The A-Z of my singles collection Part 10

Part 10 starts with a Double A Side single from Don Mclean with one of my all time favourites, Vincent, being the reason for buying it, but American Pie making it even more of a treat. I had heard American Pie before, but having the single enabled me to properly listen to it, and it is truly exceptional. However, Vincent will always be my favourite. I have blogged about it here if you are interested in finding out why. Freddie McGregor is one of those artists who has become somewhat obscure, but this Jamaican singer was well known in the second half of the eighties for his smooth reggae covers. Just Don’t Want to be Lonely was his only UK Top 10, but its infectious rhythm and smooth vocals make it a good listen all these years later.

Meatloaf was a massive part of my mid to late teens musically speaking. I was blown away by the visceral excitement of Dead Ringer for Love when I first heard it, and the Saturday after it first burst on to my consciousness, I was down at the Strood Record Centre to pick it up. Within a couple of months, I had the Dead Ringer album on cassette and Bat Out of Hell on vinyl, which I listened to endlessly. Midnight at the Lost and Found was the next album, released in 1983, and whilst not his best, being a contractual obligation album, there were some good tracks on there, including the title track, which I picked up as a double single, mainly for the live version of Bat Out of Hell. Bad Attitude was an album that has pretty much sunk without trace, but it contained my favourite single of his, the fantastic Modern Girl. It is a song that shows off his excellent vocals to good effect and is backed with a really good tune. It’s well worth a listen.

The Star Wars/Cantina Band record by Meco reminds me of the days when I was an absolute fanatic for everything connected to the film. It’s an excellent record that is basically a disco remake of the main theme and the tune played by the band in the bar where Luke meets Han Solo for the first time. Even now, it’s as catchy as anything. Next we have Glenn Medeiros with the smoochy ballad Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You. I know it was derided at the time and since, but it was Number One when Janet and I announced our engagement so it will always have fantastic memories associated with it. Finally, Aussie Rock from Mental as Anything with their massive hit from the Crocodile Dundee soundtrack, the ridiculously catchy, Live It Up. When we went to Australia in 1998, we saw them perform live at an open air New Year’s Eve concert in a park in Sydney. They were excellent throughout, but when this was played, the entire audience, young and old, Australian and non-Australian went crazy. It’s what I always think of when I hear this song and it always makes me smile.

This is a very useful set of Ms as they capture in one picture two legends and ‘novelty’ records that stand the test of time. Useful, because I know what’s coming up in the next picture! We start with the marvellously catchy and danceable Men Without Hats, a favourite at discos in the 80s. The Safety Dance does have the label of ‘novelty’ hit, but if it is, it is one of the absolute best. I still love it, and as soon as I hear that instantly recognisable intro I get a smile on my face. Now, are you ready for Freddie? I always was, and always will be. It may be that his solo records didn’t really reach the heights of his Queen output, but very little did at the time. Love Kills had a brilliant video, featuring Metropolis, the same film as Queen used for Radio Gaga, and it’s a really well structured song. Of the two we have here, however, I prefer the disco hit of I Was Born to Love You with it’s instantly recognisable intro and singalong chorus. It is perhaps the most joyous Freddie moment outside of Queen. Next, George Michael, another all time legend, with three singles covering my three favourite solo moments of his. Careless Whisper is one of the all time great ballads, mainly because of that voice and his ear for a song. However, what really sets it apart is the fact that, like All Out of Love and I’m Not in Love, it’s actually a song about love gone wrong. This sub-genre of the ballad has always interested me because it subverts the usual message whilst using the same approaches, musically speaking. It is, for me anyway, his finest solo moment, although I know many of you will disagree. Faith is a marvellous rock and roll inflected tune that gives George Michael the chance to spread his wings beyond his Wham days, although I still think Wham were his finest years, again a view many would not hold. Finally we have his amazing duet with Elton John for Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. Both singers are on top form and the partnership definitely lifts them to new heights, and it is my favourite duet ever between two solo artists. Finally, we have the Noel Edmonds inspired chart hit, Captain Beaky, a record that I was obsessed by at the time. Keith Michell is perfect as the narrator with the right balance of seriousness and twinkle in his eye. He treats the material as if it is a soliloquy from a classic play and this is what lifts it above the usual run of novelty singles. Now, not many people have the follow up, The Trial of Hissing Sid, but I do because I bought it as soon as it was released! It didn’t have the same success, failing to chart, but it’s well worth tracking down if you can.

This octet starts off with The Divine Miss M, or Bette Midler, with the fantastic ballad Wind Beneath My Wings from Beaches. It’s a film both Janet and myself absolutely love. A well written, brilliantly acted and deeply affecting exploration of a female friendship from childhood to adulthood. Wind Beneath My Wings is obviously the song everyone remembers from the film, but can I put in a word for the Soundtrack Album which includes the timeless ‘Otto Titsling’?! Two songs from Mike and the Mechanics next with the unsung pop genius that is Paul Carrack. Of the two, I think that I prefer Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground). The movie it comes from, in brackets on the title, has been lost in the mists of time, but the song itself is an absolute cracker. A dystopian society is brilliantly captured in a song. You can feel the claustrophobia of the threatened family and you can hear the regret in Carrack’s voice as he sketches in the details of an oppressive regime striking fear into the citizens of a state that was futuristic then, but contemporary now! Living Years is, of course, a song that resonates with fathers and sons across the years, and for that reason, it’s a very difficult listen. It’s one that always catches me out, however many times I hear it. The Banner Man by Blue Mink will be instantly familiar to pretty much all of us who grew up in the 70s, and almost completely unfamiliar to everyone else. It was one of those songs that just leapt out at us because of the chorus. It is a song with a quasi religious feel, and you can imagine it being sung by a congregation as well as by a Top of the Pops audience.

Now, we come to perhaps the worst single in my entire collection. This abomination by Danny Mirror, a tribute to Elvis Presley called The King is Dead, got to Number 4 in the charts thanks to people like me buying it! In my defence, I was 12 years old and not yet in full possession of my critical faculties, but even so, it’s pretty unforgiveable. I can’t even bring myself to listen to it, but I remember that the ‘heartfelt ballad’ of the time was actually a dirge to cynically cash in on a celebrity death. Mea Culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Back on safer ground with the next two, as the Modern Romance belter is followed by a piece of synth genius from two giants of 80s popular music. Best Years of our Lives is quite simply a party on a seven inch disc with a tune that is amazing, party sound effects that are brilliant and a reminder that when you’re young there’s no time or place better. When I hear it again, it reminds me of fun, friendship and parties. It is my teens distilled into 3 minutes. Together in Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder with Phil Oakey on vocals still sounds modern all these years later. Like On Dangerous Ground, the main song has remained in the public consciousness far longer than the film it came from. Oakey was never better and Moroder’s legendary ear for a tune never more in evidence. One of the songs of the decade. Finally, another song from a film. OK, so the film is appalling. I watched it again a few months back and lasted no further than 15 minutes of utter drivel. So, is the single bad? Oddly, it isn’t, because Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones could deliver a song, as they proved time and again during Not The Nine O Clock News, and of course at Christmas when Mel teamed up with Kim Wilde on Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. The song itself is incredibly catchy and often funny, and it has a pre-popstar Jimmy Nail on backing vocals! Is it a classic? Absolutely not. It’s simply fun and there’s nothing wrong with that.

WE come to the end of the Ms with this set of eight singles which includes a whole set of favourites. First of all, Alison Moyet, whose voice is up there with the all time greats of British music. The four singles I have of hers start with the second single from Alf, her debut solo album, All Cried Out. What a song, and what a vocal performance this is. I loved the album from beginning to end and played it endlessly on cassette back in 1984. That Ole Devil Called Love, a Number 2 hit from March 1985, is a fantastic smoky jazz number, and Moyet’s vocal style is pitch perfect for a song that was already forty years old by the time she recorded it. It was one of those tracks that I became totally obsessed with for quite a few months after I bought it, regularly putting it on the turntable on repeat as I tried to pick up ever beat and every inflection. Is This Love? was the lead single from Raindancing, the album released in 1986, and a strong enough track to break the Top 3 in the UK charts, giving Moyet another big hit after a year away from the charts after That Ole Devil Called Love. In 1987, her version of Love Letters was yet another Top 5 for this marvellous singer. It was, once again, a cover of an old classic given that unique Alison Moyet treatment. One of the best voices of any era, Alison Moyet is a singer to discover or rediscover and I certainly intend to do so.

Mr Mister were an American rock band who released two brilliant singles in 1985 from the Welcome to the Real World album. Broken Wings and Kyrie were both US chart toppers, with the former reaching Number 4 in the UK and the latter a surprisingly lowly Number 11. Broken Wings was a moody, atmospheric slice of AOR, but my favourite was always Kyrie with its fantastic chorus that I belted out every time I heard out. In fact, it’s not unknown for me to do so nowadays if I hear it! Mud were glam rock royalty in the 1970s with a string of big hits, none bigger than Tiger Feet, an irresistible slice of rock and roll music that became iconic due to the roadies dance featured on Top of the Pops and even 50 years on, it could start a party in an empty room! For the final M we have The Muppets, more specifically Kermit’s Little Nephew Robin, with the most unlikely Top 10 hit of 1977. Halfway Down the Stairs. Based on an A A Milne poem, it is a gorgeous, brief piece of music that brings a smile to the face of all but the most curmudgeonly. On the B Side, however, is the track I played most. It’s the Muppet version of Mah Na Mah Na. I bet you are already singing along with it in your head! Both tracks are also on The Muppet Show album, a very well played Christmas present that year.

Well, that’s the Ms finished, and it was a set of singles that truly went the whole journey from sublime to ridiculous before taking a day trip to utterly unforgiveable! If you enjoyed it and want to hear a selection of these songs on my latest playlist, click on this link See you next time as I start the Ns.