Music that screams summer - My nostalgic playlist!

Isn’t it funny how a song can act like a time machine! One moment you’re sat there doing the washing up, and then a few notes float through the radio and bam, you’re fifteen again, dancing barefoot on the lawn, eating ice pops and hoping your crush walks past! Summer, I think more than any other season, has a soundtrack. It’s the season of car windows down, festivals in fields, beach days and spontaneous BBQs. So, I thought I’d share my nostalgic summer playlist, the songs that instantly take me back to those golden days, whether I was a teenager riding my bike or a twenty-something dancing at weddings with bare feet and a Pimms in hand.

Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams!

Let’s start with a proper classic! I wasn’t even alive in 1969 but this song makes you feel like you were living that carefree summer where everything was simpler and the biggest worry was probably what you were doing the next day. I remember this one always being played at family BBQs when I was younger. The grown-ups would be standing around with their drinks, getting all nostalgic and singing along at the top of their voices while us kids pretended to be embarrassed. We’d roll our eyes, act like they were so uncool and fast-forward a few years and now I’m the grown-up shouting the chorus, thinking I sound amazing while my girls are probably looking at me the exact same way I used to look at my parents.

Miami - Will Smith!

Party in the city where the heat is on! This track came out in the late ‘90s and made every British teenager, me included, dreamed of jetting off to palm lined streets and beach parties where everything glowed orange and cool people danced in slow motion. I never made it to Miami, but that didn’t stop me from blasting this on my CD player while lounging in a back garden on a plastic sun lounger.

Steal My Sunshine - Len!

This song is an instant mood lifter! The second it starts playing, you can’t help but feel a little bit happier. Maybe it’s the weird talking bit at the beginning or just the fact that it sounds like sunshine. This song was everywhere on every summer playlist, every radio station and definitely every homemade CD. I can still picture listening to songs like this on a chunky portable CD player. Summer just felt different back then. Days were spent outside, sitting on the grass with friends, chatting about absolutely nothing and thinking we were much cooler than we actually were. Now when I hear it, I’m instantly transported back to being younger.

Mambo No. 5 - Lou Bega!

Did you even have a summer in the late '90s if you didn’t dance to this? It’s pure cheese, but in the best possible way. Every time it starts, I grin. It’s got that carnival vibe, a bit of silliness and it’s impossible not to dance along to it even if you’re just doing the mum shuffle in the kitchen these days.

Mr. Brightside - The Killers!

Technically, this isn’t a summer song but it somehow became one. If you were anywhere near a pub beer garden, a BBQ or a house party in the mid-2000s, there was a very good chance this song was going to get played. It didn’t matter if you knew all the words or only knew the loud bits. Everyone shouted along like they were auditioning for a band. Even now, when those first few seconds play, you can’t help but join in.

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen!

This is bubblegum pop at its absolute best and I’m not even going to pretend I didn’t love it from the very first time I heard it. It was impossible not to sing along, even if you tried to convince yourself you were too cool for it. I remember it being one of those songs that everyone knew whether you were a teenager, a parent, or someone who claimed they didn’t listen to that sort of music but somehow knew every single word when it came on.

Dancing in the Moonlight - Toploader

You know when the sky turns that perfect shade of pinky orange, the fairy lights come on and you’ve just poured another drink? That’s when this song comes on. It's mellow but joyful, like the musical equivalent of a warm breeze. This one makes me think of summer holidays.

Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus

It’s angsty and slightly awkward and yes, I still know every single word. This one’s for the eyeliner-wearing, guitar-strumming, misunderstood teen in all of us. I remember blasting this on a dodgy stereo with the windows open during a heatwave, trying to look moody and cool while melting in black jeans. It’s the ultimate I'm not like the other girls” summer anthem and now it makes me laugh and sing every time I hear it.

Hot in Herre - Nelly

“It’s getting hot in here! This was a summer anthem that felt like it had played in every club, car and back garden for about three years straight. It was the song to dance to at every party, and I remember shouting the lyrics with my best mates, even though we absolutely weren’t taking off all our clothes!

I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas

Now this one was practically law at every summer party in the late 2000s. Tonight’s gonna be a good night. As soon as that line hit, you knew it was time to abandon your flip-flops, grab your mates, and dance like you had no responsibilities. It was the song I blasted while getting ready for a night out, the one that played as the sun set over a BBQ and the one that somehow gave me a second wind just as I was thinking about calling it a night.

What songs scream summer to you?