And talking of public voted pop polls, we come to the vote for the best British record released since the first Brit Awards event back in 1977, designed to celebrate the awards' 25th anniversary.
Of course, selecting one song from the last twenty-five odd years and labelling it the best track of that era was never going to be easy. Though personally I'd have found it quite easy leaving
Will Young, Simply Red and Coldplay out of my shortlist, but it takes all sorts I guess (mainly those with a good sense of what constitutes a classic, and those who vote for Will Young,
Simply Red or Coldplay).
But enough of that, because, to be fair, the short list - which has been selected by a panel of industry and media types - contains many tracks worthy of such an award, and, refreshingly, while most of the usual suspects appear, they are not necessarily nominated for their most predictable tunes (then again, Queen's
'Bohemian Rhapsody didn't fall into 1977-2004 qualifying period, unless you're allowing re-releases, which kinda defeats the point).
With the short list having been officially revealed on Davina McCall's
Radio 2 show, punters are now being asked to vote on their favourites to get the list down to a top five, to be announced at the Brits nomination bash next Monday. More voting will then take place to identify the overall winner, to be announced at the 25th awards ceremony next month.
Commenting on the shortlist, and the task of compiling it, BBC Radio 2's
Colin Martin, who was on the selection panel, told reporters:
"Distilling over a quarter century of hits to a list of
25 to be voted on by Radio 2 listeners has been one of the most difficult tasks I have ever shared in." Well, judge for yourself how well they did - here's the full list:
1.
David - Bowie Heroes
2. Queen - We Are The Champions
3. Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
4. Bee Gees - Night Fever
5. The Clash - London Calling
6. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
7. The Jam - That's Entertainment
8. Rod Stewart - I Don't Want To Talk About It
9. ABC - Look of Love
10. The Stranglers - Golden Brown
11. Spandau Ballet - True
12. George Michael - Careless Whisper
13. Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
14. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
15. Elton John - Sacrifice
16. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
17. Annie Lennox - Why
18. Sting - Fields of Gold
19. Seal - Kiss From A Rose
20. Oasis - Wonderwall
21. Robbie Williams - Angels
22. Coldplay - Yellow
23. David Gray - Balon
24. Will Young - Leave Right Now
25. The Streets - Dry Your Eyes