1. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
This is one of the greatest songs of all time, and strangely enough, it was never issued as a single! Memories: The bathroom ceiling falling in when we played it too loud in a grotty damp apartment in Stoke Newington. From the Fourth album.

2. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
Ray Davis writes fabulous ballads, and this was one of his best. Memories: sitting cross legged on a table at school listening to this track on pirate radio as the sun came out from behind a thunder cloud. From virtually any 'Best of' type album.

3. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
You had to be around at the time. Grace Slick was a powerful singer, and this track shows her voice off to perfection. And as for the lyrics, well... Memories: Leicester University , trying to use a theodolite while under the influence. According to my calculations, the Students Union building was in San Francisco... The tutor was not amused! From the Album Surrealistic Pillow.

4. Hotel California - The Eagles
The Eagles were the quintessential US band - I discovered them about the time of their second album, Desperado, but this track remains one of their most enduring. Memories: Watching a recording of an Eagles concert - the band saved this track for an encore! From the Album Hotel California.

5. Sisters are Doin' It for Themselves - Eurythmics
Annie Lennox could sing nursery rhymes and people would still buy her songs. However with Dave Stewart as the Eurythmics, there is that something extra. Memories: Watching the Eurythmics in concert on the box as the new century began. From any 'Best of' type album.

6. When Love Comes to Town - U2 & BB King
I actually don't particularly like U2, but the chemistry between U2 and BB King produced this stunner of a number. I can't sit still when it plays. Memories: Dappled sunlight on my keyboard as I struggled to write the Federation game. From the U2 album Rattle & Hum

7. I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
The last decent thing Bob Geldof did. The Boomtown Rats were a brilliant second generation punk band. Without them, Geldof was nothing. (Second generation punk bands learned to play their instruments before going public, rather than afterwards, like the first generation.) Memories: Wondering how much longer the Rats would last. From any 'Best of' type album.

8. Queen of the Night - Maggie Bell
Maggie Bell was the lead singer of the Glasgow band Stone the Crows. Sadly, the band split up not that long after the lead guitarist was electrocuted on stage. Maggie Bell went on to make a couple of very fine solo albums before moving into music writing. Memories: Failing to get a ticket for Maggie's Rainbow concert :( From the album Queen of the Night.

9. Route 666 - The Hamsters
You really have to see the Hamsters live to appreciate them, but this gives a flavour of their dynamism. Memories: Driving round Tysons Corner in the sunshine in an MR2 sports car with Freya while we moved Federation onto AOL. From the album Route 666

10. Mandolin Rain - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
I love Hornsby's laid back piano playing, and most of his lyrics are worth a listen as well. Music to relax to. Memories: Being denounced for bad taste by heavy metal friends. From the album The Way It Is.

11. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd's second single, about a famous London groupie in the sixties. A lot of the bands of that era wrote songs about groupies - The Beatles Lady Madonna, and the Stones Ruby Tuesday come to mind. See Emily Play though was in a class of its own, moody and mysterious. Memories: Watching Pink Floyd play live at Leicester University. From the album A Collection of Curios and Relics.

12. Seven Seas of Rye - Queen
This was Queen's first single, I heard it on the juke box in the coffee bar at college and immediately went out and bought it. A stonking start to a long running career that only ended when Freddy Mercury died. Memories: Endless hands of bridge in the Students Union coffee bar. From virtually any 'Best of' type album.

13. Eye in the Sky - The Alan Parson's Project
Alan Parsons was the engineer on the Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. He went on to pioneer the concept of 'producer albums' and has produced a string of fine albums. This is one of his finest tracks. Memories: Jobless and broke, saving up to upgrade my computer memory from 4K to 8K by buying 1K a month. From the album Eye in the Sky.

14. Honky Tonk Woman - Rolling Stones
Well it would be difficult to avoid having a Stones track, so here is one of their very finest rockers! Memories: Student parties that went on till it was light again. From virtually any 'Best of' type album.

15. Germ Free Adolescents - Xray Spex
Xray Spex were a punk band fronted by Poly Styrene. I first saw her live at the anti-racist festival in London's Victoria Park. She came on stage in her mother's twinset and popper beads! If she wasn't the world's best singer, she was an inspiration to working class girls. When the punk movement died down she went back to working a street stall in Portobello market. This was Xray Spex's last single, and one of their best. Memories: Watching punk bands in the Castle pub in Stoke Newington. From the album Germ Free Adolescents.

16. The Jean Genie - David Bowie
Bowie is always re-creating his music - sometimes for the better, often for the worse. This is my favourite from his best period. Memories: Living in Liverpool and travelling on the Mersey ferry for six old pence. From the album Aladdin Sane.

17. Guitar Man - Bread
Bread had a very distinctive sound and several hits before they split up. Memories: nights on the road with the band. Driving from gig to gig, constantly looking for a new audience to play for. From any 'Best of' type album.

18. Bad, Bad, Boy - Nazareth
From the seventies era of platform shoes and glittery suits, this is a band who just walked on stage in jeans and T-shirt and played loud, and then unfashionable rock. This is their classic song which sums up their devil-may-care attitude! Memories: censored! From the Album Razamanaz.

19. Virginia Plain - Roxy Music
I didn't originally rate Roxy Music, until I saw them live, when Brian Ferry showed everyone what it meant to have stage presence. This was their first hit at the time when Brian Eno was still playing keyboards with them. Memories: organising an arts festival at Leeds university, at which Eno gave a talk which had nothing to do with the advertised topic, and Lol Coxhill and friends took over the cemetery to string coloured lights and play free form jazz as the dusk gathered. From any 'Best of' Roxy Music/Brian Ferry type album.

20. Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters
I couldn't believe this when I first heard it - I snurfed my coffee over the keyboard. A disco version of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. A brilliant version, from an excellent album. Memories: Finding out about them playing in Brixton too late to get a ticket. From the album Scissor Sisters.

21. Year of the Cat - Al Stewart
An girlfriend introduced me to the bedsitter music of Al Stewart. This was a difficult choice to make since there are no duds on the album. I guess this one just scraped home marginally above the other songs. And Catspaws would never forgive me if I left cat oriented music out of my selection :) Memories: Girlfriends from times past. From the album Year of the Cat.

22. King of My Castle - Wamdue Project
I wandered into the local record shop one day and this track was playing. I had no idea what it was, but enquiries elicited the that it was from a God's Kitchen double CD of disco mixes. I'm always exhausted after playing the double CD, since it's almost impossible not to bounce around if it's playing. Memories: working as a DJ in London in the evenings in the mid-70s. From the album Divine.

23. Kayleigh - Marillion
I think this was their only single. It came from their best album and reminded me of a girlfriend who lived in Belsize Park. Memories: Making new friends on the Compunet network and hearing about bands I'd never come across before. From the album Misplaced Childhood

24. Gimmie Some Loving - Thunder
Thunder was a band Hazed got me hooked on. They keep breaking up and reforming, but this live cover of the old Spencer Davis Group hit is incredibly powerful. Memories: Watching Thunder live at the Hammersmith Odeon. From the album Live.

25. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Ozzie at his best with the classic line up of Sabbath. Future State Troopers used to listen to this stuff when they were teenagers! Memories: Watching Sabbath play live at Mothers in Birmingham. From the album Paranoid.

26. Throw Down the Sword - Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash were the first band with two lead guitarists to make it commercially. Their second album, which this track is taken from, is generally reckoned to be their finest. Memories: Carving a turnip lantern for Halloween for the 6 year old daughter of one of the people with whom I shared a house in Leeds. From the album Argus.

27. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
A tale of woe from Montreaux, and one of the best pieces of heavy rock available. This is the classic line up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord and Paice. Later line ups never reached the heights of this one. Memories: Buying this for my girlfriend, then going back and buying one for myself! From the album Machine Head.

28. Wishing Well - Free
Excellent rocker from their last album. Not quite so much raw power as the earlier Free, but somehow better rock music. Memories: Running an open air disco one evening after exams finished at Leeds University. From the album Heartbreaker

29. Won't get Fooled Again - The Who
This anthem summed up the feelings of a generation of activists disillusioned by the results of their campaigns. It is also fine rock music in the best tradition of the Who. Memories: Kevin Gately dying after a police charge against an anti-nazi demonstration in Red Lion Square. My picture on the front of the Evening Standard the following day. From the album Who's Next.

30. Yours is No Disgrace - Yes
It was a difficult choice, but this track from the album before Wakeman joined them, is probably my favourite of all the Yes tracks in my collection. Memories: living in a tiny attic room in a house on a hill while I was at Leeds University. From the Album The Yes Album

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