ESC 2023: This is how “Lord of the Lost” is doing in Liverpool

Germany at the ESC
A little hope – that’s how “Lord of the Lost” are doing in Liverpool

Please no longer last: “Lord of the Lost” are the German hope at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. There, the glam rock band creates enthusiasm among fans. But the point emission stutters.

“Germany gets 41 points from the public,” announces ESC presenter Hannah Waddingham in the Liverpool Arena. Finally points. Germany did not go away empty-handed and thus does not end up in one of the last places as in previous years. But the result, which would at least let fans and ESC Germany breathe a sigh of relief, has one flaw: the hall on the Liverpool docks, where the 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be held this year, is almost empty. It’s Friday afternoon, the points read out are part of the first of a total of three practice runs for the grand finale on Saturday evening. And pure imagination.

Lord of the Lost (LotL for short) is the name of the band that is supposed to finally bring redemption after the catastrophic performance of previous years. Germany has scored a narrow 33 points in the ESC finals since 2019. As bad as no other finalist. The Lovely Lena years, they seem light years away. The dazzling rockers from St. Pauli are just the thing to save ESC Germany. Frontman Chris Harms and his band members Klaas Helmecke, Gerrit Heinemann, Niklas Kahl and Pi, who won the German preliminary round on March 3rd and beat Ballermann singer Ikke Hipgold, have been in Liverpool for a week. But their point mission stutters.

Lord of the Lost were still on course on Tuesday. In the pouring rain of Liverpool, the first fan had already queued up at the world-famous Cavern Club at 6.24am. When the doors to the vaulted cellar, where the Beatles played, open at 10 a.m., more than 300 people have come for Lord of the Lost. The band is giving a gig this morning, playing six songs from their new album and of course their ESC contribution “Blood and Glitter”. There is applause, cheering and the ESC fans’ verdict is unanimous: great singers, good guys, a good German contribution. The summary is like a small miracle.

It matches between Lord of the Lost and the ESC

Because even the German ESC supporters who were not used to success initially quarreled with the band, with their outfits and above all with their music. Because most fans list a lot when asked about their favorite music, but certainly nothing that comes close to metal rock. Mary Roos and Abba instead of hard rock Hallelujah. In any case, the rockers from Hamburg would not be on the playlist voluntarily. But the critical scrutiny has long since turned into a flirt. Chris Harms and his singers conquer ESC hearts.

“We’ve been received incredibly warmly here,” the 43-year-old frontman tells dem star. The past few weeks have been like a roller coaster ride – but one that has always only gone up. Despite initial reservations, he and his colleagues were accepted by the Eurovision community as they are. “A great experience,” enthuses the former Waldorf student, praising the diversity of the competition. The fact that there is a match between the band and the fans is also due to the attitude of the rockers, who stand for tolerance, diversity and open-mindedness. Values ​​that the ESC embodies like no other competition: “Blood and Glitter” – and sometimes even more glitter.

But when “Lord of the Lost” are on the Liverpool stage on Saturday evening in their red paint and leather suits and with darkly made-up eyes, they are the hard rockers and have to worry about points. Since Lordi made rock socially acceptable with their victory in 2006 at the ESC, there have been many imitators. Lotl attach great importance to having always created their own style and not being a copy. Vocally, the band and Germany don’t have to be afraid of embarrassment – that was also different in previous years. Harm’s deep voice doesn’t need an autotune. The stage design with a lot of pyrotechnics also fits. The bombastic staging is exactly Harms’ thing. But is that enough to be successful with juries and viewers?

Hoping for the callers

Lords of the Lost are now being pushed backwards by English bookmakers, who have predicted the outcome with reasonable accuracy in recent years. Germany is bet on place 18 – still behind the irrelevant feel-good song from Poland. Although that would be a better result than in previous years, it would be a long way from finally achieving one of the good positions on the left side of the table.

But there is hope. The Hamburg rockers could do significantly better in the televote than in the juries. In any case, the bookmakers are predicting a sensational 7th place among the spectators. When moderator Hannah Waddingham reads out the real points for Germany on Saturday evening, it could be far more than the fictional 41 from the rehearsal.