Eurovision 2009

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was finally upon us last Saturday! And what a great show! It really seemed to be all about the songs this year. I can't say however that Norway had my favourite song, but in fairness it was pretty good. I was watching from the Nightingale night club on a big screen, where I was performing later on that night, and the atmosphere was amazing! I've never been out somewhere to watch it before, and it was especially great as everytime I got a mention on the tv, everyone cheered and waved their flags over at me lol ;)

Above is Alexander, who won the competition, with his self-composed song, Faiytale. Its was really catchy, and he got a phenomenal amount of votes!
Below left, is my favourite though, Yohanna from Iceland, who came 2nd. Her song "Is it True?" was absolutely beautiful! And she sang flawlessly! Below right, is our very own Jade, who came a very respectable 5th! Well done Jade and Sir Lloyd-Webber...great performance! I was a little concerned for Jade at one point, when she looked a little un-stable walking down the staircase, got a tad too close to the violinist, and he caught her in the jaw with either his bow or elbow!! She did really well to barely even flinch! Phew! So professional!


The week or two before I pre-recorded a piece for BBC interactive, alongside some of the other past UK entrants. Pictured below. To be aired via the red-button during the show too. It was a really great day, and so much fun sharing our experiences of 'our time' with eachother, and doing quizes etc...which we were all totally rubbish at! Haha! And, we filmed it right be behind Oxford Street, London, so I got to do some real good shopping afterwards too....bargain! lol :)

In the afternoon I performed at Blackpool Pride 2009. I opened Pride there back in 2005, and my how it has grown! It was a little rainy at times, but thankfully there was lots of undercover areas, so no-one got drenched! I'm sure I've said it before, but this time of year is so much fun with all the Eurovision based parties and summer festivals! I have another couple of gigs this weekend...CAN'T WAIT!! I do love the other parts of my job, but the performing is what it's all about for me!

Promotion Tour

With "Hard Not to Fall" now being released I've been busy busy promoting it all around the country. Now while most of it has been on radio up until now, I have taken a little time to film some TV pieces too and have some real great live gigs coming up too over the next month or so...then I'm back to hibernating in the studio for a few weeks...cracking on with the album. Oh some serious writing to continue on with...but all very exciting! It's nice to have so much input and control over my material, and work in general this time around. Radio and studio pics are a bit boring to see...and I also look like a prize pleb in those headphones...hence no pictures to see from them here :) I have however included some from a bit of a fun day this week...

Martyn, my manager and main co-writer, is also a captain for Bmibaby! (Impressive huh?...a multi-tasking man haha...joke!!) So we took a BBC film crew along to Birmingham airport with us before a quick trip to Amsterdam in the afternoon. I was super excited to get clearance to get my turn in the flying seat...although disappointed they didn't actually let me fly the plane, but aparently I need some sort of licence and major qualifications to do that! ;) This job brings some serious perks though...some years ago I got to, would you say "drive??", a frigate... (HMS Chatham to be precise...look it up! Oh man! What a boat??Haha) ...in the baltic sea, with all the Navy on board too! They trusted me!! MADNESS! Although, I couldn't crash it in fairness, and there were no ice-bergs, so we weren't likely to spring a leak and sink in a hurry either! LOL :) Fun memories! I wish I was a blogger back then! Or at least kept a good journal! Still I have some good pics and great memories.So here I am above, in the cockpit. It was so nice to see the pilot's view! Then we have Captain Baylay on the right, having his interview onboard with the BBC.
This is my security pass for birmingham airport. As you can imagine security is extremely tight...so we had a whole load of checks, and I had to wear a hideous high vis jacket, and these truly wrong looking ear protectors, and I had to have this pass...I took a picture of it as it made me laugh so hard! My married name is Satterley...spot the spelling mistake on the pass! I didn't notice this until I'd been wearing it for ages! Then I broke in fits of laughter. I don't know why it seems to always be pronounced and spelled incorrectly...but this has to be one of the best ones! :)
A big THANK YOU to Birmingham Airport and BmiBaby for all your help and support with promoting the new track too!

UK Pre-Eurovision Launch Party @ Scala, London

My-oh-my....THIS was one of the BEST nights EVER!!

Friday 17th April saw the UK's Pre-Eurovision Launch Party...hosted at Scala..a great venue in King's Cross, London.

I was lucky enough to have been asked to perform here, amongst some old Eurovision faces, and some of this year's entries from some of the other countries.

Eurovision was a really amazing time for me...I got to represent the UK in 2002, and still currently hold the UK record for best position in the last decade by coming 3rd in the overall competition. Honestly though, I feel like we won that year...even though I am well aware that we didn't lol ;) ..but we had such a great song in "Come Back" ...I was really lucky :)

Below is a picture of Nicky French, myself and Imaani (who is heavily pregnant) ..the British representatives of the night. (Backstage was oh so glam ;) ) The party started rocking at 10pm...and when I left just before 4am it was STILL rocking! These were hardcore Eurovision fans, and it made the night well and truly AWESOME! One of the best crowds I have ever played to. They knew every single word of almost every song!! It was great to be able to see some of the audiences' faces too! It was 3 stories high, but was so well lit (OK it doesn't show from the pics I know...but for a night time gig it was pretty lit up) After my songs I got called back on stage and asked to do an acapella version of my Eurovision song "Come Back" ...a little shocked I stumbled on stage and started to sing...and as soon as I did, the whole place started to sing with me...backing vocals and all!!It was a great feeling being on stage :) I was worried they'd've forgotten who I was, I've been away so long!

I am SO glad to be back...doing what it is I love to do!!

And I'm so thankful for the support that I'm being shown too!

Really - thanks everyone :) ...LOVING you guys!!

Above are some of the pics from the night ...I thought the Ukraine entry was incredible! ...top right pic ...I couldn't take my eyes off them! She was crazy wild!! And those dancers, well, they were something else!! My friend Louisa (pictured bottom left) and I, stripped these sweaty vests from them afterwards as a keepsake from the night...they were pretty cool tops! I am well aware that I look slightly pregnant in mine...it's the belt underneath I swear lol...well we didn't want their sweat on our skin, so we just threw them over our clothes :)

Also pictured is Elena, the Romanian entry...she was a hottie and her performance was great!

I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I was backstage for the most part of the show ...keep a look out for Iceland in the competition too ...Yohanna, she had a brilliant voice and a really good song...nice ballad...just my thing ;)

Oh and I must just say that the following day I took my friend Louisa into Central London shopping. She has never been into town before...it was the funnest day...or should that say 'funniest' day! I asked her if there was anywhere in particular she wanted to see or visit ....she wanted to go to Covent Garden ...great I thought...I love Covent Garden ...Louisa however was slightly disappointed to discover that there was no pond or ducks, nor even a weed let alone a nice grassy area to sit on! Haha :D ...those of you who have been will understand why this was so funny! It was the joke of the weekend! (Covent Garden, for those who have not been, nor heard of what it is, is an area in London known for it's market, cobbled streets, nice shops and street performers)

Love you Lou...thanks for the belly laughs :) xx

Birmingham Pride 2009

On Friday 27th March I did my first 'come back' gig. This was Birmingham Pride 2009, which was held at Birmingham ICC. It was an absolute sell out night, with over 1000 people there. There was a big opening show, in which I performed "Come Back." Then everyone sat for a delicious 3 course meal, after which I had the opportunity to air my new single "Hard Not to Fall" for the first time to an audience. It went really well :) YAY!! There were a number of other performers on that night too, and I had the pleasure of performing with the amazing Jonathan Ansell (formally of G4) and fellow welsh friend Mark Evans. There was lots of dancing afterwards...however with my gown, it was pretty hard to get my groove on :) LOL

The event also raised over £20,000 for local charities ...what a night!!

New Single Video Shoot

On 7th March 2009, exactly 1 month after recording my new single, and exactly 2 months after my decision to make a return to the world of music, we started shooting the music video to accompany my new single "Hard Not to Fall"

The video tells the story of a woman who feels she is stuck in a predictable, boring and mundane marriage. Her husband no longer gives her the attention and affection she so craves and desires...he is totally oblivious to her or the way she feels. They simply exist together, living in the same routine day in day out.

Inside, she's battling with her feelings of love for another man...a man from her office (In this case the handsome Michael Crockett) She comes alive whenever he's around...and fantasises about them being together. She does love her husband, and knows that her feelings are wrong, but given her circumstances it's so hard not to fall in love with someone as wonderful as he is.

The video was filmed over two days, and in two locations. The office scenes were first and took place in a real office in Cardiff. I got to work with some good friends in Cardiff - which made the day really enjoyable for all - I hope :)

Everyone seemed happy and relaxed anyway...and did a real great job!

Day 2 of filming was on 14th March, and we shot the 'home scenes' - so we got a welcome addition to the cast... Adam Stirling...the husband...also known as "Hot Adam" haha :)

These were framed background pictures that we used on the set of our home. Adam and I had these taken on our first meeting ...a very pleasant 'Wagamamas' meal after a long hard day of shopping for me, and a long hard day in the office for Adam. We got a friend to take these on her camera, just out and about ...thanks Lou :)

Some of the Birmingham scenes.

A massive thanks to everyone...cast, crew and production for making this a fantastic and most enjoyable experience! Some really great friendships have been made and cemented during this process! Love you guys! Can't wait to show everyone the finished product!

So, I hope you get it...and you like it :)

You can now see clips of the video on my website

www.jessicagarlick.com