Chez VampireBat

Voter 18: King Rollo Year: 1992 Song: Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You Perhaps someone that would've been more at home earlier, Rollo nonetheless finds an early grunge sound with hard rock and psychedelic elements with this cut from the American Indie band, Screaming Trees from their sixth album, Sweet Oblivion. It was probably their best known song and made an appearance on the soundtrack to the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles. Diminishing success followed and they disbanded in 2000, though have since been lauded as an underrated forerunner in the grunge movement. The original singer and guitarist have sadly passed away since. 75; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 61; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 58; jimwatts - Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 51; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 50; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 48; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 48; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 46; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 42; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 41; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 40; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 39; matto - Caravan - All The Way (1976) 37; XTC – Dear God (1987) 36; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 36; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 30; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 30; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 28; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Julian - Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 24; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 21; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 21; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 17; danG - Supertramp – School (1974) 15; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Tomoko Aran – Midnight Pretenders (1983) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) 01; King Rollo - Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You (1992) Poor Rollo has had a frustrating run and it only sitting on a point, but hopefully more to come. He and Dan have exactly the same top 3 and so benefit those songs nicely, he also strengthens the Human League's lead although Innocence maintains a distant second.

Voter 17: danG Year: 1974 Song: Supertramp – School Dan's prog tastes come in handy for this year as he goes with a more experimental and progressive rock take from an act better known for a poppier sound. School is from the band's breakthrough 1974 album, Crime of the Century, it was not released at the time, but was so ten years later backed with Oh Darling, a track from their 1979 album Breakfast in America. You may be able to point more than a few similarities to Pink Floyd's The Wall here, right down the school theme of the centrepiece x 69; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 58; jimwatts - Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 56; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 51; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 50; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 47; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 46; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 42; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 40; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 38; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 38; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 36; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 33; XTC – Dear God (1987) 30; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 30; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 28; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 27; matto - Caravan - All The Way (1976) 26; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 24; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 21; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 21; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 18; Julian - Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 17; danG - Supertramp – School (1974) 15; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Tomoko Aran – Midnight Pretenders (1983) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) 01; Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You (1992) Dan's votes give some much needed ones to Mark'Oh as well as edging Innocence just a bit closer, could we be looking at a second victory in a few days? x

Voter 16: Julian Year: 1964 Song: Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi Another one thanks to his extensive top 40 knowledge that could've been quite at home here, Julian had several options for this tough year, first going for deep cuts from The Beatles and the Zombies but in the end he goes for this quite addictive piece of Turkish pop from Tülay German (no heritage of that country despite the surname), she is known for her modern interpretations of Turkish folk music and she was seen as innovative in the folk and jazz world of the 60s. She emigrated to France when she was threatened with a 15-year prison sentence, for making Turkish translations of Georg W.F. Hegel's Dialectic and Science of Logic which went against the Cold War atmosphere at the time. She still made music into the 80s before retiring from public life and is still going strong at 91. 69; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 55; jimwatts - Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 50; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 49; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 47; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 47; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 46; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 38; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 38; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 36; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 36; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 33; XTC – Dear God (1987) 32; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 29; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 28; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 22; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 21; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 21; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 18; Julian - Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 17; Supertramp – School (1974) 16; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 15; matto - Caravan - All The Way (1976) 15; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Tomoko Aran – Midnight Pretenders (1983) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) 01; Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You (1992) Julian is not doing that well himself sadly, but he does give a boost to a few midtable lurkers.

Voter 15: jimwatts Year: 1995 Entry: Mark ‘Oh – Tears Don’t Lie So it was jim that was the previous leader and has certainly made a big splash with this eurodance song which interpolates the 1974 melody Soleado by Ciro Dammicco and its German remake, Tränen lügen nicht, meaning Tears Don't Lie,it is the same melody that is better known to a lot of us as that of Johnny Mathis' When a Child is Born. It's bizarre both visually and audially but it somehow works, it reached number one in Austria, Germany and Sweden and was a top-10 hit across a lot of Europe though only made 24 here. 69; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 55; jimwatts - Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 50; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 49; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 47; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 46; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 41; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 38; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 36; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 33; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 30; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 29; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 22; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 22; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 21; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 21; XTC – Dear God (1987) 21; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 18; Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 15; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 15; matto - Caravan - All The Way (1976) 13; Supertramp – School (1974) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 10; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Tomoko Aran – Midnight Pretenders (1983) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) 01; Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You (1992) Jim is probably doing a lot better than he imagined, but does an almighty foot shoot here and makes the lead a bit harder to grasp, but at just under halfway, a lot could happen. Midnight Pretenders getting points means everyone now has points yay!

Voter 14: matto Year: 1976 Song: Caravan – All The Way Continuing the guitar-heavy theme of the 70s is Matto with this cut from English rock band, Caravan, while they never attracted any particular success they were a notable part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock acts, blending psychedelic rock, jazz, and classical influences. The parent album of All The Way has a lighter feel than Caravan's previous releases and thus perhaps isn't reflective of the sound they're known for, and puts me in the mind of The Cars or Chicago. They are still active as a live band to this day though many of the original members have left and passed away. 57; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 50; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 49; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 46; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 43; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 41; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 38; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 33; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 30; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 25; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 22; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 18; Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 15; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 15; matto - Caravan - All The Way (1976) 15; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 14; XTC – Dear God (1987) 13; Supertramp – School (1974) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 10; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) 01; Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You (1992) The Bangles have been quiet since their initial start but get a good boost here as well as Innocence slowly climbing up.

Voter 13: Jaz13Music Year: 1978 Song: Buzzcocks – What Do I Get Jaz goes from some classic punk rock for his debut contest, with the UK top 40 debut from Buzzcocks, while it's short punchy sound was typical of the time, it has held up pretty well beyond then and has featured in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and the movie Ghost World. It was also notably used in a few adverts as recently as 2016 with McDonalds Big Flavour chicken wraps and Volkswagen. 57; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 46; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 43; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 38; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 37; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 37; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 28; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Jaz13Music - Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 23; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 21; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 18; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 16; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 15; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 15; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 14; XTC – Dear God (1987) 13; Supertramp – School (1974) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 12; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 11; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 10; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 10; Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) Jaz has made a pretty decent start and we notably have a narrow change of leader as Mark'Oh is going through a bit of a drought and replaced by The Human League.

Voter 12: Chez Wombat Year: 1994 Song: POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer I would've honestly been happy with any year but I was picked a pretty softball choice which I happened to have an entry for anyway. While still musically active and with a notable gap in her career from the 90s until 2014, the punctuation destroying Poison Girl Friend is the solo music project is Noriko Sekiguchi, this is an album track from the Dreampop album, Love Me, which explored primarily French music, bet someone's glad I didn't go with one of those ones x 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 49; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 46; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 43; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 33; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 33; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 31; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 28; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 23; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 18; Chez Wombat - POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 16; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 15; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 12; XTC – Dear God (1987) 10; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 10; Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 10; Supertramp – School (1974) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 05; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) So I mainly also help the stragglers here (some of these songs low down are tut tut x) but Human League get another decent score to close the gap slightly.

Voter 11: Jade Year: 1997 Song: The Starseeds – Parallel Life In another brilliantly apt twist of fate, Jade draws her birth year. She was probably spoiled for choice here but she goes to the world of trip hop for a wonderfully atmospheric slow building number and one of the longest streaming entries here. A partnership of the Canadian Regina Dannhof and British, Alex MacGowan, Parallel Life was the title track of the album of the same which hit the British Press like a BOMB!, at least according to their rather charmingly oddly written website which gives pretty much the only information I can find about them, https://thestarseeds.net/ but it's still being updated with what they're up to to this day! 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 46; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 44; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 43; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 33; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 33; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 21; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 20; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 18; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; Jade - The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 10; Tülay German - Burçak Tarlasi (1964) 10; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 09; XTC – Dear God (1987) 08; Codeine – Cave-In (1991) 08; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 06; Supertramp – School (1974) 04; AH Gold - Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) Jade mainly points and relieves the songs lower down the scoreboard near where she is at the moment, but Human League get closer with a top score.

Voter 10: Popchartfreak Year: 1999 Song: The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short From the earliest year to the most recent, if ever there was an act of great mockery it would be Popchartfreak, perhaps the one person here totally at home with the 60s getting the furthest possible year from it, still, he makes up for it with the lesser known lead single from the Seeds' fifth studio album. Originating and thriving in a time where Britpop was making waves, by 1999, the musical landscape had shifted somewhat and they used this to experiment with electronica and dance music and modernise their sound. It didn't go down the best sadly with fairly lukewarm reviews and the album a commercial failure which lead to a hiatus shortly after. We may not have got the Pet Shop Boys in this one, but this sound makes them quite here in spirit x 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 46; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 43; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 33; Popchartfreak - The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 32; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 27; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 25; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 24; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 21; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 20; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 14; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 13; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 13; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 11; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 08; XTC – Dear God (1987) 06; Supertramp – School (1974) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) Popchartfreak has gotten off to a good start as he sits in the top 5, his votes keep the top as it is.

Voter 9: AH Gold Year: 1960 Song: Joe Meek – I Hear a New World With a very tough draw, AH Gold really triumphed with something so incredibly ahead of it's time. I Hear a New World is the title track from the studio concept album of the same name, it was partially released as an EP in 1960 before financial issues at the Triumph label prevented further release of the material. It gained a bit more recognition in the 90s when the full LP was finally released. The album made use of experimental song structures, distorted melodies and an other-worldly atmosphere, it's a key example of the space-age pop, giving the literal impression of floating in space. The album blended Meek's previous Blue Men sound of skiffle/rock-and-roll with a range of sound effects created by kitchen-sink methods such as blowing bubbles in water with a straw, draining water out of a sink, shorting out an electrical circuit and banging partly filled milk bottles with spoons. The result sounds quite uncanny even to this day x 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 44; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 33; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 31; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 31; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 25; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 24; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 23; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 22; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 20; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 17; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 16; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 13; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 11; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 10; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 09; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 06; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 06; Supertramp – School (1974) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 02; XTC – Dear God (1987) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) AH Gold is sadly yet to score himself, he moves Moby and Lightning Seeds closer to the top.

Voter 8: DaTilt Year: 1990 Song: Innocence – Natural Thing We have our first 90s participant from DaTilt, very much at home with this choice, he sends a beautiful slice of ambient slow building R'n'B that is also our longest entry. Innocence were pitched as a sort of downtempo and chillout alternative to Soul II Soul and that did allow them a few initial hits, including this one which was their highest charting release here, reaching number 16. The 12" version of the song featured the complete introduction and guitar solo by David Gilmour from the Pink Floyd song, Shine On You Crazy Diamond. They released two albums and a few more singles and the singer, Gee Morris, attempted a solo career but were pretty much lost to obscuirty after that. 55; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 45; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 38; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 31; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 30; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 26; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 22; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 22; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 20; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 19; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 16; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 11; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 11; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 10; DaTilt - Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 06; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 06; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 06; Supertramp – School (1974) 05; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 04; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 02; XTC – Dear God (1987) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) 01; Miki Matsubara - Rainy Day Woman (1980) DaTilt spreads his votes out a little and gives a few songs their first points, no new leader but another 90s dance song has entered the top 3 x

Voter 7: Lee_J11 Year: 1972 Song: Nilsson – Spaceman While I was hoping for a Ziggy Stardust album track, Lee instead goes for another old man x ( ) Spaceman was a single from Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson album, a dramatic number whose lyrics explain the desire and downfall of a narrator who wished to be a spaceman and now wants to go back to Earth but is stuck in space (again sounds like a song by a certain other old man xx). The song was released between the final two Apollo moon missions, 16 and 17, and was typical of the skeptical attitude at the end of the Moon missions. Spaceman wasn't a notable hit, but has been used in recent years on the HBO comedy series Avenue 5 and in the first and final episodes of the Netflix comedy, Space Force 50; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 42; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 30; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 26; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 24; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 23; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 22; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 21; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Lee_J11 - Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 19; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 16; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 13; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 12; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 10; Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 07; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 06; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 06; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 06; Supertramp – School (1974) 05; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 04; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 02; XTC – Dear God (1987) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) Mark'oh and the Bangles continue to dominate, and almost every song now has points x

Voter 6: Viper* Year: 1963 Song: Tina & Ike Turner – It’s Gonna Work Out Fine Viper's first song contest entry results in yet another iconic act of the 60s. This was officially released in 1961, but given it was featured on the album of the same name and re-released in 1963, it was fine x This classic call and response duet was the duo's first Grammy nominated song and their second million-selling single after A Fool in Love. Ike and Tina released several sequels related to the song, including 1962's "The Argument", in which they sang in a similar way but this time involved in an argument, and what was billed as the official sequel, Something Came Over You, recorded during their tenure at Kent Records. It has been re-recorded many times including in 1993 for Tina's biopic, What's Love Got to Do With It with her saxophonist Timmy Capello singing Ike's lines. 38; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 38; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 25; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 23; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 21; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 20; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 20; Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 19; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 16; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 16; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 13; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 13; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 12; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 11; Viper* - Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 10; Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 07; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 06; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 06; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 05; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 04; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 03; Supertramp – School (1974) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) The top 2 get nothing for the first time, not a lot of changes but we do have the iconic sight of the Andrews Sisters top 5!

Voter 5: gooddelta Year: 1968 Song: Four Jacks & A Jill – Master Jack Although probably 30 years off his comfort zone, gooddelta has proved himself pretty musically adaptable and he does so here by sending a very nice acoustic folk rock from a South African ensemble. Originally formed in 1964 without a "Jill" under the name The Nevadas and then The Zombies, but with the appointment of a female singer and presumably to avoid confusion with a certain other band at the time, became Four Jacks and a Jill. They were also apparently the first group in South Africa to wear their hair long. This song reached the top 20 of the Billboard hot 100 at number 18, though they only continued for another eight years, they have remained active recording a range of sing-along educational story books mentioned in This is Spinal Tap They have recorded and produced albums for a range of sing-along educational story books for various South African charities for Animal welfare, the blind and children with disabilities. They were notably one of the recommendations by Lt. Robert Hookstratten to Spinal Tap in the movie of the same name. 38; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 38; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 25; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 18; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 16; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 13; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 12; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 11; Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 11; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 11; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 10; Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 10; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 10; Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 09; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 08; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 07; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 06; WoW73 - Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day (1973) 06; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 05; gooddelta - Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 04; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) Another good score for the Bangles makes them take the joint lead with some boosts to the 80s and 90s entries.

Voter 4: Paddington James Year: Pre-1960 Song: The Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy On his first outing here, Paddington had a bit of a challenge to say the least, but he did a great job with what may well be the oldest song ever entered to a song contest on here. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, an early US pop chart top 10, was closely based on an earlier song by the same songwriters, "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," about a virtuoso boogie-woogie piano player. It was originally featured in the 1941 movie Buck Privates and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to The Last Time I Saw Paris. It became hugely popular in WWII and was featured in a lot of media of that era, it has remained popular being covered by Bette Middler in 1972 and perhaps most notably, it's hook being reinterpreted in tribute on Christina Aguilera’s Candyman from her Back to Basics throwback era. 34; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 26; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 18; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 18; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 13; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 12; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 11; Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 10; Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 10; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 10; Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 08; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 08; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 08; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 07; Paddington James - The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 07; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 05; Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 03; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; Caravan - All The Way (1976) 01; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 01; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) 01; Dobbo - Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1962) Yet another good score for Mark'Oh keeps him clear, with the Bangles continuing to hold firm behind him.

Voter 3: Dobbo Year: 1962 Song: Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall From one 60s icon to another, Dobbo had a tough draw but certainly picked a standout song. A song from his early career predating his big breakthrough, it is still very much reflective of his introspective, poetic social commentary in his songwriting that would go on to influence many. The song, originally written as a poem, has been mischaracterised as a response to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, and while a true meaning has never been pinned down, it's commentary on the darker sides of humanity and his wisened words making him seem many years beyond the 21 he was at the time has proved to persist throughout his career. 22; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 16; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 13; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 12; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 10; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 10; Innocence – Natural Thing (1990) 10; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 10; Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 10; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 08; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 08; Ashra – Blackouts (1977) 07; The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 07; POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Slave to the Computer (1994) 06; Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 05; Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 05; The Starseeds - Parallel Life (1997) 05; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 04; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 03; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 01; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 01; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) 01; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Onedin Line Theme (Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia) Theme (1971) The leader switches as another strong score for Mark'Oh sees them take pole position and Dobbo generously gets several more songs off the mark.

Voter 2: Mangø Year: 1965 Song: The Supremes – My World Is Empty Without You Mango struggled slightly with one of the earlier years, but he came out well with a deeper cut from one of the premier girl groups of the decade. This song was a top 5 hit in the US, but did not chart in the UK, and probably wouldn't be on anyone's mind straight away when naming Supremes songs. The fast tempo contrasts with the darker lyrics to haunting effect. It has been noted (and indeed some on SyncTube noticed this too) of the similarities of the melody of the chorus with the Rolling Stones' Paint It Black, and it predates the recording of that so maybe Jagger was listening to something he didn't make clear x 16; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 13; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 12; Mangø - The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 10; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 10; Mark’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie (1995) 08; Buzzcocks – What Do I Get (1978) 07; The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 07; The Lightning Seeds – Life’s Too Short (1999) 06; Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 06; Moby – Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) (1993) 05; Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 04; Shakira - Dónde Estás Corazón (1996) 04; Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 03; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 03; T-SQUARE - TRAVELERS (1984) 01; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) 01; Hooverphonic - Eden (1998) So we naturally have a new leader as The Bangles take up the post with another strong score, after none of them making it the first time, the 90s songs begin to populate the scoreboard.

As we had a dramatic, manipulated reveal last time, votes are simply in order of receipt, it turned out to be a pretty exciting reveal as it was x Voter 1: WoW73 Year: 1973 Song: Marsha Hunt's 22 - (Oh, No! Not!) The Beast Day In one of the many nice coincidences, WoW73 gets his almost namesake year. He went with American actress and short lived singer, Marsha Hunt, most famous for performing as Dionne in the rock musical, Hair, she had a very short lived music career off the back of this with a backing band of Marsha Hunt's 22, with this quirkily titled song being a great example of their funk and psychedelia blend. They released two singles and recorded several demos for an album that Hunt wasn't aware of until 2020 apparently, they split soon after as they had their equipment stolen and Hunt's daughter fell ill, she has had relationships with Marc Bolan and Mick Jagger and is the mother of Karis Jagger, and there's been speculation was the Stones' Brown Sugar was written about her. She has additionally authored several works including an autobiography of life as a breast cancer survivor. 12; The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (1965) 10; Sarah McLachlan – Vox (1988) 08; Goombay Dance Band - Sun Of Jamaica (1979) 07; The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941) 06; Tina and Ike Turner - It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1963) 05; Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1968) 04; The Bangles - I'll Set You Free (1989) 03; Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (1961) 02; (Harry) Nilsson – Spaceman (1972) 01; The Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) A heavily retro-leaning first set of votes make the Supremes our first leader of the night, can they stay there? x

The draws have been completed and votes submitted and now it is time to find out who the lucky winner of the lottery is! Results will commence at about 8pm, until then, feel free to speculate x

I quite like Love Is All Around, I'd have hated it had I been around at the time I'm sure, but it's gradiose, epic sound is still quite striking and at least it's going big. Not a huge loss though. I do really like Stay Another Day though, would probably be in my top 10, I can't knock a band hailing from my neck of the woods anyway but that's a really tender and heartfelt ballad about a tragic loss and the harmonies and sleigh bells work really well, I like that it's become something of a Christmas classic that is not about Christmas at all, though I can see that a lot of it's lasting appeal these days is confined to the UK. I'm interested to see what comes out on top, 1994 wasn't a classic year for number 1s for me and most of my favourites are quite unlikely ones given my usual taste.

Still missing two sets of votes, I’m planning to prep this evening with results tomorrow, so I will still accept with a smaller deduction until then.

Don't Play Nice wasn't good, but it was at least naff in a memorable way which lifted it above some others which were just so nothing-y.

The Killing in the Name-The Climb battle was the first properly publicised chart battle I was following the charts for (I sadly was too young for the Battle of Britpop) and it's still one of my favourite chart memories. I downloaded it at the time and I was really rooting for it, especially at a time when X Factor just felt so full of itself and they released possibly the blandest winners song yet. I remember so clearly at the time I was watching the midweeks intensely and towards the end of the week, Rage felt like it was tapering off and reality would set in but then there was a late surge which bought some hope and hearing it announced was just amazing. I do think it's a real cultural moment of both the changing state of music consumption, a comment on how social media was becoming the ultimate influencer and also an affirmation that the charts could never be predicted forever, I know X Factor resumed as usual at the top of the charts next year, but it felt like a dent in Cowell's armour given he'd made a career of polluting the charts with rubbish. But I do like the song on it's own as well, I think it's original meaning still resonates a lot to this day and while I think most would associate it with this campaign, it's still aged really well. But I can understand that a number 1 is more appropriately for a 2009 song and Bad Romance is a fantastic pick, I think it's her magnum opus that will never be topped, it's got all the extravagance, drama, hooks and iconic aesthetics in one neat package and it still holds up amazingly today (Abracadabra called back to it brilliantly recently) I do still quite like Poker Face but it has been tainted by overplay and never fully recovered (same with I Gotta Feeling) and Just Dance and Sexy Bitch/Chick are quite distinctly of their time, but like most of the list, I can appreciate them in a time capsule way. Thank you for this Jim, the commentaries have been excellent and it's been great revisit a year that was really nostalgic to me, extremely pleased these will be continuing as well. My own top 10 for 2009 (roughly): La Roux - Bulletproof Rage Against The Machine - Killing in the Name Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone Lady Gaga - Bad Romance Dizzee Rascal vs Armand Van Helden - Bonkers Lily Allen - The Fear David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow Lady Gaga - Poker Face Cheryl - Fight For This Love

The comment on the Golders Green attack was...misjudged to say the least, that was easy bait for the media to jump on him, but I'm still hoping they can get a good result on Thursday as gosh, I need one party to have hope with.

Just over 24 hours left for the following (and I ask you what better way to spend your bank holiday than listening to an online song contest?) @Addy! @Bror @CowTzy @dhwe @Herbs @Roba. @Suedehead2 @seven. @TheSnake (and Severin if you're able to, but given the post above, no pressure x)