1986 Festive Fifty

Shows

 * 22 December 1986: #50-#41
 * 23 December 1986: #40-#31
 * 24 December 1986: #30-#21
 * 29 December 1986: #20-#11
 * 30 December 1986: #10-#01

Comments

 * With the Smiths dominating the chart (seven entries in total, with four of these in the top ten (including the number one spot) and five of them coming from 'The Queen Is Dead'), this Festive Fifty set a pattern that appeared to displease JP. However, this number of entries was equalled by the Fall, who also had two in the top ten.
 * Long time chart entrants Half Man Half Biscuit had their first succcesses, and Elvis Costello had his last.
 * One track, by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, was at the time only available as a session tape.
 * The Peel Sessions (Garner, K., BBC Books, 2007) lists the final show of the chart as being 31 December 1986: Peel states at the end of the final programme that this was in fact 'Janice (Long) and John's New Year's Eve Special'.

John Peel's Festive Fifty 1986

 * 50: Pogues, 'Body Of An American'
 * 49: Mission, 'Serpent's Kiss'
 * 48: Fall, 'Dr. Faustus'
 * 47: Camper Van Beethoven, 'Take The Skinheads Bowling'
 * 46: Colourbox, 'The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme'
 * 45: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix'
 * 44: Mighty Mighty, 'Is There Anyone Out There?'
 * 43: Shop Assistants, 'I Don't Want To Be Friends With You'
 * 42: Flatmates, 'I Could Be In Heaven'
 * 41: Billy Bragg, 'Greetings To The New Brunette'
 * 40: Elvis Costello, 'I Want You'
 * 39: Half Man Half Biscuit, 'Dickie Davies Eyes'
 * 38: Cocteau Twins, 'Those Eyes, That Mouth'
 * 37: Fall, 'Lucifer Over Lancashire'
 * 36: Wedding Present, 'Felicity' (Peel Session)
 * 35: Smiths, 'Cemetery Gates'
 * 34: Mighty Lemon Drops, 'Like An Angel'
 * 33: Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, 'I Wish I Could Sprechen Sie Deutsch' (Peel Session)
 * 32: The The, 'Heartland'
 * 31: We've Got A Fuzzbox, 'Rules And Regulations'
 * 30: Very Things, 'This Is Motortown'
 * 29: That Petrol Emotion, 'It's A Good Thing'
 * 28: Wedding Present, 'You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends'
 * 27: Age Of Chance, 'Bible Of The Beats'
 * 26: Fall, 'Realm Of Dusk'
 * 25: Soup Dragons, 'Whole Wide World'
 * 24: Billy Bragg, 'Levi Stubbs' Tears'
 * 23: Pastels, 'Truck Train Tractor'
 * 22: Primitives, 'Really Stupid'
 * 21: Cocteau Twins, 'Love's Easy Tears'
 * 20: Fall, 'Bournemouth Runner'
 * 19: Bodines, 'Therese'
 * 18: Wedding Present, 'This Boy Can Wait'
 * 17: Soup Dragons, 'Hang Ten!'
 * 16: Wedding Present, 'Once More'
 * 15: Fall, 'Living Too Late'
 * 14: Half Man Half Biscuit, 'Trumpton Riots'
 * 13: Weather Prophets, 'Almost Prayed'
 * 12: Smiths, 'Bigmouth Strikes Again'
 * 11: Smiths, 'Ask'
 * 10: Fall, 'US 80s 90s'
 * 09: Jesus And Mary Chain, 'Some Candy Talking'
 * 08: Shop Assistants, 'Safety Net'
 * 07: Smiths, 'The Queen Is Dead'
 * 06: Smiths, 'I Know It's Over'
 * 05: Smiths, 'Panic'
 * 04: Primal Scream, 'Velocity Girl'
 * 03: Fall, 'Mr. Pharmacist'
 * 02: Age Of Chance, 'Kiss'
 * 01: Smiths, 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (LP-The Queen Is Dead)' (Rough Trade)

Availability

 * This Festive Fifty is well served by a set of recordings which appear to represent the shows in their entirety: these are documented on the date pages.