Dustin joins long list of Eurovision turkeys
Dustin the Turkey says there is a direct link between the recent downturn in the economy and his lack of musical output
Ireland has had some turkeys in the Eurovision song contest in recent times and it seems 2008 will be no different.
A parody of the competition sung by Dustin the Turkey was yesterday included in the shortlist of six songs from which Ireland's entry will be chosen. And with the public to decide which one will go forward to Belgrade, the odds on the mouthy puppet taking to the stage are likely to be extremely short.
"I'm pretty confident," Dustin told the Irish Independent yesterday. "When I ran for President and when I ran for Taoiseach and when I ran in the Ladies' Marathon -- although I don't like to talk about that much -- I was doing my bit for the people of this country and I hope they'll come out and support me again."
RTE said yesterday that almost 200 entries were received in recent months and a judging panel, including television producer Bill Hughes, singer Eleanor McEvoy and former Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan had whittled them down to six.
That six includes Irish singers Donal Skehan, Marc Roberts, Liam Geddes and Leona Daly, and a Slovenian singer whose song also made the Romanian Eurovision shortlist. But it is the presence of 'Irelande Douze Pointe' that is set to reignite Irish public interest in the competition.
"This year RTE decided to take a different approach to Eurovision, putting emphasis on performance and stage appeal as well as finding a cracking song," Mr Hughes said.
Delighted
"The judging panel was delighted with the standard of the entries and each and every one of these acts would do us proud on the Eurovision stage."
Explaining his decision to enter, Dustin, who first appeared on The Den in 1990, claimed that "there is a direct link between the recent downturn in the economy, his lack of musical output and our poor showing in the Eurovision over the last number of years".
Declining to reveal any lyrics, Dustin admitted that Terry Wogan's wig, Bono and an apology for Riverdance are all mentioned.
The puppet has sold hundreds of thousands of albums in Ireland, but hasn't released a song in recent years.
Ireland will participate in the first semi-final of this year's Eurovision in Belgrade, to be held on May 20. Before that, however, the final six songs will be performed on Eurosong 2008 on 23 February.
- Jason O'Brien
