So, I’ve been on this planet for a very long time it seems - I’ve hit that dreaded landmark birthday, the big 40! It was a quiet weekend of celebrating, a nice meal with friends, a nostalgic drink and a sack full of cards – gone are the wild parties too, it seems!
To celebrate the occasion, or to silently hide the sound of me weeping into my pint of cider, I was allowed a little indulgence on BBC Radio Wales last weekend; a track listing compiled entirely of the soundtrack to my life; 40 years in 40 tracks. The full show playlist is available here, but here’s a little selection - the top 10.
1. Pretty Vacant - Sex Pistols
Released in July 1977 as the band’s third single it later featured on their only album Never Mind the Bollocks. The song reached number six in the UK singles chart and marked the band’s first appearance on Top of the Pops.
For me, it marks a moment of
musical epiphany. A working summer in a French hotel led to meeting two young
punks from Belfast who introduced me to the band. Suddenly I found my
voice, my drive, my energy source - my whole world became about music and music
would suddenly drive everything in my life.
2. The Concept - Teenage
Fanclub
The Concept was released in October 1991 and appeared on Bandwagonesque, the band’s third album, released in November that year. It was voted album of the year by American music magazine Spin.
I love Teenage Fanclub’s
Bandwagonesque album from the bottom of my heart. I remember now going into the
small corner record shop, Rainbow Records in Newtown, Powys, and buying this
album with its crazy dayglow pink cover. The music is sprawling and melodic,
and just gets in your head. It was my first ever purchase on vinyl and that was
the start of something special in my relationship with music and collecting it.
3. Marwnad Yr Ehedydd (The
Lark’s Elegy) - Plethyn
Plethyn were formed in 1978 by Roy Griffiths, Linda Healy and John Gittings.
The music of Plethyn goes back to
my earliest musical memories, I heard their album ‘Carreg ar garreg’ over and
over growing up, - but this song in particular is my favourite welsh folk song
of all time. It’s melancholic and dark and their voices are so pure – the
perfect representation of Welsh folk in my personal playlist.
4. Motorcycle Emptiness -
Manic Street Preachers
Motorcycle Emptiness was released in June 1992. It was the fifth single to be listed from their debut album Generation Terrorists, released in February 1992.
Manics were my first ever big
live gig – at Cardiff University in 1992. It was the most memorable and
exciting live music event I can remember. The feather boas, the star jumps, the
complete crowd of weirdos that the band attracted back then and their vicious
punk attitude. I loved it, and have been on the most blessed musical journey
with the band ever since!
5. Glas - Alcatraz
Alcatraz were a school band fronted by Cate Le Bon. They won the National Eisteddfod’s Battle of the Bands in Llandeilo in 1996. This track is from the Darlun Bras EP from 2002 – which amazingly is available to buy online.
Cate le Bon is currently touring
and selling out venues across North America, and I’m so thrilled to see Welsh
talent soar. It’s amazing to see how long the musical journey can be, but
exciting to follow an artist every step of the way.
6. Chain Reaction - Diana Ross
Written by the Bee Gees, who also provided the backing vocals, Chain Reaction featured on the album Eaten Alive in 1985, and as a single twice - in 1985 and 1986. The single was Diana Ross’ second UK number one.
This track reminds me of the wonderful
fun and frolics of the school disco. The year, 1986, a time of poodle perms,
Bon Jovi and Europe. But this track was particularly easy to remember as I took
my sister’s 7-inch record to the school and promptly lost it.
7. Y Ffordd Oren - Gorky’s
Zygotic Mynci
Featured on Tatay, the band’s second release and first full album, released in 1994.
Gorkys are the band that define my student years, the band I’ve seen live more than any other, the band that cemented a friendship between myself and my co-host Huw Stephens back in 1999, when we started broadcasting on Radio One in Wales.
I travelled the length and
breadth of the UK to see them, with my French pal Denis - getting into a few
scrapes on the way. I remember seeing people dancing on tables and climbing the
walls at their gigs in Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff or TJ's in Newport. What a
beautiful band that well deserve their cult following around the world!
8. Bull in the Heather - Sonic
Youth
This was released as the only single from their 1994 album Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, their ninth studio album. The song was named after a racehorse that was the winner of the 1993 Florida Derby. Also during 1994 they released a cover version of The Carpenters’ 1971 hit Superstar, which would later be featured in the 2007 film Juno.
With Kim Gordon on
vocals and a more melodic strain than they occasionally exercise in their
music, this reminds me of a special gig. After university I went to work in
Sudan, Africa for three months, the first thing I did after I came back was go
to see Sonic Youth on tour. The culture shock of my return was compounded by
their gig, and the track became cemented in my life’s soundtrack.
9. We’ve Got the Beat - Go
Go’s
Written by the group’s lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey and considered to be their signature tune. It was released in July 1980, and featured on their debut hit album Beauty and the Beat, released in July 1981. In 1982 they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
For the past decade I’ve had amazing opportunities to DJ around the world with a special crew of girls called The Vinyl Vendettas. Amazing times and amazing adventures; from getting lost in the Alps, to Djing a mountain festival in Melbourne we’ve had some seriously fun times, and this track became our signature tune too!
10. Fire in my Heart - Super Furry Animals
Fire in my Heart is the 10th
single by the band. It was the second single to be taken from the group’s 1999
album Guerrilla. It reached number 25 in the UK singles chart after its release
in August 1999. In my mind, this is the greatest love song ever.
So, there’s the top 10. The full
list of 40 tracks included plenty of embarrassing moments, like the Kylie and
Jason track my husband chose for our first dance, or my first ever purchase on
cassette, and even which track I’d like played at my funeral. It was a great
trip down memory lane, and here’s to the next decade or two!
