Category: 41-4-40

The Specials - Ghost Town For a three year period in the late 70s and early 80s my parents moved to the Hertfordshire new town of Hatfield. For those of you who haven't been, Hatfield consists of a tudor-era mansion (Hatfield House - the site of Elizabeth I finding out about her succession to the … Continue reading 1981

Joyce - Aldeia de Ogum The first track from the 1980s, and another introduced to me through a Gilles Peterson compilation - this time around, Blue Brazil, a sampler of Brazilian music from the Blue Note label which became a very treasured album for me in the mid-1990s. The Joyce track has one of my … Continue reading 1980

The Real Thing - Can you feel the force? So the last track from the 1970s, and a slice of massive disco/funk. I seem to remember my dad cajoling me into buying this with my pocket money because of the crazy synth intros and stereo effects in the first few seconds. It then goes from … Continue reading 1979

The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap The first of two examples in this count up where the number one on my birthday is the choice for the year. Rat Trap was bought on seven-inch vinyl as my eighth birthday present for me by my sister. Well, actually I presume one of my parents bought it … Continue reading 1978

Bill Withers - Lovely Day On December 6th, 2008, Enza and I got married. This is the first song we heard as a married couple. It was. It continues to be. Number one on my birthday in 1977:ABBA - Name of the Game Next year is better. Honestly. Click here for the playlist so far.

Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection 1976 had a very hot summer. It was also the year that punk really sprung onto the scene. I, however, was five years old for most of the year, and so found punk an affront to my sensitive young ears. (Funnily enough, when you listen back to it now, … Continue reading 1976

Bob Marley & the Wailers - No Woman, No Cry (Live) Ok. So, at last, we get to years where I can actually remember stuff. I have a few sketchy memories from before 1975, but concrete reminiscences begin for me in the summer of 1975. Not surprising really, because we spent much of that summer … Continue reading 1975

Elton John - Bennie and the Jets For those of us who grew up in the commuter town of Watford in the 1970s and 1980s, Elton John has a significance in our lives far removed from the usual associations of tantrums and tiaras. In 1973 he became the President of Watford FC, and then in … Continue reading 1974

John Martyn - Solid Air One of many tracks that I was introduced to by the marvellous DJ Gilles Peterson. I've a stack of Peterson compilation albums, the first of which was from way back in 1985 - Street Sounds Jazz Juice. This John Martyn track is hauntingly beautiful. Number one on my birthday in … Continue reading 1973

Steely Dan - Do it again For me, Steely Dan are a band whose songs evoke strong memories of childhood in the 1970s. Summer days spent driving to grandparents - the hot sun through the windscreen, windows open (no aircon in those days), and sticky, scorching vinyl seats, listening to the Radio One Roadshow broadcasting … Continue reading 1972