Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during January 2025. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires:

Songs that reached #1 in the UK.

Songs that reached #1 somewhere else.

Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.

Songs that reached #1 in the UK

Date	Song (Artist, Year it reached #1)	Notes
Sun 5-Jan-2025	(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles (Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter & Andy Pipkin, 2007)	I have sung along with this over the years but only recently committed the words to memory. Reminder of the order: Wake Up / Go out / Get Drunk / Haver // Working / Money / Come Home / Grow Old // Lonely / Dreaming / Go Out / Come Home // Played in the key of G
Sun 19-Jan-2025	Whispering Grass (Windsor Davies & Don Estelle, 1975)	Singing this one straight, without the Windsor Davies comic interlude
Sat 25-Jan-2025	Back Home (England World Cup Squad, 1970)	Surprisingly tricky words, if you’ve ever tried to learn them. And when playing this at a 30th Birthday Party I discovered it was the first record bought by an old school friend: he knew the words all right

Songs that reached #1 somewhere else

Date	Song (Artist, Year it reached #1)	Notes
Sun 5-Jan-2025	Rare Auld Times (Danny Doyle, 1978)	#1 in Ireland. I know very few classic Irish tunes, and this one was written more recently than I thought, by Pete St John in the 1970s. Played in G: G CG Em C G C D
Sun 19-Jan-2025	I Love You Because (Jim Reeves, 1964)	#1 in Ireland, where Jim Reeves was huge. Also features in Elvis’s Sun recordings, which is the vibe I’m aiming for, but still happy to try and croon like Jim

Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere

Date	Song (Artist, Year it reached #1)	Notes
Sun 12-Jan-2025	Janie Jones (Clash, n/a)	My New Year’s Resolution most years: play more Clash
Sun 19-Jan-2025	Police and Thieves (Clash, n/a)	My New Year’s Resolution most years: play more Clash