8 March 1965
“Musical Director: Phil Coulter” says the label (above) of ‘Born To Be With You’, giving us early notice of an eminence beige in Irish popular music for years to come. This being an Irish showband record, the track is originally a ’50s US pop hit. Coulter’s peppy arrangement tries to bring some ’60s swing with a barrelling piano part and snazzy brass. However, Butch is a crooner and he steadfastly croons his way through this uptempo pop hullaballoo like a live TV reporter trying to ignore a bolshie protester. The disjointed result isn’t as avant garde as you might hope.
Of course, Butch may have had his mind on other things. While ‘Born To Be With You’ was number one in March 1965, he was due the following month to sing a different song and blaze a pan-continental trail for his nation: in the future idiom of his musical director, to answer Ireland’s call. Coulter’s work will follow the same path in subsequent years, albeit for another country. We’re on the verge of a radical shift in Irish pop culture. More on that soon.
