21 August, 1989.

It took me a while this morning, but after being asked repeatedly as to whether I could be squeaky clean, and deciding that no, it sounded far too boring, I eventually figured it out.

This is of course Tears for Fears and the lead single from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love.

Written during the 1987 election campaign, that saw Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives win a third consecutive term of office, founding member and songwriter Roland Orzabal recalled that it was probably the most political record they had ever recorded. Meanwhile the critics at the time described the song as a pastiche of The Beatles in the late 1960s.

On its release the song became a global success, reaching the top-ten in ten countries including number one in the US. Here in the UK it spent nine weeks on the chart and peaked at number five.