Sam Battle – better known as Look Mum No Computer – represented the UK at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest final. The DIY enthusiast slash electronics musician also arrived into the competition with something most entrants don’t: a self-built “mega synthesizer” and by his own admission, a serious amount of drilling.

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Speaking to the Press Association, the 37-year-old confirmed that much of his Eurovision staging was built by hand – a process made slightly more complicated by the small matter of becoming a new father at the same time.

“It has been a lot of work, especially as I have just become a new dad at the same time as prepping for Eurovision,” he says. “But overall, it’s been a lot of fun – I’m really proud of what we’ve pulled together and can’t wait to put it into practice.”

At the centre of the show is what Battle calls a “mega synthesizer” setup – a network of oversized synth panels and custom electronics designed to scale up his usual DIY chaos for the Eurovision stage.

Describing the build as being “on a much bigger scale than ever seen before”, Battle says that while he was responsible for most of the electronics and control systems, not everything made it past official approval – largely because “the BBC didn’t trust my welding”.

“I had the idea of using a car as well, but because the floor [of the stage] is an LED screen made of glass, there’s a solid weight limit of 500kg for all the props, so we had to abandon that,” he tells the BBC.

And as for the build itself, it was every bit as hands-on as you’d expect from someone whose entire artistic identity is built around DIY electronics.

“Many holes were drilled,” Battle says with a laugh. “I drilled so many holes that my nipples chafed.”

The UK ultimately finished last with Battle’s Eins, Zwei, Drei, while Bulgaria claimed its first-ever Eurovision win on Saturday night (16 May), with DARA’s Bangaranga taking the crown.

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