Since all legal downloads became eligible for the singles chart in January 2007, there has been many old songs that out of the blue has enjoyed another spell in the top 40 so which songs do you love should join the club?

I would love to see

The Smiths - How Soon Is Now (1985)
Gala - Freed From Desire (1997)
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (1985)

anything from Madonna's early years, upto Like A Prayer

Clifford T ward...Gaye.....bludy lovley!!!! love to hear it again regularly on the radio

Oooo I'll be here all day!

I would love to have a lot of the Punk/New Wave stuff from the late 70s back in the charts again to inject some life into the current top 40 and liven things up!

I would go for:

The Stranglers - Go Buddy Go
The Clash - White Riot/Tommy Gun/ White Man in Hammersmith Palais

The Jam - All Around The World/ Down in the Tube Station/ Strange Town

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden

The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love/ Everybody's Happy Nowadays

Blondie - Picture This - should have been a top 10, missed out by 2 places!

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Pump It Up/ I Don't Wanna Go To Chelsea/ Radio Radio

Boomtown Rats - She's So Modern

Generation X - King Rocker

and just for laughs...

Sham 69 - Hurry Up Harry
X Ray Spex - The Day The World Turned Day-Glo
The Rezillos - Destination Venus
Ian Dury - What A Waste

What a fabulous selection! Hong Kong garden take awaaaaaaay My favourite.

I'd also like to see ACDC Highway to Hell, lots of Metallica, Bob Marley, Longview, and Massive Attack

'Sleep' by Marion.

Beats International - Dub be Good to me
The Stranglers - Golden Brown
Baby D - Let me be Your Fantasy

Thanks! Reassuring to know that I am not alone in my love for Siouxsie & The Banshees' "Hong Kong Garden," and all of the punk/new wave choices I suggested. I think we need something to liven up this musical decade, just like Punk/New Wave did, probably more so than the 70s needed it.

I also approve of your choices of Bob Marley, ACDC and Massive Attack. I don't think enough reggae pervades the current charts, and as for Massive Attack, well the fact that the video for "Unfinished Sympathy" still makes me stop and watch and that "Teardrops" sends a chill through me really speaks volume.

I would love "Unfinished Sympathy" to get back into the top 40 - it is deserving of a Number 1 status. I can't believe it only got as high as number 13.

Anyway twassington - would you like number 23? Leave your yens on the counter please

I would choose Methods of Dance - Japan; New Gold Dream - Simple Minds; Gonna tear your playhouse down - Paul Young (bit of an 80's theme going on here!); Ordinary Day - Duran Duran; Transmission - Joy Division; Both Ends Burning - Roxy Music; New Rose - The Damned. There are so many others though!

Nik Kershaw - The Riddle

What a superb list that is !!! some true classics there !

Takes me back

ultravox vienna love this song.

that stupid sharup ya face stopped it getting to no1

Anything by:

Björk
Skunk Anansie
Old Goldfrapp (Felt Mountain and Black Cherry)

T-U-N-E!

K-Klass - Let Me Show You
Robin S - Show Me Love

Love 90's classic funky/vocal house

*good times*

That is such a good song, and a classic riff. It was sampled by Shelley Nelson on a song of hers called Truly - not a slushy love ballad as the title implies, but an edgy, quite salacious song, and Johnny Marr's riff was exactly right for it.
In fact, I wouldn't want to hear a load of old songs in the charts, I'd want to hear more new songs sampling some of these classics, and seeing what the newer artists can do with them.

My list of songs to come back into the charts are.

Jimmy Nail - Aint no doubt
Yazz - The only way is up
Simply Red - Something got me started
KLF - Justified and accient
Cure - friday im in love
Smith - Charming man
Madonna - Border line

Goldfrapp's Strict Machine needs another chance to be number 1!

All the Two Tone stuff... The Specials, Madness, The Beat, Selecter etc...

Been listening to a few internet radio stations the last few weeks....Kick Radio, 80's hit stations etc. It got me wondering that there must be hundreds of quality songs that could be introduced to our Top 40 with a little help. It would be cool if there was some radio or TV initiative (radio and MTV stations are so bland at the moment anyway) to expose these songs back onto the scene, a 'Second Chance Single' type format would be great.

A few examples:

The many songs that were quite big over the pond yet never charted in the UK.

Songs that were really good that charted but for some reason just never got enough airplay to catch on.

Songs that were not favoured at the time (various reasons) but now, a few years later may have matured with age.

To Doctorb, I liked your ideas and they inspired me to add to my list of songs I would love to see return - as "second chance singles" to borrow your label.


One of the best categories of songs and amazing how a lot of them continue to get radio airplay even today but never actually hit it big over here. I'm always amazed particularly by a lot of Hall & Oates' back catalogue.

Anyway my choices under this heading:

The Eagles - Best Of My Love (Billboard Top 100: No 1; UK Chart - nope!) Probably one of my favourite tracks from the 'Desperado' album and certainly a radio favourite. Definitely deserved a UK Chart entry.

Steely Dan - 'Reelin' in the years' - Billboard Top 100: no.11, didn't even chart here.

Hall & Oates - Rich Girl (Billboard Top 100 : No. 1; UK Chart - didn't chart, or at least didn't get in the top 75!)

Billy Joel - The Pianoman (Billboard Top 100: No. 25; UK Chart - no!) An absolute classic from Billy - an infamous radio track over the years and probably one of his best known songs.

Orleans - Dance With Me (Billboard Top 100: No. 6) - a great rock-pop ballad with country overtones from the mid-1970s, but didn't do well at all in our charts, YET, got quite a bit of radio play.

Jean Carn - Was That All It Was? - think it got to number 22 on the Disco chart in the US but despite being quite a favourite here in the UK, didn't chart.

Instant Funk - Got My Mind Made Up - US Billboard : No.20, but it did better in the specialist charts - even hit No. 1 in the disco chart apparently. Disco classic from the late 70s

Songs that were really good that charted but for some reason just never got enough airplay to catch on.

I'm taking this to include songs that only reached the lower ranks of the UK charts!

James Brown - I Got You - only got as high as number 29! Come on!

Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) - didn't even reach the top 40, but it did chart.

Randy Edelman - Uptown Uptempo Woman - only reached number 25!

Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List - let's face it, a huge radio hit, one of their best known songs, but only got as high as number 33 here. This was massive in the USA. Bit of a joke in my opinion.

Steely Dan - Do It Again - only just got inside the top 40 at number 39! Probably their best known song to the casual listener I would say - again, huge in America.

Edie Brickell - Good Times. This should have done so much better over here.

New Musik - This World of Water



George Benson - Love Ballad.

Some good songs there!

Funny you mention Hall & Oates, I noticed that many internet stations seem to play them quite a lot along with Huey Lewis.

I suppose a good example of a 'Second Chance Single' could be Leo Sayers 'Thunder in my Heart'. Reached number 22 in the UK in 1977 and made number 1 in 2006. I think it was considered a flop at the time, could be listed under 'matured with age' catagory as well. I can't even remember it being played on radio in the 30 or so years inbetween.

Thank-you!



Yeah I have as well. I guess it's because a lot of Hall & Oates and Huey Lewis records make good radio tracks, especially for hour openers in the case of 'The Power of Love' and 'Private Eyes.' They're kind of "not so obvious" songs though to me they would be because Hall & Oates/Huey Lewis were always being played in my house when growing up!

Re Leo Sayer's "Thunder in my heart" - yes, I do agree with you. I think the majority of Leo's back catalogue has been discarded save "When I Need You" and "You make me feel like dancing" since the 70s. I think I heard "One man band" on Radio 2 about 3 years ago and as for "Thunder in my heart," I can't remember the last time I had heard it except when it was sampled. Definitely a good example of a record maturing.

The same would go for quite a lot of those dance tracks that sampled 80s hits in previous years - for instance, Erik Prydz - Call On Me. Who would have thought Steve Winwood's "Valerie" would get sampled and get to number 1? It only got as high as number 19 in 1987 and even that was a re-release.

The same goes for Oliver Cheatham's "Get down saturday night" - an absolute flop in 1983 - got to number 38, despite being quite a good disco/soul track from that year. A couple of years later (20 near enough) - it features on the Grand Theft Auto Vice City soundtrack and then "coincidentally" gets sampled by Room 5 for their 2003 smash 'Make Luv,' which essentially is just the same track minus a few verses with a big pitch bend and some more contemporary beats and gets to number 1!

Weird.

I also think in all fairness considering how single sales required to get a number 1 nowadays are so low compared to the 70s and previous decades that some of Bob Marley's tracks should be re-released. A lot of my friends in school were huge Bob Marley fans at 14/15 - some 20 odd years after Bob had died. I was always amazed that Bob had never scored a UK number 1, despite being such a prolific and popular artist. I guarantee some of those singles in the 70s would have sold enough copies to get to number 1 by today's standards!

Suffice to say who would have thought Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" would get to number 1 again in 2005?

Another song that has always surprised me is despite its increasing popularity over the years how Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" was a total flop over here on its release - it didn't even get inside the top 40, yet you can go into a nightclub or karaoke bar and guarantee it'll get played.

Really odd.

The Doors - Light My Fire (To make up for the unforgivable Will Young Version )

Scorpions - Wind Of Change (1991)

They May Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul (1990)

Sex Pistols - My Way (1978)

Extreme - More Than Words (1991)

Soul Asylum - Runaway Train (1993)

Reo Speedwagon - Keep On Lovin You (1981)

Plus countless songs from the 80's

J Geils Band - Centrefold

Dexys midnight Runners - Come on Elieen

Aztec Camera - Somewhere In My Heart

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl

Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough

Europe - Final Countdown

Hall & Oates - Maneater

Toto - Africa

Godley & Creme - Under Your Thumb

I could go on but I will be hear all night

It's bound to finally go in the top 40 soon.
Last edited by Jet2006 : 05-06-2008 at 10:56