THE SELECTOR
THE SELECTOR
THIS ISSUE MARTIN PHILLIPS
While HR and Darron have been constants in his life for 30 years or more, the Eurovision Song Contest has been so for more than 50 years. Martin’s first vivid memory of Eurovision was coupled with a major sense of indignation, when Ireland’s Dana beat Mary Hopkin in 1970 (Mary grew up only four miles away from Martin in Pontardawe on the outskirts of Swansea, and he was outraged that his next-door neighbour Tina, who was from Ireland, could claim victory over his Mary). There was a dark period during the 1990’s and early 2000’s when, living in New York, there was no access to British TV and he was only ever able to see the contest on video after the fact. That changed when he and Darron attended the contest for the first time in Athens 2006. They have attended every Eurovision since, except of course 2020. Given 50 plus years of personal experience of Eurovision, it’s almost impossible to choose five favourites, and those favourites can change as current songs take precedence ( Cha Cha Cha ). One way of measuring the longevity and standing of a song is the degree to which Martin whistles the songs, and four of the following five songs often emanate from the shower in the morning.
Martin Phillips grew up in Swansea, went to university in London and left the UK in 1989 for a short assignment working for a Rockefeller heiress at the iconic 30 Rock building in New York City. That assignment lasted six months, but he has remained in New York and Connecticut ever since with his fellow Eurovision fan husband Darron, and they will celebrate 30 years together while in Malmo next year. Martin has held various corporate HR roles in a number of industries and is currently in a global role with a medical device company. Darron and Martin in Malmo 2013
LUXEMBOURG 1979 Jeane Manson J’ai Déjà Vu Ça Dans Tes Yeux The year of the fabulous Dschinghis Khan ,
SPAIN 1973 Mocedades Eres Tu
A true classic, but definitely not a song that I wanted to win Eurovision at the time. This was one of the few times my favourite at the time actually won - Anne-Marie David’s entry for Luxembourg - Tu Te Reconnaîtras . However Eres Tu has definitely stood the test of time and provokes quite an emotional response to this day. It’s also a song
Betty Missiego’s Su Cancion , and Anne- Marie David’s return to Eurovision for her native France. However, in lowly 13th place came Luxembourg’s Jeane Manson with the beautiful and powerful J’ai DejaVu Ca Dans TesYeux . This was the first song I ever physically translated for myself to better understand the lyric beyond what my O’Level French could give me. It’s a powerful song title and performance but the rules must have been different in 1979, since this is a rehashed (but infinitely better version) of a song by Petula Clark recorded 12 years earlier called Absent Pour Raisons D’Amour . Jeane’s song is probably my number one most whistled song of all time.
I ‘share’ emotionally with my friend Michael Harrison who I bonded with at junior comprehensive school in Llansamlet, Swansea. It was also his mother’s favourite song and Michael and I had a little ‘moment’ in Liverpool this year listening to the song (as he lost his lovely mother Jean just a few weeks earlier). Michael would be the one who kept my love of Eurovision alive during the 1990s. I’d make a bee-line for his home in Wimbledon each summer to watch Eurovision on video.
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AUTUMN 2023 ● VISION
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