This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
Finally I can say, we’re different in the UK. Still In Love With You, our Eurovision 2015 entry, is electro-swing duo Electro Velvet’s techno Charleston: Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas, selected by the BBC alongside the song, written by David Mindel and Adrian Bax White.
Techno Charleston never lies, no it cries “Here I am!”. Look, given that that’s the choice of entry, and given that the promo video was the choice of image, I have to give a hat-tip to the attempt at recreating the sheer busyness on a live stage with 6 people. The Art Deco backdrop looks appropriate and correct. Vocally surprisingly secure, albeit that I’m finding the backing singers/dancers’ d-d-d-dance to be a little too prominent. Bianca’s neon backpack looks a little too… visible. It shouldn’t be the thing that draws your eye, given all the other stuff that could and frankly should be drawing your eye.
The six performers are Larke and Nicholas plus four backing singers and dancers, with neon lighting, illuminated costumes and a Charleston-influenced routine attempting to make the whole thing as colourful and kitsch as the video. It is, in other words, a very busy attempt to be memorable. Whether it is memorable in the right way remains the question.
Still, it’s nice to see a couple around here that aren’t throwing shoes at each other, inappropriately kissing when they’re supposed to be singing, turning out to be murderers or advocating the virtues of all lighting a candle. Which of course, yes we shoooould.
Is it actually the right choice of entry? Only Mr. God knows, though I suspect not. The United Kingdom, as one of the Big Five, is already in the Grand Final in Vienna, where Electro Velvet will perform fifth on Saturday 23 May. I’ll tell you next Saturday, if you like. Round about midnight CET, that’s 23:00 UK.
Looking back: The verdict was not especially kind. Electro Velvet finished 24th out of 27 entries with five points, from San Marino, Ireland and Malta. That later result doesn’t alter the original attraction of the staging: the UK was plainly trying to win a different contest, and at least it committed to the bit.
