The invisible child who now shines at Eurovision, part 1

Lives Less Ordinary

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.6 • 814 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A bond between brothers, a coming-out story, and an international song contest.

William Lee Adams is one of the leading voices covering the Eurovision Song Contest, criss-crossing the continent to interview stars and live-stream shows. But as a child growing up in small-town America, he was made to feel invisible; encouraged to suppress his Vietnamese heritage and questions about his sexuality. He found solace in caring for his brother, John, who had severe physical disabilities due to a brain condition. Even so, he needed an escape route.

William has written a memoir called Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Rob Wilson

Transcript

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0:00.0	On a winter's night in 1974, a crime took place that would obsess the nation.
0:06.9	It was an extraordinary news story.
0:09.1	The story of an aristocrat, Lord Lucan, who's said to have killed the family Nanny,
0:13.7	mistaking her for his wife, then somehow just disappeared.
0:18.0	One of the great mysteries in English criminal history.
0:20.7	We're still looking for Lucan. It's honestly one of the great mysteries in English criminal history. We're still looking for
0:21.6	Leukin. It's honestly one of the most powerful stories of my lifetime. I'm Alex von
0:26.6	Tundselman. This is The Lucan Obsession. Listen on BBC Sounds. Unexpected Elements is the podcast
0:33.9	shining a light on the science lurking behind the news. We know lots of scientists and we're not afraid to call them up.
0:41.1	Unexpected elements from the BBC World Service. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
0:48.2	If you're going to explain Eurovision to somebody who'd never, ever heard of it, how would you describe it?
0:54.2	Oh, it's a good question.
0:55.6	And I actually do this a lot.
0:57.2	And I tell my friends in the US,
0:59.0	it's American Idol, meets a beauty pageant, meets figure skating.
1:02.8	Hey, guys, it's India here.
1:04.4	And this is my guest for the next two episodes, William.
1:07.8	It's a collision of flavors.
1:09.2	It's a smorgasbord.
1:10.5	Sometimes it doesn't taste nice.
1:11.8	Sometimes you find something real delicious.
1:13.9	True.
	...

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