Pulp's Common People was inspired by an encounter Jarvis Cocker had back in the 1980s with a Greek art student.

Written by Billy Corgan, 1979 is a homage to his youth with the year signifying the point where he was 12 years old and entering adolescence.

Jackie Chan seems to be the main focus of attention but we also hear about Bruce Lee, Mr Miyagi and Daniel-san. Wax on, wax off, indeed.

Garth Brooks reworked the Aerosmith track Fever as The Fever and altered the lyrics to redefine the song’s message.

Champagne Supernova was not released as a single in the UK but it was elsewhere in the world and fared well in the charts.

Army of Me is essentially a family affair with the track inspired by Björk’s relationship with her younger brother.

Sour Times is considered an accurate reflection of the full Portishead debut album, beautiful to listen to but heartbreaking in its content.

After great success in the 1980s, Prince was determined to prove that he was still marketable and did so with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

Beastie Boys dabbled in rock and rap, with the song beginning as a bass line in the studio before being built on to create Sabotage.

Red Right Hand is a phrase lifted from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and is said to refer to divine vengeance.

Hallelujah, written by Leonard Cohen, was not overly successful. John Cale's cover did better. This led Buckley to record his own version.

I found the background to Tori Amos's Cornflake Girl fascinating and the metaphors used extremely clever.

CrazySexyCool was a big success, as was Waterfalls. TLC are one of the biggest selling girl bands in US history.

Interstate Love Song is semi autobiographical. At the time of its composition Scott Weiland was struggling with heroin addiction while on the road touring

Written by singer, Chris Cornell, Black Hole Sun has been described as a sad song but one that is lyrically bereft of much meaning.

Hurt forms the concluding segment of The Downward Spiral, a concept album inspired both by David Bowie’s Low and Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

All Apologies was written by Kurt Cobain and dedicated to his wife, Courtney Love, and their young daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

Pavement's Cut Your Hair launches a direct attack on the importance of image and appearance in the music industry.

Oasis were part of my teenage years and Live Forever was a key track for the group. Their third single, it was also the first to hit the UK Top 10.

7 Seconds sees Youssou N’Dour singing in both French and Wolof (a West African language). Neneh Cherry sings entirely in English.