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Win a £100 Waitrose voucher and a copy of Greatest Hits! **NOW CLOSED**

(605 Posts)
LauraGransnet (GNHQ) Fri 16-Mar-18 14:08:03

In our latest competition with Orion, we're giving you the chance to win a £100 Waitrose voucher and a copy of Greatest Hits by number one bestselling author Laura Barnett, a story about the power of reflection and how much our memories mean to us.

If you could choose just 16 moments to define your entire life, what would they be? That’s what Cass Wheeler must do. A musician born in 1950, Cass is now taking one day to select the 16 songs in her repertoire that have meant the most to her.

And behind each song lies a story - from the day her mother abandoned her, to her passionate first love, to the moment she lost everything. The dreams, the failures, the second chances.

So, what are the songs that mean the most to you, and evoke your most precious memories? Perhaps it was the first dance at your wedding, or the song repeated on the radio throughout your first holiday, or the only music that would rock your baby to sleep. Tell us in the comments below for the chance to win an £100 Waitrose voucher and a copy of Greatest Hits! We also have 25 copies of the book for runners-up.

Greatest Hits is published by W&N, an imprint of Orion, and is available online and from all good booksellers.

Please post your entries below by 11am 16 April.

Usual T&Cs apply.

dragonfly63 Wed 21-Mar-18 03:28:10

Penny Lane by the Beatles. It always brings back memories of carefree sunny days as a teenager.

kathrynnn Wed 21-Mar-18 07:03:04

Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles - there is something about the melody and the story it tells. To be honest it sums up how I am feeling right now!

lizzieD1910 Wed 21-Mar-18 09:07:01

Leaving on a jet plane,by Peter Paul and Mary.I always look back when I hear this song.It reminds me of when I went abroad for the first time to live in Cyprus with my husband in the forces.I was so upset to leave my mam as we were very close,and I will never forget her sad face when we left.Would love to win this prize!.

Tweety82 Wed 21-Mar-18 09:29:35

Amazed by lonestar as that is mine and my partners song and the words say exactly how we feel about each other, it's s stunningly beautiful song

greenstew Wed 21-Mar-18 09:41:04

Mailman Bring Me No More Blues, Buddy Holly, when i was 15 fell in love with a girl on holiday, spent the whole week in the girls dormitory, when it was hot and sunny out side, there was a few of us nothing went on, played the record all the time. Never see her since 1961.

missdeke Wed 21-Mar-18 09:43:28

Hanging around with a boy at the school disco his friend kept plying Elvis, Girl of my Best Friend. We got married 9 years later.

And on the back of his motorbike aged 15 on a gloriously sunny day, my long blonde hair streaming behind me in the breeze, listening to the Byrds singing All I really wanna do. The epitome of Summer in my teens.

nettyandmasey Wed 21-Mar-18 09:44:50

I like it,Gerry and the Pacemakers because I used to sing it with my dad, we went to the Solid Silver Sixties tour and they played it for him as a request. Annie’s Song again singing with my dad, I chose it for his funeral.
How Long Will I love You Waterboys. For my Partner.
The Runaway Train. I sing it with my Grandson, nursery were astounded last year when he sang it at his leavers Assembly! Most of them chose songs from Frozen!

nipsmum Wed 21-Mar-18 09:47:42

I remember waking up about 6 pm in the nurses home, when we worked night duty, to Cliff Richard belting out Summer Holiday on the radio. Happy days and nights. Not to be forgotten.

franjess2000 Wed 21-Mar-18 09:48:16

'I can't help falling in love with you.' by Elvis

It was the song playing when my other half said I love you for the first time and he played it again when he proposed.

And I hated Elvis before!

Marionp1 Wed 21-Mar-18 09:48:48

I met my future husband on a holiday to Spain, we both bought tickets for the Disco tour and when it was time to leave a venue they would play We are Sailing by Rod Stewart and we would all trail out to the coach and on to the next venue, we got together on that holiday and have been married 40 years now - that song takes us right back to being young and carefree!

theresacoo Wed 21-Mar-18 09:52:28

I live for music and feel depressed if I don’t listen to music in some way.
As I get older I cherish the songs my father listened too now he’s passed on.

Songs by Matt Munro bring back memories as does the song- what will be will be by Doris Day.

Mumto4 Wed 21-Mar-18 09:58:15

Red red wine by UB40 reminds me off my sister.

Rosieonline55 Wed 21-Mar-18 10:01:18

On the 8th April hubby and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage. Our first dance song was When I Need You by Leo Sayer. Just hearing the Intro takes me back so many years. We were due to celebrate our anniversary by flying off to New Zealand on the 23rd March, but hubby has been extremely poorly with Influenza and a nast chest infection which had forced us to cancel. We are both very disappointed but you can’t put a price on health.

teepee55 Wed 21-Mar-18 10:01:52

R.E.M. song, Everybody Hurts, it was a lifesaver for me. I played it over and over again after my husband died suddenly aged 39. I was a young widow with 2 young girls. It touched me deeply and comforted me when I was very low.
It still is one of my favourites, I’ve never tired of it, 24 years later.

burwellmum Wed 21-Mar-18 10:03:21

We moved when I was 6 and I was very unhappy to leave my old home, school and friends. Tom Jones's song Green Green Grass of Home popular then can still make me cry.

MummyBtothree Wed 21-Mar-18 10:17:27

St. Winifreds School Choir - 'There's no one quite like Grandma'
Makes me teary just thinking of the words, never mind hearing the song. ❤

Hilmix Wed 21-Mar-18 10:20:15

The Air That I Breathe by the Hollies. It was 'our song' when we first became a couple and were living on fresh air . It is a lovely song and my husband and I always have a hug and a little dance when we hear it. ?

goose1964 Wed 21-Mar-18 10:29:20

2 out of three ain't bad. I should have taken notice when an ex-boyfriend declared it our song. I wasted 2 years of my life with him and our break up left me with emotional problems

belo Wed 21-Mar-18 10:36:22

Shakira, hips don't lie. Every time it plays, I think of my daughter dancing to it as a toddler and feel a rush of love for her.

Coconut Wed 21-Mar-18 10:41:13

After a difficult birth with my 2nd son, I was laying on my hospital bed just lost in my love for this wonderful little man. Then, on the radio I heard Stevie Wonder singing about his new daughter “ Isn’t she Lovely” .... and it suddenly hit me that I knew I would be going thro all this again, to hopefully have a little girl .... and I did, 2 years later.
With my family complete, Elvis Costello sang “ Oliver’s Army is on its way.... “ . My eldest was called Oliver, and everytime that song came on, his little brother would shout out ...” no it’s my Army not Oliver’s “ !!

vee Wed 21-Mar-18 10:42:06

You are my Sunshine. I've always sung this to my granddaughters since they were tiny new-born babies. And they still love it! Only I changed the words 'You'll never know dear' to 'You'll always know dear' smile I also sing Waltzing Matilda to our little Matilda - and she's a great little dancer!

constance Wed 21-Mar-18 10:44:42

The River - by Bruce Springsteen, all about how young love can get bogged down by day to day life.
And I just heard Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran which had me bawling - reminded me of being with my mum in the hospice.
I'm so Excited by the Pointer Sisters - my partner used to say it made him think of me!

grannyJillyT Wed 21-Mar-18 10:47:47

"Our song" was "If you don't know me right now". The love of my life was in Australia, trying to get over the break-up of his family, the loss of his business and trying to start a new life, while I was coming to terms with the end of my marriage. I sent a tape recording to him of this song. When he returned we got together and that song always made us smile at the memories. My darling husband died on Christmas Eve this year.

Rosepaul Wed 21-Mar-18 10:49:58

Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks so reminds me of my lovely Nanna who died just after it was a hit.

blueberry1 Wed 21-Mar-18 10:52:38

Downtown by Dusty Springfield.It reminds me of a family holiday when I was still just young and carefree enough to really enjoy every moment.It brings back the feeling of our family then and how much it meant to me.