Eurovision 1982 is one of the Finnish Eurovision turning points. Kojo scored a flat zero in Harrogate while the other peace song Ein bisschen Frieden sailed to victory. The result got Europe asking if Finns are serious and are we doing it on purpose but we were not. When Kojo's Nuku pommiin was selected we thought we had a chance. The song was different in a in-your-face style. When Kojo returned home with null points the selecting jury was blamed and featured in newspapers with face photos like dangerous criminals, Kojo was treated as a national traitor, bottles were thrown at him in gigs and still today, after 30 years, he is known as Nolla-Kojo aka Zero-Kojo.
"Now I'm laughing only about it" he recalls in Iltalehti's recent interview. "It's ridiculous how this one mediocre song has caused so much hassle. After 30 years people still talk about it!" In 1982 Kojo had also another song in the final called Video-Venus that came 3rd. "Maybe that would have scored one point" he laughs."We had great time in Harrogate. We went to all parties and the atmosphere was great in town. The performance itself went in a dreamlike state" he recalls. After the result and returning home he was treated like a traitor and he had nightmares for years. "I was treated like an athlete caught in doping. I was shouted at and thrown bottles in gigs in Finland for a year or so. But I got good gigs in Europe. I did one song in playback and was paid well! In the end Eurovision was only good for my career and I still benefit from it" he thinks.
Earlier this spring Kojo caused a minor stir when criticizing UMK and it's outcome. "The old system was good. You can't turn the old shit trendy. I felt only shame when watching UMK. And then we send an innocent student girl with no experience to play out a little. Maybe she will get some points of sympathy. She's nice girl and surely will have a nice trip there!" Kojo said. He supports the Russian grannies this year.
PS. Here's a recent Nuku pommiin.
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