THE FRIDAY FIVE (AND IT’S A EURO 2021 SPECIAL) – 11.6.2021

1. Alphabeat – Danmark’s Dynamite
2. The Alarm – The Red Wall Of Cymru
3. Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 U
4. Marshmello X Jonas Brothers – Leave Before You Love Me
5. Holly Humberstone – The Walls Are Way Too Thin

You may or may not have noticed, but an international football tournament starts today.

As is tradition, here’s a group by group chart by acts from the competing countries.

GROUP A

1. Yello – Oh Yeah
2. Spagna – Call Me
3. Stereophonics – Dakota
4. Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart
5. Ryan Paris – Dolce Vita

GROUP B

1. Tatu – All The Things She Said
2. Alphabeat – Boyfriend
3. The Rasmus – In The Shadows
4. Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah
5. Rasmussen – Higher Ground

GROUP C

1. Falco – Rock Me Amadeus
2. George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag
3. Shocking Blue – Venus
4. Focus – Hocus Pocus
5. Opus – Life Is Life

GROUP D

1. Simple Minds – Don’t You Forget About Me
2. Duran Duran – Ordinary World
3. Del Amriti – Always The Last To Know
4. Echo and the Bunnymen – Nothing Lasts Forever
5. Karel Fialka – Hey Matthew

GROUP E

1. Roxette – Joyride
2. Ace Of Base – The Sign
3. Robyn – Who’s That Girl?
4. Baccara – Yes Sir I Can Boogie
5. ABBA – Supertrouper

GROUP F

1. Daft Punk – Robot Rock
2. Nena – 99 Red Balloons
3. Freiheit – Keeping The Dream Alive
4. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
5. Lena – Satellite

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 7.6.2019

1. Billie Eilish – Bury A Friend
2. Liam Gallagher – Shockwave
3. Lewis Capaldi – Grace
4. Feeder – Save Us
5. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Rattling Rose

So, are you all excited? Tonight is The Story Of 1988 on BBC Four. So, to get you in the mood ahead of that and the next year of Top Of The Pops repeats, here’s a chart for you.

FIVE SONGS FROM 1988

1. Jane Weidlin – Rush Hour
2. U2 – Angel Of Harlem
3. Ofra Haza – Im Nin Alu
4. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
5. Kylie Minogue – I Should Be Lucky

It appears that yesterday was Sweden’s National Day. I only found out after their promotional bus was packing up outside Belfast City Hall. So here’s some Swedish songs for you

FIVE SONGS BY SWEDISH ACTS

1. Europe – The Final Countdown
2. Roxette – Joyride
3. The Cardigans – Lovefool
4. Ace Of Base – The Sign
5. Emilia – Big Big World

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 13.7.2018

1. The Lightning Seeds – All I Want
2. The Lightning Seeds – Pure
3. The Lightning Seeds – Sense
4. The Lightning Seeds – Lucky You
5. The Lightning Seeds – What If

Oh, I see you’re all Lightning Seeds fans these days. You should really check out their back catalogue if you only know that song everybody has been singing the last few weeks.

Annoyingly, they’ve done plenty of festivals and supported Madness on tour, but haven’t been to Belfast in ages.

On a World Cup theme, France will be there, the day after Bastille Day. Sounds like a good excuse for some French tunes.

FIVE SONGS BY FRENCH ACTS

1. Daft Punk – Da Funk
2. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
3. Phoenix – Entertainment
4. Daft Punk – Robot Rock
5. Air – Sexy Boy

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 8.6.2018

1. The Kooks – No Pressure
2. Johnny Marr – Hi Hello
3. Courtney Barrett – Nameless Faceless
4. Christine and the Queens – Girlfriend
5. Aurora – Queendom

And now, the first of many apologies.

Apologies for not having a Friday Five last week, I was too busy doing blogs from Biggest Weekend.

The last time I did a Friday Five, I totally forgot that it was Her Majesty Kylie Minogue’s 50th birthday.

Belatedly, he’s a chart to celebrate Kylie’s half century on earth.

FIVE SONGS BY KYLIE MINOGUE

1. I Believe In You
2. Better Than Today
3. I Should Be So Lucky
4. 2 Hearts
5. Some Kind Of Bliss

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the World Cup starts. So here, is a series of musical charts based on the groups. You may notice that some acts are appearing under FIFA’s nationality rules.

SONGS BY ARTISTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS A-B

1. Tatu – All The Things She Said
2. Enrique Iglesias – Do You Know?
3. Nelly Furtado – Maneater
4. Tatu – All About Us
5. Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

SONGS BY ARTISTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS C-D

1. Alphabeat – Boyfriend
2. Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks
3. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
4. Steffan Dennis – Don’t It Make You Feel Good
5. Daft Punk – Robot Rock

SONGS BY ARTISTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS E-F

1. Yello – Oh Yeah
2. Ace Of Base – The Sign
3. Freiheit – Keeping The Dream Alive
4. Modern Talking – Brother Louie
5. Emilia – Big Big World

SONGS BY ARTISTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS G-H

1. Glenn and Chris – Diamond Lights
2. Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know
3. FR David – Words
4. The 5678s – Woo Hoo
5. Shakira – Underneath Your Clothes

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 14.7.2017

1. The Killers – The Man
2. Foo Fighters – Run
3. The Weeknd – Secrets
4. Liam Gallagher – Chinatown
5. Dagny – Wearing Nothing

Today, is Bastille Day. I think you know what is coming next. Yes, that’s right, not one, but two charts for you.

FIVE SONGS BY BASTILLE

1. Blame
2. Pompeii
3. Send Them Off
4. Laura Palmer
5. The Things We Lost In The Fire

FIVE SONGS BY FRENCH ACTS

1. Daft Punk – Da Funk
2. Phoenix – Entertainment
3. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
4. Daft Punk – Robot Rock
5. Air – Sexy Boy

Meanwhile, The Killers have announced a concert in Belfast in November. The bad news is, tickets don’t go on sale for another week. Wish me luck when they do go on sale.

To get you in the mood, here’s a Killers based chart.

FIVE SONGS BY THE KILLERS

1. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
2. Ultraviolet
3. The Man
4. Spaceman
5. Shot At The Night

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 15.7.2016

1. Chvrches ft Hayley Williams – Bury It
2. Primal Scream – 100% Or Nothing
3. Bastille – Good Grief
4. Charles Trenet – La Mer
5. Izzy Bizu & the BB Orchestra – La Foule

So, yesterday was Bastille day. I could do a chart of songs by the band Bastille, but they’re already on the main chart. How about a French Top Five instead?

FIVE SONGS BY FRENCH ACTS

1. Daft Punk – Da Funk
2. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
3. Air – Sexy Boy
4. Christine and the Queens – Tilted
5. Justice – D.A.N.C.E

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 10.6.2016 (A EURO 2016 SPECIAL)

1. Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better
2. Birdy – Keeping You Head Up
3. Tom Odell – Magnetised
4. Biffy Clyro – Wolves Of Winter
5. Johnny Lloyd – Pilgrims

Today is the start of Euro 2016. Sounds like a good excuse for a chart, or a series of charts.

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP A

1. Yello – Oh Yeah
2. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
3. Phoenix – Entertainment
4. Air – Sexy Boy
5. Alexandra Stan – Lemonade

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP B

1. Tatu – All The Things She Said
2. Mansun – Wind Open Space
3. Stereophonics – Dakota
4. Manic Street Preachers – Motorcycle Emptiness
5. The Cure – Close To Me

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP C

1. Wonder Villains – TV
2. Nena – 99 Red Balloons
3. Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F
4. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy
5. Ruslana – Wild Dance

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP D

1. Enrique Iglesias – Do You Know?
2. Can Bonomo – Love Me Back
3. Jan Hammer – Crockett’s Theme
4. Karel Fialka – Hey Matthew
5. Baccara – Yes Sir I Can Boogie

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP E

1. Gala – Freed From Desire
2. Phil Lynott – Yellow Pearl
3. Roxette – Joyride
4. Spagna – Call Me
5. Ace Of Base – The Sign

SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUP F

1. Falco – Rock Me Amadeus
2. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
3. Bjork – Play Dead
4. Christina Strumer – Fieber
5. Bjork – It’s Oh So Quiet

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 17.7.2015

1. Hot Chip – Dancing In The Dark
2. Marina and the Diamonds – Blue
3. Olivia Vessel – Don’t You Forget About Me
4. Everything Everything – Regret
5. What’s Eating Gilbert – Follow Her Around

This week, saw Bastille Day. So, as a treat for French readers, here’s a chart from your country.

FIVE SONGS BY FRENCH ARTISTS

1. Justice – D.A.N.C.E
2. Phoenix – Entertainment
3. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
4. Daft Punk – Robot Rock
5. Air – Sexy Boy

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 18.7.2014

1. Weird Al Yankovic – Word Crimes
2. Royal Blood – Little Monster
3. St Vincent – Digital Witness
4. Nina Nesbitt – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
5. George Ezra – Budapest

Last Monday, it was Bastille Day, so here’s a five song celebration of all things French, not the band Bastille. (Talking of which, it’s just over a month until I see them play live)

FIVE SONGS BY FRENCH ACTS

1. Daft Punk – Da Funk
2. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
3. Phoenix – Entertainment
4. Air – Sexy Boy
5. Daft Punk – Robot Rock

THE FRIDAY FIVE – WORLD CUP SPECIAL

It’s almost here, only another six days to go.

For some reason, the 2014 World Cup will be starting on a Thursday night instead of a Friday afternoon, which is why i’m jumping on the bandwagon today.

The competing countries have also provided some great music as well as great football, so here, is some songs from acts from those countries. Enjoy.

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS A – B

1. Kylie Minogue – I Should Be So Lucky
2. 2 Unlimited – No Limit
3. Baccara – Yes Sir I Can Boogie
4. Rawbau – Tejkitize
5. Santana – Smooth

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS C – D

1. The Clash – Train In Vain
2. Giorgio Moroder ft Phil Oakey – Together In Electric Dreams
3. Sabrina – Boys Boys Boys
4. The 5. 6. 7. 8s – Woo Hoo
5. Shakira – Underneath Your Clothes

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS E – F

1. Yello – Oh Yeah
2. Desireless – Voyage Voyage
3. Daft Punk – Da Funk
4. Piola Vago – Triki Triki
5. Darius – Kinda Love

FIVE SONGS FROM COUNTRIES IN GROUPS G – H

1. Tatu – All the Things She Said
2. Nena – 99 Red Balloons
3. Katy Perry – Hot n Cold
4. Scala ft Kolacny Brothers – With Or Without You
5. Scorpions – Winds Of Change

FIVE WORLD CUP SONGS

1. Dana – Yer Man
2. Andy Cameron – Ally’s Army
3. England 1970 World Cup Squad – Back Home
4. Del Amitri – Don’t Come Home Too Soon
5. Village People – Far Away In America

FIVE UK TV WORLD CUP THEME TUNES

1. Jeff Wayne – Matador
2. Vusi Mahlasela – When You Come Back
3. Apollo 440 – Rondezvous
4. Silsoe – Aztec Gold
5. Daryl Hall – Gloryland