491/917 Izhar Cohen: Ole ole (Israel 1985)

In 1985 Israel used a seemingly perfect recipe to create a perfect eurosong. Put together the singer who won the contest in 1978 with the composer who made the winning song of the 1979, add some singing dancers and make the song and the choreography emulate the two preceeding and higly succesful Israeli entries. In the preview video the song looked and sounded like a given winner. What could go wrong?

Quite a few things actually. Olé olé (written by Kobi Oshrat, who had composed Hallelujah six years previously) surely was a irresistibly catchy song and Izhar Cohen was still, seven years after his Eurovision victory, charismatic performer. Although the singing and dancing worked well together for Israel in 1982 and 1983 (Israel did not take part in 1984), this time the elements fitted together with unease. With a breath taking dance steps the backing group had hardly time to sing their few lines in tune, and the result sound more like shouting than singing. The wide white smiles that the group was able to present during their other activities did not look genuine anymore and the feeling "do we have to this again" could be read on their lips.

Watching the Gotheburg contest today the overall performance by the Israeli enseble seems ok, but I remember that in 1985 my reaction was quite similar,  "the same thing again?". I may not have been the only one who thought that too much is too much, and that the entry was far from the perfection I was expecting after seeing the preview video. The song finally settled at 5th position, which must have been some kind of disappointment to the Israeli delegation, which was looking for the victory by the team that had secured the two previous victories.

I find the song a bit dated but still an enjoyable track, of which I prefer the studio version.

My points 3/5.

494/917 Vikki: Love is (United Kingdom 1985)

After a very good run of high placings in the Eurovision (four victories and only four times outside of top 5) culminating to the victory in 1981, United Kingdom seemed to lose their interest in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1980's. Good placings here and there, but the overall quality decreased dramatically. Most of their songs in the 1980's were either embarrassing or easily forgettable. The UK entry from 1985 is one of the latter ones.

Very bluntly titled love song Love is is as simple and forgettable as its title. 28 years ago it sounded modern disco ballad, but now it's synthetic and sparse arrangement is as outdated as Vikki Watson's hairdo. On recorded version the arrangement sounds slightly better but still very 1980'ish.

Watson herself gave a confident, if restrained, show on stage singing faultlessly but also without much passion. The song did reasonably well, the fourth position in the final result is no surprise when I think of the other sounds and songs you heard in Gothenburg 1985. Now almost 30 years later the song has nothing to give.

Ms Watson did not make a career out of radiofriendly europop. Instead after changing her stage name to Aeone she has become successful composer for film and television and recorded several albums of celtic folk music in a New Age style. For example her version of Scarborough fair could not be further away from the Eurovision stage.

My points 2/5.

492/917 Al Bano & Romina Power: Magic oh magic (Italy 1985)

Italy has always been one of my favourite countries in the Eurovision song contest. But they can't always do right. Their 1985 entry failed in almost all aspects to reach the high San Remo standards I was accustomed to. But what did it matter, it still fared rather well in the final results.

Al Bano & Romina Power were an established pop act and the song was crafted by professionals, so everything should have been perfect. Instead the song was dull, repetitive and laboriously arranged. Song starts promisingly but very soon it was evident that it didn't go nowhere.

But the melody or the arrangement were not the worst thing. It seemed, at least to me, that more work had been done to sew the glittering gown of Romina than had been done to rehearse her to sing properly. Maybe it was the excitement (which is unlikely, because the duo had taken part nine years earlier) or maybe she didn't hear the orchestra enough (some other artists seem to have the same problem). Whatever the reason, she barely sung a right note during her solo. To make matters worse, her singing was backed by one of the backing singers, who DID sing in tune making Romina's detuning stand out like a tomato in a vanilla sauce.

Al Bano being a charismatic and skillful singer manages to prevent the performance turn into disaster. His voice and presence is joy to the ear and eye. However, even he cannot save a mediocre tune and a poor performance of his wife.

If you think that I am too harsh on the song, you may be right. At least the juries didn't agree with me as the song was voted seventh among 19 entries. That does not change the fact, that I have never liked the Italian entry from 1985 and probably never will.

My points 1/5.

496/917 Kikki Danielsson: Bra vibrationer (Sweden 1985)

Composer Lasse Holm dominated the Swedish Eurovision scene in the mid 1980's. Between 1982-1986 he wrote four succesfull entries for Sweden and the 496th eurosong was no exception.

Kikki Danielsson was almost as succesfull as a singer. After several second places she managed twice to be chosen to represent Sweden on the Eurovision stage, both times with a song written by Lasse Holm. When the contest was held on the home ground in 1985 team Holm-Danielsson provided Europe with a song that was the purest prototype of a Swedish Eurosong of the 1980's.

It was catchy, it was jolly, it was well performed, and finally it did better in the results than anyone had expected. Third place was the best result that Lasse Holm would ever get in Eurovision. Bra Vibrationer combined everything that one could expect from a Swedish Eurosong in the mid 1980's.

To me it sounds too polished and planned a package. Every expression and movement (not to say the choreography by the background dancers) seems too perfect and too rehearsed to me. Even the double meaning of the title sounds very calculated (the presenter Lill Lindfors thought it best to explain to the english speaking audience that the title means "Good vibrations" and had nothing to do with ladies undergarments).

Eurovision classic, for sure, but not really my cup of tea. At least not anymore.

My points 2/5