30 October 1964 At thirteen words, 'From The Candy Store On The Corner To The Chapel On The Hill' is the longest title of any number one single in Ireland, holding off Sandi Thom's 'I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)' by one word, without recourse to add-ons in brackets. … Continue reading Dickie Rock and The Miami Showband – ‘From The Candy Store On The Corner To The Chapel On The Hill’ →

23 October 1964 Yes, that's what it's called, although the 'oh' doesn't show up until the last line. Before that, however, 'Oh, Pretty Woman' gives us one of the most sensational openings of any hit single: strutting drumbeat; sashaying guitar. Familiarity may have you overlook it, but I defy you not to be swept up … Continue reading Roy Orbison – ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ →

21 January 2010 I haven't heard 'Fireflies' by Owl City since its heyday: top of the US charts, no less, plus here Ireland's first new number one single of the '10s. Even then, so dreadful was the merest random snippet that I spent any inadvertent overhearings with my head in a half-wince, half-cringe. However, that's … Continue reading Owl City – ‘Fireflies’ →

16 October 1964 Calling yourselves Herman's Hermits is a clear sign your core brand value is English whimsy. Sure enough, the following year these guys will surf the British Invasion by playing the stage Englishman for ravenous US audiences with the George Formby-esque 'Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter' and then 'I'm Henry VIII, … Continue reading Herman’s Hermits – ‘I’m Into Something Good’ →

9 October 1964 When The Bachelors went to number one in the UK earlier in 1964 with 'Diane' they weren't the first Irish act to top the charts cross-channel - Ruby Murray had already done so in 1955. However, they were the first Irish group to have a UK number one with simpering, retrograde pop … Continue reading The Bachelors – ‘I Wouldn’t Trade You For The World’ →

3 July 1964 Wow: a snippet of live audience at the start of 'Bless You (For Being An Angel)' to capture the hormone-fuelled frenzy of Bowyermania! And then we segue into an Irish showband iteration of a pre-Emergency US jazz ballad. The Ink Spots indeed released this in 1939, and they're a fine and important … Continue reading Brendan Bowyer and The Royal Showband – ‘Bless You (For Being An Angel)’ →

7 August 1964 Sgt Pepper is Temple Bar '60s. Revolver is cold and chippy. Rubber Soul has 'Run For Your Life'. Abbey Road is '70s soft rock. The White Album is bloated. My favourite Beatles album is A Hard Day's Night. Handily, its title track is a perfect overture for the album. 'A Hard Day's … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ →

10 December 2009 Our first '00s Irish number one was the world's biggest pop star, a young white American woman, with 'Born To Make You Happy'. Now we're almost at the end of that decade with the world's biggest pop star, a different young white American woman, and 'Bad Romance'. Had anything changed in the … Continue reading Lady Gaga – ‘Bad Romance’ →

22 October 2009 It came with a collective hiatus rather than an individual departure, but Cheryl's imminent career move seemed to loom over her group for an age. She made a success of it too, with more solo number one singles in the UK (five) and Ireland (four) than Girls Aloud managed in either territory. … Continue reading Cheryl – ‘Fight For This Love’ →