I mentioned in the preview that Group H could be quite intriguing in that there was no mega-headliner, and it contained a mix of singers and bands with quite a number of devotees.
An in-play progress report, carried out after 25 sets of votes had been cast, sort of confirmed this, albeit a few that had started really well had already probably done enough. Lloyd Cole (17), Bananarama (15), Elvis Costello (15) and The Breeders (13) were leading the way. Tucked in behind were a host of others (nine in all), who had collected between six and eleven votes, while it was looking as if The Affectionate Punch (2), The Tragically Hip (3) and The Sound (4) were in difficulties. But then again, there was still plenty of time left on the clock for things to change.
As it turned out, that check on 25 votes was almost perfect for the half-time report as come the final whistle on Saturday at midnight, there were 48 sets requiring to be counted up.
- Lloyd Cole 33
- Elvis Costello 31
- Bananarama 27
- The Triffids 26
- The Twilight Sad 23*
- The Breeders 23
- The National 20
- The Chameleons 16*
The appearance of the * indicates the coin toss was used to determine final positions when the number of votes was tied.
It was Frightened Rabbit who also picked up 16 votes. Here’s the thing…..at no point in time did The Chameleons ever have a lead over Frightened Rabbit. Indeed, the tie only cane about from the fact that the final four folk to drop into the polling station all voted for The Chameleons while offering nothing up for F’Rabbits.
There was little to choose among the next five places who all gained between 12 and 14 votes, while the bottom two narrowly failed to reach double figures.
As ever, a song from an ICA we’ve had to say farewell to.
mp3: The Affectionate Punch – Scars III
The fact is, the elimination of TAP has thwarted my dreams of actually making an appearance in the 2022 ICA World Cup, as it’s my spoken vocal on this particular track.
I suppose I can console myself that my small contribution to Scars III might have led to my face being on an imaginary sticker in the imaginary commemorative Panini collection……..
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
To receive a vote, let alone a few votes, was just brilliant… a real treat. Thank you.
The Affectionate Punch
Your spoken word vocals made the qualifiers though. That’s more than the rest of us managed.
Sad to see The Sound bow out. Raises the question of how to select a Side one Track one. Should one go for a personal choice (as Martin did) or look ahead to a future World Cup and choose a barnstoming popular choice to get through the first round melee?
Mind you, having the Affectionate Punch’s meisterwerk first still didn’t cut it.
We’re a cruel bunch.
(and to echo baggingarea’s thoughts, it isn’t jealousy about you actually having an entry and talent. Honest.)