Reunited boyband Blue appear to be thinking Red as they aim for their own victory in Europe.
The pop foursome are representing the UK in this year’s Eurovision with their comeback single I Can, and are tackling it like a team of footballers preparing for the Champions League final.
And for Moss Side-raised bandmate Simon Webbe, the success of Manchester United in Europe is an inspiration for him, as a lifelong Red, to succeed at Eurovision.
Simon says: “Sir Alex Ferguson has that proven track record of success, but what he does is take baby steps, he takes each game as it comes, and that’s what we’re doing too. We’re just trying to stay fit and focused for that main goal – to win Eurovision.
“When I was an athlete growing up, all I wanted was to represent my country in my favourite sport of football. Now, we’re getting to represent the UK and fly the flag.
“We’re going to do this as if we’re athletes, working hard and concentrating on giving 120 per cent.”
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Simon adds that like United, Blue are focusing solely on their own game, and not worrying about jibes from others – like a recent swipe about their song from TV presenter Philip Schofield, and fellow Eurovision contestants Jedward suggesting teen girls would vote for them rather than Blue.
Simon says: “You don’t hear Sir Alex rising to the bait, he just concentrates on his own team and makes sure his players are focused, and not worrying about what’s written in the papers.
“This is a competition for us and we’ve got to play to win. What we know we have to do is rehearse and get it right, we’ve got three minutes to do what could change our lives.”
They’ve also been touring Europe in a mission to canvas votes among what is already a huge fanbase for the band – whose hits in the early noughties included All Rise and One Love.
Simon said: “We’ve been to Malta, Spain, Azerbaijan, Holland, France, Greece. We kind of insisted that had to happen, we wanted to reconnect with our fans across Europe.”
The Diary caught up with Simon, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Antony Costa, at the Key 103 Studios in Castlefield yesterday amid a hectic round of UK promotion.
Heart-throb bandmate Duncan adds: “If we get it right it will be a great kickstart to our career, we know that.”
However, the band are hoping to avoid the dreaded ‘nul points’ that left last year’s UK entry at rock bottom of the contest. Instead they’re aiming for glory at the Dusseldorf finals on May 14.
Antony said: ”We can’t get any worse than that poor guy did, but you can’t blame him, it’s a song contest so the song was wrong. We believe our song – that Lee and Dunc have written – is a really catchy track and has a positive message to it.”
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