Credits
Written by
Published
Source(s)
Review

Get the official history and all the facts
Eurovision Song Contest History book published
The 2007 edition will of course be different from the previous releases of the book as it now includes all the facts – and important gossip about the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens. Furthermore it has been updated and improved regarding the semi-finals and an even more detailed facts section.
As the outline of the book says it includes all the interesting things regarding the contest:
"Discussing the fun and the feuds, the high points, the dismal lows, the scandals, the most outrageous outfits, the innovators and the copy cats, this glorious book captures the singular flavour of "Eurovision", charting its journey from the first competition in 1956 - just seven entrants, broadcast from a tiny venue in Switzerland with a studio audience of 200 - to the international extravaganza watched by 200 million viewers that it has become today."
- Click here to buy the book.
Go directly to the reactions
Recent news about Denmark
Denmark: national selection will be bigger than expected 8
France: Malene Mortensen live in Paris 12
Denmark: 684 songs submitted for national final 33
Denmark: Olsen Brothers' Respect climbs the charts 18
Denmark: One-day Melodi Grand Prix in 2009 21
Reactions
When reacting to a news item, please stick to the topic. Inappropriate messages (swearing, racism, hate, etc.), messages in other languages than English and spam (which includes URL advertising) will be deleted and you risk your account being removed. Reacting on newsitems is only possible when logged in as a member. Still don't have member account?
Click here to react Click here to become a member (free!)
Well, I found this book quite interesting, in spite of the fact that there are some inaccuracies in it and that its author doesn't make the impression of a real ESC fan, i.e. the stuff he writes about doesn't seem to be very familiar to him.
Ordered book from Amazon the other day. Don't use the link in the article, Amazon is about £5 cheaper! Will give my review when I have received the book but I've heard really good things about it. They say it's got major improvements from last year's issues.
I have a history book about Eurovision and I don't like it (Terry Wogan's opinions appear too often!). I would much prefer a box set of all the Eurovision Songs (expensive I can imagine) too make my own mind up. If there is a CD set/DVD set (unlikely i know) of all the years, please someone let me know.
well i hope the author has removed the references in the earlier editions about lack of interest in the UK towards Eurovision. Complete nonsense - interest is high here and has been for ages ...as he'd know if he wasn't living in America!
its a good book, but why relaese it now, in 2 months time it will be out of date
why not release it in june?
Des Mangan's book isn't too bad. In my opinion it's more for a beginner to Eurovision. It has some funny things in it but can be very vague and miss out lots of things that should/could be memorable to more diehard fans. It gets a bit repetitive too and sometimes poor Des just isn't funny. Overall a good book for something light
But where's the poor man on Aussie TV these days??
Ange x
I agree with the Swedish Leandros below: Thorsson's book is far superior to Kennedy O'Connor's hastily compiled "parvum opus". Even for those who don't speak Swedish (like me), Thorsson's book is preferable. Because, for a start, his book include all the facts - including all composers, conductors etc.
Well, this edition sure has a great cover, at least
Yes, first edtion was terrible. Badly written, badly researched, opinions presented as facts....
w s
Is it reall full of inaccuracies? That's a shame. I have the book and really enjoy reading it, but that's put me off a little now.
For those of you who understand Swedish I recommend Leif Thorsson "Melodifestivalen genom tiderna : århundradets svenska uttagningar och internationella finaler". Incredibly boring title but the book is good fun, has lots of facts that at least I didn't know, and is IMO far superiour to John Kennedy O'Connor.
Has anybody here read Des Mangan "This is Sweden Calling: Everything You Wanted To Know About The Eurovision Song Contest But Were Laughing Too Hard To Ask""? Is it any good?
I have the first edition and it is full of inaccurate facts. I have many of the contests on dvd and it is obvious how many things in the book are simply not true.
Well the previous one wasn't so great. They have very typical info that you can fin everwhere. Unfotunatelly, you cannot find too much information about insides stories and scandals and a bit more...
Vote your favourite entry and favourite semifinal song to:
url=http://eurovisionfun.blogpot.com]http://eurovisionfun.blogpot.com/url]
React yourself
This news article is older than one week. Reacting to articles is only possible in the first week after publication.
















