Number 11

LUTHER VANDROSS - NEVER TOO MUCH

(Vandross)

(1981)

(UK#13)

This funky, slick and smooth soulful number quickly became Vandross's signature hit thanks to it's irresistible lyrics and dancability. I discovered it on a soul compilation and it was a song i recognised but had never really 'got to know'. After a few listens i was hooked - every time i listen to it it makes me so happy, and that is what music should be all about. It should move you emotionally and maybe it's because one day i hope to find that same person that Luther sings so passionately about.

Number 12

YAZOO - ONLY YOU

(Clarke)

(1982)

(UK #2, USA #67)

Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet formed the basis of this pop duo back in the eighties and 'Only You' was their first mainstream success. A somber synthesised song it peaked at #2 in the UK charts and paved the way for much more electronica in the mainstream charts. Moyet's deep vocals play with the child-like qualities of the instrumental and a waltz-esque break down shows signs of what was to come in music over the next decade with a chorus-verse structure being revamped. Cover versions by Enrique Iglesias and a Christmas #1 by the Flying Pickets followed but, for me, this version will always be the sweetest and the best

Number 13

AMY WINEHOUSE - REHAB

(Winehouse)

(2006)

(UK #7, USA #9, Aus. #35 + Grammy's: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Perf. '08)

I instantly fell in love with Amy Winehouse's career defining song when i first heard it back in September 2006. The retro soul sound fitted perfectly with her defiant vocals, and gave her the mainstream appeal her debut 'Frank' had not. Winning both Song and Record of the year at the 2008 Grammy Awards cemented the track as a modern day classic and gave Winehouse the back slapping from the USA that alludes many UK acts. The song really took hold for me when we composed a video featuring the drunken antics of a best friend of mine which caused a sensation amongst our friends at Uni and, for many of them, it was the first time they had heard the song and of Winehouse. Hard to believe two years later with her face all over the tabloids. What is most striking about the song is the irony of the theme given that Winehouse has been to rehab and back again several times since is conception!

Number 14

DES'REE - KISSING YOU

(Weeks, Atack)

(1997)

(Aus. #17)

This beautiful, haunting song was the main crutch of Baz Lurhman's 'Romeo and Juliet'. The melodic piano and sweeping strings highlight pure emotion in music and Des'ree's longing, wanting vocals gave the song it's raw, striking edge. The pain and suffering she is going through missing her loved one is distinctly evidents throughout the song. Despite limited chart success (mainly in Australia) the song remains a fan favourite and immediately recognisable to anyone who has seen the film. So strong is the song that Beyonce went against the conditions of copyright, which allowed her to cover the song without recording a video or changing the name, in order to let the world hear her interpretation. Whilst Beyonce did a fine job, Des'ree's version has remained the most enduring.

Number 15

BONNIE TYLER - HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO

(Steinman, Pitchford)

(1984)

(UK #2, USA #34, Ire. #1)

A 4 minute and 22 second romp that hears Tyler call for the man of her dreams, 'Holding Out For a Hero' found fame when it was featured on the 'Footloose' soundtrack. Peaking at #2 in the UK this became the welsh songbirds second most famous hit (after 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'). A fasted paced gallop through all the things Tyler wants in a man, 'Holding Out For a Hero' has been filing cheesy dance floors for decades and doesn't look to be receding anytime soon. The breakdown at around the 3 minute mark remains a firm highlight of mine. Not only does the music scream urgency but Tyler's vocal is one of a desperate cry any knight in shinning armour would find hard to resist!

Number 16

MARVIN GAYE - WHAT'S GOING ON

(Cleveland, Gaye, Benson)

(1971)

(USA #2)

Vietnam was raging, Tammi Terrell had died and Marvin Gaye was considering retiring altogether. What's Going On marked a turning point in his, and Motown's, career, with it's social conscience context Gaye was reacting the same way the youth of American was: they were in a situation and they needed to express themselves. Whilst the masses chose all forms of protest Gaye stuck to what motivated him: music. Ranked by Rolling Stone as the forth best song ever, it's powers of confusion, activism and sentimentality hold strong with even the most cynical of hearts. Gaye's smooth soulful vocals are contrasted by a background party and the layering of this own harmonies directed Gaye's music in a new direction. Several cover versions exist including 'Artists Against AIDS', which features Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, and raps from Nelly and Eve, and Cyndi Lauper whose 1987 version reached #12 in the USA. Gaye's version, however, remains the definitive.

Number 17

JENNIFER HUDSON - AND I AM TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING

(Eyen, Krieger)

(2006)

(USA #60)

This Oscar winning performance from ex-American Idol Jennifer Hudson is one of the powerhouse performances from the new century. I first discovered the song whilst watching the film 'Camp', where it's lyrics reminded me of my best friend and what she would be like if her boyfriend ever left her! This lead to finding the Jennifer Holliday version in 2005 and then a while later the announcement was made that they were making a film - an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe later we have Jennifer Hudson with her stunning debut. Arguably the reason she now has that little golden man sitting on her mantle piece.

Number 18

MARK RONSON feat. AMY WINEHOUSE - VALERIE

(McCabe)

(2007)

(UK #2, Ire. #3, Neth. #1, Ger. #3)

Covering The Zutons in Jo Whiley's live lounge lead to Winehouse teaming up with the man who helped her create her standards (Rehab, Back to Black etc) for his album 'Versions'. Whilst the theme of the orginal was a no brainer - ex girlfriend gone awol - the Winehouse version twisted it a bit: was Valerie a friend, her lover, a nick name for someone else, or simply just a girl singing a song about a girl? With over 130 plays on my I-Pod it's a song that grew on my over a really long time, now i can listen to it over and over. I've seen her do her stripped down version live in Cardiff and also him do a version with another singer (at Glastonbury), both times it remained true to it's appeal. This version, being the 9th best selling single of 2007, became Winehouse's highest charting single and is thought to be the definitive of the song.

Number 19

JAMELIA - SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

(Davis, Soulshock, Biker)

(2006)

(UK #9, Aus. #17)

Peaking at number 9 in the UK charts, Jamelia's 2006 comeback was not as successful as she, and her fans had hoped. Whilst, what could be seen as, trying to capitalise on the 'Since You've Been Gone' style of soulful verses followed by a rock-out chorus, the song went one step further adding slicker vocals, a sweeter voice and a theme much more relatable- when you meet someone and for some reason you're captivated by them and you just can't put your finger on it. The song takes the narrative further, and our protagonist ends up with her presumed man. Having always been a Jamelia fan i feel this is her best work and will one day be seen for the great pop song it truly is.

Number 20

JEFF BUCKLEY - EVERYBODY HERE WANTS YOU

(Buckley)

(1996/1998)

(Not Released)

The first time i heard this song was not this version, it was, in fact, a version from an Australian Idol contestant called Paulini on her debut album. After listening to the song a few times i noticed the writing credit in the CD booklet and sought out the original. The painful, smouldering vocals lead way to a seductive beat and slow guitar strum. Released in 1998, a year after his death, and recorded in 1996, the song is cited as being about then girlfriend Joan Wasser (now going under the moniker Joan as Police Woman). I enjoy the song as it truly shows emotion and is sexy, desperate and compelling all in one.

Top 20

Right so i thought i would give an idea of my varied, yet highly mainstream, musical tastes with a run down of my 'Top Twenty Songs of all Time'. Each entry will be accompanied by a few facts and a bit of banter about it!! So i will start with number twenty itself.

Duffy - Four Months On

The Duffy effect is still going strong. She currently sits at number 2 in the album charts with the biggest selling album of the year so far, which has not left the top four since it's release way back in March. Whilst you cannot deny the voice (though urban myth states it is not her natural singing voice), it appears that there must be something more appealing to the public than that. Why has this blue eyed welsh songbird captivated the nation?

She gives a somewhat lacklustre live performance (though given a few more years experience i suspect she will blow us away) and she is short on tabloid appeal (imagine her getting busted for smack, a la Winehouse?!), yet it appears that the music itself has won us over. A rare thing in this day and age, what with x-factor, newspaper deals and digital downloads, the success of 'Rockferry' can be put down to an album that has been carefully crafted to maximise on the publics current taste for 'retro-soul'.

The prime example of this would be 'Warwick Avenue' i find the more i listen to it, the more i love it, i picked it out as a favourite when i got the album and it has quickly risen up my most played on my I-Pod already supassing the one hundred mark. The video is beautiful - harking back to Sinead O'Connor and 'Nothing Compares 2 U', and the song itself is a sweeping lament of lost love and a final chance at closure. It seems to have, like 'Mercy', hit home with the British public. The bitter sweet narratives of this song are found elsewhere on the album and some of the other tracks are just as strong as the singles. Penciled in for the third mainstream single (discounting the limited edition single release of Rockferry), 'Serious' has all the elements of long summer nights dancing to the beat of your own drum under a setting sun, will it match the top three peaks of it's two predecessor's? Well it's doubtful, but there were those who said 'Warwick Avenue' would never be as big a hit as 'Mercy', and whilst it wasn't a number one, it has only just left the top 10 after 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 3. An impressive feat for a song from an album thats about to sell it's millionth copy!

Do Ya Think I'm Gabriella Cilmi?

The new Gabriella Cilmi song has an air of 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' about it. don't you think?

give it nineteen seconds and you'll see what i mean!

When I Grow Up I Wanna Be Famous

The new pussycat dolls songs is wicked, i'm loving it at the moment. You don't even notice the ginger one has left and Nicole Scherzinger is truly becoming a star. Love the dance break down reminds me of Britney's '(You drive me) Crazy' or most of Janet Jackson's early stuff. Makes me want to dance on top of cars in a traffic jam....hhmmm not sure that would go down too well!! They should be careful about dancing round on scaffolding, we've all seen that drink responsibly superhero advert!

ooh and does anyone know what she says at the begining? 'What's up virgin ?!'

Glastonbury 2008

So a week after Glastonbury i've finally figured how to set up one of these things. The festival itself was eveything it said it would be, and as a virgin to Worthy Farm i found i slipped into the vibe with ease enjoying all the randomness that the event has become infamous for.

The highlight musically was undoubtably the unstoppable Amy Winehouse, whose performance to someone squashed under one of the large screens appeared to be a lot more flawless than to a viewer watching her on television.....(did it have something to do with me and my companion concentrating on simply staying on two feet, to avoid being stampeeded, rather than listening to her have anything to do with this? probably). Her defining moments came when she left the stage and proceed to stumble on five inch heels across the camera run, it's what we know and love her for (don't even mention the poor bugger she smacked!).

The other headliner - Jay-Z - was not able to afford such erractic behaviour. The video montage which preceeded his set captivated the audience and the cheers were enough to encourage even the most avid rock fan to join, at least for the brief hour, the Hip-Hop tribe. 99 Problems and Numb/Encore rocked, covers of Rehab, American Boy and his own Umbrella popped, and that version of Wonderwall shocked. The promise of special guests (Coldplay, Beyonce, Linkin Park, Rihanna) was not fulfilled, but they didn't need to be, he proved why he is the biggest rapper in the world and although there were doubters it showed that the world is changing and change has to start somewhere.

Other acts which impressed me were Sam Sparro whose stint in the dance tent was definately a highlight. With only one hit single (albeit a MASSIVE one) under his belt he proved that he has the songs (and the amazing vocals) to continue his ascent into stardom. Old timer Candi Staton brought the house down on the Jazz World stage with 'Young Hearts Run Free' and closing with the anthem 'You've Got The Love', which of course everyone around joined in for. Santogold also put in a worthy performance with some funky, soulful, electronicly eclectic tunes.

The whole weekend was finished on the pyramid stage by The Verve. The irony of playing a song entitled ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ to a field full of coked-up, pill-popping, cottonmouthed, monged-out drunks does not seem to faze a band whose own relationship with such substance appears to be as ambiguous as Amy Winehouse’s is not. The anthemic 'Bittersweet Symphony' proved to be a fitting closure to a festival that has had it's most interesting and contraversial season for years.

Did it live up to all i expected it to? Well to be honest i did not know what to expect, but i can tell you this, it is definately worth going. Do not worry about not 'fitting in' nobody fits in, thats the beauty of the place. It is like entering a different world, a place where one day you're working in an office surrounded by people dressed in suits, and the next you're in a field listening to hard core electro surrounded by people dressed as dogs, fairies and air hostesses. Would i go again? In a flash, though i think next year it will once again sell out, and rightfully too. 2008 was an amzing year for a first timer and 2009 will have a hell of a lot to live up to.....!