Cry Baby (Jemini song)

"Cry Baby", written and composed by Martin Isherwood, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, performed by the duo Jemini. It was the first of two songs entered by the United Kingdom to earn no points (nul points) from any other countries.[1] It was also the first ever English-language song to receive no points.

United Kingdom "Cry Baby"
Eurovision Song Contest 2003 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Chris Cromby, Gemma Abbey
As
Language
English
Composer(s)
Martin Isherwood
Lyricist(s)
Martin Isherwood
Finals performance
Final result
26th
Final points
0
Entry chronology
◄ "Come Back" (2002)
"Hold Onto Our Love" (2004) ►

The song is a simple pop ditty about a woman telling her lover that their relationship is over because he does not love her anymore. He sings back saying she is being unfair, prolonging the relationship while he has his own life to live.

Selection process

Jemini were selected to take part in Eurovision by a public phone poll in the BBC's A Song for Europe competition. More than 100,000 votes cast in total for the duo.[2]

Eurovision performance

For their Eurovision appearance, Chris Cromby and Gemma Abbey were accompanied on stage by three female backing singers, and a guitarist.[3]

The Eurovision failure prompted a great deal of mirth and consternation in the British and European media. Jemini admitted that their performance was off-key, and claimed they were unable to hear the backing track due to a technical fault. Terry Wogan, long-time commentator on the contest for the BBC, said that the UK was suffering from "post-Iraq backlash".[4] Although the majority of the media blamed the result on the poor quality of the song and that it was sung out of tune[5][6] with Louis Walsh branding the song "a disgrace" and "so out of tune they deserved to be last".[6] Following the show, their dressing room was broken into and vandalised.[7]

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.[8] This would not be the only occasion that the UK has scored no points, with "Embers" performed by James Newman also achieving the same feat in 2021.[9]

Charts
Chart performance for "Cry Baby"
Chart (2003) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 15

References
  1. "Jemini single set to sink". BBC. 27 May 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  2. "Eurovision copy claims rejected". BBC. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  3. Jemini - Cry baby - United Kingdom - Eurovision 2003. 26 August 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  4. "UK act hits Eurovision low". BBC. 25 March 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  5. Tina Miles. "News - Liverpool Local News - Jemini's Eurovision flop not our fault, says singer Chris Cromby". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  6. Wells, Matt (28 May 2003). "Nul points - UK out of tune with Europe". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  7. "Jemini's dressing room attacked at Eurovision". Newsround. 25 May 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  8. O'Connor, John Kennedy (2007). The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3.
  9. "Eurovision 2021: James Newman on coming last for the UK". BBC News. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. "Jemini make top 20". BBC. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
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