The song of the month for March 1986
         A Kind Of Magic by Queen (peak chart position: No.3)
After the success of 'The Works', Queen were once more parading an exciting new array of tunes, that comprised the 'A Kind Of Magic' album. The long player was magical by name and magical by nature, with some of the songs forming the soundtrack to the new 'Highlander' movie. The singles from this LP were of the highest order, namely the poignant 'Who Wants To Live Forever' and the Top 10 hit 'One Vision'. However Roger Taylor's 'A Kind Of Magic' is in a class of its own.

                        The song of the month for April 1986
         Live To Tell by Madonna (peak chart position: No.2)
Madonna cemented the sensational success of her previous two years with more triumphant forays into the British singles chart in 1986, courtesy of her new 'True Blue' album. Nevertheless my own preference is for the tremendous 'Live To Tell' hit in which our Madge bares her soul and forsakes her customary dance repertoire, confirming that she was more than a one trick pony. As long as she continued to vary her output, Madonna was assured of a sustained chart career.

                        The song of the month for May 1986
         Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths (peak chart position: No.26)
In an exercise of revisionism, the eminent historian Steven Patrick Morrissey made us all aware that Joan Of Arc had actually been the first proud owner of both a walkman and a hearing aid as well as being a temporary scourge of the English. Bigmouth himself, Mr Morrissey, was once more offering his alternate take on that old thing called love, as he sings from the point of view of an apologetic bloke who pleads with his "sweetness" that he was only joking when he said that by rights she "should be bludgeoned" in her bed. It did make a refreshing change from the "I'm lonely without you baby" drivel that usually invaded the charts.

                        The song of the month for June 1986
         Higher Love by Steve Winwood (peak chart position: No.13)
'Sixties legend Stevie Winwood made a welcome return to the upper echelons of the British hit parade with 'Higher Love'. Having previously tasted chart-topping glory with the Spencer Davis Group as a teenage prodigy as well as further success with Traffic , the grown-up Winwood was back in vogue, especially in the United States where this new recording leapt to the peak position of the Billboard Hot 100 listings towards the end of the summer.

                        The song of the month for July 1986
         Every Beat Of My Heart by Rod Stewart (peak chart position: No.2)
Scotland's greatest vocalist was back on the airwaves with another formidable composition, a mere three years after 'Baby Jane' had yielded him his fifth UK chart-topper. 'Every Beat Of My Heart' just failed to become Rod's sixth Number One, but it was a throwback to his seminal 'Sailing' recording as the old Mod gets all sentimental about his homeland with the accompaniment of bagpipes and forgets about his fun blondes for a few minutes.

                        The song of the month for August 1986
         Word Up by Cameo (peak chart position: No.3)
Cameo hardly enjoyed a durable career in the world of music but they did make one enormous splash with the dancefloor favourite 'Word Up'. This superb pop song was a welcome inclusion in the British Top Three in the autumn of 1986, and it will perhaps be best remembered for the group's appearances on BBC's 'Top Of The Pops' whereupon the lead singer cheekily displays an outfit that came seriously close to exposing his manhood, though I guess that was his intention.

                        The song of the month for September 1986
         True Colors by Cyndi Lauper (peak chart position: No.12)
'True Colors' is a truly towering piece from the colourful Cyndi Lauper. It perhaps surpasses the very different 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' as her best recording. Here Miss Lauper shares words of wisdom and encouragement with a beautiful, uplifting track that found favour with American record buyers. Not for the first time, British music lovers took leave of their senses and failed to appreciate this stunning song. A plague on all their houses!

                        The song of the month for October 1986
         Always The Sun by The Stranglers (peak chart position: No.30)
Punk pioneers The Stranglers continued to invade the singles charts at various intervals, but not even the hugely popular 'Golden Brown' can quite compare with the musical treat that was 'Always The Sun'. Here Hugh and his comrades get all philosophical about the fact that no matter how much life sucks and doesn't go according to plan, "there's always the sun". This brilliant item also ought to have been embraced by more record-buyers, but it is still an 'eighties classic.

                        The song of the month for November 1986
         French Kissin' In The USA by Debbie Harry (peak chart position: No.8)
Debbie Harry might have expected to go from strength to strength after the break-up of Blondie but her initial solo effort 'Backfired' did precisely that and the ageing blonde bombshell had to jettison her solo career for a while as she nursed her partner Chris Stein back from a serious bout of ill health. Stein and Harry were eventually back on top form with the marvellous 'French Kissin' In The USA' which actually represented their first UK Top Ten hit in almost six barren years.

                        The song of the month for December 1986
         Hymn To Her by The Pretenders (peak chart position: No.8)
Chrissie Hynde survived the double trauma of losing half her band to drug abuse to re-group and return with the occasional jewel of a recording. The new look Pretenders sneaked back into the British Top Ten with the commendable 'Hymn To Her'. It was refreshing for Hynde to have a musical success story to crow about, away from regular tabloid coverage of her dalliances with the singers Ray Davies of the Kinks, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, and then Ali Campbell of UB40.

                        ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR 1986:
         Graceland by Paul Simon (released in August)
Side 1:                                         Side 2:
1. The Boy In The Bubble; 3:59             1. You Can Call Me Al; 4:39
2. Graceland; 4:48                                   2. Under African Skies; 3:37
3. I What I Know; 3:13                               3. Homeless; 3:48
4. Gumboots; 2:44                                    4. Crazy Love, Vol.II; 4:18
5. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes; 5:45     5. That Was Your Mother; 2:52
                                                                         6. All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints; 3:15
Paul Simon incurred the wrath of the anti-apartheid movement when he recorded his new 'Graceland' project in South Africa, thus defying an international boycott. This was a bit harsh, considering that his album acted as a commercial for (South) African music as he was showcasing the talents of some of the country's most renowned performers. The vocal harmonies of 'Homeless' and 'I Know What I Know' are the obvious examples of that. Furthermore, Simon recruited the likes of Linda Ronstadt for a memorable bout of backing vocals on 'Under African Skies', whilst Phil and Don Everly were drafted in to vocally decorate the outstanding title track. For all the negative reaction in certain quarters, Simon had delivered his most impressive long player since 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and it certainly found favour with record buyers around the globe. It narrowly defeats 'So' by Peter Gabriel for my choice of the best album of 1986.