When I was growing up, my mother always called the heel or end of a loaf of bread as a "skalk".
So, as part of my mini-series on reviewing the placement of Nordic countries in the Eurovision contest, we are now at the end of the loaf.
I've already written about the Nordic winners of Eurovision and some of the "also rans". What is a little more striking about the "last place"-holders is the number of times Nordic nations have taken last place in Eurovision — especially poor Finland. (That was remedied in 2006 when Finland's entry, Lordi, won with "Hard Rock Hallelujah" — a heavy metal tune.)
Or maybe it's just a perverse indication of the better songs ending up at the bottom of the rankings. Finn Kalvik in last place? Please!
Of course, it could be argued that the Nordic nations simply don't have the relationships with central and southern European countries that allow their music to be played and understood as well as others. This is riff on a theme that another blogger explored in his posting on Nordic classical music.
Or it could just be the politics of Europe and/or Eurovision.
Anyway, here's a list of the Nordic Eurovision "skalks" from 1980-2007. I've linked to YouTube videos of their performances, when possible.
- 1980 Finland | Vesa-Matti Loiri – Huilumies
- 1981 Norway | Finn Kalvik – Aldri i livet
- 1982 Finland | Kojo – Nuku Pommin
- 1989 Iceland | Daníel Ágúst – Það sem enginn sér
- 1990 Norway | Ketil Stokken – Brandenburger Tor and Finland | Beat – Fri?
- 1992 Finland | Pave Maljanen – Yamma, yamma
- 1996 Finland | Jasmine – Niin kaunis on taivas
- 1997 Norway | Tor Enresen – San Francisco
- 2001 Iceland | Two Tricky – Angel and Norway | Haldor Laegreid – On My Own
- 2002 Denmark | Malene – Tell Me Who You Are
- 2004 Norway | Knut Anders Soerum – High
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Remember: the skalk is on both sides of the loaf, that is; both at the beginning and at the end.