WORTH A LOOK?: ****
OUT: available to watch on YouTube
‘One day when the lockdown is over, We’ll get on the ferry at Dover, We’ll drive down to Spain, to say: ‘Hola!’ again, Te amo, Te amo España.’ Derry boy and Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon has Eurovision form.
- Read on for reasons including how to vote in the Isolation Song Contest
He co-wrote mock ‘Eurosong’ entry My Lovely Horse for Channel 4’s comedy Father Ted in the 90s and here returns to the genre with the affectionate wink that has lit up some of his biggest hits.
The Isolation Song Contest is the idea of musical comedian Tom Taylor who recruited 14 comedy and cabaret friends to represent various Eurovision nations with just one week to compose an original entry and music video.
It has so far raised almost £30,000 for charity and you can watch the entries and vote for your favourite by 22/5/20 on its site with the winner being revealed in a results show the following day.
The Divine Comedy won our gig of the year monsta in 2019 for their revelatory Eventim Apollo concert and we praised both most recent album Office Politics and its best single Norman and Norma.
Our Isolation Song Contest vote goes to Divine Comedy because we share their enthusiasm for Spain and the simple lyrics provoke smiles whether it’s the chorus of: ‘Te Amo, Te Amo España, I am your number one fan, yeah.’ or occasional gem in a verse: ‘Enrique en Julio Iglesias taught me all these Spanish phrases.’
There’s even a key change and the affectionate video makes us pine for a return to Spain’s shores. Crucially it’s a song that is strong enough to stand up in the modern Eurovision Song Contest despite its lyrical humour and simplicity.
monstagigz 