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The Brighton Festival has entered its third week with another seven days of fine theatre, comedy, cabaret, dance, art and debate on the agenda. Plus lots of music. Our sister publication, ThreeWeeks, is covering it all - check out the coverage at www.threeweeks.co.uk. Meanwhile, Team ThreeWeeks/CMU provide some reviews from the big music bit of the Brighton Festival, last week's The Great Escape.

Soweto Kinch
As though Eric Dolphy himself were taking the stage, Soweto Kinch stood before his audience, saxophone in hand, with a look of smooth confidence - his music followed suit. The four-piece band did not hesitate, flinch, or lose a beat, as notes melted from the instruments and floated questioningly in the air in the style of proper free jazz. Kinch then proceeded to take off his magician's hat and pull out something unexpected - freestyle rap. Interacting with the audience, Kinch played word games juxtaposed over soulful jazz grooves, maintaining the power of a confident MC and the grace of a weathered jazz cat. Purveyors of intelligent jazz, Soweto Kinch are new players that know how to play the old game.
Revenge, 15 May, 9:00pm
tw rating 5/5
[cp]

Jeremy Warmsley
The last time I saw Jeremy Warmsley was two years ago when he played by himself, only the guitar and the harmonium - a very intimate performance. This time around the sound has been fleshed out with the help of a band comprising a keyboardist, drummer and a delightfully unlikely and charismatic bassist. Testament to his intricate and thoughtful songwriting, his music suits both forms. 'I Believe...', which I last heard live with the sparsest instrumentation, is treated to a perfect, uncompromising arrangement. In spite of my eulogising over the writing, the highlight is a cover of New Order's 'Temptation', set to be the new single. A very promising young troubadour of sorts, with a varied and unique musicianship.
Pavilion Theatre, 16 May, 8:15pm
tw rating 4/5
[jg]

Late Of The Pier
This so called nu rave is usually a genre generally avoided by anyone over fifteen, and when these four entered the stage looking like school kids, I felt undeniably distressed. However, as Late Of The Pierlaunched into their first track, the electro baselines and infectious pre-pubescent shrieking combined to create very credible dance music. They have managed to create a developed sound well beyond their years, a sound which could be compared to that of a younger and more fashionable Muse. By the end of their incredibly rowdy set, with oversized sunglasses and immaculate haircuts destroyed alike, there is no doubt that Late Of The Pier left Brighton wanting more.
The Barfly, 15 May, 10:15pm
tw rating 4/5

NAS SHOCKS THE WORLD BY USING 'U' WORD FOR ALBUM TITLE
Yes, the world was shaken yesterday by the news that hip hop type Nas had decided to call his upcoming new album 'Untitled'. Yes, that's right, 'Untitled'. It's the children I worry about. Why doesn't anyone ever think about the children?

But it's true, despite insisting just a week or so ago that his new album would still be called 'Nigger', despite outrage at the suggestion in some circles, Nas finally conceded this week that he was going to have to change the long player's name or, more to the point, just not name it at all. The news follows reports earlier in the year that Nas' label, Universal's Island Def Jam, had insisted he choose a different name, mainly out of fears that high street retailers would refuse to stock an album called 'Nigger', especially give the renewed vigour with which the US civil rights movement have been calling for an end to racist and sexist language in hip hop in the last year.

Whether the move to leave the album untitled will placate those who objected to the use of the 'N' word in the album title remains to be seen. They may not welcome suggestions by Nas that by leaving the album untitled he can placate concerned record sellers, but at the same time fans will still be able to refer to it as 'Nigger', even if that's not written on the packaging. In a statement on the matter the rapper told reporters: "It's important to me that this album gets to the fans. It's been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. It's that important. The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it".

The untitled album - but hey, you know what it's really called, right? - will hit US record stores on 1 Jul.

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EMI REALLY RELYING ON COLDPLAY SUCCESS IN STATES
Anyone else getting deja vu? I seem to remember reporting much the same story around the release of Coldplay's last album. Though then Martin et al needed to sell well to keep nervous city types placated. This time serious units need to be shifted for the benefit of one city firm - Citigroup - Terra Firma and Guy Hands' primary backer in his purchase of EMI last year, who some say are starting to regret getting involved in the music business in such a big way.

Anyway, according to reports, EMI are relying more and more on the success of new Coldplay long player 'Viva La Vida', especially in the US where the label's market share has fallen to its lowest level for 50 years. According to The Times, artists signed to UK-based EMI currently account for just 8.8% of record sales in America - still the most important music market in the world - and Hands' backers are relying pretty much exclusively on 'Viva La Vida' to claw back some market share.

With hindsight, it's a good job Martin landed himself a Hollywood wife, it giving him and his band a much higher profile across the Atlantic. Whether it will be enough to boost EMI's market share a sufficient number of points to keep the suits in Citigroup HQ happy for another year remains to be seen.

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BRIAN WILSON RETURNS TO CAPITOL
This might help EMI's fortunes in the US a little, though it has to be said, major league artists often cost a major as much as they bring in so aren't as helpful to the bottom line as the unheard-of band that you sign to a label-favourable deal and who then become the world's biggest band of the moment. But still, there are no doubt some Beach Boys fans among Guy Hands' financial backers, so they'll be excited to hear that the major has signed Brian Wilson and will release his next studio album 'That Lucky Old Sun'. The deal sees Wilson, who has worked with Warner most recently if I'm not mistaken, return to EMI's Capitol Records, his original label home.

That Hands bloke had this to say on the matter: "We are delighted to be working with Brian Wilson for his new album, 'That Lucky Old Sun'. We all remember the feeling we got when we first heard The Beach Boys' music. My particular favourite classic is 'Surfer Girl.' It always reminds me of driving an open top car down the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Barbara to Malibu. Brian Wilson is an iconic talent with enormous musical influence all over the world and we are very proud to be representing him".

Wilson himself added: "I'm thrilled to be back home with Capitol, and I'm looking forward to sharing 'That Lucky Old Sun' with everyone. This music is really special to me".

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SANTOGOLD SLAMS "RACIST" PIGEONHOLING
CMU's favourite new R&B artist Santogold isn't, erm, an R&B artist. And anyone who says she is an R&B artist is just a big racist. In our defence, I don't think we ever did call Santogold an R&B artist. Apart from at the start of this story, and that was for comedy effect, obviously (you spotted that right?). Though I do seem to remember Andy CMU putting her under hip hop in our The Great Escape preview, and I'm not sure she'd appreciate that either.

Santogold has been talking to The Lipster about the media's tendency to label her music with black music genres, presumably, she reckons, because she's black. She'd rather everyone just called her music pop. Asked about the whole thing, she told the website, albeit a little tongue in cheek me senses: "It's racist. It's totally racist. Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off. I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid. In the beginning I thought that was funny. I'm an 'MC', I'm a 'soul singer', I'm a 'dance hybrid artist'. And some guy said I looked like Kelly Rowland!"

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TING TINGS ANGER AT EARLY VINYL SALES
The Ting Tings are currently sitting at the top of the singles charts with 'That's Not My Name' but this is not the first time the song has been released. The single was released as a limited edition 7" last May by Switchflicker Records, and the band are now hitting out at the owner of the label, who is selling copies of the single at inflated prices.

Writing on their MySpace blog, the band said: "Unfortunately, when we put our first limited 500 vinyl copies of 'That's Not My Name' out with a friend last year for kicks, she kept some vinyl back from us and you and is now trying to sell them to you guys for £60 a piece. This is nothing to do with us as we would never charge that money for our singles".

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P DIDDY INSPIRED BY KANYE WEST
P Diddy has said in a video blog on YouTube that a recent Kanye West show has changed his life and inspired him to continue making music. So, now we know who to blame, at least.

The rapper said: "The other night, I went to the Kanye West concert with nothing but high expectations. The concert changed my life. I'm not going to lie. I was so impressed and inspired. It was beautiful, man - and I fell in love with hip hop again. I want to say thank you, Kanye, for giving me that. You have given us a gift. That's from one brother to another, sometimes you've got to say that. Time is going on, I've had a lot of fame and sold a lot of records and sometimes you feel a bit uninspired so you fall out of love a bit, you still love hip hop but you're not as in love as the first time you met it. Then I went to the Kanye West concert".

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ARCADE FIRE DENY SOUNDTRACK
Arcade Fire have denied that they are working on the soundtrack for Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's new film 'The Box'. Writing on his blog on www.arcadefire.com, frontman Win Butler said: "Arcade Fire is not doing the soundtrack to any film. Regine [Chassagne], Owen Pallet and I may do an instrumental piece or two for Richard Kelly's new movie. We met [Kelly] at a show this year and hit it off, but we are not planning on doing any major work for a while".

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DAVID BOWIE DENIES MUSICAL
Look at this, everyone's denying things today. David Bowie has denied he is working on a musical version of his film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' with director Peter Schaufuss. Asked by www.davidbowie.com to confirm the reports, Bowie said: "Absolute toss. I have no idea who Peter Schaufuss is, either". I think that's what's known as a definitive answer.

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POPBITCH PUBLISH SNAZZY EUROVISION GUIDE
And there was us thinking we were all clever for going HTML with your CMU Daily (at long last) and then that other famously lo-fi e-bulletin, PopBitch, brings out a very snazzy, all singing, all dancing online edition to celebrate Eurovision. Damn them. Still, after Wogan, Popbitch are surely the top Eurovision experts, so if you are even slightly interested in the big Contest, which takes place this Saturday, of course, you should probably check this out...

http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1K482b0f42acf88012.cde

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HENRY ROLLINS EDINBURGH RESIDENCY
Henry Rollins has announced that he will finish a spoken word UK tour in August with a week long residency at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh, as part of that there Edinburgh Festival.

Tour dates:

10 Aug: Birmingham, Glee Club
11 Aug: Cardiff, Glee Club
12 Aug: London, IndigO2
13 Aug: Brighton, Komedia
18-15 Aug: Edinburgh, Gilded Balloon

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PATRICK WOLF TO HEADLINE REDFEST
Patrick Wolf has announced that he will make his one and only festival appearance this summer at Redfest, which takes place on 4-5 Jul in Surrey. Taking time out from working on the follow-up to his 2007 album 'The Magic Position', Wolf will headline the main stage on the Saturday night.

He joins the already sterling line-up of: The Maccabees, Crystal Castles, Los Campesinos!, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Elliot Minor, Pete And The Pirates, Operator Please, I Haunt Wizards, Fear Of Music, WinterKids, Lightspeed Champion, Late Of The Pier, Johnny Foreigner, Robots In Disguise, This City, Ebony Bones, SixNationState and more.

More info on Redfest from: www.redfest.co.uk

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WICKERMAN GOES FOR MOHICAN RECORD
Organisers of this year's Wickerman Festival are aiming to break the world record for the largest number of people with a Mohican hairstyle in one place at the same time. The record attempt will take place at midday on the final day of the festival. In order to qualify, Guinness World Records say haircuts must be "notably longer in the middle section".

This festival takes place on Scotland's Solway Coast from 25-26 Jul.

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WESTLIFE POSTPONE SHOWS
Westlife have had to cancel two concerts this week due to them being dead. Oh, no, no, no, not dead. I've done it again. They're just ill, that's all. Definitely not dead. Sorry folks. Yes, Westlife called off last night's concert in Nottingham and will not play their Cardiff gig tonight because Shane and Nicky have fallen ill. Their current UK tour should resume in Birmingham on Thursday, with the Nottingham and Cardiff dates set to be rescheduled.

In a statement, the band said this: "We are very sorry to have to postpone these shows at such short notice, we apologise to all our fans, and we can't wait to get back out there and put on a great show for you. Hold onto your tickets and we'll see you soon".

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BORRELL BACKS LATEST BIG ASK
Johnny Borrell has joined calls for emissions from air travel to be included in the new Climate Change Bill, which is interesting, because just this weekend I was thinking to myself "I wonder what that Johnny Borrell thinks about the Climate Change Bill and the decision to not include international air traffic and shipping in the new rules regarding carbon dioxide emissions?"

And now I know, which is good news. Better than the news that the government isn't including international air traffic and shipping in its new rules regarding carbon dioxide emissions. And better than the news that Borrell is threatening to perform a one off gig in the London Science Museum on 3 Jun in a bid to rally support for the Friends Of The Earth Big Ask campaign on the matter. I mean, is that really necessary?

Yes, yes it is. Well done him for supporting the cause in a real way - and not just signing up to the Friends Of The Earth 'virtual flight' promotion, which is basically an online petition on this issue. Take note Thom Yorke, KT Tunstall, Lloyd Grossman and Sean Hughes, it's all well and good adding your name to the online petition, where's your exclusive acoustic set at a popular museum, that's what I want to know?

Anyway, go here for more info www.thebigask.com

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ALBUM REVIEW: Various Artists - Jimpster: Selected Remixes 2004-2008 (Freerange Records) It must be hugely satisfying to have remixed so many tracks that you can create a whole compilation of all your own remix work and it all sound this damn good. Jamie Odell (aka Jimpster), head honcho of Freerange and keyboardist for The Bays, a veteran of dance music for 15 years, must be feeling a little smug. Odell almost has his own sound - house music with a certain touch of electronic soul - though there is some eclecticism here, it's a mix that certainly takes us on a ride, from Tam Cooper's 'Galactica' to Motorcitysoul's 'Sango' and 'Aura', the latter a stomping version. Piano house is touched on in the rework of Voorn's 'The Deep', while the sweeping strings of 'Siempre' by Kiko Navarro work well, and 'Small Talk' by Solomun gets us right in the groove (it's the highlight on this CD for my money). 'Sad Piano' by Justin Martin gets a true Jimpster remix with its little techy clicks and atmospherics over the undulating bassline, while the rework of Akabu 'Afraid Of The Future' is good upbeat dancefloor and the remix of Gibbs and Mike Acetate's 'Jus Move' works a treat with its funky percussive, and Roy Davis Junior's vocals. All in all, it's an accessible mix, not run of the mill - and is a fine introduction to a style of music that this imprint managed to improve with each release. It also comes in an unmixed format for budding DJ's who love quality slightly left of centre house. PV Release Date: 26 May Press Contact: Freerange [IH] back to top

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PETER GABRIEL LAUNCHES NEW DOWNLOAD STORE
Is this another digital music venture from Peter Gabriel? Is it? Yes, it is. Gabriel has teamed up with speaker manufacturers Bowers & Wilkes to launch a new download store called Music Club. Based on a subscription model, each month, subscribers will get access to an exclusive new album recorded in Gabriel's Real World Studios in Bath.

It's an artist friendly proposition - artists are given free studio time to record their albums and will regain the rights to the recordings two months after release. All albums will be delivered in a high-quality lossless audio format.

Announcing his involvement, Gabriel said: "This collaboration with B&W is unique as far as I know and it's going to allow a lot of interesting projects to happen. For artists, Music Club is a dream proposition because they get some great time in the studio, access to really good recording facilities and can experiment without being committed to anything or anyone beyond a month with B&W".

The first album on offer is by Little Axe, with Grindhouse and Gwyneth Herbert coming up in July and August. More information from here.

Gabriel has been involved in various digital music ventures over the years, of course, most recently ad-funded download whatnot We7.

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NAPSTER LAUNCH MP3 STORE
Napster US has launched its DRM-free download store which was originally announced at the start of the year and, unlike some other digital stores who have rushed to go MP3 since Amazon launched their DRM-free offer, Napster have managed to get all four majors on board for the launch of their MP3 store. They will sell 256kbps MP3s, better quality than the average download, and at the usual 99 cent price point too.

Of course the DRM-free bit is only relevant to Napster's a-la-carte download store, and not its subscription offer, which requires DRM to work. While going MP3 will allow Napster's a-la-carte offer to compete much better than it has ever done before (previously the Microsoft based downloads weren't iPod compatible, reducing consumer interest significantly), the download firm say that their subscription service remains their priority. While selling higher quality MP3s may in itself give Napster a bigger share of the download market, they hope increased traffic to that bit of their operation may help them to upsell more subscriptions.

Napster COO Christopher Allen told reporters: "We're really focused on subscription and driving subscribers as our business model. [The new store] is a way for us, through MP3s, to get some exposure to our subscription service. They may be initially attracted to the MP3s... and I think it will result in more subscribers over time".

One interesting aside to all this is that it has been revealed that SonyBMG's deal with both Amazon and Napster is different to the traditional label/download store arrangement. Rather than simply licensing their music to Amazon and Napster, SonyBMG are essentially selling their music directly to the consumer but via Amazon and Napster's platforms. I'm not sure on the specifics of that arrangement, though it is being chatted about more and more in the last seven days, so perhaps we will find out more very soon.

No word on whether Napster UK will be going MP3 anytime soon, though I'm having great trouble getting through to them just now (their phone number doesn't seem to be working and their press site hasn't been updated since 2006) so I don't suppose I would know even if they were.

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APPLE NEGOTIATING FOR EXPANDED SERVICES ON NEW IPHONE
The New York Times has been speculating about new functions and additions that will come with the next generation of the iPhone, which is due to be unleashed next month. Their speculation seems to be based on rumors regarding ongoing talks between Apple and the major record companies.

Among the things they say will be announced when the new phone is launched are a considerable expansion of the songs available to use in the 'make-your-own-ringtone' tool, an expansion of the ringback tones services, and, as expected, the addition of over-the-air downloads allowing users to download music straight to their phone rather than using use WiFi or downloading tracks to their PC first.

The sticking issue, according to the Times, is that record companies have traditionally charged more for over-the-air mobile downloads than for tracks sold via web based download stores like iTunes. Apple reportedly don't see the logic behind that, and are pushing for a wholesale pricepoint for mobile downloads similar or the same to the existing wholesale pricepoint for iTunes. Whether pricing squabbles will stop Apple from introducing any of its expanded iPhone services at the same time as the launch of its upgraded device next month remains to be seen.

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GOTTLIEB DENIES UNFAIR PLAY ALLEGATIONS RELATING TO TVT BANKRUPTCY
The founder of US indie TVT, Steve Gottlieb, has denied claims made in the New York Post this weekend that his dealings with a hedge fund regarding the ongoing bankruptcy of his record label will result in the hiding of assets that should be sold to pay back creditors who are collectively owed $24 million by the firm.

The claims relate to Gottlieb's dealings with hedge fund DB Zwirn, with which the label has unpaid secured loans, and an outfit which has been touted by some as a possible buyer of the floundering record company. We recently questioned whether a new owner would want to keep Gottlieb on, but some seem to think that Gottlieb is in cahoots with Daniel Zwirn, and that they are wheeling and dealing with the aim of putting Gottlieb back in charge of a post-bankruptcy TVT. The allegations in the Post seem to suggest that Gottlieb and Zwirn are blurring the lines between the TVT label and the more successful TVT publishing company (which isn't part of the bankruptcy) in order to reduce the asset loss caused by the bankruptcy, or something like that.

Either way, Gottlieb has strongly denied the allegations made against him, and says that "the allegations that appeared in the NY Post are entirely baseless. We have over 30 expressions of interest from media players and financial institutions to be in business with TVT and look forward to TVT regaining its position of leadership in the marketplace and resolving its future in the coming weeks".

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BORDERS AGENCY CHANGES PLANS REGARDING NEW RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS COMING TO THE UK
The UK Borders Agency has changed its policy regarding the hurdles international artists will have to jump in order to play gigs and festivals over here. Many had feared that musicians would get caught up in new immigration rules covering temporary workers, which would make it trickier for artists to get clearance to perform over here, and would require them to visit a British Consulate in their home country and get a biometric visa. An organisation called the Arts & Entertainment Task Force has been lobbying against those plans since they were first announced in 2006. But, according to Music Week, a new 'statement of intent' from the recently created UK Borders Agency seems to be proposing a much simpler system for artists looking to perform over here, which should save promoters and managers much time and money. So, that's good.

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TIXDAQ LAUNCH SECONDARY TICKETING COMPARISON SITE, PLEDGE TO PAY CUT TO ARTISTS
You know that the secondary ticketing market has reached a certain maturity when people are launching secondary ticket sale aggregator sites. Tixdaq are currently in the beta stage of a new service which will monitor what price tickets are selling for on both official and resale ticketing sites, giving music fans an easy to use comparison of ticket prices. Tickets on sale via eBay, Viagogo, Seatwave and official sites like Ticketmaster will all be listed. If people then click through and buy a ticket Tixdaq will receive a commission, and they have pledged to give half of that commission back to the artists when the sale is at a price higher than the face value of the ticket - which is presumably a bid to placate the live music and artist communities who, as previously reported, have suggested they should be paid a share when touts earn a mark up on ticket sales via an online auction website.

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FACEBOOK AND BEBO SCORE RECORD USER FIGURES
Even though social networking seems to be falling out of fashion a little among everyone I know, both Bebo and Facebook achieved a record number of UK users last month, according to stats from ComScore, so some people must still be organising their lives and rediscovering old friends through the social networking websites.

Facebook had 14.3 million unique users in April, up 7.2% from March and a massive 262.4% year on year. Bebo, which is still a favourite among teenage social networkers, scored 12.03 million unique users, 40% growth year on year.

The survey won't make fun reading for MySpace, who saw a decline in the number of users, 1.4% down month on month, 14.3% down year on year, which is presumably no surprise, though it is worth noting once again that in the music domain it is still generally their MySpaces that artists regularly update, and where fans first go to check out new music, so all is not lost for the News Corp owned networking site. Though it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually move away from all that conventional social networking nonsense and concentrate on being the place fans and artists network.

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YAHOO! ENTER INTO NEW TALKS WITH MICROSOFT
Yahoo!, the management of which have faced more criticism regarding their handling of Microsoft's most recent takeover offer (which some of their key shareholders were quite keen on), have announced they are back in talks with the IT giant, though regarding a less wide ranging deal this time - the merger of the two companies' advertising sales businesses.

Yahoo! have also been discussing a similar sales division merger with Google throughout all the Microsoft takeover-bid shenanigans. Microsoft seemingly came forward with the new smaller merger proposal, and Yahoo! said last night: "We will evaluate each of our alternatives, including any Microsoft proposal, consistent with our fiduciary duties, with a focus on maximising stockholder value. Yahoo and its board of directors continue to consider a number of value maximising strategic alternatives".

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DAZED EDITOR IN CHIEF STANDS DOWN
Dazed & Confused's Editor In Chief Nicki Bidder has left the magazine after five years in the job and eight years with the title. She will move to the London office of fashion brand and entertainment consultancy Starworks where she will become MD. Dazed's publishers thanked Bidder for her key role in "steering the magazine to the number one spot in the UK lifestyle sector" and wished her well in her new job.

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BBC RADIO PRODUCER BECOMES HEAD OF PROGRAMMES AT WISE BUDDAH
Independent radio production company Wise Buddah has announced the appointment of former Radio 1 and 4 producer Maria Williams to the job of Head Of Programmes.

Confirming her new job, Williams told reporters: "Radio is such a powerful medium. It can be intimate, moving, funny - and the relationship you build with an audience is like nothing else. I'm thrilled to be joining Wise Buddah at a time when the opportunities to make great radio are expanding so rapidly. It's an exciting time for everyone in the industry, and I'm looking forward to working with the team on ideas for new, ground-breaking content".

Wise Buddah founder Mark Goodier added: "We're passionate about radio at Wise Buddah. Having been an admirer of Maria's work for many years I'm delighted that she is coming to lead our creative team as we develop our offering to take advantage of new opportunities in content commissioning".

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TIMBERLAKE TO MARRY BIEL
Getting married is all the rage amongst celebrities at the moment. So, it's probably no surprise that Justin Timberlake is getting in on the action. No, I'm not really that cynical. He's in love and everything. So in love that he's apparently getting ready to propose to girlfriend Jessica Biel, who he has been dating for over a year.

A source told The Sun: "Justin is 27 and thinking about marriage and kids. For the first time in his life he is feeling settled and has definitely decided to pop the question to Jessica. He is so happy with her. They spent quite a bit of time apart recently when Justin was working with Madonna. That made him certain Jessica was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with".

Timberlake is also supposedly planning to wed on the West Indian island of Mustique, in order to keep away from the glaring eye of the media. The source continued: "Although Justin has lived his whole life in the public eye, he feels his wedding is the one day that should remain private. To get all his close friends and family to Mustique will cost a fortune. But he can't put a price on how he feels about Jessica".

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WOGAN FEARS FOR EUROVISION IF UK FLOPS
Terry Wogan fears that Brits will go off Eurovision if this year's UK entry, 'Even If' by Andy Abrahams, flops at the Contest. The song is currently the least favoured British entry of all time by bookmakers, with odds of 66-1. Wogan told the Radio Times that he thinks 'Even If' is "the best UK entry for a while [but] if we finish nowhere again, I worry that disenchantment might take hold".

The broadcaster, who was criticised by Eurovision organisers earlier this month for his lighthearted approach to the contest, said: "Eurovision is such silly fun, and I love doing it, but if the enthusiasm isn't there... This year is pretty crucial for me. Eurovision without Royaume-Uni would be unfortunate".

This year's Eurovision final takes place in Belgrade, Serbia on 25 May.

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