Emotional Aslan star Billy McGuinness left viewers in tears after his tribute to Christy Dignam on Dancing With The Stars.
It’s dedicated dance week on the RTE show and the band’s guitarist paid tribute to his bandmate and pal of 40 years Christy.
And there wasn’t a dry eye in the studio after the 61-year-old musician and his pro dance partner Hannah Kelly took to the stage to the soundtrack of one of Aslan’s most iconic hits, Crazy World.
Speaking after the performance, Billy broke into tears and said: “I can’t believe it. It was so emotional dancing for Christy first of all, but I just put everything into the dance.
“I will never have an experience like that in my life.”
“I love yas to bits, we have had an amazing forty years. I don’t know how long we can go on for but I have enjoyed every minute of the past 40 years,” he added in a message to his bandmates watching from home.
And he wasn’t the only one feeling emotional after the performance, as fans and viewers flocked online to admit they were in tears too.
RTE presenter Doireann Garrihy said: “Loved Billy’s dance and tribute. What a friend.”
Another added: “Billy McGuinness has me in tears, what a guy and what a tribute to Christy.”
“Billy is an absolute diamond. You can tell how much he loves Christy ❤️ A true friendship like theirs is so rare & precious,” a third said.
Commenting after the performance, judge Loraine Barry spoke of the emotion he portrayed on the dancefloor.
“It’s personal, it’s your song, it is your friend. It is that heart and soul, I know I enjoyed it. And I know everyone enjoyed it.”
Others at home commented on the fact that Billy sang the tune whilst dancing, with one saying: “Beautiful that he sang the song as he danced.”
“A great tune and fair play, he gave it his all,” someone else penned.
Another added: “A great tune and fair play, he gave it his all.”
“Is everyone else chopping onions too??”
“Billy is an absolute diamond. You can tell how much he loves Christy. A true friendship like theirs is so rare & precious.”
Billy and his partner Hannah, who was also emotional after the performance, scored a total of 17 points from the judges.
There is no elimination this week but the stakes are still high, as the celebrity who achieves the highest combined score, when the judges scores and the public vote are put together, will get a 'free pass' from the first dance-off next week.
Speaking ahead of the show, Billy explained why his hero Christy, who overcame a crippling drug addiction and is now battling terminal cancer, gets his number one vote.
The veteran rocker said: “There’s a lot of contestants who are dedicating it to their wives or grandparents or whoever.
“I have been with Christy for 40 years. I have been standing beside him on a stage for 40 years.
“The one thing I love about Christy is he is totally, totally honest. He never tries to hide anything.
“The abuse he suffered as a child, the drugs which resulted with Aslan breaking up, the struggle…
“Then to get clean from drugs and be hit with cancer, a fight that is ongoing for him... it was never in my mind to doubt that I wasn’t going to do this dance for Christy.
“The fact that we are dancing to an Aslan song makes it that bit more special. Myself and Hannah were up in his house during the week and he was blown away.
“I don’t know for definite if he’s going to be there (Christy at the show) but he has been invited. It depends on how he feels.”
