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.

Remembering 1996: January

Given how much we're bombarded with and irritated by adverts these days its strange to believe that songs used to get to number one in the charts simply because they appeared on an advert.

This is what happened in January 1996 with the then current Levi's advert. By this point the concept of the Levi's advert song was a big thing and this time it seemed like they had the best song ever to feature on their adverts.

Then we heard the song in its entirety only to find the 30 seconds worth of intro and outro which appeared on the advert were the only good bits of the song. What came in-between was completely different, the advert gave the impression it was a dance record but it was mostly a rock one. Many people went from praising it to calling it crap. Still those people who kept it at number one for a 5th week must have heard it in full by the time they purchased the record.

It was the moment in the spotlight for dub music with "Little Britain" by Dreadzone and "Release The Pressure". The concept of mixing reggae with dance music was nothing new but this was bringing to the mainstream an alternative to jungle music that used this concept.

Speaking of jungle, I had regularly been listening to a Best Of Jungle compilation and the final track on CD1 was "Retreat" by The Dubster which was very much a reggae influenced jungle track.

In January 1996 I was hearing the name Dubster being mentioned frequently. I wondered whether this tune had gone mainstream or another Dubster record had or if they were even talking about the same person (or group for that matter, I knew nothing about them).

Turned out they were in fact talking about Dubstar whose latest record was "Not So Manic Now". Not jungle at all then but a pleasant chilled out but upbeat record that I likened more to Saint Etienne. Not too similar though, the 2 blokes with a blonde female singer no doubt played its part in that comparison.

The Chemical Brothers released the "Loops Of Fury EP" which was a limited edition with 20,000 copies available which took it to a solitary week in the charts at number 13.

Their music had a crossover appeal between dance fans and rock fans and as such had been a good middle ground to make the transition from rock to dance music.

Another crossover record from Jan 96 was a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" by Goldbug. I was firmly in the dance music camp by Jan 96 so did question whether I should like a Led Zeppelin cover but it's essentially a dance record with sampled guitars and I loved it.

I was mostly listening to the rave music I acquired in 1995 but what we have here in the space of just one month are several examples of dance records that are a bit different and not part of the rave scene and not house music either. That includes 30 seconds worth of "Spaceman".

Remembering 1996

I recently read an article stating that 1996 was the best year ever. Whilst I think 1995 was better I still think 1996 has a good shout.

The article wasn't just about the music though that was the main focus. What I didn't agree with though were the reasons it gave.

From a music perspective they highlighted Oasis playing at Knebworth, the Jarvis Cocker incident at the Brit Awards, Spice Girls bringing us girl power and Robbie Williams kicking off his hugely successful solo career. 

Doubtless the millions of people who were into Oasis, Pulp, Spice Girls and Robbie Williams agree with some of that. Whilst I do like a few Pulp and Robbie Williams songs, it's far from my favourite music and I could never stand Oasis or Spice Girls.

What I thought I'd do is a month by month celebration of 1996 that goes deeper than the same handful of things you've kept hearing about since 1996.

I did my 25 years since 1996 posts in 2021 but that was picking 5 songs from the Top 40 each month I was enjoying at the time. This time it will be more about music in general and beyond the Top 40 because it played a significant part for me at the time.

I aim to do a post every 3 days or so.

Mis-Teeq

Mis-Teeq are back and they'll be doing a gig at Wembley Arena later this year.

The start of the 21st century saw the explosion of UK Garage and everyone was jumping on the bandwagon. Then at the start of 2001 we were introduced to Mis-Teeq.

Although they had no back catalogue as such they were presented as being an R&B group who were making a garage record in their debut single "Why". My initial reaction was not another one jumping on the bandwagon but conceded it wasn't bad. 

Then came "All I Want", another garage record and this time I thought this is rather good. In fact I thought it, "Why" and following single "One Night Stand" were good enough for me to buy their debut album "Lickin On Both Sides" later on in the year.

Admittedly it's not an album I really got into, but the singles are all good and there are a couple of album tracks that are to my liking.

In 2003 it was time for album number 2. By this point UK Garage was dead so it made perfect sense for them to come back with and R&B record which they did with "Scandalous". 

It was a decent comeback record but I didn't buy the album which quickly followed because I already had a long list on my want list with limited funds and I was conscious of the fact I'd never properly got into their debut album.

Then the next single "Can't Get It Back" came out, a cover of the Blaque record. I'm not a fan of the original, but it's the sort of cover that demonstrates the British not being very good at doing R&B.

Then came their final single "Style" which suggested to me they'd run out of steam because it was poor. Needless to say I never bothered with the album.

They called it a day a year or so later after their record label went bust though I suspect they would have done that anyway.

They were in the right place at the right time for the UK Garage explosion and "Scandalous" showed they weren't just relying on garage to make a good tune.

Do I think they're good enough to see in concert? I think they have enough good songs to go. Will I be going to see them at Wembley? at over £100 a ticket on the floor not a chance.

Most Top 40 Hits in 2020s so far

After Drake passed 100 Top 40 hits last week he's added another to his total this week bringing it to 103. It's considerably more than any other artist of the modern era, but the question I asked myself was has he had the most Top 40 hits in the 2020s alone?

A stupid question really, of course he has. But it lead to the wider question of who the other prolific artists of the 2020s are so here's the Top 20:

Drake (53) - to put that number into perspective, Queen have had 53 Top 40 hits overall and not too many acts have had more Top 40 hits

Central Cee (37) - his Top 40 career began in 2020 so it's the same number overall too. His total includes collaborations with Drake.

Taylor Swift (32) - she's become very prolific in more recent years but her total is helped by rerecording her earlier songs which make them technically count as new singles

Ed Sheeran (25) - it was 2017 when his entire album was in the Top 20 but even with the chart rules changing so that can't happen again he's still clocked up a good number of Top 40 hits

D-Block Europe (23) - they debuted at the end of 2018 and by the end of 2022 they had 27 Top 40 hits to their name. Just 3 have followed since with UK rap no longer having the same chart presence

Weeknd (22) - hit Top 40 debut was a collaboration with Drake so he learned from the master of clocking up Top 40 hits. Nothing in the last year though.

Doja Cat (20) - a 2020 Top 40 debutant, that's all I have to say

Ariana Grande (19) - a lot of her songs are written by the most prolific songwriter Max Martin so almost inevitable she'd appear in this list

Dave (19) - he was at his most prolific in 2019 but a decent number for the 2020s. 

KSI (18) - just 2 Top 40 hits to his name prior to the 2020s then he became prolific in 2020 and 2021 but nothing from him since 2024

Billie Eilish (18) - an artist who wasn't born until the 21st century so she has youth on her side, but nothing since 2024

Raye (18) - she's been around since 2016 but didn't really hit her stride until the 2020s and still seems to have momentum

Justin Bieber (17) - 14 of these came in 2020 and 2021 so he got off to a quick start this decade but has slowed considerably

Sabrina Carpenter (17) - she made her Top 40 debut in 2021, but 15 of these Top 40 hits have come since the start of 2024

Tate McRae (16) - another 2020s debutant, she's Canadian but don't know if she has anything to do with Drake

Aitch (15) - he made his debut in 2019 and was very prolific until 2022, just the 2 have followed since

Dua Lipa (15) - been around for 10 years now, nothing since 2024 though

SZA (15) - debuted in 2017 but took until 2021 to clock up hit number 3 and has kept going since

Olivia Rodrigo (15) - debuted in 2021 and clocked up 7 that year but has slowed down since

Charli XCX (15) - debuted in 2013 but became more prolific in 2024

Drakes 100th Top 40 Hit

It always felt like a matter of when this moment would happen than if, but Drake has now scored hits 100th UK Top 40 hit. In true Drake style he doesn't have just one 100th Top 40 hit but 3 of them taking his total to 102.

The last music act to reach that milestone was Cliff Richard and a lot has changed with the charts since then, most notably the fact the general public don't pay that much attention to the charts anymore.

Back in 1989 when Cliff Richard was about to release his 100th single "The Best Of Me" it was big news. It missed out on the top spot thanks to "Sealed With A Kiss" by Jason Donovan going straight in at number 1. It went straight in at number 2 though in an era where singles typically entered in the lower reaches and climbed up to their peak. Incidentally Drake also went straight in at number 2 with one of his 100th Top 40 hits.

One thing about Cliff Richards moment back in 1989 was that it wasn't actually his 100th Top 40 hit and in terms of singles that charted outside the Top 40 he'd already passed that landmark so quite what criteria made that his 100th single is a mystery. It was his 92nd Top 40 hit and he reached 100 in 1991. 

The only other music act to reach that milestone is Elvis Presley who reached it in 1980, 3 years after his death. He reached 102 Top 40 hits in 1983 but then a gap of 12 years followed until his 104th followed by a 7 year gap until his 105th.

The midweek chart update indicates Drake may reach 103 Top 40 hits on Friday which depends on any change to the Top 3 of his own songs because of the 3 song rule. Had that rule not existed he would of likely passed that landmark a long time ago and other artists may have joined him in reaching it.

Another notable change is the fact that the casual listener could name a handful of Elvis and Cliff hits but they'd struggle with Drake. I'd struggle myself, I can tell you the one he topped the charts for 15 weeks with is "One Dance" and whilst I have heard it I couldn't hum it to you.

The question is has Drake got enough in the tank to overtake Elvis and Cliff for most Top 40 hits?

He's not quite 40 yet so younger than Elvis was when he died and over a decade younger than Cliff was when he reached this milestone. He has youth on his side but there's still some way to go and I'm certain the hits will dry up one day.

Human Nature

The highest new entry in the Top 40 this week is "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson. That's right, the most popular new record from a chart perspective is a 44 year old song by an artist who died 17 years ago.

The reason it's the highest new entry is due to the Michael Jackson biopic coming out and the fact it was never released as a single in the UK when it was a new song.

OK renewed interest in old music because of films is nothing new. We had "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers top the charts in 1990 because of it's inclusion in the film "Ghost" for example. The Temptations didn't make the Top 40 with "My Girl" until 1992 when a film of the same name came out.

The difference is these were the main songs from those films which got rereleased as singles. "Human Nature" may be the only new entry as such but more of his previous Top 40 hits are re-entering the Top 40. If it was for the 3 song cap there would no doubt be more Michael Jackson songs in the Top 40 at the moment.

It comes back to the question of is it really a singles chart anymore?

The fact of the matter is that "Human Nature" appears on the "Thriller" album which is the biggest selling album of all time. Given the sheer quantity of people who own the album its quite possible that on a given week back in the day more people were listening to "Human Nature" than whatever was number one in the charts that week.

We'll never know if that is the case because there was no way of tracking what people were listening to on their record player. Now we have streaming so we can measure, but is this really what should be reflected in the singles chart?

I don't have the answer. The fact is "Human Nature" is 1 of just 2 new entries in May so far to make the Top 10. The other is a Chemical Brothers record from 2015.