Which Decade Is Tops For Pops?

Patreon subscriber (and author of the world's only book about bowls and rock and roll) Alex Marsh joins us for the rollout, where digressions range from village shop bangers to champion banjo players, and the history of The Troggs' "OH NO!" is excavated in further detail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reg Presley's bunch get banned for lewdness, Australian pop royalty become one-hit wonders everywhere else, Britpop makes its Which Decade debut, Mike has a LOT to tell you about his erstwhile favourite band, and a motherboarding Starboy tries to have it both ways. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonus bits To join in with the voting, please submit your 1st, 2nd and 3rd...

The Master Scoreboard has been reset, and we have the first set of results from Season Three (plus a generous dollop of Ainsley Harriott digression content). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 3 kicks off with chart-topping debuts, novelty tunes, maverick producers, drug references, the space age, a tin whistle, a traditional cooking pot, and our first glimpse of The Beatles. Following victories for the Sixties and the Eighties, which decade will triumph this time? (And could this season climax with a Chicory Tip gig? You have the power!) YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // e...

In which we reveal the final results of our second season, and have a good old think about What It All Means, before taking our first peek at the fledgling Mother Board. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last time before the Grand Finale of Season 2, we dissect the latest set of results, with digressions that include Martine's suitability for Post Office work, the baffling phenomenon of Skibidi Toilet, Trev's speedonk remix of Celine Dion, Nick's appearance on a TV quiz show, and a quickfire "name that rhyming act" pop quiz. This one even has its own playlist - tinyurl.com/whichdecade210r...

Join us as we unearth the original version of a Steps classic, muse about the band The Specials could have been, pick apart a neo-psych diss track, uncover Tiff's hip hop roots, ponder the value of purpose-built anthems, and praise a Geordie Shore lad for swerving the Gareth Gates trap. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonus bits To join in with the voting, please submit...

It's results time for our penultimate round of this season, with sighs of dismay over our losing act, a partial reprieve for the act we thought would actually lose, and smiles all round for our clear winner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Mike gleefully mines this episode for bragging rights, there's tension in the air as Nick and Trev take wildly opposing stances on one of our tunes. Elsewhere, you'll find the forbears of Rango's mariachi band, a brace of teen idols, pioneering synth-pop, a house-ification of new jack swing, and a donked-up honker whose time has come again. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra track...

These might not be the results that Nick and Trev were expecting - but you have spoken, and we are but humble conduits for your collective wisdom and good judgement. Digressions include the fourth funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe, a university course on the activism of Bad Bunny, the cultural milieu of Montreal, a defence of Toploader, and the thriving underground subculture of "chipdonk". Ho...

Beaky's boys leave the beer halls of Hungary, a pre-canonisation Geldof does some ungainly flailing, Ben and Tracey rework a former chart-topper, Neneh's bro gifts a guitar line to Avicii, Westlife are morphed into chipmunk soul, and a mic-chucker serves up "hot tamale!" YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonus bits To join in with the voting, please submit your 1st, 2nd an...

What we lacked in consensus - the votes were all over the place this time - we gained in commentary, with all manner of excellent observations from our listeners. Join Mike and Nick as we reveal the latest set of results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newcastle's folk-rock pioneers: little lads or men's men? Why does Marc Almond rate Meester Aznovoice? Seismic pop moments: did you have to be there at the time? Can a played-to-death soundtrack tune revive itself? Can a breakup song work as an erection-section groin-grinder? Should Snapchat-filter show ponies bin off Johnny Laptop? YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonus...

Mister Fixit, "classic track", post-disco duo, power ballad, big room trance or footie rap? We have the results, plus comments from our listeners and the usual digressions and bickerings from your hosts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A whistling superhero fails to impress the gum-chewing daughters of America, the "Mr Brightside" of its day elicits memories of Mike's celebrity classmate, a posthumous release evokes the essence of disco's silver age, a movie soundtrack power ballad provokes what we might politely call "a range of emotions", Christmas comes early for DJ Trev with a Finnish trance banger, and an Eighties pop/Ninet...

Did our listeners deliver a clear verdict on the relative merits of Tight Fit and The Cure? And what the blazes is "sidechaining"? Mike, Nick and Trev have all the answers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A future soap star guests on a novelty record, an Edgar Allan Poe fever dream is re-promoted, Dutch Eurovision hopefuls are de-ABBA-fied by old friends, gloom-mongers discover happiness, a plastic Don Juan has a bathroom shag with a tennis star, and an old country standard is twisted into double-drop EDM. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonus bits To join in with the vot...

This was a tough week to rank, given how much the three of us liked all six tunes - but the results are in, and Nick and Mike are here to give them to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's an episode of pure pop joy, as the Face Of 68 ditches the psych, deep uncoolness goes full circle and becomes deeply cool, a bunch of style mag trendies give UK dance culture a significant nudge forwards, idiotically happy faces are grafted onto sad songs, a theft is denied, and a singer-songwriter escapes the curse of The Brits. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tracks & bonu...

The Eurovision results are revealed, and we have a bit of a chat about this year's contest along the way. Also features the return of DJ Trev, and our first look at this season's Master Scoreboard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To coincide with Eurovision season, we bring you a special episode, in which we compare and contrast six Eurovision runners-up from six decades, exactly ten years apart. Who will tickle your fancy? Will it be the Swiss chanson, the worldwide hit from Spain, Israel's singer before she got "world music" credibility, the United Kingdom's game showbiz hoofer, Belgium's dark horse "tone poem", or Azerb...

As we await Trev's return, pop expert and former journo Chris Higgins kindly steps in to join Mike and Nick for the latest results. (Warning: Chris was having to battle a constantly fluctuating signal, so some of his contributions are a little less than full hi-fi quality.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The grumpy old Manfreds return, and we ponder whether there's any psych in their pop. The Seventies rehash the Fifties (again!), The Eighties serve us with sophisti-pop (as no one called it at the time), the magic randomiser chucks us a double dose of Gwen, Milton Keynes indie meets downtempo EDM, and we take an extended NME package tour digression. YouTube playlist // Spotify playlist // extra tr...

Join Mike, Nick and the AI-generated TREVBOT as they reveal and discuss the results of Season 2, Episode 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a brand new season, the scoreboard has been reset, and you are hereby cordially invited to join the Which Decade Supporters Club on Patreon (yes, it's time to start rattling the begging bowl). In this episode, Motown makes its debut, glam rock leathers are swapped for brushed denim and cheesecloth, the Pet Shop Boys coyly emerge via Patsy Kensit, two of hip hop's biggest names do battle, and...