Romeo (song)
Encyclopedia
"Romeo" was the Norwegian
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986
, performed in Norwegian
by Ketil Stokkan
.
The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Stokkan addressing the object of his desires. He sings about his elaborate preparations to "seduce you" - going to the lengths of borrowing clothes to look better. Unfortunately for him, his advances appear to have been over-eager, as he sings "My greatest pleasure was to touch you/My biggest stupidity was to feel you up". His paramour compares him unfavourably to Romeo
, telling him that "the Gods shall know that you will never become a/Romeo, Romeo, try to take it easy", even as he is begging on his knees for the relationship to work.
Despite the somewhat unconventional lyrics - Eurovision entries tending to be about requited love - the song is more significant for the appearance onstage of a drag queen
, a member of the Norwegian drag troupe "Great Garlic Girls
", dressed in stylised clothing reminiscent of the 18th century.
The performance thus represented the first occasion on which a sexual minority was visible onstage. The Contest is frequently associated with a gay
audience; however, there had been no displays of this sexuality in previous years, despite the fact that a number of entrants were gay themselves.
The song was performed fourth on the night, following France
's Cocktail Chic
with "Européennes
" and preceding the United Kingdom
's Ryder
with "Runner In The Night
". At the close of voting, it had received 44 points, placing 12th in a field of 20.
It was succeeded as Norwegian representative
at the 1987 Contest
by Kate with "Mitt liv
".
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986
Eurovision Song Contest 1986
The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 3 May 1986 in the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway. It was the first occasion on which Norway played host to the contest...
, performed in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
by Ketil Stokkan
Ketil Stokkan
Ketil Stokkan is a Norwegian pop artist who has performed as solo artist as well as the singer in the Norwegian band Zoo. 1983 saw him participate in the Norwegian qualifying heat for Eurovision with the song "Samme charmeur" which was placed second...
.
The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Stokkan addressing the object of his desires. He sings about his elaborate preparations to "seduce you" - going to the lengths of borrowing clothes to look better. Unfortunately for him, his advances appear to have been over-eager, as he sings "My greatest pleasure was to touch you/My biggest stupidity was to feel you up". His paramour compares him unfavourably to Romeo
Romeo Montague
Romeo is one of the fictional protagonists in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet...
, telling him that "the Gods shall know that you will never become a/Romeo, Romeo, try to take it easy", even as he is begging on his knees for the relationship to work.
Despite the somewhat unconventional lyrics - Eurovision entries tending to be about requited love - the song is more significant for the appearance onstage of a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
, a member of the Norwegian drag troupe "Great Garlic Girls
Great Garlic Girls
Great Garlic Girls is a Norwegian drag group that has performed a number of drag shows since 1981. Up until 1992, the group consisted of Olav Klingen, Jonny Nymoen and Terje Schrøder. Olav Klingen had to quit the group in 1992 when he was involved in an accident which put a stop to his career...
", dressed in stylised clothing reminiscent of the 18th century.
The performance thus represented the first occasion on which a sexual minority was visible onstage. The Contest is frequently associated with a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
audience; however, there had been no displays of this sexuality in previous years, despite the fact that a number of entrants were gay themselves.
The song was performed fourth on the night, following France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's Cocktail Chic
Cocktail Chic
Cocktail Chic were a French female singing group, best known for their participation in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest.Although the Cocktail Chic name was a one-off for Eurovision, the group, consisting of sisters Dominique Poulain and Catherine Bonnevay and their cousins Francine Chanterau and...
with "Européennes
Européennes
"Européennes" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed in French by Cocktail Chic....
" and preceding the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Ryder
Ryder (band)
Ryder was a purpose-made pop group led by Maynard Williams whose primary purpose was to represent the United Kingdom at the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen, Norway. Ryder performed the song "Runner in the Night" which was placed 7th. They were criticised in the media for being a particularly...
with "Runner In The Night
Runner in the Night
"Runner in the Night", written by Maureen Darbyshire and composed by Brian Wade, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed by the sextet Ryder, led by Maynard Williams....
". At the close of voting, it had received 44 points, placing 12th in a field of 20.
It was succeeded as Norwegian representative
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
Norway has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1960 and only been absent twice: in 1970, when they boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, when they did not qualify....
at the 1987 Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1987 in Brussels, Belgium after Sandra Kim's win the previous year. The presenter was Viktor Lazlo. Johnny Logan was the winner for Ireland with the song "Hold Me Now"...
by Kate with "Mitt liv
Mitt Liv
"Mitt liv" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, performed in Norwegian by Kate Gulbrandsen.The song is a ballad, with Kate singing about her feelings towards her life...
".