Prefab Sprout: ‘Enchanted’

One of Paddy McAloon’s most unapologetically ‘up’ songs, it positively jumps out of the speakers.

De La Soul: ‘Me, Myself And I’

De La’s mash-up of hip-hop, psychedelia, funk and comedy was de rigeur in the summer of 1989. From the classic 3 Feet High And Rising album.

Scritti Politti: ‘Small Talk’

I could have chosen almost anything from Cupid & Psyche ’85, but went with this little miracle of melody and syncopation. Paging Universal Music Group: the whole album could do with a remaster…

XTC: ‘Summer’s Cauldron’

It was a toss-up between this and ‘Season’s Cycle’, but I could have chosen almost anything from the classic summer album Skylarking.

Jaki Graham: ‘Round And Round’

This very George Michael-esque (did he write it, uncredited?) mid-tempo groover takes me straight back to summer 1984.

Level 42: ‘Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)’

The soundtrack to summer 1987.

The Bible: ‘Honey Be Good’

Another fairly recent discovery.

China Crisis: ‘Saint Saviour Square’

This cracker kicked off the Liverpudlians’ fine 1989 album Diary Of A Hollow Horse.

Check out the whole summer playlist on Spotify.