Sunday 31 March 2024

Top 30 in 1994 Reviewed: Week 14

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. 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 30 from this week in 1994 with my verdict on each record:


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Toni Braxton and the 2nd to be written by Babyface who is joined by Daryl Simmons on songwriting duties. Despite the title, it's a lot more uplifting than it's predecessor "Breathe Again". Despite it being more uplifting though it's not as catchy. Once again it gets half marks.

Verdict - OK


This Johnny Nash cover was done for the film "Cool Runnings" and gave Jimmy Cliff his first Top 40 hit for 24 years and his final Top 40 hit to date. I remember their being a joke story around this time which ended in the line "I can see Deirdre now Lorraine Has John" which I found quite amusing. Interestingly this peaked at the same position as the Hothouse Flowers cover and a Deborah Harry song called "I Can See Clearly". I've probably heard it too many times now, but it's a decent tune. 

Verdict - Good


You would think with this title this would be an uplifting record, but it isn't, it's a ballad. Then you consider that Diana Ross had a hugely successful comeback with the ballad "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" so it seemed wise to stick to the ballads. Also one of the songwriters is Will Jennings who has "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion amongst other ballads to his name. It's a no from me.

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been 2 years since the Brand New Heavies made their Top 40 debut. With 4 Top 40 hits in 1992 they were absent throughout 1993 but back in 1994 with a more commercially successful period which began with this. It does sound more commercial but is pleasant enough. 

Verdict - Good


The Top 40 debut for The Cranberries and their joint highest charting single. It also gave them their only American Top 10, something they never managed to achieve in the UK. I guess its a catchy enough record but I can't say I've ever liked it. The singing in particular is not to my taste

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd Top 40 hit for gospel ensemble The Sounds Of Blackness. Like their first hit, this was written by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. I did like their first hit, thought it was really catchy. This one doesn't really live up to it though but it's not bad. Easy enough on the ears without being blown away.

Verdict - OK


James have released some really good record and some really questionable ones. Now we have a double a-side logic would suggest that one of the songs is good and the other is questionable. That is exactly what has happened. The questionable one is "Say Something" which just sounds really bland. The good one is "Jam J" which is much more interesting. There would be a bit of a gap after this record before we'd see James back in the Top 40.

Verdict - Rubbish / Good


Given Mike Pickering was best known as a resident DJ at The Hacienda prior to M People I did wondering whether this record has anything to do with the Renaissance the club. It doesn't appear to. Again it's a typical M People record, a very commercial sounding dance record that's not to my liking.

Verdict - Rubbish


Roachford are best known for "Cuddly Toy" in 1989. Then a couple of minor hits followed in 1989 and 1991. Then in 1994 they were at their most prolific with 3 Top 40 hits, but they never got any higher than 21 and this will be the only one to feature as the other 2 failed to reach the Top 30. It's not bad but it's no "Cuddly Toy". 

Verdict - OK


This is the last Top 40 hit to date for Alison Moyet which came a decade after her first. I do recall thinking Alison Moyet sounded a bit out of place in the 90s. I could never really take to her music including this record.

Verdict - Rubbish


What I think would be a good quiz round would be to guess whether a record is Culture Beat or Cappella. Both seemed to release the same record over and over again around this period. Except this one is different. It's more of an ambient record though still done in a eurodance sort of way. This was it for them until 1996 when they'd release the same record again. It's not as annoying as their other hits but it's still poor.

Verdict - Rubbish


The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for The Wonder Stuff. They'd gone heavier when they came back the previous year but this one is more reflective of their earlier material. That's a good thing and it has a strong chorus which helps. 

Verdict - Good


It had been 3 years since Enigma topped the charts with "Sadeness (Part 2)" and this was their next Top 40 hit. I would say this is a more radio friendly record than it's predecessor, it has a pretty catchy hook and really easy on the ears.

Verdict - Good


That's right, K7 had another hit. It was his only other Top 40 hit which followed his big hit "Come Baby Come". It samples "Minnie the Moocher" which you may have guessed from the title. Can't say I'm really feeling this one, not a patch on his big hit

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the solo Top 40 debut for Marcella Detroit after she'd left Shakespear's Sister. As she was the one who could sing in the group she should in theory work better as a solo artist and not have the horrid singing from Siobhan Fahey on the record. It is an improvement and it's not bad, but it's not the best either.

Verdict - OK


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Worlds Apart and the 3rd which is a cover. It also became their highest charting hit to date. With competition from Bad Boys Inc. and EYC to be the 3rd biggest boy band the days seemed numbered for Worlds Apart. They would be back though.

Verdict - Rubbish


We're heading towards the mid-point of the 90s and Roxette are still going strong with at least one Top 40 hit every year of the decade so far. You sort of knew what you were getting with Roxette and this is a typical Roxette record and I do like a bit of Roxette.

Verdict - Good


The Top 40 debut for JX and also the record he's most famous for. It did sound quite futuristic at the time and falls under the progressive house banner. It wasn't his highest charting hit though, that came 2 years later. One of the classics which does mean somewhat overplayed, but still decent enough.

Verdict - Good


After scoring a Top 10 hit with their debut "There's No Other Way" Blur weren't having much success in the Top 40 with none of their next few releases making the Top 20. This was all about to change with this record which led to Blur being pretty much the biggest band in the country at the time. I get the mass appeal of this record and it appeals to me too. 

Verdict - Good


The 4th Top 40 hit for Haddaway and the 4th time he made the Top 10, though he hasn't made the Top 10 since. I thing it's fair to say we go past the point of Haddaways career few people remember after this. In fact I would say this records placing in the Top 10 is a bit misleading as I'm not convinced many people remember this one. Its more of the usual rubbish.

Verdict - Rubbish


This one is from the film "With Honors" which doesn't actually have Madonna in it for a change. Madonna has a lot of well remembered records but despite it's title this isn't one of them. I'd say people bought this became it was both Madonna and from a film, but quickly forgot it.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 6th and final Top 40 hit from the "Keep the Faith" album. The timing of this as a Top 40 hit does baffle me. I was into Bon Jovi in 1993 and loved the "Keep the Faith" album but by 1994 I started hating Bon Jovi for not being heavy enough. Logic would say I just remember enjoying this in 1993 when I listened to the album, but I recall liking it when it appeared on The Chart Show too. Anyway I do like it now.

Verdict - Good


Sometimes I come across a record that charted at a different time to when I thought it did. This is one of those records I would have down as 1992 rather than 1994. There's a good reason for that though, it was originally released in 1992 but failed to make the Top 40 at the time. The fact it sounds very 1992 though along with the fact its a dance record can only be a good thing.

Verdict - Good


I bought En Vogues greatest hits album many years ago mainly because I realised I like all the hits I'd heard from them. After purchasing though I was reminded of this hit which wasn't so good. The chorus isn't bad but the Salt-N-Pepa rapping is terrible as always.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was originally a Badfinger song that was made famous and taken to the top of the charts by Nilsson. Shortly before this Mariah Carey version topped the charts Harry Nilsson sadly passed away. This is by far the worst version of the song, done in a typically bland Mariah Carey style.

Verdict - Rubbish


I always thought this record was shit at the time. Then I heard it again a couple of years later and it sounded even worse as it was slower than I remembered. Then I discovered the man behind Reel 2 Real was Erick Morillo, a credible DJ and thought maybe this is credible music. Who was I trying to kid, it was cheesy commercial rubbish that was made to sell by the bucket loads. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the 2nd release of this record which failed to make the Top 40 when first released in 1992. It would take the 3rd release in 1994 to reach its peak. I'm not quite sure how well remembered this is now given their bigger hit, but it was certainly big back in the day. It is just another crappy dance pop record though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Ace Of Base which many regard as their other hit. It didn't quite match the success of debut "All That She Wants" in the UK making number 2 but it did top the charts in America. Like "All That She Wants", "The Sign" was produced by Denniz Pop, the man who started the Swedish revolution in the songwriting world. A good bit of reggae pop.

Verdict - Good


Bruce Springsteen is one of those legendary artists I've never really got what the hype was about. This record did little to convince me otherwise. It's his highest charting single to date and was taken from the film "Philadelphia". I just find it really dull.

Verdict - Rubbish


I've often been full of praise for the music coming out of Holland in the 90s, but it can't always be good. That was the case with this record which is far too cheesy for my liking. I remember pretty much everyone I knew hated this at the time, but then it topped the charts.

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 13/30, or 43%. Getting closer to 50%, will we make it?
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25 Years Since....March 1999

Wow 25 years since the last year of the 20th century, these were the tunes I was enjoying then:

Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away


We were still in an era where a record could top the charts off the back of appearing on an advert. This was featured on the Peugeot 206 advert and I guess it made it quite a good advert. 

Lenny Kravitz was a name I'd not heard for some time, it had been 4 years since he'd last been in the Top 40. It would be another 5 years until his next Top 40 hit.

2Pac - Changes

2Pac had just 2 Top 40 hits to his name when he died. By the time this record came out he was up to 11. It became his highest charting Top 40 hit to that point.

It samples "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby & The Range, a record I already knew. Once this record came out though it seemed strange whenever I heard the original.

DJ Sakin And Friends - Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess)

There was a happy hardcore version of this record around the same time and as a result it's associated with MC Junior doing a rap over it when Force & Styles played it at Helter Skelter.

It was really the happy hardcore version that got me into this version and I liked it enough to tape it off Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems.

Manic Street Preachers - You Stole The Sun From My Heart

Manic Street Preachers are very much a mixed bag when it comes to their music. I'm not a fan of most of it, but then occasionally they come out with something great and this is one of those records.

I also think this is possibly the last decent record that they made.


Orbital - Style

Orbital had been around for quite a few years by this point and had been very popular in the dance music world. In 1999 I feel like their popularity was growing in line with how popular dance music was becoming.
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Friday 29 March 2024

Top 30 in 1997 Reviewed: Week 13

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 27 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Friday.

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 30 from this week in 1997 with my verdict on each record:


One may be forgiven for thinking Lamb hail from Bristol or that neck of the woods, but they're actually from Manchester. They're pretty well known, but this was their only Top 40 hit. I didn't really appreciate them until later on in life, but think they're good now.

Verdict - Good


This was the final Top 10 hit for Clock, the commercial dance outfit for Stu Allan. It's a cover of the record by the Funk Masters. There's also a happy hardcore version of this which sounded really promising up to the breakdown, then the singing starts and ruins it.

Verdict - Rubbish


My initial thought was is this the record about Barry White, but then realised that's "Love Unlimited" and furthermore Barry White wasn't from New York. It's actually the "Lodi Dodi" on that's not very good.

Verdict - Rubbish


When singing actor Sean Maguire made his Top 40 debut in 1994 I don't think anyone thought he'd still be going in 1997, but here he is. He was digging his own grave with this one though, instead of going for the out and out cheese approach he's trying to make an Oasis record. It was his final Top 40 hit to date.

Verdict - Rubbish


I mentioned when I reviewed a Geneva record a few weeks ago that Monaco are just around the corner, Well here they are with their Top 40 debut. It's the side project of Peter Hook from New Order, something you can tell with his distinctive bass playing. Not as good as your average New Order record, but it isn't bad.

Verdict - OK


My one reservation about this record was it being too slow. It wouldn't have really worked as a fast tune though. I remember this and "Your Woman" by White Town being out around the same sort of time. I guess there are similarities between the two.

Verdict - Good


Eternal were proving once again that they didn't need Louise in the band in order to be successful with this record being their highest charting to this point so therefore charting higher than any Eternal record with Louise on it, or any Louise solo record to that point for that matter. It's such a miserable record though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The renewed success in the Top 40 the previous year for The Beautiful South came via records where Jacqui Abbott took lead vocals. On this one it's back to Paul Heaton on vocals. I have to say I quite like this record.

Verdict - Good


Sheryl Crows music generally speaking is soft guitar music and I don't mean that as a criticism. This sounds like an attempt at making a hard record that sounds like it has the potential to be a harder record, but sounds just as soft as all the others in reality. As such it doesn't sound very good.

Verdict - Rubbish


I initially thought this was Kula Shaker doing a cover of a Deep Purple record. It turns out that the Deep Purple record was also a cover with the original being by Billy Joe Royal. It's not bad, but I much prefer the Deep Purple version and I've never heard the original.

Verdict - OK


This was the 27th Top 40 hit for The Bee Gees and took their Top 40 career to 30 years long. This record came out around the same time as the infamous Clive Anderson interview where they walked off the show. Can't say I think much of this which may upset Barry Gibb in the unlikely event of him reading this.

Verdict - Rubbish


Puff Daddy had been well known for quite some time by this point as the owner of Bad Boy Records who liked to put his face out there. This was his first record as an artist and also the Top 40 debut for Mase who was on Bad Boys Record. It heavily samples "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and is exactly the sort of rap music I hate.

Verdict - Rubbish


What do you do when you're a British R&B group struggling to make music as good as your American counterparts? Call on Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis of course. I'm not entirely sure that's what Damage did here, they're credited as songwriters but didn't produce so maybe it just samples a Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis composition. It's poor whatever it is.

Verdict - Rubbish


After being given a new lease of life in the Top 40 after the remix of "People Hold On" earlier on in the year, Lisa Stansfield follows with this Top 10 hit was her last Top 10 hit to date. Unfortunately she's back to doing the same sort of bland music she was making in the early 90s.

Verdict - Rubbish


Another Whitney Houston song from a film which made this 9 from her last 10 singles to be from a film. Like it's predecessor it's from "The Preachers Wife" and like it's predecessor it's a cover, this time of The Four Tops. Also like it's predecessor, it's shit.

Verdict - Rubbish


I seem to recall the blurb about this record on The Chart Show saying that No Mercy were waiters at a Gloria Estefan owned restaurant prior to becoming singers. Can't find any mention of that on the internet so The Chart Show were probably just taking the piss. It does make a convincing story though.

Verdict - Rubbish


Fugees had a pretty impressive Top 40 record. They only managed 21 with their debut "Fu-Gee-La" but then followed with 2 number ones, a number two and a number three, the latter being this record which is also their last Top 40 hit to date. This one is my personal favourite and reminds me of listening to Trevor Nelson on a Saturday afternoon. It's much darker than their other hits, but then it's the darker side of rap which attracted me to the genre in the first place. 

Verdict - Good


The hits from Seals 2nd album were quite different to those on his first but I still liked "Kiss From A Rose" in particular. This however is a record where I would say Seal is now past his best. He sings a few words from "Crazy" in there, but it doesn't change anything.

Verdict - Rubbish


Tall Paul was one of the well known house DJs at the time. He also produced under different names such as Escrima, but this was his first Top 40 hit under his DJ name. The presence of other DJs in the video together with using his DJ name implies this was a record promoting these DJs. A decent enough record.

Verdict - Good


Wet Wet Wet were seemingly still feeling the benefits of topping the charts with "Love Is All Around" 3 years later with this lead single from their "10" album going straight in at number 3. This was also the year they split up with band member Tommy Cunningham saying the band had run its course. I'm inclined to agree.

Verdict - Rubbish


Gina G may be remembered as a one hit wonder, but this was her 3rd Top 10 hit. I would say it's placing in the charts though is a reflection of how popular it was though because I remember hearing it on The O-Zone once and don't recall hearing it again. It's catchy, but also a bit rubbish.

Verdict - Rubbish


27 years later I'm still waiting for that red letter day. To be honest I paid no attention to the lyrics at all at the time, I thought like with most Pet Shop Boys records it was a good tune. Now I've paid more attention to them I find I can really relate. I think I'll leave it at that though because we'll all have our interpretation of them.

Verdict - Good


Once again memories of The Girlie Show are coming back. I remember it was when this record was out that Boyzone were Wankers of the Week and it was the same week The Spice Girls were guests. They also kept this record off the top spot. Both as bad as each other.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd and final Top 40 hit by Madonna from "Evita", quite possibly the most boring film I've ever seen which still haunts me to this very day. Hopefully his will be the last time I'll ever have to hear a song from that god awful film.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Sash! and the record he's best known for. I have mixed feelings about this record. At first I wrote it off as being cheesy commercial crap, but it did start to grow on me after a while. When you consider some of the dreadful music this no doubt inspired though it's hard to truly like it.

Verdict - OK


BBE are of course best remembered for "7 Days and One Week" which has been anthem bashed ever since. This follow up is largely forgotten. I think this record is better than its predecessor, I always have done. It made number 5 in the charts though so it's by no means an obscure record. This was 1997 though when you could blink and miss a record completely.

Verdict - Good


Back in 1994 boy band All-4-One had a number 2 record with "I Swear". It was originally by John Michael Montgomery and one of the songwriters was Gary Baker. Seeing the success of one of his songs covered by a boy band must have contributed to his decision to pen this for the Backstreet Boys. It's also a dreary ballad.

Verdict - Rubbish


No Doubt seemed to just come out of nowhere with this record. I remember thinking who the fuck are No Doubt and suddenly they were number one. Turns out they'd had a number 38 prior to this. I think they did their best stuff later on in their career, but this ones not bad.

Verdict - OK


This was the main song from Space Jam and I asked the question why do they always have ballads for cartoon films. That said, I did think this ballad was much better than your average ballad so not a bad choice really. 

Verdict - Good


The 4th Top 40 hit for the Spice Girls and their 4th number one and last single from their debut album. "Mama" is marketing in a way for ones mother to approve of their child listening to the Spice Girls and "Who Do You Think You Are" was the comic relief single. It was a win win situation for them, but musically it was still shit.

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/30, or 33%. Now standards are slipping.
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Thursday 28 March 2024

2006: The End? - January

As we enter a new year one thing immediately stands out about the new entries in January which is just how few of them there were. In total there were 20, compared to 59 in December 2005 and 40 in January 2005. This means that each good record will carry 5%, so we need just 2 decent and 1 OK record in January 06 to beat the score in December 2005.

The low quantity meant that most records were played on Top of the Pops. I count 9 of the 20 as being from the indie/garage rock genre and 6 of these were on the show. The indie/garage rock dominance was similar to the rap dominance in more recent years, so I guess Top of the Pops had now choice but to dig into that genre.

2 of the indie records not on Top of the Pops are what I would call really obscure. The bands are Crimea and Forward Russia, I've not heard of either. YouTube existed by 2006 so we have the videos from when both records were new and both have had just 40k views in that time. More importantly though, none of the indie records get any points.

My Sunday night viewing by 2006 was the Galaxy Chart on MTV Dance. There were 2 different dance remakes of the Baywatch theme, "Phat Beach (I'll Be Ready)" by Naughty Boy and "I'll Be Ready" by Sunblock. Both are crap.

A better use of sampling came from Hi Tack with "Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U)" which sampled the Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson record and gets full marks. The best dance record, and best Jan 06 record was "Muscle Car" by Mylo & Freeform Five from the excellent "Destroy Rock n Roll" album.

Sticking with dance we had "Dancin" by Aaron Smith ft Luvli which wasn't how I remembered it when I played it. Turns out I was listening to a crappy 2013 EDM remix. Finding the original was like a needle in a haystack but once I found it I thought much better, but too vocal heavy to get full marks so gets half marks instead.

Rap wise we have "Nasty Girl" by Notorious BIG plus others, a record I remember being played a lot on the music channels but could never be sure if it topped the charts or not. Turns out it did, but not my cup of tea. We have British rapper "Sway" with "Little Derek" which is OK.

The worst record is the only R&B record of the month which is "Check On It" by Beyonce and Slim Thug. I was on the music channels a lot and when it came on I would switch channels.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):


Score: 18%

Here's a look at the chart:

This score was helped by the small number of records. If we were just looking at a number score rather than percentage then it would be the worst month, but again the small number of records would put it at a disadvantage.




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Snoop Dogg - I Wanna Thank Me (2019)


In 2019 I bought tickets to go and see Snoop Dogg in concert in April 2020. As a result I thought I should give "I Wanna Thank Me" which was his latest album a listen so I could get an idea of what to expect at the concert.

In hindsight this turned out to be pointless, in April 2020 no concerts were happening and after numerous postponements the concert finally happened in 2023. By this point he'd since released 2 further albums and not a single track from this album was played at the concert.

It wasn't all a waste of time though because out of his more modern albums this is the best one I've listened to so far. It's Snoop Dogg being Snoop Dogg which is exactly what you want to hear.

As the album starts it goes back to the 90s G-Funk sound we had from him in the early days. We'd have more of that as the album goes on, but overall it's a journey through the various sounds we had from him previously such as the R&G era.

There is also a posthumous appearance from Nate Dogg on "Wintertime In July" who is certainly a very welcome guest vocalist. Some very dodgy guest do appear particularly towards the end such as Annita on "Little Square UBitchU" and Azjah on "Ventalation". 

Shit guest vocalists are nothing new though and I'm not letting this get in the way of what is overall a good album.

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Wednesday 27 March 2024

Top 30 in 1998 Reviewed: Week 13

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.

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 30 from this week in 1998 with my verdict on each record:


When the All Saints first came about I was amazed to find that I liked their debut Top 40 hit. I was even more amazed to find I also liked this, their follow up. It's one of those records I'd felt I'd heard before but hadn't. As a result of me liking these first 2 singles I went on to do something I'd not done in a long time, bought an album that wasn't rave which was their debut album.

Verdict - Good


Rumor has it that this record was ghost written by Nas. It's something he denies and I can understand why. At the same time though I don't blame him for writing it at all. If I was asked to write a crappy record for Will Smith in the knowledge I could make a shit load of money from it then I would.

Verdict - Rubbish


We've had pretty much every other soap have cast members in the Top 40 so this was the time for Casualty. I don't think I've ever sat down to watch an episode of Casualty before so I have no idea who the cast are. When I was younger I refused to watch it on the basis it was for people too sad to go out on a Saturday night. Now I'm happy to stay in on a Saturday night but can find much better things to do than watch Casualty. Anyway, this was the 6th different version of "Everlasting Love" to make the Top 40 and is predictably crap.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd solo Top 40 hit for Bernard Butler which is a more familiar one. It's helped by the violins which gives the record more substance. It's almost like it's predecessor was a warm up to this which isn't bad.

Verdict - OK


This was the Top 40 debut for Shania Twain which she wrote with her than husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the man who cowrote a number of Bryan Adams records. I hated this at the time, too much of a soppy ballad for my liking. However it appears on a compilation album I bought a couple of years later and I grew to like it.

Verdict - Good


Aqua topped the charts with their debut hit "Barbie Girl" and did the same again with this follow up record. Once again it's a novelty record and I'm pretty sure everyone with the surname Jones who held a PhD got some stick for this record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Aaron Carter and like many 3rd hits it's a ballad. It seems a bit of an odd song for a 9 year old to be singing. Don't get me wrong, it's still very much aimed at the kids market. The lyrical content though is about a break up and how you're going to miss the girl. When I was 9 a break up consisted of you're dumped and you'd see them at school the next day anyway.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the turn around point of Robbie Williams solo career which went from strength to strength after this. I was dismissive of him as a solo artist least of all because I didn't like Oasis who he was trying to imitate. This record though is completely different and I had to concede it's actually quite good.

Verdict - Good


One of the great things about Space was the humour in their records. All their hits to prior to this had their funny moments but this one is absolutely hilarious. In the song, Tommy Scott from Space and Cerys Matthews are a couple who want to kill each other, but then they hear Tom Jones sing and all is good. Fantastic tune.

Verdict - Good


She's singing "Do you remember me" in the chorus. I'm sure most people do, but whether they remember this song or not I'm not so sure. It was her final Top 40 hit of the 90s. The wheels had fallen off since her successful comeback the previous year and once again her Top 40 career looked dead and buried. Once again though she would have a successful comeback in the 21sr century.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Natalie Imbruglia and her 2nd number two. I get the impression she was trying to be portrayed as a more serious musician than the other soap singers. The reality was this was the same direction Kylie Minogue was taking at the time, the difference was Natalie Imbruglia had no back catalogue to get in the way like Kylie Minogue had. It also sounds a bit poundland Alanis Morrissette.

Verdict - Rubbish


The wheels were starting to fall off Hanson's Top 40 career with this being their first single not to make the Top 10. The fact they were still having Top 40 hits when some would have thought they'd be working in Burger King by then is quite an achievement I guess. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This was originally a Top 40 hit for the Wombles back in 1974. It was rereleased to promote their greatest hits album. No idea why people would have wanted to start listening to the Wombles again all of a sudden.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Leann Rimes. I once took part in a quiz where a question was who charted in 1997 with "How Do I Live" to which I confidently answered Leann Rimes. The answer was Trisha Yearwood who reached number 66 with it. Leann Rimes was in 1998 and is the better known version. Although not the first person younger than me to chart, I do recall a younger Leann Rimes charting making me start to think have I missed the boat already in my music career. 

Verdict - Rubbish


I was a bit confused when I started playing this record. I remember this being a cheesy dance record but that wasn't what I was hearing. Turns out I needed the Almighty Single Edit. That meant double the torture for me, it's like Italy's answer to Aqua.

Verdict - Rubbish


When I first heard this I was amazed that a rock band could make such a record. Then I recall them playing the original version of TFI Friday which was miserable. It then became clear when I discovered than the version we all know and love was the Norman Cook remix. 

Verdict - Good


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Five and they reached the Top 5 for the first time. No Swedish songwriters this time, instead it's Eliot Kennedy along with Tim Lever and Mike Percy from Dead or Alive. I recall this being heavily promoted on The Big Breakfast at the time with the band appearing all week. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The Wu Tang Clan were already well established and well respected in the rap world. It's therefore a bit of a shame that when they finally did make their UK Top 40 debut it was with this nonsense. I do remember thinking what the fuck at the time. I guess this was needed from Texas in order to carry the incredibly dull "Insane".

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish


When Jarvis Coker went on Da Ali Show he was told by Ali G that his album ain't hardcore. Obviously Ali G wasn't talking about the music variety of hardcore, but in a music respect it's anything but hardcore. Nothing good about this record at all. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This is the record All Seeing I were best known for but it wasn't their highest charting. It's a cover of the Sonny & Cher record done big beat style. Very catchy and a record that I always liked at the time. 

Verdict - Good


LL Cool J was still behind Salt-N-Pepa in terms of rap acts with most Top 40 hits. This was number 11 vs the 13 by Salt-N-Pepa. This record took LL Cool J above Salt-N-Pepa for Top 10 hits though with this being his 6th. It's better than any Salt-N-Pepa record I've heard but still not my cup of tea.

Verdict - Rubbish


At the time I remember this being this opening song of Top of the Pops for a few weeks in a row. At least that's what it felt. There also seemed to be a lot of people on the stage so I assumed they were a band with many members, but it turned out there were only 2 of them in Savage Garden. Never before have I seen a song contradict a band name so much. I do like some of their music, but not the soppy ballads.

Verdict - Rubbish


There was a period of time when I'd regularly get the bus to Chenies Street in London. When you'd hear the bus stop announced this song would often come into my head as replacing Angel Street with Chenies Street would work just as well. It was the final Top 10 hit for M People, I'm surprised it took the record buying public so long to get sick of M People.

Verdict - Rubbish


"Here's Where The Story Ends" is perhaps the best known record by The Sundays, but this cover by Tin Tin Out was the only version which made the Top 40. It was the 6th Top 40 hit for Tin Tin Out but just the 2nd to make the Top 30 and their first Top 10. They were making dance music prior to this, but this is a change in direction and the reason why I'd start getting Tin Tin Out and Sixpence None The Richer mixed up. 

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been a year since Madonna had been in the Top 40. The last time she'd been in the Top 40 was with those god awful Evita songs. In a way this record was quite refreshing in comparison. She was being more experimental again, but I have to say this records not for me.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Destiny's Child which was an early sign of what crap was around the corner in the 21st century. To be fair to Destiny's Child they were only 16 at the time so can be excused. It doesn't excuse the shite Beyonce continues to release into her 40s.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the first Spice Girls hit not to top the charts. Geri Halliwell was so pissed off she decided to leave the group. OK not strictly true, but this was the last Spice Girls hit before she did leave. It's their attempt at making a Motown record, something Emma Bunton also did badly in her solo career.

Verdict - Rubbish


Robbie Williams solo career had been given a boost following the release of "Angels" and this was the follow up single. One thing I never really appreciated until I saw a live band play this record was just how good the bass line is to this. He was now finding his own identity as a pop singer.

Verdict - Good


The 2nd and final chart topper to date for Celine Dion which was take from "The Titanic" movie. I remember how big that film was so it was almost inevitable that this would get to number one. It's also a depressing film given that people die at the end so I guess it's appropriate to have a depressing song for it. Musically though its just another Celine Dion record.

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been 10 years since Run DMC had last been in the Top 40. This Jason Nevins remix of their 1983 record took them to the top of the charts and ended the Spice Girls run of number ones. It also made its way onto several dance compilations which validated me liking this record. 

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 8.5/30, or 28%. We're slipping again.
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