21 June 1969 The coolest Beatle is Ringo, obviously, but the second-coolest is Yoko. (From top to bottom, the official Beatles Coolness Ranking goes: Ringo; Yoko; George Martin; Brian Epstein; Stuart Sutcliffe; Billy Preston; Astrid Kirchherr; Wilfrid Bramble; Aunt Mimi; the people rattling their jewellery; any other Beatles.) So, as with 'Woman', our other Irish … Continue reading The Beatles – ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko’
Tag: 1969
The Beatles with Billy Preston – ‘Get Back’
10 May 1969 If you've been following the plethora of Beatle multimedia product in recent years, you'll recall how one of the takeaway sequences from Get Back the documentary was Paul writing 'Get Back' the song in real time during a jam session, seemingly drawing it down from the ether. Beatles songs occupy such a … Continue reading The Beatles with Billy Preston – ‘Get Back’
Mary Hopkin – ‘Goodbye’
3 May 1969 If your favourite Beatles track is ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ then you're going to love our impending trudge through the kitsch bubblegum pop of Ireland's chart topping singles in the '70s. Before that, though, here's a Paul McCartney composition that channels the spirit of (read: carbon-copies) 'Martha My Dear': same farting schlager two-step, same … Continue reading Mary Hopkin – ‘Goodbye’
Lulu – ‘Boom Bang-A-Bang’
19 April 1969 If Franco thought he could simply rock up to London, steal a home 1968 Eurovision victory from Cliff, and actually get away with it, then he was in for a land. Summoning up the spirit of Dunkirk, D-Day and The Italian Job, the Brits went to Madrid in 1969 to give those … Continue reading Lulu – ‘Boom Bang-A-Bang’
Peter Sarstedt – ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’
5 April 1969 Remember those footballer questionnaires in Shoot! and Match magazines? "Favourite meal: Steak and chips. Most desirable date: The missus!" Anyway, I remember in one of them the '90s Man United winger Lee Sharpe was asked which song he hated most and, instead of a noted novelty irritant like 'The Birdie Song' or … Continue reading Peter Sarstedt – ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’
Muriel Day – ‘The Wages Of Love’
29 March 1969 Fair play to Austria, who seem to have been the only country to boycott the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest. Okay, they didn't actually come out and say it was because of the contest being held in the fascist dictatorship of Franco's Spain; perhaps it was a bit too soon for the Anschluss's … Continue reading Muriel Day – ‘The Wages Of Love’
Sean Dunphy & The Hoedowners – ‘Lonely Woods Of Upton’
1 February 1969 Maybe you'll get as much of a jolt as I did on hearing this 1969 song's repeated mentions of Sinn Féin - not the current-day party of Mary Lou and Gerry Adams, but the more romanticised earlier iteration of Dev, Michael Collins and fighting the Black and Tans. Indeed, since 1969 is … Continue reading Sean Dunphy & The Hoedowners – ‘Lonely Woods Of Upton’
The Marmalade – ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
25 January 1969 The Marmalade, as they were known before they dropped the 'The' in the '70s, were apparently the first Scottish act to have a number one single in the UK and, notwithstanding any supporting Caledonian member of an Irish showband, the first to do so in neighbouring Ireland too. They also turned down … Continue reading The Marmalade – ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
Real McCoy – ‘Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)’
11 January 1969 Another year in '60s Ireland, another Irish showband with a cover version at the top of the charts. But wait! This Irish showband sounds like they're actually living in the '60s! And the record isn't altogether bad! Though the clumsy title suggests some sort of plaintive country ballad about a Wild West … Continue reading Real McCoy – ‘Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)’
