Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country, and jazz also in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak, she ranked among the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her image–marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances–made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
"Axel F" is an electronic instrumental track by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. It served as the theme song for the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, its eponymous character and the film franchise it is based from, which became an international number-one hit in 1985. The track reached number one in Ireland as well as on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Additionally, it was a number two hit in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany.
"Always on My Mind" is a ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released by Gwen McCrae in March 1972. Lee's version was released three months later in June 1972. The song has been a crossover hit, charting in both the country and western and pop categories. Elvis Presley's recording was the first commercially successful version of the song.
English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys have released 15 studio albums, five live albums, nine compilation albums, four remix albums, five soundtrack albums, four extended plays and over seventy singles. The duo's debut single, "West End Girls", was first released in 1984 but failed to chart in most regions. However, the song was entirely re-recorded in late 1985, and this newly recorded version became their first number-one single, topping the UK Singles Chart, Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Singles Chart. Parlophone released the duo's debut album, Please, in the United Kingdom in March 1986. It peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It also peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the United States and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The following summer they released "It's a Sin", the lead single from their second album, Actually. The single became another UK number one and also reached number nine in the US. This was followed by "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", with Dusty Springfield, which peaked at number two in both the UK and US. In the summer of 1987, the Pet Shop Boys recorded a cover of Brenda Lee's song "Always on My Mind", which became their third UK number-one single over Christmas 1987. This was followed by another UK number one, "Heart", in spring 1988. The album Actually was released in September 1987, peaked at number two in the UK and was certified three-times platinum by the BPI.
"Breakfast in Bed" is a soul–R&B song written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts for Dusty Springfield. It takes a knowing spin on the line "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", the title of a song that had previously been a number one hit for her in the UK. After being released on her 1969 album Dusty in Memphis, it was recorded and popularized the same year by Baby Washington. Harry J produced three reggae versions in 1972, by Lorna Bennett, Scotty, and Bongo Herman.
"The Joker" is a song by American rock band Steve Miller Band from their eighth studio album, The Joker (1973). Released as a single in October 1973, the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974 and reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.
"Minimal" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their ninth studio album, Fundamental (2006). It was released on 24 July 2006 as the album's second single. "Minimal" reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's 37th top-20 entry in the United Kingdom, and it was the number five Hot Dance Club Play Track of 2007 on Billboard's year-end chart. The B-side "In Private" is a new version of a song originally written for Dusty Springfield, this time recorded as a duet between Neil Tennant and Elton John and remixed by Stuart Crichton.
"Close to You" is a song by English reggae singer Maxi Priest. It was released in 1990 as the lead single from his fifth album Bonafide (1990). "Close to You" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
"Suburbia" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the duo's debut studio album, Please (1986), and became the band's second UK top-10 entry, peaking at number 8. "Suburbia" has drawn comparisons to the theme from ALF, which coincidentally premiered the day that the song was released. The (uncredited) saxophone part on this track was played by Gary Barnacle.
Reputation is the thirteenth studio album by British singer Dusty Springfield, and twelfth released. Issued on the Parlophone Records label in the UK and the rest of Europe in June 1990, Reputation was not only Springfield's first studio album in eight years at the time but also her first album to be released in her native UK since 1979's Living Without Your Love. After a string of commercially overlooked albums through the late 1970s and early 1980s Reputation finally managed to resurrect Springfield's career and belatedly resulted in her being re-evaluated and recognised by both music critics and the general public as the UK's foremost 'blue-eyed soul' singer. Mainly produced by Pet Shop Boys and Julian Mendelsohn and recorded in the UK over a period of some eighteen months, Reputation became her highest charting and best-selling album in the UK since 1970's From Dusty with Love, peaking at No. 18 and selling 60,000 copies within two weeks of its release.
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is a 1966 song recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield, based on "Io che non vivo (senza te)" ("I, who can't live (without you)"), an Italian song with music by Pino Donaggio and lyrics by Vito Pallavicini, which was very successful in Italy.
"What Have I Done to Deserve This?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys and soul singer Dusty Springfield, taken from the duo's second studio album, Actually (1987). The song was released as the second single from the album on 10 August 1987.
"I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. Released as a debut solo single by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles chart in January 1964.
"So Hard" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released in September 1990 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). The song is about "two people living together; they are totally unfaithful to each other but they both pretend they are faithful and then catch each other out". It peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom and reached the top three in at least seven European countries, including Finland, where it reached No. 1.
"No Stress" is a 2008 song recorded by the French house record producer and DJ Laurent Wolf. It was the first single from his sixth album Wash My World, on which it features as the first track in its radio edit version, and as the tenth track in the Zen @ Acoustic version. Released in March 2008, this dance and techno song achieved a great success in many countries, including France and Belgium, where it topped the charts.
"Think About the Way" is a song by British, Italian-based rapper Ice MC, released in March 1994 as the second single from his third album, Ice'n'Green (1994), on which it appears in four versions, and his tenth single overall. It was produced by Roberto Zanetti, also known as Robyx, and was written by Zanetti and Ice MC, though many releases credit Zanetti as the sole writer. The female vocals were performed by Italian singer Alexia, though she was also uncredited and doesn't appear in the music video for the song, directed by Giacomo de Simone. The song was very successful in Europe, reaching the top 5 in Belgium and Italy, and the top 15 in Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands. In the UK and Ireland, it was released under the title "Think About the Way ", which it refers to the first words of the first verse.
"Wherever Would I Be" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1990 as the second single from their eleventh studio album, Busted (1990). It was written by American songwriter Diane Warren and produced by Richie Zito. "Wherever Would I Be" peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Dum Da Dum" is a song by Swedish recording artist Melodie MC, released in 1993 by Sidelake Productions and Virgin as the third single from his debut album, Northland Wonderland (1993). The song is written by Lövgren, featuring female vocals by Mayomi. It contains a sample from "Feel That Beat" by 2 Static. "Dum Da Dum" was very successful on the singles charts in Europe and Australia, remaining the artist's biggest hit single. In 2009, a new version of the song was released.
"Night in Motion" is a song recorded by German act U96, released in 1993 by label Urban as the second single from their second album, Replugged (1993). It was written by its co-producer Alex Christensen with Ingo Hauss, Helmut Hoinkis, Hayo Panarinfo. The single was a hit on the charts in Europe, peaking within the top-10 in Austria, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and Sweden. Outside Europe, the song was a huge hit in Israel, peaking at number-one.
"Nobody's Wife" is the second single released from Dutch singer-songwriter Anouk's debut studio album, Together Alone (1997). The song, a rock ballad, was written by Anouk, Satindra Kalpoe, and Bart van Veen, and it was produced by George Kooymans, Barry Hay, and John Sonneveld. It was released through Dino Music in the Netherlands and Ireland, BMG in Europe and Australia, and Columbia Records in the United States.
