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"Rock 'n' Roll Kids" is a song by
Paul Harrington and
Charlie McGettigan that was the winning song of the
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song "In Your Eyes" by Niamh Kavanagh. It was the first time that any countr ...
, written by
Brendan Graham and performed for . The song was Ireland's sixth overall victory, and represented an unprecedented third consecutive time that the same country had won the contest.
There was a myth among Irish media that the song was deliberately chosen ''not'' to win. As the contest rules expect the previous year's winner to host the next edition of the contest, the argument runs that the Irish broadcaster was not prepared to do this for a third consecutive year, hence the selection; this has never been proven. Even when Ireland hosted the event in , Irish entrant
Marc Roberts confirmed that
RTÉ wanted him to go out and win it, as they had done a deal with
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
to host it the following year in case of another Irish victory.
The song, however, won the contest and is popular among Eurovision fans, even being performed in part by McGettigan and
Jakob Sveistrup
Jakob Sveistrup (born 8 March 1972) is a Danish singer. He entered the Danish music scene in 2003 as a competitor in the Danish televised talent contest '' Stjerne for en aften'' ("Star for a Night"). He made it to the finals. Unusually, Sveistru ...
at the ''
Congratulations
Congratulations may refer to:
Film and television
*'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary
Music Albums
* ''Congratulations'' (album), an album by ...
'' special in late 2005. It was the first winning song ever to be performed without orchestral accompaniment, as McGettigan's guitar and Harrington's piano were the only instruments needed. It was also the first time in the contest when a song scored over 200 points.
Lyrically, the song originally had seven verses, representing various decades including the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s but on the advice of a DJ, Graham dropped the last two verses as they felt the song was too long. Graham got the inspiration for the title while attending a
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
concert at Dublin's
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
in 1991. He entered it in 1992 and 1993 and it failed to get through both times, but was accepted in 1994. According to Graham, "I saw the song as a small song, as a conversation in the kitchen, and I wanted the listeners to be drawn into that kitchen, and into that conversation".
The song was performed third on the night, following 's
CatCat with "
Bye Bye Baby" and preceding '
Evridiki
Evridiki Theokleous ( el, Ευρυδίκη Θεοκλέους, ; born 25 February 1968), known professionally as simply Evridiki, is a Greek-Cypriot rock, pop, and electropop singer. She is best known in Europe for representing her home count ...
with "
Ime Anthropos Ki Ego". At the close of voting, it had received 226 points, placing first in a field of 25.
The song was succeeded as winner in by
Secret Garden representing with "
Nocturne
A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night.
History
The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...
". It was succeeded as Irish representative that year by
Eddie Friel
Edward Joseph Friel was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1962. He is a B. Mus. Honours graduate who in 1986 started his professional career as a music teacher. After one year he decided to pursue his talents as a musician and composer in ...
with "
Dreamin'".
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of their victory, Harrington and McGettigan performed a gig in the Sugar Club in Dublin in 2014. Graham reminisced about the inspiration of the song while accepting his Eurovision trophy: "As I stood on the stage at the
Point Depot
The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Qu ...
, through the applause and the cheers, I heard a sound roll in over the Liffey Banks – the sound of a rollin', rumbling piano... and for a moment, I wasn't there. I was back in the Stadium on Bourbon Street, on that steamy Dublin night in 1991. Thank you Fats!"
Charts
See also
*Following three consecutive Irish victories in the ESC in 1992, 1993, and 1994, writers of the ''
Father Ted
''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, including ...
'' comedy series wrote an episode entitled "
A Song For Europe
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
" jumping on the idea that RTÉ would pick a song that would lose on purpose.
References
{{Authority control
Eurovision songs of Ireland
Eurovision songs of 1994
Eurovision Song Contest winning songs
1994 songs
Songs written by Brendan Graham
CNR Music singles
Songs about nostalgia
Songs about rock music
Songs about old age