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Continuing my trip back through the 1981 album charts. 13/09/81 : Dance - Gary Numan Our third solo visit with Mr Numan (who is, of course, older than Mr Oldman) along with one Tubeway Army visit and I've quite liked his stuff - I'll be surprised if this strays too far from the formula (and I'll be very surprised if it features anything you could actually dance to). Yeah, this isn't gonna get the grannies on the dance floor - it's understated even by Gary's standards with all sorts of weird rhythms and sounds on there. It has a very Japan (the group, not the country) kinda sound to it - I didn't mind it, but it got a bit samey across the whole album for me (all 57 minutes of it). I think it's an interesting attempt, but not a complete success for me. We're at #3 in the charts this week on his second week of an eight week run, with this being as high as it got. The rest of the top five were  Meat Loaf , The Rolling Stones , Ultravox (a new entry which...

Continuing my trip back through the 1981 album charts. 20/09/81 : Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones Our eighteenth visit with the Stones, taking them into second place on their own - they're gonna overtake Elvis before we get to the end. I don't remember this album in the slightest but I know I had absolutely no interest in this bunch of old men at the time (and yes, I realise they were considerably younger at the time than I am now). Actually, it starts with "Start Me Up" which I do remember not absolutely hating - and the rest of it mostly isn't too far away from that or a bit more bluesy, which is generally to be expected (although  I didn't like "Little T&A", which is somehow worse than its title). I can't say any of it struck me as absolutely essential Stones material (except possibly "Start Me Up") but that's pretty much been the case for most of the albums we've met from them - it's certainly nowhere near their wors...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 16/10/26 : Ghosts (100 Days Of Morning) - Jamie T  Our third visit with Jamie T and I've not hated his stuff, but also not really seen the point to it - let's see what we've got this time. Hmmm - no, I didn't really like this. It was just all a bit shouty and tiresome - maybe it was similar to his previous stuff and I just wasn't in the mood for it today, but it didn't hit the spot. We're at #1 with a new entry in the chart this week and the rest of the top five are Chase & Status (another new entry),  Olivia Rodrigo  (18 weeks in the top ten), Michael Jackson and Olivia Dean  (55 weeks in the top ten) - I'm also going to call out Sienna Spiro at #6 who's managed 15 weeks in the top ten. We've got a whole load of new entries to consider this week - has the pre-Xmas rush started early? Chase & Status (#2) C&S are definitely someone I have to be in the mood for, but I have to a...

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2025 #4 :     The Ballad Of Wallis Island The tide ebbs and flows around Wallis Island, but there’s a bigger force of nature making waves here: Tim Key, who, for the entirety of this absolute gem of a film, makes us cry with laughter and, well, just cry. Adapted by him and his comedy partner Tom Basden from their 2007 short The One And Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, and again directed by James Griffiths, this follows Key’s wealthy widower Charles as he attempts to reunite his favourite folk duo, the estranged McGwyer Mortimer (Basden and Carey Mulligan). Key has always been a truly singular human, his absurdist comedy as sharp as it is silly. Here, though, as the misty-eyed Charles, desperate for company – for friendship, for love – he tugs at the heartstrings as much as he hits the funny bone, in a film that heralds harmony in all its forms. As warm as blankets get. I knew I would like this because I really like Tim Key'...

Continuing my trip back through the 1981 album charts. 27/09/81 : Dead Ringer - Meat Loaf Our third visit with Mr Loaf and I don't believe I was aware this even existed, which I'm not taking to be a great sign... Hmmm. No.  The songs are most definitely not at Bat Out Of Hell levels, but it's worse than that because, whether Meat's voice just isn't as strong or the production is just ropey, on a load of them you just can't make out what he's saying (and some of the stuff I did decipher is decidedly dodgy). It's even true on the title(ish) track, which wasn't nearly as decent as I remembered - but it's still easily the best thing on the album. All in all, it feels like someone heard BAOH and thought "I can do that", but then it turns out they just can't - there's many good reasons why no-one remembers this album in the same way. We're at #3 in the charts this week on his fourth week of an impressive 45 week run, with it havin...

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2025 #5 :     Flow Already, Flow has seemed to live nine lives. The second film from Latvian animator Gilts Zilbalodis was created by a remarkably small team, on free 3D software Blender; from there, it went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, reaching audiences all around the world along the way. And it’s clear why – the gently post-apocalyptic tale of a cat traversing a flooded landscape, encountering several other animals along the way (some dogs, a lemur, a capybara, and a secretary bird among them), is a meditative and mesmerisingly beautiful odyssey, its lucid, dialogue-free storytelling accessible to… well, everybody, of any age, of any language. Part adventure movie, part survival drama, part fable, Flow is undeniably original, a great film in its own right – and one that proves anything is possible in an age where filmmaking tools are available at the click of a button. Those nine lives are set to live on for a long, l...