Song 161 - Purple Rain by Prince

The album of the week has to be Purple Rain by Prince, following the sad announcement of his death yesterday at age 57. If I had been writing my blog daily this week, Purple Rain, the single, would have followed Manic Monday. I am not going to say paragraph on paragraph about each song as I feel that Social Media, News sites and Twitter are doing that already. I am to give you two bits of trivial that I have on Prince.

(1) We shared the same birthday - 7th June, both Gemini. Please don't worry I am not going to say something weird like I can call the spirit of Prince, but I always thought it was cool that I had such a talented musician born on my birthday, who had respect and showed the world that you don't have to be tall to make your presence felt.

(2) If I had to pick one Prince song, it would be Darling Nikki as this song reminds me of being on holiday in the West Coast of Scotland as a teenage. Again, the faith mix tape was presence, of course belonging to my sister, and this song would be played against the backdrop of some of the most beautiful mountains of Scotland. I could imagine Nikki being in a remote castle and looking like a gothic vamp. It is one of those songs that you can allow your imagination get carried away. A writer's paradise was to be found in his lyrics of nearly all his songs.

Over the next week, there is going to be a bit of a Prince Tribute going on in the Jukebox as Prince was an iconic of music, and like David Bowie, you just wonder where the music scene would be today without in and you know no one can fill the gap he has now left.

Prince's Purple Rain

Song 160 - Manic Monday by The Bangles

Great song to sum up how I feel about today. Originally written by Prince, it was offered to the American Pop group the Bangles giving them their first single released from their second studio album. The song would give the Bangles their first hit, reaching number 2 in the UK chart in 1986.

Sometimes compared to the song Monday Monday by the Mamas and the Papas; I think everyone can relate to this song when Monday arrives too soon after the weekend and you wish you were still on Sunday. The song is written in D Major and moves at a tempo of 116 beats per minute and is set in common time. The actor Rudolph Valentio is referred to in the first verse. If you are a fan of Prince, you can hear his own lyrical style in the words of the song.

The Bangles formed in LA in 1981 and after a number of years working the music scene, they were asked to be the opening act for Cyndi Lauper on her Fun Tour. They had released one album before that happened which  received good reviews and an appearance of Leonard Nimoy on one of their videos. They followed up to Manic Monday would be their number one smash hit Walk like an Egyptian, which secured their place in main stream pop.

With a hurrah to the end of Monday, enjoy the lovely Bangles and their two smash hits:

Manic Mondays by The Bangles
Walk like an Egyptian


Manic Monday
Written by Prince
Released: 1986
Performed by the Bangles
Album: Different light

Walk like a Egyptian
Written by: Liam Sternberg
Released:1986
Performed by the Bangles
Album: Different Light

Song 159 - Two Classics by Belinda Carlisle and Tiffany

Okay, I think I am learning something about my own pop history that 1987 was a year when I started to truly follow music in my own right as nearly every song that I have pulled out to cover a song as song of the day so far in our 1980s month has come from this year. Today I am covering two hits that were back to back number ones at the start of 1988, but were released in 1987, from Belinda Carlisle and Tiffany.

Before kicking off her solo career, Belinda Carlisle had been the front singer with the American all-female rock band, The Go-Go's that formed in 1978. They were and remain the only US female rock band to write and play all their own instruments. Their success speaks for itself with over 7 million albums sold since they formed.

In the mid 1980s, the band had a period of separation between 1985 and 1990, as changes in the band's line up led to a discontentment with the original band members. This break with the band, allowed Belinda Carlise to follow a highly successful solo career, which peaked with the international hit single, Heaven is a place on earth, which reached number one across many countries in the world.

Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the pop video was directed by Holywood Actress, Diane Keaton and would become Carlisle's signature tune. After topping the Billboard Charts in America, it would achieve similar success in the UK chart, where it would be number one for two weeks at the start of 1988.

Here is the classic song and video to enjoy
Heaven is a place on earth

Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley
Performed by Belinda Carlisle
Release: 1987
Album: Heaven is a place on earth

Heaven is a place on earth would be knocked of UK number on by Tiffany's 1988 version of I think we're alone now, written by Ritchie Cordell and a hit in 1967 for Tommy James and the Shondells. Sixteen year old, Canadian Tiffany burst onto the scene the pop scene and reached number one across several countries including the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand. Originally Tiffany hated the idea of covering the song but it became her signature tune and her biggest hit. I remember having a huge poster of Tiffany on my bedroom wall and thinking she was cool. I always wished that I could do the cross legged dance that is performed in the video, but I never had the co-ordination in my legs. I must admit that watching the video now makes me think of How I met your mother's Robin Sparks character with lets go to the mall. Perfect send up of this 1980s classic.

Enjoy another classic
Tiffany's I think we're alone now

Written by Ritchie Cordell
Performed by Tiffany
Released: 1987
Album: Tiffany

Song 158 - The Immaculate Collection by Madonna

Moving away from Stock, Aitken and Waterman, our Friday album gets me out of a tricky situation. If you are going to talk about 1980s pop, you have to feature Madonna. But which of Madonna's 80s hits would you choose?.... If like me you feel that it is impossible to answer that question,  then I hope you'll be happy with today's album - Madonna's The Immaculate Collection. 

Released in 1990, The Immaculate Collection, spent nine weeks at the top of the album chart in the UK and is Madonna's second album to be certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of over 10 million copies across the United States. Having sold over 30-million copies worldwide, it is the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist and one of the best selling albums of all time.

From the moment Madonna released Holiday, her international success was really never in question. Released as the third single from her debut album, Holiday brought Madonna to the world and in the UK, it reached number 4 in the chart in 1984. Madonna's first two hits of Everybody and burning up only performed in the US chart.

Her debut album would give her two more UK hits with Borderline and Lucky Star. However, it is perhaps the hits from her second album that made Madonna an icon all over the world; those hits being Like a virgin and material girl. But it wasn't just Madonna's music that was becoming iconic, it was her look, style of dress and the way that she performed that influenced young girls/people everywhere. Madonna's style was copied by teenagers everywhere. The video that accompanied Like a virgin attracted critics and fans in equal measures. The critics wanted the song banned due in the belief that it unminded family values. Although Like a virgin stayed in the UK charts for 18 weeks, it peaked at number 3.

Material girl was the second single off the album; and with it Madonna created a mimcry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song Diamonds are a girl's best friend, again the single peaked at number 3 in the UK chart. Hot on the heels came her fourth single Crazy for you, released in 1985 and this reached number 2. Can we just take a moment here and think about the number of songs here that are so memorable and we are only half way through the 1980s.

The next song on the album is Get into the Groove, which came from Madonna's film Desperately Seeking Susan. This is a cracking song filled with dance moves and gave Madonna her first number one in the UK in 1985, staying at the top of the charts for four weeks. Some critics say that this was Madonna's first great single, but if I knew anyone who thought this I would ask them whether they had heard any of the songs I have already mentioned. Next on the greatest hits is Live to tell, the first single from the True Blue album. A powerful ballad with haunting lyrics. This would be followed up with Papa Don't Preach, which although was slated by some in the music industry, gave Madonna her second number 1 in the UK. Open your heart comes next, Madonna's tribute to Liza Minnelli and Marlene Dietrich

The next track La Lsla Bonita was first offered as an instrumental to Michael Jackson in 1987, but after he turned it down, Madonna took it and wrote the lyrics for it. Her ability to pick a good tune would give her her fourth number one in the UK. (True Blue was Madonna's third UK number 1 but didn't appear on the album.) I remember vividly this song being number one and the amazing red Spanish dress that was worn by Madonna. When this song became her fourth  number one single, Madonna broke the record for the most number ones achieved by a female artist.

The next set of hits on the album came from Madonna's Like a prayer album that was released in 1989. Like a prayer saw Madonna's song writing move towards a more adult audience and touched on her Catholic upbringing, which has been inspiration for a number of songs. The song and video won critical acclaim throughout the music industry and gave Madonna another number one single in the UK. Like a prayer open the doors for hits of Express Yourself & Cherish. 

On some albums, it is fair to say there are some tracks that aren't as strong as others, but when it comes down to Madonna's there is no such thing as a bad track. Vogue was the first single off her I'm Breathless album. Vogue is a classic Madonna's track and is probably the only one where you can run the quiz of which movie stars are named in the song. When it was released in 1990, it reached number one worldwide and became the best selling single throughout the world selling  over 6 million copies. Following on the success of Vogue, Justify my love & Rescue me, were the two singles from Immaculate Collection and each performed really well as single but received mixed reviews.

Madonna is an artist that has done it all, reinvented and restyle herself in a quest to keep herself relevant with her friends. When I was growing up, my sister was the bigger Madonna fan as my sister was slighter cooler than me, but Madonna's music has always been present in my life and reminds me of growing up.

Hear it for yourself and I hope you have a good dance:
Madonna's The Immaculate Collection


Released: 1990
Written by Madonna, Curtis Hudson, Lisa Hudson, Reggie Lucas, Stephen Bray, Patrick Leonard, John Bettis, Jon Lind, Brian Elliot, Gardener Cole, Peter Rafelson, Bruce Gaitsch, Shep Pettison, Lenny Karvitz, Ingrid Chavez.

Song 157 - Love in the first degree by Bananarama

Put your hands up if you remember the dance moves to Bananarama's 1987 hit Love in the first degree with by Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW). I definitely would have my hands up if it didn't cause problems with typing!

Love in the first degree is a surreal story where the main character is dreaming they are on trial for love. The lyrics came from Siobhan Fahey and was then built upon by SAW and Sara Dallin and Karen Woodward. If you listen carefully to the music structure it can be compared to Pachelbel's Canon, which is one of my favourite pieces of classical music.

Taken from their fourth studio album Wow!, Love in the first degree was Bananarama's biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 3 in the chart. It also performed well across Australia and New Zealand. SAW was on fire in 1987 as this song was also nominated for a Brit award for best song, narrowing missing out to Rick Astley. I don't think there would have been any concerns for SAW's finances that year.

Bananarama started in 1979, where childhood friend Dallin and Woodward formed the group with Fahey, who had been on the same university course as Dallin. Influenced by the punk rock scene going on at the time, the band quickly developed their own style. After recording their first demo in 1981, they were picked up and signed to Decca until 1993. Their first mainstream hit in 1982 was Really Saying Something, which reached number 5 in the chart. With hits like Cruel Summer, Robert De Niro's Waiting, ensuring that the band became a regular feature on the British Chart. In 1986, SAW involvement with Bananarama gave the band their first number one with their version of Venus, a 1969 hit by Shocking Blue,written by Robbie van Leeuwen. Although Venus hit the top spot at the top of the US, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Mexico and South Africa, it only reached number 8 in the UK chart.

However the success of Venus ensure that Bananarama would continue working with SAW and they would produce Wow!, and give the kids of the 1980s yet another terrific dance of the 1980s. I remember dancing around the living room to this song as my sister had bought the 45" single.  I am so glad that YouTube wasn't invented then.

If you never learnt it, here's your chance
Love in the first degree

Written by: Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin, Karen Woodward, Stock, Aitken and Waterman
Released: 1987
Album: Wow!

Song 156 - Respectable by Mel and Kim

About four years ago, this song, once again,  became very familiar to me as a group of friends and I put together a special hen night tribute to one of our friends and Respectable was one of the tracks we used in our surprise for her.

Recorded in 1987, Respectable became the first (and only) number one for the sister act,  Mel and Kim, and the first number one that Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) had written and produced for one of their act.

Respectable  wasn't just a number one in the UK, it also topped the charts in six other countries, including Switzerland and New Zealand.

Respectable has a catchy beat and a brilliant chorus of lyrics including Take or leave us, only please believe us, we are never going to be respectable! Making a statement was Mel and Kim's calling card and their style was something that was picked up very early by SAW, who changed their song writing to ensure their hits brought out their personality. Before embarking on her music career, Mel had been a glamour model and the band is iconic with their hats being the  main focus piece of their style. Their first break through hit Showing out (Get fresh for the weekend) reached number 3 in the UK chart, with their original single demoted to the B side of this single. Respectable was their second single.

Tragically, Mel had already been treated for cancer before the band started its climb to stardom and as their popularity grew, so did speculation over Mel's health. Although they tried to keep  her fight with cancer a private matter, Mel died in January 1989 at age 23. Tragic doesn't feel a strong enough word as looking at the success the sisters' were having you have to wonder what else this sister duo would have done if Mel had lived. It shows how important it is to take each opportunity in life when you have it.

To hear the brilliant Mel and Kim sing and look at those 80s fashions
Respectable

Written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman
Recorded: 1987
Album: F.L.M.

Song 155 - So macho & Toy boy by Sinitta

This song definitely changed its meaning after the success of X-Factor and the idea that Sinitta could have been thinking of Simon Cowell when singing these lyrics! Although, without Simon Cowell, it is very unlikely that So macho would have been a hit of the 1980s. Sinitta was the first artist that signed with Simon Cowell and Fanfare records back in the 1980s, and her first hit So macho was written by James George Hargreaves. Unfortunately, just before it was due to be released, the record company changed its mind and was about to withdraw Sinitta's record contract when Simon Cowell stepped in to change the course of history, putting up the cash to finance the record production.

When So macho was released in July 1985, it was an instant hit in clubs and high energy discos, but really failed to do anything on the UK chart. As it was selling but not charting, Cowell made the decision to delete production of the single in October 1985 to allow them to re-release the single in the middle of February 1986. So macho, again didn't immediately grow into an overnight success and it took 4 months for it to emerge from the lower end of the chart, but then it started gaining commercial air play which took the single all the way up  to number 2 in the UK chart. So Macho would go on and sell over a million copies and from the £5,000 put up by the record company to get the song released, they would see  the single return a profit of £1,000,000 and helped to secure the future of Fanfare records.

With the success of So Macho, Cowell encouraged Sinitta to work with Stock, Aitken, Waterman (SAW) as her style fitted the SAW machine perfectly and this partnership led to the creation of Toy boy, which was released in 1987 and spent 14 weeks in the UK chart making it one of the best selling songs of the year. This shows the power Simon Cowell has had over the music industry and the ability he has of recognising talent.

So lets have a disco Tuesday with not one but two hits from Sinitta.
So Macho
Toy Boy

So macho
Written by James George Hargreaves
Released: February 1986
Album: Sinitta!

Toy boy
Written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman
Released: 1987
Album: Sinitta!

Song 154 - Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley

I feel as though  I am going through the tapes I had as a kid as today's Stock,  Aitken & Waterman's (SAW) is the unforgettable Rick Astley with  Never gonna give you up. First noticed by Pete Waterman in 1985, when he took over as lead vocalist of his band FBI, he would eventually signed to the PWL record label along with the rest of his band.

Never gonna give you up was released from Astley's debut album, Whenever you need somebody, in August 1987 and was number one in the UK for five weeks making it the best selling single of 1987. The success in the UK was followed up throughout the world, as it reach the top of the charts in 25 different countries, including the United States and West Germany. Its success led to Astley winning a Brit Award for Best British Single. 

Due to the phenomenal success of his debut single, it is easy to forget about the other singles that came off his debut album, which was released in November 1987. In total Whenever you need somebody contained 5 hit singles that reached a top ten position in the country's chart they were released in. His fourth single Together Forever  helped gained him a Grammy nomination in 1989 for Best New Act, which he lost out to Tracy Chapman. 

You are probably asking yourself why is she telling me all this? My answer is I think acts belonging to SAW are given a certain label and almost sneered at by some music elite, where, although I probably do have my own musical scale worked out to my own taste, it is really important to recognise every genre and the role it has in the overall makeup of the music scene. In the first six months of his career, Astley never left the UK chart, which is no mean feet. 

I was a big Rick Astley fan and I do remember reading listening to interviews with Astley at the time of his second album when he felt he was struggling to emerge from the image of being a SAW creation even though he was writing his own material after the success of his first album. His portrayal in the British Press probably helped his decision to leave the SAW machine in 1990.  The media didn't want Astley to move away from his boy next door image, but Astley did, and in 1993, he  took a decade out to look after his family. In 2002, Astley returned with a new album and has continued to record and release material since then.

Astley will never escape the success of Never Gonna give you up and I hope that no matter how far his journey in music takes him, he will always be proud of his musical roots as for many people who grew up during the late 1980s, his biggest song will always have a place in our musical memories.

Hear an absolute classic:

Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman

Released: August 1997

Album: Whenever you need someone

Song 153 - Too many broken hearts in the world by Jason Donovan

Kylie and Jason are a bit like salt and pepper, you can't have one without the other, especially not in a jukebox where we are having a whole section of Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) acts. Too many broken hearts was Jason Donovan's first solo UK number single from his album Ten good reasons. Following his co-star into the pop world, Jason Donovan signed with SAW in the late 1980s. His first single, Nothing can divide us was a top ten single, but this was followed up with  Especially for You, his duet with Kylie Minogue, that went straight to number one in January 1989. It probably reached number 1 as most Kylie and Jason's fans were caught up in the hype of whether they were a couple in real life.

 At the time any relationship between them was played down but years later it was confirmed that some of the pictures used in the video had been taken from their own personal album. I remember having a pop-poster of the two of them released to promote their single on my wall and I think the nine year kid still inside of me was absolutely delighted when it was confirmed they had been lovers.

The success of Especially for you (which is the most commercially successful song written by SAW), probably guaranteed Too many broken hearts would be number 1 when released  in  March 1989. Donovan followed this up with his album Ten Good Reasons, which also topped the top spot in the album chart and became the biggest selling album of the year. I know I had a copy on tape.

Like all SAW hits, there is a bubble gum pop element to it, and, again, I think there were probably critics who thought that Jason Donovan was just cashing in on his fame through Neighbours. But I think it is important to remember that, like Kylie, Jason Donovan, since his days with SAW, has become a international star of musical theatre. I know that I was lucky enough to see Jason perform in The King's Speech, when the play toured Edinburgh last year. Seeing my school idol perform the part of the Australian Speech Therapist, Lionel Logue, was superb and I heard him sing! It was very different to the Scott Robinson character I had loved in Neighbours but still I had never believed I would have seen him perform live.

To relive the Australian Blond Bombshell's first number one:
Too many broken hearts

Kylie and Jason's Duet
Especially for you

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman
Release: March 1989
Album: 10 Good Reasons

Song 152 - Kylie by Kylie Minogue

This week has been a bit of a muddle with the blog, as although I had tried to schedule posts, there has been a technical issue my end and it hasn't worked! My apologises for this, but lets get back to the music and I am going to jump straight into the 1980s and start with Stock, Aitken and  Waterman's acts. Although there are many iconic acts who signed with SAW in the 1980s, for me, I have to start with  Kylie Minogue, as I was a huge fan of Kylie when she first appeared in Neighbours and the British Charts. To give you an idea of how big a fan I was, I was a member of her fan club, posters all around my walls and I think I watched the Neighbours' episode, when Scott and Charlene married, about 100 times. I had taped it for my sister, who was on a cruise when it was broadcast.

Kylie's relationship with Britain and the pop scene exploded in 1986, when the BBC started showing the Australian soap, Neighbours, in the tea-time slot. Kylie was cast as Charlene Mitchell, who's on/off off love affair with Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), gripped fans all over the world. When the online characters eventually married, there were 20 millions viewers in the UK alone watching Neighbours. Due to the fame of Neighbours,  Kylie had the opportunity to perform The Loco-motion by Little Eva at a Fitzroy Football benefit Concert. Off the back of one performance, Kylie was signed to Mushroom Records. The song was released in Australia and became the highest selling single of the 1980s in Australia. Due to the success, Kylie travelled to London to work with SAW, who knew very little about her and even forgot she was coming to record in their studio. When they did remember, Kylie recorded I should be so lucky in less than an hour. 

I should be so lucky was released in December 1987 in the UK, charting at number 90 but after 3 weeks, reached Number 1 and stayed there for five weeks. The single was certified Gold in the UK and became an instant hit around the world. The video of the song is as iconic as the song, with one scene of Kylie in the bath blowing bubbles.

Due to the success of her first hit, SAW never forgot about their Australian star again and Mike Stock went across to Melbourne to apologise to Kylie and record the second song Got to be so Certain. His words to Kylie must have been successful as she returned to record her debut album in early 1988 in London. 

Kylie was released in the UK in July 1988, and after 7 weeks in the album chart, it eventually reached the number 1 slot and remain there for 4 weeks. It was the biggest selling album of 1988, and by the start of 1989, it had been certified six times platinum. In the UK, Kylie became the first female singer to have their debut album sell in excess of 2 million copies in the UK (at that time). Avril Lavigne would beat the record in 2003.

For me, this album reminds me of friendship and a period in my life before everything changed and a certain innocent of childhood would be lost for ever. Kylie is an artist which I will happily listen to now and although at the time, I remember my Dad moaning about the bubble-gum pop music that I was listening to, the beats of Kylie's early work make up my own music footprint of life.

Listen to Kylie's first album here:

Kylie by Kylie Minogue

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, with the exception of The Loco-motion which was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

Released: 1988

Song 151 - The Life of Riley by the Lightning Seeds

Keeping with Liverpool based bands, I have chosen this 1992 hit by the Lightening Seeds for today's songs. Written by Ian Broudie for his son with the same name, the song only reached number 28 in the charts, but since then has gained popularity through being used on  Match of the day and on a TV sitcom of the same name. The song came off the band's 1992 album Sense and then use as the title of their greatest hits.

Music by the Lightening Seeds always make me smile as it is generally upbeat and cheerful to listen to. They are another band that I have seen live (!) and I have watched a very proud (Stubborn) Scottish Girl refuse to dance to their football anthem. She is always very brave as we were surrounded by English Football Fans!! True story.

What I love about this song is that in the seriousness of life it captures the importance of  sometimes being  able to break free from all the practicalities of day-to-day and go out there and smile with good friends and family. I am saying this today because this year (to date) seems to have thrown a lot of sadness around and although I can't control or stem the sadness  I can stand stubbornly and smile vowing that I refuse not to smile and make every moment count because we don't have endless tomorrows but every today can be magical. There is no such things as dress rehearsals in life.

Enjoy the song and live!!

Life of Riley

Written by: Ian Broudie

Album: Sense

Release: 1992

Song 150 - There she goes by The Las

If you want to be a one hit wonder then the La's There she goes would be in the top ten of songs I wish I had written. After two unsuccessful chart attempts in the late 1980s, it would be the third time lucky for the Liverpool band The La's, when their single reached number 13 in October 1990. When the public and industry started listening to the song, they were convince the song was about about the use of heroin and some newspapers went as far to say the song was the band's ode to heroin. However, the band firmly denied this and said the song was a love song about a girl you like but never talk to. 

Structurally, the song is very simple and contains no verses, only a single chorus repeated four times and a bridge, which is perhaps why the song is so catchy and has remained one of the most popular indie anthems. The song also borrows sounds from The Velvet Underground. 

The single was followed up from their debut album which was met with critical acclaim and modest success. But despite this good start in the music world; the band would go into no man lands when John Power left the band to form Cast. (And yes, if you want to know this, they first formed in 1983). Since the band split in 1992, their song had continued to be re-released and chart throughout the decades since its first release.

In 1999, the song was covered by Sixpence None the Richer, an American band, who themselves are really only known for one song Kiss Me. This is an interesting cover as it is a female voice, which makes takes the song into acoustic love song. To let you have a listen to how different the two versions:

The La's There she goes
Sixpence none the richer's version


Written by Lee Mavers
Released: 1990
Album: The Las

Song 149 - This is how it feels - Inspiral Carpets

Following on from The Stones Roses, I have to Inspiral Carpets and This is how it feels. Why? Because that how the songs played on the mix tape that I nicked from my sister! Also, Inspiral Carpets is another awesome bands from the Madchester, which defines the end of the 1980s/ early 1990s for me.

Released in 1990, This is how it feels peaked at number 14 in the UK single chart, which was the first time the band had entered the charts with a single. Formed in 1983 (there's a pattern emerging for the bands I have been choosing in the last few days), Inspiral Carpets consisted of Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt, who had been friends from school.  Their sound is characterised by psychedelic influences such as organ playing and distorted guitars. Inspiral Carpets' fame though peeked in 1990s, with their album Life coming out shortly after their single success and reaching number 2 in the album chart.  After 1990 the band did not manage to secure similar success with their singles and were eventually dropped by their record label in 1992 and the band split up.

However, after a period of nearly 15 years, the band reformed in 2007 and in 2011 returned to its original format and are still touring to their own beat and delighting old and new fans alike.

To hear This is how it feels
Inspiral Carpets' This is how it feels

Written by Clint Boon
Released: 1992
Album: Life

Song 148 - Elephant Stone - The Stone Roses

I feel I should be in my school uniform whilst writing this as this song reminds me of high school and pretending that I didn't like the Stone Roses just to get a reaction from some boy that I used to fancy! Out of all the Stones Roses' hits I have chosen this one for two reasons. Elephant Stone was on a compilation tape that my sister made (and I nicked! Sorry sis, I still have the tape if you want it back) and I fell in love with the song before knowing who was singing it. And two, it allows me to talk mention one of my favourite animals in my music blog!!

Okay, lets move on before I start talking trunks, if you read yesterday's blog closely you would have heard me mention Madchester scene and Stone Roses have to be the biggest band to come out of Manchester at this time. Elephant Stone was first released in 1988 and didn't chart, however, in 1990 after their debut album was release, it was re-released and reached number 8 in the charts. When asked what Elephant Stone was about, John Squires muted it may have been about a girl he once known. If you listen to the track carefully you can hear the incorporation of dance beat into the tune. Released as a standalone single in the UK, it is one of my favourite tracks the band ever recorded.

When their debut album The Stone Roses was released, it is fair to say the album was a slow burner with consumers and critics in the UK, with the exception of NME and Melody Maker, who were heavily involved with the Madchester scene. However, they say that the longer the burn the greater the heat and respect people build for music which is true about this album. Within the industry the talents of the band and the album is a testament to the fusion of rock and dance music  inspired by the late 1980s. Some would say it is one of the most important albums of all time as it capture a period of music and transitions the music scene of Manchester from bands from The Smiths to Oasis in the 1990s.

Whilst I will leave you to decide whether Stone Roses fits in your music taste; have a dance with elephant:

Elephant Stone by The Stone Roses

Written by Ian Brown and John Squires
Released: 1989, 1990
Album: N/A - it was a standalone single.

Song 147 - The Best of... by James

With the Friday album this week, we're starting to move away from the Britpop Era and move into the 1980s and, for me, there seems to be no better album to do this with than James's first greatest hits album released in 1998, which contains some of best loved anthems of this period. For the millions who bought this album, it brought together hits of James that had been echoing dance floors since the late 1980s.  The Best of James album went to number 1 and was certified 2 x platinum in record sales.

James is an interesting band to chart a history of as when they formed in 1983, there were numerous issues surrounding the growth of the band. Although they had been muted as the next big thing to come out of Manchester, James would take until the start of the 1990s to gain the success that had been promised when they first formed. It is hard to image that when Sit Down, arguably one of their biggest hits, was first release in 1989, it only reached number 77 in the UK singles chart. Unlike their management at the time, John Peel saw the band's talent and put Sit Down in his festive fifty for the year.

Fortunately for James and their fans alike, after a successful tour in 89, James split from their record label and signed with Fontana Records. Sit Down, which was written as a thank you to Doris Lessing and Patti Smith for inspiring him (Tim Booth), was re-released in March 1991 and reached number 2 in the singles charts, and became one of the year's best selling singles. The success of James is due partly to the Madchester music scene of this time. Madchester is almost a prelude to Britpop and recognise the musical groups coming out of Manchester at this time.

Following on from the success of the re-release of Sit Down, the next two singles, Sound and Born of frustration charted at number 9 and 13 respectively. When I listen to those three songs, it was the school discos where I remember dancing to these songs and having them recorded on tapes off the radio. I am either sounding retro or very old at this point.

James would breakthrough to the US chart with the song Laid, which reached number 3 in the US chart in 1993. Their success in the US following on from touring with Neil Young and would give them material for two more albums. after Laid, singles like Destiny Calling and She's a star kept James in the chart and a total of seven albums were created, before their Best of... album was released.

Since the release of this album in 1998, James lost ground with the UK chart and in 2001 broke up temporarily for a period of six years, when Booth went exploring solo projects. The band reformed in 2007 and have since started releasing album and singles again. If opportunity came, they would definitely be a band I would want to see live.

To listen to the whole album and start your weekend
James sings their best of


Songs written by James
Released: 1998
Album: The Best of