UK Number 40s: Mumm-Ra - What Would Steve Do (2007)

 

There's a connection to M People with this record. Musically there's no similarity at all, M People were a dance pop act of the 90s and Mumm-Ra were an indie band of the 21st century. 

Following the end of M People though, the M from M People Mike Pickering went onto to work as a record label A&R and it was him who signed Mumm-Ra to Colombia Records.

This was their debut single that failed to reach the Top 40 when first released in 2006. It did however succeed when reissued in 2007 and became their only Top 40 hit to date. The band split the following year.

25 Years Since....March 2000

The 21st Century was in full swing and I was still optimistic about the future. Here's the tunes I was enjoying:

Artful Dodger ft Romina Johnson - Movin Too Fast

I remember this record confusing a few people. Artful Dodger had become a household name thanks to debut hit "Re-Rewind" but I heard more than 1 person saying what's happened to the bloke who says "Re-Rewind".

That bloke was of course Craig David, featured vocalist on that record and not the Artful Dodger. This was the follow up record and still really the calm before the storm in terms of UK garage exploded into the charts. 

Honeyz - Won't Take It Lying Down

This was the 5th Top 40 hit for the Honeyz and 5th one to make the Top 10. No R&B act had managed to reach the Top 10 with their first 5 singles before. Unfortunately they wouldn't reach the Top 10 again, they next 2 singles would flop and they were dropped from their label before the still unreleased 2nd album.

It's different to their previous 4 hits, more upbeat and different lyrical content. It grew on me though and I have to say I do like the video.

Moby - Natural Blues

Moby enjoyed great success in the early 90s most notably with debut hit "Go". Once he started to experiment in the late 90s his career took a downturn but by the time this record came out he was bigger than ever before.

He'd established himself as more of an ambient artist with records like this as opposed to the rave sounds he was previously known for. I listened to this a lot in my car at the time because his "Play" album was just about the only new album I had on cassette. I eventually bought it on CD once I had a CD player in my car.

Chili Hi Fly - Is This Love

Another record that I'm pretty sure I first heard in the summer of 1999. Turns out this record was originally released in 1998. It was the only Top 40 hit for Chili Hi Fly who were a duo from Australia.

I guess in Australia the was technically the end of the summer of 1999 for them, well the summer that began in 1999 anyway. I don't know how they refer to these things. I'm sure this won't be the last 20th century record to feature here.

N 'N' G ft Kallaghan - Right Before My Eyes

Back in the day pretty much all the records DJ Vibes made was with someone called Wishdokta. This wasn't a DJ you'd see on any rave line ups and I knew nothing about him aside from being someone who made records with Vibes.

Later on I discovered Wishdokta was Grant Nelson who became one of the pioneers of UK garage and is the "G" in N 'N' G with "N" being fellow garage pioneer Norris "Da Boss" Windross. Much like Grant Nelson I was finding myself more drawn towards garage than happy hardcore by this point.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 13

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. Echo & The Bunnymen - Rust

The final Top 40 hit to date for Echo & The Bunnymen and the end of their late 90s revival. There were just 3 Top 40 singles from this era but it felt like they did a lot more than that, when I heard the band name I think of Chris Evans introducing them on TFI Friday. This record fitted in quite well with the boring indie music that was happening around this time.

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 13/30, or 43%. An improvement despite just one rubbish record between 21-30.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 13

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

E-Rotic - Fred Come To Bed

We say hello again to German Eurodance act E-Rotic. We saw them in the 2nd week with "Max Don't Have Sex With Your Ex". Well it turns out Max did have sex with his ex so the singer is now asking Fred to come to bed because of it. They wouldn't trouble the Dutch Top 40 again but continued to have hits in other countries such as their native Germany.

Sandy Kandau - Young Hearts Run Free (Party Mix)

Sandy Kandau was born in Germany but lived in Holland. This as you may expect is a cover of the Candi Staton record. This was the only Dutch Top 40 hit for Sandy Kandau but I gather she's just as famous for being a TV presenter and actress in Holland.

Twenty 4 Seven ft Stay C & Nance - Keep On Tryin

Twenty 4 Seven were a Dutch Eurodance act who had a couple of UK Top 40 hits at the start of the 90s with German based American Captain Hollywood. We've already seen Captain Hollywood continued to have hits in Holland long after this. As Twenty 4 Seven were Dutch it makes sense that they continued to have hits too. This was the point though where they were only having hits in Holland.

2002: The Good Old Days? - June

When I got into rave in the 90s I wanted to trade my guitar for some turntables. A few years later I finally got some turntables it quickly became apparent it would be an expensive hobby and I was a poor student. With vinyl costing around a fiver each it would cost another £100 to buy enough vinyl to play the same set everytime. Basically my DJing never truly got underway and I concentrated my efforts on my band instead.

What's this got to do with the charts in 2002? Well this was the last time I tried to give the DJing another go and I bought 2 of the records that feature this month on vinyl. These were "Be Cool" by Paffendorf and "The Logical Song" by Scooter. The latter made Scooter a household name in this country but they had been going since the mid-90s and had a few minor hits over here back then too.

Dance music was the most prolific genre this month and the majority of the dance records get at least half a point. It also gives us the best record which is "Love Story" by Layo & Bushwacka. This was the original instrumental version and therefore the better version.

However dance music also gives us the worst record which is "Get Over You" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. I thought her providing vocals to "Groovejet" was bad enough, but her solo career took it to another level.

Not so good on the rap front this month. Eminem did his traditional piss take lead single of his upcoming album with "Without Me" but that concept had worn thin by this record so gets not points. Busta Rhymes is normally reliable for points but having P Diddy feature on "Pass The Courvoisier - Part II" put me off and The Neptunes production made me think otherwise. In reality it's not a very good tune. Then we have "Hot In Herre" by Nelly, far too pop for my liking. The only points come from Ludacris with "Rollout (My Business)" which is OK.

R&B is a mixed bag. We have the only decent record from Ms Dynamite with "It Takes More" whilst I do quite like "Roll On / This Is How We Do It" by Mis-Teeq even if they we better doing garage. We also have the only Top 40 hit from a British singer called Rhianna. She's nowhere near as bad as the singer from Barbados but still not great.

A particularly good record that deserves a mention is "Jump On Demand" by Spunge. They were a rare example of a British punk band in the 21st century who managed to break through to the mainstream. They are still going but have to work day jobs to pay the bills, perhaps a lesson that my dreams of being super rich via my own punk band were never going to happen even if we did made it big.

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: 23%

Here's a look at the chart:

The same score as June 03 so now it's up to May to deliver.

UK Number 40s: Bowling For Soup - High School Never Ends (2007)

 

Bowling For Soup were one of the pop punk bands who were big in the early part of the 21st century. They made their Top 40 debut in 2002 with "Girl All the Bad Guys Want". There was something quite American high school about their music despite the fact they were in their 30s by that point.

It would be another 2 years until their follow up Top 40 hit "1985" and then another 3 years until this, their 3rd and final Top 40 hit to date.

The fact that high school is in the title means they've stuck to the same formula. The message though is that you still have the same sort of bullshit to put up with in adult life as you did at high school. It gave those who were at high school when they first broke through to move through the times with them.

However the record also contains the lyric "And you still listen to the same shit you did back then" which you can translate as nobody is interested in your new material, they just want to hear what they listened to in high school.

UK Number 40s: Thunder - The Devil Made Me Do It (2006)

 

In 2006 I recall a work colleague saying they were going to see Thunder in concert. Then later on in the year after I'd moved jobs and cities there were a few people in this new job who were also going to see Thunder in concert.

My initial thought was oh yes Thunder, the 80s hard rock band. It also made sense to me that people of those work colleagues sort of age were going to see them in concert. Little did I know that Thunder were still having Top 40 hits just about.

I also wasn't really accurate about them being an 80s band either. They did form in 1989 but didn't make their Top 40 debut or release their first album until 1990.

The clocked up a total of 18 Top 40 hits with this being the final one. They also have never charted any higher than 18 and jointly hold the record of most Top 40 hits without a Top 10 with the Super Furry Animals.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 12

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:

29. Kavana - Will You Wait For Me

Yes that's right, Kavana was still going in 1999 just about. This was his 8th and final Top 40 hit to date. It's a dreary ballad which was enough to put off the few people who still were buying his records. Hopefully I won't hear his music ever again.

Verdict - Rubbish

18. Daniel O'Donnell - The Way Dreams Are

With this record Daniel O'Donnell became just the 5th act to have at least one Top 40 hit every year between 1992 and 1999 after Whitney Houston, Elton John, East 17 and Madonna. Whilst many people could name a number of hits by those four, how many could name a Daniel O'Donnell hit? I've forgot this one already.

Verdict - Rubbish

14. Travis - Writing To Reach You

Apparently "74-75" by The Connells inspired this song. There's no resemblance though aside from the fact both are mellow songs. Whilst The Connells record is really well made, this Travis record is just as boring as....well a Travis record. 

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Orbital - Style

I recall Orbital being an act who benefited from the surge in popularity in dance music by the end of the 90s. They had gone from someone only the dance music community spoke about to someone everybody was talking about. That sort of ruined it for me, but there was no denying that they were still making top music.

Verdict - Good

12. The Beautiful South - How Long's A Tear Take To Dry?

This record marked the end of the late 90s revival of The Beautiful South. A small number of minor hits that I don't remember followed in the 21st century but I remember this one very well. Although I don't remember anyone specifically liking this, it has got me thinking about a number of disagreements I was having with a number of people about music at the time. Maybe I pretended to like this one just to piss them off.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. REM - At My Most Beautiful

The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for REM bringing their total for the decade to 22. I remember around this time someone pointing out numerous times that REM should be held in high regard because they had also been around in the 80s. Like with a lot of so called legendary bands who were around for a long time, their music is a mixed bag. This ones a ballad and actually isn't bad, but nowhere near their best.

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 12/30, or 40%. The good ones have stuck around it seems.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 12

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

Gordon - Miracle (TV-Tune Love Letters)

It's Gordon again, the Dutch bloke we saw in the 2nd week who isn't really called Gordon and sings in English. This time he's singing the theme tune to a Dutch TV show with an English name "Love Letters" which ran from 1990-2005 in Holland. 

Ice MC - Take Away The Colour (1995 Reconstruction)

Well we've reached the point of the year where we're going to be seeing acts charting for a 2nd time. Ice MC was an artist already in the Top 40. To recap, Ice MC is a British MC who was based in Italy and had just one minor UK Top 40 hit to his name, but greater chart success on the continent. This is a remix of an earlier hit and features Italian singer Alexia who was yet to have her brief chart career in the UK Top 40.

20 Fingers ft Roula - Lick It

Yes that's right, 20 Fingers of "Short Dick Man" or the censored version "Short Short Man" fame had another record. They're not from Holland though, they're from America. Like their big hit and as the title might suggest, this has lyrics that are explicit. It would be the 2nd and final time they'd make the Dutch Top 40 but appeared to make more of an impact in Italy where this topped the charts and they managed to stretch their singles chart career to 4 records.

Danny Lukassen I.s.m Flair & De Ajax Supportersclub - Ajax Is Kampeon

You don't really need to speak Dutch to work out that this is a football record and that the English translation is "Ajax Are Champions". Seems a bit premature to declare that in March, but turns out they were unbeaten all season and whilst I doubt that they would have officially been champions by that point it seemed inevitable.

2002: The Good Old Days? - July

In many ways my music tastes are a little older than my years. When I talk about the good old days of rave for example I talk of a time when I was too young to actually go to a rave but was always listening to the tapes. There are however some things I was the right age for, one of which was the Fatboy Slim era.

It was July 2002 when he played to 250k people on Brighton Beach and being in my early 20s at the time I was the right sort of age to be there. Unfortunately I was living the other end of the country in Newcastle at the time and couldn't be bothered to go all that way. 

My pick for the best record was the one Fatboy Slim opened his set with which was "It Just Won't Do" by Tim Deluxe & Sam Obernik. Despite not being there I do hold some nostalgia for it and have watched it on YouTube many times.

Dance music was the most prolific genre in July and it also contributed most of the points to this months score. Just missing out on best record was "LK (Carolina Carol Bela)" by DJ Marky & XRS & Stamina MC. Also getting full marks were Beginerz with "Reckless Girl" and Fischerspooner with "Emerge".

There's half points for Rob Dougan with "Clubbed To Death" and DJ Shog with "This Is My Sound". Inevitably there was rubbish too such as "Shooting Star" by Flip & Fill which was the first of many watered down covers of happy hardcore tunes. 

What about the rap and R&B then? Well rap contributes no points because there weren't any rap records. R&B on the other hand was a mixed bag.

The R&B points come from Ashanti and Alicia Keys, both records reminding me of a seaside trip I went on that wasn't to Brighton that summer. Another that reminds me a little of that trip is the worst record which is "Work It Out" by Beyonce. It's not the worst thing she's done by any means but this is where her solo career began, without it there may have been no solo career which would have been a good thing.

The Pet Shop Boys had their most unusual Top 40 hit with "I Get Along". I say unusual because they swapped the synths for guitars which is very unlike them. I do quite like it though.

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: 21%

Here's a look at the chart:

Halfway though the year and we're yet to get above 25%. Then again we didn't in the 2nd half of 2003 either. We should hopefully at least see an improvement in the first half of the year.

UK Number 40s: Cast Of High School Musical - We're All In This Together (2006)

 

High School Musical was a Disney movie that I've never seen and have no intention of ever watching, but I do recall it being pretty big at the time. So big in fact that Pot Noodle did a High School Music inspired advert. As a result when I watch this I just think "I love making Pot Noodle, more fun than throwing a poodle".

The lead single from the soundtrack to the movie "Breaking Free" made number 9. Then came this and I guess the record buying public just thought it was overkill. One of the songwriters on this record is 80s singer Robbie Nevil.

It would be the final Top 40 hit for "Cast Of High School Musical" but the following year we would get "Cast Of High School Musical 2" plus a number 40 by 2 of the cast members. More on that when the time comes.

UK Number 40s: Maccabees - First Love (2006)

 

A few years ago someone at work had tickets for the farewell tour of the Maccabees but couldn't attend. She sent an email to everyone in the company trying to sell the tickets along with links to their big hits saying you must remember all these. I didn't know any of the so called big hits she posted.

It turns out they had 3 Top 40 hits and never got any higher than number 33. This was their Top 40 debut and was taken from their debut album "Colour It In". 

Follow up single "About Your Dress" from the same album was their highest charting hit at 33 whilst their final Top 40 hit "Love You Better" made number 36.

Despite the lack of Top 40 hits after this, their final album did top the albums chart.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 11

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. Alanis Morissette - Joining You

I should be suing Alanis Morissette for copyright. The guitar riff to the intro of this record is the same as one I wrote a few years earlier. That said I'm sure someone else wrote the same riff in their bedroom never to be heard by anyone else years before I did. The point is a very basic riff I wrote when trying to get to grips with the guitar for the first time is the best thing about this record.

Verdict - Rubbish

24. Jay-Z ft Amil And Ja Rule - Can I Get A...

This was the Top 40 debut for Ja Rule and only Top 40 hit for Amil who was a protégé of Jay-Z. It was from the film "Rush Hour". It was the era before Ja Rule became famous for his mix of rap and R&B and some say he had more credibility prior to that. Collaborating with Jay-Z though is hardly credible in my book and I'd much rather hear him collaborating with an R&B singer.

Verdict - Rubbish

22. Mytown - Party All Night

Mytown were an Irish boy band looking to fill the void that would be left by Boyzone at the end of the year. Unfortunately for them, Westlife were just around the corner. Not sure that would have made much difference though given how this, their only Top 40 hit wasn't exactly a huge success. A couple of its members would reappear a few years later as part of The Script.

Verdict - Rubbish

17. Skunk Anansie - Charlie Big Potato

I have to say I like the title of this record, it draws my interest at least. Then with the drum & bass style intro it draws my interest even further. However once the actual song kicks in I start to lose interest. It isn't a bad record, it's just lacking in excitement.

Verdict - OK

12. E17 - Betcha Can't Wait

Had this single not made the Top 40 then East 17 would have had a total of 17 Top 40 hits. As it did though they had 18. They were really making the statement that they were now an R&B group with similarities to the likes of Jodeci. It's not bad but at the same time it's an illustration of British R&B not being as good as its American counterpart.

Verdict - OK

10. Ginuwine - What's So Different?

Ginuwine was back with a second album of which this was the lead single. Once again Timbaland was the main man behind it and this would be the last original Ginuwine Top 40 hit where Timbaland was involved. It's another record that fits the alright but lacking in excitement category.

Verdict - OK

7. Madonna - Nothing Really Matters

If I remember correctly it was around the time of this record that we had a TV programme of Madonna being interviewed by Johnny Vaughan. My memories of that interview was that she was talking a lot of nonsense and she came across as someone who saw herself as some sort of superhuman, which she isn't. This record in particular did nothing to convince me otherwise.

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 11/30, or 37%. The 2nd week nothing new is good.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 11

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

U96 - Club Bizarre

Good to see U96 again, although sad to say this will be the last time they will feature. It features a sped up sample of "Do You Dream" by Carlton. This meant that anyone else could try to make a similar record by using the same sample and that's what Kaos and Energy did in the UK in 1997 with "Breakin Free". One of many examples of this sort of thing happening.

Paul Elstak - Life Is Like A Dance

The main reason UK producers would make their own versions of records from other countries by using the same sample was due to DJs like Paul Elstak doing the same to them and having greater success with it. Dougal originally made "Life Is Like A Dance" which was relatively popular within the hardcore scene in the UK, but these records never really sold in huge numbers. Paul Elstak made his own version and landed his first Dutch Top 40 hit with it and made the Top 10. 

Dominica - Gotta Let You Go

With a name like Dominica and a tune that sounds like this I assumed it would be Italian. It's not though, it's American. I'm sure I knew this record in 1995, I certainly knew it before I started exploring the Dutch charts. It also makes me think I was there in 1995 and they were much better times.

Pharao - There Is A Star

In the early to mid-90s there were a ridiculous number of Eurodance acts making the UK Top 40 that all following the same sort of formula with a female singer and male rapper. When you look beyond the UK charts you find there's even more of them. Pharao were a German Eurodance act who never had a UK Top 40 . This was their only Dutch Top 40 hit.

Popmaster TV 2025

We've just come to the end of another series of Popmaster TV. It only feels like yesterday that the first series began but it's getting on for 3 years now. What did I make of this latest series?

Well one of the differences this time is I most likely watched most of the episodes on catch up this time round whereas previously I'd made more of an effort to watch it live. I watched every episode but somehow felt less engaged this time round. Whilst I applied to the first 2 series and failed to get on, I didn't bother applying this time round though did consider it.

There is something that's occurred to me, are the earlier rounds too specialised or is Popmaster itself a specialist area of music knowledge that we don't realise?

I say this because there are contestants who have been on Champions League on the radio version who have gone out early on the TV version. As a former Champions League contestant myself I do question whether I would be one of those were I to get on.

I like the links round and do get the majority of questions correct. I find the way questions link together quite interesting. My only complaint is lack of consistency, I recall in one episode one contestant had quite simple questions such as what instrument Mick Fleetwood plays then the next contestant got questions about Taylor Swift and One Direction which is something most people over 35 will struggle with which is most contestants.

I feel like if I was to draw the Taylor Swift and One Direction questions in that it would be an early bath for me. I'm not bad at the intros, middles and ends round but the contestants can be very quick and I could easily see myself scoring zero in that round.

In the grand final I kept a worst case scenario score in the first 2 rounds. My worst links score from a set of questions was 9 and there were 2 songs in the intros, middles and ends round where I shouted out the answer before any contestant buzzed and both would have bagged me 5 points, so 19 points which would have comfortably seen me through to the next round.

Video Gaga has changed this series and for the better in my opinion. My previous gripe was the lack of consistency, one contestant would get a still from an iconic video whilst another would get a video from 2020 that nobody under 25 has seen. Now the contestant can buzz in with an answer to a question and then pick a category for the video they get.

However the Video Gaga round wasn't so good in the grand final. 3 of the 4 sets of questions were far too modern and one set was a video by Leon Bridges who I've never heard of before. He's never had a Top 40 hit either and this brought back memories of the new Jack Savoretti song being a Popmaster question in the Radio 2 days which you fortunately don't get on Greatest Hits Radio.

The Mixtape round often has at least one artist I've never heard of or couldn't name a record by, but at least the contestant can try to avoid that artist when pressing the button. The years round is what it is and no complaints really aside from when the year is too modern.

I've already ranted about It's Only Words carrying too many points so I won't go there again. What I will say is that if I was on the show I would have possibly made it to this point, but there's no way I would have scored enough points on this round to make it to the final.

The eye opener for the regular Popmaster round is that I don't think any contestant scored a full house this series. Most of the contestants got nowhere near and there was one contestant who scored zero. This brings me back to my original point, does regular Popmaster only cover an element of ones music knowledge or are the earlier rounds too specialist? Like I said we've had contestants who have scored full houses on the radio get eliminated early and contestants who have clocked up lots of points in the earlier rounds but struggled with the final.

It's already been confirmed there will be a 4th series but will there be a 5th?

I'm not so sure. From where I've looked on the internet there seems to be very little discussion about it. When I watched the grand final I could count the number of tweets on the hashtag on my hands. I've not found any articles about it. I feel the excitement of Popmaster making it to TV has faded away. I'll continue to watch until they pull the plug but I do think it's days are numbered.

2002: The Good Old Days? - August

As an R&B fan in 2002 one thing I would do was try and convince myself that some R&B records were good when they really weren't. Examples from this month included "Rainy Dayz" by Mary J Blige & Ja Rule which I even bought the single of and "Addictive" by Truth Hurts. I even tried to like "Boys" by Britney Spears because it feature Pharrell Williams.

I hindsight I don't like any of these records and I don't consider any of the R&B records from this month to be any good.

Rap on the other hand was generally much better. The rap records this month remind me of going to HMV that summer with an old college friend who spend over £100 on CDs there. One CD I remember him buying was the latest Cam'ron album, one I would have bought myself if I'd had enough funds based on "Oh Boy" which is the best record of this month.

I also remember him buying the solo album by Romeo from the So Solid Crew. That wasn't on my want list partly because I wasn't a fan of the So Solid Crew but I had to concede his self titled solo debut single was good. An album I did buy that day was "In Search Of" by Nerd which contained the single "Rock Star". A record featuring Pharrell which is genuinely good.

Plenty of dance music entering the Top 40 this month and most of these records do contribute points. The problem is too many are average rather than good. The best of these dance records is the experimental "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold. 

From the punk world we have "My Friends Over You" by New Found Glory which I'm surprised to discover was their only UK Top 40 hit. They always seemed a bit too poundland Blink 182 for my liking, but this was a record of theirs which I did like.

Plenty of candidates for the worst record but this month it goes to the Sugababes with "Round Round". My immediate reaction when I heard it was that it was shit. Then I heard it out and about all the time but what stands out is the slow bit in the middle which really doesn't work in that environment.

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: 23%

Here's a look at the chart:

Too many average records keeps the score down for August. We're on a par with August 2003 so there's still hope 2002 will be better in the earlier months.

UK Number 40s: Trivium - Anthem (We Are The Fire) (2006)

 

As mentioned previously, heavy metal has had a big following for a long time but the number of heavy metal records making the Top 40 has always been few and far between.

This was the only UK Top 40 hit for American heavy metal band Trivium. If you imagine what a collaboration between Iron Maiden and Metallica would sound like then this record would probably be it. The likening to Metallica is what critics were pointing out at the time.

It came from their 3rd album "The Crusade". In order to promote the album they went on tour with, funnily enough, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

UK Number 40s: Shapeshifters & Chic - Sensitivity (2006)

 

Shapeshifters topped the charts with their Top 40 debut "Lola's Theme" in 2004. They ended their Top 40 career with this record which was their fourth hit. All four singles appeared on their album "Sound Advice".

Chic made their Top 40 debut back in 1977 and were one of the big names of the disco scene at the time. The bulk of their hits came in the 70s but they had further hits in 1987 with "Jack Le Freak" which was a house remix of "Le Freak" and then this in 2006.

In reality it wasn't so much featuring Chic, it was featuring Nile Rodgers on guitar. Seeing how Nile Rodgers has successfully featured on other more modern records perhaps this record came out too soon.

Shapeshifters were the more commercial side of dance music and had connections to the Swedish songwriters who wrote many hits of the modern era. They once included Swedish member Max Reich but nowadays are just Simon Marlin on his own.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 10

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:

24. Cleopatra - A Touch Of Love

The wheels were now falling off for Cleopatra. After reaching the Top 5 with their first 3 hits they only managed number 24 with this one. It seems like bad timing with this one, it's more suitable for Christmas/winter time rather than spring. That said maybe the record buying public were just sick of them by now.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Sheryl Crow - Anything But Down

After reaching number 19 with "There Goes The Neighborhood" Sheryl Crow does the same again with her next single "Anything But Down". I would say this one was more memorable that it's predecessor, but it's not my cup of tea.

Verdict - Rubbish

14. Kula Shaker - Mystical Machine Gun

Kula Shaker failed to reach the Top 10 with this record having previously scored 5 Top 10 hits in a row. It was the beginning of the end for them and they split up later on in the year. I can understand why this didn't succeed, it's not very catchy and sounds a bit of a mess.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Elton John And LeAnn Rimes - Written In The Stars

This was Elton Johns final Top 40 hit of the 20th century and his 58th Top 40 hit overall. Very few artists have reached that milestone to this very day. No Bernie Taupin on this one, the lyrics are instead written by Tim Rice. A male/female duet with Tim Rice involved can only mean one thing, it's from a musical. That inevitably means it's crap.

Verdict - Rubbish

9. Shawn Mullins - Lullaby

The only Top 40 hit for Shawn Mullins. It sounds like it should be from a film, but it doesn't appear to be. I also lump this record together with "She's So High" by Tal Bachman which came out later on in the year. I find it a bit cringeworthy to be honest.

Verdict - Rubbish

7. The Cardigans - Erase/Rewind

This wasn't a double a-side, the "/" is in the title. The Cardigans are a band who haven't aged well in my opinion. I didn't mind this at the time, but listening now I'm finding there's very little to like about this record.

Verdict - Rubbish

4. Stereophonics - Just Looking

Before I knew the title for this record I thought he was singing "I'm just working". Around this time lots of people seemed to be into the Stereophonics. I remember knowing someone who would always wear a Stereophonics hat. I never got why, I've always found them very boring.

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 12.5/30, or 42%. With all that rubbish the score was always going to drop.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 10

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

Sugar Lee Hooper - De Wandelclub

As I don't speak Dutch it's hard for me to tell if this song is supposed to be a novelty hit or not. As I was intrigued I translated the lyrics and they're certainly odd. Sugar Lee Hooper was a singer who was in her late 40s at the time and she was bald and wearing some bizarre clothing. She passed away in 2010 so never got to witness the weird looking singers of the modern era.

Herbie - Right Type Of Mood

Herbie is a British artist whose only UK Top 40 hit as an artist was featuring on "Gotta Be You" by 3T. He has however had plenty of success as a songwriter writing hits for 5ive and Backstreet Boys amongst others. He was one of the Cherion Studios songwriters in Sweden that was started by Denniz Pop and continued by Max Martin and basically took over the songwriting side of modern pop music. This is a Eurodance record with Herbie rapping on it.

Irene Moors & De Smurfen - Waarom Doe Jij Nooit Gewoon - Hela Hola

The Smurfs are back with Irene Moors, but this didn't match the success of their "No Limit" cover. They're singing and rapping in Dutch, but it almost sounds like they're trying to do "No Limit" again. It may be a cover of a Dutch record I don't know, can't find anything else with the same title though.

2002: The Good Old Days? - September

We're in the era when I would describe my music taste as dance, rap and R&B. One genre I should of perhaps included in there was dancehall because I was listening to that too.

There were 2 dancehall new entries in September 2002 and both were good. We had "Feel It Boy" by Beenie Man & Janet Jackson which I loved at the time. Then we had the debut Top 40 single for Sean Paul with "Gimme The Light" which found greater success when it re-entered the Top 40 a few months later.

Aside from these 2 dancehall records the rest of the points all come from the dance, rap and R&B genres.

The best of these was "Two Months Off" by Underworld. Whilst "Born Slippy" is by far the best known Underworld record I'd say "Two Months Off" is a fans favourite.

This month I've given full marks to a vocal trance record. N-Trance team back up with Kelly Llorenna to do "Forever" which was billed as a sort of "Set You Free" reunion even though she'd sang for them since. It was also before Kelly Llorenna did "Heart Of Gold" etc so I guess I was feeling nostalgic at the time hence I liked it. There's more of a proper trance record in "Can U Dig It" by JamX & Deleon and we also have "Nessaja" by Scooter which is possibly their best record of the 21st century.

Rap wise we have "Cleanin Out My Closet" by Eminem and "Nothin" by Nore both getting full marks. There were also 2 non-So Solid Crew efforts from So Solid Crew members with mixed results. Oxide & Neutrino were partly responsible for the demise of UK Garage but they were much better at doing rap and "Dem Girlz (I Don't Know Why)" is decent. Harvey on the other hand had a terrible record with "Get Up And Move" and after this he seemingly left his music career and gangsta roots behind to become a T4 presenter.

R&B wise there were just 2 records and both were crap. There was "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" by Ms Dynamite who's only ever made one good record and "Call Me" by Tweet who I don't think has ever made a decent record.

Time for the worst record then which goes to Pink with "Just Like A Pill". She broke through a couple of years earlier as an R&B singer but now she was a rock singer. In reality she was a watered down version of both and there was nothing genius about her reinventing herself as a rock singer. She just got Dallas Austin to write her a record instead of Babyface.

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: 22%

Here's a look at the chart:

2002 hasn't been convincing so far. Maybe the first half of the year will get stronger like 2003.

UK Number 40s: Primal Scream - Dolls (2006)

 

With this record Primal Scream became the 3rd act to score 2 number 40 hits. They had previous reached number 40 with "Higher Than The Sun" back in 1991. They followed in the footsteps of Queenryche and Saint Etienne.

They had been around since the 80s and made a point of changing their sound with each album. A consequence of this meant there was the danger of running out of sounds to change to. This is what the critics said had happened with their album "Riot City Blues" on which this appears.

Yet the lead single from the album "Country Girl" had reached number 5 earlier on in the year and became their highest charting single to date. This would be their final Top 40 hit but they would carry on making music for years to come.

UK Number 40s: Frank - I'm Not Shy (2006)

 

We'd already seen a number of successful music acts called Frank such as Frank Sinatra, so it would have been a brave move simply calling yourself Frank. Except this wasn't a person called Frank just using their first name, this was a girl group.

They were part of a TV show called "Totally Frank", a Channel 4 TV series that follows a band called Frank who were struggling to make it in the music business. It lasted for 2 series with each series containing 13 episodes.

These struggles were the reality for Frank themselves though. This was their only Top 40 hit and they were dropped from their record label shortly afterward.

The song was originally recorded by Nylon who were yet another long forgotten girl group from this era.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 9

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:

29. Metallica - Whiskey In The Jar

Although Metallica are American, I've always though that James Hetfield sounds Irish when he sings. I therefore found it quite amusing when Metallica did a version of a traditional Irish song. The nature of the video meant it was often on the music channels late at night. I would say this was a return to form for them.

Verdict - Good

28. Michelle Collins - Sunburn

After Michelle Collins left Eastenders she went on to star in the TV series "Sunburn", a fictional show about holidays reps which was a bit crap as I recall. This was the theme music to the TV show. The only positive thing I can say is that it's not as bad as the crap fellow Eastender Martin McCutcheon did that year.

Verdict - Rubbish

23. Gene - As Good As It Gets

The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Gene and the last time they'll feature as their final Top 40 hit never made the Top 30. They debuted in 1994 so had a pretty good innings. This record is quite possibly as good as it gets for Genes music, but that doesn't mean it's any good.

Verdict - Rubbish

22. Babybird - Back Together

The 7th Top 40 hit for Babybird and he wasn't finished yet. Not bad for someone who's only really remembered for just one song. One of the reasons he's only remembered for one song has to be due to the fact his other songs aren't that memorable.

Verdict - Rubbish

18. Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild

It had been 30 years since this originally was in the Top 40 and it looks like it was rereleased to promote a greatest hits album even though this was their only hit. It's one of those classics that many of us like, including me.

Verdict - Good

14. Lucid - Crazy

This was the follow up to their chart debut "I Can't Help Myself", a record I absolutely loved at the time. It was therefore always going to be difficult to follow up with a record that's as good. This record isn't as good, but I do recall thinking this was pretty crazy when I saw it on Top of the Pops, and in a good way.

Verdict - Good

5. 'N Sync - I Want You Back

At the time I remember somebody pointing out this record sounds just like the Backstreet Boys when it came on the radio. I thought it actually was the Backstreet Boys, but it was actually the breakthrough hit in the UK for N Sync. It was written by Denniz Pop and Max Martin so could have just as easily ended up being a Backstreet Boys record.

Verdict - Rubbish

4. Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor

The solo career of Lauryn Hill is best known by 2 songs with this one being the 2nd. There's something quite unique about having a highly regard career as both a solo artist and as part of a group with both being so brief. Quality of quantity I guess.

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 15.5/30, or 52%. The 3rd week in a row we've had this score.