A new album, writing songs for Beyoncé and the madness of the Eurovision song contest in Malta – an exciting 2008 looms for revitalised Alistair Griffin.

Alistair has been flirting with that famous musical minefield, the Eurovision Song Contest – as part of the jury to select the Maltese entry!

It all came about because a song he and writing partners Tom and James Martin submitted to several countries was rejected because it was past the deadline.

He laughed: “In the nicest way possible, we thought it’d be a laugh to do a Eurovision song but not via the UK, so we sent MP3s to all sorts of places.

“Malta said it was too late to enter, even though they liked the song, but would I be on their international jury.

“I thought ‘yeah, four days in the sun, why not?’ We were actually under lock and key in a school gymnasium, listening to 230 songs – twice.

“It was quite surreal at times. During one song, a man in a blue tracksuit – a PE teacher I assume – walked across the back of the stage, rolled up a carpet and walked off with it under his arm.

“The song wasn’t great but the guy in the tracksuit’s in the final. The world’s his oyster.”

Alistair was joined on the trip by Eurovision fan Paul Bell, son of Bell’s Stores boss Steve.

“There were a few good songs in there, so who knows – I might have heard the Eurovision winner for 2008!”