Inside The Hits

With the record company not believing it was single material, the third single from the band's third album would need a remix from Nile Rodgers before it was not only good enough - but would go no.1 in the UK.

A huge global hit from Sweden and one of the 1990s' most memorable tunes. But it would never have happened, had a tape not got stuck on a car... Hear the story behind this song.

Starting out as a riff in a punk track and many recordings later (and at least three releases) it's become one of the most recognisable songs of the 80s. Hear its story and a break down of the recording, putting attention on Morten's incredible vocal.

Their highest-selling UK single and their only US number one, some may consider this to be a tacky wedding song, but for other's it's a deeply moving work of art. From its origin in a chalet on an island off of Stockholm through to its first performance in front of the King of Sweden almost a year later, this episode charts its writing and recording process and you'll hear deleted sections of the song and, for the very first time, the acapella of the girls' incredible singing.

Intended to be recorded in Jamaica and instead tracked in a chateau north of Paris, this song has to rate as one of Elton's finest from an incredibly prolific time in his career.

Hear, not only the story behind the biggest-selling single of 1981, but also the original recordings by Gloria Jones in 1964 and again with Marc Bolan in 1976. Also included is a breakdown from the Soft Cell version's multitrack to hear how this hit was put together.

The making of one of the best pop songs - EVER! Along with details of the writers, including veteran pop poet Cathy Dennis, this episode includes tons of outtakes of Britney sing the song - giggles and all! It also make a few revelations, playing huge chunks from the studio session that never made the final mix. 

This evergreen dance floor filler is now over 30 years old but its basis is a track dating from the mid 1960s. Hear how a a Manhattan clothes designer, a Russian DJ and a Japanese record collector collaborated to record one of the best club tracks of all time. Also, get to hear studio outtakes from Bootsy Collins and finally you can learn Q-Tip's rap as it's broken down for you.

The lead single from PSB's second album, Actually, was the boy's second no. 1 single: beginning their Imperial Phase, but it had originally been written in 1982, recorded again in '83 before a third attempt yielded the final version complete with catholic chanting and thunder cracks. Hear the story of its origin along with individual samples from the 1987 recording session.

The lead single from Dua's all-conquering Future Nostalgia, 'Don't Start Now' was written after a night our in a dive bar in Wymonig. It went on to be the fourth best-selling single of 2020 in the UK. Hear about her rise to fame and how this landmark song was created.

Recorded in 1976, this is the band's only US no.1 single, but its legacy extends to today after it was used in a Tik Tok viral post. Written by Stevie Nicks as a response to former lover Lyndsey Buckingham's 'Go Your Own Way', this episode explains how and where it was written along with its recording process. Hear the original demo and the isolated takes from the multitrack to discover why this song is still popular 45 years on.