Song · Imelda May
“Mayhem” by Imelda May
From the album Mayhem (2010)
“Mayhem” by Imelda May appears on 9 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 2011 and 2026. It was first released in 2010 on the album Mayhem. Its best result is #7 on the WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2011. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #43 indie & aaa song of 2011, #4,971 indie & aaa song of all time and #366 of the '10s.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Decca Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Imelda May named her third album after "Mayhem" and sent it out as that record's second single in September 2010, a song the Irish rockabilly singer wrote entirely by herself. She came up with it on the road while still touring Love Tattoo, and she cut it in a gloriously old-school setting: Embassy Studios near Basingstoke, a sixteen-track analogue room built inside a converted cow shed.
It's rockabilly with its hair on fire, all swing and swagger, and it has settled in as one of her signature songs, right next to her first single, "Johnny Got a Boom Boom". Andy Green and producer Andy Wright each made alternative mixes, which fans could pick up through a desktop widget on her website.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 37 | KFOG San Francisco Bay Area, CA | KFOG Foghead Favorites of 2011 | 50 |
| 2011 | 86 | 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA | 106.1 The Corner Top 107 of 2011 | 105 |
| 2011 | 68 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2011 | 104 |
| 2011 | 42 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2011 | 89 |
| 2011 | 30 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2011 | 107 |
| 2011 | 7 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2011 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1034 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2024 | 575 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2026 | 276 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Mayhem" by Imelda May.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.