Denied a number one by....

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Denied a number one by....

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Speaking of Lisdoonvarna, it's on right now. As I'm nearly fifty, perhaps I'll shift over there... (not sure Mrs. ArrGee would let me though)

http://www.discoverireland.com/gb/ireland-things-to-see-and-do/whats-on/listings/?fid=FI_505816

Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival 2013
Lisdoonvarna
30 August 2013 - 30 September 2013

The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival is a month long festival of music, dancing and craic. With music all over town from 12 noon until late at Night. An experience not to be missed. The Matchmaking festival is a place where people can come and mix and dance every day and have some fun and craic. Willie Daly, Ireland's only matchmaker, will be at hand to help out where needed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23849960

One of the world's biggest matchmaking festivals has for the first time in its 157-year history extended an invitation to gay people. Every September, tens of thousands of people looking for love - or just a good night out - descend on the small town of Lisdoonvarna in County Clare. The weekend of 31 August to 1 September will see a new twist, with The Outing dedicated to gay and lesbian people.

-- Edited by ArrGee on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 04:11:37 PM

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

... not truly a big issue for the Rats as they either hit top spot or were a little way off it , but there are a whole load of great number two songs denied by what was quite frankly rubbish.

The worst crime...

Pulp - Common People number two to....

Robson Green & Jerome Flynn - Unchained Melody/(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover

FFS!

PS - I still think Shaddup Your Face is better than Vienna. Up yours, Midge Ure

PPS - Arguably Abba and Blondie did stop Banana Republic claiming top spot, but if you keep going like that if only hundreds of other singles weren't available at the time, Charmed Lives would have been number one! Not sure how badly Charmed Lives sold, but it didn't even chart, the ONLY Rats single not to have any sort of chart position. Dave was 81 and Hold of Me 78 even though only the top 75 were actually published.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

In Ireland back in 1978, Rat Trap only reached number two! Denied by Suss's favorite band, Boney M!!!

Boney M are on the hate list.

http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33385&start=75

December 1st, 1978

01 NE 01 BONEY M - MARY'S BOY CHILD / OH MY LORD
02 06 07 THE BOOMTOWN RATS - RAT TRAP

December 8th, 1978

01 01 02 BONEY M - MARY'S BOY CHILD / OH MY LORD
02 02 08 THE BOOMTOWN RATS - RAT TRAP

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

and fcuk the yellow-bellied Kenny Rogers! Just cos he looks like Santa there's no need to buy his records after Christmas.

3rd March 1980

01 COWARD OF THE COUNTY - KENNY ROGERS
02 SOMEONE'S LOOKING AT YOU - BOOMTOWN RATS

noelindublin · Loudmouth

The Rats were knocked off the top of the Irish charts in August 1979 by Brendan Shine with a song called Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down?

This song is just surreal, the sort of Oirish cods wallop nonsense you might encounter on a jukebox in an Irish pub in Kilburn. Anybody looking for a laugh should check the back pages of the country 'n' Irish genre. It is beyond parody.

I'd have to check up on songs that were denied no 1 placings but there must be countless examples. One that springs to mind is John Lennon's Just Like Starting Over only reached no 2 in UK Christmas 1980. Lennon (lately shot dead!) was denied by St Winifreds School Choir from Stockport, with There's No One Quite Like Grandma.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
The Rats were knocked off the top of the Irish charts in August 1979 by Brendan Shine with a song called Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down?

Shine is on my hate list anyway for Catch Me If You Can, My Name is Dan! All about him (a fifty year old, no less) off to Lisdoonvarna in County Clare for the matchmaking festival. And when I was in Clare back in 1980, it was all I fcuking heard everywhere! Just rubs salt in the wound knowing he knocked the Rats off number one.

suss · In the Long Grass

ArrGee wrote:
In Ireland back in 1978, Rat Trap only reached number two! Denied by Suss's favorite band, Boney M!!!
Boney M are on the hate list.
http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33385&start=75
December 1st, 1978
01 NE 01 BONEY M - MARY'S BOY CHILD / OH MY LORD
02 06 07 THE BOOMTOWN RATS - RAT TRAP

December 8th, 1978
01 01 02 BONEY M - MARY'S BOY CHILD / OH MY LORD
02 02 08 THE BOOMTOWN RATS - RAT TRAP

Oh my lord indeed! Have to confess not my fave track though. Now few could deny that Ma Baker or possibly Rasputin were worthy of denying Rats the top spot biggrin

Looking at other comments, and veering wildly off topic, I honeymooned in Ireland (well technically I suppose we did) and on our travels we made the effort to detour to Lisdoonvarna to see what all the fuss was about. Remember as if it were yesterday driving into town and not a soul in sight, and thinking must have got dates wrong. Went into 'The Matchmaker Bar' for a pint for the sake of it, and place was absolutely heaving, at about 3pm. Dancing, music, the works. All ages and all nations too, by which I mean Americans mainly smile . Fascinating and very entertaining few hours - but you would never have known it was happening.

Great track by Christy Moore called Lisdoonvarna, which I think is about music festival more than matchmaking. Doubt that kept anything off top spot though...

-- Edited by suss on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 10:13:39 PM

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Surely no coincidence that his initials are BS. Another 'masterpiece' by Shine is a song called Carrots. Back in the seventies I remember that song about alcoholism One Day At A Time being number one in Ireland for months at a time. In the great tradition of the showbands it was a ersatz cover and most likely drove many to drink. smile Not that the Irish need much encouragement. smile

Loved Pete Briqutte on the Late Late about Ireland: 'a sure twas terrible, I'd go anywhere England, America, France' (talking about Ireland in the seventies)

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
...I remember that song about alcoholism One Day At A Time being number one in Ireland for months at a time.
well, Lena Martell had a number one with it in the UK Never knew it was about booze. Co-written by Kris Kristofferson who had a couple of his songs covered by Bobby Boomtown (The Pilgrim, For The Good Times)
PS For those who don't geddit, Martell is a brandy

noelindublin · Loudmouth

ArrGee wrote:
noelindublin wrote:
...I remember that song about alcoholism One Day At A Time being number one in Ireland for months at a time.
well, Lena Martell had a number one with it in the UK Never knew it was about booze. Co-written by Kris Kristofferson who had a couple of his songs covered by Bobby Boomtown (The Pilgrim, For The Good Times)
PS For those who don't geddit, Martell is a brandy

One day at a time is the 'slogan' of Alcoholics Anonymous, or one of their slogans. In Ireland it was covered by an ould biddy called Gloria and had those lame country and Irish flourishes that is the hallmark of that genre.

Apart from the country and Irish the other great genre was Irish Republican songs that were chart hits- bands like the Wolfe Tones. Add punk, disco, and the Irish charts as I remember them from the late seventies and early eighties were quite surreal. Songs about the IRA followed by some disco hit and there was an Irish version of the Oldest Swinger in Town by the Bards. Fred Wedlock did the honours in the Uk with this song, by the Irish version was a bit weird to say the least. smile