Luv Bug are a Northern Irish pop band originating from
Newry. They are most famous for representing Ireland in the ''
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
'' in 1986 with the song "
You Can Count on Me".
Career
The earliest incarnation of the group were formed as an amateur teenage band in early 1977. Playing local gigs they were then taken on by manager Michael Magill and went professional in late 1982 and consisted of sister and brothers June (lead vocals), Hugh (bass) and Max (guitar) Cunningham along with Ricky Meyler (vocals and keyboards) and Majella Grant (drums).
They became successful as a live act throughout Ireland and released their first single "Red Light Spells Danger" in 1984. The song was a cover of the
Billy Ocean track and was followed up by a string of their own compositions, many of which became hits on the Irish Charts. Among their best known hits are "Living in Stereo" (1985), "On My Own" (1986) and "Look at Me I'm Dancing" (1985).
In 1986, they won the ''
National Song Contest
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'' with their song "You Can Count on Me" and competed in that year's ''Eurovision Song Contest'' in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. They ended the night fourth out of twenty entrants and the song reached the Irish top five.
The group continued successfully, releasing their first album a year later. In 1988 they signed a recording deal with
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
in the UK with two single releases under a different name, Heart of Ice. By the end of the decade the group had toured Europe and had completed some recording work in Los Angeles.
In 1992 the group entered the ''National Song Contest'' (now titled ''Eurosong'') again with the song "Close to Your Heart", but lost out to
Linda Martin
Linda Martin (born 27 March 1952) is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known as the winner of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest during which she represented Ireland with the song " Why Me?". She is also known within Irelan ...
who went on to win the Eurovision song contest that year in Malmo.
Luv Bug still continue today as a four-piece, performing live mainly in Ireland. They are handled by Michael Magill Entertainments and perform for private functions. Their set list is made up of cover versions, with none of their own songs included.
Discography
Singles:
Album:
*April 1987 – ''Luv Bug''
See also
*
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 55 times since making its debut at the contest in Naples, missing only two contests since then ( and ). The contest final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland has a record total of ...
*
1986 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcastin ...
References
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Pop music groups from Northern Ireland
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Ireland
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1986