#Skopjefest 1998

[eurovision-revisited]

1998 Birmingham - Number 21 - Tanja Tzarovska - "Preku moreto"

Macedonia (or FYROM if you're particular) is finally going to Eurovision. They've tried. Boy how they've tried. They almost got there in 1996 having held a fantastic national selection final in Skopjefest only to fall foul of the audio-only qualifying and its expert judges.

That failed attempt meant relegation in 1997. But finally, after many years heartbreak, and like the other former Yugoslav countries having years of tradition with home grown annual singing contests, they're at Eurovision. As in 1996 Skopjefest is amazing. A huge orchestra behind the stage with a vast hall watching the 20 finalists in an atmosphere redolent of the sanctity of a church. A wall of TV screens mimicking stained glass.

Tanja Tzarovska was there in 1996, finishing 10th. In 1998 she's first on stage of the 20 acts and she brings her astounding voice, wearing bridal white in front of five blood-red robed backing singers. What comes out of their mouths hasn't really been heard fully at Eurovision before. The closest is 'Sama' by Justyna from Poland in 1995. Their singing is traditional Balkan. The harmonies are Byzantine - literally. They use the Byzantine scale in the music to give the discordant but intoxicating effect.

Preku Moreto (Across the Sea) is a builder. It takes nearly two minutes of its three to construct waves of music that rise and crest until they crash across the final repeated chant of the final minute. Starting from the conductor's clicked fingers to bring in the orchestral sketch of a calm sea, the journey out into the ocean becomes tempestuous, with percussive shocks of wind and the insistent calling of the backing singers. That last minute is intense, with each of the harmonies threading its individual way through the storm.

Perhaps because it was first on, this only finished 12th at Skopjefest. She had one more attempt in 2014, but again ended up 10th.

If you think you recognise Tanja's voice, then you almost certainly do. She's appeared on the soundtrack's of the films Troy and The Passion of the Christ. She's done game soundtracks too including Fable III. She has two solo albums released in the 2010s and I hope she does more. He melding of traditional Macedonian singing and more Western themes is exactly what does well at Eurovision.

Here she is singing with Joss Stone on a big pile of sand.

[eurovision-revisited]

1998 Birmingham - Number 1 - Risto Samardžiev - "Ne veruvam"

Another shocker. This has beaten Dana International, Imaani, Danijela & Marie-Line to the top of my 1998 charts. The fifth place finisher from Skopjefest in North Macedonia. Who is this bespectacled, besuited, floppy-fringed wonder-voice from the Balkans?

Well it's Risto Samardžiev, and this is his first entry into Skopje Fest of five attempts. He never won and he never made it Eurovision. However he did win Makfest four times, and was the front man of two popular 1980s bands in Cilinder and Haos in Laos (respectively a ska-revival band and a new wave band). At this point in the 1990s, he's very much in the solo phase of his long career, and yes, he's still got it.

Не верувам (Ne veruvam/I Don't Believe) is amazing. Throughout it has a mesmerising rhythm pattern that feels borrowed from Brazil. It has traditional instrumentation with the bouzouki continuing even when all the other instruments drop out for the vocal only repetition of the chorus. And what a chorus. The orchestra builds at the end of the verse to launch Risto and his huge voice into the surge that comes when rekindling a romance again. An addict on the brink of indulgence. Risto cannot get enough. His syncopated poetry delivered with such huge projection that his voice fills the hall and drowns out the orchestra - but by that point he doesn't need it.

That man is in lust. Big time.

Skopjefest 1998 had a televote in keeping with the times, and Risto fell quite a way short of the winner despite finishing fifth. North Macedonia were drawn last in the running at Birmingham, can you even imagine this closing the show? Wow.

Here's Risto as a younger man fronting Haos in Laos with Bidi me se.

[eurovision-revisited]

The Best National Final of 1998

You've noticed haven't you?

Just how many national final songs are in my selection and how few that actually made it to Birmingham.

That's probably down to the televoting revolution mixing everything up so that none of the delegations know what to do. Some are stubbornly sticking with what they know (France, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Sweden and many more) and others just going for it with 100% televoted finals out of nowhere (Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, North Macedonia and others). Some are trying something a bit experimental like Finland and Switzerland.

The results of all of this are, not to put to fine a point on it, mixed. There's much reverting to type. There's a lot of sudden realisation that televoting is not something easily predicted or trusted.

Frankly, it's chaos. But out of this must emerge a best National Final of 1998 and for this year, it's Melodifestivalen.

The Swedes stuck to what they know and had a fine crop of songs to choose from, several of which are in my top 26. They just picked something very safe. Other finals worth praising are the Nationaal Songfestival in the Netherlands (again great songs and singers), Skopjefest (so big, it's bound to have some good songs including my winner), the UK (tiny and I strongly dislike the production choices, but with some worthy candidates nevertheless).

Sanremo is also good, but I can't really call that the best National Final as Italy aren't at Eurovision. Malta has reverted to type with a very typically ballad heavy, generic love-and-peace song final which was a chore to get through. A special mention for Greece and their first national final in seven years. It's good to have back especially with the variety of songs if not the the format. It's a brave first plunge back into asking the Greek public what they want.

And then there's Germany. What's up Germany? It's certainly lively. After the Leon years, that's good to see, but what's with the troll songs. I mean, you're not Denmark are you? I'm keeping my eye on Germany. Who can tell what they will get up to next.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 1998: How they qualified

The EBU's giant slide-rule of judgement had been put into use again. Who will be in and who will be out?

First of all, Italy and RAI have remembered to tell the EBU that they don't want to be part of Eurovision this year. Even though they're in fourth place on average points. Their absence reprieves one country from relegation and what do you know, it's Germany. The accountants in Switzerland breathe a huge sigh of relief at retaining that huge audience.

Joining Italy in having a rest year are Denmark (aw, no DMGP craziness), Russia, Austria, Iceland, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Back with us are Belgium (yay!), Finland (yay!), Israel (yay, but wait, no Kdam?), Romania (yay!) and Slovakia (yay!). Joining them for their very first Eurovision entry (finally!) are North Macedonia and thus Europe gets to experience the glory of Skopjefest.

In even better news, there isn't a single song selection final this year! Every country that is organising a national final is having a standard contest with different songs sung by different artists. Only six countries are putting forward internal selections, including Israel for whom the IBA have chosen an exceptionally controversial singer within Israel and who probably wouldn't have won KDam given the volume of conservative and orthodox voices raised against her.

On top of all of that outstanding news, Greece, for the first time since 1991 are holding a national final. And it's huge!

Because I can, I have decided to include the 1998 Festival di Sanremo in my consideration for this year even though RAI chose not to take part. Sanremo happens anyway, so let's imagine what it would have been like if Italy was involved this year. Indulge my flights of fancy.

In total there are 246 entries, up 35 on last year with the inclusion of Sanremo. With the full televoting shift, what will the national finals do? Stick with what they know or go for it?

[eurovision-revisited]

1998 Interesting entries

Ballhouse - "Can-Can" Germany - what is this? Was it there just to whip up the audience?

Fokker - "Gel-Song" Again Germany, I know the results haven't been great, but this?

Enzo Gusman - "As Far As I Can See" Malta finally came up with the ultimate generic Maltese national final song. Be nice to one another you hear?

Bjelleklang - "På do" (37:28 timestamp) Well if Germany can do a song about gel, Norway can do one about the wonders of sitting on the toilet.

Giorgos Stamataris - "Onomase me" Anticipating later Eurovision entries with sand art, here's some live portraiture from Cyprus. I love that she's just painting yellow and red lines around his already drawn portrait.

Mičo Atanasiu - "Pari pari" Skopjefest truly is full of wonders.