11 March 1972 I checked Harry Nilsson's figures on a well-known streaming service, and was unsurprised to see that 'Without You' and 'Everybody's Talkin'' were doing around five to ten times the numbers of his other songs. Even my awareness of him in the '90s was just for those two tracks and little in the … Continue reading Nilsson – ‘Without You’
Tag: 1972
T. Rex – ‘Telegram Sam’
12 February 1972 You can still send a telegram today. Isn't that cute? Less cute is how anyone nicknamed Telegram Sam today is more likely to be an avid user of a certain social media site frequented by right-wing knuckle-draggers with lEgiTiMaTe qUeStIoNs. There are a few competing footnotes as to who the Telegram Sam … Continue reading T. Rex – ‘Telegram Sam’
Barleycorn – ‘The Men Behind The Wire’
22 January 1972 This chart-topping original of 'The Men Behind The Wire' has a spoken-word introduction: On Monday the ninth of August 1971 at 4:30 a.m., Irish men from all over the six counties were taken from their homes. Hundreds of these men are now imprisoned without trial. This song is borne of the civil … Continue reading Barleycorn – ‘The Men Behind The Wire’
The New Seekers – ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)’
8 January 1972 Shannon Airport's role as the site of the real-life inspiration for Coca Cola's "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke" jingle will turn out to be one of Ireland's more benign contributions to our chart-topping singles of 1972. Irish coffee was invented in the '40s at the nearby Foynes transatlantic seaplane … Continue reading The New Seekers – ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)’
Larry Cunningham – ‘Slaney Valley’
1 January 1972 The most astonishing year in Irish chart history begins innocuously enough, with an old-fashioned waltz-time accordion ballad on the céilí wing of the country & Irish showband scene. Suffice it to say, Larry Cunningham won't be doing any of the astonishing that lies ahead. 'Slaney Valley' ploughs such a similar furrow to … Continue reading Larry Cunningham – ‘Slaney Valley’
The Pipes and Drums and the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards – ‘Amazing Grace’
22 April 1972 On 30 January 1972—Bloody Sunday—British soldiers killed 13 unarmed civilians at a protest march in the nationalist Bogside area of Derry. The immediate response in Ireland included the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin. Three months later, the British Army were at number one in the Irish singles charts. There's more. … Continue reading The Pipes and Drums and the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards – ‘Amazing Grace’
