Tonight six Irish acts will go against each other in a bid to represent the country in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on the Late Late Show Eurosong Special.
Among the acts vying to take part in the annual song contest are post-punk legends Public Image Limited, fronted by former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon.
The group, who stylise their name as PiL, will go up against K Muni & ND, Leila Jane, Jennifer Connolly and Wild Youth on the show tonight, with the winner being chosen by the public, a national jury and an international jury.
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The iconic band, known for anthems such as Rise and This Is Not A Love Song, put their song Hawaii, a love letter to the singer's wife Nora who is living with Alzheimer's, forward as an entry for the competition.
The veteran performers have decades of music under their belts, having celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2018 they certainly have a few more years of experience when compared to the other entries.
Why are an English band performing to represent Ireland in the song contest? Here is everything you need to know about John Lyndon’s Irish roots and family life.
Irish roots
Although born in London, Lydon has strong Irish roots. The son of a Galway-born father and a Cork-born mother (Jimmy and Eileen) his links to the country are first-generation. In fact, three of his brothers still live in Belfast.
Speaking to Irish News last year, the punk icon said that when he comes to play as PiL in June in Ireland this year, he will be travelling with an Irish passport.
Furthermore, while speaking on RTE Radio 1 show, Drivetime, joked that the English were too “ungrateful”.
"Well let's face it, the English would never give me the opportunity, would they? Ungrateful sods that lot are. I guess they're stuck with Prince Harry, while you got Johnny,” he joked.
He added that given his predominantly Irish family, he would describe himself as a culchie.
"I'm sure there are a lot of people out there thinking 'what makes him Irish?'. Well, I've spent 66 years pretending to have a London accent,” the 67-year-old singer added.
Family life
Lydon is married to his wife of 44 years, Nora Forster since 1979. The pair tied the knot after meeting in Vivienne Westwood’s boutique four years before.
The pair have been married for over four decades but have no biological children together. However, Lydon is the stepfather of Forster’s child Ari, vocalist of the German punk band Slits.
Lydon and Nora also became legal guardians of Ari’s twin sons in 2000 and following her death from breast cancer in 2010, the pair became guardians of her youngest child, Wilton.
In 2018, Lydon revealed that his wife was in the mid-stages of Alzheimer's disease. He later revealed in 2020 that he had become a full-time carer for his wife. The song which he performs with PiL in the Eurosong contest is a love letter to Nora.
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