Hot 100 #45

45s. For most of us, our entry into record collecting. Long gone now, except as collector's items and special editions. But there was something very special about the 45. If you were going to go to the effort to put one song on the turntable, then you were damn well going to give that song your attention. That's something today's youth has lost, and I'd argue the songs they cherish might never mean as much to them because of that loss.

Alyson was the only one of you brave enough to mention former Golden Earring member Jaap Eggermont's Stars On 45 by name...

...although Charity Chic went one worse by reminding us of Rotherham's answer to Stars On 45... Jive Bunny! Let's hope that's the last time they ever get mentioned on this blog.

A slightly more worthy suggestion came from The Swede, in honour of Jez...

Status Quo - Forty Five Hundred Times

The Swede then returned later with a couple more...

Gang of Four - 5.45

Bon Iver - ___ 45 ___

And then came Martin, who's obviously now using the same lyrics search engine I do, because he almost filled up the entire comment's box with this lot...

Gomez's "Bubble Gum Years" Whiskey bottle and a 45, my dear
Fountains of Wayne: "Number 45 Sunblock" (I'm not sure if Martin actually listened to that one - but it's not a real song.)
Neil Sedaka and "Our Last Song Together": Scratchy worn out 45's, an echo on the radio
The Hollies, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress": A pair of 45s made me open my eyes
Blondie's "Bermuda Triangle Blues" begins Flight 45, last seen alive on the runway
Elbow's "Jesus is a Rochdale Girl" has Jesus is a Rochdale girl, and 45 CDs
Meatloaf and "Rock and Roll Hero": Stacks of scratched up 45's and taught myself how to sing
Barry bleedin' Manilow (!) and "The Old Songs" includes if all those plans I made don't melt the lady's heart, I'll put on the old 45's (Oy! Less of the 'bleeding'!)
Saint Etienne's "Home": Life seems so good, they're like the 45's when I dream I'm dreaming of you" (Can't find that anywhere on youtube.)
Bill Haley (and many others) and "Peppermint Twist": Well, meet me baby down at 45th Street, where the Peppermint Twisters meet" (Couldn't find that anywhere either so I linked to the version by Joey Dee & The Starliters.)
Repeat offenders Saint Etienne with "Teenage Winter": They'll never buy a Gibb Brothers record again, their old 45s gathering dust (Possibly my favourite SE song, that.)
Aussie proggers The Church and "The Time Being" includes I use a .45 to give them some stick 

I'm going to stop there, I think. I'm getting obsessed.

That's one word for it.

Lynchie was up next, with these...

"Youth of Eglington" by Black Uhuru includes the line "The youth of Brixton they have their 45 Smith and Wesson pistol pistol"

Van Morrison - "Wild Children" opens with
"We were the War Children
Born 1945
When all the soldiers came marching home
Love looks in their eye..." 

and FINALLY! 

Mary Chapin Carpenter - "John Doe No. 24" (a beautiful song) starts with
"I was standing on this sidewalk
In 1945 in Jacksonville, Illinois
When asked what my name was there came no reply..." 

John Medd joined in the fun, offering...

Wreckless Eric - 33s & 45s

Then came Rigid Digit, linking us back to the band mentioned in our opening paragraph...

Sometimes the world is crying out for some 1970s Dutch Rock with slight Bob Dylan undertones (albeit very rarely) 

Golden Earring - Another 45 Miles

While Jim In Dubai returned us to Stars On 45... albeit more credible, tongue-in-cheek, references...

Blokes on 45 - Orange Juice 

Squabs on Forty Fab - Squeeze 

BAR's on 45 - BA Robertson (Couldn't find that one either.)

Rigid Digit added to this list with...

Chas & Dave - Stars Over 45 

Starturn on 45 (Pints) 

Ivor Biggun - Bras On 45

Jim also offered 900 Number by The 45 King - "Annoying dance tune from the late 80's", which I'm not even going to listen to given that description.

And to conclude your suggestions, back to Alyson...

45 R.P.M by The Poppy Fields otherwise known as the Alarm.

Now, you may have noticed I've missed out some of your suggestions there. That's because, two years ago, on the event of my 45th birthday, I actually compiled My Top Ten 45 Songs. And here they are...

10. Babybird - 45 & Fat

9.  Dallas Wayne - Old 45s

8. The Tall Boy - 45s & Books

7. Readers' Wives - I Love You More Than 45s

6. Todd Snider - Forty Five Miles

5. The All New Adventures Of Us - 45 Forever

4. The Gaslight Anthem - 45

3. Shrag - Forty Five 45s

2. Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha

1. Elvis Costello - 45

With that in mind, you might expect Elvis to be crowned this week's winner too.

Except that Martin was decent enough to remind us all of this... and it just kind of fit my mood today.

Let me know, let me know, let me know

About all the old 45s

And the paperback rooms

And it's scattered all the photographs

Of summers and suns

Phew. I need I lie down after that. Can't even think about 44 now. I'll have to leave that up to you...