Anyone who has kept a keen eye on the developments around Europe for each Eurovision will no doubt be aware that one of the fiercest rumour mills keeps on spinning in the United Kingdom. With one of the largest and most influential music industries in the world it’s no surprise that Eurofans across the continent ask for every British artist under the sun to represent the country. Anyone for Adele?
But in 2015 it seems like the rumour mill is finally dying. Guy Freeman (the United Kingdom and BBC’s head of delegation) was quick to quash any rumours of a big star or major signing for this year by announcing a similar search for unknown talent that we saw in Copenhagen. As a result, it seems we will no longer get the exciting and sometimes ridiculous rumour season for the UK in future years. It’s okay, don’t cry…
Despite this, in the past decade or so we’ve had some fantastic rumours that seemed weirdly realistic for the UK. The end results may not have been anywhere near as exciting in most cases but let’s take a look at some of the biggest rumours in the UK’s recent history.
Jarvis Cocker
Frontman of iconic British group Pulp, Jarvis Cocker looked set to move into conquering Europe in 2008 by announcing he would be interested in writing the British entry. It never materialised, and Cocker himself later distanced himself from the idea, meaning that we instead saw Andy Abraham come joint last in Belgrade. What could have been?
Morrissey
Perhaps a bigger icon in the music scene (and now famous for being controversial every few weeks), The Smiths’ frontman Morrissey was reportedly approached to write the 2007 song but later denied the possibility. “He had been genuinely interested, but the timing wasn’t right.” Eurovision fans to this day remain curious as to what kind of lyrics a Morrissey entry would have…
Uniting Nations
Another rumour for 2007 was the mildly successful pop-dance group Uniting Nations who scored a major hit with “Out of Touch” in 2005 before band member Daz Sampson represented the country one year later with something completely different. Chart-worthy dance music would’ve been a grand departure for the BBC in the UK’s worst era, but it was perhaps the group’s reliance on sampling that was their downfall.
The BBC at least proved they were “Out of Touch” during the early 10s…
Scissor Sisters
Americans? For the UK?? That would never work… apart from the last British victory! And so many fans were excited to hear Scissor Sisters were interested in representing the UK in 2013 but it was only group member Ana Matronic who made it to Malmö… and only as a commentator.
Jessie J
This was really down to fan pipe dreams rather than any real indication, but when Jessie J hinted at a big single for an international cause early last year, our forum and the rest of the internet went into a bit of a meltdown. The furore even prompted the singer to tweet and bluntly deny the possibility. It was in fact the last big rumour for the UK as the BBC announced the new, alternative approach to the contest.
“@Tweet2Stella: @JessieJ I hope the rumour is true that you’re doing Eurovision, would be great promo in Europe :)” it’s not true.
— Jessie J (@JessieJ) January 29, 2014
Any combination of the Spice Girls
Where would we begin with this? It seems like every year for the past two decades there has been a Spice Girls rumour for the UK. The most recent was Geri Halliwell rumoured once again in 2014. Although the careers of the girls seem to struggle most of the time I would still be highly surprised to ever see one (or all) of the girls spicing up the contest. And in my opinion, what a relief!
HURTS
The recurring, fierce and surprising rumour that has rumbled on for years is that of popular British electropop group HURTS. They were allegedly in talks in 2012 but eventually lost out to crooner Engelbert Humperdinck, but signalled their interest many years beforehand. It seems like we’ll never see their take on Eurovision unfortunately, but here’s hoping the HURT will be over for the UK from now on.
Sorry for the terrible puns.
With thanks to the NME, Digital Spy, EurovisionTimes, Metro and Daily Mail for sources.
Did we miss anyone? Which acts would represent the UK if you could choose? Let us know your thoughts on this editorial below or join the discussion with other fans on our forum!
