of pop we know today.
The song "Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej" with the relatively unknown young singer Claes-Göran Hederström was something completely different, and his confidence and swagger gave the already catchy tune with the quirky lyrics an additional boost, and the song is still a classic in Sweden.
53 years later, Mr. Banne-mej is no longer a young man, but he's still got the swagger and often sings his beloved entry.
He has participated one more time in Melodifestivalen after his victory and has released several other singles, but none as successful as his Eurovision entry. But why did it take him ten years to release an English version of the song?
Legend: Claes-Göran Hederström
Songs: Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej (Sweden 1968)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The already crumbling nation of Yugoslavia had competed for nearly three decades when they finally won the Eurovision 1989, with the happy pill "Rock Me" and the group Riva .Lead singer Emilija Kokić and the rest of the group came from Croatia, which was then one of the parts of Yugoslavia, and Emilia has participated an additional three times as a solo artist in the Croatian pre-selection Dora. Emilia tells us about her career in and outside of the Eurovision, which has lead her through the many revolutionary events that has shook the Balkans during this period.
Things also get emotional when we remember the composer of "Rock Me" - Rajko Dujmic - who sadly passed away a mere month before this episode was recorded.
Legend: Emilija Kokić from Riva
Songs: Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Young and totally unknown, Dora took part in the Portuguese pre-selection in 1986, won, and traveled to Bergen where she represented her country in her own unique style with a huge green skirt and thick boots.
Two years later she was an established artist and won again, but didn't have the same control over her participation in Dublin.
First her song was replaced with another one, then the new song was rearranged in a way she didn't like and lastly she was styled totally different than she would have preferred.
Since then she has done a lot, we talk about Brazil, Playboy magazine and McDonalds, among other things
Legend: Dora
Songs: Não Sejas Mau Para Mim & Voltarei (Portugal 1986 &1988)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This is a cautionary tale about what can happen when you don't stay true to yourself.
The German group Münchener Freiheit was formed in the 1980's and was a very succesful band for many years and had hits both on home soil and all over Europe. In 1993 they were internally selected to represent Germany in Eurovision, but it took some convincing from their manager to make them do it, since they didn't think that their style was suitable for Eurovision at the time.
However, today's guest, lead singer and songwriter Stefan Zauner, adapted to his view of what would work for the contest and wrote "Viel zu weit". It failed in Millstreet, and is something that the band almost won't acknowledge today. Would they have fared better if they hade stayed true to their usual sound? That is at least what Stefan Zauner is doing nowadays, and he recently released a new record.
Legend: Stefan Zauner from Münchener Freiheit
Songs: Viel zu weit (Germany 1993)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Twice a Eurovision participant, but never a winner, although she came very close in 1999 when she lost the Nordic duel with Charlotte Nilsson from Sweden. Selma Björnsdóttir is one of Iceland's most prolific singers, but also a dancer, director and much more.
She speaks very openly about her two participations and shares her memories from how she was chosen to represent her country and about the three times she has been part of the Icelandic delegation.
She also freely expresses her opinions on various topics, such as how Iceland was depicted in "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga".
Legend: Selma
Songs: All Out of Luck & If I Had Your Love (Iceland 1999 & 2005)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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He has participated twice in Eurovision, has a total of 15 San Remo appearances under his belt and has sold a total of 165 millions records.
We are of course talking about Italian superstar Al Bano, who together with his then wife Romina Power came seventh in Eurovision both 1976 and 1985, In this episode he speaks openly about his career that spans over seven different decades, but also about the tough times in his personal life, like losing a child and getting divorced from Romina Power.
He is still active making music, and among many other gems we get to listen to a duet he made with a Melodifestivalen participant, and he says that he is ready to go to Eurovision again if RAI calls!
Thanks to Al Bano and his wonderful manager Yanna Yancheva, we also have the privilege to share some merchandise with the listeners of the podcast!
Legend: Al Bano
Song: We'll Live It All Again & Magic oh Magic (Italy 1976 & 1985)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 2010 a young Swedish manboy took part in Melodifestivalen for the first time, and on his second attempt the next year he won it. He kind of started the trend to win Melodifestivalen on the second attempt and he also started the trend of good Swedish results as he finished third in Düsseldorf, where he became quite popular.
He made headlines at both these appearances with his elaborate stage acts, which included showering on stage and the breaking of glass. Since then we have seen him as a green room reporter at Eurovision 2013, yet again as a contestant but with a worse result which probably did sting for the competetive young man, and in 2019 he was one of the hosts of Melodifestivalen.
This year he is back with a new song, and his eyes are yet again set on the prize as both the bookies and himself consider him one of the frontrunners for the ticket to Rotterdam. Hear Eric Saade tell us about his experiences and what we can expect from him this time around, when he takes time out of his extremely busy schedule where every minute is accounted for.
Legend: Eric Saade
Song: Popular (Sweden 2011)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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One of the most famous groups to arise from the Eurovision Song Contest was Dschingis Khan, who despite their lackluster 4th placing in 1979 went on to conquer the world, just like their namesake, but in a much more peaceful manner.
Today we will hear Emil talk to original member of the band Wolfgang Heichel, who certainly has stories to tell. From the very intense beginnings of the band, when it was formed by Ralph Siegel just weeks before they were to go on stage in the German preselection, via a clear victory and a Eurovision participation in Jerusalem to grand tours behind the iron curtain with everything but live tigers and bears on stage.
After their great success with their Eurovision entry "Dschinghis Khan" they managed to make a follow-up single called "Moskau" that became an even bigger hit, a feat which few Eurovision participants can match, and they are to day one of Germany's biggest music exports with over 20 million album copies sold.
After some very intense years, Wolfgang left the group, but restarted it in 2007 and they just released a new album, from which we get to listen to several songs. Hoo! Haa!
Legend: Wolfgang Heichel - Dschinghis Khan
Song: Dschinghis Khan (Germany 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Ilinca Băcilă started her career in talent shows at a really young age, showcasing her self-aquired talents as a yodeler of all things.
It was due to this unusual talent that she was offered the song that had recently been turned down by another artist for Eurovision 2017.
It took some time for the song to find its shape, but it was finally turned into a duet between Ilinca and rapping rocker Alex Florea.
On site in Kyiv the duo fared much better than the other group, but what else does Ilinca remember? Apparently not the moment when she became a meme without even noticing it, due to Alex Floreas spontaneous kissing techinque.
Legend: Ilinca Băcilă
Song: Yodel It (Romania 2027)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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She was known as the star of the musical "Les Miserables", but Frances Ruffelle was surpringsly approached by the BBC to sing all the entries in their pre-selection for Eurovision 1994.
Almost as surprisingly, not at least to herself, she eventually accepted and went on to sing "We Will Be Free", "Lonely Symphony" or whatever the song was called in the end in Dublin.
Let us listen to her memories from the competition, her styling including the infamous headpiece, and her opinions about the result.
She also tells us about her further career, which has mainly taken place on the musical scene, and about her also famous daughter. The only question that remains is; who was more disappointed about her result in Dublin, Frances or Emil?
Legend: Frances Ruffelle
Song: Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free) (United Kingdom 1994)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For former participant of Swedish Idol, Anna Bergendahl, her Melodifestivalen/Eurovision journey in 2010 was a rollercoaster without comparison.She started out in the Melodifestivalen semi final as an almost unnoticed newcomer, surprised everybody by going straight to the final were she became the frontrunner to win, and she managed to live up to those expectations when she became the Swedish representative to Oslo.
As the representative of mighty power Sweden, she was the only one in her team who even considered it a possibility not to make it out of the semi final, and therefore it came as a huge shock for both the Swedish delegation and the entire Swedish audience when she only finished in 11th place, just five points short of a spot in the final. This was the first, and to date only, time when Sweden has failed to qualify for a Eurovision final.
How much blame did she feel from the spoiled Swedish audience, and how did this affect her career? Was this why she decided to study medicine instead of continuing with her music, and if so, what made her return to the contest nine years later to become an audience and fan favourite with her two consecutive entries "Ashes to Ashes" and "Kingdom Come"?
Legend: Anna Bergendahl
Song: This Is My Life (Sweden 2010)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The tiny duchy of Luxembourg was one of the original seven countries of the Eurovision Song Contest, and despite their size they held their ground very well, often with artists invited from other countries. In total, they managed to accumulate an impressive five victories before they retired from the contest. Today, we will be talking to their last ever entrant - Jimmy Martin - who participated for Luxembourg in 1993 as a composer and as one half of the duo Modern Times.
Jimmy has been composing and singing hard rock for most of his life, he wrote the entry "Donne moi une chance" with Patrick Hippert who had done Eurovision before, and he formed the duo together with Simone Weis.
Hear him tell us about why his rough outfit clashed so with her expensive dress, how he ended up here and why Luxembourg never participated again, and also about what this still active musician has been doing since, and with which famous artists he has collaborated.
Legend: Jimmy Martin from Modern Times
Song: Donne-moi une chance (Luxembourg 1993)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Israeli composer and noble conductor Kobi Oshrat is most famous for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with the (initially rejected) song "Hallelujah", but as you will learn from this extensive episode about his career in general and his participations in Eurovision and the Israeli pre-selection Kdam in particular, this man has had his fingers in almost every nook and cranny of the Israel music business for many decades.
A musician of the old school, Kobi tells us that he is the most happy when conducting an orchestra, and he reveals stories of his songs and artists he has worked with such as Ofra Haza, Gali Atari and Izhar Cohen, and we also learn about his greatest regrets, one of which is heavily tied to Eurovision colleagues ABBA.
Legend: Kobi Oshrat קובי אשרת
Songs: Hallelujah (Israel 1979) Ole Ole (Israel 1985) Shir Habatlanim (Israel 1987) Kan (Israel 1991) Ze rak sport (Israel 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Once upon a time, Greece was not the high-scoring, surefire-qualifying Eurovision force that they turned into after the turn of the century. In fact, they used to fare quite badly and very rarely broke in to the top 5. However, they could always be trusted to spice up the contest with that unique Greek ethnic flavour. And few other entries were as ethnically tasty as their entry in 1995, "Pia prosefhi" with the internally chosen Elina Konstantopoulou. Let's have a talk with Elina to hear about her participation in 1995, what makes a song sound so genuinely Greek, why she didn't get along with her duet partner when she tried to return to the contest in 2002, some other songs of her's and why she stopped being an artist.
Legend: Elina Konstantopoulou Ελίνα Κωνσταντοπούλου
Song: Pia Prosefhi Ποια προσευχή (Greece 1995)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Eurovision career for Philip Vella started in 1997 when he was brought in to play the guitar for the Maltese entry, but it is as a composer he has made an enormous mark on Eurovision and on various national finals, in particular in his home country of Malta where he has competed with almost 80 songs. His first attempt was in 1994, and the first time one of his songs reached Eurovision was in 2000 with "Desire". Short of winning the entire competition he has reached almost any imaginable result, and this with such a varied style of songs that it is hard to believe that they were written by the same person.
In this episode, Philip and Emil takes a stroll through the highlights of this discography and we get to hear the stories behind the songs and the methods through which they came to be. He has also generously donated some copies of his latest record for the Eurovision Legends listeners.
Legend: Philip Vella
Songs: Desire (Malta 2000) 7th Wonder (Malta 2002) On Again...Off Again (Malta 2004) Vertigo (Malta 2007) Vodka (Malta 2008) Breathlessly (Malta 2017)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It was the era of ethno and the era of Ireland in Eurovision. Composer Brendan Graham had won two years prior, in 1994 with "Rock'n'roll Kids", a song that had been submitted before but refused, and in 1996 he went for and pulled off the same trick again with previously refused "The Voice". This time the artist was the young choir singer Eimear Quinn, who had never had any inkling towards a career in pop music in general or Eurovision in particular, and despite her protests Brendan Graham managed to convince her that it was a good idea.
In this interview she reveals absolutely everything, often without the need for Emil to even ask the questions, and she provides some really insightful analysis into the zeitgeist of the 1990's and why it was actually the interval act that became Riverdance that was the initial spark for the ethnic trend.
Legend: Eimear Quinn
Song: The Voice (Ireland 1996)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ismeta Dervoz might not be the most famous name among Eurovision fans, but her love for the contest is huge and her adventures within it are numerous and really, really exciting.
It started in 1976, when she as the lead singer of the Yugoslavian group Ambassadori might have been the only artist to date to perform without any makeup on, due to an Italian mishap.
She later switched careers to work as a journalist for radio and television, and when Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent in 1992 she was the one who made sure that the new country took a place on the world stage by participating in Eurovision.Given the circumstances, this was no easy task though, and the stories she tells us about those first years sound more like the plot of a James Bond movie, with a lot of help from generous people all over Europe.
Since then she served some years in the Bosnian parliament, and nowadays she is an activist and works to get her country back into our beloved Eurovision.
Legend: Ismeta Dervoz from Ambasadori
Song: Ne mogu skriti svoju bol
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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For the Israeli pre-selection KDAM in 1987, a song called "Shir Habatlanim" had been selected as one of the contestants, but no artist was interested in taking this totally chanceless song on, especially since there were some really big names among the other competitors. The obvious solution was, of course, to put the song in the hands of arranger genius Kobi Oshrat and two Shakesperian actors with an affinity for the movie Blues Brothers.
One of the first humour acts in Eurovision history was born as the song won the competition against all odds and went to Brussels where the two artists - Nathan Datner and Avi Kushnir, also known as "Lazy Bums" - rebelliously treated nothing but the performance itself seriously and just had fun.
Listen to Nathan Datner describe the entire adventure, which made both him and his partner superstars, and what happened afterwards when they tried to return to their regular lives as serious actors.
Legend: Nathan Datner from Lazy Bums
Song: Shir Habatlanim שיר הבטלנים
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A young Swedish teenager and his mormon family moves to the United States to learn the trade of show business, then moves back to Sweden and together with his two brothers participate as ''Herrey's'' in the in the Swedish Melodifestivalen, virtually unknown and in spray-painted boots and shirts made from shower curtains, confidently wins both Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision, becomes the biggest artists in Sweden at the time, gets besieged by screaming fans, briefly dates Carola and goes on tour behind the iron curtain. It is not quite your run-of-the-mill life story that Rikard Herrey has to tell Emil in this episode, where we also learn about Rikard's companionship with Christer Björkman, his further attempts to return to Melodifestivalen and all of the other projects he has been involved in, from restaurants to a stunt in the Swedish parliament.
Legend: Richard Herrey
Song: Diggi-loo Diggi-ley
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
She is the grand lady of the Danish music scene, but she sure took her sweet time to grace Eurovision with her presence. It wasn't from a lack of trying though, since she has seen the runner-up position in the the Danish Melodi Grand Prix more times than anyone should ever have to. When she finally won and got to represent her country in the Eurovision she did not disappoint, hauling both the composer, lyricist and conductor (!) up on stage to back her up when she finished third with the classic song "Vi maler byen rød".
Legend: Birthe Kjær
Song: Vi maler byen rød (Denmark 1989)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It takes a special kind of man to take a song that has been rejected in Sweden, make it his own, crush the opposition in the Danish pre-selection and then bring it with confidence to the Eurovision. That man is Jonas Rasmussen.
The song "Higher Ground" tells the story about a pacifist viking, and nobody can deny that Rasmussen both looks and acts the part, with his long hair and beard and gentle disposition. In this conversation he tells us about his Eurovision experience and how he got there.
We also get to listen to new music he has released since, he explains why he has chosen not to continue with the viking theme, and reveals some favorite songs from Eurovision history.
Legend: Rasmussen
Song: Higher Ground (Denmark 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emil has, thanks to the very helpful Uri Kabiri, come in contact with the beauty with the big black curly hair who sang to us that it was just a game - "Ze rak sport" - in 1992. Did you know that she only agreed to participate in the Israeli pre-selection once her manager, Shlomo Zach had assured her that there was no chance that she would win? We all know how much that promise was worth since she did win a very tough instance of KDAM with a margin of just a single point, but why didn't she want to win? You will learn this and much more about Dafna Dekel when you listen to this episode, like the fact that she learned French just to be able to host the Eurovision in 1999 and fell in love with the language.
Legend: Dafna Dekel דפנה דקל
Song: Ze rak sport זה רק ספורט (Israel 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 1994 Bosnia and Herzegovina was to take part in Eurovision for the second time as an independent nation, but they were still at war. Nevertheless the internally selected artists Alma & Dejan managed to travel to Ireland, where they were met with such a huge round of applause that they couldn't hear the music.
In this episode Emil gets to speak to Alma Čardžić, who besides this very emotional participation once again was chosen to represent her country in 1997 with the song "Goodbye" and got to return to Dublin.
Since then, she has pretty much turned away from artistry and nowadays spends most of her time rescuing stray dogs and cats, taking care of them and trying to find them new homes. The good-hearted Alma pays for this project all out of her own pocket, so we at Eurovision Legends would like to take this opportunity to let you know how you can help Alma in her efforts, by donating a small sum of money here:
paypal.me/Almasanimals2020
Legend: Alma Čardžić
Songs: Ostani kraj mene (Bosnia & Herzegovina 1994), Goodbye (Bosnia & Herzegovina 1997)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emil gets hold of the crazy energy package from Finland, Krista Siegfrids, as she is sitting bored at home waiting for her fully baked baby to be ready to come out of the oven any day.
Every Eurovision fan remembers Krista as the crazy bridezilla with her ding-dong possy from Malmö in 2013, where she put her mark all over the town and in the hearts of many fans, possibly annoying a competitor or two in the process. She definetely annoyed some entire countries with her "outrageous" stunt of kissing another girl at the end of her performance.
Since then she has competed twice in Swedish Melodifestivalen and landed an almost permanent gig as the host of the Finnish equivalent UMK, and who knows in which country she will pop up next? Or maybe she will return as an insane mom-manager when her daughter competes in 20 years?
Legend: Krista Siegfrids
Song: Marry me (Finland 2013)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Two Scandinavian countries did unusually well in 1966, since directly behind the Swedish runner-up was Norway on an impressive third place, with the equally jazzy "Intet er nytt under solen" with Åse Kleveland. And by an unusual quirk of fate, Åse would also be the one to follow fellow competitor Lill Lindfors as a Eurovision host, when she hosted the 1986 contest from Bergen.
Starting out as a classical guitarist, she became a politically engaged protest singer and ended up representing Norway in the Eurovision, but her CV is far from done with that. Apart from being the host who sang "And soon we will now who'll be the best, in the Eurovision Song Contest" in 1986, she has been the Minister of culture in Norway, the head of the Swedish movie institute and met a young Emil at a rest stop in Karlstad.
She recently released her first album in 44 years, and of course we get to listen to some of the songs.
Legend: Åse Kleveland
Song: Intet er nytt under solen (Norway 1966)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Sweden's start to their Eurovision adventure started out rather unimpressively, but that all changed in 1966 when they decided to send Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson with a quirky jazz waltz duet to the competition. To this date this is still the only second place for the country.
In this episode, Emil will talking to Lill Lindfors who, despite her huge career in both Sweden and Germany, never had another song in the competition, but "Nygammals vals" is still not her biggest impression on our beloved contest. That instead came in 1985, when she was chosen to host the contest upon Sweden's second victory the year before. Her calm demeanour, impressive languages skills and, above all, her little skirt trick that made the EBU executive supervisor Frank Naef furious, set an impressive standard for years to come and she is still considered one of the best hosts in Eurovision history.
How much does she remember, why wasn't she nervous, and what does one of Sweden's most loved artists do today, at 80 years of age?
Legend: Lill Lindfors
Song: Nygammal vals (Sweden 1966)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 2016 the Eurovision fans found their new darling.
It was the 19-year old singer Zoë from Austria, who with her happy pill of a song "Loin d'ici" charmed the glitter pants off everyone. Being fluent in French, she participated with a song in that language penned by herself and her father, just as she had partially done the year before in the Austrian pre-selection with three songs.
She quickly emerged as the fan favourite of that year's contest, but was kept grounded by surrounding herself by her family. Nowadays, she is still keeping family values high, since she recently became a mother herself.
In this episode we get to hear it all from the gentle girl who never stops talking.
Legend: Zoë
Song: Loin d'ici (Austria 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The British band Brotherhood of Man was formed in 1969 and lead singer Martin Lee joined in 1973, three years before their iconic Eurovision victory with one of the best selling single ever in the United Kingdom, "Save Your Kisses for Me". Already prior to the contest the song was a huge hit and strongly predicted to bring a victory home to the islands.But, as we learn from Martin, this success was far from smooth sailing. He tells us about endless rehearsals of the now iconic choreography, which the band initially thought was a prank. We also learn the meaning and story behind the heartstring-tugging lyrics.
The band has often been compared to ABBA, and Martin reveals that they were even offered the song "Mamma Mia" from ABBA, before it was retracted.
Additionally, we get to listen to important parts of the discography, including Martin's second attempt to reach the Eurovision, from the band who are still active today.
Legend: Brotherhood of Man
Song: Save Your Kisses for Me (United Kingdom 1976)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Jan Johansen's Eurovision story started with him losing track of an appointment and arriving at a studio to record a demo four and a half hours early. In the same studio songwriting legends Bobby Ljunggren and Håkan Almqvist were working on a Melodifestivalen entry for Christer Björkman, and asked a clueless Jan if he could help them with some singing. That song was to become Jan's breakthrough, a megahit and placing third in the Eurovision. On site in Dublin he still hadn't grasped his own status and went around and collected autographs from the other artists, and at one time during the week he ended up at the home of the mother of one of his idols. Since 1995, Jan has competed with several more songs in Melodifestivalen, among those the second-placed duet "Let Your Spirit Fly" which Jan later, unbeknownst to and unauthorized from songwriters Anders Dannvik and Ola Höglund, recorded together with Maltese Eurovision legend Chiara.
Of course we get to listen to this version as well as several other demo-songs from Jan, and we also speak about various collaborations with artists such as Shirley Clamp, Pandora, Pernilla Wahlgren and Charlotte Perrelli.
Legend: Jan Johansen
Song: Se på mig (Sweden 1995)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Kalomira was born and raised in New York by Greek parents, but did not hesitate when Greek television called for her services for the 2008 Eurovision. Despite some sour moods among the artists in the Greek pre-selection, Kalomira won and ERT went all in on the act "Secret Combination" for Eurovision. Her outfit was very expensive and designed by none other than J.Lo, but she assures us that this was not the cause of the looming Greek economic crisis. She won her semifinal and had fun in Belgrade, but reveals that eventual winner Dima Bilan clearly showed that he was not a fan of hers. Today she's living family life back in the states, but would like to participate again in Eurovision, either for Greece or Cyprus, or why not in the upcoming American Song Contest? We also get to hear some of her more recent songs.
Legend: Kalomira
Song: Secret Combination (Greece 2008)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Habitual loser-country Norway had competed in the Eurovision since 1960, but were more famous for their last places and "nil points" than anything else. That all changed when two extremely lively ladies, who had both competed in the Eurovision before, joined forces and performed the upbeat happy-pill "La de swinge" and won in Gothenburg 1985. In this episode the girls have met up again and we talk and laugh not only about "La de swinge", but also about their numerous other participations in both Eurovision and the national pre-selections of Norway and Sweden, even though Elisabeth cannot quite remember them all, despite having prepared a list! But did you know that it was close that "La de swinge" never happened, since Elisabeth was considered for the Swedish Melodifestivalen that year, or that Norwegian surefire-recipe-for-victory composer Rolf Løvland submitted a song for consideration for Just 4 Fun in 1991? Songs we of course get to listen to in this episode where Emil desperately tries to cover two amazing careers in a limited time.
Legends: Bobbysocks (Hanne Krogh & Elisabeth Andreasen
Songs: Lykken er (Hanne, Norway 1971)
Dag efter dag (Elisabeth as part of Chips, Sweden 1982)
La de swinge (Norway 1985)
Mitt liv (Hanne as lyricist, Norway 1987)
Mrs. Thompson (Hanne as part of Just 4 Fun, Norway 1991)
Duett (Elisabeth together with Jan Werner, Norway 1994)
I evighet (Elisabeth, Norway 1996)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1997, the United Kingdom managed to get the established group Katrina & the Waves, known mainly for their super-hit "Walking on Sunshine" to compete to represent them in the Eurovision, and as we all know, the rest is history with an iconic victory. Hear a relaxed Katrina's hilarious story of how they ended up in the competition she knew almost nothing about and what happened in Dublin. We get to hear tales about drinking vodka with Mrs. Einstein, how she met and almost curtsied for the queen of Eurovision backstage (and no, we are not referring to Paul Oscar), how her onion-smelling stage outfit was chosen by coincidence and then ended up in the Belgian Eurovision museum in Antwerp (?) in this special 50th episode of Eurovision Legends. We also learn that she has tried several times to compete again, the last as recent as 2020, and about her Cher-impersonating Meat Loaf-style song in Melodifestivalen. We also get to hear all those songs and several more, and how she committed singing under influence during the winner's reprise. It doesn't get any better than this, cheers!
Legend: Katrina Leskanich from Katrina & the waves
Song: Love Shine a Light (United Kingdom 1997)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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How can one person be so talented, smart and nice at the same time? Well, I don't know, but if you listen to this episode you will learn what Dami Im really sucks at. You will also hear about how her loyal fans voted her to Eurovision, how nervous she was in Stockholm, how her very expensive dress was shredded by the stage decor, how to get down from high boxes, her song she would have submitted in 2021 and much more.
Legend: Dami Im
Song: Sound of Silence (Australia 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The greatest composer in the history of Eurovision turns 75 years, which we celebrate by inviting him back to the podcast. Emil and Ralph spoke for an hour five months ago, but this true legend has made so much great music that there is a lot more to listen to and to say. This time we dive a little deeper into the songs that didn't make it to Eurovision, since Ralph has competed lots of times in preselections across Europe, so much that there sometimes has been some envious backlash towards his dominance, not at least in his home country of Germany. Mr. SIegel is, despite his age, still as sharp as ever, and is currently enthusiastically working on a life-long dream, the musical "Zeppelin" which, if all goes to plan, will hit the theatres in 2021. Ralph himself celebrates his birthday by, among other things, releasing a comprehensive CD box with over 200 of his songs, and has generously donated ten of these to the listeners of Eurovision Legends.
To have a chance to win one of these you must share this episode publically on your social media using the hashtags #eurovisionlegends and #zeppelindasmusical, and maybe tag a couple of interested friends while you're at it. More information about this in the episode.
In this second part we continue from 1998 up until today
Legend: Ralph Siegel
Songs: Ballhouse - Can Can, CatCat - Pirates on the Dancefloor, Lou - Happy Birthday Party, German tenors - A Song for our Friends, Kriemhild Siegel - I Believe in you, Waterloo - So a Wonderschönes Leben, Petra Frey - This Night Should Never End, Eleanor Cassar - He, Nicole Süssmilch & Marco Matias - A Miracle of Love, Valentina Monetta - Crisalide, Valentina Monetta - Sensibilita, Classic rebels - Tonight at the Opera, Ruth Portelli - Innocent heart, Lee Bradshaw - Rivers of Silence, Oksana Nesterenko - Mondo blu, Lys Assia - C'etait ma vie, Lys Assia - All in Your Head, Laura Pinski - Under the Sun We Are One, Marks & Stefanet - Join Us in the Rain, Ireen Sheer - Ach lass mich noch einmal, Rex Guildo - Hasta la vista, Peter Alexander - Und sie sehnte sich so mehr nach liebe, Mireille Mathieu - Nur für dich
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The greatest composer in the history of Eurovision turns 75 years, which we celebrate by inviting him back to the podcast. Emil and Ralph spoke for an hour five months ago, but this true legend has made so much great music that there is a lot more to listen to and to say. This time we dive a little deeper into the songs that didn't make it to Eurovision, since Ralph has competed lots of times in preselections across Europe, so much that there sometimes has been some envious backlash towards his dominance, not at least in his home country of Germany. Mr. SIegel is, despite his age, still as sharp as ever, and is currently enthusiastically working on a life-long dream, the musical "Zeppelin" which, if all goes to plan, will hit the theatres in 2021. Ralph himself celebrates his birthday by, among other things, releasing a comprehensive CD box with over 200 of his songs, and has generously donated ten of these to the listeners of Eurovision Legends.
To have a chance to win one of these you must share this episode publically on your social media using the hashtags #eurovisionlegends and #zeppelindasmusical, and maybe tag a couple of interested friends while you're at it. More information about this in the episode.
In this first of two parts we start from the early beginnings and go up to 1997.
Legend: Ralph Siegel
Songs: Ireen Sheer - Goodbye Mama, Peggy March - Alles geht vorüber, Michael Holm - Gimmie your love, Gebrüder Blattschuss - Ein Blick sagt mehr als jedes Wort, Dschinghis Khan - Dschinghis Khan, Costa Cordalis - Pan, Katja Ebstein - Was hat sie, das ich nicht habe, Karel Gott - Und die Sonne wird wieder scheinen, The Hornettes - Mannequin, Paola - Peter Pan, Marianne Rosenberg - Blue Jeans Kinder, Nicole - Mehr als ein bisschen Frieden, Nicole - Ich hab dich doch lieb, Nicole - Dann küss mich doch, Harmony four - Tingel Tangel Mann, Harmony Four - Wo geht die reise hin, Caro Pukke - Grün grün grün, Heike Schäfer - Die Glocken von Rom, Clowns - Clowns, Dschinghis Khan - Wir gehör'n zusammen, Chris heart - Die Engel sind auch nicht mehr das was sie war'n, Dschinghis Khan - Rom, Dschinghis Khan - Moskau, Dschinghis Khan - The Other Side of Fame, Daliah Lavi - Wir sind gebrannte Kinder, Sandy Derix - Träume tun weh, Maxi & Chris Garden - Frieden für die Teddybären, Tammy Swift - Tanzen gehn, Doras Kiefer - Ich hab angst, Doras Kiefer - Wir sind stark genug, Katy Karney - Leben und leben lassen, Lena Valaitis - Wir sind uns wieder, Mekado - Wir geben ne Party , Mekado - Together in Blue Jeans, Mekado - Chance, Mekado - Teddybears & Roses, Village people - Far way in America, Rex Guildo - Ole Espana, Demo singer - Die Hindenburg, Angela Wiedl & Dalila Cernatescu - Echoes, All about angels - Engel
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1995, young singer Liora Simon was paired up with the song "Amen" by super producer Shlomo Zach, unknowing that the composer Moshe Datz had changed his mind and wanted to sing the song himself as Duo Datz when it got accepted to the Israeli preselection Kdam. Nevertheless, she competed and won, beating among others future winner Dana International, and got to represent Israel in Dublin, reaching a respectable 8th place. However, the success wasn't only positive as it pigeon-holed her into a genre that she didn't quite feel at home in, and the singer, who was born to Libyan parents, has had to fight to be able to make the kind of oriental music she wants. The Israeli market couldn't really handle the transformation and Liora left for Argentina, were she developed her own style, which unfortunately was eclipsed by a new artist with a very similar style, Shakira. Today Liora is a yoga teacher who lives in the present and hardly remembers important parts of her past, such as the fact that she recorded a French version of "Amen".
Legend: Liora
Song: Amen (Israel 1995)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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It is an understatement to say that two time Eurovision participant from Sweden, Roger Pontare, has quite a unique style and a mighty voice to match. His first appearance in Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision was in a duet with veteran Marie Bergman with "Stjärnorna", and we get to listen to the original demo with Daniel Zangger Borch, which convinced Roger to take part. The result in Eurovision was not very impressive and the über-competitive Mr. Pontare even refused to attend the press conference in disappointment, but he has still continued to try to reach Eurovision and succeded again in 2000, with the song that has become synonymous with him, "When Spirits Are Calling My Name". The song is so much "him" that it is even hard to grasp that he wasn't part of the songwriting process with composers Linda Dahl, Peter Dahl and Thomas Holmstrand, but actually was in the studio to record another song and had to be convinced to make a demo for this hit-to-be, a demo which we of course get to listen to. Also, the record company didn't believe in the song, and pre-pressed way too few records by a factor 100. On stage in Globen we remember him for bringing a native american, an inuit, a member of the sapmi population and lots and lots of fire, and was wrongly accused of smoking dope behind the scenes. We also talk about how he stylistically pre-dated the Frozen franchise with about 15 years, and Roger learns that one of his songs has been covered by Bonnie Tyler.
Legend: Roger Pontare
Songs: Stjärnorna (Sweden 1994) & When Spirits Are Calling My Name (Sweden 2000)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Future winner of the Eurovision, James Fox did not recieve a very good result when he competed in 2004, but the song still became a huge hit in the United Kingdom, and is actually the last song to date to pull off that feat. According to himself, this wasn't the last time he participated, though, since he claims to have written a Eurovision winner that he plans to compete with in the future. Contrary to what you might think, he is not related to his namesake Samantha Fox, since his last name is actually "Mullet" (which in Swedish means "hockeyfrilla") Since Eurovision, he has played in front of the royal family, on Broadway and for British troops overseas in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. We also get to premiere his brand new single "Fire and Coal''
Legend: James Fox
Song: Hold on to our love (United Kingdom 2004)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Three time participant and two time runner-up, German group Wind, has made a mark in Eurovision history. But due to a high rotation of members in this Ralph Siegel-powered project, there is actually only one member who participated all times, Petra Scheeser. We talk about her memories of all three participations, despite what seems to be a slight case of amnesia on Petra's part, and of why she left the band soon after their last (?) Eurovision participation in 1992. Nowadays, she works on her new projects and is a very supportive mother of her daughter Julia Scheeser, who is an up-and-coming artist in Germany.
Legends: Wind
Songs: Für alle (Germany 1985), Laß die Sonne in dein Herz (Germany 1987) & Träume sind für alle da (Germany 1992)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Bulgarian Eurovision legend and fan favourite Poli Genova represented her country in 2011, but she is most remembered for her participation in 2016, which she also celebrates as the best year ever in the history of Eurovision, which she even has commemorated with a tattoo. In addition, we will hear about her new record, which includes many cooperations with people she met in Stockholm 2016, and about her love for the Swedish preselection Melodifestivalen, which she would like to take part in and have previously attempted to do together with Swedish star Ace Wilder. Wonderful Poli also reveals which of her songs made Beyonce cry and how one of her choruses suddenly ended up as the representative for Malta.
Legend: Poli Genova (Поли Генова)
Songs: Na inat (Bulgaria 2011) & If Love Was a Crime (Bulgaria 2016)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The Swedish songwriter Sandra Bjurman might not be the most famous person in the Eurovision community, but she has actually written half of all entries from Azerbaijan, including the winner "Running Scared". Hear her open up about how this unusual situation came to be, what her relation with the slightly controversial country of Azerbaijan is and also listen to the early demos of her songs, with Sandra herself singing. We also discuss some of the unusual props, like a hamster wheel and the head of a horse, that have been used in the staging of her songs and listen to the songs that she withdrew from the Swedish preselection Melodifestivalen.
Legend: Sandra Bjurman
Songs: Drip Drop (Azerbaijan 2010) , Running Scared (Azerbaijan 2011) , When The Music Dies (Azerbaijan 2012), Tick-Tock (Ukraine 2014), Hour Of The Wolf (Azerbaijan 2015), Skeletons (Azerbaijan 2017), X My Heart (Azerbaijan 2018)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Edgy and cocky Norwegian duo Dollie de Luxe won the Melodi Grand Prix on their third attempt and represented Norway in Luxembourg. But did you know that they came close to instead represent the home nation, since they were big in many European countries and Japan? They ended up in a disappointing 17th place but that has not affected their further careers, since they went on to put on a musical on West End and are still working professionally with music 'til this day
Legends: Dollie De Luxe
Song: Lenge Leve Livet (Norway 1984)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Loukas Yorkas was the beautifully singing half of the odd duo that represented Greece in 2011, and was in fact the only entry to actually beat the eventual winner. He was also beautifully looking, at least according to Emil and many other gays on site in Düsseldorf. During the rehearsals he had a much easier time than his duet partner Stereo Mike, partly thanks to the help from Greek legend and Loukas' own idol Dimitris Mitropanos. In this relaxed conversation, while he is taking a walk during his vacation, he tells us about how he shot to fame but then came crashing down with anxiety attacks, and of his new music.
Legend: Loukas Yorkas
Song: Watch My Dance (Greece 2011)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Can two middle aged genuin musicians make an impact in the Eurovision with a subtle song not even using the orchestra? They sure can and they can break a lot of records in the process. They can also waffle on in this conversation with Emil but they struggle to stay serious for more than ten seconds, making this a hilarious morning for all three. Jokes and taunts fly left and right, interwoven with the actual story of how they got the song Rock 'n' Roll Kids and carried it all the way to a historic victory.
Legend: Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan
Song: Rock 'n' Roll Kids (Ireland 1994)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Emil has a chat with Felix ''Daphne'' Blass, one of the three lovely air stewardesses who made up the drag act Sestre, that represented Slovenia in 2002. Despite being a rather controversial choice they became a number one hit in Slovenia, and drew a lot of attention in Tallinn. Their brave statement opened doors for other drag acts and the LGBT community in general. We get to listen to the story of how Sestre was formed, how they got and won with the song and their week at the Eurovision, where a single Felix took his air stewardess job seriously and offered full service.
Legend: Sestre
Song: Samo Ljubezen (Slovenia 2002)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The young French singer Anne-Marie David won for Luxembourg in 1973, despite some problems keeping track of which country she represented and some last minute shopping together with Interpol. Tu te reconnetrais became a huge success and she toured all over Europe. In 1979 she returned for her home country France, but was disappointed with a third place which she puts down to foul play. She also reveals why she went of the grid for several years and we get to listen to the song she submitted in 2009.
Legend: Anne-Marie David
Songs: Tu Te Reconnaîtrais, Je Suis L'enfant Soleil (Luxembourg 1973, France 1979)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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The Marilyn Monroe look-a-like, who represented Yugoslavia in Zagreb in 1990, gets very personal in this interview where she talks about how she won the Yugoslavian pre-selection although she was considered a filler, the pressure of being the favorite on home soil and why she left her superstar status behind and moved to the U.S. Despite abuse and tragedies she has kept a positive outlook on life and invites us to her life story.
Legend: Tajci
Song: Hajde da ludujemo (Yugoslavia 1990)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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In 1986, Sweden's most prolific Eurovision composer Lasse Holm joined forces with very-serious-and-too-good-for-Melodifestivalen singer Monica Törnell and surprised both the swedish audience and the rest of Europe when they dropped any inhibitions to perform a happy-go-lucky song with a video where they threw paint at each other, and a stage show where we got to see Lasse climb on top of a grand piano, backup singers dressed like a wrestler, a maid and a gentleman, topped off with a shirtless head of delegation playing the electric guitar. Lasse has of course had several more songs in the Eurovision and too many to count in Melodifestivalen as a composer, but did you know that both of them have made further attempts to reach the contest? We get to hear those songs!
Legends: Lasse Holm & Monica Törnell
Songs: E' de' det här du kallar kärlek (Sweden 1986)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Emil finds a friend in fellow Eurovision enthusiast Nicki French, who performed the ironically titled "Don't Play That Song Again" for the United Kingdom in Eurovision 2000. This is an episode with lots of laughs, and her love for the contest shines through when she talks about her further attempts to reach the contest and the covers she has made of many Eurovision songs, which we also get to listen to. The fact that she herself once broke into the music business with a cover of a Bonnie Tyler song somehow makes it all come full circle.
Legend: Nicki French
Song: Don't Play That Song Again (United Kingdom 2000)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Romanian-Norwegian artist and composer Ovi is certainly no stranger to Eurovision. In addition to the two times he has represented Romania together with Paula Selling, he has also competed several times in Norway and even in Belgium. In this episode we take a tour through all of is songs and a detour through all of the names he is known by.
Legend: Ovi
Songs: Playing with fire & Miracle (Romania 2010, 2014)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Nina Morato, the French girl from 1994, turns out to be just as crazy as the outfit she wore in this conversation where we talk about the origins of the song, why her water pistol was confiscated and how she got away with foul language. But all has not been fun and games, she also shares how she found the competitors mean and about the very tough times she has had in her life.
Legend: Nina Morato
Song: Je suis un vrai garçon (France 1994)
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Ami Aspelund
Song: Fantasiaa (Finland 1983)
The Finnish family Aspelund apparently contains more musical talent than some entire countries. Ami Aspelund has competed more times than almost anyone else in the Finnish preselection, she has even lost counts, but she was still the second Aspelund sister to reach Eurovision in 1983, after her sister Monica in 1977. Let her tell us about her career.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Anjeza Shahini
Song: The Image of You (Albania 2004)
During the cold war, Albania was a closed society not totally different from North Korea today. But when the Berlin Wall fell and the Eastern European countries started to open up, so did Albania and in 2004 they were ready to join the Eurovision Song Contest. Anjeza Shahini was chosen, but the wrong promotion video was aired and things looked bleak. Hear her story about when she and her country found themselves thrown in the deep end of the pool.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Sürpriz
Song: Reise nach Jerusalem (Israel 1999)
In 1999 the German national final was won by Corinna May. Soon it was revealed that the song was already published. Instead Germany was represented by a group of Turkish immigrants with a song by Ralph Siegel. There were later talks about this also being prematurely made public, but they went to Jerusalem and scored an impressive third place. This is the story.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Hot Eyes
Songs: Det' lige det, Sku' du spørg' fra no'en, Ka' du se, hva' jeg sa? (Denmark 1984, 85, 88)
Kirsten and Søren represented Denmark three times during the 80's, but there were more attempts beyond that. Hear Kirsten Siggaard tell us the story about their successful years as one of Denmark's most profilic groups.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Deen
Song: In the disco (Bosnia and Herzegovina 2004)
Bosnian television invited the artist Deen to sing all the songs in their preselection in 2004, but how did this come about and what did the other songs sound like? And why did he turn up again in 2016? This time totally unrecognizable, as he was fully dressed.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
http//www.eurovisionlegends.se
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Legend: Ping Pong
Song: Sameach (Israel 2000)
Four youngsters with an open minded and peaceful message went balagan. Hear Roy Arad from the group Ping Pong tell the story behind the first song in the new millennium, why they waved Syrian flags and delivered Eurovision's first boy-on-boy kiss on stage, and what happened after they went back home to Israel like defeated politicians.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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Legend: Esther Hart
Song: One More Night (Netherlands 2003)
The dutch singer Esther Hart ended up in two preselections at the same time, one without even knowing about it. Here Esther tell us the story behind the two songs, her memories from Latvia and her heart project J'aime la Vlie that had to be canceled this year.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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Legend: One More Time
Song: Den vilda (Sweden 1996)
The successful group One More Time, with several hit-songs under their belt, went to Oslo as frontrunners. They had won the pre-qualifying round, which was never televised or broadcast, but the result had leaked out somehow. In this episode there will be a lot of laughter as they reminisce their memories from the Eurovision Song Contest and their music career, and as a bonus for the fans we get to hear two unreleased demos.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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Legend: Lindsay Dracass
Song: No Dream Impossible ( United Kingdom 2001)
In 2001 United Kingdom sent a young girl with braces, that couldn't handle the high note in the promo-video, which made the whole of Europe nervous. What would Lindsay in 2020 tell her 16 year old self and why did she miss that note. Besides this we laugh, talk about new music and listen to the demo version of No dream impossible.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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Legend: CatCat
Song: Bye Bye Baby (Finland 1994)
In 1994 two finnish sisters were predicted to have a good shot at winning, but ended up third last with their perhaps too modern song that didn't go well with an orchestra. Dressed in what looked like not too modern underwear they made a lasting impact and they have been offered to compete again and are still going strong.
Host: Emil Löfström
Contact: [email protected]
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.