Again most of those I both know you’re a huge fan of and are very deserving picks.

“Crash” is the most surprising to me: at the moment I only find it nice, but I’ll look forward to appraising it more properly when the sessions get to the late ‘80s. Speaking of which yikes at that being your only post 1985 representative, but it would probably be similar for me at the moment.

ABBA absolutely got better and darker and more interesting as they went on. The “Voulez Vous” album from 1979 is my favourite pure pop album ever - it has about 7 hit singles and all the album tracks are knockouts. Then “Super Trouper” which includes LAYLOM was a very good album, but “The Visitors”, despite having basically ended them, is their finest work. It’s just so varied, beyond the heartbreaking “One Of Us” and haunting “The Day Before You Came”. The title track is a rare political number about life in the Soviet Union. You have unknown synth pop gems like “Should I Laugh Or Cry”, and the amazing lyrics of the theatrical “I Let The Music Speak”. It makes you think what could have been if they’d carried on. Whoops sorry for the essay!

I’ve had a think of some my favourites from the 80s (that haven’t been mentioned already). Got it down to a 40 shortlist, with difficulty!

Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie

Hands Off... She's Mine – The Beat

Once In a Lifetime – Talking Heads

Wordy Rappinghood – Tom Tom Club

Temptation – New Order

Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners

Club Country – The Associates

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – Soft Cell

Rock the Casbah – The Clash

Senses Working Overtime – XTC

Rip It Up – Orange Juice

White Lines (Don't Do It) – Grandmaster Melle-Mel & Grandmaster Flash

With or Without You – U2

The Boy with the Thorn In His Side – The Smiths

The Sun Always Shines On TV – a-ha

Like a Prayer – Madonna

Pump Up the Volume – M/A/R/R/S

Jack Your Body – Steve "Silk" Hurley

She Bangs the Drums – The Stone Roses

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) – Soul II Soul

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) – Dead or Alive

Theme from S'Express – S'Express

Orinoco Flow – Enya

Big Fun – Inner City

Walk This Way – Run-DMC

Don't You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds

Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Tears for Fears

Love Missile F1-11 – Sigue Sigue Sputnik

Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry

Need You Tonight – INXS

There She Goes – The La's

Ace of Spades – Motörhead

House of Fun – Madness

Moments in Love – Art of Noise

Brass In Pocket – Pretenders

Duel – Propaganda

Don't Dream It's Over – Crowded House

Pump Up the Jam – Technotronic

Echo Beach – Martha And The Muffins

Getting Away with It – Electronic

Yeah I would put Club Country in my favourite 80s tracks so unique. Echo Beach is a good shout too.

The best New Romantic hits are Visage - Fade to Grey, Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short and Classix Nouveaux - Is It A Dream.

I would also have Talk Talk by Talk Talk.

Tracks I would have from the mid 80s are Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes and Pat Benetar - Love Is a Battlefield

True Faith by New Order is the best track of 1987.

For late 80s dance Inner City - Good Life and Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance. Maybe Theme From S'Express too.

Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon is fab too from 1989 as is London Boys - Requiem.

Edited September 17Sep 17 by TheSnake

Now this is a top 10 where I know and enjoy all of them very much x

I expected those as your top 2 and they are big favourites of mine too. Fade to Gray is the first thing I think of when I think of that early 80s dark synthwave, the moody synths, eclectic production and English and French translation is so unique. I discovered Love Will Tear Us Apart fairly recently. it is an incredibly tragic song considering what happened to the lead singer, but it's beautiful, Unknown Pleasures is on my second album bucket list so hopefully will get round to it one of these days! Both Blue Monday and Vienna have some of my all time favourite instrumental solos, both stunning.

I heard All Mod Cons by The Jam as part of my first album project and it was a great album and really made me appreciate their social commentary more. I prefer A Town Called Malice over Going Underground, but both are great, although I can't mention Going Underground without referring to this early internet classic:

I think Crash is probably one I wasn't expecting here, but I love that song too, the vocals and production work so smoothly to complement the song, I also discovered it through Matt Willis' version on Mr Bean's Holiday! Safe to say this one's a bit better x

I think I instinctively say a lot of ABBA's best work came from the 70s, but it's a good point that they were much more experimental and interesting in the 80s and the singles are all consistently great. I used to think Lay All Your Love on Me was a bit overrated on here, but I have since changed my view and I'd say it would be in my top 10 songs from them, beautiful production throughout.

My attempt at my own top 10 (with some caveats I've probably forgotten about 100 that could be here):

0. The Tweets - The Birdle Song (naturally x)

1. Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark - Enola Gay

2. A-ha - Take on Me

3. New Order - Blue Monday

4. Phillip Oakley & Giorgio Moroder - Together In Electric Dreams

5. Visage - Fade to Gray

6. Laurie Anderson - O Superman

7. Ultravox - Vienna

8. Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (This would be my pick for him, but love When Doves Cry too)

9. Kim Wilde - Kids in America

10. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

    Tears for Fears - Sowing the Seeds of Love

    Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

    Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance

    Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

    Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen

22 hours ago, Julian_ said:

Again most of those I both know you’re a huge fan of and are very deserving picks.

“Crash” is the most surprising to me: at the moment I only find it nice, but I’ll look forward to appraising it more properly when the sessions get to the late ‘80s. Speaking of which yikes at that being your only post 1985 representative, but it would probably be similar for me at the moment.

ABBA absolutely got better and darker and more interesting as they went on. The “Voulez Vous” album from 1979 is my favourite pure pop album ever - it has about 7 hit singles and all the album tracks are knockouts. Then “Super Trouper” which includes LAYLOM was a very good album, but “The Visitors”, despite having basically ended them, is their finest work. It’s just so varied, beyond the heartbreaking “One Of Us” and haunting “The Day Before You Came”. The title track is a rare political number about life in the Soviet Union. You have unknown synth pop gems like “Should I Laugh Or Cry”, and the amazing lyrics of the theatrical “I Let The Music Speak”. It makes you think what could have been if they’d carried on. Whoops sorry for the essay!

This was quite possibly my most predictable decade for anyone who has been attending the SyncTube sessions, since it was crammed full of early '80s hits we've been discussing indeed. I usually reference the quality of 1981 but this project made me realise how many of my ultimate favourites were recorded in 1980. Oops at quite how dominant the early '80s turned out to be here, though! There was certainly some interesting movements happening towards the end of the decade as well but I'm a sucker for that post-punk / new wave / new romantics period. Here's hoping 'Crash' might be a grower!

Haha no worries, I love your passion for all things ABBA <3 I think I've heard The Visitors once and enjoyed but definitely need to give it another spin.

21 hours ago, Jaz13music said:

I’ve had a think of some my favourites from the 80s (that haven’t been mentioned already). Got it down to a 40 shortlist, with difficulty!

Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie

Hands Off... She's Mine – The Beat

Once In a Lifetime – Talking Heads

Wordy Rappinghood – Tom Tom Club

Temptation – New Order

Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners

Club Country – The Associates

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye – Soft Cell

Rock the Casbah – The Clash

Senses Working Overtime – XTC

Rip It Up – Orange Juice

White Lines (Don't Do It) – Grandmaster Melle-Mel & Grandmaster Flash

With or Without You – U2

The Boy with the Thorn In His Side – The Smiths

The Sun Always Shines On TV – a-ha

Like a Prayer – Madonna

Pump Up the Volume – M/A/R/R/S

Jack Your Body – Steve "Silk" Hurley

She Bangs the Drums – The Stone Roses

Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) – Soul II Soul

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) – Dead or Alive

Theme from S'Express – S'Express

Orinoco Flow – Enya

Big Fun – Inner City

Walk This Way – Run-DMC

Don't You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds

Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Tears for Fears

Love Missile F1-11 – Sigue Sigue Sputnik

Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry

Need You Tonight – INXS

There She Goes – The La's

Ace of Spades – Motörhead

House of Fun – Madness

Moments in Love – Art of Noise

Brass In Pocket – Pretenders

Duel – Propaganda

Don't Dream It's Over – Crowded House

Pump Up the Jam – Technotronic

Echo Beach – Martha And The Muffins

Getting Away with It – Electronic

Loads of good tunes here - I particularly love 'Ashes to Ashes', 'Once In a Lifetime', 'Rock the Casbah', 'White Lines (Don't Do It)', 'The Sun Always Shines on TV', 'Like a Prayer', 'Jack Your Body', 'Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)', 'You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)', 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', 'Sowing the Seeds of Love', 'Need You Tonight', 'There She Goes', 'Ace of Spades', 'Duel' and 'Echo Beach' as well - phew! I'm particularly happy to see some love for 'Jack Your Body' as that felt quite underrated on here in the 'ranking the #1s of 1987' thread we had not too long ago.

19 hours ago, TheSnake said:

Yeah I would put Club Country in my favourite 80s tracks so unique. Echo Beach is a good shout too.

The best New Romantic hits are Visage - Fade to Grey, Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short and Classix Nouveaux - Is It A Dream.

I would also have Talk Talk by Talk Talk.

Tracks I would have from the mid 80s are Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes and Pat Benetar - Love Is a Battlefield

True Faith by New Order is the best track of 1987.

For late 80s dance Inner City - Good Life and Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance. Maybe Theme From S'Express too.

Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon is fab too from 1989 as is London Boys - Requiem.

'To Cut A Long Story Short' is my favourite Spandau song, nice shout there!

11 hours ago, Chez Wombat said:

Now this is a top 10 where I know and enjoy all of them very much x

I expected those as your top 2 and they are big favourites of mine too. Fade to Gray is the first thing I think of when I think of that early 80s dark synthwave, the moody synths, eclectic production and English and French translation is so unique. I discovered Love Will Tear Us Apart fairly recently. it is an incredibly tragic song considering what happened to the lead singer, but it's beautiful, Unknown Pleasures is on my second album bucket list so hopefully will get round to it one of these days! Both Blue Monday and Vienna have some of my all time favourite instrumental solos, both stunning.

I heard All Mod Cons by The Jam as part of my first album project and it was a great album and really made me appreciate their social commentary more. I prefer A Town Called Malice over Going Underground, but both are great, although I can't mention Going Underground without referring to this early internet classic:

I think Crash is probably one I wasn't expecting here, but I love that song too, the vocals and production work so smoothly to complement the song, I also discovered it through Matt Willis' version on Mr Bean's Holiday! Safe to say this one's a bit better x

I think I instinctively say a lot of ABBA's best work came from the 70s, but it's a good point that they were much more experimental and interesting in the 80s and the singles are all consistently great. I used to think Lay All Your Love on Me was a bit overrated on here, but I have since changed my view and I'd say it would be in my top 10 songs from them, beautiful production throughout.

My attempt at my own top 10 (with some caveats I've probably forgotten about 100 that could be here):

0. The Tweets - The Birdle Song (naturally x)

1. Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark - Enola Gay

2. A-ha - Take on Me

3. New Order - Blue Monday

4. Phillip Oakley & Giorgio Moroder - Together In Electric Dreams

5. Visage - Fade to Gray

6. Laurie Anderson - O Superman

7. Ultravox - Vienna

8. Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (This would be my pick for him, but love When Doves Cry too)

9. Kim Wilde - Kids in America

10. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

    Tears for Fears - Sowing the Seeds of Love

    Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

    Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance

    Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

    Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen

🥳 taste! You know me too well x Hope you enjoy Unknown Pleasures when/if you get around to it <3 I remember getting both that and the Barbie movie soundtrack on vinyl for my birthday a few years ago, the duality lol.

I'm glad All Mod Cons left a strong impression on you <3 I particularly love that 1-2 punch of 'A' Bomb In Wardour Street' and 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' at the end; "I've a little money and a takeaway curry" is an iconic lyric in amongst the dark subject matter of the latter. *.* I'd say their second album This Is The Modern World was a dip in quality for me but genuinely all the rest of their studio albums are so good, I'd highly recommend Setting Sons (personal bias as it's my fave x), Sound Affects due to its Revolver influence and The Gift if 'Town Called Malice' is your favourite. Their quality control was admirable. Weller's songwriting of course can't hold a candle to the genius of 'London Underground' though xx

I thought I had remembered you being a fan of 'Crash', yay! Mr Bean's Holiday truly opening up our worlds x

Ooh I don't think I was aware of your previous stance on 'Lay All Your Love On Me' (or had forgotten if so) but very pleased to see you've come around to it <3

That's a fantastic top 10! I feel like 'Kids in America' is surprisingly underrated on the forum so I'm pleased you love it too, I did highlight 'Cambodia' in the honourable mentions but that's right up there for Kim Wilde too.

I never got round to doing a 70s top 10 so I'll do them both together, looking at my top 1000 chart:

1970s

1. Supper's Ready - Genesis

2. Feel The Benefit - 10cc

3. Eldorado - ELO

4. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

5. Music - John Miles

6. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

7. Here Comes The Flood - Peter Gabriel

8. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

9. 2112 - Rush

10. Blinded By The Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

I'm Not In Love and Mr Blue Sky both miss out as they are my second favourites by 10cc and ELO and I'm leaving Yes for another decade.

1980s

1. Dr Mabuse (12 inch version) - Propaganda

2. Welcome To The Pleasuredome (album version) - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

3. Vienna - Ultravox

4. Budapest By Blimp - Thomas Dolby

5. Blue Monday - New Order

6. Tell Me There's A Heaven - Chris Rea

7. Never Let Me Down Again (the extended version known as the Split Mix) - Depeche Mode

8. Woman In Chains - Tears For Fears

9. Cry - Godley & Creme

10. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins

The Chris Rea song was a single in 1990 but already on a 1989 album so I'm putting it in the 80s.

I prefer Hyperactive by Thomas Dolby but thats a good list. Cry is so atmospheric and vocally strong a bit like Mr Mister - Broken Wings is!

I like the epic violin bit near at the end of John Miles - Music that reminds me of Sigur Ros - Hoppipola!

Edited September 18Sep 18 by TheSnake

I loved Love Will Tear Us Apart until I heard Atmosphere.

Amazing top 10. I'm not posting mine because I am currently building my top 50 of the 80s and will have a thread on it soon.

Fantastic top 2 for the 1980s, Jade!

'Fade To Grey' is another one that was ahead of its time - its largely two-note synth line is an alluring backdrop to the melancholic nature of the words.

'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is such a timeless song - the band's playing is so relentless and you can hear the join to New Order especially with the atmospheric keyboard, but it's Ian Curtis' haunting words and delivery that seal its classic status. It might have taken a place in my top 10, except as Joy Division are restricted to one song it's edged out by a track from Unknown Pleasures in the 1970s - I've had a stab at my 70s top 10 below:

1 Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road

2 Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

3 Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

4 Joy Division - She's Lost Control

5 The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

6 ABBA - Dancing Queen

7 David Bowie - Life On Mars?

8 Blondie - Dreaming

9 The Clash - Complete Control

10 Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

I'll have a think about my full 1980s list (one act has huge highlights for me in both the 80s and 90s so choices are to be made), but I look forward to your 90s favourites in the meantime!

17 hours ago, King Rollo said:

I never got round to doing a 70s top 10 so I'll do them both together, looking at my top 1000 chart:

1970s

1. Supper's Ready - Genesis

2. Feel The Benefit - 10cc

3. Eldorado - ELO

4. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

5. Music - John Miles

6. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

7. Here Comes The Flood - Peter Gabriel

8. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

9. 2112 - Rush

10. Blinded By The Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

I'm Not In Love and Mr Blue Sky both miss out as they are my second favourites by 10cc and ELO and I'm leaving Yes for another decade.

1980s

1. Dr Mabuse (12 inch version) - Propaganda

2. Welcome To The Pleasuredome (album version) - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

3. Vienna - Ultravox

4. Budapest By Blimp - Thomas Dolby

5. Blue Monday - New Order

6. Tell Me There's A Heaven - Chris Rea

7. Never Let Me Down Again (the extended version known as the Split Mix) - Depeche Mode

8. Woman In Chains - Tears For Fears

9. Cry - Godley & Creme

10. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins

The Chris Rea song was a single in 1990 but already on a 1989 album so I'm putting it in the 80s.

Thanks for the refresher of your favourites! I also really like 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Comfortably Numb', 'Dr Mabuse', 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome', 'Never Let Me Down Again', 'Cry' and 'In The Air Tonight'. I'm pretty sure I gave the Depeche Mode song top marks when you sent it to BJSC 🖤

15 hours ago, Colm said:

I loved Love Will Tear Us Apart until I heard Atmosphere.

Amazing top 10. I'm not posting mine because I am currently building my top 50 of the 80s and will have a thread on it soon.

'Atmosphere' is amazing too 🥰

Glad you approve of the top 10! Ooh, that's a great idea - I eagerly anticipate your '80s thread.

11 hours ago, jimwatts said:

Fantastic top 2 for the 1980s, Jade!

'Fade To Grey' is another one that was ahead of its time - its largely two-note synth line is an alluring backdrop to the melancholic nature of the words.

'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is such a timeless song - the band's playing is so relentless and you can hear the join to New Order especially with the atmospheric keyboard, but it's Ian Curtis' haunting words and delivery that seal its classic status. It might have taken a place in my top 10, except as Joy Division are restricted to one song it's edged out by a track from Unknown Pleasures in the 1970s - I've had a stab at my 70s top 10 below:

1 Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road

2 Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

3 Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

4 Joy Division - She's Lost Control

5 The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

6 ABBA - Dancing Queen

7 David Bowie - Life On Mars?

8 Blondie - Dreaming

9 The Clash - Complete Control

10 Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

I'll have a think about my full 1980s list (one act has huge highlights for me in both the 80s and 90s so choices are to be made), but I look forward to your 90s favourites in the meantime!

Glad the '80s countdown ended on a high for you, Jim couldn't agree more with your thoughts on both songs.

'She's Lost Control' is another strong Joy Division favourite mentioned in this thread! I was reminded the other day that I gave it top marks in the relevant retro song contest 🤩 as it was in the same edition as my Serge Gainsbourg song.

Pleased to see 'Life On Mars?' in your '70s top 10 too <3 and a place for 'Dreaming', amongst others.

---

Thanks all for your comments so far! Time for the '90s shortly...

1990s

Next up is the first decade I actually existed in! Well, for a few years anyway, so I can't recall anything about the 1990s as it happened.

I recently created a thread on the forum asking people what the earliest news event they remember was. The most popular response turned out to be the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who passed away at the end of August 1997. I can't say my experience was the same, as I was probably fixating on Teletubbies rather than being able to comprehend the outpouring of grief from the public. The most notable fact about my date of birth just a few weeks prior to her death, 4th August 1997, is that the oldest person to ever exist died on that day - Jeanne Calment, age 122 years and 164 days. Am I her successor? Do I still have another 90+ years to create threads about my favourite music? Time will tell...!

Unfortunately, on the subject of my date of birth, I got 'I'll Be Missing You' by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112 as my #1, very much tainted now. At least Gala's 'Freed From Desire' is a pretty good #2 though. I got one of my all-time favourite '60s songs in that top 40 also, 'California Dreamin', which was at #12 that week thanks to a re-release. <3

The 1990s is my parents' favourite decade for music so I got a pretty good diet of it growing up. They especially passed on a love of electronic music, as my dad liked a lot of rave stuff and my mum was into trip-hop. Plenty of other movements were thriving too, from Grunge to Britpop. I also came into the world as a girl soon after 'Girl Power' burst on to the scene, as a Shampoo single of course, plus was adopted by five certain Spicy ladies.

At the movies, my favourite film of the decade is probably Schindler's List, one that would be difficult to rewatch but was so well made and impactful. So it's not just my taste in music that can get quite depressing! There are some haunting '90s picks on the way for sure but also some banging beats, so let's sit tight and throw it back to the final full decade of the 20th century...

#10 Air - 'Sexy Boy' (1998)

#09 Underworld - 'Born Slippy .NUXX' (1995)

French electronic duo Air's debut album Moon Safari is stunning so many tracks from it would be worthy of appearing here! But it's 'Sexy Boy', probably the most commercial moment on the record, that attracted me most and has rocketed in my affections over time, to the point where it's an ultimate '90s highlight for me now.

Nicolas Godin of Air said that 'Sexy Boy' almost didn't make its parent album as it felt quite different from the rest, more upbeat. But they found a way to make it work.

'Sexy Boy' is quite the attention-grabbing and seductive title but it holds more meaning than what may appear on the surface. Fellow Air member, Jean-Benoît Dunckel, said the track was about the taboo idea that "men can be erotic too" and is satire of the ideal male form, with some of the French lyrics translating to lines like: "Apollo 2000, zero faults, twenty one years old, he's the ideal man, with his masculine charm". I like how the song strikes a balance of being both sensual and cheeky. The video is a fun ride too with the adventurous monkey!

For years I assumed the French vocals in 'Sexy Boy' were performed by a woman, but instead it's Jean-Benoît Dunckel himself who contributes the manipulated, feminine-sounding vocals. I love the breathy, gender-bending sound of them.

The production is of course an enormous selling point of this electronica song too. I adore the hypnotic groove of the bassline and synth riff throughout 'Sexy Boy'. The keyboards, organ pads and percussion, plus further guitar work and shimmering synths, also help to create a dreamy, textured experience. The moog solo is a blissful pause too.

'Sexy Boy' was Air's highest peaking song in the U.K. as it reached #13 in the chart.

...

I'm pretty sure 'Born Slippy .NUXX' was the first techno song I ever came across so I have Underworld to thank for opening up this part of my taste.

'Born Slippy .NUXX' originally existed as a B-side to instrumental track 'Born Slippy' back in 1995. However, its use in the classic Danny Boyle film Trainspotting the following year swiftly ensured a reissue.

'Born Slippy .NUXX' was written by vocalist Karl Hyde after a night of drinking. He was inspired by Lou Reed's album New York and Sam Shepard's memoir Motel Chronicles, which consists of vignettes with no beginning or end. He took a notebook and camera to document his own environment, writing about his alcoholism, from the drunken perspective of somebody who is viewing the world in fragments. The result is pretty thrilling incoherence - with lots of "boy", lager and mega white things. I've always been teetotal for personal reasons, so cannot relate to feeling sloshed, yet I do feel transported to his frame of mind while listening nevertheless.

The title 'Born Slippy' was inspired by the name of a greyhound who had won the group a lot of money at Romford race track. The protagonist then goes out to a party which contains lots of girls, drugs and firsts taking place. But, it's no glamorisation, instead a cry for help.

Karl Hyde is a compelling narrator and the production on this song is absolutely massive. The pounding kickdrum is particularly enthralling, what a stomper. Otherwise, I like how the chaos of the distorted vocals and rambling words are contrasted with pretty heavenly synth chords too, providing a calmness much like the repeated angel imagery.

I'm pleased that Trainspotting got the public to connect with this frankly weird, long techno song. The reissue got all the way to #2 in the U.K. chart but was blocked by The Fugees' version of 'Killing Me Softly', which is fine, but this would've made an epic chart topper.

A controversial opinion. Sexy Boy is my least favourite song on Moon Safari and really breaks the flow :(

Born Slippy wasn't an immediate hit with me. I found it a bit shouty and it sounded like a drinking anthem with the references to lager. It did grow on me and I do like the way the beats work.

Edited September 19Sep 19 by Colm

Born Slippy is good and iconic if a bit too indie and shouty and cool for me vocally. Kettama seems to be carrying on the vibes at the moment.

I've never been drunk either Jade, maybe if I was I would appreciate more the vibe and the lager lager lager references.

Edited September 19Sep 19 by TheSnake

There are definitely wayyyy more than 10 songs from the 80s that feel worthy of being in the top 10 of the decade so making this list is an unenviable task, so many of the songs you mentioned as just missing out feel like somewhat glaring omissions ('How Soon Is Now?', 'Billie Jean' and 'Moonlight Shadow' especially), plus 'A Forest', 'Together In Electric Dreams', 'Once In A Lifetime' and 'Echo Beach' from other songs mentioned in the thread (really trying to limit myself from naming about 20 songs haha).

Still, very little to argue about from the songs that did make the cut for you, think I agree on 'Fade To Grey' being the best of the 10 'A Forest' is my ultimate post-punk classic of choice as I'm sure you know (enjoying perusing other people's rankings as well as yours but I would struggle to make one of my own that I'd be happy with, about 95% sure 'A Forest' would be my #1 though x) but 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is a wonderful choice too - not the cheeriest of top 2s but both songs are wonderful at creating a mood. 'Blue Monday' and 'Vienna' are both just obvious all-time classics as well - the whole of that top 4 plus the 7 songs I named in the first paragraph already takes me to 11 songs that feel like they should be absolute essentials of a top 10 list have been really enjoying discovering more of Ultravox's catalogue through the 80s sessions and they have lots of great songs (I've playlisted all but one of the songs that have come up from them I think) but 'Vienna' was always going to be a bit too high of a bar for them to match. Could say similar for New Order as well, some of their earlier songs while they were still in Joy Division continuity mode have been a bit of a revelation but 'Blue Monday' does kind of feel like the moment they became more of their own distinct thing.

My favourite from The Jam could probably be either 'Going Underground' or 'Town Called Malice' depending on which one I heard more recently haha, the former is a bit catchier though - somewhat of a shame that changing chart rules/conventions makes their once uniquely impressive feat of getting multiple debuts at #1 feel a bit devalued in retrospect. 'When Doves Cry' is a song that I've grown to appreciate more in recent years mostly because of knowing how much you like it, although there are still another couple of Prince songs I rate a bit higher myself ('Raspberry Beret' is probably my favourite). Would also probably go with 'Relax' from FGTH and 'It's A Sin' from PSB as my faves but 'Two Tribes' and 'West End Girls' are both great too, the latter is a song I forget how much I actually like until I hear it again for some reason! Think I might just get it a bit confused with 'Always On My Mind' which I do find just a tad overrated. Obviously fully agreed on the pick from ABBA though, I find a lot of their hits to be quite middling but always loved this one (and have more recently come to appreciate more of their later output in general so it's a shame their singles chart dominance started to wane a bit then, if only the likes of this and 'The Day Before You Came' could have been among their #1s).

'Crash' does feel like somewhat of a weak link / surprise inclusion in the top 10 here for me but that may be at least in part because I know it a lot less well than all the others (I'm not sure I have ever heard it outside of SyncTube sessions!), still enjoyed it plenty enough when listening through your top 10 - was just thinking I guess it could be considered another sort of post-punk adjacent song, although in going to look up what genres it is categorised as I've spotted it having 'cuddlecore' listed as a genre on RateYourMusic sure why not x

I’m a big Air fan, Sexy Boy and the Moon Safari as whole are both really cool, classy, and very influential of course. Love the instrumentals too.

My own favourite album of theirs would probably be the Prog influenced 10,000 Hz Legend (or maybe Talkie Walkie).

I love Born Slippy, though definitely in its full length version. I’ve always felt that, though on the surface it’s a harsh energetic club banger, to me it’s really a very beautiful stark masterpiece. A brilliant achievement. Great band across their whole career though!

22 hours ago, Colm said:

A controversial opinion. Sexy Boy is my least favourite song on Moon Safari and really breaks the flow :(

Born Slippy wasn't an immediate hit with me. I found it a bit shouty and it sounded like a drinking anthem with the references to lager. It did grow on me and I do like the way the beats work.

😭 I can see where you're coming from but yeah it's my favourite to listen to in isolation!

Glad 'Born Slippy' grew on you in the end ❤️

18 hours ago, TheSnake said:

Born Slippy is good and iconic if a bit too indie and shouty and cool for me vocally. Kettama seems to be carrying on the vibes at the moment.

I've never been drunk either Jade, maybe if I was I would appreciate more the vibe and the lager lager lager references.

I get the KETTAMA comparison and there's also a song in my personal chart right now called 'Rolling Face' by Adult DVD that reminded me a bit of them.

4 hours ago, Bror said:

There are definitely wayyyy more than 10 songs from the 80s that feel worthy of being in the top 10 of the decade so making this list is an unenviable task, so many of the songs you mentioned as just missing out feel like somewhat glaring omissions ('How Soon Is Now?', 'Billie Jean' and 'Moonlight Shadow' especially), plus 'A Forest', 'Together In Electric Dreams', 'Once In A Lifetime' and 'Echo Beach' from other songs mentioned in the thread (really trying to limit myself from naming about 20 songs haha).

Still, very little to argue about from the songs that did make the cut for you, think I agree on 'Fade To Grey' being the best of the 10 'A Forest' is my ultimate post-punk classic of choice as I'm sure you know (enjoying perusing other people's rankings as well as yours but I would struggle to make one of my own that I'd be happy with, about 95% sure 'A Forest' would be my #1 though x) but 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is a wonderful choice too - not the cheeriest of top 2s but both songs are wonderful at creating a mood. 'Blue Monday' and 'Vienna' are both just obvious all-time classics as well - the whole of that top 4 plus the 7 songs I named in the first paragraph already takes me to 11 songs that feel like they should be absolute essentials of a top 10 list have been really enjoying discovering more of Ultravox's catalogue through the 80s sessions and they have lots of great songs (I've playlisted all but one of the songs that have come up from them I think) but 'Vienna' was always going to be a bit too high of a bar for them to match. Could say similar for New Order as well, some of their earlier songs while they were still in Joy Division continuity mode have been a bit of a revelation but 'Blue Monday' does kind of feel like the moment they became more of their own distinct thing.

My favourite from The Jam could probably be either 'Going Underground' or 'Town Called Malice' depending on which one I heard more recently haha, the former is a bit catchier though - somewhat of a shame that changing chart rules/conventions makes their once uniquely impressive feat of getting multiple debuts at #1 feel a bit devalued in retrospect. 'When Doves Cry' is a song that I've grown to appreciate more in recent years mostly because of knowing how much you like it, although there are still another couple of Prince songs I rate a bit higher myself ('Raspberry Beret' is probably my favourite). Would also probably go with 'Relax' from FGTH and 'It's A Sin' from PSB as my faves but 'Two Tribes' and 'West End Girls' are both great too, the latter is a song I forget how much I actually like until I hear it again for some reason! Think I might just get it a bit confused with 'Always On My Mind' which I do find just a tad overrated. Obviously fully agreed on the pick from ABBA though, I find a lot of their hits to be quite middling but always loved this one (and have more recently come to appreciate more of their later output in general so it's a shame their singles chart dominance started to wane a bit then, if only the likes of this and 'The Day Before You Came' could have been among their #1s).

'Crash' does feel like somewhat of a weak link / surprise inclusion in the top 10 here for me but that may be at least in part because I know it a lot less well than all the others (I'm not sure I have ever heard it outside of SyncTube sessions!), still enjoyed it plenty enough when listening through your top 10 - was just thinking I guess it could be considered another sort of post-punk adjacent song, although in going to look up what genres it is categorised as I've spotted it having 'cuddlecore' listed as a genre on RateYourMusic sure why not x

Yes it was absolutely brutal to cut this down to just ten songs as you can imagine! The Cure were an especially difficult snub, with 'Lullaby' as mentioned, but 'The Forest' is also very good and right up there with the best of the band's 1980s output. Glad you agree with me on 'Blue Monday' and 'Vienna' even if fairly obvious picks for both artists, they're just both that good! I assume they will be unleashed in Pop Factor at some point so I'm intrigued to see how they perform if so.

Happy to hear that 'When Doves Cry' has grown on you more over time! I really like 'Raspberry Beret' as well so cannot knock that favourite choice. It has an uplifting feel that reminds me of the summertime so it got a spot on my 'summery summary' playlist.

'Crash' has really crept up on me over time so I'm glad I could fit in some jangly guitar representation for the decade. The term cuddlecore is definitely new to me...!

2 hours ago, Jaz13music said:

I’m a big Air fan, Sexy Boy and the Moon Safari as whole are both really cool, classy, and very influential of course. Love the instrumentals too.

My own favourite album of theirs would probably be the Prog influenced 10,000 Hz Legend (or maybe Talkie Walkie).

I love Born Slippy, though definitely in its full length version. I’ve always felt that, though on the surface it’s a harsh energetic club banger, to me it’s really a very beautiful stark masterpiece. A brilliant achievement. Great band across their whole career though!

Happy to see some more love for 'Sexy Boy' now in addition to Air in general <3

Oh yes, I embedded the radio edit just because I could find visuals for it, but my preference is the longer version too which has 32 more scrobbles than the radio edit for me, according to last.fm.

This was my first Underworld song, then I think some of their music soundtracking the 2012 Olympics expanded my curiosity. Great stuff indeed.

1990s

#08 Spice Girls - 'Viva Forever' (1997)

#07 Oasis - 'Live Forever' (1994)

Next we have a similarly titled double whammy from two iconic British groups! Our Michael hoped for a "Spicy Ladies or Victoria Beckham" top 3 placement earlier in the thread so I hope I haven't disappointed too hard with merely #8...!

'Viva Forever' could first be found on the Spice Girls' sophomore album Spiceworld, released in 1997. But it was pushed as a single the following year. My brother got 'Viva Forever' as his birthday #1 so I'm pretty jealous! The two of us went to see the girls as a four-piece at Wembley Stadium, back in 2019, soon before the world shut down for a while during the pandemic. So he has experienced his birthday #1 in the flesh and it was a magical moment for me to hear live too. The familial connections continue as my dad loves this song, so passed that on to me.

If I had a penny for every holiday romance song beginning with V that has appeared in this countdown, then I'd have two. Like 'Vienna', 'Viva Forever' also reflects on this fleeting but special feeling. It would later turn out to be a bittersweet reflection of the group's own story too, as their time as a five-piece came to an end with Geri Halliwell's departure in 1998. Halliwell was still included in the stop motion promotional materials for the single as they had been meticulously crafted before she dropped out. Steve Box of Aardman Animations was behind the music video, which symbolises how pop music was consumed but soon disposed of at the time. I find those fairies a bit creepy but striking all the same.

I like that 'Viva Forever' isn't your typical Spice Girls single. They had dabbled in Spanish elements before, like 'If U Can't Dance' on their debut album, but I'd say an orchestral 5 minute ballad with an eerie animated video wouldn't have been on my bingo card for their usually bubblegum brand.

I think this song captures a beautiful, wistful tone. The string arrangement is particularly gorgeous from the production side and the Spanish touches, like castanets and the flamenco rhythm, also appeal to me. The girls have never particularly been known for their vocal prowess (maybe Melanie C excluded) but I think they effectively come together here to produce a haunting mood. I particularly enjoy Mel B's lower register towards the end of 'Viva Forever', which sounds husky and melancholic, but ends on a hopeful note lyrically with "ever searching for the one".

'Viva Forever' sold by the bucket load despite being a post-album single. The publicity surrounding Geri's departure can't have hurt! The girls' eye-watering run of #1 hits faced an interruption when third Spiceworld single 'Stop' stalled at #2, but 'Viva Forever' got them back on top.

...

Liam Gallagher once stated that 'Live Forever' is his favourite Oasis song so we snap on this!

I was bound to get into Oasis to some extent as a group so heavily inspired by The Beatles. My dad is a massive fan of them so usually went out to buy a new Oasis CD single or album during the 1990s and 2000s. Therefore, I unsurprisingly heard a lot of their music growing up. I particularly fell in love with the first two Oasis albums and accompanying B-sides but they still released some gems later on, even into the 2000s, with 'The Importance of Being Idle' especially standing out to me. 'Live Forever' has always been my unshakable Oasis favourite ever since I first heard it. That felt like a semi-inspired pick when I first decided this but is undoubtably one of their most popular songs in the streaming era now!

'Live Forever' opens with a standout drumbeat from Tony McCarroll and is soon joined by the main guitar line and piano, alongside vocals from Liam Gallagher. He typically has quite a snarling, distinctive style, which I appreciate, but I also love how he contrasts this with the softer falsetto moments on 'Live Forever' too.

Liam's contrasting vocal moments feel like a good fit for Noel Gallagher's lyrics. He was inspired to write 'Live Forever' after listening to 'Shine a Light' by The Rolling Stones. Noel took a melodic cue from that track, wrote a lyric around it, then needed time to figure out the rest of the song. He was a construction worker with dreams of grandeur at the time, writing during breaks after a foot injury. The lyrics generally exude a confidence but there are also moments of vulnerable doubt, such as "maybe I will never be, all the things that I wanna be", much like the duality of Liam's two differing vocal styles. I like that the song explores both the beauty in the mundane (the "garden grows" lyric is a tribute to Liam and Noel's mother, a keen gardener) and in daring to dream, ultimately landing on the point that it's up to you to decide what is the right fit for your own life. There's a wonderful optimism to the song without feeling at all forced.

Musically, I appreciate all of the guitar work from Paul Arthurs (who also plays the piano), Paul McGuigan and Noel Gallagher, but particularly love the two melodic, emotive solos provided by Gallagher.

The music video is also one of their best as I enjoy the striking, surreal imagery throughout, like Liam sitting on a chair stuck to the wall.

'Live Forever' was released as the third single from Definitely Maybe and reached #10 at the time. This was the third ascending peak of the era, after 'Supersonic' hit #31 and 'Shakermaker' got to #11. Oasis finally returned to touring this decade which has resulted in a lot of chart action for their discography in recent years. This included 'Live Forever' now reaching a new peak of #8! Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' similarly achieved a new high of #9 last year after also previously peaking at #10, so that club is dwindling. 'Mr. Brightside' or 'Parklife' next?

The absolute best songs from those two bands. Both incredible and certainly highlights of the decade. Mel C's harmonies are so perfect and really poignant. And the video! ❤️

Edited September 20Sep 20 by Colm

Oh great 'Live Forever' really hit me how good as a song it was during the TOTP reruns for 1994. Definitely one of the best Britpop songs for me along with Ocean Colour Scene - The Day We Caught The Train and Cast - Walkaway.

'Viva Forever' is a lovely song and a big change from the upbeat brash sound of 'Wannabe' and 'Spice Up Your Life'. I like both styles though.

Edited September 20Sep 20 by TheSnake

Ha, my middle daughter has Viva Forever as her birthday number one!!

Obviously that means I have a special emotional attachment to the song, though aside from that it is a lovely melody, and along with 2 Become 1, my favourite Spice Girls ballad.

Live Forever was number one in my songs of the year list back in ‘94, so I absolutely love it. At the time it felt like a real step up in their progress as a band, and is certainly still one of my favourite Oasis songs. Most of all I have a soft spot for Some Might Say because I saw them live (supported by Pulp, who played Common People for the very first time!) on the week it became their first number one, and there was a great celebration energy around. They also debuted a new song called Don’t Look Back In Anger for the first time on the same night, one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to!