Jemini
Encyclopedia
Jemini were a British
pop group
from Liverpool
, best known for scoring "nul points" and finishing in last place with their song "Cry Baby
" at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest
in Latvia
.
. They changed their name to Jemini ("Gem-and-I") at the age of 19. They spent the next two and a half years touring pubs and clubs in the UK performing Stevie Wonder
, Randy Crawford
, Motown covers
and ABBA
medleys, as well as their own compositions. Abbey stated she has loved Eurovision since childhood and count previous Eurovision entrants such as Sonia, Precious
and Dana International
amongst her favourites.
's A Song for Europe competition. Their performance at Eurovision in Riga
in May 2003 was criticised for being off-key, and later earned the United Kingdom
"nul points". However, the song reached number 19 in Columbia's Hot 100.
. Jemini admitted that their performance was off-key
, and claimed they were unable to hear the backing track due to a technical fault. Cromby claimed that Terry Wogan
had warned them before the contest that they would not get any points due to the Iraq War. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History that with a record field of 26 entries, this made the UK's failure the most spectacular in the history of the contest. Due to their failure at Eurovision, they were immediately dropped by their record label (Integral Records UK), and as a consequence of this, their first ever album was never released. "Cry Baby" entered the UK Singles Chart
at #15, but spent only three weeks in the chart. They split up as a duo.
* Cancelled
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 group
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...
from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, best known for scoring "nul points" and finishing in last place with their song "Cry Baby
Cry Baby (Jemini song)
"Cry Baby", written and composed by Martin Isherwood, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and was performed by the duo Jemini...
" at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
.
Early career
Chris Cromby and Gemma Abbey (born 1982) met in 1995 at Liverpool's Starlight Stage School and toured Liverpool's pubs and clubs with the academy's kids' roadshow. At 16, after leaving college, they formed Tricity, named after the brand of electrical appliancesElectrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
. They changed their name to Jemini ("Gem-and-I") at the age of 19. They spent the next two and a half years touring pubs and clubs in the UK performing Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
, Motown covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
and ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
medleys, as well as their own compositions. Abbey stated she has loved Eurovision since childhood and count previous Eurovision entrants such as Sonia, Precious
Precious (band)
Precious were a British girl group, comprising Louise Rose, Anya Lahiri, Sophie McDonnell, Kalli Clark-Sternberg and Jenny Frost. They first achieved fame as the UK's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest and went on to become a moderately popular act until they decided it was time to go their own...
and Dana International
Dana International
Sharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...
amongst her favourites.
"Cry Baby"
Jemini and the song "Cry Baby" were selected to take part in Eurovision by a public phone poll in the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's A Song for Europe competition. Their performance at Eurovision in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in May 2003 was criticised for being off-key, and later earned 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...
"nul points". However, the song reached number 19 in Columbia's Hot 100.
Failure and break-up
The Eurovision failure prompted a great deal of mirth and consternation in the British mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. Jemini admitted that their performance was off-key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
, and claimed they were unable to hear the backing track due to a technical fault. Cromby claimed that Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
had warned them before the contest that they would not get any points due to the Iraq War. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History that with a record field of 26 entries, this made the UK's failure the most spectacular in the history of the contest. Due to their failure at Eurovision, they were immediately dropped by their record label (Integral Records UK), and as a consequence of this, their first ever album was never released. "Cry Baby" entered the 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 ...
at #15, but spent only three weeks in the chart. They split up as a duo.
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK 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 ... |
IE 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... |
||
| 2003 | "Cry Baby Cry Baby (Jemini song) "Cry Baby", written and composed by Martin Isherwood, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and was performed by the duo Jemini... " |
15 | 73 |
| "Try To Love"* | - | - | |