I didn’t watch the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Judging from the reports on the BBC and Sky News, I’m glad I didn’t. It’s about spectacle, not song.

Rewind 60 years ago to 1965. Here’s runner-up Kathy Kirby (née Catherine Ethel O’Rourke), who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Wow. Just wow. I love my female singers. Why hadn’t I heard of her before?

And here is France Gall (née Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall), the winner of the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. Her entry was Serge Gainsbourg’s song Poupée de cire, poupée de son (wax doll, rag doll):

The good old days, when the Eurovision Song Contest was about music and songs. 🎵