RadiJohan Top 10 on 06 December 2022

TWLWArtistTitle
106Rosa LinnSnap
9NewBilly IdolRunning From The Ghost
810David PaichWillibelongtoyou
7NewGeneration RadioWhy Are You Calling Me Now
62Parsons, Durbin & BonamassaGive ’em My Love
59John WaiteAnything
43QueensrÿcheForest
31KT TunstallPrivate Eyes
25The Lightning SeedsEmily Smiles
14Simple MindsSolstice Kiss

Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.

Irish rock duo Dea Matrona release fabulous new foot-stomper

“Dea Matrona” comprises two school friends, Mollie McGinn and Orlaith Forsythe, who grew up busking to their favourite rock ‘n’ roll anthems on the streets of Belfast. Following on from their previous singles, Glory Glory (I Am Free) and So Damn Dangerous, their new single, Red Button, describes watching the world fall apart around you.

Red Button is written from the perspective of observing the world tearing itself apart and being brought to a self-inflicted end in an apocalyptic state. It’s dark, it’s serious and it’s probably our favourite song we’ve written yet

This is one of those songs that is likely to get stuck in your head for a while. Red Button is new this week on RadiJohan.

An astonishingly successful and unlikely hit

The “Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band” is a British brass band formed around 1881 through public donations given by the townsfolk of the adjacent villages of “Brighouse” and “Rastrick” that face each other across the River “Calder” in West Yorkshire, England. Today, the band still continues to be supported through public subscriptions and its own fund raising efforts. One such fundraising effort in the 1970’s was their Recording of The Floral Dance with which they reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The instrumental recording stayed at number 2 for an astonishing 6 weeks, only prevented from reaching number 1 by “Paul McCartney and Wings” with Mull of Kintyre, the first UK single to sell more than two million copies, and third best selling UK single of all time.

Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie dead at 79

English musician and songwriter “Christine McVie” has passed away at the age of 79. She died in hospital after a short illness. The singer and songwriter is best known for her time with the band “Fleetwood Mac” in which she sang and played keyboards. She left the band in 1998 after 28 years but returned in 2014. Between 1970 and 1976, she was married to singer and bassist John McVie. Outside of Fleetwood Mac, Christine was also an accomplished solo performer, releasing several solo albums as well as a collaboration with longtime Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham.

Making Merry with Musketeers

“dArtagnan” is a German folk rock band from Nuremberg.The band’s name references the 17th century French soldier made famous by author “Alexandre Dumas,” particularly in the novel “The Three Musketeers.” Founded in 2015 the band describe their style of music as “Musketeer Rock,” a blend of modern rock sounds interwoven with folk rhythms “some of which echoed through the land hundreds of years ago”, together with lyrics that celebrate “love of life, compassion, friendship, camaraderie and courage.” You can hear what Musketeer Rock sounds like on dArtagnan’s new album, Felsenfest. Their single, We’re Gonna Be Drinking, which features “Candice Night” from the band “Blackmore’s Night,” is new this week on RadiJohan.

Language need not be a barrier

This week in 1975 Fly Robin Fly by “Silver Convention” hit number 1 in America for the first of three weeks. The song was written with very few lyrics because the German group couldn’t speak English which made memorizing a page of lyrics in a language unfamiliar to them too difficult. The disco classic contains only six unique words. It simply repeats “fly, robin, fly” three times, with an ending of “up, up to the sky!” Initially the song was titled Run, Rabbit, Run, but the writers changed it moments before the recording took place.  Fly Robin Fly won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.

RadiJohan Top 10 on 29 November 2022

TWLWArtistTitle
10NewDavid PaichWillibelongtoyou
9NewJohn WaiteAnything
86Richard MarxSame Heartbreak Different Day
74The Head and The HeartHurts (But it Goes Away)
65Rosa LinnSnap
59The Lightning SeedsEmily Smiles
47Simple MindsSolstice Kiss
32QueensrÿcheForest
21Parsons, Durbin & BonamassaGive ’em My Love
13KT TunstallPrivate Eyes

Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.

Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead

The debut album, Ballad Of A Misspent Youth, by Nashville-based rockers “Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts” was released this month. Talking about their new single, Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead, Tuk Smith said:

“I was channeling my favourite 70’s glam gods on this track, for sure. I woke up one morning with the phrase ‘…everybody loves you when you’re dead’ running through my head, so I sat down at the piano and the song kind of wrote itself. I had been struggling with the death of a friend and I was flooded with existential thoughts. It’s not necessarily a song about death per se, it’s a bit more layered with some social commentary thrown in there. Personally, I look at it as more a freedom song.”

Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead is new this week on RadiJohan.

Dirty Dancing Does It!

This week in 1987 the “Dirty Dancing” hit (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life went to number 1 in America while the “Swayze-lift” became a popular dance move. The song plays during the movie’s big finish when Jennifer Grey leaps into Patrick Swayze’s arms. The song also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and South Africa and won a number of awards including the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Dermot Kenny wants to be kissed.

Irish singer-songwriter “Dermot Kennedy” has been described as a master storyteller who marries poignant lyrics about love’s intensity with an infectious, hook-laden melody that immediately draws the listener in. Dermot started playing guitar at age 10, and writing songs at age 14. His parents were very supportive. Dermot credits his father for frequently driving him into Dublin to perform at open mic nights when he was underage. His mother submitted an application for him to study classical music at “Maynooth” University where he spent three years. He released his debut album, Without Fear, in 2019. His new album, Sonder, is out now and the single, Kiss Me, is new this week on RadiJohan.