7 October 1971 Two total ledgebags at number one with 'Did You Ever' - not Linda Martin and Mick McCarthy with their unlikely 1991 duet, but Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood twenty years earlier. The Nancy n' Lee songbook of sunkissed and sometimes sinister country-pop still sounds thrilling and sophisticated today. In particular, 'These Boots … Continue reading Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood – ‘Did You Ever’
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Lukas Graham – ‘7 Years’
19 February 2016 You may recall the Irish connection here. Lead singer Lukas Forchhammer had an Irish father - a Mr Graham, hence the band name. '7 Years' is about him. You may therefore also recall '7 Years', unfortunately. Nizlopi's 'JCB Song' mashed up with 'In The Year 2525' and The Script, performed by an … Continue reading Lukas Graham – ‘7 Years’
Zayn – ‘Pillowtalk’
5 February 2016 Well, here we are now: the first One Direction solo single and chart-topper, and it's not by Harry. With hindsight, even with 1D mania and the sensation of Zayn's departure the stakes here were quite low; all his first freelance track has to be is better than the solo debuts by Robbie … Continue reading Zayn – ‘Pillowtalk’
The Tams – ‘Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me’
30 September 1971 There ain't nothing like shaggin'. My baby sure can shag. Hey, what's the matter? I'm only telling you the names of the 1987 comeback hit by The Tams and its 1988 follow-up single! The shag was the name of an early-'60s dance style which formed the basis of a 1988 US retro … Continue reading The Tams – ‘Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me’
Justin Bieber – ‘Love Yourself’
11 December 2015 Having already topped the Irish charts twice just before this, Justin Bieber also pockets our 2015 Christmas number one. What's more, those other two chart-topping songs, 'What Do You Mean?' and 'Sorry', were at numbers 2 and 4 that Christmas. In fact, thanks mostly to his latest album, Purpose, he had a … Continue reading Justin Bieber – ‘Love Yourself’
Dawn – ‘What Are You Doing Sunday’
23 September 1971 I'm intrigued that Ireland has a 1971 chart-topping single that opens with the line "I hear some people get married in the park on a Sunday afternoon". The dominant Catholic Church in Ireland traditionally didn't perform weddings on Sundays, although that's a popular day for Anglican and Jewish marriage ceremonies. Add in … Continue reading Dawn – ‘What Are You Doing Sunday’
‘Mr Brightside’ in Ireland
375 weeks in Ireland's singles chart, never a number one or even in our top 40, but still played by every Irish radio station and bar. Why is 'Mr Brightside' still so popular? In all the Irish media kerfuffle about Ireland's young people in their thousands singing "Ooh ahh, up the Ra!" with The Wolfe … Continue reading ‘Mr Brightside’ in Ireland
Diana Ross – ‘I’m Still Waiting’
16 September 1971 The wait is over: it's September 1971 and Ireland finally has a number one single from Motown. That's not to say we were theretofore completely oblivious to the brilliance coming out of Hitsville: The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, Mary Wells, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye had all had Irish top … Continue reading Diana Ross – ‘I’m Still Waiting’
Justin Bieber – ‘Sorry’
27 November 2015 It would have been a baller move indeed, and in keeping with his apparently homeopathic levels of tact and decorum, if Justin Bieber had styled out his 2013-14 string of high-profile misdeeds as a series of promo events culminating in the release of a track called 'Sorry': a Super Bowl half-time ad … Continue reading Justin Bieber – ‘Sorry’
The New Seekers – ‘Never Ending Song Of Love’
26 August 1971 Imagine the online fan feuding there would have been on '70s social media between old Seeker-heads and the New Seeker army, with maybe even Judith Durham mic-dropping a Mariah-esque "I don't know them". That's how I lifted my spirits while in the depths of listening to this. Quick re-up: the OG Seekers … Continue reading The New Seekers – ‘Never Ending Song Of Love’
