Special - Dado Topic: I want to travel the road | Eurovision Song Contest News - 2008 Belgrade, Serbia 

Dado Topic, who will be rocking the scene in Helsinki for Croatia, spoke to esctoday.com about his dreams, his idea of heaven, his favourites in the contest and more. Dado takes us with him on a journey to Ithaca, a poem by Konstantinos Kavafis.

Dado, you have said that “ … more important than the goal itself, are the steps that you take, and the road that leads you to it…”. What is your goal in life?  
My goal in life, after 40 years of living with music, is to make a difference, as it is said in Ithaca, to travel the road, with its ups and downs, but in the end, to know that I have left a legacy, my music and my songs...  

In a previous interview you also stated that Eurovision for you is just another step towards heaven. What is heaven for you? 

Heaven for me is the stage and the audience, singing together with me. 

 

 

 

You have had a very successful career in music so far steering clear of commercialised music. What made you try out for the Eurovision Song Contest? 

I think that everything in life has a cause! I have been steering clear of "commercial music ", as you say, for 40 years, but now, I guess somebody up there in the space, decided, that it is time to try something slightly different, since the contest itself has changed.
 

Who are your favourite artists? 

Well, there are many... Weather Report, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Michael Bolton,Ray Charles...

 

Have you heard any of the other entries? From the rest of the rock songs do you have any favourites? 

Yes, I have heard and seen all of the entries, and I must say that each one of them is very, very good ! On the first listening, my opinion is that Greece is definitely a winner! Out of the rock songs, Finland, Iceland and Hungary! 

One of your fellow participants, Icelander Eirikur Hauksson, sings in his entry “Rock n’ roll can heal your soul, when broken hearts lose all control”. How much do you think music in general, and rock in particular affect people? 

I wish that I had written those words... he said it all...I think that music in general, each style, affects people in its own unique way. We are all different, and so is the music, so each individual chooses their own pleasure or - pain. Rock affects people in different ways, it gives them freedom to feel, more deeply, to express themselves more roughly and most importantly, honestly !

What can we expect from you on the stage in Helsinki? 

What can you expect from me on the stage in Helsinki..., a beautiful song, presented with pure feelings of love!

Do you have a message for the readers of esctoday.com?                

My message to all the readers of esctoday.com, is please read Ithaca, be open minded,and let the road carry you...
 
esctoday.com would like to thank Dado Topic for the interview and wish him all the best in Helsinki.
 

Ithaca by Constantinos Kavafis

As you set out for Ithaca
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:
you' ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbours you're seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind -
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and keep on learning from their scholars.Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what Ithaca stands for.