7 June 1963 To illustrate how deadening Cliff Richard is to any song in his vicinity, here we have the benefit of comparison. Lieber & Stoller's 'Lucky Lips' was originally a 1957 hit for the '50s queen of US R&B, Ruth Brown. Her rich, swaggering voice and the track's purring bass sax make great hay … Continue reading Cliff Richard and The Shadows – ‘Lucky Lips’ →

24 May 1963 If you had the UK version of the TCM Movies channel on your tellybox, you may remember their weekday-western trailer which included that unlikely gun-slingin' leading man Roy Orbison toting a guitar that also fires rifle-shot. And even so, the weirdest thing about that clip from 1967 musical comedy western The Fastest … Continue reading Roy Orbison – ‘In Dreams’ →

26 June 2008 'On Wings' completes a remarkable two-part Irish chart statistic, 15 years after 'This Time' / 'Life Without You' also topped our charts. It means Limerick's Chris and Leanne Moore are the only mother and daughter to each have an Irish number one single. (The Moores' closest challengers, Neneh Cherry and Mabel, have … Continue reading Leanne Moore – ‘On Wings’ →

17 May 1963 When you think of The Beatles, what's the first song that comes to mind? Probably not 'From Me To You'—their first official number one in both the UK and Ireland—or their prior single 'Please Please Me', which topped every published UK singles chart except the actual official one. (The next two 1963 … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘From Me To You’ →

22 May 2008 Forgive my cynicism and lack of enthusiasm, but 'Take A Bow' reminds me of Beyoncé's 'Irreplaceable' (a.k.a. "To the left! To the left!") and its video (below) reminds me of the one for 'Irreplaceable'. Maybe Team Rihanna figured that consolidation of her new superstar status was the project brief, hence releasing a … Continue reading Rihanna – ‘Take A Bow’ →

10 May 1963 Proving my point made about 'From A Jack To A King' and the world-crushing dominance of simpering ballads, 'Rhythm Of The Rain' was the 9th most-played song on American TV and radio in the 20th century. Its estimated eight million plays were more than every Beatles song bar 'Yesterday', every Motown song … Continue reading The Cascades – ‘Rhythm Of The Rain’ →

8 March 1963 Nine weeks at number one in 1963 makes Ned Miller's 'From A Jack To A King' Ireland's first real mega chart-topper. That length of reign—the most weeks of any Irish number one of the '60s—won't be matched until 1970 nor beaten until 1977. If you've ever crossed paths with the country & … Continue reading Ned Miller – ‘From A Jack To A King’ →

15 May 2008 '4 Minutes' is Madonna's last Irish number one single. After that, she has two singles in 2008-09 that both peak at number 10, then a 2012 track that only reaches no. 11... and since 2012 Madonna hasn't had any single crack the Irish top twenty. Not that the House of Ciccone will … Continue reading Madonna and Justin Timberlake – ‘4 Minutes’ →

10 April 2008 When Johnny Cash saw a late-career resurgence with sparse, stripped-back acoustic covers of 'Hurt' and 'Personal Jesus' in 2002, I waited to hear if the new Cash fans in Ireland would also rave about 'Forty Shades Of Green'. I waited in vain. Not that I have anything against that harmless ballad; I'm … Continue reading Sharon Shannon with Mundy – ‘The Galway Girl’ →

3 April 2008 We've had nine Irish number ones about Irish and Man United soccer (not counting two football-related charity fundraisers plus a comedy ballad with a verse about a footballer from Cork), one about Wexford hurling, another that asks will Galway bate Mayo (answer: not if they have Willie Joe) but this is Ireland's … Continue reading Glenn Keating and Greg Ryan – ‘The Munster Song’ →