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Post by Shireblogger on May 1, 2016 6:49:02 GMT 1
Eurovision is nearly upon us, so let's take a moment to reflect back to the days when La Royaume-Uni actually won it.
In a close finish, Bucks Fizz ended 4 points ahead of Germany, and 11 ahead of France. They only picked up maximum points from Israel and the Netherlands, with Switzerland, France and Germany all scoring more 12s.
So, 35 years on, what does Haven think now ? Is "Making Your Mind Up" an obviously second-rate effort to emulate Abba, with the 2-boy 2-girl jaunty pop formula, and a cringingly contrived piece of amateur dramatics as the skirts get ripped off ? Or has it always been a rather wonderful pop tune, delivered by a quartet of fine showmen who perfectly tuned in to the Eurovision vibe ?
Please give us your opinion, along with a score between 0 (very bad) and 10 (very good). You must write a minimum of 5 words and a maximum of 5 paragraphs for your score to count, and scores outside the range of 0-10 will not be included.
Scores:
6.2 AVERAGE from 14 judges
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,395
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Post by TheThorne on May 1, 2016 7:18:29 GMT 1
This is another then and now song. At the time I loved the song but I was 10 and I generally liked our Eurovision songs but then what made it weaker was Bucks Fizz unlike any other British entry went on to get better and better , so when you look back over their singles catalogue MYMU is quite average. It is fluff and fun but it's no classic 6/10 Ps Jay was hot though youtu.be/ThGD3wLpSLs
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,403
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Post by vastar iner on May 1, 2016 7:43:34 GMT 1
Good fun pop song. Should have been a hit even without Eurovision. Britain's best Eurovision entry for quite a while - and the next two would be even better, if not so successful. Good solid 6/10.
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Post by raliverpool on May 1, 2016 8:24:05 GMT 1
I really don't like this 50s throwback song. It sounds like a Guys & Dolls tribute act ripping off Do The Hucklebuck.
Thankfully they made some really really good records thereafter such as Land Of Make Believe; & When We Were Young.
2/10
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2016 9:17:40 GMT 1
Really good singalong song, though I always preferred "Land Of Make Believe", the idea of pulling the skirts off was a genius marketing tool and I think they caught the public's imagination at just the right time.
7/10
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Post by Earl Purple on May 1, 2016 9:36:31 GMT 1
Oh I think this was a wonderful pop song, well worthy of winning Eurovision. The women wore nice shoes too. 8/10. Like others, I will say they made some better songs later, in particular for me the wonderful "Now Those Days Are Gone".
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vya
Member
Posts: 8,774
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Post by vya on May 1, 2016 12:43:37 GMT 1
Well, it is good fun, which doesn't preclude it from also being "an obvious effort to emulate Abba, with the 2-boy 2-girl jaunty pop formula, and a cringingly contrived piece of amateur dramatics as the skirts get ripped off". "Obviously second-rate" I waver on - not it's not quite that, not least as there is more to it than emulating Abba. (Anyway...imagine they had chosen to emulate the Brotherhood of Man...)
Great drum pattern at the start - seems to come from street-bands accompanying majorettes or something like that - something quintessentially British but that gets very little mass-media coverage. Then the song gets going - and it is a pretty fine pop song. The instrumental breaks are perfect too. And for a Eurovision performance, they did a stunningly good job. This live performance is certainly better and sharper than the version released as a single.
Decent enough pop band too - several great singles, "Piece Of The Action", "Land Of Make Believe", "My Camera Never Lies", "Now Those Days Are Gone" were all good quality, and in fact probably all better than this. (As good as Dollar at their peak though, with Trevor Horn on board? Don't be silly)
Still, I think 7/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on May 1, 2016 19:16:15 GMT 1
pretty much the same opinion as most above, decent little pop song and one of our better Eurovision entries
7/10
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meister
Member
*Toy Soldier*
Posts: 1,336
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Post by meister on May 2, 2016 11:37:32 GMT 1
Love Bucks Fizz but not a great fan of this. Same with Abba - love them but hated Waterloo.
It's harmless enough but too 'throw-away-pop' for me.
4/10
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Post by smokeyb on May 2, 2016 22:08:02 GMT 1
Was never a huge fan of the song, and as others have said they released better songs after this.
3/10
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Post by rubcale on May 22, 2016 9:56:08 GMT 1
Same with Abba - love them but hated Waterloo. Same here - one of the few Abba tracks I'm not keen on.
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Post by rubcale on May 22, 2016 10:02:15 GMT 1
Very much a then and now record - I loved it at the time but it sounds a bit cheesy now. Unlike vya I thought their Eurovision performance was poor - they sounded out of key but they certainy had a lot of energy. They did subsequently make some excellent singles - Make Believe and Days. But a decent Eurovison entry,very listenable and got you bopping along. Based on the context of 1981 an 8/10.
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Post by o on May 22, 2016 10:44:47 GMT 1
Fun pop song, 6/10, not aged well, but hey it won
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Post by Earl Purple on May 22, 2016 11:19:09 GMT 1
The single was already in the UK top 5 when the contest took place, showing its popularity was not just caused by winning, although doing so helped it up to #1.
Bardo and Gina G's songs were both decent-sized hits here in spite of not winning, showing our public liked them. (Gina G even got to #1).
I think entering with more songs that we like ourselves would help. It appears that the last time our entry was a top 5 hit here was Scooch in 2007. In my opinion that song was awful, and it did badly but, well it's not up to me and if it got to #5 I guess it's popular enough.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jun 23, 2016 13:13:10 GMT 1
It's an unashamedly fun song, with a catchy chorus and an eye-catching dance routine. Perfect Eurovision and perfect summer pop. 7/10 from me.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2016 13:56:39 GMT 1
I love this song, maybe not such epic masterpiece as "The Land Of Make Believe", but still wonderful and classic Eurovision winner. Sadly now Eurovsion is in a lowest point of all its history.
Also I don't blame them and Brotherhood Of Man (version 2.0) for trying to be ABBA, because every generation of true pop fans needs in their ABBA analogue.
P.S : I love Scooch's Eurovision entry too, somewhere in 80s their song even should win that contest.
My rate : 9 / 10
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Post by Kingpin on Jun 23, 2016 19:35:49 GMT 1
I've got such fond memories of this song, it always makes me smile whenever I hear it. Like a lot of others I agree that this wasn't their best song, there are so many more songs that were stronger than this, but still a great fun pop song!
7/10
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