13. MAD WORLD Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules (2004)

 

 

It's a very, very different cover version of the even-better Tears For Fears 1982 classic, Mad World. Haunting, and taken from the cult, brilliant, haunting movie Donnie Darko. If ever a movie picked the right soundtrack records, it's that one. Stunning. One-hit wonders, but if you're going to be known for a cover version and nothing else, this is a good one to go with...

 

and that's goodbye 00's..

12. LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud (1975)

 

 

 

I loved Mud from the moment they joined RAK Records and Chinn-Chapman for some belated pop success, starting with the mad tango rock of Crazy and Hypnosis which topped my charts for 7 weeks in the summer of 73, before going on a massive Glam Rock run with Dynamite, Tiger Feet, The Cat Crept In and Rocket. Then out came this Elvis pastiche ballad and I was so disappointed! Yet it was as huge as Tiger feet! It's charm came to me in later years (by 1985 it was charting again, and still charts some years, cos it's lovely, sad, cheesy and fondly amusing all in one. I still miss Les Gray, lead singer, and future hit songwriter Rob Davies (see Fragma, Kylie) was always up in front of the band, and starting with the forgotten Mud disco classic Shake It Down, showed he could handle dance music quite nicely as early as 1976 thank you.

 

 

11. UPTOWN FUNK Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars (2015)

 

 

Take one producer/songwriter (see Amy Winehouse), one 00's soul-songwriter, mix throughly in 70's discofunk, and have a massive 10's monster hit. It's really retro and really good, and just about the best record either artist has made, and both have made some fab records. Possible exceptions? Nothing Breaks Like A Heart for Ronson and Marry You for Bruno.

10. LAST CHRISTMAS Wham! (2021)

 

 

The late, great George Michael in his mid-80's Wham! prime was famously kept off the 1984 christmas number one spot by the then-biggest-selling record of all time, Band Aid. I preferred this one and it topped my charts into the new year 1985 but I had to wait until the 2020's streaming christmas oldies to have it top on my birthday in the UK charts, not once, but twice! 2021 and 2023. sadly minus the wonderful Everything She Wants, the other double A side on the original on a gatefold sleeve with George typically donating profits to Band Aid too. It's not even his best record either, there's A Different Corner, Fastlove and so many others equally great. It gets overplayed, yes, but it still has a wistful charm that other overplayed Xmas oldies lack.

9. PARADISE Coldplay (2012)

 

 

The band everyone loves to slag off, presumably because they kept on selling and getting hits when all other Rock Bands on the face of Planet Earth didn't. Tough! I love 'em! Stadium anthems are not a bad thing, and this is last-man-standing for the 10's. At the risk of keeping repeating myself, it's not even their best record etc etc. Princess Of China is. Not even close. Or Viva La Vida. Talk. Yellow. Speed Of Sound. Many others. But this is easy to sing and it's the hook that carries it. Chris Martin knows how to write an anthem, even if they've a bit off the boil recently.

8. I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND The Beatles (1964)

 

 

 

Finally on the list, The Greatest band In The Known Universe (no convincing argument has ever been made for a rival) went stratospheric with this record. They broke America and the World, and British music has been a thing ever since. They took over the entire US top 5 with actual bits of round plastic that people paid money for - and these were not affluent times that you got music for free and just played over and over, kids had to save for it, that's how important The Beatles were to pop culture in the 60's, and more successful and prolific than any act since. Take note Ed Sheeran: The Fabs would have charted every track of their twice-yearly albums in a streaming world instead of other acts covering their songs and grabbing the hits. So, the song? It's a banger, short and sweet. My dad bought it, so I played it to death while living in Liverpool when Merseybeat had just finished taking over pop music and wiped out all that went before, more or less. Not as sophisticated as remaining Beatles chart-toppers, but energy carries it.

7. I FEEL FINE The Beatles (1965)

 

 

Love the distorted intro and this romping track. It doesn't usually turn up in lists of Greatest Beatles Songs, but I love the way the verse and hook are one and the same, they flow and merge, there's no glaring yeah yeah yeahs or anything like that, it just says "classy" and it is. Lennon & McCartney were improving in leaps and bounds by this point as songwriters, and showing there was more to them than was first apparent. I didn't really notice this record at the time, but in 1976 I bought it during the invasion of reactivated Beatles singles into the charts after they were available in record shops with rubbish uniform record sleeves, and I discovered how much I rated it. Still do.

6. DAY TRIPPER/WE CAN WORK IT OUT The Beatles (1966)

 

 

Day Tripper is the Beatles being naughty by the standards of the day. The line "she's a big teaser" wasn't the original version, but then that would have been permabanned on radio everywhere, needless to say this all passed over my head at the time, and in any case I preferred We Can Work It Out during the 60's - think I still do, though the grittier rifftastic Day Tripper is still Fabs-tastic anyway, and obviously a John song.

 

 

While the melody on this one is pure Paul, apart from the cynical fairground interjection from John, so the upbeat optimistic melody of Paul battles with the downbeat cynicism of John and signals the developing styles of both. So prolific they could bung out 2 potential number one singles as a double A Xmas present, and in this case I don't recall either track being dominant over the other - granted I was only turning 8, so I have limited memories of pre-Radio 1 airplay, but I certainly knew both songs and Pirate Radio Stations were definitely playing both tracks, and they were on TV.

 

So, top 5 up next and there's one from the 60's, one from the 70's, 2 from the 80's and 1 from the 90's.

You must have put Rolf Harris one place ahead of Queen purely to provoke a reaction, and you're getting one from me! :angry: :lol:

 

Seriously though, luckily 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is one of those songs that I don't think I'll ever tire of no matter how many times I hear it. And I respect you not allowing Rolf's personal life get in the way of your good memories of the song etc. but also I just don't think it's a very good song anyway :teresa:

 

Nice Beatles trio just now, love 'Paradise' too but never been overly keen on 'Last Christmas'. 'Mad World' is by far the best song from your 11-20 section :heart:

You must have put Rolf Harris one place ahead of Queen purely to provoke a reaction, and you're getting one from me! :angry: :lol:

 

Seriously though, luckily 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is one of those songs that I don't think I'll ever tire of no matter how many times I hear it. And I respect you not allowing Rolf's personal life get in the way of your good memories of the song etc. but also I just don't think it's a very good song anyway :teresa:

 

Nice Beatles trio just now, love 'Paradise' too but never been overly keen on 'Last Christmas'. 'Mad World' is by far the best song from your 11-20 section :heart:

 

You're not entirely wrong about Bo rap and Two Little Boys :teresa: :lol: I say come back to me in another 35 years after hearing it weekly and you might find Bo Rap a little stale-sounding :D

 

Tears For Fears version of Mad World would be top 5 no question.... :yahoo:

5. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL Pink Floyd (1980)

 

 

 

Well here's an unexpected chart-topper to end the 70's and start the 80's - Prog Rock from the non-singles Progrock band. That Christmas, mum, dad and me were stopping with family friends and their 2 girls in Gravesend, one daughter bought Abba's I Have A Dream, t'other Pink Floyd, and both kiddie-featuring songs were played a lot. Very different and both appealing to all ages. I visited them in Birkenhead last year and reminded them of the records. Happy memories! Oh, and this is a magnificent record and a great video. Even if I don't entirely agree that the kids don't need no ejucayshun (the intended meaning) and do agree with the double negative (that means it IS a good thing generally). The kids got Pink Floyd freebies and no payments till they took action in 2004. Roger Waters obviously rebelling against his Communist teacher daddy and going all free enterprise there...oh the irony.

4. DON’T YOU WANT ME Human League (1982)

 

 

Taken reluctantly (by Phil Oakey) as a 4th single from Dare, one of the key albums of the 80's and still brilliant, this soap-opera tale was synth-tastic and their only UK chart-topper (criminally! they had 6 in a row in my charts) and remain one of my very fave bands of the 80's, still love 'em and seen them in concert 5 or 6 times and without fail fabulous. Very famous this one, but almost as good is Love Action, Open Your Heart, Fascination, Mirror Man, Lebanon, Human, Life On Your Own, Sound Of The Crowd, Seconds, Tell Me When. In concert this one gets the biggest reaction by far though. Rousing.

3. ALWAYS ON MY MIND Pet Shop Boys (1988)

 

 

Hands up who thought this would be number one? I love it, but I don't love this Tribute To Elvis TV show cut/It Can't Happen Here forgotten avante-garde movie clip joyful Imperial Phase smash as much as I love their own stuff from 1985 through 1988, any of which would probably top this list, esp West End Girls, Opportunities, Left To My One Devices, It's A Sin, What Have I Done, Heart. I love them more than any other act of the last 38 years - and that's continuously, not just for the 80's and early 90's hitmachine days, but also for the mature revered album and touring act, and everything else they feel like trying. One of my trio of greats, along with Abba (not featured on this list, boo!) and one other that is.

2. EARTH SONG Michael Jackson (1996)

 

 

OK, throw your hands up in horror while I explain why this record was so popular and remains important. I'd been a kiddie environmentalist in the late 60's early 70's, and Mad Jacko was exposed to the same music, film and TV that I was at that time, what with us both being born in 1958. Main difference, I was working class Brit and he was freaky child-star that had no life beyond said media outside The Jackson 5 and solo stardom. I was luckier, probably. So despite his increasingly bizarre behaviour and ivory tower lifestyle I genuinely believe the sincerity of this track, and I agree with every second of the powerful prosuction and song (if over-produced to some). The video is there to drive it home. And then he went and ruined it at the BRITS award months later, with worse to come as his musical legacy became tarnished, increasingly bizarre and ended with a self-inflicted death, to all intents and purposes. I will take this is as his final great moment in a 25-year-career filled with greatness. Billie-Jean is greater obv. As is Lookin' Through The Windows. Or Thriller. Or...loads more insert here.

1. HELLO GOODBYE - The Beatles (1968)

 

 

No question The Beatles are number one. 1967 was peak Beatles for me. I lived at RAF Angelsey, recently ex-Liverpool, and the Beatles released: Penny Lane. Strawberry Fields. Sgt Pepper album. All You Need Is Love. Magical Mystery Tour film for TV (in black & white for us plebs in the UK, no colour Tv for our Summer Of Love and pyschedelia, we still lived in a monochrome world) and ended the year with the enormously catchy and tuneful hello Goodbye at 1 and the EP from the film at 2. I Am The Walrus was therefore technically the best selling record, given it was the B side (cough splutter just a B side!) and was also on the EP. So, the REAL best-selling song as I turned 10 was this one, which I love as much as Hello Goodbye:

 

 

Why oh why was it not a double A? Upbeat master-melody pop from Paul, and dark psychedelic avante-garde John...probablky the knickers-down line, actually. But I see this as an unofficial undeclared number one. So there!

Well 4 of your Top 5 are great! :D

 

I know some others who’ll be reading this like Earth Song though so you aren’t alone!

 

Thanks for doing this John; was great fun to follow.

I'm afraid I still think Earth Song is pretentious tosh. The rest of the top ten are various shades of great.

Thanks Julian and thanks Simon for borrowing your idea - I can return to my long-abandoned top 945 (current total) now! :lol:

I can’t stand Another Brick in the Wall (it gave me nightmares as a young child) but actually generally those in the final section have taken a step up in quality so I do think you got it broadly right

I do think 'Earth Song' is underrated but I wouldn't have ranked it that highly haha.

 

Can't argue with the other 4 in your top 5 anyway! And seconded that 'I Am The Walrus' should have been a double A-Side and would be an iconic #1 tbh.

 

Has been a fun thread to read through ^_^