Come On Eileen
| "Come On Eileen" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Dubious" |
"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It originally appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay. It was their first #1 hit in the United Kingdom since 1980's "Geno".
The song won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards.
Composition
The song begins with Celtic-style fiddle played over a drum beat, with the bass guitar and piano providing accompaniment. An extended 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 chorus was loosely inspired by the song "A Man Like Me" by the 1960s British soul group Jimmy James and the Vagabonds.[1]
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 | Bridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key | F major | C major | D major | D major |
Music video
The music video to accompany the single was directed by Julien Temple. It features members of the band wearing sleeveless shirts and overalls. 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.[2]
Chart success
In the British charts, the song spent four weeks at number one in August 1982. This success was repeated around the globe; spending five weeks as the Kent Report's number one in Australia and reaching number one in April 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also holds the distinction of preventing Michael Jackson from having back-to-back number one hits in the U.S. The number one hits "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" were separated by Dexys Midnight Runners' one week stay at the top.[citation needed]
The song was also successful in Ireland, where it reached number one and spent a total of eleven weeks in the charts.[citation needed]
It is a common example of a one-hit wonder in the U.S., as the band failed to reach similar popularity with any of their later songs, though in the UK they had already reached number one two years earlier with "Geno", and went on to have further hits.
In a poll by the UK TV Channel, Channel 4, the song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number 1 singles of all time.[3] A similar poll by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number 3 in the 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders of all time.[4]
The song reached #18 on VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980s.[5]
The song was named #1 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.[6]
Cover versions
 |
The song has been covered by several artists including the ska band Save Ferris (which replaced the strings with a horn section), folk metal Skyclad, French art band Nouvelle Vague, the Atlantic Canadian folk rockers Kilt, Blackthorn, the Japanese band nil, and Badly Drawn Boy. In June 2004 in the UK, the tune was used for the song "Come on England", by a group of football fans working at talkSPORT radio calling themselves "4-4-2". The song was intended to support the England football team during the Euro 2004 competition. In 2006, a cover version by Hermes House Band was released as a single in France.
In 2010, Street Corner Symphony, an A cappella group from Nashville, performed a version of the song on the NBC show The Sing-Off[7].
Other media
- The song was used as a background tune in a 2009 episode of the BBC police drama Ashes to Ashes (set in 1982) where a gypsy girl (played by Ellie Paskell) gave birth to a baby girl who was named Eileen after a sarcastic remark by Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister).[8]
- In Clerks, Randal mentions a porn movie Cum On Eileen while ordering films.
- Homer Simpson's band The Be Sharps wins a Grammy award, beating Dexy's Midnight Runners. "Well, you haven't heard the last of them," asserts Homer in flashback, the writers' joking reference to Dexy's Midnight Runners' status as a one-hit wonder.
Musicians (band members)
- Kevin Rowland – vocals
- Billy Adams – banjo and backing vocals
- Giorgio Kilkenny – bass and backing vocals
- Seb Shelton – drums and backing vocals
- Micky Billingham – piano, accordion, and backing vocals
- Helen O'Hara – fiddle
- Steve Brennan – fiddle
- Jennifer Tobis – fiddle
- Roger MacDuff – fiddle
- "Big" Jim Paterson – trombone
- Paul Speare – tenor saxophone
- Brian Maurice – alto saxophone
References
- ^ Audio - www.dexys.co.uk
- ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=brook+drive,+london&sll=51.493528,-0.104821&sspn=0.007535,0.022745&ie=UTF8&ll=51.493542,-0.104949&spn=0.007535,0.022745&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=51.493525,-0.104798&panoid=tPBOSut_vVJyA9XtxQWXVw&cbp=12,39.642765721649816,,0,5.389699663407361 Google Street View
- ^ http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/singles/results.html Channel4
- ^ http://www.danboe.net/articles/975/vh1s-top-100-one-hit-wonders VH1's Top 100 One-Hit Wonders
- ^ VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980s
- ^ 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders Of The 80s
- ^ http://www.nbc.com/sing-off/contestants/season-2/street-corner-symphony.shtml
- ^ [1]