British Eurovision fans are no strangers to disappointment at the annual song contest.
The United Kingdom has not brought home the gold trophy since 1997, when Katrina and the Waves took the win with “Love Shine a Light.”
In the midst of it all, Durrington resident Alex Morgan-Wardrop wrote a humorous song about Britain’s failure to rise to the top of the song contest during the 21st Century.
The song’s lyrics include the refrain “If only we could write a decent song, like Jaja Ding Dong,” referencing Will Ferrell’s humorous fictitious Eurovision entry from the film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Alex then proceeds to recount the failures of the numerous artists who have failed to carry the UK to the top at Eurovision.
Alex, 50, said he has written and played music since he was a teenager, but wasn’t much of a fan before he met his wife, whose family was heavily interested in Eurovision and would gather as a family to watch.
Alex said: “It just brought family together. Obviously, the UK would just generally be abysmal most of the time, so I thought I would just write a song about how rubbish we are in it, just to make the family smile and stuff, and then I started to play the song when I had gigs and people seemed to appreciate it and really like it and have a laugh about it.”
After the song’s success at live gigs, Alex decided to record the song at Sunrise Sound Studio with Salisbury cover band King Louie, after he received a recording session as a birthday gift.
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Alex first wrote the song in 2021, when James Newman’s song “Embers” saw the UK finish in last place with zero points.
Alex said: “I think that was kind of what first pushed me over the edge.
“So I wrote the original song with the final verse being about ‘Embers’ and then changed it last year when Sam Ryder came in second, so it’s an evolving song. I’m sure in ten years’ time it’s going to be like 16 verses long as opposed to just six now.
“It just evolves depending on how we do. If we’re rubbish, it will just stay as it is, but if we do well I will have to change it eventually.”
Alex uploaded the current version of the song to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, where it went live on Saturday, April 27 and has received 344 views.
He said: “For somebody who just does this as a bit of fun, I’m quite happy with that.”
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