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In 1982, Come on Eileen was the UK’s biggest selling single, spending much of August and the beginning of September number one in the charts. Who was Eileen? The lyrics were written by band-member Kevin Rowland, Jim Patterson and Billy Adams, and was about a girl Rowland used to date. The band was formed in England, but their 1982 album “Too-Rye-Ay” contained a heavy influence of Irish folk music. Come on Eileen clearly demonstrates this, with the opening fiddle leading into a marching melody.
The “toora loora” sung many times throughout is an Irish phrase for ‘good-bye’, and is repeated in many Irish drinking songs and lullabies.
But not us, no not us we are far too young and clever.
Remember Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye-Aye
Eileen I’ll hum this tune forever.
This is a track that I would usually pass on, which is why I’ve rated it below average, but on occasion, if I want to recall how bad 80’s music really was, I will listen to it and smile. The 80’s really were the worst decade when it comes to good music. Or do you disagree with me?
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:40 am
First of all, the 80’s rocked, and second, how could you diss a song about my middle name? I’ve always loved this song, though I can’t say the same about the lame video.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Ha ha! I think this video is enough to knock a star off of this song. But with the 80’s.. come on – look at the hair, the clothes… it’s hard to take this music seriously. I find it difficult to come up with more than 5 good bands that emerged in decade! Check back tomorrow – I have another 80’s song for y’all!
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
How about:
Def Leppard
Bon Jovi
U2
The Dream Academy (I know they only had “Life in a Northern Town”, but doesn’t that justify their existence?)
Men Without Hats
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I know this is all purely subjective, but I still don’t hear any good music here! My 5 picks would be: U2 (I agree with Paul here), Blondie, The Clash, Dire Straits and Madness. Now try and compare that with the 60’s (Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Bob Dylan) – the 60’s win out every time! Again, all purely subjective, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and tastes, which is the beauty of music!
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Let us not forget that Weird Al arose from the 80’s!
September 4th, 2009 at 11:00 am
The one good thing about Bob Dylan is that if you do a cover of one of his songs, you are bound to do better than the original.
September 5th, 2009 at 1:46 am
[...] day for us (we were engaged on this day, six year’s ago) I figured I’d make up for my recent post about 80’s music. I was going to break out a Bob Dylan record, but that one can [...]
January 24th, 2010 at 6:26 am
[...] beats on Rocky III. I wonder… Would we have been hearing Rocky III train to ‘Come on Eileen‘ (The song Eye of the tiger displaced off of number 1 spot in the UK Charts) had it not been [...]