22 November 1965 After 'From The Candy Store On The Corner To The Chapel On The Hill' and 'Every Step Of The Way', 'Wishing It Was You' is Dickie Rock's third Irish number one single in a row to centre on getting married in church. However, this time Dickie's tale is one of woe: the … Continue reading Dickie Rock and The Miami – ‘Wishing It Was You’ →

8 November 1965 One person relieved to see The Late Late Show survive RTÉ's turbulent summer of 2023, and with its original theme, must surely be '60s English pop star Chris Andrews. What we know as The Late Late Show theme is actually his other 1965 hit, 'To Whom It Concerns'. Even the thinnest sliver … Continue reading Chris Andrews – ‘Yesterday Man’ →

29 July 2010 If in 2010 you were only consuming the latest pop sounds by whatever you overheard on TV stings or a passing radio—and it happens to us all—chances are you still knew the bleepy Charleston of 'We No Speak Americano'. Electro-this-that-and-the-other was having a moment at the end of the '00s and into … Continue reading Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – ‘We No Speak Americano’ →

22 July 2010 Rihanna doesn't have a writing credit on this track, but she had been a high-profile victim of male domestic violence and abuse before 'Love The Way You Lie' was released. As a result, the chorus lyric she sings is uncomfortable. Still, it's her choice and her lived experience, and they're complex things, … Continue reading Eminem ft. Rihanna – ‘Love The Way You Lie’ →

11 October 1965 Amazing fact: 'Tears' by Ken Dodd was the UK's third-biggest-selling single of the entire '60s. It sold more than all but two Beatles hits, every Stones single, and every '60s single sung by a woman. Yes, the same Ken Dodd I dimly remember from '80s TV as an amiable but unfunny English … Continue reading Ken Dodd – ‘Tears’ →

13 September 1965 The Stones had played Dublin and Belfast earlier in September 1965, in the gigs filmed for the Charlie Is My Darling documentary. 'Satisfaction', on the setlist for those gigs and a raucous highlight of the film, had already gone to number one in the States that July and was now about to … Continue reading The Rolling Stones – ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ →

24 June 2010 Our 2010 number ones from the States have so far been notably conservative: the tweeness of 'Fireflies'; the strategic corporate alliance of 'Telephone'; the wholesome high-school musical of 'Gives You Hell'; the hip-hop-hooray EDM of 'OMG'; the soccer-parent nostalgia of 'Hey, Soul Sister'. Had '00s poptimism congealed into ick? Did the economic … Continue reading Katy Perry – ‘California Gurls’ →

6 September 1965 If Chubby Checker can follow up 'The Twist' with 'Let's Twist Again' (I imagine Brendan Bowyer or his defence counsel pleading) surely Ireland's leading showband can treat the little people to more of that Hucklebuck magic, right? Well, it may be Ireland's biggest home-grown hit of the '60s but I'm not so … Continue reading Brendan Bowyer and The Royal Showband – ‘Don’t Lose Your Hucklebuck Shoes’ →

2 August 1965 The semaphore on the album cover and movie poster actually spells N-U-J-V, not H-E-L-P. On US releases the lads were rearranged to spell N-J-U-V. For this reason it's bad luck to listen to 'Help!' on board a ship. (It's also bad luck to watch the movie, anywhere.) 'Help!' reminds me of a … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘Help!’ →

27 May 2010 The last time we had a Romanian act at the top of the Irish charts, Enigma with 'Return To Innocence', they were embroiled in a copyright claim over a trad-sounding element. The same thing happens here for Edward Maya: the distinctive accordion line in 'Stereo Love' wasn't a folk-hand-me-down in the public … Continue reading Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina – ‘Stereo Love’ →