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'Dry Your Eyes' By The Streets Is The Ultimate Break-Up Song

'Dry Your Eyes' By The Streets Is The Ultimate Break-Up Song

Truly timeless stuff. Happy birthday, Mike Skinner LAD

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

The Streets burst onto the scene in 2002 with debut studio album Original Pirate Material, which originally rose to #12 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned the singles 'Has It Come to This?', 'Let's Push Things Forward', 'Weak Become Heroes' and, above all else, 'Don't Mug Yourself'.

A lot's changed in the time that's passed. Facebook came along and we started giving thumbs up to everything. Justin Bieber started being a thing - as did President Trump. And, of course, I finally passed my driving test after five attempts.

The Streets also released four more albums, while Mike Skinner reached the landmark age of 40 - today, in fact.

Mike Skinner of The Streets turns 40 today.
PA

But in that period we've still also seen old Streets hits popping up on the radio or at club nights and house parties left, right and centre, proving that many of Mike Skinner's creations are perhaps more than just a slice of nostalgia - they're enduringly relevant.

The band's most successful hit was 2004's 'Dry Your Eyes', which reached number one in the UK in its first week of release, and would be The Streets' only chart topper.

Narrating the sheer misery of someone trying to cope after his girlfriend ended their relationship, it instantly became a break-up anthem for the masses - telling listeners: 'Dry your eyes, mate / I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up / There's plenty more fish in the sea'.

To date, it's had 16.2 million streams on Spotify.

But in April this year, the song was also reuploaded to YouTube - where there's an entire community of emotionally-charged Internet users - prompting fans to tiptoe out of the woodwork to admit they were 'still listening'.

In fact, in just a matter of months, the comments section has become something of a lonely hearts club for Streets fans across the globe, sharing tales of love and loss.

"This classic tune brings up old wounds," one wrote, while another commented: "I'm not crying, you're crying. Still listening in Canada, my go to song when I need to cry."

Someone else elaborated a little more, saying: "Just got out of a relationship, we parted as friends but that doesn't make it easier. Good to know that, just like when I was a 16-year-old going through a breakup, I can listen to this and let it go."

A third added: "Listened to this song when I was a young Texan with a broken heart. Finding myself listening to it again as a 33yo recently divorced man."

In a 2015 interview with Vice, Skinner explained he'd had his fair share of heartbreak in his time.

"For most of the first half of my life I didn't do the breaking up - surprise, surprise," he said.

"I remember my dad saying to me, 'When you're a teenager, girls just get to do whatever they want and you just have to let them.'"

Mike Skinner of The Streets.
PA

Mind you, it's not just former relationships that have helped the song to resonate with people. Many commenting on the YouTube upload also used the song to get through the anguish that was the 2018 World Cup.

One YouTuber quipped: "Dry your eyes mate, I know it's hard to take but we've not won the World Cup. I really fucking love footieeee."

Another added: "This song really should be played on the closing credits every time England get knocked out of the world cup."

Hell, it even started doing the rounds when Love Island returned to screens, with one person asking their fellow horny YouTubers: "Who's here because of Georgia #LoveIsland."

Truly timeless stuff. Happy birthday, Skinner LAD.

Featured Image Credit: 679

Topics: Dating, Music, Relationships