Jade Thirlwall – who won the X Factor alongside her Little Mix bandmates in 2011 – released her debut solo single on Friday, titled ‘Angel of My Dreams’.
The dance tune samples ‘Puppet on a String ‘, the song English singer Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest with in 1967.
The pop song became a UK number one hit, staying at the top for a total of three weeks, and it was co-written by Mr Coulter, who told BBC News NI that he is now ‘thrilled’ it is being enjoyed by a new generation.
He said he first became aware of Jade Thirlwall’s single from his grandchildren.
“They said the record is getting reviews left, right and centre.
“They said it’s going to be the song of the summer, now I would love to tell you that I’m on speed dial with Little Mix and all of those hot producers, but in fact I was completely unaware until one of my kids and grandkids told me,” he added.
“I made a point of listening to the song.
“I am delighted and very flattered and flabbergasted and surprised that I am part of this whole operation,” he added.
Ms Thirlwall – who is now simply going by the pop star name of ‘Jade’ – recently said that she has “been trying to sample ‘Puppet On A String’ for years”.
In a Spotify recording ahead of the song’s release, she shared: “I had a session […] years ago…and [the producer] did a session and was like ‘do you remember when you used to try and sample ‘Puppet On A String’ all the time?’.
“I was like, ‘that’s so random that you remember that about me, I mustn’t have let it go’. I was like ‘oh, well maybe we should do it’.”
The choice was deliberate and elaborate, as Jade felt the 1960s song reflected a lot about her and Little Mix’s relationship with the modern music industry.
“In the beginning of our career you do think you are this puppet, but at the same time it isn’t true – we wrote a lot of our songs, and we were behind a lot of what we put out there. I resented that as a statement.
“So it felt natural to take that and show that it can be true and untrue at the same time.”
File photo dated 05/04/67 of British singer Sandie Shaw leaving for Vienna to perform Puppet on a String in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the lead-up to its release, The Sun claimed that ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ featured a lyrical pop at Simon Cowell, when Jade sings that she “sold my soul to a psycho”, an apparent nod to the former X Factor judge’s now-defunct Syco record label.
“It’s not specifically about that,” she said when asked about these reports by Beat magazine. “But I wanted the song to be my journey, from entering the music business to now, and what that’s felt like. That’s why the song feels so chaotic.
“The opening is like the music to that montage bit on The X Factor after you’ve won and you’re just catapulted into the industry.”
She added: “I don’t want to sit here and bash the last 13 years of my life. I’m very happy and content. But like with any job, there are highs and lows. That’s just life, and it’s my reality, but it’s about writing it in a way that’s not woe is me.”
While Mr Coulter said he had ‘nothing to do’ with his old song being sampled, he did note that he is now in ‘grave danger of becoming cool’.
“It’s very unusual. I have six kids – it didn’t happen too often that they would bask in the glory of their dad having music in the charts, in fact they would have been embarrassed, they would have preferred if I was an accountant,” he added.
“At this stage, if this does become the big hit of the summer, I am in grave danger of becoming cool.
“Secretly they might have been pleased but they didn’t express that too often, so I suppose now at this advanced stage for me to be seen to be trendy and cool, is something that I embrace.
“For every songwriter, every professional career songwriter, the ambition is always to write a song that is going to be around for a long time.
“When you embark on a career as a professional songwriter your goal is always to write what we call pension songs. Songs that have got more staying power.”