101. ‘Never Never’ – The Assembly (1983)

After the demise of Yazoo, Vince Clarke (founder member of Depeche Mode and all round electronic music wizard!) decided he wanted to work on a new project that would see different collaborators work on musical projects. As it turned out having met Andy Bell he quickly started ‘Erasure’ and the rest is musical history but in the period between Yazoo and Erasure this single was released featuring Fergal Sharkey.

I loved this record at the time and love it still today. Fergal Sharkey has a very unusual voice and that coupled with Vince’s wonderful music and the overall concept of this song makes it a real winner. I recently found it on itunes and we all love it in our house!

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQRMQ5S3v6s

100. Bedsitter – Soft Cell (1982)

In 1993 I was lucky enough to get a job in “The Taming of The Shrew’ at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds with Jude Kelly. As I was fresh out of drama school I was in the ‘play as cast’ position and basically did all the bit parts in the show from being a ‘passing merchant’, to a ‘Milliner’ as well as a ‘Cabin Boy’ as this version was set on a ship! I also got to do my drag act but the less said about that the better!

I lived with a lady called June who was a social worker in the Hyde Park area of Leeds in the ‘bedsit’ land of this song! At the time I was there, some ten years after the rise of Leeds’ band ‘Soft Cell’ a number of people still remembered Marc Almond especially at the theatre and some of them told me that this song was about that particular part of Leeds.

I was introduced to ‘Soft Cell’ by a girl called Lucy, who was a very good friend of my friend Melanie back in 1982. Lucy was a total devotee and such a fan that she insisted playing their records whenever she was in charge of the turntable.

At the time I met her for the first time (when we were appearing in a play Mel was recording for her ‘O’ Level drama – See ‘See You – Depeche Mode – Song 10 Dec 2010) the song ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’, which is my favourite song of all time, was actually in the charts and so having fallen in love with that song I bought the album ‘Non Stop Erotic Cabaret’ and discovered this song retrospectively. I played that album for the first time as I decorated my bedroom!

This song reminds me of Leeds, of Lucy, of Mel and Mark and the 1980s and the bedsit lands of the student.

Now listen to the song….

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

99. Metal Guru – T Rex (1972)

As mentioned before I love T Rex and Marc Bolan and I love this song in particular!

For some reason this song reminds me of my daughter Ophelia as we used to play and dance to this song when she was a toddler in the living room! As anyone with a family will know listening to one’s music becomes a very personal affair as the only chance you get to have your choice of music is usually in the headphones when on the train or when alone in the car and it is rare when you get a chance to play your music out loud on the stereo as everyone wants their own choice and as a parent or husband it is always easier to give in, however as both Ophelia and I love this song when Kerry was in the kitchen and we had free reign on the stereo we played and sang along to this…

Hope you enjoy it….

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

98. Your Song – Ellie Goulding (2010)

Like most of the population we first came across Ellie Goulding’s version of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ on a John Lewis advert in the middle of the X factor ‘Elton John’ night, but unlike the X factor versions of some of Elton’s numbers this was clearly destined to be a number one which happened within a couple of weeks.

I have to admit that I have never been much of a fan of Elton John, but this song goes to show that sometimes another artiste can take a well-known song and do it again, make it different and sometimes make it better.  I often find that with cover versions I look to and find the original more inspirational but this song the reverse is true.

I like Elton’s version of this song but I truly LOVE this version and it rightly deserves to be played and enjoyed by all….

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9AFMVMl9qE

97. Victims – Culture Club (1983)

I first heard this song on ‘The Tube’ in 1983. As I mentioned previously I had long been a fan of Culture Club from the days of ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ but this song seemed a little darker and deeper than the music I had come to expect from them the like ‘Karma Chameleon’ and ‘It’s a Miracle’ both of which were on the same album.

Jools Holland spoke to Boy George about the single on the phone from New York

and they showed the video and from that moment on this one became my favourite ‘Culture Club’ song. Maybe because it was cold and it was Christmas time and UB40 had ‘Many Rivers To Cross’ in the charts at the same time that I always associate this record with Christmas but it reminds me of the Christmas in 1983 which was similarly an interesting period in my life as I was 15 that year and taking a keener interest in music!

This is a great song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnRGS-l1-3A

96. Hold On Tight – ELO (1981)

This record reminds me of the summer of 1981 and BBC Radio Leicester!

It was during the summer of 1981 that I had written to BBC Radio Leicester about the possibility of my working for them on the radio. I was 13 and the BBC had a children’s programme called ‘Conkers’ which was a magazine type show presented by local youngsters (although looking back it was probably presented by the kids of the guys who ran the station as it was virtually impossible to get on to!)

I remember the station manager (I seem to think his name was Roger) invited me in for a talk and said I was welcome to observe the proceedings and see how I got on. I stayed behind and watched what went on in the studio and listened while that week’s show was recorded. I distinctly remember that ‘Hold On Tight’ by ELO was the record of the week and they played it during the show. I watched as the record was placed on the turntable, manually manoeuvred until the needle was at the start of the track and then the segment was recorded as the record started and what a great record it was.

As I mentioned before I love ELO and Roy Wood and this type of dense and layered music and I love this song in particular. The song was a hit that summer and during the holidays the local school (New Parks) had a number of exchange students over from France and we had two of them staying with us. The area was awash with French kids and as we were teenagers we played our music and drank coke and had a wonderful time.

This song always reminds me of the fun I had that summer, roller skating, hanging out with my pals and listening to the hits of the day, which included ‘Hold On Tight’.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TLmpL2AzLs

95. Crying – Roy Orbison and K D Lang (1987)

The thing about Roy Orbison was that he had the most phenomenal vocal range and had such a great sounding voice as well! The man was a fantastic resonator of pure sound energy!!

I remember hearing a version of this song by Don McLean in 1980 which was a number one and I seem to recall and as with all covers as I loved the song so much I sought out the original and what I found was Roy Orbison!

This version of the song was one that Roy recorded shortly before his death with K D Lang and this is the one that I have on my ipod and listen to as I travel to work. It’s a song about love and loss ( a universal theme ) and a true classic.  Even as an old man Roy Orbison’s voice and delivery were still amazing and as a keen fan of K D Lang too this was a wonderful collaboration.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-EiKPrAOHA

94. Jilted John – Jilted John (1978)

I first saw this on ‘Top Of The Pops’ in 1978 and thought (even as a ten year old) that it was the most hilarious thing I had ever seen. Naturally my parents were horrified and were saying things like ‘Good Grief, he’s flat’ and ‘What a dreadful song’ but I loved it. I was especially taken with the lines ‘I was so upset that I cried all the way to the chip shop!’ and the refrain ‘Gordon is a Moron’ which was recently re-used as the title of a book about our former leader Gordon Brown by

Vernon Coleman showing how much this song is now ingrained in popular culture!

The dead pan delivery, the pounding guitar, the general notion of despondency in having been chucked over for another along with the very real analysis of why it’s not a good idea to fight about it make this song a true masterpiece. For those who don’t know it I hope you love it, for those who remember it I hope you enjoy it again….

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN45OjB-cCU

93. Everything Counts – Depeche Mode (1983)

This song was on the second Depeche Mode album after Vince Clarke had gone to set up Yazoo and a young Martin Gore took over writing the majority of the band’s numbers. The album was called ‘Construction Time Again’ and at the time it had a very new sound and was a very exciting departure for the group as it used samples of industrial sounds and fully utilised this exciting new medium.

This song is my favourite from the album and is a perfect representation of the way in which society was seen with what was happening at the time. The beginning of the new prosperity and the cult of the ‘individual’ coupled with the rise of the ‘Yuppie’, the changing landscape of industry in the UK as a result of the structural decline (the subject of ‘One In Ten’ by UB40 and ‘GhostTown’ by The Specials) all wrapped up in the concept that ‘Everything Counts’.

This is perhaps one of Depeche Modes greatest songs and I suspect that the band never tire of playing it as on all of the occasions that I have seen them, which have spanned the years between 1984 and the present they always perform this number.

Listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCNBObnj5QI

92. The End Of The World – Vonda Shepherd (1998)

‘The End Of The World’ is a cover version by Vonda Shepherd that was featured in the tv series ‘Ally McBeal’ and is one of my favourite songs from that show.

I must admit that I loved Ally McBeal and Kerry and I watched most of the episodes! From the dancing baby, the fantastic cases that the team of lawyers chose to take on, the bizarre ritual that saw the cast sing songs with Vonda in the downstairs bar as recreation to Dr. Tracey and her ‘theme songs’ and the ‘Reggie Perrin style’ flashes of imagined visual imagery the series was truly inspiring and great viewing. Like most great American TV shows it could have you laughing out loud one minute and crying like a baby the next. Unfortunately like most great things it got a bit crazy at the end but it will always remain one of my favourite programmes.

This is a truly great song and whenever I hear it I am reminded of ‘Ally’ and the show and also what a truly great artist Vonda Shepherd actually is.

Enjoy the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBDshBhjOcE&playnext=1&list=PL0DF15930D6A507F5

91. Conociendome, Conociendote – Abba (1975)

‘Conociendome, Conociendote’ is the Spanish Version of the Abba song ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and is one of the songs on the Spanish version of ‘Abba Gold’ which is called ‘Abba Oro’.

I first came across Abba’s Spanish recordings when I saw ‘Abba Oro’ in the HMV shop on Oxford Street in the 1990s. That particular branch is massive and has just about every record you could ever want and because of the sheer size of the store the CDs and records are in alphabetical order and as a result Abba are first.

The album caught my eye and as I looked at it I realised that Abba had recorded a whole load of their hits in Spanish. I put the disc back in the rack and thought no more of it. Many years later I was on the train back from Newcastle to London and was watching various Abba videos on ‘You Tube’ when I saw a video for a Spanish version of the song ‘When All Is Said And Done’ and I was reminded of Abba’s Spanish recordings. I downloaded them from itunes and listened to them all and this one is my favourite.

Although I do not speak Spanish, I love the drama of the language and as I know what the songs are about in English I can follow the ‘action’ so to speak when listening to them. I understand that the Abba Girls recorded the Spanish versions by going back to the original master tapes and re-recording them in Spanish. As some of them were recorded in the 1980s there are some slight differences in the remixes for the songs in the 1980s and this is quite noticeable in this song in particular but I personally think it adds to the song and adds to the drama.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtygKBC4fds

90. Close To Me – The Cure (1985)

In the 1980s there was a bar on Queen Street just down the road from the Odeon called The Helsinki. The Helsinki was an alternative venue at the time where people dressed up and wore make up (including the blokes) and the DJ played new romantic music as well as 78s and rock as well. The bar was very long and I spent a lot of time queening behind it waiting for a drink!  It was light, had a wooden floor and battered and bruised furniture but it was a great place to go and I spent many a fun night in the back room with my friends drinking Pimms with loads of fruit in the glass!

On a recent trip back to Leicester I passed the new theatre ‘Curve’ and coming out of the back door realised I was on Queen Street opposite what used to be The Odeon. As I walked down the road before turning onto Humberstone Gate, I passed the Helsinki and saw that it was still there. The windows were blacked out and it seemed more like a night club these days but I was surprised to see it still going and it brought all the memories of going there each week flooding back. The Cure were very popular at that time and ‘Close To Me’ which is today’s song was regularly played on those Saturday nights and as a result it is the song that I most associate with that venue and those times.

I still love ‘The Cure’ and I love this song too.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBe2WqpLmk

89. Boops (Here To Go) – Sly and Robbie (1987)

I first came across ‘Sly and Robbie’ when I was in the Haymarket Youth Theatre

and it was another of the songs that we used to play loud on the stereo system at the Short Street rehearsal rooms. This song was very popular at the time and was being played in the clubs and bars where I used to go out dancing in and reminds me of that time in my life.

I love the rhythm, the spoken dialogue, the line ‘Bass – The Final Frontier’ and the contrast from the deep bass sounds and high pitched singing along with the good advice about girls that these guys were imparting!

Not much more to say about this one, except …enjoy!

Now listen to the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra6WJgVt4Y0

88. Up On The Cat Walk – Simple Minds (1984)

This is my favourite ‘Simple Minds’ song and is a truly great reminder of what the 1980s was all about. The lines ‘Dollars to Deutsche Marks’ and  ‘Friends of Kim Philby’ remind us of a time when we were coming out of the cold war and embracing Europe and change and great things were in the air and we could all be part of it if we wanted.

‘Simple Minds’ had been around for a long time before this song was a hit in the 1980s and I read the other day they are still touring now, but for a brief time there music seemed to capture the spirit of the time and songs like ‘Glittering Prize’, ‘Promised You a Miracle’ and this one were being played everywhere. Their infusion of traditional rock and the use of new electronic sounds had a great impact on me and I remember going to see them at the De Monfort Hall where China Crisis were the support band.

Now listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQq2hJC_dBw

87. Tik Tok – Ke$ha (2009)

I have to admit that I really like Ke$ha and I really like this song very much!

One of the difficulties in having a large family is often the diverse musical taste we all have. Oliver loves ‘Queen’ and will insist of playing ‘Flash’ or ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ whenever we are in the car, Kerry prefers to listen to talk radio on LBC and Ophelia likes to listen to Capital FM where they tend to play songs like this. Felix has yet to develop his own choices with regard to music and I love most things.

Whenever Ophelia and I are alone in the car she asks if we can have Capital on and so we do, and in so doing I have been introduced to artists like Katy Perry, and Ke$ha and Akon and so on and I don’t know whether or not it is the exposure to these artistes that makes me like them or that I just like their music however I suspect it is the latter.

The idea of going out on the town, dancing and having a good time which is a  leitmotif in Ke$ha’s music is something with a universal appeal and the wonderful synthesiser sounds and tones that come from today’s electronic music are every bit as exciting as those from the start of this genre of music in late 70s and early 80s.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_AAn24fEk8

86. Mike Oldfield – In Dulci Jubilo (1975)

I first came across Mike Oldfield when I was at school and the new music teacher played us ‘Tubular Bells’ on her cassette recorder! Mr. Runswick the former music teacher had retired and with him some of my happiest memories of music. A truly great and inspiring man, he carried a proper tape recorder and played us all manner of interesting recorded music, ran the school orchestra and the choir and drove a bright red Volkswagen Beetle! The new girl (and she was a girl fresh from University I suspect) was a bit of a hippy and from then on we listened to much more modern music and that started with ‘Tubular Bells’.

The idea of multi track recording to a control freak is too delicious to imagine, the notion that you can control every aspect of the work and play all the instruments yourself if you want to is something that I found (and still find) massively appealing and I remember Mike Oldfield giving a demonstration of how he made his albums on ‘Blue Peter’ at the tail end of the 1970s which was fascinating.

What I love about this piece is that it is often on the Christmas albums and when my kids were young we used to grab the tambourines and maracas and shakers and so on, put this on nice and loud and all dance around the living room clapping and joining in with the song, after which we would play it again and again until we were all tired!

In the film that accompanies this song you can see Mike playing all the instruments and can see what a truly amazing musical talent he actually is….

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4uLZcaRXcU

85. Coming Around Again – Carly Simon (1987)

I remember going to see ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ in 1977 and Carly Simon’s song ‘Nobody Does It Better’ as the theme. I bought that record and took a keen interest in her music from them on. Years later I bought the theme song to ‘Working Girl’ starring Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffiths which came on a

3 inch CD and was accompanied by this song as one of the three tracks on that diskette. I immediately loved this song as it the lyrics combine the ordinary aspects of life, like burning the soufflé and the baby sneezing with the simple idea that life and love and everything goes in a cycle and as one door closes another one opens.

I had this song on my Walkman and listened to it on the way to work when I was working for a well-known Private bank in the city back in 2000. As a genuinely happy worker I have a bad habit of singing as I cheerfully go about my duties and one morning I was singing this song as I was sorting out a few international

cock- ups! As I sang my colleague Christopher leaned over and asked me what I was singing and I answered that it was ‘Coming Around Again’ by Carly Simon.

Christopher told me he really loved that song too and the conversation we had about Carly Simon and her work made an interesting diversion from our work. This song reminds me that through music all manner of people may be brought together and share a common love of a song or a piece of music entirely on their own terms and for their own reasons.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGgrEvIG9xY

84. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel (1970)

When we were at Drama school we had a copy of ‘Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits’ on a cassette and used to play it most of the time. There is something very relaxing but at the same time stimulating about their music and of all of their songs ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ is one of my favourites.

I remember when I was at school I got to do music on a Thursday afternoon as I had opted out of the cadet force and that was the alternative. We spent those afternoons in the music room where Mr Underwood, the young and enthusiastic music teacher, would play the piano and we would sing along. I remember him playing ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ on the piano (as well as wonderful arrangement of the Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’) and from that moment it became my ambition to play the song and sing it myself. Finally at the age of 42, I have finally mastered the sheet music for the song I bought back in the 1980s but can no longer hit the high notes like Art (however I am not really sure that I ever could anyhow but I like to fantasise that I once was able to do the song justice!).

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-PNun-Pfb4

83. Paid In Full – Eric B and Rakim (1987)

I remember buying the twelve-inch version of this record, which had a cover that looked like a $100 bill and playing it over and over again. It was around this time that records like this and ‘Beat Dis’ by ‘Bomb The Bass’ were released and used a number of samples and clips in their mixes to add drama and colour and change the dynamics of the song.  Some of the more memorable samples include the words ‘This is a journey into sound..’, ‘Goodnight Kids’ from ‘The Perils of Penelope Pitstop’ and use of ‘Im Nin’alu’ by Ofra Haza which oddly enough I heard the other day on the train as a rather mature looking female hippy had it as a mobile phone ringtone.

Personally I love the use of samples of dialogue in music however even in versions of ‘Paid In Full’ that do not have any samples I still think that this is a great song even in its most raw form. I love the beat, I love the lyrics, I love the idea of reforming one’s life through music whatever type of music that it and I just love this song totally. I still have it on the ipod and listen to it regularly.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7t8eoA_1jQ

82. Trysting Fields – Michael Nyman (1988)

‘Trysting Fields’ is a piece from the soundtrack of Peter Greenaway’s film ‘Drowning By Numbers’ and was written by Michael Nyman. I first heard a piece from the soundtrack used on television during a fashion item on ‘The Clothes Show’. The music was played against various models wearing unusual outfits and riding penny-farthing bicycles and as the music was so fitting and sounded so intriguing I went out and bought the soundtrack album.

Having read the sleeve notes I discovered that Michael Nyman had based the entire score on a small section of Mozart’s ‘Sinfornia Concetante’ (Song 34) and you can definitely hear elements of Mozart in the music but as usual Nyman makes it his own and produces something wonderful. Kerry and I were lucky enough to go the Barbican and listen to (and see) the Michael Nyman Band back in 1993 when we lived in Hackney and this one on the programme.

Now listen to the music….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsfwkYe7RKM

81. Marble Halls –Enya (1991)

“Marble Halls’ was actually composed in 1843 and was for a very long time known for being a Victorian Parlour song although it actually comes from a musical called ‘The Bohemian Girl’. To make matters worse it is actually considered by actors as the bringer of bad luck to all those who whistle or sing it in the theatre in the same way as no actor should ever mention the name of ‘The Scottish Play’. Luckily for me I can’t whistle.

This version by Enya was on the ‘Shepherd Moons’ album in 1991, which was a huge hit at the time I was at drama school and provides some excellent songs to dance to most notably ‘Caribbean Blue’ another Enya favourite. I must admit I had always enjoyed Enya’s music from the time of ‘Clannad’ and ‘Orinoco Flow’ and by the time ‘Shepherd Moons’ had come along I was a big fan (as was Mrs G who was my girlfriend then) and we played it a lot in the flat where we lived.

I am particularly fond of ‘Evacuee’ as well, which has a small section of ‘Marble Halls’ at the start and then the wonderful sound of a brass band and rain fall leading into the song, but it is this version of ‘Marble Halls’ that I love the best on that album.

I have heard this song performed many times (at drama school) and on television and in films etc but I adore this version. Please be careful clicking on the link if you are an actor and in the theatre….

Listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkoRx9qt7VI

80. Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993)

‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ is a truly great song to start with, having been made famous by Judy Garland in the ‘Wizard Of OZ’ and much recorded in various versions as it is a song that suggests that however bad things get there is somewhere better for us in the future on the other side of a rainbow. This version by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole  has that heritage as its staring point but his version really is something special.

Perhaps it’s the way that he accompanies his magnificent and soft voice with nothing more than a ukulele or the fact that he affords the actual melody and sound of the original song such little respect in the way he takes the bits he wants and changes other sections to make it his own but either way this is a masterpiece of simplicity and style and is a truly wonderful version of a truly great song.

Listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

79. Xanadu – Olivia Newton and Electric Light Orchestra (1980)

‘Xanadu’ has got to be one of the craziest movies ever. A musical staring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly featuring the music of the ELO and Cliff Richard on roller skates! Whoa!! What a bizarre concept! You can just imagine the production meeting in L.A!!!

I remember at the time Olivia Newton John was enjoying a renaissance in her career thanks to her being cast as Sandy in the 1978 film production of ‘Grease’ and despite the fact that she was perhaps a trifle too old to be a ‘teenager’ she seemed to be hot property and was all over the place at the time trying to shed her clean cut image with songs like ‘Physical’.

As a big ELO fan it is great to hear their music with Olivia singing the words rather than Jeff Lynne and I suspect that it is her very distinctive voice and female range that makes this so much more exciting than a version by Jeff would be and so I can forgive myself for liking it. Mrs G and the kids like ‘Xanadu’ as well and we have it on in the car whenever we’re feeling the need for something cheerful.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1UWSD-FaA

78. Winter Song – Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson (2008)

I heard this song during an episode of ‘Brothers and Sisters’ on Channel 4 in 2010 and downloaded it immediately. It is one of the most wonderful songs that I have ever heard and it was this song that introduced me to both Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson in one go and led me to listen to more of their amazing music and songs as well.

I love the way the Americans use songs in their tv shows (usually at the end of an episode) as a way of summing up what has happened but at the same time allowing the music and the words of the song to underpin the action and emotion and at the same time introduce the audience to some truly great music. In these days of the internet one need only remember one line of the song, google that line and be directed to the whole from where you can watch and listen on ‘You Tube’ and share with your friends if you should so desire.

This is one song I would like to share and as it’s very wintry today seems wholly appropriate.

Listen to this song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dkpmdgg6s4

77. Take My Breath Away – Berlin (1986)

Although many people will remember ‘Take My Breath Away’ by Berlin from the film ‘Top Gun’ for me it will always remind me of being in a production of ‘Oliver’ in Countesthorpe back in 1988!

At the time I was 20 and ‘Oliver’ was one of the last amateur productions that I did before I went to drama school and became a professional actor! I had been in a production of ‘Grease’ with the same group some time before and it was great to go back to the group and be in the show even though I only had a small role.

‘Oliver’ is a great show with some great songs but during the interval the sound guys played a tape of some of their favourite songs and this song along with ‘All I Ask Of You’ by Sarah Brightman and Cliff Richard were on it and so as I waited in the wings for the second act to start I heard this song as the interval came to an end and the show was ready to recommence.

As I have mentioned before I love the music of Georgio Moroder and once again this is one of his songs written with co-writer Tom Whitlock and performed by Berlin. This song always reminds me of being in ‘Oliver’ and I have never seen ‘Top Gun’….I did however go the cinema to see ‘An Officer and A Gentleman’ but the less said about that the better….

Now listen to the song….

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

76. Take A Chance On Me – Abba (1976)

In 1976 my dad went on a school trip to France. As a teacher he was sometimes asked to take the pupils on school trips and on some occasions we went as a family on these trips, staying in hostels in Dieppe and drinking warm Coca-Cola in the summer months or taking a day trip to Bolougne on the ferry to have a look at the historic buildings. For one reason or another on this occasion my dad had gone on his own leaving my mother, my brother and me behind, however as compensation for this he bought us back two records! One was ‘Mull of Kintyre’ by Wings and this was the other.

As the record was a French one it had a bigger than usual hole in the middle which required a plastic adapter (this record was like the ones you saw on the juke box) which we had to buy for 2p each from the local record shop before we could play it!

Needless to say we loved this song and virtually wore out the record! At the time the song was racing up the charts to number one and before long we were watching the video on top of the pops and singing along. This song is one of my favourite Abba songs and my first international record. When I play it I am reminded of 1976, the record itself which had a picture of Abba on the cover (which was a rarity in 1976!) and singing along to it! Sometimes if you’re lucky you can see me with my headphones on sitting on the tube singing along to this as everyone wonders what the hell I am doing….

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crgQGdpZR0

75. Enola Gay – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (1980)

‘Enola Gay’ is the name of the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The plane was named after the pilot’s mother and the bomb was referred to as ‘little boy’ and was released over Hiroshima at 8.15am on 6^th August 1945.

What excites me about the music of OMD beside the sometimes cold and clinical sounds that the early synthesisers produced and the often warm and lyrical tones of their more ‘pop’ song output is their genuinely interesting choices of subject matter. This is a truly great pop song from the opening drumbeats and bass line to the extremely distinctive refrain and melody while at the same time educating us to the truly horrific actions, which led to the use of the worlds first nuclear weapon during the second world war.

It is possible that the subject of the song may well have passed some people by and for them it is nothing more than an elegant pop song, but for me it works on a number of levels and as a result is one of the true greats of the 1980s.

Now listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5XJ2GiR6Bo

74. Make Me Smile – Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (1975)

When I left drama school the first job I had was on a drama called ‘The Buddha Of Suburbia’ for the BBC. The programme was an adaption of Hanif Kureishi’s novel of the same name and was set in the 1970s. As I’ve said before this was a wonderful first job and because the director Roger Michell had a theatrical background he employed a number of actors with theatrical backgrounds including the late (and great) Susan Fleetwood as well as Amanda Root and me!

Somehow Hanif managed to persuade David Bowie (who like him had also come from Bromley where the drama was set) to compose the music as well as oversee the music used for the production. As a result because David was so well connected he secured the rights to use all manner of truly great songs from the time including this one, which stands out as a true classic of the period. I loved this song when I heard it for the first time at the screening and love it still.

This is a great song and Steve Harley is a great musician.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpJ0cyXbMbI

73. The Other Side Of The World – K T Tunstall (2005)

This song is about the nature and problems of a long distance relationship however it could easily be about the differences that separate us when we sit opposite each other at the dinner table or next to each other on the sofa. You can be next to me but be a million miles away virtually on the other side of the world sometimes.

I hadn’t heard this song for a long time but I was talking to a friend who suddenly asked me if I had ever heard it and in so doing it reminded me of it. She downloaded it there and then and I downloaded it later that night. The instant access that we have to music via the Internet these days is truly amazing. In the old days I would have probably had to order my copy from the record shop and wait for ages. Thank heavens for the music download.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUpbO-mpi74

72. Hot Love – T Rex (1971)

I love Marc Bolan and T Rex and I love this song particularly and remember it from when I was a child. I would have been three in 1971 but in the 1970s songs hung around and got played on the jukeboxes and in clubs and cafés etc and so they had a much longer shelf life. My Dad reminds me that I used to love this one when I was a toddler whenever he hears it and it does take me back to a time of black and white television, Top Of The Pops on a Thursday night and playing in the park with my mum!

When I was working at Lloyds Stockbrokers in the late 1990s I had a friend called Keeley who used to work in the post room. She was from Hockley, which is near Southend in Essex and was just starting out in the city at the time. These days she’s a hot shot at Citibank in the docklands but back then she used to bring the post to each member of the department every morning and throw it on the desk with a very casual and disdainful attitude, which I loved. We became friends and I still get a Christmas card from here every year. When I was working at Lloyds in the late 1990s I was going through a period of renewed interest in

T Rex and I remember listening to ‘Hot Love’ on my Walkman on the way to work. I was particularly taken by the line ‘she’s faster than most and she lives on the coast!’ and I remember thinking that this was my friend Keeley who was wasted delivering the post and was definitely heading for greater things.

Whenever I play this song I am not only reminded of my seventies childhood but my friend Keeley who is still ‘faster than most and lives on the coast’ although she now lives with her husband in Leigh On Sea!

Now listen to the song….

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

71. Only You – Yazoo (1982)

I first heard this record on the school bus when I was 14.

As I went to a school about fifteen miles away from where I lived we had to take a coach which picked me up from the end of my road, passed through Kirby Muxloe, Glenfield and Groby and eventually on to Loughborough. The coach was provided by ‘Barry’s Coaches’ and was often driven by Barry himself or co-driver Reg! Barry had a number of coaches all of which were named after his wife ‘Faith’ and each had a number plate with her name and a number on the front. ‘Faith IV’ being the newest one and ‘Faith I’ his first coach! Each one had a radio and depending on his mood (he sometimes made us listen to Terry Wogan on Radio 2!!) we usually listened to Radio 1 and always listened to Simon Bates or Mike Reid doing the ‘Top 40’ which I recall was on a Wednesday Morning.

I remember this song being played for the first time and thinking what a radical new sound it was and how wonderful. Ironically Yazoo had already given up on ‘Only You’ and had released a second single ‘Don’t Go’ by the time this one started to get more airplay but I rushed out and bought it immediately. I recently went to see Yazoo at the Hammersmith Apollo and they did this song as their final number. It was wonderful to hear it performed live and to this day it remains one of my all time favourite songs. It’s simplicity; sentiment and wonderful harmonies made it a true classic.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9DOmlfICGw