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“Come On Eileen” by Dexy's Midnight Runners

“Come On Eileen” by Dexy's Midnight Runners appears on 64 radio countdowns from 22 stations between 1982 and 2026. Its best result is #5 on the Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #58 alternative song of 1982, #193 alternative song of all time and #140 of the '80s.

64countdowns
22stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1982–2026years charted

Watch

Dexys Midnight Runners, Kevin Rowland - Come On Eileen (1982 Version)

Video from YouTube (DexysMidnightRunVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Come On Eileen" came out in Britain in June 1982, lifted from Too-Rye-Ay, the second album by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners, with the label crediting Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express. It followed "The Celtic Soul Brothers" onto Mercury, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley produced it, and it gave the band their second UK number one after "Geno" in 1980. This time America followed suit, sending it to No. 1 there too.

The writing credit went to Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, with Rowland supplying the words, though he later said the real heart of the tune should be put down to Kevin Archer. Folk rock by pedigree and pure pop by temperament, it's the sound of a band that had worked out how to make a crowd link arms.

It finished 1982 as Britain's best-selling single and took Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards. The affection hasn't worn off: VH1 put it at No. 18 on its 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, and in 2015 the British public voted it the nation's sixth favourite number one of that decade in a poll for ITV. "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 19 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1982 50

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 86 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1989 132 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1990 168 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 232 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 607 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 57 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 116 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 18 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 494 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 66 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 40 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 87 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 55 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 172 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 92 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 126 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 5 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 305 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 20 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 74 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 946 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 99 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 405 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 103 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 350 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 405 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 350 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1208 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 85 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 117 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 371 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 67 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 355 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 379 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 113 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 420 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 407 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 130 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 434 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 406 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 46 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1520 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1453 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1470 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1498 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1566 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1614 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1673 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 643 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2018 428 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2021 225 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 901 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 880 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 35 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 897 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 899 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 317 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 53 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 141 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498

Also listed as: Come on Eileen; Come On, Eileen.

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →
  1. 1Town Called MaliceThe Jam
  2. 2Rock the CasbahThe Clash
  3. 3Should I Stay or Should I Go?The Clash
  4. 4Promised You a MiracleSimple Minds
  5. 5TemptationNew Order
  6. 6I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

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