266. Long Haired Lover from Liverpool – Jimmy Osmond (1972)

I remember loving this when I was a four year old and Santa Claus buying me a copy of this single as a Christmas Present!

As a five year old I was impressed by the fact that Santa had managed to get this for me and over the years I played this record so much that I wore it out. Oddly enough I had forgotten about it and it had slipped back into my nostalgic memories of childhood until a DJ played it at the end of the night at a disco I attended a few years ago. That night I was immediately reminded of this song and I rediscovered it, have it on my ipod and have only just stopped playing it to write this note!

I love the happy nature of this song, the contrast between the ‘long haired hippies’ of Liverpool in the 1970s (which probably looked a lot like George Harrison!) and the ‘Sunshine Daisies of L.A’ a city that has a very special place in my heart. 

Love it or loathe it – this was a massive hit in 1972 and deserves to be included in my list of 500 songs!

Enjoy….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YriPIujLtsA

265. Dance Away – Roxy Music (1979)

I remember hearing this song by Roxy Music for the first time when the band were ‘special guests’ on an Abba TV special which was broadcast in 1979 to promote Abba’s latest album ‘Voulez Vous’.

In these times it seems quite odd that a band would have a tv special dedicated to playing the songs from a new album no doubt in the hope of improving sales but the show was much anticipated and as were all great fans of Abba in our house we all sat down to watch it. I remember one of the Abba men (probably Bjorn) introduce this as ‘a new single from the wonderful Roxy Music’ and although I loved Abba after listening to this song I knew I would love Roxy Music just as much.

This is a great song and Bryan Ferry has a wonderful style and voice that allows the group to get away with so much that others would find difficult to emulate.

I don’t really know what else I can say about this song other than it is a masterpiece and I still listen to it on the ipod on the way to work today…

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuXKgLlsQcw

264. Ashes To Ashes – David Bowie (1980)

I remember watching the video for this song in 1980 and thinking that it was the weirdest thing that I had ever seen. The striking visual imagery of David Bowie in the clown outfit and purple sky as well as the bizarre use of a JCB and padded cell added up to something quite strange that I found very appealing.

I had long been a fan of David Bowie and had ‘Space Oddity’, ‘John I’m Only Dancing’ and ‘Heroes’ in my singles collection but I remember thinking that this song was really something quite new and I loved it instantly. I remember that it was number one for weeks and weeks as well, and I recall watching it on ‘Top Of The Pops’ each Thursday. At that time there were no video recorders or MTV and so if you liked a song and wanted to watch the video the only place you could do that was on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and so we waited to see if it was still number one and would get another showing each week as we sat down to watch.

This is a great song and a great video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMThz7eQ6K0&ob=av2e

263. Ride A White Swan – T Rex (1970)

This record was a hit when I was two years old but (as I’ve mentioned before) in the 1970s records seemed to ‘hang around’ and have a much longer shelf life than they do now and I remember hearing this as well as other Marc Bolan songs on Marc’s TV show which I remember watching and singing along to in the early seventies. I can’t exactly remember when it was on but it must have been after 1973 because that was when we bough our colour television which was made by Hitachi!

As I now have an iphone and tend to leave my ipod at home I can only carry a limited number of songs around with me personally so these days if I want to listen to something specific and it’s not on my iphone I have to re sync it with my computer and this was a song (along with Metal Guru) which I added to my iphone last week so I could listen to it as I walked to work.

We have recently moved house from Essex to Kent and instead of the tube I now catch the Hitachi High Speed train into St. Pancras. I leave the house, cross the railway bridge at the end of the street, pass the Hitachi train depot and cut through the houses to the station and while I was doing this walk the other day

I suddenly found myself singing this song and wanting to hear it so I added it to my iphone playlist that night.

This song reminds me of the 1970s (which was a great time in my childhood), colour television and glam rock, ’Supersonic’ with Kid Jensen and flares. I love Marc Bolan and I love ‘Ride A White Swan’. Thanks to Hitachi as well for our colour tv and my journey to work.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDAh19tms4U&feature=related

262. Love’s Unkind – Donna Summer (1977)

I remember listening to the song one morning on my ipod when I was waiting for the tube train at Theydon Bois station when my friend Frank approached me and asked what I was listening to. I said ‘Donna Summer’ which seemed to make him laugh but I suspect he was thinking I was listening to some of her disco classics (like ‘I Feel Love’ etc) rather than this song!

The thing that I really love about this song is that it is pure ‘pop’ and a true classic. The beat and the rhythm and fantastic and Donna Summer’s amazing voice and delivery make it a true classic.

There’s not much more to say about this one other than…

Enjoy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq3VJWg3ClM

261. Pas de Deux – Tchaikovsky – (Nutcracker) (1892)

One of the good things about the work that I do these days is that sometimes it takes me to other parts of the country and I often get to spend time in Edinburgh and Newcastle.

During the first few months of 2010, I was working away in Newcastle and Edinburgh and while in Newcastle by myself I sometimes took the opportunity to go to the theatre and see whatever was on. During the three months I spent there I managed to see ‘Equus’, ‘Chicago’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Nutcracker’ among other things.

Despite being over 40 I had never been to the Ballet before and as it was a modern production of ‘The Nutcraker’ by the Scottish National Ballet that I went to see just after Christmas. It was a full house that night but I just managed to grab a single seat in the middle of a row at the back and sat down to watch it.

Although I was familiar with the story (Ophelia had got the ‘Barbie and the Nutcracker’ video when she was younger and we had watched that together in our old home) it was still amazing to see the ballet on the stage and listen to the wonderful music played by a live orchestra. The Pas De Deux is my favourite piece from this ballet and I can’t hear it without thinking of the ballet and Tchaikovsky himself who was very much a tortured soul.

Now listen to the music…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG0jMkoKLJo

260. One Summer’s Day – Joe Hisaishi - Spirited Away (2001)

It was my children that made me sit down and watch the film ‘Spirited Away’ which is a Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and with music by Joe Hisaishi.

This piece forms the main theme of the film and is heard when Chihiro accidentally passes the river into the spirit world and had to undertake a perilous journey to return home to the ‘real’ world and try to be reunited with her parents. I don’t want to say too much about the film as it is a ‘must watch’ and don’t want to spoil it but it is a great film and all of the elements from the animation itself to the story and the music combine to make a truly exceptional piece of film making which is highly recommended (by me!).

My kids originally though when I was playing ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’ (song 125) by Sakamoto on a disc in the car that that was this song from ‘Spirited Away’ and having listened to it there are some similarities but this is the actual song from the film which is also on my ipod and has become one for my favourites…

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ni1sVCgEk