So, this time, we begin a series of geographical based playlists - based on the city / region / state that a bunch of musical artists are associated with (possibly sometimes tenuously).
First up, I thought I would stay close to home and living on the border between the counties of Surrey and Hampshire, this time we celebrate musicians associated with these two fine English counties.
1. Something Better Change: The Stranglers
We start with The Stranglers, or the Guildford Stranglers as they once were. While none of the Men In Black were originally from Guildford, they formed above drummer, Jet Black's off licence. I've picked this one from their classic No More Heroes album (1977) - all of the usual chugging guitars, Hugh Cornwall's venomously delivered vocal, all countered by Dave Greenfield's big synth chords that build to each chorus.
2. Solsbury Hill: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel has a double Surrey connection; born in Chobham, he famously went to Charterhouse School in Godalming, where he was a co-founder of prog rock supergroup Genesis, which led to him dressing up as a sunflower.... Having come to his senses, he left the band and went solo. If I tell you that this song comes from his self-titled album, that wouldn't be much help, as his first four records were all called Peter Gabriel! Solsbury Hill is from the first of those and is a delightful, autobiographical and spiritual song, albeit about a hill in Somerset!
3. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight: The Jam
The Jam, three angry young lads born and bred in Woking, had a quite staggering run of eighteen Top 40 hits in their five year existence (1977-82), with their mod inspired take on rock. I have chosen perhaps one of the less obvious of those hits. It starts quietly, but builds, with, as was often the case, Bruce Foxton's spiky bass riff to the fore - building to a chorus full of the great backing vocals that Foxton used to great effect, to counter Paul Weller's often dark lyrics (this one is about a mugging).
4. With A Girl Like You: The Troggs
Finally, we move across the border into Hampshire and all the way down to rural Andover, where a garage band from the sticks formed that somehow, albeit briefly, ruled the musical world in the mid-60s. With the exotic sounding Reg Presley at the front (okay, he was really called Reg Ball), The Troggs conquered the US with Wild Thing - but that was too obvious and much too overplayed for me to choose, so instead we have the glorious ba-b-ba-ba-baas of With A Girl Like You to enjoy! Their fame enjoyed a second wave in the early 90s when they recorded an album with REM celebrating both of their spiritual hometowns - calling it Athens Andover.
5. Hersham Boys: Sham 69
Surely the biggest thing to ever come out of Hersham, Surrey, Sham 69 wore their hometown very clearly on their sleeve. Their name comes from some faded graffiti referencing a big moment in Walton & Hersham F.C.'s history (apparently winning the Athenian league title in 1969). Then there is this number six hit from 1979, celebrating the punk scene in Hersham - "Hersham Boys, Hersham Boys, lace up boots and corduroys. Hersham Boys, Hersham Boys, they call us the Cockney cowboys." The band and their lyrics had a reputation for being cheeky and surely, in Jimmy Pursey, they had about the most charismatic frontman in all of the punk scene (as seen in this Top of the Pops video).
6. Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Tears For Fears
Tenuous link alert! Tears For Fears formed in Bath, but co-founder Roland Orzabal was born in Portsmouth and raised in Havant, both firmly in Hampshire, before moving to Bath as an older child. Songs From The Big Chair, their second album, threw them onto the global stage and contained mega hits Shout and this one. Opening with an iconic 80s guitar riff, lots of heavy synth and a good, solid chugging rhythm, Everybody built nicely to a bit of a crescendo, before chilling out again. Classic tune.
7. Pretty In Pink (original version): The Psychedelic Furs
Although classed as a London band, lead singer Richard Butler was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, which is definitely (just) in Surrey. So the link is tenuous, but real - I also seem to recall that at least one of the band attended Epsom Art College at some point. They had forged a relatively successful, if a little low key, existence through the early part of the 80s, but it was when Pretty In Pink was re-worked for the John Hughes film that ended up with the same name (in 1986), that they caught more attention. The original 1981 version (as you might expect a hardcore music fan to say) is much better - less overproduced and a little darker, and all the better for it.
8. Iron Sky: Mega City Four
We are now very close to home, with Farnborough indie-grunge legends (well locally at least, for a while) Mega City Four. They forged a path through the late 80s and early 90s, with the likes of Neds Atomic Dustbin and Carter USM. 1992 album Sebastopol Rd was named after the street where their rehearsal space was in Aldershot and from it came this single, Iron Sky, which reaching number 48, was about their biggest dent on the charts.
9. I Still Believe: Frank Turner
Although Turner was born in Bahrain, he grew up in Winchester and nearby Meonstoke. His early life included attending (unhappily it seems) Eton College (on a scholarship) at the same time as Prince William. Early influences of punk and metal, later broadened into folk and Americana (Springsteen's Nebraska made a big impact on him). This song sees him reflect on his love of rock n roll, in a quirky but pleasant little folk-rock number.
10. What Is Love?: Howard Jones
We go hugely tenuous again for our last choice. Howard Jones is surely and irrevocably associated with South Wales? Yes - but. He was actually born in Southampton! He grew up in Cardiff, but also lived for a time in Canada, before he moved back to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He was a key player in the so-called second British invasion of the US in the early to mid 80s and a bona fide legend of synth pop. What is Love? asks one of the great philosophical questions of our time. Alright, that might be a stretch, but it has all the ingredients for an 80s classic - tinny electronic drums, perky synth riffs and a great singalong chorus. Enjoy!