Kevin Rowland was a man with a vision. A very specific, almost incomprehensible vision. And that vision involved horns, country fiddles, banjos and hurdy-gurdys, denim overalls, armpit hair, and hats with poofy balls on top. It all resulted in something where, you're really not sure how anyone would come up with the idea, let alone why they'd think it would work, but the truth is "Come On Eileen" is a completely irresistible song. While even some of the best 80's songs sound dated due to the inevitable aging of their then-new techniques and equipment, Rowland bet the house on the timeless qualities of bluegrass, Celtic folk, and soul, all wrapped around an ultimate pop song with its barely-understandable lyrics and impossible-to-ignore singalong chorus. On paper the band's premise sounds dumb (this was after all during a time when it was impossible to be cool without having a keytarist in your band) but in execution it sounds incredibly obvious.
Of course, lightning of that kind rarely strikes twice. "Come On Eileen" being such a potent song due to its uniqueness meant that it was also something of a novelty (not a rare commodity in the early 80s) meaning the public attention span had room for exactly one song by them. They had other songs, but none of them had that star quality that this one did.
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