About United Kingdom...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A

Points in Final: 25
Position in Final: 19th
More about the 2006 result for United Kingdom

2007 Contest: Big 4 - Directly qualified to Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

United Kingdom's previous appearances: 48 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1957; 1959- [note]
Best result: 1st (1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997)

The United Kingdom is historically one of Eurovision's most successful nations, with 5 wins (the last in 1997, with 'Love Shine a Light') and an extraordinary 15 2nd places, including - most famously - Cliff Richard and 'Congratulations'. Only Ireland, with 7 wins, has a better record. When all countries had to sing in their native language, the UK always had the advantage of singing in English; however, since the free language rule was introduced in 1999, the UK's fortunes seem to have taken a tumble, with the country managing to clock up its five worst ever performances in the course of the last six years.

In 1999, Precious (featuring a pre-Atomic Kitten Jenny Frost) finished a disappointing 12th with 'Say it again', though it was a rather tuneless performance and as much as it deserved. The following year, Nicki French sang 'Don't play that song again'; few people did, and it finished a lowly 16th, until then Britain's worst ever result. A year later, Lindsay D did little better, performing 'No dream impossible' - it finished 15th. It took Jessica Garlick's classy performance of 'Come back' in 2002 to restore some UK pride, gaining a well-earned 4th place.

As a finalist on the talent show 'Pop Idol', one of Jessica's big advantages was her proven ability to sing live in front of a TV audience, something the UK should have remembered in 2003. Instead, the country sent male-female duo Jemini with 'Cry Baby', who - as we all know - scored nothing at all. Still, on the plus side, it at least made Nicki French feel less bad. All kinds of conspiracy theories were produced for why the UK did so badly - there were sound problems on stage, the UK lost out because of the Iraq war, and so on. In truth, however, the UK finished last because the song was dreadful and Jemini gave a bad performance. Having said that, the song was so awful, singing it off key probably made little difference.

The one good thing to emerge from 2003's disaster was the fact that the BBC had little option but to try harder in 2004. Thus, the old-fashioned 'Song for Europe' was rebadged as 'Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up', an array of reality TV stars were wheeled out, most of whom could sing, and the selection show was screened at a time when people at home were actually watching. James Fox, who had finished 5th in the BBC's 'Fame Academy' competition, won easily, and hopes were high that he could restore some British pride. It was not to be, however - James' song, the slightly old-fashioned 'Hold on to our love', certainly did better than 'Cry Baby' the year before, but its 16th place still equalled Nicki French as the UK's second worst performance ever. To be fair to James though, he did the best he could with a pleasant but unremarkable song; it's just that pleasant and unremarkable don't win Eurovision any more, as Ireland has discovered to its cost.

Nevertheless, the BBC retained its faith in the MYMU format in 2005, with 'Popstars: The Rivals' reject Javine managing to see off a concerted challenge from the heavily pregnant glamour model Katie Price, aka Jordan. Unusually, Javine was the first UK Eurovision entrant since 2000 to have tasted chart success prior to the Contest, enjoying a number of hit singles such as 'Real Things' and 'Best of my Love'. However, despite her obvious experience, and a very contemporary-sounding song in the shape of 'Touch My Fire', Javine could only muster 18 points and 22nd place for the UK, causing many to question what exactly Britain needed to do to secure a respectable placing at Eurovision.
BR>With the UK's 'Big 4' status, none of this really matters... but In 2006, the UK will surely be aiming to secure a place in the 2007 Final on merit, rather than by the back door.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 15

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"The UK's selection show, 'Making Your Mind Up', took place on 4 March. The six contenders included some familiar names with previous chart success, most notably the former Blue singer and 'I'm A Celebrity...' contestant Antony Costa, who was the pre-show favourite; and the former Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh. In the event, Antony gave a good performance of the chorus of 'Beautiful thing', but was much less convincing vocally during the verses, all the time hampered by a dreadful and deeply unflattering choice of outfit. Kym, meanwhile, looked stunningly classy, but gave an oddly subdued performance of 'Whisper to me', a song that was much blander than her lovely voice deserved. Among the others, Goran Kay was striking for his camp but rather off key performance of 'Play my game'; Four Story showed that they could sing, but were hampered by an inherently dull song; while duo City Chix were perhaps the revelation of the evening, looking and sounding like a Glaswegian version of t.A.T.u, and giving a much stronger vocal performance of 'All about you' than might have been expected given their lack of singing experience. However, none were any match for DJ Daz Sampson, half of the dance act Uniting Nations (of 'Out of touch' fame), who gave by far the most lively and enjoyable performance of the evening, and will now represent the UK with the rap song 'Teenage life'. Featuring Daz's rapping, a stage full of desks and blackboards, and 16-year-old girls dressed in school uniform singing (or in the case of 'MYMU', miming) the chorus, 'Teenage life' certainly benefits from a memorable visual performance and is unlike anything else we are likely to hear at Eurovision in 2006. Moreover, as a catchy, crossover rap track in the mould of the Black Eyed Peas' 'Where is the love', there is a real sense that 'Teenage life' could be the biggest UK hit to come out of Eurovision for a long, long time - potentially the first Eurovision song to hit No. 1 in the UK singles chart since Gina G a decade ago.

After several years of miserable results for the UK, it is quite interesting to reflect on the increased buzz around the country's 2006 entry. To his immense credit, Daz seems to be genuinely enthusiastic about his song and about representing the UK at Eurovision. In particular, he has dedicated himself to promoting the song across Europe prior to the Contest, something that previous UK entrants have been slow to embrace, and has already been building up support within the UK through appearance on shows such as 'Richard and Judy' - the king and queen of UK daytime TV, for those of you not familiar with them. Perhaps even more importantly, the feedback so far from other countries - such as in the comments people have posted below - has been much more positive for the UK than usual. So, it's not looking bad at all..."

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 9th to 11th
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"Without a doubt, 'Teenage life' is the kind of entry that some people will love and others will detest - but that's good, as no-one ever wins Eurovision by blandly appealing across the board. For now, Daz and 'Teenage life' have at least for now given the UK it's Eurovision mojo back - we have a song that *could* just be a winner, and even if it fails, no-one can say we didn't try something bold and different. On balance I suspect that victory may be a little too much to ask, and that a place in the top ten will be the best that the UK can hope for. However, that would certainly be welcome given the UK's performances of late."
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from United Kingdom are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to United Kingdom overall:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	1	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	7	IS	1	MT	3	PT	5	SE	0
AM	10	DK	0	IE	7	MD	0	RO	0	CH	8
BY	0	EE	0	IL	7	MC	1	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	12	LV	2	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	5	NO	0	SI	0	UK	X
BG	0	DE	0	WO	2	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 71, from 14/39 juries
Position: 11 out of 37

Points awarded to United Kingdom in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	X
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: N/A, from N/A/39 juries
Position: N/A out of 23

Points awarded to United Kingdom in the Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	1	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	1	CY	7	IS	2	MT	3	PT	5	SE	0
AM	10	DK	0	IE	7	MD	0	RO	0	CH	8
BY	0	EE	0	IL	7	MC	2	RU	0	TR	0
BE	2	FI	12	LV	4