MPs, music, and me - 7 comments
Do MPs get asked about their musical tastes more than any group in society? I don't see a lot of evidence that they attempt to appear 'hip' (sorry for my antiquated terminology) in an attempt to reach out to young people, it just seems to be a media fascination. Still, perhaps not unreasonably for a group of generally middle-aged people, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Oasis appear prominently in the list of MPs' favourite UK Number One albums (complete list here), as reported by the BBC.
I don't own a very high proportion of the 785 albums that have reached #1 in the UK - 17, in actual fact:
1964: Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
1971: Deep Purple - Fireball
1973: Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup
1983: U2 - War
1987: U2 - The Joshua Tree
1989: New Order - Technique
1991: Seal - Seal
1992: The Orb - U.F. Orb
1993: New Order - Republic, U2 - Zooropa, Pet Shop Boys - Very
1994: Blur - Parklife
1997: Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
1998: James - The Best Of James
1999: Jamiroquai - Synkronized
2005: Basement Jaxx - The Singles, Gorillaz - Demon Days
NB. Entries in bold are albums I (a) bought more or less at the time of release, and (b) actually paid money for.
The list does give a horribly distorted picture of my music collection: 3 U2 albums in the list, and not a single German or American album among the 70s hits, to name just two abuses. And the list is hardly heavy on classics. So which one would I clutch to my chest and prepare to be interviewed by a BBC web editor about?
I probably ought to exclude the compilations, while War, Seal, and Parklife irritate me intensely, so they're also in the skip. Fireball was a bit of a disappointment, while Goat's Head Soup, Joshua Tree, and Dig Your Own Hole have a few decent tracks and several I'll play only rarely. Cutting down the list to just three, while Technique's a very fine album, it's a little one-paced for me, making U.F. Orb and Very my final two.
It's a tough choice, but while I have a soft spot for the trippier Orb releases, U.F. Orb is perhaps the closest we're ever going to get to an Orb album you can listen to from start to finish, and should be especially cherished for that reason.
Anyone care to make a different selection from the above list?
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7 comments so far...
Blimey.
I have approximately 137 of those No. 1 albums and the rest of the family have another dozen or so which I don't allow near my shelves (Robbie Williams, S Club 7, Travis, Nickelback, etc.)
Fascinating list to look at. I still can't believe that Slipknot had a No. 1 (One of the ones I have but don't play any more)
I think I would go mad if I had to try and pick a favourite out of that 137, even before considering some of the ones I don't have but really should.
I guess most people have more than 17... I suppose you could try picking one out from my list if that's at all interesting.
Going back to the full list, there are definitely some surprises but, taking the 80s for example, not really very many that I'd actually look out for, not even to download. Well, maybe Dare, and I did like Phil Collins as a child, but dare I dig up the past?
Nothing much to look out for?? Even in the 80s there is Graceland.
What surprised me more was to see what did *not* get to No. 1. Did Dark Side of the Moon really never get to No.1? And none of Stevie Wonder's 70s albums? Bat out of Hell 2 got to the top but the original didn't?
Hmm, Graceland. I've a feeling I might like it, but I haven't heard it. Maybe I'll investigate that one.
Though I much prefer Piper At The Gates of Dawn to Dark Side of the Moon (the other Floyd album I have), it was surprising not to see the latter in the list. It's also a bit of a sickener to see the one really fine U2 album - Achtung Baby - missing, and pretty much all their others present. No Gold Mother, Leftism, Low Life, Cupid & Psyche 85, Hatful of Hollow, Maxinquaye, Electronic, Actually, The White Room, or even I Will Cure You (!)
Picking one from your list is easy, Andrew - Technique is the best by miles! I can't stand Dark Side of the Moon, but I'm with you on Piper, I've been listening to that obsessively since Syd died.
As for my list, I've got (or rather have owned, as many have - justly - fallen by the wayside in recent years) about ninety three of those.
Picking a best? Agh. Near impossible as there are so many contenders, notably the Stones' Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed, Bowie's Diamond Dogs, Aladddin Sane and Scary Monsters. Then you've got Dare, Who's Next, Thriller, Demon Days, The Lexicon of Love, Meat Is Murder, In Utero, Think Tank, Technique, Club Classics Vol. 1, Wu-Tang Forever...
I'd have to go for Sticky Fingers if a choice is essential.
There are some baffling ommissions though, yeah - no Sign O' The Times? No Disintegration? No Nevermind? No Stone Roses or Happy Mondays? No Queen Is Dead or London Calling!?!?
AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!
Actually, no, I'll take Let It Bleed for the bit where the drums come in at the start of the title track. Wow.
Thank god Beggars Banquet wasn't on the list or I'd be agonising over my choice of Stones album all day.
I've only got 17 as well and only just. If Iron Maiden hadn't had three number one Albums it would have been lower
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