Come On Eileen

"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<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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 credited to Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although Rowland later stated that the essence of the tune should be attributed to Kevin Archer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

"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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was ranked number 18 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s"<ref name="VH1"/> and was Britain's best-selling single of 1982.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Composition

According to Kevin Rowland, there was actually no real Eileen: "In fact she was composite, to make a point about Catholic repression."<ref name="2014-10-16 Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

Music video

The 1982 music video was directed by Julien Temple and filmed in the inner south London district of Elephant and Castle 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 from Bananarama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Archival footage of Johnnie Ray arriving at London Heathrow Airport in 1954 was featured in the video.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Chart success

In a 2000 poll by Channel 4, the song was placed at number 38 in the 100 greatest number one singles of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at number three in their "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders" of all time,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> number 18 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s"<ref name="VH1">Template:Cite press release</ref> and number one in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (While the group had a previous number one single in the UK with "Geno" in 1980 as well as several other Top 40 singles, "Come On Eileen" was their only US hit.) As of June 2013, "Come On Eileen" had sold 1.33 million copies in the UK.<ref name="Copies">Template:Cite web</ref>

The song reached number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week ending 23 April 1983. "Come On Eileen" prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back number-one hits in the US: "Billie Jean" was the number-one single the previous seven weeks, while "Beat It" was the number-one song the ensuing three.

Weekly charts

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Chart (1982–1983)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1
France (IFOP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	5
South Africa (Springbok Radio)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1
Spain (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	17
US Billboard Adult Contemporary<ref name="awards"/>	31
US Billboard Hot 100<ref name="awards">Template:Cite web</ref>	1
US Billboard Top Tracks<ref name="awards"/>	6
US Cash Box<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1982)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus82">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	32
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	34
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1

Chart (1983)	Rank
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	13
US Cash Box<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	12

"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 during their appearance in the 2004 European Championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
• List of best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1983
• List of number-one singles of 1982 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles from the 1980s (New Zealand)
• List of number-one singles of the 1980s (Switzerland)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s