Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 26

Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

20. Cher - All Or Nothing

After the huge success of "Believe" the previous year Cher has another hit with a tune that sounds pretty much the same as "Believe". I thought "Believe" was a load of crap so therefore I think this is too.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Jason Nevins Vs Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain (New)

Jason Nevins followed up his chart topping remix of "It's Like That" by Run DMC with another remix of an older rap record. This time is was "Insane In The Brain" by Cypress Hill that got the remix treatment. It's not as good as his Run DMC remix and it's not as good as the original, but I still quite like it.

Verdict - Good

18. Chicane ft Maire Brennan - Saltwater

This was about halfway through the Trance CD on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". It also brings back memories of watching a "Club@Vision" Ibiza special where Chicane was doing a live p.a. at Privilege and me wishing I was there. Probably my favourite Chicane single.

Verdict - Good

17. Wiseguys - Ooh La La

This first came out in 1998 and sounds like it very much belongs in 1998, the year of Big Beat. However it failed to reach the Top 40, but charted in 1999 after featuring on the Budweiser advert. I hated it at the time but I'm more tolerant towards it these days.

Verdict - OK

16. Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (New)

The Blink 182 song that actually has nothing to do with Blink 182. Ok I never thought it was Blink 182, I'd not even heard of them at the time, but many do think it's them. It's the only Lit song most people know, though they did have another Top 40 hit the following year. I've heard quite a few of their songs thanks to a mate often playing it in his car, but I didn't like it enough to go out and buy it myself. That said, I was a poor student already spending more than I should have on music so buying every bit of music I liked was way out of my budget.

Verdict - Good

15. Another Level - From The Heart

A House version of this record appears on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". Normally this Dance versions of Pop songs are rubbish, but this was good. I think this helped me to like the original too.

Verdict - Good

14. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me

The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.

Verdict - OK

13. Aerosmith - Pink (New)

This originally entered the Top 40 in 1997 reaching 38. After they scored their first Top 10 with "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" perhaps they thought a re-issue of this could do the same again. It did better than originally, but missed out on the Top 10. I remember this being on the music channels a lot but the song itself didn't really do much for me, but I guess it's ok.

Verdict - OK

12. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.

Verdict - OK

11. The Cartoons - Doodah!

Here's the Cartoons with their cheesy Eurodance cover of the American folk song "Campdown Races". Again like with their previous record it's obvious they're a piss take but I can't rate this as anything other than rubbish.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

What came first, the phrase "Superstar DJs" or this tune? Well the Fatboy Slim vs Armand Van Helden event had already happened so maybe that phrase was already in use. However, the line is sampled from "The Roof Is On Fire" which came out in 1984. The Chemical Brothers are a mixed bag really, they have some great tunes but some tunes that are completely crap too. This is one of their great tunes.

Verdict - Good

9. 'N Sync - Tearin' Up My Heart (New)

This was originally released in 1997 but only made number 40. The follow up "I Want You Back" didn't even make the Top 40. Then "I Want You Back" was re-issued in 1999 and made the Top 10, and then this was re-issued and also made the Top 10. On hearing both of these songs, I thought they were both by the Backstreet Boys. One day one of these songs came on and someone told me they're trying to sound like the Backstreet Boys, I asked who they were and that's how I first heard of N Sync. Perhaps the reason I thought it was the Backstreet Boys was because both songs were written by Max Martin, who also wrote "I Want I That Way" amongst other Backstreet Boys songs. It basically follows that American boy band formula, made in Sweden.

Verdict - OK

8. Shanks And Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's not bad.

Verdict - OK

7. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

What the fuck is this? Maybe it has meaningful lyrics but as a tune it's just ridiculous.

Verdict - Rubbish

6. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.

Verdict - Rubbish

5. Adam Rickitt - I Breathe Again (New)

When a soap actor starts a music career you can pretty much guarantee the music will be dreadful. When Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt released this his debut single it was as expected.

Verdict - Rubbish

4. Madonna - Beautiful Stranger

As mentioned previously, I went through a period of my life where I wouldn't listen to anything that wasn't Rave but by this period I'd opened myself up to all sorts of different styles of music. Despite this there were still certain artists I'd be reluctant to like songs of, and  Madonna was one of those. But even at the time I had to admit this tune is brilliant. I guess the involvement of William Orbit helped a bit. The intro sounds vaguely similar to "Light My Fire" by the Doors, a band I really got into later on that year. Maybe this tune helped with that.

Verdict - Good

3. Britney Spears - Sometimes (New)

A teenage love ballad sung from a teenage girls perspective, written by a 36 year old bloke from Sweden.

Verdict - OK

2. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back

The debut hit for S Club 7 and the number one question I had was does there really need to be 7 people singing it? I thought that 4 or 5 "singers" in a pop group was a bit excessive, but 7? Predictably for a manufactured pop group who had their own kids TV show it was shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

1. Vengaboys - Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! (New)

The night before this charted at number one, I was in a bar where I heard this for the first time and someone informed me it was the new Vengaboys song. Given the history of cheesy euro acts releasing the record every knows them for, followed by a record that sounds the same, followed by fading into obscurity, I assumed the Vengaboys would do the same. Instead they had their first number one, I felt the same as I did when I realised the Spice Girls weren't going to be a one hit wonder.

Verdict - Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 9.5/20, or 47.5%. Too many OK records and not enough good..

25 Years Since....June 1994

Time again to look at the records I was enjoying at the time:

Ace of Base - Don't Turn Around

I used to love the Aswad version of this when it reached number one in 1988. I didn't think this version was as good, but I still liked it.

I think the Ace of Base factor helped here, whilst they weren't anything like the sort of music I'd typically listen to at the time, nor were they a band I'd admit to liking, in my mind they had 2 brilliant singles to date in "All That She Wants" and "The Sign" ("Wheel of Fortune" passed me by) and this was bringing a song I liked in the 80s into the 90s.


Blur - To the End

Given how big Blur were by now, I'm surprised this only managed to get to number 16 in the charts. That said, the "Parklife" album was now out so I guess people were buying that instead of the single.

Singles wise I'd say this is the best one from the album.


Eddi Reader - Patience Of Angels

It's all about the intro with this one, quite frankly you could put any old rubbish after the intro and I'd still probably like it.

It took a while for me to realise that this was sung by the same person singing on "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction. I think I'd been vaguely aware that Fairground Attractions singer was Eddi Reader and vaguely aware this song was by Eddi Reader but I guess I didn't give it enough thought to make the connection.

What does surprise me though was this only made number 33 in the charts.


Therapy? - Die Laughing

This was the final single from the "Troublegum" album and one I'm more likely to refer to as "I Think I've Gone Insane" rather than it's actual title.

It's also a song I've sung many times when waking up for work in the morning, specifically the bit that goes "I would kill for a good nights sleep, I'm feeling I'm feeling dead".

M-Beat - Incredible

Much like with N-Trance last month, there's the question of whether I first heard when it first charted in June 1994, or when it re-entered the charts later on in the year or somewhere in between.

This was the first Jungle record to make the Top 40 and it was my introduction to what Jungle was.

My 25 Favourite Albums: Plump DJs - A Plump Night Out

A key moment in the history of rave came in the mid-90s when the scene split into Happy Hardcore and Drum & Bass. As both genres evolved, by the end of the 90s they were both completely different to the original rave sound they grew out of.

At the same time, it was becoming more common for Old Skool sets to feature at raves to cater for those who missed the older sound.

My tapepack collection only went back as far as 1993 so when I got my first tape pack to feature the Ratpack doing an Old Skool set I thought it was great. However a few tapepacks later I started to realise the limitation of an Old Skool set was that there are only a finite number of tunes from 1992. You were never going to hear anything new and ground-breaking, it was all from the past.

The solution to this was Nu Skool Breaks which basically took the old skool breakbeat formula to create new music.

In 2000, Nu Skool Breaks DJs the Plump DJs released "A Plump Night Out". It's a DJ mix album as opposed to studio album, but it consists entirely of their own material either as the original artist or remixers.

It's not an album that sounds like it's from 1992 though, in fact the beats are where the similarities end. The rest is essentially a mix of all different kinds of dance music.

That's what makes the album so great, the beats keep the album flowing and you get variety everywhere else.

Top of the Pops: 27/06/2019

What's this all about?

Top 40 Countdown

Number of eligible records: 10
New (5) Taylor Swift - You Need to Calm Down
New (10) Little Mix - Bounce Back
New (13) Drake ft Rick Ross - Money in the Grave
New (33) Drake - Omerta
⬆ (12) Katy Perry - Never Really Over
⬆ (19) Jess Glynne ft Jax Jones - One Touch
⬆ (21) Dominic Fike - 3 Nights
⬆ (8) Ed Sheeran ft Chance the Rapper & PnB Rock - Cross Me
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care

Missing Out
⬆ (31) Miley Cyrus - Mothers Daughter

Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 25

Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

20. Tatyana Ali - Everytime (New)

The third and final Top 40 hit for Ashley from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". With her first hit there was the novelty of Ashley singing a song. With the second there was the novelty of having the Fresh Prince himself rapping on it. By the third though nobody cared anymore and it only made number 20. Did well to get that high, just a load of generic pap.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Boyzone - You Needed Me

The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.

Verdict - Rubbish 

18. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue

I was a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers before I became a raver. Even in the early days of being I raver I still liked them. Then they just disappeared off the face of the earth until they came back with this. I loved it as soon as I heard it, I think what impressed me was how they could make a song like that with just the guitar, bass and drums.

Verdict - Good

17. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me

A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. TLC - No Scrubs

TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.

Verdict - Good

15. Brandy - Almost Doesn't Count (New)

The final single from her "Never Say Never" album. This song passed me by at the time, but I did buy the "Never Say Never" album on the strength of "The Boy Is Mine" and hearing what a great album it was supposed to be. I found the album to be a big disappointment and ended up selling it on eBay. As for this particular song, it's ok but nothing special.

Verdict - OK

14. Jamiroquai - Canned Heat

I was always sat on the fence with Jamiroquai in the 90s. I didn't know whether I should like them or not, but when this came out I couldn't help but like it. This is probably my favourite Jamiroquai single and since then I've bought every Jamiroquai album of the 90s.

Verdict - Good

13. Chicane ft Maire Brennan - Saltwater

This was about halfway through the Trance CD on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". It also brings back memories of watching a "Club@Vision" Ibiza special where Chicane was doing a live p.a. at Privilege and me wishing I was there. Probably my favourite Chicane single.

Verdict - Good

12. Cher - All Or Nothing

After the huge success of "Believe" the previous year Cher has another hit with a tune that sounds pretty much the same as "Believe". I thought "Believe" was a load of crap so therefore I think this is too.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Another Level - From The Heart

A House version of this record appears on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". Normally this Dance versions of Pop songs are rubbish, but this was good. I think this helped me to like the original too.

Verdict - Good

10. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me

The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.

Verdict - OK

9. Wiseguys - Ooh La La

This first came out in 1998 and sounds like it very much belongs in 1998, the year of Big Beat. However it failed to reach the Top 40, but charted in 1999 after featuring on the Budweiser advert. I hated it at the time but I'm more tolerant towards it these days.

Verdict - OK

8. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.

Verdict - OK

7. The Cartoons - Doodah! (New)

Here's the Cartoons with their cheesy Eurodance cover of the American folk song "Campdown Races". Again like with their previous record it's obvious they're a piss take but I can't rate this as anything other than rubbish.

Verdict - Rubbish

6. The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

What came first, the phrase "Superstar DJs" or this tune? Well the Fatboy Slim vs Armand Van Helden event had already happened so maybe that phrase was already in use. However, the line is sampled from "The Roof Is On Fire" which came out in 1984. The Chemical Brothers are a mixed bag really, they have some great tunes but some tunes that are completely crap too. This is one of their great tunes.

Verdict - Good

5. Shanks And Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's not bad.

Verdict - OK

4. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

What the fuck is this? Maybe it has meaningful lyrics but as a tune it's just ridiculous.

Verdict - Rubbish

2. Madonna - Beautiful Stranger (New)

As mentioned previously, I went through a period of my life where I wouldn't listen to anything that wasn't Rave but by this period I'd opened myself up to all sorts of different styles of music. Despite this there were still certain artists I'd be reluctant to like songs of, and  Madonna was one of those. But even at the time I had to admit this tune is brilliant. I guess the involvement of William Orbit helped a bit. The intro sounds vaguely similar to "Light My Fire" by the Doors, a band I really got into later on that year. Maybe this tune helped with that.

Verdict - Good

1. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back (New)

The debut hit for S Club 7 and the number one question I had was does there really need to be 7 people singing it? I thought that 4 or 5 "singers" in a pop group was a bit excessive, but 7? Predictably for a manufactured pop group who had their own kids TV show it was shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 9.5/20, or 47.5%. We've started slipping again.

Top of the Pops: 20/06/2019

What's this all about?

Top 40 Countdown

Number of eligible records: 13
⬆ (15) Sigala ft Becky Hill - Wish You Well
New (39) Mostack ft Fredo - I'm the One
New (30) Young T & Bugsey ft Aitch - Strike A Pose
New (26) AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
New (22) Liam Gallagher - Shockwave
New (20) Avicii - Heaven
New (19) Mostack ft Dave & J Hus - Stinking Rich
New (18) Mabel - Mad Love
New (8) Chris Brown ft Drake - No Guidance
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care

Missing Out
⬆ (23) Jess Glynne ft Jax Jones - One Touch
⬆ (27) 5 Seconds of Summer - Easier
⬆ (31) Dominic Fike - 3 Nights
New (39) Mostack ft Fredo - I'm the One

Record of the Year 2016: Craig David ft Big Narstie - When the Bassline Drops

To tell you the truth, I more or less picked this as my Record of the Year for 2016 quite early on in 2016. Initially after hearing about the big comeback of Craig David I thought I'd give this a listen. At the same time my yearly chart reviews had just begun and I was conscious that I'd have to pick a record for the more recent years where I knew very little of the music getting into the charts. Every time I listened to a new chart hit in 2016 I asked myself the question "is it better than this?" to which the answer was always no.

Craig David of course made a name for himself back in 1999 as vocalist on "Re-Rewind The Crowd Say Bo Selecta" by the Artful Dodger, though some thought he was the Artful Dodger. This was also the record which taught the mainstream public what UK Garage was.

His solo chart career began with a UK Garage record, "Fill Me In", but after that none of his solo singles were actually UK Garage. I did like a few of his singles that followed, but found certainly once he came back with his second album that his music suffered from what I call "British R&B Syndrome". Generally speaking, the British can't do R&B nearly as well as the Americans can and a lot of British R&B ends up sounding like the poundland version of it's American counterpart. There are some exceptions, but Craig David wasn't one of them.

By 2008 his chart career looked to be finished until he made his successful comeback with this record 8 years later.

In my opinion, the reason why this comeback was so successful was because he finally made another UK Garage record. It was UK Garage that made him a household name in the first place, but given the lack of UK Garage he made after his initial breakthrough, you could say this is the record that people had been waiting 16 years for him to make.

Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 24

Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

20. Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo

When I first heard this I was surprised to see Supergrass were still going. The world had moved on but Supergrass were living like it was still 1995, not that I thought Supergrass were any good in 1995.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Phats And Small - Turn Around

By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.

Verdict - Good 

18. Sugar Ray - Every Morning

I specifically remember this record and "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals being out at the same sort of time and like to listen to them back to back. I also own the "14:59" album which features this song as well as another Sugar Ray album. Needless to say I like it.

Verdict - Good

17. Hepburn - I Quit

One memory I have of this song is a work colleague at the time singing this on his last day. I just find the song irritating though.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. 21st Century Girls - 21st Century Girls (New)

The one and only Top 40 hit for 21st Century Girls who never managed to have a hit in the 21st Century. It's bloody awful.

Verdict - Rubbish

15. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue (New)

I was a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers before I became a raver. Even in the early days of being I raver I still liked them. Then they just disappeared off the face of the earth until they came back with this. I loved it as soon as I heard it, I think what impressed me was how they could make a song like that with just the guitar, bass and drums.

Verdict - Good

14. Boyzone - You Needed Me

The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Precious - Say It Again

The Eurovision entry for the UK in 1999 by a group that contained future Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost. I think it's better than any Atomic Kitten song I've ever heard, but that doesn't make it any good.

Verdict - Rubbish

12. TLC - No Scrubs

TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.

Verdict - Good

11. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me

A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Jamiroquai - Canned Heat

I was always sat on the fence with Jamiroquai in the 90s. I didn't know whether I should like them or not, but when this came out I couldn't help but like it. This is probably my favourite Jamiroquai single and since then I've bought every Jamiroquai album of the 90s.

Verdict - Good

9. Chicane ft Maire Brennan - Saltwater

This was about halfway through the Trance CD on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". It also brings back memories of watching a "Club@Vision" Ibiza special where Chicane was doing a live p.a. at Privilege and me wishing I was there. Probably my favourite Chicane single.

Verdict - Good

8. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me

The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.

Verdict - OK

7. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.

Verdict - OK

6. Another Level - From The Heart (New)

A House version of this record appears on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". Normally this Dance versions of Pop songs are rubbish, but this was good. I think this helped me to like the original too.

Verdict - Good

5. Wiseguys - Ooh La La

This first came out in 1998 and sounds like it very much belongs in 1998, the year of Big Beat. However it failed to reach the Top 40, but charted in 1999 after featuring on the Budweiser advert. I hated it at the time but I'm more tolerant towards it these days.

Verdict - OK

4. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl (New)

What came first, the phrase "Superstar DJs" or this tune? Well the Fatboy Slim vs Armand Van Helden event had already happened so maybe that phrase was already in use. However, the line is sampled from "The Roof Is On Fire" which came out in 1984. The Chemical Brothers are a mixed bag really, they have some great tunes but some tunes that are completely crap too. This is one of their great tunes.

Verdict - Good

2. Shanks And Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's not bad.

Verdict - OK

1. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (New)

What the fuck is this? Maybe it has meaningful lyrics but as a tune it's just ridiculous.

Verdict - Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/20, or 50%. An improvement on last week.

UK Singles Chart: 2016

Joining the 30+ Top 40 hits club in 2016 are Beyoncé, David Guetta and Chris Brown:

	Artist	No of Hits	New Hits	Year of Last Hit
1	Elvis Presley	124		2007
=	Cliff Richard	124		2009
3	Elton John	69		2009
4	Madonna	68		2015
5	David Bowie	58		2013
=	Status Quo	57		2010
7	Queen	53		2009
8	Michael Jackson	51		2014
9	Paul McCartney	49		2015
=	Kylie Minogue	49		2014
11	Rod Stewart	45		2001
=	Rihanna	45	Work, This Is What You Came Here For, Too Good, Needed Me	2016
13	Pet Shop Boys	44		2009
14	Diana Ross	43		2005
=	Rolling Stones	43		2005
=	Depeche Mode	43		2009
17	Stevie Wonder	41		2005
=	U2	41		2009
19	UB40	40		2005
20	Mariah Carey	39		2013
=	Jay-Z	39		2013
22	Prince	38		1997
=	R Kelly	38		2014
24	Janet Jackson	37		2006
=	Bon Jovi	37		2013
26	Tom Jones	36		2009
=	George Michael	36		2012
=	Justin Bieber	36	Cold Water, Let Me Love You	2016
29	Robbie Williams	35	Love My Life	2016
=	Kanye West	35	Famous	2016
31	Erasure	34		2007
=	Manic Street Preachers	34		2010
=	Beyonce	34	Hold Up, Formation, Sorry, 6 Inch, Don't Hurt Yourself, Freedom, Daddy Lessons	2016
34	Frank Sinatra	33		1993
=	Shakin Stevens	33		2005
=	Morrissey	33		2009
37	Iron Maiden	32		2007
=	Simply Red	32		2007
=	Whitney Houston	32		2009
=	Eminem	32		2014
41	Roy Orbison	31		1992
=	Bee Gees	31		2001
=	REM	31		2005
44	Lonnie Donegan	30		1962
=	Beatles	30		1996
=	Tina Turner	30		2004
=	Duran Duran	30		2005
=	Paul Weller	30		2010
=	Mary J Blige	30		2010
=	Glee Cast	30		2011
=	Britney Spears	30		2015
=	David Guetta	30	Bang My Head, This Ones For You	2016
=	Chris Brown	30	Paradise	2016

No change in terms of most number ones:

	Artist	No of #1s	New #1s
1	Elvis Presley	21
2	Beatles	17
3	Cliff Richard	14
=	Westlife	14
5	Madonna	13
6	Take That	12
7	Abba	9
=	Spice Girls	9
9	Rolling Stones	8
=	Oasis	8
=	Eminem	8
=	Rihanna	8
11	George Michael	7
=	Michael Jackson	7
=	Kylie Minogue	7
=	U2	7
=	Elton John	7
=	McFly	7
=	Robbie Williams	7
=	Calvin Harris	7
=	Tinie Tempah	7
22	Slade	6
=	Rod Stewart	6
=	Boyzone	6
=	Blondie	6
=	Queen	6
=	Sugababes	6
=	Britney Spears	6
=	David Guetta	6

Kanye West keeps his consecutive years of hits going and we have a total of 12 acts to have had a Top 40 hit in every year so far this decade including 2009 X Factor contestant Olly Murs:

	Artist	Hits Every Year Since
1	Kanye West	2004
2	Rihanna	2005
3	Chris Brown	2006
4	Calvin Harris	2007
5	Jason Derulo	2009
=	David Guetta	2009
7	DJ Fresh	2010
=	Drake	2010
=	Ellie Goulding	2010
=	Nicki Minaj	2010
=	Olly Murs	2010
=	Tinie Tempah	2010

The effect of streaming and the lack of Top 40 hits it produces was even more severe in 2016. There were just 168 new entries, the last time there was as few as that was in 1955 when it was still a Top 20.

For the first time ever, the X Factor winners song is an actual Christmas song which came from Matt Terry with "When Christmas Comes Around". However it never made Christmas number one, reaching number 3 instead.

The Christmas number one came from Clean Bandit with Rockabye. This reached number one in mid November and was still at number one by Christmas and continued to be number one into 2017 spending 9 weeks at the top.

It was the second hit of the year for Clean Bandit, who's first hit was the number 5 "Tears" which featured the previous years X Factor winner Louisa Johnson who also had a hit of her own with "So Good".

The runners up of the previous series, Reggie n Bollie had their only hit to date with "New Girl". After the career of 2012 winner James Arthur appeared to be over a year later, he was back in the charts in 2016 with the number one hit "Say You Won't Let Go". There was also a number one for 2012 winners with "Shout Out to My Ex".

With One Direction now on hiatus it was time for their solo careers. First up was the first member to leave, Zayn, who scored a number one with his first solo hit "Pillowtalk". The direction he went in with his solo material was R&B. Then came Niall Horan who reached number 9 with his Folk inspired debut hit "This Town". Louis Tomlinson went down the EDM route collaborating with Steve Aoki on his debut "Just Hold On" which made number two.

Fifth Harmony had their biggest UK hit in 2016 with "Work From Home" which made number two. However their fifth and final hit "That's My Girl" only made 26. The year ended with group member Camila Cabello leaving and we wouldn't see them in the Top 40 again.

There was a new girl group making their chart debut in 2016, M O who reached number 16 with "Who Do You Think Of".

The only boy band to have a Top 40 hit in 2016 were Take That. Their only hit of the year was "Cry" in collaboration with Sigma and was also the only Drum & Bass record of the year.

Nobody had more than one number one in 2016 but the most successful act of the year from a chart perspective was Drake. He stayed at number one for 15 weeks with "One Dance" which became joint second with Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around" for most consecutive weeks at number one and was 1 week behind Bryan Adams "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You". He had a further 7 Top 40 hits in 2016.

The amount of R&B in the charts was up on recent years, but this was in part to do with both Beyoncé and The Weeknd flooding the charts with several singles following the release of their albums.

The biggest music genre of the year though was Tropical House. Most notable of these was the number one "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" by Mike Posner which started life as a Folk song but was remixed into a Tropical House song by Seeb.

Calvin Harris followed on from his Deep House record the previous year with a Tropical House record "My Way" and a Future House record "Hype" collaborating once again with Dizzee Rascal. He also had a more generic EDM hit with "This Is What You Came For" in collaboration with Rihanna.

Another genre we had in the charts in 2016 was Future Bass. This included the number one record "Closer" by Chainsmokers ft Halsey. The popularity of the mellower forms of Dance music meant that the more generic EDM music had become more mellow than in previous years. This was evident in the number one hit "Cold Water" by Major Lazer ft Justin Bieber & MO.

There was a big comeback in the charts for Craig David who had returned to make the style of music that made him big in the first place, Garage. His comeback hit was "When the Bassline Drops" which made number 10.

We also had a chart comeback for the Stone Roses who had their first hit in 21 years with "All For One". They followed this up with "Beautiful Thing". They were the earliest chart debutants to have a new Top 40 hit in 2016 having made their debut in 1989. The biggest Indie hit of the year though came from Viola Beach with "Swings and Waterslides" which was their debut Top 40 hit and reached number 11 following the death of all the band members in a car crash.

Thanks to Drake and Clean Bandit both spending so long at number one there were only 10 chart toppers in 2016. Those not mentioned yet were "Stiches" by Shawn Mendes which hit the charts in late 2015 and "7 Years" by Lukas Graham, a Danish R&B group who are yet to have another Top 40 hit.

The lack of new songs and lack of different number ones combined with individual artists like Drake, Beyoncé and The Weeknd meant 2016 was arguably the least interesting year in the charts to date. However, what the charts did have in it's favour was there wasn't any genre that spawned many more hits than other genres. Whilst Tropical House was the biggest, it was nowhere near the extent that Electropop or Indie dominated in previous years.

The charts 40 years earlier in 1976 have often been seen as a low point for popular music, but then along came Punk and things improved. Will we see something similar happen in 2017?