William Michael Joseph Whelan is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, "Riverdance", was a seven-minute piece of original music accompanying a new take on traditional Irish stepdance that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish traditional music and dance. The corresponding soundtrack album earned him a Grammy. "Riverdance" was released as a single in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra". It reached number one in Ireland for 18 weeks and number nine in the UK. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995.
Sir George Ivan MorrisonOBE is a singer-songwriter and musician from Northern Ireland whose recording career spans seven decades.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), and presented by Mary Kennedy, the contest was held in Ireland following the country's victory at the 1994 contest with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. It was the third consecutive contest to be held in Ireland – the first and only time in the history of the event that a country has hosted three editions in a row – and the second consecutive edition to be held in the Point Theatre in Dublin.
Moondance is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album Astral Weeks (1968), Morrison moved to upstate New York with his wife and began writing songs for Moondance. There, he met the musicians that would record the album with him at New York City's A & R Studios in August and September 1969.
Philip Coulter is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009.
Veedon Fleece is the eighth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in October 1974. Morrison recorded the album shortly after his divorce from wife Janet (Planet) Rigsbee. With his broken marriage in the past, Morrison visited Ireland on holiday for new inspiration, arriving on 20 October 1973. While there he wrote, in less than three weeks, the songs included on the album.
Niamh Kavanagh is an Irish singer who sang the winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993.
Omar Kareem Naber is a Slovenian singer, songwriter and guitar player. He first represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv with the song "Stop" and for a second time at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "On My Way", but failed to qualify to the final on both occasions.
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer. He scored a number of hit singles and albums in the UK and Ireland during the 1990s and 2000s. He represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and finished in 10th place. Brian is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.
Back on Top is the twenty-seventh studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1999 by Point Blank. It reached the Top Twenty in seven countries, building on the success of 1997's The Healing Game.
Fionnuala Sherry is an Irish violinist and vocalist.
William Wylie MacPherson, known professionally as Bill Martin, was a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario. His most successful songs, all written with Phil Coulter, included "Puppet on a String", "Congratulations", "Back Home", and "Saturday Night". He was presented with three Ivor Novello Awards, including one as Songwriter of the Year.
Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
Eurovision Young Musicians, often shortened to EYM, or Young Musicians, is a biennial classical music competition for European musicians that are aged between 12 and 21. It is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and broadcast on television throughout Europe, with some countries holding national selections to choose their representatives for the contest.
Michelle Mary Teresa Rocca is an Irish-Italian former model, television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Ireland 1980. The following year, she married footballer John Devine. Two years after their divorce in 1990 she met and later married, Northern Irish singer Van Morrison.
Gary O'Shaughnessy is an Irish singer and musician who represented Ireland in Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Without Your Love" finishing 21st out of 23 entries. He's the uncle of Ryan O'Shaughnessy who represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Pavel "Pasha" Parfeni is a Moldovan musician, singer and songwriter. He represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with his song "Lăutar", placing 11th. He was formerly known for being the lead singer of the Moldovan band SunStroke Project. He represented Moldova again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Soarele și luna", placing 18th.
Born to Sing: No Plan B is the 34th studio album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released by Blue Note Records on 2 October 2012. It is his first studio album of original songs since 2008's Keep It Simple, with its four-year gap being the longest between two studio albums to date from the artist. It was well received by critics with most reviewers giving it four out of five stars, including Allmusic and Rolling Stone. It debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. It was Morrison's first album since the merger of EMI and Universal Music Group, which consolidated ownership of all his albums from 1984 onward.
"Arcade" is a song by Dutch singer-songwriter Duncan Laurence. The song was released on 7 March 2019 by Spark Records. It was later included as the lead single on his debut studio album Small Town Boy, and also features on his debut EP Worlds on Fire. The song was written by Laurence, Joel Sjöö, Wouter Hardy and Will Knox.
Daði Freyr Pétursson, known professionally as Daði Freyr or simply Daði, is an Icelandic musician living in Berlin, Germany. As the frontman of Daði & Gagnamagnið, he was due to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Think About Things", before the event was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "10 Years", finishing in fourth place. He performed a cover of Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again" during the intermission of the 2023 competition.
