Former UK Eurovision star issues ‘warning’ to Mae Muller before tonight’s final
MAE Muller is set to make her Eurovision Song Contest debut tonight - but a former UK entrant has issued her a "warning" ahead of the competition.
Russ Spencer, who performed in 2007 as part of Scooch, has opened up on how differently he was treated before and after the competition after initially feeling like an "A list celebrity".
Mae wants to keep the UK thriving at the contest after Sam Ryder, 33, turned our fortunes around last year when he finished second with his song Space Man.
Ahead of tonight's big performance, Russ said: "It’s crazy, we didn’t know quite how crazy it was going to be.
"In the years prior to us there had been a lot more crazy performances whether it’s Russian grannies or Bucks Fizz ripping their skirts off or whatever, all of those things that Eurovision is remembered for.
"I think the week itself was effectively like a week of being an A list celebrity, that’s how I would describe it. From the moment you got off the plane you were followed around, it’s insane."
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Dressed in air steward outfits, quartet Scooch came 22nd at the contest with Flying the Flag (For You).
Although the UK got behind them at the time, Russ admitted that fame doesn't last forever.
When asked how quickly the attention died down, he replied: "Straight away, it does," he told when asked if the attention d
"It is what it is. We were a pop group back in the late 90s and had moderate success then but we got back together seven years later.
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"I think for us we were all doing different things, working, theatre, whatever we were doing, we didn’t have anything to lose.
"It wasn't like we had a record deal and this was part of our campaign, Eurovision was what it was."
Mae, 25, is currently gearing up for tonight's performance in Liverpool, where she will be representing the UK with her pop hit I Wrote A Song.
She rented out a special rehearsal space to repeatedly practise her performance.
Quizzed on how she thinks she will do, she said: “I’m being positive.
"I think I’m top ten - that’s doable and I’d be very, very pleased.
Obviously top five is the creme de la creme.
“I really believe in this song and I feel like we’ve all worked really, really hard on the show so I feel like we’ve got a really good chance in doing well. I’m going to say top ten - I think we’ve got a good shot. "I’m manifesting.”
