20 Ladyhawke - My Delirium (8wks 31-24-12-3-2-2-2*)

 

 

The 4th single taken from Ladyhawke's self titled debut album gave Pip her first UK Top 40 hit at #33 in December. This incredibly catchy chugging song is the track she does as the encore for her gigs when playing live.

19 We Are Scientists - After Hours (11wks 27-15-3-3-1-1-2-2-7-15-32)

 

 

The now New York duo released this rather great alternative melodic rocker from their 4th album Brain Thrust Mastery giving them a UK#15 hit for their efforts. The video is rather entertaining too.

18 Camille - Money Note (11wks 18-12-10-8-11-15-6-4-9-16-31)

 

 

The French answer to Bjork released this track from her 4th album Music Hole this year. This is Sir Paul McCartney's (when he appeared on BBC2's Friday Newsnight arts show offshoot The Late Review in December) favourite track of the year. It is very easy to see why the world's most successful singer songwriter in the history of popular music appreciates a work of bonkers genius that fuses gospel, jazz, dance & avante garde all in the space of this track.

Money Note! :wub: Should've been higher, but whatever :heart:

17 Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods (10wks 16-5-3-3-2-2-5-12-20-27)

 

 

The chart ineligble reissue of their debut single (& best song) the Gary Numan/Tubeway Army esque track is the highest placed LOTP track on my countdown with their off kilter gurgling synths pop style taken from their debut Fantasy Black Channel album.

16 Radiohead - Nude (11wks 16-10-7-6-4-4-3-4-8-15-29)

 

 

The standout track for me from their 7th proper studio album In Rainbows. The haunting atmospheric ballad was released as the second single on 31 March 2008. "Nude" was written in 1997, and the band began to perform it live soon after. However, a recording was not included on any Radiohead album until 10 years later. In April 2008 "Nude" became the first Radiohead song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1995's "High and Dry" and their most successful on the chart since 1992's "Creep" reaching US#37 16 places lower than its UK chart peak.

 

Money Note, Nude :heart:

15 Duffy - Warwick Avenue (15wks 27-21-20-17-11-5-11-8-4-2-6-9-15-31-36)

 

 

This retro soul ballad was the third single (second in North America) from the UK million selling album Rockferry. It peaked at UK#3 in April and is my 3rd longest running song on my countdown this year. Such a shame Aimee Duffy eventually had to spoil the year by releasing the awful Rain On Your Parade as her last single.

14 Futureheads - The Beginning Of The Twist (12wks 15-6-3-3-1-1-1-1-6-11-21-31)

 

 

The Sunderland four-piece released this driving indie rock UK#20 track as the lead single from their 3rd album This Is Not the World in March 2008.

13 Elbow - One Day Like This (11wks 29-19-13-6-4-4-4-8-18-25-35)

 

 

2008 was the year that tBury's alternative-rock five piece led by Guy Garvey finally got the acclaim & record sales to match their talent with their 4th album The Seldom Seen Kid. This atmospheric yet euphoric track somehow only reached UK#35 this year.

12 Noah & The Whale - 5 Years Time (11wks 24-10-1-1-1-2-5-11-16-22-32)

 

 

The folk rock band from Twickenham, London, England formed in 2006 scored a UK#7 hit with the reissue of their 2007 debut single taken from their debut top 5 album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. This track features the female backing vocals of Laura Marling.

11 Adele - Chasing Pavements (12wks 2*-1-1-1-3-4-8-9-21-31-38)

 

 

The second single (& first full release after the limited released of Hometown Glory) taken from her debut album 19 this track reached UK#2 and was my first Personal Chart #1 of the year. Unfortunately the 21st century answer to Alison Moyet did not have any tracks on her debut to match the standard of her first two singles.

10 The Killers - Human (12wks 11-9-2-1-1-1-1-3-7-14-26*)

 

 

The San Francisco indie art rockers released this track as the lead single from their UK#1 album Day & Age. This is a fantastic pop tune sounding exactly how I'd imagine a U2/Pet Shop Boys collaboration would sound like.

9 TV Eyes - She's A Study (10wks 14-4-2-6-10-16-25-32-37-39)

 

 

Time for a music history lesson: Back in the early 1990s their was a four piece retro rock pop act from San Francisco called Jellyfish who released two highly critically acclaimed power pop albums musically inspired by the likes of The Beatles; Beach Boys; ELO; The Who; Badfinger; Queen; Supertramp; etc. But after public indifference they split. Fast forward 15 years & McFly have scored a UK#1 hit with a cover of their song Baby's Coming Back; whilst music critics were using the name Jellyfish as a big stick to beat the likes of The Feeling & Scouting For Girls for being immensely popular in the UK despite being nowhere near as good.

 

So the news that three-quarters of the band were reforming minus original lead singer/drummer/songwriter Andy Sturmer (more of whom later in this thread) under a new name caused some interest. However, they had musically moved on to record retro late 1970s/early 1980s sounding material but this time releasing a European sounding early New Romantic synth pop track with influences of Kraftwerk; Giorgio Moroder; Duran Duran; New Order; Brian Eno era David Bowie; Ultravox; etc has again failed to trouble the charts.

8 Suzie McNeil - Lonely (Are You Coming Home?) (11wks 1-1-1-1-1-3-5-13-20-27-34)

 

 

So, the track that Kelly Clarkson rejected for her third album (to the fury of label head & music legend Clive Davis) went on to become a Canadian Top 2 hit for the former 4th placed (top female) in VH1's Rockstar: INXS reality show. I challenge any sane individual to claim Never Again is better than this. She has since toured North America as support to P!nk & Nickleback. It also gave me (Nonsuch) a Top 2 finish in BJSC XI.

7 Ladyhawke - Dusk To Dawn (10wks 2-1-1-1-2-7-12-20-29-37)

 

 

The third & my favourite single released from Pip Brown's debut album. This fantastic pop track is everything pop music should be about sounding like a massive hit from the early 1980s by Bananarama from another dimension. A great video too, showing a great visual idea is always better than throwing a load of cash at a video.

6 Cyndi Lauper - Into The Nightlife (11wks 4-1-1-1-2-5-8-15-20-26-35)

 

 

The 4th consecutive track in my Top 10 countdown that failed to reach the Top 75; despite appearances on British TV. Lets not beat about the bush this incredibly modern sounding electro dance track would have received massive airplay if the vocals were by P!nk; Britney; Rihanna; Nelly Furtado; Gwen Stefani; Girls Aloud; etc because it is a fantastic track instead of some 55 year old eighties icon and "has been". It also gave me (Nonsuch) a 3rd place in the BJSC IX.

5 M.I.A. - Paper Planes (18wks 3-2-2-2-5-10-17-26-30-37-40-x25wks-5-1-3-7-12-20-32)

 

 

The second longest running track on my countdown this year comes from the British artist of Sri Lanken origin with this track which samples The Clash's 1982 effort Straight To Hell. Taken from her 2007 album Kala, this became a bigger hit in the USA than in the UK when it eventually peaked at UK#19 after its US Top 5 success.

4 Coldplay - Viva La Vida (11wks 10-5-1-1-1-1-4-11-18-26-35)

 

 

My favourite UK#1 of 2008 also peaked at USA#1. It has replaced The Scientist as my all time favourite Coldplay song. The riff that sounds a damn sight closer to the viola motif employed on Lou Reed's Street Hassle than the Mariah Carey of guitar w*n**ry Joe Satriani claims in a lawsuit makes the track. But the whole euphoric package with good lyrics by Chris Martin's standards wins out over this Brian Eno co produced track.

 

3 Sara Bareilles - Love Song (23wks 40-20-10-6-5-9-12-15-18-34-27-23-1-1-1-9-14-24-32-30-37-39-39)

 

 

This is my guilty pleasure track of 2008. It sounds like some long lost uptempo Carole King track from the 1970s but is so delightfully well constructive despite the slightly naff video it is impossible not to love. It deserved its success in both the UK & the USA this year.