Playlist: Geography 11 - Birmingham

I was up in Birmingham last week for work, and it got me thinking - what is there to draw you into the city? The strange giant metal bull in New Street Station, or the nearby Bullring shopping centre - maybe the old city hall or cathedral - or perhaps the more modernist outline of the city library?

It is quite probable that none of those on their own will entice you in, but like many great cities, there is also a rich musical heritage resonating through the city and its suburbs. So, there were plenty of pickings for this playlist, from a wide range of genres.

And it is also an apt choice, given the news that Villa Park will witness the last ever performance of Birmingham's prodigal sons, Black Sabbath, later this summer. And while I was there, I had to take a stroll down Bridge Street to see their very own bridge (and bench) in all its glory.

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1. Dexys Midnight Runners: Geno

Kevin Rowland formed this pop-soul Birmingham band in 1978, who went on to have a string of hits in the early 1980's. Geno was the lead single from their 1980 debut album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels. The song, written by Rowland with guitarist Kevin Archer, was a tribute to soul singer Geno Washington, and was done somewhat in the style of his Ram Jam Band. There are also some similarities with Zoot Money's One And Only Man, and The Turtles Happy Together, with the crowd noises you can hear being lifted from a live 1974 Van Morrison album. Their label, EMI, wanted to put out a different single first, but the band refused - being proved right, as it hit the UK number one spot that May.

Dexys Midnight Runners: Geno (Official music video)

2. Ocean Colour Scene: The Riverboat Song

We leap forward to the 90's now, and Ocean Colour Scene (OCS), who were formed from the remnants of two other Birmingham bands, The Boys and Fanatics. OCS clocked up five albums and seventeen UK Top40 singles across the 90's. The Riverboat Song leans heavily on Led Zeppelin's Four Sticks, and was used by tv presenter Chris Evans for guests entering his Channel 4 show, TFI Friday.

Ocean Colour Scene: The Riverboat Song (Official music video)

3. The Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin'

The Spencer Davis Group were an R&B band formed around Spencer Davis, Pete York, and brothers Muff and Steve Winwood, with the latter being something of a teenage singing sensation. Muff Winwood later recalled that this track was literally conceived, written and rehearsed in just half an hour - the band were under pressure for a hit, following the relatively poor showing of previous single When I Come Home. They fine tuned the initial result it in a café around the corner from the studio and laid it down properly the next day. It made the Top10 in both the UK and US, not bad for less than an hours work.

The Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin (Live on Finnish tv, 1966)

4. UB40: (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You

While formed in Birmingham in 1978, UB40 had roots across many countries, with band members having heritage from all corners of the British Isles, as well as Jamaican and Yemeni backgrounds. They remain one of the biggest reggae groups of all time, by album sales, with over 70 million racked up over the last four decades. Can't Help Falling In Love as it was first known, had given Elvis Presley a hit in 1961, from his Blue Hawaii movie soundtrack. Some three decades later, and with a slight name change (to (I Can't Help) Fallin In Love With You)), UB40s version did even better than the King's, reaching both UK and US number one spots (Elvis's version had only made number two in the US).

UB40: (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You (Live in South Africa, 1994)

5. ELO: Don't Bring Me Down

ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) was formed in 1970 around the trio of Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan and Roy Wood. When Wood left in 1972, it fell on Lynne to be the main writer, arranger and producer for the band. Don't Bring Me Down, from 1979's Discovery LP, provided the band with their biggest US hit (#4). It was based around a drum loop (Bevan wasn't at that session) and is the first track they had done without strings on it. It was dedicated to the Skylab space station which re-entered the atmosphere that July, burning up over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. By the way - Lynne is definitely not singing "Bruce" at the end, but instead a made up word, "Groos", which he used as a place filler to change later, but when he found out that his word sounded very similar the German word Gruß, which means 'greeting', he left it in.

ELO: Don't Bring Me Down (Official music video)

6. Steel Pulse: Ku Klux Klan

Photo: Adrian Boot / urbanimage.tv

Inspired by Bob Marley, Steel Pulse were formed in the Handsworth part of Birmingham. Initially unable to play in traditional Caribbean venues because of their Rastafarian beliefs, they instead found favour in the punk hangouts, like the Hope and Anchor in London. They found themselves on tours with punk and post-punk bands like the Stranglers and XTC, before getting signed to Island Records, leading to their critically acclaimed debut album Handsworth Revolution and a support slot on Marley's 1978 European tour. Lead single, Ku Klux Klan, was a call to stand up to the forces of racism.

Steel Pulse: Ku Klux Klan (Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival, 1979)

7. Editors: Munich

Editors were formed in 2002 in the Moseley district of Birmingham, although the members were actually studying at Staffordshire University. They cut their teeth playing local venues like the Jug Of Ale and Flapper & Firkin. They played initially as Pilot, then The Pride, before becoming Editors in 2004. They have released seven albums to date, two of which topped the UK charts, and this song, Munich, which became their first Top10 hit single, in 2005. It has no relationship to the German city and draws some musical influence from the likes of Interpol and R.E.M.

Editors: Munich (Official music video)

8. The Moody Blues: Go Now

Go Now was written by R&B singer Larry Banks and initially recorded and released by his former wife Bessie Banks in 1964. The song was picked up by The Moody Blues (with the addition of an exclamation mark to the title) after lead singer Denny Laine heard Banks' version and knew they just had to cover it. It hit the top of the UK chart and number ten in the US, with music critic Nick DeRiso later saying, "Laine's scorching take on this old Bessie Banks track is as emotionally gripping as it is career-makingly important."

Denny Laine (with Wings): Go Now (Great live version in 1973(ish) - imagine having Macca as your backing vocalist!)

9. Duran Duran: Rio

No trip down Birmingham's musical memory lane would be complete without its (almost certainly) most successful ever pop act. Duran Duran were famous for having three Taylors in, with none of them being related. Alright, that's not all they're famous for - there were also the hordes of screaming fans that followed them around for years, and the 30 UK hit singles (21 in the States)! Rio was the title track for album number two, and of course has the legendary music video with the yacht shot in an ugly looking Antigua.

Duran Duran: Rio (Official music video - one of the best bass lines in pop)

10. Black Sabbath: Paranoid

We couldn't tease you with Sabbath at the beginning and then not include them! They are one of the original and most successful of all heavy metal bands, paving the way for so many afterwards (with their legacy also veering into other genres like punk). Funnily enough, Geezer Butler revealed in a 2004 interview that Paranoid was something of an afterthought for their second album, "We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album." Tony Iommi came up with that distinctive crunching riff, Butler quickly scribbled down some lyrics, while singer Ozzy Osbourne pretty much read them off the sheet while he was recording his vocal. The result is a tune considered to be one of the greatest metal anthems of all time!