"Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners (credited to Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express), released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album '' Too-Rye-Ay''. It reached number one in the United States and was their second number one hit in the UK, following 1980's " Geno". The song was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley and was initially claimed to be written by

Kevin Rowland Kevin Rowland (born 17 August 1953) is a British singer and musician best known as the frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners (currently called ''Dexys''). The band had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being " Geno" ...

, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although Rowland later stated that the essence of the tune should be attributed to Kevin Archer. "Come On Eileen" won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards, and in 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's sixth favourite 1980s number one single in a poll for ITV. It was ranked number eighteen on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and was Britain's best-selling single of 1982.

Composition

There are various versions of the song; some, in addition to the main section, feature either a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

fiddle-solo intro or an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

coda, both based on Thomas Moore's Irish folk song " Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms". The main section begins with a Celtic-style fiddle played over a drum beat, with the bass guitar and piano providing accompaniment. The lyrics of the song begin with the lines:

The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

of "Come On Eileen" features an improvised counter-melody which begins in a slow tempo and grows 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 In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

changes and key changes: Although often believed to have been inspired by a childhood friend with whom Kevin Rowland had a romantic, and later sexual, relationship in his teens, there was actually no real Eileen. "In fact she was composite, to make a point about Catholic repression."

Music video

The 1982 music video was directed by

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including '' The Great Rock 'n' Rol ...

and filmed in the inner south London suburb of

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

in the vicinity of the corner of Brook Drive and Hayles Street, then Austral Street and Holyoak Road. The character of "Eileen" in the music video, as well as on the single cover, is played by Máire Fahey, sister of

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1986 ...

from

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...

. Archival footage of

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and bl ...

arriving at London Heathrow Airport in 1954 was featured in the video.

Chart success

In a 2000 poll by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, the song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number one singles of all time. Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number three in their "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders" of all time, number 18 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and number one in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s". (While the group had a previous number one single in the UK with " Geno" in 1980, "Come On Eileen" was their only US hit.) As of June 2013, "Come On Eileen" had sold 1.33 million copies in the UK. The song reached number one in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts during the week ending 23 April 1983. "Come On Eileen" prevented

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

from having back-to-back number one hits in the US: "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

" was the number one single the previous seven weeks, while "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (Michael Jackson album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a ...

" was the number one song the ensuing three.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

"Come On England" version

In 2004, the band 4-4-2 was formed to cover the song as " Come On England" with altered lyrics to support the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

during their appearance in the 2004 European Championships.

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles 1983 singles Dexys Midnight Runners songs Blue-eyed soul songs Brit Award for British Single Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Julien Temple Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley Songs written by Kevin Rowland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles