I carry the souls of my late brother's on stage when I sing, says ...
EUROVISION star Johnny Logan has said that he carries the souls of his late brothers on his shoulders when he steps on stage.
The 69-year-old, who took the competition's trophy home to Ireland three times, told host Joe Duffy on RTE's The Meaning of Life that he believes he will join his late family in another place when his time comes.
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The international star, who lost his father Patrick O'Hagan in 1993, his mother Ellen in 2011 and brothers Eamon and Liam throughout his life, praised the support his family continues to give him, even after their passing.
Johnny, whose real name is Sean Sherrard, said: "Liam lived for about three weeks, but he was baptised. In the teachings at that time, it meant he was an angel.
"When you wanted to talk to God or someone on your side it was always Liam, I grew up with that. It's difficult for me to talk about Eamon. I still talk to him.
"Whenever I go on stage I kind of put them on my shoulders and say, 'Liam, you sit here and Eamon, you sit there.'
"That's a routine I go through when I'm singing."
Opening up about Eamon, Johnny said that when he passes away, he hopes his ashes will be spread near Howth in Dublin, where they grew up.
He said: "I think about him a lot and I hope and believe one day we'll always be together.
"We put some of his ashes in the sea off Ireland's Eye and I hope to put some of mine in there with him so he's not alone."
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And Johnny doesn't just keep his brothers close to his heart, revealing that he carries a Feis Ceoil medal his father won in the 1930s when he is on stage performing.
He said: "When he died, I lost my voice for a while and whenever I sing I put this on and I feel he comes on stage with me and it's something physical I can touch.
"It's not a good luck charm, that's a connection with my father. My mother, I've got a little locket of her hair beside my bed."
Johnny, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, returned with his parents to live in Howth when he was just three — and described his childhood there as "very happy".
His father Patrick was a tenor singer who found success touring around Australia, performing traditional Irish and Celtic songs.
And he revealed his dad often spent nine months of the year touring away from their home, but he said: "Dad loved all of his children but he wouldn't say it. He was from a different generation.
"I would say, 'Love you, Dad,' and he would say, 'I know'. He was that kind of generation."
Johnny added: "Looking back, my dad was a very loving, kind man, a giving man and he never took anything for himself.
"My mother was my darling, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to me and my father was my hero."
The Meaning of Life airs tonight on RTE One at 10.30pm.
