I’ve always been a big pop fan. As soon as I hit the pop road to Damascus, I would fall asleep with a tiny transistor stuck to my ear blasting out the latest smashes on Radio Luxembourg. So I find it kind of ironic that most of those very same songs have been exorcised from pop history and are now considered as nothing more than mere Secret Pleasures. They have become the songs we hate to love, or rather, the songs we hate to admit we love.
Even though I’ve been putting together playlists like this for years, the whole concept of Secret Pleasures still strikes me as a strange one. The Oxford dictionary definition is straightforward enough: ‘Something one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard’. But that much has always been obvious hasn’t it? What’s far more interesting is the realisation that actually, all Secret Pleasures are dictated by personal taste and the self-perceived notion of what is or isn’t cool. And that’s where it can get a little tricky. No doubt everyone would agree that Neil Diamond and Gilbert O’Sullivan are Secret Pleasures. But what about 10cc or ELO? D’you see what I mean?
One thing I do know is that the seventies was the greatest Secret Pleasures era of them all. These days the decade is viewed not just as a different country but as another planet ruled by aliens in beards, flares and stack heels. The only positive thing I ever hear about the seventies is the nostalgia fueled celebration of its kitsch cool, from Curly Wurly’s to chopper bikes, space hoppers to hot pants. And pop’s Secret Pleasures were an essential part of all that!
The seventies were an absolute goldmine of the Goddamn things largely because pop music itself was cast adrift, quietly forgotten as the album and a heavier, more serious musical age was ushered in. In the early years pop was heard as outdated, manufactured, lightweight fluff, and to a certain extent it was, although I can’t help feeling that was also the moment its naïveté and beautiful innocence were lost forever. Not that I took much notice because mid-decade, deep within the onslaught of punk, I pissed on all of these songs. Little did I realise that five decades later I would be returning as a far more open minded, retro treasure seeker determined to hunt them down.
01. SIMON & GARFUNKEL ‘The Only Living Boy In New York’ (October 1970)
02. ASHTON, GARDNER & DYKE ‘Resurrection Shuffle’ (January 1971)
03. MCGUINESS FLINT ‘Malt And Barley Blues’ (April 1971)
04. NEIL DIAMOND ‘I Am I Said’ (May 1971)
05. HURRICANE SMITH ‘Don’t Let It Die’ (May 1971)
06. CARPENTERS ‘Superstar’ (September 1971)
07. LABI SIFFRE ‘It Must Be Love’ (November 1971)
08. NILSSON ‘Without You’ (January 1972)
09. THE FORTUNES ‘Storm In A Teacup’ (January 1972)
10. GILBERT O’SULLIVAN ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’ (February 1972)
11. DON MCLEAN ‘Vincent’ (May 1972)
12. DAVID CASSIDY ‘How Can I Be Sure’ (September 1972)
13. CARLY SIMON ‘You’re So Vain’ (December 1972)
14. JACKSON 5 ‘Doctor My Eyes’ (February 1973)
15. BLUE MINK ‘By The Devil I Was Tempted’ (March 1973)
16. STEALERS WHEEL ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ (April 1973)
17. CHARLIE RICH ‘Behind Closed Doors’ (April 1974)
18. KEN BOOTHE ‘Everything I Own’ (May 1974)
19. ANDY KIM ‘Rock Me Gently’ (June 1974)
20. TERRY JACKS ‘If You Go Away’ (June 1974)
21. LEO SAYER ‘Long Tall Glasses’ (September 1974)
22. KIKI DEE ‘I Got The Music In Me’ (September 1974)
23. PILOT ‘Just A Smile’ (September 1975)
24. JOHN MILES ‘Highfly’ (October 1975)
25. JIM CAPALDI ‘Love Hurts’ (October 1975)
26. STRETCH ‘Why Do You Do It?’ (October 1975)
27. 10CC ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’ (March 1976)
28. ERIC CARMEN ‘All By Myself’ (April 1976)
29. ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA ‘Livin’ Thing’ (October 1976)
30. WILD CHERRY ‘Play That Funky Music’ (October 1976)
31. HEATWAVE ‘Boogie Nights’ (January 1977)
32. BOZ SCAGGS ‘What Can I Say’ (January 1977)
33. GALLAGHER & LYLE ‘The Runaway’ (January 1977)
34. ANDREW GOLD ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’ (January 1978)
35. ELKIE BROOKS ‘Lilac Wine’ (February 1978)
36. ROBERT PALMER ‘Every Kinda People’ (May 1978)
37. GERRY RAFFERTY ‘Right Down The Line’ (May 1978)
38. LINDISFARNE ‘Run For Home’ (June 1978)
39. DOOBIE BROTHERS ‘What A Fool Believes’ (February 1979)
40. SUPERTRAMP ‘Take The Long Way Home’ (October 1979)