16 February 2002 In fairness, who among us hasn't ever mislaid their passport and mistakenly given their correct date of birth instead of a fake one while being filmed for national television? As an Irish pop culture moment, Nadine's mix-up with her date of birth was magic stuff. If only that had been the series … Continue reading Six – ‘There’s A Whole Lot Of Loving’
Category: Uncategorized
Enrique Iglesias – ‘Hero’
2 February 2002 His papa Julio Iglesias, the Pepé Le Pew of shiny-floor light entertainment Euro-pop, had stunk and slunk his way skunk-like to number one in Ireland in 1981 with 'Begin The Beguine'. Now here's one of his many children carrying on the family business of monetising the Latin lover stereotype through the medium … Continue reading Enrique Iglesias – ‘Hero’
Pink – ‘Get The Party Started’
26 January 2002 Strangely, considering we'd already seen Pink at number one the previous year as one part of Moulin Rouge merchandise 'Lady Marmalade', 'Get The Party Started' always feels to me like her first 'real' hit. We've already seen its writer-producer at number one too: Linda Perry, lead singer of 4 Non Blondes and … Continue reading Pink – ‘Get The Party Started’
Kate Winslet – ‘What If’
8 December 2001 Fans of Titanic the movie may have mixed emotions at Kate Winslet singing "What if I had never let you go?" If you'd made room on the raft, Kate, there'd have been no need to let go! Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't still be at the bottom of the north Atlantic in icicle form … Continue reading Kate Winslet – ‘What If’
Dustin – ‘Sweet Caroline’
24 November 2001 'Sweet Caroline' is now the unofficial anthem of England's national football teams, replacing in their supporters' affections such terrace favourites as 'Three Lions' and 'No Surrender To The IRA'. Dustin does 'Sweet Caroline' here and is a stage Dub, just like Mrs Brown's Boys who went to the BBC to tug the … Continue reading Dustin – ‘Sweet Caroline’
Westlife – ‘Queen Of My Heart’
10 November 2001 There's a weird moment in the video for 'Queen Of My Heart', which you can see at the end of these few lines, where Westlifer Nicky takes out a set of clippers from his back pocket and shaves off his hair. Statement of ascetic religious devotion? Treatment for head lice? Or just … Continue reading Westlife – ‘Queen Of My Heart’
Afroman – ‘Because I Got High’
20 October 2001 There isn't a precise sales figure for Ireland for Afroman's 'Because I Got High'. However, in the market closest to us, the UK, it's certified as selling 600,000 copies, which equates to a copy bought by roughly 1% of the UK population. Assuming a similar sales reach here from its three weeks … Continue reading Afroman – ‘Because I Got High’
Kylie Minogue – ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’
22 September 2001 Look who's here! Yes, this is her first Irish chart-topper in 12 years. However, Kylie Minogue still had eleven Irish top ten hits in that time, the same number as Take That and one more than the Spice Girls. What's more, one of those Kylie hits was the sensationally brilliant 'Better The … Continue reading Kylie Minogue – ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’
Uncle Kracker – ‘Follow Me’
15 September 2001 September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday. For the days after that, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US, the national Irish radio stations (and perhaps local ones too) played round-the-clock news programmes instead of music. This absence of radio airplay, still in 2001 a crucial promotional outlet for new … Continue reading Uncle Kracker – ‘Follow Me’
Eve ft. Gwen Stefani – ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’
8 September 2001 Through the '90s and up to the end of 2000 our rap chart-toppers were mostly by children's TV characters and crass white men. So, Eve at number one feels like welcome progress on that front. She had already featured impressively with a verse of her own on the fabulous 1999 single 'You … Continue reading Eve ft. Gwen Stefani – ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’
