11 June 2009 Is this the first Irish number one single from a computer game? I'm casting around for reasons why a 2007 song from an unknown Australian punk-pop act topped our charts in 2009 and I see it was featured on FIFA 09. I'm not a gamer, so I don't know if it even … Continue reading The Veronicas – ‘Untouched’ →

29 May 1964 Here's the other half of Ireland's only joint number one single, along with Eileen Reid and The Cadets' 'Fallen Star'. I see Dickie Rock's group have here dropped the word 'Showband' from their name and are going by The Miamis, perhaps to seem like a proper '60s outfit. The only version of … Continue reading Dickie Rock and The Miamis – ‘I’m Yours’ →

7 May 2009 Tinchy Stryder's 'Number 1' isn't the first Irish number one single with 'number 1' in the title: that'd be Zig and Zag's 1990 Christmas number one 'Christmas No. 1'. More acts should try this sort of nominative determinism. Granted, fall short of topping the charts ('Number One' by X Factor finalist Tabby … Continue reading Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz – ‘Number 1’ →

22 May 1964 No prizes for guessing which Liverpool four-piece pop group the Irish record-buying public of 1964 loved most. That's right, it's The Searchers, here with their third Irish number one in only nine months and our eighth chart-topping single from a Merseyside act in a year. Their version of 'Don't Throw Your Love … Continue reading The Searchers – ‘Don’t Throw Your Love Away’ →

23 April 2009 The Pride-Is-Protest artwork and the intersectional feminist lyrics really show Eminem's creative and personal development as - ha ha! Just kidding! I did a '00s bantz! 'We Made You' is more of the exact same sexism, misogyny and homophobia as the rest of his useless, rotten, craven chart-topping output. It's all targeted … Continue reading Eminem – ‘We Made You’ →

29 May 1964 Here's the first Irish number one single by an Irish woman. You'd think that Irish pop-cultural landmark would be more widely known and recognised, but prior to this I really only knew Eileen Reid from her TV appearances in the '80s and after, some of which were religious in subject. The only … Continue reading Eileen Reid and The Cadets – ‘Fallen Star’ →

8 May 1964 Not quite nepo-baby level, but it's sure handy if in 1964 you're in a pop group looking for a hit, your sister's boyfriend is Paul McCartney, and he's even sharing a room with you in your family home. That's how Peter Asher, brother of actress and then-Beatle-partner Jane, gets an unused Lennon-McCartney … Continue reading Peter and Gordon – ‘A World Without Love’ →

17 April 1964 I'll be honest: I thought we'd be seeing more Beatles number ones than this. Anyway, it's mid-1964 and Ireland gets only its second Fab Four chart-topper. For comparison, in America 'Can't Buy Me Love' was the third number one in a row by The Beatles, after 'She Loves You' and 'I Want … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ →

9 April 2009 A.R. Rahman isn't the first Irish number one act who was born in India—that'd be child of the Raj, Cliff Richard—but he provides our first chart-topping representative from the rich Indian tradition of music for cinema. The feature credit breakout to Nicole Scherzinger is odd, since she was still a member of … Continue reading A.R. Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls ft. Nicole Scherzinger – ‘Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)’ →

27 December 1963 Did Brendan Bowyer have an Elvis franchise for Ireland? Here he is following up his first Irish number one, 'Kiss Me Quick', with another chart-topping Elvis cover - this time a whimsical acoustic ditty from the movie Blue Hawaii. Yes, it's pretty much the same thing as his 'Kiss Me Quick', but … Continue reading Brendan Bowyer and The Royal Showband – ‘No More’ →