The Intro
Irish singer Johnny Logan became the first Eurovision Song Contest winner to also reach number 1 with their song since Brotherhood of Man in 1976 with Save Your Kisses for Me. He also went on to be the first act to win Eurovision twice – hence the nickname ‘Mr Eurovision’.
Before
Logan was born Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard on 13 May 1954 in the Australian suburb of Frankston, Victoria, as his father, the Irish tenor known as Patrick O’Hagan, was touring the country at the time. The Sherrards returned to Ireland when he was three, and by the age of 13 he had taken to composing his own songs. When he left school he became an apprentice electrician but was able to indulge his first love by performing music in pubs.
Sherrard starred in the title role of rock musical Adam & Eve in 1976, and a year later he was the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. In 1978 he took the name Johnny Logan from the main character in 1954 Western Johnny Guitar. His debut single was No, I Don’t Want to Fall in Love, which failed to chart. The following year he made his first attempt to appear at Eurovision, but finished third in the Irish National Final.
In 1980 Logan tried again. This time he entered the Irish National with a song by broadcaster Shay Healy, who had previously written for Billy Connolly, among others. What’s Another Year had been written with Glen Curtin in mind originally, but reworked by co-producer Bill Whelan to suit Logan better. 14 years later, Whelan was asked to compose some incidental music for that year’s Dublin-based Eurovision. He came up with Riverdance, and you know how well that went down.
Logan won the Irish National final in Dublin on 9 March, and so headed to the Eurovision final in the Netherlands on 19 April. Giving a very doe-eyed, woe-is-me performance in a white suit, he won over the judges and became the first Irish winner of the contest since Dana with the execrable All Kinds of Everything.
Review
What’s Another Year isn’t much more pleasing to the ears than Dana’s song, sadly. The saxophone at the start is probably the highlight, because it brings to mind Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street. It’s downhill from there. This is bog-standard MOR dross, in which a lovelorn Logan moans about yet another anniversary of being alone. He sings it well enough, and makes things slightly more interesting when he trills the song’s title at times. But you ultimately want to give him a shake and tell him that’s more than enough wallowing. He’s good-looking, only bloody 26, and looks a lot younger. Get on Bumble, lad! There’s very little else to add other than this was clearly a victory for the older generation, hitting back after the exciting new sounds of Blondie and Dexys Midnight Runners. Oh, and the video to What’s Another Year is classic 80s soft-focus close-up tediousness.
After
What’s Another Year became number 1 across Europe. Hoping to capitalise on his Eurovision success, In London (which was the B-side of his debut) was released in June as the follow-up, and Save Me not long after that. Neither charted. As we’ve learned, with a few exceptions, Eurovision winners can quickly get forgotten about. In a blatant attempt to win over the grandparents once more, Logan recorded a recent Cliff Richard track, but Give a Little Bit More also flopped.
Logan attempted a comeback in 1983, but his new look and single Becoming Electric were a turn-off. However, in 1985 he was involved with another number 1 single. He was among The Crowd, the supergroup that recorded a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone in aid of the Bradford City Disaster Fund, launched in the aftermath of the terrible fire that killed 56 spectators. He followed this up by becoming simply ‘Logan’, but Stab in the Back didn’t chart.
In 1984 Logan had written Ireland’s Eurovision entry, Terminal 3, for Linda Martin. And it very nearly won, coming second to Sweden’s amazingly titled Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley by Herreys. In 1987 he won the contest in Belgium with his self-penned saccharine power ballad Hold Me Now, which reached two in the UK. He also released a cover of 10cc’s 1975 chart-topper I’m Not in Love, which was produced by fellow chart-topper Paul Hardcastle.
Logan continued to release material, but it failed to dent the UK charts. But he still faired OK in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. He even recorded a cover of Richard’s song Miss You Nights with Elvis Presley’s backing band, the Jordannaires in 1990.
Then in 1992, Mr Eurovision struck a third time. He was the man behind Martin’s Irish entry, Why Me, which won the contest in Sweden. He became one of the select few to have written two winning Eurovision entries.
Logan has continued to release material, but has mostly stuck to Europe, particularly Germany. His stature as Mr Eurovision has ensured he’s remembered by fans of the competition. In 2005 at the 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Hold Me Now was voted third most popular Eurovision entry. A new version peaked at nine in Denmark four years previous. In 2007 the double A-side Don’t Cry/I Love to Party (with Kaye Styles) climbed to seven in Belgium. The last chart success he’s had to date was Pray, a number three hit in his home country in 2013.
The Outro
When the 2020 Eurovision was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Netherlands instead hosted the programme Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light. The show featured previous participants, so of course Mr Eurovision was there, performing the suddenly relevant and even poignant What’s Another Year.
The Info
Written by
Shay Healy
Producers
Bill Whelan & Dave Pennefather
Weeks at number 1
2 (17-30 May)
Trivia
Births
22 May: Actress Lucy Gordon
30 May: Footballer Steven Gerrard
Deaths
17 May: Entrepeneur CC Roberts
18 May: Joy Division singer Ian Curtis (see ‘Meanwhile…‘/Trade unionist Bert Papworth
19 May: Janet Hitchman/Conservative MP Sir Christopher Peto, 3rd Baronet
20 May: Diplomat Sir Oscar Morland
24 May: Diplomat Ronald Burroughs
25 May: Gardener Alan Chadwick
28 May: Rugby league player Albert Brough/Trade union leader Jack Greenhalgh
Meanwhile…
18 May: In the early hours of the morning, Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, died by suicide, aged only 23 years old, after writing a note to his wife, Deborah. The couple were soon to be divorced. Deborah discovered her husband’s body on the eve of the band’s tour of North America.
27 May: The inquest into the death of New Zealand-born teacher Blair Peach, killed during a demonstration against the National Front in 1979, returns a verdict of misadventure.
28 May: Nottingham Forest retained the European Cup by defeating West German league champions Hamburger SV 1-0 in Madrid. This was the fourth year in a row that an English club had won the trophy.
