Then last year I compared the Top 20 that week in 1998 to the Top 20 that week.
Now I've decided to review the Top 20 from 20 years ago in 1999 but I'm not going bother with the current Top 20 as it was so bad last time I resorted to saying the song "Polaroid" was OK on the basis it wasn't as bad as others, but it is rubbish.
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. Spacedust - Let's Get Down
We begin with a Spacedust tune that isn't "Gym & Tonic". This was their second and final Top 40 hit which entered at number 20 and fell out the Top 40 the following week. This sampled "I Want Your Love" by Chic and entered the charts a month or so after Roger Sanchez had a hit with the same sample. I prefer the Roger Sanchez tune, but I do like this one though.
Verdict - Good
19. Roxette - Wish I Could Fly
What's this, Roxette in 1999? I don't remember this charting at the time but have heard it since. I've always thought of Roxette as being an 80s group but the only Top 40 hit they had in the 80s was "The Look", the rest all came in the 90s. This was their final hit and their first since 1994. They are one of these groups that I didn't really think much of at the time but have gone on to like later on in life and this is one of their tunes I do like.
Verdict - Good
18. 2Pac - Changes
Nearly 3 years after his death, the hits still kept coming for 2Pac and this became his biggest hit to date reaching number 3. The first 2Pac album I bought was his greatest hits which was largely due to this tune being on it, and when I first listened to it I went straight to this tune. Needless to see I like it.
Verdict - Good
17. The Corrs - Runaway
In 1997 I bought a Happy Hardcore compilation which included the tune "Cor Blimey" by DJ Magical. Then in 1999 I'm hearing this tune on the radio which has the same vocals. My thoughts were surely The Corrs haven't taken vocals from a Happy Hardcore tune so maybe it was a cover of an older tune. Turns out it wasn't a cover, it was originally recorded in 1994 and failed to chart when released in the UK the first time in 1996. Also the title of the Happy Hardcore version makes more sense now. Perhaps because I liked the Happy Hardcore version I've always quite liked the original too.
Verdict - Good
16. Delirious? - See the Star
We were doing so well with the tunes so far, then along comes this. I remember the band, a Christian Rock group who sounded like a dreary Indie band. I don't remember this song though, but then I'd struggle to name a Delirious? song but remember they all sounded a bit like this, so maybe I do remember it.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Tina Cousins - Killin' Time
Perhaps better known for being a vocalist for Sash! this was the second and final solo effort of Tina Cousins. In reality though it's a Mark Topham and Karl Twigg tune that Tina Cousins does the vocals for but is credited as being the artist. One would expect it to be cheesy given it's by a Dance vocalist and Pete Waterman was involved in her album but it's actually not bad, maybe a little bit cheesy but it's no DJ Sammy.
Verdict - OK
14. Manic Street Preachers - You Stole The Sun From My Heart
Manic Street Preachers are one of those bands who have released a lot of rubbish over the years, but at the same time they have some really good songs in their singles discography. This is one of their good ones and actually the last single of theirs I really like. I like the light verse followed by heavy chorus which then goes up a gear.
Verdict - Good
13. George Michael & Mary J Blige - As
It's inevitable that there are Stevie Wonder fans out there who absolute hate this because they think George Michael and Mary J Blige have butchered his song. For me though I never knew this was a Stevie Wonder cover at the time so I had no original to compare this to and I liked it. I have since heard the Stevie Wonder original and I'm afraid to say I prefer this cover because I think it works really well as a male/female duet. It's not the only Stevie Wonder song where I prefer the cover, there's also "Lately" by Jodeci and "Don't You Worry About A Thing" by Incognito, both of which I heard the covers first.
Verdict - Good
12. Underworld - Push Upstairs
Underworld became household names in 1996 with "Born Slippy". They also had a hit that year with "Pearls Girl" but then it wasn't until 1999 until they had their next hit with this, "Push Upstairs". All I have to say about this really is great tune.
Verdict - Good
11. Cher - Strong Enough
This was the follow up to "Believe" and was once again of the Dance Music variety, but not one that would appeal to Dance Music fans like myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Blur - Tender
Back in 1995 when were had Blur vs Oasis I wasn't on either side because it wasn't Rave. In hindsight though at the time Blur's music was quite fun and Oasis were very dull. Blur won the battle but Oasis became the bigger band in the long run. It seems like Blur's reaction to this was to make their music dull as well which is perfectly illustrated by this song.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Andy Williams - Music To Watch Girls By
Andy Williams in 1999? Yes this was originally a minor hit for Andy Williams in 1967 but was re-issued in 1999 after it was used on a Fiat advert. I remember this being on Top of the Pops at the time and I'd just reached the point of my life where I realised that just because a song is old doesn't mean it's rubbish, so I liked it.
Verdict - Good
8. Kele Le Roc - My Love
In 2001 I bought a compilation album which had this tune on it. When I was looking at the liner notes it stated this tune was from 1992 which I thought seemed a bit early. Turns out I was right, it was only 2 years old at the time and an internet search shows no evidence of any version of this song being from 1992 but I did discover one of the writers was Robbie Nevil. It was from listening to the compilation that I realised I really like this tune.
Verdict - Good
7. Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay
I think the song title sums this one up quite well. Generally speaking Whitney Houston's music to me was either cheesy pop or dreary ballads, but then in the late 90s it was more R&B which I guess doesn't seem right but it's ok.
Verdict - OK
6. Steps - Better Best Forgotten
This song title certainly sums up this song, that it's better best forgotten. I had to stop the music after writing that sentence it's that bad. Steps know they're music is shit, but they make a lot of money out of it so keep on doing it and the public keep on paying their hard earned money to subject themselves to this torture.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Vengaboys - We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, well actually I'm not sure whether this is worse than Steps but it's pretty close. The Vengaboys had previously charted with "Up & Down" which I thought was ok, though I did get pretty sick of it given how overplayed it was. Then came this, which is essentially "Up & Down" with ridiculous vocals over the top of it provided by 2 females and 2 males that you don't actually hear. The Vengaboys it seems had become the Dutch Steps (yes I know there were 3 females in Steps but there could just as easily be 2).
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Robbie Williams - Strong
I was one of those people who suspected Robbie Williams, Mr Take That, would be rubbish as a solo artist given he was in a boy band. After beginning with a poor George Michael cover followed by an Oasis sound-alike song it seemed I was right, but by 1999 I thought actually he's not bad.
Verdict - OK
3. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
When I first heard this I thought it was alright. Then I heard it so many times that made me hate it. 20 years later I see it as one of these songs that's a bit too American High School for my liking, even though it was written by a Swedish bloke.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough
I like the original by Billy Ocean, but this is just dreadful. It just sounds like a karaoke song where the singer seems a bit bored.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. B*Witched - Blame It On The Weatherman
The fourth hit and fourth number one from B*Witched. The only logical reason I can think of for so many people buying it is that they desperately wanted to knock Boyzone off number one.
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 10.5/20, or 52.5%, an improvement on the 1996 and 1998 ones I looked at.
It started so well in the lower part of the charts but generally speaking the higher in the charts, the worse it got. I thought maybe I should have started at number 40, but looking at numbers 36 to 40 we have the Spice Girls, a Daniel O'Donnell song I've never heard and another song I've never heard which is nearly 10 minutes long, so maybe not.
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