A Flock of Seagulls - Wishing

I know what you're thinking. "A Flock of Seagulls? A Flock of Fucking Seagulls? Has Cinnamon Girl lost her mind?" Well, I did warn you you might see things you don't expect here.

All joking aside, AFoS may have had a silly name, appalling hair and an unhealthy obsession with the extraterrestrial, but they also had a few really good pop songs. I had a listen to their Best Of the other day and there was one track that - I kid you not - wouldn't have been out of place on an Another Sunny Day record. If it was guitar- rather than synth-based I mean.

That one actually isn't one of their better songs though, so here's one that is. Seriously, tell me this isn't just a lovely little tune.

Brighter - Ocean Sky

Brighter, from Brighton, were very much a Sarah band - the kind that, if you didn't like Sarah in general, were unlikely to change your mind. They put out a number of 7"s and EPs in the late 1980s and early 1990s that are very difficult to find now but were reissued by Matinée on compilation CDs in the last decade. Definitely worthwhile for Sarah fans, maybe not so much for others!

This is a track from their 1991 EP Laurel.

The Swirlies - Didn't Understand

Back in the early to mid 1990s the Swirlies would have been considered one of the better-known US shoegaze bands, although listening to them now the shoegaze element of their sound seems pretty incidental. I think they were basically an indiepop band who happened to like fuzzy guitars.

I was sort of ambivalent about them back then, always thinking they were decent enough but a bit overrated, but I owned their records like every other good shoegaze/indiepopper did and I really enjoy them now for their nostalgic value. But I still don't think they were great.

This was their first single, from 1992.

The Wedding Present - My Favourite Dress

This is definitely one of those songs that falls into the category of "indiepop classic", and with good reason. Along with the Verlaines' "Slow Sad Love Song", it's one of the most perfect depictions ever of the utter despondency brought on by a broken heart - one of those songs that you're probably not human if you can't relate to at least a little bit.

Despite being a fan of theirs I didn't get around to seeing them live until relatively late in their career, maybe '91 or '92, and it was in this really tiny club in the US which despite its size they didn't come close to filling. Nonetheless it seemed that everyone there was a Wedding Present fanatic and the atmosphere was brilliant. While waiting for them to take the stage I got chatting to a fella in the crowd and when I mentioned that I hoped they played this song he told me, "They don't play that any more." Fortunately he was wrong; it ended up being their final encore and when the opening chords struck I really did believe I had died and gone to heaven. It was genuinely one of the highlights of my gig-going career, and you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that's saying a lot.

Elastica - Stutter

I wasn't a huge Elastica fan at the time, but listening to them now I actually think they were better then I gave them credit for. If they'd released the same records without all the hype that went along with the whole Britpop scene I'd probably have appreciated them more. Bit late now though.

This is possibly the best song ever written about erectile dysfunction, although Racecar's "Wonderment" gives it a run for its money. Sure it's not a coincidence that both of those were written by women.

Blow Up - When You Smile

One of the less well-known Creation bands of the '80s, and not entirely without reason - they were pretty good but on that label, at that time, the standards were just so much higher. I don't really know much about them, except they were from Brighton, are linked to 14 Iced Bears and sound to me a bit like the Jazz Butcher.

This was a b-side to their second single, "Pool Valley", and like most or all of their early material was recently reissued on the Cherry Red comp The Kerbstones Turn To Moss.

The Housemartins - Happy Hour

I haven't got a moment to dig up anything obscure today so here's one we all know and love, which still stands out as one of the most irresistibly catchy songs ever written. Unfortunately its subject matter hasn't lost any relevance over time either. Come to think of it, didn't one of the Housemartins' albums have something in the liner notes like "don't crash the bankers' party, burn the house down"? More relevant now than ever before, surely.

Utterly fabulous video too. I'd completely forgotten.