Best tunes 1980, the letter H

Kicking off H with Happy House by Siouxie and the Banshees. Siouxie the queen of punk always coming up with interesting lryrics, steering away from boy like girl or girl likes boy themes. With this song they also moved away from their old guitar sounds, to a newer more distinctive guitar sound, which well complimented their talents. This an atmospheric song from Siouxie, with the lyrics matching the mood and soundscapes of the song.

With Him, Rupert Holmes again pulls off his trick of ahnging really strong lyrics, onto a reasonably good tune, the lyrics being a bit better than the tune, but the tune still good enough. Holmes could run classes for other actds on doing this, he had by this time become the master of it. You cannot help liking Rupert Holmes, and having some interest in what he is up to.

Hungry Eyes by Sad Cafe. Sad Cafe had really announced themselves with a really good hit single, Everyday hurts, in the latte rhalf of 1979, and I really took to this band on the strength of that. For the times they kept away from the more cliche sounds, throwing in piano sounds, strings, and all sorts. In some senses a slight nod to classical, and richness, not too far away from some of the Kate Bush type of sounds. Other commentators have commented that the lead singer sometimes sounds not a hundred miles away from Mick Jagger. I must admit I never picked up on this, but listening again with this in mind, I do see what they mean, but so long as you are not doing slavish immitation, and I do believ ehe is honestly just using the voice he was born with and not putting it on, I think this is no bad thing.

I put Hungry Eyes at numbe rone at the time in my own personal charts, and it is my fave ever song by Sad Cafe, I just lov eit, and reagrd it as among the very best songs of the entire 1980s.. The lyrics are emotionally sung, the instruments fit well, the whole production is just wonderful.

Best tunes of 1980, the letter G

Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel
Going underground - The Jam
Gimme the night - George Benson
Glo of love - Change
Guilty - Barbabra Striesend

Generals and majors - XTC
Geno - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Gotta love somebody - Sister Sledge
Give me an inch - Hazel O'Conor
Gentlemen take polaroids - Japan

Kicking off the letter G with Games without frontiers. Well interesting lyrics, not exactly boy fancies girls is it? The melodyis at the sixty per cent level, so if you saw had this on an album is good enough to release as a single. Quite like the lyrics, like theo words he plays with in an interesting way. A slow tempo record doesn't hav ebeat,but pace, and this has some good pace.

This got to number one in Britain for the Jam. Sometimes things get to number one, and you think what were the public thinking. But you can see why this got to number one. The Jam are among the best of Brtish bands, they were always strong and dependable, and they are strong here.

Gimme the night got quite a lot of airplay in the winter, those cold winters of Britain, and often the rain. It would be drak and you would see the jewelers shop windows lit up and refleting, and refeltions in the puddles of rain water. You would come in from the cold and this would be on the radio. This is kind of a soul record, quite a bit aboce average for the usual sort of soul. They got some really nice sounds on it, one example of this being the backing vocals.

Change made some good dance records, and really flew the flag for disco or dance music in 1980.

There are often big stars who had hits years ago, and you wonder if they will ever have big hits agin, then they get teamed up with some really hot current talent. Nile Rogers of Chic, and Barry Gibb of the BeeGees seemt o be the textbook cases of this type of thing. Barry seemed to be under the impression tha tpeople had had too much of the BeeGees, and decided to team up with other artists, to give people a rest. I think Barry is a great guy, and a giant of the music industry but I think he was wrong about this. As if people could be bored or tired of too much Beatles, too Much Abba, or too much Bowie, or tooo much Queen. I always think a pure BeeGees version of the Guilty album would have been increidble. Anyway we got Barbara leading the vocals, with a BeeGees production in the background. Putting to one side that Barry had too much modesty, the Guilty album does remain something of a masterpiece

XTC did this song called Generals and Majors, and you just have to love the way they put thos eperfect military sounds in to this record. The tune for the vereses is plenty strong enough to carry this record,, and then the save the best bit of the tune, as you usually should do, for the chorus which is delightful.

I was sitting with my college friends, and this came on the radio. We stopped talking and paid some real attention to this record. With tha tintro this record really annnounces itslef, as if it were the start of some epic film. it is so far removed from all those guitar bands with all the very different intruments and the differnet use and sound of any guitars, this really stick out from the crowd. it doesn't stop there, because then Kevin Rowland come sin with a really distinctive voice, and not only that, he sings in an odd and interesting way. We wll thought Dexys would go on to great things right away but it was all rather odd. They seemd to fade quite a bit, and then they came back with an even higher impact record in the shape of Come on Eileen, which is quite an achievement.
Geno got to number one, my college friends thought it might, but you can never tell with the great British public, but this they they did get things right.

With Sister Sledge you are allready off to a good start because some good vocals, highly professional vocal are always a given.
This has all the usual good melody and good beat and quite high dance ability of a Sister Sledge record.

Inredibly Give me an inch was a B side to Hazels hit, D Days. The intro, with all it's energy and strong beat and such apt drumming for it, is the best bit of the song, and they rightfully repeat this a few times throughout the record. This reocrd was produced by the legendary Tony Visconti, who worked with Bolan, and Bowie.

Gentleman take polaroids is the out and out clear winner here for the letter G, it just has the top melody, and a a good beat, and it pays to listen to this record through good quality headphones or a very good sound system. They use a lot wonderful sounds on this record. Japan were a bit like Kate Bush in that their records either reached the heights, or were hard to like because they were a bit too experimental.

Best tunes of 1980, letter F

Fool for your loving - Whitesnake
Feels like I'm in love - Kelly Marie
Fireside favourites - Fad Gadget
Free me - Roger Daltry
Fashion - David Bowie
Funky town - Lipps Inc

Fool for your loving no more, by Whitesnake
A lot of heavy metal, or hard rock bands, seemed to put out entire albums, and only two tracks on them anything you could call a tune. The albums seemd to consist mostly of noise. I would find myself some nights listening to a lot of quite poor rock music in the hope of finding something good. This was one of those times when the reward finally came, thanks to one of the better metal bands, Whitesnake.

Feels like I’m in love - Kelly Marie
To me Kelly has the voice of a good cabaret singer, not a top pop singer. The song is a pure pop tune with hit written all over it. I can understand why fans of more rock music would find this just too much sugar, and too sweet. But it is a dance record, it has melody and beat, and they pick the right instruments and sounds for it. It’s high energy. It’s almost not a million miles away from a second rate Abba record, though utterly lacking the pure class of Abba. It’s main weakness is the lyrics. It feels like I’m in love, my heart beats like a drum, with some of the instruments mimicking a pounding heartbeat. The lyrics plunge into the deptths of the worst of Eurovision song contest levels. I suppose all this doesn’t matter too much if you have a tune that is good, and it is good to dance to. I read that this song could have ended u being sung by Elvis. The mind boggles.

Fireside favourites by Fad Gadget
As you might guess, I was part of a crowd at college who liked to think they knew about music. I suspect a lot of readers of this might have gone through similar experiences. If you came over to our tables and spoke about the current top ten hits, you cut no ice with us. But if you mentioned this Fad Gadget record you would be taken a lot more seriously. This was one of the ones we used to use as a kind of test record. With this voice and these instruments, and the odd pace, the odd tempo of this record, there has seldom ever been anything like this. The lyrics are even more far out. You listen to it two or three times, and you think oh the lyrics are kind of cult horror film or cult science fiction stuff, then on that third listen the penny drops, it dawns on you it’s about nuclear war. This has long been a kind of legendary record, among an inner circle of music fans, it has a kind of cult status.

Free me, by Roger Daltry
Well there are some records that just speak for themselves, and it’s better if I let Roger and his crew put things their way. I will just use the words epic, and power.

Fashion by David Bowie
This another record from 1980 with a superb tune, and then on top, massive beat and massive dance ability. You listen all the way through this record, and a guitar comes in here, and a breif bit of guitar comes in there, and you think I can’t spot any weak points. So they must have been workaholics, going through this record four or five times, just polishing up all the weak points. There are plenty of bands I could mention, who have written a good soong, and then just thrown in a bit of a guitar filler, because they want to make the hourof drinking time at the local pub. Some bands think, oh well, that will do. The Beatles or Abba would never dream of doing this. I am glad the Brtish public rewarded David Bowie with a humber one spot, for Ashes to ashes, but in my own charts Ashes to Ashes only made number three, and for me, Fashion was the beter record I put at number one.

Funky Town by Lipps Inc
There is a tendency to think all the best disco music was made in the mid to late seventies. But there was plenty of good disco music to be found in 1980, with acts like Change, Narrada Micheal Walden, and plenty of of others. But when they decided to call this record Funky Town, they were not kidding where they? In terms of tune, this record scores well into the eighties, and the beat is even better, reaching into the nineties, and it scores mid to high nineties in terms of dance ability. Anything scoring this high, just has to be considerd a simply awesome record. This can exist in the company of some of the thirty best dance records ever made.

Best tunes of 1980, the letter E

Easy street - Sister Sledge
Escape - Rupert Holmes
Elstree - Buggles
Everybodies got to learn some time - The Korgi's
Enola Gaye - Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark

We kick off with Easy Street by Sister Sledge. You have reasonably good tune, and you just place in the quite capable hands of of Sister Sledge. And in 1980 prorbalby the even more capable prodction hands behind Chic, Nile Rogers. Sister Sledge are never really going to get the vocals wrong. So you have a hit record.

Rupert Homes - Escape
For the legions familiar with this very famous song, it’s always called the pena collada song. It’s one of those odd songs where the lyrics are more outstanding than the tune. But it would have been a mistake to have a stornger tune, because the tune carries the lyrics perfectly. Rupert Holmes had been very clever here.

Elstree by Buggles
I had it somewhere in the back of my own memory banks that legendary record producer Trevor Horn had produced the number one hit for Buggles, Video killed the radio star. Given the similar sound and production on their other hits, I wondered if Horn had done everything for them in 1980. I was right, he had, but I was most surprised to learn that Horn had been an actual member of Buggles, and was the bassist. I was also educated in that The ageo of plastic was a debut album. This makes it all the more impressive. But this is an odd business because, Buggles had a number one, and launched a good debut album, the same kind of time the Pretenders had a number one and released a good debut album. Yet the Pretenders in 1980, and since got all the credit they deserved, and poor Buggles merely got great nods of acceptance and approval, from the lads at collegge who liked synth music, with strong tunes.

Everybody’s gotta learn sometime by The Korgi’s certainly has it’s epics and dramatics, with rather serious and earnest lyrics.

Enola Gaye by Orchestral Manouvres
Living on the Wirral, near Merseyside, I had kept an eye on this Wirral band for some time. Many of the locals know about the telephone box they made famous, and even about another band very connected to them inthe very early days, a band called Dalek Eye. I had quite liked their early releases, Electricity, and Red frame white lines, and they had got quite big with Messages. But this record in another leaop for them. A very strong meoldy, bothe the verses and chorus are strong. The synth sound is right up my street. I think you could say this is the ir first actual dance record, with really good percusion behind it. With quite a lot of good things going on in a lot of OMD records, people completely overlook what a distinctive voice the lead singer has. The band have been a little bit sneaky with the lyrics, because you find yourself listening to and enjoying this really good song, and even dancing to it, but th elyrics about the Enola Gaye, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. Kind of pulls the rug from under your feet. But the band are very nice people, and always were hard working intellectuals. To be fair the song as well as being dance avle does have it’s melancholy components, expecially the way the vocals are handled so they get away with it all very quickly. There are no doubts at ll though, that this is the clear front runner, for best record for the letter E, of 1980.

Do nothing - The Specials
Disco- Ottawan
Dance - Lambretta's
Don't make me wait too long - Roberta Flack
Duchess - Genesis
Dellah and the dealer - Hoytaxton
Don't drive my car - Status Quo

Do nothing
We kick off the letter D for 1980, with Do nothing by The Specials. Contiuing that years dominance of Two Tone. This is typical fair that ticks a lot of the right boxes.

D.I.S.C.O by Ottowan.
If I compile a list of records, of a reasonably o.k tune, ruined by the lyrics, this one would place very high in that list. Try to run this song in your head, and imagine the instrumental version. A huge improvement? And so is running the song with almost any other kind of average lyrics. It’s fairly strong as a dance record. Bits of the drumming make it good. Even the quality of the singing voices, and the enthusiasm is good. But oh those awful lyrics. I know, we can look for all the words in the dictionary that the letters of disco. Childish and cringeworthy lyrics, and uncool image and poor fashion sense, could make less obervant people think the whole record was just bad on this basis.

D a a n ce
O.k, a fairly good band part of the 1980 mod revival. Boy likes girl lyrics, they have a good tune here. A decent verse meoldy with a strong lead up to the chorus, and a chorus that matches that. The vocals are good enough, and the guitarists and rummer know what they are doing. Just a good effort.

Don’t make me wait too long
Ah now we are talking. After the three records that went before, we come to a record that has rather more polish and a touch of class. It has quite a good intro. Not sure if I would chosen a more adventurous bass guitar sound, but still. The keyboards come into the intro with a very strong melody, that repeats throughout the song, and gives this record a lot of class. Roberta Flack comes with a certain reputation and prestige, bordering some aristocracy among soul and jazz affcianados. Though I am not as well schooled here. When the vocals do come in it is straght away obvious, a voice of some distinction and professionalism.
Good lead in to the chorus, and good chorus itself. Lovely voices lovely vocals. A good record showing off Roberta Flack, and soul music.

Duchess
They do get better and better don’t they. I become more ocnvinced I have listed the letter D records in the right order. Duchess by Genesis is just that little step up power and melody. This is the single version of the record, that makes much more of the verses and the chorus and you can really appreciate this record in a different way. It is a r eocrd with some build ups, and the slightly epic. The album version has a very long intro, and the sense of build up and climax is tuened onto high power, gaining this record a place on another list, for the greatest intro’s.

Dellah and the dealer, HoytAxton
I know some will say oh but this is kind of country and western. Techically it is, but this is such a darn good record it really is heavy cross over stuff right inton pop music chart music, and deservingly big hit terrirory. The record did have and still does get a lot of radio air play. This is one heck of a sing along feel good record. The lyrics have a story feel tothem and you cannot help loving it, with a cat called Callamazoo. The guitars, the beat, the harmonica, are all superb, and do things just perfectly for this record. Then you have got the lead singer, practically born to sing on this record, he hits the low notes wonderfully. This record is surely worth it’s number two position here.

Don’t drive my car
On the best of letter intro’s list, best intro’s for letter A and so on going through the alphabet, I haven’t actually counted, but it’s a reasonable bet that Status Quo have among the most entries. They do not disappoint with the intro on this record, this is what you call guitar licks. It kicks of with an awesomely strong guitar intro, then there is a pause, then more guitars join in, and the drums join in. You think well here we have already got a good record. If they were going to contrinue the record based on this, all would be good. But then they come in with another completley new good idea piled on top. The vocals come in. Ah ah ah ah, don’t drive my car. Oh Quo, you’ve earned it, that’s another big extension and a new tennis court paid for in your big mansion house. You would deserve every penny. So far so good, really good. But then there are even more treats in store with a kind of guitars detour. Best record for the letter D 1980, no hesitation.

lBest songs of 1980, the letter C

Coming up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Cuba - Gibson Brothers
Caravan - Barabara Dickson
Christine - Siouxie and the Banshees
Clean clean - Buggles
Carrie - Cliff Richard
Could you be loved - Bob Marley
Comfortably numb - Pink Floyd
Call me - Blondie

Coming up
I thought this was just reasonable fair from Mr McCartney. Decent melody, decent bit of beat, reasonably dance-able. It seems other people thought far more highly of it than I did. Paul said he was performing the song in convert, and one young lad danced like a maniac to it. This persauded Paul to release it as a single. I thought it was a kind of top ten hit, but was surprised that the great British public made it a number two hit. Even more bizzarre, John Lennon heard it on the radio and raved over it. It’s kind of good, but I wouldn’t go that far John. It actually got John thinking of going back into the studio again.
Cuba
The Gibson Brtoher made very good dance records, always with a strong beat, and a good tune. But by far way and above, their real strength was they had amazing voices, especially the lead singer. It’s a shame they didn’t have a string of hits, about ten or fifteen hits, so we could have even more of those voices. Any on the ball record company would sign on the voices, and their vocal harmony ability. Their record company should have got some song writers in and put more material their way.
Caravan
It must be miserable to be a female vocalist, and people are walys thinking, well, Karen Carpenter, Falskog and Lynstad of Abba, or the power of Shirley Bassey or Siouxie Sioux. Or the distinctive voice of of Kate Bush or Clare Grogan. Putting aside that kind of world class, Barabra Dickson does it has to be said have a good voice. You hear the first verse and you think oh yes, this is looking good-ish. You hope the chorus is going to deliver, and thnakfully it does so in spades. With Dickson this song is on very good hands, and she certainly does this song justice. She probably is a perfect fit for this song. Bassey would have been too powerful, and Karen Carpenter would not have been right for it. The more often you listen to this one th emore you like it, and most people would rate this is a classic song. It’s kind of a classic folk song. The lyrics make it even better, carvant being a metaphor with layers of meaning.
Christine
It seemed as if only about ten or twenty per cent of the people, seriously into their music, were very aware of Siouxie’s debut hit, Hong Kong garden. I was in that second g roup who redicvovered it, after the later hits. Hong Kong was tremedous for a debut hit, it had great approval from people who were not really into punk. My own first aquaintances with Siouxie was Staircase Mystery, and Happy house. I was prorbalby a bit too square at the time and found the lyrics a bit too strange and the music too avant garde. Christine affected me altogether differently, and make me really sit up and take notice. They made all the right choices with the drumming, but the big deal is the voice, and the moods she creates with that voice. I think I put Christine as high as number three in my own personal charts at the time, which is praise indeed. This is song was a leap and real progress for Siouxie. I and others began to pay close attention to this band from then on, and we were well rewarded. Christine still had rather unusual lyrics, and was still avant garde, nothing in the charts soundied quite like this. But the band learning to compromise just alittle towards the commercial, so a lot of us could make some sort of bridge across to them. Thank god they did. Siouxie is a national treasure.
Clean clean
I was so clued up on music, I had heard Video killed the radio star by the original artist, Bruce Wooley and the camera club. Yes, Video killed, was a cover version. The newer hit version by the band Buggles, got to number one. Lads found it acceptable becaus eit had plenty of decent melody, and some good guitars and keyboard sounds. But it was highly popular with girls, because of the very girly vocals, and it was so pop based. The band had three more hits, then just seemd to vanish somewhere, after 1980. Clean clean was the third hit, which didn’t chart as high, and didn’t have the girly vocals. But the melody is simply streets above the average, and they had a very good sound. Some of love a great band who know how to use all those guitars and synths.

Bank robber - The Clash
Buzz a diddle it - Matchbox
Brass in pocket - The Pretenders
Best friend - The Beat
Baggy trousers - Madness
Babooshka - Kate Bush

Bank Robber. No easy task for one of the finest punk bands to pull off a slow tempo record. When eight out of ten records are about deovtion to a lover, or splitting up, what refrsshing imagination to actually write a song about bank robbery. The vocals, both the lead vocals, and the backing vocals deserve praise on this record.
Buzz a diddle it. At first look, you think oh god no thanks. You shake your head firmly, Rock a billy is NOT my thing. Putting that aside, what have we got? Well you have to admit, without the old rock n roll roots, there would be no modern music, we owe them a huge debt. This is godd aold rock n roll. You can't deny it has energy, and you left having to admit this is a prety good record.
Brass in pocket. A band that put as much thought and hard work into the lyrics as the tune. Without doubt, among the finest bands of 1980.
Apart from the Pretenders, and Bowies major statement with Ashes to ashes, the other massive sotry of 1980 was of course two tone. Here are The Beat, and then Madness delivering the goods. A lot people say this is their favourite Madness song, and they steeer away from the common boys meets girl, or boy loses girl lyrics with some delightful stuff about school days.
Babooshka. I knew plenty of girls who would pretend to pop stars, singing into the hair brush, as it it were the microphone, and of cours eplenty of lads who used a tennis racket or air guitar pretending to be rock stars. It ont surprise people that I was one of those fice per cent or lads who had their own imaginary radio sation. I would compile my own pop charts. The minute I heard Babooshka, I nkew it was going to be by next weeks number one. It was love at first listen. Kate followed the sensation of Wuthering heights, with several most acceptable hits. The haunting Man with the child in his eyes. Wow, and Them heavy people. She kicked off 1980 with Breathing. This was alittle tto avant garde evenfor me, who normally adores Kate Bush. I met plenty of people who said they thought I was little crazy for going to the extent of having an imaginary charts, that I actually wrote out each week. But if they did have their own charts, many many people said they would put Babooshka at number one. I understand that Kate does not have a voice that eveyone loves. Sjhe is not a Karen Carpenter, or an Agnetha Falskog. Her voice is often high pitched, operatic and theatrical. it is a a voice for those of us with more exclusive tastes. I can understand why not every one likes her. But I am in that camp that adores her. I think her video for this is every bit as good as her Wuthering heights video.

Best songs of 1980, the letter A
In reverse order

A walk in the park - Nick Straker band
A lovers holiday - Change
Are you getting enough - Hot Chocolate
A heart will break tonight - Cliff Richard

Adventure - Rupert Holmes
Another one bites the dust - Queen
Ashes to ashes _ David Bowie
Ace of spades - Motorhead
Atomic - Blondie

I had achieved towering success with the bes t of letter formula. Choosing the best of records of all time, based on letters of the alphabet. I seem to have been a world pioneer at this, setting radio stations, and tv station around the world on fire, with this format. I'm not as well in home country of Britain for some reason. After the intros, the outro's and the middle tro's, and the sadness tracks, people said Si what will you do next? When I mentioned 1980, some people pulled a face. Not negative, but not positive either, mostly confused. 1980? Look Si, the nineteen eighties as a decade was great for music, but a single year, 1980? Most people know a few good tracks form 80, but are very uncertain if it was that good a year for music. I had little idea myself, but having delved into 1980, it is quite surprising how good a year 1980 actually was. One of the big stoies was Two Tone, and the Mod revival. Madness, The Beat, The Specials, and Selecter. The Police had finished the seventies as the band of the moment. Their follow up album to Regatta De Blan was much awaited, and sadly it was a little bit weak. The Police would come back with great music though. The other big story was The Prtenders. They probably put out one of the greatest debut albums of all time, and in 1980 they comamanded respect from just about everybody and could hardly put a foot wrong.

Looking at the letter A. We kick offwith A walk in the Park, and Lovers holiday. Two under rated and forgotten floor fillers, good dance tracks. Hot Chocolate ar eone of the finest bands for the letter H, only the Human League and The Hollies can rival them. This one has a good meody and with unuaul and clever lyrics., slightly amusing or depressing, depending on your life experience. A heart will break tonight is one of th elesser known best songs of Cliff. An emotion packed song that Cliff delivers well getting the vocal emotionals spot on. Adventure by Rupert Holmes is an epic record, with cleverly thought out lyrics. Most people know him for the Pena Collada song, it's real title being Escape, another of his with masterful lyrics. Holmes has talent and he has not always had the credit he deserves. Adventure should be beter known and better appreciated.

Queen do the business with another Bites the dust. Bowie had been great in the early and mid seventies, but seemed in decline in the late seventies. 1979s Boys keep swinging was hardly anything to write home about. Well bowie had certainly nailed it with Ashes to ashes, and the new album. it cuased a sensation and was one of the stories of the year. Bowie well and truly annnounced that he was back. Good innovation with the song, and with the video. People say how can you put Ace spades ahead of Queen and Bowie? I don't who you are, I judge the song. This track has good melody in both the verses and the chorus. Only about twenty people in the world can nail the vocals for this song, and they sure deliver here. The song is fast, a fairly frenetic pace, and packed with energy. Imagine being a record company excutive and some people walk into your office one day and present you with Atomic. It just has number one written all over it, from the very first listen. A superb tribute to the song writing skills of the lads in Blindie, and on top of that you've got Debbie Harry to deliver the goods. This Blonndie showing everybody they are among the best. Blondie were such a cool band.

The golden age of televsion. Saturdays 1970s. (two)

The golden age of televsion. Saturdays 1970s (one)

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter Y
In reverse order

You’ve lost that loving feeling - Righteous Brothers
Young love - Donny Osmond
You’ll never walk alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers
You don’t bring me flowers - Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond
You’re a lady - Peter Skellern
Yesterday once more - The Carpenters
Yesterday - Beatles
You only live twice - Nancy Sinatra

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter W
In reverse order
Positions 6 to 1

WXLJ tonight - Human League
Welcome home - Peters and Lee
Wish you were here - Pink Floyd
Why because I love you - Donny Osmond
Winner takes it all (the) - Abba
Without you - Harry Nilsson

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter W
In reverse order
Positions 12 to 7

What’s new pussycat - Tom Jones
Women around - Martha and the Muffins
Walking in sunshine - Bad Manners
What a wonderful world - Louis Armstrong
We all stand together - Paul McCartney
Waterfalls - Paul McCartney

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letters U and V
In reverse order

Victims - Culture Club
Uranus - Tomita
Up the junction - Squeeze
Unchained melody - Righteous Brothers

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter T
In reverse order

Two little boys - Rolf Harris
Time clock of the heart - Culture Club
The way old friends do - Abba
Take the long way home - Supertramp
This guys in love with you - Royal Marines Band
Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter S
In reverse order
Positions 6 to 1

Sleepy shores - Johnny Pearson
Sam - Olivia Newton John
Symphony number three (message scratched on gestapo prison wall) Gorecki (Polish composer)
Song for guy - Elton John
Sunset - Royal Marines Band
She’s leaving - Beatles

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter S
In reverse order
Positions 12 to 7

Sloop John B - Beach Boys
Step inside love - Cila Black
Suddenly - Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton John
Stairway to heaven - Led Zeplin
Storm on the sea - Thompson Twins
Summer time - George Gershwin

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter S
In reverse order
Positions 18 to 13

Summer the first time - Bobby Goldsboro
SOS - ABC
SOS - Abba
Sun aint gonna shine any more (the) - Righteous Brothers
Spooky - Atlanta Rythem Section
Strange magic - Electric Light Orchestra

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter R
In reverse order

Rock and roll - Status Quo
Remember me as a good thing - Diana Ross
Romeo and Juliet, theme to Simon Bates Our Tune

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter P
In reverse order

Passe Dobely - Torvile and Dean music
Pacific state - 808 State
Peter and the wolf theme music
Puppy love - Donny Osmond
Power of love (the) - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Penny Lane - Beatles

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letters N and O
In reverse order

On the outside (Prisoner cell block H theme) - Lynne Hamilton
One day in your life - Michael Jackson
One of us is lonely - Abba
No charge - JJ Barrie
New York mining disaster - Bee Gees
Never can say goodbye - Gloria Gaynor

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter M
In reverse order

Moments in love - Art of noise
Miss you nights - Cliff Richard
Magic - Olivia Newton John
Mad about the boy - Dinah Washington
My sweet lord - George Harrison
Making up again - Goldie
Midnight at the oasis - Maria Muldaur
Man with the child in his eyes (the) - Kate Bush
Moonraker - Shirley Bassey

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
the letter L
In reverse order

Living on an island - Status Quo
Long and winding road (the) - Beatles
Living thing - Electric Light Orchestra
Lonely in your nightmare - Duran Duran

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letters J and K
In reverse order

Jealouse guy - Roxy Music
Killing of Georgie (the) - Rod Stewart
Jackie blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Killing me softly - Roberta Flack

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]

Best sadness tracks of all time
The letter I
In reverse order
Positions 5 to 1

I’ve been waiting - Abba
Imagine - John lennon
If you leave me now - Chicago
I don’t want to talk about it - Rod Stewart
It aint necessarily so - Bronski Beat

Simon Pinlaw has been a guest on many tv and radio stations, and internet casts.
He has done consultancy work for media, bands, and record companies. [email protected]