World of Chig   

8.5.03

15 United Kingdom – Cry Baby – Jemini
Fact: An act called Gemini came 17th in Eurovision for Portugal in 1978. There are many who can’t see this even reaching that dizzy height. ‘The worst UK entry ever’, declared Popbitch, who have clearly never been subjected to some of our soul-destroying efforts from the mid 1980s, or the particularly lame ‘Mary Ann’ by Black Lace in 1979. Even that load of old shite managed to come 7th, so what Jemini really have to watch out for is our low watermark of 15th place, which Nicki French 'achieved' in 2000. Or what they may have to worry about is being made to carry the can for our warmongering Prime Minister, who has scuppered any chances of the odd few friendly points for the UK anyway. In 1984, our act was booed on stage for political reasons, but Iraq is last month's chip paper now, so we're probably okay. Some people think this is a good pop tune. No one seems to love it, but many like it, and that’s about as enthusiastic as it gets. To be honest, it’s so repetitive that I’ve heard it enough already, so my jaded view of it perhaps won’t apply to the televoters of Europe, who will hopefully see a colourful and jolly performance from Gemma and Chris which will make Merseyside proud. I certainly hope so. There is also the gimmick of the dance routine, which may count for something. What Chris really needs to do is rip off Gemma’s skirt. I have a work colleague who'd be very keen on that - he's been quite excited about half of Jemini ever since I showed him my Song For Europe photos.

‘Cry Baby’ unfortunately doesn’t stand up to Finland’s ‘Bye Bye Baby’ from Cat Cat in 1994, with which it’s bound to be compared. This isn’t going to be released in the UK until the Monday after Eurovision. What does that tell us? Gemma and Chris, in the meantime, continue to record their album and tour gay clubs. (I saw them at The Nightingale on Sunday, for the second time.) They're due to record TOTP on Thursday 15th, for broadcast on TOTP Saturday on the 17th.

· link

Home