25 Years Since....July 1996

Oh how I wish it was 1996 again, but the best I can do is listen to what I was listening to then:

Pianoman - Blurred

It's quite a simple concept, take a sample of "Better Days" by Jimi Polo like several other dance records have done, and mix it in with a vocal sample of "Girls & Boys" by Blur. 

It worked though, this was one of my favourite commercial dance records at the time. I kind of didn't want to like it but I couldn't help but enjoy it.

The Divine Comedy - Something For The Weekend

In the summer of 1996 I moved to a house that had a wood shed. Next thing I'm hearing this record which was quite bizarre.

It was the Top 40 debut for The Divine Comedy. They didn't really fit in with anything else that was happening at the time let alone anything else I was listening to. But that concept of old fashioned music with humorous lyrics really worked for me. I love the line "there's nothing in the wood shed except maybe some wood".

Underworld - Born Slippy

This is the ultimate drunken singalong tune. Just mumble any old rubbish and it will more or less sound the same until you get to the bit that goes "lager, lager, lager".

It's a commercial record in that it was hugely popular and used on a film soundtrack. As a tune though it doesn't sound commercial at all.

Reading what the lyrics actually are, there's a mention of The Ship and Tottenham Court Road and I've since been for a drink at that pub many times.

Subliminal Cuts - Le Voie Le Soleil

This tune was originally from 1994. That explains why the first time I'd heard that piano riff was from a tune called "Cheese n Beats" by DJ Paul on "A Nightmare In Rotterdam" which was before I'd heard this particular tune.

Like Paul Elstak (DJ Paul), Subliminal Cuts also hails from Holland. I'm a big fan of mid-90s Dutch music, even the really commercial stuff.

Alex Reece - Candles

A drum & bass record in the Top 40 that's melodic without sounding commercial. Always a winner in my book.

The Top 40 Leaderboard: July 2021

What's this all about?

We have a new leader, Fredo with 7 Top 40 hits so far this year. In 2nd place we have last months leader Olivia Rodrigo along with 2019 winner Dave and Doja Cat. Drake and Justin Bieber have added another hit each this month but they have a bit of catching up to do, which I'm sure they will.

A more productive month for rap this month with the year to date total being 63/148 or 43%. 

Bonkers Part 3

 

As mentioned in my previous posts, I didn't know about the first 2 Bonkers albums until they'd both been released. With the 3rd one though I knew about it in advance. I'm pretty sure Dream magazine had something to do with that. 

For the first time Bonkers would be 3 CDs with Hixxy and Sharkey being joined by Dougal. I was quite excited by this and intended on buying it the week it got released. For some reason though I didn't.

One possible reason is that the 2 worst tunes on the first album were "Toytown" and "Steam Train" and there were remixes of both tunes on here. 

I did end up acquiring the Dougal CD only from a second hand shop. What struck me about the Dougal mix was how similar it was to his set at "Helter Skelter - Strings Of Life". But then I guess the whole point is to play something that reflects what you're currently playing at the raves.

Whilst Dougal was a very welcome choice to join Hixxy and Sharkey, on reflection it was perhaps a bit of a strange choice because Dougal owned "Essential Platinum" records along with Hixxy so both DJs would have wanted to include a bunch of tunes from their own label which doesn't really add the extra variety it could have.

There were 17 tunes on the Dougal mix and 11 of them were from "Essential Platinum" and 8 of them were by Dougal including the Innovate ones. The only one he did by himself was "Tranquility" which is another tune I detest. The singing on it is so bad that it's unlistenable. The tunes outside of "Essential Platinum" on his mix are pretty good though, the two Triple J tunes probably being the best of these.

The Hixxy mix is even more "Essential Platinum" focused with 12 of the 16 tunes coming from the label. My main complaint about the Hixxy mix on Bonkers 2 was that I had every tune elsewhere. It wasn't the case this time. There were 2 "Essential Platinum" tunes from Daydream, an Australian DJ who I'd never heard of and had never heard his tunes outside of this mix. No bad thing though, they're not very good.

We also have a trio of Antisocial (Hixxy & Sunset Regime) records later on in the mix that I've never heard elsewhere and have also never been released. The last of these "Happy Days" is the best one and no it isn't a rip off of the TV show theme tune. 

Like with the Dougal mix, the tune selection outside of "Essential Platinum" is pretty good with "Fly Away" by Visa being the stand out tune.

Onto the Sharkey mix then. This has gone down in history as being a freeform masterpiece and the inspiration for many future freeform producers. As previously mentioned though, I'm not a fan of freeform and I can really take or leave this mix.

The opening track on the Sharkey mix is called "The Beginning of the End" which is quite symbolic for the period we were in. Although happy hardcore was loathed by many, it was still in it's peak in terms of popularity. The decline was just round the corner though.

This was pre-internet as we know it, but Dream magazine had its fair share of letters complaining about the scene and by early 98 Dream magazine was no more. By this point I was in my own hiatus in buying anything new but that was more to do with being tempted by the discounted older tape packs that Helter Skelter were selling.

By the summer of 1998 my buying new happy hardcore had resumed and Bonkers 4 came out, but more on that next week.

UK Charts Best Year Search: 1988

What's this all about?

Top 40

Best Song: Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis

This tune was written with the sole purpose of getting to number one, and it did. Timelords were KLF under a different name though this came before any KLF Top 40 hits. This was always my favourite on Now 12 at the time.

Worst Song: Tiffany - I Saw Him Standing There

Many people think of Tiffany as being a one hit wonder. I unfortunately remember otherwise. She had 4 Top 40 hits and this was the 3rd which is a slightly reworded cover of the Beatles song and quite predictably she's completely butchered it.

Top 40 Review

What strikes me about this Top 40 is how much of it is on Now 12 which I used to listen to all the time at the time. There are records on there that probably get full marks simply because of my fond memories of Now 12, so lets start with those.

The opening track to Now 12 was Wet Wet Wet with their cover of "With A Little Help From My Friends". There's also a Maxi Priest cover of "Wild World" by Cat Stevens. Finally, there's yet another cover by Glenn Medeiros of "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" which was originally by George Benson.

Erasure are in there with "Chains Of Love" which is the only synth pop record I like from this chart. Soul music suffers from being a bit British, just one American soul record in "Roses Are Red" by Mac Band ft The McCampbell Brothers which is OK whilst there's 3 British ones with "Tribute (Right On)" by The Pasadenas being OK and the other 2 being rubbish. Not all British soul is bad, but the Americans do it much better.

We have a 50/50 split between decent rap music and cheesy crap. On the decent side we have "Don't Believe The Hype" by Public Enemy and "Follow The Leader" by Eric B And Rakim. On the cheesy crap side we have the double a-side "Push It/Tramp" by Salt-N-Pepa and "The Twist (Yo, Twist)" by The Fat Boys With Chubby Checker.

Joy Division charted with "Atmosphere" 8 years after it was first released and failed to chart. This coincided with their greatest hits being released and is a great record. Phil Collins re-enters the chart with "In The Air Tonight" 7 years after it first charted and also gets the thumbs up.

Other records I feel I should give a mention to that receive full marks include "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS, "Somewhere In My Heart" by Aztec Camera and "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman.

Aided by my childhood memories, 1988 gets a score higher than most other 80s years.

Score: 17.5

Table

Interesting how the scores generally improve towards the end of the decade, will 1989 follow this trend:

UK Number 40s: Pigbag - The Big Bean (1982)

 

Pigbag are best known for the single "Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag" which reached number 3 earlier on in 1982. They did have one further Top 40 single with this record.

They did have 2 hits previously that failed to make the Top 40. They did however both reach number 2 on the Indie Chart and "Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag" topped it. This record reached number 3 on the Indie Chart.

One further single followed with "Hit the 'O' Deck" which failed to chart and made number 7 on the Indie Charts. The following year they split up.

Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed: Week 30

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 1991 with my verdict on each record:

30. Bomb The Bass - Winter In July (New)

This was my record of the year for 1991. It's such a great record all I can say is give it a listen if you haven't already.

Verdict - Good

29. Morrissey - Pregnant For The Last Time (New)

This is surprisingly upbeat for a Morrissey record. I'm afraid it doesn't stop it from being boring though, I honestly thought from the intro I may be able to get into it but it gets boring very quickly.

Verdict - Rubbish

28. Altern 8 - Infiltrate 202 (New)

The Top 40 debut from Altern 8. The vocal sample is "I Know" by Candi Staton, the same one Tiga used on "You Gonna Want Me" and I'd more or less forgot about this record until I heard the Tiga one. Both records are great in their own way.

Verdict - Good

27. Voice Of The Beehive - Monsters And Angels (New)

The 3rd of 5 Top 40 hits for Voice Of The Beehive and the 2nd best in my opinion. It was the lead single from their "Honey Lingers" album. My personal favourite was their final hit "Perfect Place" but that never made the Top 30.

Verdict - Good

26. Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song (New)

Believe it or not, this was the debut Top 40 hit for Frankie Knuckles. He was one of the earlier pioneers of house music, but none of those early house records made the Top 40. This is the sort of tune that could have sounded awful if not done right, but this is Frankie Knuckles so of course it was done right, a good amount of whistle without it taking over the record.

Verdict - Good

25. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up

Like many kids my age, I found it hilarious at the time that there was a song with the word sex in the title. It wasn't the first Top 40 hit to have this, but I guess the way it was used played a part too. I did like it at the time but when I heard it on the music channels for the first time in years I realised it's actually a pretty poor record.

Verdict - Rubbish

24. Natalie Cole - Unforgettable

This is actually a collaboration with her father Nat 'King' Cole. Or more accurately, a Nat 'King' Cole recording that Natalie Cole added some vocals to, given Nat 'King' Cole died in 1965. It would be the last time we'd see Natalie in the Top 40. I find it rather boring.

Verdict - Rubbish

23. Londonbeat - A Better Love (New)

Years ago I bought the greatest hits album from Londonbeat on the strength of "I've Been Thinking About You" and "You Bring On The Sun". They had 2 other Top 40 hits though, this being one of them. I don't remember it at the time, it's not as good as the 2 mentioned hits but still decent enough.

Verdict - Good

22. Salt-N-Pepa - Do You Want Me

I'm just remembering watching a Channel 4 programme where they had a count down of the 10 best rap acts of all time and in 2nd place was Salt-N-Pepa. I thought how? but then number one was Will Smith. I think they were taking the piss.

Verdict - Rubbish

21. MC Hammer - (Hammer Hammer) They Put Me In The Mix

The 6th Top 40 hit for MC Hammer and last one before he dropped the MC from his name. This is a remix of a track from his 2nd album "Let's Get It Started" which was released in 1988 and therefore before he became a big name. He sounds notably more angry than he does in his more mainstream records and it's an LL Cool J diss record. It's not bad.

Verdict - OK

20. Bros - Are You Mine?

I remember this first time I encountered this record. I was at a family barbeque and the Top 40 countdown was on the radio. A few seconds into the song, my uncle turned the radio off because it was Bros. I think he did us a favour there.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Kim Appleby - Mama

The final Top 40 hit to date from Kim Appleby which once again is co-written by former Bros bassist Craig Logan. Whilst her first 2 hits were dance orientated, this ones a slower number. I vaguely remember it and actually sounds better than I remember it, but still lacking a little something.

Verdict - OK

18. Cola Boy - 7 Ways To Love

This is Saint Etienne under a different name. It was before Saint Etienne had a Top 40 hit, but they decided it wasn't appropriate to release this style of record under the Saint Etienne name. It's perhaps a bit on the cheesy side, but still a decent enough record.

Verdict - Good

17. Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam - Let The Beat Hit 'Em (New)

Robert Clivilles was the composer of this record, the same man behind C&C Music Factory alongside David Coles. Whilst the C&C Music Factory hits have been a bit crap, this record is excellent. It was the second and final Top 40 hit for Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam, their first came back in 1985. They were big in the freestyle scene in America and scored two number ones, but never had much impact over here although their 2 UK Top 40 hits did chart higher here than they did in America.

Verdict - Good

16. DJH ft Stefy - I Like It

The second and final UK Top 40 hit for DJH ft Stefy. It doesn't sound that different to their first, the main riff is basically the same but on a different instrument. The samples are different too, "Cloud 9" by The Temptations is one that stands out. I liked the first hit and given its similarities without sounding like an exact clone, I like this one too.

Verdict - Good

15. Incognito ft Jocelyn Brown - Always There

The Top 40 debut for Incognito who formed in 1979. When I saw Incognito at their 35th anniversary concert their main man Bluey said that this record allowed them to make a living from the band. I've only recently discovered this is a cover, it was originally by Side Effect in 1976. 

Verdict - Good

14. Dannii Minogue - Jump To The Beat (New)

A cover of the Stacy Lattisaw song, this is probably the best known Dannii Minogue hit from this particular era. That doesn't mean it's any good though.

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Cathy Dennis - Just Another Dream

This was originally the follow up to her debut hit "C'mon and Get My Love" but failed to make the Top 40 when released in 1989. It once again failed to make the Top 40 again in 1990, but 3rd time lucky it got into the Top 40 finally in 1991. Her debut was credited to D Mob with Cathy Dennis, but although D Mob co-wrote and provided backing vocals to this it's credited to just Cathy Dennis. It's simple no nonsense pop music.

Verdict - Good

12. Kenny Thomas - Thinking About Your Love

The second Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas and his only Top 10. This is the song he's best known for. I must have seen this on The Chart Show at some point because it's making me want to watch an episode. I'd also say the fact this reminds me of the good old days of 1991 and watching The Chart Show means I quite like it.

Verdict - Good

11. Erasure - Chorus

Not sure I learned the title of this until later on in life. I didn't think the word chorus appeared in the song but it does once. I always remembered this one as the fishes in the sea song. Like with most Erasure records, this ones pretty good.

Verdict - Good

10. Cher - Love And Understanding

Diane Warren is back to songwriting duties for Cher after the god awful "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)". It's an improvement, but that's not saying much really.

Verdict - Rubbish

9. The Shamen - Move Any Mountain (New)

I've always know this record to be by The Shamen but don't remember hearing of them until "Ebeneezer Goode" which was just over a year later. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. It was after the shooting of this video that member Will Sinnott died. 

Verdict - Good

8. Extreme - More Than Words (New)

The song everyone knows Extreme for, so much so that people don't realise they're a rock band. This didn't go down well with the purists, ballads were very much frowned upon but an acoustic ballad was viewed as criminal. I'm not a purist though, I do think Extreme have better songs but I've always quite liked this one even if I haven't always admitted it.

Verdict - Good

7. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Pandora's Box

Another Top 10 hit for OMD with just Andy McCluskey in the group. The lyrics are described as dealing with the less glamourous side of celebrity which is quite ironic from the man who introduced the world to Kerry Katona. I won't let that fact cloud my judgement of this record though.

Verdict - Good

6. Paula Abdul - Rush Rush

I remember the video for this appearing on Top of the Pops and the presenter saying that Ian Rush would be in the video, but he wasn't. This was 30 years ago say I may have misremembered or misunderstood what was said. It's not a bad record.

Verdict - OK

5. Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine

The first Top 40 hit from the "Use Your Illusion" albums, this one coming from the second one. If you love screaming your head off at karaoke like I do then this is a great one to sing. The bit at 4 minutes 15 seconds into the song is particularly good to sing.

Verdict - Good

4. C&C Music Factory ft Freedom Williams - Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

There are some records that I really cannot stand, ones that just irritate me and make me angry. This is one of those records. I don't know what it is, maybe the stupid lyrics has something to do with it.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do

The final number one for Jason Donovan. It was taken from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which he was starring in at the time. By the time I saw it a couple of years later he'd been replaced by Phil Schofield. Anyway, like pretty much every other song from a musical it's shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

2. Heavy D And The Boyz - Now That We've Found Love

This is one of a number of records Bryan Adams stopped from topping the charts. It's American rap music, but it doesn't sound out of place amongst the British dance records that were coming out at the time. 

Verdict - Good

1. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You 

Summer holidays are on the way, this so reminds me of the summer holidays of 1991 where it was number one the whole time and beyond. Quite remarkable for a 31 year old 80s singer who'd failed to even make the Top 40 with most of his prior singles. I got pretty sick of this at the time like most people, but I actually quite like it.

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 19.5/30, or 65%. Improving again.

Bonkers Part 2

It had been nearly a year since the first Bonkers came out which was a very long time in those days. My friend who had given me a copy of that first album told me that Hixxy and Sharkey were back with a second and that he'd bought it.

Once again I got a copy of it. Before that though he was telling me what he made of it. He told me one of the stand out tunes on Hixxy's mix was "Now You've Got" by Antisocial (aka Hixxy and Sunset Regime). Looking at the tracklisting, that was one of a small number of tunes I didn't know. 

With the Sharkey mix he wasn't so complimentary. He said that the only decent tunes on it were "Genesis" by Sharkey & Trixxy and "UR Everything" by Helix.

When I got my copy and gave it a listen I discovered that "Now You've Got" is in fact "Get Into Love" which I already knew. Another error on the tracklisting was "Your Mine" by Demo was listed as "Your Mind" and "The Big Bang" by Vinylgroover was listed as "Wham Bam".

The two Demo tunes, his other being "I've Got A Feeling" were probably my favourite tunes in the mix. Much of the mix was tunes from "Essential Platinum" which was Hixxy's label at the time. 

The lack of "Toytown" and "Steam Train" meant that this was probably a better mix than his one on the first album. I liked the majority of the tunes, but the problem for me personally is that I think I had every tune on a tape somewhere else. The only one I'm not sure about is the opening track "Living The Dream" by Evolve. 

That isn't a criticism though. Inevitably there would have been many people who didn't buy tape packs and the fact the tape packs had these tunes shows it was a got representation of what was happening at the time. It just didn't really add anything to my collection.

Onto the Sharkey mix and my mate had a point. Trancecore had arrived and Sharkey was part of that, but it's not really my cup of tea. To me trancecore was taking the fun out of happy hardcore but was still too fast to really be taken seriously.

I also think "Genesis" and "UR Everything" are the best tunes on the album, probably because I don't think they're tunes you'd really describe as being trancecore. There are other decent tunes on there like "Body Slam" by Bang the Future. Overall though it's a pretty forgettable set.

The first Bonkers album got listened to a lot more than the second one. 

When I had a clear out of tapes years ago I converted the majority of them to MP3. I didn't bother converting Bonkers 2 though because I'd got all the tunes from the Hixxy mix elsewhere and I never really listened to the Sharkey mix.

Now Bonkers 2 had happened it seemed only a matter of time before we'd see Bonkers 3. More on that next week.

UK Charts Best Year Search: 1987

What's this all about?

Top 40

Best Song: Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin

This was also my record of the year for 1987. It was the first record that had a true impact on me when I was a kid and still remains one of my favourite Pet Shop Boys tunes.

Worst Song: Samantha Fox - Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now

It's Samantha Fox again for the second year in a row. Funnily enough the closest contender to this for worst song came from former Shalamar singer Jody Watley. I think few people would disagree that Samantha Fox's music is dreadful though, that's kind of the point.

Top 40 Review

We've now reached the first Top 40 that I remember the first time round. It therefore has the advantage of potentially having music that appealed to me as a young child that I may not have liked had I heard it for the first time as an adult.

Erasure are in there with "Victim Of Love" which I don't recall hearing at the time, but have known and liked for a long time. We also have a live version of "Promised You A Miracle" by Simple Minds which I do remember, though I can lump a lot of Simple Minds records into my early music memories as they seemed a very popular band at the time. Again, a good record.

As a kid I took a liking to what I would call "shouting songs" and there are 2 records in this Top 40 that meet that criteria. They are "Is This Love" by Whitesnake and "Alone" by Heart and I still like both those records today.

Soul/R&B is quite prominent in this Top 40. We have "Always" by Atlantic Starr which is one I liked as a kid. There's "Wishing Well" by Terence Trent D'Arby that I probably liked as a kid, but certainly like it now. A record I have no recollection of at the time but like now is "If I Was Your Girlfriend" by Prince. Then there's a re-entry of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher" by Jackie Wilson. I'm not keen on "The Pleasure Principle" by Janet Jackson or "Diamonds" by Herb Alpert which features vocals from Janet Jackson. Finally we have actor Bruce Willis covering "Under The Boardwalk", which is shit.

One record that likely does get the full marks because of me liking it as a kid is "Wishing I Was Lucky" by Wet Wet Wet. But that said, it's not the only Wet Wet Wet song I like so who knows.

What I do know is that the Wet Wet Wet record is the difference between 1987 and most of the 80s years so far with the overall score.

Score: 15

Table

It's very tight between a lot of the 80s years:

UK Number 40s: Theatre Of Hate - Do You Believe In The Westworld (1982)

 

The first number 40 of 1982 was the only Top 40 hit for Theatre Of Hate. Their previous singles had failed to reach the Top 40 but were successful on the Indie Chart. This single was the only single from their only album prior to their first breakup which was called "Westworld" and it topped the Indie Charts.

The main man behind Theatre Of Hate was Kirk Brandon who had previous been in a punk band called The Pack. After Theatre Of Hate broke up in 1983 he went on to form Spear Of Destiny, the band he is best known for. 

The band have since reunited and released their last single to date in 2015 and last album to date in 2016.

Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed - Week 29

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 1991 with my verdict on each record:

30. Billy Bragg - Sexuality

For some reason I remember this record being out around the same time as "Room at the Top" by Adam Ant, but this came nearly 18 months later. He's joined by Kirsty MacColl and Johnny Marr on this record. It's not a bad record, nothing I'd go out my way to listen to though.

Verdict - OK

29. Cubic 22 - Night In Motion

The only Top 40 hit for Belgians Cubic 22. I feel this record made way for several Happy Hardcore records, you have "Take Control" by DJ Pooch. It was also sampled for "U Sure Do" by Strike, which itself was sampled in "Kick Your Legs In The Air" by Illogik & DNA. Then you had "Party Time" by Dougal & Eruption which used the same sample. I like all records mentioned as well as this one.

Verdict - Good

28. Cathy Dennis - Just Another Dream (New)

This was originally the follow up to her debut hit "C'mon and Get My Love" but failed to make the Top 40 when released in 1989. It once again failed to make the Top 40 again in 1990, but 3rd time lucky it got into the Top 40 finally in 1991. Her debut was credited to D Mob with Cathy Dennis, but although D Mob co-wrote and provided backing vocals to this it's credited to just Cathy Dennis. It's simple no nonsense pop music.

Verdict - Good

27. Anthrax ft Chuck D - Bring The Noise

A rap/metal crossover record that's a cover of a Public Enemy record and featuring Public Enemy themselves. This was the biggest hit for Anthrax and charted higher than any Public Enemy record at the time. I like it.

Verdict - Good

26. Little Angels - I Ain't Gonna Cry (New)

This was the 6th Top 40 hit for Little Angels, but just the 2nd to make the Top 40. Although I've not listened to it in a while, I've listened to this YouTube video enough to know where the jumps are in it. I wouldn't have listened to it that much if I didn't like it.

Verdict - Good

25. Omar - There's Nothing Like This

The Top 40 debut for Omar. It would be another 6 years before we'd see him in the Top 40 again. I kept changing my mind throughout listening to it. On one hand its got a good bassline and sounds a decent soul ballad, but at the same time it was a bit boring.

Verdict - OK

24. Rod Stewart - Motown Song

Oh dear, this is dreadful. After doing a poor cover of a Motown record with "It Takes Two" in 1990, Rod Stewart is back with a song about that very label. It's actually from the same album though. Unsurprisingly given it's Rod Stewart, this is a cover. The original was by Larry John McNally.

Verdict - Rubbish

23. Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Although not his debut, this was the breakthrough hit for Lenny Kravitz in the UK. This is one I didn't really appreciate until later, I hated it at the time. When Lenny Kravitz returned to Top 40 a couple of years later with "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" I couldn't believe it was the same person who did this. Then came the day when I realised that it's possible to like both songs despite them being completely different to each other.

Verdict - Good

22. Divinyls - I Touch Myself

Every Wednesday at the students union when I first started university was a 70s and 80s night and almost every week this record would get played. Being the music snob I am this used to annoy me because I knew this was from 1991 not the 80s. I was much more appreciative when it got played at cheese night on a Saturday.

Verdict - Good

21. Kim Appleby - Mama

The final Top 40 hit to date from Kim Appleby which once again is co-written by former Bros bassist Craig Logan. Whilst her first 2 hits were dance orientated, this ones a slower number. I vaguely remember it and actually sounds better than I remember it, but still lacking a little something.

Verdict - OK

20. MC Hammer - (Hammer Hammer) They Put Me In The Mix (New)

The 6th Top 40 hit for MC Hammer and last one before he dropped the MC from his name. This is a remix of a track from his 2nd album "Let's Get It Started" which was released in 1988 and therefore before he became a big name. He sounds notably more angry than he does in his more mainstream records and it's an LL Cool J diss record. It's not bad.

Verdict - OK

19. Natalie Cole - Unforgettable

This is actually a collaboration with her father Nat 'King' Cole. Or more accurately, a Nat 'King' Cole recording that Natalie Cole added some vocals to, given Nat 'King' Cole died in 1965. It would be the last time we'd see Natalie in the Top 40. I find it rather boring.

Verdict - Rubbish

18. Bette Midler - From A Distance

It had been less than a year since Cliff Richard was torturing us with this record. Now here's Bette Midler back to do the same.

Verdict - Rubbish

17. Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam - Let The Beat Hit 'Em (New)

Robert Clivilles was the composer of this record, the same man behind C&C Music Factory alongside David Coles. Whilst the C&C Music Factory hits have been a bit crap, this record is excellent. It was the second and final Top 40 hit for Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam, their first came back in 1985. They were big in the freestyle scene in America and scored two number ones, but never had much impact over here although their 2 UK Top 40 hits did chart higher here than they did in America.

Verdict - Good

16. DJH ft Stefy - I Like It

The second and final UK Top 40 hit for DJH ft Stefy. It doesn't sound that different to their first, the main riff is basically the same but on a different instrument. The samples are different too, "Cloud 9" by The Temptations is one that stands out. I liked the first hit and given its similarities without sounding like an exact clone, I like this one too.

Verdict - Good

15. Cher - Love And Understanding (New)

Diane Warren is back to songwriting duties for Cher after the god awful "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)". It's an improvement, but that's not saying much really.

Verdict - Rubbish

14. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up

Like many kids my age, I found it hilarious at the time that there was a song with the word sex in the title. It wasn't the first Top 40 hit to have this, but I guess the way it was used played a part too. I did like it at the time but when I heard it on the music channels for the first time in years I realised it's actually a pretty poor record.

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Pandora's Box

Another Top 10 hit for OMD with just Andy McCluskey in the group. The lyrics are described as dealing with the less glamourous side of celebrity which is quite ironic from the man who introduced the world to Kerry Katona. I won't let that fact cloud my judgement of this record though.

Verdict - Good

12. Bros - Are You Mine?

I remember this first time I encountered this record. I was at a family barbeque and the Top 40 countdown was on the radio. A few seconds into the song, my uncle turned the radio off because it was Bros. I think he did us a favour there.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Salt-N-Pepa - Do You Want Me

I'm just remembering watching a Channel 4 programme where they had a count down of the 10 best rap acts of all time and in 2nd place was Salt-N-Pepa. I thought how? but then number one was Will Smith. I think they were taking the piss.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Cola Boy - 7 Ways To Love

This is Saint Etienne under a different name. It was before Saint Etienne had a Top 40 hit, but they decided it wasn't appropriate to release this style of record under the Saint Etienne name. It's perhaps a bit on the cheesy side, but still a decent enough record.

Verdict - Good

9. Incognito ft Jocelyn Brown - Always There

The Top 40 debut for Incognito who formed in 1979. When I saw Incognito at their 35th anniversary concert their main man Bluey said that this record allowed them to make a living from the band. I've only recently discovered this is a cover, it was originally by Side Effect in 1976. 

Verdict - Good

8. Kenny Thomas - Thinking About Your Love

The second Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas and his only Top 10. This is the song he's best known for. I must have seen this on The Chart Show at some point because it's making me want to watch an episode. I'd also say the fact this reminds me of the good old days of 1991 and watching The Chart Show means I quite like it.

Verdict - Good

7. C&C Music Factory ft Freedom Williams - Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

There are some records that I really cannot stand, ones that just irritate me and make me angry. This is one of those records. I don't know what it is, maybe the stupid lyrics has something to do with it.

Verdict - Rubbish

6. Paula Abdul - Rush Rush

I remember the video for this appearing on Top of the Pops and the presenter saying that Ian Rush would be in the video, but he wasn't. This was 30 years ago say I may have misremembered or misunderstood what was said. It's not a bad record.

Verdict - OK

5. Erasure - Chorus

Not sure I learned the title of this until later on in life. I didn't think the word chorus appeared in the song but it does once. I always remembered this one as the fishes in the sea song. Like with most Erasure records, this ones pretty good.

Verdict - Good

4. Heavy D And The Boyz - Now That We've Found Love

This is one of a number of records Bryan Adams stopped from topping the charts. It's American rap music, but it doesn't sound out of place amongst the British dance records that were coming out at the time. 

Verdict - Good

3. Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine

The first Top 40 hit from the "Use Your Illusion" albums, this one coming from the second one. If you love screaming your head off at karaoke like I do then this is a great one to sing. The bit at 4 minutes 15 seconds into the song is particularly good to sing.

Verdict - Good

2. Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do

The final number one for Jason Donovan. It was taken from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which he was starring in at the time. By the time I saw it a couple of years later he'd been replaced by Phil Schofield. Anyway, like pretty much every other song from a musical it's shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

1. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You 

Summer holidays are on the way, this so reminds me of the summer holidays of 1991 where it was number one the whole time and beyond. Quite remarkable for a 31 year old 80s singer who'd failed to even make the Top 40 with most of his prior singles. I got pretty sick of this at the time like most people, but I actually quite like it.

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 18.5/30, or 62%. Slight drop from last week, but good score nonetheless.