CityLife

Why we think Sir Terry's Euro-tastic

AS far as many of us in this country are concerned, Sir Terry Wogan and the Eurovision Song Contest are inextricably linked.

So much so that it's virtually impossible to imagine the annual celebration of all things kitsch and camp without Terry's mischievous commentary.

"I've always loved it," beams the presenter, who has commentated on the competition since 1973. "It's a wonderful event. You can decry it for its foolishness, but it's huge all over the world. They lap it up in Australia, for instance. It has a global audience of 300 million.

"We adore the competitive element and the voting. But above all, we love Eurovision because it's the ideal opportunity to have a good sneer at Johnny Foreigner and throw things at the telly. You can't beat that sort of entertainment!"

It should come as no surprise then, that the great man is involved in the outrageously- entertaining live show Eurobeat, Almost Eurovision (Sarajevo) that was a popular hit at last year's Edinburgh Festival and sashays its sequinned way to The Lowry next week.

Terry, it should be said, will not be appearing in person, but on a screen at strategic points during the evening. Live hosting duties, in what's claimed to be the world's first interactive musical, are instead undertaken by Mel Giedroyc as former Olympic pole-vaulting champion, lifestyle programme presenter and cabaret performer Boyka and Gareth Hale as children's presenter Sergei. As they go into the theatre, audience members are each allocated one of ten competing countries to represent.

After they have heard all ten entries, the audience are then invited to vote for their favourite via text message.

"Unlike some shows we could mention," Gareth promises, "this voting process is bona fide, so there is, inevitably, a fair amount of thinking on our feet to be done by Mel and myself!

"The genius of the show is that the songs really are well-written and both the audience and the performers are kept in suspense until the very end. As in the real Eurovision, audience members cannot vote for their own countries, but there is nothing to stop them bribing others to do so!

Affectionate

"What's also brilliant is that it's either an affectionate tribute or a vicious parody, depending on how you want to take it."

In Eurobeat, the contest is taking place in sunny Sarajevo, where Boyka and Sergei introduce acts who will stop at nothing to win the adoration - and, more importantly, the votes of the audience. There's also an entertainment spectacular during the count in which Boyka offers her inimitable rendition of I'm Sarajevo, Taste Me!

"It features a root vegetable, that's all I can say," says Gareth.

The show was conceived by Craig Christie after he was denied the chance to write an entry for the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest because he happened to live in Australia.

He was inspired to go one better and create a whole musical about the subject. Enter musical collaborator Andrew Patterson and, quicker than Buck's Fizz can whip off their skirts, a show was born!

"I was more than happy to get involved with Eurobeat. It's been a tremendous laugh," offers Terry. "At this stage show, you get a great flavour of the fun and the enthusiasm of the real Eurovision Song Contest. When it goes out on TV, people up and down the country hold parties and hoot at all the contestants. Did you know that last year it got 11 million viewers in the UK?"

Many of those watch the Eurovision Song Contest purely to hear Terry's commentary. So why does he think his voiceover has become so essential to people's enjoyment of the show? "I say what I see just before the viewers do, such as `have you ever seen teeth like that?'," he believes. "101 things occur to you when those clowns come on stage or when the local presenters start shrieking.

"People used to say to me, 'how come you are at this contest, if you don't like it?' But they were missing the point. I adore Eurovision. France has two commentators at the event and they're catty. But I'm never knowingly nasty. Why should I be? You have to approach it in a spirit of fun."

He points out that our attitude to the contest is rather different to the rest of Europe's.

Diverse

"We sneer at the music, but across the continent that's what they listen to all the time. Our music is so diverse, but they're not open to as many different influences. In France, they love Johnny Halliday! Please! And on German TV, whole hours are given over to people in lederhosen slapping their thighs and playing the tuba.

"In Spain, they broadcast variety shows that go on for four hours and include jugglers and comic sketches. In Europe, variety isn't dead. Different standards apply. We're not superior, but that doesn't stop us having a good old hoot at it all!

"Other countries scoff at us, you can be sure of that. Someone wrote to me recently to say that in Germany they're advertising a festival and have represented England with a fellow wrapped in a Union Jack watching telly while everyone else dances round and taunts him.

"We're not averse to getting a good kicking from the rest of Europe, but luckily we only speak English so we don't understand it!

"Like the rest of Europe, members of the Eurovision Song Contest Fan Club take it very seriously indeed. They used to get annoyed, but now they see that what I'm doing is good-natured. I don't make the mistake of thinking it's a major musical event!

"Having said that, in most European countries I still have to go incognito. If I turned up at a performance of Eurobeat," he chuckles, "I'd probably have to wear a paper bag on my head!"

As it happens, The Lowry hosts the north west première of this extravaganza during Eurovision week, culminating on Saturday, May 24, the day of the contest.

To get in an appropriately celebratory mood, The Lowry's Terrace Bar will be hosting a contest-themed evening complete with flags and bunting, TV screens beaming the competition live from Belgrade and Eighties-style cocktails - such as Blue Lagoon, Tequila Sunrise, Green Goblin and, of course, Buck's Fizz.

The bar staff will also be battling each other for votes to decide whose fancy dress outfit wins. They will each represent a country and there will be ballot boxes around the bar for he best dressed bar person. The cast, too, will be attending one of many Eurovision parties - on a much bigger scale - at Cruz 101 on Canal Street on Friday May 23.

Eurobeat is at The Lowry until Saturday, May 24. £14 - £24. Call 0870 787 5780 or click here to book.