Linda Martin

Linda Martin (born 27 March 1952)

Early life and family Born in Belfast in 1952, Martin is of Irish, Scottish and Italian ancestry. Her father's family's surname was originally Martini. Her paternal great-grandfather Francis Martini was born in Dublin to immigrants from Saronno, north of Milan, Italy. Two of Martin's maternal great-grandparents, William Green and Elizabeth Nangle, had a coal-mining background; they had transferred to Belfast from Larkhall, Scotland.

Career

Chips Martin began her musical career when she joined the band Chips in Omagh in 1969. They quickly became one of the top bands in Ireland on the live circuit, and released hit singles "Love Matters", "Twice a Week" and "Goodbye Goodbye" during the mid-to-late 1970s. In 1972, Martin left Chips to be a vocalist with new group Lyttle People, but rejoined her former bandmates the following year. With nine participations, she has been the most frequent entrant in the National Song Contest's history. She won the contest twice, going on to represent Ireland twice at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The first of these victories was in 1984 with the song "Terminal 3", written by Johnny Logan (under his real name Séan Sherrard). The song came second in the final, being beaten by eight points. "Terminal 3" reached No. 7 in the Irish charts. The second victory was in 1992 when her song "Why Me" (also written by Logan) went on to win the final in Sweden. This became Ireland's fourth victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the song reached No. 1 in the Irish chart as well as becoming a hit in many European countries.

Television Martin was one of the hosts on the RTÉ quiz show The Lyrics Board, and also served as one of Louis Walsh's behind-the-scenes team on the first series of ITV's The X Factor.

She also served as a judge on the first, second speaking on Saturday Night with Miriam on RTÉ television on 28 July 2007, she said that she was "open" to being invited back on to the show. Martin did not rule out a return to Eurovision following Ireland's dismal performance in the 2007 contest finishing last with only five points.

She was a guest performer at Congratulations, the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2005. Martin was also the Irish spokesperson for Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and was one of the five judges for Eurosong 2009 (Irish Selection for Eurovision). In 2012, she was the mentor for Jedward in the Irish Eurovision final Eurosong 2012.

During the interval of Eurovision 2013, the host Petra Mede presented a light-hearted history of the contest, during which she explained to viewers that Johnny Logan had won the competition three times, in 1980, 1987 and 1992. Appearing alongside Linda Martin in some vintage footage she joked that he had won the third time disguised as a woman, saying, "I recognise a drag queen when I see one". The joke proved controversial, particularly in the Irish media. However, on 1 June 2013, during an appearance on RTÉ's The Saturday Night Show Martin said that she had actually benefited from all the publicity. On the same show she performed a cover of the song "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk.

Theatre Martin has also appeared in pantomime, in Dublin. She starred in Cinderella as the Wicked Stepmother, Snow White as the Evil Queen and Robin Hood as herself, at the Olympia Theatre.

She toured Menopause the Musical with Irish entertainer Twink. While on tour, Twink described Martin as a "cunt" during a tirade in May 2010. The two had been friends for 30 years but both said afterwards that they had no plans to speak to each other again.

Selected discography

Singles with Chips Date Single - "My World"-1975 "Love Matters"6 "Twice a Week"13 1976 "I'm a Song (Sing Me)"-1977 "Shine a Light"- "Goodbye Goodbye"21978 "Here in My Arms" (or "It's Over")- "The Sooner The Better"-1980 "Automobile"- 1981 "New Romance (It's a Mystery)"- 1982 "David's Song (Who'll Come With Me)"13 "Hi-Lowe"-

Singles (solo)

"Why Me?" also reached No. 59 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 29 on the Dutch Singles Chart.

Personal life Martin was in a relationship with the musician Paul Lyttle from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.

Since her childhood in east Belfast, Martin has nurtured an interest in animals and now operates a dog sanctuary in north Dublin.

In February 2025, Martin revealed that she had been approached by an unnamed political party to run in the 2025 Irish presidential election.