The chorus of that 'Its Immaterial' song sounds familiar so I may well have heard it before. Great song listening to it in full.

549. West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys (1985)

 

 

Have you got it,do you get it,if so,how often?

And which do you choose,a hard or soft option?

 

The Pet Shop Boys' first hit single,reaching number 1 in the US as well as over here. The first version of the song came out in 1984 and this is a re-recording produced by Steven Hague. It's still probably their best known song.

 

548. Somebody - Depeche Mode (1984)

 

 

I don't want to be tied

To anyone's strings

I'm carefully trying to steer clear of

Those things

 

Released as part of a double A side with Blasphemous Rumours. This is one of three Depeche Mode singles with Martin Gore singing the lead vocal. It's a delicate ballad with just a piano accompaniment and various sound effects such as a heartbeat and children playing.

 

547. Manhattan Skyline - A-ha (1986)

 

 

Don't want to race this pain

I'll never see your face again

 

The third single from A-ha's second album 'Scoundrel Days',combining synth pop with a hard electric guitar sound. I had forgotten about join the dot drawing books. Are they still around for children these days?

 

546. Today - Hotlegs (1970)

 

 

If I turned upon you and I make it look easy

Today today today

 

Hotlegs are best known for their number 2 hit single 'Neanderthal Man'. They were comprised of Kevin Godley,Lol Crème and Eric Stewart who went on be three quarters of 10cc. I didn't know they had released a full album until last year when I discovered it on Spotify so 'Today' is quite new to me. I love the guitar chords and Kevin Godley's vocal. The first version of the song was recorded in 1969 by Godley & Crème under the name Frabjoy and the Runcible Spoon.

 

545. The Knife - Genesis (1970)

 

 

Some of you are going to die

Martyrs of course to the freedom that I shall provide

 

Taken from Genesis' second album 'Trespass',this nine minute track was released as a single with the first half on side A and the second half on side B. It has a heavier sound than most of their songs from this period and was consequently often performed as an encore.

 

544. Up On The Ride - Guillemots (2012)

 

 

Oh what's the point in moving

When you don't have a place to go

 

From their most recent album 'Hello Land!' comes this song of two halves with Fyfe Dangerfield using his falsetto range in the first half and,after a spoken word section in the middle,in comes double bass player Aristazabal Hawkes showing what a good singer she is when called upon.

 

West End Girls is great. Manhattan Skyline is interesting, especially the gothic rock style chorus.

 

Somebody is very different to their previous single 'Master and Servant', and I do prefer their dancier stuff in the 80s, but its still a nice ballad.

 

Will Neanderthal Man be higher up in your chart? Quite an interestingly produced track, the vocal is quite quiet and more to the background which makes it different.

Neanderthal Man didn't make it but Master And Servant is still to come.

543. Prelude/Survival - Muse (2012)

 

 

You won't pull ahead

I'll keep up the pace

And I'll reveal my strength

To the whole human race

 

The official song for the London 2012 Olympics,this is Muse at their most bombastic,described by one reviewer as "an epically proportioned cacophony of enormous noise".

 

542. Nova (Shine A Light On Me) - VNV Nation (2011)

 

 

Lay me down,and wash this world from me

Open the skies,and burn it all away

 

This is the second of the four songs I have discovered through this forum. It was part of the Best of Unknown Pleasures/Nuggets contest which took place last November. As I finished compiling this chart in December,this is the most recent song that's made it in (recent to me,anyway). It originally won Unknown Pleasures in February 2012. I like the epic synth sound here and Ronan Harris' emotive vocals. VNV stands for Victory Not Vengeance.

 

541. In The Presence Of - Yes (2001)

 

 

If we were flowers

We would worship the sun

So why not now?

This light is burning brightly

 

Taken from Yes' 19th album 'Magnification',the first album they released as a four piece. Without a keyboard player,they recorded the album with orchestral arrangements,the first time they had used an orchestra since their second album 'Time And A Word' in 1970.

 

 

540. Dangervisit - Archive (2009)

 

 

Let me know what to do when my hair is gone

Let me know who to kill when the war is on

 

Another song from the underrated Archive. This one is from 'Controlling Crowds Parts I-III'. Like many of their songs,it starts quietly and then gradually builds up its tempo and sound.

 

539. All Stood Still - Ultravox (1980)

 

 

The turbine cracked up

The buildings froze up

The system choked up

What can we do?

 

The fourth single to be released from their debut album 'Vienna',this got to number 8 in 1981. Ultravox made more use of guitars than other synth pop groups and there is a good guitar solo in this one.

 

'All Stood Still' is very good. The mix of synths, dance beats (it is quite dancey sounding for the time I think) and the guitar solo works well and the vocal is good too.

Edited May 6, 20187 yr by The Snake 🐍

538. When I Meet God - Marillion (2001)

 

 

And if the bottle's no solution

Why does it feel so warm?

And if looking back is no solution

Why are we all just children inside?

 

Taken from their 12th album 'Anoraknophobia' which was the first album by anyone in the music industry to be crowdfunded. 6000 people agreed to buy the album before it had been recorded and 6000 more pre-ordered it later on. The idea had first come about when Marillion announced they didn't have the funds to tour America in 1997. Their American fans raised $50,000 to help finance the tour. 'When I Meet God' is a beautiful nine minute epic with a big tempo change after five minutes.

 

537. Radio Musicola - Nik Kershaw (1986)

 

 

You can find it in the streets

You can find it in the elevators

You can find it where the ladies wash their hands

 

A great pop song and the title track from Nik's third album. It just missed the top 40,peaking at number 43. Sadly,his chart success was on the wane by this time.

 

536. Mr Radio - Electric Light Orchestra (1971)

 

 

My wife,she ran away,she left our home

And though you're here with me,I'm on my own

 

A charming song from ELO's first album about a man who is left with his radio for company after his wife leaves him. As with most bands from the early 70s,the debut album had the same name as the group. This was not made clear to ELO's American record company. On seeing the cover,the boss asked one of his office workers to ring the UK record company for the title. As no one replied,she wrote "no answer" on a piece of paper. He took this to mean that was the title and the album was distributed to the shops with a sticker showing the name of the album as 'No Answer'. This is not an urban myth,it's been confirmed on many ELO documentaries/interviews. A lot of American ELO fans still call the album 'No Answer'.

 

535. War - Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984)

 

 

It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker

Friend only to the undertaker

 

This was the B Side to 'Two Tribes' and also ended up on Frankie's first album 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome'. It features Chris Barrie impersonating Ronald Reagan. Although Edwin Starr's version of the song is the best known,it was first recorded by The Temptations. They didn't want to risk their image by releasing a protest song about the Vietnam War as a single so it was Starr's version which got to no.1 on the US chart.

 

534. 586 - New Order (1983)

 

 

Heard you calling

Yes,I heard you calling

 

From the 'Power,Corruption & Lies' album,this is a prototype of 'Blue Monday',sharing a lot of the same synth sounds and it's the same length.