And now Shane McGowan has gone. I doubt he needs any introduction.

There is really only one song that I can use to illustrate his legacy. It is most people’s favourite “Christmas” song. It does not deal with traditional Christmas themes.

I note this is not the version with the “cleaned-up” lyric. (Though the person typing out the lyrics  did misspell a four letter word.)

The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl: Fairy Tale of New York

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan: 25/12/1957 – 30/11/2023. So it goes.

US group Soundgarden’s biggest UK hit.

A rather typical mid-1960s piece this. The Parade were one of those harmony based US groups so abundant in the mid-1960s. Sunshine Girl was their only notable success.

The Parade: Sunshine Girl

This Sunshine Girl is not to be confused with the song of the same title which was a no 8 hit in the UK for Herman’s Hermits in 1968.

Herman’s Hermits: Sunshine Girl

Peter Gabriel’s first solo single. From 1977

Peter Gabriel: Solsbury Hill

Marillion’s last “hit” of the 1980s this was a track from the first Fishless LP Season’s End.

“Hit” is in inverted commas since it only reached no 53.

It has an interesting referential lyric.

Marillion: The Uninvited Guest

I saw in the Guardian that Angelo Bruschini, guitarist for Massive Attack from 1995-2003 has died.

I can’t say that trip-hop was ever my thing but it was a significant genre in the 90s.

Massive Attack: Angel

It seems some mystery surrounds Bruschini’s birth date.

Angelo Bruschini: 1960/1 – 23/10/2023. So it goes.

Another week another remembrance. Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers died last week.

My favourite song of theirs will always be Behind a Painted Smile (no 5 in 1969) but their first UK hit reached no 3 in 1966.

The Isley Brothers: This Old Heart of Mine

Rudolph Bernard Isley: 1/4/1939 – 11/10/2023. So it goes.

I saw this week that Katherine Anderson of The Marvelettes who recorded the first ever Motown release to reach the US no 1, (Please Mr Postman) has died.

The Marvelettes perhaps exemplified the Motown sound but only ever had the one hit in the UK, the untypical When You’re Young and in Love.

This is one of their US hits.

The Marvelettes: Too Many Fish in the Sea

Katherine Elaine Anderson Schaffner; 16/1/1944 – September 20/9/2023. So it goes.

From 1982, Joan Armatrading’s second (and last) top twenty hit in the UK – though it was a no. 1 in South Africa.

Joan Armatrading: Drop the Pilot

Despite his protestation about playing their hit (singular) this song actually reached no 20 in the UK before Babylon did.

David Gray: This Year’s Love