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ABC: When Smokey Sings - On Top of the Pops - June 18, 1987 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "When Smokey Sings" is a song by English pop band ABC, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Alphabet City (1987). The lyrics and title of the song are a tribute to R&B and soul singer Smokey Robinson. In the United States, Robinson's single "One Heartbeat" and ABC's "When Smokey Sings" were ranked in the Billboard 100 pop chart simultaneously for several weeks, including the week ending 3 October 1987, in which both songs ranked in the top 10. "When Smokey Sings" and its B-side "Chicago" also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart and became ABC's second American top-10 hit, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. There is a slight difference in the lyrics between the album and single version in the bridge of the song. The album version contains references to "Luther," "Sly," "James" and "Marvin" (most likely referring to Luther Vandross, Sly Stone, James Brown and Marvin Gaye, respectively). In the single version, this is replaced by alternative lyrics, followed by a short saxophone solo. The baseline of the song is an homage to Robinson's 1970 hit single with the Miracles "The Tears of a Clown." Robinson praised the song, saying, "Well, of course, that's a form of flattery, and I really appreciate it."

Matthew Wilder: Break My Stride - On Solid Gold -1983 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Break My Stride" is a song performed by American recording artist Matthew Wilder. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from his debut album, I Don't Speak the Language, and became a major worldwide hit single for him in late 1983 and spring 1984, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Cash Box Top 100.

Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted on Top Of The Pops - 1981 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) This 1980 version by Dave Stewart on synth and vocals by Zombies singer Colin Blunstone on Stiff reached No. 13 in the UK. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is a hit single recorded by Jimmy Ruffin and released on Motown Records' Soul label in the summer of 1966. It is a ballad, with lead singer Jimmy Ruffin recalling the pain that befalls the broken-hearted who had love that's now departed. The song essentially deals with the struggle to overcome sadness while seeking a new relationship after a breakup.The tune was written by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser, and James Dean, and the recording was produced by Weatherspoon and William "Mickey" Stevenson. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" remains one of the most-revived of Motown's hits.

Billy Ocean: Suddenly - On Top Of The Pops - Christmas Day - 1985 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Suddenly" is a song from 1985 co-written and performed by UK-based singer Billy Ocean. Co-written and produced by Keith Diamond, it is the title track to Ocean's 1984 breakthrough album. Released as the third single from the album (following the success of "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy"), the ballad became the album's most successful single in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1985. The song also reached the same chart peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, spending two weeks at number four in June of that year. It peaked at number five on the Billboard R&B chart and spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.

Baltimora: Tarzan Boy - On Top Of The Pops - Christmas Day - 1985 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album Living in the Background. The song was re-recorded and released in 1993, and has been covered by several artists throughout the years.The refrain uses Tarzan's cry as a melodic line. The song is rhythmical, with an electronic melody and simple lyrics. Baltimora are often considered a one-hit wonder due to the success they experienced with "Tarzan Boy". It features a melodic motif that was later named the millennial whoop. The music video for the song features the frontman for the band's performances, Jimmy McShane, who according to some sources did not actually sing the song but rather lip synced it. "Tarzan Boy" was an international hit, debuting in the top five Italian charts and performing well in several other European countries, including Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and notably, France, where "Tarzan Boy" was most successful, topping the charts there for five consecutive weeks. In the United Kingdom, it reached number 3 in September 1985. The single had success in the United States (where it was released by EMI), with the single remaining on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months and ultimately peaking at number 13 in early 1986."Tarzan Boy" would re-enter the Billboard charts as a slightly re-recorded version at number 68 and peak at number 51 five weeks later. It would spend an additional 12 weeks on the chart, exiting the Hot 100 on 12 June 1993.

Cliff Richard: Devil Woman - On Top of the Pops – 1976 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Devil Woman" is a 1976 single by British singer Cliff Richard from his album I'm Nearly Famous. The song was written by Terry Britten and Christine Authors (who was the singer of the Family Dogg under the name Christine Holmes). The song is told from the point of view of a man jinxed from an encounter with a stray cat with evil eyes, and his discovery that the psychic medium whose help he sought to break the curse was the one responsible for the curse in the first place. However, the nature of the curse is not made clear. Released in late April 1976, "Devil Woman" rose to number 9 on the singles chart in Richard's native UK in June 1976. It became Richard's first single to reach the Top 20 in the US, making number 6 on the Hot 100, Richard's highest-peaking single and biggest seller in the US. "Devil Woman" is the third biggest-selling Cliff Richard single, with over two million copies sold worldwide. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in the US and the CRIA in Canada. The musicians featured on the recording are Terry Britten on guitar, Alan Tarney on bass, Clem Cattini on drums, Graham Todd on keyboards, and Tony Rivers, John Perry, and Ken Gold on backing vocals, with string arrangements by Richard Hewson. The song is heavily guitar-driven, with soft-distortion lines doubling the melody in the chorus and long, high, sustained single notes providing atmosphere over the verses. A Rhodes electric piano, bass guitar, drums, and percussion are the only other instruments.

Freeez: I.O.U. - On Top Of the Pops - July 21, 1983 (My "Remastered" Stereo Edit) "I.O.U." is a song by British musical group Freeez, released in 1983. The song was written and produced by Arthur Baker and remixed by Jellybean Benitez and Arthur Baker. The song was an international hit, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and topping the US Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80 chart, giving Freeez their only chart-topping single on any Billboard chart. It was the 18th-best-selling single of 1983 in the United Kingdom. In the UK, where clubbing culture had become accustomed to sophisticated jazz-funk music, I.O.U. was seen[by whom?] as "dumbing down" for commercial success, cashing in on the fashionable "electro" music scene. The accompanying video featured children with skateboards and BMX bicycles recreating New York hip-hop culture for a young audience unaware of the band's previous music. In 1986, a 12-inch single was released in the US by the Criminal Records company, with new remixes. Some of these remixes were given a re-release during 1987 in the UK for the Citybeat label as "I.O.U. (The Ultimate Mixes '87)", however, it only reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.

Dexys Midnight Runners: Come On Eileen - On Top Of The Pops - Christmas Day – 1982 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners (credited to Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express), released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album Too-Rye-Ay. It reached number one in the United States and was their second number one hit in the UK, following 1980's "Geno". The song was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley and was initially claimed to be written by Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although Rowland later stated that the essence of the tune should be attributed to Kevin Archer. "Come On Eileen" won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards, and in 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's sixth favourite 1980s number one single in a poll for ITV. It was ranked number eighteen on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" and was Britain's best-selling single of 1982. The song reached number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 charts during the week ending 23 April 1983. "Come On Eileen" prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back number one hits in the US: "Billie Jean" was the number one single the previous seven weeks, while "Beat It" was the number one song the ensuing three.

Joe Jackson: Is She Really Going Out With Him - On Top Of The Pops August 9, 1979 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is a song written and performed by British musician Joe Jackson. It was released in October 1978 as his debut single and was later included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp! The track was one of the first Jackson recorded with his new backing band, a band he would perform with for his first three albums. Written as a humorous commentary on women dating unattractive men, the song contains a prominent bass line and a chorus praised by critics as memorable. Jackson has since stated that the song's reputation for being angry was untrue. On its initial release, the single was commercially unsuccessful and failed to chart. Two follow-up singles, "Sunday Papers" and "One More Time", were also chart failures. However, when "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was re-released in 1979 after Jackson's reputation and new wave music grew in popularity, the single saw more attention and became a chart success. This second release reached the top 20 in the UK and top 30 in the US, becoming one of Jackson's highest charting singles worldwide. Since then, the song has been praised as one of Jackson's greatest and most famous and has been covered by multiple artists. The song has appeared on several of Jackson's compilation albums and remains a staple of Jackson's live set list. A live a cappella version released in 1988 was a top five single in the Netherlands. It has been described as one of the classics of the new wave genre, though Jackson does not consider it his best song. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was one of the first songs Joe Jackson recorded with the Joe Jackson Band, which included bassist Graham Maby, guitarist Gary Sanford, and drummer Dave Houghton. The song was immediately popular with the band; Jackson recalled in his autobiography, "Everyone liked it. It was catchy, they said, and had the makings of a hit. I wouldn't know a hit, I protested, from a hole in my head. I liked all my songs, and if I'd written a hit it was by accident. But I appreciated the enthusiasm, and something else, too: a growing feeling that I was up to something". The final version of the song was recorded with American producer David Kershenbaum in August 1978 after Jackson was signed to A&M Records.[3] According to Jackson, the song originated from when he heard the title. Jackson claimed that he had first heard it on a song by the Damned, who had gotten it from the Shangri-Las' song, "Leader of the Pack". From there, he came up with the basis for lyrics for "a funny little song about watching couples and wondering what the girls could possibly see in the guys". Jackson recalled, "It wasn't based on a specific incident or anything like that ... I tried to write a funny song around that title, and that’s about all there was to it, really". Though the song was written to be comical, it has been interpreted by some critics as angry, earning Jackson the tag of "angry young man". He said of the song's origins in an interview: I heard that phrase somewhere and I thought that could be a kind of funny song about gorgeous girls going out with monsters. It just started from there. It was just a funny song, or supposed to be funny. It was a great surprise to me when some people interpreted it as being angry. — Joe Jackson, Songfacts, 2012 In another interview, Jackson recalled another incident where the lyrics to the song were misinterpreted. He explained that he was accused of racism by a black man because of the song's opening lyric "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street", which the man had thought was about black men dating white women. Jackson concluded, "And no matter what I said he wouldn't believe me, and as far as he was concerned that was what it was. So, I mean, really, what can you do? (Laughs) I always feel like my lyrics are very clear, but what can I say?"

Slade: Cum On Feel The Noize - On Top of the Pops - Christmas Day 1973 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) This is a glam rock classic. Slade performed loud, anthemic songs in flamboyant costumes, often with lots of makeup and plenty of energy. Glam rock was big in the UK in the mid-'70s, and this was one of the genre's first hits. Most Americans know this song from the Quiet Riot cover, which went to #5 in 1983 and helped their album Metal Health become the first metal album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200. It was the band's producer, Spencer Proffer, who asked them to cover the song; lead singer Kevin DuBrow wanted nothing to do with it, since he wanted the band to write every song on the album. He and the band cooked up a plan to sabotage the song, but it failed. In a Songfacts interview with Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali, he told the story: "We were supposed to rehearse the song and go in and record it. The producer kept calling the rehearsal studio, 'Are you working on 'Cum On Feel the Noize'?' And we'd say, 'Yeah. It sounds great.' But we never played it. So the day came when it was time to record the song, and I came in early and told the engineer what was going on. I was honest with him. I said, 'You might just want to record this for laughs and giggles.' We went in, there was no intro, no nothing at all. There was a little bit of arguing as to how it was going to start, and finally, when I knew the engineer was rolling tape, I just started playing what became the intro. Rudy [Sarzo, bass] joined in, and then Carlos [Cavazo, guitar] joined in. Kevin was sitting at the corner of the studio, just giggling, waiting for this massive train wreck, and the train wreck never happened. I had already done so many sessions in LA - even before the Metal Health record - that I knew, 'Vamp long, there's no click track on it,' and all of that. And then when we were done, the producer says, 'That sounded great. I wish we had recorded it.' And the engineer said, 'Come on in.'

10cc: I'm Not In Love - On Top of the Pops - December 25, 1975 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) I'm Not in Love" is a song by British group 10cc, written by band members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. It is known for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. Released in the UK in May 1975 as the second single from the band's third album, The Original Soundtrack, it became the second of the group's three number-one singles in the UK between 1973 and 1978, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. "I'm Not in Love" became the band's breakthrough hit outside the United Kingdom, topping the charts in Canada and Ireland as well as peaking within the top 10 of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, West Germany, New Zealand, Norway and the United States. Written mostly by Stewart as a response to his wife's declaration that he did not tell her often enough that he loved her, "I'm Not in Love" was originally conceived as a bossa nova song played on guitars, but the other two members of the band, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, were not impressed with the idea for the track and it was abandoned. However, after hearing members of their staff continue to sing the melody around their studio, Stewart persuaded the group to give the song another chance, to which Godley replied that for the song to work it needed to be radically changed, and suggested that the band should try to create a new version using just voices. According to Stewart, at the time of recording The Original Soundtrack the band was already being courted by Mercury Records (part of the Phonogram group) to leave Jonathan King's small UK Records label, where they were struggling financially. He said: "I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said, 'This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything.' On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money." Despite impressing their new label with the track, Phonogram felt that it was not suitable for release as a single due to its length, and released "Life Is a Minestrone" as the first single from The Original Soundtrack instead. However, many influential figures in the music industry were demanding that "I'm Not in Love" be released as a single, and Mercury eventually bowed to the pressure and released it as the second single from the album. The band were forced to edit the track down to four minutes for radio play, but once it charted, pressure from the public and the media caused the radio stations to revert to playing the full version. Record World said that "One of the most technically perfect productions of this or any year is kind of a cross between '2001' and the golden era Lennon-McCartney ballad days." Released in May 1975, "I'm Not in Love" became the band's second number-one, staying atop the UK singles chart for two weeks from 28 June. In the US, the record peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. In the UK the single was released in its full length version of over six minutes; in the US and Canada it was released in an edited 3:42 version, and with a different B-side.

Human League: (Keep Feeling) Fascination - on Top of the Pops May 5, 1983 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a song by English synth-pop band the Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent (which would be the last song he produced for the band for seven years).The song features vocals from four of the band members, including lead singer Philip Oakey, female co-vocalists Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and a rare vocal role from keyboardist and guitarist Jo Callis. The single was released in the UK on 15 April 1983 as a non-album single, and went to number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was incorporated into the band's EP Fascination!. Released in the US a month after the UK release, the single reached number 1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (their first single to do so) and number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 that summer.

Spandau Ballet: True - On Top of the Pops - April 21, 1983 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "True" is a song by English pop band Spandau Ballet, released in April 1983 as the title track and third single from their third studio album. It was written by the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter Gary Kemp to express his feelings for Altered Images lead singer Clare Grogan. Kemp was influenced musically by songs of Marvin Gaye and Al Green he was listening to at the time, and lyrically by Green and the Beatles. "True" reached number one on the UK singles chart in April 1983 and made the top 10 in several other countries, including the US, where it became their first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100. Kemp wanted to shift the sound of Spandau Ballet into soul and incorporated band member Steve Norman's newfound interest in the saxophone into his writing; the band also updated its look to suits for the song's music video and tour. "True" was recorded with most of the other tracks from the album at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. The True album was then released as "Communication", its first single, was climbing the UK Singles Chart. DJs were so enthusiastic about playing the title song that the band knew it would be their next single. The song has since become the band's signature hit. It has been covered by Paul Anka in a swing style, and used in films such as Sixteen Candles and 50 First Dates, as well as TV series such as Modern Family. Other artists have sampled it in their own hits, including P.M. Dawn, who went to number one in the US with "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" in 1991.

Pet Shop Boys: West End Girls - on Top of the Pops - December 19, 1985 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career. The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released on Columbia Records' Bobcat Records imprint in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague for their first studio album, Please. In October 1985, the new version was released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 2005, 20 years after its release, the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994 by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. A critic's poll in 2020 by The Guardian selected "West End Girls" as the greatest UK number-one single.

T'Pau: Heart And Soul - On Top Of The Pops - 1987 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Heart and Soul" is the debut single by British pop rock band T'Pau, released in a rerecorded version from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies in 1987. Following its inclusion in a Pepe Jeans advert, the single reached number four on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. The song is notable for its usage of various vocal overdubs, causing Decker, essentially, to be duet-ting with herself on the original studio recording. This makes the song, in its initial studio form, impossible to perform live without additional backup singers. Instead, Decker often performs what she calls a "basic" version, explaining to Songfacts: "I rap the first two verses then cut to the melody for the verse before the chorus. No one really notices or minds as I cover the essential dynamics of the song. It works well."Upon its initial release in the UK in February 1987, the song was not well received, entering the bottom of the chart and falling out immediately after.But in the United States, the song received heavy airplay, and enabled it to reach No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1987. Due to the exposure, the song was re-released in the UK that same month; this time it became a hit, equaling the US peak of No. 4 in September.

Level 42: Something About You - On Top Of The Pops - October 24, 1985 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Something About You" is a single released by English jazz-funk band Level 42 in 1985, in advance of its inclusion on the album World Machine the same year. The song was written by Mark King, Mike Lindup, Phil Gould, Boon Gould, and Wally Badarou. "Something About You" was released in several countries outside the United Kingdom, including the United States, Germany, Italy, Canada, in addition to many countries in South America and Asia. It is the only Level 42 song to have been a top 10 hit in the United States, where it reached no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it was their second top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching no. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was certified gold in Canada in 1986. "Something About You" appears in many Level 42 collections, including Level Best, The Very Best of Level 42, and The Definitive Collection. "Something About You" also appears on the PC version of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the Vice City FM radio station.

George Michael: Careless Whisper - On Top Of The Pops - 1984 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Careless Whisper" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter George Michael. Released as the second single from Wham!'s second studio album Make It Big (1984), it was written by Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, with Michael producing the song. Although the song was released as part of Make It Big, the single release is credited to either Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom and some European countries).The song has been covered by a number of artists since its release, including Brian McKnight, Seether, Roger Williams, Kenny G and Julio Iglesias, among others. A contemporary pop song with R&B and soul influences, it features a prominent saxophone riff composed by Michael and played by Steve Gregory. It became a commercial success, topping record charts in at least ten countries and selling about 6 million copies worldwide—2 million of them in the United States. The song later achieved popularity on social media, mainly due to the saxophone riff being used as a popular internet meme.

A-ha: Take On Me - On Top Of The Pops - 1985 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums. The original 1984 version "Take On Me" failed to chart in the United Kingdom, as did the second version in the first of its two 1985 releases. The second of those 1985 releases charted in September 1985, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in October. In the United States in October 1985, the single topped Billboard's Hot 100, bolstered by the wide exposure on MTV of director Steve Barron's innovative music video featuring the band in a live-action pencil-sketch animation sequence. The video won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. "Take On Me" originated from Pål Waaktaar's and Magne Furuholmen's previous band Bridges, who first composed a number called "Miss Eerie" when they were 15 and 16 years old, but felt too much like a bubblegum ad. Initially the band felt the riff was too pop-oriented for their band, thus the first version of the song was more "punky" in an attempt to offset the riff. The first take of the song was inspired in part by Doors member Ray Manzarek and his "almost mathematical but very melodic, structured way of playing". Waaktaar considered the song too poppy for their intended dark style, but Furuholmen recalled thinking it was "quite catchy". Soon after, Bridges disbanded. Waaktaar and Furuholmen relocated to London to try their hand in the music industry there, but returned to Norway after six months of disappointment. They were joined by their school friend, singer Morten Harket, who heard the song and said the keyboard riff had the character of a universal hit sound. The three began working on demos, including a new version of the song, which was renamed "Lesson One" before it evolved into "Take On Me". In January 1983, the band returned to London in search of a recording contract. They intended the song to show off Harket's vocal range, which led to his vocals "doing this spiraling thing".

Tears for Fears: Everybody Wants to Rule the World - On Countdown (1985) (My "Stereo Remastered" Edit) "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. It was released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercury, and Vertigo Records as the third single from the album. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a new wave and synth-pop song with lyrics that detail the desire humans have for control and power and center on themes of corruption. An international success, the song peaked at number two in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom and at number one in Canada, New Zealand, and on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox. It was certified gold by both Music Canada (MC) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Retrospectively, music critics have praised "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with some ranking the song among the decade's best. Along with "Shout" (1984), it is one of the band's signature songs. The song was a "last-minute" addition during recording sessions of Songs from the Big Chair (1985). The decision to include the song in the album came after Orzabal played two chords on his acoustic guitar for Hughes. It was recorded in two weeks and added as the final track on the album. According to Orzabal, the final line in the song's chorus, originally written as "Everybody wants to go to war", contributed to his indifference towards the track. A music video received promotion from MTV. The year the song came out, it was featured in the ending to the science fiction comedy film Real Genius. In 1986, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards.

Mr. Mister: Broken Wings - On Top Of The Pops - January 16, 1986 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Broken Wings" is a 1985 song recorded by American pop rock band Mr. Mister. It was released in June 1985 as the lead single from their second album Welcome to the Real World. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. It was released as the band was just about to embark on a US tour opening for Tina Turner. "Broken Wings" became the first of two consecutive number ones of the band on the American charts, the other chart-topper being "Kyrie". Outside of the United States, "Broken Wings" topped the charts in Canada, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and West Germany, and the top twenty of the charts in Austria, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden. Lyrically, "Broken Wings" is an attempt to keep a relationship together through the magic of flowery language: "Take these broken wings/ And learn to fly again, learn to live so free/ When we hear the voices sing/ The book of love will open up and let us in." Those words are grandiloquent enough to be self-parody, but Page delivers them all perfectly straight-faced. He means every bit of it. In Page's mouth, the word "take" becomes a desperate animal yelp. I love it. I also love how overproduced "Broken Wings" is. The song is all ominous churn, and it never really kicks in. Instead, it captures a state of sustained anticipation.

Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music On Solid Gold - February 28, 1981 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Don't Stop the Music" is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from the duo's 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. It was released as a single on Mercury Records in 1980. The song reached number 26 on the dance charts, number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and fared even better on the US R&B chart, where it hit number one, Outside the US, "Don't Stop the Music" went to number 7 in the UK. The song's success helped to earn a gold record for the duo. Radio promotion for the record was handled in Los Angeles by independent marketing firm Dudley-Gorov, while a young Russell Simmons shopped the record to New York club DJs as one of his early jobs.

Pet Shop Boys: Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) On Top Of The Pops - June 5, 1986 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their debut studio album, Please (1986). It was released as a single in 1985 and re-recorded and reissued in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the United Kingdom and United States with its second release, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. After a Super Bowl ad in February 2021, featuring the song, it re-entered the charts claiming the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs No. 1 spot on 27 February, 2021, among others.

Johnny Hates Jazz: Shattered Dreams - On Italian TV (Tutto di tutto) 1987 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "Shattered Dreams" is a song by English musical group Johnny Hates Jazz from their debut studio album, Turn Back the Clock (1988). Written by the band's lead singer Clark Datchler, the song was released in March 1987 as the album's lead single. "Shattered Dreams" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 92 and gained popularity through extensive radio play and video rotation on MTV, eventually peaking at number five in May 1987 and spending three weeks at that position. Internationally, "Shattered Dreams" reached the top 10 in Canada, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and West Germany. In the United States, it was released with an alternative music video shot entirely in black and white and directed by David Fincher, which Datchler preferred. The single topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for one week and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Singer Clark Datchler wrote "Shattered Dreams" in a small studio he had set up in the front room of his parents' house. He had an upright piano, a 4-track portastudio, a drum machine, and a keyboard in the studio. He wrote the song quickly, but the bongo solo took a while to conceive. Datchler knew he had written something special by his dad's reaction. Usually, his dad would offer musical advice if he asked for it, but would otherwise leave Clark alone. But this time, his dad walked in and told him he had written a big hit, and believed in the song's potential when few other people in the music industry did. On the lyrics, Datchler said: Obviously when I wrote "Shattered Dreams" I had it in mind that it would revolve around divorce, not just a relationship break-up but something a little bit heavier. But actually, the way I think people relate to it is that there are all kinds of shattered dreams that we experience on an individual level or in partnerships or as a people, as a nation, as humanity. We are facing some very serious shattered dreams right now whether that be environmental, or economic, or philosophical even. There are ways that "Shattered Dreams" reaches out and touches people when they are going through difficult times. And in some ways, it's not necessarily a very hopeful song. But I think the energy of the song is still quite bright which makes it an interesting combination. It's kind of opposites of each other, but that is something I tend to do lyrically and musically, having serious subjects with more up-tempo music.

Nena: 99 Luftballons (1984) (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "99 Luftballons" (German: Neunundneunzig Luftballons, "99 balloons") is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released by Nena on the album 99 Luftballons in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics with a somewhat different meaning. In the US, the English-language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena's only US hit. While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released. As he watched them move toward the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes, where they looked like strange spacecraft (referred to in the German lyrics as a "UFO"). He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector.Also cited by the band was a newspaper article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal about five local high school students in 1973 who played a prank to simulate a UFO by launching 99 (one was lost from the original 100) aluminized Mylar balloons attached with ribbons to a traffic flare. The red flame from the flare reflected by the balloons gave the appearance of a large pulsating red object floating over Red Rock Canyon outside the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada.A direct translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", but the song became known in English as "Ninety-Nine Red Balloons". The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first line of lyrics, although Neunundneunzig (99) has one syllable more than "ninety-nine".The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a military general officer to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but balloons, the pilots put on a large show of firepower. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the war ministers on each side encourage conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a cataclysmic war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons and causes devastation on all sides without a victor, as indicated in the denouement of the song: "99 Jahre Krieg ließen keinen Platz für Sieger," which means "99 years of war left no room for victors." The anti-war song finishes with the singer walking through the devastated ruins of the world and finding a single balloon. The description of what happens in the final line of the piece is the same in German and English: "'Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen," or "Think of you and let it go." The English version retains the spirit of the original narrative, but many of the lyrics are translated poetically rather than being directly translated: red helium balloons are casually released by the civilian singer (narrator) with her unnamed friend into the sky and are mistakenly registered by a faulty early warning system as enemy contacts, resulting in panic and eventually nuclear war, with the end of the song near-identical to the end of the original German version.From the outset Nena (the lead singer) and other members of the band expressed disapproval of the English version of the song, "99 Red Balloons". In March 1984, the band's keyboardist and song co-writer Uwe Fahrenkrog Petersen said, "We made a mistake there. I think the song loses something in translation and even sounds silly." In another interview that month, the band, including Nena herself, were quoted as being "not completely satisfied" with the English version since it was "too blatant" for a group not wishing to be seen as a protest band. American and Australian audiences preferred the original German version, which became a very successful non-English-language song, topping charts in both countries, reaching No. 1 on the Cash Box chart, Kent Music Report, and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Jump" by Van Halen. It was certified Gold by the RIAA. The later-released English translation, "99 Red Balloons", topped the charts in the UK, Canada and Ireland.

Tavares - A Penny For Your Thoughts On Solid Gold - October 30, 1982 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) Tavares - A Penny For Your Thoughts On Solid Gold - October 30, 1982 (My "Stereo Studio Sound" Re-Edit) "A Penny for Your Thoughts" is a song by R&B/disco group Tavares in 1982, originally recorded by Marion Jarvis in 1975. It was written by Kenny Nolan. Released from their 1982 album New Directions, the song became Tavares's eighth and final US Top 40 hit, peaking at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 28 on the Cash Box Top 100. Unlike all of their bigger hits, "A Penny for Your Thoughts" did not chart in Canada. Three collections of the group's work were issued during the early 2000s by Capitol Records, however, because of their label change to RCA the song was not included among their other hits. "A Penny for Your Thoughts" was his ninth of 10 compositions to become U.S. chart hits. Ten years later Atlantic Starr would reach the Top 10 with Nolan's song, "Masterpiece." At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards "A Penny For Your Thoughts" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal.