that?

Yes Uncle Phil always sounded like utter gnats urine to me too. Something so 'M&S slippers, comfortable flat in E14' about it. Lets face it, what has to happen to CHOOSE to put a horn section like that on a record.

... the great man's finest moments were with Brand X - but then he was always a drummer who sang a bit, rather than the other way round (in our house, anyway)...

... they could lend an ear to the drums on the live version of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" on Disc 3 of the first Genesis archive box set. An absolute humdinger.

in this parish.

I play them this. Every time. Christ, this is the third time I've posted it on this site. They may not like it but it will change their perception a little bit. Usually.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3oSJWbB3SXWOexcWGX63bQ

Welcome back. You know Patrick only started this thread so you could post some Justin Currie vids..

And Hot Water is still my favourite Level 42 song.

For a bit of Amitri / Law crossover..

Bit of slap at 2:20 but it doesn't come over so well on small lappie speakers.

I thought Simply Red were always Radio 2 territory. I disliked them from the start as a result of the appalling cover of Money's Too Tight To Mention. It was a long time before I realised Hucknall was a bit of a dick because I simply didn't care and was rather hoping he would just go away.

I think you're right about Haircut 100, I don't think any dislike is down to the music but the perception of the band due to the way they were marketed. I don't think they're a huge step away from Orange Juice in pop music terms but they don't tend to be seen like that.

...about Mucknall. I've taken some stick a time or two defending 'Holding Back The Years'. Whatever you think of his later works or the man himself (I'm a fan of neither), 'Holding Back..' is a solid gold classic by anyone's standards.

I would also say the same about this other white boy soul classic

And possibly understood as well.

...A Million Love Songs, Never Forget, Babe, Pray and a good few more, including that recent one whose name escapes me. I won't hear a word against ver Vat. As a pure pop group, they're pretty unassailable IMO.

But,but,but......that line "in the twist of separation, you excelled at being free" consigns it to the 'Live and Let Die' pile of great songs that I just can't enjoy because of a clumsy lyric. My loss, I guess, because other than that it truly is a bloody marvellous pop record.

In my day it was all House of the Rising son, these days its Back for Good

...to DM by this self same tune (along with its parent album - Songs of Faith and Devotion).

While we were an item, around the time of Violator, I was obsessed with Depeche Mode, but she was having none of it.

Years later we were reunited and she revealed a new found love of the band established through this song. I quite like it but apart from the singles, I've always found the rest of Songs of Faith to be quite weak.

I recently went to a DM gig and there were, admittedly very few women in attendance, although I think they have a stronger female following in Europe and the States.

My choice for converting people would be Never Let Me Down simply because it is immeasurably brilliant (and I suspect that the post 90s pop fan might be more receptive to it than the pop fan of 1987)

Sorry - no promo on youtube but it always worked well live...

Responsible for many very fine moments. Fade to Grey, Hymn, The Voice, Sleepwalk and many more - but also an excellent "fourth wall" moment in Love's Great Adventure video when he stops the music to get his breath back.

One minor quibble, though. In this video for Breathe, he is throwing playing cards into a top hat. Beyond wistful pop videos, does anyone really do that?

who keeps his childhood nickname into his late 50s 8-}

For his rocking credibility may I suggest his membership of Thin Lizzy and a co-writing credit on the theme to Top Of The Pops.

Phil Lynott - Yellow Pearl

If Gilbert's management had spent more time creating a rock audience friendly name and less time on that ridiculous garb, which was never going to impress anybody, he might still be around now selling shedloads of records (or terabytes of downloads).

A superbly constructed song and I totally agree about then image thing. It turned me off of him straight away being a 'serious' music fan but now I'm older and grown up, I can really appreciate his song craft.

best of on Amazon is nearly 50 quid, which is a shame, so many great songs. It would be great if he could re-invent himself and get the critical acclaim he really deserves. "Nothing Rhymed" is almost perfect.

People often point to this song as an example of the man's songwriting prowess but I can't abide the thing. It's rather poncey if you ask me. If I were to try to show he's not all bad I'd pick something like 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' - that's where the man excels, with a bit of an uptempo pop ditty, as was the case in his old band. Actually, to be honest, apart from that and certain highlights from The Police I do stuggle somewhat to think of anything else decent. Each to their own and all that.

not that one. Clean pair of heels as soon as that comes on. Surely anything by the Police tops that, even De Doo Doo Doo

File under Bono

I've always really liked this song, principally because it's so unlike the almighty tat he usually produces (Let Your Soul be Your Pilot is one of the worst songs I've ever heard). Fields of Gold has suffered due to too much radio play/X Factor covering, but it's still very evocative.

Sting is worth, even at a very conservative estimate, at least £30 mill; not bad for someone who's written 5 good songs - at best.

Did anyone ever hear his awful tune called Brand New Day? Have a listen, as it sounds just like the theme from the Adams Family.

but you could have chosen about 20 other great tunes from the JTWYAH.

.... in their post industrial early pomp. How strange does this look now?