20 December 1996 If you list every Irish number one single in alphabetical order, starting with those which begin with numerals, '2 Become 1' by the Spice Girls is first on the list. It was also Ireland's 1996 Christmas number one, and its Christmassy New York video (actually shot with green screen in a London … Continue reading Spice Girls – ‘2 Become 1’ →

1 December 1995 Just as East 17 did the previous year, Boyzone had the first and last Irish number one of 1995. ('Love Me For A Reason' re-took the number one spot at the start of the year.) That's where the similarity ends. Anyone with a passing acquaintance of the Boyzone oeuvre will know that … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘Father And Son’ →

16 December 1994 Anyone putting money on the 1994 Christmas number one being a slow ballad by a boyband would surely have had Take That and Gary Barlow's piano-driven singer-songwriter aspirations in mind. But no: it's East 17 who take pop's most coveted prize in the UK as well as here in Ireland, holding off … Continue reading East 17 – ‘Stay Another Day’ →

19 December 1993 By the time Take That get to number one in Ireland, they're no longer Robbie Williams' Take That—cheeky dance routines and disco bops—but instead Gary Barlow's Take That: "classic" songwriting and Gary at the piano with four bored-looking backing singers. As it happens, the lead vocal on 'Babe' is by Mark Owen, … Continue reading Take That – ‘Babe’ →

3 December 1992 Thump, and then The Note Heard Round The World. I almost feel stupid trying to consider Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' as any normal record. Despite the efforts of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, that teed-up money note by Whitney is the emblematic gesture of the '90s power diva vocal … Continue reading Whitney Houston – ‘I Will Always Love You’ →

18 December 1975 and 19 December 1991 I wasn't born when it was first a hit, and I hadn't developed any interest in Queen since then, so I knew very little of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' when it came around again after Freddie Mercury's untimely death. I reckon today you wouldn't even fill a taxi with the … Continue reading Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ / ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ →

13 December 1990 In the early '90s The Den was appointment viewing for teens, college students, grown-ups and perhaps even children too. Much as The Saw Doctors and Scrap Saturday did, Zig and Zag's brand of cheeky energy flourished in feel-good post-Italia '90 Ireland. The show was an essential promo stop for any Irish band, … Continue reading Zig and Zag – ‘Christmas No. 1’ →

14 December 1989 Only two singers appear on both the original 1984 Band Aid and the 1989 Band Aid II: Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama. Looking around the room in 1984 they would have seen hi-wattage superstars like George Michael, Boy George, Simon Le Bon, Sting and Bono. In 1989 the ambient light … Continue reading Band Aid II – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ →

10 December 1988 Well, I didn't know that 'Mistletoe And Wine' was originally from a musical version of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Match Girl, screened on UK television in the mid-'80s, set in Victorian London, without the more religious lyrics, and sung by Twiggy as the character of a bawdy East End lady … Continue reading Cliff Richard – ‘Mistletoe And Wine’ →

13 December 1986 My main takeaway from 'Caravan Of Love' at the time was the bit in the video where each of The Housemartins took down their hoods to reveal a crucifix shaved into their heads. Was this a thing now, or even allowed? Impressionable as I was, I didn't have the nerve or inclination … Continue reading The Housemartins – ‘Caravan Of Love’ →