40 - 31 (My top 100 tunes)

40 Mary's Prayer - Danny Wilson 96

"Everything is wonderful. Being here is heavenly...". It is amazing that a band that can craft two such joyously sublime pop songs as this and The Second Summer Of Love should just disappear from view with 4 years. Despite the title, this song is not about religion. It is about the singer realising he has made a big mistake in turning down someone who used to pray to be with him. Despite those sentiments this song powers along gloriously. As debut singles go, they don't come much better than this. A real gem of 80s pop.


39 St Louis Blues - Glenn Miller 36
I love the Louis Armstrong version of this song. It reeks of cigarette smoke and sweaty basement jazz clubs. Perhaps I have been unduly influenced  by the film The Glenn Miller Story into choosing the Miller version. I like the fact that it portrays Miller as subverting the military norms. But most of all I love the juxtaposition of a military marching band and the Big Band jazz sound within the same song.

38 Talking 'bout A Revolution - Tracy Chapman 35
I have deliberately picked Tracy Chapman's breakthrough performance as my illustrative clip rather than the promo video. At the 1988 Nelson Mandela Birthday Concert she was just filling time while the stage was rearranged between major acts. I remember her coming on and being captivated by this mouselike girl strumming a guitar, and singing such powerful songs with an incredible voice.  Fast Car was a bigger hit and may be a better song. But on that day, with Mandela still in prison, it was Talking 'bout A Revolution that spoke to me. "Finally the tables are starting to turn, they're talking 'bout a revolution".

37 10,000 Nights Alphabeat 34

This is the second song on my list to reference Wuthering Heights, though I suspect probably not due to a love of the book like Kate Bush, but more in order to make the song rhyme. I digress. Two Alphabeat songs in my top 100? This is madness I hear you cry. But it is such a joyous, upbeat duet, with voices that work so well together that I couldn't resist. Even if they record nothing else this song will stay on my list for a long time.

36 I Think I Love You  The Voice Of The Beehive 33
The Voice Of The Beehive played at my University when I was a student. I think it was Rutherford College Dining Hall, and my abiding memories are of wonderful upbeat pop songs and my friend Neil sat topless on someone's shoulders waving his arms like a loon. The band were great, energising the crowd and bouncing around in their brightly coloured 50's dresses. They produced a clutch of superb hits, but this one in particular takes me back to Canterbury and that night in a Dining Hall. Happy days!

35 Help Me Please -  Hard Fi new

From joy to despair. Richard Archer wrote this song after the death of his mother. It is so pure and so simple. So heartfelt, and heartbreaking. It could just as easily be about a break-up. It's about the void that is left when someone has gone, and the things that remind you of them. Like Tank Park Salute by Billy Bragg I find this song incredibly moving. <edit> I understand that there are two versions of this song, of which this one is the better. It can be found on the charity album Help, A Day In The Life.

34 Greatest Day Beverley Knight 32

Another song with a Mandela connection. In 2001 I managed to get hold of tickets for the Celebrate South Africa concert in Trafalgar Square, celebrating 7 years of democracy in South Africa. I got to a prime location with two friends, and was waiting for two things: To see REM and to see Nelson Mandela. Most of the acts that day have passed from memory, but Beverley Knight stuck with me. "I just met Nelson Mandela backstage, this is the Greatest Day of my life", and then she launched into Greatest Day. An upbeat British Soul classic, with great horns and an incredible vibe. I cannot hear this song without thinking of that day. I have been lucky enough to see Mandela in the flesh four times (this was the second), and this brilliant song perfectly captured the thrill of seeing Mandela that day.

33 Shirley Billy Bragg 31

Bragg does love songs ever so well. Most people think of him as a political singer/songwriter, and he is rightly famous for that part of his work. But there is much more diversity to his songwriting than most people realise. The original version of this song is on Talking To The Taxman About Poetry. The same album that gave us Levi Stubbs Tears, and also There Is Power In a Union. This re-titled and re-recorded version owes a big debt to Johnny Marr of the Smiths who appears on guitar and was involved in the new orchestration. Musically and lyrically this song does it for me. I love how Bragg plays with words and phrases. In concert the political stuff can create an almost religious fervour, but without songs like Shirley you don't get the full Bard of Barking experience.

32 Motorcycle Emptiness Manic Street Preachers 79

This song is from 1992, a few years before they made it really big. It hints at some of their later sophistication whilst retaining the raw punky feel. The guitar riff grabs you and the chorus is like a massive French kiss. It's a little sad to see the video and the reminder that there were once four of them. An awesome tune from start to finish.

31 I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor Arctic Monkeys30

What a way to announce yourself to the world. This sub 3 minute blast of working class Northern indie is brilliant, just brilliant. Almost 7 years after the song went straight to number 1, the Arctic Monkeys performed it at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. To go from Neepsend to a global stage you need songs like this.