Wild Youth on the Eurovision effect: 'We put a UK tour on sale — it sold out in five minutes'

As Wild Youth headline Cork Pride, they talk to Ed Power about life after Eurovision

Sun, 30 Jul, 2023 - 17:44

Ed Power

A few weeks ago, Wild Youth’s Conor O’Donohoe had a novel experience in Spain.

“After Eurovision, I’d gone on holiday. I was coming back to the airport and I started through security. All the staff recognised me. That had never happened before. Maybe in Ireland or, the very odd time, in London. Never in Europe. And now it’s happening in Spain.”

It was the Eurovision effect in action. In Liverpool in May, Wild Youth represented Ireland in the world’s biggest music showcase with their anthemic bopper, ‘We Are One’.

They were eliminated in the semi-finals, and the tune drew mixed reviews at home and abroad.

But the impact on their profile was extraordinary, says the Dublin quartet’s co-founder, speaking ahead of a headline performance at Cork Pride on Sunday, August 6 (organisers say they’ll also play afterwards at the Pav from 8.30pm).

“We obviously had a platform before we went into Eurovision. But of course, you’re going on to one of the biggest stages in the world,” says O’Donohoe.

“There’s so much going on before you even step on that stage. You just don’t really know it, when you’re in it. We put a UK tour on sale and it all sold out in five minutes, which definitely didn’t happen before the Eurovision. And now it’s been upgraded. Previously, the biggest venue we would have played in the UK would have 450 people. This time it’s 1,750.”

Wild Youth: "We obviously had a platform before we went into Eurovision. But of course, you’re going on to one of the biggest stages in the world"

If life-changing, Eurovision was also stressful. As noted, ‘We Are Young’ was not universally beloved.

Some reviews were cruel; the BBC described the tune as “a grasping, aspirational hymn to togetherness, with lyrics Coldplay would have rejected for being too twee”, adding that Wild Youth were “about as rowdy and unpredictable as a facecloth”.

Wild Youth gave everything on the night, but there was controversy over O’Donohoe’s decision to squeeze into a gold jumpsuit, and social media got its claws into the group with a vengeance.

“At the start, I would be very affected by everything,” says O’Donohoe.

“You go from being a band from Ireland that does big shows. And you’d rarely find anything negative. There might be people who don’t like us but you’d very rarely get a negative comment from an Irish person who listens to music. It was an adjustment — when it goes out to a much wider audience you have to open yourself up to the fact that it can turn nasty at times.”

Some of the criticism was in good faith. Much of it was not.

Then there was JK Rowling, who took to Twitter, and her 14m followers, to attack Wild Youth over their decision to part ways with their choreographer because tweets he had written “went against what [Wild Youth] believe in as a band”.

It’s been a learning curve, says the singer. But such was the sheer level of love, hate, and everything in-between coming the way of the band, they learned to block it out and get on with their lives.

“There were times people would say things on Twitter and I’m like, why are they saying that? I didn’t do that, I didn’t mean to say that,” says O’Donohoe.

“It gets to the point where it goes out of your hands and you can’t control everything. You just have to be the person you are and stay true to the fact that you believe you’re a good person and that you write music you love. There was obviously everything that happened with JK Rowling and when something like that happens, you get into a world where you become numb to things that are said.”

Today, he feels he could handle any degree of criticism.

“I could go on the internet now and someone could tweet me something absolutely horrific and I’d just keep scrolling. Before, that would have totally side-tracked my whole day. Now, I’m just immune. There are only a certain amount of things people can say: you’ve kind of seen them all.”

Members of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival team with Wild Youth. L-R: Sam Lake - Cork Pride; Kery Mullaly - Cork Pride; Ed Porter - Wild Youth; Conor O'Donohoe - Wild Youth; Callum McAdam - Wild Youth; Clive Davis - Cork Pride; Denise Boyle - Cork Pride. Wild Youth will headline the Cork Pride Party at the Port on Sunday August 6. Pic: Peter Pietrzak

All in all, he says, Eurovision was “incredible”.

“We met so many amazing people and had such a brilliant final. Although we couldn’t get to the final we were honoured to represent our country. And now we’re super excited for life to go on after Eurovision — playing Cork Pride, we’re excited.”

Wild Youth started as the teenage project of O’Donohoe and his friend David Whelan, who grew up together in the Dublin suburb of Killester. They’d started writing songs when O’Donohoe hurt his back and was bed-bound for several months.

“I had a really bad accident and was housebound,” O’Donohoe previously told the Irish Examiner. “He would come over and we’d play covers and write song after song. It was a kind of musical therapy.”

Musical therapy became something more when their debut single, ‘All Or Nothing’, was released in 2017. This was followed by an EP, The Last Goodbye, which debuted at five on the charts.

Influenced by pop as much as by rock, they had a diverse fanbase from the outset — and are relishing the opportunity to play Cork Pride.

“That’s the way we are as a band. That’s the way we think. That’s the way our music is. Even in the way I’ve been inspired with fashion my whole life has been very diverse. It’s not even gender specific what I wear. I wear more women’s clothes than men’s. It’s the same with everything we do. It’s all very open.”

In the middle of the Eurovision hoopla, they lost their close friend Mark Sheehan of The Script, who passed away at age 46. Sheehan had been a mentor and supporter.

“I spent two years in the studio with Mark. He taught me everything, took me under his wing, brought me over to London and gave me all the time in the world. He was an incredibly special person to me and the band. It’s such a huge loss. He’ll live on with us through his music.”

He’s perfectly comfortable with people not liking ‘We Are One’. O’Donohoe knows it’s a departure from Wild Youth’s poppier sound. It was written with Eurovision in mind: the idea was to create something big-hearted and anthemic.

“I thought that was a really cool thing to do. Some of my favourite bands in the world are huge stadium rock bands. When I saw them fill a stage with that sound I thought, that’s what I want for Eurovision. But then I totally understand that some people could be like, they’ve written this song just for Eurovision’. I totally get that. You go through these things and you learn and you grow. That’s something I’ve learned and taken on board.”