| "Riverdance" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Bill Whelan | |
| from the album Riverdance: Music from the Show | |
| B-side | "Caraçena" |
| Released | 1994 |
| Recorded | March 1993 |
| Studio | Windmill Lane (Ringsend, Dublin) |
| Genre | Celtic[1] |
| Length |
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| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | Bill Whelan |
| Producer(s) | Bill Whelan |
| Audio | |
| "Riverdance" on YouTube | |
"Riverdance" is a song by Irish musician Bill Whelan, originally recorded in March 1993 and first performed as the interval act for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. "Riverdance" is a mostly instrumental composition performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, with an introduction sung by choral ensemble Anúna. The act received such a positive response that Son Records and Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) decided to release "Riverdance" as a single.
In Ireland, the song spent a record-breaking 18 weeks at number one on the Irish Singles Chart and is the country's second-best-selling single of all time. "Riverdance" also became a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The song's success inspired Whelan to use "Riverdance" as a springboard to conceive an album of similar material and the theatrical show of the same name, which would open in February 1995.