18 November 1994 How did the softly-spoken Dustin of Zig and Zag's 'Christmas No. 1' turn into the harsh cackling Dustin of his solo 'Irelande Douze Pointe'? The answer is in the question. Once the alien twins decamped to London and Channel 4, Dustin was over-promoted from amusing sidekick to lead player. Not having any … Continue reading Dustin – ‘Spanish Lady’
Tag: 90s
Bon Jovi – ‘Always’
4 November 1994 One of my hopes when setting out on this exercise was that I'd be pleasantly surprised by a number one hit that at the time I may have dismissed too hastily or ignored unfairly - or at least find it not as bad as I had remembered. In this case, I'd heard … Continue reading Bon Jovi – ‘Always’
Boyzone – ‘Love Me For A Reason’
21 October 1994 So here it begins: the Irish boyband era. I almost feel silly trying to give this close attention as a piece of music. Boyzone records were really just items of Boyzone merchandise, on the same level as Boyzone posters, Boyzone concert tickets and Boyzone T-shirts; the actual music on them was secondary, … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘Love Me For A Reason’
Whigfield – ‘Saturday Night’
23 September 1994 I'm stuck in the overcrowded stairway of a dangerously heaving city-centre basement nightclub at a freshers' disco, trying to wriggle a square inch of room to slip off my coat before I pass out from the heat. It's September 1994. The song playing is Whigfield's 'Saturday Night'. That's it; that's the anecdote. … Continue reading Whigfield – ‘Saturday Night’
Perez ‘Prez’ Prado & His Orchestra – ‘Guaglione’
9 September 1994 Right after 'Riverdance', here's more music from dancing. Just as the 1994 Eurovision winner was upstaged by the intermission floor show, the 1994 World Cup on Irish TV made its biggest cultural impact not through the football but with one of the half-time ads. For those of you who weren't around in … Continue reading Perez ‘Prez’ Prado & His Orchestra – ‘Guaglione’
Bill Whelan – ‘Riverdance’
5 May 1994 It was a dreadful song anyway: insipid, retrograde AOR balladry about being old people. How it won can only be explained as a whole continent really, really wanting to come back to Ireland on another expenses-paid jolly same time next year. (The UK entry that year, 'Lonely Symphony' sung by Frances Ruffelle, … Continue reading Bill Whelan – ‘Riverdance’
The Irish World Cup Players Pool – ‘Watch Your House For Ireland’
29 April 1994 Ugh: the splashy branding and the mercantile-sounding group name—presumably The Irish World Cup Players Numbered Swiss Bank Account was taken—should tell you that this USA '94 venture was well removed from the joy and innocence of Italia '90. Ireland's USA '94 campaign in toto reflects this too. Despite a few highs—actually winning … Continue reading The Irish World Cup Players Pool – ‘Watch Your House For Ireland’
Bruce Springsteen – ‘Streets Of Philadelphia’
25 March 1994 The 1993 movie Philadelphia popped back into the news in June 2022 when its Oscar-winning star, Tom Hanks, agreed with a New York Times journalist that it rightly wouldn't be made today with its "inauthenticity" of a straight actor playing a gay character. A consideration of this movie both in its 1993 … Continue reading Bruce Springsteen – ‘Streets Of Philadelphia’
Mariah Carey – ‘Without You’
18 February 1994 Well, hello at last to the person who created one of the dominant pop forms of the whole '90s: the OTT power ballad style of Whitney, Celine, Boyz II Men and more. While 'Vision Of Love' in 1990 certainly blew the diva starting whistle, you can't say it was by design. Its … Continue reading Mariah Carey – ‘Without You’
Enigma – ‘Return To Innocence’
11 February 1994 Visitors to Paris usually just take in the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and the Louis Vuitton store. Difang and Igay Duana, though, saw Paris and ended up on a worldwide number one single without their knowledge. They were a Taiwanese folk singing duo who came to the French capital … Continue reading Enigma – ‘Return To Innocence’
