Point of view
From ABBA to Bucks Fizz and Norwegian duo Bobbysocks, there are so many reasons to love the Eurovision Song Contest, says our smitten columnist
For some of you, there may be annual events that you look forward to. High points such as Wimbledon, Christmas or your favourite book festival. For me, there is one that almost as far back as I can remember I adored and still do: the Eurovision Song Contest.
Even while writing those words, I know some of you may have a visceral reaction. In my experience, Eurovision inspires diametrically opposed views that are often loudly expressed. Some sneer at what they believe is an overblown pantomime. Many loudly bemoan the politics involved in voting and question why the UK even bothers. Many countries have deliberately attempted not to win so that they don’t have the financial burden of hosting it the following year. But I still love it. And remember, without it we wouldn’t have the gift of ABBA and their 1974 winning song Waterloo. A tune guaranteed to fill any dancefloor, on any occasion, within 10 seconds of it starting.
For me, it all really began, as it did for many people of my age, with Bucks Fizz. Of course, I’d heard of the show before then, but in 1981, when they won with Making Your Mind Up, it was like I’d seen heaven for the first time. That moment will never leave me. I remember ripping off my hockey skirt in my bedroom in a desperate attempt to copy Cheryl Baker’s moves and, if that song starts playing, no matter where I am, I’ll dance (as the customers in my local coffee shop know all too well). My young self just appreciated it as a lovely night of music. And that’s the way I’ve always approached it. I know there are faults, but it will always remain what the seven-year-old me wanted it to be – pure joy. And, looking back on it now, it was hugely important to me for a more personal reason. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Eurovision was one of the first peeks into LGBTQ culture, into a brash, bold, colourful world that was far from the grey Glasgow skies I was looking at.
It was like the start of The Wizard Of Oz when Dorothy leaves Kansas and sees the Yellow Brick Road.
Without sounding dramatic (who me?), my life has been punctuated by memories of Eurovision and the songs that have dropped into my psyche and won’t leave.
