Popchartfreak

95 (6) BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO - The Partridge Family Starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy Q5fPDYPk8YE I was huge on The Partridge Family sitcom in 1971/72, and anything they recorded with David Cassidy on lead vocal. Not that he was my fave in the show, far from it, but he had his own style when it came to singing and became an accidental pop star. Note the STAR of the show Shirley Jones, musical star of the 50's and Cassidy's step-mom, but Cassidy was setting a trend with that Featuring credit on all their records. All the rage in the 21st century obv. This was a bouncy cover of the Neil Sedaka early 60's hit, so I wasn't that familiar with the song, but it did introduce me proper to the man who would be charting soon with a re-issue of this and especially his fab 1950's tune Oh Carol, and kickstarting his new career as singer-songwriter assisted by 10CC. True fact. This was my 6th fave record of the year, very catchy singalong, but it hasn't dated well. I'm still fond of it though.

96 (NEW) DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER - Shirley Bassey jboEolwHIIA Shirley gets her second Bond theme, and it doesn't do as well in the charts as you might think, though Radio 2 was big on it at the time, and so was TV. I went to the cinema to see the film, it's probably my fave Connery Bond, though it was playing more for laughs than earlier films. The theme is still a bold, dramatic ballad that has lasted pretty well - maybe more so than Goldfinger, which I also love. Dad was a Shirley Bassey fan, so we had an album of hers we heard a lot (50's stuff), so although she became a bit too MOR for my tastes for the next decade or two, there was always another career update along the way to remind you she was still around and relevant again. Her third Bond theme is not in the same class, so she was never invited back again after that. I liked this at the time, but these days I rate it even more and in it enters at 96.

Ooh yes quite a few fave nations are AWOL now I look at the list! That's a shame and I hope they feel enthused (or get more time) to return at some point. My theory, apart from that, I put on the main semi thread, but in terms of picking songs, just pick a great record you love, doesnt matter if it flops! If one person loves it then it's a discovery and it's worthwhile. It's nice if 20 people love it but it doesn't mean in any way that a record loved by 1 person is less good than one loved by 20. As I've mentioned before, BJ is often useless at spotting big hits, or cult sensations because people have notions of what "sort of music" they prefer and they might like it but not quite as much as their fave genre/s. My philosophy is a track that's genuinely interesting and different is going to get me to notice it, so is one with that's crafted well regardless of genre. My own negative bias, and I've not made it a secret, are tracks that are on an extended short loop and do nothing with the extra time that varies or develops the underlying theme. "just a vibe" is not going to cut it with me unless I change the habits of a lifetime and take up pot :lol: :teresa: - but they still do well in the voting, while I'm busy balancing up points for perhaps less experimental choices.

fashionably late again! Thanks for the hosting Kath, and all the hard work involved :wub: Thanks :wub: to all those voting for Trucks (esp the 12 from Lookylion :yahoo: ), I genuinely love it, and at least it got loads of mentions so that means it's memorable :cheer: I think Buzzjack prob lacks the 5 to 10-year-old target audience :lol: My greatniece has been rightly converted by me to love Trucks and APT*, so we singalong together. 25 years from now she'll be playing 'em for her kids :lol: The video is just fabulous. :dance: Plus, I have always said if you can predict what a Singerpurean entry is going to sound like, that's when I need to try harder! :) (*) I actually only had to play them once... 12 points: Q 10 points: Q 8 points: Q 7 points: Q 6 points: Q 5 points: Q 4 points: Q 3 points: Q 2 points: Q 1 point: Q Re: pop on a low ebb, I will always vote for great tracks, pop or otherwise, it's not a dirty word. Maybe it's that a lot of pop acts have been used up already or charted (cos they are good) and the current trend for navel-gazing "It's all about me being unhappy and you're to blame" ballads at the top of the charts has put the kibosh on genuinely joyous pop for the moment (APT apart, or is that APT apapartaypart), dance music excepted?

Thanks Jade, and well done on matching the 36, shame you didn't quite get the to beat me! TBH most of their 70's hits had a certain formula to them and they got a bit samey after Kissing In The Back Row Of The Movies brought them back huge in the UK.... Round 1: 33 ( ) Talking about being a bit samey, this act is my one for being forgettable (bar one 2000's absolute forgotten gem) ! ( , I was too slow) Round 2: 36 ( ) My answer is scientifically accurate though, the real one is nonsense! :lol: 3 in 10: 3 ( )

didnt see the thread sorry (I did look!), but in case of tie breakers needed heres mine: best: Wilson Phillips - Hold On Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire Janet Jackson - Escapade Madonna - Like A Prayer Madonna - Vogue worst: oh there's so many! Bad English - When I See You Smile Michael Bolton - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Loving You (Forever)

PET SHOP BOYS OK, the one you've all been waiting for...and there's no way I can limit the 20th century output to just 12. Bear in mind this doesn't include anything from the 20th Century (bar 2 tracks released/charted in early 2000) and their "Imperial Phase" is now well over 35 years ago. Neil Tennant used that phrase first and it's now on Wikipedia, so kudos Neil. Other acts deserve a list of more than 12, but I'm making this exception just the once until I have completed my A to Z of everything that has ever made my charts, at which point I will prob list everything by acts who have had 10 or more Top 10's, in batches of 10 20, 30, 40, and so on and we'll see who really is significant! 1 (1 36) NEW LONDON BOY Pet Shop Boys (2559750) 2024 2 (1 33) BURN Pet Shop Boys (1444950) 2016 3 (1 27) MIRACLES Pet Shop Boys (1434150) 2003 4 (1 22) ALL OVER THE WORLD/REMIX Pet Shop Boys (1372450) 2009 5 (1 28) MORE THAN A DREAM Pet Shop Boys (1293200) 2009 6 (1 25) DID YOU SEE ME COMING? Pet Shop Boys (1277850) 2009 7 (1 18) YOU ONLY TELL ME YOU LOVE ME WHEN YOU'RE DRUNK/LIVE EP Pet Shop Boys (1200650) 2000 8 (1 29) THURSDAY Pet Shop Boys featuring Example (1176800) 2013 9 (4 39) FEEL Pet Shop Boys (1060700) 2024 10 (1 29) I'M WITH STUPID Pet Shop Boys (1017400) 2006 Note Feel was out-charted by themselves and 2 other tracks, but it has outlasted loads of chart-toppers and is still increasing in "sales" 11 (1 25) LOVE ETC Pet Shop Boys (1014700) 2009 12 (1 24) SAY IT TO ME Pet Shop Boys (954650) 2016 13 (1 19) THE POP KIDS Pet Shop Boys (879500) 2016 14 (1 22) INTEGRAL Pet Shop Boys (822050) 2006 15 (1 21) NUMB Pet Shop Boys (798350) 2006 16 (1 12) DREAMLAND Pet Shop Boys featuring Years & Years (798200) 2019 17 (1 18) DANCING STAR Pet Shop Boys (769200) 2024 18 (1 16) I DIDN'T GET WHERE I AM TODAY Pet Shop Boys (755100) 2012 19 (1 14) LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys (676200) 2013 20 (1 13) I STARTED A JOKE Pet Shop Boys (632500) 2012 21 (1 17) GIRLS DON'T CRY Pet Shop Boys (617400) 2012 22 (3 18) MEMORY OF THE FUTURE (SINGLE REMIX) Pet Shop Boys (610500) 2013 23 (3 12) PURPLE ZONE Soft Cell & Pet Shop Boys (524700) 2022 24 (5 16) MINIMAL Pet Shop Boys (512750) 2006 25 (6 18) IT’S NOT A CRIME Pet Shop Boys (493300) 2024 26 (3 12) BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS Pet Shop Boys (492000) 2017 27 (1 19) SHE'S MADONNA Robbie Williams/ Pet Shop Boys (461800) 2007 28 (4 14) YOU ARE THE ONE Pet Shop Boys (459750) 2020 29 (4 13) WILL-O-THE-WISP Pet Shop Boys (458900) 2020 30 (1 15) "A CERTAIN ""JE NE SAIS QUOI"" Pet Shop Boys (443100) 2012 31 (4 13) MONKEY BUSINESS (RADIO EDIT) Pet Shop Boys (430200) 2020 32 (6 15) AXIS Pet Shop Boys (423400) 2013 33 (2 10) FOR YOUR OWN GOOD Pet Shop Boys (418150) 2000 34 (5 12) WHY AM I DANCING? Pet Shop Boys (413900) 2024 35 (6 15) FLAMBOYANT Pet Shop Boys (392750) 2004 36 (5 13) TOGETHER/ GLAD ALL OVER Pet Shop Boys (386250) 2010 37 (9 13) THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS Pet Shop Boys (363400) 2024 38 (5 10) I GET ALONG Pet Shop Boys (360000) 2002 39 (5 11) HAPPINESS Pet Shop Boys (346950) 2016 40 (7 17) HOME AND DRY Pet Shop Boys (346800) 2002

Circle In The Sand topped my charts and I bought it full-price, certainly of her 5 best singles in a surprisingly long list of great singles for belinda. Somewhere In My Heart is joyful and easily their best record of all-time, but Aztec Camera were always classy and likeable. As were Prefab Sprout, who peaked in the 90's for me, and it's quite annoying that the ironically best-remembered record (and biggest) is King Of Rock'n'Roll as I'd take any of their other singles over it anyday. Kylie meanwhile might as well get used to peaking at number 2, she's going to rack up more of those than almost any other acts..... :teresa:

18th January 1975 It's 2 weeks on top for Pilot, as January holds off Olivia's Mellow and a new entry at 3 for Michael Jackson, who grabs his first solo entry since 1973's retro rundown. It's a future UK number one - in 1981! One Day In Your Life didn't get a single release until Jackson's Off The Wall had struck gold for Epic, at which point Motown do what they have always done: bung out some oldies if they have no new material to offer. This week in 1975 the new Michael Jackson is out, and his new official single enters at 38 (also an 80's re-issued hit) We're Almost There, but One day In Your Life remains an album track for the next 6 years, which was a very mad decision. Jackie Blue enters at 13, for Ozark Mountain Daredevils, criminally not a UK hit but was a US smash at least, cos it's fab and always has been, one I bought and played to death in the summer of 75. Syreeta is back with Stevie Wonder boost co-write/produce from her Ex on her biggest hit, Your Kiss Is Sweet at 27, and Redbone debut with a great single Ive never heard before, at 39 with Only You And Rock And Roll, sort of more Come And Get Your Love than Witch Queen. Reunion also get a follow-up to Life Is a Rock that I wasnt aware of - it's a disco celebration, name-checking funk and disco acts, and sounds convincingly KC & The Sunshine Band. Al Green, fresh from his life-changing scalding burns and suicide of an ex, enters with L-O-V-E, as Sha La La hangs in near the top end, and Charlie Rich debuts both his current UK and US singles. The better one is the US single, a cover of Lee Hazelwood's brilliant duet with Nancy Sinatra, My Elusive Dreams. A great song. Even sung by Charlie Rich in a laid-back vibe. New at 57, a wannabe pop star that never made it, Dave Jordan, with a single I bought and rated, Street Corner Music, fairly synthy for the times. I get reminded of him every time I see a Marvel film or TV show that invariably lists a Dave Jordan as music maestro, and who does a brilliant job. As far as I can tell they arent the same Dave Jordan though, as the Marvel man looks considerably under 70, and Wikipedia searches offer up many other Dave Jordan's still touring. The Hues Corporation get a 4th retro entry with a single I'd actually forgotten about, but it's rather catchy and upbeat, I'll Take A Melody, Alvin Stardust's 6th hit under that name - Good Love Can never Die - is better than I remember it, but really it's his 5th hit as the Alvin Stardust on My Coo Ca Choo is really writer/producer Peter Shelley and should be added to his tally. Peter decided Shane Fenton would promote it better than he could. Which he did, in spades. Arrows get a follow-up hit, My Last Night With You, but will likely be back with a famous B side, as heard by one Joan Jett on tour who caught their ITV TV show. John Henry noted the cover hits of 30's and 40's songs by Ferry & Shearston, and decided he'd like a piece of that action, and dropped I Won't Dance, an old Frank Sinatra song that cropped up on Morecambe & Wise's TV show in one famous skit. I quite liked it and bought it as a bargain bin cheapie, but seem to have lost it along the way on an unwise clear-out (which I had to do every time we moved house, which was usually every year or two years at most). Finally B.J. Thomas gets a bit of a US comeback chart-wise, and sneaks into mine too, with the Hey Won't You Play song. So that'll be 8 Retro years of tracks entering for BJ. 1 ( 1 ) JANUARY - Pilot # 1 2 ( 6 ) HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW - Olivia Newton-John # 2 3 ( NEW ) ONE DAY IN YOUR LIFE - Michael Jackson # 3 4 ( 2 ) LOVIN' YOU - Minnie Ripperton # 1 5 ( 4 ) SO LONG - ABBA # 4 6 ( 3 ) #9 DREAM - John Lennon # 1 7 ( 7 ) CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD - Electric Light Orchestra # 1 8 ( 9 ) THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF LOVING - Guys & Dolls # 8 9 ( 10 ) GOODBYE MY LOVE - The Glitter Band # 9 10 ( 5 ) CHILD OF LOVE - Caston & Majors # 1 11 ( 11 ) HOW DOES IT FEEL - Slade # 11 12 ( 14 ) I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU - ABBA # 1 13 ( NEW ) JACKIE BLUE - The Ozark Mountain Daredevils # 13 14 ( 8 ) BE MY BABY - The Ronettes # 1 15 ( 18 ) SINCE I FOUND MY BABY - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose # 15 16 ( 16 ) BAD BLOOD - Neil Sedaka featuring Elton John # 10 17 ( 12 ) THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN - Lulu # 7 18 ( 23 ) FOOTSEE - Wigans Chosen Few # 18 19 ( 17 ) WALKING IN RHYTHM - The Blackbyrds # 4 20 ( 19 ) TOBY - The Chi-Lites # 19 21 ( 15 ) THE ORINOCO KID - The Wombles # 15 22 ( 21 ) WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO? - Diana Ross & The Supremes # 3 23 ( 24 ) SHAME SHAME SHAME - Shirley & Company # 23 24 ( 20 ) SHA LA LA (MAKE ME HAPPY) - Al Green # 4 25 ( 26 ) MS GRACE - The Tymes # 15 26 ( 13 ) DOWN DOWN - Status Quo # 5 27 ( NEW ) YOUR KISS IS SWEET - Syreeta # 27 28 ( 39 ) PURELY BY COINCIDENCE - Sweet Sensation # 28 29 ( 30 ) MY MAIN MAN - The Staple Singers # 29 30 ( 29 ) CRYING OVER YOU - Ken Boothe # 29 31 ( 25 ) YOU’RE THE FIRST THE LAST MY EVERYTHING - Barry White # 2 32 ( 35 ) YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET - Bachman-Turner Overdrive # 1 33 ( 34 ) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Gloria Gaynor # 1 34 ( 44 ) ROLL ON DOWN THE HIGHWAY - Bachman-Turner Overdrive # 34 35 ( 36 ) I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU - Gary Shearston # 1 36 ( 33 ) ALL I WANT IS YOU - Roxy Music # 1 37 ( 37 ) ANGIE BABY - Helen Reddy # 1 38 ( NEW ) WE’RE ALMOST THERE - Michael Jackson # 38 39 ( NEW ) ONLY YOU AND ROCK AND ROLL - Redbone # 39 40 ( 40 ) MAGIC - Pilot # 20 41 ( 46 ) IRE FEELINGS (SKANGA) - Rupie Edwards # 10 42 ( 31 ) DREAMER - Supertramp # 15 43 ( 32 ) LADY MARMALADE - LaBelle # 8 44 ( 48 ) I'M A WOMAN - Maria Muldaur # 44 45 ( 49 ) GET DANCIN’ - Disco Tex & The Sex-o-lettes # 2 46 ( 38 ) LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS - Mud # 1 47 ( NEW ) DISCO-TEKIN - Reunion # 47 48 ( 22 ) YOU CAN MAKE ME DANCE, SING OR ANYTHING - The Faces featuring Rod Stewart # 15 49 ( 28 ) PICK UP THE PIECES - Average White Band # 28 50 ( 27 ) DO IT, DO IT - The Peppers # 27 51 ( 47 ) I CAN HELP - Billy Swan # 9 52 ( NEW ) L-O-V-E (LOVE) - Al Green # 52 53 ( 51 ) DRACULA’S DAUGHTER - Thunderthighs # 12 54 ( 56 ) GONNA MAKE YOU A STAR - David Essex # 13 55 ( 52 ) BEACH BABY - The First Class # 1 56 ( 54 ) HOW LONG - Ace featuring Paul Carrack # 1 57 ( NEW ) STREET CORNER MUSIC - Dave Jordan # 57 58 ( 57 ) THE LIFE OF THE PARTY - The Jackson 5 # 57 59 ( 50 ) MORNING SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN - Donny & Marie Osmond # 3 60 ( 63 ) NOW I’M HERE - Queen # 60 61 ( NEW ) MY ELUSIVE DREAMS - Charlie Rich # 61 62 ( 60 ) NIGHTINGALE - Carole King # 60 63 ( 53 ) ARE YOU READY TO ROCK - Wizzard # 53 64 ( 65 ) ONLY ONE WOMAN - Nigel Olsson # 64 65 ( 75 ) FLY NOW - Brian Protheroe # 65 66 ( 74 ) THEN I CHANGE HANDS - Mick Robertson # 66 67 ( NEW ) WE LOVE EACH OTHER - Charlie Rich # 67 68 ( NEW ) I’LL TAKE A MELODY - The Hues Corporation # 68 69 ( 59 ) HURT SO GOOD - Susan Cadogan # 59 70 ( 70 ) ONCE YOU GET STARTED - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan # 70 71 ( 66 ) I GET LIFTED - George McCrae # 71 72 ( 68 ) KILLER QUEEN - Queen # 1 73 ( 69 ) TWO SLEEPY PEOPLE - Phillip & Vanessa # 69 74 ( NEW ) GOOD LOVE CAN NEVER DIE - Alvin Stardust # 74 75 ( 67 ) SUGAR CANDY KISSES - Mac & Katie Kissoon # 67 76 ( NEW ) MY LAST NIGHT WITH YOU - Arrows # 76 77 ( NEW ) I WON’T DANCE - John Henry # 77 78 ( NEW ) SATIN SOUL - The Love Unlimited Orchestra # 78 79 ( 73 ) DOCTOR LOVE - The Pearls # 73 80 ( NEW ) (HEY WON’T YOU PLAY) ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG - B.J. Thomas # 80

Hi Sergej! :) People Watching top 5 :cheer: Myles Smith top 20, Kylie new at 24, Florida up, Marias back in, are my picks of the upwardly mobile peaking :cheer: Hope all is fab with you, great chart B-)

...and I spoke too soon, Cineworld has just closed. That explains the lack of staff, bare bones struggling through xmas and New Year to bank the remaining cash and then done.

Touch Me (All Night Long) It Aint Over Till Its Over The Power 3 classics. The Band's Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. There are now no original members left, which is sobering, not even the fab Robbie Robertson I just found out had died in 2023. John Sykes Here I Go Again, its the main rifftastsic track while he was inWhitesnake.

97 (21) A THING CALLED LOVE - Johnny Cash fHqrxnkcx_c Mum and dad loved Johnny Cash, so I acquired that second-hand in the early 70's, so when this popped up as new in 1972 we all loved it. It's a tad cheesy, a tad singalong, a bit cheerful, and a mix of country twang and gospel chugging choir backing for a highly satisfying and nostalgic tune that I might well choose to sing if I was ever forced to sing public karaoke (or I was drunk enough) as I could easily manage the lyrics, the range might not stress me too much, and it may well not be a disaster for listeners that more challenging melodies might be. It topped my charts at the time and ended up rated 21st of the year, so quite a bit lower these days, but it still is a top 100 essential, and is probably my second fave Cash record, just over Ring Of Fire, and just behind his finale, the heartbreakingly shattering Hurt.

98 (66) CIRCLES - The New Seekers VNS9tSqQIu0 The New Seekers were one of my fave acts of 1971/1972 right through to this single, which was a bit of moody departure for the pop group, who tended to upbeat singalong pop for the hits, bar their Melanie debut cover. This Harry Chapin song is rather more like Harry's best records, dark, cynical, and lyrically strong, but with added strings and harmonies. I think this one has weathered better than a lot of their records, though it has a lower slot on the rundown than originally - but then there's a lot more competition as I include stuff I never got to hear back then, so it's probably held quite well. It's a shame this is another forgotten goodie as it's better than their two number ones, which pretty much are the only ones played occasionally. Those or the Eurovision song.

99 (NEW) SUNNY GOODGE STREET - Judy Collins XLBh7GE6RIk This is a song and record I have discovered in the 2020's, and rate. Judy Collins' was already a fave of mine by 1972, largely for her version of Both Sides Now, which remains fabulous, but this one had zero airplay. The song was a Donovan late 60's folkie ballad during his creative heyday, a sort of ode to an area of London, and featured on his 1965 album Fairytale. Marianne Faithful covered it that year, and Judy Collins in 1966 for her latest album before it went top 10 in Canada for Tom Northcott, which I spotted in 2017 when I was revisiting 1967 hits and flops. I guess Judy decided to finally get it out in 1972, and I spotted the song again as the B side to In My Life, her single of that year following the monster ongoing success of Amazing Grace, still charting in 1972. It's a great version of the previous great versions and original.

So, onto the 100 Best tracks of 1972 as judged by me in 2022. 14-year-old me would have been disappointed to see some faves dropping out the 1972 rating, and mystified by a lot of the new entries he had never heard of, or thought a bit boring. But some have stayed faves, so hooray for that! 100 (113) MAD ABOUT YOU - Bruce Ruffin aG3cuc1EEr4 I think I bought this one on Pure Gold On EMI, as the record label decided it wanted some of that K-Tel and Arcade multi-artist hits compilations, the NOW albums of their day. It was a great compilation, and this was and is still a jolly upbeat reggae singalong. The cackling novelty bit has worked against it in the long run, pseudo Punch & Judy as it is, and so it never gets radio play. When I say "Never" I mean NEVER. Don't think I've heard it anywhere in decades, which is shame, as it's quite a nice, upbeat tune underneath it all, as were Bruce's other hits. It "sold" 250,000 in John's Fake Sales, which means it got a Year-End listing (of 113), and it has marginally improved on that, so hooray for reggae. All but banished from record charts since the 2000's, bar Bob Marley Legend.

me, too!

reluctantly I have to vote for Stan as it's not as classic as the other 4 for me.

one tip top gem in Alphabet Street, Prince still in his peak years, and a couple of decent pop tracks from Narada, good to see him back getting hits of his own, and Kylie's follow-up which is OK, but not the best track on the album which I got to hear over and over and over and over as my sis-in-law played it to death. And then there's the chaff: Wet Wet Wet's pedestrian cover of the Beatles way-better original, which in turn was not as great as the Joe Cocker histrionic ballad version. And there's Billy Bragg's mauling of the gorgeous She's Leaving Home. Bryan Ferry did a great B side version in 1977 and that was light years better than this pile of cack. The Beatles' is a heartbreaking classic. I never heard a Bragg record that couldnt potentially sound better sung and arranged by someone else. Lives locally these days in his Ivory Tower. My brother swapped a few online message with him about socialism back in the day. Football records are invariably cack. That I could be a fan of anything Liverpool has no bearing on the Anfield C-rap being what it is, regardless. The Rubettes re-write was better than this. And then there's Harry Enfield and his extremely annoying Loadsamoney. Just no. Hated it. Hated the character. Harry is a talent and all round good egg, but I'll take his asides in Upstart Crow any day over this starring low point (if career-boosting) for him.

Round 1: 30 ( contestant beat me to it, ) Round 2: 36 ( ) tiebreaks: 2 wrong (the album titles) 3 in 10: 3 ( )

I actually replied to his posts at the time telling him he'd gone too far when he was obv just pissed his publicity for his insanely useless mini submarine didn't get him the headlines he craved. He was happy to risk kids dying to boost his ego and sell stuff. Just like he's happy for the US taxpayers to pay for his attempt to get into history getting the first victims/heroes dead on Mars for no actual reason. It's not scientifically going to do anything robots can't do, living on Mars is impossible long-term, all Terrestrial attempts to create self-sufficient sealed-off land-bases fail without ongoing supplies brought in, and the human body will be destroyed by radiation and the lack of normal gravity on Mars. But rich people will do anything to hang on to their wealth, witness all the billionaires bending the knee and getting their tongues so far up Trump's arse they can taste what he's just eaten.

We have just one comment for the predictions: "Trucks. Trucks. Trucks. Trucks. Trucks. TRUCKS. TRUCKS. TRUCKS. TRUCKS. TRUCKS! IT'S A TRUUUUCK THING!" :lol: :teresa:

let's have one more vote for Bob Sinclar and just call it a tie.. :lol:

The Kinks song is good, and the first to show Ray's gift for a great melody if he feels like it, but it's no You Really Got Me! Promised Land I know through Elvis' early 1975 hit version (in the UK) which was better than the bulk of his current stuff at the time, the retro vibe back to Berry was an improvement. The Special Years was a good song, I rediscovered it in Singapore on my reel-to-reel tape recorder, it was still popping up on the radio and I loved anything Val Doonican, the comedy records or the ballads, until around 1973 when I'd moved on from his new stuff. Dance Dance Dance isn't classic Beach Boys, and they hadn't really upped the ante yet production-wise, so not one of their bigger records and not that well remembered, which leaves a clear winner in Leader Of The pack. I can confirm I never heard it at the time, it was 1972 when it was a bigger hit and radio was playing it that I fell in love with it, so good it went top 10 all over again in 1976. It's a classic, and proof that death discs can be brilliant and timeless. Young death was quite the regular thing in all societies throughout history, until anti-biotics, medicine generally and health & safety made inroads into that, and culture then reflected that. I think that gets forgotten in the modern world where it's regarded as bad taste, as everyone shares their feelings online instead.

Perfect was OK, it had its charm, but I got fed up with hearing it pretty quickly and I've never really got back to it, unlike the much-better follow-up. They are still around, I bought one of their new tracks last year, which was pretty decent. I would never have thought Quincy Jones would remix Blue Order, and TBH I preferred it at the time, it was punchier than the sprawling original - plus I could have bought it now on 7" - but I wanted the original version too, so I didn't. 12 inch singles and CD's were overpriced so I only ever bought them if forced to in 1987/8 (at full price, which was very rare) or I got them out of the bargain bins, which Blue Monday never fell into. I bought the 1995 CD remix as it had all the versions on it. New Order records I have on 7": Ceremony, Temptation, Fine Time, Round & Round, Regret, and CD Nineteen63, Blue Monday 95, Crystal, all bargain bin except the last 2 which were full price. Not that many actually, though I have one album and True Faith on various artist collections.