101 Songs Birmingham Gave the World

As part of our making our 101 Things Birmingham Gave the World book, we promised to make an ‘album’ – an album of 101 songs that Birmingham gave the World.

Our rules were simple — the songs couldn’t have existed in this form without the city of Birmingham. That means Brummie songwriters, musicians, instruments, recording studios or subjects. Where the connections are a little more tangential, well we’ll let you work those out, and you can hassle us and each other in the comments. The other rule: it had to be on Spotify, so no Funky Moped, or Brummie moptops The Beatles.

We’re not saying that it’s the best 101 songs that Birmingham has produced*, but it’s a fantastic 6 hour listen — and of course it will finish with Mr Blue Sky.

101 Songs Birmingham Gave The World: Now that’s what I call Paradise Circus.

See the full 101 rundown here:

1	Dexys Midnight Runners – Tell Me When My Light Turns Green
2	The Lilac Time – The Girl Who Waves At Trains
3	Go-Kart Mozart – We’re Selfish And Lazy And Greedy
4	The Wonder Stuff – It’s Yer Money I’m After, Baby
5	The Move – Blackberry Way
6	Swell Maps – Let’s Build A Car
7	The Prefects – Barbarellas
8	Napalm Death – You Suffer
9	Massive Attack – Paradise Circus
10	Stephen Duffy – Kiss Me
11	Fuzzbox – Rockin’ With Rita
12	The Applejacks – Tell Me When
13	Fairport Convention – Walk Awhile
14	Menswear – Being Brave
15	Broadcast – Black Cat
16	Kelli Ali – Willows Song
17	Plone – On My Bus
18	Ian Campbell & Lorna Campbell – I Loved a Lass
19	Stephen Duffy Featuring Nigel Kennedy – Hotle End Hotel
20	Misty’s Big Adventure feat. Noddy Holder – Fashion Parade
21	Justin Hayward – Forever Autumn
22	Paul Jones – I’ve Been a Bad Bad Boy
23	Cliff Richard & The Shadows – Jesus
24	Breakthru – Adventures Highway
25	Duran Duran Featuring Melle Mel & Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – White Lines (Don’t Do It)
26	SpizzEnergi – Where’s Captain Kirk?
27	Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing
28	Toyah – I Want To Be Free
29	Blue Ox Babes – There’s No Deceiving You
30	Denim – Middle Of The Road
31	Electric Light Orchestra – Showdown
32	Bentley Rhythm Ace – Midlander (There Can Only Be One…)
33	Mousse T. – Horny
34	Slim Whitman – Birmingham Jail
35	Go-Kart Mozart – Mrs. Back To Front And The Bull Ring Thing
36	The Mixtures – Push Bike Song
37	Wizzard – See My Baby Jive
38	Janice Nicholls – I’ll Give It Five
39	The Redcaps – Talkin’ Bout You
40	Fuzzbox – International Rescue
41	The Quads – There Must Be Thousands
42	Marmalade – Ob La Di Ob La Da
43	The Smiths – Panic
44	Pickettywitch – That Same Old Feeling
45	Friends Of The Stars – Dragonfly
46	Adventure Club – The Train
47	Sleeping Through Sunday – Treat ’em mean… Lose ’em
48	Paul Weller – I Walk On Gilded Splinters
49	Plastic Factory – She
50	Ocean Colour Scene – The Riverboat Song
51	The Charlatans – One To Another
52	The Beat – Mirror in the Bathroom
53	Table Scraps – Foot of Our Stairs
54	The Cardigans – Iron Man
55	Traffic – John Barleycorn (Must Die)
56	Harvey Andrews – Good Old Brummagem
57	Malkit Singh – Gur Nalon Ishq Mitha
58	Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground
59	Cleopatra – Cleopatra’S Theme
60	Jamelia – Superstar
61	Musical Youth – Pass The Dutchie
62	Pato Banton – Don’t Sniff Coke
63	Apache Indian – Boom Shack-A-Lak
64	Duran Duran – Ordinary World
65	Credit to the Nation – Teenage Sensation (12″ Mix)
66	UB40 – One in Ten
67	The Idle Race – Morning Sunshine
68	The Spencer Davis Group – I’m A Man
69	Arbor Lights – El Arborlito
70	The Wonder Stuff – The Size Of A Cow
71	Janice Nicholls – The Wednesbury Madison
72	Broadcast – Come On Let’s Go
73	The Sea Urchins – Pristine Christine
74	Julie Walters – Take A Chance On Me
75	Dexys – Nowhere Is Home
76	Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop
77	Nancy Sinatra – Flowers In The Rain
78	Dodgy – Good Enough
79	Pink Floyd – See Emily Play
80	Felt – Primitive Painters
81	Ghosts of Dead Airplanes – …Hair Metal Shame
82	Youth Man – Heavy Rain
83	The Streets – Turn The Page
84	Bosting Steve Austin – The Barry Fry Song
85	Kelly Osbourne – Papa Don’t Preach
86	Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy
87	THUNDERBIRDS – Main Titles
88	Pop Will Eat Itself – Def Con One
89	God Damn – Red Checker
90	Judas Priest – Breaking the Law
91	Black Sabbath – War Pigs
92	King Adora – Smoulder
93	The Streets – Going Through Hell
94	The Nightingales – Crafty Fag
95	Driver 67 – Car 67
96	London Philharmonic Orchestra and David Parry – Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: Land of Hope and Glory
97	Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Jerusalem
98	The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin
99	Electric Light Orchestra – Mr. Blue Sky
100	The Lilac Time – Paradise Circus
101	Cliff Richard & The Shadows – Brumburger (Finale)

*It does contain the best song Birmingham has given the world, of course. But maybe not the worst.