THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

386-T. Rex-Get It On.

1971-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 3.27. Can you name a song that is known by a different title in another country?

Marc Bolan (see also best songs 790 and 67) was born Mark Feld on September 30th, 1947, in Hackney, London, England, he died on September 16th, 1977, when the car he was travelling in as a passenger struck a fence post, and then a tree, killing him instantly. He chose his stage name ‘Bolan’ as a tribute to Bob Dylan, choosing the first two letters in ‘Bob,’ and the last three letters in ‘Dylan’.’Get It On’ was one of two singles, the other being ‘Jeepster,’ released from ‘Electric Warrior’ the second studio Album released by T. Rex in 1971. It was the sixth Marc Bolan Album release overall, as his first four releases were as ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex.’ ‘Electric Warrior’ is considered groundbreaking, acknowledged as the first fully fledged ‘Glam Rock’ Album, and an influence on future artists in their development of Hard Rock, to Punk, to New Wave.

When ‘Get It On’ was released in America it was re-titled ‘Bang a Gong’ as to avoid confusion with a current minor hit called ‘Get It On’ from the American Rock group ‘Chase.’ ‘Get It On’ is a song with clever obscure lyrics, it is probably about sex, but can also be interpreted as a song about drugs. ‘Bang the Gong’ is slang for snorting coke, and in the 1850’s it meant asking for Opium. The song can boast many talented musicians, with Rick Wakeman (see also best songs 5) who was paid the standard £9 playing the piano. The saxophone was played by Ian McDonald of the band King Crimson, and Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the American Rock band The Turtles both sang backing vocals.The songs producer was the legendary Toni Visconti who would work on a total of eight T. Rex Albums between 1968-1974.’ Get It On’ is the best selling single released by T. Rex and spent four weeks at Number 1 in the UK, it was the follow up to ‘Hot Love’ which had spent six weeks at Number 1. In America amazingly T. Rex are known as one hit wonders with this song being their only charting record, when reaching Number 10 on Billboard.

As for songs that are known by different titles in other countries, the two which come to mind with me are the Sheena Easton song ‘9 TO 5’ which in America is known as ‘Morning Train,’ in order to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton song of the same name. In 1967 the American group The Monkees recorded a song written by band member Micky Dolenz called ‘Randy Scouse Git,’ the record company refused to release it in the UK under that title because of the offence it might cause, eventually both parties agreed on the track being called ‘Alternate Title.’

‘Well you’re dirty and sweet, clad in black, don’t look back and I love you. Well you’re slim and your weak, you’ve got the teeth of a hydra upon you, you’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

387-The Housemartins-Happy Hour.

1986-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 1.57. If you were to replace the vocals of Paul Heaton for those of Morrissey, then it probably wouldn’t be quite as happy an hour.

The Housemartins ‘Jangle Pop’ was compared by many to The Smiths, however The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr (see also best songs 673-222-167 and 42) was not impressed.He complained that ‘Happy Hour’ was a complete rip off of ‘I Won’t the One I Can’t Have,’ ‘And they’ve nicked others too.’

The Housemartins were formed in 1983 in Hull, England, United Kingdom, by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Ian ‘Stan’ Cullimore, (guitar) throughout the bands lifetime Heaton went by the name of ‘P. d. Heaton.’ After the recording of their first demo they were joined by Ted Key, (bass) and Chris Lang, (drums) when Key left the band in 1985 he was replaced by Norman Cook (see also best songs 760 and 95.) Lang would be replaced by Hugh Whitaker, who intern was replaced by Dave Hemingway, who along with Heaton would go on to form The Beautiful South in 1988 (see also best songs 862.) The Housemartins were active between 1983-1988 releasing two studio Albums, and nine singles, seven of which reached the UK top 40, with ‘Caravan of Love’ making Number 1 in December 1986, but not being the Xmas chart topper, having been kept off the top spot by Jackie Wilson’s ‘Reet Petite'(see also best songs 449.)

‘Happy Hour’ was co-written by Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore, and was taken from the bands debut Album ‘London 0 Hull 4’. The Albums title refers to the band’s home town of Kingston upon Hull, and is written in the format of a football score. It refers to Paul Heaton’s assertion that The Housemartins were only the fourth best band in Hull, in other words Hull had four great bands, and London didn’t have any. The other three Hull based bands Heaton referred to were ‘Red Guitars,’ ‘The Gargoyles,’ and ‘Everything But the Girl'(see also best songs 348.)

Many of Paul Heaton’s lyrics at that time reflected his interest in Christianity and Marxism, the back cover of ‘London 0 Hull 4’ contains the message ‘Take Jesus- Take Marx- Take Hope.’ ‘Happy Hour’ is a humorous but scathing look at life in the working man’s world, which involved most evenings down the local pub. A ‘Happy Hour’ is a promotional tool used by public houses when they discount their prices. The narrator in the song is on a night out with his boss, who he has to begrudgingly pretend he likes, but his boss is a ‘yuppie,’ and a misogynist. The memorable video to the song was set in a pub, featuring animated Plasticine figures of the band members. It was filmed in The Star Public House in St. Johns Wood, London.

‘It’s another night out with the boss, following in footsteps overgrown with moss.And he tells me women grow on trees, and if you catch them right they will land upon their knees.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

388-Nilsson-Everybody’s Talkin”

1969-Number 23 single.

Best Bit-At 2.21. During a 1968 press conference the Beatles were asked what their favourite American group were, and they answered ‘Nilsson.’

The original version of ‘Everybody’s Talkin” was written, and first recorded by Fred Neil in 1966, for his self titled second studio Album. Evidently the song was the last recorded for the Album, with Neil anxious to wrap things up quickly so he could return home to Miami, Florida, the songs lyrics reflect Neil’s feelings at that time.Fred Neil was born on March 16th, 1936, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, he died of cancer on July 7th, 2001, at the age of 65. Neil was one of the pioneers of ‘Folk Rock,’ and a major influence on the careers of such artists as Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, and Tim Buckley. Some of Neil’s early compositions were recorded by Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison, most famously ‘Candy Man’ which he co-wrote with Beverly Ross, and was the ‘B’ side of Orbison’s 1961 Billboard Number 2 single ‘Crying.’ Fred Neil shunned the limelight, and had no interest in being a performer, and retired in 1971, only rarely making guest appearances in public.

Harry Edward Nilsson (see also best songs 39) was born on June 15th, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He was born with congenital heart problems, and eventually suffered a heart attack in February 1993, he died of heart failure on January 15th, 1994, at the age of 52, Both of Nilsson’s songs featured in this countdown are both cover versions, though he was a critically acclaimed songwriter, and also a major influence on future artists in his own right. Nilsson was looking for a song to record for his second studio Album ‘Aerial Bandit’ from 1968, all the Album’s other 12 tracks are original compositions by Nilsson. The Album’s producer Rick Jarrard played Nilsson the Fred Neil song, and he decided to record it, adding strings, and vocal harmony. The song was released as a single in North America, but initially made little impact on the charts. It was the Beatles press officer Derek Taylor (1932-1997) who recommended the song for the ‘Midnight Cowboy’ film soundtrack to it’s director John Schlesinger (1926-2003) who used the track over the films opening titles. The song was re-issued and reached Number 6 on Billboard, and Number 1 in Canada, giving Nilsson his path to success.

‘Everybody’s Talkin” is probably about the way Fred Neil was feeling when he wrote the song, and in later years he did go and live that life he was singing about. The lyrics also sit well with the opening sequence of the Midnight Cowboy film.

‘I’m going where the sun keeps shining through the pouring rain, going where the weather suits my clothes. Banking off of the North East wind, sailing on a summer breeze, and skipping over the ocean like a stone.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

389-Supergrass-Moving.

1999-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 3.34. What does Supergrass lead singer and songwriter Gaz Coombes have in common with Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Liam Gallagher, Liberace, Lemmy, Paul Weller, and Country singer Don Williams? All will be revealed at the end of this article.

Supergrass were formed in Oxford, England, in 1993 by Gaz Coombes, (vocals, and guitar) Danny Goffey, (drums) and Mick Quinn, (bass) they were officially joined by Rob Coombes (keyboards) the older brother of Gaz in 2002, although he had been an unofficial member of the band for the majority of it’s career to that point. Supergrass, started out life as ‘Theodore Supergrass,’ for about two months, until as in the words of Mick Quinn, ‘We realised that Theodore was a bit rubbish so we took that off.’ In total Supergrass have released six studio Albums between 1995-2008, there is also an unfinished Album recorded in 2009 that remains unreleased. They have also issued 26 singles between 1994-2015, of which 15 have reached the UK top 40. The band split in 2010, sighting musical differences, but they did reunite in 2019, to tour, and stated that they will not be recording any new music together.

‘Moving’ was taken from Supergrass’ self titled third studio Album released in September 1999, and was written by Rob Coombes. ‘Moving’ tells the story of how difficult life on the road touring can be, the songs official video is intended to depict the tedium. The passing of time is shown by the change of outfits the band are wearing, and also by the selection of different hotel rooms that they are seen in, the footage is sped up and slowed down to add to that effect.In common with all those other superstars of Pop music, Gaz Coombes also sports ‘side whiskers,’ ‘side burns,’ ‘furry face huggers,’ ‘sidies,’ or even ‘mutton chops.’

‘Got a mow, low feeling around me, and a cold stone feeling inside. I’ve got to find somebody to help me, I keep you in mind.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

390-Harry Belafonte-Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)

1957-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 2.34. This genre of music is known as ‘Mento,’ it is a style of Jamaican Folk Music that predates, and has greatly influenced Ska and Reggae music.

Harry Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1st, 1927, in New York City, United States, he is a singer, songwriter, Actor, and Activist. He was sent to live with his grandmother in Jamaica at the age of five in 1932, but returned to New York in 1940, after leaving high school he joined the Navy and served during World War 2.Belafonte began his music career as a club performer in New York singing Pop music, but he would later develop an interest in Folk music. He has released 30 studio Albums, and eight live Albums between 1954-1997, he has also issued 19 singles, the first in 1953, and the last in 1988, a full 20 years after his previous one. In the UK he has achieved seven top 40 singles with his 1956 cover of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ reaching Number 1. Aside from his singing career Belafonte has acted in many films, and appeared in several documentaries. Belafonte has also been politically active, being greatly inspired by the singer Paul Robeson,(see also best songs 82) who mentored him. Belefonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s, and 1960’s, and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s confidants.

‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song’) is a traditional Jamaican Folk song, probably sung by Jamaican banana workers, and probably created around the start of the 20th Century. The song tells the story of dock workers who would work throughout the night loading bananas on to ships. As daylight approaches they await the arrival of the ‘Tallyman’ who will take inventory so they can go home.

The first official recording of the song was in 1952 by the Trinidadian singer Edric Connor, (1913-1968) it was on his version that Harry Belafonte based his recording. In 1955 the American singer/songwriters Lord Burgess (1924-2019) and William Attaway (1911-1986) wrote a version of the lyrics for the television variety programme ‘The Colgate Comedy Hour’ in which the song was performed by Harry Belafonte. When the song was released as a single Belafonte’s name was added to the writing credits along with Burgess and Attaway. The song has become Belafonte’s signature, and appears on his 1956 third studio Album ‘Calypso,’ which can boast being the first ever Album to sell over one million copies.

‘Day-o-day-o, daylight come and we want to go home. Work all night on a drink of rum, stack banana ’til the morning come.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

391-Lorna Bennett-Breakfast in Bed.

1972-Has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.16. Breakfast in bed, most likely kippers.

‘Breakfast in Bed’ was written pacifically for Dusty Springfield for her 1969 fifth studio Album ‘Dusty in Memphis,’ by Eddie Hinton, (1944-1995) and Donnie Fritts, (1942-2019) at that time both were employed as songwriters at the ‘Muscle Shoals Sound Studio’ in Sheffield, Alabama, United States. Hinton also played lead guitar for the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and Fritts is best remembered as the keyboardist for Kriss Kristofferson for over 40 years. The songs chorus includes the line ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,’ a deliberate attempt to remind people of Dusty’s 1966 UK Number 1 single with that title. When ‘Breakfast in Bed was released as a single by Dusty Springfield (see also best songs 882 and 171) it failed to chart in the UK, and only reached Number 91 in America.

On hearing ‘Breakfast in Bed’ it was the legendary Reggae producer Harry J (1945-2013) (see also best songs 371) who thought it would make in to a great Reggae song. In 1972 Harry J produced three versions, an instrumental by the percussionist Bongo Herman, called ‘African Breakfast (In Bed,’) a version by the Jamaican ‘Toaster’ David ‘Scotty’ Scott, (1951-2003) called ‘Skank in Bed,’ and the recording by Lorna Bennett. On some releases of this song the version by Scotty appears on the ‘B’ side of the seven inch single.

Lorna Bennett was born on June 7th, 1952, in Newton, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. It was while performing at an early age she was noticed by the Jamaican record producer Geoffrey Chung (1950-1995) who nurtured her early recording career, before being taken under the wing of Harry J, it was Chung who gave ‘Breakfast in Bed’ it’s Reggae arrangement. Bennett achieved two Number 1 songs in Jamaica, with this track, and also her cover version of ‘Chapel of Love,’ originally recorded by The Dixie Cups. Along side her recording career Bennett also studied Law at university, and on the completion of her degree she gave up music and opened a legal practise in her home town of St Elizabeth, she did return to music again in 2001. Bennett has released one studio Album called ‘This is Lorna’ in 1972, and a total of 20 singles between 1970-2005.

‘Breakfast in Bed’ has been recorded in many genres by numerous artists, but has only charted in the UK top 40 on one occasion. It was the recording by UB40 (see also best songs 537 and 173) featuring Chrissie Hynde which reached Number 6 in 1988.

‘Breakfast in Bed’ tells the story of someone who has been rejected by their current lover, and goes back to an ex for comfort. The ex suggests that they get back to the way that they used to be when they were lovers.

‘You’ve been crying, your face is a mess. Come in baby, you can wipe the tears on my dress. She’s hurt you again I can tell, I know that look so well.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

392-The Shamen-Ebeneezer Goode.

1992-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 1.09.When The Shamen appeared on Top of the Pops they had to tone down the song due to it’s drug references. The groups Rapper Mr C replaced the final lyric ‘Got any salmon?'(salmon is rhyming slang for ‘salmon and trout,’-‘snout’) to ‘Got any underlay?’ He was later asked about this in a radio interview, to which he replied that it was not a drug reference, but a ‘rug’ reference.

The Shamen were formed in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1985, in total 13 different members came and went until the band were retired in 1999. The three founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie, and Keith McKenzie, they were soon joined by Peter Stephenson. Their debut Album ‘Drop’ released in 1987 was a mixture of Psychedelic Rock, and Alternative Rock, a far cry from what they would eventually become best known for. By mid 1987 frontman Colin Angus was becoming interested in Dance music, which was integrated in to the bands sound, and was furthered by the addition of a new member Will Sinnott (1960-1991.) Angus and Sinnott’s interest in Acid House music grew, causing the departure of Keith McKenzie, and Peter Stephenson, who were not fans of the bands new direction. The Shamen’s transition to a Dance Music act was complete with the addition of Richard West (Mr C) and ‘Evil’ Eddie Edwards in 1989. In total The Shamen released eight studio Albums between 1987-1998, and 28 singles between 1985-1998, of which 11 reached the UK top 40.

‘Ebeneezer Goode’ was co-written by Colin Angus, and Mr C, the original version of the song appears on The Shamen’s fifth studio Album ‘Boss Drum’ from 1992. For it’s single release ‘Ebeneezer Goode’ received a remix by the ‘Beatmasters’ who were then the duo of Manda Glanfield, and Paul Carter, they had also previously worked on The Shamen’s 1991 UK Number 4 hit ‘Move Any Mountain.’ The Beatmasters had previously had success with four UK top 20 hits in the late 1980’s, including ‘Rok da House’ which was recorded in 1986, and is considered one of the earliest examples of ‘Hip House,’ and thought by many to be the first song of that genre.

‘Ebeneezer Goode’ is one of the most controversial songs to reach Number 1, due to it’s perceived endorsement of recreational drug use, although it does warn us to be careful in how many we take, as they can be harmful. The songs chorus ‘Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode’ is audibly identical to ‘E’s are good,’E’ being common slang for the drug ecstasy. The songs opening line ‘A great philosopher once wrote,’ is a sample of the voice of the actor Malcolm McDowell, taken from the 1973 film ‘O Lucky Man!’

‘There’s a guy in the place who’s got a bittersweet face, and he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode. His friends call him ‘Ezeer and he is the main geezer, and he’ll vibe up the place like no other man could.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

393-Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels-C.C. Rider/Jenny Take a Ride.

1965-Number 33 single.

Best Bit-At 1.44. Down the years many songs would be banned by the broadcasting media for what today we would deem as causing little or no offence. Then there were other songs with lyrics and meanings which went straight over the establishments heads.

‘See See Rider’ is a traditional song that probably originates from the early 1880’s, the Ragtime, and Jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941) stated that he first heard the song as a young boy in New Orleans around 1901. The legendary Blues singers Lead Belly,(1888-1949) (see also best songs 431) and Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) are known to have performed the song in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas from around 1912.

The first recording of the song titled ‘See See Rider Blues’ was made by the Blues singer Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey (1886-1939.) Rainey’s recording contains some new lyrics written by Rainey and Lena Arant. There are probably hundreds of recordings of the song done in many different genres. Other significant versions include the 1943 recording by Wee Bea Booze (1912-1986) she reached Number 1 on Billboard’s magazine Harlem Hit Parade, which was a precursor of the Billboard R&B chart. The song has been a top 40 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart on four occasions, this version incorporating ‘Jenny Take a Ride’ reached Number 10 in 1965. The other hit versions are from Chuck Willis (1926-1958) which made Number 12 in 1957, LaVern Baker (1929-1997) reached Number 34 in 1963, and The Animals made Number 10 in 1966.

The term ‘See See Rider’ could refer to a woman who had liberal sexual views, had been married more than once, or was skilled at sex, but there are also several other different meanings (far too many to go into here) of what a ‘C.C. Rider’ was.

Mitch Ryder was born William Sherille Levise, Jr. on February 26th, 1945, in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States. There have been approximately 40 Albums of his music made available, issued between 1966-2019, he has also released 35 singles between 1965-1987. Mitch Ryder is known for his dynamic stage performances, and major artists who have stated that they were influenced by him include Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp.

It was the legendary singer/songwriter, and music producer Bob Crewe (1930-2014) (see also best songs 914-863-739-499-393-284-164-112 and 83) who chose the name ‘Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels,’ and they recorded successfully for his ‘DynoVoice’ record label. ‘C.C. Rider/Jenny Take a Ride’ is a medley of two songs, the other being ‘Jenny Jenny,’ originally co-written by Little Richard and Enotris Johnson, and recorded by Little Richard in 1957, and making Number 10 on Billboard.

‘Yeah, see, C.C. Rider, I said see what you have done now. Oh see, C.C. Rider, ah, come on see baby what you have done. Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, won’t you come along with me.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

394-The Alarm-Sixty Eight Guns.

1983-Number 17 single.

Best Bit-At 4.50. Before they changed their name to The Alarm, they were called ‘The Toilets.’ It was a good idea to change the name.

The earliest incarnation of what would eventually become ‘The Alarm’ containing Mike Peters, (alias Eddie Bop) were formed in Rhyl, Wales, United Kingdom, in 1977, calling themselves The Toilets, and playing Punk Rock Music. In 1978, after band member changes they renamed themselves ‘Quasimodo,’ playing covers of ‘The Who’s’ songs, and being joined by guitarist Dave Sharp. Soon after there was another name change, this time to ‘Seventeen,’ where they were joined by this songs co-writer Eddie MacDonald. As ‘Seventeen’ they released one single in 1979 called ‘Don’t Let Go,’ on the ‘Vendetta’ label. In 1981 they once again changed the band name, this time to ‘Alarm Alarm,’ named after one of their earlier songs, but after the legendary Radio 1 DJ John Peel commented that with Duran Duran, Talk Talk, and now Alarm Alarm, perhaps he should call himself John Peel John Peel, so the name was shortened to ‘The Alarm.’ The band remained together until founding member Mike Peters left to pursue a solo career in 1991. Since 2000 Peters has resurrected the name, sometimes touring and recording as ‘The Alarm MM++’ with differing musicians. The Alarm released five studio Albums between 1984-1991, and 20 singles of which seven reached the UK top 40, with this song being the highest charting.

‘Sixty Eight Guns,’ or ’68 Guns’ was co-written by Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald and was released in August 1983, and later added to The Alarm’s debut studio Album ‘Declaration’ from February 1984. The four band members who played on the track, and the Album were Peters, Sharp, MacDonald, and drummer Nigel ‘Twist’ Buckle, who had joined the band when they were known as ‘Seventeen.’

The lyrics to ‘Sixty Eight Guns’ were written by Mike Peters after reading a book called ‘A Glasgow Gang Observed’ by the Scottish author Patrick James, first published in 1973, but written in 1968, which is why there are 68 guns in the songs title. The book tells the story of the observations made by a warden of a borstal, he went out on to the streets undercover with an inmate who was let out at weekends, and he was seeing first hand the dangers in gang culture, and the changes in society in 1968. Mike Peters has said,’ It’s was about young people at that difficult age where you’re too cool for school, but not wise enough for adult life. So it’s about people like that, like I was once, and that’s how The Alarm grew.’

‘And now they are trying to take my life away, forever young I cannot stay, hey! On every corner I can see them there, they don’t know my name, they don’t know my kind.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

395-Darude-Sandstorm.

2000-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 5.00. With this song Darude became the first ever artist from Finland to have a top 3 hit in the UK singles chart.

Darude is the stage name of Electronic Dance Music producer Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen, who was born on July 17th, 1975, in Eura, Satakunta, Finland. While being the DJ at a friends party Virtanen played the 1996 song ‘Rude Boy’ by Leila K several times in a row, this earned him the nickname ‘Rude Boy,’ which eventually morphed into ‘Da Rude,’ and then ‘Darude.’ To date he has released four studio Albums between 2000-2015, and 14 singles, of which four have reached Number 1 in Finland, while in the UK he has achieved three top 20 singles. Darude has also released a multitude of remixes of other artists work between 2000-2019, including a 2000 remix of ‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) by the Safri Duo (see also best songs 557.)

‘Sandstorm’ was initially released in Finland in October 1999, and following it’s success was released in many countries in 2000, it was the first single release from Darude’s debut studio Album ‘Before the Storm,’ released in September 2000. The song was written by Darude who chose the instrumentals title because the ‘Roland JP-8080’ synthesizer used in the song displays the text ‘sand storm’ on startup. ‘Sandstorm’ was produced by Jaakko Salovaara, who goes by the stage name of ‘JS16,’ he was also born in Finland. Before starting a long working association with Darude he was best known for producing the Finnish ‘Hip-Hop’ group ‘Bomfunk MC’s,’ whose best known song produced by ‘JS16’ was the 2000 UK Number 2 single ‘Freestyler.’ ‘Sandstorm’ went on to become the biggest selling 12 inch single worldwide in the year 2000, and has since gone on to sell over 1 million copies to date.

‘Sandstorm’ can be filed under the genre of ‘Trance’ music. Trance is a genre of Electronic Dance Music, it’s roots can be traced back to the late 1980’s, and would develop in the early 1990’s in Germany, before spreading throughout the rest of Europe. It can be described as a melodic offshoot of Techno, and House Music. Other genres of music that are often incorporated in Trance include Classical music, and Film music.