Thanks so much for all your kind words and comments yesterday. It came as a bit of a relief that folk were happy enough to plough through the lengthy post. Just the 760 songs to come 🙂 🙂 🙂
#760 : The Assembly – Never Never
The synth-pop genius, Vince Clarke, decided he wanted to collaborate with singers on a one-off basis under the moniker of The Assembly. First up was Feargal Sharkey, formerly of The Undertones, and this electro-ballad was a smash in the UK hitting #4 in late 1983 and showing a side to Sharkey that few imagined possible. It turned out there was no follow-up single from The Assembly, and after a one-off effort with Paul Quinn flopped, Clarke reconsidered his options and formed Erasure.
#759: Echobelly – Bellyache
The lead track on Echobelly’s debut EP, released in late 1993. And in my mind, it sounds as if a cracking Smiths tribute band (with added didgeridoo!!) was being fronted by the winner of a Debbie Harry soundalike contest. Mesmerised me then and still does today.
#758: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax
We all know it and we all have an opinion on it. It wouldn’t have made this rundown if I disliked it.
#757: Port Sulphur – Alex Discord
A collective co-ordinated by Douglas MacIntyre of Creeping Bent Records. There’s been three ‘proper’ studio albums and a compilation of songs previously released digitally. Far too many collaborators to mention, but ‘Alex Discord’ is an eight-minute epic on which the late punk-poet Jock Scot provides lead vocals on a tune combining ‘Faith Healer’ by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band with ‘Discord’ by The Fire Engines.
#756: Rilo Kiley – Portions For Foxes
2004 single from American indie rock band fronted by Jenny Lewis. Originally together from 1998-2013 and reformed in 2025. It might be a tad indie rock by numbers, but I do like Jenny’s voice, which is why………
#755: Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins – Rise Up With Fists!
2006 single lifted from the first ‘solo’ album which was recorded with the Americana/indie folk twin duo of Chandra and Leigh Watson.
#754: I Am Kloot – Over My Shoulder
Manchester-based band who released six albums between 2001 and 2013. This is from ‘Gods and Monsters’ (2005), bought purely on the basis of hearing ‘Over My Shoulder’ on the radio. Album proved to be a bit of a disappointment.
#753: Life Model – Sit Still
The PR blurb says “A 5-piece dream pop band from Glasgow who mix classic indie and pop of the likes of The Sundays and Belle and Sebastian with the noisier leanings of bands like Sonic Youth.”. It’s a fairly good description. From their 2021 debut album ‘Lost on Weekdays, Lonely By Sundays.’
#752: Maxine Nightingale – Right Back Where We Started From
I’d have been just 12 years old when this went Top 10 in November 1975, but it’s one that has stuck with me ever since. I didn’t buy it back then, and I’ve only a digital copy in the collection. When I was responsible for selecting and playing pre-match tunes for Raith Rovers FC, I aired this a few times prior to important games as we chased promotion to a higher division.
#751: The Slits – Typical Girls
I’d have been 16 years old when this came out in September 1979. I didn’t take to it at all. Only as I’ve grown older, and my musical tastes have developed/matured, have I been able to realise just how astonishing and ground-breaking it was. Nobody was making music like this back in the day and very few have done so since.
#750: Utah Saints – Something Good
In which a then largely unknown electronic duo take one of Kate Bush’s chamber-pop hit singles from 1985, and turn it into one of the biggest dance numbers of 1992. Still sounds fresh and somewhat astonishing more than 30 years later.
#749: The View – Superstar Tradesman
The Dundee band’s second single, released in October 2006. It reached #15 in the charts which was actually a bit of a disappointment for all concerned as there was a confidence that it was at least destined for the Top 5. It’s a song that was never going to change the face of pop music, but it was, and still is, great fun to listen to.
#748: Marc Riley & The Creepers – Jumper Clown
Mark Riley was sacked from The Fall in 1982 after a four-year stint. He was still just 21 years old and very ambitious, and so he started up his own band. The second ‘solo’ single grew out of what had been a previously untitled instrumental that had previously part of The Fall’s live sets. Mark E Smith was thoroughly pissed off by it.
#747: Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
Did I know this Northern Soul number before Soft Cell covered it? Absolutely not…..and the later discovery put a big smile on my face.
#746: Spandau Ballet – The Freeze
I did say there would be some guilty secrets among these 800 songs. I’ll stand by my long-held view that ‘Journeys To Glory’, the 1981 debut album by Spandau Ballet is one that would be held up as being a very influential synth-pop offering, if only they hadn’t made such shite MOR music later in their career.
#745: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love
One of my long-time favourite music critics is Alex Petrides who writes for The Guardian newspaper. He said this back in 2002 about the eponymous BRMC debut album
“… an indie album of the old school, moody and monotonous, black-clad and pointy-booted. It sounds like it lives in a dingy bedsit, really hates dance music and has trouble making conversation with girls.”
Take away the dance music reference and that was me in the mid-80s!
#744: Bananarama – Shy Boy
Some might think I’ve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in this rundown. Others might suggest I’ve gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. Either way, I’ll never deny my love for this hit single from 1982.
#743: Peaness – Kaizen
An all-female band from the north-west of England who I saw live when they played The Edge of The Sea festival in Brighton in 2023. They had two albums under the belt by then (released in 2017 and 2022), but sadly, there’s been nothing since.
#742: The Corn Dollies – Shake
I’m 100% in agreement with the person who wrote, in the booklet which came with the Cherry Red Records C87 boxset that ‘Shake’ revealed a debt to Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. It’s not just the tune….but the vocal delivery is almost as if lead singer Steve Musham was auditioning for a part on Stars In Their Eyes.
#741: Freeeze – I.O.U
Of course New Order will appear in the rundown, and they will be somewhere in the Top 120. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy ‘I.O.U’, a #2 hit in the UK charts in June 1983, a couple of months before producer Arthur Baker took the tune and helped to deliver ‘Confusion’ directly onto the floors of NYC nightclubs.
#740: The Heart Throbs – I Wonder Why
An indie-band from the late 80s/early 90s who deserve to be looked on more fondly by history. Their story wasn’t helped by ever-changing line-ups in the rhythm section across all three of their albums. But maybe regular TVV contributor strangeways nailed it when he suggested they were too accomplished for the indie crowd but too introvert for the rock fans.
#739: A House – Endless Art plus A House – More Endless Art
‘Endless Art’ is a song consisting of the names, birth and death dates of performing and visual artists. They’re all male. ‘More Endless Art’ is a song consisting of the names, birth and death dates of performing and visual artists who are all female. A House are from Dublin and with the song being spoken rather than sung, that lovely lilt comes through clearly. Edwyn Collins was in the producer’s chair.
#738: Johnny Marr – Easy Money
He’s not the greatest singer to ever grace the planet, but he’s written some of the best tunes ever to come out of a wireless set. Yes, The Smiths will be in the Top 120. No, the band’s lead singer will not be featuring in the rundown. If you click here, you’ll find a blog post from 2018 which goes a long way to cementing Johnny Marr’s position as one of the really good guys.
#737: Nadine Shah – Holiday Destination
I’ve loved the last three Nadine Shah albums – ‘Holiday Destination’ (2017), ‘Kitchen Sink’ (2020) and ‘Filthy Underneath’ (2024) but I’ve never properly featured her on TVV. The main reason being that other bloggers out there, who are far better writers than I’ll ever be, cover things best.
#736: Pale Fountains – Thank You
Another of the ‘should have been massive’ band of the early 8os. Signed to Virgin Records in 1982, both studio albums by this Liverpool band were critically acclaimed but criminally ignored by radio stations and the record buying public. The delightful ‘Thank You’ did reach the giddy heights of #48 in November 1982. Also responsible for the album ‘From Across The Kitchen Table’ which was later adopted by Drew for his blog. I’m not alone in wishing Drew would come of out of his self-imposed retirement.
#735: RM Hubbert – Car Song
Robert McArthur Hubbert (born 12 May 1974 in Glasgow, Scotland), commonly known as Hubby, is primarily a Scottish guitarist and occasional singer. He’s been part of the DIY indie scene in his home city since as far back as 1991. He came to some prominence in 2013 when ‘Thirteen Lost and Found’ was named Scottish Album of the Year with the accompanying prize of £20,000. ‘Car Song’ is taken from that album, Aidan Moffat supplies the vocal.
#734: The Rakes – Work Work Work (Pub Club Sleep)
One of the many bands to emerge when guitar-music of an indie-bent became briefly fashionable again the early 00s. Debut album, ‘Capture/Release’ is a tremendous and fun listen. The longest offering was this, its closing track at just over four minutes, an edited version of which went to #28 in the singles chart in August 2005.
#733: The Saints – This Perfect Day
July 1977 was when this lot from Australia hit #34 in the UK singles chart. I first heard it many years later, and was bemused that I couldn’t recall it from ’77, before realising that its release coincided with me spending six weeks on holiday in Canada over that particular summer, and it had come and gone while I was out of the country. And with no follow-up hit forthcoming, they became a band who passed me by completely.
#732: The Luxembourg Signal – Cut The Bridle
A band who came to my attention via an appearance at the Glas-Goes-Pop festival in 2023, which led me to visit the merch stand and buy ‘The Long Now’, an album dating back to 2020. It’s a genuine indie-pop classic, with ten quality tunes packed into 35 minutes which fly by all too quickly. It’s one of those records that having got to the end of Side 2, it is irresistible not to flip it over and enjoy things all over again.
#731: Seona Dancing – More To Lose (extended version)
1982/83. Two friends by the names of Ricky Gervais and Bill Macrae formed a synth-pop duo called Seona Dancing and sign to London Records. There were just a couple of flop singles, neither of which troubled the charts. But they must have got played on the radio, as I wouldn’t have bought their debut offering on 12″ vinyl without having heard it beforehand. A copy in the condition that mine is in (Near Mint) can fetch as much as £400 on the second-hand market.
#730: Townes Van Zandt – Kathleen
The first time I heard ‘Kathleen’ was courtesy of it being a single released by Tindersticks in 1994. I would have sworn it was an original and not a cover, as it was atypical of the Tindersticks sound of that particular era. The original, which dates from 1969, is quite brilliant. As is the cover.
Bonus Track : Tindersticks – Kathleen
#729: Urusei Yatsura – Hello Tiger
Glasgow’s very own Urusei Yatsura are another who really should have been far more famous than they turned out to be. They were largely an out-and-out pop band with a sound influenced by so many others….Sonic Youth in terms of the guitars….a hint of Pavement in respect of weird lyrics…..glam-rock as evidenced by the Glitter Band style chants……the buzz and feedback of the Jesus & Mary Chain…..and the delights and harmonies of Teenage Fanclub.…and yet, they somehow always seemed to make distinctive records. ‘Hello Tiger’ was the one time they almost had a big hit. #40 in February 1998.
#728: The Rockingbirds – Jonathan Jonathan
In which a mid-90s London-based band with a penchant for Americana, released a single that sang the praises of a Boston musician whose career was inspired by The Velvet Underground. Don’t fear….Mr Richman will feature in the rundown later on.
#727: Smog – Dress Sexy At My Funeral
Smog is the name previously used by American musician Bill Callachan – he reverted to his own name in 2007. He’s prolific – there’s been 25 albums since 1990. The twelve Smog albums were the subject of a guest ICA (#192), penned by former blogger Richard in October 2018. ‘Dress Sexy At My Funeral’ is from ‘Dongs of Sevotion’, released in 2000. The lyric is typical of the dry humour he employs across many of his songs.
#726: Dubstar – Not So Manic Now
Britpop was mostly bands with guitars. Dubstar were from the same mid 90s era but made more use of synths which in turn led to a more dreamy type of pop music. ‘Not So Manic Now’ remains my favourite of theirs, making it (just) into the Top 20 of the singles chart in January 1996
#725: A Flock of Seagulls – Modern Love Is Automatic
A UK band who made it big in the USA before achieving anything of note in their homeland. While they remain one if the worst live bands I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing (Strathclyde Students Union, 1982), the studio take on things was slightly better as evidenced by this, the lead track from a 1981 EP.
#724: Jurassic 5 – Concrete Schoolyard
Los Angeles-based hip-hop act whose eponymous debut album spawned this, their only hit single in the UK. It reached #35 in October 1998
#723: Ladytron – Seventeen
UK electronic act who formed in 1999 and are still going strong today, with their eighth studio album, ‘Paradises’, being released earlier this year. I haven’t followed their career too much, but I’ve long had a liking for this 2002 single, with its creepy minimalist lyric, which peaked at #68.
#722: New Fast Automatic Daffodils – Man Without Qualities II (Peel Session)
Manchester band who were around between 1988 and 1995 and thus were contemporaries of quite a few who made it big. It didn’t quite happen for the New FADs (as they were often referred to) despite having a substantial local following and a fine reputation as a live act. This is a Peel version of one of their singles.
#721: Dub Sex – Swerve
Manchester band who were around between 1987 and 1989 and thus were contemporaries of quite a few who made it big. Dub Sex veered more towards raw and angry music, albeit with a pop bent, rather than wanting to be played at The Hacienda. ‘Swerve’ wouldn’t have been out of place on a Pixies record.
I hope you’re enjoying this glimpse into the record/CD collection held here at Villain Towers, and hopefully you’ll be happy to come back for #681-#720 of the rundown.