New Music: Because I Don't Know (Lita Lores Version)

           

Tricky's single "Because I Don’t Know" now gets a female perspective thanks to Lita Lores. For the 21-year-old British singer, Bristol icon Adrian Thaws (who, as in the other versions, only provides a breathy backing vocal) completely transforms the song: Where the regular album version, with Mitch Sanders's falsetto, is a bouncy, danceable track with a catchy drum loop, the beat here is no longer so danceable and directly impactful, but rather ethereal and hallucinogenic. It pulsates dreamily and crackles subversively, while Lita Lores sensually revels in the electronically lush drama. The keyboard takes on a latent glimmer of hope, and the keyboard instruments generally expand more atmospherically, while the subtle strings sound more cinematic. In short: This version of "Because I Don't Know" is more clearly based on Tricky's classic albums.

New Music: Everything At Once

           

Dinosaur Jr. are officially back. The alt-rock pioneers just dropped "Everything At Once" a shimmering first single off their 13th studio album, There Near.  While a lot of the new record leans into fast, driving punk energy, the new single hits a different sweet spot, think classic power-pop meets J Mascis’ signature melancholic crunch—heavy on the hooks, dripping with analog warmth, and carrying that unmistakable downbeat indie charm. For the video directed by Guy Kozak, the visual accompaniment features a poor soul trapped in a full, clanking medieval suit of armor trying to survive everyday modern errands. Watching a knight mow the lawn and walk a dog provides the exact kind of dry, self-aware humor that makes the band so enduringly cool.

Rocktrospectiva: The Fairly Good "Fore!" Turns 40

 

Released on 20 August 1986, "Fore!" was the fourth studio album by US rock band Huey Lewis and the News. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 and went on to score five top-ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the number-one hits "Stuck with You" and "Jacob's Ladder" other singles from the album were "Doing In It For My Baby", "Hip To Be Square", & "I Know What I Like."

Musically was a stronger record, the opener "Jacob's Ladder", heartland rock of the Mellencamp variety, then the listener is taken through midlife contentment with "Stuck With You", smug self satisfaction on "I Know What I Like" a fortune cookie philosophy on "Forest For the Trees", and a goodie-two-shoes anthem on "Doing It All For My Baby."

The band enjoyed themselves though, serenading and harmonising to their ideal listener that was a family man. The lyrics were slighty different with a minimal in his simplicity, thought Huey never did anything unexpected to confound his regular-guy base, proudly avoiding abstraction and more than one and a half dimensions.

There were certain highlights such as "Hip To Be Square"  literally a love letter to spineless conformity, though slightly mental in the way a manager who wears day-glow jump suits to work to cheer everyone up is, hinting at something weirder around its hyperactive edges. Remember that the album was referenced in the film American Psycho. The main character Patrick Bateman, while talking to Paul Allen, gives a review of the album, discussing the band's viewpoint, intent, and how specifically the song "Hip to Be Square" espouses "not just the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends, but [the song]'s also a personal statement about the band itself" with a catchy 1980s beat. He goes on to state it is "the group's most accomplished album".

"The Power Of Love" (included on the international version of the LP), the misconnection between then and now is absolutely pitiless. Let’s just say that it is no longer “the power that makes the world go round”, brimming instead with regrettable familiarity, like having your arse pinched by a despised relative in a case of mistaken identity – impossible to make excuses for and hopefully unrepeatable.  "Jacob's Ladder" was originally meant for a Bruce Hornsby album that Huey Lewis was producing.  Hornsby did not like the arrangement for the song, so suggested Lewis record it with The News. "Doing It All for My Baby" was written by Mike Duke and Phil Cody. Duke wrote the song and then recorded vocals himself (the band playing backing parts and instruments), with the intention of getting a record contract for his own solo career. When that plan fell through, Lewis decided to record a version with his own vocals for the album.

According to Lewis, the album track "Forest for the Trees" was written for and about kids struggling with life issues as an uplifting message for them. Lewis based it off the letters he received from young fans at the time who would talk about how important his music was to them. 

An original review according to Glenn O'brien for Spin Magazine recalled a mixed feeling and nothing  that 'what saves it for me is that songs are good songs. And Huey still sings with heart and soul'.

 

Fore! Track List:  

 

1. Jacob's Laddier

2. Stuck With You

4. Whole Lotta Lovin'

5. Doing It All For My Baby

6. Hip To Be Square

7. I Know What I Like

8. I Never Walk Alone

9. Forest For THe Trees

10. Naturally

11. Simple As That

New Music: The Ballad Of Terry Fox

            

Singer Bryan Adams has released a new song, "The Ballad of Terry Fox," and an accompanying music video that celebrates the Marathon of Hope runner. The song will be featured in the upcoming documentary about Fox, Run Terry Run and also in his forthcoming album "How's It Goin." The film details Fox's journey with losing his right leg to osteosarcoma and his run from St. John's to raise money and awareness for cancer research. "I remember Terry’s run back in 1980 when I was on tour in Canada playing 200-capacity clubs," Adams said in a press release. “I was 20 years old and I think Terry was a year older than me." "When he stopped near Thunder Bay on Sept. 1, I had just played in Ottawa, and his run was all over the news," he continued. "Thinking back, it was a pivotal time in Canada. Without knowing it, Terry gave our slightly fractious country a ‘something' and ‘someone' that everyone could agree on and unite behind."The song's lyrics detail Fox's run and his dream of finding a cure for cancer: "The finish line was in his mind, not a city on a map," Adams sings. Fox ended his marathon in Thunder Bay, Ont., after cancer spread to his lungs. He died 10 months later at 22. Sean Menard, who directed the film, shared that "Bryan is a legendary storyteller, and his words paired with Terry’s story on screen felt incredibly powerful. To have one Canadian icon write a song about another is truly special. Given the political climate while I was editing the video, I often found myself deeply moved with Canadian pride." Run Terry Run will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

New Music: Feed The Sewer

           

Protomartyr shares "Feed the Sewer," the second single from their forthcoming album, Hotel Usona, out September 25th. About the single, Casey comments, "The title comes from a line of dialogue in a Peter Greenaway movie. The sentiment of the song is that artificial intelligence is against humanity. The belief is that people are often willing to destroy the world in exchange for convenience. The lyrics are the usual mish-mash of political fears, personal grievances, literary references, and poop jokes. The music is very loud, like a data center."  Video director, Andrew Theodore Balasia, says, "Loneliness in the age of surveillance is the theme we explored for this video. The motel becomes a physical microcosm of data collection, each room a profile - each guest willingly paying to stay in a room that is being monitored by strangers. The banality of what’s being observed becomes its own source of unease, stripping away spectacle until all that remains is the dull, unsettling desire to connect with anything."

News: Pet Shop Boys Announce A New Recording Of "A Man From The Future" Will Be Premiered On BBC This October

Made in collaboration with Turing's biographer, Professor Andrew Hodges. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, it was first performed it at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014, as part of the BBC Proms, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers. For this new version, both the text and the music have been revised.

BBC Radio 6 Music will broadcast the 2026 edition on Sunday 4 October, within Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone (8–10pm) and Maconie will also speak to Tennant, Lowe and Hodges about the reworking, including their approach to combining electronic and orchestral music.

A man from the future will then air on BBC Radio 3 later the same evening, within Unclassified (11.30pm–12.30am), with Pet Shop Boys and Hodges joining presenter Elizabeth Alker in the studio to discuss the original performance and its revision. After that, both broadcasts will be available on BBC Sounds for 30 days afterwards.

The piece follows Turing's life chronologically across eight parts: his school days and early interest in mathematics, his time at Cambridge, his work breaking the German Enigma machine's codes during the Second World War, his role in the invention of the digital computer and his early predictions about artificial intelligence, his trial and conviction for a homosexual relationship, his death in 1954, the royal pardon granted to him in 2013, and his lasting influence.

The duo explain the piece was intended as a tribute to Turing's life and treatment. "Our motive in creating this work was to make a musical memorial to Alan Turing, who gave so much to his country and the world and was rewarded for it by being prosecuted for his sexuality. In both his professional and private lives, he was ahead of his time."

Lorna Clarke, BBC Director of Music adds: "When Pet Shop Boys debuted A man from the future at the BBC Proms twelve years ago, audiences were treated to an ambitious and moving tribute to the life and legacy of Alan Turing."

The 2026 recording is co-produced by Pet Shop Boys and German composer Sven Helbig, who also worked on the original 2014 orchestrations. This version leans further into electronic production, alongside a more intimate string arrangement from Helbig. Olivier-winning actress Juliet Stevenson, who appeared in the 2014 Royal Albert Hall performance, returns to deliver narration adapted from Hodges' biography, Alan Turing: The Enigma, which Hodges has updated for this revision. Manchester Camerata Octet perform the strings, with Manchester Grammar School choir also featured.

In Memoriam: The Iconic Artist "Yayoi Kusama" Has Died Aged 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died, she was 97. In a statement issued on Wednesday, her representative David Zwirner said Kusama passed away from multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital on August 14. 

“She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul,” the studio’s statement said. “We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world.”

Kusama, one of Japan's most respected contemporary artists, was widely exhibited around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Museum Ludwig in Germany.

Repetitive motifs were her trademark, in various shapes, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases, or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations, in all their vibrant psychedelic glory.

"I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw," she said in her childlike but matter-of-fact tone. "I will keep painting until I die." Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world: covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. 

She was in and out of psychiatric institution for decades, although her sickness did not hold her back as she was one of the first Japanese women to go to New York to pursue her art, in 1957. Although soft-spoken and shy in her mannerisms, Kusama was always unabashedly bold in the assertion of her dotty vision, not only in sticking to the style for decades but also in making it accessible to the masses.

In her later years, as the times caught up with her art, she enjoyed fame. She signed on with fashion brands like Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products like teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations, including replicas of her likeness that were used in show windows and other marketing. In 2008, Christie's auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2016, she won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture.

Kusama was called pop, avant-garde, feminist, just to name some of the categories thrown at her, most of which Kusama brushed off as not quite representative of her art. She was born in a middle-class family but felt misunderstood, as her parents wanted her to simply get married. They wanted to buy her kimono, not paints and brushes. She knew she had to get away. She chose America.

In New York, the fad was "action painting," characterized by dribbles, swooshes and smears, not dots. She suffered years of poverty and obscurity. But she kept painting dots. She put circles of paper on people’s bodies, and once a horse, in "happening" anti-war performances in the late 1960s, which got some people arrested for obscenity but helped get media attention for her art. 

Over the years, Kusama made quirky but stunningly celebratory works like "Macaroni Girl," a female figure plastered with macaroni, which expresses the fear of food; "The Visionary Flowers," giant sculptures of twisting tulips, and"“Mirrored Corridor," a room with mirrors that delivers an illusion of a field of phallic protrusions speckled with dots. Kusama has also made films and published several novels, said she wasn’t sure where she got her ideas. She just picked up her brush and started drawing. 

Rest In Power Kusama.

In Memoriam: The Legendary British Actor "Tim Curry" Has Died Aged 80

The legendary and prolific British stage, screen and voice actor, the beloved Tim Curry has died aged 80. He was best known for his starring roles in the cult "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Clue", "It" and "Muppet Treasure Island".

A cause of death was not immediately available, though Curry had suffered from several health issues since a severe stroke in 2012 left him unable to walk.

Best known for his role as Frank-N-Furter, the "sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania", in the cult musical comedy The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Curry was considered one of the most charismatic performers of his generation.

Born in Cheshire, England, on 19 April 1946, Curry began his professional acting career in a 1968 West End production of the rock musical "Hair" shortly after graduating from the University of Birmingham. He followed that up with roles in stage performances of Shakespeare, Brecht and Stoppard, before the subversive camp classic Rocky Horror launched him to worldwide stardom. It is still considered a classic of musical cinema and continues to run in limited release to this day, making it the longest-running film release of all time.

Other memorable big screen roles include Rooster Hannigan in Annie, Dr. Yevgeniy Petrov in The Hunt for Red October, Hector in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers.

Beyond Rocky Horror, Curry also made quite the lasting impression in the 1990 miniseries It, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. He played the main antagonist Pennywise the Clown, and scared an entire generation of children in the process. Curry continued to act on stage throughout his career, with a Tony-nominated performance as Mozart in 1981's Amadeus. Other memorable roles followed in The Pirates of Penzance, The Rivals, My Favourite Year  which earned him a second Tony nomination and Spamalot, the stage adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which he played King Arthur. That role earned him his third Tony nomination.

Following his stroke in July 2012, Curry pivoted to voice acting. Among his voice acting projects were FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Peter Pan & the Pirates - with the latter winning him an Emmy Award.

Curry, who never married and had no children, was deeply private about his personal life. However, he wrote in his 2025 memoir, "Vagabond", that he was convinced to tell his story thanks to so many moving encounters with fans.

Rocktrospectiva: Flowered Up's Biggest Album "A Life With Brian" Turns 35

Released on 26 August 1991 "A Life With Brian" was the debut studio album of the conic UK indie band Flowered Up, seen as London’s answer to Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses. Formed on the back of meetings with original members, brothers Liam Maher vocalist and guitarist Joe Maher joined by Andrew ‘Jacko’ Jackson on bass along with John O'Brain on drums and Simon Lovekin on keyboards. Soon after this first line up O'Brain was replaced by John Tuvey, Lovekin replaced by Tim Dorney with the addition of onstage dancer and off-stage serial prankster Barry Mooncult the band lit up their audience with their dance funk indie fuelled anthems and legendary live on stage mad capped performances. 

Flowered Up signed to London Records and recorded their only album, A Life with Brian, originally the band released three singles, the synthesizer anthem "It's On," the haunting "Phobia," whilst "Take It" showcased the bands love The Clash and had lyrics from Joe Strummer. Other classic and stunning single "Weekender" was released to criticism and plenty of scratching of heads with it being over 12 minutes long it that unfortunately not many radio stations played it.

The album was recorded at Pete Townshend's Ell Pie studio with money and time thrown at the band at the time of recording, there was too much time and money thrown at the project, resulting in familiar live fresh anthems, when the actual appeal of the band came live and direct in their on stage frantic, ardent performances, meaning virtually everyone connected to the band mentioned they really should have gone into the studio recorded live cuts and left in a flash. 

About the recording, you can hear Dorney providing his own shine and polish overall sound; Liam's iconic vocals were so shining to be heralded, this combination resulted in a voice of unrivalled passion and startling vibrancy, Liam really ranked up there with the very best. Other highlights across the album included "Egg Rush,"  the would be single with Anna Haigh sounded like a modern-day Siouxsie Sioux, the dynamic rush of keyboards introduces the band in formidable form, a track right for a Saturday night on the tiles.

Joe Maher a modern day Hendrix, fingered all over the fret, it'd be hard to find a more naturally gifted guitarist from this period who has not had the light shone firmly in his direction. His work shone proudly on "Take It," Clive Langer version of "Crackerjack" and "Weekender." 

A Life with Brian contained many of their popular live songs, as well as new versions of the previously released singles. Not long afterwards, Flowered Up released the 13-minute-long single "Weekender" on Heavenly, with a video directed by W.I.Z. starring Lee Whitlock and Anna Haigh. Despite the group's—and Heavenly's—refusal to compromise on a standard-length edit for radio play (although two "radio edits" were circulated, neither really addressed the needs of radio programmers, as one was merely the full-length version but with the two instances of the phrase "fuck off" muted, while the other reduced the length of the intro, but still ran for over 12 minutes), the track went on to become their biggest hit, reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. After much-publicised drug problems with some members of the band, and unproductive (and some unreleased) studio work, the band split up. Keyboardist Tim Dorney went on to form Republica, their debut album went on to be remastered and reissued.

A Life With Brian Track List: 

 

1.  Sunshine

2. Take It

3. Crackerjack

4. Mr. Happy Reveller

5. Histerically Blue

6. It's On

7. Silver Pan

8. Phobia

9. Egg Rush 

10. Doris...Is A Little Bit Partial 

Rocktrospectiva: The Eclectic And Inventive "Martika's Kitchen" Turns 35

Released on 26 August 1991 "Martika's Kitchen" was the second and final studio album by singer-songwriter Martika, the album spawned the singles "Love...Thy Will Be Done", "Martika's Kitchen", "Coloured Kisses", "Safe In The Arms Of Love" & "Spirit."

The album was a departure in musical styles from Martika's debut album, cause incorporated elements of gospel, jazz, funk, R&B and traditional Cuban music. The album featured four songs written and produced by Prince. The four Prince songs (tracks 1–3 and 10) on the album were recorded by him and then sent to Martika to overdub. Three of those songs were based on a lyrics notebook she had given him for inspiration. Although Martika's Kitchen, bought the listener into a world where the diversity and eclectic nature of the songs were just as varied as any inventive recipe.

The album had the touch of Prince on it, apparently she approached him, and this ended up with her having the title track Martika’s Kitchen written solely by him and three co-writer credits, unfortunately this album didn't replicate the success of her debut eponymous 1988 album, Martika, although it fared better outside the US.

The big hit was the Prince co-written track Love… Thy Will Be Done, definitely Martika's breathy vocals and the soft backing track really worked out. The lead single for the album bought worldwide success that was more than justified. It remains an all-time favourite Martika tune, it was like nothing Martika had sung before and a risky, one of four Prince contributions to the album, this slow burn, shimmering piece of pop has more than stood the test of time and is just as elegantly exquisite today as it was back then, the drum and bass are consistent throughout the song, with the melody following a similar pattern. Martika's Kitchen" the album's title track was, of course, a single only Martika could release. It was an equally enticing but entirely different Prince contribution than the single that preceded it, this vibrant, up-tempo nugget was polar opposite to the stately love, the sassy lyrics were a thinly disguised metaphor for all sorts of naughty shenanigans, emboldening the listener to be as confident as Martika's sultry, confident vocal. Coloured Kisses, was produced by Clivilles and Cole, better known as the awful act (at least for me) C+C Music Factory.  Safe In The Arms of Love  was like a narrative sequel to Coloured Kisses, this sweet musical tune was allowed to flow at its own pace, as if replicating those moments when you are entwined with your lover and time doesn't seem to matter, and finally Spirit, whic was co-written by Prince with Martika and his bassist, Levi Seacer Jr, this was a pulsing dance-pop vibe with the same liberating message that had, it's a layered, textured score that is further appreciated with subsequent listens - but stand outs are those drum loops, the repetitive and satisfying backing vocals and that free-flowing deep Chicago house piano that acts as the anchor to the music. 

The rest of the album was was an eclectic, powerful mixture of musical sounds and styles, all cohesively held together by Martika's rich, resonant voice - it was ripe for other potential singles had the record label wanted some alternatives for different markets, Temptation. was the most Cuban music influenced song on the album, was a hard hitting song about addiction that felt like the lyrical prequel to Toy Soldiers. Brazen horns, more quasi-rap and a shuddering beat made this an electrifying four minutes of organised, marvellous mayhem. The fourth Prince collaboration, Don't Say U Love Me had a Paisley Park production is exquisite; tasty Hammond organ chords give the song a frisson of excitement, whilst the frenetic percussion adds to the kiss-off Martika delivers so emphatically. The hip-hop Eastern influences salutes with A Magical Place were somewhat mystical and fairy story, essentially a duet with the song's composer, Christopher Max, it was a beguiling four minutes of music designed to take you away from the every day. Pride and Prejudice was a dreamy, ethereal quality to it - perhaps the most theatrical moment on an album full of them, and finally Take Me To Forever was the type of soaring ballad perfect for a Disney movie score.

Despite the album had a top ten single, it wasn't as big as her debut at least in the United States, although it had better received and airplay abroad, the album was certified gold in the UK and Australia, "Love... Thy Will Be Done" reached #1 in Australia, and the top 10 in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. The "Martika's Kitchen" single reached the top 40 in the UK, Ireland, Germany,  Australia, and New Zealand. A third single, "Coloured Kisses", narrowly missed the top 40 in the UK, and peaked at #39 in Australia. 

 

Martika's Kitchen Track List: 

 

1. Martika's Kitchen

2. Spirit

3. Love...Thy Will Be Done

4. A Magical Place

5. Coloured Kisses

6. Safe In The Arms Of Love

7. Pride And Prejudice

8. Take Me To Forever

9. Temptation

10. Don't Say U Love Me

11. Broken Heart

12. Mi Tierra (Duet With Cecilia Cruz)

In Memoriam: The Great "Dolly Parton" Has Died Aged 80

Dolly Parton, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in country music who was also much cherished for her philanthropy, has died aged 80. Her death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on Instagram. "I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now," he said. "It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness."

Parton's songwriting was characterised by its vivid storytelling, emotional acuity and melodic strength, all sung with strident clarity. From an eventual catalogue of hundreds of songs, she scored a record 25 US country No 1 singles and 47 albums in the country Top 10 . She crossed over into the pop charts with 9 to 5, a US No 1 in 1980; balanced her music career with acclaimed acting, twice earning Golden Globe nominations for her roles; and her Imagination Library literacy scheme donated more than 150m books to children.

This was all done with considerable panache, rhinestoned glamour and towering hairdos, with her immortal assertion regarding her appearance –  "it takes a lot of money to look this cheap" – the most quoted example of Parton's ready wit. Parton was born in poverty in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, the fourth child to a mother who would have 12 children by the age of 35, and a father who was a farmer and construction worker. One of her best-loved songs, Coat of Many Colours, was about her mother creating patchwork clothes; Parton's first guitar was cobbled together from a mandolin with bass guitar strings. Her first proper guitar was given to her aged eight by her uncle, and she went from singing in church, to appearing on local television aged 10, to cutting her first record aged 13. That year she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, the concert hall in Nashville at the centre of country music, and her performance was introduced by Johnny Cash. 

After graduating high school in 1964 she moved to Nashville and started out as a songwriter rather than performer. The following year she was signed as an artist and initially moulded as a pop singer, without success; after she was allowed to switch to country, she scored back-to-back hits and released her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly. In 1966 she married Carl Dean – who died in 2025, with the couple renewing their vows in 2016 to mark 50 years together.

Beginning in 1967, a duet partnership with country singer and TV personality Porter Wagoner helped her star continue to ascend, and she had her first country No 1 in 1971 with the song Joshua. Then appeard "Jolene," her unforgettably raw and desperate plea to a rival lover, was released in 1973 and became one of her first success, written at the same time, "I Will Always Love You," written to Wagoner as a farewell after their creative partnership, was a country No 1 in 1974 and again via a re-recorded version in 1982, and would go on to be a huge pop success when revived by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard in 1992: it is still the bestselling single of all time by a woman, with an estimated 20m sales.

In the mid 1970s Parton broadened her sound, embracing pop-rock arrangements on songs such as 1977’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning – its accompanying album New Harvest … First Gathering was her first entry in the pop album chart. Later that year its follow-up Here You Come Again reached the Top 20 and was her first million-selling LP, powered in part by its hit title track, which also won Parton the first of her 10 Grammy awards.

1980 was a peak in her success, with three back-to-back country No 1s, including 9 to 5, taken from the film of the same name which Parton starred in alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, earning her an Oscar nomination for best original song. Parton would later write songs for a stage musical version of 9 to 5, in 2008.

Another classic single came in 1983: Islands in the Stream, a duet with Kenny Rogers, which topped the US pop charts, and a Christmas album with Rogers in 1984 went two times platinum. There were more notable film roles in the 1980s, too, opposite Burt Reynolds in the The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sylvester Stallone in Rhinestone, and an all-star female ensemble in Steel Magnolias.

A landmark Parton album came in 1987 with "Trio," an exquisitely harmonised, springwater-clear collaboration with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, earning Parton her only nomination for album of the year at the Grammys. Another all-star trio recording came in 1993, with Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn on the album Honky-Tonk Angels, followed by a reunion with Harris and Ronstadt for Trio II in 1999, featuring a Grammy-winning cover of Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush.

The turn of the century brought a trilogy of acclaimed bluegrass albums, and Parton would release 10 more LPs, the most recent being Rockstar in 2023. She was courted by a younger generation of stars, appearing with country artists such as Brad Paisley as well as pop singers such as Kesha, and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus. There were fewer acting roles, but she lent her voice to animated film Gnomeo and Juliet in 2011 and the following year appeared alongside Queen Latifah and more in the musical film Joyful Noise.

Alongside her music and acting, Parton was an astute businesswoman and philanthropist. She founded the film and TV production company Sandollar, with former manager Sandy Gallin, which went on to produce hits such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Father of the Bride film series. In 1986, she took a stake in the Silver Dollar City theme park in Tennessee and renamed it Dollywood, doubling its size over the next two decades, and a Dollywood-branded spa, cabin complex, theatre-restaurant concept and waterpark have since been opened.

The Dollywood Foundation, funded through these business ventures and creative projects, was created in 1988, initially awarding college scholarships and running a scheme to help children complete high school in her native Sevier County, Tennessee. In 1995 Parton began her Imagination Library project, which sent an age-appropriate book to every child in the county every month until they were five. “My father could not read and write, and I saw how crippling that could be,” she explained. It expanded nationwide in 2000, internationally in 2006, and nearly 25m books are now distributed each year across the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.

Parton has also set up a reserve in 2003 to help preserve the bald eagle; contributed $500,000 to the opening of a Sevier county hospital in 2006; coordinated relief efforts for those affected by the Smoky mountain wildfires of 2016; and contributed to an HIV/Aids charity album. She supported Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, opposing a North Carolina “bathroom bill” that restricted transgender people’s access to toilets (Parton was also nominated for an Oscar for her song in trans drama Transamerica, entitled Travelin’ Thru).

She made a number of donations to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where her niece was treated for leukaemia. The most high profile of these was in 2020, when she donated $1m for research into Covid-19, which formed the basis for the eventual Moderna vaccine.

New Music: It's Time

            

Johnny Marr shares a new single "It's Time" the third cut from his upcoming fifth solo album "The Age of Everything" – following "Spin" and "Ophelia" – sees Marr “singing about some worldly issues but finding defiance in idealism”. He explains: “I wanted a lyric that matched the exuberance of the music but is actually about resisting cynicism and corruption: ‘Everybody ain’t making it / Change the weather and breaking it / Mobilise to know the truth / Open eyes to know the truth.’ A music video was filmed earlier this year at Marr's biggest solo headline gig to date, at Manchester's Castlefield Bowl

New Music: Wasted

           

Robyn Hitchcock shares "Wasted" his new single taken from his latest album "The Confuser", according to Hitchcock: This song came to me late last summer in a San Francisco hotel room about an hour before checkout time. It was impatient to arrive: no sooner had I said to myself "Why don't you make up something in the key of F?" than out it came, more or less fully formed. Occasionally I would put the guitar down in order to transcribe the words coming out of my mouth; and - voilà! - there it was. A month later I recorded it with my Nashville crew for The Confuser sessions; after a little pruning and a few judicious overdubs "Wasted" found its place as the last track on the album. It’s a summary of where the world and I are at so - why not?. The video has been shot on location in Egersund earlier this month by Josh  McCartney.

New Music: There Was You

            

Teenage Fanclub have shared their new single "There Was You,"  the latest preview of their forthcoming album, Do Not Dare To Dream. The album opener is a classic "I was lost but now am found" says the lyrics setting the tone for the record with its waltz rhythm, warm guitars, and instantly singable melody. The video has been shot by frequent Teenage Fanclub collaborator Donald Milne 

 

New Music: Sensational

           

Wishy are releasing a new album, Nature’s Pill, on October 2. Now they have shared its third single,  "Sensational," via a music video that features the band performing in the pages of a composition notebook. Jess Dunn animated and directed the video. Previously the band released "Lovesick," & "All the Rage," 

New Music: Pigwig

           

Bloc Party will release Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, next month. It's a new concept album that tells the story of a chaotic rebound relationship. Meanwhile, they share the propulsive new single "Pigwig." A strange title for a track but in a press release, frontman Kele Okereke says "Pigwig" is about the moment of realizing that you have been hit by a very big love, almost as if it’s against your will, this song is probably one of the sweetest on the album, as it recalls a memory of a romantic seaside trip at the most magical point of our relationship. Laura Perrett directed the video.

New Music: Marianne

           

The Irish band Fontaines DC returns with "Marianne" the first taster of the their freshly-announced upcoming James Ford-produced fifth album "Dopamine Chamber", this is the first single taken from their 5th., studio album due on 16 October. The video is directed by Dave Meyers who sets a bold new cinematic scene in their search for escape by sending a surreal postcard from the brutal Lynchian world on this colourful video

News/Documentary: Oasis Emotional Documentary Trailer "Don't Look Back In Anger" Is Here

           

A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary "Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger" is out now. The film follows the band's 2025 reunion tour, which marked the first time brothers Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher had shared a live stage in 16 years, following a highly publicized feud.

"The songs are one thing, but I'd forgotten what he means to people," Noel Gallagher says in a voiceover, presumably referring to his brother. "I certainly wasn't prepared for the intense outpouring."

Oasis' 2025 reunion tour was regarded as "one of the most anticipated rock 'n' roll comebacks of our time," according to a press release. The press release adds that the upcoming documentary is "an unapologetically uplifting account" of the band's 2025 tour and captures "the experience and emotions of the band and their fans across the world."

In addition to never-before-seen footage from their tour, the documentary will also include Noel and Liam Gallagher's first joint interview in over 20 years.

"Don't Look Back in Anger" is set to hit theaters and IMAX on Sept. 11. Limited IMAX early access screenings will take place Sept. 9. Tickets are on sale now.

The documentary will be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ later in 2026.

Rocktrospectiva: The Impressive, Intimacy And Cohesive "Vespertine" Turns 25

Released on 18 August 2001 first in Japan and on 27 August in the USA, "Vespertine" was the 4th., studio album by the Icelandic singer and songwrite Björk, according to her, she aspired to create an album with minimal and intricate electronic music to evoke an intimate and domestic feeling, in contrast with the louder styles of her previous studio album Homogenic.  She enlisted producers such as Opiate, Console and the duo Matmos, and also worked with harpist Zeena Parkins. The album spawned the singles "Hidden Place", "Pagan Poetry" & "Cocoon". The music videos of the latter two were banned on MTV for their depictions of sexuality.

Björk composed arrangements with thin-sounding instruments, including the harp, the celesta, clavichord, strings and custom music boxes. Assisted by Matmos, Björk created "microbeats" from various commonplace sounds, such as that of shuffling cards and ice being cracked. Lyrically, the album drew inspiration from Björk's new relationship with Matthew Barney, exploring themes related to sex, intimacy, eroticism, and love. Other lyrical sources include the poetry of E. E. Cummings and British playwright Sarah Kane's Crave. The album has been noted for its erotic, intimate mood and sonic experimentation, Vespertine received universal acclaim from music critics, with some considering it Björk's best album to date.  

Björk had released her previous studio album, Homogenic, in 1997. The album's style differed from her previous two releases, described by her as "very emotionally confrontational and [...] very dramatic". She also described "All Is Full of Love"—Homogenic's closing track—as the first song on Vespertine, as it opposed the rest of the album's "aggressive, macho" aesthetic. Writer and critic Mark Pytlik writes, "Her appetite for thumping techno had been, temporarily at least, subsumed by a desire for stark melodies and minimalist production".

In 2000, she starred in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, and composed its soundtrack, Selmasongs. While she worked on the film, she also began producing her next album, writing new music, and teaming with new collaborators. She has said "Selmasongs was the day job and Vespertine was the hobby". During this time, she also began to use her new laptop to write music, and Vespertine has been retrospectively referred to as "her laptop album"She initially set about making a record with a domestic mood featuring "everyday moods and everyday noises translating into melodies and beats", hence its working title Domestika.

Her new relationship with artist Matthew Barney, and the stress she experienced while filming Dancer in the Dark, have been referred to as the two major forces that shaped what would become Vespertine. Her relationship with Barney influenced her lyrics, which became more intimate, detailed, and revealing in contrast to her past works. As Björk had to be extroverted during the filming process, the music she wrote for Vespertine also became hushed and tranquil as a way for her to escape. In fine style, Björk had set out to write an album about making sandwiches. She'd ended up with an album about making love". A stylistic antecedent was her poem "Techno Prayer", published in Details magazine in July 1996, which would later be used as part of the lyrics of "All Neon Like". It featured thematic ideas such as cocooning and thread-weaving that she would later explore on Vespertine.

Björk has stated that she wanted the album to sound like "modern chamber music", referring to the times where "the most ideal music situation was in the home, where people would play harps for each other". She also considers Vespertine to be the opposite of her previous studio album Homogenic, the former being an introverted, quiet, winter record; the latter a loud, dramatic, summer record. Björk has also described the album as "more electronic folk music". Critics have classified Vespertine as electronica, art pop, psychedelia, ambient, folktronica, and glitch pop. Björk's performance on Vespertine has been described as that of an "art-rock torch singer".

Stylistically, Vespertine incorporates elements of both art and dance music. For example, the instrumentation of choir, strings, and harp is suggestive of Romantic art music, while the "synthesised keyboard sonorities, filtering effects and complex percussive sounds" are elements characteristic of dance-based pop. Vespertine is also characterised by "the obsession with sonic traces of analog technology – that is, the pervasive use of loops, static and white noise". Unlike her previous albums like Debut and Post, "electronic sounds are the norm, and the acoustic sounds become the interjections." Influenced by the 1999 album New Ancient Strings, a recording of kora duets by Toumani Diabaté with Ballaké Sissoko, Björk's voice was used as a supplement to "the complex electronic textures". Her vocals often appeared to be recorded close to the microphone and with little treatment, and sung in a sometimes "unstable whisper", conveying a sense of close proximity and reduced space suitable for the 

The album opener "Hidden Place", featured a soprano section and strings, "over the top of a warm, intimate melody". Björk sang about "how two people can create a paradise just by uniting", as she intones: "I'm so close to tears/And so close to/Simply calling you up/And simply suggesting/We go to that hidden place". "Cocoon" was based around an exploratory bassline and beats that sound like fingertips on skin". "It's Not Up to You" has been described as a "dizzying ballad" and a song that lifts the album upward. The "caressing lyrics" of "Undo" assure that: "It's not meant to be a strife/It's not meant to be a struggle uphill". "Pagan Poetry" is a "harp-splashed" song that concerns unrequited love. The instrumental interlude "Frosti" has been described as "metallic tundra".

"Frosti" faded into "Aurora", while "a warm, faintly crunchy sound" is heard. These are samples of footsteps in the snow—the work of Matmos—re-appropriated as the song's "subtly shifting beat". "Aurora" has been described as "something that appeals to a child-like imagination", and having a "magical and airy quality". "An Echo, a Stain" is underpinned by a creeping choir line and nibbling clicks, and featured an "unresolved, ominous tension" that is atypical of her writing style. "Sun in My Mouth" was an adaptation of E. E. Cummings' poem "I will wade out/Till my thighs are steeped in burning flowers", with an emphasis on the vocal and accompaniment provided by a string orchestra, a harp, and soft electronica. "Heirloom" altered "between what sounds like a samba preset on a vintage Wurlitzer organ and skittering breakbeats, and is decorated with inverted synthtones and analog keyboards". Film director Harmony Korine wrote "Harm of Will"'s lyrics. The Slate album review noted the minimalist nature of the track, pointing out a lack of hook, beat and melody. It was a slow song, as it was the closing track, "Unison". The latter contained a refrain directly inspired by Björk's experience in Dancer in the Dark and a healthy dollop of self-effacing humor evoked to counter the balance"

The cover art, shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in Los Angeles, California, was a black and white photograph of Björk lying down on the patterned ground next to a swimming pool, covering her eyes from the sun and wearing the Marjan Pejoski swan dress that she wore at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001,

Vespertine received universal acclaim from music critics. The album received some praise for its themes of intimacy and introversion, considered one of the most impressive and cohesive albums of that year 2001, for its nuance and delicacy, describing its sonic palette as a breath of fresh air.

 

Vespertine Track List: 

 

1. Hidden Place

2. Cocoon

3. It's Not Up To You

4. Undo

5. Pagan Poetry

6. Frosti

7. Aurora

8. An Echo. a Stain

9. Sun In My Mouth

10. Heirloom

11. Harm Of Will

12. Unison

Rocktrospectiva: The Breakingthrough "Slippery When Wet" Turns 40

Released on 18 August 1986 "Slippery When Wet" was the 3rd., studio album by the US rock band Bon Jovi, it was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and is considered a breakthrough for hair metal, cause it was the album that turn heavy metal into a radio-friendly pop format. The album spawned four singles that nowadays are considered amongst the band best-known songs "You Give Love A Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Wanted Dead Or Alive" & "Never Say Goodbye." 

Slippery When Wet was an instant commercial success, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and was named by Billboard as the top-selling album of 1987, and is considered  Bon Jovi's best-selling album to date.

Upon its 1985 release, 7800° Fahrenheit achieved moderate success, but Bon Jovi had not yet become superstars. The band changed its approach for the next album, with a more mainstream sound than the heavier first two albums. Hiring Desmond Child as a collaborator, the band wrote 30 songs and auditioned them for local New Jersey and New York teenagers, basing the album's running order on their opinions. Bruce Fairbairn was chosen as the producer for the album, with Bob Rock as the mixer. 

Much of the album was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, whereas "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", "Without Love", and "I'd Die For You" were co-written by the duo with Desmond Child, and "Wild in the Streets" was by Jon Bon Jovi alone. This was the first time Desmond worked with Jon and Richie. He came to New Jersey, where they worked on the four songs in Sambora's mother's basement.

Jon Bon Jovi explained, "I liked what Bryan Adams had done with Tina Turner so I suggested we do something similar: I write a song for someone like her, and then we do the song together. But that got changed, and our A&R guy came up with Desmond's name ... He hasn't tried to change what we are, but to refine it slightly; to suggest extra ways that we could wring a bit more out of what we had." Jon Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to include "Livin' on a Prayer", believing it was not good enough. Sambora convinced him it was a hit in the making, and so the band rerecorded it, releasing the second version on the album. It is Bon Jovi's signature song.

The album's name was changed during its inception, including Wanted Dead or Alive. A proposed cover with the band dressed as cowboys was later used for the single release of the track of the same name. According to Jon Bon Jovi, the band named the album Slippery When Wet after visiting The No.5 Orange strip club in Vancouver, British Columbia. According to Sambora, "This woman descended from the ceiling on a pole and proceeded to take all her clothes off. When she got in a shower and soaped herself up, we just about lost our tongues. We just sat there and said, 'We will be here every day.' That energized us through the whole project. Our testosterone was at a very high level back then."

The cover consists of a wet black garbage bag with the words "Slippery When Wet" traced in the water. "So simple, and not very impressive", said Sambora. The album originally was to feature a busty woman in a wet yellow T-shirt with the album name on the front of the shirt. This was swapped for the plastic bag cover just prior to release. The reasons given for the switch were record executives' fears that dominant record store chains at the time would have refused to carry the album with a sexist cover, and Jon Bon Jovi's dislike of the bright pink border around the photograph the band submitted.

However, the album that changed everything for the New Jersey rockers was Slippery When Wet , which debuted in record stores on August 18, 1986. A work full of huge anthems that became the album that made Bon Jovi known both in their country and throughout the world.

 

Slippery When Wet Track List:  

 

1. Let It Rock

2. You Give Love A Bad Name

3. Livin' On A Prayer

4. Social Disease

5. Wanted Dead Or Alive

6. Raise Your Hands

7. Without Love

8. I'd Die For You

9. Never Say Goodbye

10. Wild In The

Books: It's Time The Tale Were Told "A People's History Of The Smiths"

 

It's Time The Tale Were Told – A People’s History of The Smiths is the story of the UK’s most influential indie band. This book collects together 500 first-hand memories from fans, support acts, promoters, fanzine writers, record store owners and the band's lighting designer of the band in action. From the earliest club shows through to the final gig at London's Brixton Academy, and including memories of more than 20 North American dates, this is a portrait of The Smiths painted by those who were there. With personal photographs, memorabilia, anecdotes and first-hand accounts of over 150 gigs in total, readers get a front row view of Manchester’s indie music legends in action.

The Smiths were indeed a moment in time marking a point in the early 80s when "Indie" moved from being "small audience material on minor record labels" to a crossover into the mainstream.
This is not intended to be a definitive history but a history across 300 pages told by those who were involved, were there, bear the scars, and still hold the highest esteem for an outspoken (some would say odd-ball) singer, musical partner in crime and tune, plus backing from a solid if un-noticed (until the court case) rhythm section.

The stories range from their fist gig at The Hacienda when Morrissey got annoyed with the crowd and the poster stating “We are THE Smiths, not just Smiths”, to first appearances on The Tube and Top Of The Pops (not as many stories of people going home, buying a deaf aid and waving gladioli about as I though there may have been), to the last recording sessions in Streatham, before Johnny Marr quits and the NME publish the “Smiths To Split” headline.

The band's time was brief (effectively 1983 to 1987 as a recording unit), but in the same time it took Yes to go from 90125 to Big Generator, The Smiths had formed, released 4 albums, 2 compilations and 20 singles, and disbanded. Indeed, they started something that they couldn’t finish. Didn’t hang about to actually finish it, and have spent years fighting each other to make sure they don’t actually finish it.

 

Title: It's Time The Tale Were Told "A Poeple's History Of The Smiths"

Author: Iain Key & RIchard Houghton

Pages: 300

Publisher: Spenwood Books

Language: English

Format: Paperback 

In Memoriam: ZZ Top Longtime Drummer "Frank Beard" Has Died Aged 77

The longtime ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died aged 77, the band said. A statement on the blues-rock band's website said he died on Monday in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side. His cause of death was not specified. Beard's passing "necessitates the cancellation" of the band's tour dates this week in Utah and Colorado, the statement said.

ZZ Top was founded in 1969 and played their first live concert the following year. Together they released 15 studio and four live albums, with hit singles like Gimme All Your Lovin', Sleeping Bag, and Viva Las Vegas.

Members of the group have included founder and lead vocalist Billy Gibbons and the late Dusty Hill. When Hill died in 2021, the group carried on performing with Elwood Francis as its bassist.

"Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," Gibbons said.

"His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished," he said.

ZZ Top, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, has continued touring throughout North America, Europe and South America.

Shows the group called off after Beard's death had been scheduled in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday and in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday. The group said it plans to resume its current The Big One! Tour over the weekend, with two dates at Austin City Limits, which the band said was one of Beard's favourite venues in "a city that had been something of a second home for him".

Beard joined the group after ZZ Top released its first single Salt Lick and later brought on Hill as its bassist, serving as the band's rhythmic force on drums, he anchored hits such as La Grange, Tush and Cheap Sunglasses.

He became known as The Man With No Beard - despite his surname - because he was the only member of the Houston ensemble who didn't sport the lengthy facial hair the band became known for, the band has said.

The group's famous 1984 album Eliminator featured the hits Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man and Legs. It sold more than 10m copies, was certified diamond, by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1996. The album also earned a Grammy Award nomination.In 1987, the group received another Grammy nod from the Recording Academy for their Afterburner album. In 2021, the group was also nominated for best music film for Sam Dunn's documentary That Little Ol' Band From Texas.

The Compilation: Now Yearbook Vault '86

NOW Music's Yearbook Vault series continues next month, when the spotlight falls on 1986, and songs that were minor hits, hit-adjacent or, and let’s use the word, flops.

For this release, the usual "Yearbook" 4CD option of deluxe hardcover book packaging or more basic card sleeve edition, offers 77 tracks, while a 3LP coloured vinyl (purple) delivers 44 songs from 1986.

For this Vault compilation, because there's some relatively big names here such as Paul Young's first single from his third solo album, 1986's Between Two Fires, had been "Wonderland". Vault ’86 also reminds us that acts we know and love as one hit wonders did actually ‘try again’; they didn’t want to be one hit wonders, after all. So yes, Belouis Some did release a few singles that weren’t ‘Imagination’ and funnily enough one of them was called ‘Some People‘! It was a very minor hit, but if history teaches us anything, it’s that 1986 was not a year to release a song called ‘Some People’. ‘Ed’s Funky Diner‘ was actually a great follow-up to It’s Immaterial’s ‘surprise’ hit.

Other tracks include Nik Kershaw's ‘Nobody Knows’ (No 44) and Howard Jones’ All I Want (No 35), both artists, like Paul Young, experimenting with new producers (in Nik’s case himself!) and it not really working out. The Thompson Twins‘ ‘Nothing in Common’ wasn’t released in the UK, but it didn’t trouble the upper reaches of the American chart when it was issued there (their previous two singles had been top 10 hits Stateside). Three singles from Sting's brilliant The Dream of the Blue Turtles album failed to get into the UK top 40 which seems crazy, and ‘Moon Over Bourbon Street‘, when issued as the fifth 45 (A&M were probably enthused because ‘Russians’ had reached No 12) was the last of them (No 44). Sting would have to wait until 1994 before chalking up a solo UK top 10 single (‘When We Dance’).

Tears For Fears make an appearance on Vault ’86, with a song that was both the first and last single from Songs From The Big Chair: ‘Mothers Talk‘. Included here is the US Mix, not issued in the UK. In America, it reached 27 which sounds decent, until you recall that the first three singles from the album were No 1, No 1 & No 3!. Roland Orzabal told this writer that he much preferred the version re-recorded for the North American market: “I always thought we got ‘Mothers Talk’ slightly wrong. It was a bit too fast. The US version worked really well, we were happy”. There’s plenty more interesting selections on this new compilation; scroll down for full tracklistings.

NOW Yearbook Vault ’86 will be released on 18 September 2026.

 

4CD Track List:

 

CD 1

1. Paul McCartney – Only Love Remains

2. Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart – The Miracle Of Love

3. The Lover Speaks – No More “I Love You’s”

4. Sting – Moon Over Bourbon Street

5. Chris Rea – On The Beach

6. The Bangles – If She Knew What She Wants

7. Belinda Carlisle – Mad About You

8. Billy Idol – To Be A Lover

9. Daryl Hall – Dreamtime

10. Paul Young – Some People

11. Wax – Right Between The Eyes

12. Nick Heyward – Goodbye Yesterday

13. Nik Kershaw – Nobody Knows

14. Thompson Twins – Nothing In Common

15. Howard Jones – All I Want

16. Ultravox – Same Old Story

17. Belouis Some – Some People

18. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – We Love You

19. ABC – Ocean Blue

 

CD 2

1. David Sylvian – Taking The Veil

2. Talk Talk – Living In Another World

3. Arcadia – The Flame

4. John Taylor – I Do What I Do (Theme for 9 1/2 Weeks)

5. China Crisis – Arizona Sky

6. It’s Immaterial – Ed’s Funky Diner

7. The Mission – Stay With Me

8. The Jesus And Mary Chain – Some Candy Talking

9. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Candyman

10. Cocteau Twins – Love’s Easy Tears

11. Mint Juleps – Only Love Can Break Your Heart

12. Everything But The Girl – Come On Home

13. Sandie Shaw – Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?

14. Big Audio Dynamite – C’Mon Every Beatbox

15. The Stranglers – Always The Sun

16. The Housemartins – Sheep

17. Fine Young Cannibals – Funny How Love Is

18. The Blow Monkeys – Wicked Ways

19. Simply Red – Jericho

20. Elton John – Cry To Heaven

 

CD 3

1. The Communards – Disenchanted

2. Bronski Beat – C’mon! C’mon!

3. Yello – Goldrush

4. Grace Jones – I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For You)

5. Aretha Franklin – Another Night

6. Chaka Khan – Love Of A Lifetime

7. Cameo – Candy

8. Hollywood Beyond – No More Tears

9. El DeBarge – Who’s Johnny

10. Matt Bianco – Dancing In The Street

11. Carmel – Sally

12. Dee C. Lee – Come Hell Or Waters High

13. Maxi Priest – Strollin’ On

14. UB40 – All I Want To Do

15. Loose Ends – Slow Down

16. Ruby Turner featuring Jonathan Butler – If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)

17. Billy Ocean – Love Zone

18. Lionel Richie – Love Will Conquer All

19. Gloria Estefan – Words Get In The Way

 

CD 4

1. Tears For Fears – Mothers Talk (U.S. Remix)

2. Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight

3. Stacey Q – Two Of Hearts

4. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (with Full Force) – All Cried Out

5. The Fixx – Secret Separation

6. The Outfield – Your Love

7. Glass Tiger – Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)

8. Pat Benatar – Le Bel Age

9. Heart – Nothin’ At All

10. Boston – Amanda

11. Don Johnson – Heartbeat

12. Meat Loaf – Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries

13. ZZ Top – Stages

14. Mr. Mister – Is It Love

15. Huey Lewis & The News – Hip To Be Square

16. The Moody Blues – Your Wildest Dreams

17. Mike + The Mechanics – All I Need Is A Miracle

18. Billy Joel – A Matter Of Trust

19. Bruce Springsteen – War (Live at LA Coliseum)