There was something in the paper the other day about a club called Guilty Pleasures. Not so much a club as a phenomenon now, with franchise spin-off clubs and tie-in albums. Its a bit like the School Disco thing, but supposedly without the irony.

There are people like Terry Hall and Jarvis Cocker playing records like Bette Davis Eyes, How Long by Ace, and a bit of Bachman-Turner Overdrive. For some reason the story immediately made me think of Paul Burgin – it must be all these posts he keeps writing in musical praise of ELO and Burt Bacharach. But then I realised I was wrong – he doesn’t feel guilty about it at all!

Looking at the track list of the Guilty Pleasures CD, I realised that actually I wouldn’t mind getting it myself. Some of the tracks don’t ring a bell, but others are guaranteed to take me straight back about 30 years. Hows this for a track list?

1. Oh Lori – Alessi Brothers
2. Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain & Tennille
3. January – Pilot
4. Sweet Talkin’ Woman – Electric Light Orchestra
5. Couldn’t Get It Right – Climax Blues Band
6. How Long – Ace
7. Storm In A Teacup – The Fortunes
8. Rock Me Gently – Andy Kim
9. Howzat – Sherbet (I actually have album of this. Signed by the band. Its a long story.)
10. You’re Moving Out Today – Carole Bayer Sager
11. Dancing In The City – Marshall Hain
12. The Things We Do For Love – 10CC
13. Never Let Her Slip Away – Andrew Gold
14. Hold On To Love – Peter Skellern
15. I Wanna Stay With You – Gallagher & Lyle
16. I Can Help – Billy Swan
17. Gonna Make You A Star – David Essex
18. Swing Your Daddy Sexy Momma – Jim Gilstrap
19. Pinball – Brian Protheroe
20. Angie Baby – Helen Reddy
21. Wide Eyed & Legless – Andy Fairweather Low
22. Say You Don’t Mind – Colin Blunstone

The follow-up is a double CD and has such gems as Blinded By The Light, Lido Shuffle, SSSingle Bed and Andrew Gold’s Lonely Boy. Maybe I should be going up to the attic to get that old box of singles down again! The thing is, I don’t feel very guilty about liking this stuff. The truth is that I would rather be listening to new music, world music, punk and heavy metal, but when Jayne puts the car radio onto Magic and they play the oldies I do enjoy hearing them.

My own guilty pleasures would have to be Boz Scaggs, Baker Street, Year of the Cat, Russ Ballard, Bat out of Hell, One More Night by Yellow Dog, I Think We’re Alone Now by the Rubinoos, Hotel California and If You Leave Me Now by Chicago. Amazing to think I was listening to all that alongside Genesis, Led Zeppelin and the Stranglers and enjoying it all equally.