Did you know the extent to which power and impact of nostalgia can be made apparent via someone's lifetime of music?
Take my Grandad, for instance, up there. He's a handsome devil, isn't he?
Our family has (generationally speaking) always known how to party, and as much as we enjoy a good booze up, our passion for having a good time is born from good food, great company, but most of all, an inherently shared passion for music.
I’ve been so lucky to have grown up with an eclectic musical surrounding with inspiration everywhere, whether it be my Uncle Steve’s R&B favourites, 80s anthems bouncing through the speaker when my mum and Auntie Kaz are shared DJ for the night, or timeless favourites from the 60s as are always requested by Nan and Grandad.
On 12th January this year, my Grandad turned 80 years old. (We can't believe it either).
We threw him a good old fashioned Clayton-Davies party, for which I am often tasked with creating a varied playlist for everyone to enjoy. While MC Hannah knew a lot of Grandad's favourite songs already, I asked if he had any extra additions he may wish to hear on the night.
And since Grandad has never in his life done things by halves, I was by no means surprised as I visited him the next day to be presented with an extensive list of all of the top songs of his lifetime, titled "Grandad's “PICK OF THE POPS".
For this week‘s blog entry, I‘ve taken a selection of Grandad's favourites that sparked something in me (you will be glad to know that he has an outstanding taste in music), and wish to tell their story.
Cheers to 80 years, Grandad. This one’s for you.
When - The Kalin Twins (1959)
Historical Context
The song was a hit recorded by the Kalin Twins in 1958, and topped the charts in the UK Singles Chart for a five whole weeks. Showaddywaddy later covered the song in 1977.
Grandad's Story
This was a record that reminded Grandad of his family gatherings at Uncle Bill & Auntie Lil Fell’s, who lived in Old Swan. At the time of “When”’s release, young Alan Davies was a strapping 18-year-old, and would enjoy a drink, dance, and good feed with the Davies clan. There’s one thing that’s for sure, and that’s that the Davies’ still throw the best family parties to this day.
Even more poignant, says Grandad, was that the TB (flip) side to the Decca record was Three O’Clock Thrill (and her name is Gill). Grandad loves that the old saxophone rings through the record, but more so that it reminds him of his own younger sister, named Gill. (Hi Auntie Gill – you got a shoutout!).
Favourite lyrics: When you kiss me right / I don't want to ever say good night
Haven't we all been there? Can't we all relate to that feeling when you’re with someone for the first time, and nerves and excitement combine to make that goose-bump inducing first kiss moment that leaves you wanting more?
As well as that cutting emotion you get when you wish you didn’t have to go home or leave that person for the night. Yet the same feeling that makes you go to sleep with a warm tummy and smile on your face, and wake up with a beautiful glow. Excitement, exhilaration, vulnerability, wonder, and innocuous lust: feelings that music can instantly reignite via nostalgia and memory.
In Nan & Grandad’s day, there were no phones for in-between communication, so meeting in person was all they had and all they needed, their time together always cherished and appreciated.
Nan and Grandad on their wedding day (1967)
Wow, sometimes I wish I could have lived in those days. Social media can really kill romance, right? Good-morning texts, sexting, and snapchat streaks just don't really cut it the same as the way they did things back then.
Nan and Grandad, present day
I Remember You – Frank Ifield (1962)
Historical Context
Australia-born Frank Ifield recorded the popular (1941) song in country-music style in 1962, and his version soared to number one on the UK Singles Chart, selling 1.1 million copies in the UK alone.
While Ifield had been recording singles since 1958, “I Remember You” is considered his major breakthrough release. It was so favoured by the British public, it remained top of the charts for seven weeks.
Known for Ifield's falsetto and a slight yodel, it not only remained number one for the entire summer, but became the highest-selling single of that year in the UK, as well as the seventh million-selling single of all time (thus far). He went on to have an additional three number-one hits.
Grandad’s Story
Grandad has his own memories of the song being in the charts. He told me that his new girlfriend, (my Nan), had set off on holiday to the Isle of White with her family. The pair had only been ‘courting’ (side-note: don't you love it when the older generation use that phrase?) for a few weeks.
'The early days" he said. Grandad recalls missing her so much that he got a coach down from Liverpool to Portsmouth, before a 20-minute boat to meet them at the caravan park.
While Grandad cannot remember exactly how long his journey took, he remembers it being a long time. Let’s just say that the fastest coach from Liverpool to Portsmouth now is 9 hours and 45 minutes, so I’m placing my bets that he would have been sitting on that coach for a long while. But hey, 50 years of marriage later it seems as though it was worth it!
”I Remember You” was number 1 at the time, and played on repeat on the radio throughout the drive down. No wonder Grandad is able to recite all the lyrics to this day! I need to find a man who’d take a coach trip as long as June 21st just to see me. That said, anybody who is half the man that my Grandad was (and still is) will quite suffice.
Favourite lyrics: When my life is through / And the angels ask me to recall / The thrill of it all / Then I will tell them I remember you-ooh.
I got a little emotional at Grandad’s retelling. I feel like these lyrics are apt in his vivid memory of the early days of falling in love with young Susie Gibbons. He couldn't go a day without her, and remembers that feeling to this day.
Grandad introducing me to "I Remember You", February 2022
You Drive Me Crazy - Shakin’ Stevens (1981)
Historical Context
This idiom title song was recorded by the Welsh rock and roll singer, Michael Barratt, aka Shakin' Stevens (named after school friend Steven Vanderwalker), and released from his only UK number one album, Shaky. It reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for four weeks, pipped to the post by Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver”. The singer's trademark of retro 1950s-style music struck a nostalgic chord with my Grandad and the greater public, making him the UK's best-selling singles artist of the 1980s.
Since 1981, Music Television, or what we now know as MTV, has been recording song videos by artists and bands, so that they can gain maximum popularity, stay relevant and become more touchable by their fans. Shakin Stevens' address to the camera throughout the music video feels like he's singing just to me. I don't think that's what did it for Grandad, though.
Grandad’s Story
It’s the early 1980s, and the Davies clan are moving to the Isle of Man following Grandad accepting the offer of a new job there. It was the heat of summer, and Grandad recalls back-and-forth trips across the pond to wrap up moving finalities and make a start on their new family home.
It was Grandad’s final trip back to Liverpool, before he picked up the family for what would be their one-way journey back to their new family home. A sweltering June day, he recalls: the sky was rippled, fluffy with cloud, and the sea was exceptionally still, so still the boat was just going forward along what felt to him like a parked lake. “It was so flat, you could see the jellyfish floating 6ft down”.
He says that of all of those journeys to-and-fro and each one after to this very day, that was the best sailing Grandad ever had on a boat across the Irish sea.
The Lady of Mann was packed, and Grandad delighted in describing to me the revelry among the passengers on board: everyone was dancing on the outside deck beneath the beaming sun-rays; “it felt like we were abroad”, he said. The bar was open at the stern of the ship and drinks were flowing. It’s a memory that Grandad won’t ever forget.
Favourite lyrics: “And when I’m looking / In those big blue eyes / I start floating ‘round in paradise / You drive me crazy”.
My nan has the most beautiful big, blue, eyes, you see. It really resonates, even to this day.
At family parties reminiscent of those held at Uncle Bill & Auntie Lill’s, we would all be up dancing. Here’s a video of my Grandad and his sister Gill dancing in a manner that reminds Nan of their mum and dad, my great grandma and grandad Davies.
Grandad's 80th Birthday, January 2022
Hippy Hippy Shake - The Swingin Blue Jeans (1964)
Historical Context
From Grandad’s time until my own and beyond, Liverpool has boasted an eclectic variety of pubs, clubs, and party venues, best known for housing dancing youngsters and serving up bounties of drinks and smiles alike.
Source: Liverpool Echo
It came as no surprise to me when Grandad described Sixties nights in Liverpool as buzzing and bursting with musicality. He talks fondly of the Mardis Gras club, which opened its doors to Merseyside teenagers in 1957. It grew to become a major player in Liverpool’s developing music scene due to its hosting of major local groups that included The Swinging Blue Jeans, who were resident band there before their fame, as well as acts from further afield.
A sombre end to the Mardi Gras’ tale was that its fate in 1975 led to it being demolished to make way for the proposed M62 motorway that was to extend into Liverpool city centre. Even sadder for this historic venue, the extension upon this site never actually happened and its demise was thus in vain.
Grandad’s Story
The Swinging Blue Jeans remind Grandad of the night he met my beautiful Nan at Lockheed Precision Production’s annual Valentine’s Day ball held at the Mardis Gras. Grandad was an engineer there, Nan a receptionist, and a large group of ‘lads and gals’ as Grandad puts it were dancing the night away. He laid eyes on Nan, asked her to dance, and the rest - they say - is history.
“We had a lotta fun in those days...” Grandad asserted. He told me that Cilla Black took his coat once in the Cavern Club, pinned a raffle ticket to it, and gave it back to him on his way out – his proud claim to fame. Well, that or the fact that he lived a few doors down from George Harrison and his parents.
Favourite lyrics: Well, now you shake it to the left / You shake it to the right / You do the hippy shake shake / With all of your might / Oh baby
For goodness sake, there aren't many lyrics to choose from here, folks, sorry.
You’ll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers (1963)
Historical Context
Liverpool fans, welcome home. And to those of you who don’t support Liverpool, surely you cannot ignore the magic that is this song. It was first produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein, in their musical Carousel, before Liverpudlian Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers’, who had favoured the song as a child, topped the charts in 1963 with the band’s own cover. In 1965, Liverpool fans can be heard singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Wembley at their FA Cup Final Win over Leeds.
By this time, it was clear it had become the euphoric anthem that spurred hope, spirit, togetherness, and determination, described by sports commentator Kenneth Wolstenhome in 1964 as “Liverpool’s signature tune”.
The impact of the song has encouraged a sense of togetherness between Liverpool fans and those even further afield. Take Sir Tom Moore’s rendition with Michael Ball, that brought tears to the eyes of the locked down nation throughout the Covid-19 pandemic...
...or touching scenes at the Carabao Cup final, where Chelsea fans joined the Reds, singing in solidarity for Ukraine during the pre-match applause.
The real magic of the song lies therein its transcendence across generations as arguably the most famous football anthem in the world in its offer of both peace and solidarity to all those faced with adversity.
Grandad’s Story
Scouser born and bred, Grandad is a Liverpool FC fan through-and-through. He even visited Anfield for the first time in 40+ years alongside his son Steve and Grandson Matthew, who even arranged for a special birthday message to be placed alongside Grandad’s picture in the match programme! Liverpool beat Leicester 2-0 that day, a day Grandad will never forget.
Grandad with Uncle Steve, February 2022
You’ll Never Walk Alone will always hold a special place in my heart and each of my family members, and many others across the water. In Jurgen Klopp’s own words, the song “...never stops feeling really special. It never stops creating goosebumps.”
Favourite lyrics: “At the end of the storm / There’s a golden sky / And the sweet silver song of the lark.”
There's always hope, that's it. So subtle, so beautiful. The kind of song you really would hold onto for a lifetime.
Murder on the Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bexter (2002)
Historical Context
Murder on the Dancefloor was co-written by Gregg Alexander and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and produced for Ellis-Bextor's first album, Read My Lips (2001). Released on 3 December 2001, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for a whopping 23 weeks, becoming a top-10 hit worldwide. It has been reported that "Murder on the Dancefloor" was the most played song in Europe in 2002, and this doesn't surprise me. It's goddamn catchy.
Grandad’s Story
Picture this: it’s 2002. My brother Jack and I are spending Friday night at our Nan and Grandad’s watching the single gift that owes my parents absolutely nothing: Now (51) That’s What I Call Music. First, we watch the hunky Enrique Iglesias serenade love interest Jennifer Love-Hewett, swearing he 'could be [her] hero', running from enemies in a cliched desert scene.
Next up in [our] eyes, Kylie has spun her way back into the charts and is dancing round amidst flashing neon lights, and P!nk is just starting to get the party started. Until finally, Oscar-worthy Ellis-Bexter takes the stage as star of her wickedly comical masterpiece music video to Murder on the Dancefloor, centred around a dance-off style competition for which a golden-shoe trophy and hefty cash sum are the shiny prizes.
Desperate to take the crown, the kitchen disco-dolly does all she can to sabotage the other contestants: her glitzy and glamorous modus operandi consisting of tripping to poisoning to incapacitating the only female judge on the panel in her favour. It took our breath away quicker than Love-Hewett takes Eglesias', and Grandad’s foot tapped throughout the video’s duration, watching from his armchair over our heads.
He still can’t help but get up and boogie to one of his all time faves, even at 80 years old.
Clayton-Davies house party for my Brother's 21st, July 2021
Favourite lyrics: You better not kill the groove
Sophie, I promise we won't ever kill the groove as long as this killer song remains in circulation. Managing to define an era of pop like no other, 'Murder on the Dancefloor' has remained an ultimate iconic track that seems to have transcended generations. I knew the lyrics to this song before I knew the lyrics to the Manx national anthem!
What I neglected to pinpoint at such an early age, however, was how beautifully tongue-and-cheek lyrics and actions flirt with boundaries of violence to create a glamorous paradox of sinister with campy fun that form an unexpected match. It is simply impossible to not thoroughly enjoy the entire production. We watched it over and over, and over.
Hold my Hand - Jess Glynne, 2015
Historical Context
Jess Glynne has become a British sensation and sold singles across the world since her debut release of Rather Be with Clean Bandit in January 2014. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 29 March 2015 and held that position for three consecutive weeks. It has been used in adverts for both Coca-Cola in 2015, and has since featured in adverts for Jet2holidays.
Grandad’s Story
One day I visited Nan and Grandad's for lunch, and the advert for Jet2holidays came on. Grandad's foot began tapping in style, before he asked, "who sings this, Han?"
"That's Jess Glynne, Grandad. Hold my Hand is the name."
Next minute, he was occupied by his iPad and tap, tap, tapping away at the screen. From that day on, every now and then we'd hear Hold my Hand blasting from Grandad's iPad.
Jet2 not only used the song for ad campaigns, but also played the it onboard flights when in-flight announcements were made, and also when the plane landed at the destination. Basically on repeat, and much to passengers' annoyance, with many even threatening to boycott the budget airline.
Many have since shared on social media that the song has quickly become one of their 'most hated' tracks, given how frequently they hear it. Jet 2 really has allowed itself to be cursed by Jess Glynne. Ouch.
But Jess Glynne has asserted she had nothing to do with this and that one day she hopes to sing the song live on a flight to Majorca. I mean, TikTok trends have seen that Jess Glynne may not be the most favoured artist in the eyes of the British public, not to mention her receipt of even more backlash after pompously making a scene in 2020 after being kicked out of a restaurant for blatantly ignoring the rules in what she deemed her position of privelage. Her Instagram-rant has since been deleted.
Maybe avoid that live performance on a flight to Majorca, hey Jess?
Favourite lyrics: the rising tide will rise against them all
I like the sea, ok?
Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (2019)
Historical Context
Though The Weeknd, 31, had topped plenty of charts before, the adrenaline-pumping synth-pop track (created with help from legendary songwriter-producer Max Martin) marked the final stage of his evolution from enigmatic breakout of Toronto’s underground R&B scene to genre-busting icon.
In 2020, the Canadian pop star’s song became the number one song of all time according to Billboard's music charts, which has been charting top songs according to radio plays, sales, and streaming for nearly 65 years. By September 2021, it became the fastest song ever to reach 2 billion streams on Spotifyin less than 15 months.
Blinding Lights was number 1 for four weeks, and then spent whopping 90 weeks in the top 100 chart, resultantly dethroning Chubby Checker's 1960s hit The Twist to snatch the top spot.
In an interview with Billboard, The Weeknd asserted "I don’t think [the success of “Blinding Lights”] has hit me yet. I try not to dwell on it too much. I just count my blessings, and I’m just grateful."
I think the effect and subsequent popularity of the song lies in its collation of elements from different genres and musical eras, with a prominent 80s synth line to which we can all get on board, regardless of generation. This allows for a sense of familiarity, while still remaining fresh, contemporary, and unique. It’s nostalgic feel no doubt resonated with my Grandad, and, well, the entire world.
And in if you were wondering (tough shit if you weren't)... here are the top 10 Billboard songs of all time:
1. Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
2. The Twist - Chubby Checker
3. Smooth - Santana feat. Rob Thomas
4. Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
5. Uptown Funk! - Mark Ronson feat Bruno Mars
6. How do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
7. Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO feat Lauren Nemmett & Goonrock
8. I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
9. Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix) - Los Del Rio
10. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran
Grandad's Story
It's the summer of 2020, and our family is one of the millions in the UK separated for months due to lockdown restrictions. Despite living only two minutes around the corner, it was the first time in 21 years of my life that I hadn’t seen Nan and Grandad for longer than a two week holiday.
A TikTok dance challenge spurred blinding Lights' popularity during the pandemic, and it was from a video of my mum and my own rendition that first brought the song into Grandad's ears. The Weeknd, you‘re so welcome. You may have made it to Billboard's number one on your own, but if it wasn't for me and mum, you'd never have made it to Grandad's Pick of the Pops.
Favourite lyrics: Sin City's cold and empty / No one's around to judge me
Anyone who knows the Lit student in me will appreciate my love and respect for any mainstream song containing double entendre and deeper meaning.
There is a dark undertone to Blinding Lights. In an interview with esquire.com, in his own words, The Weeknd explains that the song is about "...how you want to see someone at night, and you’re intoxicated, and you’re driving to this person and you’re just blinded by streetlights," he explains in an interview with "But nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you’re so lonely.”
Wrapping Up
Music is a core means to connect humans and inspire memories within us that we can share between us. Thus, the journey of music has subsequently been an exceptional one.
Different songs can quickly attach themselves to us and intertwine with our own personal lives. We fall in love with music just as we fall in love with people, and its power to induce nostalgic emotion within us is what makes it one of the most important driving forces of humanity. Psychologists go as far to call music triggered by memory the 'reminiscence bump'.
In this instance, music brought me closer to my Grandad, as it created an opportunity for me to hear stories of his 80 years of life; some I had already heard, others were pleasant surprises.
The reason events and emotions recalled via music are particularly vivid is maybe because music is itself emotional, though there are likely various factors at play. Since music is everywhere, it often accompanies emotional events in our lives. In fact, research has shown that the power of music has even been linked to helping patients with Alzheimer's.
To those lucky enough to still have parents and grandparents in this world and in close proximity to you, I urge you to spark up conversation with them about the songs they love and have held onto throughout their decades on this earth. You may refresh your memory of what they have already shared about their life, or even learn something you never knew about them, and in turn, find new songs to which you emotionally attach yourself.
What have I learned about my Grandad, you ask? Well, aside from having an impeccably eclectic taste in music, he was the best gentleman in the world for my Nan, and loved (still loves) her with everything he's got. And of course I can't forget: that man got moves!
Happy birthday, Grandad. Thank you for sharing with me always, and, more importantly, inspiring me always.
Over and out, folks.
Hannah xo