Jemini are from Liverpool

The pair appeared on ITV1's GMTV on Tuesday in a bid to boost their single, Cry Baby, after a disastrous performance of the song in Latvia on Saturday night.

They received no points, the first time the UK has failed to score, and finished last in the 26-country contest.

On Tuesday record stores were reportedly selling only a few copies of the single as it went on sale Monday.

A spokeswoman from the record store chain HMV said: "The single's just selling by the handful and it's outside the top 20, but in Liverpool, where there's obviously local interest, it's the sixth best seller.

"Everywhere else the public seem to be voting like the Eurovision judges."

The competition, held in the Latvian capital Riga, was won by Turkey's Sertab Erener, with the song Everyway That I Can.

Belgium took second place while the favourites, Russian act Tatu, came third.

Some pundits believe politics played a part in the vote

Jemini singer Chris Cromby said he and bandmate Gemma Abbey had been hoping for 'nul point' after they realised how desperate their situation was becoming.

"Towards the end we were thinking, 'Don't give us one point or two points we'd rather get none'," he said.

Jemini suffered a further setback after their dressing room was vandalised as they gave interviews following their defeat in Latvia.

"The door was kicked in. Then the walls were smashed - I think it was specifically targeted," said the duo's representative Martin O'Shea.

War influence

Cromby said on Sunday that despite still being "in shock" at the result, they still felt "fantastic".

The singer added that it was possible that the result could have been influenced by the UK's role in the recent war with Iraq.

"With the countries across Europe something has rocked the boat in a way. We don't think it was fair we came last because we gave the performance of our lifetime," he said.

Abbey said during the contest they were treated "really well".

Turkey's Sertab Erener won the contest

On paper things had looked good for Jemini, with composer Martin Isherwood - head of music at Sir Paul McCartney's fame school, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts - writing their song.

As the results came in Terry Wogan, who provided the BBC's commentary for the show, offered the consoling thought: "I think the UK is suffering from post-Iraq backlash."

Before Jemini took to the stage, the UK's worst Eurovision placing was in 2000, when Nicki French took 16th place with a tune ironically called Don't Play That Song Again.