Public Image Ltd Won't Be Representing Ireland At Eurovision

Public Image Ltd (PiL) won't be representing Ireland at Eurovision this May after the band lost in the qualifying round, finishing in fourth place. 

The qualifying round was held on The Late Late Show on the channel RTE, with indie rock band Wild Youth winning over five other finalists to represent Ireland.

Last month, the former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon trashed the Eurovision Song Contest just one day after announcing that his band Public Image Ltd. (PiL) would vie to represent Ireland. 

In an interview on RTE’s Radio 1, Lydon stated, "It’s absolutely awful, the songs.”

“The whole thing of it is disgusting to me. I’m a songwriter, I perform live, and these shows just come across as so dreadfully phony to me.”

“But look, we’re giving it a chance to break out of that mould.”

He went on to admit that he had never watched Eurovision in his life.

The band performed Hawaii, a reflective track that's "a personal yet universal love song that will resonate with many," PiL described in a statement.  

Hawaii is dedicated to Lydon's wife, Nora Forster, who lives with Alzheimer's disease. The two married in the late 1970s and moved to California in the 80s. Lydon has been Forster's full-time carer since 2020, he revealed in an interview with The Observer.

"I don’t make commitments lightly, and this is my Babbie," Lydon noted, using the nickname he calls his wife.

"When we decided to commit, that was it – it was going to be that way forever."

Lydon added in a statement, "It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most. It’s also a message of hope that ultimately, love conquers all."

Hawaii is now on streaming services and will be released on a 7" vinyl later this year.

Watch PiL's performance of Hawaii below.