The Weeknd - Wanderlust - Pharrell Remix (2014)

Scheduled for UK release on 24th March is Canadian Abel Tesfaye's - a.k.a The Weeknd - 'Wanderlust', laced with samples of Dutch 80s formation Fox The Fox's 'Precious Little Diamond', which hit the continental European charts exactly 30 years ago.

Lyrics:

It was so hard to say the same thing
And you're so weak to say the same thing
Girl don't hold onto your apprehensiveness
And let the wildfire shine
And repeat after me
Good girls go to heaven,
And bad girls go everywhere
And tonight I will love you
And tomorrow you won't care

(Precious little diamond
I leave it all to you
Precious little diamond
Let it come to you)

You're in love with something bigger than love
You believe in something stronger than trust
Wanderlust
Wanderlust

You're too shy away from me
Just sacrifice your every last inhibition
I'm on your side
Don't patronize
You know tonight
Is the only time we'll have each other
Why would you try to waste this precious time?
Cause tonight I'll be right here
And tomorrow you won't care

(Precious little diamond)
Precious little diamond
(I leave it all to you)
I leave it all to you
(Precious little diamond)
Precious little diamond
(Let it come to you)

You're in love with something bigger than love
You believe in something stronger than trust
Wanderlust
Wanderlust

They're in love with this idea of love
It's a shame that they'll believe it will come
For us all, for us all

You're in love with something bigger than love
You believe in something stronger than trust
Wanderlust
Wanderlust

(Precious little diamond)
Precious little diamond
(I leave it all to you)
I leave it all to you
(Precious little diamond)
Precious little diamond
(Let it come to you)

Chris Isaak - Blue Hotel & Wicked Game

Born 26 June 1956 in Stockton, California,Chris Isaak's music reflects the flavour of music at the time of his birth. He signed a record deal in 1984 for his album Silvertone. If not in 1987, with his international debut Blue Hotel, it was surely three years later, in 1990, when millions of hearts melted: Chris Isaak released his track 'Wicked Game', the video for which largely contributed to his popularity: his record company hired Helena Christensen, supermodel at the time. The 'love story' that unfolded on screen would become somewhat of a legend: apparently Chris fell in love with Helena, only to be re-buffed by her for lack of food and the chilling winds as the recording was made.



Chris Isaak - Blue Hotel (1987)
FR#28, NL#42, UK#100



Lyrics:

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.
I wait alone each lonely night.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...

Blue Hotel, every room is lonely,
Blue Hotel, I was waiting only.
The night is like her lonely dream.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway,
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way.
I wait alone each lonely night.
Blue Hotel... Blue Hotel...

Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (1990)
SWE#3, NL#5, US#6, NZ#7, DE#9, UK#10, IRL#10, AUS#15, FR#42



Lyrics:

The world was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No, I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
No, I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
With you, With you

What a wicked game you play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say
You never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do
To make me dream of you
And I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
And I don't want to fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart

World was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
No I don't wanna fall in love
This love is only gonna break your heart
With you, With you

Nobody loves no one

John Newman - Love Me Again (2013)

John Newman - Love Me Again (2013)
UK#1, EuroHot100#2, HUN#3, IRL#3, ISR#3, POR#6, CH#8, LUX#8, BE#9, DE#11, NZ#12, IT#14, NL#14, ESP#19, AUS#23, SVK#25, ICE#29, CZK#34, AT#36, FR#102



Lyrics:

Know I’ve done wrong, left your heart torn
Is that what devils do?
Took you so long, where only fools gone
I shook the angel in you!
Now I’m rising from the crowd
Rising up to you!
Feel with all the strength I found
There's nothing I can’t do!

I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?

It’s unforgivable,
I stole and burnt your soul
Is that what demons do, hey?
They rule the worst in me
Destroy everything,
They blame on angels like you, hey!
Now I’m rising from the crowd
Rising up to you!
Filled with all the strength I found
There's nothing I can’t do!

I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
Uh, uh, uh, uh!
Oh, oh!

Told you once again,
Do this again, do this again, oh!
I told you once again,
Do this again, do this again, oh, oh!

I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?
I need to know now, know now
Can you love me again?

Hurts - Wonderful Life - Freemasons Remix (2010)

Hurts - Wonderful Life - Freemasons Remix (2010)
DE#2, ISR#2, CH#4, HUN#4, AT#6, BE#8, DK#8, EuroHot100#10, SVK#14, CZK#15, FIN#15, UK#21, SWE#30, IRL#38, NL#83



Lyrics:

On a bridge across the Severn on a saturday night,
Susie meets the man of her dreams.
He says that he got in trouble and if she doesn't mind
He doesn't want the company
But there's something in the air
They share a look in silence and everything is understood
Susie grabs her man and puts a grip on his hand as the rain puts a tear in his eye.

Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life
Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life

Driving through the city to the temple station,
Cries into the leather seat
And Susie knows the baby was a family man,
But the world has got him down on his knees

So she throws him at the wall and kisses burn like fire,
And suddenly he starts to believe
He takes her in his arms and he doesn't know why,
But he thinks that he begins to see

Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life
Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life
Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life
Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life

Don't let go
Never give up
Don't let go
Never give up, it's such a wonderful life

Wonderful life, wonderful life, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful life
Wonderful life, wonderful life, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful life

Don't let go
Don't let go

Nush - U Girls (1994)

Danny Harrison (one half of currently successful remix duo Moto Blanco) and Danny Matlock (who also released under the alias Congress back then) collaborated as Nush in 1994. Their track 'U Girls' was part of my essential clubbing soundtrack at the time. In London it was simmering underground for a long time before hitting the mainstream shelves. Although not as commercially successful with the creatures of the day, it made up for it amongst the worshippers of the night, circulating around dancefloors in various mixes for months on end, which in turn led to several more flawed attempts to make it cross-over into pop charts.
I loved it.

Nush - U Girls (1994)

Cool Jack - Try The Feeling (1993)

Cool Jack - Try The Feeling (1993)

Glam - Hell's Party (1992)

Glam - Hell's Party (1992)

Afrika Bambaataa - Pupunanny (1994)

Afrika Bambaataa - Pupunanny (1994)

PLB - My Prinz Luitpold Bad years... (1990-1992)

Just after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the East German economy collapsed, widely expected as it happens, but hindsight can be a beautiful - as well as ugly - thing, eh?!!

Searching for a job was the equivalent to searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Left with few options, I looked further than the immideate (i.e. 200 miles) surroundings of my home town Rostock and outside the box (i.e. what else can I do?) and found - wahey! - a job as an apprentice in a hotel in the deepest Bavaria - the PLB, officially known as the Prinz Luitpold Bad in Hindelang, near Oberstorf, the most southern community in Germany. I left my parent's home on 9 August 1990 and cut right across my Fatherland.
Life was hard on an apprentice's wage, but better than sitting around at home on the dole.

My school-English was enormously beneficial - I could hold conversations about the Communist Party, the Anti-Nuclear-Movement - and various other enthralling topics...
To cut a long story short, I soon befriended these foreign workers, mostly English-speaking students on their 'Year Out' between A-Level and University. We had lots of parties in the staff building called 'Freiheit'(Freedom) just behind.
That was the time I learned my real English. Two, three months and the language was there - but Boy! - wasn't learning the sense of humour difficult! (it poses a challenge to this very day, LOL).
Anyway, the parties we had were fantastic; this is when I first learned about 'Indie' and 'Madchester'. These tracks will stay in my memory forever...

Happy Mondays - Step On



The Charlatans - The Only One I Know



Inspiral Carpets - She Comes In The Fall



Soup Dragons - I'm Free



EMF - Unbelievable



Primal Scream - Loaded



The Farm - All Together Now



James - Sit Down



Stone Roses - Fools Gold



The Cure - A Forest (from the Remixed album)

Keane - Everybody's Changing (2004)

Keane - Everybody's Changing (2004)
IT#2, UK#4, DK#7, FR#10, NOR#18, NL#18, CH#24, IRL#27, DE#60



Keane - Everybody's Changing (live)



Lyrics:

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can
You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

You're gone from here
And soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie (1977)

Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie (1977)
DE#1, UK#1, IRL#1, SWE#1, AT#2, NZ#33