30 - 21 (My 100 top tunes)

30 Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd 29
I've never bought into the whole 'Dark Side of the Moon is the greatest Floyd album ever' nonsense. I much prefer The Wall, and have done for as long as I can remember. Sometime in the 90s however I started to really appreciate Wish You Were Here (the album). It was a toss up between Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here as to which song to include on this list. It is possible, though I would not admit it to his face, that my University housemate Jamie may have indoctrinated me by playing this song over and over. Whatever the truth is, this is a fantastic song that glides majestically like a swan on a river over honey. And this, despite the memory of Jamie singing "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" being burned forever on my mind

29 2 Of Us - Beatles new
I only 'discovered' this song a couple of years ago. It's a lovely little song. It's very simple, with a delightful melody and pleasing harmonies. It is a perfect nugget of whimsey, and what sealed it for me was the clip of Lennon before it starts saying "I dig a pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids. Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats." (not on this video clip though) Errant nonsense but somehow appropriate.

28 Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen 28
This is quite possibly the greatest song ever written. So why, I hear you cry, is it languishing at number 28?  It is glorious, subtle, brash, understated and over the top in equal measure. But I am so familiar with it, that though I haven't tired of it, it doesn't quite pack the same punch it once did. I still love it though.

27 Kashmir - Led Zeppelin 27
The guitar line is an intimidating brute that is juxtaposed with the high fragile vocals of Robert Plant. The instrumental chorus is epic, and with the return to the verse you have the feel of an impending crescendo supplemented by the introduction of luscious strings. It builds and builds, even with a segway into a new verse structure, but it never does reach that climatic end. 

26 Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan 26
Don't you just love Dylan? Strip away the innovative video that has been aped more times than I can count and this song stands on its own two feet. This is a supremely confident song that subverted the songwriting conventions of the day. It chugs away with the verse and chorus blurring together, and then in little over 2 minutes it is gone. It may not have had the immediate impact of The Times They Are A Changing or Blowin' In the Wind, but it still resonates today.

25 Rise - Public Image Limited 24
I love the hints of the old Johnny Rotten that you get in this song allied to a controlled and classy backing track. Lyrically there are beautifully succinct phrases: "I could be wrong, I could be right", "Anger is an energy", "May the road rise with you".  Getting more pretentious than usual for a moment, the repetition of these phrases reminds me of Handel and his use of repetitive phrasing in oratorios such as the Messiah. It is certainly effective in Rise.

24 Senses Working Overtime - XTC 15
It starts off a little weird, like a post-punk curiosity. It builds in intensity over the course of the bridge and explodes into a wonderful chorus. Get in! During the course of the song we learn that the world is both football shaped and biscuit shaped. I am still trying to resolve this apparent paradox.

23 Alison - Elvis Costello 23
Songs about unrequited love or lost love always seem to reflect the reality of life more accurately than songs that revel in the glow of being in love. With a song like Alison you feel both the love and the aching disappointment of a lost love. It is beautiful and delicate while at the same time being pointed and edgy.

22 Walls Come Tumbling Down - Style Council 22
I am amused by the fact that the opening line in the video has been changed. The 'c' being removed from "We don't have to take this crap". Those were such innocent days! This is an energising call to action from the darkest days of the Thatcher ("public enemy number 10") era . "You can actually try changing things". "Unity is powerful". Where are the political songwriters in the mainstream nowadays? Anyway that aside, any song that starts with a Hammond organ and blaring horns is always onto a winner with me. Fortunately it never lets up that pace and this is a ramraiding slam dunk of a song from the guy who also brought us The Jam.

21 Don't Stop Moving - S Club 7    21
It doesn't happen very often, but every now and again I am not only on trend but slightly ahead of the curve. The first time I heard this song I was in my car and just about to drive to London to see my friend Sara. As I switched the engine on the radio burst into life with this tune but I had I missed the start so I didn't know the act. But from very early on I knew it would be a hit. Not in the "dumb kids are going to love this piece of xxxx" kind of way, but in the "wow this song is great and will be number 1" way. Pretty much the first thing I said to Sara when I got to her flat was "I have just heard a future number 1". It's a high quality party tune. Forget that S Club 7 were manufactured for the teeny bop market, this is a great pop song. Is it a better song that Bohemian Rhapsody? Of course not. Can I listen to it over and over? Oh yes. Of course my defence is blown out of the water by those who know I also rather like other songs by S Club.

90 - 81 (my top 100 songs of all time)

90 White Room - Cream 89
One of the earliest albums I got was The Cream Of Eric Clapton. I played that album over and over. Many of those songs remain firm favourites but (and this is a hideous pun) the cream rises to the top. From the portentious intro to the staccato disconnected lyrics and Clapton's effects laden guitar there is so much to like about this song. Over a quarter of a century since I first heard it this song has consolidated its preeminence in my mind over other classics such as Layla, Cocaine and Sunshine Of Your Love.

89 Rolling In The Deep - Adele new
I missed the first wave of Adele mania, coming to her rather late. I wasn't as impressed with Someone Like You as the rest of the world seemed to be. But this song showcases her voice to the max,  with a driving rhythm and a killer chorus that grabs you by the balls.

88 Don't Leave - Faithless new
I was resistant to dance music for a long time. It wasn't until I saw Faithless on Later With Jools Holland that my eyes and ears were opened. It wasn't their barnstorming club hit Insomnia that did it. It was this beautiful and rather sad song. They were a real band, and not just a couple of guys with a synth. Their performance of this song blew me away.

87 Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera 96
I'm a sucker for blaring horns. This gem of 80s power pop starts with horns and never lets up. It is another song that I used to play on my guitar in my bedroom. "The closest thing to heaven is to rock and roll". That was certainly true for me back then. Roddy Frame's finest 3.5 minutes.

86 Up The Junction - Squeeze 84
You don't get many songs that lack a chorus. The lyrics take centre stage in this tale. Quintessentially British and naive they may be ("we stayed in by the telly although the room was smelly"), but you have to love a song that kicks off with "I never thought it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham."

85 Saturn 5 - Inspiral Carpets 83
Whenever I hear this song I am immediately transported back to 1996 and my greatest ever nightclub experience.  The Warehouse in Preston was a three level club playing the best indie and britpop music. At that time it felt like 'my' music ruled the world. That particular night in The Warehouse is fresh in my memory as the epitomy of those days. The opening organ riff brought a huge cheer, and by the time the chorus erupted the entire dancefloor was singing, arms in the air or around the shoulders of strangers. We were united in a truly sublime musical experience.

84 Never Forget You - Noisettes 82
Back in 2009 I caught an acoustic performance of this song on the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury. I was captivated by the beauty of the voice I was hearing as well as enjoying a cracking song. This stripped down version (guitar, bass and packing crate) reminded me a touch of Amy Winehouse, but without the extraneous angsty bollocks that went with Winehouse's performances. Then I checked out the original version of the song and loved it. I still love it. The song has a retro feel to it and real kick to the chorus. I love it.

83 This Is Not A Love Song - Public Image Limited 85
I must qualify this by saying that I love the album version but really don't like the single version which I find inferior in every way. The album version is full of attitude, horns and a great hook. The pounding base and the riff that accompanies the chorus are tremendous, while Lydon's vocals are just about perfection. The less said about the single version, which I refuse to provide a link to, the better.


82 Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers 80
For me, the album Blood Sugar Sex Magick is the high water mark of the RHCP's career. They had greater success with later albums, but creatively they have never matched BSSM. I could have picked three or four songs from this album alone. But the reason that I picked Give It Away rather than Under the Bridge is that I think the band is summed up in this one song. It is funky and it rocks. I also came close to including Higher Ground and Knock Me Down, both off the Mother's Milk album and both truly great songs.

81 Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House 78
The first version of this song that I heard was Paul Young's and I really liked it. But there is something more heartfelt and something sweeter in Neil Finn's vocals. I can listen to this time and time again. It never gets tired.