My Top Ten: Prefab Sprout

Showing posts with label Prefab Sprout. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 October 2025

Snapshots #416: Songs With Repeated Names

At the top of the page yesterday, we had a picture of Nick Rhodes, keyboard player with Duran Duran. Today we have him and all his mates... because Duran Duran are named after a scientist in the movie Barbarella with the same name twice. Although he was called Durand-Durand.

Anyway, here are some songs with the same name repeated...

15. There's a great future in plastics.

"There's a great future in plastics," is a quote from a famous movie starring Dustin Hoffman...

Graduate - Julie Julie

Graduate were the first band of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, who went on to find fame as Tears For Fears.

14. Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Taron Egerton.

Three actors connected with the Kingsman movie franchise.

The Kingsmen - Louie Louie

13. Indian model, misdirected.

"Indian model" was an anagram...

Neil Diamond - Cherry Cherry

12. Ring, Gems, Mono.
Answer here!

Ringtone, gemstone, monotone. The answer was under them all.

The Undertones - Jimmy Jimmy

11. Marx, Harris, Chamberlain.

Three Richards, but the last one was Little.

Little Richard - Jenny Jenny

10. Useful for starting the week.

Get the week started by inserting the Mon-key.

The Monkees - Mary Mary

9. Partially seen through steamy windows at the back of a warehouse.

Partially seen through steAMY WINdows at the back of a warEHOUSE.

Amy Winehouse - Amy Amy Amy

8. Garth's mate has a 60s record label.

Garth was mates with Wayne from Wayne's World. The record label was Fontana.

Wayne Fontana - Pamela Pamela

7. Found fish meets Morecambe's Preview.

The sequel to Finding Nemo was Finding Dory. Eric Morecambe was a big fan of Andrew Preview. (Or Previn, as we knew him.)

Dory Previn - Michael Michael

6. Father Christmas was Not Available for this photo.

Santa - NA.

Santana - Maria Maria

5. Joined Bucks Fizz with half of the King below.

Bucks Fizz is made up of Champagne (see below) and Orange Juice.

Orange Juice - Louise Louise

4. Waugh and a bubbly ruler get together.

Evelyn Waugh meets Evelyn 'Champagne' King.

This is Evelyn Evelyn, a band made up of Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley. They seemed particularly appropriate today.

Evelyn Evelyn - Evelyn Evelyn

3. You get a good view of the gathering place from here.

A buena vista of the social club...

Buena Vista Social Club - Chan Chan

2. Those Turbo Frappes will get you properly buzzed up.

"Turbo Frappes" was an anagram...

Prefab Sprout - Johnny Johnny

Pure class.

1. An icon, Broad-ly speaking.

An Idol, whose real name is William Broad.

Billy Idol - Mony Mony

Hopefully you'll have stopped seeing double by the time Snapshots returns next Saturday...

Sunday, 28 July 2024

Snapshots #354: A Top Twenty Olympic Sport Songs

Welcome to our special Olympics 2024 edition of Snapshots. I hope you got to see all the events...

20. The perpetrators in a murder mystery.

Everybody likes to know Whodunit.

The Who - Relay

19. Do you want ketchup on your ribs?

Redbone - Cycles

18. Would you buy a Z, never worn, even if it was reupholstered?

"A Z, never worn" was an anagram...

Warren Zevon - Hit Someone! (The Hockey Song)

17. This quiz would be impossible without them.

The Photos - Skateboard

16. Ice, Double, Sour.

Cream - Anyone For Tennis?

15. Bulloch, betrothed.

Sandra Bulloch, at her wedding.

Sandra's Wedding - Humberside Gymnastics

14. Don't get stuck behind these guys.

Caravan - Golf Girl

13. And definitely try not to get mixed up with a flirty swot.

"A flirty swot" was an anagram...

Taylor Swift - The Archer

12. Corn-selling sidekick, made in sections to allow for easy assembly.

Sprout was the Green Giant's annoying sidekick. Prefab houses are as described.

Prefab Sprout - I Never Play Basketball Now

11. What Billy Ocean wanted to be.

Billy Ocean wanted to be your love, lover, Loverboy.

Loverboy - Jump

10. Stairway drummer's best friend sings little bits of a Police song.

John "Bonzo" Bonham was the drummer on Stairway To Heaven. Man's Best Friend is a dog. The Police sang De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - The Equestrian Statue

9. Sounds like a football team made up of playful birds put out to pasture.

That sounds like the Meadowlark Eleven.

Medalark 11 - Diving

8. Buried antler covers.

Antlers are often covered in velvet. And these are underground.

The Velvet Underground - Coney Island Steeplechase

7. Scottish detective guilty of regicide with an Osprey.

Hamish Macbeth & his pet hawk.

Hamish Hawk - The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973

6. Biko rubs elf... he's clearly mixed up. Fortunately, Gene and Bruce can help.

"Biko rubs elf" was an anagram. Gene Kelly meets Bruce Willis.

Robbie Fulks & Kelly Willis - Parallel Bars

5. The doctor gave me some flu lubricants - they contained everything I needed.

Flu lubricants.

Lulu - The Boat That I Row

4. Unwelcome visitors.

The Intruders - (Love Is Like A) Baseball Game

3. Mary, Queen of Scots goes fishing.

Mary, Queen of Scots was a Stuart. She'll need a Rod to go fishing.

Rod Stewart - Sailing

2. Blur kept him under pressure, but he managed.

Blur put Pressure On Julian. But he was able to Cope.

Julian Cope - Trampolene

That's not how I'd spell trampoline.

1. You'll find these guys nested in a baseball.

"Nested in a baseball" was an anagram...

Belle & Sebastian - The Stars Of Track & Field

More Olympics tunes tomorrow, in a special Snapshots Spillover.

The quiz returns next Saturday...

Monday, 20 May 2024

Neverending Top Ten #7.0: Off The Shelf

Nobody ever looks at my CD shelves, except me. We don't get a lot of visitors here at Top Ten Towers, and those we do get are usually Louise's friends or family. The CD shelves are upstairs in the spare room, out of the way, not that the majority of our visitors would be remotely interested in them.

Harry Chapin - Up On The Shelf

A couple of weeks back, Sam started to show an interest. Initially he was impressed that the albums are alphabetised by artist - this appealed to the part of his brain that likes making lists and putting things in order. (Fortunately, he hasn't yet spotted that not all the discographies are in the correct chronological order... they used to be, but a half-dozen house moves over the past couple of decades has messed that up... it's on my To Do list).

Love & Rockets - Shelf Life

Then... be still, my beating heart... he started to pull individual CDs off the shelf and play his favourite tracks. I'm saving the first of his choices till the end of this post, but over the weekend he found a copy of Queen's Greatest Hits and decided to play that while we were having tea. I don't think I've been as proud since he uttered his first words (which were "Spider-Man", in case you were wondering).

Queen - Now I'm Here

Now those of you who sit firmly in the Queen-are-rubbish camp, just hold your tongues. Sam's choice is significant for a number of reasons. Primarily because it was that same album (a much older copy, on vinyl), that I first pulled out of my sister's record collection when I was about Sam's age, slipping it onto her turntable while she was at work then sitting back to enjoy and explore. There's probably much that can be written about how Queen (like the Beatles, or the Beach Boys, or Motown, or Taylor Swift) are a good gateway drug when it comes to discovering music... I mean, you're not going to start with Bog Shed, are you? But for me, this was an incredibly powerful piece of symmetry. It almost brought me to tears.

Bog Shed - Fat Lad Exam Failure

Of course, Sam knows most of the tracks on Queen's Greatest Hits (ditto the singles collections of all the artists mentioned above) due to their inclusion on the 150+ in-car CDs I've slowly been indoctrinating him with over the past ten years... but there's a big difference between listening to what your dad puts on and choosing a record for yourself. This is a rite of passage moment.

Queen - Play The Game

And if you're not impressed by Sam's Queen selection... well, that's why I saved the best to last. The first song he chose for himself is the one below. Not a big hit, instead one that only reached #53 in 1997, by a band most of the people who wouldn't even take a second glance at my CD shelves only really know for one song... and it's certainly not this one.

Grander than Castles, Cathedrals or stars

Electric Guitars!

Riots in airports - everywhere that we go

Mascara meltdown - hysteria-a-go-go

Electric Guitars!

'Nuff said.

Monday, 6 May 2024

Mid-Life Crisis Songs #109: Pet Sounds

Echobelly - If the Dogs Don't Get You, My Sisters Will

This is Bertie.

Last week Louise took Bertie to the dog groomer. Bertie had a nice haircut and a wash and blow dry.

The Jerks - Get Your Woofing Dog Off Me

That evening Louise took Bertie for a walk.

Bertie decided this would be a good time to roll in a freshly laid cowpat.

Juliana Hatfield - Dirty Dog

Stray Cats - Dig Dirty Doggy

Johnny Cash - Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog

Prefab Sprout - Farmyard Cat

This is Millie.

Millie lives upstairs during the daytime as she does not like Bertie.

Johnny Cash - Mean Eyed Cat

Once Bertie is tucked up in his crate-bed, Millie goes downstairs, out through the catflap, to do what cats do.

On Thursday night, the same night Bertie had rolled in cow poo, I woke suddenly to hear Louise screaming hysterically. I thought perhaps an axe murderer. Sadly not.

Mud - The Cat Crept In

Millie had returned from her night time patrols and brought a blackbird with her, in through the catflap, depositing it on the landing at the top of the stairs. The blackbird was still alive, but clearly terrified, which would explain why it then defecated all over the landing carpet.

Webb Wilder - Catbird Seat

Louise, having seen something moving in the darkness, was convinced it must be a rat... hence the screams. Fortunately I was able to rescue the blackbird and put it out the bathroom window. It flew away from the madhouse that is Top Ten Towers, vowing never to return.

Pets. Who'd have 'em?

Alec Bathgate - Pet Hates

Spoon - The Infinite Pet

Friday, 15 March 2024

The List #1

In 1992, INXS released their best album, Welcome To Wherever You Are. It contains the somewhat prescient song, Not Enough Time. When I hear this song in my head, it goes "Not enough time for all that I want to do" (although the actual lyrics are slightly different). Those lyrics pop into my head more and more frequently as the clock ticks ever onward... in a similar fashion to the way the lyrics to We Have All The Time In The World fill my mind whenever I'm in a rush to get somewhere and I find myself stuck behind a Louis.

I sometimes wonder if I like too much music. If I'd be better off if my tastes were more niche and not so varied. Because there really is NOT ENOUGH TIME to listen to everything I want to listen to. Every time I visit the tube of you, a new band pops up demanding my attention. On first listen, a lot of them sound intriguing... like this lot, who may well be of some interest to Martin...

Brigitte Calls Me Baby appear to be the latest in a long, long, long line of bands who want to sound like The Smiths. But how many of those ever made it big? Suede? Gene? (Not really.) The Killers? (As soon as they did, they stopped trying to sound like The Smiths.)

Lead singer Wes Leavins (with his enormous Morrissey quiff) claims to be more influenced by Sinatra, Orbison and Presley... ✔, ✔, ✔... but it's The Smiths I hear (and see) in the videos above and below... and that's why they're on the list.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average

"The List."

Often, when I hear a song I like on another blog, I'll leave a comment saying "That's going on the list." Similarly, when I hear something interesting on the radio. Like this little beauty from Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon...

I like the folky atmosphere on that, and the idea that if we don't keep the old songs alive (whether they be Raglan Road or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), they'll fade from our collective consciousness. I used to enjoy listening to the late Desmond Carrington on Radio 2. He'd play a really diverse mix of music, some of it old and forgotten from the 30s, 40s or 50s, alongside more recent or well known choices. I heard things on his show I'd never heard before on the radio, and probably never will again.

As Ultan puts it...

Who's gonna play the old songs when all the old-timers are gone?

Here's an old song I've been playing a lot lately...

See? It's all too much, isn't it? Imagine if I just liked indie music, or rock, or old soul, or country and Americana... if I specialised in power pop or new wave or gentle, acoustic singer-songwritery stuff. Then I'd be able to focus. I'd be able to concentrate on one thing and enjoy it for what it is and not always be worrying about finding the next new thing... or the next old thing... in the hope it might hit me like a chaise longue or gradually unveil its beauty over a half dozen listens like the best of Jason Isbell.

Jason Isbell - Cast Iron Skillet

But I don't just like one thing. I like all kinds of different things, and being able to switch genres and keep it fresh is essential in my listening. But then I also like digging back into the archives too. Except when do I have the time? I mentioned at the top of the page that Welcome To Wherever You Are is the best album INXS ever made. And yet I'm making that assessment safe in the knowledge that I haven't listened to it all the way through in 30 years. But The List keeps growing, and it's growing from all sides. New things, old things that are new to me, old things that I know but I haven't listened to in ages... and on and on and on...

Take that lot, for instance. Life are from Hull. Let's not hold that against them, because on the evidence of the track above... they're excellent. Bear in mind that they released that two years ago and this is the first time I've come across them, but they already appear to have released three albums. What if they're all as good as that song? I ought to drop everything else this instance and devote the next three weeks to familiarising myself with their back catalogue... but I haven't got the time because I also have to check out these guys...

L.A. Edwards come from... erm, Los Angeles... although the LA doesn't stand for what you think - it's lead singer Luke Andrew's initials. They supported Lucinda Williams last weekend and as soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to hear more. So they've gone on The List.

L.A. Edwards - Good Luck

There's so much music out there waiting to be discovered, it's a truly daunting prospect. Because what if I never hear that one song that changes my life forever? It's out there somewhere, I know it is. That's why I have The List...

L7 - Shitlist

Double Vision - List 99

The Go-Gos - Girl Of 100 Lists

Toby Keith - My List

Los Campesinos! - My Year In Lists

The Boxmasters - Shit List

Sunday, 3 September 2023

Snapshots #308: A Top Ten Middle Eastern Songs

This is a rather blurry photograph of Shakira. Despite being a multi-million-selling global pop superstar, Shakira was still amazed the first time she saw a phone with a camera in it. We take such things for granted these days, but just over 20 years ago, the very idea was revolutionary.

You may wonder why Shakira is pictured atop a post featuring songs about The Middle East. Well, it turns out that The Queen Of Latin Music is of Middle Eastern descent - her father's family hail from Lebanon. And Rami Malik, pictured yesterday, is American of Egyptian descent. In case you think I just throw these things together.

Here are ten songs about countries and cities in the Middle East...

10. Found in antioxidants and rubbernecking.