Years ending in six

The picks, graded

The last digit of each year is green if it fits the theme and red if it doesn't.

1. 01
   B-

   Make It Count Kings of Leon

   2026 · picked by Chris Rhymes

   Released on 6 November 2026, four days ago. Technically a year ending in six, the way a microwave meal is technically cooking. Chris found the shortest route to a green tick and took it. Solid song, mind.

2. 02
   B+

   40 Days and 40 Nights The Enemy

   2006 · picked by kate

   The Enemy's debut single, a limited 7-inch released on 6 November 2006. Twenty years to the day before Kings of Leon and SonReal put out this week's other entries, which is a better use of the theme than either of them managed. Coventry representation noted and appreciated.

3. 03
   B

   Neurodivergent Inpatient, Ren, Chris Webby

   2026 · picked by megcrowthers

   Single in May 2026, on the album Asylum in July. Three artists, an explicit tag and a legal year. Easily the pick nobody else in the office had heard of, which is what Tunesday is for. Turn it down if Kevin walks past.

4. 04
   A-

   Say It Right Nelly Furtado

   2006 · picked by Diana

   Loose, 2006, Timbaland at the absolute peak of his powers. An actual year ending in six, chosen on purpose, from this century. Diana said it right.

5. 05
   A+

   Eleanor Rigby The Beatles

   1966 · picked by vertiki winner

   Revolver, 1966. Two minutes and five seconds of perfection: you could play it twice before Sledgehammer finishes. Points docked for picking the 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack version, points immediately restored because it's Eleanor Rigby.

6. 06
   A+

   There Is a Light That Never Goes Out The Smiths

   1986 · picked by clubpit copied

   The Queen Is Dead, 1986. A flawless song. Also number one on the list KB-AI posted. A coincidence, surely.

7. 07
   A

   Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel

   1986 · picked by clubpit copied

   So, 1986. Also number two on the list KB-AI posted, in the same order. Two picks when everyone else got one, both lifted from the AI. Bold management style.

8. 08
   C+

   Banger After Banger SonReal feat. Alan Ritchson

   2026 · picked by Terence Pearce

   Reacher, in a bowl cut and a yellow jacket, released last Friday. Eligible on a technicality. Whether it's a banger is between Terence and his conscience; the title claims two, the evidence supports about one.

9. 09
   A

   Candy Cameo

   1986 · picked by Lucy

   Word Up!, 1986. Five minutes forty of the twelve-inch funk this theme deserved. Also the 1986 classic KB-AI forgot to list, which is mildly humiliating. Well played, Lucy.

10. 10
    A

    Firestarter The Prodigy

    1996 · picked by Adele Gilpin guest

    The Fat of the Land era, released March 1996, and a UK number one. Guest entry from our former Service Design Manager, now at CIPS, who has single-handedly rescued 1996 from total neglect. Proof that procurement people have the most exciting playlists. Twisted, and correct.

11. 11
    C-

    You're the First, the Last, My Everything Barry White

    1974 · picked by Matthew Stanford loser

    Can't Get Enough, 1974, and a UK number one at the end of that year. Four does not end in six, however low you say it. A magnificent song, and the only pick this week that misses the theme. The man could have had Barry White's 1976 "You See the Trouble with Me" and walked it.

12. 12
    A

    Don't Leave Me This Way The Communards with Sarah Jane Morris

    1986 · picked by Steve Purr guest

    1986, four weeks at number one and the UK's best-selling single of the year. The man who started this playlist, then left, picks Don't Leave Me This Way. Steve swapped WNC, a council created by local government reorganisation, for South Cambridgeshire, a council being reorganised out of existence. The government then paused that in September. Glutton for punishment, impeccable taste.

Missed classics, and why

• Good Vibrations The Beach Boys 1966
  A pocket symphony recorded in pieces across several studios. The obvious 1966 answer, which is why it needed saying.
• God Only Knows The Beach Boys 1966
  Arguably the better Beach Boys song from the same year. Paul McCartney is a fan, so you'd be in good company.
• Dancing Queen ABBA 1976
  The correct answer to 1976. Nobody picked anything from 1976 at all.
• Anarchy in the UK Sex Pistols 1976
  The same year as Dancing Queen, which is the funniest fact in pop.
• Kiss Prince 1986
  Three people picked 1986 and none of them picked Prince.
• Wannabe Spice Girls 1996
  Adele finally claimed 1996 with Firestarter, but nobody picked the Spice Girls. Tell me what you want, what you really really want.
• Don't Look Back in Anger Oasis 1996
  Also 1996. Still unclaimed. Still likely to be sung at you in a pub this weekend.
• Crazy Gnarls Barkley 2006
  The first UK number one on downloads alone. Diana was one track away from it.
• You See the Trouble with Me Barry White 1976
  The Barry White song Matthew should have picked. Same voice, right year.

Running totals (1 week)