<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> E-A-Z

Esther Hart

"Esther not only teaches at music schools but was appointed singing teacher at the Tilburg Rock Academy in early 2002".
Esther qualified for the UK final but dropped out due to travelling arrangements between the UK and getting to Amsterdam the next night for the Dutch final. It worked out to be a canny choice, though after a very good, if "mad as a bucket of frogs" performance, a mid-table finish only just ensured their liberal social infrastructure, their booming free-trade economy, and of course a healthy Tilburg Rock Academy for another year.

Eimear Quinn

The official Eurovision website refers to Eimear as a man, which is a tad harsh on the willo-the-wisp Oirish maiden, who rather boldly suggested she was "The Voice" in 1996. She won, but on a purely factual basis, wasn't the only voice on display.

Estonia

 

Ruffus got punched upon arriving back in Tallinn after the 2003 contest. Some might say an over-reaction by the Estonians, a nation who weren't used to Eurovision failure. Wogan's paranoid fantasy of "Baltic block voting" aside, Estonia has done a super job over the years bearing in mind the handicap of so many singers/songs with double consonants and vowels.  
They won it in 2001 with a commonly held opinion that it was a sack of shite, and should have never got close to the podium.