It's You It's You It's You

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  Seven Songs for the Week #174 - 5th Aug 26

  Jason Carty

  Twice I went by some random tent and someone was belting a Joe Dolan number, and twice someone walked past me with a Joe t-shirt on. This means I experienced more passive Joe Dolan at the festival than Beatles by a factor of four. If you’re Irish you know who Joe is; if you are not, it’s tricky to explain his place in the Irish culture, but I’ll try. Emerging from the Drifters (not them) showband in the 1960s, he became a beloved entertainer in Ireland with the adage “there’s no show like a Joe show”. In the 1990s he gained a new wave of young follwers by releasing covers of The Universal and Common People who were tricked by the associated post-modern irony to experiencing his genuine live showmanship. Joe passed away in 2007 at the age of 68. He is commemorated with a statue and a bridge in his home town of Mullingar. Also, he was nearly my godfather, but that’s another story.