In Praise Of Andy…

And so, as Andy Abraham prepares to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision, the dissenters come out of the woodwork and start knocking the poor lad before he has even sung a note on the Belgrade stage. It’s a terrible choice of song, they say. The UK won’t get any points again. Michelle Gayle should have won. The UK should give up. And on and on, and so forth, ad infinitum. Yawn.

Well we’re saying chaps – for we know you are as entitled to your own opinion as the next man – in this instance we can’t bring ourselves to agree with you. Granted, in recent years, the UK hasn’t exactly been wise in its song choices, and we still maintain that sending Scooch last year was a huge mistake, possibly one of the biggest of the UK’s Eurovision career.

But this year, we can’t help thinking that we’ve actually gotten things right for a change. OK, so Andy’s song isn’t the most interesting tune in the world and it’s certainly not the best song in the contest. But that aside, is there really anything wrong with it? So it’s not exactly memorable but it’s perfectly pleasant, and perhaps more importantly, it’s gimmick-free. (and it’s considerably better than a lot of this year’s offerings – are you listening to this, Moldova?????)

But the most important thing of all is the fact that Andy can really sing. And not just sing, perform. He was near faultless on Eurovision Your Decision – in fact the whole band were really together – and we have no reason to believe he won’t turn in a similarly sparkling performance in Belgrade.

All of this may prove to be a wasted effort if, as in recent years, the UK finds itself shunned by Eastern Europe and other territories and ends up floundering near the bottom of the scoreboard. And yes, it may well happen once again. But at least this year we haven’t sent some stupid, gimmicky, embarrassing song more reliant on double entendres and silly costumes than anything else (and before anyone says anything, Andy’s teal satin shirt does not qualify as a silly costume).

 In short, we’ve actually done what we should have done several years ago, which is to send a solid, inoffensive song by someone who actually possesses the talent to make it sound good on the night. So we may not finish in the top ten? So what? At least this year we have a performer who won’t disgrace either himself or the UK, and will be able to leave Belgrade with his head held high. And given our recent track record, that can only be a good thing.