Amazon exiles discussion

Sometimes a hit version can overshadow the original recording; not saying the cover(s) isn't better but I rather think some original versions deserve more credit than they get.

Some suggestions:
https://www.originals.be/en

720 clips on the playlist FIRST RECORDING OF THE SONG... (MusicProf)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

and if in doubt, you can check at:
https://secondhandsongs.com/

The next FIVE themes are:

Theme 416 - Birds Of A Feather - Song titles that contain the name of a species of bird. - KJS
Theme 417 - Alliterative titles - Any track with two or more words all starting with the same letter. - Fishy_Jim
Theme 418 - "Moon Choons" - Songs about any moon fact or fictional, bar Earth's own! So, you cannot simply use "The Moon or Moon". Can be in the title or in the lyrics. I'll post a list of suggestions nearer the time. - Shooke theDuke
Theme 419 - "Can, Can't, Cannot" - Song titles containing one or more of can, can't, cannot - Helen
Theme 420 - Wildcard Round 18

and new ideas are always welcome (Sussex?? Derek??) at:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Nina was there in the year prior to The Animals and The Valentinos were also a few months before the Stones.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ckv6...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71XrZ...

After Val


Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)

https://youtu.be/vRFo72wuU6w?si=E0QdE...
https://youtu.be/eDtPNJFOFFQ?si=IV6bQ...

after Val,

Bobby Womack, who co-wrote 'It's all over now' was a Valentino of course. Anyway, nine years before Opus III came Jane. The Donays only made this one record, but which the Beatles later covered. The original is worth the 2:39 of anybody's time.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vgcY...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oEfz...

🤪

After Jemma

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9obvl...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFH5J...

After TheFoe:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZlzN...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty-bL...

After The Foe


Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)


https://youtu.be/-NSQI51dppg?si=KGGD8...

https://youtu.be/6HbgxVrn7tg?si=OvCdL...

After Grimmy

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=emy5mA8...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yeVx1C7...

Val - please correct me if I'm wrong and maybe I'm interpreting this theme wrongly - I thought you were looking for lesser known original versions. I understand this is v subjective but would say that from this list the original versions by Tina Turner, Talk Talk and possibly NIN are the better known versions, and the cover versions are lesser known.

I'm not sure I'm making sense (I'm v tired) but I think I know what I mean!

after Helen

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujeUr...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtSy1...

After KJS:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner (Ghost)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond)
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VDS8...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_35S...

Helen The Melon wrote: "Val - please correct me if I'm wrong and maybe I'm interpreting this theme wrongly - I thought you were looking for lesser known original versions. I understand this is v subjective but would say t..."

You are right Helen - I was intending this to be lesser-known, forgotten or even completely unknown originals. It's my fault for not being more specific. I also have to allow for most (all?) posters being younger than me. If I think of "Spirit In The Sky", I immediately think of Norman Greenbaum - I've never heard of Dr and the Medics or their version. Both reached No. 1 in the UK charts. I have to allow that Collette is more familiar with the latter. Similarly with the Tina Turner song, it reached No. 3 in the UK charts. I don't know Ghost and it seems it was released as a track on an EP of 5 cover songs and the EP got to No.8 on the albums charts. I'd be surprised if people didn't remember the original. Again, I don't know "Heart of Stone" but I see it reached No. 50 in the UK charts and Cher's version reached No. 43 so perhaps it's the better known version. Same with the Talk Talk song - it got to No. 46 in the UK while No Doubt's version peaked at No. 17. "Hurt" is also a tricky one as everyone knows it as a cover of the NIN track but maybe not everyone knows the NIN version as much. I'm not going to disallow any of the nominations because I should have been clearer in my intention.

To be fair, I did think that when nominating the Talk Talk song. That's ok, I'll have fun finding a replacement tomorrow. :-)

Thanks for the explanation Val so in the spirit of the theme I’ve changed mine. 😀


After Dunk

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane
Devil In His Heart - The Donays
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond)
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)

https://youtu.be/lpchRc3ct68?si=RiVNK...
https://youtu.be/rzc55IMsDhc?si=VQ1RM...

everybody else is doing it ,so why not...

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond)
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)

"everybody else is doing it ,so why not..." Cool name for an album!

TheFoe wrote: ""everybody else is doing it ,so why not..." Cool name for an album!"

😉

I won't be changing my noms. I wasn't born in 1970, and the Cher version of Heart Of Stone is from the album of the same name (that includes If I Could Turn Back Time) and is also included on the greatest hits album(s).

Are my two noms okay? TBH, i've been waiting years for a suitable theme to nom that Count Five song!

After Tim, I've found one, I'll add another later if I can come up with something.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond)
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0h6F...

Collette wrote: "I won't be changing my noms. I wasn't born in 1970, and the Cher version of Heart Of Stone is from the album of the same name (that includes If I Could Turn Back Time) and is also included on the g..."

No worries Collette, I don't expect anyone to change their nominations unless they really want to.

theDuke wrote: "Are my two noms okay? TBH, i've been waiting years for a suitable theme to nom that Count Five song!"

They're fine Duke.

Age and perception of popular culture is an intersting thing. I'm 71 now and there are at least five or six songs in the list that are better known to me than the covers. But it doesn't matter, some of them are tracks that I really liked at the time, and they are all the original versions. I used to teach in a Uni, and about 10 years ago I was trying to explain something to a couple of 18/19 year old first year students. I came up with what I thought was a great example, and I said "You know.... like David Bowie." They both looked at me blankly and said "Who??".

Not wanting to backtrack, but having looked for a replacement for Talk Talk's song, I couldn't find anything that I liked. So if it's ok I'll leave it in, and posters can vote accordingly.

On a separate matter, does anybody know how to get rid of the annoying red squigley lines that appear underneath a word that your laptop deems misspelt?

TheFoe wrote: "does anybody know how to get rid of the annoying red squigley lines that appear underneath a word that your laptop deems misspelt?"

If you're sure your spelling is correct, I find the easiest way is to do a two fingered click (I use a Mac, it might be a right click on a PC?) on my trackpad, and from the menu that appears choose learn spelling.

TheFoe wrote: "Not wanting to backtrack, but having looked for a replacement for Talk Talk's song, I couldn't find anything that I liked. So if it's ok I'll leave it in, and posters can vote accordingly...."

No problem Nick.

Grimmy wrote: "Age and perception of popular culture is an intersting thing. I'm 71 now and there are at least five or six songs in the list that are better known to me than the covers. But it doesn't matter, som..."

Talk about feeling your age! I know it all too well Grimmy. I'm nearly 75 - a son in law is aged 36 and amazingly loves the Beach Boys, who I would consider more my age group than his. I asked him did he know Glen Campbell once played in the Beach Boys. Silly question - I should have known his answer would be "Who's Glen Campbell?" Mind you, your example is much worse than mine seeing as Bowie has been an icon for all ages.

Val wrote: "Talk about feeling your age! .... "

trouble is, in my head I still think I am 18 (well,,,, some of the time, mostly when there are no mirrors)

Tim wrote: "TheFoe wrote: "does anybody know how to get rid of the annoying red squigley lines that appear underneath a word that your laptop deems misspelt?"

If you're sure your spelling is correct, I find t..."

Thanks Tim, that doesn't work on my Acer laptop. It does sometimes do the squigley thing when I've spelled it properly, but it's just annoying when it does it on bands or song titles that it doesn't recognize.

Val wrote: "TheFoe wrote: "Not wanting to backtrack, but having looked for a replacement for Talk Talk's song, I couldn't find anything that I liked. So if it's ok I'll leave it in, and posters can vote accord..."

Thanks Val. :-)

Repeating the nominations list with added names of the covering artist:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals)
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher)
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell)
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor)
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry)
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others))
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others)
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond)
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby)

Here's the playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

and 21 nominations gives us SIX votes each to play with.

TheFoe wrote: "Not wanting to backtrack, but having looked for a replacement for Talk Talk's song, I couldn't find anything that I liked. So if it's ok I'll leave it in, and posters can vote accordingly.

On a se..."

Ignore it.....the trouble with yank websites like this one, is that they don't appreciate the fact they don't know how to spell correctly! Like 'color'...where as everybody in every English speaking country bar the US, knows there's a sodding 'u' in there!

I blame those original puritanical new world settlers for screwing up the language! Grumble grumble...! And I snigger every time i hear the phrase 'fanny pack' on a yank TV show.....they have no idea! :-S

I find i can just add the word to a 'dictionary' by right clicking on the 'mis-spelt' (and NOT mis-spelled as the US thinks is correct) word..and the squiggly lines will magically disappear! But you've already got a response, so ignore me......I'm just having a rant. I have no love for the so called most powerful country in the world.....a third rate country that can afford to be a first rate one, is where my thinking is. They voted in Trump ffs! How stupid can they get?!

Anyway..back to the music.......

theDuke wrote: "They voted in Trump ffs! How stupid can they get?!"

In 2016, a columnist in the Telegraph wondered how it was that American voters in the primaries had picked the two worst candidates on the ticket (Trump and Clinton). Things have not improved; Biden is (1) evidently battling senility, and (2) is a dubious character who seems to enjoy sniffing little girls' hair.

As for the spelling thing, I've seen claims that Webster (of the dictionary fame) is the person mostly responsible. Some other 'americanisms' are simply archaic versions of English spoken by early settlers in the new world, and which have died out over here.

P P Arnold - 6
Gloria - 5
Wilbert - 4
Barrett - 3
David - 2
Bucks - 1


Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals)
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 5
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt)
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor)
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others)
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 4
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 3
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 6
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 2
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby)

After Jemma

6 - P P Arnold
5 - NIN
4 - Talk Talk
3 - David McWilliams
2 - Gloria Jones
1 - Barrett Strong

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals)
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles)
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 7
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 4
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor)
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 4
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 4
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 12
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 5
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby)

After Sera

The Donays - 6
P. P. Arnold - 5
David McWilliams - 4
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks - 3
The Family - 2
Gloria Jones - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals)
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 8
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 4
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 4
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 4
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red)
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 9
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others)
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

After Val

Talk T - 6
David McW - 5
Nina - 4
Count 5 - 3
Wilbert - 2
Valentine Bro - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 4
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones)
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 8
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 10
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 6
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones)
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 4
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 1
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 14
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 3
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards)
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

after Helen

C Five - 6
B Strong - 5
H Melvin - 4
D McWilliams - 3
S Harpo - 2
Valentinos - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 4
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 1
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics)
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III)
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 8
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 10
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 6
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 2
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 9
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 1
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 9
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music)
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 4
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

After KJS:

Wilbert Harrison - 6
Norman Greenbaum - 5
John Lennon - 4
Barrett Strong - 3
The Valentinos - 2
Jane - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 4
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 3
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 5
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 1
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 8
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 10
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 12
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 2
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 12
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 1
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 9
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 4
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 4
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

after Duke

Nina Simone - 6
Valentine Brothers - 5
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes - 4
Gloria Jones - 3
Slim Harpo - 2
Norman Greenbaum - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 10
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 3
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 6
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 1
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 11
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 10
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 12
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 4
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 12
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 9
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 4
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 8
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

Val wrote: "Helen The Melon wrote: "Val - please correct me if I'm wrong and maybe I'm interpreting this theme wrongly - I thought you were looking for lesser known original versions. I understand this is v su..."

Going by who had the bigger hit, Johnny Cash's version of Hurt is way better known to the general public than the NIN original, which was only released as a promotional single and didn't enter the main charts.

After Tim:

Talk Talk - 6
Norman Greenbaum - 5
John Lennon - 4
Barrett Strong - 3
Gloria Jones - 2
Count Five - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 10
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 3
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 11
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 1
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 13
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 16
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 12
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 4
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie)
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 15
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 10
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 8
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 8
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 3

After Jim

Not enough votes....
oh well....

Count Five - 6
Harold - 5
Dan - 4
Valentinos - 3
Nerves - 2
John - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 10
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 6
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 11
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 1
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 13
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 16
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 12
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 4
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie) - 2
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 15
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 17
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 16
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 9
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 13
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 7

After Grimmy

Nina – 6
Jane 5
Count 5 – 4
PP A -3
Wilbert – 2
Slim - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 16
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 6
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 11
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 6
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 13
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 16
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 5
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 14
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 5
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie) - 2
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 15
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 18
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 17
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 20
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 9
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 13
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 7

After Derek

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - 6
Count 5 - 5
David McWilliams - 4
The Nerves - 3
NIN - 2
Barrett Strong - 1

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 16
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 6
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 11
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 6
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 13
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 16
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 7
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 14
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 5
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie) - 5
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 16
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 18
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 21
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 25
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 9
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 19
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 7

Correcting P.P. Arnold's score:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (The Animals) - 16
It's All Over Now - The Valentinos (Rolling Stones) - 6
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum (Dr and the Medics) - 11
Heart Of Stone - Bucks Fizz (Cher) - 1
It's A Fine Day - Jane (Opus III) - 6
Devil In His Heart - The Donays (The Beatles) - 6
Tainted Love - Gloria Jones (Soft Cell) - 13
It's My Life - Talk Talk (No Doubt) - 16
Nothing Compares 2 U - The Family (Sinead O'Connor) - 2
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and others) - 7
Lets Stick Together - Wilbert Harrison (Canned Heat/Bryan Ferry) - 14
Shake Your Hips - Slim Harpo (Stones) - 5
Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves (Blondie) - 5
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong (The Flippin' Beatles (& others)) - 16
The First Cut Is The Deepest - P. P. Arnold (Rod Stewart & others) - 20
Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - The Valentine Brothers (Simply Red) - 6
The Days of Pearly Spencer - David McWilliams (Marc Almond) - 21
Psychotic Reaction - Count Five (The Cramps, Brenton Woods, Shockabilly, The Underground..and others) - 25
Jealous Guy - John Lennon (Roxy Music) - 9
Don’t Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (Communards) - 19
I Scare Myself - Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (Thomas Dolby) - 7

As you know, I do like a clear result and we have one here (and a bonus of no wooden spoons):

Duke takes out the quinella - first place with Count Five (25 votes) and second with David McWilliams (21 votes). Third goes to KJS with P.P. Arnold (20 votes).

Well done winners and thanks to everyone for taking part.