25 Years Since....May 1997

In May 1997 I was most likely to be listening to a Helter Skelter tape. There were still a few chart records I liked though:

Propellerheads - Spybreak!

This record only just scraped into the Top 40. The Propellerheards were certainly much bigger than their Top 40 performance though.

I'll be honest I was a bit of a reluctant fan at the time due to it being commercial and potentially appealing to rock fans. I had to admit it was a great record though.

Smoke City - Underwater Love

After the previous years disappointment of hearing the full version of "Spaceman" having initially liked it from the Levi's advert I was more cautious with this years effort.

Fortunately I wasn't disappointed with this one. I'm sure I'd acknowledged by this point there was room in my life for chill out music amongst the hard and fast dance music I was listening to at the time. This one definitely fitted that.

Olive - You're Not Alone

A chart topping record by a former member of Simply Red was exactly the sort of thing I didn't want to be listening to at the time. I really didn't want to like this record, but I couldn't help but like it.

The only bad thing I have to say about this record is that it was perhaps a bit overplayed at the time. Other than that I love everything about it.

Strike - I Have Peace

Yes this is the same Strike who did "U Sure Do" a couple of years earlier. It was their final hit and a change in direction compared to their previous effort.

It's also really a bridge to the next phase of it's members careers with Freestylers and Plump DJs.

Double 99 - RIP Groove

This was one of the best known records from the speed garage era. It was a bit of a silly name really because it wasn't very fast. Maybe it was an indication of how quickly it would come and go as a genre.

A memory I have of this record is it coming on the radio one day and someone asking me whether it was by Pete Tong.