656. THE REFLEX - Duran Duran (1984) 1,030,200

 

 

Duran Duran were at the height of their pop-ularity when this Nile Rodgers-produced pop goodie upped their game. The early singles were a mixed bag, some were good, others less-so, and Simon Le Bon's voice sometimes went just a bit too OTT whiny for me, but the quality of the songwriting improved (for me) with Union Of The Snake in 1983 and onwards from there right up to 2015 where they were still topping my charts with great new singles. Simon at this stage still hadn't discovered subtlety vocally, but it kind of fit in with the grand thumping bluster of the singles of the mid-80's. One more to come for the lads.

655. JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES - Cher (1989) 1,030,250

 

 

Not one of Cher's favourite songs (go figure!) this Diane Warren/Desmond Child cowboy-themed song was a mini-singalong-anthem with a terrific hook, and one of Cher's typically punchy vocal performances, and followed on from the equally good If I Could Turn Back Time in giving Cher some singles chart consistency for the first time in the UK since the 60's, though in the USA she was pretty huge in the early 70's, quite rightly. It's a great single, her 2nd on the listing, though to be honest I'd much prefer the missing Gypsies Tramps & Thieves, Dark Lady or Half Breed to have been in the 800 - Half Breed is yet to chart, the others need a re-issue. Unusually for an artist, Cher has made the list with tracks from 3 of the last 4 decades, while also grabbing one from the 60's. Bit of a legend. It was around this time I saw her in concert, having a rough night as it turned out from illness - which showed - at Wembley Arena. Ah well the Sonny & Cher video and costume changes made up for it.

654. MY GIRL - The Temptations (1965) 1,032,600

 

 

The Tempts were the coolest Motown singing group from start to various tragic ends, notably having solo careers for falsetto Eddie Kendricks and the gorgeous vocals of David Ruffin (on display here) from the 60's line-up, 4 of whom are now sadly gone. My Girl is one of Smokey Robinson's best songs and generously gifted to the boys, who had a doo-wop flavoured huge USA hit and minor UK hit - until the movie of the same name made it huge at last in the 90's. The Temptations went through many line-up changes, but this was the classic one, though oddly I'm more into the early 70's funk-based line-up that changed the golden days of tracks like Get Ready for monster energy funk of I Can't Get Next To You, Psychedelic Shack, Ball Of Confusion and mellower social conscience goodies like Papa Was A Rolling Stone and Take A Look Around. All of them deserve to be in the list too, but sadly aren't as my love for them has grown with time rather than being huge when they charted.

653. HUMAN BEINGS - Seal (1998) 1,033,250

 

 

No official video on youtube sadly for this flop for Seal, following on from a great run of singles including another entry higher up, it just struck a chord with me at the time for some reason, probably the always-reliable Trevor Horn production and the serious message of the song, but it was very out-of-step with the pop heavy charts of the time, and in retrospect it's not a patch on the missing Crazy or the truly classic Seal debut (uncredited with Adamski) Killer both of which fell short undeservedly. Seal doesn't do happy in his music, but he does angst, wistful and sad very well. This one has varying degrees of each, but I kinda over-rated it. Hey ho, makes up for Killer not being on the list!

652. NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE - Bucks Fizz (1982) 1,033,850

 

 

This is just lovely and sad, terrific harmonies and with a fragile lead vocal un-typically from Mike Nolan rather than Bobby Gee or Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston. Coming off the back of 3 UK chart-toppers it slightly under-performed in the UK charts, but it was a refreshing change of direction. Bucks Fizz were almost treated like the manufactured anti-christ, subject to much derision outside their fanbase especially from music critics. They were actually musically well-produced and varied, and the songs were top-notch pop confections - too sweet for most tastes it seems though. Not mine, though, this is a touching under-stated melodic lost-love-song, if a little heavy on the multi-layered synths at times.

651. SHOOT THE DOG - George Michael (featuring the Human League) (2002) 1,035,250

 

 

An oddity from George, a very understated politically-motivated funk track that sampled the Human League's Love Action (uncredited on the single but not by me). I think I was swayed by it being a) Human League b) George back and not being in melancholy mood c) the amusing video d) the political nature of the lyrics, which I was and am still in agreement with. It kinda saw Bush as an idiot, and Blair as a shallow suck-up. I think history will probably come to that conclusion too. Of course Georgie paid the commercial price of not releasing a proper good ol' pop song when it didn't sell, but I rather preferred it to a dull ballad, though again I over-rated it - his more recent singles like Outside or As were more deserving of crossing the million line - but it's good. 3rd of 11 solo/duet entries for George, plus one for Wham!

650. HUNG UP - Madonna (2005) 1,035,850

 

 

Talking of samples, this one cheekily nicked Abba's instrumental Gimme Gimme Gimme hook (but no credit as the vocals aren't sampled), and crafted an equally great dance song around them. The scene-setter for Madonna's best album of the 21st Century (Confessions On A Dancefloor) and it was Madge at her last consistent Big-Time (to date) bar one more huge single after the album, everything since has been patchy one way or another, albeit with flashes of pop brilliance. 6th of 15 for determined dancing queen, still dancing on long-after rallying cries of "give up you're too old", purely because she deals with dance pop music which is the most ageist genre of them all, especially for women. No-one says that for rock, singer-songwriters, soul, classical, jazz, reggae, or whatever else is of a certain age. Madonna, of course, continues to do what she has always done and done it her way, sod the critics. Quite right too.

649. SCREAM - Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (1995) 1,037,050

 

 

A case of the video really selling a song here - OK it's Michael and Janet together at last, fans of both, but it's the outer-space no-expense-spared video that made this sound so good at the time. If you listen to it without a video, it's fine, quite pumping, a bit of attitude, a bit of rock, a bit of funk, but it's not one of my all-time fave 800 records these days, not even close. Second entry in the list for both though (even though they both have much better records that didn't make the list, such as When I Think Of You for Janet, or Got To Be There, Michael's awesome debut ballad as a mere 14-year-old). Better to come for both, happily...

648. TUSK - Fleetwood Mac (1979) 1,037,100

 

 

After a decade of near-misses and one of the all-time great albums, the Mac finally topped my chart with this ambitious Lindsay Buckingham flight of fancy from a double album of the same name. Everything including a marching band is thrown in, the drum beats are tribal and thumping, the tune menacing, and no-one could have predicted this would be the follow-up release to Rumours. It's still fab, still sounds fab live, and is one to play loud. The third Mac attack on the chart, with more to come, though tragically not the follow-up, the gorgeous gorgeous Stevie Nicks track Sara, nor her equally fab ballad off the next album, Gypsy. Both songs make me cry at the sheer beauty of them, but both need another chart boost.

647. GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA - Cliff Richard (1970) 1,037,300

 

 

Bit of a farce that this is in my chart when The Next Time, or early obsessions of my childhood like Bacholer Boy and Summer Holiday, aren't, but hey ho, I wasn't charting then, and in 1970 I was in Singapore where wholesome Cliff went down pretty well. Post-Eurovision Cliff became locked into a career-strangling string of oom-pah disposable pop singles, which, fairly obviously, I was partial to. The song was catchy and jolly and has been pretty much forgotten with time - I doubt if even Cliff would agree to sing it in concert - but I'm kinda fond of it still. Cliff had a much better ballad that was almost as big the following-year (Sunny Honey Girl) but that was pretty much it until 1976, bar the odd Eurovision try or peace n love ballad. Second of 3 for Cliff in the list, and it's not the classic Devil Woman up next time, either, shockingly...

646. HEY YA - Outkast (2003) 1,037,950

 

 

Outkast were an r'n'b duo very much split stylistically down the middle, to the extent that their album featuring this world-wide smash was split one solo album each of the double Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Very odd. My taste was very much more for Andre3000 stuff like this glorious catchy pop hit with the fab 60's-styled video, and less for the pleasant-enough Big Boi more laid-back tracks. Of their other releases, Ms Jackson is the stand-out track of several good singles, but they never managed another track which registered with me as great as Hey Ya.

645. TAKE ON ME - a-ha (1985) 1,038,750

 

 

I f you've never seen the video that promoted this famous pop hit to worldwide success, where have you been hiding for the last 30 years?! The video is still one of the most-famous promos of all-time, unusual and innovative, but that's not to take away from the record itself, pop delight, beautifully produced, and with Morten Harket's striking, almost yodelling, vocals. a-ha became hugely successful, still going right up to 2016, and put Norwegian pop firmly onto the world stage. a-ha's instant teen-appeal looks, especially Morten, led to them being categorised as teen-pop, but in fact every single after Take On Me was pretty much not teen-pop in style, they had far more credibility than they were given at the time (including by me). This is still a great record though, despite many an inferior cover, and set the stage for an even better record (and career) to come.

644. THE LOCO-MOTION - Little Eva (1962) 1,039,200

 

 

Eternal. Pop. Gem. Simple, catchy, chugging, this is essentially a Carole King pop hit of a Goffin & King classic song - OK it's Little Eva, the husband and wife team's babysitter (and as featured in Beautiful, the stage musical of Carole King's life and career) singing over the top of it, but it might as well have been Carole, it certainly sounds a lot like her! The song seems to lend itself to other genres, as Grand Funk rocked it to the top of the US charts in the 70's and Kylie bopped it worldwide in the 80's. This is still the definitive version, so good it was a UK hit all over again in 1972, from when I latched onto it. Carole King meanwhile, one of my pop heroes, writing glorious pop song melodies (and later lyrics) at a time when it was unheard of for women, never mind teenagers (which she was!), before becoming a hugely-successful post-divorce singer-songwriter. Her big UK hit of the period was It Might As Well Rain Until September, one of the best early-60's girl-pop songs which I adored as a nipper, and adore now. Sadly, that one, and her entire recording career, have yet to chart or re-chart enough to make the million, not even It's Too Late has crossed the line from Tapestry, one of the greatest albums of all-time. Her songs will pop up though...

643. (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER - Jackie Wilson (1967) 1,039,750

 

Joyous 60's funk pop dance classic from a 50's soul crooner who had many hits in the USA, but who was mostly known in the UK for Reet Petite, Motown's Berry Gordy's brassy singalong. This was Jackie's comeback in the summer of '69 for UK audiences, including me, and to my ears it's still his best record, so good it charted again in both the UK charts and my charts in 1975 and 1987, the former as a double A with another track still to feature, and the latter after the afore-mentioned double A track had followed the revived blockbuster chart-topper Reet Petite to the top at Christmas 1986, thanks to a novelty video of plastic-figured Jackie.

642. COOL - Gwen Stefani (2005) 1,041,500

 

 

Taken from her debut solo album, which I was rather partial to, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, I consequently slightly over-rated this very nice, sweet-sounding mid-tempo ode to a former lover. Positive sentiments, kudos all round, but really No Doubt's Don't Speak should be here instead, while these days I prefer the lower-placed Hollaback Girl from the same album. There's still one more biggie from that album to come, and I'm pleased to see Gwen back in both No Doubt stylee, and now (2016) in solo style again. It's been too long!

641. GRENADE - Bruno Mars (2011) 1,042,400

 

 

Diminutive* and perfectly-formed Bruno arrived fully-formed with his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, a Smeezingtons' collaboration with a long-list of co-writers (as is the current norm). First-off was a featuring credit on the smash hit Nothin' On You with B.O.B, and also Travie McCoy's Billionaire, the best bits of both records largely being the Bruno bits, followed up by instant chart-topper the fab Just The Way You Are, which just falls short of the list, and this even-fabber melodramatic single. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't support violence and the use of grenades to prove ones devotion, but the imagery usage to show the depth of love for the gal who don't love him quite so much is pretty powerful. First of 2 for Bruno, but it's not going to be the one you're expecting....

 

(* this is a very good thing, cliquey tall people just look down on us less-tall types - they selfishly block the view of the stage at standing gigs and always, always stand in front of me on purpose. Lose some height people! :P )

640. TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART - Bonnie Tyler (1983) 1,042,450

 

 

Meatloaf's loss was Welsh 70's country-flavoured songstress Bonnie's gain, as she took on the mantle of favoured OTT vocalist from Meatloaf-estranged Jim Steinman's epic-productions-inc. I love Steinman productions, OTT, overblown, pompous, drama pushed over the edge, and yet somehow sometimes brilliant. Never more so than on this perennial fave, Bonnie's finest record, and Steinman's post-Bat Out The Hell greatest record. The video is spooky, effective and memorable, and very much added to the appeal of the song and Bonnie's gravel-passion vocal, she could rise to the challenge of a majestic backdrop and come out of it smelling of sweet roses. Earlier records like Lost In France and It's A Heartache were fab, but this was the one that made her career, right on down to a fairly decent UK Eurovision entry this decade.

639. GENO - Dexy's Midnight Runners (1980) 1,042,600

 

 

There was a ska-revival going on as Kevin Rowland went down the retro-funk route for a couple of years, most notably on this wonderful tribute to 60's soul-funk singer Geno Washington. The brass section was in the forefront, the passionate vocal style was still very British, no Mid-Atlantic drift going on, and the song had a tempo all over the place. Dexy's were very much a Rowland-production-creation from day one, day one being the fab Dance Stance, and losing half the band in a dash to create a rival funk band The Bureau if anything spurred the creativity for Kev. The follow-up singles were all good, as was The Bureau's debut single - I got to see them supporting the Pretenders in 1981 in Mansfield. Never play Mansfield is my advice, kiss of death to a career, quite obviously! First of 2 for Dexy's. No prizes for guessing the other one....

638. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES - Mark Brown featuring Sarah Cracknell (2008) 1,042,900

 

 

Sarah Cracknell, of great 90's indie-pop band Saint Etienne, was my way in to this fab dance track. I love Sarah, her sweet vocals, and the band's records. It's a shame that terrific tracks like You're In A Bad Way, I Was Born On Christmas Day and He's On The Phone, among many many others, didn't do the million, but the band have plodded on around the periphery of the music biz, never making it big, but making a virtue of going their-own 60's-influenced way regardless of changing music fashion. House DJ Mark Brown never had any chart success to speak of, bar this one, which is a shame. Hey ho, great video too, you even get to see Sarah briefly in it.

 

 

637. THRILLER - Michael Jackson (1983) 1,043,150

 

 

The ultimate Halloween song bar none, the title track from the biggest album of all-time by the biggest star of the decade, already 13 years into his career, and the 4th single off the album. The single release was delayed and delayed to coincide with the event that was the extended movie-style promo video. It was worth the wait! Fantastic, classic, timeless and of course it's usually a chart re-entry every Halloween these days. To be honest I no longer chart it as I've overdosed on the annual appearances, but that doesn't deny it was ground-breaking, it had Vincent Price (yay!) it was written by Rod Temperton (fab British songwriter who will appear several times, both with more Michael tracks, and with his band Heatwave) and it's great to dance to, zombie or not zombie. 2nd of 10 solo Jacko singles, plus ooh, another 3 or so with his family and friends.