12 December 1999 Macy Gray made a surprise return to the news on our side of the Atlantic in July 2022 when she appeared on a British controversialist's news opinion show and gave her views on trans women and their participation in sport. Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) are a support and advocacy group for … Continue reading Macy Gray – ‘I Try’ →

5 December 1999 Boyzone? Still? Really? Dinosaur-meets-asteroid is too vigorous an analogy, but the advent of Westlife, a prettier and squeakier-clean Boyzone but with at least two actual singers, surely made Ronan and company redundant in a swoop. This micro-drama is set within the niche confines of the Irish boyband underground. The rest of us … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘Every Day I Love You’ →

21 November 1999 Should Dublin people be barred from buying records, and even from making them? It's all very well that every Dublin person loves the quintessentially stage Dub wit of Dustin, so much so that every native Dubliner household within the Pale owns a copy of his greatest hits: fact. Putting yet another Dustin … Continue reading Dustin – ’32 Counties’ →

15 August 1999 Westlife at Cheiron! Could this single, written and produced by the same triumphant Swedish studio behind '...Baby One More Time' and 'I Want It That Way', be another 1999 pop classic? Have we been doing Westlife wrong all these years? Well, no. 'If I Let You Go' is a Westlife single. The … Continue reading Westlife – ‘If I Let You Go’ →

1 August 1999 After Robbie and Geri, here's Ronan with the latest big solo move. Okay, so a re-listen to 'When You Say Nothing At All' reveals that Ronan Keating doesn't really shlur hish wordsh as popular lampoon would have it. I think he has more in common with what we now call 'cursive' singers … Continue reading Ronan Keating – ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ →

25 July 1999 At the time of writing, Ricky Martin is involved in a widely-reported legal suit and counter-suit involving serious allegations against both parties, all as yet unproven. The matter has some unfortunate resonances with this particular Irish number one, so I'll try to keep things tasteful and considerate. 'Livin' La Vida Loca' was … Continue reading Ricky Martin – ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ →

27 June 1999 ATB? '9 PM (Till I Come)'? Oh, it's that Ibiza trance-house track with the twiddly, wibbly instrumental hook. I remember hearing that distinctive hook everywhere, but I'm surprised to see that it spent a whole four weeks at number one in Ireland, longer than 'No Scrubs' and 'That Don't Impress Me Much' … Continue reading ATB – ‘9 PM (Till I Come)’ →

20 June 1999 Obviously being a rocket scientist, Brad Pitt or car gotter pales in comparison to, taking a random example, a tall dark handsome Kerry person who speaks fluent French, runs marathons and writes sparkling, thought-provoking prose about chart-topping pop songs. Still, we should be considerate to the less impressive - right, Shania? The … Continue reading Shania Twain – ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ →

6 June 1999 The voice isn't Baz Luhrmann's but that of an Australian actor called Lee Perry. The words aren't Baz Luhrmann's either; it's the text of a 1997 column written by Chicago Tribune journalist Mary Schmich. So, what exactly does Baz Luhrmann do here? Maybe 'Baz Luhrmann Presents' on the single sleeve (above) is … Continue reading Baz Luhrmann – ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ →