Eurovision winners (and losers)

By Andy Hughes

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AAHHHH, the Eurovision Song Contest, the perennial jamboree of middle-of-the-road pop combined with extreme political voting, a sure route to fame and fortune. Or is it

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Analysis reveals that fortunes, and fame, can be mixed after a sprinkle of Eurovision fairy dust. Some find overnight success leading to a lucrative career of satisfying longevity, others find their fall as rapid as their rise, and no pattern appears to exist.

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Top of the tree has to be Abba who were the first of Sweden's three winners, going on to a pop career virtually unequalled in terms of influence and importance. At one time, Abba were Sweden's second-biggest national export, after Volvo cars. It is feasible that without the global exposure accorded by Eurovision, Abba's pop genius would have remained unknown outside their own country's borders.

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Winners who have failed to set the world alight subsequent to their few moments of success on the world's TV screens can take heart from Celine Dion's experience. In spite of being French-Canadian, Celine represented Switzerland in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, which failed to chart at all in the UK, but obviously presented no barrier to her future global take-over.

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Nationally, the Eurovision world tips its hat to Ireland who have won the contest seven times, twice with the same singer. Johnny Logan.

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That's not to say that everyone can be assured of a future top-of-the-bill situation, remember Toto Cutugno Not many other people do either, after winning in 1990, with the confusingly titled All Together 1992, Toto�fell back into obscurity, remembered only for sharing his Christian name with a mega-selling American AOR band, and the dog in The Wizard Of Oz!

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Dutch band Teach In, who conquered the Contest in 1975 with their potentially satire-inducing song Ding A Dong, retired fairly rapidly from the spotlight, cropping up again on a compilation of Dutch hit-makers.

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That's not to say that naff titles are necessarily the kiss of death. Look at Lulu, adding the language-bridging ESC winner Boom-Bang-A-Bang to her impressive career in 1969. Having already found success with her groundbreaking cover of the Isleys' classic Shout!, Lulu carried on to work with the movers and shakers in pop such as Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Take That.

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Katrina from the waves

Some Eurovision winners enjoy a more chequered career, Katrina And The Waves were grateful to eclipse their mega-selling Walking On Sunshine with Love Shine A Light in 1997, which saw a temporary revival in their fortunes, although these days lead singer Katrina Leskanich treads the stage in musicals, and The Waves are who knows where.

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As long as you don't mind a career outside the glare of mega-fame, there is a lucrative life to be made from using Eurovision as a starting point. 1970 saw Ireland's Dana achieve a number one hit, and she has gone on to bridge the mutually rewarding musical areas of religious and children's music, making a hugely successful career that continues today.

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Likewise Brotherhood Of Man who hit the heights in 1976 enjoyed two further number ones with their unashamedly Abba-esque approach, assuring�cabaret� and cruise ship work until retirement beckons.

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