653. International - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (1983)

 

 

There we sit on a line

Wasting fortunes at a time

 

From the 'Dazzle Ships' album which contained a lot of experimental music and wasn't well received at the time but now seems to have gained a cult following. Andy McCluskey puts in one of his finest vocals on this song.

 

652. They - Jem (2004)

 

 

Who made up all the rules

We follow them like fools

 

This got to number 6,becoming Jem's biggest hit single. I like the production with different styles of music. The song samples the Swingle Singers' adaptation of Bach's Prelude in F Minor.

 

Really like 'They', one of the best tracks of the mid 00s!

 

I particularly like the weird backing vocals in it.

 

There were a few other great alternative dance/pop tracks along with 'They' making the charts in 2005, 'Avalon' by Juliet, 'Need To Feel Loved' by Reflekt and Delline Bass and 'Say Hello' by Deep Dish come to mind.

Edited March 31, 20187 yr by Dancing Queef

651. Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel (1979)

 

 

How can the light that burned so brightly

Suddenly burn so pale?

 

This is just a beautiful timeless song. Written by Mike Batt for 'Watership Down',it was the best selling single of 1979.

 

Really like 'They', one of the best tracks of the mid 00s!

 

I particularly like the weird backing vocals in it.

 

There were a few other great alternative dance/pop tracks along with 'They' making the charts in 2005, 'Avalon' by Juliet, 'Need To Feel Loved' by Reflekt and Delline Bass and 'Say Hello' by Deep Dish come to mind.

 

I don't know those. I might listen to them later on.

 

 

 

 

650. Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers (2004)

 

 

Don't hold back

 

A top 5 hit featuring vocals from Q-Tip. The 'push the button' bit in the middle was used a lot in televised cricket matches for run out referrals to the TV umpire to increase the tension while he made his decision. It's a pity they've stopped using it now.

 

Galvinize iirc took me a while to get to like at the time, but eventually I really did like it! The Moroccan violins in the drop are the highlight for me!

 

Bright Eyes is a lovely emotive ballad too.

Edited March 31, 20187 yr by Dancing Queef

649. Pretty Little Head - Paul McCartney (1986)

 

 

Ursa major,ursa minor

 

Co-written with Eric Stewart from 10cc,a remixed version was released as a single but I prefer this album version. It's unlike any other Paul McCartney song I've heard and you wouldn't know it was him if you heard it on the radio.

 

There were a few other great alternative dance/pop tracks along with 'They' making the charts in 2005, 'Avalon' by Juliet, 'Need To Feel Loved' by Reflekt and Delline Bass and 'Say Hello' by Deep Dish come to mind.

 

All of those 3 I love - I actually have "Avalon" on CD single as I used to buy all of my personal chart #1s on physical. "Say Hello" was much better than "Flash Dance" to me, disappointing that it is mostly forgotten as it has a lovely melancholic feel to it.

 

Great to see "Galvanize" here, definitely one of my favourites from the Chemical Brothers! Do they have any others to feature higher?

Yes Doctor,there will be a few more Chemical Brothers tracks to come.

648. The Globalist - Muse (2015)

 

 

There's no country left

To love and cherish

It's gone,it's gone for good

 

A ten minute apocalyptic epic from Muse's most recent album,'Drones'. Some of the music is based on 'Nimrod' from Elgar's 'Enigma Variations'.

 

647. Seven Days And One Week - B.B.E (1996)

 

 

A classic 90s trance tune,this got to no.3 which was higher than most of the other charting trance singles from that time. I like the way it slows down almost to a stop in the middle. B.B.E were two Brunos and an Emmanuel.

 

I used to love Seven Days And One Week but I never knew what it was called.. a rare instrumental on the NOW series as it was on Now 35 IIRC. Tune though!

 

Edit - it also made me and Colm's 1990s dance #1s thread *shameless plug*

Edited April 2, 20187 yr by Doctor Blind

646. The Thin Wall - Ultravox (1981)

 

 

And those who sneer will fade and die

And those who laugh will surely fall

And those who know will always feel their backs against the thin wall

 

A top 20 hit from 'Rage In Eden'. The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy and is one of those arty,overblown 80s videos that haven't aged very well. The song itself still sounds great.

 

 

645. Dancing In The Devil's Shoes - Guillemots (2011)

 

 

There's a ghost that finds me every single time I think of the games we'll miss

The playground and the avarice

 

From Guillemots' third album 'Walk The River'. I like the way the track steadily builds up and,as always,Fyfe Dangerfield's vocals are wonderful.

 

'The Thin Wall' is good, I particularly like the chanted vocals in the verses and rather dancey (for the time) electronic beat.

 

7 Days and One Week is a great tune!

Edited April 2, 20187 yr by Dancing Queef

I used to love Seven Days And One Week but I never knew what it was called.. a rare instrumental on the NOW series as it was on Now 35 IIRC. Tune though!

 

Edit - it also made me and Colm's 1990s dance #1s thread *shameless plug*

 

So it did. I will have a browse through the rest of that thread when I have the time.

 

644. 10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra (1971)

 

 

Did you hear the news,it came across the air today

Someone has been found on the rocks down in the bay

 

This was originally intended for The Move but it became ELO's first single. It's their only single released while Roy Wood was still in the group. 10538 is the number of an escaped prisoner and came from 1053,the number on the mixing console. The 8 was added to fit the melody. The guitar riff was later sampled by Paul Weller on his song 'The Changingman'.

 

 

643. Dinosaur Adventure 3D - Underworld (2002)

 

 

From Underworld's sixth album 'A Hundred Days Off'. The sort of music that needs to be played loud to be fully appreciated. The album version is about 8 minutes long. This is the shorter single edit.

 

642. In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited - Queen (1974)

 

 

It's so easy but I can't do it

So risky but I gotta chance it

 

Written by Freddie Mercury as something the audience could sing along to when it was performed live. It does have that anthemic sound to it.

 

Edited April 3, 20187 yr by King Rollo