Cosmos Will Represent Latvia

There's growing excitement over on Jae's blog these days with the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

But do you remember...?

Back in 1991 there was 'Eurovision -- The Musical' by Tim Luscombe, commisioned by the London Gay Theatre Company. In 1992 we saw it at The Drill Hall and loved it. The following year it was presented as 'Eurovision' by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. It ran for 18 performances. The poster for this production is on the left. There were young lovers of many sexes, Greek gods -- I don't remember why -- and of course, lots of songs. Light, fluffy songs.

In 2003 an Australian team, Craig Christie and Andrew Patterson, created another musical based on the ESC, called 'Eurobeat -- The Eurovision Musical'. It is still touring. This time the setting is Sarajevo and there appear to be no Greek gods. There are however the Swedish pop stylings of Avla, Hungarian triplets the Molnar Sisters and a Russian boy band called The KGBoiz. And many, many more. The audience gets to vote for best song. For the plot, photos and the hilarious song list click here.

A review in Melbourne's The Age said, 'The show is a seriously fun night out for anyone who appreciates the endlessly shallow world of pop culture...'

There is an original Australian cast recording of Eurobeat - The Eurovision Musical.