"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 No. 1 in the United States and was their second No. 1 hit in the UK, after 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.
"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 No. 18 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and was Britain's best-selling single of 1982.
Contents
Composition
When asked about the "Eileen" mentioned in the song, lead singer and songwriter Kevin Rowland claimed Eileen was his adolescent lover: "For years I told everyone that Eileen was my childhood girlfriend". However, in an interview with The Guardian, he revealed that there was actually no real Eileen: "In fact she was composite, to make a point about Catholic repression." He referenced an interview he had during the group's 1981 Projected Passion Revue tour, and stated that the interviewer was "...really good looking, and I was reminded of being a teenager, surrounded by Irish Catholic girls you couldn’t touch, but at the same time with these overpowering feelings of lust which you’re not supposed to have."
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.
Archival footage of Johnnie Ray arriving at London Heathrow Airport in 1954 was featured in the video.
Chart success
In a 2000 poll by Channel 4, the song was placed at No. 38 in the 100 greatest number one singles of all time. Similar polls by the music channel VH1 placed the song at No. 3 in their "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders" of all time, No. 18 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and No. 1 in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s". (While the group had a previous No. 1 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.
The song reached No. 1 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 top hits in the US: "Billie Jean" was the No. 1 single the previous seven weeks, while "Beat It" was the No. 1 song the ensuing three.
Cover versions
In 2004, the rock ensemble 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. Although "All Together Now" by The Farm was selected as the official anthem, "Come On England" both outsold and outcharted it, becoming an unexpected hit.
A cover by American ska punk group Save Ferris on their 1997 album It Means Everything reached No. 26 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay charts.