A New Approach

It’s fair to say Ireland’s Eurovision experience in recent years has been less than spectacular. In fact, our results have been downright dismal – a huge turnaround from our earlier fortunes. It’s not all that long since we owned Eurovision, scooping first place with such regularity there was almost an expectation we’d be hosting it annually.

While our below-par results are no reflection on the songwriters or performers involved (though at least one of them was, er, a bit of turkey) we somehow seem to have lost the knack of impressing our Euro neighbours.
With this in mind, RTÉ’s Eurovision majordomo Julian Vignoles has come up with a whole new approach in the hope of turning things around. The national broadcaster has enlisted five music industry professionals who will each develop and mentor five separate song entries to compete in Eurosong 2011.
Each of the mentors will source or commission the song and the performer, with all five entries to be performed for the first time on The Late Late Show Eurosong 2011 on February 11. The winner will be selected by a combination of public vote and regional juries.
One of the mentors chosen is composer, Ronan Hardiman, best known for his score to Michael Flatley’s dance spectacular Lord of The Dance but also a well-established and highly successful songwriter and musician. He has chosen to work with Irish singer-songwriter Don Mescall, with Mescall performing the song on the night.
As they put the finishing touches to their entry – a catchy, mid tempo pop-rock number, ‘Talking To Jennifer’– they discuss the process and how it evolved.
“It all started when I got a call from RTÉ outlining the new approach,” proffers Hardiman. “The concept was good and I agreed to do it. I’m a lifelong Eurovision fan anyway, even though a lot of people I know wouldn’t admit to it. It was a big TV event for me growing up, and it’s still a significant platform for any songwriter.
“Myself and Don have been co-writing for a while so when this idea was pitched to me I thought we’d submit a song that would be, by any standards, a great song that would stand up anywhere, not just in Eurovision.”
For Mescall, who has had his songs recorded by major US acts such as The Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts, as well as Irish acts such as Boyzone and Frances Black, Eurovision is yet another potential vehicle for showcasing his material.
In fact, this is not his first involvement in Eurosong. He got to second place in the contest a few years ago, with his song ‘All Over The World’, sung by Brian Kennedy.
“I’ve reached the stage of my life where I’m comfortable with who I am so I’ll close my mind to all that stuff that goes on with Eurovision – there’ll be no puppetry with me that’s for sure. I’ll just get up there and sing it. But no matter what happens, I hope people will look and hear the song and say ‘it’s a good song’.
“Sometimes you have an instinct about a song. You kind of know the ones that will do well. Even after the show it’ll still be the same song and I think this one will probably end up being recorded by someone.”
For Hardiman, the key was in not trying to second-guess what might prove to be a winning formula. “‘Talking To Jennifer’ wasn’t put together in a pre-meditated way to win Eurovision,” he says. “It was written the way we always write together. We trust our own instincts. If we win, it’ll be because it resonates with the public. But it’s an honour to be asked and to have the chance to represent your country anyway, so from that point of view we’re taking it seriously. We have the song, the next thing will be to put together a performance – but there’ll be no gimmicks or anything like that.“
The track itself, ‘Talking To Jennifer’, is described as a “platonic love song”. It’s written from the point of view of a guy living in a flat – and his fascination and intrigue with the girl who lives upstairs. According to Mescal: “They’re friends and they talk and stuff, but she eventually moves out and he kinda misses her. I think everybody has been in that kind of situation at some stage of their lives, so I hope it’ll resonate with audiences.”
Whether their entry is successful or not, life will go on for both collaborators. Hardiman, who keeps racking up the hits and the commissions, has recently scored the original soundtrack for the upcoming period movie Neverland starring Bob Hoskins and Anna Friel, while a 3D theatrical film of Lord of the Dance premieres around the world on St Patrick’s Day. Mescall, who divides his time between the UK, the US and Ireland will continue to write and perform, pitching material to major acts worldwide.
Mescall: “We both have a strong patriotic vein and even though I’ve been lucky in my career to date you think, ‘wouldn’t it be great if this song did well?’”
Wouldn’t it, indeed...

See all the contestants live on The Late Late Show on February 11. A documentary on Eurosong airs on RTÉ1 on Feburary 5.