We are nearing the end of another eventful year in the world of Eurovision and it’s at this time that we at Eurovision Ireland traditionally take a moment to look back and pay tribute to those who have contributed to Eurovision over the years , who passed away during the year. Here’s who we lost in 2024.

Guy Bonnet ( France)

Guy Bonnet appeared twice for France in Eurovision, firstly in the 1970 contest in Amsterdam , with “Marie -Blanche” finishing in 4th place and again in Munich in 1983 , with “Vivre”, when he came 8th . He also composed the song “La Source” , which Isabelle Aubret sang for France in 1968 , which finished 3rd. Guy Bonnet died on 8th January , aged 78 years

Joe Cutajar ( Malta)

Joe Cutajar represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972, alongside Helen Micallef, with the song “L-imhabba”, which was also performed fully in Maltese. They finished in 18th place. Joe passed away in March aged 83.

Humphrey Campbell ( The Netherlands)

Humphrey Campbell represented The Netherlands at the 1992 contest in Malmö,Sweden , with “Wijs me de weg”. He finished in 9th place. One of his backing vocals then was Ruth Jacott , who then went on to represent The Netherlands the following year, with “Vrede”.Humphrey then was a backing vocalist for Ruth . He died on 25th March aged 66.

Harry Van Hoof ( Netherlands)

Harry Van Hoof was best known for many years as a conductor and composer of Dutch entries. In all, he conducted over 15 Dutch performances , between 1972-79 , 1986, 1988-1990 and 1992-1994. He also worked on the winning song for The Netherlands in 1975 , “Ding , Ding a Dong”. He died on 1st June , aged 81.

Françoise Hardy ( France)

Francoise Hardy was probably one of France’s best known and loved singers to grace the Eurovision stage . Also considered a fashion icon in the 1960’s , she is one of the best selling French artists of all time . She represented Monaco at the Eurovision song contest in 1963 with the song “L’amour s’en va”. She came 5th . She died on 12th June aged 80 , after a battle with cancer.

Colin Gibb ( UK )

Colin Gibb was a singer in the group Black Lace , who represented the United Kingdom at the 1979 contest in Jerusalem with the song “Mary Ann”. They finished in 7th place . Black Lace went on to have a hit in 1984 with “Agadoo”, which was a huge hit across the world and reached number two in the UK pop chats. Colin died in June , aged 70.

Nenad Nakic ( Yugoslavia )

Nenad was a musician and composer, who was a bassist in the group, Riva , who won the contest for what was then Yugoslavia at the Eurovision contest in Lausanne, Switzerland , in 1989 , with the song “Rock me “. He died in September aged 74 .

Göran Fristorp ( Sweden)

Göran represented Sweden together with Claes af Geijerstam , at the 1973 contest in Luxembourg with the song “You’re Summer”.They finished 5th . Göran went on to compete in his own right in Melodifestivalen , five times between 1974 and 1978 and continued to release music afterwards. He died in September at the age of 76.

Martin Lee ( UK )

Martin Lee was the lead singer of the Brotherhood of Man , who won the 1976 contest for the UK in The Hague, with the now , iconic song “Save Your kisses for me”, which became a major hit both in the UK and across Europe.Following their Eurovision success, the group went on to achieve other hits such as “Figaro ” and “Angelo”. He was very happily married for 45 years to his wife, Sandra, who was one of his bandmates. Martin died on 29th September aged 77.

Emre Tukur ( Turkey )

Emre was a member of Klips ve Onlar and was best known as an accomplished pianist, appearing with Klips ve Onlar at the contest in Bergen in 1986 with “Halley”.They placed 9th . Emre died in October , aged 55.

Dickie Rock ( Ireland)

Dickie Rock represented Ireland at the Eurovision song contest 1966 in Luxembourg with the song “Come back to stay” .He finished joint fourth He was one of the most successful singers in Ireland during the 1960’s , often performing as one of the frontmen in the Miami Showband. He was still touring right up into his 80’s and only retired in 2021 because of hearing difficulties. He died on 6th December , aged 88.

Selami Karaibrahimgil ( Turkey)

Selami was a Turkish musician and performer .He was a member of the group Modern Folk Trio who represented Turkey at the 1981 Eurovision Song contest in Dublin , along with Aysegul Aldinc with the song “Dönme Dolap”. They finished in 18th place. Selami died last week aged 80 years old .

Joe Grech ( Malta )

We have heard today of the death of Joe Grech, aged 90 years ,who was the first Maltese act to represent his country at Eurovision in 1971. You can see our Obituary for him HERE .

We at Eurovision Ireland would like to thank all of those who have left us this year for the contributions they made to Eurovision during their lives and send our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends for their losses.

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source and Visual sources : Wikipedia , You Tube , Eurovision Ireland