Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 1987.

For previous top ten tunes, please click on the year: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986  1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

In 1987, Terry Waite is kidnapped in Beirut, Margaret Thatcher wins the general election again for the third time, in Hungerford, Berkshire Michael Ryan shoots dead 16 people and injures 16 before turning the gun on himself (this is the same day that whilst staying with our grandparents, my brother & I decided to go for a walk in the woods. We told our grandmother we’d be 10 minutes. We were gone for over 2hrs. Where did my grandparents live? Berkshire. Not far from Hungerford. Cue a very panic stricken grandmother greeting us at the gate when we nonchalantly returned),  hurricane force winds kill 23 people in South-East England, a fire at Kings Cross underground station claims 31 lives, The Simpsons first appear on the Tracey Ullman Show, a cross-channel ferry capsizes near Zeebrugge, Belgium killing 193 people and Dirty Dancing, Robocop and the film that would deter anyone from having an affair (and then leaving your pet rabbit unattended) Fatal Attraction were released. And I turned 11 years old.

Yes, I know it’s about the 900th time that both the Smiths and George Michael have featured in my top tens, but hey- the heart wants what the heart wants. And it’s not my fault they were both so prolific and good (it’ll be the last appearance of the Smiths FYI). Anyway, never fear- we’ve got plenty of first time appearances from several artists this week too. 1987 coming atcha (in no particular order)…

1.Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet

2. Respectable by Mel & Kim (the first single I ever bought. Purchased with the £1 coin that my brother had sellotaped to my Birthday card as my gift. I genuinely couldn’t have been happier. I literally ran to the local record shop to buy the 7″…does this all make me sound old?)

3. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) by Whitney Houston

4. Don’t Get Me Wrong by the Pretenders

5. Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle

6. Faith by George Michael

7. The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson

8. China in Your Hand by T’Pau

9. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship

10. Last Night I Dreamt Someone Loved Me by The Smiths

So easy to choose my favourite this week. As I’m at my happiest when it’s 2am, I’ve sunk a few Sambuccas and am dancing with my girl gang to I Wanna Dance With Somebody, it most definitely has to be our Whitney this week. Which one of these 1987 treats is your favourite?

And if you want more deliciousness from 1987, hop over to the wonderful Talk About Pop Music‘s blog on what songs they thought were the best from 1987 here. See you next week for 1988!