Eurovision 2023: John Lydon competing to represent Ireland in Liverpool

Public Image Ltd would not be first on many people’s list of likely Eurovision Song Contest entrants.

But the band John Lydon formed after the Sex Pistols split in 1978 is one of six hoping to represent Ireland in Liverpool on 13 May.

The country’s winner will be chosen by a national jury made up of music experts, an international jury and a public vote on Ireland’s The Late Late Show on RTE from 21:30 GMT on Friday.

The sound of Lydon’s song – a love letter to his wife who has Alzheimer’s – was not what I expected.

“It’s very hard to be away from her but I have to do this,” the most famous man in punk tells me in his dressing room. “I have to bring awareness to this problem. I miss her like mad and she was talking to me last night on the iPad and she was crying.”

The poignant lyrics about happier times are genuinely touching and will resonate with viewers. Lydon believes he is in a better position than most, caring for Nora, as some “just can’t bear the weight” of looking after someone with dementia.

“It breaks my heart when people tell me they have similar stories,” the 67-year-old says. “I’ve had hardly any sleep for a really long time because I have to make sure she’s all right at night.”

He says this experience has meant he has “a wonderful opportunity” to share what it is really like “trying to jog her brain gently”.

Alzheimer’s affects nearly one million people in the UK and 55 million worldwide and numbers are forecast to rise sharply over the coming decades.

Last year the first drug to slow it down was described as “momentous”, although its impact will help future diagnosis rather than people with the condition now.

After rehearsals, John says he nearly broke down, as the lyrics mean a lot to him and at times “they’re too accurate”. He is enjoying the interest, pleased Simon Cowell is not involved, and dismisses a negative comment he made on Irish radio about Eurovision as a joke taken out of context.

There is a press scrum around him after all the acts are introduced and Public Image Ltd is easily the Irish selection show’s most-talked about, but it does not mean they will be chosen.

At times he feels a bit overwhelmed talking about the song and his wife, who is the reason he is competing.

My family is Irish and growing up I was constantly reminded how successful Ireland was in Eurovision. No other country has matched its record seven wins, but it has failed to qualify for the grand final since 2018.

Connolly is the favourite to win Friday’s Eurosong selection contest with Midnight Summer Night.

“Eurovision has always been such a big part of my life,” the 19-year-old tells me. “When I was watching it, Ireland’s never been winning but I know the history of it and it’s always made me go back and think we can do it again.”

She says “it would be a dream to represent Ireland” especially because “the competition has upped itself massively” lately.

The 2021 Eurovision winners Måneskin are up for best new act at next week’s Grammy Awards, proving the song contest really does have the power to go global.

Wild Youth is another finalist and its singer Conor O’Donohoe was inspired after watching the Italian rock stars perform on YouTube.

His band have supported Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi and Westlife on tour and for a while have been tipped as Ireland’s next big thing, but are still awaiting their big break overseas.

“Not for any sob story, the pandemic was hard,” O’Donohoe says. “In 2019 we had the two most-played songs on Irish radio and we were doing Europe with Kodaline, it was amazing. We’re a big live act and when we lost the live element it hurt us”.

It is a big deal for him to be on The Late Late Show, but he is clearly nervous and does not want to get ahead of himself about winning.

“It’s a place where you can go and perform, you can wear what you like, you can sound how you like, you can look how you like and you can be who you like and everyone supports it and that’s an incredible thing”.

Adgy, Leila Jane and K Muni & ND complete the selection show line-up.

Lots of countries choose their Eurovision act via TV competitions. The UK has done this in the past, but this year a management company, working with the BBC, will pick an act.

I’m part of the Eurovisioncast team – the new podcast that will bring the latest on the song contest in the run-up to May’s competition – where we discuss things like selection shows in more detail, as well as how Liverpool is planning to stage a global event watched by 160 million people.

Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds