Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2009.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Retail chain Woolworths closes across the country after 100 years of business, it is announced that the UK’s economy is official in recession- the first time since 1991, Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan are sentenced to 8 years in prison for kidnapping Matthews’s daughter Shannon in a bid to claim £50,000 for her safe return after reporting her missing to the police, Slumdog Millionaire walk away with 8 awards at the Oscars and Kate Winslet wins Best Actress, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suspends Prime Minister’s Questions as a mark of respect for the death of leader of the opposition David Cameron’s six year old son, reality TV star Jade Goody dies after a 7 month battle with cervical cancer, protests are held in London ahead of the G20 summit– one person dies of a heart attack during the protests, Swine Flu hits the UK, the Telegraph publishes details of MPs’ expenses claims, the BBC publish their expenses report and cancel bonuses for their 10 most senior executives, the number of British Forces personnel killed in Afghanistan reaches 237, the highest ever UK rainfall is recorded resulting in several towns flooded and a bridge collapsing killing a police officer who was standing on it at the time, more than 80% of the UK now have internet access in their own homes, actor Natasha Richardson dies in a skiing accident, Somalian pirates attempts to hijack the MV Maersk Cargo Ship and take Captain Phillips hostage, Barak Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the USA, Michael Jackson dies, deadly bushfires in Victoria, Australia leave 173 people dead and 2000 homes destroyed, an earthquake in Italy kills 300 people, after a plane is struck by a flock of geese just after take-off- Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger successfully crash lands on the Hudson River, films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Up in the Air, The Hangover, Precious, Up, Inglourious Bastards and Avatar are released and I turn 33 years old.

The last quarter of 2009 was particularly good for me as I had started growing a little bun in my oven. Well, I say it was good. It mainly involved me vomiting, falling asleep on the sofa by 8pm every night and unsuccessfully hiding the fact that I was up the duff from my colleagues. Musically, I actually really like this year’s playlist as it contains both commercial chart songs and lesser known songs. I think this will probably be how the rest of the playlists will go. So here’s this week’s, in no particular order.

1. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

2. Shark in the Water by VV Brown

3. Big Bad Handsome Man by Imelda May

4. Tenuousness by Andrew Bird

5. Fight For This Love by Cheryl (I should probably feel slightly ashamed of putting this one in here, but do you know what? I do not. Not even slightly)

6. Empire State of Mind by Jay Z featuring Alicia Keys

7. Never Forget by Noisettes

8. Halo by Beyonce

9. Eet by Regina Spektor

10. Blood by the Middle East

My no.1 this week is -predictably- Queen Bey, but which one is yours?

See you next week for the start of the -er- 10s (?) 2010!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2008. And can you believe we only 10 more years to do.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

In 2008, Mohammed Al Fayed told an inquest into Princess Diana’s death that she and his son had been killed in a conspiracy arranged by the Royal family, Tony Blair, MI5, MI6 and the British ambassador to France, the inquest concludes a verdict of “accidental death” caused by the intoxication of Diana’s chauffeur, 9-year-old Shannon Matthews is kidnapped, the police arrest her mother and her mother’s boyfriend and charge them with organising the kidnapping for financial gain, Boris Johnson becomes the new mayor of London, Barry George is acquitted of the murder of Jill Dando, the Olympics takes place in Beijing, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross prank call actor Andrew Sachs, which results in Brand and Ross being suspended by the BBC, Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest ever Formula One World Champion, Fidel Castro steps down as president of Cuba after 50 years in power, writers strike in Hollywood for 3 months, Barack Obama beats John McCain in the US elections, the films The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mamma Mia and the Reader are released and I turn 32 years old.

Are we really on 2008? This means we only have 9 more years until we’re up to date. So this week sees the return of Bey and the first appearance of a certain American Lady. Here in no particular order, are my 10 favourites from 2008. Spotify playlist at the end.

1. American Boy by Estelle

2. The Promise by Girls Aloud

3. Dance Wiv Me by Dizzee Rascal (featuring Calvin Harris)

4. Poker Face by Lady Gaga

5. Boyfriend by Alphabeat

6. My Delirium by Ladyhawke

7. If I Were a Boy by Beyonce

8. The Devil’s Crayon by Wild Beasts

9. Run by Leona Lewis

10. One Day Like This by Elbow

But which one is my favourite? A few years ago, I would have said -hands down- Elbow. However, I have heard that song a few too many times now (it’s still a great track, so that’s why it’s here). Now, my favourite is probably….oh sod it…imma gonna go with Elbow anyway. I still love it.

See you next week for 2009!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2006.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

A tornado hits London and causes considerable damage.

In 2006, a whale is discovered in the River Thames in London, the football World Cup takes place in Germany, TV presenter Richard Hammond suffers a series brain injury when the jet-powered car he’s driving crashes whilst filming for Top Gear, in London Russian secret service agent Alexander Litvinenko is poisoned and dies, a tornado hits London, a series of murders take place in Ipswich– all the victims are female prostitutes, a man is later arrested and charged for the murders, Hogmanay in Edinburgh and Glasgow are cancelled due to bad weather (I know- I was there in Edinburgh!), Saddam Hussein is charged wth crimes against humanity and is sentenced to death by hanging, over 160 people are killed when seven bombs are detonated on trains in Mumbai, India and Montenegro and Serbia split and gain independence. The films Casino Royale, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Night at the Museum, Volver, This is England and The Queen are all released. I celebrate my 30th Birthday.

Is this the right time to tell you that in 2006, I did an impromtu audition for Baz Luhrmann. I mean, he didn’t ask me to, but I did anyway. I was in Sydney as my better half was working at the Opera House and there was absolutely no way he was going to have fun without me over there. One night we got invited to the opening night of the Sydney Film Festival. I got verrrrrrr drunk on free champagne and myself and an actress that was in the show my husband was working on, discovered that Baz was at this party. We decided it would be a really good idea to go and audition for him. Yeah. At a party. Whilst very drunk. Uninvited. I don’t quite remember what happened, only that the “audition” involved a song and dance routine. That Baz Luhrmann look embarrassed (WHY?! We were being so cool). That I smashed my champagne glass and continued to drink from it. And that shortly afterwards someone suggested to my husband that it was time to take me home. I am nothing, but classy. ANYWAY. I absolutely love this year. It contains lots of fun pop, a heartbreaking tune and one of my all time favourite songs. So in no particular order, here’s my top ten tunes from 2006. Spotify playlist at the end as per.

1. Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera

2. Sexyback by Justin Timerblake

3. SOS by Rihanna

4. Rehab by Amy Winehouse

5. Standing in the Way of Control by The Gossip

6. Gold Lion by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. Us by Regina Spektor

8. Who Knew by Pink

9. I Am Not My Hair by India Arie

10. Irreplaceable by Beyonce

It’s been a while since I put a photo of myself up on these posts, here’s me on my 30th Birthday.

This week my favourite has to be Us by Regina Spector as that’s the song that I walked down the aisle to (but this wasn’t the year I got married). So, please tell me which of these songs you love the most.

See you next week for 2007!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2005.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Ellen MacArthur

In 2005, the IRA issue a statement detailing their withdrawal from their commitment to decommission weapons as part of the Northern Ireland peace process, Ellen MacArthur obtains the solo sailing around the world record, Mark Thatcher is trialed for his involvement in an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea, The Gender Recognition Act comes into place- allowing transgender people to have their reassigned gender recognised by law, Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker-Bowles– she will be known as the Duchess of Cornwall, the Labour Party wins the General Election again and Tony Blair begins his third term as Prime Minister, Tony Blair assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Live 8 (similar to Live Aid) concerts are held across the world, London is selected for the 2012 Olympic games, the IRA orders an end to their armed campaign and focuses on democratic politics instead, England cricket wins the Ashes, Conservative leader Michael Howard resigns and David Cameron is elected as the new leader, a man from Scotland is proved to have been the first person to be “cured” of HIV, footballer George Best dies, the Civil Partnership act comes into force which grants the same rights to same-sex couples as married heterosexual couples, 70% of the UK now have internet access at home, Hurricane Katrina strikes New Orleans flooding 80% of the city and killing 1,600 people, YouTube is founded, Pope John Paul II dies, an earthquake in Kashmir kills 70,000 people, Michael Jackson is found not guilty of Child Molestation Charges, Bird Flu claims more lives in Indonesia, terrorist attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh kill 90 people.

On 7th July (7/7), a series of co-ordinated terrorist bomb attacks take place across London. Three bombs explode within seconds of each other on three separate underground trains and a fourth explodes on a bus. 52 civilians die in the attacks and 700 are injured. Two weeks later there are four attempts to explode bombs on London transport again. However, nobody is injured, but the failed suicide bombers are on the loose. The next day the metropolitan police accidentally shoot dead Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes mistaking him for a terrorist. 3 out of the 4 bombers are found arrested 5 days later. 7/7 was the deadliest terrorist attack the UK had seen since the Pan Am bombing in 1988.

The films Brokebank Mountain, Walk the Line, Sin City and Wallace & Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit are released. I turn 29 years old.

Gang, I really struggled to find 10 favourites for this year. 2005 was not a strong year musically. I personally was never into bands like Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes, the White Stripes et al who seemed to dominate the music scene at the time, so it was slim pickings for me. However, I’m still quite pleased with the playlist that I eventually came up with, so here’s my favourites from 2005 and the good news is, 2006 is musically a much better year.

1. Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz

2. Hung Up by Madonna

3. Forever Lost by the Magic Numbers

4. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by K T Tunstall

5. Bloody Fucking Mother Asshole by Martha Wainwright (Best song title ever)

6. Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) by Arcade Fire (Probably one of the best performances I have ever seen on Jools Holland- worth watching until the end)

7. Ugly by the Sugababes

8. Ordinary People by John Legend

9. King of the Mountain by Kate Bush

10. Triumph of a Heart by Bjork

Whilst, Gorillaz is a very close second it’s Dame Madge that’s my favourite this week. Don’t forget to let me know, which one is yours.

See you next week for 2006!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2004.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Just Batman hanging out at Buckingham Palace, nothing to see here.

In 2004, the Daily Mirror publishes the blacked out portion of a letter written by Princess Diana where she claims that someone is trying to kill her, serial killer Dr Harold Shipman is found dead in his prison cell, the Hutton Inquiry into Dr David Kelly’s death is published and condemns the BBC’s handling of the affair and exonerates the government, Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe are caught up in the nighttime tides, which results in the drowning of 23 pickers, landmark office building The Gherkin is opened in London, children’s animation Peppa Pig debuts on TV, Fathers 4 Justice stage a protest in the House of Commons by throwing purple powder at Tony Blair, the Olympics take place in Athens, a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner breaches security at Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman, British hostage Ken Bigley is beheaded in Iraq, a train is derailed in Berkshire when a car is deliberately left on the train tracks- 7 people are killed, British aid worker Margaret Hassan is taken hostage and killed in Iraq, fox hunting is banned in the UK, the CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a terrorist attack takes place in Madrid as 5 suicide bombers detonate bombs on rush hour trains and kill 190 people, one million people in Sudan flee their homes following ethnic cleansing, 335 people die in a siege in a school in Northern Ossetia and 700 are injured, President George W Bush wins the US election for a second term, Facebook is launched, Hurricane Jeanne kills 3000 people in Haiti, in the Indian Ocean the strongest earthquake in 40 years results in a tsunami that kills over 280,000 people with around 1,500 of them being British.

The films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shaun of the Dead, Saw, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Aviator and the Incredibles are released and I turn 28 years old.

2004 is the year that saw me and my better half pack our bags and drive around the US of A for the summer. We started in New Orleans and ended up in San Fransisco. Honestly, the customs officers thought we were mad when we told them our plans on arrival. Musically, 2004 wasn’t a strong year, but there was still a few songs that I absolutely loved and here they are! In no particular order.

1. Ladyflash by The Go Team!

2. Trick Me by Kelis

3. Fit But You Know It by The Streets

4. Thank You by Jamelia

5. Amazing by George Michael

6. Call On Me by Eric Prydz

7. Freakin’ Out by Graham Coxon

8. Mr. Brightside by the Killers

9. Remember Me by the Zutons

10.1980 by Estelle (this song isn’t available on Spotify, so the playlist is only 9 songs long this week. Here’s the video for it instead)

The Killers are my favourite this week (obvs), which one is yours?

See you next week for 2005!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2003.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Anti-Iraq war protests in London

In 2003, over 2 million people (and 6-11 million worldwide) demonstrate against the Iraq war in London, the London congestion charge comes into place, UK land troops join troops from the US, Australia & Poland in the invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein is captured and a statue of him is toppled over in Bagdad, it is announced that Hussein’s rule over Iraq is over, weapons expert Dr David Kelly commits suicide 3 days after he appears in front of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee regarding the information he had on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Hutton inquiry into Dr David Kelly’s death is launched as there is doubt cast surrounding the suicide verdict, Concorde makes its final commercial flight after flying for over 27 years, Iain-Duncan Smith resigns as leader of the Conservative party, US President George W Bush visits London among mass protests, England win the rugby World Cup, Lady Louise Windsor is born– the first child of Prince Edward, Space Shuttle Colombia disintegrates on re-entry killing all 7 crew members on board, the highly infectious disease SARS spreads across Asia, Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected Governor of California, Michael Jackson is arrested and charged with child abuse, the films Kill Bill, Lost in Translation, School of Rock, Love Actually and Monster are all released and I turn 27 years old.

2003 sees the return of Blur (minus one band member), Beyonce (minus all band members), the Sugababes (with their interchangeable band members) and our Kylie (who doesn’t need band members). Also, this week sees a Top Ten Tunes first. It is the second appearance for a song that was in a previous list, but this version is so different I thought I could justify sneaking it in again. Here’s the best of 2003, in no particular order. Spotify list at the end as always.

1. Crazy in Love by Beyonce

2. Stronger Than Me by Amy Winehouse

3. Slow by Kylie Minogue

4. Out of Time by Blur

5. Too Lost in You by the Sugababes

6. Hey Ya! by Outkast

7. Milkshake by Kelis

8. Leave Right Now by Will Young

9. Mad World by Michael Andrews feat Gary Jules

10. Hurt by Johnny Cash

Some great tunes this week, but Beyonce gets the top prize from me. Which one is your favourite?

See you next week for 2004!

Every Friday, I’m publishing my top ten songs from a single year and this week it’s the turn of 2001.

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 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Within the whole of this weekly series of posts, I have been trying to avoid putting any distressing photos here in the news section, but whatever “upbeat” or “non-stressful” photo I tried to choose for 2001, it just felt like I was making a mockery of the biggest event that took place this year.

In 2001, GP Harold Shipman is still making news as it’s reported that he could have actually killed up to 300 patients, the age of consent for male homosexual acts is reduced to the same as heterosexual and lesbian acts (16yrs), Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Mergrahi is convicted of the Pan Am flight bombing back in 1988, Foot and Mouth crisis begins in the UK, a rail crash near Selby kills 10 people, Donald Campbell’s body and speedboat are recovered from the bottom of Coniston Water in Cumbria 34 years after he tried to break the water speed record, the Eden Project opens in Cornwall, a Dutch lorry driver is sentenced to 14yrs in prison after 56 Chinese immigrants were found suffocated in the back of his lorry, an anti-capitalist riot n London turns violent, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott punches a protester who throws an egg at him, Labour wins a second consecutive election and Tony Blair remains Prime Minister, William Hague resigns as Conservative party leader, race riots take place in both Burnley and Bradford, the first episode of The Office airs on British TV, riots breaks out in Brixton in London over the fatal shooting of Derek Bennett by police, Conservative MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine Hamilton are arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, Iain Duncan Smith becomes leader of the Conservative party,  the IRA announce that they are beginning to decommission their weapons, Beatle George Harrison dies.

On 9/11- hijackers simultaneously take control of four US commercial airliners, two of the planes are crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC, within 2hrs both towers collapse, the third plane is crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia and the fourth crashed into a rural field in Pensylvania, almost 3000 people lost their lives and over 6000 were injured. 67 of the victims who lost their lives were British, the highest number of victims from another country other than America. 412 of the people that lost their lives were emergency workers who responded to the attacks.

The films Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Moulin Rouge, Shrek, Donnie Darko and Bridget Jones’s Diary are all released. I celebrated my 25th Birthday.

This year saw me graduate from university. I would put my official graduation photo up here for you, but it’s my parents’ house. Does anyone hang up their graduation photos in their own home? Anyway, 2001 is a much better year for music than last year. As you can see my taste in music was definitely migrating more towards soul and neo-soul than guitar bands. I got very bored of the guitar bands that were on offer during the noughties. Whilst I know they have big fan bases, I am personally not a fan of bands like Coldplay, Travis, Stereophonics, Keane and all of those other male guitar bands that were around at the time. My taste in music was definitely more female and soulful in the noughties. So, here’s the best 10 songs from 2001, in no particular order.

1. Family Affair by Mary J Blige

2. Video by India Arie

3. Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

4. Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz

5. Survivor by Destiny’s Child

6. Fallin’ by Alicia Keys

7. A Long Walk by Jill Scott

8. Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliot

9. Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue

10. Lady (Hear Me Tonight) by Modjo

This week my favourite track is our Kylie followed closely by India. So, tell me, which one is your favourite?

See you next week for 2002!