Artist · chart history
Imelda May
Solo artist Dublin Ireland
Imelda May is an artist from Dublin. Imelda May has 13 chart appearances on 13 radio countdowns from 9 stations on RockLists, spanning 2009–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Mayhem”, which appears on 9 lists with a best position of #7. The station that charted Imelda May most often is The Colorado Sound (Fort Collins–Denver, CO), with 4 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2011.
Imelda May, born in Dublin in 1974 as Imelda Clabby, takes rockabilly revival seriously without turning it into a costume party. She sings with a jazz singer's phrasing (Billie Holiday comparisons have followed her), writes her own songs, plays a range of instruments, the bodhrán among them, and puts real menace behind the slap and the twang.
She formed her own band in 2002 and put out her debut, No Turning Back, the same year. Love Tattoo followed in 2009, and Mayhem, in 2010, raised the stakes: its title track is a hot-rod blast of rumbling bass and surf-tinged guitar, and the album picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination.
She kept moving after that. Tribal arrived in 2014, Life Love Flesh Blood in 2017, and 11 Past the Hour in April 2021, and she has added television presenting to the day job.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Imelda May on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayhem | 9 | #7 | – | 2011 | |
| 2 | Tainted Love | 1 | #573 | – | – | |
| 3 | Johnny Got A Boom Boom | 1 | #91 | – | 2009 | |
| 4 | Inside Out | 1 | #877 | – | – | |
| 5 | All For You | 1 | #1034 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 276 | Mayhem | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound |
| 2024 | 575 | Mayhem | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century |
| 2024 | 573 | Tainted Love | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs |
| 2022 | 1034 | All For You | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time |
| 2019 | 1034 | Mayhem | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 |
| 2018 | 877 | Inside Out | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 |
| 2011 | 7 | Mayhem | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2011 |
| 2011 | 30 | Mayhem | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2011 |
| 2011 | 37 | Mayhem | KFOG Foghead Favorites of 2011 |
| 2011 | 42 | Mayhem | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2011 |
| 2011 | 68 | Mayhem | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2011 |
| 2011 | 86 | Mayhem | 106.1 The Corner Top 107 of 2011 |
| 2009 | 91 | Johnny Got A Boom Boom | WRSI Top 93 Songs of 2009 |
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