31 March 1968 Content warning: violence, misogyny. She was my woman. As she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind. I could see that girl was no good for me. When that man drove away I was waiting. She stood there laughing. I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed … Continue reading Tom Jones – ‘Delilah’
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Will.i.am ft. Eva Simons – ‘This Is Love’
12 July 2012 Flo Rida followed at number one by Will.i.am: no doubt my enthusiasm is leaping off the screen at you. A couple of months earlier, our chart-topper was the glorious 'Call Me Maybe'. Now, this. 'This Is Love' gives the people of 2012 what they want: insipid R&B-pop piano-plinking verses; the whoop-holler hip … Continue reading Will.i.am ft. Eva Simons – ‘This Is Love’
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – ‘The Legend Of Xanadu’
24 March 1968 As a young man called David Harman, Dave Dee was a police cadet who was called to the scene of Eddie Cochran's fatal car crash in Wiltshire in April 1960. Back at the police station that night, he strummed Cochran's famous red Gretsch electric guitar. Now there's an essential rock n' roll … Continue reading Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – ‘The Legend Of Xanadu’
Flo Rida – ‘Whistle’
21 June 2012 Have I been too harsh on Flo Rida and his Guetta-flavoured sub-Black Eyed Peas output? After all, 'Whistle' has that catchy, likeable whistling hook and a lighter, breezier sound. Maybe Flo Rida has developed as an artist and a human being. No, of course I haven't been too harsh. 'Whistle' is laboured, … Continue reading Flo Rida – ‘Whistle’
Johnny McEvoy – ‘Nora’
17 March 1968 Trad. arr: O'Casey, says the writing credit on this record, and that is indeed the iconic Dublin playwright Seán O'Casey entering Irish Number Ones stage left. When Jack Clitheroe sings 19th century folk ballad 'Maggie' to his wife in The Plough And The Stars, he changes it to her name - Nora. … Continue reading Johnny McEvoy – ‘Nora’
Cheryl – ‘Call My Name’
14 June 2012 That title may well have been deliberately pointed. Cheryl, in 2012 an A-list UK celebrity from her judge's role on The X Factor, had changed one married name for another, then split up with the latter, and released this single using the former name. No doubt the air was thick with webloid … Continue reading Cheryl – ‘Call My Name’
Emmet Spiceland – ‘Mary From Dungloe’
24 February 1968 Like '80s 'Mary's Prayer' hitmakers Danny Wilson, Emmet Spiceland is a band, not a person. Like '80s 'Paradise City' hitmakers Guns N' Roses, Emmet Spiceland got their name from the amalgamation of two earlier bands, in their case the Emmet Folk Group and the Spiceland Folk Group. Two of these Spice Boys, … Continue reading Emmet Spiceland – ‘Mary From Dungloe’
Loreen – ‘Euphoria’
31 May 2012 Ireland's best Eurovision placing of the 2000s was actually in 2000, when a man with a mullet sang a soft rock power ballad called 'Millennium Of Love' and finished sixth. (Bambie Thug has since equalled that sixth-place finish in 2024.) One place above him was a German comedian in a yellow cowboy … Continue reading Loreen – ‘Euphoria’
Manfred Mann – ‘Mighty Quinn’
17 February 1968 Inuit and Yupik are among the preferred terms today for Quinn and his people, rather than the outdated and improper one used in this song. That bloody Bob Dylan, eh? The unfortunate nomenclature is a pity because otherwise 'Mighty Quinn' would be mightily enjoyable. The rolling piano chords and lilting flute are … Continue reading Manfred Mann – ‘Mighty Quinn’
Engelbert Humperdinck – ‘Am I That Easy To Forget’
25 January 1968 I can imagine the showbands and cabaret acts of 1968 Ireland immediately and gleefully slipping chart-topper 'Am I That Easy To Forget' into their antediluvian repertoire. Its unctuous blend of country balladry and easy listening—written and first recorded by a singer actually called Country Johnny Mathis!—sounds ready-made for the likes of Dickie … Continue reading Engelbert Humperdinck – ‘Am I That Easy To Forget’
