"Hold Me Now" was written,composed,and recorded by Johnny Logan. Lyrically,It is a ballad sung from the point of view of a man whose love interest is leaving him for someone else ("from now on you'll be with someone else instead of me"). The singer pleads with his girlfriend to "touch,touch [him] the way you used to do" in order to leave him with good memories of their relationship,even as they "fill this memory / for the last time". The chorus then tells the girl "don't say a word",as they prepare to part. Despite the sad nature of the parting,the singer says "I will know / though we're apart / we'll always be together",which implies some sort of optimism on his part. The music is a typical power ballad,with the final chorus being introduced by a choir of backing singers –Joan Lea,Karen Black,and Alain Pentony–.[1]
On 8 March 1987,"Hold Me Now" performed by him competed in the national selection organised by RaidióTeilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to select its song and performer for the 32nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Irish entrant –and Logan the performer–for Eurovision.[2]
At the close of voting,it had received 172 points,placing first in a field of twenty-two,winning the contest.[4] After Logan,had been proclaimed the winner with this song,he was overcome with emotion during the reprise and was unable to reach the high notes in this part of the song. As he had when he won in 1980 with "What's Another Year",he shouted "I still love you,Ireland". It was succeeded as winner in 1988 "Ne partez pas sans moi" sung by Céline Dion representing Switzerland. It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1988 contest by "Take Him Home" sung by Jump The Gun.
"Hold Me Now" is regarded as one of the high points of the contest history,it was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reference group,from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest,to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations:50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held on 22 October 2005 in Copenhagen,[5] where it was voted the third-best song in Eurovision history behind "Waterloo" and "Nel blu dipinto di blu". On 31 March 2015,in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary concert Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held in London,Logan performed the song as part of a medley with "Why Me?" and "What's Another Year".[6][7]
In 2001,Logan released the album Reach for Me,with the first two tracks being revamped versions of his Eurovision winning songs which are titled in the album as "What's Another Year 2001" and "Hold Me Now 2001" in a revamped up-beat version. "Hold Me Now" from the album had a limited chart success in Denmark where it made it to number ine on the Hitlisten chart. It also made it to number 54 in Swedish Hitlistan Singles Chart.
Track listing
"Hold Me Now 2001" (radio edit) (3:33)
"Hold Me Now 2001" (instrumental) (3:33)
2010 version
A decade later,Johnny Logan recorded yet a new version of both winning songs now titled "What's Another Year 2010" and "Hold Me Now 2010" in his studio album Nature of Love without releasing either as a single.
The song has been covered by several performers, including a reggae version by Tanya Stephens. It has also been updated by Belgian rapper Kaye Styles as "Don't Cry". This cover also features Logan performing the chorus of the song at a slightly faster tempo than the traditional version. The late Macedonian superstar Toše Proeski covered this song during his concerts.[34]
The song was also used in an Irish advertising campaign launched by McDonald's toward the end of 2007.[35][36] These ads feature Logan bursting into the room with a McDonald's bag in an effort to cheer a series of teens in humorous predicaments. Logan interrupts his singing to pose the question "Twisty Fries?" (among other products offered by McDonald's).
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