Brotherhood of Man...

Here's a song I had long forgotten about.  In 1976, the British group Brotherhood of Man entered Eurovision's Song of Europe contest and won with this cute little ditty...

We were actually living in England when this aired...

Such a sweet and innocent little number.  Brotherhood of Man had other hits and apparently still tours today, though I think this may have been the pinnacle of their success.  My friend Joann, who pointed this out to me today, says it's like Abba and Tony Orlando and Dawn had a baby.  70s acts really seemed to have an affection for cheesy dance steps and cutesy lyrics.  I tried listening to their other songs, but none rang a bell like this one.

Another hit, "Figaro", from 1978...

I guess I give them credit for being able to dance and lip sync at the same time (I'm guessing they weren't actually singing this while they were on Eurovision).  Once again, I feel older than dirt, especially since I was three (going on four) when this was first unleashed upon the masses.

And their first hit, "United We Stand"...

The 70s were fun... especially if you were just a wee one, like I was.  Now I wish I could go to a 70s era Wendy's and have a Frosty.

Here's an updated version from 2015!

We don't want to Put In...

Bravo to the Republic of Georgia's Stephane and 3G, who came up with this brilliantly witty disco song for the 2009 Eurovision songwriting contest.  Their song was disqualified because it was deemed too political.  Rather than change the lyrics, Stephane and 3G withdrew from the contest. Still, it's very catchy, and given the fact that the people who have checked into Sochi are hotels are being forced to look at half naked photos of Putin in their hotel rooms ( ;-)), it seems fitting to showcase their song today.

Remember in 2008, the Russians invaded South Ossetia and caused Georgians much angst.  I remember all too well, since we were in Germany at the time and Bill had to go to Georgia around that time.  Since then, Putin has made himself out to be something of a narcissistic thug.  I don't blame people for complaining about having to look at his half naked photos in their hotel rooms.  Blecch!

*It's pretty likely the article I linked to is satire… but it wouldn't surprise me if it's not…*

One thing I do miss about living in Europe is getting to watch Eurovision.  It's a hoot!

This was Spain's Eurovision entry in 2008…  It's still pretty catchy years later.