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Flying the Flag (for You)
Encyclopedia
"Flying the Flag" is a song performed by British
pop
/bubblegum dance
group Scooch
.
The song was entered and won the British national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest
, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up
in 2007, and subsequently represented the United Kingdom
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
in Helsinki
, Finland
. The song came 22nd with a total of 19 points, the same score as France.
, and the song was specifically written for the Contest; Eurovision rules state that the song must be an original composition and released no more than seven months before the contest. Russ, as the captain, opens and closes the song with captain's announcements. Natalie and Caroline sing the vocals of the song, as David offers passengers confectioneries. The lyrics are heavily based on actual experiences of flying. The song contains a liberal amount of sexual innuendo, the most overt being "...and blow into the mouthpiece" and "Would you like something to suck on for landing, sir?" (the latter was omitted or changed for some tea-time television performances). The camp style
was both praised and criticised - The Guardian
noted that the song was, in terms of Eurovision, outdated and similar to Buck's Fizz
's winning entry in 1981
, while Tim Moore
called the song "a fine song in Eurovision tradition".
was their final performance on Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up
; Scooch
recorded a new version once their contract with Warner Bros.
had been signed.
Following the lyrics, the second video starts with the quartet in the front of the aeroplane, with Spencer as the captain. The video continues with all of the members as stewards walking up and down the plane, with a cameo appearance from Sister Mary McArthur
, who was invited to take part after the band saw her lip sync
video. Later in the video each member of the band is seen dancing in front of the flags of selected countries that are all participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
, in addition to the flag of the European Union
.
.jpg)
"Flying the Flag (for You)" was the nineteenth song to be sung during the Eurovision Song Contest. The song scored only nineteen points: twelve from Malta
, and seven from Ireland, two nations known for awarding points to the United Kingdom - although according to the Head of the Maltese Delegation, Malta
voted twelve partly in protest to regional block voting which, had made the Contest "not about the songs any more", an opinion shared by "five or six other countries". Due to the low score that Scooch had received—only Ireland
were lower on the scoreboard—the song received negative press by newspaper
s - in particular, The Sunday Mirror were reported by the BBC to have stated that the song made the United Kingdom "the laughing stock of Europe", The Sunday Times
, according to the BBC, referred to the song, "It wasn't a disaster - more of a crash landing".
label. This would help them to promote and release their single to a broader range of fans in the United Kingdom and abroad. As part of the contract, Scooch recorded certain phrases of the song in French, German, Spanish, Bulgarian
, and Danish
.
DVD
in the following week, on 7 May 2007.
The song debuted in the UK Top 40 at #5.
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...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/bubblegum dance
Bubblegum Dance
Bubblegum dance is a subgenre of Eurodance music. The genre is characterized by cute lyrics and happy sounds. Bubblegum dance usually has a more pop sound than other Eurodance. The lyrics and style are often light-hearted and are not intended to be taken seriously. They are often amusing and...
group Scooch
Scooch
Scooch are a British bubblegum dance group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag ", finishing 23rd out of 24 entries after...
.
The song was entered and won the British national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up
Making Your Mind Up (TV series)
Eurovision: Your Country Needs You was a BBC TV show broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest...
in 2007, and subsequently represented the United Kingdom
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The United Kingdom chose their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 on the BBC programme Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up. The fourth and final edition of Making Your Mind Up took place on Saturday 17 March 2007 on BBC One. The main show aired at 19.30 GMT and the results showed at 21.30...
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The song came 22nd with a total of 19 points, the same score as France.
Song information
Scooch had reformed in hope of performing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
, and the song was specifically written for the Contest; Eurovision rules state that the song must be an original composition and released no more than seven months before the contest. Russ, as the captain, opens and closes the song with captain's announcements. Natalie and Caroline sing the vocals of the song, as David offers passengers confectioneries. The lyrics are heavily based on actual experiences of flying. The song contains a liberal amount of sexual innuendo, the most overt being "...and blow into the mouthpiece" and "Would you like something to suck on for landing, sir?" (the latter was omitted or changed for some tea-time television performances). The camp style
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
was both praised and criticised - The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted that the song was, in terms of Eurovision, outdated and similar to Buck's Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
's winning entry in 1981
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
The United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation held a national final titled "A Song for Europe 1981" to choose who would represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. "A Song for Europe 1981" was held on 11 March 1981 where Bucks Fizz was chosen with "Making Your Mind Up" as the...
, while Tim Moore
Tim Moore (writer)
Tim Moore is a British travel writer and humorist. He was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. In addition to his seven published travelogues to date, his writings have appeared in various publications including Esquire, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer and the Evening...
called the song "a fine song in Eurovision tradition".
Music video
The original music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was their final performance on Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up
Making Your Mind Up (TV series)
Eurovision: Your Country Needs You was a BBC TV show broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest...
; Scooch
Scooch
Scooch are a British bubblegum dance group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag ", finishing 23rd out of 24 entries after...
recorded a new version once their contract with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
had been signed.
Following the lyrics, the second video starts with the quartet in the front of the aeroplane, with Spencer as the captain. The video continues with all of the members as stewards walking up and down the plane, with a cameo appearance from Sister Mary McArthur
Sister Mary McArthur
Sister Mary McArthur is a fictional nun from the fictional convent Saint Peters Of The Sisters Of The Third Removed in Soho. She was created as a cabaret act by the actor, director and radio presenter Tim McArthur.-Background:...
, who was invited to take part after the band saw her lip sync
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
video. Later in the video each member of the band is seen dancing in front of the flags of selected countries that are all participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
, in addition to the flag of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
"Flying the Flag" in Helsinki
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, and seven from Ireland, two nations known for awarding points to the United Kingdom - although according to the Head of the Maltese Delegation, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
voted twelve partly in protest to regional block voting which, had made the Contest "not about the songs any more", an opinion shared by "five or six other countries". Due to the low score that Scooch had received—only Ireland
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Ireland participated at the Eurovision Rainbow Contest 2007 after Radio Telefís Éireann , the Irish broadcaster, internally selected the Irish traditional group Dervish to represent them at the 2007 contest, held in Helsinki, Finland....
were lower on the scoreboard—the song received negative press by newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s - in particular, The Sunday Mirror were reported by the BBC to have stated that the song made the United Kingdom "the laughing stock of Europe", The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, according to the BBC, referred to the song, "It wasn't a disaster - more of a crash landing".
International promotion
On 18 April 2007 it was announced that Scooch had been signed to the Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
label. This would help them to promote and release their single to a broader range of fans in the United Kingdom and abroad. As part of the contract, Scooch recorded certain phrases of the song in French, German, Spanish, Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, and Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
.
Track listings and formats
CD- "Flying The Flag (For You)" [Eurovision 2007 Version] (3:04)
- "Flying The Flag (For You)" [Karaoke Version] (3:04)
DVD
- "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Video]
- "How To" Special Scooch Dance Feature [Video]
- "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Karaoke Version] [Video]
- "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Audio]
Chart positions
The official single version was available from 30 April 2007 and was released as a physical CD singleCD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
in the following week, on 7 May 2007.
The song debuted in the UK Top 40 at #5.
| Chart (2007) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
5 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
48 |