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| P. Harrington & C. McGettigan, Eurovision 1994 |
Today, The Grandma has been talking with The Watsons about Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan, the Irish singers who won the Eurovision Song Contest representing her country in 1994 singing Rock 'n' Roll Kids.
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 53 times since making its debut at the 1965 Contest in Naples, missing only two contests since then (1983 and 2002). The contest final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland is the most successful country in the contest, with a record total of seven wins, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively.
Before talking about Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan, The Grandma has offered a new Cambridge Key English Test A2 Example to The Watsons.
Paul Harrington (born Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish musician, who, with Charlie McGettigan, won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in 1994.
Harrington first came to public attention with his debut album, What I'd Say, reaching the Top 10 in 1991. However, that attention reached new heights in 1994 when he represented Ireland and won the Eurovision Song Contest along with Charlie McGettigan.
In the late 1990s, Harrington was the performer of choice for many of the A-list celebrities that would frequent the VIP Room in Dublin's most prestigious nightspot. Here he would regularly entertain and be joined by, stars from the world of music, film, and television. He has performed for, amongst others, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and U2.
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 53 times since making its debut at the 1965 Contest in Naples, missing only two contests since then (1983 and 2002). The contest final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland is the most successful country in the contest, with a record total of seven wins, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively.
Before talking about Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan, The Grandma has offered a new Cambridge Key English Test A2 Example to The Watsons.
Paul Harrington (born Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish musician, who, with Charlie McGettigan, won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in 1994.
Harrington first came to public attention with his debut album, What I'd Say, reaching the Top 10 in 1991. However, that attention reached new heights in 1994 when he represented Ireland and won the Eurovision Song Contest along with Charlie McGettigan.
In the late 1990s, Harrington was the performer of choice for many of the A-list celebrities that would frequent the VIP Room in Dublin's most prestigious nightspot. Here he would regularly entertain and be joined by, stars from the world of music, film, and television. He has performed for, amongst others, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and U2.
Harrington release A Collection in 2008, and after a stunning performance on The Late Late Show, the album entered Ireland's Top 20 reaching number 4.
More information: RTE
In 2009, he joined with
his brothers as The Harrington Brothers to record Molly Malone with
The Official Leinster Supporters Group. The song became the official
anthem for the Leinster Rugby Team.
The song entered the Irish Charts in
2009 and was number one in the download charts. The Harrington Brothers
performed Molly Malone live at The RDS Dublin just before Leinster
played Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup.
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| Rock'n'Roll Kids |
In 2010, Harrington
released a live studio album, Songs, featuring his unique
interpretations of some of the world's best-loved songs, and produced by
Grammy nominees Chris O’Brien and Graham Murphy. The album also
featured Bill Shanley, Sean Devitt, and Tony Molloy.
Harrington is expected to release a new live album in 2018 entitled Lights of Home. The album was recorded by Tim Martin at the Sugar Club Dublin, and features nine new songs.
Although this will be Harrington's first solo album in eight years, he has collaborated on other albums in that time, including a Christmas album featuring the Whitefriar Street Choir (O Holy Night) and a North American-Irish collaboration called Cape Spear.
Charles Joseph McGettigan (born 7 December 1950, Ballyshannon, County Donegal) is an Irish singer. He lives in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim.
Harrington is expected to release a new live album in 2018 entitled Lights of Home. The album was recorded by Tim Martin at the Sugar Club Dublin, and features nine new songs.
Although this will be Harrington's first solo album in eight years, he has collaborated on other albums in that time, including a Christmas album featuring the Whitefriar Street Choir (O Holy Night) and a North American-Irish collaboration called Cape Spear.
Charles Joseph McGettigan (born 7 December 1950, Ballyshannon, County Donegal) is an Irish singer. He lives in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim.
Performing with Paul Harrington, he won the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with the song Rock 'n' Roll Kids, words and music by Brendan Graham.
Harrington played
piano and McGettigan played guitar. He made an appearance as a guest
singer at Congratulations, the 50th anniversary concert of Eurovision.
In August 1998, McGettigan's only son, Shane McGettigan, was killed in a construction accident while working in Quincy, Massachusetts.
In August 1998, McGettigan's only son, Shane McGettigan, was killed in a construction accident while working in Quincy, Massachusetts.
In 2015, McGettigan wrote Anybody Got a Shoulder? for Kat Mahon, which was one of the five songs in Eurosong 2015, the national selection to select the Irish entry for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The song finished 2nd.
More information: Irish Examiner
Rock 'n' Roll Kids was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, written by Brendan Graham and performed for Ireland by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan.
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 require 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, but this has never been proved factual.
There was a myth among Irish media that the song was deliberately chosen not to win. As the Contest rules require 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, but this has never been proved factual.
Even when Ireland hosted the event in 1997, Irish entrant Marc Roberts confirmed that RTE wanted him to go out and win it, as they'd done a deal with BBC to host it the following year.
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| P. Harrington & C. McGettigan, Eurovision 1994 |
The song, however, won the contest and is popular among Eurovision fans, even being performed in part by McGettigan and Jakob Sveistrup at the Congratulations 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 the various decades including the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s but on the advice of a DJ, Brendan dropped the last two verses as they felt the song was too long. Brendan got the inspiration for the title while attending a Fats Domino Concert in Dublin's National Stadium in 1991.
Lyrically, the song originally had seven verses, representing the various decades including the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s but on the advice of a DJ, Brendan dropped the last two verses as they felt the song was too long. Brendan got the inspiration for the title while attending a Fats Domino Concert in Dublin's National Stadium in 1991.
He entered it in 1992 and it didn't get through, and again in 1993, but it was third time lucky in 1994. According to Brendan, 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 Finland's CatCat with Bye Bye Baby and preceding Cyprus' Evridiki with Ime Anthropos Ki Ego. At the close of voting, it had received 226 points, placing 1st in a field of 25.
The song was succeeded as winner in 1995 by Secret Garden representing Norway with Nocturne. It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1995 Contest by Eddie Friel with Dreamin'.
To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of their victory, Paul & Charlie performed a gig in the Sugar Club in Dublin in 2014, and Brendan reminisced about the inspiration of the song while accepting his Eurovision trophy.
The song was performed third on the night, following Finland's CatCat with Bye Bye Baby and preceding Cyprus' Evridiki with Ime Anthropos Ki Ego. At the close of voting, it had received 226 points, placing 1st in a field of 25.
The song was succeeded as winner in 1995 by Secret Garden representing Norway with Nocturne. It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1995 Contest by Eddie Friel with Dreamin'.
To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of their victory, Paul & Charlie performed a gig in the Sugar Club in Dublin in 2014, and Brendan reminisced about the inspiration of the song while accepting his Eurovision trophy.
As I stood on the stage at the Point Depot, 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!
More information: Breaking News
We were the rock 'n' roll kids
Rock 'n' roll was all we did
And listenin' to those songs on the radio
I was yours and you were mine
That was once upon a time
Now we never seem to rock 'n' roll anymore.
Rock 'n' roll was all we did
And listenin' to those songs on the radio
I was yours and you were mine
That was once upon a time
Now we never seem to rock 'n' roll anymore.
Paul Harrington & Charles McGettigan
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