OK. For those of you who have had enough of politics, perhaps a thread for music. I have been trying to choose my #DesertIslandDiscs and I have found it impossible to narrow it down to 8 all at once. What I've decided to do is go through my own personal musical history.
The tracks I choose will be chronological and based entirely on their effect on me at a particular time of my life or their connection to an event. My first track is from 1974. On Christmas Morning at 5 o'clock I woke up to find a cassette recorder at the bottom of my bed!
With that cassette recorder was my first ever 'album' 'Keep On Wombling'! I don't know how many times I played it in those first few days, but it was in double figures. Difficult to choose a favourite but I have gone for the opening track.
Whenever I hear Womble of the Universe I am transported back to that Christmas morning and that sense of excitement and wonder. Then as now @Mike_Batt is everything that is good, enjoyable & positive about music. Thank you Mike #desertislanddiscschallenge youtube.com/watch?v=mKovAQ…
My second #desertislanddiscs choice comes from 1976. I have always been a huge @ShowaddywaddyUK fan, seeing them five times in concert and buying pretty much every single from Hey Rock n Roll to Blue Moon! They were the first group I became obsessed with as an 8 year old.
My choice is their only Number 1 Under the Moon of Love. It should have been Christmas Number 1 that year but much to my anger Johnny Mathis stole it out from under their noses on December 24 with When a Child is Born!
Under the Moon of Love shows @ShowaddywaddyUK at their peak. They were one of the best live bands I have ever seen and this really captures that energy. To my 11 year old self it was a revelation and I still think it's one of the best tracks of the decade. youtube.com/watch?v=N01Ki8…
On to Track 3 of my #desertislanddiscs which I first came across in 1978, a mere 104 years after it was written! Music lessons at my secondary school were a complete waste of time as most of us didn't play an instrument and were therefore uninterested in the technicalities
Then, one day my music teacher Mr Kay brought in a track to play to us. The rest of the class were clearly as disinterested as ever, but as the first few notes were played I instantly started listening. The music was beautiful and captivating. I had never heard anything like it.
Over 40 years later, I still listen to it and still love it and couldn't imagine it not being available to play. The version I would choose is that first version I heard by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan. youtube.com/watch?v=ZWFwtM… #classicalmusic
Day 4 and a track as different from the first three as they were from each other. I think there is always one specific track that changes the direction of your musical taste forever. Mine came in the form of one of the biggest tracks of 1979 which blew me away on first listen.
@OfficialSting and The Police had already come on to my music radar by that time, but they were one of a number of New Wave groups. Message in a Bottle changed all that. They suddenly became the centre of my musical universe during the rest of their career and beyond.
At 14, and in a school I hated, I just understood what the song was about instantly. It spoke to my experience in a way nothing else had done to that point. For my next birthday my Dad bought me Regatta de Blanc, (still love it!) and a poster that made my room look slightly cool!
I could choose at least 10 of their songs, but Message in a Bottle from @OfficialSting @asummersmusic and Stewart Copeland is the one I treasure for its impact. My biggest regret is never seeing them live. Here is the song in all its glory. Enjoy it! youtube.com/watch?v=MbXWrm…
My fifth #desertislanddiscs choice is a track that hit Number 1 just before I went into the RAF. For that reason it has the ability that some special songs have to take me back to a time and place instantly when I hear those first few notes.
I had never been a #Wham fan before this track although I quite liked Club Tropicana, but this was different. Freedom is simply a great pop song with a tune that insists you get up and dance. From then on I loved everything that Wham did.
When I listen to it, I am a teenager again. I can remember the fear and excitement at my impending challenge and the cameraderie of my teenage years with people I thought would be lifelong friends. My RAF career was cut short by injury but it totally changed me as a person.
I grew up, became more independent and learnt about the world outside my narrow Kentish upbringing. In that sense Freedom was and remains my coming of age track. @ajridgeley and #GeorgeMichael definitely earn their place on my #desertislanddiscs youtube.com/watch?v=nrYk0T…
Track 6 of my #desertislanddiscschallenge is a track that you will have seen me champion every chance I get. It is one of the great unappreciated tracks of the 80s. It is of course the majestic Come Back by @petewylie I can remember first hearing this and being blown away.
I couldn't imagine anyone else NOT feeling the same. The fantastic tune, the inspirational words, the outstanding vocal performances from both Pete and Josie Jones. It was a nailed on Top 10 all day long as far as I was concerned. I couldn't believe it when it stalled at No 20!
To quote another of @petewylie 's should have been massive songs the ignorance of the British record buying public was sinful! At least John Peel made it his record of the year. Listen and appreciate true Scouse genius! youtube.com/watch?v=ph57Ia…
My seventh #desertislanddiscschallenge track comes from a group I have loved since the very first time I heard them, @petshopboys To be honest, in sheer musical terms I could have chosen any one of 20 or 30 tracks. However, one is particularly special to me on a personal level.
In December 1987 I went on a date with Janet and Always on my Mind was No 1. On 17 December China in your Hand had just finished its run at No 1, @rickastley When I Fall in Love was No 2 and Love Letters by @AlisonMoyet was No 4 so any would have been good first date tracks.
However, both of us loved @petshopboys and it has become 'our song' ever since. In September we will have been married for 30 years and this song will always remind me of our first date. A special song for a special young lady. youtube.com/watch?v=9J9VX5…
This eighth choice has exercised my mind more than any other. There are so many amazing songs I 'can't' leave out. I decided to look at the different genres and groups I have chosen so far and the reason why I chose them and it became clear that I had to choose an album track.
There are three albums that I hold responsible for changing my musical direction. The first was Bat out of Hell, the second Declaration by @thealarm and the third Dark Side of the Moon by @pinkfloyd For this list I figured that the first and third were very familiar to all.
So, @thealarm it is! The track I have chosen is the song that gave me a huge emotional rush when I first heard it and has always been a favourite ever since, the magnificent 'Blaze of Glory'! Accept no cheap imitations by hair metal Americans! youtube.com/watch?v=NX7K70…
So there are my 8 choices. It just remains for me to tidy up this list with the final three selections. First of all, my book. It is a clear choice unlike my tracks. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have probably read it 25 or 30 times already and I never tire of it.
My luxury will be a hard drive filled with my favourite Christmas films and music. As a good economist I will assume the existence of something to play it on!! I just love the family memories attached to each one and on my island it will be Christmas whenever I want it.
Finally, if my ship went down and I could only rescue one track it would have to be @petshopboys Always on my Mind given the special memories it holds. Hope you have enjoyed reading this and that you enjoyed the songs I picked. 👍👍
To save everyone the scrolling through my #desertislanddiscschallenge @threadreaderapp unroll please.
