Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the 20th Century Retro Forum's Best Song Contest in the World... Ever!

Part IX is all about celebrating the cover version and you are tasked with selecting any song that is not originally performed or written by the artist performing the track you send.

The cover version you choose should fit within these rules -

Released during either the 20th or 21st century.

Must be of a song that was a UK Top 40 hit in the 20th Century.

Must NOT have been a UK Top 40 hit in its own right.

Must NOT be a reworked, re-recorded, remixed or live version of an artist's own original song - i.e. must be a different performer to the original release.

Must be a true cover of the original and NOT a different song heavily based around a sample - for example Flo Rida's Right Round is not eligible as a cover of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

All genres are permitted.

All entries will up for voting as soon as they are checked for eligibility.

Once you have selected your entry please send via PM to me and remember to include -

Your username:

Artist:

Song Title:

Link:

You have a week to confirm your entry and the deadline will be 23:59 on Tuesday 11th March 2025.

Confirmed -

King Rollo

Jade

Cowtzy

Addy!

Scene

Julian_

Cody Buckley

Chez Wombat

Bjork

Jim Watts

Herbs

Jester

Edited March 10Mar 10 by Severin

Nice artwork, very arty.

Cover songs is just what I've started as a concept in the 21st Century throwback forum, but not as a song contest, and will be mostly well known songs that would be ineligible for this theme, but a nice crossover nonetheless.

6 minutes ago, awardinary said:

Nice artwork, very arty.

Cover songs is just what I've started as a concept in the 21st Century throwback forum, but not as a song contest, and will be mostly well known songs that would be ineligible for this theme, but a nice crossover nonetheless.

I should credit Dandy* for the artwork - way beyond my capabilities!

Didn't know about your thread, but a happy coincidence

I've entered a great cover version I had ready for this.

Oh no, the text part looks even more rushed today than it did the other day 😂 I may have to change that bit as I'm not sure I can cope with it haha

I'm interested to see what this theme brings from people, it obviously has a lot of possibilities in terms of scope

the way i thought last contest was gonna be a one-off........ but i actually have something for this theme

Here's a reminder of the songs entered to the two BJSC Reinvention spinoff contests. The ones that fit the criteria of this new contest would all be vetoed for being entered before so please avoid them.

01 .: 242 :. Unovia // Delta Goodrem - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

02 .: 229 :. Skall // Blood Diamonds - Phone Sex (feat. Grimes) (Unicorn Kid Remix)

03 .: 194 :. Altyr Muunilinst // Nick Talos - Heartbeat

04 .: 188 :. Séyetana // Baracuda - Where Is The Love (Nightcore Club Mix)

05 .: 181 :. Deandria // Owsey & Resotone - Broke My Promise & Stared To The Sea

06 .: 178 :. Hendinia // Lazy Town - Cooking By The Book (feat. Lil Jon)

07 .: 170 :. Danaelanda // Cappa (feat. Jon Santana) - No Scrubs

08 .: 163 :. Hushkanukia // Tinashe and Sophia Grace - Best Friends On Deck

09 .: 153 :. Avalonia // Within Temptation - Dirty Dancer

10 .: 152 :. Ramrynia // Gabrielle Aplin & Bastille - Dreams

11 .: 149 :. Federal Republic of Ashton // Mutya Keisha Siobhan - Lay Down In Swimming Pools

12 .: 146 :. Yehesi // Samantha Jade - Heartless

13 .: 139 :. N DNTN // Justin Bieber - What Do You Mean It's 1985? (33% deduction)

14 .: 134 :. Fljótavík // Ólafur Arnalds feat. Arnór Dan - Say My Name

15 .: 130 :. Terra Avium // Pendulum - Violet Hill

16 .: 128 :. FSR Rontvia // Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Barbie Girl

17 .: 123 :. Cor Lupus // Sofia Carson - Love Is The Name

18 .: 122 :. Harmonica // The Amity Affliction - Born To Die

19 .: 120 :. Taahino // Fall Out Boy - Fourth of July

20 .: 118 :. Brechtoria // Dimitri Vegas / Like Mike vs Sander Van Doorn - Project T

21 .: 112 :. Persephonia // Dissonance - Born Sick

22 .: 105 :. Botanikka // Sharon Doorson - Touch Me There

23 .: 101 :. Cadelicia // Henrik the Artist - Perfect Workout

24 .: 094 :. Ultraviolenceland // Jennifer Ann - Mad World

25 .: 092 :. D'yermak'er // Autre Ne Veut - Little Red Corvette

26 .: 090 :. Flynnonda // PostmodenJuxebox feat. Ashley Stroud - Fancy

27 .: 078 :. Jadakissnia // CROSSPARTY - Midnight City (vs. M83)

28 .: 068 :. Thelonia // Collin McLoughlin - Titanium (Anton Ishutin Edit)

29 .: 066 :. Aeroche // Bassnectar (feat. Nelly Furtado) - Magical World

30 .: 065 :. Suedeonia // Holland and the Jogging Tree - Joan of Arc

31 .: 064 :. Quintessa // Gossip - Careless Whisper (9 votes)

32 .: 064 :. Aelandor // Patty Walters - Story Of My Life (7 votes)

33 .: 059 :. Pupok // No Frills Twins - Milkshake/212 Mashup

34 .: 058 :. Ethanola // Cupcakes - Captain Obvious

35 .: 048 :. Triangledonia // Jasmine Thompson - Do It Now (Montis Remix)

36 .: 034 :. Ojnoj // Keri Hilson - Do It

37 .: 019 :. St. Burbia // BATTS - What Is Love

38 .: 013 :. Mulgracia // Blondee, Marc Werner & Fabienne Rothe - Wonderful Days (33% deduction)

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Believe

Swingrowers - Mr Sandman

Notize ft Fura - Demons II

Tori Amos - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Black Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

CUT - Papaoutai

Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - L'amour Toujours

Tinchy Stryder ft Melanie Fiona - Let It Rain

Weezer ft Hayley Williams - Rainbow Colection

Seycara Orchestra - Shelter

GIA - Straight Up

Astrea - You're Not Alone

MNEK - White Noise

Bear McCreary - All Along The Watchtower

Emmanuel Seigner - You Think You're A Man

Groove Coverage - Moonlight Shadow

Teemid ft Alva Heldt - If You Had My Love

AAA Girls - Heather

Slumberjack - Paper Planes

BTS - Fake Love

Sibewest - The Colour

Lane 8 - Every Night

Tigerstyle - Nachna Onda Nei

Campsite Dream - Dreams

The Beta Band - Squares

Peter Gabriel - Heroes

Hannah Grace - Praise You

Starley - Touch Me

Patrick Topping - Be Sharp Say Nowt

Abacus ft Cimone - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime

Unicq - Mercy

Utada Hikaru - Final Distance

IOI - Whatta Man

Submitted something!

I look forward to finding out what kind of direction people go in for this.

Entered! It might be a placeholder though.

That's interesting you've added the caveat that the original itself must have been a top 40 single, I was thinking we could go super obscure. I don't have a scooby about this one (this isn't exactly a theme you could have reasonably prepared for 😅) so back to the drawing board we go.

Does the version that went Top 40 need to be the original? For example, would David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things be allowed as that didn't chart, but the Peter Noone version did?

3 hours ago, Dobbo said:

That's interesting you've added the caveat that the original itself must have been a top 40 single, I was thinking we could go super obscure.

I guess the idea is to end up with songs that people mostly know in some form - if nobody knows the song in the first place the fact that it’s a cover doesn’t mean so much.

Jim’s point is interesting though.

There are lots of songs like The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother and Without You that have obscure original versions and then a much more well known cover. I'm not sure whether or not we should allow covers of songs like that so I'll wait to see what Severin and the other mods think.

2 hours ago, jimwatts said:

Does the version that went Top 40 need to be the original? For example, would David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things be allowed as that didn't chart, but the Peter Noone version did?

Agreed an interesting question I had only partially considered.

Taking the Bowie song in question, this does beg the question of whether you can consider it a cover if recorded by the original writer. Given Bowie, wrote it and recorded it as a demo before giving it to Noone I would personally say that disqualifies Bowie's version from being a cover as such. Same would go for All The Young Dudes and things like Manic Monday by Prince/The Bangles.

I'm interested to know also what the mods think but I would say such as song would not be in the spirit intended in the competition but any such entries can be discussed before a decision.

Thanks for the submissions so far but I've received a couple where the original was not a 20th Century UK Top 40 hit song, so if you're not on the confirmed list please check your inbox.

officially coming for last place

I've submitted something anyway.

I've sent something :)

I changed my entry!

38 minutes ago, Scene said:

I changed my entry!

No problem. I have received the change of song you sent