JOY Eurovision

21 Feb 2012

JoyEurovision calls Milly Scott

Milly Scott is a Eurovision pioneer.

You probably wouldn’t think so if all you did was look at the stark statistics of her performance at the 1966 contest in Luxembourg.

15th out of 18 entrants and just two points.

However she took the ESC to new places.

In its 11th incarnation, Eurovision finally had a black singer and that caused waves.

Milly Scott went to ESC ’66 as the runaway winner of the Netherland’s Nationaal Songfestival, but on crossing the border to Luxembourg she found that all was not sweetness & light.

Many of her fellow competitors were far from happy to see a non-white face amongst them and made their feelings known.

Here’s Milly Scott recalling her Eurovision experience to Hikki & AJ.

“Fernando en Filippo” (somewhat insultingly subtitled “Tong-Tiki-Tong” by some) is also notable for bringing a bit of showbiz to the event.

Milly’s entrance and exit wobbled the still staid world of the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH6cTuYbz6c]

By the time Milly Scott reached the eyeballs of the huge Eurovision audience she was already a substantial star in Holland and beyond.

She was classically trained, but it was as a jazz singer that she made her mark.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zapACGcTJc0]

Here she tells us of her career before that night in March 1966 at the Villa Louvigny, Luxembourg City.

After Eurovision new career opportunities opened up, but while there was joy on the stage or in front of a band things weren’t so great away from performing.Along the way Milly suffered greatly from other’s racist attitudes and all too often sought solace from the bottle.Redemption came, but the journey wasn’t easy.

Milly Scott shares with Hikki & AJ what followed those “two points”.