15 Famous Artists You Didn't Know Competed In Eurovision
6. Katrina And The Waves - Love Shine A Light (United Kingdom)
What Are They Known For? Katrina and the Waves was a British-American rock band consisting of frontwoman/guitarist Katrina Leskanich, guitarist and songwriter Kimberly Rew, bassist Vince de la Cruz,and drummer Alex Cooper. They are best known for the 1985 hit song, Walking on Sunshine, which was a Top Ten hit in many countries, including America and the United Kingdom.
At Eurovision (Winner): Katrina and the Waves were struggling to recapture the success of Walking on Sunshine when Eurovision gave them a second chance for another hit song to their name. At the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, Katrina and the Waves performed twenty-fourth out of twenty-five participating countries with the song Love Shine a Light.
Five years after Michael Ball settled for runner-up, Katrina and the Waves finally won Eurovision for the United Kingdom earning a landslide total of 227 points, including ten sets of twelve-point results. To date, this is the last time the United Kingdom has won Eurovision (it previously won in 1967, 1969, 1976, and 1981). Love Shine A Light gave Katrina and the Waves its first major singles hit since Walking on Sunshine, as the Eurovision-winning song peaked at number three in the United Kingdom.
After Eurovision: Sadly, even a Eurovision victory could not halt the disintegration of Katrina and the Waves. Katrina Leskanich left the band in 1998 to pursue a solo career, and after the remaining members failed to find a frontwoman replacement, they formally dissolved Katrina and the Waves in 1999. Walking on Sunshine remains to be an eighties pop song classic, as it continues to be covered by other artists like Dolly Parton and featured in countless films, commercials, and TV shows.