The soundtrack of our (Keele) lives
Every generation – indeed, every year – has its own memorable soundtrack. In 2007 we invited alumni to send in the title of the "song that means Keele to you". This formed the basis of our first "legendary" Forever Keele disco at Homecoming and it's been growing ever since.
Here is the Soundtrack of our (Keele) lives so far. Your songs range from iconic grooves, disco stompers, a bit of Classical, smash hits and tunes by Keele bands - even a ditty penned by a Keele student in the 1950s. Is your song here yet - and how many can you hum? The all-time most voted for favourite - Never Forget by Take That.
Photo right: Legendary Keele DJs Jayne Winstanley (2001) and "Fish" Martin Cook (1993) return to the decks for the "Never Forget" Homecoming Disco 2010.
A musical snapshot across the years
"I remember that in the 80s they used to play "Oh Superman" at the end of the night to clear the Ballroom. The diehards (including myself) were not giving up easily and tried to dance to it."
Dren Pyke (1987)
"My wife and I are both Keele graduates and the playlist sparked off a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Front left of the ballroom was something of a rite of passage moment for many of my friends. Indeed, we returned to the UK (we live in Australia now) in January to another Keele wedding and "Front Left!" was the common cry of the night."
Adam Pengelly (2000)
"I was an international student (from Singapore), and was in Keele from 1979-1982 studying International Relations. I would like to give some suggestions:-
- Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson - When I came in 1979, one of the first hits that played over and over again on telly, over the radio, the student union's disco. Every time I hear this song, it takes me back to those times - it's definitely one of the 'trigger-the-memory' songs!
- Rock with You by Michael Jackson - Likewise with this song - as it's mellower, I used to chill out with it a lot back in Lindsay Hall (was in H block in the first year, then moved onto that curvy Lindsay block that just fronts the road.
- Rat in the Kitchen by UB40 - It was the Thatcher years then, and a lot of student protests (including the infamous Keele UDI, and I did experience having the Newcastle bus slow down and stopped by the UDI 'checkpoint officers', one of whom was my classmate.) Rat in the Kitchen had a lot of political meaning, was played a lot in the radio, and it reminds me of UB40 in their early days, playing at Keele's students' union.
- Love plus One by Haircut 100 - I think this was a hit in 1982, and every Sunday late afternoon/evening I would listen to the BBC that gave the top 20 rundown of the top singles. Again, one of those 'trigger' songs that make me think of Keele.
- Making your mind up by Bucks Fizz - this group represented the UK in the Eurovision song contest in 1981. I wasn't one of those students who rented tellys in their rooms, so had to go down to one of the hall's main rec area to watch telly. I remember we all had a good time watching Bucks Fizz and lots of people laughed at them.
- Tainted Love by Soft Cell - Watched this on Top of the Pops, which I never failed to watch each week at one of the rec rooms in Lindsay Hall. Whenever it came on, Marc Almond would inevitably get loads of students yelling comments across the room.
- Prince Charming by Adam and the Ants - I always associate Adam Ant with Keele because he rose to fame during the time I was watching things like Top of the Pops at Keele, with other students in the hall's rec rooms."
Patsy Goh (1982)
"I spent six mad years at Keele (1981-7) - three years as an undergraduate, one year suspended(!), one year an incomplete post-graduate course and one year a Sabbatical Officer in the Student's Union. My time was sort of bookended by the post-punk period and the immediate aftermath of the death of John Lennon on the one end - and the rise of the house scene and the dance explosion at the other. The post-punk scene, though I don't suppose we ever thought of it as a 'scene' - in fact, the term 'post-punk" didn't really then exist - was a time of great creative energy. The dance thing several years later, despite my career in the club world since Keele - I never really adapted to. I suspect I left Keele at exactly the right time. For me whenever I hear certain tracks - I always think of Keele. Vaguely recall playing most of them in the Union 'disco' on a Friday night."
Mark Ellicott (1985)
"The Last Time by the Rolling Stones: Whenever I hear this song, I am immediately transported back to one Sunday afternoon in 1965 when I was returning to Keele on the M6 after a weekend away. Of course, I was hitch-hiking (as we all did in those days) and had been picked up by the driver of a large truck, who put his foot down in the fast lane and we hurtled northwards to the sound of the aforementioned song at full volume. A journey I will never forget as it could easily have been The Last Time!"
Roger James (1968)
"I have been paying some interest to the homecoming stuff and especially the Keele Soundtrack. I think I can safely say that as the main former Wednesday/Friday night DJ I am responsible for a large portion of those tunes. It does make me smile seeing that people remember them."
Rob Holt (1993)
"Some of us never went to the regular discos because they were rubbish! We put on our own reggae nights in the SU ballroom which were usually packed… We even brought the Fatman Hi Fi from Tottenham for a Legalise Cannabis Campaign benefit gig. Need to put a bit of reggae in your playlist for us! I first heard "Sun is Shining" on its release on a portable cassette player on a scorching summer afternoon on the lawn in front of Keele Hall. Sums up Keele for a whole crowd of us!"
Steve Razzetti (1981)
And we hope soon to add stories of Keele student bands, such as The Exits:
"Music was such a large part of Keele's entertainment! Incidentally, a copy of the single we (The Exits) released in 1978 ("Yodelling" recorded at Keele) just sold for nearly £200 in March 2011 - but not by me!"
Rick Potter (1978)
Keele's ground-breaking moment in the history of music recording
"In 2015 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of our groundbreaking Fairlight album 'Mirage' recorded by myself and music technician Cliff Bradbury at the Clockhouse, Keele. It was the first CD of the Worlds first music library released digitally and went on to be a major international success. In the UK, this album featured on numerous productions at the time but probably most significantly on some of the first adverts for ITV Oracle in 1985. This album was to set the scene for the future of music production for film and tv with the move away from analogue recording to digital, computer sequencing and sampling which now completely dominates the industry."
Andy Quin (1982)