A long-time member of the ESC United forums since 2008, Sean finally took the plunge and joined the team in 2014 as a staff writer. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, and has been a permanent fixture of the site’s accredited Eurovision team since Vienna 2015, and became editor in chief alongside Matt in 2017… despite his uncommon opinions on all things Eurovision!
Tell me about your first Eurovision memory?
It was probably some kind of embarrassed feeling regarding yet another British flop to be honest! I vaguely remember hearing about Javine in 2005, saw a bit of the contest in 2006 and heard about Lordi taking home the title for Finland. In 2007, I gave watching the show live a try and became infatuated immediately. Since I started following national finals in 2008 I haven’t looked back!
What’s your favourite Eurovision song?
This is a tough one, and I have many answers I could use. I would probably have to pick Softengine’s “Something Better”, representing Finland in 2014, but I also have a deep affection for “Igranka” (Montenegro 2013), “Love Kills” (Belgium 2013), “Hatrið mun sigra” (Iceland 2019), “Viszlát nyar” (Hungary 2018) and “Midnight Gold” (Georgia 2016). Try to place my taste in music with that list!
What are your favourite musicians outside of Eurovision?
I love all kinds of music but tend to gravitate towards the alternative; indie, electropop, EDM, rap and hip hop. Some of my favourite artists of all time include Foals, Everything Everything, ODESZA, M83, Bombay Bicycle Club and Lemaitre. I often find that I love any artist that does something unique or has a real quality and originality to their music, regardless of their genre (god, that sounds awful…)
What about your favourite food?
Pizza pizza pizza! I love chicken too… and anything else that isn’t healthy to be honest.
Favourite place?
Out of all of the places I visited I’d have to probably say Budapest, it’s such a rich and vibrant city with so much to see and do and a fantastic vibe. I also loved Florence (and Italy in general), Kyiv, San Marino, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. This list is likely to change a lot!
Best way to spend your free time?
I love watching football (I’m a Derby County fan, up the Rams) and YouTube videos, travelling, socialising and meeting people, discovering new music and of course writing for ESC United. I also occasionally run and wander to new places, although I may have said this just to sound a bit healthier.
One interesting fact about yourself?
Erm… I guess one thing I could say is I stayed at Valentina Monetta’s house when I was in San Marino? (It was on Airbnb, don’t worry). I have also met her a few times at Eurovision but the two facts are unrelated!
#YOU can follow Sean on social media on Twitter (@SeanESCUnited) and Instagram (@sean.tarbuck1).