Holiday - Madonna

BEFORE The Dandys suggested every day should be a holiday, Madonna espoused that everyone deserved a holiday, albeit in a far more radio-friendly way. It was Madonna's first big hit, kickstarting a three-decade career, but it was also the last song added to her self-titled debut. Written by pop duo Pure Energy, the song received some frantic last-minute production from album producer John Benitez to give it an airy pop sheen to suit its upbeat frivolous lyrics and make it the very epitome of the '80s dance-pop sound. The result topped the US dance charts, went top five in Australia, and made the top 40 in 12 countries.

Dreadlock Holiday - 10cc

THIS excellent piece of white-boy reggae was the final hit of 10cc's career, coming after Kevin Godley and Lol Creme left the band. The remaining key members - Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart - were reportedly the more experimental songwriting duo of the band, which partly explains why the group decided to tackle reggae for the first time in their career. The lyrics were inspired by The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward and his experiences in Jamaica, which involved getting robbed and lost. The under-rated 10cc, as proven by Dreadlock Holiday, were one of the few bands to have hits and be taken seriously despite carrying a fair amount of wit and humour in their music.

Holiday - Weezer

FROM their excellent garage-pop debut comes this melodic rocker that references Kerouac and hints at a guitar-line from The Beatles She Said She Said. It's a simple enough song about getting away from it all with a friend, but it's one of the many charmingly awesome moments on their so-called Blue Album. Later, on the Green Album, they would again sing about the desire to escape everything on holiday with Island In The Sun, which proved to be such a big hit that it appeared on two of their albums in Australia, two film clips made for it, and it's the most licensed song in the Weezer catalogue. Holiday, however, remains a hidden gem from their mostly overlooked debut.