In 1966, he sang for Ireland in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, "Come Back to Stay". He entered as a solo artist and finished fourth in the Contest. This song also became a number one hit in Ireland. Rock was the subject of a well-known Irish catchphrase—"spit on me Dickie", the origin of this being that rebellious young women in the 1960s wanted to be covered in his saliva in a manner similar to American women idolising the hips of Elvis. The phrase took off in Belfast in the 1960s and spread all over Ireland.