I thought that this week I would share with you some more of that massive list I have compiled of songs which have become favourites for me in the 60+ years that I have been interested in music. I would imagine that most of this set will be familiar to you, and I have played several of them before. No excuses for any repeats though: these are all cracking good ones!

As always, I like to get off to a rousing start. Will this do?

Deep Purple released Black Night in June 1970, at the same time their breakthrough album Deep Purple In Rock came out. It wasn’t included on the album: that had to await the 25th anniversary reissue version. It was their seventh single and gave them their first UK hit: a biggie, getting to #2. It was, however, their sixth of those seven singles to make the US chart, though it only reached #66 over there. It was around the time that I was beginning to buy more of my music in albums than singles, but this one made me get both after they left it off the album. Money grabbers!

This next one is right up at the top, for me:

That is just so very good, a great song. And it contains one of the best lines I know in a song:

Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then

Bob Seger had been making records since 1969 and this was the title track of his fourteenth album, Against The Wind, which came out in February 1980. Prior to that he had released three under the name of The Bob Seger System, eight under his own name, and this was the third as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. He had enjoyed four top ten US albums before this one topped the lot, making it to #1 over there. It is also his best performing studio album in the UK, reaching #26, though his 1994 Greatest Hits compilation did far better, getting to #6 here (#8 in the US). I had that album, and it was great for accompaniment when driving, especially on the commute home after a hard day at work. This is such a fantastic song, like many of his, and if you watch it on YouTube you’ll see from the comments how much it means to people.

Another American singer-songwriter next, and another whose records I have enjoyed since he started. This is the title track of his debut album:

I’m beginning to feel that I’m spoiling you this week. That is another absolutely incredible song, with an important message about the need to look out for those less fortunate than we are, and not to look on them as figures of fun. Bruce Hornsby and the Range released The Way It Is in April 1986 (just after my first daughter was born!) and it reached #3 in the US and #16 in the UK. It is a wonderful album, nine songs and nary a dud among them. I played it on Sunday evening and reminded myself just how good it is: I could have played you any of its tracks, and it was a toss up between this one and Every Little Kiss, but this one just won out for being the title track and for its message. This was the second single taken from the album, in September of that year: it reached #1 in the US and #15 here in the UK. A pretty spectacular debut all round, I think! The album sold more than 3m copies in the US, and won the band the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The remainder of this set is all from British acts. This next one is another that was a breakthrough hit for a band who went on to sell by the truckload here in the UK and across the world, though they never really hit the heights in the US. See what you guys missed:

Roxy Music released their eponymous debut album in June 1972, and it sold steadily until this track was released as a single in August, having been recorded with the aim of promoting the album even though it wasn’t included on it. It did the trick: Virginia Plain was a smash hit, peaking here at #4, and the album climbed to #10 as a result. Neither the album or single made the US charts: for some reason, they didn’t appeal as much over there, which I have always found surprising. This song was a great way to announce themselves, in my view.

My next tune for today is me going into self-indulgent mode. If only one of today’s songs is unfamiliar to you this would be the one I’d bet on:

There is a lovely live solo video of this on YouTube but I went for the original album version as I think the subtle violin accompaniment complements the song so well. It is a heartbreaking little tune from one of the best singer-songwriters these shores have ever produced. I’ve been a big fan of Richard Thompson since the days when he was a founder member of Fairport Convention, and he has made a string of incredibly good solo albums. Waltzing’s For Dreamers was a track on Amnesia, his sixth of those, released in October 1988. Like many of his albums up to that point it sold modestly, only getting to #89 in the UK and #182 in the US, but most of his subsequent records have had higher chart placings. I bought all of his albums, and have played them often over the years. This is a wonderful song about the pain of being alone and wanting some company, and it is a tearjerker in his live shows. The violin is played by Aly Bain, a stalwart of the folk music scene here, particularly in his native Scotland: he is another who, like Richard, I saw perform at the university folk club during my time there. You may just know his name from his longstanding involvement with the Transatlantic Sessions tv shows, records, DVDs and concert tours which are, like Richard’s music, highly recommended by me.

I’ve written a whole post based on today’s next tune, so I can hardly keep it out of a set of my favourites, can I?

David Bowie released Starman as a single in April 1972, and it peaked at #10 in the UK and #65 in the US. It was the only single taken from what, for me, is still one of the best albums of all time: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. This came out in June of that year, and the attention given to the single – and in particular to this Top Of The Pops performance, which caused a huge stir – helped make it a big hit, getting to #5 in the UK and #21 in the US. These have always been my favourite Bowie single and album: I bought it that summer and took it with me that October when I began the exciting expedition to uni, where it was a large part of the soundtrack of my three years stay.

Of all the hit singles that The Kinks gave us, all of those rockers from the Sixties, the beauty of Waterloo Sunset and Days, I think this is my favourite:

This was initially a track on the band’s August 1972 double album, Everybody’s in Show-Biz, which was recognised by critics as marking a change in Ray Davies’ songwriting style – some called it more theatrical, others said it was camp. I prefer to think of it as more intelligent and considered than some of their previous, more raucous numbers! The album didn’t do all that well: it got to #111 in the US but missed the UK charts completely. Celluloid Heroes was released as a single in November 1972 and did even worse, failing to make any chart that Wikipedia lists. I still think it is a beautiful, poignant comment on the pressures some people put themselves under in their desire for stardom, and it contains a message that many would have done well to heed before they hit the self-destruct button.

I’m closing today with my third debut hit of the day:

Dire Straits released Sultans Of Swing as a single in the UK in May 1978, though the US had to wait until January 1979 for it. In the meantime, though, it had featured as the opening track of side two on their debut album, called simply Dire Straits, which came out in October 1978. The single went to #8 in the UK and #4 in the US, and the album peaked at #5 (UK) and #2 (US). The album topped the charts in both Australia and France, and has sold upwards of 5m copies. I bought it at the time and it has been played so much since then, as have all of their albums, which are also in my collection – most of them were initially on vinyl, but have since been replaced with CD versions. As favourite bands of mine go, they are right up there with the best of them.

That’s all for this week. There are some big names amongst this selection, so I hope I haven’t gone too far down my usual route of finding something obscure to play you. Another time, maybe? I’m now off to watch the rolling news coverage of the latest occupant of 10 Downing Street being anointed (see above) – I wonder how long he will last? Surely he has to spend longer in there than the previous occupant? The Tories have always laid claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility: I think it is safe to say that they have well and truly Trussed that one up. Have a good week – let’s hope that it will be calmer here in political terms, so that we can settle down to watch the US destroy itself in the midterms. See you soon 😊🎶