Kiev Connolly
Kevin "Kiev" Connolly (born 5 April 1956)[citation needed] is an Irish songwriter, producer and musician. His group, Kiev Connolly and The Missing Passengers, represented Ireland at the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Born in Ballymote, County Sligo, Connolly attended school in Cork.[citation needed] He moved to Germany in 1978, and worked as a studio musician and producer in West Berlin.[2]
Career
[edit]Connolly formed the pop group "The Missing Passengers" in 1985.[2] The group secured a recording contract with Ariola/RCA in Germany and "toured Europe extensively".[2] In 1985, the group performed Connolly's song "Did She Tell You" on both the Extratour program Radio Bremen/ARD, and the Musik Convoy program on WDR/ARD.[citation needed] Connolly returned to Ireland in 1987.[2]
In 1989, Kiev Connolly and The Missing Passengers represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lausanne, Switzerland with Connolly's song The Real Me.[3][4] The song reached number 17 in the Irish Singles Chart in May 1989.[5] Yugoslavia won the Eurovision Song Contest that year.
In 2000, Connolly established Feature Music Studios.[citation needed] Connolly was involved in arranging and producing several live performances and albums of The Wolfe Tones. This included credits on the Wolfe Tones' 2001 album "You'll Never Beat the Irish".[6] He also occasionally supported the Wolfe Tones, in performances, on keyboards and guitar.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Participant - Kiev Connolly and The Missing Passengers". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Ireland in 1989 - Kiev Connolly and the Missing Passengers - Biography". esctoday.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2006.
- ^ Roddy, Laura (1 January 2020). "Inside 1989: What Irish business looked like 30 years ago". Fora.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "RTÉ Archives - Ireland's Eurovision Entry - 30 April 1989". rte.ie. RTÉ. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Search - Artist - Kiev Connolly". irishcharts.ie. Irish Music Rights Association. Archived from the original on 20 February 2024.
- ^ "The Wolfe Tones - You'll Never Beat The Irish". theballadeers.com. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Fell, Alex (26 July 2018). "The Wolfe Tones now". irishecho.com. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
They [The Wolfe Tones] are assisted occasionally by [..] Kiev Connolly on keyboards and additional guitar. He is seen on stage from time to time, as well as working behind the scenes with the arrangements