Political Spin: Stephen McCabe

What was the first record that you ever bought?

It was Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. That was a Beatles song, but it was covered by a Scottish band called The Marmalade. They went to number one with it in the late 60s. I think I bought it as part of an LP in the local Woolies in Port Glasgow. It went to number one in ‘69 or ‘70, so that gives my age away. 

What record will always get you on the dance floor?

It doesn’t take a lot to get me on the dance floor, I have to say. I am the type that will get up. I have a very eclectic taste in music, so I like songs like I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston, ABBA’s Dancing Queen – that gets me off my seat – The Waterboys’ The Whole of the Moon. Dignity by Deacon Blue, that’ll definitely get me on the floor – I am a worker for the council after all. I don’t need drink in me to get on the dance floor, just a catchy tune that has a bit of a vibe to it. 

What is your karaoke song?

I’ve done karaoke a few times over the years. Sometimes I need a bit of a drink in me to give me the Dutch courage to do it. But my go-to song would probably be Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell. I do a bit of The Drifters as well. 

What songs do you want played at your funeral?

I’m quite religious, so I would be having a traditional Catholic funeral. It would be hymns that would be getting played and my recessional hymn that I would like is Hail Queen of Heaven. If I do end up going into the crematorium, at the end of the service if they were to play a song it would probably be Frank Sinatra’s My Way. That’s a classic and was a favourite of my old dad as well. 

What songs or music are guaranteed to make you cry?

I don’t tend to cry at songs, maybe more so movies and television programmes, but I suppose there are certain songs that are quite melancholic. And probably the genre that would come under for me is country music. One of them would be Garth Brooks’s If Tomorrow Never Comes. 

What music do you associate with your childhood?

It would probably be Scottish music, which I remember being played at New Year, when we would stay up for the bells and watch Andy Stewart and the different fiddlers and those kinds of musicians. I am the youngest of seven and we always stayed up at New Year. 

What record do you absolutely hate but can’t get out of your head?

I tend to find that I can get songs that I don’t like out of my head, but you often get these songs that hit number one in the chart and keep better songs off being number one. The one that springs to mind is Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face, which kept Ultravox’s Vienna off the top spot. It only ever got to number two because of Joe Dolce. 

What record would you be embarrassed to owning up to having in your collection?

I liked the Nolan sisters when I was younger, and I bought one of their LPs. Lots of people secretly liked them, they just wouldn’t admit to it. Their big hit was I’m in the Mood for Dancing. I quite fancied some of the Nolan sisters as well. 

What was the last band you went to see?

The last concert I went to see was a few years back and it was U2 at Hampden. I’ve seen them lots of times in concert over the years. I’ve seen them in the Barrowlands, Celtic Park, Murrayfield and Croke Park in Dublin.