Devon Record Club

It’s

‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush

This was a debut single in 1978 by an 18 year old! Where on earth did it fit with anything else I had ever heard? I was 12 and impressionable and Kate made quite the impression. Extraordinary in so many ways. The outfit for Babooshka 2 years later, sealed the deal.

VERSUS

‘B.O.B.’ by Outkast

It’s hard to believe this is 13 years old; it still sounds like the future to me. So fast, so psychedelic, so many ideas crammed together. You think Hey Ya is the sound of Outkast at their best? That’s wrong.

WINNER: Kate Bush

It’s

‘Groove Is In the Heart’ by Deee-lite

I’ve loved this since I was dancing to it at the school youth club when I was 11 or 12 years old. I’ve exploded and explored the constituent parts, and still prefer this. Timeless, joyous, danceable pop music.

VERSUS

‘Paperback Writer’ by The Beatles

Mid-period Beatles are just impossible to fuck with; as well as the best bassline and riff, this also has the best backing vocals and best b-side of their career. Perhaps. Stupid, but brilliant.

WINNER: Deee-lite

It’s

‘I Want You Back’ by Jackson 5

The most irresistible bassline of all time? And an amazing vocal performance, too; those yelps at the end are pure catharsis. What happened, Michael? Another song I’ve loved since I was a kid.

VERSUS

‘Lola’ by The Kinks

A classic sing along with subversive elements from 1970. Let’s face it, who hasn’t known someone that has spent a night with a transvestite and not realised until the following morning? No, oh I’ll get me coat.

WINNER: Jackson 5

It’s

‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush

Interesting intro, good beat…Mia (age 11) 10 out of 10

VERSUS

‘Love and Happiness’ by Al Green

It begins like Madness which is Are House…Evie (age 7) 10 out of 10

Great beat, good instruments, good intro, good singing (the type), good tune, nice backing singing…Kit (age 8) 10 out of 10

WINNER: Kate Bush

It’s

‘Name of the Game’ by ABBA

Very good, good beat, I like the chorus….Tess (age 10) 9 outof 10

VERSUS

‘Fool’s Gold’ by Stone Roses

I have no idea how much my esteem for this song is just residual adolescent affection from 18 years ago, and how much is actual critical / aesthetic judgment. When I was 15 this sounded utterly alien to me.

WINNER: Stone Roses

It’s

‘Purple Haze’ by Jimi Hendrix

Jimi simply blew away the opposition and re-drew the lines of rock music in 1967. A riff that has been played on guitars and tennis racquets ever since. No better combination of rock/psychedelia/funk.

VERSUS

‘Freak Scene’ by Dinosaur Jr.

The best alt-rock song of the 80s, 90s, whenevers. Listen no further, Freak Scene has everything you need. Tumbling energy, carelessly gummy vocals, the two best solos AND  the two best breakdowns in rock, both containing the word ‘Fuck’.

WINNER: Jimi Hendrix

It’s

‘Senses Working Overtime’ by XTC

The perfect breath of English pastoral pop. Eccentric but utterly loveable. XTC wrote a handful of delicious singles which wove their way through my childhood radio listening. ‘Senses’ is the one I cherish the most.

VERSUS

‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division

Sleek, bitter, despairing, elevating, bleak and beautiful. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ gets to the heart of what it means to be human but sounds like it was made by ghosts trapped in the studio. An eternal wonder.

WINNER: Joy Division

‘Atmosphere’ by Joy Division

A posthumous UK release after Ian Curtis died in 1980. Poetic, majestic, sparse and haunting. Has an emotional pull similar to the finest pieces of classical music.

VERSUS

‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by the Rolling Stones

Let’s face it, if Gimme Shelter had ever been released as a single it would be here. However the lucky people of Germany and Japan both enjoyed this as a single release. Primeval rhythms, hypnotic and much copied backing vocals over intellectualised guff about the devil, “simples”. Always a good move in rock to ally yourself with the devil.

WINNER: Rolling Stones

And we’re off!

First round, first tie is:

‘Common People’ by Pulp

The class war won in a single blow from a gangly bloke from Sheffield. The only Britpop anthem to retain weight, it remains as sharply pointed as ever. You may think you wore it out back then, or through years of radio play, but stick it on loud , let yourself go and the charge is still there.

VERSUS

‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Manufactured pop doesn’t have to be drek. Frankie were a shocking slap in the face, part Paul; Morley’s situationist fantasy, part Trevor Horn’s megaton hi-nrg bomb, all improbable and laudable even without three of the finest, most compelling singles of the last 30 years.

WINNER: Pulp