GHOST TOWN

Forget moons in June, walks along the beach and holding hands in the back row of the cinema, there’s nothing quite so likely to make for a memorable number one hit than some meaningful lyrics about urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner...

COME ON EILEEN

Bearing in mind what a serious soul Kevin Rowland was (and doubtless still is) it’s probably a hard enough cross for him to bear that Come On Eileen, his most famous composition with Dexy’s Midnight Runners (actually credited to Dexy’s Midnight Runners and the Emerald...

STAY WITH ME TIL DAWN

If any song had the male half of the world at its feet it must have been Judie Tzuke and Mike Paxman’s 1979 torcher Stay With Me Till Dawn. It had the street cred of being on Elton John’s Rocket Records label but more importantly it was sung by the sultry and sexy...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

There’s always at least one song that’s suitable for just about every special occasion. It can be the fairly general joy bringer of Cliff Richard with Congratulations, or the more time specific Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade, the anthemic Have a Nice Day by...

LOVE SONG

You would think that having somewhere in the region of 150 fellow artistes record their version of one of your songs would give you a fighting chance of fame ever after. You would think that impressing Elton John enough for him to have you join him on his version of...

THE CRYING GAME

Here’s a pub quiz question guaranteed to baffle even the speediest of mobile phone Google cheats. What have Sheffield, leather stage gear, cross dressing, the New Vaudeville Band, the Troubles and film director Neil Jordan got in common? The answer, pop pickers, is...

JILTED JOHN

As a nation we’ve always had a soft spot for a novelty song. Who could resist the cheeky lyrics of George Formby’s Little Stick of Blackpool Rock (and pretty much everything else he strummed his uke to)? Arthur Askey didn’t do too badly with his little tea pot and his...

JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH

Although Personal Jesus could well be the song that Depeche Mode fans will class as one of the band’s finest moments (well, it’s not every synth pop tune that inspired the legendary Johnny Cash to revive in great style), it’s more likely that Just Can’t Get Enough...

HEARTS IN HER EYES

Here’s a pop quiz chicken and egg question. Well two actually. Part one. Whose version of the classic power pop song Hearts In Her Eyes was released first? Was it The Records – whose members Will Birch and John Wicks wrote it – or The Searchers who, with their...

TUBTHUMPING

There are one hit wonders who really only have one hit – and then there are one hit wonders who we really only remember for one hit even though they’ve had quite a few others which we don’t remember too much about. Take Chumbawamba (generally pronounced “wumba”...

The Great British Songbook

What is the songbook? The “Great British Songbook” is the canon of the most important and influential popular songs , written by composers and lyricists from the British Isles. Songs published from the early 1960’s that have stood the test of time in their life and legacy

The Great British Songbook Songs

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

About The Great British Songbook