This is what the future sounded like in 1982,misguided technical prophecy and electronic keyboards,but underneath such dated cliche lies a beautiful watery melody ,the sort of tune you could dive into and wallow for ever.

This was Trevor Horn,s apprenticeship,a place he learnt to meld melody with beat and beauty before moving on to conquer the world,the album isnt that good but this tune will stay in your head long after you slip into sleep .

A breezy acoustic Bacharach influenced song played faithfully by a talented group of scousers in the early eighties ,sounding like it was recorded in 1967 ,aided by trumpets and strings as the song progresses before ending far too soon on an exquisite jazz chord.
This band should have been huge but faded from view before returning as SHACK (more later)

From its folk song intro to the tweeting bird conclusion this is a master class in pastoral pop,unmistakably English and undeniably brilliant .
This is XTC,s finest moment and their biggest hit ,that tranquil introduction explodes into a football terrace style chorus becoming more euphoric at each turn slowly winding down to its resting place somewhere in a quiet church yard

All the elements that made Dexys so interesting are distilled into this spritual eoic,passion ,commitment and the awkward genius of Kevin Rowland from the album that gave the world "Come on Eileen" this is ifve minutes of beauty,sweat and belief.Commencing with a pastoral flute and quickly growing into that familiar dexys blend of brass and strings ,a rousing chorus and a lonely whistled finale .Not immediately accesible but if you're a "bit" interested you could be converted for ever.

An obscure b-side of an obscure one hit wonder from 1983! but thats where you find the treasure ,by digging.A band from the tail end of the mod revival of 79 ,a sixties pastiche played on synthesisers but an overwhelming Motown influence played and written in good faith with a lush melody that would have suited the lonely spy from any movie from 1967 onwards .An eighties version of sixties soul heard 25 years later when pop almost lives on its reference points makes this sound like the first of its kind .The other side, Heartache Avenue ,is also a little nugget and worth a listen too.These boys were also City Boy of 5 7 0 5 fame from 1978.