#esc 1997

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #711:

The Point Theatre has been the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest more than any other venue. The Irish theater has served as the venue a total of three times, first in 1994, then in 1995, and finally in 1997.

The theater was rebranded and underwent heavy renovations and remodeling in 2007, and is now known as the O2.

[Sources]

"A whizz through our wonderful Host City history," Eurovision.tv.

Point Theatre, Wikipedia.org.

[eurovision-revisited]

Dublin 1997: Televoting

It was only natural for Eurovision countries to try to select the meta if they wanted to do well. A stubborn, conservative and stagnant consensus had formed. The ballad-schlager axis.

Occasionally a new strand would emerge accidentally (traditional Celtic/Irish music), and there was a rush to exploit it. It did not last long, and once again Balladageddon re-established itself. In the real world, these songs were not selling.

There was a push to encourage national selections to be braver and some were, but nothing managed to challenge Eurovision orthodoxy. It was time for the EBU to take action.

The juries were the problem. Not only did they consistently fail to vote for the new or experimental, they also tended to favour neighbouring countries or countries with similar musical cultures to their own. Block voting had been an issue as far back as 1963 when there were accusations that the Norwegian jury changed their results to favour Denmark. It had never really gone away, and now it was discriminating against the newcomers.

The juries needs a shake-up.

Luckily there was a solution. Telecommunications technology had recently begun being able to handle televoting. Short phones calls to exchanges that could record numbers and could cope with a sudden burst of incoming calls. It had been used in several national finals for some years, even if there were some teething problems like those that afflicted the Finnish national selection final in 1996.

In 1997 the EBU took the plunge. Five countries with the most experience at running televotes were selected to replace their juries with 100% televoted results. These could be gathered and verified during the interval act. There was only a short time for voting, but it was enough. It had the additional benefit in that those televotes cost the callers money, so there was income to be generated, although at first that reward was taken by the telecommunications companies themselves.

Even in 1997, the results were there to be seen. Some counties that scored reasonably highly with juries, did not with the televote:

Slovenia got 60 points and finished 10th, but it didn't get a single point from the televoting countries.

Spain got 96 points and finished 6th, with 17 counties giving them points. Among those that gave them nothing were three of the televoting countries.

Malta, the perennial English-language boosted nation got 66 points, finishing 9th, but no points came from the televote.

Other countries were more favoured by the televote but not at all by the juries.

Iceland got all but 2 of its 18 points from the televote

Denmark got 10 of its 25 points from just three televoting countries

Bosnia & Herzegovina got 13 of its 22 points from four televoting countries in possibly the first case of televoting sympathy for a country recently at war (although I know it's hard not to vote for Alma)

There were still some oddities, and there was some neighbourly voting clearly remaining. The German televote gave Türkiye 12 points which could be the first instance diasporic voting, but Türkiye's song finished with 121 points and finished 3rd overall, so possibly not.

Was it a success? Well more data would be needed, but there were some shifts in the direction the EBU wanted to go. That data would start rushing in during the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest. The first one to be 100% televote. Well except for the three countries that still had juries. What would the brave new jury-less world look like?

[transsherlock]

Okay guys apparently Páll Óskar is a lil bit of a uhmmmm guy (I did a wikipedia deep dive like a year ago) BUT I just want to bring this performance to you guys's attention.

This is the first Eurovision act done by an openly gay man at the time and it is mesmerizing and weirdly heterosexual.

[vintageurovision]

Bianca Shomburg, Germany's representative in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, performs on stage during dress rehearsals at Dublin's Point Theatre on 3 May 1997 [photo: Peter Harding]

[babolat85]

Love Shine a Light - Katrina and The Waves

Hadn’t listened to this in a while, and now it’s come up on my Spotify playlist every day for a week.

[aijamisespava]

1997, The Eurovision That You Were

Today, I ranked the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest. And as you could tell from the title, I was really impressed by the songs that year. The quality was high, making it one of the harder years to rank, but also one of my favorites.

This year would also be a historic year in Eurovision for a lot of reasons. For one, it would mark the beginning of the end of the live orchestra in the contest along with Italy's last entry before their return in 2011. 1997 also saw the first openly LGBTQ+ performer (Paul Oscar of Iceland), which led to strides in the contest that we likely would not be able to see today without (especially when you consider Nemo being the first non-binary winner, which again, might not have happened had Paul Oscar never competed).

The winner of this year's contest was the United Kingdom (which I agreed with) and Katrina and the Waves with "Love Shine A Light" which has become an anthem in Eurovision (the 2020 artists performed this in a remote livestream after the contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). And if you're wondering why the name Katrina and the Waves sound familiar, you might know them from the hit song "Walking On Sunshine."

On a whole other note, I finally got to hear Türkiye's entry as a Eurofan and not a student doing a project (loooong story very short, before I became Aijamisespava, I did a school project on this song. I wouldn't expect a deep dive on this song as I want to give others a chance, but if you ask nicely, I'll think about it.).

[stresskidz]

I'm writing a lot in my notes so i'll probably post them when i'm done, but why tf are they playing nocturne while Minho is packing i lost it 😂😭

Started watching the skz survival show and awww i love these boys so much 🥺 They were such babies on this, especially IN 🥺

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #342 - The Corrs, Home, 2005

Le Storie musicali di band di fratelli e sorelle ci portano in Irlanda, per una band che tra fine anni '90 e inizi 2000 fu molto popolare. The Corrs, come suggerisce il nome, sono una band di tre sorelle e un fratello, i Corr appunto. La loro storia è molto particolare e si lega a quella di un film del 1991, divenuto di culto, ambientato a Dublino, da dove provengono i nostri. The Commitments, diretto da Alan Parker, racconta la storia di Jimmy Rabbitte e del suo tentativo di mettere su una band di soul e rhythm'n'blues a Dublino, The Commitments, appunto. Il film, che è anche uno spaccato dell'isola prima della travolgente trasformazione avvenuta negli ultimi decenni, fu trampolino di lancio di una serie di attori\cantanti che dopo il film si lanciarono in carriere musicali. E tra loro c'erano i fratelli Corr. Jim Corr suonava in una band con John Hughes, che curava per Parker le selezioni dei musicisti. Hughes non sapeva che Jim avesse tre sorelle musiciste, Caroline, Sharon e Andrea, con cui si presenta i provini. Andrea ottiene una parte di recitazione con battute (è Sharon, la sorella minore di Jimmy), gli altri tre fanno da comparse, ma Hughes dopo le riprese chiede di poter diventare il loro manager. Diventano una band, dove suonano diversi strumenti, anche quelli tradizionali irlandesi. Il primo grande trampolino di lancio è l'esibizione, nel 1994, per i Mondiali di Calcio di USA 94, seguita due anni dopo per la cerimonia d'Apertuna dei Giochi Olimpici di Atlanta '96. Vanno in tour a supporto di Celine Dion, mentre il loro primo disco, Forgiven, Not Forgotten, che comprende sia brani strumentali di musica tradizionali che canzoni pop rock, svetta nelle classifiche di mezzo mondo, diventando uno dei dischi d'esordio di artisti irlandesi più di successo di ogni tempo. Nel 1997 successo per Talk On Corners, partecipano al Pavarotti And Friends a Modena e ricevono nel 1999 un Brit Award come Miglior Band Internazionale, registrando persino un MTV Unplugged, che vende milioni di copie. Il successivo disco, In Blue, prodotto da Robert John "Mutt" Lange, li consacra star internazionali: il singolo Breathless va in classifica in mezzo mondo, come Radio, l'album è il terzo disco con le maggiori vendita della Storia delle Classifiche musicali d'Irlanda dopo il The Best Of 1980-1990 degli U2 e Be Nere Now degli Oasis. Sono nominati ai Grammy Awards. Registrano un altro disco dal vivo, VH1 Presents: The Coors Live In Dublin, con ospiti Bono che duetta con loro in When The Stars Go Blue di Bryan Adams (un gioiellino) e Summer Wine di Nancy Sinatra e Ronnie Wood dei Rolling Stones che suona la chitarra in Little Wing, cover del classico di Jimi Hendrix e in Ruby Tuesday. Succede però una fatto doloroso: Jean, la madre dei fratelli Corr, muore in attesa di un trapianto di fegato all'ospedale di Newcastle, in Gran Bretagna.

E proprio alla madre, e alla loro terra, è dedicato questo disco, Home, che esce nel 2005. L'album precedente, Borrowed Heaven, già aveva riaperto la strada del folk nella loro musica, che nei dischi di successo internazionale si era un po' persa, ma in questo disco si ritorna alle origini. In scaletta 12 pezzi, divisi tra strumentali tradizionali di musica celtica irlandese, come Haste To The Wedding, che è il brano principe del ballo Céilí, uno scritto da Sharon Corr, Old Hag e due cantati in lingua gaelica dalla bellissima voce di Andrea, Buachaill ón Éirne (che vuol dire Ragazzo di Erne) e Bríd Óg Ní Mháille, Bridget O'Malley, che probabilmente è una riedizione ottocentesca di un antico canto dedicato a santa Brigida d'Irlanda. Ancora più emozionate è la parte di canti tradizionali cantati in inglese: My Lagan Love è uno dei primi traditional scoperti da Joseph Campbell, che agli inizi del 1900 intraprese un percorso di ricerca e traduzione dei canti tradizionali, musicati e riportati sugli spartiti da Herbert Hughes; la meravigliosa Spancil Hill è invece un traditional, probabilmente scozzese, che venne riadattato dai migranti irlandesi in America, dove divenne molto famosa nella zona dei Monti Appalachi: lo spancil era un modo di legare le zampe dei capi di bestiame per non farli scappare durante le fiere. Dolcissime sono Peggy Gordon e la bellissima Black Is the Color, conosciuta anche come Black Is the Color Of My True Love's Hair, brani che raccontano il carattere forte e deciso delle donne di quei posti. The Moorlough Shore è una delle più famose ballate irlandesi: è la storia di un giovane, innamorato della sua terra e di una ragazza, che però rifiuta le sue avances perché ama già un marinaio. Aspetterà il suo vero amore per sette anni. Frustrato, il ragazzo lascia la casa della sua infanzia e salpa, continuando a elogiare la ragazza che ama e che vive a Moorlough Shore. Sulla sua melodia, durante gli anni della Rivoluzione dell'Indipendenza irlandese (negli anni Dieci del 1900) i rivoluzionari cantarono The Foggy Dew, il principe dei brani di libertà irlandese. Completano la scaletta tre cover di brani moderni: Heart Like A Wheel, successo di Kate & Anna McGarrigle, poi ripreso da tanti artisti (la versione più famosa di Linda Ronstand), Old Town del leader dei Thin Lizzy Phil Lynott e un brano, Dimming Of The Day, scritto da Richard e Linda Thompson per un loro disco del 1975, Pour Down Like Silver. La musica è arrangiata con delicatezza, agli strumenti moderni sono affiancati i tin whistle, il Bodhrán (che è il tamburello irlandese) e una sezioni archi, che è sempre stato un marchio di fabbrica della musica Corrs. Spicca la voce, brillante e squillante di Andrea Corr, emozionante in più di un passaggio. Il disco, che non è di successo come i precedenti, ha comunque successo in patria, In Australia e sorprendentemente in Francia, dove vende 100 mila copie.

Andrea Corr, che ha recitato anche in altri film, tra cui Evita con Madonna e da protagonista una semisconosciuta commedia canadese, The Boys From County Clare, tenterà, con scarso successo, anche la carriera solista, con Ten Feet High. I Corrs continuano a suonare e a pubblicare materiale (l'ultimo disco del 2017) ma non hanno più raggiunto il successo dei dischi pop, nè la delicatezza, e la bellezza, del disco di oggi, un bellissimo esempio di variazioni "moderne" ai classici tradizionali della cultura delle isole britanniche, un grande tesoro culturale.

[poisonousquinzel]

hi ! love your account. first of all congrats on asshole being gone !! second of all im really new into fandom but love harley and know most of her live adaptation. any comic recommendations of her story or journey mostly?

Hey, tyyy, love!!! 💖💕💖

Im actually working on a recommended Get To Know Her type media guide atm, hoping to get it done within the next few weeks. 💖💖

But for rn, Harleen (2019) is always a good one. It's not connected to the main timeline, but it's an origin story that delves more into the manipulation process during Harleen's time at Arkham. And I put together all the various Harleen related works that Stjepan had made that weren't published in an official book.

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1 "Harleen: Red" is also a continuation from that universe, set after her final break up with Joker and further into an emancipation esc arc.

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #3, #14

"Get Yer Story Straight", "Fixer Upper"

Batgirl Adventures (1997)

Detective Comics #831

Harley Quinn: Make Em Laugh #2

"Housewarming", "The Lady or The Tiger"

Most of those are readable as singular comics thatcha don't have to mess with multiple different comics to understand lol 💖

[ethantism]

Queer ESC Day 9: Katrina Leskanich

Frontwoman of world renowned one hit wonder Katrina and the Waves, Katrina Leskanich is less known for fronting the band at Eurovision 1997 with Love Shine a Light. The UK's most recent winner now lives everyone's lesbian aunt dreams with her partner, writing dog travel guides.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Probably the highlight in a very uninteresting year.

🇹🇷 Klips ve Onlar - Halley

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #445:

Only one American has ever won the Eurovision Song Contest. Katrina Leskanich of Katrina and the Waves took home the win for the United Kingdom in 1997.

Leskanich is originally from Topeka, Kansas.

[Sources]

'Made in the USA - Americans who have competed at the Eurovision Song Contest,' Aussievision.net.

Participants of Dublin 1997: Katrina and the Waves, Eurovision.tv.

[eurovision-revisited]

Dublin 1997 - The interval act and other performances

The benefit of having a bona fide, 100% genuine pop star as a host is that the interval act is sorted. It's right there. In Oslo they had Morten Harket, and such was their extravagance, they had him as the opening song. They put on a huge separate interval act without him

Ireland and RTÉ weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and neither were Boyzone's management. The interval was Ronan and his fellow Boyzone band members performing their song Let the Message Run Free. Initially this just had Ronan on his own with a dance troupe, but he was soon joined by the boys dressed in full black leather trench coat ensemble, anticipating The Matrix by at least a year. They even got some choreography at the end to match the dancers.

This is Boyzone at the absolute pinnacle of their popularity. They were trying to make a push to break into the US market. To this day they're the second most popular boy band in the UK chart history after Take That. They're were also popular across Europe, so this is Eurovision getting a big name to start at the centre of the show - another attempt to get Eurovision to more credible and marketable across Europe.

If I'm honest, despite the contemporary big name, it's not particularly memorable. What you think of it will entirely depend on how well you think of Boyzone. There's no trip around Ireland on video. Nothing traditional, although Ireland have already ticked that off in 1994 and 1995. This is as straightforward a pop performance as you can get. And it only lasts about six minutes.

[ruttotohtori]

Toni Bleää toimi Ison-Britannian pääministerinä vuosina 1997 - 2007. Hänet muistetaan parhaiten televisiosarja Itse valtiaiden erikoisjaksosta Operation ESC, jossa hän esitti dueton rauhan puolesta Venäjän diktaattorin Vladimir Puuttinin kanssa.

[vintageurovision]

Dentro Di Me, Barbara Berta - Switzerland, Eurovision 1997 (Preview video)

[arconinternet]

BMF (DOS, Imagination, 1997)

You can play it in your browser here (emulation may stutter in Firefox), or download it for use in DOSBox (e.g. for multiplayer) here.

Tips: as soon as you select singleplayer on the menu using arrows and Enter, the game will use the controls set under Setup, which assume the numpad is used for arrows; use the Fire key (PgDn by default) to select a player file and campaign. Esc brings up the ingame menu; you'll need o press it twice if the mouse cursor has been captured by the game. Full instructions are included via the main menu.