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Ooh! Aah! Just a little bid: Scots musicians on their unlikely shot at Eurovision glory with San Marino

© SYSTEMSongwriter Michael Cassidy, in driver’s seat, with film-maker Conor Reilly holding drumsticks and brother Tommy to his left, with friends at Eurovision video shoot
Songwriter Michael Cassidy, in driver’s seat, with film-maker Conor Reilly holding drumsticks and brother Tommy to his left, with friends at Eurovision video shoot

Between them, they’ve won an Emmy and shared the bill with big names from the world of rock and pop. But, in the crazy world of Eurovision, how far can international awards and critical acclaim take a group of Scots pop hopefuls?

That’s the question posed by a group of Glasgow-based pals with stellar musical credentials, who set their sights on success in the weird and wonderful pop jamboree in Liverpool next weekend.

Songwriter Tommy Reilly might have an Emmy on his mantelpiece and his singer-songwriting pal Michael Cassidy a career playing alongside the likes of Frightened Rabbit, Martha Wainwright, John Grant and Amy MacDonald. But, as anyone who follows the Eurovision Song Contest knows, the continental competition is anything but predictable as Reilly and Cassidy found out when they entered the running to write a song for Eurovision.

Rather than facing the stiff competition of bidding for the British entry, the boys took advantage of an open submissions process, pitching to represent the tiny nation of San Marino, population 33,000.

Reilly’s brother, film-maker Conor, saw an opportunity to chronicle the pair’s Euro pop mission. The result is a tongue-in-cheek documentary following their tilt at becoming the winning entry for the tiny nation. The entry involved a last-minute scramble, with Reilly and Cassidy still putting the finishing touches to their pop pitch minutes before going on stage in front of the San Marino judges, with the hastily chosen band name Hartland.

Conor said: “When we asked Michael if he would be our singer he was on the phone driving past Harthill services on the M8. So that’s the band’s name. It has a stupidly Eurovision quality to it and it seems Scottish as well.”

Emmy winner Reilly has form for winning competitions. His big break came with a triumph on Channel 4’s Orange Unsigned Act in 2008, which saw him score a Top 20 single with Gimme A Call. He has since carved out a successful career writing music for film and TV, working with fellow songwriter Roddy Hart to score music to indie film Anna And The Apocalypse and US TV series Animaniacs for Steven Spielberg. The latter won him his Emmy two years ago.

Tommy and Conor Reilly with Michael Cassidy
Tommy and Conor Reilly with Michael Cassidy

Conor had high hopes his brother’s standing would see Hartland progress through the ranks in the San Marino audition heats. He said: “I was confident it would give us some cache in the competition. Tommy is brilliant, he can work so quickly in so many different genres. But Eurovision is something else.

“We saw this as an excuse to write an overly sincere pop song. I don’t think Michael or Tommy get the opportunity to write all-out pop songs like that very often. So it was a fun opportunity.”

The band called on Euro pop expert John Ballard, who has written songs for past Eurovision entries including Azerbaijan, Greece and Moldova, as well as penning worldwide hits for Swedish pop act Ace Of Base.

Cassidy said: “I’d been trying to craft something about some guy moping around in his apartment but it wasn’t the right vibe. Tommy said it had to be something easy and memorable, about falling in love, going for a drive. You have to write something instant, so that no matter what language people speak, when they hear it, they can work it out.”

The film reveals how the boys landed on the classic simplicity of a catchy three-minute love song called Accelerator, which impressed the San Marino judges. Conor said: “I don’t think Tommy thought there was any chance of being in with a shout at all until he saw the reaction of the judges.”

Despite the country’s diminutive ­stature on the continental stage, such is the clamour for a slice of the Eurovision action that Hartland faced stiff competition for San Marino’s slot, including Italian dance band Eiffel 65, who scored a massive hit with Blue (Da Ba Dee) in 1999.

Conor said: “We were all working on ­different projects and to be honest we didn’t think this was going to happen. We got to San Marino at really short notice.”

Cassidy added: “I was still showing Tommy and Conor the guitar chords three minutes before going on stage. It was hilarious.”

While the outcome of their madcap shot at pop’s biggest stage might not have gone all the way, Hartland’s Accelerator is an undeniably catchy tune. Michael said: “My friends have been going mad about the song, genuinely. . This thing I didn’t think was any good is the one thing people really like. You never know.”

“The ideal would be to produce Scotland’s first Eurovision entry,” said Conor. “If not, San Marino, Lichtenstein… whoever needs us.”


How Not To Win Eurovision, Monday BBC Scotland, 10.30pm