Tag Archive for "sam brown" tag

One of my favourite singer-songwriters celebrated a birthday today – Kate Bush.

I know that many of you are fans of Kate’s work, so trust that you’ve played, or will be playing, some songs in honour of her today. Let me know which.

Another name that springs to mind when mulling over favoured female voices is that of Sam Brown, whose vocal talents are demonstrated particularly well here.

So many others… You probably already know that David is a great admirer of Joni Mitchell’s work. Suzanne Vega is also a popular choice in the Gilmour household.

I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I failed to mention as part of my list of favourites the remarkable Annie Lennox, who, as well as possessing such exquisite elegance in her voice (just search for her version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’), has dedicated so much of her time in support of many a noble cause.

So, your favourite songstresses and their stand-out performances, please; on stage, in the studio or wherever else they may have inspired you.

Before plodding into another random topic, I’d like to apologise for what’s turned out to be another neglectful week. Thank you for bearing with me.

So, the Eighties. As much as it may well have been a fine decade for Christmas singles (thank you, Cliff), could anyone list ten chart-toppers that they still like?

Here’s one for you. Be sure to take note of the incredible pointed sideburns of Band/Live Aid’s all-too-often-forgotten hero, Midge Ure.

My first thought was that the best the decade had to offer would have to include a couple of re-releases: Jackie Wilson’s ‘Reet Petite’, in 1986, or Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me’, a year later. My second thought was rudely invaded by Glenn Medeiros, so I’ll probably never be able to recall it without breaking down. Sorry about that.

However, the following classics all topped the charts somewhere, proving that the Eighties weren’t quite so bad after all. What do you think?

- Blondie, ‘Atomic’
- Sam Brown, ‘Stop’
- Peter Gabriel, ‘Sledgehammer’
- George Harrison, ‘Got My Mind Set On You’
- Michael Jackson, ‘Smooth Criminal’
- John Lennon, ‘Imagine’
- Los Lobos, ‘La Bamba’
- Roy Orbison, ‘You Got It’
- Roxy Music, ‘Jealous Guy’
- U2, ‘With or Without You’

To help you list your favourites, have a look at this site, which conveniently lists the decade’s biggest hits from Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, as well as the more commonly cited UK and US (Billboard Hot 100) charts. With its help, you too can easily waste an entire afternoon finding out who to thank for the continued airplay of ‘Funkytown’ by Lipps Inc. (it didn’t make the top spot in France, Italy or the UK for some strange reason), or trying to decide which Michael Jackson song you liked best. (The gloved one notched up an incredible eight Number Ones in both Belgium and the States throughout the ’80s, and all those hours spent playing ‘Moonwalker’ on the Master System II made my song choice for me; if you played it, please don’t be ashamed to say so, and refresh your memory here.)

It goes without saying that a Worst list would be too easy, but feel free to make us cringe if something’s on your mind – with or without the help of YouTube et al. One that really grates on my nerves is this one. Such a horrible little song…