EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 1992-94. More: tomorrow.

EUROVISION

1956-2022

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS

(in chronological order)

 

This year’s Contest will see the 70^th song declared a winner. Caffè Lattè lists all of the past winning entries and other songs that have had a lasting impact on the Eurovision Song Contest.

1992

Eurovision was held in Sweden for the third time. In 1992, the host city was Malmö. With The Netherlands back, a record-breaking 23 nations competed. 1992 also marked the final appearance of Yugoslavia on the Eurovision stage. Another record would be broken at the event’s conclusion.

 

WHY ME? Linda Martin

Ireland

 

“Why Me” was the victorious Irish entry. It was written by Johnny Logan. He had already won Eurovision twice as a performer with “What’s Another Year” and “Hold Me Now”. Logan had written the latter. He thus made history as the only individual to sing 2 winning songs and to write 2 winning songs. Linda Martin had finished second in 1984 with another Logan composition: “Terminal Three”. “Why Me?” gave Ireland its fourth ESC win, taking it to second place in a tie with The Netherlands and United Kingdom for the most wins.

 

1993

Curiously, the small town of Millstreet was chosen as the location for the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest. With more nations keen to join the ESC family, a record-breaking 25 countries participated. All 22 of those that had competed in 1992 returned. The remaining 3 spots went to the top scoring trio from a qualifying final held in Slovenia. This heat involved new participants: Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary and Romania. The first 3 aspirants progressed to the Final.

 

IN YOUR EYES

Niamh Kavanagh

Ireland

 

Once again, the UK finished in the runner-up position, behind the victorious Irish entry. “In Your Eyes” was the fifth winning song for Ireland. This triumph put the Emerald Isle in a 3-way tie with France and Luxembourg for the most Eurovision wins. Ireland became one of only 4 countries to achieve back-to-back wins, along with Spain, Luxembourg and Israel.

1994

The highlight of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest was its interval act. This was when Riverdance was introduced to a wider audience. Ireland became the first country to host Eurovision two years in a row. The EBU decided that the countries in the previous year’s bottom 7 places would be excluded. Italy and Luxembourg withdrew which meant only the bottom 5 (Turkey, Denmark, Slovenia, Israel and Belgium) missed out. This allowed 7 countries to make their debut at Eurovision: Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia.

 

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL KIDS

Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan

Ireland

 

Against the odds, Ireland grabbed another victory in 1994, becoming the first country to win 3 years in a row. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Kids” was the first winner performed by a male duo. It was the record-breaking sixth Eurovision winner for Ireland, placing the nation in the lead. The song scooped up 226 points, comfortably ahead of Poland’s “To Nie Ja” which collected a score of 166 to land in second place.