Next to Ireland, the United Kingdom is
Eurovision's most succesful country, with five victories and
countless runner-up positions. However since hosting the contest
for the last time in Birmingham in 1998, the U.K. has had its worst
ever series of results, with only one song finishing in the Top 5.
However as one of Eurovision's elite "Big 4" it doesn't
have to worry about qualifying for the final.
This year's U.K. selection process was one of
the more bizarre of the year, with the BBC first suggesting that
ex-Smiths singer Morrissey could be representing the country in
Helsinki. The story made international headlines, but failed to
come to anything, so when the list of six acts in competition to
represent the U.K. on the third edition of "Making Your Mind
Up" were announced in February, it was an anti-climax to many
people.
Among the former chart stars in contention was
the group Scooch, and the camp "sing-a-long" song
"Flying The Flag (For You), however if the bookmakers were to
be believed they were the rank outsiders of the six potential
entries. However after a "super final" Scooch caused one
of the biggest upsets in this year's Eurovision selections, made
even bigger by the fact that Terry Wogan announcing that they had
been beaten by the other finalist.
Scooch are a
four member pop group formed in 1999 as a rival to the then
popular Steps. Scooch comprise Natalie Powers (born 1977),
Caroline Barnes (born 1979), David Ducasse (born 1978), and Russ
Spencer (born 1980). The foursome were put together after
attending auditions for an "all-singing, all-dancing pop
group" in front of the noted songwriters and producers Mike
Stock and Matt Aitken and future manager, Steve Crosby. They
signed to Accolade to EMIand quickly set about creating their
image and sound. The band's name comes from a term used to ask
someone to move up or along a bench or sofa and not for a
perverted sexual act with a piece of citrus fruit as suggested
elsewhere.
Scooch won a contest on BBC One's
Saturday morning show "Live & Kicking" in 1999. They
competed against a boyband to have their single released. Scooch's
debut single "When My Baby" reached #29. This prompted a
tour supporting the Irish girlband B*Witched, and promoted their
second and biggest single "More Than I Needed To Know"
which entered the UK chart at number 5, and went on to see a
global release (including Japan where it hit the top of the record
chart).
A promotional support tour for
boyband Five provided the group with the foundation for their
third single "The Best Is Yet To Come" which charted at
number 12 in the UK. The group recorded their debut album
"Welcome To The Planet Pop" which was released to Top 20
success in Japan. "More Than I Needed To Know" reached
number one in Japan. Scooch's fourth and, until they reformed,
final single came in the form of the flamenco-inspired "For
Sure" which made number 15 in the UK. It was followed by the
UK version of their album entitled "Four Sure" which
peaked just outside the UK Top 40.
The group
then disappeared after being dropped by their record label but
they reformed in January 2004 to perform at G-A-Y's "Gone But
Not Forgotten" night. The success of this prompted the band
to do a tour of several gay venues and events around the UK.
Since
winning the U.K's Eurovision selection Scooch have made the
tabloid news in a series of minor controversies, including being
accused of miming the lead vocals, while the real singers were off
camera. Then singing star Charlottle Church criticised the band in
the strongest terms.
Among the songwriters is
Scooch Russ Spencer and Morten Schjolin who is a songwriter and
producer specializing in all contemporary styles including Pop,
R&B, Hip Hop and Dance. His versatile yet distinctive style of
production has been recognized not only in the UK but also in the
US. His unique talent for arranging and producing vocals is well
known by the record industry people who consider him as one of the
best new producers around. Recently he has been involved in
projects from both sides of the Atlantic including the album of
Mo-zy, a 20 years old rapper who is considered by the A&R
Specialists as the new Eminem.
Scooch have
done limited foreign promotion for their entry but have recorded
it in several different languages. The song has had mixed fortunes
in internet polls and in middle ranked in the bookmakers
odds.
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UNITED KINGDOM @ EUROVISION