Dustin is clearly the star of the show in the Irelande Douze Pointevideo, but who, pray tell, are his diva sidekicks? The feathered one is known for his interesting collaborations (Geldof, Dolan, de Burgh) and he has continued in this rich vein by recruiting Kathleen Burke and Anne Harrington as his backing singers for Eurovision. Harrington brings some Eurovision royal blood to the table - her uncle Paul won the competition in 1994 with Rock'n'Roll Kids.Kathleen Burke (right, with stylist Val Sherlock) may be more familiar to trip hop fans or Electric Picnic aficionados as Analogue Mindfield vocalist Kitty B.
So how does a performer who shares a label (Malicious Damage Records) with The Orb end up at Eurovision? It was her friend and Ireland Douze Pointeco-songwriter Simon Fine who got her involved, and Burke admits to laughing her head off when he asked her to do it. "He rang me up and said he had some songs he wanted me to work on and then at the end of the call he said, 'Oh, and I have another project you might be interested in.' I mean, no disrespect to Dustin - he's a legend - but the whole Eurovision thing, you know? But how could you turn it down? I just went with it."
She says the run-up to the competition has been incredible. "We've been just spoiled rotten out here [in Belgrade], really getting the star treatment - police escorts and all. The interest in Dustin has been huge. I think people are really getting behind the song and cheering us on. We had a press conference and everyone was in stitches. I suppose we have the novelty factor on our side."
Is she nervous? "There will be 18,000 people there, which is the biggest audience any of us have performed in front of. I'm a nervous performer anyway but I'm fine when I get on stage. The nerves are there, I mean you are singing for your country. As long as we get a better reaction then we did in Limerick, we will be fine."
She is of course referring to the booing and wailing and gnashing of
teeth that greeted Dustin's win in the national competition back in February. "Apparently Lordi were booed when they won, so I suppose we should expect a certain amount if we win the thing," says Burke philosophically.
What's next for Kitty B? Analogue Mindfield are working on their third album, she says, and her involvement in Eurovision has thrown up some interesting opportunities. "I've met some really great people out here so who knows? I would love to work with Anne again, too. We'll see what happens."
Courtesy of last year's abysmal Eurovision performance (we came last), we have to face the dreaded qualification again this year. "We need two really good performances. I would just love it if we went through to the final and someone gave us the douze points. That would be mental." Go on ye good thing!
Ireland take part in the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade on Tuesday. The final takes place next Saturday. See www.eurovision.tv for details.
Michael Kelly