30 January 1971 Ireland's first solo Beatle number one is also our first chart-top encounter with copyright controversy. Since then we've had loads of hugely entertaining courtroom action: singer shenanigans with 'Ride On Time' and 'Return To Innocence'; riff-based rifts with 'Ice Ice Baby' and 'I'll Be Missing You'; vibes-based karmic retribution for 'Blurred Lines'. … Continue reading George Harrison – ‘My Sweet Lord’
Author: Aidan Curran
James Bay – ‘Hold Back The River’
26 March 2015 Back in 2015 I doubt you'd have predicted the decade to come would feature a global pandemic shutdown or major democracies trying out fascism. On a slightly lesser order of bleakness, who'd have thought we'd still have bland male folk-pop dominating our charts? Mumford & Sons and George Ezra wouldn't sound out … Continue reading James Bay – ‘Hold Back The River’
Ellie Goulding – ‘Love Me Like You Do’
6 February 2015 Ah, the firm but playful thwack of riding crop on buttocks. If this for you is the sound of sexy-time, then good luck to you and your co-consenting adult(s) - don't let anyone kink-shame you. Of course, there's no subculture weird or subversive enough that it can't be exploited by mainstream big-budget … Continue reading Ellie Goulding – ‘Love Me Like You Do’
Dave Edmunds – ‘I Hear You Knocking’
25 December 1970 British rock and pop of the '60s never shook off its worship of bluesy '50s US rock & roll, so you can't really say 'I Hear You Knocking' embodies the start of the new decade's '50s revival. That said, a tinny, crappy vocal track on a much-covered old song suggests the creative … Continue reading Dave Edmunds – ‘I Hear You Knocking’
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – ‘Uptown Funk’
18 December 2014 I wonder if 'Uptown Funk' brought a wry smile to Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson of Zrazy. They were the duo behind 'Ooh, Ahh, Paul McGrath', that enjoyable Irish-chart-topping post-Italia-'90 bop which featured a terrace chant based on 'Oops Upside Your Head' by The Gap Band, who didn't have a writing credit, … Continue reading Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – ‘Uptown Funk’
Dermot Henry and The Virginians – ‘If Those Lips Could Only Speak’
18 December 1970 So, what lips would those be? Well, the "life-like features" in a portrait of the main character's wife: he's filthy rich and has everything in his mansion except her in the flesh. The maudlin song and setting nudge us to assume that she has died, but that's not actually stated in the … Continue reading Dermot Henry and The Virginians – ‘If Those Lips Could Only Speak’
Margo & The Country Folk – ‘I’ll Forgive And I’ll Try To Forget’
27 November 1970 Only a few weeks after Freda Payne's epic 'Band Of Gold' ended its run at number one, here's another 1970 Irish chart-topper already from a woman with a song calling out a dysfunctional marriage. What's more, it's by a country & Irish showband act - and the singer is even a blood … Continue reading Margo & The Country Folk – ‘I’ll Forgive And I’ll Try To Forget’
HomeTown – ‘Where I Belong’
4 December 2014 I often encounter folks who were Westlife and One Direction ultras in their youth, but are any of you HomeTown fans of yore? I must admit, I don't remember them. Yes, boybands were still a going concern this deep into the '10s, with later 1D pushing the format towards post-Britrock stylings such … Continue reading HomeTown – ‘Where I Belong’
Roger Whittaker – ‘New World In The Morning’
13 November 1970 All day I've been crooning "I'm gonna leave ol' Durham town" to myself ahead of writing this; clearly Roger Whittaker seeped into my '80s small-child brain. His mix of folk balladry and schlager-pop was already successful in the '60s but seemed to find its natural home with the '70s advent of shiny-floor … Continue reading Roger Whittaker – ‘New World In The Morning’
Band Aid 30 – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas? (2014)’
20 November 2014 Let's first jump forward to Band Aid 40 in 2024. It won't be featuring here in its own right, since it didn't get to number one in Ireland or the UK. Okay, it was just a mash-up of Band Aids 1, 20 and 30, harshly omitting Band Aid II, so there was … Continue reading Band Aid 30 – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas? (2014)’
