Oh and a final point the last time we sent a known band was in 1997 and they hadn't troubled the charts for 11 years and were tbh forgotten one hit wonders.....I'm sure we can all remember the final result that year! :P

BLUE RATE

 

08 All Rise

05 Too Close

10 If You Come Back (Not gonna lie, the pre-teen me was ever so slightly obsessed with Lee Ryan after this. That phase has LONG since passed but this remains fantastic.)

07 Fly By II

06 One Love (by this point why was it not obvious that the more R&B influenced cuts all had the same chorus template?)

11 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (MODERN CLASSIC. Much love to Elton.)

08 U Make Me Wanna

07 Guilty (this is very inoffensive and nicey nice, and I have a horrid feeling that this is what I Can might end up sounding like.)

05 Signed, Sealed, Delivered

07 Breathe Easy (ditto Guilty)

07 Bubblin'

08 Curtain Falls

05 Get Down On It

 

Never BAD, but a lot of it has dated quite painfully.

Waking up to this now it's official, I'm actually quite pleased about it. I mean come on - Nicki French, Lindsay D, Jemini, James Fox, Javine, Daz Sampson, Scooch, Andy Abraham, Jade Ewen, Josh Dubovie - they've sold more than that sorry lot put together, and then some (if you take Nicki's one hit wonder Bonnie Tyler cover out of the equation :ph34r:), and it's not like they split up decades ago, it was 5 years ago - at least the BBC aren't trying to flog the 5ive comeback onto us - Blue at least have relevant songs that are still played on the radio regularly today. I always here Fly By II, All Rise, One Love and If You Come Back.

 

And I really believe that they will promote and support it in a big way too - all of their songs went top ten I think, apart from one #11, so they're not going to suddenly want a Eurovision SMASH comeback in at #58, they'll want to pick up where they left off - definitely a great platform to relaunch them in Europe, who are less fickle, even if it doesn't give them any renewed longevity in the UK music industry.

5ive were actually an act I was thinking of as a comparison - I'd have understood the reaction this seems to have gotten if we'd sent them! As it is I'm thinking people are just in the default position of being dismissive of everything we send short of a proper superstar.

5ive were actually an act I was thinking of as a comparison - I'd have understood the reaction this seems to have gotten if we'd sent them! As it is I'm thinking people are just in the default position of being dismissive of everything we send short of a proper superstar.

 

Indeed, and that's clearly never going to happen, so we might as well be grateful with what we've got this year. How many superstars can give up 6-8 weeks to properly participate/rehearse/promote etc...for Eurovision - I'm thinking none, unless they had a crazily big gap in their schedule with nothing already planned.

 

On the scale of a comeback, it's in line with Boyzone's in 2008 - which scored them a top five single and album in the UK - really, it could have been far far worse. I'm not going to scream my usual 'let's hope it's contemporary and relevant' but a number of their songs have already stood the test of time on daytime radio and the likes of Breathe Easy wouldn't sound shameful in the charts today if they're going to go down that route. It's not like some token bubblegum pop throwback being pushed onto us again and sounding completely ridiculous on the radio if it ever does make it into the chart. Seeing as Heart FM love them so much still, and will I should think be fully behind this comeback, it will be interesting to see if the entry gets playlisted. It probably won't due to the stigma of Eurovision, but it would be nice for one of our entries to receive airplay somewhere and actually be a pre-contest hit.

BLUE RATE!

 

07 All Rise

09 Too Close

10 If You Come Back

04 Fly By II

08 One Love

09 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word [Cher's version is better :kink:]

09 U Make Me Wanna

07 Guilty

05 Signed, Sealed, Delivered

10 Breathe Easy

03 Bubblin'

03 Curtain Falls

04 Get Down On It

 

Lee Ryan:

05 'Army Of Lovers'

03 'Turn Your Car Around'

?? 'When I Think Of You' [HUH?]

04 'I Am Who I Am'

 

Simon Webbe:

10 'Lay Your Hands'

10 'No Worries'

08 'After All This Time'

09 'Coming Around Again'

?? 'My Soul Pleads For You' [HUH?]

09 'Grace'

 

Duncan James:

08 'I Believe My Heart'

04 'Sooner or Later' [Darius B-Side fodder]

?? 'Can't Stop A River'

 

Anthony Costa:

10 'Do You Ever Think of Me'

 

Simon Webbe was clearly the best solo Blue. Although I actually bought 'Sanctuary', and I couldn't say the same about his album :lol: He knew how to pick the singles though :lol: 'Lay Your Hands' & 'No Worries' are my favourite Blue related tracks I think. Well behind 'If You Ever Come Back' :wub:

 

This could be a good move! They seem to have some fans in Europe and had a decent amount of success. This could work very well in our favour. We should send the A1 song though :(

Didn't know you were such a fan of Antony Costa's solo single Jonjo :o Simon 'Lighthouse Family 2.0' Webbe was easily the best solo, how many ex boyband members have 3 or more good singles!?! I can only think of Robbie Williams and Ronan Keating :lol:

 

Lay Your Hands massively reminds me of my first term at uni :wub: The Akon-esque high pitched vocals really work on it somehow. Coming Around Again was my second favourite of his, even if I now relate it to furniture adverts :drama:

 

Gary Barlow actually wrote the fairly forgettable Guilty for them, so it's quite shocking that it came from the same album as Breathe Easy (which Lee Ryan wrote!). Gary was much better in 2003/4 for his input on Delta Goodrem (Not Me, Not I, Throw It Away, My Big Mistake, Running Away, Longer) and Atomic Kitten's (Always Be My Baby, I Won't Be There) albums anyway.

Didn't know you were such a fan of Antony Costa's solo single Jonjo :o Simon 'Lighthouse Family 2.0' Webbe was easily the best solo, how many ex boyband members have 3 or more good singles!?! I can only think of Robbie Williams and Ronan Keating :lol:

 

Lay Your Hands massively reminds me of my first term at uni :wub: The Akon-esque high pitched vocals really work on it somehow. Coming Around Again was my second favourite of his, even if I now relate it to furniture adverts :drama:

 

Gary Barlow actually wrote the fairly forgettable Guilty for them, so it's quite shocking that it came from the same album as Breathe Easy (which Lee Ryan wrote!). Gary was much better in 2003/4 for his input on Delta Goodrem (Not Me, Not I, Throw It Away, My Big Mistake, Running Away, Longer) and Atomic Kitten's (Always Be My Baby, I Won't Be There) albums anyway.

Yeah. I thought it was pretty great when I first heard it. Although that rating is from memory. I need to remind myself of it, but I don't dare :lol: LOL! IKR? Poor Brave Mark Owen.

 

'Lay Your Hands' was indeed fantastic and I think it'd still be a hit now. Same with 'No Worries' too. 'Coming Around Again' I never got why that didn't do better and peak inside the top 10! :( It's memorable and catchy enough I thought. Oh and Barlow's best efforts were clearly with Atomic Kitten :wub: (My two favourites - along with NITW obviously)

Yeah. I thought it was pretty great when I first heard it. Although that rating is from memory. I need to remind myself of it, but I don't dare :lol: LOL! IKR? Poor Brave Mark Owen.

 

'Lay Your Hands' was indeed fantastic and I think it'd still be a hit now. Same with 'No Worries' too. 'Coming Around Again' I never got why that didn't do better and peak inside the top 10! :( It's memorable and catchy enough I thought. Oh and Barlow's best efforts were clearly with Atomic Kitten :wub: (My two favourites - along with NITW obviously)

 

Mark's only good for Four Minute Warning :lol: Although Clementine is good too, if anyone remembers it. I couldn't stretch to saying he has a third decent solo single though :drama: And did Gary even have any?

 

I agree about Coming Around Again, really should have been a top ten hit. Well Innocent Eyes and Ladies Night are two of my all time favourite albums and those are some of the best songs from both, so clearly he never stopped writing decent songs, I just don't understand why Blue chose Guilty as a lead single, Gary was capable of FAR better than that.

Mark's only good for Four Minute Warning :lol: Although Clementine is good too, if anyone remembers it. I couldn't stretch to saying he has a third decent solo single though :drama: And did Gary even have any?

 

I agree about Coming Around Again, really should have been a top ten hit. Well Innocent Eyes and Ladies Night are two of my all time favourite albums and those are some of the best songs from both, so clearly he never stopped writing decent songs, I just don't understand why Blue chose Guilty as a lead single, Gary was capable of FAR better than that.

Haha. Mark isn't good for anything solo wise. :lol: Heck his tracks from TT are usually overrated pieces of ... :puke: ('Shine', 'Up All Night')

 

Yeah. 'Guilty' really was a strange choice for lead single, although I never heard a Blue album, I just think unless you're a renowned outstanding vocalist (or Take That), you can rarely get away with a ballad as a lead single. As I said before I don't know what they could have chosen as lead over it as I haven't heard the album, but NOW! seem to have liked 'Curtain Falls' and thought it'd be a big hit, so maybe if it was lead single, it'd be worthy of it's Track 1 Side 1, positioning on Now 59!?

 

Or maybe not! LOL.

I'm with you there! Shine is rancid.

 

The fact that it's routinely played at work does it no favours.

 

 

I'd heard they were reforming [blue] i didn't think it could be for this. Who knows i they do well in a few years time we could have our own MGP/MF

I DISAGREE there, Shine spent 9 weeks at #1 in my chart :lol: Love it! I loved Up All Night and most of the tracks he sings on too - it's the Gary led tracks that are always far more overrated and the 'classics'.

 

Curtain Falls was awful, unoriginal choice of sample after Coolio used it, and I don't understand why Now put it as Disc 1, track 1 at all...even though I'm not a fan, I was pretty certain that Call On Me would have opened that album :o I thought Curtain Falls was the lead single of something else (their Best Of token new track perhaps?), I thought it came out the year after Guilty.

Oh right! LOL. I thought they were still on that same album campaign! Ha. Well I think you're right about it being the Best Of it launched... 'Call On Me', 'These Words', 'Love Machine', 'My Place' 'eck even 'My Neck My Back' would have been more worthy of opening the album :lol: Although despite the bizarre tracklisting (Daniel Bedingfield opening Disc 2 - with Jamelia 'Stop' 2nd :lol:) it's still one of my favourite (if not favourite) Now albums :wub:

 

But this is going off topic now! :lol: Sometimes I do love how one conversations leads off into something else :heehee:

Oh right! LOL. I thought they were still on that same album campaign! Ha. Well I think you're right about it being the Best Of it launched... 'Call On Me', 'These Words', 'Love Machine', 'My Place' 'eck even 'My Neck My Back' would have been more worthy of opening the album :lol: Although despite the bizarre tracklisting (Daniel Bedingfield opening Disc 2 - with Jamelia 'Stop' 2nd :lol:) it's still one of my favourite (if not favourite) Now albums :wub:

 

But this is going off topic now! :lol: Sometimes I do love how one conversations leads off into something else :heehee:

 

That's ok, I'm the mod of this forum and I couldn't care less if things go off topic, if it means more, usually interesting, discussion :P how many conversations in real life stick to the same track from start to finish? None - everybody goes off topic/changes direction of the conversation, it's human nature!

 

I agree with you about that Now album, god knows who compiled it in that order - very bizarre. I guess they put names above songs, as Blue and Daniel Bedingfield were still both big at the time and these songs were expected to be big comebacks :lol: I always find the winter Now releases to be stronger than the others - and I especially liked Love Machine, What You're Made Of, Is It Cos' I'm Cool and You Won't Forget About Me :wub: Taking it slightly more back on topic, Duncan's solo single was also on that compilation :o I was always rather shocked that that went to #2, it wasn't the sort of genre usually found at the top of the charts, wasn't it an Andrew Lloyd Webber written song too? Strange that they should both go on to be involved in ESC - although rumours of Duncan James participating solo for us have been popping up for years now so Blue isn't actually a huge surprise, especially seeing as Antony tried out in 2006, Lee wrote one of the songs in the 2005 NF and Duncan presented our votes in the 2009 final!

In fairness Josh probably thought it was great and a decent kick start to his career - How wrong he was :kink:

 

Nah, Josh was just another of Pete Waterman's string puppets. The exact same thing happened with failed boyband One True Voice when they claimed their single was great. Yeah 'Sacred Trust' - such a great song. -_- Then we heard 'Sound Of The Underground' and we soon realised the truth.

 

I feel like reminiscing. If Blue's Eurovision is anything like 'No Worries' then that's a good starting point.

 

 

^_^

That's ok, I'm the mod of this forum and I couldn't care less if things go off topic, if it means more, usually interesting, discussion :P how many conversations in real life stick to the same track from start to finish? None - everybody goes off topic/changes direction of the conversation, it's human nature!

 

I agree with you about that Now album, god knows who compiled it in that order - very bizarre. I guess they put names above songs, as Blue and Daniel Bedingfield were still both big at the time and these songs were expected to be big comebacks :lol: I always find the winter Now releases to be stronger than the others - and I especially liked Love Machine, What You're Made Of, Is It Cos' I'm Cool and You Won't Forget About Me :wub: Taking it slightly more back on topic, Duncan's solo single was also on that compilation :o I was always rather shocked that that went to #2, it wasn't the sort of genre usually found at the top of the charts, wasn't it an Andrew Lloyd Webber written song too? Strange that they should both go on to be involved in ESC - although rumours of Duncan James participating solo for us have been popping up for years now so Blue isn't actually a huge surprise, especially seeing as Antony tried out in 2006, Lee wrote one of the songs in the 2005 NF and Duncan presented our votes in the 2009 final!

Ha. As long as nobody turns NuBritster on me, I'll be fine haha!

 

Yeah I was looking at the chart run for 'I Believe My Heart' (as I was looking at what they were releasing earlier on polyhex) and it was awful! LOL. What a non-number 1 that would have been if reported sales (between that and Eric Prydz) were true and it had an extra day of sales or whatever! (wasn't it only like a couple of hundred/thousand between them?) In fact he was leading most of the week in the mids but Prydz snatched it away, last minute (THANK GOD! 'Call On Me' was a million times better :wub:)

 

The chart-run was: {2}-5-8-16-26-42-58->7

 

Oh dear. Yeah, Blue seemed to do anything they could to stay in the limelight didn't they? Numerous 'Celebrity Love Island' appearances, Eurovision related shows, nobody but ESC loons seemed to care about :lol: POOR BRAVE ANTONY COSTA :( Realised nobody gave a $h!t about him when he was the only solo Blue member not to go Top 10 :(.

Listening to Blue's discography, they were actually quite good in their day.

Ha. As long as nobody turns NuBritster on me, I'll be fine haha!

 

Yeah I was looking at the chart run for 'I Believe My Heart' (as I was looking at what they were releasing earlier on polyhex) and it was awful! LOL. What a non-number 1 that would have been if reported sales (between that and Eric Prydz) were true and it had an extra day of sales or whatever! (wasn't it only like a couple of hundred/thousand between them?) In fact he was leading most of the week in the mids but Prydz snatched it away, last minute (THANK GOD! 'Call On Me' was a million times better :wub:)

 

The chart-run was: {2}-5-8-16-26-42-58->7

 

Oh dear. Yeah, Blue seemed to do anything they could to stay in the limelight didn't they? Numerous 'Celebrity Love Island' appearances, Eurovision related shows, nobody but ESC loons seemed to care about :lol: POOR BRAVE ANTONY COSTA :( Realised nobody gave a $h!t about him when he was the only solo Blue member not to go Top 10 :(.

 

We allow freedom of speech in the Eurovision forum :lol:

 

Indeed, nice enough song I guess but I'm glad it wasn't a #1 in the end, it's hardly well remembered! Antony's easily the member that people care least about. Lee was the one with the big mouth who girls found 'cute', Duncan was seen as 'the handsome one' with the theatrical voice and then Simon obviously proved to have by far and away the best solo career, and it wasn't the direction I'd expected him to go in either - I thought he might have tried to release some rap singles or something. But Antony didn't really have much success at all - even beaten by Daz Sampson! (although Teenage Life was clearly amazing).

We allow freedom of speech in the Eurovision forum :lol:

 

Indeed, nice enough song I guess but I'm glad it wasn't a #1 in the end, it's hardly well remembered! Antony's easily the member that people care least about. Lee was the one with the big mouth who girls found 'cute', Duncan was seen as 'the handsome one' with the theatrical voice and then Simon obviously proved to have by far and away the best solo career, and it wasn't the direction I'd expected him to go in either - I thought he might have tried to release some rap singles or something. But Antony didn't really have much success at all - even beaten by Daz Sampson! (although Teenage Life was clearly amazing).

Ha. I agree. Was that the year Brian Harvey entered too?

 

Oh how I love 'Teenage Life' :wub: Was ahead of it's time in all honesty. We should have sent it to ESC this year, might have fared better. (As you guys pointed out ESC are always a couple of years (not decades as Pete Waterman likes to believe) behind :lol:) We were truly robbed I thought! :(

Ha. I agree. Was that the year Brian Harvey entered too?

 

Oh how I love 'Teenage Life' :wub: Was ahead of it's time in all honesty. We should have sent it to ESC this year, might have fared better. (As you guys pointed out ESC are always a couple of years (not decades as Pete Waterman likes to believe) behind :lol:) We were truly robbed I thought! :(

 

I think that was the year after, ironically also with a song called I Can.

 

I know what you mean about Daz, the concept of the song mirrors what's happening in the charts today - except obviously the artists are all in their early 20's as opposed to mid 30's like he was - maybe that's what put some people off? I don't think the rest of Europe is quite there yet, I know Tinie Tempah has had some success but most of the UK rap acts that do well here never do well anywhere else, so I'm not so sure Teenage Life would perform any better now. That said, 19th or 20th, wherever it came, was a massive injustice imo. Glad it made the UK top ten though :D