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