10 from Hope Sandoval

The first time I heard Hope Sandoval's voice may well have been her gorgeous dreamy swoon on Fade Into You from 1993's So Tonight That I Might See album.

I would have been 17 and religiously reading the NME and Melody Maker every week, listening to the Evening Session and John Peel when I could. Hope Sandoval captivated me, with her voice, her looks and her style.

Around this time I was always writing lyrics and playing around with my guitars. I actually wrote a song with the working title Mazzy Star (Song For Hope Sandoval), imagining her lush whispery voice over acoustic guitars and strings. I still have the lyrics in an old folder that I found up in my Mums loft a couple of years ago. Maybe I should send them to her!

Mazzy Star always seemed pretty mysterious. I don't recall them touring often, indeed I can only find a record of them playing in Scotland once - at King Tuts in Glasgow back in 1993. So I've never seen her play live. Something I'd love to rectify at some point in the future.

Sadly it won't be as Mazzy Star. David Roback passed away in February 2020. Roback left a celebrated body of work from his time with The Rain Parade, Opal and Mazzy Star.

Mazzy Star released 4 albums; She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), Among My Swan (1996) and then following their reformation; Seasons Of Your Day (2013)

Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions were the post Mazzy Star outfit that Sandoval formed. To date, they have released 3 albums; Bavarian Fruit Bread (2001), Through The Devil Softly (2009) and Until The Hunter (2016).

So many have fallen for Sandoval's sublime voice. The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Death In Vegas have all invited Hope to sprinkle some magic on their songs.

I think the opportunity to work with a singer like Hope really inspires them to create some really beautiful, atmospheric, magical music. Check this spellbinding version of Cherry Blossom Girl with Air.

I've enjoyed digging back through Sandoval's back catalogue to choose ten of my favourites.

You can check this Spotify playlist and my musings and videos of my choices below.

Let Me Get There
It's all in the groove, let me get there sings Sandoval on this truly sensational duet with Kurt Vile. Stretching beyond 7-minutes, the band and singers are in no rush, there is plenty of space for everyone.

And it is all in the groove. Sandoval and Vile trade lines over a country blues vibe with a slight tinge of psychedelia coming from the reverb on their vocals. Some of the guitar playing is exquisite.

Vile sounds beautifully stoned while there is a chilled determination in the way Sandoval sings let me get there. Echoes of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.

A gem of a song.

Look On Down From The Bridge
Get ready to have your heart melted.

Sandoval's voice is fragile and beautiful as she sings How could I say goodbye? over a beat so gentle is is barely there, as Roback conjures stunning sounds from his guitar. The church organ creates an incredible atmosphere, listening to this with headphones brings tears to my eyes.

Look on down from the bridge

There's still fountains down there

Look on down from the bridge

It's still raining up here

Everybody seems so far away from me

Everybody just wants to be free

This is the closing track from 1996 album Among My Swan. It's almost impossible to describe how delicate and beautiful it is. Just listen ... with your headphones on and your eyes closed.

Disappear
How f**king gorgeous is this song? One of Sandoval's dreamiest vocals. I could listen to her voice for days. Roback's fingers dance over his guitar, there is a gentle tambourine being tapped and all kinds of gorgeous reverb-y echo effects.

Close your eyes and look at me

I can't believe what I cannot see

Drop
A cover of a Jesus and Mary Chain song, Drop is the song that Hope chose to open her debut album with the Warm Inventions. I love the opening lines of the first verse quoted below.

The way you drop

Is like a stone

Make out you're flying

But you've just been thrown

Into Dust
This song feels and sounds special. At their very best Mazzy Star capture magic on record. Into Dust is exceptionally atmospheric, I hang on every word and sound.

Paradise Circus (with Massive Attack)
Sandoval's voice is set against very different soundscape. Rumbling dub like bass and little flickers of piano. Listening back to this song made me appreciate how little bass there is in a lot of Sandoval's song. Of course, it's Massive Attack, the bass is heavier than most acts, but it does rumble delightfully and the contrast with Sandoval's voice is stunning.

Love is like a sin, my love

For the one that feels it the most

Look at her with a smile like a flame

She will love you like a fly will never love you again

Asleep From Day (with The Chemical Brothers)
The Chems totally get Hope Sandoval and create a magical comedown track

The chilled build up and then the drop at 2 minutes 41 seconds is beautiful, for those of us who have lay on floors at friends houses after a night of clubbing, you'll know that feeling; you've had a great night dancing and talking with friends, now your energy has gone and you're lying dozing, dreaming, listening to music to help you unwind ... if something like this came on you would drift off blissfully into a psychedelic dream.

I've got a lot of friends

And they've got beautiful eyes

That make my heart feel surprised

Sometimes Always (w/ The Jesus and Mary Chain)
This duet with the Mary Chain never fails to bring a smile to my face. The chiming guitars, Hope's sweet voice against Jim Reid's cracked pleas for one more chance.

Hope stands firm but in the end gives in and lets Jim back. It's all over in 2 and a half glorious minutes. Guitar pop perfection.

Killing Smile (w/ Death In Vegas)
This song absolutely floors me with its majestic beauty. The strings ushering in an acoustic guitar and then the most gorgeous vocal.

You can spend your life behind my falling star

This life will meet you with a long and killing smile

Don't have a feeling but I wanna waste my time

By the time we get to the line And you know I want to the follow up with you is so hushed and whispered that you can hardly hear it.

This is my favourite song featuring Hope Sandoval, everything about it is just perfect.

All the while I spent my time making schemes

Now I know when things are always what they seem

The strings are heart achingly beautiful, the melody being plucked on a banjo (?) just tweaks the heart strings and I could listen to Hope Sandoval singing like this for days on end.

Fade Into You
Another absolutely sublime song. Another perfect song.

There is a reason it is is Mazzy Star's most famous sand celebrated song. From the off, there is a little extra urgency in Fade Into You, with the acoustic strum, with the dreamy slide guitar and even the beat. Sandoval, of course, sounds incredible.

I look to you and I see nothing

I look to you to see the truth

Everything is perfect. This is dream music, dream pop.

You live your life, you go in shadows

You'll come apart and you'll go black

Some kind of night into your darkness

Colours your eyes with what's not there

There is reflection and then the realisation that her love never knew.

Fade into you

Strange you never knew

It's easy to get lost in this song, so go on, lose yourself for 5-minutes. Marvel at its beauty.

10 from The Pastels

Katrina Mitchell and Stephen Pastel - the core of The Pastels
Picture by Blair Young

The Pastels have curated the line-up for the Maryhill Community Central Hall section of The Great Western, a new multi-venue one day festival organised by promoters 432 presents. Tickets are on sale now. Gerry Love's Lightships and Sacred Paws are among the bands joining The Pastels. FULL INFO

So I thought I would blog on 10 of my favourite songs from the band, following on from similar blogs on The Vaselines and The Lemonheads.

I fell for The Pastels as a teenager and in many ways I am still falling as I learn more about the band, appreciating them even more with each and every passing year. They are the kind of band I wanted to be in as a teenager and they are the kind of band I wish I was in at the age of 43.

The Pastels just do their own thing, in their own way, at their own pace and they do it exceptionally well. The Pastels are cool without wanting to be cool, they have inspired and supported so many bands from Glasgow and beyond.

Thank You For Being You was the first Pastels record I bought. I also had a red Pastels t-shirt from that era and the 1993 Truckload Of Trouble LP that is full of all kinds of gems ranging from singles to a glorious cover of Different Drum and a a brilliant instrumental Kitted Out.

Not surprisingly, there are a few songs from this era of The Pastels that feature in this blog.

I first caught The Pastels live at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in 1994. I love the band on record but I probably love them even more live. There is something about the way Stephen plays his guitar (a beauty) and the way the band gel. I love how the line-up and sound has expanded. I love Katrina's drumming that sounds and looks so effortless and carefree at times and her voice is all kinds of melodic gorgeousness. And I love that live and on record, The Pastels music still has a loving, soulful, homegrown, could fall apart at any moment, type of immediacy and quality to it.

The Pastels are an incredibly important band to (and in) Glasgow. Stephen Pastel formed and released music on the legendary 53rd and 3rd Records and now runs the Geographic label. They have put on bands (and most probably put up bands), championed bands from Teenage Fanclub and The Vaselines through to bands like Spinning Coin and The Orielles from further afield. And they have shared their impeccable taste and knowledge via the support bands they cherry pick to play with them, their social media postings and through Stephen's work at Monorail Records.

Here are 10 of my favourites by The Pastels.

Classic line-up
Three minutes and 20 seconds of glorious guitars and gushing lyrics about sunshine, Glasgow and love. Stick this song on the next time you are walking about Glasgow (or any city) in the sunshine and your life will instantly improve.

See the sunshine split those buildings

And I'll feel my heart uplifting

Cause the city casts a magic spell

And my life seems so special

Glasgow is a brilliant city, it has so much to offer and Pastel's love for it comes pouring out in melodies and a love letter in a song.

When the tenement world reveals it's charm

You better grab it fast with both your arms

Crawl Babies
From the seminal Up For A Bit With The Pastels album this is brilliant. Everything seems to just come together, the guitars, the melodies, Stephen's vocals.

Says she's open like a book

She's got everything I need

Even wants to take the time

To teach me how to read

I wanna build her up, up as tall as a church

Just to to watch her, just to watch her falling down

Vivid Youth w/ Tenniscoats
How gloriously mellow and gorgeous is this? Just so beautiful, sublime and in the moment. Katrina's voice is so gentle and pure. I love the way the melody picks up so naturally for the all ashes are grey in the day section.

Check My Heart
Pure guitar pop perfection. This could warm the coldest of days. Katrina takes lead vocals that are melodic, catchy and sing-song-y. Check My Heart is upbeat and completely infectious. I was overjoyed when The Pastels returned from a long absence with this as the lead single. Sublime!

Katrina sings of grabbing life and love we're on a mountain top and I wanna leap out and get it

And Stephen comes in with the gorgeous I wanted a lifetime, not just to fall in your arms.

Million Tears
I only discovered Million Tears when I came across a YouTube playlist of every single Creation Records release a few years back. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it before!

This is a pure two minute and 40 second rush of guitar pop brilliance. There is still time for a 30-second intro

Oh if I can't have you I don't want nobody else

And if I can't have you I won't take nobody else

I'd tear myself apart 

And cry a million tears

Break down the walls of pain 

And fall into the heartache scene

By 1 minute 20 we have reached a little breakdown and instrumental and then we're straight back into the verse and chorus. In truth this song is just one big chorus for me. It is perfect.

Truck Train Tractor
I love the humour and also the urgency in this song. It drives along (pardon the pun) and it always makes me smile.

Comin' Through
More incredible guitar pop! When you listen to songs like Comin' Through it is no wonder The Pastels made such an impression, such an impact and created such love from music fans all over the world.

I particularly love the closing 40-seconds or so. The Pastels are absolutely on it, everything collides beautifully as extra layers are added.

Nothing To Be Done
Pastel and Aggi (Annabel) duet and melt hearts. The song flows, crashes and tumbles beautifully as Stephen and Aggi take it in turns to trade verses before their vocals gel towards the end.

Take my hand and take my heart

I shiver when you're near

Baby Honey
Baby Honey thrills, it grooves, it drones, it ignites, it excites, it is utterly captivating. Baby Honey is young Glaswegians discovering The Velvet Underground and the thrill of finding out what sounds can be coaxed from an electric guitar.

If I wish upon a star

Take you just the way you are

There is magic in her fingertips

There is magic in the lips I kiss

There is magic in her beautiful eyes

Justify the tears I cry

Thank You For Being You
And we end 10 from The Pastels with the first song of theirs that I fell for. I hope you can hear why! This is guitar pop perfection, Pastel is so in love he needs four words rather than three.

10 from The Lemonheads

The second in the new series where I look at 10 of my favourite songs from some of my favourite bands and artists.

Following on from 10 from The Vaselines we move on to The Lemonheads.

I am a HUGE Lemonheads fan and given the treasure trove of album, b-sides, bonus tracks, demos and cover versions that the band have released since forming back in 1986, it has been hard to leave out loads of songs I love to create a list of only 10. I might go back and do a blog on my 10 favourite cover versions by The Lemonheads.

I fell for the band in 1992 when they released their breakthrough It's A Shame About Ray album. Dando was super cool, super handsome and super talented. He seemed to make friends all over the world and write songs (or get them to write songs for him), play in bands, or party with them.

Evan lived the high life, in one NME/Melody Maker interview back in the day he literally couldn't talk due to partying so hard. Juliana Hatfield and Courtney Love were among his lovers, Ben Lee wrote a tribute song I Wish I Was Him, Dando won hearts and broke hearts.

The Lemonheads circa 1992 

David Ryan (drums), Juliana Hatfield (bass), Evan Dando (guitar)

After a burst of 3 albums It's A Shame About Ray (1992) , Come On Feel The Lemonheads (1993) and Car Button Cloth (1996) and constant touring, Dando burnt out and escaped from the very public eye he was living in, disbanding The Lemonheads until 2006, occasionally venturing out to tour acoustically, releasing his stunning Baby I'm Bored solo album in 2003.

The Lemonheads released an eponymous LP in 2006 followed by two albums of cover versions. Dando has talked on stage about having side projects with Willie Mason and others. I just hope Evan keeps releasing music and keeps touring. He has a huge back catalogue to delve into to keep his audiences happy and entertained.

Live, Evan Dano solo or with The Lemonheads is an absolute joy. I smile widely throughout and have enjoyed seeing Evan or the band in venues ranging from Sleazys, to the old Renfrew Ferry when it was across the river, the QMU Debating Chamber, the Garage, Oran Mor and Saint Lukes. And The Lemonheads playing Benicassim in 2005 was a drunken joy.

So with 10 LP's, numerous EP's, b-side and more to choose from. Here are 10 of my favourites by The Lemonheads.

The Outdoor Type
Dando became friends with Tom Morgan from Smudge while touring Australia. They would go on to co-write together and Dando would also cover many of Morgan's songs; The Outdoor Type being one of them. Whilst reluctant to include cover versions in any of the top 10 features I do, I had to include one of my real favourites.

This song suits Dando perfectly as it tells a story, it has humour, it is clever, melodic and pure. Dando's voice is perfect for the confessional lyrics;

I lied about being the outdoor type

I never owned a sleeping bag let alone a mountain bike

Stove
A gem from the 1990 Lovey album. The beauty of Dando and his Lemonheads is that many songs can be played acoustic or electric. Stove is one of these gems. Acoustic, it is a lullaby to an old stove that someone helped Dando move. With a full band, The Lemonheads romp through it at pace, the melody may be blurred by the speed, but the longing and love for the stove remains all too clear.

Shaky Ground
I first heard this on a Steve Lamaq Evening Session live broadcast where Dando, at the height of his pin-up days promoting It's A Shame About Ray, played an acoustic set. I think it was at Sheffield Leadmill/University. At one point he had to stop the show to ask people to stop screaming.

He introduced himself that night thus; 'Hi my names Evan Dando and I was born in the spring of the summer of love'. I think I swooned myself!

Around this time I kind of saw a girl who would walk by my house with her dog and I would make an excuse to go out and bump into her. So I particularly love the line;

When I wanna see you I take Jersey for a walk

What's with all this secrecy when all we ever do is talk

Being Around
A Dando and Morgan co-write. This gem was originally the b-side of Mrs Robinson, the cover version that broke The Lemonheads, before being rerecorded and released on Come On Feel ...

The song is equally deceptively simple and brilliantly clever; asking questions with answers full of humour. Dando is all kinds of dreamy gorgeous in the promo video! #mancrush

Alison's Starting To Happen
This delightful pop punk romp contains one of my all-time favourite lyrics;

She's the puzzle piece behind the couch who made the sky complete

This is 2-minutes of perfection, a pop punk romp about Alison Galloway from Tom Morgan's band Smudge. Dando and Galloway were on ecstasy and he came up with the line Alison's Starting To Happen. Here are Evan and The Lemonheads playing it at Glastonbury 1994.

If I Could Talk (I'd Tell You)
A co-write with Eugene Kelly from around the time Dando effectively lost his voice due to his crack addiction. This is chiming guitar pop heaven for me.

Rudderless
I love the feeling to this song, it's really reflective, almost tinged with sadness.

Hope in my past

Hope in my past

I love when Evan sings walked back home to my place and Juliana then sings tired of getting high. And the closing ship without a rudder section is one I always try and sing without needing to stop for breath. Just a super cool song. Check this great version from Tokyo in 1994 with Dando looking all kinds of grunge cool with his hair hanging all over his face.

It's About Time
There is a bit halfway through this song where Dando sings it's not about you, it's not about sunshine and then Juliana Hatfield chimes in with the most gorgeous SUNSHINE that warms my heart every time I hear it.

Mallo Cup
Early Lemonheads with the beautiful opening line Here I am outside your house at 3 AM, trying to think you outta bed

Mallo Cup beautifully captures why I love The Lemonheads so much. Underpinned acoustic, chiming guitar but with Dando's foot never far from the distortion pedal which he pushes for the chorus and it's all over in 2 minutes 11 seconds.

I forget to forget

I ain't remembered yet

Bit Part
I found it very difficult to choose my final song. My Drug Buddy and Hannah and Gabi are absolutely beautiful songs, and how heartaching and heartwarming is Into Your Arms (a cover version). But this is 10 of my favourites, not 10 of the best. And I LOVE Bit Part, another co-write with Tom Morgan and another with beautiful vocal by Juliana Hatfield to compliment Evan.

I'm a sucker for the Dando and Morgan co-writes. They are so simple yet so clever. This one is only 1 minute and 51 seconds long. Acoustic and electric guitars collide, the lyrics are brilliant, the solo is fizzing and it builds to a brilliant climax with Dando hollering the final verse/chorus - it's all one in this song. Check them flying through it at Glastonbury in 1994.

I want a bit part in your life

A walk on would be fine

I just want a bit part in your life

(A bit part in your life)

10 from The Vaselines

I always enjoy lists of bands, songs and albums. So welcome to a new feature where I'll choose a favourite band or artist of mine and then list and discuss 10 of my favourite songs from their career. 

First up - The Vaselines

I remember going into Missing Records on Oswald Street in Glasgow to buy The Way Of The Vaselines, a compilation of all previous releases by the band. It came out in 1992 when interest in the band was reignited thanks to Nirvana, one of the biggest bands in the world, covering Son Of A Gun and Molly's Lips on their Incesticide album. I was a mere 16-years old and the cool girl that served me seemed pretty impressed that I even knew who The Vaselines were, never mind that I was asking after their album. If Kurt Cobain and this cool girl in Missing were into the band then they must be good! The Vaselines had a new fan.

The Vaselines had already broken up by the time I got into them. Eugene went on to form and lead Captain America/Eugenius and release a brilliant solo album, Man Alive (definitely need to do a blog on that at some point) before getting The Vaselines back together with Frances in 2006. Since then they have released two new albums and played shows all around the world.

A number of years after buying the album I went looking for it in my then alphabetised CD collection and it was missing! I hated my brother or sister taking stuff without my permission but I was pretty impressed to find that the CD was in my sisters room along with some other great albums she had 'borrowed'.

Somewhere along the line, a few years later, my sister Carla emailed Eugene out of the blue to ask if would contribute to a dissertation she was doing at Art School on pop music and pop art. She was amazed that he replied and since then they have become really good friends, playing numerous shows together and recently Carla JOINED THE VASELINES as their keyboard/synth player.

AMAZING!

The Vaselines are such a fun band. There early material is pure punk pop. Some songs sound like they were almost made up on the spot and that has helped their songs sound fresh decades later. Their post reformation songs and albums definitely keep the fun and innuendo at the heart of everything, but there is a more mature sound to songs like the gorgeous Single Spies. Live, the bands warm guitars and onstage banter between Eugene and Frances can't help but bring a smile to my face.

So The Vaselines are one of my favourite bands and here are 10 of my favourite songs that they have released to date;

Teenage Superstars
All 4 songs from The Vaselines 1988 Dying For It EP released on Stephen Pastels 53rd and 3rd Records feature on this blog. They are raw, pure and in many cases, including this one, they are electrifying. The beat is primal, Eugene lets rip on his guitar and sings lyrics mixing sex, religion and youth rebellion leading to an incredible closing 80 seconds of  Frances and Eugene yelling I'm a teenage Jesus superstar with the energy leaping out and grabbing you. This is brilliant punk pop that sounds raw and dangerous.

Molly's Lips
The great thing about early Vaselines material is that they really sound like they were in their own world not giving one f**k about anything else going on in the world. Molly's Lips is well under 2-minutes yet there is time to pack in 3 verses, 3 or 4 choruses, a horn and a great break to a guitar solo.

High Tide Low Tide
The lead single from 2014's V for Vaselines album. This is so catchy. I love Eugene singing about playing hard to get, there are bah bah bah bah bah's, warm noisy guitars, a video with Eugene and Francis in leathers, on scooters, hoola hopping and playing crazy golf. Pretty much everything I love about the band in song and on film!

Single Spies
With Single Spies The Vaselines capture something quite beautifully in a way I don't think they ever have before. Absolutely sublime. Almost mature - in a Vaselines way of course! Eugene and Frances voices combine and entwine so naturally.

Stop denying

That it meant nothing

You're lying

Sex With An X
The Vaselines 2010 comeback single and album. Frances dressed as a nun and Eugene as a vicar in the video! This is a delicious romp of a song with The Vaselines innuendo and sense of pop pushed to the fore. It's like it is just one big long chorus with a glorious guitar solo and handclaps. Brilliant. Their comeback show at the ABC in Glasgow around this time was a joy.

I Hate The 80's
From the aforementioned 2010 comeback album, Eugene and Francis display their knack for catchy punk pop by filling it full of brilliant observations with pure cheek. You put a bullet in a Beatle, started beating on the people is an incredible lyric! The where did that girl go, what did that boy know hook is infectious, as is the it wasn't all Duran Duran Duran Duran line.

Check this great live version - live on KEXP.

Dying For It
I kind of like to think of Dying For It as a garage nuggets pop punk tribute to Motown....by way of Glasgow. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks of it like that but the way Eugene and Francis sing the hook I'm hanging out, baby I'm hanging out really does make me think of the kind of hooks Motown would produce. A glorious racket with pop melodies. The sound of a band having fun.

The Day I Was A Horse
Possibly my favourite live Vaselines song. They fizz through it and the kiss off line on the chorus I think I'm on a f**king trip is sheer brilliance. This is 90-seconds of catchy punk pop brilliance that sounds fresh, energetic, fun and vital.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
For me this is one of the most beautiful songs ever by a Scottish band. The handful of chords, stunning vocal, the imagery in the lyrics, the cello and the whole feel to the song - just perfect. Listening back to some of the early Vaselines material, they really captured something on the recordings - there is a rawness and purity to them, beautiful.

Son Of A Gun
Eugene and Frances at their very, very best. The way this song flows is perfect, so perfect that I think I could listen to the chorus on repeat all day long. The whole song is super catchy, the verse is like a nursery rhyme, but that chorus ... with Frances singing;

The sun shines in the bedroom when we play

And the raining always starts when you go away

My 10 favourite Bowie songs

1947 - 2016, R.I.P

Like many, I have spent today listening to songs from the truly exceptional back catalogue of David Bowie following his sad passing after a battle against cancer.

Bowie was unique; he was a pop star to some, he seemed like an alien to many others when he was beamed into their TV's on Top of the Pops to perform Starman, he was a chameleon, he was inspirational and he was an incredible artist.

Heartfelt tributes have been pouring in all day for this wonderful creative, eclectic and eccentric singer, songwriter and performer. Bowie inspired many (Morrissey, Marc Almond, Brett Anderson and probably most of the 80's new wave romantics) but he quite simply could not be imitated.

Bowie always ahead of the game, he didn't just stick to a formula, he challenged himself and others and he was a leader; bold and imaginative, bursting with energy and creativity.

I thought I would take 20-minutes out to write a short blog about my 10 favourite Bowie songs.

1. Sound and Vision
I don't know what it is about this song that grabbed me on first listen and has never let me go. I've played it loads of times when I have DJ'd in the past; the opening beats into a glorious guitar riff and instrumental that flows beautifully eventually leading to synths and eventually a deep sigh and finally   the lyrics. Brilliant. Bowie is definitely someone who wondered about sound and vision.

2. Let's Dance
I used to manage the Glasgow band Sonny Marvello and their singer Stephen is a Bowie nut. The band covered this, I think for a night at Pinup Nights in the Flying Duck, and it led me to checking out a lot of Bowie's 80's material. A couple of years ago I was at the Wickerman Festival when Nile Rodgers played this song, that he co-produced, and again it led me to listen to it over and over again for weeks afterwards. It is so clever; from the Beatles-y Twist and Shout opening to the funky bass and synth, the incredible vocals that encourage the listener/muse to put on your red shoes and dance the blues and then the glorious....

If you say run, I'll run with you

If you say hide, we'll hide

Because my love for you

Would break my heart in two

If you should fall into my arms

Tremble like a flower

3. Modern Love
Another 80's Bowie song that Sonny Marvello covered. It is a real pop gem that the band learned for a set before singer Stephen's wedding and they played it at a party the night before. I always think of an incredible 2-days with some great friends, culminating in a beautiful wedding when I hear this song.

4. Heroes
Yeah it doesn't really get much better. Totally spine tingling.

5. Under Pressure
OK it's not all Bowie, but this may well have been the first Bowie song I head when I was a kid. That and his Dancing In The Streets duet with Mick Jagger! I still think it is a beautiful song and the performance is sensational with Bowie bringing out the best in Freddie Mercury and the song inspiring Bowie to reach fantastic heights.

This is our last dance

6. Starman
Loads of musicians from a certain era cite this as the moment they decided to form a band. Bowie beaming into their homes looking out of this world; was he a boy, a girl or an alien? Who cared, he was different and he was cool. The moment he puts his arm around Mick Ronson is brilliant - he knows he is f**king good. He packs everything into 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

7. Queen Bitch 
Another song I have played quite a lot when DJ-ing. That opening acoustic riff suddenly develops into something monstrous, quite punk rock and Bowie is in full flight sounding like he is loving it.

8. Changes
One of the first Bowie songs I really fell for in my late teens. The delivery of ch-ch-ch-changes and the line time may change me, but I can't trace time seemed to be written for me. Yet again, Bowie pens a song that flows superbly.

9. Ziggy Stardust
Bowie had many looks, guises and disguises throughout his career, Ziggy Stardust was arguably his best. The vision, ambition and delivery of the look, the songs and the album were pure pop art. Nothing like this had been done before. No-one could do it afterwards.

the kid was just crass

he was the nazz

with God given ass

he took it all too far

but boy could he play guitar

10. Five Years
From the legendary Ziggy Stardust album, it was yet another cover version that caused me to fall for this song and go back and dig out my second hand vinyl copy. This time it was an acoustic performance by singer Kevin Harper at a charity show I put on at Maggie's Centre in Glasgow. Knowing the diagnosis' some people in the room were dealing with, the song took on a new meaning to me and I got quite emotional.