DON'T STOP BELIEVING IN JOURNEY

On Saturday afternoon I'll be taking part in the Soft Rock feature on Jon Holmes' BBC 6Music Show. It was bad enough writing an appreciation of Status Quo for The Scotsman (I got paid but I felt I'd sold my soul) but any credibility I have remaining will now be up in smoke as I wax lyrical about Journey's powerpop ballad classic "Don't Stop Believing".

The most frustrating thing about it is that I went into my large singles box this afternoon and it wasn't there. I must have got rid of it pending a raid from the taste police. I recall it was a double A-side with another of their other big US hits from the "Escape" album, "Who's Crying Now" and came in a die-cut sleeve. It was being used to "sell" Journey in the UK but it never really took off, peaking in the charts at number 62. The other A-side "Who's Crying Now" was released again in August 1982 and got to 46.

I also found this out:

"Don't Stop Believing", the classic Journey power ballad, has just become the first catalog track in history to achieve online digital sales of more than 2 million units, according to SoundScan.

First made available through the iTunes Store on April 28, 2003, the truly timeless "Don't Stop Believing" has become the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history and the sole catalog track to have crossed the 2 million (double platinum) threshold. (The term "catalog" is used to refer to a pre-digital era track released for digital sales prior to the launch of the iTunes Store.)

"Don't Stop Believin'" enjoyed a massive resurgence in popularity in June 2007 after serving as the soundtrack to the climactic final set-piece of HBO's hit mafia family television series, "The Sopranos." Download sales of the song on iTunes rocketed an incredible 482% for the period from Saturday, June 9th (the night before "The Sopranos" finale) through Tuesday, June 12th, of that year.

As downloads of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" reached record numbers, demand for the band's CD catalog began accelerating and continue to this day."

Here are those singalong lyrics, reproduced with no permission whatsoever:

"Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train goin' anywhere Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit He took the midnight train goin' anywhere A singer in a smokey room A smell of wine and cheap perfume For a smile they can share the night It goes on and on and on and on Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching in the night Streetlights people, living just to find emotion Hiding, somewhere in the night Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill Payin' anything to roll the dice, just one more time Some will win, some will lose Some were born to sing the blues Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching in the night Streetlights people, living just to find emotion Hiding, somewhere in the night Don't stop believin' Hold on to the feelin' Streetlights people Don't stop believin' Hold on Streetlight people Don't stop believin' Hold on to the feelin' Streetlights people"

Hell, who am I kidding? It's a guilty pleasure and no mistake. Now where did I put that poodle-perm wig?


Other songs selected so far have been:

Heart - There's The Girl
Angry Anderson - Suddenly
Posion - Every Rose Has It's Thorn
Toto - Africa*
Scorpions - Wind Of Change
Kiss - God Gave Rock N Roll To You
Warrant - Heaven
Stan Bush - The Touch
Whitesnake - Here I Go Again*
Bon Jovi - Runaway *
Stryper - Always There For You
Def Leppard - Love Bites
REO Speedwagon - Keep On Lovin' You*
Firehouse - Love Of A Lifetime
Guns N Roses - November Rain
Bryan Adams - Heaven
David Lee Roth - Just Like Paradise
Cheap Trick - The Flame*
Aerosmith - Angel

I would agree with the ones with asterisks (I haven't heard some of the others) but I would also add Quarterflash's "Harden My Heart", Heart's "Alone", Grand Prix's "Keep On Believing" (1 week at 75 in the UK chart), Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield", Huey Lewis and the News' "Do You Believe In Love" and Asia's "Heat of the Moment".

What would you pick?