Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth shared a whiskey with former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon after the EuroSong special – as they rubbished rumours of any row with the UK punk.
A row reportedly erupted after John Lydon - also known as Johnny Rotten - reportedly called the Eurovision “phoney” and slagged off Wild Youth’s band’s name.
But Wild Youth singer Conor O'Donohoe said he believes the row was a product of “fictional writing” and that they shared a whiskey with Johnny after the EuroSong special in RTE.
READ MORE: Ireland Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth promise 'big and bold' performance in Liverpool
He told us: “All that happened was Johnny Rotten said I hate the Eurovision and I think the songs are terrible and I said well if he doesn’t like then why is he going for it because he’s just taking the place of someone of maybe who would like to take part of it.
“Then Johnny Rotten said something about Wild Youth and that they obviously didn’t think of that name 20 years down the line. It was something really inoffensive and a slightly funny comment.”
Conor commended brave Johnny for singing his song Hawaii, which is dedicated to his wife Nora who has Alzheimer’s.
“I was chatting to him afterwards. We had a whiskey together after it finished, and I congratulated him.
"Whether you liked it or not, it was a very touching song that he sang about a very touching thing that he and his wife are going through. He told me more about that and he said that all that matters for him was that he performs it on TV and his wife sees it.
“I thought that was a really lovely thing. We had a cheers and he said congratulations to us and that was it, it was all good.”
Conor and the band are busy preparing for the global stage in Liverpool in May, where they sing We Are One in a bid for Eurovision glory.
And he said even if Wild Youth don’t make it to the final this year, he isn’t overly precious about the band always being associated with the Eurovision.
“Everything that’s band related is Eurovision related now.
“I feel okay. I think I’m not a person who is overly precious on past identity. I’m always a person that likes to look forward. I can’t be overly precious on how people view us as a band and not take opportunities that could lead us in a totally different direction and lead us into something totally new and exciting and I think that is what life is about so I’ve always taken the risk my whole entire life.
“In my head, I was like there is no way we’re not doing it. Bear in mind, we came up against Connolly and I thought maybe we’re not, maybe I’ve taken too big of a risk. I didn’t book any gigs at the start of this year because in my head I couldn’t see any other outcome other than the Eurovision.
“That’s not in an arrogant way… it’s really not because believe me I had my doubts because Conolly has such an unbelievable talent, she could’ve easily won it and I would’ve looked ridiculous for not booking shows but in my head, it was a total risk.
“Thankfully the risk paid off,” he added.
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