Record of the Year Revisited: 1989

Original Record of the Year: Ten City - That's The Way Love Is

I have a lot of nostalgia for 1989. Whilst I had my music preferences I just loved pop music in general and had no bias about a song not being the x, the y, the z. 

My choice for record of the year though came from an old skool rave compilation I bought many years later and was a different type of nostalgia.

I had several favourite songs throughout the year and Ten City was never one of them so the question is was one has one of my favourite songs at the time now take the crown?

No. First of all its difficult for me to recall exactly which songs were my favourite. Also as my favourite song kept changing I can only conclude none of them were good enough to be my favourite for too long whereas Ten City was my favourite track on the compilation from 1989 for way over a year and still is now.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1988

Original Record of the Year: Nitro Deluxe - Let's Get Brutal

When it comes to 1988 there are 2 different angles for me to approach it from.

First of all my earliest memories of the charts begins in 1987 but 1988 would have been the first full year I remember. It was the year I got my first Now album and the year I got my first Smash Hits magazine. I therefore have many nostalgic memories of that year.

Then you have the routes of the rave music that defined my youth. It was the year acid house took off in the UK and an important part of rave history. Not all were records I was into or even knew at the time but there is the retrospective nostalgia of my youth.

I picked a record that very much fitted the rave criteria and helped by the fact it wasn't an obvious record.

New Record of the Year: Jack n Chill - That Jack That House Built

The 2 angles don't have to be mutually exclusive. There are records that are both ones I enjoyed as a kid and that are part of rave history.

My new pick is one of the first British acid house records to make the Top 40 but was also a record that featured on Now 11 which was my first now. That fact perhaps made it seem more obvious that my initial pick, but importantly it's the record I'm enjoying more at this moment in time.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1987

Original Record of the Year: Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin

In 1987 if you'd asked me what my favourite song was then this would be it. We're talking about my earliest memories of the charts and music in general and as a result this was my first favourite song.

It seems a no brainer to pick it, but then there were plenty of Top 40 hits from 1987 that I know now but didn't know at the time. Some of them are really good and provide the Pet Shop Boys with some serious competition.

Have any of them managed to beat them?

Not quite. Up to this point I've been choosing between records I only know retrospectively. On that basis they're all equal, no record is going to bring back memories of 1977 for example because I wasn't even born then.

When you're talking about his period when I'm discovering music for the first time it's going to be very difficult for me to pick a record that I didn't hear until 20 years later. 

"It's A Sin" is an excellent record and may have even won had I not remembered 1987. When it brings back memories of me standing in the kitchen as a kid with this playing on the radio and thinking wow, it's going to be tough for any other record to stand a chance.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1986

Original Record of the Year: Farley Jackmaster Funk - Love Can't Turn Around

There have been a number of key records in helping shape the future of music over the years and my pick for 1986 was one of those. This was the first UK Top 40 hit you can confidently classify as being house music.

The routes of many, if not all dance music genres can be traced back to house music. There were obviously a lot of house records from 1986 that didn't chart but this brought it to the mainstream. 

As someone who got into rave in the 90s I've always liked and appreciated the house music that got the ball rolling. At the same time I always considered what the music evolved into in the early 90s to be better than the music which came before.

I think its a given that this is the most important record of 1986 for the future rave scene but is it the best?

Yes I think so. What helps is that it's competition was other records of 1986 and not the ones of the early 90s. Nothing else in 1986 comes close to this.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1985

Original Record of the Year: Rah Band - Clouds Across The Moon

I originally said I'd known for a long time what my 1985 choice would be because it's one of my all time favourites. I also said I was surprised it was as early as 1985 as it sounded ahead of its time.

I would say calling it one of my all time favourites was a bit of an exaggeration. Don't get me wrong its a brilliant record and I was listening to it a lot, but these days I'm not listening to it so much. 

My view at the time was that the more chilled out records stood more of a chance because they couldn't rely on the beats to carry them and therefore needed to have more depth to be any good. Nowadays I'm more drawn towards music with a harder edge like I was when I was much younger.

Have I found a harder edged Top 40 hit of 1985 that's better?

No, I honestly can't say any of the other Top 40 hits from 1985 are better than this. Furthermore despite being what I'd consider a chill out record the beat does play an important part in it. Good depth, good beat what more do you want.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1984

Original Record of the Year: Phil Fearon & Galaxy - What Do I Do

The Top of the Pops reruns from 1984 helped with my decision to pick this record. By my calculations they were happening around the same time I made this pick so I was sort of reliving 1984 at the time.

Another factor was what Phil Fearon did next. He started Production House records which was part of the rave scene and his wife Dee Fearon was the singer of Baby D.

However my favourite records in the moment aren't always my favourite records when looking back

New Record of the Year: The Alarm - Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke

In the last year or so I've listened to this record a fair bit but don't think I've listened to the Phil Fearon record at all. On that basis I must like The Alarm record more these days.

In a decade that gave us lots of electronic music I was reluctant to pick a guitar record as my record of the year. I definitely knew this record at the time which means I don't remember if it appeared on Top of the Pops or not.

What I like about this record is that it has a good pace to it but is also a good singalong record to backing vocals in the chorus.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1983

Original Record of the Year: Depeche Mode - Everything Counts

I do recall being a little reluctant to pick this as my record of the year at the time because it seemed to obvious. We're talking about one of the better known records of a group who are huge and if anything they've got even more popular since then given when I went to see them it was at The O2 and now they play stadiums.

Take nothing away from the record though. It's a fantastic record and my reluctancy speaks volumes about how good it is. I couldn't think of a single Top 40 hit from 1983 that was better.

Have I found a better record now?

New Record of the Year: Lotus Eaters - The First Picture Of You

Yes I have. I can't remember when I first heard "The First Picture Of You" but it was a song I'd known for some time before I acknowledged just how good it was. 

I've listened to this a lot in recent years and this time round it's been a no brainer to pick. Although I was alive in 1983 I'm too young to remember it but this record does make me feel nostalgic.

I watch the video and think those were much better days than the modern era and too much damage has been done to get them back.