20 November 2008 As happened in 2007, the last three Irish number one singles of 2008 are all associated with The X Factor, at that time a UK show not broadcast by any of the Irish TV channels. Reminder: there have only ever been five Irish number ones from Irish TV talent show winners ever, … Continue reading Leona Lewis – ‘Run’ →

30 October 2008 I was still living abroad in 2008. In my absence the people of Ireland put to the top of the Irish charts a British single from a British TV show celebrating the British military for the British poppy-wearing remembrance day. Somebody talk me through the collective national thought process behind that, if … Continue reading The X Factor Finalists – ‘Hero’ →

8 November 1963 Are Gerry and The Pacemakers a Liverpool Aslan to The Beatles' U2? I ask because here in Dublin, Aslan are seen as the people's band and U2 the band for tourists. Football being the people's game and a crucial Merseyside identifier, Liverpool's terrace anthem is this Gerry track, and there's no one … Continue reading Gerry and The Pacemakers – ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ →

16 October 2008 While swooning over Leona Lewis's marvellous 'Bleeding Love' I mentioned the '00s trend for rock bands to leech attention and relevancy through ironic or condescending covers of contemporary chart pop hits. Here's one that became a chart hit itself. (We'll also soon see reprisals, where X Factor alumni cover indie favourites to … Continue reading The Saw Doctors – ‘About You Now’ →

1 November 1963 Another slightly unsettling image (above) of clear-glasses-era Big O, as if he were a mere mortal and not the Platonic ideal of barely-holding-it-together heartache made song. Also unsettling to me: I understand a bayou to be some sort of marshy, semi-stagnant American lake. Leaving someone behind there sounds more like a mob … Continue reading Roy Orbison – ‘Blue Bayou’ →

25 October 1963 Brian Poole and The Tremeloes were from London, not Liverpool, but they nonetheless partook of the Merseybeat sound. What's more, they were the group signed by Decca Records instead of The Beatles, both having auditioned the same day. So, that's Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, the band The Beatles could have been. … Continue reading Brian Poole and The Tremeloes – ‘Do You Love Me’ →

2 October 2008 Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, and I wouldn't rank it much higher as a form of pop song either. The snarky "na-na-na-na na-na-na..." that starts off Pink's 'So What', and is repeated several times in the verses, wearies me fast. So does a chorus of "So what / I'm still … Continue reading Pink – ‘So What’ →

6 September 1963 Here's the first official Irish number one single by an Irish act. It's also a first opportunity to consider the Irish phenomenon of the showbands. In one sense, the showbands weren't just an Irish phenomenon. Since Elvis never toured Europe, many countries on this side of the Atlantic cashed in with their … Continue reading Brendan Bowyer and The Royal Showband – ‘Kiss Me Quick’ →

30 August 1963 'Saccharine' is right there, waiting for me to use it. But what else can you call this? We'll need The Beatles and also even the Stones to cleanse our palate after this candy floss. Ostensibly another group of early-'60s Liverpool Beatles peers, The Searchers serve us up the '50s cliches of stardust … Continue reading The Searchers – ‘Sweets For My Sweet’ →