I really wish I had a Cortina

I firmly believe that anyone who grew up in Britain in the 1970s had at least 3 degrees removal experience of either a Ford Escort of Ford Cortina.

When I sold my Chevette (with only a minor cash loss - surprising considering it was basically knackered), there were 2 cars I considered - a Vauxhall Cavalier or a Ford Cortina.  Stalwarts of the burgeoning Sales Rep / Company Car market.  I went for the Vauxhall, but many of my friends chose the Dagenham Dustbin.
Having driven many I can get why - it was a comfortable ride, well appointed, and with rear wheel drive you could get the back out on corners if you really wanted to do (boy racer dreams of the past).
They were also cheap as chips and readily available (which means they were also many dogs out there).  The Cavalier just felt a little more refined and slightly better equiped - although with front wheel drive going round corners sideways wasn't easily doable.

The Cortina started life in 1962 when Ford wanted to produce a volume family sized car to compete with the Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford and Vauxhall Victor.  Not only did they want to compete, they wanted to make it better and sell more units.
When the Mark 1 was released (under the name Consul Cortina) sales were swift, and further boosted by a starring role in Carry On Cabby, where a fleet of Mark 1s were used by Hattie Jacques all-female rival (Glamcabs) to Sid James's Speedee Cabs.
A minor facelift in 1964 dropped the Consul name, and added a Lotus co-design to the range - a car that competed successfully in Rallying and was later to prove victorious in Saloon Car Racing.
The Mark 2 arrived in 1966, and by 1967 was the best selling car in the UK.  Always near the top of the sales list, from 1972 to 1981, it was the best selling car in the UK through all future variants (Mark 3, Mark 4 and Mark 5) until the end of it's life (in 1982) and subsequent replacement by the Ford Sierra.

In the Summer of 79, Lewes residents Jez Bird and Doug Sanders were wearing sharp suits and playing high energy R'n'B locally.  They may not have been unaware of the burgeoning Mod Revival, but what they were doing was not a reaction to, or an attempt to join it.  They were aware of something, but only in their hometown.
However, their first gig came when they talked themselves onto the bill at Hastings Pier supporting The Chords, The Purple Hearts, The Teenbeats, The Fixations, and The Scooters.  Not solely due to the fact they had a The in their name, they were now part of the Revival.
Gigs followed in London, and an approach came from Rocket Records (one of many record companies looking to cash in on the next big thing).

Under the charge of Pete Waterman (and I don't care what anyone thinks of the bloke, he is a music fan fist and foremost, and knows when something is good), they went into the studio with Waterman's producer and business partner Peter Collins.  Their first single - "Go Steady" - didn't break the charts, but their growing reputation saw to it that follow-up single - a cover of "Poison Ivy" - broke the Top 10.
The B-Side to "Go Steady" was a track called "Cortinas" - this was re-recorded for the album 'Beat Boys In The Jet Age' as "Cortina Mk 2"

Like all things Mod, it's the attention to detail in the lyrics which is noted.

"Column change is neat neat neat,
Gives you room for manoeuvre on the front bench seat,
And the disc brakes hold you if you're inclined,
The rear light clusters are a modern design"

"It's a guarantee of sexual conquest,
But be sure to choose a model with retractable arm-rest,
And if she wants to make up,
You can really suprise her,
There's a vanity mirror on the nearside visor"

Not sure about the guarantee of sexual conquest, but the rest could come straight out of the sales brochure

The Lambrettas - Cortina Mark 2

On his first album, Tom Robinson sung about a "Grey Cortina" with a whiplash aeriel, racing trim, a rusty bumper, and a twin exhaust.  He also said he had it fitted with and eight-track machine blaring Brucie Springsteen.  All fine so far, but then he lets himself down with the line "Speed police too slow to nick it".  The Ford Cortina had the aerodynamics of a brick, so it was unlikely the a trained police driver (usually driving a Rover V8, tuned Ford Granada, or possibly a Jaguar XJ6) would be left trailing in the wake of a knackered Cortina.

Tom Robinson Band - Grey Cortina

And just to prove that the ubiquity of the Cortina was not con fined to the UK, it also enjoyed high sales in the Republic of Ireland.  When The Saw Doctors are wanting to evoke memories of childhood and first crushes at school, a red Cortina is the chosen vehicle fior her father to drop her off at the school gates.
(Not a song about a Cortina per se, buit a great song that just happens to mention one)

The Saw Doctors - Red Cortina