Last Sunday our Dutch partner Eurovision Artists held it's annual EA-Zomermiddag, a convention for Eurovision Song Contest fans. The convention concluded with a performance of headlining act The Eighties Ladies, a new duo formed by former Dutch representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest Marlayne (1999) and Esther Hart (2003). The two singers presented a tribute to the eighties by singing medleys of Diana Ross, Mel & Kim, Whitney Houston, Madonna and The Weather Girls. After their performance Esther and Marlayne took the time to give an exclusive interview to esctoday.com in cooperation with www.radiointernational.tk

First we asked Esther and Marlayne what they have been doing after their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Esther: "Well, by entering the Eurovision Song Contest everybody got to know me. I also got the chance to make an album called Straight from the heart. After that I did several theatre tours, and at the moment I’m playing in the Dutch musical version of The Wiz. As for the Eurovision Song Contest, it was a big adventure which I enjoyed very much!"
Marlayne: "I made an album as well, called Meant to be. I’m still very proud of that, however the pressure of making a hit record didn’t make me happy. Luckily for me, I discovered another talent: hosting tv shows. At the moment I’m one of the hosts of a famous news- and showbiz news programme in the Netherlands."

How about the Eurovision Song Contest? Did you watch it this year?
Esther: "Yes, I watched the semi final. I had to perform on Saturday, so I only watched parts of the final in my dressing room."
Marlayne: "I only watched the semi final. My first reaction afterwards was: lets quit it! I was quite disappointed about Edsilia’s poor result. She is such a good singer with a very soulful voice. Apparently soul isn’t appreciated at the Eurovision Song Contest."
Esther: "I don’t think we should withdraw. I love Eurovision too much! However, it will become more and more difficult to find an artists who wants to participate, due to the results of the last few years."
Marlayne: "I think there should be a professional jury besides the televoting. In that case the quality songs would have a bigger chance to do well."
Esther continues: "I agree with that; back in 2003 I got 10 points from Russia and they didn’t make use of televoting that year. I think I would have got a better result with a jury system instead of televoting."

How about a come-back at the Eurovision Song Contest as a duo?
Marlayne: "At the moment I’d say no, but never say never!"
Esther continues: "It’s a great experience, but it takes a lot of preparations. All the recordings, interviews, rehearsals, promotional activities; it’s just a lot of work."

Lets talk about your project the Eighties Ladies. What can we expect from that?
Esther: "To be honest we just want to perform. We really like to sing together and we’re having a lot of fun as well! There are no plans yet to record an album or to do a theatre tour, but who knows what the future will bring!"

You can listen to the full audio interview on www.radiointernational.tk. Surf to www.radiointernational.tk, click on live stream and listen to the show live from 20.00 – 22.00 hours on Wednesday, 13 June 2007. If you’re not able to listen to the show live, you can find it on the show archive on Thursday, the day after the live webcast.

Many thanks to Juergen Boernig for his cooperation.