Popchartfreak

Prayer In C is quite pleasant but sort of passes me by a bit. I liked it enough to chart it at 28 for a 6 week run, and then forgot about it until now. Lower half of the list I think. Won't Look Back OTOH was top 10 and much better, while Maps was lucky to get a number 39 slot for me.

round 1: 36 george michael round 2: 39 3 in 10: Circle In The Sand, We want The same Thing, Heaven Is A Place On earth to lesser effect last night in a quiz music round I failed to recognise a clip from Cooler Than Me and the artist Mike Posner - one I liked at the time - and failed to name one I did recognise and liked by Rixton (Me And My Broken Heart). Once you get in your 50's things dont stick in the few remaining vacant brain cells like they used to! Something to look forward to! 😄

Not an essential PSB one-off for me, it's sweet but not one likely to get radio play at Christmas given the opposition, but it's an interesting diversion in the same way the more recent Cricket Wife is, or the outside projects like Alan Turing, ballets, musicals, movie soundtracks. I'm sure it would be anathema to Chris & Neil but they have more than enough strong obscure songs to re-purpose in another musical.

Thanks both and well done Jade on the 39 - and almost the full house! 🤩 round 1: 33 bluetones, ricky martin round 2: 39 3 in 10: Mandy, Bermuda Triangle, Could It Be Magic

Leaving is another classy low-key PSB single, top 10 for me for not a big chart-topper, but that isnt to say it's not very good, it is - just an unusual choice for a single - but that's SO PSB.....! So Sorry I Said was another odd choice, more of a showtune from a musical that should have been, and my least-fave of all to date bar Ab Fab. Very tasteful and all that but the follow-up cover of Love Pains was way better and the highlight Pet Shop Boys song on Results was If There Was Love - that should have been the 3rd single. Just a few name-drops for those on the album - Angelo Badamenti (Twin Peaks composer), Anne Dudley (Art Of Noise, Lexicon Of Love), Carol Kenyon (Temptation, Heaven 17 show-stopping vocal), Katie Kissoon (70's hit-maker), Courtney Pine (jazz star).

The only of these that I know (and vaguely knew at the time) is Manfred Mann, so that's the one that I get nostalgic about with new lead vocalist Mike D'Abo - he of Handbags & Gladrags, Build Me Up Buttercup as well as Manfred songs. For me, Mike is the singer for my-era Manfred. ROTW. The Cream track is unexpectedly mellow ragtime. ooeerrr! Eric Burdon sounding like Eric Burdon and the Animals, it's not bad. Chris Farlowe I like it, but the song isnt as strong as Out Of Time, can see why Jagger/Richard gave it away. Ike & Tina I was expecting rock blues so this lush Motown was a surprise. I wonder if Spector was still smarting over River Deep bombing in the US, he reacted very badly, maybe he wasnt concentrating properly for this one, it doesn't quite match up to previous. Kudos to Tina - Spector & Turner and she still comes up smelling of roses.

Thanks both! Well done on the near misses (very near with Sugar) and the 3 Morrissey tracks Jade 👍 round 1: 39 round 2: 36 Not I'd Die For You tch! Lie! 3 in 10: Animal, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Rocket

topped my charts of the time and sounding pretty good here. Later 21st century PSB always start with a disadvantage of lack of airplay at the time and unfamiliarity/absence of airplay since coming out - for me thats how I consume oldies, I rarely have time to play old albums or faves, I stick with new stuff. This is the first play in a decade for me - they havent done it in concert either during that period - and it holds up well for me. I rated based on my chart performances where I they havent been very very familiar classic oldies.

Thanks Jade! Well done getting Alternate Title Rollo. Mickey is doing his 60th anniversary tour in the US at the mo and wrote that song after watching Till Death Us Do Part in the UK - the original title got banned here! round 1: 36 one year out round 2: 39 3 in 10: 2 Everyday Is Like Sunday, Last Of The Famous International Playboys and failed to get Suedehead while I was trying to remember First Of The Gang To Die! Doh.

Quality pop, and still sounds good, as does anything Ryan Tedder related. Glow and 2022's Brave are just as good, and Ella still makes my charts in the 2020's. Which is more than I can say for most other X Factor acts, bar the One Direction and Little Mix solo careers, mostly.

I also prefer Was It Worth It to DJ Culture, top 5 vs the first PSB single not to make my top 10. Playing it again here it still sounds fun and upbeat, though in terms of their Imperial Phase, Dusty & Liza and Behaviour singles it's not quite up with those.

ten to the top is a tougher quiz for me, getting full marks is much rarer due to recent questions! I do listen to Vernon either side of Popmaster though, I can't cope with just oldies as a format unless it's lesser-played oldies. 😎 round 1; 36 Perfect Beat not Crazy Beat round 2: 39 tiebreak: yes 3 in 10: Daydream Believer, I'm A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville

tiebreak: Madonna Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill Midge Ure - If I Was Red Box - Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo) Phil Collins - Take Me Home Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love

My least-fave track on the list. It's essentially a novelty track for a fun TV sitcom, tongue in cheek but the TV show clips dont bear repeating on a regular basis. As a mickey-take on the shallow fashion/celeb obsessions that have always been a thing in modern pop culture the TV show is fine, and the backing track as a PSB bonus instrumental B side track it would be fine, but I'm glad it was a one-off and not released under their name.

plenty of pop classics bursting through at this time, happily at the top end of the charts too - All Saints, Mel C, Moloko, Santana and even Madonna, Dre.