Linda Martin
| Linda Martin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Linda Martin |
| Born | 17 April 1947 Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland |
| Origin | Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, pop-rock, MOR |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Labels | CBS, Polydor, Rex, Spider, WEA |
Linda Martin (born 17 April 1947) is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known in Europe as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, with the song "Why Me?", and in Ireland as a member of the 1970s/1980s band, Chips.[1]
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Family [edit]
Martin was born in Omagh, County Tyrone on 17 April 1947. She is of Irish, Scottish and Italian ancestry. Her surname was originally Martini. Her paternal great-grandfather Francis Martin was born in Dublin to immigrants from Lombardy, Italy. Martin's maternal great-grandparents, William Green and Elizabeth Nangle had a coal-mining background; they had transferred to Belfast from Larkhall, Scotland.[2]
Career [edit]
Chips [edit]
Martin started off her musical career when she joined the band Chips in Omagh in 1969. They quickly became one of the top bands in Ireland on the live circuit and released hit singles "Love Matters", "Twice a Week" and "Goodbye Goodbye" during the mid to late 1970s.[3] In 1972, Martin broke away from Chips to be a vocalist with new band Lyttle People, but rejoined Chips the following year.[1] The group appeared on Opportunity Knocks in 1974 and appeared a number of times on British television promoting their singles, but never scored a UK hit.[1] With multiple entries to the Irish National finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, the band carried on into the 1980s. They scored a final Irish hit in 1982 with "David's Song", after which Martin broke away when she won the Castlebar Song Contest with "Edge of the Universe" in 1983. From this point she concentrated on a solo career as well as occasional live appearances with Chips until they recruited a new lead singer (Valerie Roe) in the late 1980s.
She once interviewed Maura Maher (back then know as Maura O'Connor) in her show "Christmas punch".
Eurovision Song Contest [edit]
She participated in the National Song Contest four times as a member of Chips, however they did not score successfully. She participated another four times in the contest as a soloist and once more as part of the group "Linda Martin and Friends".[4] With nine participations, she has been the most frequent entrant in the National Song Contest's history. She won the contest twice, going on to represent Ireland twice at the Eurovision Song Contest. The first of these victories was in 1984 with the song "Terminal 3", written by Johnny Logan (under his real name Séan Sherrard). The song came 2nd in the final, being beaten by 8 points. "Terminal 3" reached No.7 in the Irish charts.[5] The second victory was in 1992 when her song "Why Me" (also written by Logan) went on to win the final in Sweden. This became Ireland's 4th victory in the Eurovision Song Contest and the song reached No.1 in the Irish charts as well as becoming a hit in many European countries.[5]
According to John Kennedy O'Connor in the book, The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, Martin was, at the time, one of only three artists to finish both first and second at Eurovision, behind Lys Assia and Gigliola Cinquetti. Since then, only Elisabeth Andreassen and Dima Bilan have achieved this, raising the number to 5.[6]
During the 2013 Eurovision Contest, she was called Johnny Logan in drags[1]
Television [edit]
She has presented the RTÉ quiz show The Lyrics Board, one of the broadcaster's more popular formats. She served as one of Louis Walsh's behind-the-scenes team on the first series of ITV's The X Factor.
She also served as a judge on the first, second and fourth seasons of RTÉ's You're a Star and on Charity You're a Star in Summer 2005 and Summer 2006. She was dismissed from the 2007 season, however, speaking on Saturday Night with Miriam on RTÉ television on 28 July 2007, she insisted that she was "open" to being invited back on to the show. Martin has not ruled out a return to Eurovision following Ireland's dismal performance in the 2007 contest finishing last with only five points.
She was a guest performer at Congratulations, the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2005. Martin was also the Irish spokesperson for Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and was one of the five judges for Eurosong 2009 (Irish Selection for Eurovision).
In 2012, she will be the mentor of Jedward in the Irish Eurovision final "Eurosong 2012".[7]
Theatre [edit]
Martin has also appeared in pantomime, in Dublin. She starred in Cinderella as the Wicked Stepmother, Snow White as the Evil Queen and Robin Hood as herself, at the Olympia Theatre.
She toured Menopause the Musical with Irish entertainer Twink. While on tour, Twink described Martin as a "cunt" during a tirade in May 2010. The two had been friends for 30 years but both said afterwards that they had no plans to speak to each other again.[8][9]
Selected discography [edit]
Singles with Chips [edit]
| Date | Single / B-side[1] | Irish Charts [3] |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Today I Killed a Man" / "Quintan Sunday" | - |
| "Sock It to 'Em Sister Nell" / "Let Us Learn to Love One Another" | - | |
| 1973 | "Open Your Eyes" / "Earth" (without Linda Martin) | - |
| 1974 | "King Kong" / "Love for an Angel" (as Lily and Chips)[10] | - |
| "My World" / "After the Goldrush" | - | |
| 1975 | "Love Matters" / "Gentle Teacher" | 6 |
| "Twice a Week" / "Reelin' In the Years" | 13 | |
| 1976 | "I'm a Song (Sing Me)" / "We Can Fly" | - |
| 1977 | "Shine a Light" / "Living is Ours" | - |
| "Goodbye Goodbye" / "Just a Little Bit Longer" | 2 | |
| 1978 | "Here In My Arms" (or "It's Over") / "Our Love Will Grow and Grow" | - |
| "The Sooner The Better" / "I Want to Celebrate Our Love" | - | |
| 1980 | "Automobile" / "Put On Your Dancing Shoes" | - |
| 1981 | "New Romance (It's A Mystery)" / "After The Goldrush-New Day" | - |
| 1982 | "David's Song (Who'll Come With Me)" / "Celebrate the Love" | 13 |
| "Hi-Lowe" / "Tissue of Lies" | - |
Singles (solo) [edit]
| Date | Single / B-side | Record Label | Irish Charts [11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Edge of the Universe" / "Celebrate The Love" | Lunar | 20 |
| 1984 | "Terminal 3" / "Feels Like I'm Walkin' In My Sleep" | CBS | 7 |
| "Body Works" / "What Became Of Love" | CBS | 19 | |
| 1988 | "Liffey Tinker" / "Liffey Tinker (instrumental)" | Plaza | - |
| "Only Hiding From Love" / "Miles Of Eyes" | EMI | 22 | |
| 1989 | "Impossible to Do" / "Impossible To Do (instrumental)" [by General Lafayette] | Plaza | - |
| 1990 | "Where the Boys Are" / "Lipstick On Your Collar" | KTEL | 19 |
| 1991 | "Well, Did You Evah!" (with Mick McCarthy) | KTEL | 15 |
| 1992 | "Why Me?" / "Shades Of Blue" | Columbia | 1 |
- "Why Me?" also reached #59 in the UK Singles Chart and #29 in the Dutch Singles Chart.[12][13]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Chips on Irish Showbands.com
- ^ "Who do you think you are?" RTE One
- ^ a b Chips and Linda Martin in the Irish Charts
- ^ National song contests - Ireland
- ^ a b Irish Eurovision songs in the Charts - Linda Martin
- ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books 2007. ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
- ^ Hondal, Victor (2 November 2011). "Ireland: RTÉ to repeat 2011 selection formula". EscToday.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ How I overheard 'pal' Twink's two-hour four-letter rant about me to cast Herald.ie, 2010-05-21.
- ^ Feuding Twink and Linda keep their distance Irish Independent, 2010-08-25.
- ^ Barclay Records #62003 (France)
- ^ Irishcharts.ie. "Irish charts searchable database". Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 352. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Dutch Charts "Why Me?"
External links [edit]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Carolawith "Fångad av en stormvind" |
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 |
Succeeded by Niamh Kavanaghwith "In Your Eyes" |
| Preceded by The Duskeys with "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" |
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 |
Succeeded by Maria Christian with "Wait Until The Weekend Comes" |
| Preceded by Kim Jackson with "Could It Be That I'm In Love" |
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 |
Succeeded by Niamh Kavanagh with "In Your Eyes" |
| Preceded by Gay Byrne |
Eurovision Song Contest Ireland Commentator 1985 |
Succeeded by Gerry Ryan |
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- 1947 births
- Living people
- Castlebar Song Contest
- Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1984
- Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1992
- Eurovision Song Contest winners
- Irish Eurovision Song Contest entrants
- Irish female singers
- Irish pop singers
- Irish people of Italian descent
- Irish people of Scottish descent
- People from Omagh
- Reality television judges
- RTÉ television presenters
- You're a Star judges
