22 April 1967 Here's the first Eurovision winner in English, the first Eurovision winner for the perfidious Royaume-Uni, and the first Eurovision winner to top the Irish charts. In claiming this factoid triple crown for the UK, 'Puppet On A String' pipped that year's Irish entry, Sean Dunphy's bucolic ballad 'If I Could Choose', which … Continue reading Sandie Shaw – ‘Puppet On A String’
Tag: 1967
Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra – ‘Somethin’ Stupid’
15 April 1967 Yes, that's the billing on the record: full names separately, with Nancy first. In 1967 this was probably a nod to the belief that the new pop music was sweeping the old pop (literally, in the case of Nancy's old pop Frank) into irrelevancy. Okay, turns out Frank Sinatra didn't disappear into … Continue reading Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra – ‘Somethin’ Stupid’
Engelbert Humperdinck – ‘Release Me’
25 March 1967 In Ireland the deed was done by Petula Clark's 'This Is My Song', but in the UK the single that kept The Beatles' double-A-sided 'Strawberry Fields Forever' / 'Penny Lane' off the number one spot was this. Naturally, 'Release Me' also eventually topped the charts (with The Beatles at no. 3, still … Continue reading Engelbert Humperdinck – ‘Release Me’
Petula Clark – ‘This Is My Song’
27 February 1967 Fans of UK pop chart lore will know that The Beatles' double-A-side single of 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane' was kept off the UK number one spot by a cabaret crooner ballad which we'll see next here. As for Ireland, there isn't an official Irish chart place for 'Strawberry Fields Forever', … Continue reading Petula Clark – ‘This Is My Song’
Joe Dolan and The Drifters – ‘The House With The Whitewashed Gable’
20 February 1967 Challenge: listen to 'The House With The Whitewashed Gable' until the very end without cringing. It can't be done! If the twee "dum-dee-dum-dee-dum" or the shameless gable-Mabel rhyme don't get you, Joe's jaunty spoken-word "Hi!" will. (As explained before, The Drifters here aren't the US vocal group, just Joe's backing band, eventually … Continue reading Joe Dolan and The Drifters – ‘The House With The Whitewashed Gable’
The Monkees – ‘I’m A Believer’
23 January 1967 It feels almost refreshing to listen to 'I'm A Believer' today, free of context and baggage. Is The Monkees' show still being repeated on TV? Perhaps by some retro oldies channel, but hardly on Saturday morning kids' TV the way my malleable small-child brain experienced it and '60s Batman in the '80s. … Continue reading The Monkees – ‘I’m A Believer’
