They’re the camp-tastic foursome who flew the flag for the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2007 in Helsinki, turning the stage into an airport scene replete with luggage and references to salty nuts.
And on Tuesday Scooch reminded us that their bubblegum pop is as electric as ever with the release of their very special cover of “Volcano Man” from the upcoming Eurovision Movie.
In the film EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: The Story of Fire Saga, the fictional Icelandic duo Fire Saga, played by Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, perform the 90-second song — a mish-mash of folk and disco — in a lavish music video filmed in the stunning North Atlantic nation.
But here, Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer lean electro — taking us to the club where the lava reaches peak temperature. As Russ performs Will Ferrell’s breathy panting, you get the sense his lungs are as robust as airbags in a Volvo. Pump it up! Not to be outdone, his bandmates serve so much face you wonder if they are simultaneously auditioning for a future season of Britain’s Next Top Model. Well shantay, all y’all stay.
Scooch cover “Volcano Man” from the Netflix Eurovision Movie
Scooch are the latest Eurovision alums to be tapped by Netflix to help build hype for the June 26th release. Earlier, Estonia’s Elina Nechayeva dragged the song into the realm of opera, hitting her high notes in front of mountain-side terrain, and while wearing a flowing lilac gown.
Other stars flirting with an eruption include Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak, who performed along with the song on his violin, and Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala, who was accompanied by two musicians on a keyboard and acoustic guitar. She delivered a gentle, soulful version of the song which once again reminded us she slays from “1944” into 2020.
Moldova’s Eurovision 2019 singer Anna Odobescu delivered a disco version of “Volcano Man”, while Iceland’s Eurovision 2020 act Daði Freyr performed a synthpop version from his home studio.
Recently, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — reviewed the song. I gave it one of the more positive reviews, writing:
“Volcano Man” is a call to follow your heart — even if that means listening to strange voices, climbing a mountain and letting a man with a rather large codpiece scream his name at you. Building from a folkloric opening and progressing to a disco finish, Lars and Sigrit cast a mythical spell as they create one of the most memorable Eurovision music videos ever. Whether forming snow angels, beating on keyboards or serving sensuous looks over the shoulder, they’re taking the piss while remaining fully committed. This is a parody song that is actually quite good! Special shout out to Rachel: Her lip-sync is among the tightest we’ve seen all season.
But some of my Wiwi brothers and sisters simply weren’t feeling it. Oranie wrote: “Good job Nextflix, Lars, Sigrit, or whoever: you’ve brought all of the biggest Eurovision clichés together in one song. I’m not amused.”
Are you loving Scooch’s electro-cover? Do you prefer their version to the original? Shout out your thoughts down below!
I love Scooch, they always leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling!
elina still has the best cover
You can’t beat a bit of Scooch, a guilty pleasure for many.
I wish they’d been turned down back in 2007, for me they just reinforced a negative view of the contest in the UK that I feel still persists today. Especally when there were much better choices for us that year (Big Brovaz). I did discover their old song “For Sure”, that I actually enjoyed! They are decent singers and can dance, but at the time they were too similar to Steps and felt a bit Butlins in comparison to them. But they never put out any songs as deliberately infantile or cheap as Flying the flag. I remember Charlotte Church… Read more »