Slammin Vinyl - the end?

It was recently announced that after 20 years the Westfest event later on this year will be the last. For the past few years it's been one of just two events Slammin Vinyl puts on with the other being Tranzmission. With no Tranzmission event being announced this year it raises the question: is this the end of Slammin Vinyl?

If so then it really is the end of an era. Even 20 years ago Slammin Vinyl and the events they took over were pretty much the only big raves from the 90s still standing. It's amazing that Westfest alone has lasted so long let alone Slammin Vinyl themselves who started putting events on in 1994. 

No reason has been stated as to why they are stopping. A lot of comments I've read suggest they shot themselves in the foot by making it too focused on drum & bass. I would argue that is likely the main reason they lasted so long. We've seen many genres come and go over the years but drum & bass has just gone from strength to strength in terms of popularity.

In the early 00s Slammin Vinyl would put on most of their events at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes. I was at some of those events myself. Then in 2004 The Sanctuary closed and Slammin Vinyl put on the last ever event there. I was tempted to go myself but I was no longer into the new music so decided against it.

Later on in 2004 they started putting on events in Shepton Mallet and a year later adopted the name Westfest. I never went to one because it was after my time and as the years went by the number of people I'd never heard of on the flyers would increase.

We're talking about 20 years of rave history here but the question is will there be nostalgia for those 20 years in the same way we have nostalgia for 90s rave nowadays?

If you look at music in general you'll have an artist who is big for a few years, then their popularity declines and they find themselves in the wilderness for a few years until the nostalgia kicks in and they find themselves back in demand.

Then you have bands like the Rolling Stones who have continued to be popular since their 60s heyday. But how many people go to a Rolling Stones concert to hear anything they've made in the last 40 years? Not many I would say, but that accounts for the majority of their existence.

Time will tell if we ever have Westfest type reunions in years to come. 

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 24

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

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 records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

30. No Doubt - New

In between their 1997 Top 40 success and their 2002 comeback came a couple of minor hits and this was one of those. Not a bad record, quite upbeat and I can bop along to it but doesn't quite have enough about it to make it a truly great record.

Verdict - OK

27. Mauro Picotto - Lizard (Gonna Get You)

Mauro Picotto was one of those Italian producers who had songwriting credits along with several other Italian producers on a few Top 40 hits. This was his first Top 40 hit as artist and included on the songwriting credits was Gianfranco Bortolotti, a man behind pretty much every Italian dance record of the 90s. It's one of the big trance classics and I like it.

Verdict - Good

26. Blondie - Nothing Is Real But The Girl

This was the follow up to the chart topping Blondie comeback single "Maria". Once again it was Jimmy Destri on songwriting duties. This doesn't hit the same heights as its predecessor, not as catchy I suppose. Not a bad record at the same time though.

Verdict - OK

22. Feeder - Insomnia

This was the 4th Top 40 hit for Feeder and their highest charting to this point. The early days for Feeder were pretty low key from a Top 40 perspective at least. I've always said that Feeder had one good record in "Just A Day" and the rest are dreary. However this one is more similar to "Just A Day" rather than their other hits and as a result it's not bad.

Verdict - OK

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 14.5/30, or 48%. That ever familiar just below 50% score.

Ja Rule

20 years ago Ja Rule had a Top 20 hit with "Caught Up". It was the follow up to his chart topper "Wonderful" and 2nd single from his "RULE" album. It was an album I'd frequently listen to on the way to work when I first bought it. After a while I stopped and more or less forgot about him. It would seem the record buying public also did as he's not had a Top 40 hit since.

Around the turn of the century we saw the rise of what is now known as "Pop Rap". Some successful rappers were given the "Pop" label but I don't ever recall the term "Pop Rap" being used. Ja Rule was one of these rappers. 

It was "Between Me And You", his lead single from his 2nd album "Rule 3:36" that made the world notice. For me though it wasn't until he did "Always On Time" that I really considered buying his music. There was something about that record. I initially bought the single but ended up buying both the "Pain Is Love" and "Rule 3:36" albums.

He was ridiculed by many for his rap/R&B crossover formula but there were some dark records on those albums too. At the same time I didn't see the commercial edge of some of the tracks as a bad thing. The line in "Always On Time" about keeping his ho's drugged up on ecstacy isn't exactly what I'd call radio friendly after all.

I listened to the "Pain Is Love" album a lot and was a big fan of "So Much Pain" in particular. He quickly followed up with "The Last Temptation" which I also bought. It marked the comeback of Bobby Brown on lead single "Thug Lovin" which showed that Bobby Brown couldn't really sing anymore, but that's what made it good. Then we had "Mesmerize" which say him reunite with Ashanti on what was more an R&B track with rapping on it, but still good.

Then came the beef with 50 Cent. Given I was never overly keen on anything I heard by 50 Cent and the impact Ja Rule had on me I was very much team Ja Rule. Then came his "Blood In My Eye" album. It was a flop but it was very much a rap album and not very radio friendly.

When he came back he topped the charts with "Wonderful" which showed he was here to stay. Except he more or less disappeared after that.

I never made a conscious decision to stop listening to him. Times were changing for me and I stopped following new music as closely as I once did. A few years later I remembered how much I liked his music and thought I'd catch up on his newer material. Except there wasn't any.

At the time of writing he's released just 1 album in the last 20 years and it doesn't look like it had much impact. He also had a reality TV show and judging by his house I don't think his lack of activity in the last 20 years has affected his financial situation.

Looking back though it would seem his biggest strength were those around him. As mentioned I was a big fan of "So Much Pain". It was a remake of a 2Pac record and what really does it for me is when 2Pac himself does the 3rd verse. On the "Blood In My Eye" album I liked "Things Gon Change" but it steps up a gear when the Black Child verse comes in.

Simply put, he had his limitations as a rapper but managed to make some great music and has made a success out of it.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 24

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

Ome Henk - Op De Camping

There seems to be a lot of novelty records in the Dutch Top 40 in 1995 and here's another. Ome Henk is a comedy character and had 5 Dutch Top 40 hits. This was his only one in 1995 and it's a comedy take on "In The Navy" by The Village People.

Scooter - Friends

One thing that Scooter are well known for is the chipmunk vocals in their records. This record is where that aspect began for them. Of course many happy hardcore records at the time had chipmunk vocals in them.

Dune - Hardcore Vibes

Here we have another German happy hardcore act charting in Holland. This was their debut Dutch Top 40 hit. It was also a record that was being played at the raves in the UK at the time. They will be back later on in the year.

2 Unlimited - Nothing Like The Rain

2 Unlimited had so many Top 40 hits in the UK in the early to mid-90s that it's hard to believe they had a record that didn't chart here. They did though with this record which wasn't even released in the UK. Their popularity in the UK was in decline by this point. They only had 1 more hit from the Ray & Anita era. This record unusually for 2 Unlimited is a ballad.

Mokum - Ajax Heeft De Cup

Yes it's yet another football record about Ajax. This time it's a result of Ajax winning the Champions League, something they've not managed to do since. 

2001: The Good Old Days? - July

One thing is for sure about 2001, I can remember things I was doing at this point in time based on the music that was in the charts.

We'll begin with the best record which is "Frontier Psychiatrist" by Avalanches. It's the record I enjoyed the most when listening through the records just now. It's a bizarre record that just works.

This month was more of a guitar heavy month which supports the prediction Ash made at the start of the year. There were some decent guitar records, "Million Miles Away" by The Offsrping, "Broke" by Beta Band, "Juxtapozed With U" by Super Furry Animals and "Heaven Is A Halfpipe" by OPM. The latter is much better than I remember it being. Unfortunately "Sometimes" by Ash wasn't one of the records I liked.

Dance wise it was looking pretty good. There was the chart topper "Another Chance" by Roger Sanchez which showed you could make a proper dance record and be hugely successful with it in those days. Ian Van Dahl had their only hit worth listening to "Castle's in the Sky" which I bought on vinyl at the time. 

There were only 2 dance records I didn't like. There was the vocal trance record "Innocente (Falling In Love)" by Delerium & Leigh Nash. The other one was "Devil's Nightmare" by Oxide & Neutrino. The So Solid Crew were credited with fueling the demise of UK garage but Oxide & Neutrino were members of the So Solid Crew and their own material was also a factor.

Whilst not strictly a garage record, you can sense a bit of garage inspiration on "Perfect Gentleman" by Wyclef Jean and it's a decent record. The only rap record in it's pure sense was "Purple Pills" by D12 and this was around the time I bought their album.

The best of the R&B records was "Dance For Me" by Sisqo which I remember doing the rounds on the music channels a lot at the time. The worst R&B record was the worst record for the month. It was "Loverboy" by Mariah Carey. It heavily sampled "Candy" by Cameo, a decent record, but had her screeching over the top and therefore ruining it.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):

Score: 40%

Here's a look at the chart:

We have the joint best month to feature so far. Now we're half way through 2001 it's certainly looking better than any year that came after.

January Charts: 1962

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. Eden Kane - Forget Me Not

2. Chubby Checker - The Twist

3. Iain Gregory - Can't You Hear The Beat Of A Broken Heart

4. Leroy Van Dyke - Walk On By

5. The Everly Brothers - Cryin' In The Rain

6. Brook Brothers - He's Old Enough To Know Better

7. John D Loudermilk - The Language Of Love

8. Carol Deene - Norman

9. Bob Wallis And His Storyville Jazzmen - Come Along Please

10. Doug Sheldon - Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night

11. Burl Ives - Little Bitty Tear

12. Danny Peppermint And The Jumping Jacks - Peppermint Twist

13. Lonnie Donegan - The Comancheros

14. Anthony Newley - D-Darling

15. Danny Williams - Jeannie

16. Phil McLean - Small Sad Sam

17. Adam Faith - Lonesome

18. Cliff Richard - The Young Ones

19. Karl Denver - Wimoweh

20. Joe Brown - What A Crazy World We're Living In

When I looked at 1961 I said everyone seemed to be jumping on the rock n roll bandwagon which would lead to the inevitable backlash. Well in January 1962 at least it looks like rock n roll is dead. I wouldn't consider any of these records to be rock n roll.

On that point we'll start down the bottom as some may be saying what about Joe Brown. Well if anything I'd say it was a novelty record. It's interesting to note that had the charts stayed a Top 30 then Joe Brown would be yet to made his chart debut at this point. He'd had 3 hits that all charted in the 30s.

I could feasibly class half of these records as novelty ones and this is arguably why the world was crying out for The Beatles. 

The new phase that was happening around this time was the twist, a style of dance being sung about. The most notable of these artists was Chubby Checker and that familiarity earns him a high placing with "The Twist".

We also have "Peppermint Twist" by Danny Peppermint And The Jumping Jacks but this is one that I'd class as being a novelty record.

It was also the era for the trad jazz revival, though just one of these records fits that category which is "Come Along Please" by Bob Wallis And His Storyville Jazzmen which I think is alright even if it sounds like its going back in time.

The number 1 record is a straight up pop record, "Forget Me Not" by Eden Kane. He was one of the artists whose popularity declined once The Beatles came about which is a shame because he was making good music based on this record.

Another eventual victim of The Beatles popularity who was trying to do something different was Joe Meek. He featured in the 1957 and 1958 batches as producer on the Gary Miller records, but this was the era that Joe Meek was at his most successful. The record in this batch that he produced was "Can't You Hear The Beat Of A Broken Heart" by Iain Gregory, only a number 39 but near the top of my chart.

We've reached the end of the Pre-Beatles era. The scores haven't been bad generally speaking but I do predict they will be beaten in future years.

Score: 32

Now we've reached this point it's a good time to look at the league table:

1960 is a marginal improvement over the 50s whereas 1961 and 1962 are mid-table.

UK Number 40s: Linkin Park - The Catalyst (2010)

 

At the start of the 21st century nu metal music became big in the charts. One of those nu metal bands was Linkin Park. By the mid-00s it was more or less done as a genre in the charts and the Top 40 careers of bands like Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach were finished. Linkin Park carried on though.

What gave them longevity then? well they moved away from nu metal and onto other things. With this record there was still a rock element to it, but it was really following the electropop trend that was happening at the time.

There was a competition for fans to do their own remix of this record and the winner of that competition was Czeslaw "NoBraiN" Sakowski from Poland. 

UK Number 40s: Keane featuring K'naan - Stop For A Minute (2010)

 

By 2010 we were seeing an increasing trend of collaborations making the Top 40. This would include collaborations that one couldn't imagine happening once upon a time due to how different they were to each other.

This collaboration would fit that category. Keane were an indie band and K'naan a rapper/reggae fusion artists. Keane were one of the big indie bands of the mid-00s when indie was more or less the biggest music genre in the charts.

It had been 2 years since Keane had last been in the Top 40. Since then electropop had become the music of choice in the Top 40 so Keane basically made an electropop record. This would be the final Top 40 hit to date for Keane.

It was the Top 40 debut for K'naan, but this was shortly followed by his big hit "Wavin Flag".

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 23

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

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 records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

22. Gay Dad - Joy!

I don't think too many people remember the big hit for Gay Dad let alone this less successful follow up record. To recap they were basically a band made by music critics and praised by other music critics but the general public didn't really pay much attention. This record is also crap.

Verdict - Rubbish

21. Underworld - Jumbo

Underworld had been around a few years by this point but this was only their 4th Top 40 hit. Their greatest hits is one of my all time favourite albums because I think it captures the best of them more than any of their albums.

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 13/30, or 43%. Heading back in the right direction.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 23

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

Jimmy Cliff & Lebo M - Hakuna Matata

It's almost surprising this record never made the UK Top 40. It was from The Lion King film which was huge at the time. It's probably because unlike the big hits from that film it's not performed by Elton John, but it was written by him. 

Minty - Useless Man

We've had some UK acts feature here before but so far there has been a good explanation as to why they'd chart in Holland but not the UK i.e. they were based in other countries. However with Minty that was not the case. Minty were Richard Torry and Leigh Bowery. It was a posthumous hit as Leigh Bowery died at the end of 1994. He was Australian but moved to the UK in the early 80s and was friends with Boy George. One explanation as to why it didn't chart in the UK is the the lyrics aren't exactly radio friendly. 

2001: The Good Old Days? - August

Whilst we know the charts would become very indie/guitar music heavy by the mid-00s, the prediction Ash made about it happening in 2001 doesn't appear to be happening as this is certainly in the minority this month.

Dance music is the most prolific and whilst not all of it is to my liking it's refreshing to see some of the more proper dance records in the Top 40. We have "Nothing Without Me" by Manchild and "The Real Life" by Raven Maize from the house music world for house music fans.

Trance wise we don't have any of the vocal rubbish or euro cheese. There's the excellent "Superstring" by Cygnus X and the solid "Like This Like That" by Mauro Picotto whilst "Fire Wire" by Cosmic Gate is OK. The only trance record I don't like is "Precious Heart" by Tall Paul, a sample of "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS done tastefully but just doesn't work for me.

UK Garage wise we may be seeing the beginning of the end here. There's "21 Seconds" by the So Solid Crew, the Top 40 debut from the act credited with killing garage. Then there's "Love You Anyway" by De Nada which I can't stand the singing on.

It's the rap world that gives us the best record which is "Ante Up" by MOP & Busta Rhymes. I bought the single for this and just loved the sheer aggression. Another single I bought was "Where I Wanna Be" by Shade Shiest, Nate Dogg & Kurupt. Then a decent rap rock record I didn't buy was "Revolving Door" by Crazy Town.

R&B wise we have the final Top 40 hit for the Honeyz "I Don't Know". It was seen as a questionable choice for a single notably from group member Celena but I do like it. Then we have "Just In Case" by Jaheim, an R&B record that later had a garage remix and both versions are good. No points for rubbish by Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson or Missy Elliott.

One record that deserves a mention is "Let's Dance" by 5ive. It reminds me of many nights out at the time, it's a pop record with a sense of humour and I remember a mate kept saying fuck Eminem, Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, J from 5ive is the best rapper.

The worst record goes to Atomic Kitten with "Eternal Flame". The success of "Whole Again" gave them license to top the charts with any old rubbish, and they did with this dreadful cover.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):

Score: 35%

Here's a look at the chart:

We've exceeded the 34% we needed to even consider it as the good old days. Will we stay there?

January Charts: 1961

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. Billy Fury - A Thousand Stars

2. Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs - Stay

3. US Bonds - New Orleans

4. Buddy Holly - What To Do

5. Bobby Vee - Rubber Ball

6. Fats Domino - My Girl Josephine

7. Danny Rivers - Can't You Hear My Heart

8. King Brothers - Doll House

9. Olympics - I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate

10. Johnny Burnette - You're Sixteen

11. Andy Stewart - A Scottish Soldier

12. Avons - Rubber Ball

13. Piltdown Men - Piltdown Rides Again

14. Jess Conrad - Mystery Girl

15. Joe Brown And His Bruvvers - Shine

16. Duane Eddy - Pepe

17. Russ Conway - Pepe

18. Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight?

19. Johnny Horton - North To Alaska

20. Connie Francis - Many Tears Ago

21. Rhet Stoller - Chariot

22. Brenda Lee - Let's Jump The Broomstick

23. Petula Clark - Sailor

24. Anne Shelton - Sailor

25. Wanda Jackson - Mean Mean Man

26. Marty Wilde - Rubber Ball

27. Tony Bennett - Till

28. Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren - Bangers And Mash

In the early days of this blog I picked a record of the year for each year and 1961 stood out to me as a year when I struggled to find a record that was good enough. Now I've listened to every Top 40 hit from the first month of the year I'd still say no records are outstanding.

The best of the bunch is "A Thousand Stars" by Billy Fury, arguably the biggest star from Liverpool before The Beatles came along. Incidentally this record would appear in the 70s film "That'll Be The Day" which had both Billy Fury and Ringo Starr in it.

The number 2 record also featured in a film that came out years later with "Stay" by Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs featuring in "Dirty Dancing". 

Rock n Roll still appeared to be in, but you sense it's getting to the stage where everyone is jumping on the bandwagon which will lead to an inevitable backlash. The fact that one of the better ones was "What To Do" by Buddy Holly which would have been at least 2 years old by this point more or less illustrates this.

Instrumental rock was popular around this time, not bad music but starts to all sound the same after a while. One such record is "Pepe" by Duane Eddy and there is another version by Russ Conway on the piano instead of guitar.

There were 3 different versions of "Rubber Ball" which are quite spread out in the table. There's the original by Bobby Vee which is up near the top, a cover by the Avons which isn't bad and a cover by Marty Wilde which is your inferior British karaoke type cover.

The latter wasn't the worst record though. Below it we have "Till" by Tony Bennett, his first hit in nearly 5 years which sounds really dated in 1961. Then down the bottom we have "Bangers And Mash" by Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren, a novelty record I find really irritating.

I feel I must address the relatively low position of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" by Elvis Presley. Many consider it to be a classic but I'm afraid I just find it boring.

Overall I think this batch of records shows that good music did exist before The Beatles but at the same time it shows The Beatles needed to happen.

Score: 34

Saint Etienne call it a day

Saint Etienne have announced that their next album to be released later in the year will be their last. It will mark the end of a run spanning 35 years. 

They somehow passed me by in their early 90s heyday, I didn't discover them until "He's On The Phone" in 1995 and never knowingly heard another of their tunes until I saw their greatest hits on offer around the turn of the century which I bought on the strength of "He's On The Phone".

I do however remember Sarah Cracknell's brief solo career in 1996 and given that and the fact their greatest hits went up to 1995 I assumed at the time that was the year they called it a day. Already having a fondness for the early 90s I saw 1995 as a great time to bow out and they'd be frozen in time and always fondly remembered. Little did I know they hadn't split up and would be around for another 25 years.

As the years went on though they took on another significance. I live in London and have lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else, but I don't come from here originally. The thought of moving to London never appeared on my radar when I was younger, but once people started flocking there after university my head started to turn. 

With a few St Etienne albums now in my collection I realised just how London centric their music was. It painted a picture of a place I wanted to experience myself. The day I handed my notice in at work because I'd secured a job in London I was listening to Saint Etienne in my car. I didn't choose that CD on purpose, but it did seem symbolic.

When I moved to London I was in my 20s and still going to clubs full of other 20 somethings. I would describe my music of choice as electronic music and would consider Saint Etienne as part of that description. However, you wouldn't hear their music at the Ministry of Sound and the likes. In fact when I first went to see them in concert I was surprised at just how old the audience were.

Perhaps this is a factor in why they're calling it a day. Their audience hasn't really grown or dwindled over the years, it's stayed consistent. Their fan base isn't getting any younger and their legacy probably isn't going to pass through generations.

Nothing stays the same forever. Eventually my days of going to the Ministry of Sound or seeking out the latest tunes fizzled out. It was replaced by a growing interest in music history which is the main reason why I started this blog. It would appear this is where Bob Stanley's interests lie too.

By the time the "Home Counties" album had come out, Pete and Sarah had done the unthinkable. They'd moved out of London, Pete moved to Brighton and Sarah moved to the Oxfordshire countryside. Some time later Bob moved to Leeds. 

It seems a bit strange that I'm living in London but Saint Etienne aren't. But then who knows, I may have moved out of London myself by the time I get to their age. What I do know is the aspirations I have now differ from the aspirations I had when I first moved here.

At the same time my perception of Saint Etienne has changed over the years. By the time their "Words & Music" album came out in 2012 I was well and truly settled in London, the band members were probably still living in London and it felt like a moment to celebrate London I guess.

Since then I can't say I've been overly impressed by their more recent material and as much as I enjoy their older music it does have its limitations. I've also never bought any of these deluxe editions and limited edition boxsets etc. they seem to be constantly bringing out, I'm happy to make do with the normal albums.

Fair play to them though. They've carved out a moderately successful career spanning 35 years with by their own admission limited music talent and have a loyal fan base, many of whom are willing to part with vast sums of money to fund an ever growing Saint Etienne collection. Nothing lasts forever though.

UK Number 40s: Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas (2009)

 

By 2009 there were quite a number of music acts from yesteryear who were still around and releasing new music but no longer getting into the Top 40. I knew that the Pet Shop Boys were still releasing new music but I was also surprised to see they were still actually getting in the Top 40, just.

This was their final Top 40 hit which started life as a fan club release back in 1997. It was released as a single in 2009 following 2 records from the "Yes" album from that year making the Top 40 in "Love etc" and "Did You See Me Coming?".

Following this they joined plenty of other music acts from their era by releasing new music that would continue to be popular but not make the Top 40.

UK Number 40s: Agnes - I Need You Now (2009)

 

In the UK we've had a number of TV shows manufacturing pop singers. We're also made aware that the same sort of thing is happening in America. What we're not so aware of is it happening in other countries too.

One such country is Sweden and one of the winners to their TV show "Idol" was Agnes. She made number 3 with her UK Top 40 debut "Release Me" and this was her not so successful follow up which would be her final Top 40 hit to date.

Given the sheer quantity of pop songs of the modern era that are written by Swedish songwriters it made perfect sense for them to unleash one of their own singers on the UK charts.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 22

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

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 records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

28. Mike Koglin ft Beatrice - On My Way

German trance DJ Mike Koglin made his Top 40 debut the previous year with "The Silence" which was basically a trance remake of "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. This was his other hit and this time he's brought in vocals. This makes the record a bit crap in my opinion.

Verdict - Rubbish

21. Beastie Boys - Remote Control / 3 MCs And 1 DJ

The Beastie Boys have a rock element to "Remote Control" and is a decent enough record. It's all about the other side of the double a-side though "3 MCs and 1 DJ". This is what proper hip hop music is, all about the beats and the rhymes.

Verdict - Good / Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 12/30, or 40%. We slip again.

25 Years Since....May 2000

By May 2000 UK garage was massive and a lot of it good. Here's some of the tunes I was enjoying:

Craig David - Fill Me In

The mystery of what happened to the man many thought was the Artful Dodger, he was actually Craig David. This was his solo debut which topped the charts. It's also quite possibly his best solo effort for the simple fact it's a garage record.

It's more of a garage song than a garage tune and would only really blend in with a garage night in remix form. 

Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers

Quite often when a music act is known to be a one hit wonder, they're actually not and I'm always keen to point out their other hits. With Sweet Female Attitude I used to point out they had another hit with "Eight Days A Week" until I discovered it never made the Top 40, so they are a one hit wonder.

This record has suffered with being played to death ever since, but at the time this was a joy to listen to and still is to a certain extent. 

Sisqo - Thong Song

The record that Dru Hill member Sisqo is best known for as a solo artist. It caused quite a stir 25 years ago due to it's lyrical content which no doubt contributed to its success. Personally I think if you get offended by records like this then you need to get a life.

Whilst I do like the single version of this, it was the garage version I was hearing on the tapes that I was more drawn to. It would prompt some garage MCs to say things some people may find offensive.

MJ Cole - Crazy Love

MJ Cole was someone who made a name for himself in the mainstream in the speed garage days with "Sincere". This was his follow up record and the one he's perhaps best known for.

The popularity of garage meant the genre as a whole had it's critics, but even they would concede that this was a decent record.

DJ Luck & MC Neat - Masterblaster 2000

This was the follow up to their debut hit "A Little Bit Of Luck". This time they've got singer JJ on board. It's essentially a garage version of the Stevie Wonder record of the same name as sung by JJ with MC Neat putting a bit of rapping to it. It does have an identity of its own and works really well.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 22

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

DJ Paul Elstak - Luv U More

This was the tune that made me familiar with the name Paul Elstak. It was played a lot at the raves in 1995, particularly by DJ Sy. Later on in the year you started to hear a different mix being played more, or so I thought. The vocals from this tune come from the record of the same name by British electronic act Sunscreem who had a UK Top 40 hit with it in 1992. With Paul Elstak having huge success in Holland with this record, the British DJs did what they'd always do: make their own version. So the tune I was hearing in late 1995 was in fact Juicy Cuts Vol 1.

Normaal - Now En

Normaal were in the Dutch Top 40 at the beginning of 1995 but this was their only record to enter the Dutch Top 40 in 1995. To recap Normaal were a Dutch rock band who had been around since the 70s and were in the latter stages of their Dutch Top 40 career. 

Little River Band - Forever Blue

Speaking of 70s rock bands, here's another one. Not a Dutch one though, Little River Band were from Australia. They had several hits in Australia and New Zealand as you might expect. They also managed to crack America, but not the UK. It would seem the only other country they had chart success was Holland. In fact by the time of this record their chart career was over in every country except Holland where this was their final hit.

Mark Oh - Randy (Never Stop That Feeling)

It was in May 1995 when German DJ/producer Mark Oh was having his only UK Top 40 hit with "Tears Don't Lie", a sort of happy hardcore take on "When A Child Is Born". In Holland though that record had been and gone and he was having his 3rd hit with this. He did go onto have a 4th Dutch Top 40 hit but that came in 1996 so sadly this is where we say goodbye to Mark Oh.

Rednex - Wish You Were Here

Rednex topped the UK charts with "Cotton Eye Joe" and followed up with the almost identical "Old Pop In An Oak" and that was the last we heard of them. In Holland though, and indeed several other countries they had a 3rd hit. As is the trend with a lot of pop acts, their 3rd hit was a ballad. When I first heard this I thought how the fuck is this the same band. It topped the charts in some countries, and being Swedish it probably comes as no surprise to hear this was produced by Denniz Pop and Max Martin.

January Charts: 1960

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. The Drifters - Dance With Me

2. Marty Robbins - El Paso

3. Craig Douglas - Pretty Blue Eyes

4. Little Tony - Too Good

5. Jerry Lordan - I'll Stay Single

6. Bobby Darin - La Mer (Beyond The Sea)

7. Platters - Harbour Lights

8. Eddie Cochran - Hallelujah I Love Her So

9. Adam Faith - Poor Me

10. Crickets - When You Ask About Love

11. Gene Vincent - Wild Cat

12. Ricky Nelson - I Wanna Be Loved

13. Freddy Cannon - Way Down Yonder In New Orleans

14. Michael Holliday - Starry Eyed

15. Frankie Vaughan - What More Do You Want

16. Mr Acker Bilk And His Paramount Jazz Band - Summer Set

17. Maureen Evans - The Big Hurt

18. Johnny Mathis - Misty

19. Anthony Newley - Why

20. Frankie Avalon - Why

21. Bill Forbes - Too Young

22. Cliff Richard And The Shadows - Expresso Bongo (EP)

23. Cliff Richard And The Shadows - Voice In The Wilderness

I guess in theory my number one record in this batch wouldn't sound out of place in 1953 because that's the year The Drifters formed. However this was their UK chart debut and already they had no original members remaining. The singer was Ben E King, but he'd be gone himself by May. If I had to pick a genre from around this period to listen to then doo-wop would probably be it. The 2 doo-wop records from this batch are this and "Harbour Lights" by The Platters which I like but they've done much better.

2nd placed Marty Robbins was also making his UK chart debut but he first hit the USA Country Charts in 1952. Again this record wouldn't sound out of place a few years prior but I do like the story telling.

The genre name that best sums up many of these records though is pop. Not in a traditional sense like the earlier charts but pop music for a younger audience that one may consider to be too light and fluffy to be rock n roll.

The "pop" records vary from the uplifting and fun records such as "Pretty Blue Eyes" by Craig Douglas and "Too Good" by Little Tony to the rather dreary "Why" in 2 different versions by Anthony Newley and Frankie Avalon and "Too Young" by Bill Forbes. Incidentally the latter 2 were covered in the 70s by Donny Osmond.

As for the actual rock n roll records, they tend to hover around the mid-table with "Hallelujah I Love Her So" by Eddie Cochran being the best of them. 

Sitting above the rock n roll records is "La Mer (Beyond The Sea)" by Bobby Darin which I'm surprised came out as late as 1960 as it has 50s written all over it to me. It was however recorded in 1958. It's one of those songs I like because I've always known it.

There's no instrumental rock in this batch with January being the only month of the year where there weren't any new entries from that genre. The only instrumental record is the jazz record "Summer Set" by Mr Acker Bilk And His Paramount Jazz Band which I can appreciate but just find boring.

We have a double dose of Cliff Richard this month and I can't be doing with either record.

Although the 60s we know and love hasn't truly began yet it does feel like the music is still evolving in some respects. As as result we have the best score so far, just.

Score: 38

2001: The Good Old Days? - September

In September 2001 I was given a pass that got me free entry into a club in Newcastle where I was living at the time on it's rap and R&B night. Unfortunately I didn't get to use it because most of my friends in Newcastle were into indie music so being in the minority meant I was joining them at the indie club rather than them joining me at a rap & R&B one.

We have a similar number of indie records entering the Top 40 in September as we do rap and R&B but the latter is only slightly better in terms of quality. 

Indie wise I like "Bliss" by Muse which I wasn't expecting and also like "Let Robeson Sing" by the Manic Street Preachers. I also thought that "FEAR" by Ian Brown was alright. I can't remember if I heard any of these at the indie club or not.

Onto the rap, we have drum & bass DJ Adam F entering the rap world with Redman with "Smash Sumthin'" which is good. We have Ludacris and Nate Dogg with "Area Codes" which was very much one I was enjoying at the time. 

The best record though is a rapper with a non-rap single which was his only UK Top 40 hit. That was "Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker, the DJ for Kid Rock going solo. If you listen to his "Double Wide" album pretty much all the other tracks are rap and I'm sure some people were taken by surprise about that.

Nelly Furtado had her 2nd Top 40 hit with "Turn Out The Light" which is good. Artful Dodger were known for doing garage but their album had an R&B track called "Twenty Four Seven" which they released as a single with a different vocalist. Again it's full marks.

Speaking of garage we have a decent record from DJ Luck & MC Neat with "I'm All About You". The other ones come from Ed Case & Sweetie Irie with "Who" and Maxwell D with "Serious" which both fall into the contributed to the demise of garage category.

Dance music is the most prolific genre this month and the quality once again is a mixed bag. For trance we are saying instrumental trance is good and vocal trance is crap. There is a really good vocal house record though in "Finally" by Kings of Tomorrow.

Onto the worst record then which goes to Little Trees with "Help I'm A Fish". Normally I have a bit of lenience when a record is clearly intended to be crap, but this is so bad it just has to be the worst record.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):

Score: 29%

Here's a look at the chart:

What we can say is that 2001 has a better September. October, November and December than those months in the years that followed. 

UK Number 40s: Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Singing The Blues (2009)

 

Cliff Richard became the fourth artists to have 2 number 40s with this record after Queensryche, Saint Etienne and Primal Scream. He was also the first to have 2 number 40s plus number 1 hits.

He was considered old hat by the 60s but the hits kept coming for him. This was where his run of Top 40 hits finally came to an end with this being number 124. 

UK Number 40s: Livvi Franc featuring Pitbull - Now I'm That Chick (2009)

 

Although this record only made number 40, it was a big moment for the charts and a sign of things to come. Not Livvi Franc though, this was her only Top 40 hit to date.

It was however a sign the the dominance that electropop music would have in the Top 40 and that every other electropop record would feature Pitbull. This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Pitbull but the first he did in collaboration with others like the majority of his Top 40 hits.

The actual title was "Now I'm That Bitch" but had been changed to be more radio friendly. After it only made number 40 it seemed they stopped bothering as a search for "Now I'm That Chick" into YouTube brings back "Now I'm That Bitch".

How do I know these chart acts: Part 4

I've now identified the 13 biggest chart acts who debuted prior to 1987 in terms of number of Top 40 hits whose music I never heard pre-internet. All of them have had 17 or more Top 40 hits but I came across the other 107 via other means. I'm going to keep on going with this, the ones I relied on the internet to hear are in red:

Max Bygraves: I tried to name a Max Bygraves record without looking but couldn't. All I know is he was a comedian who made novelty record mostly in the 50s. I can however establish a time when I first heard his music. Around 15 years ago I discovered a now defunct website called Chart Stats which had every weekly chart since it began in 1952. I thought I'd listen to every Top 40 hit ever starting at the beginning but I don't think I made it beyond 1953. Max Bygraves was in that first ever chart.

Fats Domino: I remember a friend playing me his music and calling it proper R&B.

Little Richard: I feel like I've always known "Tutti Frutti" and have a memory of hearing it when I was very young at a village fete but I already knew what it was and who it was by then.

Ricky Nelson: Remember "Hello Mary Lou" on an advert and learned some years later that it was written by Gene Pitney.

Bobby Darin: Have known "La Mer (Across The Sea)" for as long as I can remember.

Neil Sedaka: Remember "Oh Carol" from a young age, not sure when I learned it was Neil Sedaka but pretty sure it was before the internet.

Sandie Shaw: Countless BBC shows throughout my life have pointed out that "Puppet On A String" won Eurovision.

Barbra Streisand: Always known her as the one who sings the dreary songs from musicals.

Marvin Gaye: On his collaborations with Diana Ross which my mother used to play.

Aretha Franklin: My memory doesn't stretch as far back as "I Knew You Were Waiting" topping the charts but it was still being played regularly on the radio once my memories do begin.

Fleetwood Mac: In 1988 when "Everywhere" was in the Top 40.

John Lennon: He was on the Now Christmas Album and I learned to play "Imagine" on the piano when I had lessons.

Carpenters: First properly appeared on my radar when I heard the guitar solo on "Goodbye To Love".

Stylistics: My mother was a fan and played them at home.

Roxy Music: I definitely was still at school when I saw the video to "Jealous Guy" and remember thinking Bryan Ferry looked like a school headmaster in it.

Leo Sayer: I heard "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" in the 90s thinking it was the Bee Gees but later discovered it was Leo Sayer.

Bob Marley: Heard the name before the music and when "Iron Lion Zion" charted in 1992 I finally heard one of his songs.

The Clash: When "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" topped the charts in 1991.

Elvis Costello: The first Elvis I'd heard of, "Oliver's Army" was played on the radio all the time.

Ultravox: Would have definitely heard "Vienna" pre-internet and the story of how it was denied number one by a novelty record.

Human League: Very difficult to not know "Don't You Want Me".

The Smiths: First heard the name when my guitar teacher told me they were his favourite band. Seen footage of "This Charming Man" on Top of the Pops many times.

Guy Mitchell: A bit like Max Bygraves he mostly did novelty records in the 50s and was in the first ever chart. Unlike Max Bygraves though he wasn't a comedian and had a couple of chart toppers that I would have listened to in the early days of YouTube.

Doris Day: Have known "Whatever Will Be" for as long as I can remember.

Winifred Atwell: Heard the name long before the internet but didn't hear any of her music until the early days of YouTube when I listened to her 2 chart toppers.

Frank Ifield: Don't think I even knew the name until I listened to his 4 chart toppers in the early days of the internet.

Bob Dylan: The first actual song I learned to play on the guitar was "Mr Tambourine Man".

The Sweet: "Ballroom Blitz" was played on the radio all the time.

Thin Lizzy: "The Boys Are Back In Town" appeared on the Gladiators in the early 90s but I already knew the song by that point but didn't know who it was by until later, though can't remember when.

Mud: "Lonely This Christmas" is on the Now Christmas Album and I've always known "Tiger Feet".

Bryan Ferry: "Let's Stick Together" was on Now 13.

Boney M: There was renewed interest in them in 1992 and a megamix made the Top 40.

Billy Joel: In 1989 when "We Didn't Start The Fire" charted.

Big Country: When "Republican Party Reptile" appeared on Pebble Mill in 1991, the song title stood out.

Style Council: "Groovin" used to get played a lot and I discovered it was the Style Council when I bought a compilation in 2001.

Paul Young: In 1991 when he charted with "Senza Una Donna".

Five Star: Caught the tail end of their Top 40 career though can't pinpoint any song, they still all merge into one today.

How do I know these chart acts: Part 3

I've now established there's 6 music acts who made their Top 40 debut before 1987 and went on to have more than 20 Top 40 hits whose music I'd never heard before the internet. I'm going to continue looking at the next biggest chart acts according to number of hits with those who I relied on the internet to hear in red:

Alma Cogan: Straight away we have another. Alma Cogan clocked up 20 Top 40 hits between 1954 and 1961 and passed away in 1966. Amongst those was the chart topper "Dreambeat" which I would have listened to in the early days of YouTube.

Petula Clark: "Downtown" is a record I feel I've known all my life and I have a vague memory of it being referred to as a Petula Clark song on the TV.

Andy Williams: When "Music To Watch Girls By" was rereleased in 1999 after it appeared on an advert I believe.

Dusty Springfield: In 1987 when she collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys on "What Have I Done To Deserve This".

Herman's Hermits: Feel like I've always known the band name and the songs "I'm Into Something Good" and "No Milk Today" and think it all came together on the TV some time.

Gladys Knight & the Pips: In 1989 when she did "Licence To Kill", I remember listening to the Top 40 countdown when it entered the Top 40 at number 40.

T Rex: In 1991 when "20th Century Boy" re-entered the charts under the name Marc Bolan & T Rex.

Level 42: In 1988 when they charted with "Heaven In My Hands" which is also on Now 13.

Lionel Richie: Certainly by the time he charted with "My Destiny" in 1992 but sure I'd heard of him before that.

Buddy Holly: Feel like I've always known about the young guy with glasses who died in a plane crash in 1959 and can trace memories of "Peggy Sue" back to early childhood.

Brenda Lee: Have heard "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" every Christmas of my life.

Dave Clark Five: I'm trying to think of what music of theirs I'd heard pre-internet and can't think of any. Therefore it would have been their chart topper "Glad All Over" in the early days of YouTube.

Cilla Black: I used to watch her present Blind Date and Surprise Surprise and remember her singing on the latter.

David Essex: A name I knew for years before I knew his music, then I discovered it was him who did "A Winters Tale".

Gary Numan: In 1987 when did charted with "Cars (E-Reg Model)". I learned about the car reg at the same time.

Kim Wilde: In 1988 when she charted with "You Came".

Bruce Springsteen: Can't pinpoint a particular song but remember him being the man playing in front of what seemed like millions of people in all of his music videos.

David Whitfield: He's not had a Top 40 hit since 1958 and I would speculate his music even sounded old fashioned back then. He topped the charts with "Answer Me" and "Cara Mia" so I would have listened to these in the early days of YouTube.

Ronnie Hilton: I'd never heard of him until I listened to his only number one "No Other Love" in the early days of YouTube. Most of his hits came in the 50s but he had a brief comeback in the mid-60s with his final hit being "A Windmill In Old Amsterdam" which I've known since I was a kid, I just didn't know who it was by.

Russ Conway: Another act whose number ones I would have listened to in the early days of YouTube. 

Ken Dodd: I knew he was a comedian who had hits but I'd not heard any of them until I listened to the chart topper "Tears" in the early days of YouTube.

Lulu: I can't remember a time when I haven't known "Shout".

Temptations: When they rereleased "My Girl" in 1992 for the film of the same name.

Olivia Newton-John: When the "Grease Megamix" charted in 1990.

Gary Glitter: When I saw him do "I'm the Leader" on Sounds of the 70s TV show though I already knew "Another Rock n Roll Christmas" from the Now Christmas Album.

The Jam: Can't remember a time when I didn't know "Going Underground".

Siouxsie & the Banshees: When they charted with "Kiss Them For Me" in 1991.

Kool & the Gang: Most likely when I heard the original of "Celebration" having heard the Kylie Minogue cover first.

A-Ha: Not sure which song but very much remember them being around in the late 80s.

Dean Martin: A bit like Frank Sinatra he'd just always been there.

Tommy Steele: Interesting how most of these acts I'd never heard pre-internet had number ones. Tommy Steele was one of those who I would therefore listen to their number one in the early days of YouTube.

Drifters: Probably "Saturday Night At The Movies" which has always been around.

Four Seasons: Not to be confused with the Four Tops or the classical piece of the same name which is what I did at a young age. Hard to pinpoint the first song of theirs I heard as several have just always been around.

Bachelors: Their music appeared on an episode of Only Fools and Horses.

Manfred Mann: Probably "5-4-3-2-1" on the advert for the chocolate bar of the same name. Also remember them appearing a lot on Sounds of the 60s.

Eric Clapton: When "Wonderful Tonight" charted in 1991.

Barry White: When he had a brief chart comeback in 1995.

Blondie: I remember "Heart of Glass" from a very young age.

Meat Loaf: Before his 90s chart comeback I used to hear "Dead Ringer For Love" a lot.

Police: Used to hear "Every Breath You Take" a lot and remember learning that it was the band Sting used to be in.

OMD: When they charted with "Sailing on the Seven Seas" in 1991.

Spandau Ballet: Can't recall a time when I didn't know "True" or "Gold".

Tears For Fears: Remember "Shout" from a very young age.

How do I know these chart acts: Part 2

Yesterday I established that Frankie Vaughan was the biggest chart act that I'd never heard of prior to the internet. The criteria was chart acts who made their Top 40 debut before my music memories begin in 1987 ranked by number of Top 40 hits they'd had. Frankie Vaughan was 38th on that list with 29 Top 40 hits to his name.

I quite enjoyed have a think about how I'd first come across each act so I thought why stop there. Here's the next batch with the ones I'd never heard the music of pre-internet in red:

Shirley Bassey: No specific memory of when I'd first head of her but sure it was to do with her singing James Bond songs

The Shadows: The first song of there's I'd heard was "Let Me Be The One" which was on a 70s compilation my mum had. Sounds nothing like a Shadows record really.

The Hollies: When they topped in the charts in 1988 with "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother". Incidentally they also had a song on the 70s compilation mentioned above with "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top".

Perry Como: "Magic Moments" is one of those records I've always known. He was also on the above 70s compilation with "And I Love You So".

Four Tops: When "Loco In Acapulco" charted in 1988. I thought they were a modern group at the time.

Beach Boys: When they did "Wipeout" with the Fat Boys in 1987. They were also on the Now Christmas Album with "Little Saint Nick".

Cher: When she charted with "If I Could Turn Back Time" in 1989. 

Electric Light Orchestra: I knew the name long before I knew any songs. I was aware they'd topped the charts collaborating with Olivia Newton-John but the first song I remember hearing was "Living Thing" in the late 90s when it was on a tape that got played at the shop I was working at. 

Abba: My mum was a fan and played them all the time.

Madness: When "It Must Be Love" returned to the charts in 1992.

Bryan Adams: The summer of 1991 when it was impossible to avoid him.

Frankie Laine: Whilst Bryan Adams holds the record for most consecutive weeks at number one, Frankie Laine holds the record with most overall weeks with "I Believe". Knowing this fact made me intrigued by this record and I think it was pointed out to me when it appeared on the radio.

Pat Boone: We have the 2nd biggest chart act who I'd first heard via the internet. I think I already knew the name but even to this very day I'd struggle to tell you much about his music. He topped the charts in 1956 with "I'll Be Home" so I would have listened to this in the early days of YouTube when I listened to all the number ones I didn't know. His Top 40 career was over by 1962.

Billy Fury: Another chart act I first came across on the internet. He had no number ones though so would have come later than Frankie Vaughan and Pat Boone. He was at his chart peak in the early 60s before The Beatles came along. I've played a few of his songs but can't remember which was the first and when it was.

Donna Summer: In 1989 when she charted with "This Time I Know It's For Real"

Phil Collins: In 1988 when he topped the charts with "A Groovy Kind Of Love" which was also on Now 13.

Jackson 5: Pretty sure it was "Blame It On The Boogie". When Big Fun did their cover in 1989 I read in Smash Hits that it was written by Michael Jackson (turns out not that Michael Jackson) but was then told they originally did it in the 70s and heard it some point after that.

Hot Chocolate: They were on the 70s compilation I've already mentioned with "You'll Always Be A Friend".

Slade: On the Now Christmas Album.

Kate Bush: When she charted with "The Sensual World" in 1989.

New Order: When "True Faith" charted in 1987.

Bananarama: "I Can't Help It" was on Now 11 and I remember Siobhan leaving the group around the same time

Simple Minds: I was surprised to discover "Alive and Kicking" came out in 1985 so I wouldn't of remembered it charting but very much associate it with my early music memories.

Eurythmics: Their popularity was in decline by 1987 but I do remember the odd looking duo of a woman with short hair singing and a bearded bloke staying quiet in the background. I think "You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart" was the first song to register.

Adam Faith: A name I'd heard long before the internet but never heard any of his music until YouTube became a thing. His first 2 hits topped the charts so I listened to them in the early days of YouTube. 

The Who: Heard about them smashing up their instruments first and then saw them do that very thing on "Sounds of the 60s" in the early 90s though I can't remember which song they played. 

Showaddywaddy: They used to play "Hey Rock and Roll" on The Gladiators in the early 90s

Sting: We used to have a local radio station on at breakfast time and "Spread A Little Happiness" was played on it a lot.

Connie Francis: The 5th act I first heard on the internet. What all 5 acts have in common is that they were all around in the 50s. She had 2 number ones so would have heard them in the early days of YouTube.

Jim Reeves: My father was never really into music but one tape he did have was a Jim Reeves one.

Gene Pitney: When he did the remake of "Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart" with Marc Almond and topped the charts with it in 1989.

Stranglers: I remember "96 Tears" in 1990 without knowing who it was but first knowingly heard a song of there's when "Golden Brown" was on The Chart Show. Must have been one from the archives.

The Cure: I remember "Lullaby" coming out in 1989 and thinking that Robert Smith looked scary.

Marillion: Not until 2004 when they returned to the Top 40 after a long time away with "You're Gone". I remember much was being made of their comeback but I'd not heard of them before. That said I'm sure I'd heard "Kayleigh" prior to that.

Johnnie Ray: A name I'd heard before the internet but never heard his music until I listened to his 3 number ones in the early days of YouTube. He's another act who was around in the 50s but unlike the other 5 acts who I'd never heard pre-internet he have had a hit beyond the 50s.

Duane Eddy: I've known "Peter Gunn" for a long time but even now I'd struggle to name another of his records.

Kinks: Hard to pinpoint. I've known songs like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night" for as long as I can remember and then some point realised they were by the Kinks.

Genesis: First aware that Phil Collins was also in a band and probably when I discovered "Invisible Touch" wasn't a Phil Collins record.

AC/DC: When I was into rock/metal in the early 90s and they were one of the legendary old bands we could appreciate. Would guess the first one I heard was "Highway To Hell".

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 21

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

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 records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

27. Pavement - Carrot Rope

Pavement are one of those bands who appear to be big in America but not really having much impact in the UK. From a Top 40 perspective they had just 2 hits, and this one was the biggest one at number 27. I can see why Americans would take to this song more than the UK, but I think it's pretty good.

Verdict - Good

24. Happy Mondays - The Boys Are Back In Town

Happy Mondays were one of the big Madchester bands of the early 90s but then they broke up and then reformed at the end of the 90s with this being their comeback single. It's a cover of the Thin Lizzy record with a few expletives added to it. It's a bit of a questionable comeback single, but it's not too bad. The original is miles better though.

Verdict - OK

23. 1000 Clowns - (Not The) Greatest Rapper

1000 Clowns were a rap group saying they weren't the greatest rapper. It was their only UK Top 40 hit. They are right that they aren't the greatest rappers, but you don't have to be to make a good record. Unfortunately they didn't achieve that either.

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 13.5/30, or 45%. Now we're slipping.