One of the most enjoyable Eurovision Song Contest winners in the competition's entire history, Riva was an unabashed pop band from Croatia, who represented the then-unified Yugoslavia at the 1989 Eurovision finals. A five-piece fronted by the effervescent Emilija Kokic, the band formed in Zadar, Croatia in 1988, with a lineup of Zvonimir Zrilic (guitar) Bosko Colic (drums), Nenad Nakic (bass) and Dalibor Musa (keyboards). They made an immediate splash at that year's Zagrebfest song contest and, the following year, "Rock Me" took Eurovision by storm. International attention followed, with the band even appearing at the Distant Accord awards in Nashville later in the year. But Riva were never to follow up the success on the international stage. One album, titled for the hit and featuring a stupendous dance remix of the title track, followed later in the year, but Riva nevertheless broke up in 1991. ~ Dave Thompson