h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What do you consider to be the most perfect pop songs?
Must've been hit singles [top 20 at least] and be 3 minutes or thereabouts that transport you to another place!

For starters
It might as well rain until September - Carole King
Down Town - Petula Clark [NOT the substandard Spice cover]
Back for Good - Take That

Tears Of A Clown
Senses Working Overtime (creepy verse, bouncy chorus)
Huge wads of the Madness singles.

Don't You Want Me? - The Human League

RF

I concur with the evil grinner.

Dancing Queen by Abba too

Atomic by Blondie makes me insist on growling and yelling it in a death metal stylee.. aaah... memories!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindy Lauper

Roxanne - Police

The Monkees - 'Daydream Believer'.
The Beatles - 'Help'.
Britney Spears - 'Toxic'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo

Marvin Gaye- Sexual Healing.
Aphex Twin- Window Licker
Gorrilaz- Feel Good Inc.

Window Licker? Blimey, that's pushing the definition of 'pop' a tad!

Got to number 16 in the UK charts. So OK by the standards set in the original post. Bit longer than three minutes but I *had* to sneak it in there.

Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers (?)
Not sure if it ever made the top 20 or if it's considered a pop song! Robson & Jerome may have made it into that, I don't know. The original brings a tear to my eye....!

Excellent choice, Einmoto! The kids scream for me to come and watch the full ad whenever it appears! The youngest is bouncing off the walls playing the drums! Best damn gorilla suit I ever did see.

Someone said, 2legs or ReddyFreddy I think, that it was/is actually Phil Collins in the suit ... if you look at the shoulders moving, there are resemblances!!

The gorilla misses the flams: PC's too good a drummer to miss the flams, even when miming in a gorilla suit. Let's face it, there are his own flams and you wouldn't want to be missing your own flams on national telly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=manxPVTLth8

Excellent call, Einmoto! But, what the hell are 'flams'?!

Flams are little grace notes on the snare.

http://www.drums-and-drum-sets.com/flam.php

I can't do 'em, but I'm not a drummer. Wish I was though: there are few things more satisfying than having a right old bash behind a drum kit.

Snare? Sorry, in this case it's the toms.