Sutton Bay – my first song to go to No. 1
Now here’s another story – because in between the 2 albums, I wrote a song that went to number 1 in Ireland on the Irish iTunes pop charts. Yes – yours truly wrote a number 1 song. Who’d have thought a guy who only started writing music, who can’t read music, who didn’t start his composing til’ the ripe old age of 50 years of age, could come up with a number 1 song????
Well it started back in 2020, I was walking down a Newbridge street and heard a beautiful voice on the wind. A young lady busking with a street box. We chatted and I told her I previously wrote a song for another brilliant young lady called Edel Mac Aodh, and a song called Juke Joint and was successful on local radio and won song of the week competition after 2 radio plays on Liam Kett show KFM radio station. She was impressed and said jokingly, write one for me said the young street singer, as we now know her as Amy Rowlett. I said OK give me time and off I went with a smile on my face.
3 months later and I had penned Sutton Bay (this song has very strong emotional strings attached as it’s about a little lady very close to my heart. I’ll say no more.)
No. 1 song on iTunes
Myself, Amy and Colm Cahill recorded the song in Colm’s studio, and I released it on New Years Eve, 2020. One week later it was number 1 on iTunes, knocking Dermot Kennedy and Ed Sheeran off the top spot. Wow what a feeling – I’d written a number 1, with Amy Rowlett singing. It was an amazing feeling, we sent it to RTE radio 1 and loads of other stations but Radio 1 embraced it with open arms and it went to number 2 there. Liam Kett at KFM Radio played it till he wore out his needle, Paul Watts on Radio Tamworth England and many more.
Only one thing was holding us back from taking advantage of a No. 1 hit single – Covid 19! That was the end of the road for Sutton Bay.
Links:
Newbridge song hits number 1 on iTunes charts
https://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/home/600345/kildare-singer-tops-itunes-chart.html