A special new book is about to be launched next week, full of interviews with Eurovision nul-pointers of the past, talking about how Eurovision failure changed their lives, for better or for worse.
Writer Tim Moore chronicles the ups, or rather downs, of an unlucky thirteen Eurovision stars who have managed to impress not a single international jury since Jahn Teigen scored a legendary zero in Paris in 1978. Travelling from Lisbon to Lithuania with many stops in-between, Moore paints a set of pictures "poignant, ludicrous and heartwarming in almost equal measure" while taking the reader through the amazing history of the other end of the Eurovision high score table.
Eurovision stars in the limelight include Célia Lawson, who was shunned in her native Portugal after achieving nothing in Dublin in 1997; Finn Kalvik, who is now hiding away in Thailand, his 1981 nul points for Norway a distant (and painful) memory; and Finnish Kojo, whose 1982 duck for Finland was just one stop on the way through a long and varied career. As expected, UK zero heroes Jemini get their fair share of coverage from the British author.
Legendary Jahn
Of course, Jahn Teigen himself has his own feature section, being arguably one of the most celebrated nul-pointers of all time. The cover of the book features a cartoon version of the said Mr Teigen, in his now famous mid-air, braces-twanging jump, and is already available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk, at this link . The launch is set for 5th October.
Win your copy!
However, two lucky winners will receive a copy of the book absolutely free, thanks to an exclusive esctoday.com competition courtesy of publishers Random House. To have a chance, simply answer these two related questions:
- Which was the most recent year when more than one country achieved the dreaded nul points, and which countries were they?
- Which countries have managed to score two consecutive nul points in a row, and in which years did this happen?
Send your answers in an email with your name, address, and the subject clearly marked Nul points to [email protected]. The two lucky winners will be announced next week!
