Alan G

I was born in a place named after one of those words. We all always pronounced it Barrth.

Now I live in Bury, and people from the North West (o England) are bemused by my not pronouncing it BAAHHTH!

Bewildering how such regional accents evolved in an island as small as this is.

Became an "overnight" success in the UK in 1989 after 3 years of hits in Sweden!

The Look was a Top 10 single in 10 countries, number 1 in 5 of them. The world played catch up with those older songs re-issued to new success to follow The Look.

This happy go lucky track was a UK No 4. Great song.

Only one hit, but what a hit - UK No 13 in 1990 after missing the Top 40 in 1988.

Those distinctive vocals were by Lee Mavers.

Waterfalls is the one for me.

Socially aware lyrics and the smoothest musical arrangement.

US No 1, UK No 4

After the rapping Klingons in SNW, this is really not such a big ask.

YouTube video by The Ed Sullivan Show The Lovin' Spoonful "Do You Believe In Magic" on The Ed Sullivan Show

This week's One That Got Away, a record that was not a UK Hit that should have been.....

Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin Spoonful, Top 10 in the US in 1965. Never a hit in the UK.

When boyband mania was with us in the 90s and 00s, oldies were harvested and covered aplenty - not this one!!!

That is correct. I have never seen pics of him with anything other than very short hair.

YouTube video by TheVerveVEVO The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

This week's splendid UK No 2 that did NOT make the Number 1 it so richly deserved....

Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve, Number 2 in 1997, stuck below I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy and Faith Evans

That lanky scruff Richard Ashcroft on vocals - his solo singles are recommended too.

The small skinhead with a rough Glaswegian accent, and the voice of an angel. Jimmy Somerville, whose career began with Bronski Beat, moved to The Communards, then later solo.

His biggest hit was Don't Leave me This Way (Communards UK No 1 1986), but this is his best.

Bolan at his most lyrically straightforward, before we had Truck On Tyke, Metal Guru and Telegram Sam to confuse us with his obliqueness.

Best heard on the radio in a segue with Heart Alone, greatest songs with the greatest production and vocals.

One of the greatests songs the Beach Boys never made!

So many great singles in the 80s; so many disappointing ones in the 90s imho.

Looking forward to see what is unveiled after this.

George doing his utmost to sound like a John Lennon track imho; on the same album the song Heal the Pain is as close he was ever to a Paul McCartney sound.

Each GM track so far has been an all time fave, and I don't think there will be a dud above what we had so far. 📀📀📀📀📀

That Heart song described a woman conceiving a child with "another man" as her husband was unable.

The end result was one more Catholic. I don't see the problem.

The unusual lyric topic made for a memorable song, one of many in their career. I have loved Heart music since Magic Man in 1976

Is he not seeing these faces because people knew he was going there? Just saying!

So that's how Trump was missing for a week!

"Chatterton, come down off that horse!"

Jilly Cooper embodying poshness and upper class living exactly like Camilla does NOT.

Highlighting in a very memorable way - "did you threaten to over-rule him?"

That was Paxo in 1997, and it is still fresh in my mind decades later.

"common sense" = Haribo ad with kid voices dubbed onto grown-ups.

I will NEVER buy their sweets. EVER.

Gotye discography - Wikipedia

Rhythmic backing; vocals starting small in the verse rising to passion filled big choruses.

Wiki notes a full house of No 1s in all the countries it charted. Amazing!

The downside is he now is one of the greatest one hit wonders of all. But what a hit! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotye_d...

Answer to the question: how do you follow up a lyrically edgy chunk of socially aware storytelling like Papa Don't Preach?

This slice of pop perfection, a hypnotic rhythm washing over your senses like a cool breeze on a hot day. Over this, a quite straightforward love letter to love itself. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is there a hostage situation going on in the main hall?

If you drew a Venn Diagram containing the two Bruce's singles: Springsteen and Hornsby (and The Range)........THIS would be in the overlap section. It's arrangement style is quite like a Hornsby track.

His long career has many great songs in it, and this is a 9 out of 10 from me, a UK No 20 in 1987

On my pc, the pic is out of synch with the mouth movements, a peeve of mine. An alternative vid is attached to my prior post

YouTube video by BrendaRussellVEVO Brenda Russell - Piano In The Dark

...and uncredited backing vocal by Joe Esposito, which for a time fooled some into thinking that was Michael MacDonald.

Like the aural equivalent of coffee made with cream, the classy orchestration carries Brenda's vocals smoothly into your ears. A modest UK No 23, her only Top 40 appearance.

...and played by that smooth talking stud Jimmy Nail?

Dr Brahms would have used her mace spray on him!

A man with much in his past to live down.....

The clown in DW, a useless drummer married to Liz MacDonald in Corrie and the boss of the Market in EastEnders.

YouTube video by joasha156 O.C. SMITH THE SON OF HICKORY HOLLER'S TRAMP 1968 (original recording)

This week's Terrific Number Two that never made the UK No 1 it so richly deserved.

Three glorious weeks at No 2 in 1968 for Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp by O.C. Smith aka Ocie Lee Smith. The song only reached No 40 in the US, kept off Number 1 here by The Equals Baby Come Back.