Voices: The Top 10 songs from Essex
One last indulgence before I bring the Top 10 feature to an end next week. I promised Professor Jon Davis, my collaborator at the Strand Group at King’s College London, that he could guest-edit his own Top 10, so this is his last chance.
1. “Enjoy the Silence,” Depeche Mode. Matt Houghton thought it was arguable that “Enjoy the Silence” wasn’t even the best song on Violator, but then he is a music industry professional; whereas Ryan McCormack rightly thought “Everything Counts” a strong contender for best Depeche Mode song.
2. “Born Slippy,” Underworld. Went to my school apparently, Abbs Cross comprehensive in Hornchurch. Stonking nomination from school friend Scott Fawcett.
3. “Reasons to be Cheerful, Pt. 3,” Ian Dury and the Blockheads. A great shout from Jack Brown. There is some confusion over Dury’s heritage but it appears that, while he wrongly claimed he was born in Upminster, he did move to Cranham as a child.
4. “Firestarter,” The Prodigy. An aggressive song only matched in intensity by John Aitken’s advocacy and Thomas Hennessey’s opposition.
5. “Parklife,” Blur. Blur seem to divide opinion violently, with Commodore Aitken really quite disgusted by their middle-class dilettantism, but Dr Brown and I pleading that there was real quality here.
6. “Only You,” Yazoo. Great call from Rob McTaggart. I completely agree with John Rentoul that Alison Moyet had plenty of great tracks, with Uncle Alan Pearce suggesting “Is This Love?” I also like “Love Resurrection”, and Scott Fawcett argues for erstwhile band member Vince Clarke’s involvement with Erasure, most specifically “Sometimes”.
7. “Roxette,” Dr Feelgood. Fine nomination from Aunt Sheila Pearce who thinks she remembers seeing Canvey Island’s finest on home turf at The Haystack in the mid-Seventies – must have been a good night.
8. “Smooth Operator,” Sade. I was surprised that only I think Sade worthy. One of the most successful British female artist-led bands in history.
9. “Thou Shalt Always Kill,” Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. An eclectic favourite of mine, an enthusiasm shared with Sam Watson, the former manager of the Morgan Arms in Bow – a mad song which I loved the first time I heard it on Russell Brand’s Desert Island Discs.
10. “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” St Etienne. Spirited advocacy from Michael Taylor and Bruce Wright who point out that while this is a cover of a Neil Young song they totally nailed it.
Only one song from each band allowed; Dury is in as he moved to Essex as a child; similarly Sade as she arrived aged four; Rod Stewart is out as he moved to the county later in life, as did Seal for a while apparently; and no room for eastenders David Essex or Billy Ocean, nor for Billy Bragg who, while from Barking and therefore arguably from Essex, is ineligible for political reasons.
Just missing out is Five Star and “System Addict”. A slightly tongue-in-cheek nomination from Five Star’s fellow child of Romford Bruce Wright, but huge respect to Cara Morgan and Lisa Fryer who actually stalked the poor band when they were about 11 years old.
And how did Talk Talk not make it in?
Next week, the series finale: the Top 10 Top 10s of the past 10 years, one from each year. Thanks to all those who have expressed dismay at the end of the listicles. New ideas for Top 10s are still going strong, but many of the suggestions now are for Top 10s I've already done, or similar, and I would like it to end with the crowds wanting more.
