49. Union City Blue – Blondie (1979)

One of the most exciting things that ever happened to me as a child was going to see Blondie in 1979 when I was eleven. I had got a copy of ‘Denis’ and ‘Heart of Glass’ in my singles collection and on the day I took the 11+ exam for Loughborough Grammar School my parents bought me ‘Parallel Lines’ as a present for being so brave in taking the exam as I was already a big fan having bought ‘Denis’ and ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ as singles previously.

Naturally when I discovered they were going to play the ‘De Monfort Hall’ in Leicester I desperately wanted to go but the concert was sold out almost instantly and so I resigned myself to never seeing them, however what I didn’t know was that my mother had managed to get me a ticket for which she had paid a staggering £10.00, having made an impassioned plea for one via an ad in the ‘Leicester Mercury’ and as a Christmas present I had a ticket and got to go to the concert.

The very idea of letting an eleven year old go alone to a rock concert is something that would be considered shocking these days, but my parents dropped me off outside and I took my seat (I was upstairs on the right hand side balcony) which had a magnificent view and watched and listened to a truly great concert! Their latest album was ‘Eat to the Beat’ which I had also just gotten for Christmas and I remember that ‘Union City Blue’ was one of the songs they did.

Debbie Harry (who had had a brief flirtation with acting in the days when there was virtually no cross over from music to acting unlike now where it seems virtually mandatory) was due to appear in a film called ‘Union City’ and I can always remember that the record company were at pains to make sure that we all knew that ‘Union City Blue’ was not connected to the film in any way – which always seemed odd even to this day. I love Blondie, I love this song and the video (shot in the docks in New York) and still love it as much now as I did 30 odd years ago.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvqgb1D6Opw&ob=av3el

48. Ready For The Floor – Hot Chip (2008)

One of my friends asked me if I had ever heard of ‘Hot Chip’ and added that this was her favourite song at the time. Having been asked the question I sought out the song on ‘You Tube’ and before I had finished listening to it I was logging onto itunes to download it. It is not often these days that I come across something that I love so instantly but the retro sound of ‘Hot Chip’ and the excitement and energy of this song captivated me and I loved it immediately.

Music has always played an important part in my life from listening to music as a young lad as well as playing it and singing, although as I get older I realise that I can no longer hit the high notes like I used to and all of the songs I write seem to sound the same. Friends are also important to me and I find that even as I get older I still make friends easily perhaps because I have a genuine interest in other people’s experiences and ideas. Quite often friends will say to me ‘Have you listened to this?’ or will recommend something they think I might like and so I am introduced to something new as in this case.

Hope you like this….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhASu2OjEcQ&ob=av3em

47. Yes – McAlmont and Butler (1995)

It was about the time that this song was released that Kerry and I first came across David McAlmont while he was being interviewed on ‘Gay Time TV’ which was a late night show presented by Bert Tyler Moore and Rhona Cameron which we were in the habit of watching (and enjoying) when we were ‘resting’ actors and could stay up late! As a result of being a guest on ‘Gay Time TV’ I remember the subject of McAlmont’s sexuality was discussed and I recall that by the time we had finished watching the interview and then listing to this song I was much impressed by the man and his music.

More recently his collaboration with Michael Nyman which produced the magnificent album ‘The Glare’ (which is a series of songs written in the first person whilst assuming various specific characters) has reminded me of his incredible talent and as I have always loved Nyman’s minimalist music as well this is a rare treat however I am sure we will come to some of the songs from that work later.

For now we have ‘Yes’ another song, which I love to play nice and loud in the car and on the headphones on my way to work….

Enjoy….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJSaRw1vjxM

46. Creeque Alley – Mamas and Papas (1967)

One of my facebook friends was quoting from ‘The Fear’ by Lily Allen (another song I love very much as well) and wrote the line ‘I’m not a Saint and I’m not a Sinner, but everything’s cool as long as I’m getting thinner’ to which one of her friends added a comment that said ‘And no one’s getting fat except Mama Cass’ which is a line from this song. A song I first heard when I was a child as my auntie Shelia had a copy of the ‘Mamas and Papa’s – Greatest Hits’ and we often had it on the turntable.

My mother had very few LPs, however she did have a copy of ‘Come The Day’ by The Seekers, which featured a version of ‘California Dreaming’, which was another ‘Mamas and Papas’ hit song. During the 1980s I bought my own copy of the ‘Mamas and Papas’’ Greatest hits and have always enjoyed their music. I am particularly fond of ‘Dream A Little Dream of Me’ which I am sure will feature in this favourite 500 songs later on as it is such a great number.

I love ‘Creeque Alley’ which is a song that charts the rise of the Mamas and Papas from their earlier incarnation as the Mugwumps and includes some of my favourite song lyrics of all time including: ‘Agents can’t be trusted’, ‘Greasin’ on American Express cards’, ‘Take Me to New York right away’ and ‘California Dreamin’ is becoming a reality’.

There is a much repeated rumour that Mama Cass Elliot died in 1974 having choked on a ham sandwich while staying in a London Hotel (That’s what my Dad told me anyhow) however the reality was that she suffered a heart attack. Either way she died before her time had a truly amazing voice and left us a wonderful body of work to enjoy of which this ensemble piece is a fine example.

Enjoy the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXSyFofyV2c

45. Justified and Ancient – KLF (1991)

The truly appealing thing for me about the KLF or Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu or JAMS as they are also known is the fact that they appear to be completely bonkers - which is a wonderful pre-requisite for true creativity in my opinion. Look at Van Gogh and Mozart! The fact that they also managed to persuade Tammy Wynette to sing on this record is also a testament to the power of their persuasion and influence that they had at the time.

I have always loved this song and the fact that you can’t (legally) download it from itunes at this time is extremely annoying as I would like to listen to this on the way to work in the mornings too, however I appreciate that the boys wanted to delete their entire back catalogue and never rerelease it – another crazy (though inspirational) idea!

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gzkllCIyww

44. Fade To Grey – Visage (1981)

The first time I heard this song I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever heard. There is something about it which (at the time) was totally new and very very exciting. From the opening electronic drum machine beats and the pulsating analogue bass and whining higher notes to the bizarre spoken French dialogue, violin parts and voice of Steve Strange I knew that this would be a winner and deserved to be a number one hit.

The song was composed by members of Ultravox (Midge Ure and Billy Currie) along with Christohper Payne and there is a strong Ultavoxian (if that is a word – maybe I just invented it!!) influence on it whilst remaining quite individual at the same time. By the time I was listening to music like this the old fashioned stereo had gone and I had a much more sophisticated system with bigger speakers and a JVC cassette deck which allowed for much louder playing of songs like this! Looking back I’m sure I must have driven the neighbours mad playing my music so loudly, however I feel justified by the fact that this is a great song and deserved to be shared, and it is in the spirit of sharing I give you the chance to listen to it now….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPC8QJF6sI&ob=av3nl

43. Never Let Her Slip Away – Andrew Gold (1978)

This song always reminds me of sitting in the back of my Dad’s van listening to the Top 40 on a Sunday while at my Grandma’s house. Back in the 1970s we had a Morris 1100 car, which was unfortunately written off when a bus crashed into it as it was parked outside our house. Luckily no one was hurt but as with all these things sorting out the insurance takes ages and as a result we had no car.

My Uncle John who worked for ‘Spencers’ - the estate agents, and who had the job of taking the photos of the houses and fixing the ‘For Sale’ signs in place outside, had a dark green Vauxhall van which the company were selling (as they were moving up to a very posh white Ford Escort Van with the new logo on) and we bought the old one. We had a radio fitted and we used to listen to the Top 40 on Radio 1 on a Sunday Night in my Grandma’s front room and listen to the final few hits including the number one song as we drove home after our weekly visit.

I remember this song being in the charts at that time and thinking what an unusual sound the beat was made up of and what a great song it was and what a wonderful idea for a song it was too. It is a very happy song and always makes me smile. As with all of the songs mentioned in this blog, I have this on one my ipod and listen to it when I feel the need to be reminded of those happy times.

Now listen to the song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCx7LDv7Ng