Langer heads for the big time

IT IS set to replace The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee as the Cork anthem, and it has shot to the top of the Irish charts just one week after its launch.

The Langer Song has managed to stop Chris Doran’s world from turning, selling nearly double the amount of records achieved by the Eurovision entrant.

Written by Tim O’Riordan, from Ballincollig, Cork, the song shot to the number one spot with 5,714 copies sold last week.

That knocked Eamon and his song I Don’t Want You Back into second with just 3,277 records sold, and left Doran languishing in third with 2,988.

“It’s great news, we’re totally blown away by it,” Tim said. “We thought people might get into it around Cork city, but for it to go nationwide is incredible.”

Mick McCarthy, rugger buggers and posh people in yachts all come in for criticism in the song. Roy Keane also gets mention, but Cork’s favourite son is certainly not on the receiving end.

Tim said the song had been great for the band.

“There are a lot of festivals looking for us, everything from race meetings to golf classics,” he said. “It is popular in corporate circles, I suppose they’re looking for something different.”

Tim also has a go at the US President in one verse: “George Bush and his boys, they’d make your blood boil with their give the Iraqi people back soil, when all of us know all he wants is their oil. Oh Lord he’s a ferocious langer.”

Despite his national success on this side of the pond, Tim won’t be expecting an invitation to the White House.