Saw Doctors aim to take Downtown route to Christmas chart success

Legendary Galway band The Saw Doctors are hoping to ‘cannonball’ The X Factor winners Little Mix from the Irish Christmas number one spot this year with their catchy cover version of 1960’s pop icon Petula Clark’s hit, Downtown.

Little Mix, a four-woman English group who on Sunday became the first girl band to win the popular ITV television contest, remain the bookies’ favourites to be top of the pops in Ireland this Christmas with their cover version of Damien Rice’s hit, Cannonball.

X Factor winners have for the past five years held a monopoly on the Irish Christmas number one, however, the Tuam band’s release of Downtown is being flagged as having the potential to knock the reality TV singing contest winners from the top spot.

Petula Clark (79) has collaborated with The Saw Doctor’s on the new single as they bid for their first ever Irish Christmas number one. Not only does Clark sing her most famous hit along with The Saw Doctors but she also appears in the accompanying pop video, which was filmed on the streets of Galway and Paris by director Eugene O’Connor.

The Saw Doctors single will be released this Friday, December 16, on iTunes, Amazon and other digital platforms. One thousand limited edition CDs will also be available from Zhivago and HMV in Galway. Both are available for just 99 cents.

It is estimated – based on other years – that The Saw Doctors will need to shift in the region of 50,000 copies of the single between Friday and next Thursday, December 22 to secure the number one selling single this Christmas. The band that achieves the Christmas number one spot will be known on Friday, December 23.

See full story in this week's Connacht Tribune.