27 October 2005 A lot has happened to team Westlife since we last saw them at number one with 'Mandy' at the back end of 2003. For one thing, they're now down to four. Also, those two years without an Irish number one tell a story - not that Westlife-ism was on the wane, but … Continue reading Westlife – ‘You Raise Me Up’
Author: Aidan Curran
Sugababes – ‘Push The Button’
6 October 2005 My relief at finally seeing a proper A-list pop act at the top of the 2005 charts is tempered by the fact that 'Push The Button' is the Sugababes' only Irish number one. We've been here before, with 'Sound Of The Underground' as the only Irish chart-topper for Girls Aloud. Does this … Continue reading Sugababes – ‘Push The Button’
The Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes – ‘Don’t Cha’
15 September 2005 To borrow a social media trope, I was today years old when I discovered 'Don't Cha' by the Pussycat Dolls is a cover version; it had been originally released in 2004 by former OutKast backing singer Tori Alamaze. What's more, its chorus is taken from a 1988 track called 'Swass' by none … Continue reading The Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes – ‘Don’t Cha’
Daniel Powter – ‘Bad Day’
18 August 2005 James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' followed at number one by its transatlantic kissing cousin, Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day', both colossal chart and radio hits: what's this as a trend of 2005? Early '90s grunge, post-Alanis late-'90s confessional rock and the cult of Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah' had all congealed into the '00s singer-songer: "authentic", … Continue reading Daniel Powter – ‘Bad Day’
James Blunt – ‘You’re Beautiful’
21 July 2005 In 1999 Captain James Blount was part of a British Army squadron deployed with the NATO peacekeeping mission to war-torn Kosovo. This sounds like the right amount of preparation for the flak he copped six years later as soft-rock troubadour James Blunt singing 'You're Beautiful'. In a year of unloved chart-toppers whose … Continue reading James Blunt – ‘You’re Beautiful’
2Pac – ‘Ghetto Gospel’
30 June 2005 The UK had two posthumous chart-topping acts in 2005: Elvis Presley with three number ones and Tupac Shakur with one. In Ireland only the 2Pac single made the top spot. Of course, some would dispute whether those Elvis or Tupac releases could be called 'posthumous', but that's another story. The post mortem … Continue reading 2Pac – ‘Ghetto Gospel’
Crazy Frog – ‘Axel F’
2 June 2005 Ireland of the '70s and '80s, where you had to wait weeks or even months to get a landline installed in your home. A far-flung island where a cargo cult deifies a crate of rotary handsets washed up from a shipwreck. (The latter isn't so fanciful: a real-life indigenous tribe in a … Continue reading Crazy Frog – ‘Axel F’
Akon – ‘Lonely’
5 May 2005 We should have seen it coming. The warped, squeaky voice right at the start of Akon's 'Lonely' is an unerring harbinger of a particular hit single to come. We are entering one of the worst streaks of number ones in Irish chart history. Since you got fair warning of this on my … Continue reading Akon – ‘Lonely’
Tony Christie ft. Peter Kay – ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’
31 March 2005 Just to clarify, Peter Kay doesn't feature on the actual single, nor is this a bespoke charity re-recording. It's the exact same 1971 version of '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo' that gave Tony Christie a no. 3 hit in Ireland, topped the charts in Germany and Spain, but oddly only peaked … Continue reading Tony Christie ft. Peter Kay – ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’
McFly – ‘All About You’ / ‘You’ve Got A Friend’
17 March 2005 If, like me, you sometimes have trouble telling your McFlys from your Busteds, that's not necessarily a failing on your part. Tom Fletcher, lead singer of McFly, had auditioned for Busted and was still involved with them behind the scenes when McFly were formed. The two bands remained close personally. Most pertinently, … Continue reading McFly – ‘All About You’ / ‘You’ve Got A Friend’
