1987 song by Johnny Logan
"
Hold Me Now
" is a song written and recorded by Irish singer-songwriter
Johnny Logan
. It
represented Ireland
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
held in
Brussels
, resulting in his second win at the contest, as well as the country's third victory.
Background
[
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]
Conception
[
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]
"Hold Me Now" was written, composed, and recorded by
Johnny Logan
. Lyrically, It is a ballad sung from the point of view of a man whose love interest is leaving him for someone else ("from now on you'll be with someone else instead of me"). The singer pleads with his girlfriend to "touch, touch [him] the way you used to do" in order to leave him with good memories of their relationship, even as they "fill this memory / for the last time". The chorus then tells the girl "don't say a word", as they prepare to part. Despite the sad nature of the parting, the singer says "I will know / though we're apart / we'll always be together", which implies some sort of optimism on his part. The music is a typical power ballad, with the final chorus being introduced by a choir of backing singers ?Joan Lea, Karen Black, and Alain Pentony?.
[1]
Eurovision
[
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]
Logan had previously won the
Eurovision Song Contest
with "
What's Another Year
" in the
1980 contest
and had written "
Terminal 3
" for
Linda Martin
, placing second in the
1984 contest
, both
representing Ireland
.
On 8 March 1987, "Hold Me Now" performed by him competed in the
national selection
organised by
Raidio Teilifis Eireann
(RTE) to select its song and performer for the
32nd edition
of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Irish entrant ?and Logan the performer? for Eurovision.
[2]
On 9 May, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the
Centenary Palace
in
Brussels
hosted by the
Radio-television belge de la Communaute francaise
(RTBF), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Logan performed "Hold Me Now" twentieth on the evening, following
Denmark
's "
En lille melodi
" by
Anne-Cathrine Herdorf
&
Bandjo
and preceding
Yugoslavia
's "
Ja sam za ples
" by
Novi Fosili
.
Noel Kelehan
conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Irish entry.
[3]
At the close of voting, it had received 172 points, placing first in a field of twenty-two, winning the contest.
[4]
After Logan, had been proclaimed the winner with this song, he was overcome with emotion during the reprise and was unable to reach the high notes in this part of the song. As he had when he won in 1980 with "What's Another Year", he shouted "I still love you, Ireland". It was succeeded as winner in
1988
"
Ne partez pas sans moi
" sung by
Celine Dion
representing
Switzerland
. It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1988 contest by "
Take Him Home
" sung by
Jump The Gun
.
Aftermath
[
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]
Logan would go on to write the winner song of the
1992 contest
, "
Why Me?
" performed by
Linda Martin
.
"Hold Me Now" is regarded as one of the high points of the contest history, it was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a
European Broadcasting Union
(EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
held on 22 October 2005 in
Copenhagen
,
[5]
where it was voted the third-best song in Eurovision history behind "
Waterloo
" and "
Nel blu dipinto di blu
". On 31 March 2015, in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary concert
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits
held in
London
, Logan performed the song as part of a medley with "Why Me?" and "What's Another Year".
[6]
[7]
Later versions
[
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]
2001 version
[
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]
"Hold Me Now 2001"
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B-side
| "Hold Me Now 2001 (Instrumental)"
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Released
| 2001
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Recorded
| 2001
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Genre
| Pop
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Length
| 3
:
35
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Label
| Epic
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Songwriter(s)
| Johnny Logan
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|
"Music"
(2000)
|
"
Hold Me Now 2001
"
(2001)
|
"No One Makes Love Like You"
(2001)
| |
In 2001, Logan released the album
Reach for Me
, with the first two tracks being revamped versions of his Eurovision winning songs which are titled in the album as "What's Another Year 2001" and "Hold Me Now 2001" in a revamped up-beat version. "Hold Me Now" from the album had a limited chart success in Denmark where it made it to #9 in the
Hitlisten
chart. It also made it to #54 in Swedish
Sverigetopplistan
Singles Chart.
- Track list
- "Hold Me Now 2001" (Radio Edit) (3:33)
- "Hold Me Now 2001" (Instrumental) (3:33)
2010 version
[
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]
A decade later, Johnny Logan recorded yet a new version of both winning songs now titled "What's Another Year 2010" and "Hold Me Now 2010" in his studio album
Nature of Love
without releasing either as a single.
Charts
[
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]
Weekly charts
[
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]
|
Year-end charts
[
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]
|
Certifications
[
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]
Legacy
[
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]
The song is usually sung by
Bohemians
at home matches in
Dalymount Park
.
Covers
[
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]
The song has been covered by several performers, including a
reggae
version by
Tanya Stephens
. It has also been updated by
Belgian
rapper
Kaye Styles
as "Don't Cry". This cover also features Logan performing the chorus of the song at a slightly faster tempo than the traditional version. The late Macedonian superstar
To?e Proeski
covered this song during his concerts.
[34]
McDonald's advertising
[
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]
The song was also used in an Irish advertising campaign launched by
McDonald's
toward the end of 2007. These ads feature Logan bursting into the room with a McDonald's bag in an effort to cheer a series of teens in humorous predicaments. Logan interrupts his singing to pose the question "Twisty Fries?" (among other products offered by McDonald's).
References
[
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]
- ^
"Hold Me Now - lyrics"
.
The Diggiloo Thrush
.
- ^
"Irish Selection 1987"
.
Eurovisionworld
.
- ^
"
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
".
Eurovision Song Contest
. 9 May 1987.
RTBF
/
EBU
.
- ^
"Official Eurovision Song Contest 1987 scoreboard"
.
Eurovision Song Contest
.
- ^
Bakker, Sietse (16 June 2005).
"The 14 songs for Copenhagen"
.
ESCtoday
.
- ^
Johnny Logan medley
on
YouTube
at
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits
- ^
"Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits"
.
Eurovision Song Contest
. 3 April 2015.
BBC
/
EBU
. Retrieved
3 April
2015
.
- ^
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970?1992
(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 180.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
(in German).
O3 Austria Top 40
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
(in Dutch).
Ultratop 50
.
- ^
Danish Singles Chart. 19 June 1987.
- ^
"European Hot 100 Singles".
Music & Media
. Vol. 4, no. 25. 27 June 1987. p. 14.
- ^
Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Johnny Logan".
Sisaltaa hitin ? 2. laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960?30.6.2021
(PDF)
(in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava. p. 150
. Retrieved
2 July
2022
.
- ^
"Top 3 in Europe".
Music & Media
. Vol. 4, no. 29. 25 July 1987. p. 1 (of PDF).
- ^
"
The Irish Charts ? Search Results ? Hold Me Now"
.
Irish Singles Chart
. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^
"
Nederlandse Top 40 ? week 24, 1987
" (in Dutch).
Dutch Top 40
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
(in Dutch).
Single Top 100
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
.
VG-lista
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
.
Singles Top 100
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
.
Swiss Singles Chart
.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
.
- ^
"
Offiziellecharts.de ? Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now"
(in German)
.
GfK Entertainment charts
. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now 2001"
.
Tracklisten
.
- ^
"
Johnny Logan ? Hold Me Now 2001"
.
Singles Top 100
.
- ^
"Australian Music Report No 701 ? 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987"
.
Australian Music Report
. Retrieved
11 December
2019
– via
Imgur
.
- ^
"Jahreshitparade Singles 1987"
.
austriancharts.at
. Retrieved
17 May
2020
.
- ^
"Jaaroverzichten 1987"
. Ultratop
. Retrieved
17 May
2020
.
- ^
"European Charts of the Year 1987: Singles"
(PDF)
.
Music & Media
. Vol. 5, no. 11. 26 December 1987. p. 34
. Retrieved
8 April
2022
.
- ^
"Top 100?Jaaroverzicht van 1987"
. Dutch Top 40
. Retrieved
17 May
2020
.
- ^
"Jaaroverzichten ? Single 1987"
.
dutchcharts.nl
. Retrieved
17 May
2020
.
- ^
"Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles"
(PDF)
.
Record Mirror
. January 23, 1988. p. 36
. Retrieved
April 7,
2022
.
- ^
"Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts"
.
GfK Entertainment
(in German). offiziellecharts.de
. Retrieved
17 May
2020
.
- ^
"Music & Media"
(PDF)
.
Americanradiohistory.com
. 1987-07-18
. Retrieved
21 March
2022
.
- ^
Eurocovers.
"Jamaica, can I have your votes please? pt. 2"
. Retrieved
2007-04-13
.
External links
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]
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Mitt liv
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Moitie, moitie
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"
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Sata salamaa
"
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Shir Habatlanim
"
- "Soldiers of Love"
- "Stop"
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(Note: "Withdrawn" refers to entries that withdrew after applying to enter)
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