Ireland’s Eurovision stars Wild Youth are branded ‘disgraceful’ for appearing ‘late and intoxicated’ at festival
- Band were due on stage for Ballygar festival at midnight, but turned up at 1:18am
- Read more: Farewell to the ‘daughter of Ireland’ with a ‘poet’s heart’: Eulogy to Sinead O’Connor pays tribute to ‘beloved’ music icon
The band who represented Ireland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have been branded a ‘disgrace’ after they turned up ‘late and intoxicated’ on stage.
Wild Youth, who represented the Emerald Isle in Liverpool but didn’t reach the finals of the singing competition in May, upset organisers at the Ballygar Carnival in County Galway, who claimed the band were unprofessional during their headline spot.
The band – made up of Conor O’Donohue, David Whelan, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam – were billed as the crescendo of the event, scheduled to appear at midnight and perform for at least 90 minutes, according to GalwayBeo.
However, on the Ballygar Banter Facebook page, critics slammed the band for not appearing until 1:18am, and then managing only a 50-minute set, appearing well lubricated.
If the name fits! Wild Youth – Conor O’Donohue, David Whelan, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam – who represented Ireland at this year’s Eurovision contest left gig goers at the Ballygar festival less than impressed
The band were due to perform for at least two hours as headliners at the Galway festival…but arrived over an hour late and managed only 50 minutes according to audience members
The Facebook post said there had been ‘so many complaints’ about the band’s appearance, saying: ‘It’s a real shame to report that Wild Youth were a total disappointment from the many complaints to Ballygar Banter.
‘It appears that they turned up late, were accommodated with everything they wished for but delivered very poorly and appeared intoxicated to an audience that paid well to attend the gig.’
The post added: ‘Many people were upset and seriously disappointed.’
Wild youth lead singer caually stopping mid song to aggressively throw a jacket left on the stage into the crowd 💀💀 and the vocals on point too 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣#wildyouth #wildyouthband #eurovision #ballygarcarnival #joke #fyp
The band won the Late Late show Eurosong Special and went on to represent Ireland at Eurovision with their song We are One
MailOnline has contacted Wild Youth’s management for comment.
On TikTok, a video appeared showing the band on stage, with lead singer O’Donohue appearing to throw a jacket off stage mid-way through the set – the poster called the set a ‘joke’.
Others suggested the performance had been a kick in the teeth for organisers. One wrote: ‘A kick in the teeth for the dedicated committee who put together a great week of entertainment. The ballygar carnival is running nearly 80 years and Wild Youth’s conduct was nothing short of disgraceful and disappointing.’
One attendee wrote: ‘Wild Youth should be ashamed of themselves. A true showing of disrespect to the people of Ballygar.’
Performing at Eurovision 2023 – but Wild Youth failed to land a spot in the final
Another suggested an apology might go a long way, saying: ‘These guys appear to be living up to their band name?! The people of Ballygar I know are generally very forgiving. If Wild Youth came back with an apology, played a free gig in Ballygar to make up for their mistake, might it make amends?’
Fans of the band defended them. On Facebook, one wrote: ‘Seriously enough wild youth are four amazing guys and they are brilliant live enough said.’
At this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, the group were one of five acts who were eliminated in the semi-final after performing their song We Are One.
After their elimination, in a now-deleted post, the band’s frontman Conor O’Donohoe took to Instagram to claim their country ‘were never given a chance’.
For their performance, O’Donohoe donned a sparkly gold sequinned jumpsuit with matching on-stage lighting, with fans proudly waving the Irish flag in Liverpool’s M&S Arena.
Source: Read Full Article
