6 August 1988 Paddy Reilly was part of the soundtrack of my childhood. His 1983 live album, featuring modern Irish folk ballads like 'The Fields Of Athenry', was one of the few cassettes my father had in the car, so on long rainy Sunday drives when there wasn't a big Gaelic football match on the … Continue reading Paddy Reilly – ‘Flight Of Earls’ →

16 July 1988 I didn't know that this was a cover version; the original was a 1985 single by George Benson in his smooth-soul-crooner '80s phase. After Tiffany with her two Irish number ones and Debbie Gibson with her chart hits here, Glenn Medeiros was another American pop teen to wash up on our shores … Continue reading Glenn Medeiros – ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You’ →

9 July 1988 Apparently the driver for this being a hit was Tracy Chapman's double appearance at the televised Nelson Mandela birthday tribute concert in Wembley the previous month; Stevie Wonder pulled out at the last minute so the organisers asked Chapman to go back on, where she sang 'Fast Car' with just her acoustic … Continue reading Tracy Chapman – ‘Fast Car’ →

11 June 1988 Finally, after years of underachievement and dubious refereeing, and thanks to Jack Charlton's gruff Geordie long-ball game plus a late Gary Mackay goal to give Scotland an unexpected away win that nobbled nearest challengers Bulgaria, Ireland qualified for a major tournament. All this was new to us; what now? Well, one tradition … Continue reading The Republic of Ireland Soccer Squad – ‘The Boys In Green’ →

21 May 1988 This double-A-side single was from a charity album of Beatles covers by 1988 pop and indie acts, in support of Childline in the UK, called Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father. Other tracks on the album include Sonic Youth doing 'Within You Without You', 'Good Morning Good Morning' by The Triffids, and 'A … Continue reading Wet Wet Wet – ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ / Billy Bragg ft Cara Tivey – ‘She’s Leaving Home’ →

7 May 1988 As a Kerry person I am pleased to confirm the strong Kingdom connections of this record: Eddi Reader has family on her mother's side from Tralee, and 'Perfect' was used in a '90s Toyota ad on Irish television that also featured the mellow north Kerry tones of the poet and academic Brendan … Continue reading Fairground Attraction – ‘Perfect’ →

30 April 1988 Was the teacher in the lyrics an actual teacher or just someone metaphorically teaching George Michael a lesson? For Pink Floyd and Sting it would have been the former, but we can assume that George means the latter. Either way, at the time my school-hating small child brain found all this teacher … Continue reading George Michael – ‘One More Try’ →

9 April 1988 You'd think that after trudging so far through the barren, cynical wastelands of 1988's cheaply-made teen pop number ones I'd be delighted to find an oasis of Pet Shop Boys. However, I've never warmed to 'Heart'. Yes, I enjoy the soaring, epic Euro-house confection, and the extravagant Nosferatu video starring Sir Ian … Continue reading Pet Shop Boys – ‘Heart’ →

2 April 1988 Here's Tiffany back at number one, but in the two months since 'I Think We're Alone Now' things had changed. Now Kylie Minogue and the Goss twins, all still only 19 in early 1988, were the new teen pop sensations on this side of the Atlantic, and Kylie in particular had become … Continue reading Tiffany – ‘Could’ve Been’ →

26 March 1988 Bros-mania was now in full swing and, as Stock, Aitken and Waterman have shown us, fans will buy anything in a frenzy. I remember Bros in Smash Hits interviews being uncomplimentary about Stock, Aitken and Waterman's songs and stars, but 'Drop The Boy' is almost wilfully horrible and certainly poorer than anything … Continue reading Bros – ‘Drop The Boy’ →