18 January 1973 Leave the kid out of this. Little Jimmy Osmond simply stands in a line of cutesy and precocious child performers, from Shirley Temple to whatever senior infant is currently wowing 'em on social media, and that strand of light entertainment has thrived since the days of vaudeville and music hall. Here in … Continue reading Little Jimmy Osmond – ‘Long Haired Lover From Liverpool’
Calvin Harris and Sam Smith – ‘Promises’
7 September 2018 Calvin Harris, with eight in total, is joint-fifth on the list of acts with the most number ones in Ireland, alongside icons like Elvis, Madonna, Britney and Dickie Rock. 'Promises' is the seventh of those eight and, after 'One Kiss' with Dua Lipa, the second for Harris in 2018 alone. What accounts … Continue reading Calvin Harris and Sam Smith – ‘Promises’
John Lennon and Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir – ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’
4 January 1973 There's some irony in John and Yoko's perennial Yuletide anthem for peace being kept off Ireland's 1972 Christmas number one spot by a song about an Irish bandit shooting a British Army officer. That said, given that year's events and chart-topping singles, plus Ireland's liking for Christmas number ones that have a … Continue reading John Lennon and Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir – ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’
Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid – ‘Eastside’
31 August 2018 If you wanted a hit single in 2017-18, clearly you first had to sound somewhat sad-to-morose, then steer a course between the dreary folk-pop of Ed Sheeran and the dreary trap-hop of Drake. George Ezra's groaning 'Shotgun' hugged the Sheeran shoreline; Post Malone's dumb 'Rockstar' dredged the Drakean shallows. Here, 'Eastside' still … Continue reading Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid – ‘Eastside’
‘Mr Brightside’ in Ireland
400 weeks in Ireland's singles chart, never a number one or even in our top 40, but still played by every Irish radio station and bar. Why is 'Mr Brightside' still so popular? In all the Irish media kerfuffle about Ireland's young people in their thousands singing "Ooh ahh, up the Ra!" with The Wolfe … Continue reading ‘Mr Brightside’ in Ireland
Thin Lizzy – ‘Whiskey In The Jar’
21 December 1972 Like an acid-tripping episode of Nationwide, our number ones of 1972 begin in the peaceful céilí-showband Slaney Valley, then head north to catch up with community goings-on Foyleside and a music-loving British Army regiment who've made the area their home, and now end here with an action-packed visit to the scenic Celtic-rock … Continue reading Thin Lizzy – ‘Whiskey In The Jar’
George Ezra – ‘Shotgun’
29 June 2018 Are you a fan of Glór Tíre, Opry an Iúir and the rest of TG4's round-the-clock coverage of the country & Irish scene? Then you'll find the post-chorus part of 2018 chart-topper 'Shotgun' by George Ezra to be similar to the chorus of 2014 single 'Flowers In Your Hair' by Carlow country … Continue reading George Ezra – ‘Shotgun’
Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato – ‘Solo’
22 June 2018 Ireland's chart-topping singles of the mid-to-late-'10s have been mostly a litany of bland, basic, trop-house-flavoured EDM-pop. 'Solo' is similar in particular to Dua Lipa's 'IDGAF' earlier that year in serving up big talk and a timid chorus F-bomb. Clean Bandit know how to top the charts with innocuous dance-pop, though their trademark … Continue reading Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato – ‘Solo’
Chuck Berry – ‘My Ding-A-Ling’
7 December 1972 What in God's name is Chuck Berry doing at the top of the charts—in Ireland, the UK and, amazingly, for the only time in the US—in 1972? Well, if it had ever gone away at all, '50s rock n' roll was having a glam- and nostalgia-fuelled renewal of interest. Berry had headlined … Continue reading Chuck Berry – ‘My Ding-A-Ling’
Lieutenant Pigeon – ‘Mouldy Old Dough’
2 November 1972 I turn again to the words of my guru, Hugo Drax: "Not being English, I sometimes find your sense of humour rather difficult to follow". Feigning interest in 'Mouldy Old Dough' for a moment, I discern a mixum-gatherum of traditional English cultural expression: music hall; sea shanty; medieval folk; Dickensian grotesquery; end-of-the-pier … Continue reading Lieutenant Pigeon – ‘Mouldy Old Dough’
