UK Charts Best Year Search: 1997

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Top 40

Best Song: Olive - You're Not Alone

Being into underground rave music at the time, I really didn't want to like this record. It was a number one from an act that included a former member of Simply Red. I couldn't help but like it though and I ended up buying the "Extra Virgin" album.

Worst Song: Mr President - Coco Jamboo

This was the only Top 40 hit for Mr President, which had 2 female members and 1 male. I can't help but think this is where the Vengaboys got their inspiration from which makes me hate this record even more. 

Top 40 Review

I was still very much into underground rave music in 1997 and if anything I was even less tolerant of chart music than I was in 1996, but as always there were still records I couldn't help but like.

One of those records was "Bellissima" by DJ Quicksilver. I'd been introduced to that record by a friend a few months prior and wasn't happy about it landing in the Top 40 as I wanted it to stay underground.

Elsewhere, many of the decent records in there are by those who were around before the 90s. You can count Olive in that, but we also have "Somewhere" by Pet Shop Boys, "Home" by Depeche Mode and "Oxygene 10" by Jean Michel Jarre. All 3 records sounded up to date though rather than sounding like the 70s/80s in the 90s.

A 90s record by a 90s group that sounded like it could have been from the 80s was "I Want You" by Savage Garden, or as I like to call it "Chica Cherry Cola". 

There was a re-issue of "Feel What You Want" by Kristine W which had first charted in 1994. Aside from those already mentioned, the only other record in there which gets full marks is "Game Over" by Scarface.

Elsewhere, there's quite a few brit pop records and I don't like any of them. The big dance genre of the year was speed garage but there's only one record from that genre in this Top 40, "Closer Than Close" by Rosie Gaines which is ok.

I do still think 1997 was a decent year for music, just not in the charts.

Score: 12

Table

We seem to be going from one extreme to the other in the 90s so far: