"Merry Christmas Jakey Boy" is a single released exclusively for the Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 market in December 2006 by Jake Stevens

Jake Stevens

Jake Stevens is a fictional Irish television personality and musician portrayed by the comedian PJ Gallagher. He first featured in the popular RTÉ Two hidden camera/comedy style television series, Naked Camera. Stevens later achieved his own spin-off show Makin' Jake which documented his efforts to...

. Stevens is an alter ego

Alter ego

An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...

 of the comedian PJ Gallagher

PJ Gallagher

PJ Gallagher is an Irish stand-up comedian, perhaps better known for his television show Naked Camera. His various characters in the programme include a mentally unstable taxi driver, ladies man Jake Stevens and a "Dirty Auld One", an old woman who makes sexual comments. PJ's performances on T.V...

 who features in the popular RTÉ Two

RTÉ Two

RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 hidden camera

Hidden camera

A hidden camera is a still or video camera used to film people without their knowledge. The camera is "hidden" because it is either not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another object...

/comedy style television series, Naked Camera

Naked Camera

Naked Camera is an Irish hidden camera comedy television show which began airing on RTÉ Two in 2005. It is set and filmed in the Republic of Ireland, mostly in Dublin. Its concept is similar to that of the UK show Trigger Happy TV but can be seen as a descendent of the candid camera elements in...

. The Jakey Boy in the song's title refers obviously to Stevens himself. The single reached #9 in the Irish Singles Chart

Irish Singles Chart

The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

 and was performed on a number of television shows including The Cafe

The Cafe (chat show)

The Cafe was an Irish chat programme aimed at youthful persons. It was broadcast on RTÉ Two as part of the TTV strand each Friday evening at 19:00, having switched from its previous location in the Thursday scheduling from 7 November 2008....

and Tubridy Tonight

Tubridy Tonight

Tubridy Tonight is an Irish chat show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired for five series on RTÉ One between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews , audience participation and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...

.

Chart performance

"Merry Christmas Jakey Boy" featured in the Irish Singles Chart, where it remained listed for a total of four weeks in the Ireland Singles Top 50. A total of two of these four weeks were spent in the Ireland Top 20. The song entered the charts for the first time in the forty-ninth week of the year 2006 at a position of #11, making its final appearance on the fifty-second and final week of that year. It peaked at #9, and remained at this point for two weeks of its tenure in the Irish Singles Chart.

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	9

Television performances

"Merry Christmas Jakey Boy" was performed by PJ Gallagher (as his alter ego Jake Stevens) on at least two television shows, the youth programme The Cafe and the primetime chat show Tubridy Tonight. The Cafe performance came on 14 December 2006, following a guest appearance by Gallagher alongside his Naked Camera colleague Maeve Higgins

Maeve Higgins

Maeve Higgins is an Irish comedian. She was a principal actor/writer of the RTÉ production Naked Camera, as well for her own show Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles....

 and the corporate magician Jack Wise. UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 band The Charlatans also performed their single "Blackened Blue Eyes

Blackened Blue Eyes

"Blackened Blue Eyes" is the first single from the album Simpatico by British band The Charlatans , released on April 3, 2006.The song is played over the closing credits of the Doug Liman film, Jumper...

" on the same show. The Tubridy Tonight performance saw Stevens engage with the audience as the credits rolled.

External links

• Tubridy Tonight performance