“Smalltown Boy” is the debut single by British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in June 1984. It is from their debut album, The Age of Consent, released in December 1984. The song was a big commercial success, reaching number 3 in the band’s native UK. It was also a number one hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, and hit the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and West Germany. The track reached number 48 in the US pop chart and was a number one US dance hit. An official music video made by Bernard Rose was shot and released later in 1984. The narrative video features band member Jimmy Somerville as the boy who has experienced the issues described in the lyrics. Seen on a train, he is contemplating his childhood through flashbacks and the events that have caused him to leave his parents’ home.
“You’re the Best Thing” is a song by the English band The Style Council which was their sixth single to be released. It was composed by lead singer Paul Weller, recorded at Weller’s own studio Solid Bond Studios, and was released in 1984. It is the second single from the band’s début album, Cafe Bleu (1984). Café Bleu was renamed My Ever Changing Moods in the United States to capitalise on the success of the first single. The 7″ single version of the song adds a saxophone solo that is not present in the original album version. Certain editions of the My Ever Changing Moods album in the U.S. feature this single version in place of the full-length album version that appeared on all editions of Café Bleu.
“Look Away” is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country. It was released in April 1986 as the lead single from their third studio album, The Seer. It gave the group their fourth UK top 10 hit, and proved to be their highest charting single in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 7. “Look Away” was an even bigger success in Ireland, topping the Irish Singles Chart for one week, and becoming the band’s only number one single on either side of the Irish Sea.
“Special Brew” is a song by British 2-tone and ska band Bad Manners, released in September 1980 and was the third single from their first album Ska ‘n’ B. It was the band’s joint biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 3 in the UK, where it stayed for two weeks. The song takes its inspiration from the Carlsberg lager Special Brew and is about someone who loves it like a significant other. After the success of “Ne-Ne Na-Na Na-Na Nu-Nu”, the band realised they needed to write more songs and so went to the local off licence for inspiration. One of the ideas sounded “a bit soppy… a bit of a long song” to Buster Bloodvessel, which was not their style, so he picked up his beer and sang “I love you, yes i do ’cause i know that you’re my special brew” and the song was then written in a matter of minutes.
“Martha’s Harbour” is a song by English band All About Eve. It became known as the group’s signature song, reaching No. 10 in the UK and helping the group’s debut album reach No. 7 in the album chart. The song features only Julianne Regan’s voice, acoustic guitars played by Tim Bricheno, and sound effects of ocean waves. On its creation, Julianne Regan has said, in an interview on BBC radio, “This song happened by accident when we were recording the first album. It was one of those things when we had the day off and we were sat in this very idyllic setting beneath a willow tree besides a stream by this beautiful residential recording studio and it just came out so naturally. It was a miracle of a little song and it’s very dear to us because of that, because it was very pure, a really happy accident. Everybody went to the pub and we put it down and by the time they got back Martha’s Harbour was committed to tape. Martha’s Harbour is a fictitious backdrop for this happening.” The song is well known for an incident on TOTP, when the group, ready to do a mimed (as was BBC policy at the time) performance of their hit, were not played the backing track through their monitors, so they sat motionless while the television and studio audience could hear the song. Due to this error on the part of the BBC, the band were invited back the following week and insisted on playing the song live.”
