Johnny Logan

Johnny Logan is an Irish singer and composer, best known for his Eurovision Song Contest successes. Born Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard in 1954, he grows up in Ireland after his family moves there from near Melbourne, Australia, when he is three. He is sometimes called “Mr Eurovision” or “Mister Eurovision” because of his long association with the contest.

Early life and first work

Logan’s father is the Irish tenor Patrick O’Hagan, who performs at the White House for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. Logan learns guitar and starts writing songs at 13. After leaving school, he trains as an electrician while performing in folk and blues clubs. His first notable acting role is as Adam in the 1977 Irish musical Adam and Eve. He adopts the stage name Johnny Logan and releases his first single in 1978.

Eurovision success

He enters the Irish national final for Eurovision in 1979 without winning, then returns in 1980 with Shay Healy’s What's Another Year, which wins the contest for Ireland in the Netherlands and becomes a major hit across Europe, reaching number one in the UK. Two follow-up singles, Save Me and In London, are released close together and do not chart well. Another 1980 single, Give A Little Bit More, a cover of a recent Cliff Richard song, also fails to restore his chart momentum.

Logan attempts further UK comebacks in 1983 with Becoming Electric and in 1986 under the shortened name Logan with Stab In The Back, but neither succeeds. In 1987 he returns to Eurovision with his own song Hold Me Now and wins again for Ireland in Belgium. The song becomes another major European hit and reaches number two in the UK, outselling What's Another Year.

Writing for other performers

Logan also writes for other artists. He composes Ireland’s 1984 Eurovision entry for Linda Martin, Terminal 3, which finishes second, and works with Martin again in 1992 on Why Me, which wins Eurovision for Ireland in Sweden. This makes Logan the only lead singer to have sung two winning Eurovision entries and one of the few songwriters to have written two winning songs.

Later career

After Hold Me Now, Logan releases a cover of 10cc’s I'm Not In Love, produced by Paul Hardcastle, followed by an album; both chart in the UK but do not sustain his British chart career. His next single, Heartland, becomes a hit in Ireland, and he then focuses more on performing in Ireland and Europe.

Across his career, he releases more than 40 singles and 19 albums. He continues to write and perform, and also works in musical theatre, including touring Norway with Which Witch and appearing in the Celtic rock opera Excalibur in 2009. He appears as a team panellist on a Eurovision special of Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2002. He also takes part in advertising campaigns in Ireland and the Netherlands in 2007.

Reception and legacy

Hold Me Now is adopted by fans of Bohemian FC as an anthem, mainly sung at away games. At Eurovision’s 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen in 2005, it is voted the third most popular song in the contest’s history, and What's Another Year? is among the 14 finalists. Logan lives in Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland.