Eurovision: Of Milky Way And Jam

IT’S the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, and the Telegraph introduces Britons to Sebastien Tellier, singer of the French entry, “a jovial Beach Boys pastiche called Divine”.

“Eurovision is not a place for culture,” says M. Tellier.

Mr Tellier sings in English and those French who see this as a slap in the visage for their language should know he does so with a thick accent. To the English, Tellier sounds like he’s speaking in French.

A trawl of the internet for the lyrics to Tellier’s entry, tosses up the following:

I’m Looking for a band today
I see the Chivers anyway
Through my eyes…

Might this be a paean to Chivers, purveyors of Great British jams? The Chivers family are believed to have descended from Huguenots who settled in Cottenham at the end of the 17th Century, so very possibly, yes.

Or what about a tribute to Martin Harcourt Chivers, alumnus of Taunton Grammar School, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspurs football clubs., who ended his career at Servette in Switzerland?

Says Tellier:

Look away
They try to find the Milky Way
They love to drink it everyday

Jam and confectionary that doesn’t ruin your appetite between meals might not be mainstays of musical greatness, but this is Eurovison…

Anorak

Posted: 22nd, May 2008 | In: Broadsheets Comments (2) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink