No.991: “Begin The Beguine” by Julio Iglesias
A surprise that one but I also like that song. I acquired the album somehow (although I don’t think I actually went into a shop and asked for it). He has a great mellow voice which just reminds me of lazing around on a sunny Spanish beach, drinking Bobadilla 103.
No.988: “Stay With Me Till Dawn” by Judie Tzuke
She had a fantastic haunting voice and was surprisingly successful with this song amongst all the punk/new wave bands of '79. I’m sure she must have had other singles but this is the only one I know.
Yes, some of that or a pitcher of Sangria would go down very nicely.
He reminds me of when I went to Italy and all the wealthy Latino men would dress up in their finest suits with a classy lady on their arm, strolling along the streets on a evening.
Trouble is, you don’t tell your drinking buddies you like this sort of thing as they’ll lump you in with the Barry Manilow crowd or far worse, Cliff! :shock:
Beautiful song and it’s very typical of the big boom in 1970s singer-songwriters. She’s still making music and performing.
As mentioned, a couple of lesser-known songs…
No.987: “Bride 1945” by Paul Siebel I[/I]
Folk country singer-songwriter Paul Siebel wasn’t as typically well-known as his contemporaries like Willie Nelson or Glen Campbell, but he did release two acclaimed early 70’s albums. The song* which caught my eye was this rather nice ballad from his first record ‘Woodsmoke And Oranges’. Siebel is still around and is 83 years old at the time of witing.
*Unfortunately this song isn’t available anywhere on the net so I’ll submit this one instead: ‘Miss Cherry Lane’.
No.986: “Leave this Man Alone” by The Shiver I[/I]
The Shiver were an early progressive rock band from Germany. ‘Repent Walpurgis’ was their best album and features this driving, guitar-driven epic. Oddly, I can’t find the song on YouTube only the full album so here’s that as a bonus for you. See what you think.
More tomorrow when we are to begin with who was probably the world’s first female rock vocalist. I wonder if you can guess she was? 
Janis Joplin?
Patti Smith ?
Fanny ?
Suzi Q ?
I would say Suzy Q or perhaps Stevie Nicks.
Well done, Tiffany! 
I think I’ll make this a regular feature at the end of the day’s selections. A little poser.
I was going put this in a batch later on but I’ll just post this one on its own for now until I get organised with the next four songs.
No.985: “(Take Another Little) Piece Of My Heart” by Big Brother & The Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin) I[/I]
From the Cheap Thrills album, a sublime offering from the hard drinking, hard living raucous blues singer and her band. The song ‘Ball & Chain’ was a contender but just missed the cut.
More soon.
Here we go with seven more tracks, mostly in the easy-listening vein once more. Don’t worry, rock fans, there will be plenty of heavier stuff coming your way tomorrow.
No.984: “Love And Affection” by Joan Armatrading I[/I]
Born in St. Kitts in the West Indies this was Joan’s debut U.K. hit reaching No.10 in 1976. Dunno who was recruited to supply the heavy breathing on the song though!
No.983: “Born Slippy” by Underworld I[/I]
A massive dancefloor hit from the big film of 1996, Trainspotting. Underworld are a DJ duo who produced this hit at the aftermath of the rave scene. Great soundtrack album the film has, incidentally with tracks from Pulp, Blur, Primal Scream and Iggy Pop also.
This version is from a Glastonbury appearance. Altogther now: Lager! Lager! Lager!!!
No.982: “More Than I Can Bear” by Matt Bianco I[/I]
A band who were very typical of the mid-80’s ‘wine bar’ scene, their Latin-type swing was quite a hit for a while with smashed such as ‘Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed’ and a cover of Georgie Fame’s ‘Yeh Yeh’. This particular song wasn’t a big hit but it should have been. In my book, it’s their best song…
No.981: “Eye Level” by The Simon Park Orchestra I[/I]
A monster instrumental No.1 from a full-blown orchestra led by conductor Simon Park. A beautifully restrained piece of music, it was the title theme from a Dutch TV detective series called Van der Valk, which is way before my time! Here’s Noel Edmonds to introduce it…
No.980: “The Riviera Affair” by Neil Richardson I[/I]
Sticking with instrumentals and here we have a classic slice of late ‘60’s kitsch. Music to drive along the Pacific Highway to, apparently! Neil Richardson was well-known for other themes such as Mastermind. I always imagine sipping Cinzano Bianco with Joan Collins in Monte Carlo when I hear this!
No.979: “Avenues & Alleyways” by Tony Christie I[/I]
Forget the Butlins summer holiday cheese of ‘Amarillo’, this is the real deal when it comes to Tony Christie’s fabulously powerful vocals. Another theme tune, this one’s from The Protectors. This James Bond spoof video is even more cheesy than the song itself!
No.978: “Rags To Riches” by Tony Bennett I[/I]
And going way, way back but chosen because it’s used to great effect in the opening credits of the film Casino – Robert de Niro’s scene is very memorable – it’s a great song and very typical of Martin Scorcese’s use of Italian-American artists in his movies. The song was also used in his film Goodfellas and here it is accompanied by stills from that film:
More tomorrow, beginning with an eight-minute single from a band which you may never have heard of from the early 1980’s. I’ll give you a clue: Anarcho-punk (and it’s not the Sex Pistols).
I was going to say Janis Joplin too. 
And I love Joan Armatrading… don’t know the rest.
Born Slippy.
I’m not into electronic dance type stuff but that one I do like.
Considered very old school by youngsters these days I suppose.
I’m enjoying this too. 
I don’t like much of it myself. This is great though and so is Faithless’ “Insomnia”, but you’ll need to wait awhile for that one
No.979: “Avenues & Alleyways” by Tony Christie
The legend that is Tony Christie. I still have one of his CDs and I remember this theme tune. Good choice.
Yes, good powerful vocalist but you won’t see him again. “Amarillo” annoyed me to death when the middle aged ladies brigade hijacked it for retirement parties with their interjections of “Ooo” and “Ah” in the chorus knocking their asses at each other. Mindless fun I suppose 
I’m currently getting a batch of seven more songs lined up to post later.
This is very different…
No.977: “Nagasaki Nightmare” by Crass I[/I]
Crass were more than an Anarchist punk rock group assembled by record company PR men. Crass were true anarchists who were true to their beliefs. They lived in a commune, were vegans, disliked all political parties, were anti-war and stood for anarchy, peace and freedom, shunning the media completely with their propaganda-laden subversive records.
Nagasaki Nightmare was an 8-minute 7” single with home-made sleeve designed by their own artist and manufactured by the band themselves on their own Crass Records label. (These original singles go for over £20 each now, ironically). Their records all retailed at the bare minimum price with the band wanting to make no money whatsoever from their sales, which did very well and gained them consecutive No.1 placings on the alternative charts. So well in fact that their box set “Christ – The Album” actually made the UK Top 30 album chart in 1982, surprising and baffling Radio 1 D.J. Tony Blackburn at the time, who wasn’t allowed to even mention it on air.
‘Nagasaki Nightmare’ was a half-spoken half-ranting punk “song” about the atrocities of the 1945 bomb and the after-effects. The poster sleeve of the single featured horrific images to illustrate the subject matter.
A big event in my late teens, Crass very nearly converted this youth to the anarchist movement. Good job I joined the RAF then!
A word of warning: This song is definitely not easy-listening and contains some images some members may find disturbing
No.976: “My World” by Secret Affair I[/I]
A couple of years earlier and the retro mod movement was in full swing headed by The Jam with spring-up bands such as the Merton Parkas, The Chords and this four-piece from London led by Ian Page. Debut single ‘Time For Action’ was a true mod anthem but it’s their third hit ‘My World’ which appealed to me the most with its brass section and great chorus.
No.975: “Big Sur” by The Thrills I[/I]
Irish band The Thrills are a staple of the emerging post-indie scene of the early 2000’s. Their debut album featured some highly addictive music and the ethereal vocals of frontman Conor Deasy.
No.974: ”Brother Louie” by Hot Chocolate I[/I]
One of the inter-racial songs which were commonplace in the early 1970s was this one, a big hit single by Errol Brown’s Hot Chocolate. More thoughtful and typical of the political state of the nation than their later disco offerings. Always a good band.
No.973: ”Valerie” by The Zutons I[/I]
Not the classic Steve Winwood track but The Zutons original hit single later covered abysmally in my opinion by Amy Winehouse. The lead singer was actually singing about his bass guitarist wife in the band (who had ginger hair). God knows what this meant to Amy Winehouse! This clip is live at Glastonbury in 2008.
No.972: “Gangsters” by The Special A.K.A. I[/I]
A bit of a landmark debut offering from the band who would become The Specials which followed Madness’ The Prince into the charts in 1979, starting a reassurgence of the Ska movement. This sort of sound appealed to the Mod brigade, punks and reggae fans alike and was a major feature of a very eclectic era in the UK charts in ’79-‘80.
No.971: “Boombastic” by Shaggy I[/I]
And talking of reggae, Shaggy is perhaps my favourite of the cross-over rap/reggae artists, rap being a style of “music” I cannot normally get along with. This is great for its bizarre way with words and unusual vocal delivery. Very catchy and great in the car.
Tomorrow we will go way back to the early 1960’s with one of the nation’s top drummers. Can you name him?
Ringo.
If you go right back it would have to be Tony Meehan or perhaps Brian Bennett who came after him.Different style though.
