ICA WORLD CUP 2022 : GROUP E : THE RESULTS

I always thought, once I’d seen the entire draw, that Group E was the one really worth keeping an eye on.  As I said in the preview, loads of big names, some of which were being represented by lesser-known or weaker tracks, along with some cult names who possibly have more fans out there than is perhaps appreciated. So much so, that I kept looking at how things were progressing on a daily basis.  I’m glad I did as come Saturday night, I had to go to a recount to double-check on everything.

The post went up at 6am (UK time) on Sunday morning, and by midnight, just 18 hours later, twenty-six sets of votes had been cast.  Nobody was completely out of the running, but Cats on Fire (4), Smog (4) and Hinds (5) had left themselves with a lot to do.  At the other end, Manic Street Preachers (18) and Go-Betweens (14) had given themselves solid platforms for progressing to the knockout stages.  The other twelve acts had all picked votes, ranging between 7 and 13 in total, with perhaps Comsat Angels being the surprise pick of the ‘cult’ acts, sitting in joint 5th place with 11 votes.

Eleven sets of votes came in on Monday which proved to be a great day for the Go-Betweens (9) seeing them close the overall gap on with Manic Street Preachers (6) to one point.  The other acts who scored well on Monday were Brilliant Corners (6), The Style Council (6), Chumbawamba (5), Amelia Fletcher (5), Davy Henderson (5), The Who (5) and Wilco (5).  It was a bad day for Kylie Minogue who added just one to her overnight total.  Come the end of the day, the top two were looking reasonably secure, but those who were occupying 3rd down to 14th, were separated by the small margin of 6 points.

Things quietened down dramatically, with just four sets of votes coming in Tuesday – Thursday, but it’s maybe worth mentioning that all four offered support to Davy Henderson which, when added to his Monday tally, highlighted that he was the act moving the most up the table.

The late final flurry saw another seven set of votes, giving an overall turnout of 48.  Again, the top two picked up their share of these late votes, and the others who got at least four from the final seven were Cats on Fire, Chumbawamba, Comsat Angels, Amelia Fletcher, Davy Henderson and Kylie Minogue. As I said, I had to go and do a full recount to make sure of things this week….

1. The Go-Betweens 32* (toss of a coin to take 1st place)
2. Manic Street Preachers 32
3. Comsat Angels 22* (toss of a coin to take 3rd place)
4. Davy Henderson 22
5. Amelia Fletcher 20* (roll of a dice to take 5th place)
6. Beastie Boys 20 (roll of a dice to take 6th place)
7. The Who 20
8. Chumbawamba 19 (toss of a coin to take 8th)

The final person to vote was hamirthehermit….he included Chumbawamba in his list.  He didn’t include The Style Council….who also finished with 19 votes.

The other near misses came from Arctic Monkeys (17), Kylie Minogue (17), Auteurs (16) and Brilliant Corners (16).  I think it is worth mentioning that if voting had only been on the day the piece was published, Arctic Monkeys, Kylie Minogue and The Style Council would have made it, while the late climbers proved to be Amelia Fletcher, Davy Henderson and Chumbawamba.

Apologies to those of you who seen a few of your favoured singers/bands exit this week….it really was the tightest of the groups thus far.

As ever, a song from an ICA we’ve had to say farewell to.

mp3: Arctic Monkeys – Despair In The Departure Lounge

JC