Come On Eileen
| "Come On Eileen" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Dexys Midnight Runners | ||||
| from the album Too-Rye-Ay | ||||
| B-side | "Dubious" | |||
| Released | 29 June 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981–1982 | |||
| Genre | New Wave, pop rock, celtic rock | |||
| Length | 3:28 / 4:12 (single version) 4:28 (album version) |
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| Label | Mercury | |||
| Writer(s) | Kevin Rowland, Jim "Big Jim" Paterson, Billy Adams | |||
| Producer | Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley | |||
| Dexys Midnight Runners singles chronology | ||||
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"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners, which appeared on the band's 1982 album Too-Rye-Ay. It was their second #1 hit in the United Kingdom, following 1980's "Geno". The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley.
Come On Eileen won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards.
Contents |
Composition [edit]
The song begins with Celtic-style fiddle played over a drum beat, with the bass guitar and piano providing accompaniment. The original single version has an additional intro of a Celtic fiddle solo, playing Thomas Moore's Irish folk song Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms.
The lyrics of the song begin with the lines:
Poor old Johnnie Ray
Sounded sad upon the radio
Moved a million hearts in mono
Our mothers cried, sang along
Who would blame them?
The phrase "Come on Eileen" is used as the chorus to the song, which was loosely inspired by the song "A Man Like Me" by the 1960s British soul group Jimmy James and the Vagabonds.[1][2]
The bridge of "Come On Eileen" features an improvised counter-melody which begins in a slow tempo and gets faster and faster over an accelerando vocal backing. The chord sequence of the bridge is actually the same as the verses, but transposed up by a whole tone.
Throughout the song, there are numerous tempo changes and key changes:
| Section | Introduction | Verses | Chorus and bridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key | F major | C major | D major |
Music video [edit]
The music video to accompany the single was directed by Julien Temple. It features members of the band wearing sleeveless shirts and dungarees. The "Eileen" as featured in the video (and on the record sleeve) is Máire Fahey, sister of Siobhan Fahey, former singer with Bananarama and Shakespear's Sister. The American singer Johnnie Ray, an early rock-and-roll crooner mentioned in the opening lyrics, is also featured in the video using old film footage.
Filming took place on Brook Drive, Kennington, London. The corner store which was called "Vi's Stores" in the video is located at the corner of Brook Drive and Hayles Street. It is now called Brook Drive Mini Market and can be seen on Google Street View.[3]
Chart success [edit]
In a poll by Channel 4, a UK TV channel, the song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number 1 singles of all time.[4] Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number 3 in the 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders of all time,[5] number 18 in the Top 100 Songs of the 1980s[6] and number 1 in the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.[7] It has sold 1.31 million copies in the UK as of November 2012.[8] The song reached number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during the week ending April 23, 1983. "Come on Eileen" also has the dubious honor of preventing Michael Jackson from ever having back-to-back number one hits, in which Billie Jean was the number one single the previous week, while Beat It was the number one song the following week.
| Chart (1982–83) | Peak Position[9] |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
Other uses [edit]
In 2004, a band called 4-4-2 covered this song as "Come On England" with altered lyrics to support the England national football team during their appearance in the 2004 European Championships.[10] Other artists to have covered the song include the ska band Save Ferris (who replaced the strings with a horn section), folk metal band Skyclad, American folk pop band Sugarland, who performed with the American pop singer Sara Bareilles, French art band Nouvelle Vague, the Japanese band nil, and Badly Drawn Boy.[citation needed]
On 7 August 2005 the song was used to wake the astronauts of Space Shuttle Discovery on the final day of STS-114 in reference to commander Eileen Collins.[11]
The song was used in the 2010 film Get Him To The Greek , the 2011 film Take Me Home Tonight and the 2012 film The Perks of Being a Wallflower.[12] The song was also used in the musical Back to the 80s.
Musicians (band members) [edit]
- Kevin Rowland – vocals
- Billy Adams – banjo and backing vocals
- Giorgio Kilkenny – bass and backing vocals
- Seb Shelton – drums and backing vocals
- Mickey Billingham – piano, accordion, and backing vocals
- Helen O'Hara – fiddle
- Steve Brennan – fiddle
- Jennifer Tobis – fiddle
- Roger MacDuff (real name Roger Huckle)[13] – fiddle
- "Big" Jim Paterson – trombone
- Paul Speare – tenor saxophone
- Brian Maurice – alto saxophone
References [edit]
- ^ "Jimmy James - A Man Like Me". YouTube. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Audio "www.dexys.co.uk".[dead link]
- ^ "Google Street View". Google. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Channel 4". Channel 4. Retrieved 26 January 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Daniel Boerner (22 June 2006). "VH1's Top 100 One-Hit Wonders". danboe.net. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980s
- ^ "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders Of The 80s: Read the List". VH1 Blog. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star (song)". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Come on England - Euro 2004 song". Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ^ Colin Fries, NASA History Division (15 July 2011). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". NASA. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ James Berardinelli. "Perks of Being a Wallflower, The". Retrieved October 2012.
- ^ http://www.dexys.org/id14.html
External links [edit]
| Preceded by "Fame" by Irene Cara |
UK number-one single 7 August 1982 – 28 August 1982 |
Succeeded by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor |
| Preceded by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 1 November 1982 – 29 November 1982 |
Succeeded by "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth |
| Preceded by "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 23 April 1983 |
Succeeded by "Beat It" by Michael Jackson |
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