Remembering 1996: July

Some will say you can't really talk about July 1996 without talking about girl power so I'll get this out of the way. It was of course the month Shampoo had their final Top 40 hit with "Girl Power".

A month after Crowded House announced to the world they were breaking up there was a new music act from New Zealand ready to take their place. OMC made their Top 40 debut with "How Bizarre". A big hit no doubt and I like it too, but they didn't exactly fill the gap left by Crowded House because they had no further Top 40 hits.

It was the month "Born Slippy" by Underworld from the Trainspotting soundtrack entered the Top 40. It was the record that brought Underworld to the general public's attention, but they'd been around for some time and already had a significant following.

Elsewhere in the dance music world we saw future Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules in the Top 40 for the first time. The record was "Outrageous" which was a collaboration with fellow DJ John Kelly under the name Stix 'N' Stoned.

Patrick Prins is a name you may not be familiar with. He's a Dutch producer who has quite a lengthy number of aliases and in Jul 96 he released "Le Voie Le Soleil" under the name Subliminal Cuts. He'd previously had a Top 40 hit the previous year with "To The Beat Of The Drum (La Luna)" under the name Ethics.

Dreamscape returned in Jul 96 with the rescheduled Dreamscape 22 which was their first event since the tragic death of promoter Murray Beetson. It was now in the hands of Red Alert & Mike Slammer who were the same people who ran Slammin Vinyl.

There was also a Slammin Vinyl event at Bagleys in London in conjunction with Dream FM. It included a Jimmy J & Vinyltrixta back to back set with MC Ruff which is quite possibly my favourite happy hardcore set ever. At the time I thought they were the ones who ran Slammin Vinyl but they infact ran the record shop of the same name in Kingston.

July saw the launch of arguably the biggest happy hardcore album series, Bonkers. It was mixed by Hixxy & Sharkey who had given us "Toytown" the previous year. However they were going in different directions musically, Hixxy was a cheesefest including "Toytown" whereas Sharkey was going in a more mature direction which would evolve into Freeform.

Remembering 2026: June

As we're halfway through the Remembering 1996 posts and halfway through the year I thought I'd make a post for reading back in 30 years time that captures music of the moment.

Most of the new entries in the Top 40 in Jun 96 didn't get a mention because there were 68 of them. In Jun 26 there were just 10 which seems few enough to look at all of them.

The month began with Ariana Grande going straight in at number one with "Hate That I Made You Love Me". Incidentally it's composer Max Martin made his UK Top 40 debut as a songwriter in Jun 96 with the Backstreet Boys debut "Get Down (You're The One For Me)". The artists have changed but behind the scenes it's still the same.

The only other new entry that week was "Noble" by F3miii. He's a Nigerian-Irish singer-songwriter on TikTok who released it on Boxing Day 2025, it first charted at 81 in April and gradually climbed into the Top 40. Whether he'll be a one hit wonder or the next Ed Sheeran remains to be seen.

The following week Taylor Swift went straight in at number one with "I Knew It I Knew You". It was from the film "Toy Story 5", in 1996 we'd only had one Toy Story film. The question is in 30 years time how many Top 40 hits will Taylor Swift have had and what Toy Story number will we be on.

Taylor Swift very much feels like a modern artist but it's now 17 years since she made her Top 40 debut. To draw comparisons in Jun 96 Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen from U2 charted with "Theme From Mission Impossible". U2 were still popular but at the time but they were also seen as old. Taylor Swift is 36, the same age Adam Clayton was in Jun 96 whilst Larry Mullen was 34. U2 were 15 years into their Top 40 career at that point.

Alex Warren had his 9th Top 40 hit with "Passenger". He'd had his big hit "Ordinary" the previous year which spent 13 non-consecutive weeks at number one which at this point was the longest run at number one in the 2020s.

18 year old Alyssa Grace made her Top 40 debut with "Bloodstream". Will she still be having hits at 48 or will she quickly disappear? She's that new at the moment that she doesn't even have a Wikipedia page.

Mac Miller died in 2018 but never had a Top 40 hit until Jun 26 when "Cinderella" in collaboration with Ty Dolla Sign charted. It was a 10 year old song that became part of some TikTok trend.

In Jun 96 most of the new entries came from British artists but Maxi Priest was the only Brit to make the Top 40 with said record in America. In Jun 26 only 1 of the new entries in the UK Top 40 came from a British artist. This Silva Bumpa making his debut with "On 2nite". He's yet to have a Wikipedia page.

Onto week 3 and the highest new entry came from Olivia Rodrigo with "Stupid Song" which entered at number 2. She had other songs at numbers 3 and 5 whilst the number 4 was by someone named Oliva too.

Then there was the song "Iconic By Mistake" which was a collaboration between 3 girl groups, Le Sserafim, Illit and Katseye. There were more individuals on that record than the remaining new entries combined.

Finally there was the official World Cup song "Dai Dai" by Shakira & Burna Boy. It's the only one of these new entries I've actually heard at the time of writing and that's because I've been watching the World Cup.

Shakira is now 49 which is older than Freddie Mercury ever was and had he still been alive in Jun 96 when Queen charted with "Let Me Live" then that's how old he would have been.

Onto the final week of Jun 26 and there were no new entries in the Top 40. What did happen though was "Reign Me In" by Sam Fender & Oliva Dean climbed back to number one making it 14 non-consecutive weeks at number one and therefore overtaking Alex Warren for most weeks in the 2020s.

How much longer can it go? 

Remembering 1996: June

Euro 96 is often mentioned when looking back on 1996. I was a significant event and I'm going to talk a bit about it here mainly to show that there were more Euro 96 related songs than "3 Lions".

In fact "3 Lions" wasn't even the official Euro 96 record. That was "We're In This Together" by Simply Red which is now largely forgotten. It's not a very memorable song though, what's more memorable was that it came at a time Mick Hucknall had his haircut after Martine McCutcheon had been sick on it.

Then there was the alternative song which saw Black Grape collaborate with Joe Strummer and Keith Allen on "England's Irie" which I guess you could call the "Vindaloo" of it's time.

It was an era when songs from adverts were getting in the charts and in Jun was the turn of Collapsed Lung with "Eat My Goal" which appeared on the Coca-Cola advert which tied in with Euro 96.

Even the BBC theme music to their Euro 96 coverage made it into the Top 40. This was "Ode To Joy" by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

England weren't the only British team in Euro 96 with charting songs though. There were 2 songs for Scotland which were "Purple Heather" by Rod Stewart and "The Big Man And The Scream Team Meet The Barmy Army Uptown" by Primal Scream, Irvine Welsh & On-U Sound.

Speaking of Irvine Welsh, this was of course the year for his film "Trainspotting" which also gets mentioned a lot when looking back at 1996. In Jun we had the first song from the soundtrack make the Top 40. No, not that one. It was "For What You Dream Of" by Bedrock featuring KYO which had originally been released in 1993.

It was a month we had 2 big names of techno both score Top 40 hits. Carl Cox had the double a-side "Sensual Sophis-Ti-Cat / The Player" and Dave Clarke had "No One's Driving". It would be the last time we'd see Dave Clarke in the Top 40 but Carl Cox would be back.

Heading back to Scotland and from the world of bouncy techno we had the only Top 40 hit for Q-Tex with "Let The Love". One of it's members was Scott Brown whose tunes were making it into a lot of happy hardcore sets in England.

Helter Skelter was fast becoming the biggest rave promoter of this era. On June 1st they started using the Rollers warehouse for their event at The Sanctuary which effectively doubled the capacity of their events, something Dreamscape first did on NYE 1994.

Meanwhile M-Beat teamed up with Jamiroquai to make the drum & bass record "Do U Know Where You're Coming From". This had been played on One In The Jungle a couple of months prior.

It was the end of the road for one band who announced to the world they were breaking up, though they have since reunited. No not Take That, they'd already broken up. It was Crowded House, though judging by the single that coincided with this announcement "Instinct" it sounded like they'd run out of steam.

Remembering 1996: May

May is the month the FA Cup final is held in football and one of it's traditions is the 2 teams in the final having an FA Cup song. In 1996 it was between Man Utd whose song was "Move Move Move (The Red Tribe)" and Liverpool whose song was "Pass And Move (It's The Liverpool Groove)".

This meant that David Beckham had a Top 40 hit before Victoria did as the Spice Girls were yet to make their Top 40 debut. Meanwhile the Liverpool record featured a rap from John Barnes.

It wasn't just the FA Cup final songs making their way into the charts from the football world. 1300 Drums featuring The Unjustified Ancients Of M U had a hit with "Ooh! Aah! Cantona". Incidentally Eric Cantona scored the only goal of the FA Cup final.

"Feel The Sunshine" by Alex Reece had originally been released in 1995 but got a re-release in May 1996 and made the Top 40. This was arguably helped by drum & bass now having a regular show on Radio 1 with One In The Jungle.

If you were listening to One In The Jungle on a Friday night then you would be missing a music show on Channel 4 returning to TV in May for a 2nd series. The show was "Baadasss" and was presented by rapper Ice-T and Andi Oliver the mother of future "Popworld" presenter Miquita Oliver. It was described at the time as being a black version of "The Word" and would get cancelled in 1996 due to its controversial nature.

We had the Top 40 debut of Busta Rhymes with "Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check". I remember watching it on Top of the Pops for the first time and it sounded like the sort of record I'd been waiting to hear all my life.

1996 was the last time I sat down and properly watched Eurovision. I'd never been much of a fan but in 1996 I liked the UK entry "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit" by Gina G. I'd also become familiar with hardcore and techno music from Germany and Holland and was optimistic those countries would have a decent song, but sadly it wasn't to be.

Speaking of music from Germany, it was the month Scooter had a Top 40 hit with their version of "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol. This would be the final Top 40 hit of the 90s that could be considered happy hardcore but Scooter would be back later in the year.

Despite not having much chart presence happy hardcore was growing in popularity. It was the month that United Dance 4 was released. It was mixed by Slipmatt and DJ Sy and it first came to my attention from a TV advert.

Remembering 1996: April

A stand out memory I have from April 1996 is being on holiday in a snack bar one afternoon and they had German techno playing. At least I assumed it to be German techno, I didn't know any of the tunes being played but it was definitely techno and sounded of the German variety. Then a few tunes later they had a complete change in music with 70s record "Jeans On" by David Dundas coming on, the first time I'd ever heard it and I didn't know what it was until years later.

Speaking of German techno it was the month "Forever Young" by Interactive chart. Not a German techno record as such but the members were key figures in the German techno scene. It was already 2 years old by this point.

You wouldn't be hearing it at the raves though, not only because of it's age (2 years was considered old in rave terms at the time) but because British DJs Jimmy J & Cru-L-T did their own version called "I Wanna Be Forever" that you'd hear instead.

It was the month that gave us the first Dance Nation compilation from the Ministry Of Sound. The DJs on the compilation were Pete Tong and Boy George, the former now very much a big name from his Radio 1 show and the latter a former pop star who was very much a DJ by this point. Not that either DJ actually mixed their CD but importantly with the tracklist like a lot of these big compilations its a mixture of classics and not so classics.

One In The Jungle returned to Radio 1 in Apr 96. It had previously aired for a few weeks in the summer of 1995 but was now back for a regular slot on a Friday night at 10pm after the Pete Tong show. It would be hosted by an MC, usually MC Navigator in the early days and include a jungle chart rundown and a guest mix from a different DJ each week.

March had seen the theme to The X-Files enter the Top 40 and in April we saw a dance version of the theme by DJ Dado. 

2Pac was a big name rapper in America and was on his 5th album but he didn't make his UK Top 40 debut until Apr 96, just 5 months before his death. The record was "California Love" in collaboration with Dr Dre who had left Death Row records the month before.

Another significant Top 40 debutant from the rap world was The Fugees. Their debut was "Fu-Gee-La" which only made number 21 even though it was pretty well known. They wouldn't chart any lower than number 3 for their remaining singles.

Remembering 1996: March

One of the most popular TV shows in 1996 was "The X-Files". I really tried to get into it myself but I didn't think much of it to be honest. It's popularity meant the theme tune by Mark Snow got to number 2 in the charts.

It was kept off the top spot by the comeback single by The Prodigy, "Firestarter". I was listening to the Evening Session on Radio 1 the evening it made it's premiere on the show. As someone who loved the first two albums I was looking forward to this but when I head it I was massively disappointed. I guess the issue was I'd gone from a rock music fan to a rave purist whereas this tune saw The Prodigy gravitating more towards rock music.

Speaking of Radio 1, it was around this time that Status Quo sued the station for refusing to play their latest single "Fun Fun Fun" with the Beach Boys.

It wasn't just Status Quo whose music was banned by Radio 1. The Beatles had what was to be their final single with "Real Love" which was using some John Lennon recordings for the remaining 3 members to work with and had Jeff Lynne produce the song. Despite not being playlisted it still made a respectable number 4 in the charts.

The Prodigy weren't the only 1991 rave act making a comeback with a different sound. Bizarre Inc had a comeback single with "Keep The Music Strong" which couldn't be any more different than "Playing With Knives". Again I didn't take to kindly to this new sound but it did grow on me eventually.

There was also a return to the Top 40 in the same week for 2 of the biggest name DJs of the early 90s. Carl Cox had the "Two Paintings And A Drum EP" where the lead track was "Phoebus Apollo". He had taken a new direction in music the previous year which was seen as a gamble but the techno he went on to do was quite groundbreaking.

Sasha returned with "Be As One" which had vocals from Maria Nayler and was the progressive house sound he'd become well known for. Also in the same week we had a remix of "Passion" by Gat Decor chart. The original in 1992 is credited with kicking off the progressive house sound.

One of the big Dutch techno records of 1995 found it's way into the Top 40 in Mar 96. "Access" by DJ Misjah & DJ Tim was very much an underground record that got popular.

Another underground record getting commercial success came from Ken-Doh. The record "Nakasaki" had been doing the rounds since 1994 but for its commercial release they added vocals and named it "Nakasaki (I Need A Lover Tonight)". I prefer the instrumental but the vocals do work on this record.

There was a happy hardcore record that appeared on TOTP2 but never made the Top 40. "I Kiss Your Lips" by Tokyo Ghetto Pussy gave the impression this was Japanese but it was actually an alias of German producers Jam & Spoon.

St Patrick's Day saw the tragic death of Dreamscape promoter Murray Beetson in a car crash. They were arguably the biggest rave promoter at the time and Dreamscape 22 was scheduled for April but cancelled out of respect. 

Remembering 1996: February

Another month another song getting into the charts due to featuring on an advert. "I Just Want To Make Love To You" by Etta James which was originally recorded in 1960 appeared on the Diet Coke advert. Can't say I thought much to the advert but it's a good song.

We had the first episode of TFI Friday and the first song to be played was "The Riverboat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene. The intro to this would be used when guests walked into the studio.

It was a show that was mostly associated with Britpop music but on that first show there was also easy listening music from Count Indigo with "My Unknown Love". Chris Evans played it frequently on his radio show but it failed to make the Top 40 and that's was the last we'd hear of him.

My first proper introduction to happy hardcore had come the previous year from a tape a mate had mixed. One of the tunes on that tape was "I Wanna Be A Hippy" by Technohead and in Feb 96 it entered the UK Top 40 to my surprise. What I didn't know at the time was that it topped the Dutch charts in 1995.

Another thing I didn't know at the time was "Have You Ever Been Mellow" by the Party Animals was topped the Dutch charts that month. The underground music I was listening to perhaps wasn't as underground as I thought it was.

Happy hardcore was getting more popular in 1996. It had well and truly split from jungle/drum & bass by this point. There was a rave called Hardcore Heaven which was run by DJ Seduction which was hardcore only and had been running since late 1994 at The Rhythm Station in Aldershot. Then in Feb 96 they held their first event at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes.

On the techno side of things it was the month that gave us "Southside" by Dave Clarke which gave him his first Top 40 hit. The hardbag scene was still a thing and one such record was "Naughty North And Sexy South" by E-Motion which allegedly was a favourite of Prince William. It was rubbish though.

On the mellower side of dance music Feb 96 gave us "Children" by Robert Miles. A good record which is just as well because there was no escaping it for the rest of the year.

Mr.C from The Shamen had opened The End nightclub at the end of 1995 which had an underground music policy. The Shamen were still going though and in Feb 96 they released "Heal (The Separation)" which became their final original Top 40 hit to date.

I would have described myself as a rave purist at the time but there were non-rave songs that I liked too. One such song in Feb 96 was "One Of Us" by Joan Osborne. I have this memory of sitting outside a pub and hearing this playing and thinking what a tune.