The show that raided Ireland....

Yeah, I know, the contest was weeks ago, but work has go tin the way so much I never finished my look back, so today I'll look at Eurovision in the 1990's and then bring it up to date with the silliest decade of all.

So, 1990, and Yugoslavia having won the previous year host the competiton. Remember this was the year afetr the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall fell, so a song callign for the people of Europe to join together was an almost shoo-in to win - ask Toto Cotugno from Italy...



Such a pity that a few short years later Yugoslavia disintegrated into ethnic hatred...

So, to 1991 and Rome. For the secodn time in Eurovision history, there is a tie for the winning song - France and Sweden receivign the same number of points. Thsi time, however, rules are in place, and on countback this was the winning song.


So we go forward a year, and it's off to Malmo where a fine contest is held. In the end, however, it's a songstress from Ireland who wins called Linda Martin and a song called Why Me? Said song was written by one Johnny Logan....



And we start a tale of the dark side of Eurovision. The contest went back to Ireland, to Millstreet, with Sonia representing the UK - but the contest was won by the home entrant, Niamh Kavanagh...



So it's off to Dublin, and the show that unleashed misery on RTE, the Irish broadcasters. They decide to put two old song maestros up with a youtful reminisce of their music - Rock and Roll Kids - and wouldn't you know it it won again...



The real shock and surprise of this year, however, was the interval entertainment that took place while voting was considered. RTE had constructed a special stage in the harbour in Dublin, and asked a well known choreographer to come up with a short piece to celebrate Ireland. This was the result.



So Ireland digs deep, puts on the 1995 sontest, and hopes to the Almighty they don't win again. While it did give us the classic Eurovision episode of Father Ted, ridign to teh rescue of RTE comes one of the most beautiful winning songs of all time - Nocturne by Secret Garden from Norway.



So the Norwegians get to host the cotnest, but dammit - the Irish can;t stop winning this show!! Here's Eimear Quinn with The Voice.



So back to Ireland, and this time salvation comes from over the Irish Sea, as the UK takes a page from Switzerland's book and hire an American singer who had a massive hit ten years earlier with Walking on Sunshine. This is their last win to date - which says something...



Birmingham, 1998, and excitement is in the air. Something special is brewing - and it turns out that something special is a transsexual singer from Israel. This entry almost go tbanned by the Israeli government, and the Irish weren't too happy either as Dana International took the stage.



This was the sign that Eurovision was entering a new era, where anythign would and coudl go - but first we need to stop off in Israel for the 1999 contest, and a last gasp for the classic Eurovision style of song with Charlotte Neilsen and Take Me To Your Heaven...



Come back in a day or two for the final part - the Russians (and friends) are coming...