Record of the Year Revisited: 1995

Original Record of the Year: Nush - U Girls (Look So Sexy)

Hardbag was big in 1995. It wasn't as fast as happy hardcore but had a harder edge to it than house which put it up in my estimate.

Its one of those genres where the music itself is much better than the image which I've never been a fan of. However it seemed appropriate to pick a hardbag record and I still maintain my pick is the best hardbag record I've heard.

Is there another genre that spawned a better record?

New Record of the Year: Mark Oh - Tears Don't Lie 

In 1995 I was really into my happy hardcore so it really makes sense for me to pick a happy hardcore record so I've gone with "Tears Don't Lie" by Mark Oh.

Very few happy hardcore records made the Top 40 and those that did tended to be from the continent and not really played at raves in the UK. Mark Oh is German and this was his only UK Top 40 hit which interpolates "When A Child Is Born" so I say to people this is my favourite Christmas record.

I guess my reluctancy to pick it at the time is that there were better underground happy hardcore records. That said when it comes to 1995 nostalgia this record very much features in that.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1994

Original Record of the Year: N-Trance - Set You Free

I said at the time I was reluctant to pick "Set You Free" as my record of the year but felt like I had to because of the impact it had on my music tastes.

I was thinking along the lines of if N-Trance and everybody associated with this record died in a plane crash straight after this was released then they'd all be fondly remembered. I've heard this too many times but maintain it's still a great record.

The problem is N-Trance never really made another decent records. Some were alright but most were terrible. Vocalist Kelly Llorenna made even worse records. It's also on AATW records who are responsible for some of the worst dance records ever made.

Yet this record was strong enough to hold its own. Or is it?

New Record of the Year: The Prodigy - No Good

The fact of the matter is it wasn't just one record that made me decide to become a raver. The Prodigy played their part in that and "No Good" was certainly a record that got me into rave.

More to the point though I do think this is a better record that "Set You Free". I think it's aged better too, helped by the fact its not overplayed. At the time though I'd play this a lot.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1993

Original Record of the Year: Saint Etienne - Hobart Paving

I'm purposely not looking at what I originally picked as my record of the year prior to making my new choice but I'll never forget what my choice was for 1993.

It seemed like the perfect choice for a variety of reasons. It's definitely one of my favourite Saint Etienne hits and it gives me nostalgia of myself being nostalgic about the early 90s at the end of the 90s. I liked their "Too Young To Die" CD enough to buy the video version and seeing the East 17 graffiti in the video made it very 1993.

Then there's the London aspect. A significant amount of their music references London where I ended up moving to and have since spent the majority of my adult life here. Not only can I relate to the London aspect but I can also relate to the fact they appear to be music nerds like myself. At the very least Bob Stanley is.

I still live in London but the members of Saint Etienne have since moved out. Not really relevant in terms of picking my record of the year. What is relevant though is that the reason why I remember picking this is remembering my instant regret afterwards.

As much as I like Saint Etienne and this record I see it as being the TVR of the music world. Basically a TVR is a great car but if I had enough money to buy one I'd only do so if I couldn't afford a Ferarri.

New Record of the Year: Leftfield Lydon - Open Up 

I do find Leftfield a mixed bag but the name alone suggests you're not going to like all of their music. However the main problem with much of their tunes is they're not as good as their debut "Open Up".

The problem with putting vocals on dance records is that it can take the attention away from the beats and certainly some girly vocals can make a hard fast record sound quite namby pamby.

Leftfield had a good solution for adding vocals, get a punk singer to do them. It's an all round good record, it would work just fine without vocals but I think John Lydon really adds something here.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1992

Original Record of the Year: Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era - Far Out

I went for a rave classic for my choice for 1992. As the year that rave music was at it's commercial peak it only seemed fitting that I picked a rave record.

There's plenty of choice and some really close contenders. It's very difficult to say whether I prefer one tune over the other but this still seems like the logical choice.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1991

Original Record of the Year: Bomb the Bass - Winter In July

What I originally said was 1991 spawned acts like Massive Attack, The Prodigy and Shades of Rhythm who I'm still big fans of to this very day but there was only ever going to be one winner and that was Bomb the Bass.

It fits firmly in the chill out category and is one of the best chill out records I've ever heard, if not the best. In my mind a record like this was always going to beat anything that's more upbeat.

Do I still think that?

New Record of the Year: Shades of Rhythm - Ecstacy

No I don't. One thing that's changed since then is I've got more into the harder side of dance music like I was in the 90s. Shades of Rhythm were one of the pioneers of that in the beginning. 

The one everyone knows is "Sound of Eden" and it's a great tune but "Ecstacy" is the one I really like. Not only is it that breakbeat hardcore sound I love but it's also quite raw. Some of the sounds they've put in don't really work together but it sounds great as a result.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1990

Original Record of the Year: DNA - La Serenissima

With my choice for 1990 I ticked all the boxes. It was the lesser known DNA record so nothing obvious and it was a record that works well in the club and for chilling out at home to.

It's a great record, sometimes box ticking doesn't necessarily mean its a good record but this one is and a worthy winner of the record of the year for 1990 and would of easily won if it charted in some other years.

There is a question mark though. Can I honestly say this record is better than "LFO" by LFO?

New Record of the Year: LFO - LFO 

No I can't. This is perhaps the biggest record from the bleep techno era and widely praised by a number of DJs as being a ground-breaking record. 

I guess that's why I was reluctant to initially pick it. When a record is held in such a high regard I can't help but thinking there's similar more obscure records that are probably better. There probably is, but the limitation here is reaching the Top 40 and I can't think of a better one from 1990 than this.

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. 

Record of the Year Revisited: 1982

Original Record of the Year: PHD - I Won't Let You Down

My choice for 1982 was influenced by an 80s love songs compilation I bought many years ago. It was one of the standout tracks on it but I couldn't remember whether I'd heard it previously or not. 

Is there a better Top 40 hit of 1982?

I don't think so. It was the only Top 40 hit for PHD and the only song of theirs that I know. I don't really want to hear another record of theirs though because they got it so right with this. 

Record of the Year Revisited: 1981

Original Record of the Year: Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood

One of my all time favourite DJ mixes is Fabriclive 9 by Jacques Lu Cont and this influenced my pick for 1981. "Wordy Rappinghood" is on the mix and blends in well with the mostly house tunes in it. 

Another Top 40 hits which appeared on the mix was "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics but that wasn't even a contender for the 1983 record of the year so the mix doesn't entirely sway my decision.

However if we forget the mix existed can I honestly say this was the best record of 1981?

New Record of the Year: Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness

No I can't, but there's a logical reason for that. When I was making my choice I'd never heard "Summer Madness". The way I came across it was when I was listening to double a-sides of the 80s as a way of brushing up on my music knowledge.

This was a double a-side with "Jones v Jones". Kool & The Gang are a funny one, I think of them as being from the 70s but most of their hits came in the 80s and they had a lot more hits than you'd think. They did form in the late 60s though and I've heard people say that they did some interesting funky music in the 70s but when they went mainstream they went a bit too pop.

I don't know their earlier material but their well known hits at least aren't bad but are music for the masses without any wow factor. With "Summer Madness" though it's an interesting funky number and is also an instrumental.