XTRA Throwback Thursday: Irelande Douze Point

It’s Thursday, so that can only mean one thing: XTRA Throwback Thursday! In the next weeks and months, we’ll take you on a journey through Europe and beyond, a journey through the history of the contest. Each week fits in with a theme. This week, we’re going to the country with the most wins in Eurovision history, and looking back at the delights that Ireland have given us over the years.

This week’s theme:

When you think about a throwback to one song between all the thousands of songs from the past years, it’s very difficult to decide which to take. While thinking about the past decades, many potential songs came to my mind. I picked a song, which is very underrated and probably for many people already forgotten, but to date, one of the songs I get not tired of. The song is magical and takes you right to the sound of the country! I’m happy to dedicate this throwback to…

Dervish – They Can’t Stop The Spring

During the 90s Ireland had some golden moments in the Eurovision history and still has the most wins! Since 2000 Ireland got two top 10 placings. Has this something to do with the quality of the songs Ireland send in the past? I don’t think so! To be honest, I don’t exactly know, why Ireland isn’t doing so well lately. Our Irish friends are sending some amazing pop songs to Eurovision.
“They Can’t Stop The Spring” was the song, performed by Dervish who represented Ireland back in 2007. They were the first act to get announced for the contest. The Irish band is among the most well-respected traditional music groups in Ireland and have toured US and Europe before going to ESC. During the “Late Late Show” the viewers selected the entry for Dervish between four different songs.
I fall in love with this entry again and again everytime I listen to it. It is just magical. That’s also something about Eurovision. There are so many brilliant songs and looking back at all the entries, everybody will find some diamonds .

#Funfact

The last time Ireland got a set of 12 points was back in 2012, when Jedward got the maximum of points from San Marino in the semi-final. In other words it has been 1892 days. (May, 22 2012 till July, 27th 2017)
As we probably all thought about one particular song while reading the title of this post, here is a little treat for you 😉

What the others had to say…

Luke:

This was a perfectly good song from Ireland, but it was slightly destroyed by the weak and shaky vocals from the lead singer. Unfortunately in 2007 I wasn’t a big Eurovision fan yet, but I can imagine that this song would’ve been one that I’d be so excited to see. I also know that I would’ve been massively disappointed with the performance. It’s cute and cheerful, it fits my taste exactly! If it were up to me, I think I would’ve first thought to choose Ireland’s 2014 entry, Heartbeat, although that was also completely destroyed by a horrendous live vocal. Because of that, it would have to be their 2004 entry instead, If My World Stopped Turning. It was such a powerful ballad without having to rely on an over the top instrumentation!

Katja:

I am quite a big fan of the Irish band The Corrs, I’ve always loved their ability to mix traditional Celtic sounds with modern pop and rock and this song by Dervish reminds me a whole lot of The Corrs music. It’s a very pretty song, very cheerful as well as it brings lots of positive vibes to the average listener. Although I can see why it did as badly as it did, I still think it deserved more. Mind that back in 2007 the bloc and diaspora voting was at its peak, so anything sent by the West that didn’t have a certain edge and didn’t really stand out was obviously overlooked with the voting public. What was another disadvantage for the Irish, was also the running order slot – being on so early in the show with such song (position #4), one gets forgotten quite quickly.

Angelos:

Songwise for me this is an OK song, but not a performance I enjoyed watching or remembering in positive way now 10 years later. I remember myself putting money on this one to end up last just few days before the final, not because it was the worst song of the year, but because I couldn’t see anyone else finishing last. And I won!
The best parts of the song though are the instrumental parts. You can tell from which country it comes from due to its distinctive Irish flavor – but as a whole I feel like something more was missing.

Next week

In the next edition of XTRA Throwback Thursday, Hlynur will focus on some twin time!
But for now let us enjoy the amazing entries Ireland gives us in Eurovision! Which one is your favorite and who knows, maybe we are going to Dublin in the upcoming years!