Top 75 of 1998

1998 was the year I left my teenage years behind, it was the year I started my final year at university, it was the year where the number of gigs I went to took a slight downward turn and never really recovered following my most prolific year in 1997.  That was probably partly influenced by Middlesbrough Arena, during the mid-90s every Friday you could find 2nd and 3rd division indie (and occasional rock) bands interrupting the indie disco. So either those gigs started fading along with Britpop or it was my interest that was fading as the new bands I was listening to were increasingly coming from the heavier end of the spectrum.

Looking at some of the songs included here, I would definitely have started frequenting Blaises in Middlesbrough more than the Arena, which had a rock/metal room that I preferred as well as another room that was more like the Arena.  A lot of my favourite bands from earlier in the decade had either split up or changed, Senseless Things & Faith No More were no more, Max had left Sepultura, Manics and Pearl Jam were on pretty different paths to what hooked me in, so the way was open for something new to come along.

In that respect, three of the best albums of the year were debuts (The Haunted, System of a Down and Carrie), another contender for best album of all time was from a band I'd only discovered a year earlier (Cradle of Filth) and another future favourite band contender introduced themselves (Dark Funeral). It was a line in the sand of sorts in my record collection.

My gig list for the year was only 12-strong, the full list is below:

17/01/98 Catatonia, Derrero (@Middlesbrough Arena)

14/02/98 Catherine Wheel, Feline, Radiator (@Middlesbrough Arena)

11/04/98 Dust Junkys, Bullyrag (@Middlesbrough Arena)

18/04/98 China Drum, Pecadiloes (@Middlesbrough Arena)

28/04/98 Tura Satana, Will Haven, Psycore (@Middlesbrough Cornerhouse)

14/05/98 Symposium, A (@Middlesbrough Arena)

30/05/98 Carrie, Feline (@Middlesbrough Arena)

25/09/98 Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Olivia Tremor Control (@Middlesbrough Arena)

13/11/98 Gold Blade (@Middlesbrough Arena)

20/11/98 Delakota (@Middlesbrough Arena)

04/12/98 Miles Hunt and Malcolm Treece (@Middlesbrough Arena)

14/12/98 Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia (@Newcastle Arena)

Two of the highlights were actually the support slots from Will Haven and A, a blisteringly intense (and very loud) performance from the former and some further familiarisation with the latter to set them on the way to what would end up being 3rd favourite band status.  The Manics gig was notable for two things - James introducing Tsunami as 'Toon Army' with it being Newcastle and all and the performance of Clash cover Train In Vain being used later on as a B-side to You Stole The Sun From My Heart.

In terms of my own music, 1998 was a pretty barren year in terms of actually finishing anything, just the one EP from The Personnel completed with my brother.  That highlighted two things - I was taking more care with writing the next Beneath Utopia album and also I had less time for such things moving into my final year at university.  The Underdog album wouldn't see the light of day until May 99, but moved on leaps and bounds from the two previous releases in songwriting terms, even if the sound was still a bit shoddy.

But back to chart matters, the shortlist was shorter than usual, possibly reflecting the fact that while there were still some great songs released in 1998, they were from a more select cast of characters.  This time the only bands that made the list but not the chart were Covenant, A, Pulkas, Spineshank and Sepultura, the latter highlighting that dip in quality after Max's departure.

1. Fear Factory - Resurrection

2. Cradle of Filth - Once Upon Atrocity/Thirteen Autumns and a Widow

3. The Haunted - Chasm

4. Symposium - The End

5. Pearl Jam - Given To Fly

6. The Haunted - Undead

7. Pitchshifter - Genius

8. Korn - Got The Life

9. Napalm Death - The Infiltraitor

10. Dark Funeral - Ravenna Strigoi Mortii

11. Shed 7 - Chasing Rainbows

12. The Haunted - Hate Song

13. Cradle of Filth - Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)

14. Emperor - A Fine Day To Die

15. The Gathering - Liberty Bell

16. Carrie - Breathe Underwater

17. Idlewild - When I Argue I See Shapes

18. The Gathering - Illuminating

19. Cradle of Filth - Beneath the Howling Stars

20. Dark Funeral - The Black Winged Horde

21. Pitchshifter - Please Sir

22. Cradle of Filth - Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids

23. Manic Street Preachers - Tsunami

24. Manic Street Preachers - The Everlasting

25. System of a Down - Suite-Pee

26. Bolt Thrower - Powder Burns

27. Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

28. Black Crowes - Kickin' My Heart Around

29. Bolt Thrower - No Guts, No Glory

30. System of a Down - War?

31. System of a Down - P.L.U.C.K.

32. Metallica - Turn the Page

33. Entwined - Shed Nightward Beauty

34. The Haunted - In Vein

35. Hammerfall - Legacy of Kings

36. Pearl Jam - Brain of J

37. Cradle of Filth - Desire in Violent Overture

38. System of a Down - Spiders

39. Manic Street Preachers - Ready For Drowning

40. Cradle of Filth - The Twisted Nails of Faith

41. Korn - It's On

42. Carrie - California Screamin'

43. Catatonia - Mulder and Scully

44. Entwined - Under A Killing Moon

45. The Haunted - Blood Rust

46. Bal Sagoth - Blood Slakes the Sand at the Circus Maximus

47. Hammerfall - Heeding the Call

48. System of a Down - Sugar

49. Rob Zombie - Superbeast

50. The Haunted - Bullet Hole

51. The Haunted - Shattered

52. Nightwish - Sacrament of Wilderness

53. Nightwish - Sleeping Sun

54. Korn - Dead Bodies Everywhere

55. Iron Maiden - The Clansman

56. Cathedral - Voodoo Fire

57. Dark Funeral - Vobiscum Satanas

58. The Haunted - Choke Hold

59. The Gathering - Travel

60. Manic Street Preachers - Nobody Loved You

61. Manic Street Preachers - Prologue To History

62. Cecil - Acres

63. Dark Funeral - Thy Legions Come

64. Carrie - Joseph

65. Catatonia - Road Rage

66. Divine Comedy - National Express

67. The Gathering - Great Ocean Road

68. Dark Funeral - Enriched By Evil

69. Cradle of Filth - Black Metal

70. Silver Sun - I'll See You Around

71. Metallica - Whiskey in the Jar

72. System of a Down - Know

73. Rob Zombie - Dragula

74. Fear Factory - Edgecrusher

75. Soulfly - Eye For An Eye

Top 75 of 1995

After 1994 had seen me delving further into the world of metal, 1995 carried on that trend.  After progressing through Sepultura and Pantera onto the Earache roster, bands that I'd previously maybe only heard one or two songs by released albums that made me sit up and take notice.

So, as shown clearly in the chart, the albums of the year ended up being Paradise Lost's Draconian Times and Fear Factory's Demanufacture.  White Zombie's Astrocreep received an honorary mention alongside non-metal albums like Shelter's Mantra, Life of Agony's Ugly and Silverchair's Frogstomp.  More established bands in my collection like Carcass, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Senseless Things all had good albums too, even if relatively speaking they all lost their way a little.

But it wasn't rock and metal all the way, I'd started my musical journey away from pop with indie and Friday nights at the Middlesbrough Arena allowed that journey to continue.  With Britpop bursting forth I didn't quite look the part with my long hair, black T-shirts and army trousers, but strangely of all the genres I've dipped into over the years, Britpop was the scene that I felt a part of.

As the Arena included gigs on Fridays too, there were a lot of up and coming bands passing through the doors at that time.  The ones I saw during 1995 are listed below, Skunk Anansie being the only one at the Arena that really moved on to bigger and better things, although there were others like O***s that played there that I was quite happy not to have seen.

03/03/95 Velo Deluxe, China Drum (@Middlesbrough Arena)

31/03/95 Snuff, Bulltaco, Star 69 (@Middlesbrough Arena)

02/06/95 Skunk Anansie, Honeycrack (@Middlesbrough Arena)

09/06/95 Boo Radleys, Swervedriver, Ed Ball (@Middlesbrough Town Hall)

21/07/95 Blameless, Bulltaco, Laxton’s Superb (@Middlesbrough Arena)

22/07/95 Pulp, Sleeper, Menswear, Salad, Powder, Chumbawamba, Skunk Anansie, 60ft Dolls, Blameless, Catatonia, Cecil + Marion, The Bluetones, DetRiMental (@Leeds Roundhay Park)

21/09/95 Shelter, Understand, Shutdown (@Middlesbrough Arena)

06/10/95 China Drum, Honeycrack, Reverse (@Middlesbrough Arena)

17/11/95 Rub Ultra, Fat (@Middlesbrough Arena)

01/12/95 Bullyrag (@Middlesbrough Arena)

The Roundhay Park gig was later dubbed Britstock and was my first festival of sorts, a who's who of up and coming British bands, many of whom would have chart hits.  Note the appearance of Blameless in Middlesbrough on 21/07/95 followed again on 22/07/95 at Leeds, a gap of only 15 hours or so between me seeing them.  Curios in that list come from Fat, who were a rap/rock band featuring Woody from Madness on drums (Downtime made the shortlist for this chart) and Bullyrag whose guitarist took to wearing what was basically a tea cosy over his entire face and head in the early days while staring out members of the audience.

My own music remained mostly in the indie and punk arena too, mostly down to my playing skills.  Me and my brother recorded 3 albums and 2 EPs as Pyf Belly Machine as well as the extended incarnation of that band playing a gig at my college in February 95.  We were the least talented in terms of playing, but the only band that went to the college that were playing original songs.  And we were all right as well, rough around the edges but I still think we had some decent songs despite the constant instrument swapping.

Solo I recorded 2 albums and 2 EPs as Marvin (later to become Spraypaint), one each of which were recorded on my brother's new 4-track Portastudio.  The increase in sound quality coincided with an increase in songwriting quality and despite the constraints in playing produced one of the best songs I've ever written in One of These Days.

I also did an album and an EP as Uranium, which was my first attempt at rock music, although there were a fair amount of keyboards on there too as I was really attempting to be Guisborough's answer to Nine Inch Nails.  Results weren't amazing but I'd hone it a little in subsequent years.

As with last time I'll give a shout to the bands that made the shortlist but not the chart, so commiserations to Chemical Brothers, Carter USM, Schtum, Smashing Pumpkins, Lightning Seeds, Napalm Death, Presidents of the USA, Rocket From The Crypt, Sleeper, Bal-Sagoth, Charlatans, Saint Etienne, EMF, Die Krupps, Fat, Primus, Marilyn Manson, Extreme and Silverchair.  Maybe next time?

1. My Dying Bride - The Cry of Mankind

2. At The Gates - Blinded By Fear

3. China Drum - One Way Down

4. Life of Agony - Let's Pretend

5. Anathema - A Dying Wish

6. At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul

7. Paradise Lost - Forever Failure

8. Ash - Girl From Mars

9. White Zombie - Electric Head Pt 1

10. Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends

11. Paradise Lost - The Last Time

12. Paradise Lost - Once Solemn

13. Pulp - Disco 2000

14. Fear Factory - Self Bias Resistor

15. Paradise Lost - Hallowed Land

16. Cathedral - Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)

17. Fear Factory - Replica

18. Paradise Lost - Enchantment

19. Fear Factory - Demanufacture

20. Fear Factory - H-K (Hunter-Killer)

21. Paradise Lost - Shadowkings

22. Pulp - Common People

23. Shelter - Message of the Bhagavat

24. China Drum - Barrier

25. Faith No More - Ugly in the Morning

26. Faith No More - Digging the Grave

27. White Zombie - Super-charger Heaven

28. Fear Factory - Body Hammer

29. Misery Loves Co. - Need Another One

30. Life of Agony - Lost at 22

31. Shelter - Here We Go

32. Elastica - Blue

33. Ugly Kid Joe - Milkman's Son

34. The Gathering - Strange Machines

35. My Dying Bride - From Darkest Skies

36. Paradise Lost - Yearn For Change

37. Senseless Things - Something to Miss

38. White Zombie - Electric Head Pt 2

39. Faith No More - What a Day

40. Foo Fighters - I'll Stick Around

41. Senseless Things - 16.18.21

42. Senseless Things - Touch Me on the Heath

43. Elastica - Stutter

44. Blur - Country House

45. Black Grape - Reverend Black Grape

46. Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo!

47. Faith No More - Ricochet

48. Pearl Jam - I Got ID

49. Boo Radleys - Find the Answer Within

50. Life of Agony - Seasons

51. Life of Agony - Damned If I Do

52. The Gathering - In Motion #1

53. Shed 7 - Where Have You Been Tonight?

54. Sugar Ray - Mean Machine

55. Rancid - Time Bomb

56. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Warped

57. Skunk Anansie - I Can Dream

58. Faith No More - The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

59. Faith No More - Cuckoo For Caca

60. Carcass - Keep On Rotting in the Free World

61. Cathedral - Utopian Blaster

62. Paradise Lost - Shades of God

63. Paradise Lost - I See Your Face

64. Shelter - Civilized Man

65. Rancid - Roots Radicals

66. Menswear - I'll Manage Somehow

67. Reef - Good Feeling

68. Reef - Choose To Live

69. Menswear - Stardust

70. Menswear - Being Brave

71. Supergrass - Alright

72. Senseless Things - Wanted

73. Green Day - Stuck With Me

74. Iron Maiden - Man On The Edge

75. The Gathering - Eleanor

Top 75 of 1992

The last chart representing 1991 was the one where a whole new world of music opened up, there was something beneath the top 40 that was being fed to me and I dived in, discovering some new bands and sounds in the process.  I bought albums by The Farm, EMF and Flowered Up and dipped my toes into something more guitar-heavy with Extreme.  I taped a whole host of songs from the Evening Session and bought a few 7"s and cassette singles too.

In reality, quite a few of the albums that had songs featuring in the 1991 chart were albums I bought in 1992.  I'm talking Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik to mention a few, which was more of a representation of where my tastes were going in 1992.  The indie that I'd initially started with in 91 was more me taking on elements of my older brother's developing music tastes, 92 was more me finding what I wanted to listen to.

The first album I bought in 92 was Airhead's Boing, carrying on the indie theme of the previous year.  I then turned 14 in May 92 and I remember receiving Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists on cassette and the white vinyl 12" of Pearl Jam's Even Flow for my birthday.  The Manics had played Middlesbrough Town Hall earlier that year and sadly I wasn't allowed to go as I was too young, my first gig still yet to happen.

Things took a different turn with my next two albums, Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine and KMFDM's Money, quite a strange leap into some of the lighter side of industrial.  Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and the Black Crowes followed as American rock bands started to creep into my collection, as well as the latest albums from some of my original crop of bands, The Farm, Extreme and EMF.

My favourite band in 1991 had been The Farm, but their 1992 album Love See No Colour didn't quite live up to expectations and only ended up with one song featured in this chart.  The Senseless Things took over as my favourite band, The First of Too Many cassette that I own may have even been my brother's that he gave to me as I liked it so much,  He definitely gave me his Got It At The Delmar cassette single and his Easy to Smile 12" (complete with Jamie Hewlett art print).  If you're wondering where they are in this chart they only released a couple of singles, which will be counted towards the 1993 chart as part of their Empire of the Senseless album.

I also started recording a rock and metal programme on TV, which was on in the middle of the night, called Raw Power.  On there was a feature about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, What Hits was duly purchased and a back catalogue would follow gradually over the next couple of years.  Raw Power exposed me to even heavier sounds which intrigued me, however I wasn't quite ready to delve even deeper yet.  I saw videos like Sepultura's Arise, Napalm Death's Mass Appeal Madness and Suffer the Children, Carcass' Corporal Jigsore Quandary, Obituary's The End Complete - I kept them on my video (filling the gaps between them with songs from The Chart Show) but they were kind of like weird curios, things I was interested in but not sure I actually liked.

Even though I couldn't quite reach the more extreme bands yet, my tastes got a little bit heavier still over the year.  Purchases of Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction and Faith No More's Angel Dust were important stepping stones.  Nine Inch Nails' Broken and Fixed took it even further, Fixed in particular being especially harsh on these 14 year old ears.

But as you can see from the chart entries, it wasn't all about the pursuit of heavier music.  Peppered with the likes of Mega City Four, The Frank and Walters, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Carter, Blur, Inspiral Carpets and Thousand Yard Stare there was plenty of room for the 1991-style indie contingent.  In fact there were quite a few more among those that made my shortlist but didn't chart, the full list being: The Fall, Electronic, The Shamen, Swervedriver, Young Gods, Ludicrous Lollipops, Eat, Catherine Wheel, Charlatans, Natural Life, Napalm Death, Murder Inc, Ride, Therapy?, White Zombie, Fatima Mansions, Screaming Trees, Skid Row, Extreme, The Cure, 2 Die 4, James and Obituary.

So 1992 ended up being a great year for music, riffs in particular being a massive part of this chart, with Pantera, Rage Against the Machine and Helmet being responsible for a lot of them.  And in their cases not only massive riffs but riffs that groove.  It was also a year where I was properly acquainted with the debut album by the band that would always remain my favourite......although I didn't quite know it yet, that would happen in 1993.......

1. Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

2. Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

3. Nine Inch Nails - Wish

4. Manic Street Preachers - Stay Beautiful

5. Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness

6. Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy

7. Rage Against The Machine - Killing in the Name

8. Pantera - Walk

9. Brutal Truth - Walking Corpse

10. Manic Street Preachers - You Love Us

11. Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade

12. Mega City Four - Stop.

13. Helmet - Unsung.

14. Helmet - In the Meantime.

15. Pantera - Mouth For War

16. Manic Street Preachers - Little Baby Nothing

17. Manic Street Preachers - Condemned to Rock 'N' Roll

18. Rage Against The Machine - Bullet in the Head

19. Rage Against The Machine - Bombtrack

20. Carter USM - The Only Living Boy in New Cross

21. The Farm - Mind

22. Lightning Seeds - The Life of Riley

23. Helmet - Turned Out

24. Rage Against The Machine - Wake Up

25. Nine Inch Nails - Gave Up

26. Manic Street Preachers - Slash N' Burn

27. Faith No More- Everything's Ruined

28. Pulp - Babies

29. Pantera - A New Level

30. The Levellers - 15 Years

31. Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Intact

32. Faith No More - A Small Victory

33. Alice in Chains - Would?

34. Faith No More - Jizzlobber

35. Pantera - Fucking Hostile

36. Manic Street Preachers - Repeat

37. Manic Street Preachers - Love's Sweet Exile

38. Manic Street Preachers - Born To End

39. Frank & Walters - This Is Not A Song

40. Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery

41. Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction

42. Paradise Lost - Pity the Sadness

43. Alice in Chains - Them Bones

44. Pearl Jam - State of Love and Trust

45. Faith No More - Land of Sunshine

46. EMF - They're Here

47. Manic Street Preachers - Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds

48. EMF - Search and Destroy

49. Manic Street Preachers - Another Invented Disease

50. Blur - Popscene

51. Rage Against The Machine - Take the Power Back

52. Helmet - Give It

53. EMF - Getting Through

54. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush

55. L7 - Everglade

56. Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing

57. Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray

58. Mega City Four - Shivering Sand

59. Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong

60. Ugly Kid Joe - So Damn Cool

61. Pantera - This Love

62. Pantera - Hollow

63. Pantera - Regular People (Conceit)

64. Manic Street Preachers - Crucifix Kiss

65. Thousand Yard Stare - 0-0 aet

66. Airhead - Scrap Happy

67. Spin Doctors - Two Princes

68. Black Crowes - Sting Me

69. KMFDM - Money

70. Ministry - Hero

71. KMFDM - Bargeld

72. Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod

73. Bolt Thrower - Dying Creed

74. Bolt Thrower - Celestial Sanctuary

75. Inspiral Carpets - Two Worlds Collide

Top 50 of 1990

1990 was a turning point of sorts for me.  Previously I had watched Top of the Pops and heard music generally and I had a record collection made up of about 10-15 singles and around 8 albums, but in terms of genre and identity they were all over the place, something I heard and liked - musical innocence in its purest form if you like.

In 1990 I turned 12 and started taping things from the top 40 with the intention of keeping it, I think I had already been doing this before but I don't think anything stuck around for very long.  I still have some of the recordings from 1990.  Me and my older brother also started making charts, our favourite 20 songs from this week's top 40, we would disappear off separately on Sunday night then come together and share them number by number.  You can find my top 40 for the year that I compiled at the time here.

If you look at that chart, it has some of the singles I bought that year (Gazza, Aztec Camera, FAB featuring MC Parker), it has plenty of pop that I couldn't necessarily recall today, but it also has the seeds of where I was about to go with my musical tastes.  My brother was starting to listen to indie music, in particular those associated with Manchester, baggy and associated hangers on for starters, hence the presence in that chart of the likes of The Charlatans and the Soup Dragons.  Within a year The Farm and EMF would release albums that would kick off my record collection proper, they would become "my" bands, but that's for the next blog.  As an aside the EMF and Farm songs featured there are eligible for the 1991 chart I'll be doing next as the albums were released then, rather than being separated out because the singles were released in 1990.

After a while I started to separate the tapes I had into Rock, Indie and Dance.  I had by far the most indie tapes, rock and dance were fairly equal for a time.  As you'll see below dance didn't stand the test of time with me, although my first rock tapes contained some entries in here like Holy Smoke, Thunderstruck and Hangar 18 as well as other songs that didn't quite make it (Poison's Unskinny Bop anyone?).

As with 1989, in particular with the American bands, some of the songs in this chart didn't become known over here until the following year as the world caught up.  So albums like Extreme's Pornograffiti and The Black Crowes' Shake Your Money Maker were two of the first rock albums I ever bought, just not actually in 1990.  Mix in some of the aforementioned indie and rock, throw in some Senseless Things, Pantera and Manics that I caught up with after discovering them in the next year or two and you have a very solid year of songs.  No really classic albums I don't think, but 1991 was poised and ready to change all that in a big way.........

1. Senseless Things - Tangled Lines

2. Megadeth - Holy Wars....The Punishment Due

3. Pantera - Cemetery Gates

4. Pantera - Domination

5. Inspiral Carpets - This is How it Feels

6. Senseless Things - Is It Too Late?

7. Iron Maiden - Bring Your Daughter....to the Slaughter

8. Charlatans - The Only One I Know

9. Megadeth - Hangar 18

10. Extreme - Decadence Dance

11. Black Crowes - Jealous Again

12. Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

13. The La's - There She Goes

14. AC/DC - Thunderstruck

15. Charlatans - Then

16. Manic Street Preachers - New Art Riot

17. Extreme - More Than Words

18. Black Crowes - She Talks to Angels

19. Pantera - Cowboys From Hell

20. Stone Roses - One Love

21. Manic Street Preachers - Strip it Down

22. Pop Will Eat Itself - 92°F

23. Extreme - Hole Hearted

24. Extreme - Get the Funk Out

25. Senseless Things - Leo

26. Carter USM - Rubbish

27. Happy Mondays - Step On

28. Extreme - It('s a Monster)

29. 1000 Homo DJs - Supernaut

30. Black Crowes - Stare it Cold

31. Slayer - War Ensemble

32. Black Crowes - Twice as Hard

33. Extreme - Song For Love

34. Napalm Death - Suffer the Children

35. Napalm Death - Vision Conquest

36. Extreme - He-Man Woman Hater

37. Black Crowes - Sister Luck

38. Inspiral Carpets - She Comes in the Fall

39. Happy Mondays - Loose Fit

40. Extreme - Pornograffiti

41. Megadeth - Rust in Peace....Polaris

42. Helmet - Repetition

43. Iron Maiden - Holy Smoke

44. Pantera - Heresy

45. New Order - World in Motion

46. James - Come Home

47. Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain

48. Megadeth - Tornado of Souls

49. Megadeth - Lucretia

50. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Top 50 of 1970 to 1982

While I was trying to think of which band should be the next to receive the top 50 treatment, I hit upon the idea of doing a top 50 per year.  Now I don't actually own a lot of albums from before I was born, so the initial part of doing that would probably prove problematic.....no bother, I'll group the first few together I thought, culminating in this first chart covering 1970 to 1982.

The 1970s are a period that I associate with my dad's record collection, the stuff that stuck in my head were some of the more rocky albums like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and a load of prog stuff, even though I don't think he actually owns that many albums by the aforementioned bands.  No matter, I'm only counting things that I own anyway and for this time period that mainly consists of the first 3 Iron Maiden albums, a host of best ofs, the odd 80s compilation and a few random selections creeping in here and there.  Certainly where Maiden are concerned that shows and I make no apology for it, it's just the way the chart falls!

Some of the selections were difficult to rank due to some pretty different genres battling for attention.  There was also a much smaller window for knowing the songs at the time (given that I was born in 1978), although Madness and Adam and the Ants are two that stand out here where that was the case.  So most of these entries come from the "before my time" school, revisiting older classics in later years to see what all the fuss was about.  Some stand the test of time well, others can never be the same without the context of "being there".  However, this is only the start, and "being there" will play a huge part in the coming charts as my musical journey continues.....

1. Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name

2. Iron Maiden - Phantom of the Opera

3. Jeff Wayne - The Eve of the War

4. Motorhead - Ace of Spades

5. Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills

6. Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker

7. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

8. Misfits - Last Caress

9. Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast

10. Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

11. Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

12. Jeff Wayne - The Artilleryman & The Fighting Machine

13. Duran Duran - Rio

14. Ultravox - Vienna

15. Madness - House of Fun

16. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen

17. Misfits - Halloween

18. Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK

19. Duran Duran - Girls on Film

20. Misfits - Astro Zombies

21. Madness - Our House

22. Ramones - Rockaway Beach

23. Deep Purple - Speed King

24. Motorhead - Overkill

25. Iron Maiden - Running Free

26. Iron Maiden - Prowler

27. Iron Maiden - Sanctuary

28. The Teardop Explodes - Reward

29. Chas & Dave - The Sideboard Song

30. Iron Maiden - Wrathchild

31. Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver

32. Killing Joke - Follow the Leaders

33. Duran Duran - Planet Earth

34. Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone

35. Black Sabbath - Paranoid

36. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

37. Joy Division - Transmission

38. Chas & Dave - Margate

39. Iron Maiden - Children of the Damned

40. Iron Maiden - Charlotte the Harlot

41. Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen

42. Deep Purple - Black Night

43. Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

44. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

45. Iron Maiden - The Prisoner

46. Iron Maiden - Invaders

47. Iron Maiden - Murders in the Rue Morgue

48. Madness - Baggy Trousers

49. Motorhead - Bomber

50. Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

The next chart will be 1983 to 1985.

Iron Maiden Top 50

I probably first took notice of Iron Maiden around the 'No Prayer for the Dying' album when I was 12, I was still listening to a lot of pop music, but also starting to look elsewhere.  I had a tape of songs recorded from the radio which included 'Holy Smoke' among the other chart music and who was this band of long-hairs that dared to get to number 1 with 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter'?  I liked those songs but didn't really look any further, maybe keeping the videos for 'Be Quick or Be Dead' and 'Man on the Edge' from those I had taped on Raw Power/Noisy Mothers, but that's about it.

Then, after I had a couple of my own demo reviews published in Metal Hammer in 97 (one for my metal band Beneath Utopia, one for my pop-punk band Spraypaint, both 4/10 unfortunately), I was in contact with a local lad that ran a metal fanzine.  He was absolutely adamant that my bass style for the Spraypaint songs was influenced by Steve Harris (it wasn't, it was Morgan Nicholls from the Senseless Things), but despite my protestations I had to investigate further and picked up 'Best of the Beast' from HMV in Middlesbrough during a free period at university.

I could see where he was coming from.  But also to my surprise I actually recognised a lot of the 80s songs, some of the big singles had obviously seeped into my childhood brain without necessarily recognising who they were by.  Based on which songs I liked most on that album I plumped for 'Number of the Beast' first, then just gradually built up my collection until I had all the studio albums.

There are effectively four different eras (some might say bands) at play here - the Di'Anno years of the first two albums, the Dickinson/Smith years up to 'Seventh Son....' (in my opinion, and many others, producing the best songs), the Blaze years (poor Blaze did a decent enough job but there was little feeling or production on those two albums) and the current 3-guitar incarnation.  All represented in this chart, all have their classics, all have their duffers.  But on the whole one of the best metal bands that will ever walk this earth, hope you enjoy the chart!

1. Hallowed Be Thy Name

2. Fear of the Dark

3. Phantom of the Opera

4. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

5. Caught Somewhere in Time

6. Aces High

7. Run to the Hills

8. Moonchild

9. Iron Maiden

10. The Trooper

11. The Evil that Men Do

12. The Number of the Beast

13. Powerslave

14. 2 Minutes to Midnight

15. Stranger in a Strange Land

16. Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter

17. Rime of the Ancient Mariner

18. Heaven Can Wait

19. Wasted Years

20. Flight of Icarus

21. The Clairvoyant

22. De ja Vu

23. Alexander the Great

24. Running Free

25. Can I Play With Madness

26. Brave New World

27. Wrathchild

28. The Wicker Man

29. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

30. Afraid to Shoot Strangers

31. Man on the Edge

32. Murders in the Rue Morgue

33. The Prisoner

34. Children of the Damned

35. Sanctuary

36. Dream of Mirrors

37. No More Lies

38. Out of the Silent Planet

39. Prowler

40. Sign of the Cross

41. Be Quick or be Dead

42. Only the Good Die Young

43. Holy Smoke

44. When the Wild Wind Blows

45. Invaders

46. The Clansman

47. Infinite Dreams

48. Blood Brothers

49. Montsegur

50. Wildest Dreams

By Era

Iron Maiden 5

Killers 2

Number of the Beast 6

Piece of Mind 2

Powerslave 4

Somewhere in Time 7

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 7

No Prayer for the Dying 2

Fear of the Dark 3

The X Factor 2

Virtual XI 1

Brave New World 5

Dance of Death 3

A Matter of Life and Death 0

The Final Frontier 1

By Songwriter

Harris 27

Smith/Dickinson 3

Smith/Dickinson/Harris 3

Dickinson 2

Gers/Dickinson/Harris 2

Harris/Dickinson 2

Smith 2

Smith/Harris 2

Bayley/Gers 1

Dickinson/Gers 1

Gers/Harris 1

Harris/Di'Anno 1

Harris/Murray/Di'Anno 1

Murray/Harris 1

Murray/Harris/Dickinson 1

or alternatively

Steve Harris 33

Bruce Dickinson 7

Adrian Smith 5.5

Janick Gers 2.2

Dave Murray 1.2

Paul Di'Anno 0.8

Blaze Bayley 0.5