COREY HART - Take my heart
Starting with shame? Well this is the first record I've ever bought. Songs were ok, but way too mellow for my current standars. Still this is where it all started.

CULTURE CLUB - Karma chameleon
I loved Culture Club. Boy George was weird enought to piss people off and the music was catchy. When friends asked me for the first time: "What is your favourite band?" I remember answering "Culture Club".

ABBA - Waterloo
Yeah I know the music I started listening to is a bit gay, but you have to start somewhere. Abba have some cool songs and Waterloo still is my favourite. This has to be the first band my parents listened to that I thought was cool. Still, after 4 years in London I had enough of Abba's tunes :)

SPANDAU BALLET - I'll fly for you
Spandau Ballet are my favourite '80s band. I preferred them to Duran Duran and even today they bring back memories of exotic places and relaxed and mellow music. Way to go.

DURAN DURAN - Save a prayer
Even if Spandau were my favourite band I have to give to Duran they wrote the best song of the '80s. Save a prayer IS a pop masterpiece which, know we know, stands the test of time.

CAMEO - Candy
Cameo were the crazy side of funk. What a bunch of weirdos I thought. They took the looks of the hard rock scene and applied it to funk music. Candy was and is an amazing song. Hammer? U can't touch these guys!

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - The power of love
I'v e got an image of myself lying in bed, curtain closed and walkman blasting "The power of love" by FGTH. Never liked FGTH much but this song was a teenager's balm to teen-age years nervous breakdowns. And it worked!

DEAD OR ALIVE - You Spin me around
How gay was the eighties music? But Dead or Alive were beyond gay. They were from another planet. Pete Burns subsequently became the queen bee monster of all B-movies but hey in the eighties he was real cool!

PLEBE RUDE - Ate quando esperar
Plebe Rude is a Brazilian band. I was introduced to them by my Brazilian cousins. Up until then I thought only Brits and Americans made cool pop music. It all changed with Plebe Rude!

KING - Alone without you
It's summer, it's hot and you're in the middle of the eighties. What do you listen to? It has to be King! Alone without you is a timeless classic which I think will be re-discovered soon.

BON JOVI - You give love a bad name
Even if it was Kiss (see later) who turned a pop boy into a rock man, I think in a way Bon Jovi with his mixture of pop and rock was an earlier introduction to the world of rock. Slippery When Wet is classic album and I don't mind even today listening to a song or two every now and then.

THE CURE - Close to me
The Cure is the only band I bought a record of and then sold it. These guys disturb me even today. I always liked goth girls and the whole goth look but couldn't listen much to goth music as, I guess, the music brings me down and I don't need that, thank you very much! :) But the "Close to me video" was the first one that trurly made an impression on me. And the song, let's face it, is superb!

DIO - Last in line
I liked Ronnie James Dio. He had a great voice, created cool tunes and he was of Italian origin. He was also credited for inventing the "horn" sign in metal. What more do you want?

CINDERELLA - Don't know what you've got till it-s gone
Cinderella were the sweet hedgy side of hard rock. Ok their ballads were cheesy and the leather was a bit all over the place. But Tom Kiefer's voice was like a punch in the face. Great band.

THE CULT - Rain
When you see a guy licking honey dripping from a microphone you know something's wrong. But I can forgive Ian Astbury almost anything. After all The Cult created some of the best tunes of the times. Pretty underrated band.

ANTHRAX - Anti Social
Who are these guys? Well for you young kids who are into rap/metal, nu metal, shit metal and whatever, here's Anthrax. The original creators of the crossover, but on the cool side!

AC/DC - For those about to rock we salute you
No one, and I mean NO ONE serious about rock hasn't got at least one AC/DC album in his/her collection. These guys are to rock, what James Brown is to soul. Living legends!

SCORPIONS - Still lovin you
Yeah the eighties were also about rock ballads. Hard rockers loved to show their soft side. And it didn't get much softer than the Scorpions' "Still lovin you". You bet it guys!

THE DUBLINERS - Molly malone
I was seventeen and I went to Ireland. All of a sudden it became clear: rock had a mum: blues and a dad: country. I knew then where country came from: Irish folk music. And I knew the search for the origins of rock were over.

S EXPRESS - Theme from S Express
I had a classmate in high school who I thought was a complete idiot. I remember him telling me "Theme from S Express is the greatest dance song ever". You know what? He was fucking right!

GUNS AND ROSES - Sweet child o mine
There are bands that appear all of a suddend and then the world changes. And it changes because of them. Guns and Roses were one of these bands. You saw them once and you were immediately hooked. And then all it went pear shaped thanks to looney Axl!

IRON MAIDEN - Iron maiden
What can you say about Iron Maiden! Well if you're into metal you cannot hate these guys. As for me, well I love them of course. And even if when I went to London British thought I was "uncool" becase I loved Maiden, you know what? Who gives a shit! Long Live Maiden!!!

HELLOWEEN - I want out
A lot of people thought these Germans were just Maiden clones. I never saw it that way to be quite honest. I think they made the best live album ever :"Live in the UK". At the time my parents bought me without knowing who they were (I didn't have a clue myself to be quite honest) this superb T-shirt from "The keeper of the seventh keys (part II)". I still love them for that! And I still have that T-shirt;)

NAUGHTY BY NATURE - Hip Hop Horray
There wasn't only hard rock and metal in my life. I had some space for hip hop and rap. Naughty by Nature came up with a couple of amazing tunes I'm still listening to today. And I can't stop waiving my arm everytime I hear hip hop horray, hooo, haaay, hooo, haaay!

NENEH CHERRY - Buffalo Stance
I had a crush on Neneh, that's for sure! She was cool, she had attitude and she could sing beautifully. A pity she was already married :)

MOTLEY CRUE - Home sweet home
Watching the cover of "Theatre of Pain" I couldn't help thinking it was one of the best covers I had ever seen. And when I heard "Home sweet home" I knew the music matched the artwork. Everytime I came back from a trip somewhere this song pops in my mind. I'm on my way, home sweet home!

POISON - Every rose has its thorn
When you start picking a guitar up the first thing you think is "girls". I did the same and this song was the among the first ones I've learned to make an "impression" on girls. A pity it talks about of a break-up :)

RATS - Chiara
Rats were an Italian rock band. After hearing Rats I realised even Italians could write pretty cool rock songs in Italian. Chiara was a beloved tune of the female audience, but us boys loved it as well. Whatever happened to Rats, we miss you guys!

SQUALLOR - C'era un vento quella notte
Squallor were a spoof italian band. They talked about orgies, shit, and similar topics. They wanted to piss people off and that's why we loved them. When we were kids we used to go to the seaside blasting Squallor's tunes through our ghetto blasters. Older people hated us, and youngsters though we were uncool. We loved it! :)

WHITESNAKE - Fool for your lovin
I remember watching this video and thinking the girl dancing in the video was the most beautiful woman ever exhisted. She probably was (she was also the singer's wife, I later found out). I loved Whitesnakes because of her :)

ZODIAC MINDWARP - Prime Mover
Possibly only a one hit wonder, Zodiac was showing me at the time that it paid to be a rock star: you could have been outrageous to the max and people would love you because of that.

BILLY IDOL - White wedding
Like the Cult, a guy whose image often undermined his songs. I think Billy wrote some amazing tunes but because he appeared to be "fake" to the rock and punk community he failed to gain respect. I think he's great

DEPECHE MODE - Never let me down again
I liked Depeche Mode even if I probably never really loved them. Still this song remains in my mind because it was a big part of my growing process. When I listen to it I immediately go back to my teenage years and the subtle sadness which somehow permeated them. A sweet and mellow sadness that is fully embodied in this song.

FASTER PUSSYCAT - House of pain
When my auntie Desdemona died I remember listening to this song. From then on this tunehas always reminded me of death and of the loss of dear ones. Everytime a friend of mine passed away I played it on my guitar.

KISS
- Deuce
- Rock and roll all nite
- Going Blind
Three songs for my favourite band of my teenage years. Got introduced to Kiss my good friend Erik and I was hooked ever since. I loved and still love Kiss. It's the band I couldn't do without for ten years. In my mind they wrote the best rock ever. Nuff said.