161. I Could Be Happy – Altered Images (1981)

I remember watching Clare Grogan singing this on ‘Top Of The Pops’ back in 1981 and thinking what an unusual song this really was and what a strange little girl she was as well. At that time she seemed to be everywhere – actress (in the film ‘Gregory’s Girl’ and on tv and singer with a Scottish New Wave band too! Such talent….

‘I Could be Happy’ seems (at first) to be a very jolly happy sort of song but it’s really about trying to escape the unwanted attentions of a stalker which makes it all the more strange and unusual.

Now Listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnwcGjxiPXY&feature=fvwrel

160. Time After Time – The Beloved (1989)

As you probably know by now I am a major fan of The Beloved after being introduced to them by my wife (when she was my girlfriend!) while driving across France in the mid 1990s (See - Song 9 – The Sun Rising).

This song however has to be my most favourite song on the album ‘Happiness’ and one that I play more than all the others. Although there are some truly great songs on that album this one for me reminds me of that trip because it is the song that I almost always identify with it. I loved this song so much that I would often wind the tape back to play it again and again.

I don’t know what I love so much about it, but I love the overall ‘sound and feel’ of this song as well as the lyrics which tell of a relationship that is in trouble and that the repetition of issues and the requirement to change one’s ways all add up to a great song which has a great soundtrack and melody.

I still play this song a lot on my ipod!

Now listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36oO87s_kY&feature=fvwrel

159. Forbidden Colours – David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983)

‘Forbidden Colours’ is a song utilising the theme from the 1983 film ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’ written by Ryuichi Sakamoto (see song 125) with lyrics written by David Sylvian at the time most recognisable as being the singer with pop band Japan.

I remember buying this record on a 12’’ single from Ainley’s Record shop in Leicester and rushing home to play it after I had previously heard it being played on the radio. By the time it was released I had already seen the film and heard the original music but was captivated by the wonderful lyrics and drama of this newly written song. In interviews with David Sylvian he admits that he is not comfortable with his vocal performances but his modesty is misplaced as he has a truly wonderful voice and is a truly great artist.

A further version of this song appears on the early versions of the album ‘The Secrets of The Beehive’ where David and Ryuichi rerecorded a more delicate acoustic version of the song however this is the original version (as released in 1983) and is a lovely song by two great musicians.

Now listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1YkHJJi-tc

158. Open Your Heart – The Human League (1981)

When the Human League’s album ‘Dare’ was released in 1981 it heralded a major new departure for the group as Martin Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the band to form the British Electric Foundation and later Heaven 17, while Phil Oakey recruited Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley and along with Philip Adrian Wright and producer Martin Rushent set about creating this truly innovatory album.

I remember watching Martin Rushent on TV talking about using the Linn Drum machine on this album and the other ways that the group had created their unique ‘sound’ and as synthesisers were becoming less expensive and capable of being programmed to produce more and more exciting sounds and that coupled with Phil Oakey’s truly amazing voice enhanced by the female backing singers this was indeed a winning combination.

The Human League had a number of Hits during the 1980s with ‘Don’t You Want Me’ (Song 51) perhaps being the most famous but this is the one that started it all off for me….

Now listen to the song…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B60ZfTWk51I

157. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers (1965)

The problem with ‘Unchained Melody’ is that the song is suffering from massive over exposure. We all know that it is Simon Cowell’s favourite song and versions by Robson and Jerome and just about everyone else have helped to ensure that it is never far from a Karaoke machine or being done to death at a wedding dance, however if you can put all this behind you it and go back to the song in its purest form it is a true classic.

The song was originally the music for the 1955 film ‘Unchained’ which was about a prison, however once lyrics were written some time later it became a popular song (recorded by Jimmy Young and Matt Monroe amongst others) before being immortalised and revived once again when used in the 1995 film ‘Ghost’.

This version by The Righteous Brothers is probably the most famous and my personal favourite. Produced by Phil Spector, this is the video that was played on ‘Top Of The Pops’ when ‘Unchained Melody’ remained at number 1 for so many weeks in 1990 and when I went out and bought my copy.

This is a truly great song about love and loneliness and returning to someone not knowing how you will be received. It is a great song and a true pop masterpiece.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfqv6_righteous-brothers-unchained-melody_music

156. Anywhere Is – Enya (1995)

I remember buying this song on a single CD back in 1995 after Kerry and I had moved back to Loughton from Hackney. As I mentioned I have always liked Enya’s music and we used it a lot when we were at drama school in our dancing classes as it is such great music to dance to.

This particular songs reminds me of something else but I can’t quite put my finger on what, but it was a wonderful tune and is a very jolly song..

Not much more to add other than that I love it ad hope you’ll enjoy it too….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OvYaHtr1DI

155. I Don’t Like Mondays – Boomtown Rats (1979)

I remember hearing about the incident that inspired this song when I was an eleven year old. A sixteen-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, opened fired on a number of children at a school in California killing two adults and injuring a number of children but when asked why she had done this answered by saying that she simply ‘Didn’t like Mondays’.

Bob Geldof’s song about the incident was a massive hit and number one during most of the summer of 1979 just after we had moved into a new house and before I started secondary school. This song reminds me of that summer.

As I was moving to Loughborough Grammar School and not due to start until September I had a massive ten weeks off over the summer which I recall was lovely and sunny. We watched the tennis at Wimbledon, ate strawberries and cream and played with our friends in our wonderful new garden, which was so huge compared to the old place that we could actually play Badminton on the huge lawn right at the bottom. I remember my friend Lucy coming to visit from Wales and watching this song on ‘Top Of The Pops’ on those lovely summer nights.

Although the song has a serious content and refers to a truly shocking incident, which was quite simply appalling, there are many people who are unaware of what it is really about. For me it will always remind me of that summer….

Now Listen to the song……

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kobdb37Cwc

154. Wrong – Depeche Mode (2009)

Choosing another Depeche Mode song so close to ‘Blasphemous Rumour’

(song 148) is something that just had to be done as this Depeche Mode song is so different. When I first heard this song having bought the entire ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ album on itunes it stood out as ‘classic’ mode but at the same time it also had a new exciting edge to it that I found desperately appealing.

As I mentioned (only recently) I have been a Depeche Mode fan from the days of ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’ but became more interested in their music as they moved to a more darker and more industrial sound when Martin Gore’s song writing talents began to develop. This song by Martin Gore is a brilliant example of his song writing skills at their best and accompanied by a fantastic video this is a true example of a great Depeche Mode song.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvfcnpJRf0Q

143. Torch – Soft Cell (1982)

As I mentioned previously I was a huge Soft Cell back in the 1980s having been introduced to them by my friend Lucy and always looked forward to hearing their new songs as and when they came out.

I loved ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ especially the instrumental version on the

B side of the single with a clarinet solo by Dave Toffani, so I was immediately hooked by the trumpet on ‘Torch’ and the wonderful sound and pure unadulterated drama of this song. As a Soft Cell devotee I immediately bought the 12’ version of the song, which had a wonderful spoken section in which Marc and Cindy do an extremely camp but quite dramatic duologue about Billie Holliday, Torch songs in general and their approach to them which will forever be a total classic.

In its day the sound of Soft Cell was very new and very modern and the use of drum machine, synthesisers and proper instruments coupled with Marc Almond’s truly amazing voice make this one of my favourite Soft Cell numbers.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ngfb_soft-cell-torch_music

142. We Have All The Time in The World – Louis Armstrong (1968)

The thing about Louis Armstrong was that not only was he one hell of a trumpet maestro but an all round super talent as well as this song from 1968 proves.

‘We Have All The Time In The World’ is the incidental song from the 1968

James Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ which starred George Lazenby and Diana Rigg and was the only film with George playing Bond.

I remember back in the early seventies when it took a significant number of years for a film to be shown on television. The first James Bond film ‘Dr. No’ got its ITV network premier in 1977 some 14 years after its cinematic release and so the only way to see the James Bond films was at the cinema. Some of the smaller cinemas in Leicester such as the Wigston Magna and Evington cinema used to do James Bond double bills and it was at one of these cinemas that I saw this film coupled up with ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ in a four hour James Bondfest!

I will always remember hearing this song, which accompanies various scenes in the film of James Bond and his future wife riding and dining etc and thinking (even as a child) what a great song it was. I was reminded of it when it was used in a Guinness advert on tv and the song was re-released as a single which I promptly bought some time in the 1990s.

The song combines the wonderful music of the late John Barry and lyrics by Hal David making it a true collaboration of two great composers.

Now listen to the song….

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

153. The Pushbike Song – The Mixtures (1971)

I remember this song from being a small boy and loved it as a three and four year old when it was played on ‘Top Of The Pops’ or sung on Playschool as they pretended to ride bikes!

The sounds of the huffing, puffing and grunting as well as the Banjo and the general happy feel of this song which suggest sunny days and riding one’s bike around the town are wonderfully appealing and I have to admit that I have this song on my ipod and still listen to it often.

I used to hum along and sing this song as a toddler and my mother always used to turn the sound up when it was on the radio!

There’s not much more to say other than…

Enjoy it!

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

152. Sheep ‘N’ Tides – Michael Nyman (1988)

This is another piece from the soundtrack of the film ‘Drowning By Numbers’ by the wonderful Michael Nyman.

This piece, like all of the music from that film, is based on a few bars from Mozart’s ‘Sinfonia Concetante’ (Song 34) which is also a favourite of mine, but as is typical of Michael Nyman this piece takes a simple source and works with it to create something very exciting and special.

The music from ‘Drowning By Numbers’ always reminds me of living in Hackney back in 1993 and playing the CD on the wonderful sound system owned by my flatmate which had Mission Speakers, a Cambridge amplifier and Teac CD machine. Such equipment made listening to this music truly wonderful and I often had it on during the day as I waited for the BBC to call and give me a part in Eastenders or something equally as exciting!

Kerry and I also went to see the Michael Nyman band at the Barbican that year playing music from the film ‘The Piano’ and ‘Drowning By Numbers’ where it was even more exciting to hear the music actually being played there and then by the musicians….

Enjoy this piece….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aycvDjhTB1c

151. Push The Button – Sugarbabes (2005)

I loved the song ‘Freak Like Me’ with its sample from ‘Our Friends Electric’ and the original Sugarbabes album ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ and rushed to buy ‘Taller In More Ways’ as soon as it came out. Needless to say this is my favourite song on the album.

Like TLC another all female pop group that I love, the Sugarbabes have had their differences and changes of personnel but they have produced some great pop songs and for me this is definitely one of their best. This is a true ‘pop’ song with a catchy tune, great lyrics and great production values. Not really too much more to say…

Enjoy the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJDGcxAf9D8

150. Dentist – Steve Martin (Little Shop Of Horrors) – (1986)

I first saw a clip of this song on ‘Film 86’ presented by Barry Norman when the film of ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’ was released and thought it was the most hilarious thing I had ever seen! Steve Martin is gloriously rotten (in a melodramatic way) as the Sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello DDS and I love the way he performs this number.

I missed the film at the cinema but watched it later on video in 1987 when I was round at my friend’s house one Saturday evening after dinner. My friend’s parents were away and he was planning to make a Chilli Con Carne for dinner but ran in to problems when his cat climbed up onto the kitchen work surface and ate all the raw mince leaving only a few morsels in the polystyrene tray and some half eaten cling film! Needless to say we were both very disappointed and had to get a takeaway but the cat was very happy and sat bloated and purring at on the floor! The unnamed cat (usually referred to as ‘Kitty’) was like a beach ball with a small head and tail appended and four short legs buckling underneath her but she was extremely placid and easy going and loved to have her tummy stroked!

This song reminds me of the film, that afternoon, the cat and singing a song from the movie at the Fortune Theatre in a showcase for our drama school when I left in 1992….

Hope you like it…..

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtMizMQ6oM

149. All Tomorrow’s Parties – The Velvet Underground (1967)

‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ is on the Velvet Undergrounds first album, which is called ‘The Velvet Underground’ and has a picture (by Andy Warhol) of a

Banana on the cover! Brian Eno allegedly said about this album that ‘When it was released only a small number of people bought it, but every one who did went out and formed a band!’.

The first time I heard this album I loved it immediately but had it not been for Japan doing a cover of this song I may never have stumbled across it. I had heard Japan’s version, which was on their ‘Quiet Life’ album and loved it, but when I heard the original version, which I first came across when it was featured in a documentary about Andy Warhol’s films on ‘The South Bank Show’, I was intrigued and rushed out to buy the ‘Velvet Underground’ album.

Needless to say I decided to form a band the same day.

I don’t know if it’s the wonderfully detached style of Nico’s vocal, or the repetitive and discordant nature of the music but this has a truly weird and at the same time truly inspiring sound.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrRVaYF-O4U

148. Blasphemous Rumours – Depeche Mode (1984)

I remember going to see Depeche Mode at the DeMonfort Hall in Leicester back in 1984 when ‘Some Great Reward’ (their fourth album) was released and the band had embarked on a tour. I seem to recall they started the concert with this number (which had been a single) and the use of the Emulator (which was one of the first synthesisers to use ‘sampled’ sounds) stood out in the sound that rang out from the massive speakers that stood at either side of the stage.

I have been to see Depeche Mode a number of times since, most recently at Crystal Palace and also at the NEC but at this time (in the days before they became a ‘stadium’ band) it was just the band and a small, standing appreciative audience and a very different and exciting experience.

What I have always like about Depeche Mode since Vince Clarke left and they moved towards creating a darker and more ‘industrial’ sound, is their ability to tackle this type of subject matter head on. ‘People Are People’ is another example but ‘Blasphemous Rumours’ asks some very valid questions for which we will probably always (even if we are committed Christians or indeed devotees of other faiths) be looking for answers.

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV8J4mzY4ZE

147. Fill You Heart – David Bowie (1971)

‘Fill Your Heart’ is a song by David Bowie from his 1971 album ‘Hunky Dory’ which I first heard when it was used in the opening scene of ‘The Buddha Of Suburbia’ as we see Haroon commuting from Bromley to London in the opening scenes.

Although not written by Bowie and with Rick Wakeman playing the piano on this track and on the album, it is a happy song that will forever be associated with Bowie and ‘The Buddha Of Suburbia’ in my mind. Being in the show was a wonderful thing and I enjoyed every second of it from filming in the rain in Wandsworth, working with the real punk rockers in Soho to the hilarious days spent filming the attic scenes in Ealing. This was a happy time in my life and this song reminds me of that time. Everyone in the cast especially Susan Fleetwood and Naveen Andrews were very kind to me.

Having heard the song (as well as some others) being used as music in the show I bought ‘Hunky Dory’ on CD and have played it often ever since. The album also includes the songs ‘Changes’ and ‘Life On Mars’ which are also Bowie favourites.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqKOQOn8_Ic

146. Slave To Love – Bryan Ferry (1985)

I remember that ‘Slave To Love’ by Bryan Ferry was used in the film ‘9 ½ weeks’ which I saw a good while after its release at one of the £1 Monday night showings at the Cinecentre (See: 114: The Power Of Love – Huey Lewis and The News).

I have always loved Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music and I loved this song from the moment I first heard it in the film. There was a 12’’ version that had the sound of a thunderstorm at the start of the track which I also loved and at the time of its release back in 1985 this was one of the songs that my friends and I recorded onto our cassettes and played in the car as we drove around Leicester in the evenings looking for fun and adventures.

The album from which this song is taken ‘Boys and Girls’ is one of Bryan’s best loved album and this is generally considered to be his most popular solo single.

Enjoy the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH1CMCtV4to

145. Sorry I’m a Lady – Bacarra (1978)

I first came across Bacarra on the 1977 album ‘Disco Fever’ where their number one hit ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ was the first track on side one. A forerunner to the ‘Cheeky Girls’, Bacarra were two Spanish girls who had a couple of hits in the 1970s of which this was their second one.

Listening to this again it sounds so wonderfully dated and lines like ‘Have you got a light?’ remind us of the days when lighting up a fag in a bar was the height of sophistication, however this record is a kitsch masterpiece and deserves to be enjoyed by a completely new audience. Despite the fact that it sounds like a comedy song that would be best suited to the chaps from ‘Little Britain’ in their Lady like finery it was a seriously massive hit back in 1978 and conveys a message about being ‘respectable’ from a time when such things were still considered important.

A true disco classic with fantastic production values it deserves to be revived and so I give you…Bacarra……

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6w2iQN3Jko

144. Anything But Lonely – Sarah Brightman – Aspects of Love (1989)

I have always enjoyed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music and whatever you think of him he has written some of the most fabulous and most popular music in the history of British Musical Theatre from ‘Evita’ through to ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ however when ‘Aspects Of Love’ opened in the West End it opened to mixed reviews and has never enjoyed the success of some of his other shows.

I remember at the time Roger Moore (having just finished being James Bond) was due to appear in the show but pulled out at the eleventh hour and even though the show had Michael Ball in the cast it somehow just couldn’t be saved from bad reviews and the notion that it was ‘a flawed piece’.

I was at east 15 acting school at the time and for me (along with my other fellow students) ‘Aspects Of Love’ provided us with another good selection of songs for us to sing. I remember Mary Hammond, who was an extremely famous singing teacher at the time fresh from having taught Phillip Schofield to sing so that he could appear in ‘Joseph’ in the West End, coming to the school to give us a tutorial. When asking for a volunteer my friend Louisa got up and sang this song which was the first time that I had ever heard it. Needless to say I loved the song and have always enjoyed it ever since. It is a song about love and loss and getting on with the rest of your life….

Now listen to the song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEMrW8mxxNA

141. Pure – The Lightening Seeds (1990)

I remember watching an interview with Claire Sweeney (the girl from ‘Brookside’) where she said that there were more dancers and singers and comedians and all round entertainers in Liverpool than anywhere else outside of London. The Equity office in Liverpool was a very bust one there so she claimed! She then went on to suggest that this was because the people of Liverpool were extremely talented and ‘The Lightening Seeds’ seem to prove that is true!

I remember this song from their debut album in the charts back in 1990 when I was at drama school and I have loved their music ever since. I particularly like ‘Marvellous’ and ‘Three Lions’ (which is pretty much the ultimate football song) but love this song best of all.

I don’t know precisely why I like this but I still play it often on my way to work and just love the melody and the style of it.

Now listen to the song….

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

140. Telephone and Rubber Band – Penguin Café Orchestra (1981)

I first heard this piece of music when it was used in the background of a story about a school boy called Chris who ran up enormous debts trading in stocks and shares from a phone box outside his school in Leicestershire prior to the market crash of 1987. The item was on the programme ‘Network 7’ which was a youth programme on Channel 4 on a Sunday and this music was used to emphasise the use of the telephone.

I also heard it many times used in the Mercury 1-2-1 adverts most notably in the one where Kate Moss wanted to have a 1-2-1 with Elvis which also seemed like a good idea to me too!

The piece is made up of a tape loop of a uk telephone engaged and dialling tones intercut and then overplayed with various other unusual instruments and sounds. It is not to everyone’s taste but I have to admit I love it and on finally discovering its name and who this piece was by went out and bought it.

Now listen…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZygIVDql8Bk

140. Telephone and Rubber Band – Penguin Café Orchestra (1981)

I first heard this piece of music when it was used in the background of a story about a school boy called Chris who ran up enormous debts trading in stocks and shares from a phone box outside his school in Leicestershire prior to the market crash of 1987. The item was on the programme ‘Network 7’ which was a youth programme on Channel 4 on a Sunday and this music was used to emphasise the use of the telephone.

I also heard it many times used in the Mercury 1-2-1 adverts most notably in the one where Kate Moss wanted to have a 1-2-1 with Elvis which also seemed like a good idea to me too!

The piece is made up of a tape loop of a uk telephone engaged and dialling tones intercut and then overplayed with various other unusual instruments and sounds. It is not to everyone’s taste but I have to admit I love it and on finally discovering its name and who this piece was by went out and bought it.

Now listen…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZygIVDql8Bk

139. I’m Not Scared – Eighth Wonder (1988)

This has to be one of my favourite songs from the 1980s and despite the fact that this version features Patsy Kensit taking over the vocals of Eighth Wonder (which was apparently her brother’s band) it really has a wonderful sound and feel to it.

Originally a Pet Shop Boys song and featured on one of their album “introspective’, I don’t know how Patsy and the lads came to do their version but the backing track is so similar to the original by the Pet Shop Boys that I can’t help but think they had a hand in it!

‘Introspective’ by the Pet Shop Boys was one of the first CDs I bought back in 1988 when I bought my first CD player and a longer version of this song was on it, but it is this version (featuring Patsy) that will forever be my favourite version.

If you don’t know it – enjoy, if you do enjoy again….

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

138. Bulletproof – La Roux (2009)

I must admit that I loved ‘Coming In For The Kill’ by La Roux from the first time I heard it on the radio but my brain somehow didn’t manage to register that there may be more by these artists possibly a whole album.

I managed to hear this song last week when I popped into the HMV shop on Moorgate as it was playing as I flicked through the CDs, DVDs and books that lined the shelves. I knew instantly that it was La Roux as despite their music being so heavily influenced by the wonderful electronic music of the 1980s by Erasure and OMD and The Human League etc it still managed to have its own totally unique style which is so refreshing.

As I hung around in the store I heard a few more songs from the debut album ‘La Roux’ and (bizarrely) rather than buy the album I waited until I was at home to download it onto my ipod from where I have been playing it ever since.

This is a great song from a great duo…

Hope you like it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUsbpmQ9-mc

137. Chiquitta – Abba (1978)

I first heard this song on a television special for UNICEF called ‘A Song For UNICEF’ in January 1979 where among other artistes Abba provided this song and agreed to give half of the royalties from its sale to UNICEF. Among the other acts I also remember the BeeGees singing ‘Too Much Heaven’ and Donna Summer but it was this song by Abba that stood out.

In interviews with Abba, I have come to learn that they loved the idea of using ‘international’ concepts in songs such as well known phrases and words like “Hasta Manana” and “S.O.S’’ for example but the Spanish word ‘Chiquitta’

(which means ‘little girl’ in Spanish) is remarkably apt for such a wonderful song.

It seemed entirely befitting that this was the song chosen for the UNICEF benefit concert in 1979 when I was still ten years old and helped to raise funds for the children’s fund.

As mentioned before Abba were so talented that they recorded songs in Spanish as well and so you can listen to the song in both Spanish and English….

Now listen to the song (sung in English)…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzdfPEsf7qY

And Spanish….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9_cmILo3dM

136. Mr Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra (1977)

‘Mr Blue Sky’ was my introduction to the ELO as I first saw and heard this song on ‘Top Of The Pops’ in 1978 right at the time I was buying my first single and becoming a member of the record buying public. I bought the single, which was on Jet records and dreamed of having my own blue vinyl copy of the double album ‘Out Of The Blue’ from which this song was taken which my friend Graham had!

I have always been a great admirer of Jeff Lynne (and his amazing eighties hair which made the whole band look a lot like the ‘Hair Bear Bunch’) and was even more impressed to discover he had written all of the songs on this album in one three week period while on holiday in Switzerland during which it rained a great deal of the time.

Although I love many ELO songs of which this is only one – this is the first song of their that I ever heard and was the one that helped me develop a deep loving for this style of music and this band of musicians.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98P-gu_vMRc

135. The Boy With The Gun – David Sylvian (1987)

‘The Boy With The Gun’ is a song from David Sylvian’s album ‘The Secrets Of The Beehive’ which was released in 1987 and is without exception my favourite album of all time. Nothing better has some along in the twenty odd years since it first heard it to change my mind.

The album is a rare example of a record being ‘one work’ with each song so perfectly crafted as to create a whole work of such beauty that sometimes it is impossible to listen to or try to understand any of the songs on their own without listening to the whole album.

I first came across this album when we were living in Hackney in the early 1990s

when it was played to me by my best friend. Although I had been a great fan of Japan and loved their work, I had somehow lost touch with David Sylvian’s solo work following ‘Brilliant Trees’ and this record had somehow passed me by. 

Once I had heard it, it became a CD that we had on the stereo most nights and like the Missa Luba (Song 102 – ‘Sanctus’ – from ‘Missa Luba’) it was one that we often played time and time again repeatedly.

On the basis that the album is a ‘complete work’ it is hard to choose one song to sum it up, however this is one of the songs from the album which captures some of the essence of the work and I would heartily recommend to anyone that if they like this song they will love the whole album and should listen to immediately.

Now listen to the song….

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

134. Tower Of London – ABC (1984)

I remember hearing this song for the first time on a Friday night episode of ‘The Tube’ back in 1984 after Paula Yates had introduced us to the new look ABC!

I had long since been a fan of ABC and absolutely loved ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ (See Song 111: All of My Heart) which was a largely orchestral sounding work so this song along with their single of the time ‘How To Be A Millionaire’ were a radical new departure for the band and I must admit I was captured by this song and the new sound.

There are plenty of songs about how wonderful New York is but apart from ‘London Pride’ by Noel Coward written during the war I am at a loss to think of another, so this modern song about London being a ‘fashion catwalk’ and referring to its history, the Tower and St. James’ makes a refreshing change.

I downloaded this song onto my ipod and it is one of the ones my kids love to listen to when driving in the car!

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTX1QXHCUnU

133. These Foolish Things – Bryan Ferry (1973)

This song was originally written in 1936 and so by the time that Bryan Ferry had come to record his version in 1973 it was already thirty seven years old and is now 75 years old, however despite its age, like a fine wine, it has lasted the test of time and is as great a song today as it has always been.

Some of the lines and concepts seems a trifle old fashioned today such as a ‘cigarette that bears a lipstick’s traces’ and ‘wild strawberries at only seven francs a kilo’ but the general idea that objects and things such as these can remind a person of a lost love and fun times together is a concept we can all understand. Add that to the joys of Paris in the spring and you have a winner.

The general level of sophistication in this song and the wonderful way that Bryan ‘Mr Sophisticated’ Ferry delivers this marvellous song make it a true classic and one that I love to listen to as well as play and sing on the piano. There is no greater thrill than playing the ‘tinkly’ bits while singing ‘A tinkling piano in the next apartment’ although I seem to have misplaced the sheet music but will be looking for it tonight!!

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbSp_xEa3PI

132. The Rivers Of Babylon – Boney M (1978)

I remember this record being Number 1 for weeks in 1978 and the ‘B’ side of the single ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’ also being in the charts at the same time with some people not realising that they were on the same record and buying two copies for each of the songs rather than buying one and turning it over!

Back in 1978, I was ten years old and Boney M seemed to be everywhere and on everything! They were on the Saturday Night Seaside Specials on BBC 1 and on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and on every tv channel, radio and juke box as well.

What I really love about the ‘Rivers Of Babylon’ is that the words are actually ‘borrowed’ from Psalm 137 in the King James Bible and that ‘Brown Girl In the Ring’ was also  ‘borrowed’ from a traditional Jamaican Children’s song. The thing that I really love about ‘Boney M’ is the often bizarre subject matter of their songs like ‘Rasputin’ and  ‘Ma Baker’ as well as ‘Belfast’ and ‘Night Flights to Venus’ and the wonderful sound and production values means that their records are truly wonderful. A manufactured band and the brain child of German producer Frank Farian they produced some great songs including ‘The Rivers Of Babylon’ which was one of the biggest selling singles of all time in the UK! 

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdgMo7BjA0Y

131. Diary of Hate – Michael Nyman (1999)

‘Diary Of Hate’ is a piece from the soundtrack of ‘The End Of The Affair’ a film by Neil Jordan based on Grahame Green’s novel of the same name.

I have always loved Michael Nyman’s music which I first discovered when it was largely associated with the films of Peter Greenaway like ‘The Draughtsman’s Contract’, ‘The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover’ and ‘Drowning By Numbers’ before he began to move on to more mainstream films such as this one and other projects.

Kerry and I had watched this film on a video one evening in our little flat in Loughton and I absolutely loved every part of it from the way it was shot, the acting, the music and the fascinating story which centres around an affair between a young writer and a woman married to a civil servant. The central themes of the film are obsession, jealousy and Catholicism, which act as a mirror to Greene’s own issues, making this almost a semi autobiographical piece.

As with all Michael Nyman’s music it fits seamlessly into the film adding the drama where necessary and hanging back when needed. For some reason I bought the soundtrack album from a record shop in L.A when I was on honeymoon and still have it on my ipod today.

Now listen to the music….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=281RDt5NStk