‘This is something that I watched when I was young with my parents,’ John said of the contest. ‘I remember Johnny Logan, I remember Cliff Richard, I remember Sandy Shaw – and now Johnny.
‘It’s as good as any other way of listening to music, I don’t have any prejudices about things like that’”
The famous musician went on to explain that he picked Ireland as his destination ‘because I’m as much Irish as anybody else by blood’.
John has stated in the past that the song Hawaii was intended to be a dedication to his wife of nearly half a century, Nora, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
In the studios of RTE, he added that the song presents an opportunity to bring attention to a disease that is experienced by a significant number of people.
He explained: ‘I don’t know what I’m going to go through doing this today. I’m even shaking now thinking about it.
‘It means the world to me, this is our last few years of coherence together. And I miss her like mad.
‘I miss my missus, if you keep voting for me I’m going to miss her even more.”
John admitted that he was still “terrified of mugging it up, doing it wrong, and letting everyone down – most of all letting Nora down.”
In 1979, John wed Nora, who is now 80 years old and an heiress to a publishing company in Germany. Nora formerly worked in the music industry for artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Clash.
According to the National Health Service (NHS), the rock singer disclosed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with the degenerative condition that impairs multiple brain functions, including memory.
After two years, John reported that he had taken on the role of ‘full-time carer’ for his spouse, adding, “For me, the real person is still there.” My entire existence revolves on the fact that the person I love is always and forever present in my life.
The Late Late Show airs on RTE One on Friday from 9.35pm.
