THE FIRIDAY FIVE – 17.3.2017

1. Erasure – Love You To The Sky
2. John Hassall and the April Rainers – Intercity 125
3. Amy MacDonald – Automatic
4. Sister Sledge – Frankie
5. Sheppard – Keep Me Crazy

You may have noticed that today is St Patrick’s Day. So, i’m doing a couple of themed charts. One for Northern Ireland, one for Republic Of Ireland, and one for the musical Patricks (and Paddys and Pats) out there.

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND

1. Wonder Villains – TV
2. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy
3. Silhouette – Can’t Keep Up
4. Snow Patrol – Signal Fire
5. Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

1. U2 – The Fly
2. Phil Lynott – Yellow Pearl
3. Heathers – Remember When
4. Sinead Lohan – Whatever It Takes
5. Kodaline – High Hopes

FIVE SONGS BY BANDS WITH SOMEONE CALLED PAT, PATRICK OR PADDY

1. Prefab Sprout – King Of Rock n Roll
2. Train – Drops Of Jupiter
3. Foo Fighters – Saint Cecilia
4. Hue and Cry – Labour Of Love
5. Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Going Down

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 – 18.3.2016

1. The 1975 – The Sound
2. Jake Bugg – Gimme The Love
3. James – Nothing But Love
4. The Last Shadow Puppets – Aviation
5. Gwen Stefani – Misery

First of all, apologies for not doing a St Paddy’s Day chart for you last week. I forgot. Too busy doing a Red Hot Chilli Peppers one.

Still, here’s some songs for you to get through your hangover today.

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND

1. Wonder Villains – TV
2. Ash – A Life Less Ordinary
3. The Adventures – Broken Land
4. The Divine Comedy – The Pop Singer’s Fear Of The Pollen Count
5. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

1. U2 – The Fly
2. Heathers – Remember When
3. Phil Lynott – Yellow Pearl
4. The Cranberries – Dream
5. Kodaline – High Hopes

Meanwhile, this week saw the latest Belsonic headliner announced – Chemical Brothers. I love Chemical Brothers, but live dance music doesn’t do it for me. Anyway, i’ll be in France when they are in Belfast.

I saw them live at T In The Park once, so if you are going, you’ll probably have a good night.

Now, if Belsonic could hurry up and get Noel Gallagher, The 1975, Chvrches and Madness to do headline gigs, that would be nice. I’m not asking for much.

Anyway, here’s a Chemical Brothers chart for you.

FIVE SONGS BY CHEMICAL BROTHERS

1. Go
2. Galvanize
3. Do It Again
4. The Test
5. Out Of Control

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 13.11.2015

1. X-Ambassadors – Renegades
2. Cee-Lo – Music To My Soul
3. Fleur East – Sax
4. Bear’s Den – Agape
5. Coldplay – Adventure Of A Lifetime

It’s a good week for gig goers in Belfast. Today, tickets go on sale for Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott (tickets shall be purchased for that) and Busted (Just a Public Service Announcement, i’m not purchasing one for that) while Paul Weller and U2 are due in town in the next seven days. Ever so slightly looking forward to those two.

Meanwhile, next Thursday is International Men’s Day. In celebration of all that manliness (grrr) here’s a man based music chart.

FIVE SONGS BY MEN

1. Ryan Adams – Bad Blood
2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – AKA …… What A Life
3. Paul Weller – The Changingman
4. John Parr – St Elmo’s Fire
5. Elton John – I’m Still Standing

FIVE SONGS WITH BOY, MAN OR MEN IN THE TITLE

1. Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror
2. Texas – Black Eyed Boy
3. Andrew Gold – Lonely Boy
4. David Bowie – The Man Who Sold The World
5. REM – Man On The Moon

FIVE SONGS WITH MALE NAMES IN THE TITLE

1. Rick Springfield – Jesse’s Girl
2. Elliott Smith – Son Of Sam
3. Wonder Villains – Oh Peter
4. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed
5. Kasabian – Stevie

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 20.3.2015

1. Coasts – Modern Love
2. Modest Mouse – Lampshades On Fire
3. Muse – Psycho
4. Florence and the Machine – What Kind Of Man
5. Angry Anderson – Suddenly

For some reason, I totally forgot about it being St Patrick’s Day coming up and thus, forgot to do a chart. Consider that corrected, and a bonus chart

TOP FIVE PATRICKS

1. Starfish
2. Sharpin (more commonly known as Pat Sharp)
3. Stewart
4. Swayze
5. Duffy

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND

1. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy
2. Wonder Villains – TV
3. Duke Special – Freewheel
4. Ash – Envy
5. Briana Corrigan – Love Me Now

FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

1. Phil Lynott – Yellow Pearl
2. U2 – The Fly
3. Hozier – Take Me To Church
4. Kodaline – Honest
5. The Strypes – Blue Collar Jane

The line-up for Belsonic 2015 was announced last night. Stereophonics and Paloma Faith are the ones that appeal to me. Here’s five songs to look out for in August

FIVE SONGS BY BELSONIC PERFORMERS

1. Stereophonics – Dakota
2. Bastille – Pompeii
3. Stereophonics – Indian Summer
4. Rudimental – Free (ft Emeli Sande)
5. Paloma Faith – Thirty Minute Love Affair

And finally, The Charlatans have been announced to be coming to Belfast in May as part of Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. So, Charlatans Top Five anyone?

FIVE SONGS BY THE CHARLATANS

1. Love Is The Key
2. Blackened Blue Eyes
3. Forever
4. The Only One I Know
5. North Country Boy

THE SOUND OF 2014 : 1-25

So, here it is, the 25 best songs of 2014. Drumroll please …………… and the winner is …….. Oh just read the next sentence and don’t be so lazy.

1. Jamie T – Zombie
2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – In The Heat Of The Moment
3. Charli XCX – Boom Clap
4. Wonder Villains – Marshall
5. Gabrielle Aplin – That’s All
6. Hozier – Take Me To Church
7. Courteeners – Next Time You Call
8. Prides – Messiah
9. Royal Blood – Figure It Out
10. Sheppard – Say Geronimo
11. Vance Joy – Riptide
12. Beck – Blue Moon
13. Lea Michele – Cannonball
14. Millers Daughter – Head Over Heels
15. McBusted – Air Guitar
16. George Ezra – Blame It On Me
17. Jimi Goodwin – Oh! Whiskey
18. Sia – You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile
19. St Vincent – Digital Witness
20. Twin Atlantic – Heart and Soul
21. Royal Blood – Little Monster
22. George Ezra – Budapest
23. The Vamps ft Demi Lovato – Somebody To You
24. Grouplove – Ways To Go
25. Rae Morris – Closer

So, congratulations to Jamie T. If you’re reading this Jamie, there’s no prize, just smug self satisfaction, which money can’t buy.

If, for some reason, you haven’t heard the winning song, here you go.

Here’s to more great music in 2015.

The Sound Of 2013

The Sound Of 2012

The Sound Of 2011

The Sound Of 2010

The Sound Of 2009

The Sound Of 2008

The Sound Of 2007

The Sound Of 2006

THE SOUND OF 2014 : 26-50

26. Lorde – Team
27. Chvrches – Recover
28. Weird Al Yankovic – Word Crimes
29. Ella Henderson – Ghost
30. Manic Street Preachers ft Nina Hoss – Europa Geht Durch Mich
31. Sia – Chandelier
32. Black Keys – Fever
33. Johnny Marr – Easy Money
34. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – True Faith
35. Wonder Villains – Golden Five
36. U2 – Invisible
37. Chvrches – Dead Air
38. U2 – The Miracle Of Joey Ramone
39. Jake Bugg – Messed Up Kids
40. Manic Street Preachers – Walk Me To The Bridge
41. Ting Tings – Wrong Club
42. The Pierces – Kings
43. The Pretty Reckless – Heaven Knows
44. Kasabian – Eez-Eh
45. Pollaponk – No Prejudice
46. Alexi Lalas – Rio
47. George Ezra – Cassy O
48. Take That – These Days
49. Cher Lloyd – Sirens
50. Labrinth – Let It Be

2014 IN PICTURES – JULY

July began for me with a trip to Dublin, then Bray, primarily for a concert headlined by James and Paloma Faith, a bit of football to see Bray Wanderers, and some Dublin Street Art.

The following week, Linfield’s season was back up and running with the second leg of the UEFA Cup tie against B36 Torshavn at Mourneview Park, my first time seeing Warren Feeney’s Linfield in the flesh.

A 1-1 draw was enough to giver Linfield a tie in the next round against AIK, again at Mourneview Park, where and Andrew Waterworth goal secured a 1-0 win. Unfortunately, a 2-0 defeat in the away leg eliminated Linfield.

Two days later, it was back on the football wagon for Linfield’s friendly against Cowdenbeath. The only reason I went was to see Clandeboye Park, after having had some work done.

The month ended with another Wonder Villains gig, an instore at HMV.

Bray Wanderers v Drogheda United

Bray Wanderers v Drogheda United Photo Album

James – Live At Killruddery

James – Live At Killruddery Photo Album

Paloma Faith – Live At Killruddery

Paloma Faith – Live At Killruddery Photo Album

Dublin Street Art

Dublin Street Art Photo Album

Linfield v B36 Torshavn

Linfield v AIK

Linfield v Cowdenbeath

Wonder Villains Live At The Loft Photo Album

2014 IN PICTURES – JUNE

No football, but there was still plenty of stuff to do in June.

The first weekend saw me head to The Limelight for Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott. If the names sound familiar, that’s because they were the vocal duo in The Beautiful South from 1994 onwards.

I never saw The Beautiful South during their lifespan, so it was good to see this gig.

Two weeks later, was a gig with a difference – it was on a roof. I went to see Wonder Villains launch their album on the roof of the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast.

The following Saturday, I was out in Belfast City Centre, getting some Street Art shots, the highlight of which was some Sunflowers opposite The Sunflower Bar.

Later that day, was a HMV instore gig by Runaway Go, at a new dedicated performance area.

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott Live At The Limelight

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott Live At The Limelight Photo Album

Wonder Villains Live At The Oh Yeah Centre

Wonder Villains Live At The Oh Yeah Centre Photo Album

Sunflowers and Stripes

Runaway Go Live At The Loft

Runaway Go Live At The Loft Photo Album

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 14.11.2014

1. Gabrielle Aplin – That’s All
2. Wonder Villains – Golden Five
3. Take That – These Days
4. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – True Faith
5. Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk

So, another week goes by, and once again, X-Factor make up the themes as they go along, as last week was Queen v Michael Jackson, that well known musical rivalry. Oh yes, I remember when the school playground was divided, and you were either Queen or Michael Jackson, there was no middle ground.

FIVE SONGS BY QUEEN

1. The Miracle
2. Seven Seas Of Rhye
3. Let Me Live
4. Innuendo
5. Bicycle Races

FIVE SONGS BY MICHAEL JACKSON

1. Man In The Mirror
2. Black Or White
3. Beat It
4. Will You Be There
5. They Don’t Really Care About Us