Lycka till Sverige!

May 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
Robin Stjernberg, Martin Rolinski, Shirley Clamp and others at the opening of The ABBA Museum in Stockholm

It's no wonder Sweden won last year. Loreen had a great song in "Euphoria" which she performed very, very well. In ten or twenty years time, I'm pretty sure it will be regarded as one of the "great moments" of Eurovision. Even though "You" by Robin Stjernberg isn't in the same league, of course I'll be supporting Sweden in this year's contest. I figure following Eurovision is like following a footy team - you choose your team and you stick with them through good and bad. It's not that … [Read more...]

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Agnetha Fältskog – A

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
agnetha-faltskog-a

Three songs have emerged as favourites for me, as I've listened "properly" to the new album by Agnetha Fältskog over the last couple of weeks. The first single, "When you really loved someone" is one of those great pop ballads about love gone wrong. The video tells the story of an older, wiser woman offering advice to a younger woman who is going through the traumas of a relationship break-up. As the video features a 70's/Swedish looking couple, you can't help but think it's a song for … [Read more...]

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Radio Days Europe 2013 – Presentation

March 18, 2013 By 4 Comments
ABC Radio Australia

This is the presentation I made at Radio Days Europe, March 18, 2013 as part of a session on pop up radio stations. The slide you can see behind you now is a snapshot of the homepage of ABC Radio Australia. ABC is the national public broadcaster in the BBC mould of things, and as you can see, ABC Radio is a comprehensive broadcaster. But today I'll be telling you a little about just one of the stations the ABC operates. But first today, I'd like to begin by asking you think for a … [Read more...]

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Melodifestivalen 2013

March 10, 2013 By 2 Comments
Attending Melodifestivalen in Stockholm

“I'll bet they're not an official licence by ABC Commercial”, I said to my friend, Patrick tonight as we entered Friends Arena in Stockholm for Melodifestivalen, the Swedish competition which chooses the song which will represent Sweden at Eurovision in May. I was referring to B1 and B2. “We're from Austraia”, I told one of the blokes dressed as a banana who I suspect, from his non-plussed reaction, may not been as aware of the cultural significance in Australia of Bananas In … [Read more...]

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Stockholm Under Construction

March 7, 2013 By 4 Comments
Katarinahissen - March 2013

I swear there must be a secret plan for Stockholm to put in bid to host the Olympic Games. That, or they're expecting a Swedish economic crisis, so they're doing as much now as they possibly can. How else could you explain the amount of building activity going on around Stockholm at the moment? From the Royal Palace to Sergel's Torg, the city is awash with scaffolding. Major buildings are either being given an external clean or a major renovation. In the case of Sergel's Torg, the glass tower … [Read more...]

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Have Arrived in Stockholm

March 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
ABBA Museum display at Stockholm Airport

Aside from a slight hiccough over the seats, the flight from Sydney to Stockholm via Beijing went off without a hitch. The hiccough with the seats had nothing to do with Air China. It involved a family of four who had booked separate seats (one set of two, and two individuals) for the flight from Beijing to Stockholm, but who then decided they wanted to sit together. As the family involved two very young children, of course, the two young Swedish women wanted to help, and so they moved. But they … [Read more...]

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