Irish Eurovision hopeful Bambie Thug remains steadfast in their refusal to bow to pressure to boycott this year's competition over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
The 31-year-old from Macroom in Cork will represent Ireland at the first semi-final of this year’s 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday evening at the Malmö Arena in Sweden with their song Doomsday Blue.
They’re bidding for a coveted place in the grand final on Saturday 11 May but their hopes for Euro glory have been overshadowed by ongoing calls for Ireland to withdraw from the contest over Israel’s participation in the event.
But with just days to go before their debut Eurovision performance, Bambie Thug has restated their support for Palestine but also remains very firm in their decision not to take part in any boycott.
Speaking via Zoom from London, where they have lived for over a decade, Bambie said: "I felt I had to engage with the debate. I am pro-Palestine.
"I know people are calling for the boycott but Israel is not going to be out of the competition and if we were all to boycott it, there would be less pro-Palestine voices and more of a chance of Israel winning."
Bambie chooses their words carefully and adds: "I hear people and I completely support them boycotting. I am not trying to make them come and watch this year’s Eurovision. Unfortunately, the world is a mess.
"The situation in Gaza does dampen the experience but there are a lot of moving parts and it is not as easy as me just stepping out of the contest.
"I’m grateful that there is a group of us together and we have the support. I know [UK entry] Ollie Alexander is getting a hard time as well. I get it. We are easy targets but we are not going to change the situation."
Right now, Bambie’s mind is focused on Tuesday night and their unhinged "Ouija-pop" song Doomsday Blue is Ireland’s best hope for Eurovision success after nearly three decades of disappointment at the contest.
It’s hard to believe it now but there was a time when the Irish used to rule the Eurovision roost with seven wins in total, matched only by this year’s host country Sweden.
However, Bambie is nothing if not confident about their chances. "I think my song is what Eurovision needs in general," they say. "I think it needs some shifts in boundaries and some alt-music again.
"As a kid, I would collect cobwebs and make little potions and talk to trees. We had a butterfly bush in our garden and I'd wear this white dress and they’d land all over me."
"We have had some alt winners before and this year we have San Marino doing rock but in the alternative universe, it’s just me this year. I believe in the song and I believe in my ability to perform and connect with the audience.
"I think we’ll do well, whether it’s win or not. People forget about a lot of Eurovision songs, except for the winners. I think we’ve done something people will remember, win or not."
One of four kids, Bambie Ray Robinson was born in Macroom to a Swedish father from Stockholm and a mother from Cork and the singer's interest in spiritualism began early.
"It came from my DNA and also the fact that I was lucky enough to grow up in the countryside outside Macroom," they say. "So, I grew up with a lot of vast countryside around me and a lot of chances to explore and to nurture my imagination and connect with nature.
"As a kid, I would collect cobwebs and make little potions and talk to trees. We had a butterfly bush in our garden and I’d wear this white dress and they’d land all over me. I used to be very much a nature kid, very exploratory of my own brain and energy. It was never questioned.
"I lost it a bit when I was in Catholic school but refound myself again when I moved to London and became friends with witches in Muswell Hill. It’s helped me through a lot."
"I've got loads of fan art; people have been drawing me all the time. It’s amazing how insanely talented my fans are, which I love."
As their name suggests, Bambie Thug is one-half sweetness and light and one-half dark and gothic. You might say they are all kinds of everything.
However, you don’t become a pagan popera star and a one-person Walpurgisnacht without attracting a lot of attention (that’s the point) - and some of that attention is inevitably going to be negative.
Since Bambie was chosen as Ireland’s Eurovision entry, they have been attacked for being non-binary and for being an "insult to Irish national identity" for their interest in paganism, a particularly whiffy criticism given that Ireland was pagan far longer than it's been Christian.
In any case, we’ve come a long way from Dana.
When I ask what Bambie has to say to the haters, they coo, "Looove you!" and then add, "Get a better hobby than giving abuse on the internet. If you’re talking to me like that, how are you talking to yourself inside?
"What gives you the energy to write something so hateful? I feel sorry for them because they must be so internally at war with themselves to hate so outwardly. "
"People forget that people who are in Eurovision or music or acting, we’re all just people. There is a person behind the persona. The haters are just wasting their time."
It’s all to play for at Tuesday’s semi-final and it will be interesting to see how Bambie translates their obvious visual flair into the all-important stage act in Malmö.
"I can tell you that my stage show is completely reimagined," they say. "The only part of it that is still in is the candles. It’s a romance story. I dance ballet contemporary and it’s really romantic but still sinister.
"The toxic romance side of it is still there and there is another creature with me, it’s not the same creature but it is a creature."
At the time of writing, Bambie goes into the first semi-final as one of the top ten favourites to win the whole contest and they are full of praise for their fans.
"They’ve been great. I’ve got loads of fan art; people have been drawing me all the time," they say. "It’s amazing how insanely talented my fans are, which I love. Performing at the pre-parties has been really fun and has wiped me out completely. The fans have been the highlight.
"It’s also great when someone likes my music but when they take from the music and it inspires them, it’s wonderful. I’ve had someone come out and tell their mother that they’re lesbian."
And Tuesday night will be a family affair. Bambie’s mum and two of their three sisters will be travelling from Macroom for the big night.
"One sister can’t make it because she is heavily pregnant," Bambie says. "My aunty from Stockholm and my cousin are coming down and another cousin from Clare is coming. My family is quite small. My best friend from Cork City, Michelle, is coming, too. It will be lovely!"
Alan Corr @CorrAlan2
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