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