The Beatles fallout continues: Peter here is Paul McCartney’s girlfriend’s brother. Gordon is Peter’s schoolfriend. Public schoolfriend, which makes this record a touchstone of social flux for some – the class system dissolvin[…]

“I don’t care too much for money”, they sing sweetly as they conquer the world. By accident or design, this feels like a slight nod backwards for The Beatles – a solid, skiffley strumalong married to some earthy good sense (wa[…]

It’s fair to say time hasn’t smiled on this record. The first verse sets up the singer as a dirty old man – keep the secret, don’t tell on me, etc. But then comes the twist – he’s a teenager trying to cop off with […]

“Anyone who had a heart would love me too”. When Cilla Black sings it, this is not a request. Dynamic to be sure, but this song requires its singer not to lose the vulnerability when they turn up the volume, and Cilla never pulls that off[…]

An unwitting example of how quickly things change, the cod-country yokelry of “Diane” would have blended perfectly into 1962’s list of No.1s, but now seems quaint and entirely out of place. Innocuous enough, though, even charming if[…]

That slight increase in tempo on “she will see just how to say please – and get down on her knees” – the sudden enthusiasm in “hurtin’ her! hurtin’ her!” – in this song there’s a hint of whi[…]

London answers back. A quick search for info on the Five draws out this gem – “Contemporaries criticised them for lacking finesse” – well, who’d have thought it? Frenetic, lairy, noisy – there’s hardly anythi[…]

What would you have given the No.1 hits of 1963? Tick all those you’d have handed a mark of 6 or more to (on whatever criteria you fancy!)

Which of the Number 1 Hits Of 1963 Would You Have Given 6 Or More To?
Cliff Richard – “T[…]

One reason I’m happy I started Popular is the entry it’s given me into enjoying the early Beatles. I can’t ever remember Beatles records playing in the house but I can’t ever remember not knowing these songs, either – ce[…]

Of course, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” has a life well beyond its recorded history – it was odd for me to come to it as a record at all, more so when I realised that its history as a kind of secular hymn dates from this single: […]