A-HA! We go "back to the future" to 1985 to discuss our Top 5 Songs from that incredible year. In many ways, 1985 was the heart of the BIG 80s...big hair, big, loud day-glo imagery, big booming snare drums, big synth sounds, big hits. On the other hand, 1985 was also a year filled with a lot of incredible indie pop, garage rock, neo-pysch and post-punk music.

One of those bands was The Dentists, a leading light of the Medway, UK scene in the mid-80s. They debuted in 1985 with a prolific spate of releases: their first single, "Strawberries Are Growing In My Garden (And It's Wintertime)", the full-length album Some People Are On The Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now and a six-track EP, You And Your Bloody Oranges. Each release masterfully blended '60s psych-pop, garage, and chiming, harmony-laden folk-rock that was mercifully out of step with the "Big 80s" sound. Over the course of the next decade, the band would release 1990's Heads And How To Read Them, 1993's Powdered Lobster Fiasco, 1994's Behind The Door I Keep The Universe, and 1995's Deep 6 (the last two for major label Warner subsidiary EastWest), as well as more singles, EPs, and compilations. The AllMusic Guide refers to The Dentists as "arguably the first Britpop band."

It is our great pleasure to welcome Dentists' guitarist Bob Collins and bassist Mark Matthews as our Third Lads this week. Along with a 40 year history as friends, Mark and Bob are bandmates once again in The Treasures Of Mexico. They offer great insights on their history, and took their homework assignment seriously, coming up with a fantastic and thoughtful list of 1985 tracks. During the show, you will hear The Treasures Of Mexico's 2021 single "Always The Shadows" and vintage 1985 Dentists track "I Had An Excellent Dream."

Finally...a Dentists visit to look forward to!

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E148 - Top 5 Songs of 1985 (with Bob Collins & Mark Matthews from THE DENTISTS!)