60: The Similou, “All This Love” (no.20, 2006)

You may have become aware of certain trends in this list: a fondness for unfairly dismissed 1980s pop, and indeed for anything that sounds like unfairly dismissed 1980s pop, even if it was recorded two decades later; and a disproportionate fondness for songs dealing with unrequited love, which may come as some surprise, given that the compiler has never had particular cause to suffer for his heart. (Ahem.) The Similou’s presence here is further proof of what a rich decade this has been for Scandinavian synth pop: the thoroughly effervescent “All This Love” - the song equivalent of washing down a pail of Space Dust with a 750ml bottle of Sprite - filled that moment when Junior Senior had disappeared and we were all waiting for Alphabeat to appear. It struggled for its success, reaching only no.58 in its native Sweden and 37 in Australia before labouring to the no.20 position over here, but it’s another fine example of an act taking one perfectly catchy idea and running as far as they could with it - even if that meant away over the hill. Billie Piper’s favourite single of 2006; mine, too.