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McCarthy Amused as Lost 1991 Pop Single Resurfaces - Ipswich Town News

Town boss Mick McCarthy was amused to discover that his 1991 musical collaboration with Eurovision Song Contest winner Linda Martin had recently resurfaced on social media and on various Irish football websites.

Did You Ever?, a cover of the 1971 Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood hit, made number 15 in the Irish charts.

"I wondered when that would appear!” McCarthy laughed. "She went on to win Eurovision, I’ve helped all sorts of people become stars, me!”

When quizzed about his brief pop career the track itself, which can be heard below, was still to have been rediscovered but McCarthy knew just what to expect once it was: "I’ll have the piss ripped out of me good style! But it was for charity.

"It’s one of those things, when things are going well for you they come and ask you if you’ll do it and you wonder at the time. But let me tell you, they had to feed me red wine to get me to sing in the first place.”

He added: "I was involved in the 1990 World Cup one as well, playing the drums, that was perfect for me.

"And at junior school they used to give me a recorder. It was great. I thought they thought I was good with the recorder but it was because I couldn’t sing.”

Irish website Balls.ie caught up with Martin, winner of Eurovision a year later with Why Me?, who recalled how the single with McCarthy came about.

"Isn't it so funny that after 20-odd years a song pops back up? Around Italia 90 I worked with my band at a lot of corporate gigs which had frequent appearances by the Irish football team. So we got to know them.

"Louis Walsh was my manager at the time and he had the brainwave of recording with a footballer. Mick McCarthy was the chosen victim and he was up for a laugh.

"I'd no nerves about the project at all. Louis also found the song which had been a huge hit for Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood.

"Mick flew in on a Sunday, we went into Westland Row with Barry Grace as the producer. Literally recorded it within a few hours. We celebrated in the Trocadero afterwards.

"Mick was totally brilliant, professional and great craic and if truth be known he has a very good voice.

"Yes, it was a huge hit in Ireland and yes, we talked about a follow up, but I went off to do Eurovision etc and suddenly there was no time to record anything else. Yes, I saw a lot of Mick while he was in Ireland. He's a lovely man.

"The last time I heard the song was when I gave a copy to Jason McAteer so as he could play it on the tour bus for the Ireland team.

"I believe Mick was destroyed. When I find a copy, I'll get it burned onto a CD and send it to you. It was a great experience during a magical and much more innocent time.”

Told about the McAteer claims, McCarthy responded: "Let me just tell you, he never played it. It was probably just as well, his place was hanging by a thread as it was!”

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