11 October 1996 I was all set to dismiss Boyzone's 'Words' as yet another cheap, insipid cover of a schmaltzy '70s ballad, but I was wrong. It's a cheap, insipid cover of a schmaltzy '60s ballad. I guess I associate the Bee Gees instinctively with '70s shiny-floor shlock and cheese. Perhaps we can all learn … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘Words’ →

20 September 1996 OMC have the pleasure of being our first number one act from Aotearoa, also known as New Zealand. Alas, as I face a re-listen to 'How Bizarre' after all these years, I fear the pleasure will be all theirs. I remember this track being extremely naff and cheesy, with its mariachi guitar … Continue reading OMC – ‘How Bizarre’ →

6 September 1996 Remember the '00s TV ad where the ardent Galway supporter drives around to every record shop buying up copies of their county's techno-banger single? Not that I'm suggesting some ride-or-die Wexford stalwart in 1996, hopped up on their long-awaited All Ireland victory, cleaned out M.J. Doran's in Gorey of cassettes like the … Continue reading The Wild Swans – The Hurling Songs (EP) →

9 August 1996 Lucy O'Brien and Caitlin Moran are among the writers and commentators who've pointed out that feminism suffered by being simplified to the Spice Girls concept of Girl Power, the latter defined by Moran as "being friends with your friends and buying Spice Girls records". As O'Brien notes in the revised and updated … Continue reading Spice Girls – ‘Wannabe’ →

2 August 1996 In summer 1996 'Lemon Tree' by German band Fool's Garden seemed to fill all available Irish radio airspace like an ever-expanding gas. To borrow its chorus: I wonder how, I wonder why. Was it the schlager whimsy dressed as then-trendy Britpop-adjacent larkiness? The all-ages blandness? Probably a bit of both. Considering how … Continue reading Fool’s Garden – ‘Lemon Tree’ →

14 June 1996 Louis Walsh knows best: people will buy anything as long as it's a cover of a schmaltzy '70s ballad. Boyzone led the way, for their farewell single Take That inexplicably followed, and here crossing the Atlantic are an ostensible hip hop act with their breakthrough hit and contribution to the EU corn … Continue reading Fugees – ‘Killing Me Softly’ →

7 June 1996 What exactly the project is here, I'm not sure. Write the most maudlin, mawkish romantic ballad ever? Throw generic supermarket piped music into a comparatively positive light? Or is 'project' short for 'projectile vomiting after a fill of slush and mush'? Whatever the project scope, I imagine Tony Rich's Gantt chart only … Continue reading The Tony Rich Project – ‘Nobody Knows’ →

10 May 1996 Now kids, you may find this hard to believe, but there was a time when Manchester United were winning the English league nearly every season. Yeah, I know! Anyway, in the '90s Man United were a banter club for the right reasons. Here in Ireland, on 2FM every weekday morning Des Cahill … Continue reading Men Utd ft. The Absolutelys – ‘Man Utd Man’ →

22 March 1996 I haven't found any independent source online to substantiate the widely-stated claim that the BBC banned Richie Kavanagh's 'Aon Focal Eile'. The sole basis for it seems to be a 1997 RTÉ interview in which Richie suggests a London radio producer told him this. What we can be sure of is that … Continue reading Richie Kavanagh – ‘Aon Focal Eile’ →

1 March 1996 Robbie had left, the other four had just announced their split, and this was the obligatory new track on their imminent greatest hits compilation. Those are the facts. However, Take That releasing a schmaltzy '70s ballad cover version as a high-profile single was a surprise and a disappointment. Were the boyband who … Continue reading Take That – ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ →