My Life Story (as the My Life Story Orchestra) worked with PJ Proby and Marc Almond on 'Yesterday Has Gone'. One of Marc Almond's "yesterdays" that keeps coming back is his work with Soft Cell. I was going to go with 'Tainted Love' but we're surely all a bit bored of that now...so, here's 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'

 

The opposite of Soft is Hard, Queen had a hit with It A Hard Life, if something is hard its difficult to do this to it

 

Usually the son of a queen is a Prince, but seen as though he's gone I'll go for Sinead O'Connor with one of the best cover version of all time, "Nothing Compares 2 U", a Prince original

 

 

 

Another singing O'Connor was Des so here's I Pretend.

 

I lie! I Pretend was on an Australian album compilation from 1968 called "16 Big Hits" that I nagged my dad to buy when we moved to Singapore cos it had so many classic original artist pop songs on it (and you couldnt buy hits compilations in the Uk in those days). One of the other tracks was The Legend Of Xanadu.

 

One of the most successful UK singles artists of the 60's, former policeman Dave Dee attended the car crash that killed Eddie Cochran, became a pop star, and courtesy of songwriters Howard/Blaikely had a stunning run of inventive pop songs. Massively under-rated these days, check out the flamenco, whip-cracking TOTP performance, and marvel at Dave Dee, best-looking male pop star ever. Of course I might be biased....

 

 

A brilliant choice of song there. The Legend Of Xanadu - performed by The Fall - was one of the songs on the 1992 NME Ruby Trax album to mark 40 years of number one songs by various - mainly indie - artists. Among the other artists on the album were The Frank And Walters. Rather than their version of I'm A Believer (the song they performed on the album), here is one of their own songs.

 

:moira: Fashion crisis hits New York?!!! Sounds like a job for the Dandy Highwayman! :D

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 201411 yr by مدهش*

R.E.M. also said Stand. Instead of that one, though, here's their greatest video, and the single is an under-rated gem (and it just slips over into the 21st century, sorry!)...

 

Imitation Of Life

 

 

Great link from The Frank And Walters to Adam and the Ants :D Anyway, REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement so here are some Fishes Eyes from New Fast Automatic Daffodils

 

 

Keeping the floral theme going with Flowered Up, with baggy classic Weekender -

 

Despite being from Camden Town, Flowered Up were one of the bands which followed the "baggy" sound synonymous with the Madchester scene, here's one of my favourite anthems from my hometown, Stone Roses' "Fools Gold"

 

 

 

 

Wow, we've gone baggy while I've been away...lucky, I was all poised to go from Adam and the Ants to Bow Wow Wow but got distracted.

 

Ok, the Stone Roses reformed a couple of years back for a series of huge gigs much larger than those they ever played when they were at their best. Another band from that era who have reformed and will be playing some big gigs this summer (although nowhere near as the Roses) are Slowdive. Here they are with the shimmering 'Catch the Breeze'.

 

I know nowt bout Slowdive, sadly, though see they hail from Reading. Not from Reading, north of the border singer Donovan also sang about catching a bit more than a breeze:

 

the fab Catch The Wind

 

 

If you don't know Slowdive then you need to put that right. Anyway, from Donovan we obviously have to go to Jason Donovan. Or maybe, on grounds of taste, not. One of Donovan's hits was Mellow Yellow so let's have Yellow by Coldplay.

 

Coldplay were denied their first #1 single when "Speed of Sound" was held off #1 by Crazy Frog in 2005.

 

Don't worry, that's not what I was going for!

 

The same amphibian also stopped U2's "City of Blinding Lights" from reaching #1. However, as this is a retro chain, I'll instead plump for their song "The Sweetest Thing" -

 

U2 are a one letter, one number named group à la A1, I could go for one of theirs but I went for the original of one of their covers, A-ha with the classic which has been butchered again and again "Take On Me"

 

 

 

"A-ha!" is the catchphrase of well known North Northfolk entertainer Alan Partridge - a man who has really helped put Norwich on the map. Somebody else from Norwich, if you'll allow me a guilty pleasure, is the lovely Cathy Dennis. Here's "Touch Me" from 1991.

 

Touch all night long written by Patrick Adams, who also wrote this 70's classic, (originally Musique)

 

Edited March 28, 201411 yr by fiesta

From one Todd to the greatest musical Todd, here with his brilliant US chart-topper being introduced by the legendary Four Tops, singing live, and as the Tops point out, all the instruments too.

 

Todd Rundgren, Hello It's Me

 

 

Todd Rundgren recently collaborated with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra, and another Orchestra who exist on planet earth are the Penguin Cafe Orchestra - so here is their most well known song "Telephone and Rubber Band" from 1981.

 

 

TENUOUS I KNOW.

Edited March 28, 201411 yr by Doctor Blind

I can raise that tenuous and continue that theme. Orchestral cafe's, Penguins or otherwise, need electric light bulbs. Here's the Electric Light Orchestra and their Livin' Thing..