royaume-uni dix points

So it seems the BBC are trying to get Morrissey to write the UK's Eurovision entry this year. That should be an uplifting little number. Still, at least it suggests that they might actually be taking it seriously for a change.

I used to enjoy Eurovision nights at university - it was one of the social occasions of the year (along with birthdays, end of exams, start of term, end of term, reading weeks, bank holidays, weekends, days ending in y) and it was a laugh if nothing else. Last year, however, the UK's entry made me a little uncomfortable.

Do you remember it? I have to admit that I had (thankfully) managed to push it out of my memory until I heard the Morrissey story on the radio this evening and they played the previous attempts. For those who have forgotten, it was a little number by a man called Daz Samson. He rapped badly while a bunch of school girls sang a repetitive melody and danced around some school desks. You have to wonder what people were being asked to vote for.

In his website Sampson told the world:

If anyone knows how to write a pop song, it's me and if there’s one thing the British public like… it’s a great pop song.

Modest - isn't he? Or maybe we should be using the past tense. Despite the fact the the song was all about how he was making it big despite being told by his teachers that he would never be a success as a pop singer he seems to have slipped off the radar. Sometimes people give advice for a reason. I was told I'd never make it as an escapologist Daz, but you won't find me handcuffed inside a safe being dropped in the Atlantic Ocean.

Morrissey was critical at the time,

I was horrified but not surprised to see the UK fail... Why didn't they ask me?"

I did think he was being funny at the time but obviously somebody took that seriously. Personally I'm all for it. If he can recapture the mood he achieved fronting the Smiths I think the whole of Europe will be in for bit of an unusual experience. And if he comes up with a title as good as Girlfriend in a Coma I'll be right behind him all the way.