Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed: Week 50

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

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 30 from this week in 1991 with my verdict on each record:

30. Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

Lots of samples in this one which got them into trouble, quite common for dance records which got bigger than anticipated. One of the samples is the Pink Floyd record of the same name but the most notable is "Just Get Up and Dance" by Afrika Bambaataa. 

Verdict - Good

29. Kenny Thomas - Tender Love

This was originally a hit for Force MDs in 1986. It was the fourth Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas and his third cover. It's basically a karaoke version of the original. 

Verdict - Rubbish

28. Shades Of Rhythm - Extacy

The Shade Of Rhythm many people know is "Sound Of Eden" but that only made number 35 earlier on in the year. This is the lesser known of the 2 singles but the higher charting one. This is one of the all time greats, definitely a contender for best charting rave tune ever.

Verdict - Good

27. Queen - The Show Must Go On

This was the final Top 40 hit for Queen during Freddie Mercury's lifetime. Interestingly Leo Sayer, who's vocals have previously been mistaken for being Freddie Mercury, made his Top 40 debut with a different record called "The Show Must Go On". Furthermore the final week "The Show Must Go On" by Leo Sayer was in the charts, Queen were making their chart debut with "Seven Seas Of Rhye". Anyway what do I think of this record? I like it, one of the better Queen singles in my opinion

Verdict - Good

26. Prince And The New Power Generation - Diamonds And Pearls

I'm shocked this record only got to number 25. I would have had this down as a bigger hit than "Gett Off" and "Cream", his other 1991 hits but it wasn't. Then again maybe this was the record that had the biggest impact on me personally. It's difficult to pick what my favourite Prince single is but this one would definitely be up there.

Verdict - Good

25. Jason Donovan - The Joseph Mega-Remix (New)

Jason Donavan had now left Stock Aitken & Waterman but hearing this you'd question why he bothered. It's basically a bunch of songs from the Joseph musical with a dance beat behind it that really doesn't sound out of place amongst Stock Aitken & Waterman hits. 

Verdict - Rubbish

24. Tina Turner - Way Of The World

This is a bit of a strange one for me. It's a bit of a generic nothing song on one hand. At the same time it reminds me of late 1991 and all the good music that was around then which makes me think it's alright.

Verdict - OK

23. Martika - Martika's Kitchen

This is the final Top 40 hit to date for Martika. It was composed by Prince and you can tell. With the track title being what it is, it was obviously written for Martika but I could imagine Prince doing this record himself. I do prefer "Toy Soldiers" but this is a pretty solid finish to a Top 40 career.

Verdict - Good

22. Bizarre Inc - Playing With Knives

This failed to make the Top 40 when released earlier on in the year but following the success of "Such A Feeling" it ended up making the Top 10. This is the big Bizarre Inc hit that was made for the dancefloor rather than the charts. I love it.

Verdict - Good

21. 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This

The Top 40 debut for 2 Unlimited, though they had a Top 40 hit the previous year as Bizz Nizz. I did like this at the time, but my memory has been somewhat tainted by the crap they released after this. I also remember hearing it a few years later for the first time in a while and it sounded much slower than I remembered. 

Verdict - OK

20. UK Mixmasters - The Bare Necessities Megamix (New)

This was on the local radio station at breakfast time on what seemed a daily basis at the time. In fact it was played so much that it's now reminded me of what I used to eat for breakfast at the time. It's also just reminded me of something we did at school at the end of term before breaking up for Christmas. Maybe its symbolic that it's reminding me of pretty tedious things, it's a truly awful record. 

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Cliff Richard - We Should Be Together

After singing on the previous 3 Christmas number ones, here's Cliff Richard with another hit in the run up to Christmas. Fortunately it didn't pose much threat to the top spot and is now long forgotten. I don't remember it myself and will have probably forgotten it by the time you read this.

Verdict - Rubbish

18. Erasure - Am I Right?

Erasure had set the bar high with their previous single "Love To Hate You". Following that up with a ballad sounds a terrible idea on paper but what we have is a great record. I wasn't that impressed when I first heard it but after a few listens it grew on me.

Verdict - Good

17. Right Said Fred - Don't Talk Just Kiss (New)

I don't think I've heard this one for 30 years, it's very much overshadowed by "I'm Too Sexy" and "Deeply Dippy". I was ready to dismiss this as cheesy crap but on listening to it again I've changed my mind. Don't get me wrong, it is Right Said Fred and is therefore still cheesy but it feels more of a song than their other records. The vocals of Jocelyn Brown in this probably help. 

Verdict - OK

16. James - Sound

This is jointly the second highest charting hit for James which was the follow up to their biggest hit "Sit Down" earlier on in the year. It was the lead single from their album "Seven" which confusingly was their fourth album. It's not a bad record but lacks that something to be a good record. 

Verdict - OK

15. Salt-N-Pepa - You Showed Me

It seems like there's been a lot of Salt-N-Pepa hits since I started doing these posts. This is the fourth one of the 90s which isn't that many really. It's back to that original formula of covering an old record in the chorus and rapping the verses. It's just as crap.

Verdict - Rubbish

14. Vic Reeves And The Wonder Stuff - Dizzy

It amazes me how many people I've met who don't remember The Wonder Stuff, particularly given they had a number one with this. They did alienate some of their fans by collaborating with Vic Reeves, but I do wonder if they'd think the same had Vic Reeves not been a famous comedian. To me there is absolutely nothing wrong with this song, I've always liked it.

Verdict - Good

13. U2 - Mysterious Ways (New)

In the 90s so far we've seen rock mix with dance music from the Madchester bands and rock mix with funk from bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More. This song seems to be mixing all of that together. whilst still very much sounding like a U2 record.

Verdict - Good

12. Kate Bush - Rocket Man

Kate Bush had written all her solo Top 40 hits on her own prior to this, a cover of the Elton John record. I find the Elton John record a bit dull if I'm honest, but this cover livens it up somewhat and is done reggae style which is a bit unexpected. It's no doubt an improvement over the original but still suffers from the fact the original wasn't very good.

Verdict - OK

11. Altern 8 - Activ 8 (Come With Me)

One of the biggest rave tunes ever and deservedly so. Altern 8 were arguably bigger than The Prodigy at the time.

Verdict - Good

10. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Grunge has arrived, its the debut Top 40 hit for Nirvana. On a personal level, Nirvana were really the first band I listened to because it was cool rather than because I particularly liked it. As a result I absolutely resented Nirvana once I'd moved onto other things. But I never really disliked it at the same time. 

Verdict - OK

9. New Kids On The Block - If You Go Away (New)

New Kids On The Block had a much more low key 1991 than they had the previous year. Having tried to shed their boy band image at the beginning of the year with "Games" this very much sounds like a boy band record. Although this wasn't their final Top 40 hit, it's the last one from their glory days. Take That had made their debut 3 weeks earlier with a minor hit which probably made New Kids On The Block surplus to requirements in this country at least.

Verdict - Rubbish

8. Simply Red - Stars

The 2nd and highest charting single from the album of the same name. Although the number 8 position this peaked at isn't exactly setting the charts on fire, the album was the biggest selling album of both 1991 and 1992 so people were clearly buying that instead. It doesn't really fit in with other popular music at the time, but then variety is the spice of life and music like this was most welcome.

Verdict - Good

7. Kym Sims - Too Blind To See It

Steve 'Silk' Hurley gave us the first house number one in 1987 and as an artist he never had another Top 40 hit. As a composer though he was back in the Top 40 in 1991 with this record. It was the debut Top 40 hit for Kym Sims and her best known. I would also say it was her best hit.

Verdict - Good

6. Brian May - Driven By You

After hearing this numerous times on the Ford adverts this single release revealed to me that the man behind that music was the guitarist of Queen. This was released the day after Freddie Mercury died. Not only did I become a Queen fan following this, but I also acquired Brian May's "Back to the Light" album.

Verdict - Good

5. East Side Beat - Ride Like The Wind

Billy Bunter & D-Zyne had a happy hardcore record in the 90s called "Ride Like The Wind" which was excellent in my opinion. I thought it was a rip off of this, but this is a rip off of a Christopher Cross record of the same name. It's a bit cheesy and commercial sounding but I like it.

Verdict - Good

4. Michael Jackson - Black Or White

I honestly can't remember what I made of this record at the time. It was one that divided opinion but I think I was sat on the fence. Now I've had 30 years to reflect and even though this is the first time I've ever listened to it of my own accord I do quite like it.

Verdict - Good

3. KLF ft Tammy Wynette - Justified And Ancient

I remember watching this on Top of the Pops at the time. I absolutely loved it. Little did we know at the time that this would be their final completely original Top 40 hit. I mishear lyrics all the time and was convinced I misheard the lyrics "They're justified and they're ancient and they drive an ice cream van" but I didn't.

Verdict - Good

2. Diana Ross - When You Tell Me That You Love Me

I'm a big fan of Motown and like many Diana Ross records both as a solo artist and with The Supremes. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. It's quite an achievement for someone who's been around since the 60s to have a number two hit in 1991 and had Freddie Mercury not died this would have likely been Christmas number one. It's just too much of a ballad for my liking.

Verdict - Rubbish

1. George Michael And Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me 

I used to regularly go to karaoke night at a crappy town centre pub and there was an unwritten rule not to sing this song because it's one the landlord sang every week. I wasn't aware at the time that this was originally a hit for Elton John on his own in the 70s. When Elton John started singing his part on this though I thought he was much more suited to the song than George Michael. At the same time I find this cover better than the original.

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 20/30, or 67%. Not great on new entries this week, but existing records keep the score decent.

Bonkers Part 19

 

The reboot of Bonkers never went beyond one album. What came next was the next chapter which also never went beyond one album.

It had been 2 years since the last Bonkers album had been released. Over that period it's fair to say the popularity of dance music commercially had dwindled to it's lowest point. In 2009 though we were seeing what would become known as EDM. I'm not going to pretend that dreadful cheesy commercial dance music didn't exist before EDM because it did. EDM did take that aspect to a whole new level though.

Bonkers was now owned by All Around the World records and when it comes to commercial dance music that label was more or less as big as it got. 

This album was 3 CDs with Hixxy and Sharkey joined by Chris Unknown who was mixing his first Bonkers album. A notable difference is that Sharkey was CD1 and Hixxy was CD3.

The Sharkey mix is probably the cheesiest Sharkey mix I've ever heard. I'm not sure whether this is still supposed to be freeform but amongst it's tracks are a couple of Scooter remixes. The final track is titled "Freeform will Never Die" but I dare say from the perspective of a freeform fan from back in the day that it already had died if this mix is anything to go by.

Chris Unknown was once simply DJ Unknown and had been in the shadow of DJ SY for years. This takes cheesiness to another level, Sharkey's mix is much more serious in comparison.

The Hixxy mix is largely a history of set but keeping it all 21st century. A bit pointless in a way but if the music on the Sharkey and Chris Unknown mixes are the best 2009 had to offer then it's most welcome.

It had been 10 years since the dark days of 1999 when Bonkers 7 looked to be the last ever Bonkers. The 10 years that followed had it's moments, but the UK hardcore that happy hardcore evolved into generally speaking isn't my cup of tea.

There have been no Bonkers albums since but as far as I'm aware it never officially ended. Since then some of the DJs involved have kept going and others have moved on.

Hixxy has kept on going though his Raverbaby records seems to be no more with the last release coming in 2011. I got the impression from his interview on the 90s rave podcast that he's more involved in the business side of things these days.

Sharkey retired around 2011 to become a teacher as did Kevin Energy with Nu Energy coming to an end at the same sort of time.

Dougal still seems to be around but Essential Platinum records appearing to come to an end in 2012.

DJ SY stopped playing upfront hardcore in 2012 but still does old skool sets. His Quosh records ceased to exist but Chris Unknown then started UKN records which hasn't seen a release since 2014.

DJ Vibes has been seemingly semi retired since the 90s and still seems to be the case now.

Scott Brown is still going and his Evolution records still looks active albeit no 2021 releases are listed on discogs.

Darren Styles, Gammer and Recon have all moved on to EDM with Recon being one half of Camelphat who have had Top 40 hits. 

Brisk founded a sauce business and moved to Australia and Ham is still active in music but no longer makes hardcore. Next Generation records is no more.

What appears to be the case here is that hardcore scene completely fell apart around 2011/2012. Bonkers has been inactive for nearly as long as it was active for.

There are talks about a come back for Bonkers and that it won't be a nostalgia trip. Quite how it would work I don't know.

This brings us to the end of the Bonkers story so far. I'd say the best way to describe it is as the happy hardcore equivalent of Top of the Pops. It spanned different eras. Some like myself were there at the beginning but grew out of the newer music somewhere along the way. Some will have been there nearer the end and the beginning may have been before their music memories began. Some kept on going from beginning to the end.

We have our era of Top of the Pops but when we watch an old episode we find there's never one where we like every single record. Much the same with whatever our era of Bonkers was. But it's something we'll no doubt continue to go back and visit.

UK Charts Best Year Search: 2007

What's this all about?

Top 40

Best Song: Chemical Brothers - Do It Again

The Chemical Brothers music has been quite hit or miss over the years in my opinion. It therefore came as a surprise that in 2007 they were doing some of the best music they'd ever done. This their penultimate Top 40 hit to date and following single "The Salmon Dance" were so good that it prompted me to buy a Chemical Brothers album for the first time.

Worst Song: Rihanna ft Jay-Z - Umbrella

When Rihanna first came about in 2005 I predicted her career would last a year or so. Just over a year later when her single "We Ride" got nowhere near the Top 10 it looked like my prediction was right. Then came this, the first of many number ones and she's clocked up countless Top 40 hits since. I really don't get it. She's a terrible singer and just comes across as a stuck up celebrity with nothing relatable about her whatsoever. Yet not only do people buy her music they also buy whatever products she puts her name to that you see in the Boots window. As I was nearer to 30 than 20 by this point maybe this was one of the early signs I was out of touch with the youth.

Top 40 Review

My only really positive memories of modern music as it was in 2007 was a number of tunes from The Galaxy Chart. Dance music wise in this Top 40 though, the only other dance record other than the Chemical Brothers one was "The Girls" by Calvin Harris. To be fair this was pre-EDM and a record he made by himself before he started getting every man and his dog to sing on his records. It's still crap though.

Indie was still the dominant genre in the charts and nearly half the Top 40 is what could be described as guitar music. A couple of those were OK but none of them get full marks. Even the pop singers such as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson have that guitar music influence, but again it's crap.

Both Timbaland and Justin Timberlake appear twice in this Top 40, one of which is a collaboration. It's a good illustration of what had gone wrong with rap and R&B music by this point.

There are a couple of decent records from the world or rap and R&B though. I do quite like "Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes which was a record I remember it standing out at the time as modern music I actually liked. I also quite like "Don't Matter" by Akon which I do remember existing, but I think this was the first time I actually listened to it from the beginning to the end.

I've now mentioned every record that gets full marks so the score is pretty poor. 

Score: 5

Table

2007 is joint bottom with 1962. I get the feeling we will have worse years ahead though:

UK Number 40s: Marc Almond - Bitter Sweet (1988)

 

Marc Almond is best known for being the lead singer of Soft Cell who are best known for the chart topper "Tainted Love". Unfortunately for Marc Almond, "Tainted Love" was a cover as was the B-side so it wasn't quite the money maker it could have been.

Soft Cell called it a day in early 84 and Marc Almonds solo career began. He failed to reach the Top 40 with any of his singles that year. The following year he was featured singer on Bronski Beats cover of "I Feel Love". He also managed to crack the Top 40 on his own for the first time with "Stories Of Johnny" which made number 23.

Several more singles would follow but he didn't make the Top 40 again until 1988 with "Tears Run Rings" which made number 26. That was also his only solo effort to date to make the Billboard 100. Then came this.

It was the 2nd single from his "The Stars We Are" album and was written by Marc Almond himself. Given the quantity of solo singles that never made the Top 40 this could be considered a success as it was his 3rd most successful solo effort to this point.

He followed this up in early 1989 with a cover of "Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart" featuring Gene Pitney which topped the charts. His follow up to that "Only the Moment" failed to make the Top 40 though.

Since then he's only reached the Top 20 twice as a solo artist with "Jacky" and "The Days Of Pearly Spencer" which are both covers. He has written all his Top 40 hits that didn't make the Top 20. As a songwriter that's probably quite annoying for him.

Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed: Week 49

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

Here is the Top 40 in full.

Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.

Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.

So this is the top 30 from this week in 1991 with my verdict on each record:

30. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight (Live)

Surprisingly this record failed to make the Top 40 when first released in 1977. It finally made it into the Top 40 as a live version. It's slower than the studio version. As someone who likes fast music I should find that annoying, but I don't. 

Verdict - Good

29. Oceanic - Wicked Love

The follow up to "Insanity" that has long been forgotten. It follows a similar formula but isn't as catchy. Not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing. It's definitely a commercial sounding record, they all are but that's not always a bad thing.

Verdict - Good

28. Martika - Martika's Kitchen (New)

This is the final Top 40 hit to date for Martika. It was composed by Prince and you can tell. With the track title being what it is, it was obviously written for Martika but I could imagine Prince doing this record himself. I do prefer "Toy Soldiers" but this is a pretty solid finish to a Top 40 career.

Verdict - Good

27. Love Decade - So Real

This was the 2nd Top 40 hit from All Around the World records. Unlike Control, who had the first Top 40 hit from the label, Love Decade were not one hit wonders. This was their biggest hit. Once again it's more commercial sounding than a lot of other dance records at the time but still decent.

Verdict - Good

26. Kenny Thomas - Tender Love (New)

This was originally a hit for Force MDs in 1986. It was the fourth Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas and his third cover. It's basically a karaoke version of the original. 

Verdict - Rubbish

25. Prince And The New Power Generation - Diamonds And Pearls (New)

I'm shocked this record only got to number 25. I would have had this down as a bigger hit than "Gett Off" and "Cream", his other 1991 hits but it wasn't. Then again maybe this was the record that had the biggest impact on me personally. It's difficult to pick what my favourite Prince single is but this one would definitely be up there.

Verdict - Good

24. K-Klass - Rhythm Is A Mystery

The debut Top 40 hit for K-Klass. It failed to make the Top 40 when released earlier on in the year, but here it is going straight into the Top 10. It perhaps suffers from it's "anthem" status, but it's a great record that really did sound quite something in the 90s.

Verdict - Good

23. Extreme - Hole Hearted

Let's set the scene here. Extreme were a hard rock group who released an acoustic ballad which was hugely successful but alienated a lot of rock fans. They now had the challenge of getting the rock fans back on side so what do they do? They release this, another acoustic record. Fortunately I wasn't one of the purists they alienated and I quite like it.

Verdict - Good

22. Kym Sims - Too Blind To See It (New)

Steve 'Silk' Hurley gave us the first house number one in 1987 and as an artist he never had another Top 40 hit. As a composer though he was back in the Top 40 in 1991 with this record. It was the debut Top 40 hit for Kym Sims and her best known. I would also say it was her best hit.

Verdict - Good

21. Cliff Richard - We Should Be Together (New)

After singing on the previous 3 Christmas number ones, here's Cliff Richard with another hit in the run up to Christmas. Fortunately it didn't pose much threat to the top spot and is now long forgotten. I don't remember it myself and will have probably forgotten it by the time you read this.

Verdict - Rubbish

20. Michael Bolton - When A Man Loves A Woman

I think this may have been the first version of "When A Man Loves A Woman" I heard. A few years later I found myself liking "When A Man Loves A Woman" but being a bit embarrassed about liking a Michael Bolton song at the same time. Then someone pointed out it was a 60s song covered by Michael Bolton. Listening to the 2 versions, it was definitely the Percy Sledge version that I liked. This ones just a karaoke version.

Verdict - Rubbish

19. Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

Lots of samples in this one which got them into trouble, quite common for dance records which got bigger than anticipated. One of the samples is the Pink Floyd record of the same name but the most notable is "Just Get Up and Dance" by Afrika Bambaataa. 

Verdict - Good

18. Tina Turner - Way Of The World

This is a bit of a strange one for me. It's a bit of a generic nothing song on one hand. At the same time it reminds me of late 1991 and all the good music that was around then which makes me think it's alright.

Verdict - OK

17. Salt-N-Pepa - You Showed Me

It seems like there's been a lot of Salt-N-Pepa hits since I started doing these posts. This is the fourth one of the 90s which isn't that many really. It's back to that original formula of covering an old record in the chorus and rapping the verses. It's just as crap.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. Shades Of Rhythm - Extacy

The Shade Of Rhythm many people know is "Sound Of Eden" but that only made number 35 earlier on in the year. This is the lesser known of the 2 singles but the higher charting one. This is one of the all time greats, definitely a contender for best charting rave tune ever.

Verdict - Good

15. Erasure - Am I Right? (New)

Erasure had set the bar high with their previous single "Love To Hate You". Following that up with a ballad sounds a terrible idea on paper but what we have is a great record. I wasn't that impressed when I first heard it but after a few listens it grew on me.

Verdict - Good

14. Brian May - Driven By You (New)

After hearing this numerous times on the Ford adverts this single release revealed to me that the man behind that music was the guitarist of Queen. This was released the day after Freddie Mercury died. Not only did I become a Queen fan following this, but I also acquired Brian May's "Back to the Light" album.

Verdict - Good

13. Kate Bush - Rocket Man (New)

Kate Bush had written all her solo Top 40 hits on her own prior to this, a cover of the Elton John record. I find the Elton John record a bit dull if I'm honest, but this cover livens it up somewhat and is done reggae style which is a bit unexpected. It's no doubt an improvement over the original but still suffers from the fact the original wasn't very good.

Verdict - OK

12. 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This

The Top 40 debut for 2 Unlimited, though they had a Top 40 hit the previous year as Bizz Nizz. I did like this at the time, but my memory has been somewhat tainted by the crap they released after this. I also remember hearing it a few years later for the first time in a while and it sounded much slower than I remembered. 

Verdict - OK

11. Simply Red - Stars

The 2nd and highest charting single from the album of the same name. Although the number 8 position this peaked at isn't exactly setting the charts on fire, the album was the biggest selling album of both 1991 and 1992 so people were clearly buying that instead. It doesn't really fit in with other popular music at the time, but then variety is the spice of life and music like this was most welcome.

Verdict - Good

10. Bizarre Inc - Playing With Knives

This failed to make the Top 40 when released earlier on in the year but following the success of "Such A Feeling" it ended up making the Top 10. This is the big Bizarre Inc hit that was made for the dancefloor rather than the charts. I love it.

Verdict - Good

9. James - Sound

This is jointly the second highest charting hit for James which was the follow up to their biggest hit "Sit Down" earlier on in the year. It was the lead single from their album "Seven" which confusingly was their fourth album. It's not a bad record but lacks that something to be a good record. 

Verdict - OK

8. Vic Reeves And The Wonder Stuff - Dizzy

It amazes me how many people I've met who don't remember The Wonder Stuff, particularly given they had a number one with this. They did alienate some of their fans by collaborating with Vic Reeves, but I do wonder if they'd think the same had Vic Reeves not been a famous comedian. To me there is absolutely nothing wrong with this song, I've always liked it.

Verdict - Good

7. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Grunge has arrived, its the debut Top 40 hit for Nirvana. On a personal level, Nirvana were really the first band I listened to because it was cool rather than because I particularly liked it. As a result I absolutely resented Nirvana once I'd moved onto other things. But I never really disliked it at the same time. 

Verdict - OK

6. Altern 8 - Activ 8 (Come With Me)

One of the biggest rave tunes ever and deservedly so. Altern 8 were arguably bigger than The Prodigy at the time.

Verdict - Good

5. KLF ft Tammy Wynette - Justified And Ancient (New)

I remember watching this on Top of the Pops at the time. I absolutely loved it. Little did we know at the time that this would be their final completely original Top 40 hit. I mishear lyrics all the time and was convinced I misheard the lyrics "They're justified and they're ancient and they drive an ice cream van" but I didn't.

Verdict - Good

4. Diana Ross - When You Tell Me That You Love Me

I'm a big fan of Motown and like many Diana Ross records both as a solo artist and with The Supremes. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. It's quite an achievement for someone who's been around since the 60s to have a number two hit in 1991 and had Freddie Mercury not died this would have likely been Christmas number one. It's just too much of a ballad for my liking.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. East Side Beat - Ride Like The Wind

Billy Bunter & D-Zyne had a happy hardcore record in the 90s called "Ride Like The Wind" which was excellent in my opinion. I thought it was a rip off of this, but this is a rip off of a Christopher Cross record of the same name. It's a bit cheesy and commercial sounding but I like it.

Verdict - Good

2. Michael Jackson - Black Or White

I honestly can't remember what I made of this record at the time. It was one that divided opinion but I think I was sat on the fence. Now I've had 30 years to reflect and even though this is the first time I've ever listened to it of my own accord I do quite like it.

Verdict - Good

1. George Michael And Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (New)

I used to regularly go to karaoke night at a crappy town centre pub and there was an unwritten rule not to sing this song because it's one the landlord sang every week. I wasn't aware at the time that this was originally a hit for Elton John on his own in the 70s. When Elton John started singing his part on this though I thought he was much more suited to the song than George Michael. At the same time I find this cover better than the original.

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 22.5/30, or 75%. Looking like we're not going to get the end of year slump we got in 1990 and 1999, but still 3 weeks to go.

Bonkers Part 18

 

The Best of Bonkers album didn't get a number therefore the 18th Bonkers album to be released was Bonkers 17. More accurately it was called "Bonkers 17 Rebooted" which could be to do with the fact it had been over a year since a Bonkers album with new material had been released.

By late 2007 when this album was released the new hardcore I was listening to was hardcore breaks i.e. new music being made early 90s style before the kick drum came in. One of the main DJs doing this was Luna C who had been asked to mix on this but would have had to change his style so he refused.

When it comes to 21st century Bonkers albums the highlight more often than not is the Next Generation tunes. Now for the first time we have Brisk & Ham who make the bulk of these Next Generation tunes doing a mix.

In theory this should be a welcome change, but I'm also aware that there came a point where Next Generation tunes started to become more like the other modern hardcore tunes. I also was told by someone who knew Brisk personally that he no longer liked the tunes he was making but had to make them in order to make a living. This became evident when he started a sauce business and stopped making hardcore.

I think we've reached the point here where Brisk no longer liked his tunes. It is an improvement on the likes of Raverbaby but nowhere near the standard of the tunes they were doing a few years prior. But maybe it was making tunes like these that enabled them to mix a Bonkers album.

Sharkey was joined this time by Kevin Energy, the owner of Nu Energy which accounts for a big chunk of the freeform records of the 21st century.

If freeform was the type of hardcore music you were supposed to take seriously then they're not doing a very good job of it on this mix. It includes a remix of "Techno Wonderland" which is one of the cheesiest hardcore records ever to be made.

Scott Brown is joined by Marc Smith who had previously mix a Bonkers with Sharkey. The result is less Scott Brown records than there would likely of been had he mixed on his own. Judging by the actual Scott Brown records on here though that can only be a good thing.

Scott Brown had been a breath of fresh air compared to Raverbaby and co but these records now wouldn't have sounded out of place on Raverbaby. A stand out example of this is the irritating vocals on "Hold You In My Arms".

In theory because of this line up this should have been the best Bonkers of the 21st century. The reality was that happy hardcore has always been seen as kids music. As I was a kid when I first got into it I can't really argue with that. By the time this Bonkers came out I was nearer to 30 than 20. Around the same period I was at a wedding reception where I saw a kid who was probably 12 listening to happy hardcore on their iPod. I was no longer the target audience.

It would be another 2 years until the next Bonkers was released. During that time the ownership of Bonkers changed to All Around the World records. This was the label responsible for much of the commercial dance music and the Clubland albums. More on that next week.

UK Charts Best Year Search: 2006

What's this all about?

Top 40

Best Song: Solu Music ft Kimblee - Fade

This was my record of the year for 2006, but it faced competition from "MyMyMy" by Armand Van Helden re-entering the charts which was my record of the year for 2004. This just about pips it, though on another day I may say the opposite.

Worst Song: Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker

My interpretation of this song is the writer wishes they were a youngster in another era when the music was much better. I can relate to that. I was a 20 something and this was supposed to be my era but much of the music coming out was shit. The problem is that this record is a prime example of how shit the music was and therefore contributed to this problem.

Top 40 Review

This was the year I discovered YouTube and found myself more inclined to listen to old music I hadn't heard for years on there than anything new. I still found the time to watch The Galaxy Chart on MTV Dance on  Sunday evening. That was a mixture of good and bad with presenter Jo Good making her feelings known when someone like Cascada appeared.

Dance music wise in this chart though, the only ones I like are the Solu Music and Armand Van Helden records. 

It was the era where turntables were out and guitars were in though with roughly half the Top 40 being guitar driven, much of which was indie music. The only guitar driven record I liked though was "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers which was a welcome return to form for the band after seemingly losing it on the "By The Way" album previously.

Another welcome return to form was for the chart topper Nelly Furtado. After the disappointment of her "Folklore" album she was back with "Maneater" the lead single from her "Loose" album.

After what seemed like a long wait for new music, Busta Rhymes was back with "Touch It". Not a bad record, but not the best and certainly not worth the long wait. The only rap record to get full marks was "Kick Push" by Lupe Fiasco.

Much like the previous year there was little in the way of actual pop music with "Who Knew" by Pink and "Buttons" by Pussycat Dolls ft Snoop Dogg really being the only ones and both are crap.

I count 7 football related records in the Top 40, I guess picking the middle of the year means it's going to clash with a major football tournament every other year. Once again, football and music don't mix so it's a collective zero for those records.

What I will say about 2006 was that good music was coming out that never got anywhere near the charts. This is a chart review though and therefore the score is pretty poor.

Score: 6

Table

It's the worst year of the 21st century so far and 2nd worst overall: