{"id":396479,"date":"2026-04-13T16:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/396479\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:14:13","slug":"what-this-eurovision-legend-just-said-about-the-iconic-song-contest-speaks-volumes-as-he-shares-his-thoughts-on-israels-participation-in-this-years-event-and-reveals-which-eurozone-country-once-tr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/396479\/","title":{"rendered":"What this EUROVISION legend just said about the iconic song contest speaks volumes as he shares his thoughts on ISRAEL’S participation in this year’s event – and reveals WHICH Eurozone country once tried to TAP him up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eurovision<\/a> legend Johnny Logan has launched a blistering rebuke at RT\u00c9 over the broadcaster\u2019s handling of Ireland\u2019s song contest entries.<\/p>\n

The only artist to win the Eurovision three times did not hold back in his assessment of the current selection process.<\/p>\n

Logan won the contest twice as a performer with What\u2019s Another Year (1980) and Hold Me Now (1987).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then he won it again as the songwriter for Linda Martin\u2019s triumphant Why Me? (1992).<\/p>\n

At the unveiling of a statue created in the singer\u2019s honour in his home town of Ashbourne, Co. Meath, this week, he told the Irish Mail on Sunday, \u2018It\u2019s completely lost its way.<\/p>\n

\u2018We used to have a big TV show with an orchestra and a real audience. Now, it\u2019s tucked away on The Late Late Show.<\/p>\n

HERE’S JOHNNY: Not once, twice, but THREE times the winner!\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Johnny Logan has won Eurovision more times than anyone in the contest’s history, twice as a singer, and again as a songwriter. Here’s how:<\/p>\n

\"Johnny <\/p>\n

Johnny Logan (left) holds aloft the 1980 Eurovision trophy in The Hague. The song’s composer, Shay Healy, is to his right\u00a0<\/p>\n

1980 The Hague, Netherlands<\/p>\n

Song: What\u2019s Another Year<\/p>\n

Singer: Johnny Logan<\/p>\n

Composer: Shay Healy<\/p>\n

1987 Brussels, Belgium<\/p>\n

Song: Hold Me Now<\/p>\n

Singer: Johnny Logan<\/p>\n

Composer: Johnny Logan<\/p>\n

\"Linda <\/p>\n

Linda Martin and Johnny Logan win Eurovision\u00a0 in Malmo with Why Me<\/p>\n

1992 Malmo, Sweden<\/p>\n

Song: Why Me?<\/p>\n

Singer: Linda Martin<\/p>\n

Composer: Johnny Logan<\/p>\n

<!- – ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/us\/news\/none\/article\/other\/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->\n<\/p>\n

\u2018The people that they have choosing [the entry], they don\u2019t know music, I don\u2019t think, these days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I know Michael Keeley, who picks the songs for the final, but beyond that I don\u2019t know who picks the songs that go forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Beyond that, nobody has any input apart from the people on RT\u00c9.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, the singer said he fully supports RT\u00c9\u2019s decision not to take part in this year\u2019s Eurovision due to Israel<\/a>\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n

The now 71-year-old performer revealed he turned down a string of high\u2013profile appearances this year in solidarity with the move.<\/p>\n

\u2018I agreed with the Irish decision to leave the Eurovision this year,\u2019 he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018The Austrian Eurovision team came to me and asked me to do the guest spot, and I just said \u201cI couldn\u2019t do that\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d already said no, so I\u2019m agreeing with the Irish decision. It would have been wrong to do anything else or not stick to my word.\u2019<\/p>\n

Logan was speaking during a special night of celebration for the man known locally as Se\u00e1n Sherrard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throngs of fans and well\u2013wishers had gathered in the Meath town he has called home for the past 47 years.<\/p>\n

Long\u2013time friend Linda Martin also made a surprise appearance on the night to show her appreciation for the man who wrote her own winning Eurovision song.<\/p>\n

\u2018Linda never told me she was coming. She just turns up and she\u2019s lovely,\u2019 said Logan.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ve been friends since the showband days.<\/p>\n

\u2018As a performer, she was always one of the most professional people I\u2019ve ever worked with. Ever.\u2019<\/p>\n

Logan was characteristically self\u2013deprecating about seeing himself immortalised in his home town.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a kind of weird thing because, you know, I\u2019m very honoured that they did it,\u2019 he said, glancing at the statue.<\/p>\n

He added, \u2018At the same time, there\u2019s this kind of thing in the back of your head, call it imposter syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u2018How do you find people, and how are you grateful, without your ego getting involved in all of that?\u2019<\/p>\n

Logan, who turns 72 next month, said he has no plans to hang up the microphone, or his trademark white suit, anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\"Johnny <\/p>\n

Johnny Logan after winning the Eurovision Song Contest again, this time in Brussels in 1987 with his song Hold Me Now, which went on to become a hit<\/p>\n

\"Linda <\/p>\n

Linda Martin wins the Eurovision song contest in Stockholm back in 1992 with the song Why Me, which was written by her good friend, the two-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan<\/p>\n

\"Singer <\/p>\n

Singer Johnny Logan and his wife Tanja Surmann back in December 2017<\/p>\n

\"Musicians <\/p>\n

Musicians Linda Martin and Johnny Logan at an event in Ashbourne, Co.Meath in April 2026 where a new statue honouring the three-time winning Eurovision legend was unveiled<\/p>\n

He is collaborating with Austrian star Andreas Gabalier on a new track called Whiskey And Wine and continues to tour and play to large crowds across Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, he said his focus now is firmly on his own music.<\/p>\n

\u2018Next month, I\u2019m 72 years old. I want to do my own thing for whatever I\u2019ve left in my career.<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of the stuff that I write is written from life experience. It\u2019s all about just being happy with the life you had, and not wishing you were somebody else.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eurovision legend Johnny Logan has launched a blistering rebuke at RT\u00c9 over the broadcaster\u2019s handling of Ireland\u2019s song…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[539,93,17948,29226,61,60,3410,149742,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-396479","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-eurovision","11":"tag-eurozone","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-m-ireland","16":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}