Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987

Last updated

Eurovision Song Contest 1987
CountryFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
National selection
Selection processNational final
Selection date(s)8 March 1987
Selected entrant Johnny Logan
Selected song"Hold Me Now"
Selected songwriter(s) Seán Sherrard
Finals performance
Final result1st, 172 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄198619871988►

Ireland was represented by Johnny Logan with the song "Hold Me Now" in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest in Brussels.

Contents

Before Eurovision

National final

The event took place on 8 March 1987, at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. was hosted by RTÉ broadcaster Marty Whelan and former Irish Eurovision participant Maxi. Nine songs competed, and the winner was chosen by an "expert" jury, which included Linda Martin, who represented Ireland in 1984 and would do so again in 1992. [1]

DrawArtistSongPointsPlace
1Rosie Hunter"I'm in a Tizzy"647
2Jody McStravick"Louise"608
3 Charlie McGettigan "Are You Shy"753
4Valerie Armstrong"Ó d'imigh tú uaim"714
5Spyder Sympson"All My Life"695
6 Loudest Whisper "Whisper, Whisper"519
7Paul Duffy"Every Single Move She Makes"952
8Jenni Stanley"You're Not Around"686
9 Johnny Logan "Hold Me Now"1141
Detailed Jury Votes
DrawSong Larry Gogan Twink Paddy Murray Lynne Fitzgerald Brian D'Arcy Linda Martin Pete St. John Eve Jones Frank McNamara Michael O'RiordanHelen QuinnJackie HaydenTotal
1"I'm in a Tizzy"64436666566664
2"Louise"54646555655460
3"Are You Shy"75858558675675
4"Ó d'imigh tú uaim"67647776754571
5"All My Life"65646667775469
6"Whisper, Whisper"54325564473351
7"Every Single Move She Makes"88868979988795
8"You're Not Around"65546666576668
9"Hold Me Now"91010810101010109108114

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was held at the Palais du Centenaire, Eeuwfeestpaleis in Brussels, Belgium.

"Hold Me Now" was performed twentieth in the running order on the night of the contest, following Denmark and preceding Yugoslavia, which meant that Johnny performed third last, as he had done in 1980. The song went on to win the contest with 172 points, a substantial 31-point margin over Germany. [2] Germany was also runner-up to Johnny Logan seven years prior. Although many former winners have returned to perform at the contest, Logan was the only singer to have won the Eurovision Song Contest twice until Loreen in 2023.

Marty Whelan provided the RTÉ television commentary with Larry Gogan providing the commentary for RTÉ Radio 1 listeners. Brendan Balfe served as the spokesperson for the Irish jury.

Voting

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

"Hold Me Now" was one of fourteen Eurovision songs chosen by fans to participate in the Congratulations 50th anniversary special in 2005. It was one of two Irish entries, both by Logan, to feature in the show (the other being "What's Another Year?"). Ireland had a strong presence in the show, as besides Logan's two entries, the show also included former winners Linda Martin, Charlie McGettigan, and Eimear Quinn as backing vocalists (all of whom also had a medley to perform their winning entries), and interval acts from 1997 co-host Ronan Keating, 1994 interval act Riverdance , and Logan himself, performing his then-new single "When a Woman Loves a Man." The show was broadcast live by RTÉ with commentary by Marty Whelan. Notably, it was simulcast in Australia, as Congratulations was not being broadcast by the BBC (whose broadcasts Australian broadcaster SBS would normally simulcast) and RTÉ was the only other broadcaster providing English-language commentary.

"Hold Me Now" was drawn to appear twelfth, following "Ne partez pas sans moi" by Celine Dion (the winner after Logan) and preceding "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Like the majority of performances that evening, it was largely played out with a dance troupe appearing alongside footage of Logan's 1987 performance. Near the end of the performance, Logan appeared and lip-synced the last chorus. At the end of the first round, "Hold Me Now" was announced as one of the songs proceeding to the second round. It was later revealed that "Hold Me Now" finished third, with 182 points. [4]

In the final round, "Hold Me Now" held its third place, with an improved score of 262 points. [5] In both the first and second round, Ireland was able to award themselves twelve points, a practice usually not allowed in standard Eurovision editions.

Voting

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since making its debut at the 1965 contest in Naples, missing only two contests since, in 1983 and 2002. The contest's final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland shares a joint record total of seven wins with Sweden, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively. Ireland has finished second four times, while Sweden has done that just once. However, all of Ireland's victories were decided by juries only, in the era before public voting became the norm in 1998.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" written and performed by Brian Kennedy, who was internally selected in November 2005 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. RTÉ organised the national final Eurosong 2006 to select the song that Kennedy would perform. Three songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" as the Irish entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Love?" written by Karl Broderick. The song was performed by Donna and Joe. The Irish entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the third season of the music competition series You're a Star, organised by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The competition consisted of 17 shows and concluded with a final, resulting in the selection of "Love?" performed by Donna and Joe as the Irish Eurovision entry after facing a public televote.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "If My World Stopped Turning" written by Brian McFadden and Jonathan Shorten. The song was performed by Chris Doran. The Irish entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey was selected through the second season of the music competition series You're a Star, organised by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The competition consisted of 14 shows and concluded with a final, resulting in the selection of "If My World Stopped Turning" performed by Chris Doran as the Irish Eurovision entry after facing a public televote.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "They Can't Stop the Spring" written by John Waters and Tommy Moran. The song was performed by the band Dervish, which was internally selected in November 2006 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. RTÉ organised the national final Eurosong 2007 to select the song that Dervish would perform. Four songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "They Can't Stop the Spring" as the Irish entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Irelande Douze Pointe" written by Darren Smith, Simon Fine and Dustin the Turkey. The song was performed by children's show puppet Dustin the Turkey. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2008 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Six songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Irelande Douze Pointe" performed by Dustin the Turkey as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Thanks to Johnny Logan's win in Brussels in 1987, the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest was to be held in Dublin. The song "Take Him Home", written and composed by Peter Eades and performed by Jump The Gun was chosen to represent Ireland after winning the national final selection.

Ireland entered the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, sending Johnny Logan to the contest with the song "What's Another Year", written by Shay Healy.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Et Cetera" written by Niall Mooney, Jonas Gladnikoff, Daniele Moretti and Christina Schilling. The song was performed by Sinéad Mulvey and the band Black Daisy. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2009 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Six songs faced the votes of four regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Et Cetera" performed by Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Switzerland competed at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, held in Dublin, Ireland.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "It's for You" written by Niall Mooney, Mårten Eriksson, Jonas Gladnikoff and Lina Eriksson. The song was performed by Niamh Kavanagh, who had previously represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 where she won the contest with the song "In Your Eyes". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2010 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. Five songs faced the votes of six regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "It's for You" performed by Niamh Kavanagh as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Lipstick" written by Dan Priddy, Lars Halvor Jensen and Martin Michael Larson. The song was performed by the duo Jedward. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2011 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Five songs faced the votes of six regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Lipstick" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by the duo Jedward, who had previously represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 where they achieved eighth place with the song "Lipstick". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2012 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Waterline" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Love Survives" written by Wez Devine and Ryan Dolan. The song was performed by Ryan Dolan. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2013 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Only Love Survives" performed by Ryan Dolan as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Heartbeat" written by Jonas Gladnikoff, Rasmus Palmgren, Patrizia Helander and Hazel Kaneswaran. The song was performed by Can-linn featuring Kasey Smith. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2014 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Heartbeat" performed by Can-linn featuring Kasey Smith as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Playing with Numbers" written by Greg French and Molly Sterling. The song was performed by Molly Sterling. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2015 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Playing with Numbers" performed by Molly Sterling as the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Dying to Try", sung by Brendan Murray and written by Jörgen Elofsson and James Newman. The song and the singer were internally selected by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Murray's internal selection was announced on 16 December 2016, while "Dying to Try" was presented on 10 March 2017.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "That's Rich" performed by Brooke. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2022 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2022 contest. Six songs faced the votes of an international jury, a studio jury and a public televote which ultimately resulted in the selection of the Irish Eurovision entry.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "We Are One" performed by Wild Youth. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2023 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2023 contest. Six songs faced the votes of an international jury, a national jury and a public televote which ultimately resulted in the selection of the Irish Eurovision entry.

References

  1. "https://web.archive.org/web/20091026233659/http://geocities.com/national_finals_70s_80s/Ireland1987.html
  2. "Final of Brussels 1987". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Brussels 1987". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Congratulations: Results from the voting (Round 1)" (PDF). Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Congratulations: Results from the voting (Round 2)" (PDF). Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.