introduced to Martin in Clogherhead, a village in Co. Louth, in the company of Tommy Hayden.
“She was singing with Lyttle People and we went up to see them,” he says. “They had just left Chips, herself and Paul Lyttle, and started their own band. We took them on. They weren’t doing very well and we tried everything with them, got them TV, got them records and got them working.”
Despite Louis’ best efforts, Lyttle People didn’t really succeed and the original Chips group then got back together. The act continued to be represented by Tommy Hayden Enterprises.
Martin was an attractive redhead from Belfast. She was a talented singer and Louis believed strongly in her ability to become an international artist. He was good at assessing artists strengths and capabilities, and he sensed that Martin had what it took. More importantly, from her point of view, he believed she could be a strong contender for Eurovision success. By 1984, Martin was an experienced cabaret singer, who had been singing on the circuit for 10 years. She was also a friend of Johnny Logan’s for a number of years, and when she needed a song for the Eurovision, Logan obliged. He produced a song called Terminal 3 , which was a lament on the scourge of emigration and long-distance love.
Although Logan’s star had faded after 1980, Louis still believed in the potential offered by the Eurovision. It was, he believed, one of the best opportunities for Irish singers to perform before a truly international audience. It also gave him the chance to make international media contacts.
“You had camera crews and photographers from every country around Europe, and they always wanted to talk to the Irish act for some reason. I think it’s because we were politically free as well in Eurovision, and that helped it as well,” he says.
Another reason Louis persisted in persuading his acts to enter the Eurovision was simply that he was a long-standing fan of the Contest. “I liked all the early Eurovision songs,” he says. “I’m not shy about that. I still like a lot of them.”
In 1984, the Eurovision was still a hugely popular event across Europe and Louis saw it as an oppor-tunity that should be taken and not sneered at. Four years after Logan’s win, Louis was once again bound for the Contest. Terminal 3 won the Irish National Song Contest on 31 March 1984, narrowly beating Sheeba (who had represented Ireland at the Eurovision in 1981) into second place by two points. Martin was shocked. She had participated in the competition with her group Chips in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1982, but had never managed to actually win it. Still, won it she had, and soon she was the pundit’s favourite to win the Eurovision too.
The signs were good, as these things go. Before the Contest had even taken place, Martin had been signed up for tours of Turkey and the then Czechoslovakia later in the year. Tommy Hayden Enterprises had developed good contacts in the entertainment industry across Europe.
Luxembourg hosted the 1984 Eurovision, and most of the same people that had accompanied Logan to The Hague travelled to Luxembourg with Martin and Louis, who were now close friends. Like before, they partied the week away before the Contest, this time more quietly confident than they had been in 1980. Moments like these were some of the happiest in Louis’ life. He loved the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes. He was always anxious to hear news about the other acts and meet other managers. Although he enjoyed being part of the Eurovision scene, Louis had secret reservations about Martin’s chances.
“I didn’t think she would even be in the top three,” he says, “I didn’t think the song was amazing at all. I didn’t think it was great but she had a brilliant image at the time with the red hair and the white clothes. It wasn’t a good production but it was good for her.”
Privately, he didn’t believe Ireland would take the first prize having
“She was singing with Lyttle People and we went up to see them,” he says. “They had just left Chips, herself and Paul Lyttle, and started their own band. We took them on. They weren’t doing very well and we tried everything with them, got them TV, got them records and got them working.”
Despite Louis’ best efforts, Lyttle People didn’t really succeed and the original Chips group then got back together. The act continued to be represented by Tommy Hayden Enterprises.
Martin was an attractive redhead from Belfast. She was a talented singer and Louis believed strongly in her ability to become an international artist. He was good at assessing artists strengths and capabilities, and he sensed that Martin had what it took. More importantly, from her point of view, he believed she could be a strong contender for Eurovision success. By 1984, Martin was an experienced cabaret singer, who had been singing on the circuit for 10 years. She was also a friend of Johnny Logan’s for a number of years, and when she needed a song for the Eurovision, Logan obliged. He produced a song called Terminal 3 , which was a lament on the scourge of emigration and long-distance love.
Although Logan’s star had faded after 1980, Louis still believed in the potential offered by the Eurovision. It was, he believed, one of the best opportunities for Irish singers to perform before a truly international audience. It also gave him the chance to make international media contacts.
“You had camera crews and photographers from every country around Europe, and they always wanted to talk to the Irish act for some reason. I think it’s because we were politically free as well in Eurovision, and that helped it as well,” he says.
Another reason Louis persisted in persuading his acts to enter the Eurovision was simply that he was a long-standing fan of the Contest. “I liked all the early Eurovision songs,” he says. “I’m not shy about that. I still like a lot of them.”
In 1984, the Eurovision was still a hugely popular event across Europe and Louis saw it as an oppor-tunity that should be taken and not sneered at. Four years after Logan’s win, Louis was once again bound for the Contest. Terminal 3 won the Irish National Song Contest on 31 March 1984, narrowly beating Sheeba (who had represented Ireland at the Eurovision in 1981) into second place by two points. Martin was shocked. She had participated in the competition with her group Chips in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1982, but had never managed to actually win it. Still, won it she had, and soon she was the pundit’s favourite to win the Eurovision too.
The signs were good, as these things go. Before the Contest had even taken place, Martin had been signed up for tours of Turkey and the then Czechoslovakia later in the year. Tommy Hayden Enterprises had developed good contacts in the entertainment industry across Europe.
Luxembourg hosted the 1984 Eurovision, and most of the same people that had accompanied Logan to The Hague travelled to Luxembourg with Martin and Louis, who were now close friends. Like before, they partied the week away before the Contest, this time more quietly confident than they had been in 1980. Moments like these were some of the happiest in Louis’ life. He loved the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes. He was always anxious to hear news about the other acts and meet other managers. Although he enjoyed being part of the Eurovision scene, Louis had secret reservations about Martin’s chances.
“I didn’t think she would even be in the top three,” he says, “I didn’t think the song was amazing at all. I didn’t think it was great but she had a brilliant image at the time with the red hair and the white clothes. It wasn’t a good production but it was good for her.”
Privately, he didn’t believe Ireland would take the first prize having
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