Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 40 - Johnny Hates Jazz (Shattered Dreams)

There are a large number of songs that constantly remind me of family walks from Leigh-on-Sea to Southend, mostly because we used to stop off at different pubs on the way, and most had the songs of the day playing over the speakers.  This was around the mid to late 1980's where we'd jump on a Class 302 from Laindon, get off at Leigh-on-Sea, and stop for a quick drink at the Peterboat, Ye Olde Smack, and then onwards towards Southend-on-Sea with a quick stop at the Cliffs Pavilion for another bevvy - or in my case, another pint of orange squash!.

Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz is one of those songs that was played a lot in those pubs at the time.  It was released in March 1987 and went straight to number 97 in the UK charts.  Only through lots of airtime on the radio did it finally reach a deserving number 5 two months later.

An absolute stonker of an 80s track.  Enjoy.

And as a bonus for those like me who also like some classical/orchestral music, here is the track from the 80s Classical live event in 2019.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 39 - Freiheit (Keeping The Dream Alive)

Released in 1988, "Keeping The Dream Alive" peaked at number 14 in the UK Charts during December of that year and was their only UK hit.  It's often played on the radio at Christmas and features on many festive compilation albums mainly due to it being released around that time of year, despite the song having absolutely nothing to do with Christmas!

Crank up the volume and listen to that awesome orchestral sound.  It definitely has a hint of ELO to it with some 80s Paul McCartney thrown in too!

Enjoy.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 38 - Feargal Sharkey (A Good Heart)

Whenever I feel down, I usually resort to listening to some 80s music, and this is one song I can always count on to cheer me up.  Today, I have decided to pick Feargal Sharkey's "A Good Heart" which reached number 1 in the UK Charts in November 1985, and where it stayed for 2 weeks.  It was his only UK number one, and what a great song it is too.

It will always remind me of family walks along the seafront at Southend.  Many of the 'watering holes' where we would stop off between Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea would play this on the jukebox whilst I drank my pint of orange squash and spent countless 10p's on the arcade machines.  Happy days.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 37 - Carly Simon (Why)

Here's another song that always brings back nostalgic memories of when I was a wee lad in the early 1980s.  There's nothing special about the song - in fact, the video is three and a half minutes of cringe-worthy footage of Carly prancing along a street (back in the days when music videos could be done on the cheap and still be successful).   Still, it has a nice melody and I remember listening to this on the radio when it came out.  I guess that memory has just stuck with me ever since. Whenever I hear it, I think back to happy times when I was little.

Released in 1982, it reached number 10 in the UK charts in August of that year....  I was only 5 years old at the time.  Gosh, I feel old. 

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 36 - James Horner (Battle in the Mutara Nebula)

James Horner wrote and composed a number of movie scores that rank highly as some of the best written (in my opinion), including of course Titanic, Apollo 13, Cocoon and Aliens, but to me, he will always be remembered for writing the music to the best Star Trek film ever...  Star Trek II : The Wrath Of Khan.

Listening to this score always brings back memories of my childhood when me and my friend Steve would pretend to be in command of the Starship Enterprise in his parent's living room, battling Khan in the hijacked USS Reliant whilst pretending his coffee table was the helm of the Enterprise, and Star Trek II playing on the TV...  Hey, we were only 9 years old!  We must have worn out that old VHS video!

I actually think it was his score to this great movie that got me interested in movie soundtracks.

Sadly, James Horner died in a plane crash in 2015.  It's a tragic loss, but he will always be remembered through his wonderful music.

Here's the scene from the movie.  

As an added bonus, James Horner even had a cameo in the film, playing a Starfleet Cadet.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 35 - Men at Work (Down Under)

It's funny how this song always reminds me of a particular memory so long ago.  Men at Work's "Down Under" brings back vivid memories of getting ready to go on a family day trip to London to visit the Cutty Sark.  It was on in the kitchen, and I can still remember my Dad's old radio that it was playing on.

Weird!

Such happy times, and good memories from a period of less stress and worry.

Anyway, it's a great song that was released way back in 1981 when it stayed in the UK charts for 12 weeks, 3 of which were at Number 1...  Back when I was just 4 years old.

And for even further nostalgia, here's a picture of me on that very trip to the Cutty Sark.