JOHN MELLENCAMP - I NEED A LOVER

Released: April 12, 1978

Charts:  US: #28 

“I Need a Lover” marks the true beginning of John Mellencamp’s recording career, though at the time the world knew him as Johnny Cougar—a name imposed by his manager Tony DeFries against his wishes. First released in 1978 on “A Biography”, the single found unexpected success not in the United States, but in Australia, where it reached the Top 10 and revived hopes for Mellencamp’s struggling career. 

When “A Biography” went unreleased in the U.S., the track was reissued on his 1979 album “John Cougar” and released as a stateside single, eventually climbing to No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1979. It became Mellencamp’s first U.S. Top 40 hit, giving him the momentum he desperately needed at a time when he feared his career was over before it had even started.

Mellencamp has explained that the song’s inspiration came from a college friend who spent his days isolated at home, longing for a girlfriend he believed would fix his life. He also acknowledged that the Rolling Stones’ “Happy” helped shape the song’s energy. Beneath its swagger, “I Need a Lover” carries an unmistakable loneliness—the image of a man going stir-crazy in his room, relying on television to feel connected to the outside world, desperate for anything or anyone to break the monotony.

Despite its seemingly carefree title, “I Need a Lover” is less about romance than escape. Mellencamp sings about wanting a partner “who won’t drive me crazy,” someone who won’t demand commitment or emotional labor. It’s the cry of a young man overwhelmed by stagnation, craving connection but terrified of complication.

The track proved pivotal. After the commercial failure of his 1976 debut “Chestnut Street Incident” and the limited release of “A Biography”, Mellencamp feared he had already flamed out. But “I Need a Lover,” buoyed by its success in Australia, bought him another chance. Its U.S. chart performance helped secure future albums, eventually leading to the rebranding of “John Cougar” into the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter John Mellencamp.

The song also gained new life when Pat Benatar recorded it on her 1979 debut album. Her version introduced the song to a rock audience just discovering her powerful voice—and provided Mellencamp with much-needed royalty income early in his career.

One of the song’s most distinctive elements is its unusually long intro. On the album version, the instrumental opening stretches for 2 minutes and 29 seconds before Mellencamp sings a word. The single version trims the intro, but the full build remains one of the artist’s early signatures. 

JOHN MELLENCAMP - CRUMBLIN’ DOWN

Released: October 1983

Charts:  US: #9 

Released in 1983 as the lead single from “Uh-Huh”, “Crumblin’ Down” marked a defining moment in John Cougar Mellencamp’s career. It became a top-ten hit in both the United States and Canada, soaring to No. 2 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. The track signaled an important shift in his public identity: this was the first single to credit him as John Cougar Mellencamp.

The song arrived at a time of widespread economic anxiety in the United States. President Ronald Reagan’s deregulatory policies were reshaping the country, and Mellencamp—always alert to the struggles of working people—channelled that tension directly into the music.

Mellencamp has described “Crumblin’ Down” bluntly as a political song. In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, he said: “Reagan was president—he was deregulating everything and the walls were crumbling down on the poor.” He added that the song was written and recorded quickly, becoming the last track completed for the album but ultimately chosen as the lead single because of its potency and immediacy.

The track was co-written with Mellencamp’s longtime collaborator and childhood friend George Green, with whom he also crafted hits such as “Hurts So Good,” “Rain on the Scarecrow,” and “Human Wheels.” For “Crumblin’ Down,” the pair traded lyrical lines back and forth, each trying to outdo the other as they built the song’s central metaphor: what happens when success falters, stability evaporates, and the “big-time deal falls through.” Part of the song’s emotional drive came from a personal story—Green and Mellencamp drew inspiration from Mellencamp’s cousin, who had recently lost his job as an electrical engineer. 

“Uh-Huh” was Mellencamp’s seventh album and the first on which he began reclaiming his identity by attaching his real surname to the moniker that had followed him since his early career. Though still billed as “John Cougar Mellencamp,” this release marked the beginning of his escape from the manufactured name “Johnny Cougar” that record executives had once forced upon him.

Artistically, Mellencamp later said that the album also represented the moment when he finally felt he understood what real songwriting was. “Real songwriting didn’t come to me until my sixth or seventh album,” he reflected. “That’s when I realized what poetry and art are really about.”

The music video became an early MTV staple. It depicts Mellencamp chain-smoking and clad in ripped denim, performing alone on a bare stage in an empty theater. As the video unfolds, he kicks over chairs, dances among parking meters, and climbs a tall ladder. By the final chorus, he’s joined by a three-piece band.

DEACON BLUE – REAL GONE KID

Publicada: 3 d’octubre de 1988

Llistes: Regne Unit: #8

“Real Gone Kid” és una cançó del grup escocès Deacon Blue. Van prendre el seu nom de la cançó de 1977 de Steely Dan, “Deacon Blues”. El cantant Ricky Ross la va escriure després de veure Maria McKee, anteriorment de Lone Justice, oferir una actuació explosiva com era habitual mentre les dues bandes feien gira juntes. La seva personalitat escènica ferotge i desfermada va causar una impressió tan gran que Ross va construir tota la cançó al voltant de la seva energia salvatge, utilitzant l’expressió “real gone kid” com una manera lúdica de resumir el seu carisma caòtic. El resultat és una peça que se sent esbufegada i impulsiva — un retrat musical d’algú impossible de contenir.

La gravació també va marcar un punt d’inflexió per a Deacon Blue entre bastidors: va ser el primer senzill en què participava la vocalista Lorraine McIntosh, la xicota de Ross en aquell moment, les harmonies de la qual es convertirien en una part essencial del so del grup.

Comercialment, “Real Gone Kid” es va convertir en l’èxit que els va fer destacar. Va arribar al número 8 de la llista de singles del Regne Unit, va entrar al Top 10 a Irlanda i va assolir un impressionant número 5 a Nova Zelanda. A Espanya, la cançó va pujar fins al número 1 durant tres setmanes — un cim que no tornarien a igualar fins que el seu “EP de versions de Bacharach & David” va escalar al número 2 al Regne Unit el 1990.

Deacon Blue no van ser els únics artistes inspirats per la volatilitat emocional de Maria McKee. Només dos anys abans, Feargal Sharkey havia aconseguit el seu propi Top Five al Regne Unit amb “You Little Thief”, escrita per Benmont Tench sobre la seva ruptura amb McKee. Carismàtica, talentosa i sovint mitificada, McKee tenia clarament una habilitat especial per inspirar compositors a banda i banda de l’Atlàntic.

El videoclip mostra l’esperit eclèctic de la cançó, alternant entre imatges del grup actuant en un estudi blanc i una sèrie de vinyetes que impliquen una cua de fotomaton. Entre les instantànies ràpides: un petó gai, una baralla darrere de la cortina, membres de la banda passant pel fotomaton, i Ross saltant teatralment d’un piano Yamaha CP-70. És caòtic, divertit i lleugerament surrealista — capturant perfectament l’energia que va inspirar la cançó en primer lloc.

DEACON BLUE - REAL GONE KID

Released: October 3, 1988

Charts: UK: #8 

"Real Gone Kid" is a song by Scottish band Deacon Blue. They took their name from the 1977 Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues”. Frontman Ricky Ross wrote it after watching Maria McKee, formerly of Lone Justice, deliver a characteristically explosive performance while the two bands toured together. Her fierce, unrestrained onstage persona left such an impression that Ross shaped the entire song around her “wild” energy, using the phrase “real gone kid” as a playful shorthand for her chaotic charisma. The result is a track that feels breathless and impulsive — a musical portrait of someone impossible to contain.

The recording also marked a milestone for Deacon Blue behind the scenes: it was the first single to feature vocalist Lorraine McIntosh, Ross’s girlfriend at the time, whose harmonies would become an essential part of the group’s sound.

Commercially, “Real Gone Kid” became the band’s breakout. It hit No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart, cracked the Top 10 in Ireland, and reached an impressive No. 5 in New Zealand. In Spain, the song soared to No. 1 for three weeks — a peak they wouldn’t match again until their 1990 “Bacharach & David covers EP” climbed to No. 2 in the UK.

Deacon Blue were not the only artists inspired by Maria McKee’s emotional volatility. Just two years earlier, Feargal Sharkey had scored his own UK Top Five hit, “You Little Thief,” written by Benmont Tench about his breakup with McKee. Charismatic, gifted, and often mythologized, McKee clearly had a knack for inspiring songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic.

The music video shows the song’s eclectic spirit, switching between stark white studio shots of the band performing and a series of vignettes involving a photo booth queue. Among the rapid-fire snapshots: a gay kiss, a scuffle behind the curtain, band members cycling through the booth, and Ross theatrically leaping from a Yamaha CP-70 piano. It’s chaotic, playful, and slightly surreal — perfectly capturing the energy that inspired the song in the first place.

KATE BUSH - WOW

Released: March 9, 1979

Charts:  UK: #14 

With “Wow,” the standout single from her 1978 album “Lionheart”, Kate Bush delivered one of her earliest and most incisive dissections of the entertainment world. Released as a single in March 1979, the track climbed to No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart and lingered there for ten weeks. It also found success across Europe, including a No. 17 peak in Ireland.

“Wow” emerged from Bush’s fascination with the ethereal soundscapes of Pink Floyd. Determined to write something spacey, she drew on the influence of the very band whose David Gilmour had helped launch her career by funding her early demos. The result is a lush, slow-burning ballad anchored by soaring strings and Bush’s expressive, theatrical vocals—a sound world that feels simultaneously glamorous and melancholic.

Lyrically, “Wow” is a sharp, satirical portrait of show business. Bush slips into the character of a glamorous actress or sex symbol, navigating a world of superficial praise, backstage politics, and fragile egos. In a 1979 fan club newsletter, she described the track as a send-up of the entertainment industry in all its contradictions: the “ripoffs, the rat race, competition,” but also the undeniable magic of performance. That tension—between disillusionment and wonder—forms the heart of the song.

One of its most controversial lines, “He’s too busy hitting the Vaseline,” sparked conversation and a BBC censorship moment. Bush later clarified the lyric as a simple observation about the prevalence of homosexuality in show business, not a critique. But her cheeky on-screen gesture during the line—playfully patting her backside in the song’s original music video—was enough for the BBC to pull the clip from airplay.

The video itself captures Bush in her element: emerging from darkness, spiraling into light at the chorus, embodying both the theatricality and vulnerability conveyed in the song. A second video, released in 1986 for her compilation “The Whole Story”, abandoned the controversy in favor of a montage of live performances.

The momentum around “Wow” coincided with Bush’s first—and for decades, only—major concert tour. Her appearance performing the song on ABBA in Switzerland in April 1979 further boosted its visibility, helping to push “Lionheart” back into the UK Top 20.

KATE BUSH - DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC AGAIN

Released: November 17, 1980

Charts:  UK: #29 

Released in November 1980, “December Will Be Magic Again” finds Kate Bush bringing her singular imagination to the festive season, crafting a Christmas song that feels intimate, dreamlike, and unmistakably her own. Reaching No. 29 on the UK charts, the single remains one of Bush’s most beloved non-album releases—an atmospheric ode to winter nostalgia and childhood wonder.

The song was first unveiled on Kate, her BBC Christmas special broadcast on 28 December 1979. Sitting at the piano, Bush painted her wintry tableau: snow settling on soot-stained rooftops, lovers beneath mistletoe, and Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas.” Delivered with her characteristic theatricality, the performance captured an idealised, almost enchanted vision of the holiday season. Just days later, Bush offered a strikingly different interpretation on the BBC Christmas Snowtime Special. This version featured percussionist Preston Heyman on bongos, with Bush performing an expressive, interpretive dance instead of playing piano.

The studio recording—without bongos—had been completed earlier at Abbey Road’s Studio 2, with Heyman on drums, Alan Murphy on guitar, and Kuma Harada on bass. Released nearly a year later, it arrived as a standalone single following “Never For Ever”’s “Army Dreamers”. 

Bush’s literary leanings surface in the second verse with a nod to Oscar Wilde, whose writing profoundly influenced her. Though not known for Christmas stories, Wilde’s winter-themed children’s tales—particularly “The Happy Prince”—left a lasting impression on the young Bush. Fittingly, the single appeared near the 80th anniversary of Wilde’s death.

“December Will Be Magic Again” was chosen by Elton John for the 2005 compilation of his favorite Christmas songs “Elton John’s Christmas Party”. 

KATE BUSH - THE SENSUAL WORLD

Released: September 18, 1989

Charts:  UK: #12 

Released in September 1989, “The Sensual World” served as the title track and lead single from Kate Bush’s sixth studio album. Blending Celtic tones with Middle Eastern–influenced instrumentation, the song reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and marked a shift toward warmer, more feminine production following the bold, muscular sound of “Hounds of Love”.

The song was originally conceived as Molly Bloom’s final soliloquy from James Joyce’s “Ulysses” set to music. Bush was captivated by a recording of actress Siobhán McKenna reading the passage years earlier and had imagined using Joyce’s exact text. When she was unable to obtain the rights from the Joyce estate, she reframed the idea: instead of quoting Molly Bloom directly, she wrote from the perspective of the character stepping out of the book—leaving her “black-and-white, two-dimensional world” and entering the vivid physicality of reality. The song expresses Molly’s astonishment at the sensuality of the natural world: touching grass, feeling the ground, seeing color, and experiencing the richness of being fully alive.

Bush told NME that the first element she had was Molly’s famous “Mmh yes,” which helped her shape the impressionistic, hushed quality of the vocals. After the Joyce estate initially denied permission, it took a year to rewrite the lyrics while keeping the emotional essence of the material. (In 2011, the estate finally granted rights, and Bush rerecorded the song with the original text as “Flower of the Mountain” for Director’s Cut.)

The track begins with chiming bells—an image tied to Molly Bloom’s memory of a marriage proposal in Joyce’s text. Bush chose bells for their celebratory resonance, noting that they mark major transitions in life: births, weddings, and deaths. She also felt they set a warm, open atmosphere for the album as a whole.

Irish uilleann piper Davey Spillane features prominently, performing a Macedonian melody called “Nevestinsko Oro.” Bush included it on instinct, saying it was one of the album’s many “Oh, what the hell—let’s try it” decisions that ended up working unexpectedly well.

Bush co-directed the music video with Peter Richardson of The Comic Strip. She appears as a timeless, almost medieval figure in a woodland setting, surrounded by elemental imagery—wind, leaves, textures, and movement. She wanted the video to remain simple and rooted in nature.

“The Sensual World” marked Bush’s third consecutive album as sole producer. She described its creation as an attempt to explore her femininity in a direct, unapologetic way—something she felt she hadn’t fully embraced during the powerful, more male-energy production aesthetic of “Hounds of Love”. She viewed Molly Bloom’s speech as a deeply positive expression of female interiority, and the title track was her way of channeling that voice through music.