You know as you go through life there are songs that will always transport you back and remind you of time long ago and happy (or sad) memories.
I thought I’d have a think about some of the songs that bring back memories for me – but by golly they seem to be an eclectic bunch!
Aside from the theme tune to Andy Pandy and Rupert Bear (which apparently I always cried when they finished) there’s not much I remember pre-5.
I think one of the earliest tracks that I remember is ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky” – the reason being my uncle used to love this and played it constantly. So whenever I went to visit my Nan he always seemed to be playing this particular record – and yes, I mean record. We are talking 1977 here! No CDs, iPods or downloadable stuff then, it was purely vinyl. How retro!
Some of my earliest music memories are the 50s and 60s rock and roll sounds especially Elvis and Buddy Holly – courtesy of my dad. He used to take me to dancing class on a Saturday morning and we would listen to “Sounds of the 60s” – nowadays I love jiving to the old 60s tunes, and my dad has introduced SC to Buddy Holly when he takes him to school.
A lot of my time when I was little was spent at dance competitions and I will never forget forging my best friendship ever with a girl who went dancing with me. We were a little bored between competition sessions and decided to wander off and have fun. It was definitely 1980ish and someone must have sung something from Annie, because we both decided we wanted to sing “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”, and from that moment on we were best buddies. I can’t listen to that song now without remembering her (it definitely brought memories flooding back, especially when I was in Annie a few years back). She was my best friend throughout my teenage years, we went on our first “no parent” holiday together when we were 17 to Cornwall and then when we were 19 to Turkey (how bold and daring we were) I lost touch with her 20 years ago, but if I could do anything I would love to find her again and just catch up – maybe even sing our song again 😉
Another memory with my best friend has to be The Andrews’ Sisters – we decided to choreograph a routine to “Rum and Coca-Cola” when we were about 13, and enter it into a competition. To say it sucked beyond belief would be an understatement. I think my choreography skills have improved since then – I’ve choreographed dance shows and my Taylor Swift routine won the local Brownies 1st spot in their talent show 😉
Next one has to be Soft Cell “Tainted Love”, for no other reason that it happened to be the first song I recorded on to my Sony Walkman which had been my Christmas present in 1981. If I remember correctly I think I must have wired up the Walkman to the radio somehow and recorded – that was what you called high-tech back then 😉
And then we have Wham! Pretty much any song really, they were my first proper pin-up boys. I was a really big Wham! fan – total girlie crush on Andrew Ridgeley (swoon!!) Even now, I secretly sneak a Wham! song onto my playlist for the classes I run. They certainly make me feel brighter 😉
Thinking of pin-up boys who else did I have stuck up on the inside of my wardrobe door? (Inside because my mum refused to let me have posters on the wall, still at least I was allowed posters 😉 ) Mmm, well there was Wham! Obviously. A-Ha (liked the blonde one), Wet Wet Wet (liked the piano player) and Limahl (remember him?) I never managed a poster of Andrew McCarthy, but he was definitely my pin-up film actor.
So, back to music. think the next track to pop up in the memory banks is Rick Astley “Never Gonna Give You Up”. I remember singing this with a girl whilst on the way to watch the boys in the gym when I was in the Sixth Form. Again it never fails to make me sing along. You really got to love those cheesy 80s tunes. (I could have just written down any 80s music as the soundtrack to my life but that really would have made an incredibly short blog of 3 words!)
Then we have the Pop Princess herself, Miss Kylie Minogue – I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky! It’s so poppy it’s infectious and again brings back memories of Sixth Form and sneaking off to the music block with friends after lunch (which had the only room in the school with a television, so we could sneakily watch Neighbours!) And talking of Neighbours, who didn’t cry when Scott married Charlene? Talking of, there’s Jason Donovan and Kylie’s number 1 “Especially for you”, which always makes me feel a tad wistful! (I’m such a romantic)
1990. What a year. Italia 90. First holiday abroad with best friend. First time I went out with Boomerang Boy. Ah. The memories. Not only those but we were all Vogue-ing in the clubs. How could I not include Madonna’s Vogue. I still find myself singing along and doing the moves if it’s on t’radio and I’m sitting in traffic – and yes, I do get some strange looks. But heck, I’m used to it 😉
Another 1990 song that brings back memories is The Happy Mondays” “Step on” – twisting my melon man – my best friend loved this song, and we were in Turkey on holiday (before it got popular) and she got the DJ on the beach bar to play this pretty much continuously one afternoon and we were lying in the sun doing some funky arm grooving.
Then there’s Snap “I’ve got the power” – again holiday in Turkey, dancing on the tables with the friends we made at the all night beach party – oh, those were the days. Don’t think I could do that now (staying up all night, I can still dance on tables!), I’d be head bobbing by midnight!
And a finally Soul to Soul’s “”Back to Life” – it’s got the lyrics that I always hear wrong. “However do you want me, I wanna be anaemic!” There a word for that, think it’s called mondegreen.
Then there were the university years – oh, so much fun 😉
Song-wise, if I had to pick just 3 they would be:
- Young at Heart by The Bluebells – just because I will always remember the boys in the group I used to hang around with being silly and pretending to play fiddles when that bit came on in the music. Lost touch with all bar one of my uni mates. Wonder what they’re doing now.
- The La’s “There She Goes” – just because someone said that was my song 😉
- The Cure – The Lovecats – only because that and Friday I’m in Love are my favourite Cure songs and just because the name reminds me of Rob Newman doing his Robert Smith impression when I saw Newman and Baddiel live.
1994, the year I left university, the year Friends started, so it has to be The Rembrandts “I’ll be there for you”. I grew up with Friends – they were the same age and I went through my 20s and early 30s with them. I can never pick which character I’m most like. I’d like to say Phoebe, because I’m definitely on the quirky side, but there’s a bit of Monica and Rachel in there too!
1999 – Tom Jones “Sex Bomb” – I was at drama school and rehearsing a play and the director told us to use some music to get into character. So I did. I walked through a shopping centre, on the way back to rehearsals, with this song in my head and my sexy little walk was going well, and then I bumped straight into the director and his raised eyebrows!! Oops!! But I was only doing what I had been told to do. Actually that song still makes my backside wiggle 😉
2002 – Enrique Iglesias – Hero – I remember buying this for Mr Wrong Number 1. Oh how wrong I was, he definitely was not the hero for me. One day, some one will be my hero (and not just SC)
2002 – Nora Jones – Come Away With Me – just love these lyrics and now I wistfully waltz around the dance floor to the tune, wishing I had someone to dance with 😉
2006/2007 – Scissor Sisters – Don’t Feel Like Dancing – whenever I hear this tune I will forever be reminded of being pregnant. I used to do a lot of driving during those 9 months and whenever this song was played on the radio SC would start having a disco in his own private club – kick, kick, kick. These days we both dance around to pretty much anything when the mood takes us 😉
2016 – This year, the song that is constantly playing in my car is “One Knight” from the musical Wonderland – SC loves singing along because as he says, “Mummy, I’m your knight in shining armour, you don’t need anyone else!”
And that’s pretty much it.
I love music of any kind, if I can dance to it even better. And what they say is true sometimes the lyrics sound as if they had been written especially for you or they say what you wish you could.
But please, just don’t play any REO Speedwagon.
