2004 Sam & Mark: With A Little Help From My Friends

Following the tradition (?) of notable 'failures' Liberty X and Gareth Gates, 'Sam and Mark' were Pop Idol runners up (to Michelle McManus in this case) who nevertheless managed to field a number one single on the back of the generous media exposure they'd enjoyed over recent months. Need they have bothered? Probably not - 'With A Little Help From My Friends' is a Beatles cover too far I'm afraid and one that nobody needs, not least the song itself. Joe Cocker had already managed to cast it as a soul dirge while Wet Wet Wet had homed in on it's cheesy pop heart (and at least had the excuse of charity on their side) so there's not much else the song can give, Not that Sam & Mark try; this is all lazy cash in and take, take take - melody, sentiment and the oodles of lifejacket goodwill that just the name The Beatles generates - with nothing, absolutely nothing being invested of their own save the goofy persona of the knockabout children's TV presenters they would become. Which makes 'With A Little Help From My Friends' little more than a launch pad footnote in their career, but even that is more credence and attention than I'm prepared to offer it.