Thursday, 24 August 2023

Christmas Charts Rated: 1985

Top 40

Best Song: Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere

Talking Heads have several well known records but this was the only one to make the Top 10 and one of just three to make the Top 40. It's a record I've known for as far back as I remember but not one I really appreciated until I got into electronic music. 

Worst Song: Dionne Warwick And Friends - That's What Friends Are For

The "friends" on this record were Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight. Not a bad line up by any means, but this is such a cringeworthy record. It's something I could imagine being sung by the Zack Attack on Saved By The Bell. Maybe they did sing it.

Top 40 Review

In 1984 Shakin Stevens had the Christmas song "Merry Christmas Everyone" but decided to postpone releasing it for a year because of Band Aid. In 1985 it was Christmas number one, but Band Aid also re-entered the charts.

The other big Christmas song of 1984, "Last Christmas" by Wham! also returned to the charts. Wham! also had "I'm Your Man" in the Top 40 at the same time.

Other Christmas hits were "Walking In The Air" by Aled Jones and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen which was part of a double a-side with "My Hometown".

Wham! weren't the only ones to have 2 records in the Top 40. The others were Paul McCartney, Elton John, Jennifer Rush and A-ha. The latter was with their big 2 records "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines On TV" which both get full marks.

Pet Shop Boys were making their Top 40 debut with "West End Girls" which also gets full marks. That makes it a full house for the synth pop records in this Top 40.

Soul music is often a reliable source of points, but not in this Top 40. Just half points for "See The Day" by Dee C Lee. Funk music provides a couple of points via Cherrelle With Alexander O'Neal and Cameo. Also contributing a point is the only rap hit of this Top 40 "The Show" by Doug E Fresh And The Get Fresh Crew.

There's some questionable records in the lower reaches of the Top 40 which were probably released due to Christmas which are "The Hokey-Cokey" by Black Lace, "Mr DJ" by Concept and "Abide With Me" by The Inspirational Choir.

Given the amount of crap we have in there though, the final score isn't too bad.

Score: 14

Table

The consistency of the 80s is back again:



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Wednesday, 23 August 2023

Top 30 in 1995 Reviewed: Week 34

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 28 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.

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 1995 with my verdict on each record:


The only Top 40 hit for Moist which originally charted in 1994 and fared better the second time round in 1995. It sounds like the sort of record that would be more likely to succeed in 1994 as it's heavier than your average 1995 guitar record. That's a good thing though.

Verdict - Good


The 5th Top 40 hit for the Levellers and the 3rd to make number 12. It was the lead single from their "Zeitgeist" album. When they first broke through their music sounded soft compared to other guitar bands but by this record it was sounding heavy compared to guitar bands at the time. Quite refreshing in a way.

Verdict - Good


It had been almost 2 years since we'd last seen The Shamen in the Top 40. This record came out shortly before Mr. C opened The End nightclub which was a club for underground dance music. It would seem The Shamen had more of an underground sound with this record which is a good thing.

Verdict - Good


Happy Clappers are of course best known for the record "I Believe". They did however have a couple of minor hits too starting with this record. It doesn't sound too different from their big hit but it's just about different enough and that 1995 sound makes me like it.

Verdict - Good


This record was famously featured on the soundtrack to "Batman Forever". It's a crap film like all the Batman films are but the music is good. I love the intro/outro riff to this.

Verdict - Good


The 2nd solo Top 40 hit for Ali Campbell. This time he's going back to what he knows best with UB40, the reggae cover. This was originally a Top 40 hit for Pioneers in 1971. It may just as well be a UB40 record, but it's what I'm hearing that counts not whose name is on the record.

Verdict - Good


This was the record that kicked of hardbag music from a chart perspective in 1992. In 1995 we were really in the peak period for hardbag so it made sense for this to be given a 1995 makeover. It was remixed by Dutch producer Patrick Prins who also had Top 40 hits under the names Ethics and Subliminal Cuts. A decent remix.

Verdict - Good


I've mentioned before that Bjork was an artists who I couldn't stand at the time but some of her music has grown on me over the years. How about this one then? Well I'm not entirely sure to be honest, it could grow on me after a few listens but for now it's half marks.

Verdict - OK


The Top 40 debut for Alanis Morissette. It's a well known song but was pretty low key at the time with her album "Jagged Little Pill" getting more of the attention. What I do know is that I don't like this record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The only UK Top 40 hit for The Connells and I think one of those situations where it may be just as well they left it at that because if I was to hear anything else by them it would most likely be a big disappointment. I absolutely love this record, there's no such thing as perfection but this is pretty damn close to it. Then there's the video showing various people from the class of 74-75 then and now (well 1993 when the video was made). I'm now older than these people were back then by a few years, they would now be of retirement age.

Verdict - Good


The biggest hit for Supergrass and the one they're best known for. I was already familiar with Supergrass courtesy of their previous hits and had them down as a bit of a moody band. I was therefore surprised at how uplifting "Alright" was. They're back to their moody selves on "Time" but are sounding a bit poundland Rolling Stones for my liking.

Verdict - Good / Rubbish


When this came out in 1995 I thought they were ripping off the "Hey Now" remake of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. It turns out that this is a cover of a record by Redbone and Cyndi Lauper sampled the Redbone record. It's a cheesy eurodance record no doubt, but somehow it seems more acceptable in 1995.

Verdict - Good


If I had to pick a record to sum up the summer of 1995 then this would probably be it. This was also my favourite of The Outhere Brothers hits. 

Verdict - Good


This was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Boyzone and for a while it was the only Boyzone hit that wasn't a ballad. As a result it's quite possibly the best Boyzone single, but it's still crap though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The solo Top 40 debut for Suggs. It's a reggae style cover of the Beatles record and an original record. It's nowhere near as good as the Beatles record but is pleasant enough. Not too keen on "Off On Holiday" though.

Verdict - Good / Rubbish


I do remember this record but what I don't remember is the fact it sampled "Good Times" by Chic. It had already been proven to be a good record to sample. As a result we have another Michelle Gayle record that I actually like, which I'm surprised by.

Verdict - Good


This was originally a Top 40 hit in 1991 and follows the trend of early 90s dance records being given a 1995 makeover. This seems to have barely changed from the original though, I would honestly struggle to distinguish this with the original. Just as well I like the original then.

Verdict - Good


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Deuce and it was the final one to feature main singer Kelly O'Keefe before she left the group. Like its predecessor it's a dreadful record and no doubt inspired the music of Steps in years to come.

Verdict - Rubbish


Even though this record reached a respectable number 12 I would still consider this the wilderness years for The Charlatans. Mainly because I have no recollection of it and when they returned in 1996 I thought it was the first we'd seen of them since around 1990. It's not a very memorable record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Diana King and the record she is best known for. It was from the soundtrack to "Bad Boys", a film that has Will Smith in it. The fact it wasn't Will Smith making the record for the film might have indicated that he'd given up on music. Maybe that's why I like this.

Verdict - Good


One thing that makes Corona different to your usual eurodance acts is that they have 3 big hits that could all claim to be their big hit. Not only that but each of those 3 are quite distinctive and not just soundalikes of what they've done before.

Verdict - Good


"Kiss From A Rose" was originally a Top 40 hit in 1994 but was given a new lease of life when it featured in the "Batman Forever" soundtrack. I'd never heard "I'm Alive" until I bought the CD single of this. 

Verdict - Good / Good


The final Top 40 hit for Madonna's R&B era. This time it's Mary J Blige producer Dave Hall on songwriting/production duties. I will concede that this is the most convincing R&B record but that doesn't mean it's any good.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for JX and also the record he's most famous for. It did sound quite futuristic at the time and falls under the progressive house banner. It wasn't his highest charting hit though, that came 2 years later. One of the classics which does mean somewhat overplayed, but still decent enough.

Verdict - Good


A nice bit of music trivia here, what was the 3rd highest new entry on the week of the Blur vs Oasis chart battle? Nobody seems to know the answer though, nobody really paid attention to what was below the Top 2 that week. Based on this record I don't blame them.

Verdict - Rubbish


I've already mentioned a memory of listening to the Chris Evans Breakfast Show one day on Radio 1 around this time and liking everything he was playing. This was another of those records that he played. It became the biggest hit to that point for TLC.

Verdict - Good


Robbie Williams had left Take That by this point but his vocals were still present on the record. Howard Donald took lead vocals on this record which was unexpected given he was very much in the background prior to this. I hated it at the time, but now it's actually quite good.

Verdict - Good


This originally made the Top 40 at the beginning of the year but was much more successful when it re-entered the Top 40 in August. I can sort of understand why because it's a record more suited to the summer. It's great to listen to whatever the time of year though.

Verdict - Good


There are a handful of records that very famously reached number 2 in the charts and this was one of them. Famous because it lost the Blur vs Oasis chart battle. I wasn't on either side but this was the worst of the 2 records.

Verdict - Rubbish


The winner of the Blur vs Oasis chart battle. As a raver at the time I didn't care for Blur or Oasis but if I had to pick one it would have been Blur. In fact I did like Blur during their "Parklife" album era. This record marked the start of their demise in my opinion

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 21.5/30, or 72%. Good score but I fear we're now past the best of 1995.
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Tuesday, 22 August 2023

Fat Bottomed Girls

 


A question I've been often asked in the last 20 years or so is "Why do you still buy CDs?". 

First we had the download era where you no longer needed a physical product clogging up your room and could have all the music you needed at the click of a button. You could even get it all for free if you knew where to look. Then for well over a decade we've been in an era where we can legally stream a music library much bigger than anyone's CD collection for free if we're happy to hear a few adverts, or for a small fee each month without adverts.

One big advantage of my big CD collection though is that it's guaranteed not to be altered by anyone in the name of "progression".

This is exactly what has happened to Queens greatest hits. The track "Fat Bottomed Girls" has now been removed because it's deemed too offensive for the 21st century.

When I was a kid I was a Queen fan. I had their greatest hits and remember being amused by "Fat Bottomed Girls". Never in a million years did I ever think it would be considered to be offensive though. What ultimately made me go off Queen in the end was when I started seeing it as uncool and music for old people. As I entered my teenage years I wanted to listen to music that offended old people. Now it seems to be the old people that are doing the offending whether they intended to or not.

I watched someone who backed the removal of the track give their point of view. They pointed out it was from the 70s, an era of Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter and we're now in the 21st century where its inappropriate for the kids to listen to material like this.

First of all what the hell has Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter got to do with any Queen song? Secondly, is music of the 21st century so bad that we need to worry about them listening to music that came out even before some of their parents were born?

It's the latter point where the real issue lies. Yes I'm old enough to hate anything modern, but if anything needs changing it's the music that's coming out today.

There's a Disney actress turned cheesy pop singer called Olivia Rodrigo. I guess you could say she's the modern equivalent of someone like David Cassidy. Should be perfect for the kids of today to listen to.

I can't say I know an awful lot about her, but any song of hers that I've heard has a significant amount of swearing in it. I'm not offended by swearing, I listened to my fair share of music with swearing in as a youngster. I even wrote songs with swearing in them. I'm talking about bands like Guns n Roses and Rage Against the Machine, aggressive rock music not some Disney singer.

That's the point, it's these modern pop singers who make music that isn't appropriate for the kids of today to listen to, not a rock band from 45 years ago.

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UK Number 40s: Travis - U16 Girls (1997)

 


This was the Top 40 debut for Travis which came before most people had really noticed them. They were really yet another Britpop band at this stage as it's similar in style to a few other Britpop bands from this era.

The fact Travis were a bit of an unknown entity at the time would have partly explained why this record only made number 40. The title would have also played a factor, people not wanting to take chances on what the song may be about. The lyrical content though is basically warning one to make sure a female they encounter is over 16.

Travis scored a 40, 39 and 38 in 3 of their first four Top 40 hits. By 1999 though they were nearer the other end of the charts and became one of the biggest indie bands of that era.

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Sunday, 20 August 2023

Top 30 in 1993 Reviewed: Week 34

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 1993 with my verdict on each record:


When I got into R&B one thing I struggled with was there being some records which sounded a whole lot of nothing but were hailed by some as being masterpieces. I made the effort to get into these records as I thought I might be missing something but I eventually concluded that I wasn't. This is one of those examples.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Juliet Roberts who had previously sung on the Funk Masters record "It's Over" a decade earlier. Than man behind this record is Daniel Poku aka D-Mob, so it's an all English affair but sounds very much like a US garage record. It's no poor imitation either.

Verdict - Good


The 2nd of many Top 40 hits in the 90s for Daniel O'Donnell. How he managed to have so many hits in the 90s I have no idea. That said I guess Cliff Richard managed to have lots of hits in the 90s too. Maybe it's the same people buying those records.

Verdict - Rubbish


I don't remember Green Jelly having another hits apart from "Three Little Pigs". This is a cover of the Sex Pistols record but with the lyrics changed to a Flintstones theme with them singing they want to be Fred Flintstone. Musically it's not a bad cover and lyrically it's not as funny as it's supposed to be. 

Verdict - OK


I'm pretty sure when this came out Bon Jovi had become my 2nd favourite band. I also remember this came before "In These Arms" on their "Keep the Faith" album, but for the wrong reasons. It's because years later I was making a compilation and included the songs I particularly liked from the "Keep the Faith" album. "In These Arms" was one of them, but I captured the fading outro of this song when taping it, but this wasn't one I thought was good enough for that compilation.

Verdict - OK


This was the only Top 40 hit for Goodmen, but they would return to the charts as Chocolate Puma, Rhythm Killaz and Riva. It's not very tuneful, but that's all part of it's appeal. 

Verdict - Good


The melody to this record was basically taken from "Highwire" by Linda Carr. Given that M People called their debut album "Northern Soul" I would say that was deliberate too. Aside from that it's that generic dance sound that's a bit rubbish. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The not so well remembered follow up to "Two Princes". I remember it though. It's an uplifting number that's pretty catchy, but it's difficult to overlook the fact it's no "Two Princes". There's nothing wrong with it though, but at the same time I can't see myself wanting to listen to it again.

Verdict - OK


Even though this wasn't the biggest hit for Dannii Minogue I would say this one is the best known. It came at a time when Kylie Minogue had left Stock Aitken & Waterman and was yet to launch her post-Stock Aitken & Waterman career. It's a pointless cover.

Verdict - Rubbish


The only Top 40 hits of the 90s for The Pogues and their final Top 40 hit to date. Shane MacGowan had left the group by this point with with Spider Stacy doing the lead vocals. He's certainly a better singer, but that's why this just seems wrong. Part of The Pogues charm in my opinion is Shane MacGowans inability to sing.

Verdict - Rubbish


This is an iconic 90s record that everybody remembers. My memory of this record was having a teacher called Mrs Hathaway who we started calling Mrs Haddaway which led to people randomly singing it in her lessons. That said, I've always considered it to be a bit crap and still think the same.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the Top 40 debut for Bad Boys Inc. I would describe them as being the Virgin Cola of the boy band world in the early 90s i.e. very much the 3rd biggest but way behind Take That and East 17. They were formed by Ian Levine who was producer on some early Take That records. One of the writers of this song was Damon Rochefort from Nomad, so it wasn't just Steve Mac from that group who went on to write crappy boy band songs.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Robin S singles discography is basically "Show Me Love", the "Show Me Love" remix, another "Show Me Love" remix, well you get the picture. She did however have another hit that wasn't called "Show Me Love" though. Listening to it though the "Show Me Love" remix with different lyrics would have been a suitable title.

Verdict - Rubbish


I've not heard this since 1993 and when I played the video it wasn't how I remembered it. Then I played a dance version which is how I remember it sounding. It was the only Top 40 hit for Aftershock and maybe that was for the best as it would have been difficult for them to better this.

Verdict - Good


This is the last Top 10 hit to date for Roxette. It was made for the Super Mario Bros film and has Tony from Hollyoaks in the video before he was Tony from Hollyoaks. It's since been disowned by Roxette themselves. I think they have a point.

Verdict - Rubbish


Back in the late 80s when Madonna did "Cherish" and "Dear Jessie" I had quite a positive impression of Madonna. In the early 90s though I absolutely couldn't stand her. Shit like this reminds me of why I couldn't stand her.

Verdict - Rubbish


It seems a bit of a rarity to hear a Mariah Carey record that isn't a dreary ballad, but here is one. I recall at the time thinking it's rather uplifting for a Mariah Carey song. That doesn't make it a good song though, it sounds pretty naff and has her annoying screeching in it.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Gabrielle and perhaps her best known hit. I remember being in 2 minds about this record at the time. It didn't make a good impression on me initially but it grew on me. Neither a good or bad record really.

Verdict - OK


It had been just 6 months since Whitney Houston had been knocked off the top of the charts with "I Will Always Love You" after an eternity. The last thing we needed was another version of the song in the charts, but here we have a dance version. At least it's not as depressing as the Whitney Houston version but that's the only good thing about it.

Verdict - Rubbish


Yet another person making the transition from a soap to the music world. Michelle Gayle was on Eastenders and this was her Top 40 debut. You can tell they've tried to make it sound more credible than other soap stars music by going down the R&B route. Being British though it sounds like it could easily be a Mica Paris record which is never a good thing.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Chaka Demus & Pliers. This was one of many more radio friendly reggae records that charted in 1993. It's almost the blueprint on how to make a record reggae style.

Verdict - Good


Take That were undoubtedly the most popular group amongst females at school in early 1993, but one thing I could smile and say was they were yet to have a number one. Then the inevitable happened with this going straight in at number one. It's a terrible record.

Verdict - Rubbish


Being a UB40 record that was the follow up to a cover, one could be forgiven for expecting this to be a cover of the Stevie Wonder record. It isn't though, it's a UB40 original. Like with many UB40 records it's nothing groundbreaking but it's very easy on the ears.

Verdict - Good


I remember someone at school at the time listing 4 Non Blondes in their Top 10 bands and we all reacted by saying what the fuck? None of us liked it, even it's composer Linda Perry doesn't like it. 

Verdict - Rubbish


I remember when this record came out it created a divide at school between the rock crowd and everyone else. It was singled out as an example of a crappy pop record by the rock crowd but everybody else seemingly loved it. Putting all that aside, my first thought when hearing this was have Snap changed their name to Culture Beat. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The lead song from this EP is "Boom Shack-A-Lak" which is the tune Apache Indian is best known for. I guess I'm not overly keen on other Apache Indian records because none of them are anywhere near as good as this.

Verdict - Good


One thing I remember when this record was out was that I'd learned the rules that if you were a rock and metal fan you weren't supposed to like anything that wasn't rock and metal. I remember that because I couldn't help but like this record despite those rules. I like the way the pause in the record gets longer each time.

Verdict - Good


When this record first came out, not only did I think this was a great song, I also thought Bitty McLean was a great name. This led me incorporate his name into the lyrics when I sang along just so I could acknowledge what a great name it is.

Verdict - Good


If memory serves me correctly (and it does tend to mislead me) this was the last dance record I truly got into before I became strictly rock and anti-pop. It treads that fine line where it's clearly a commercial dance record but is credible at the same time. 

Verdict - Good


When this record topped the charts I remember somebody saying to me that I must be pleased, unaware I'd long moved on from being a Queen fan by this point. Even if I was still a Queen fan though I'm not sure I would have liked this. It's basically Freddie Mercury's voice put over some generic eurodance crap.

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%. Not many new entries but an improvement on last week.
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Friday, 18 August 2023

Top 30 in 1996 Reviewed: Week 33

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 27 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Friday.

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 1996 with my verdict on each record:


Celine Dion was pretty well established as a chart act by this point and was mainly known for doing ballads. It therefore seemed almost inevitable really that she'd end up with a single written by Diane Warren and here it is. 

Verdict - Rubbish


When Take That split up earlier on in the year I was happy. What I didn't anticipate though was the solo careers that would follow which began with this Gary Barlow record. It clearly topped the charts because it was Gary Barlow because musically it's terrible. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 5th and final Top 40 hit from the "Jagged Little Pill" album and the first to make the Top 10. I wouldn't definitely say this is the best Alanis Morissette single and I liked it enough to buy it, albeit second hand at Cash Converters a few years later. 

Verdict - Good


This was the 5th Top 40 hit for Toni Braxton and the 5th to be written by Babyface. A general rule I am finding with Babyface compositions is that he uses his signature sound for more credible artists and writes crap for those who aren't credible. Yet this isn't really his signature sound and I would say Toni Braxton is credible enough. I guess that just showcases the songwriting talents of Babyface.

Verdict - Good


This was the 20th Top 40 hit for Cher and the 9th in a row that was a cover. The original was be Frankie Valli and it had previously been taken to the top of the charts by the Walker Brothers 30 years earlier. As far as Cher's Top 40 career was going, this was the calm before the storm as after a short gap she'd be back in a big way with the aid of autotune. It's a poor cover.

Verdict - Rubbish


After the success of their big radio friendly hit "Wake Up Boo", The Boo Radleys decided to make a deliberately radio unfriendly album of which this was the lead single. I guess they managed to achieve that, but at the same time this record is just a noise.

Verdict - Rubbish


After eventually topping the charts with their Top 40 debut "Dreamer" the previous year, this was their follow up. It was with a different singer this time. It's not hugely different to it's predecessor though and not a good, but not bad either.

Verdict - OK


The 2nd and final Top 40 hit to date for Sepultura. It sounds quite tribal at the beginning, but you know the guitars will come in being Sepultura. Saying that, it is quite a soft record by Sepultura standards i.e. it's not as extreme as you would expect. Still sounds a racket though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Fun Lovin Criminals. Quentin Tarantino receives a songwriting credit on this due to the samples from his movies. I guess it wouldn't have been as effective without the samples as that's what drew my attention in the first place. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 10th Top 40 hit for Neneh Cherry and last to make the Top 10. It's a take on "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown. Needless to say the James Brown record is far superior. This is an absolutely terrible record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The final Top 40 hit to date for Crowded House who broke up later on in the year. I mentioned in my review of "Instinct" that they seems to have ran out of ideas by this point. This final hit pretty much confirms that. It sounds a bit like they're trying to be The Beatles but doing a really bad job of it.

Verdict - Rubbish


Me Me Me were a Britpop supergroup consisting of Stephen Duffy, Alex from Blur, Justin from Elastica and Charlie Bloor and this was their only hit. I remember the video to it where a bloke gets some x ray specs to see people in their underwear, they gets extra strong ones where he see's skeletons. Music wise it's pretty shit.

Verdict - Rubbish


When I first heard this record it reminded my of "Sweetness" by Michelle Gayle, the shoop shoop bits. As a result I've never been able to take it seriously. It's a move away from the grunge sound they'd previously been known for and is more Eastern influenced rock. Not for me though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The final Top 40 hit to date for OMD which came at the same time OMC were in the charts. It's different to the synth pop sound they're better known for. It was a record I liked at the time and as I got older I found myself being able to relate to the lyrics in my own interpretation at least. A shame that OMD called it a day after this, especially as what Andy McCluskey did next was give the world Kerry Katona.

Verdict - Good


The main difference between the "Up All Night" album and the other East 17 albums to this point was that all members of the band wrote songs on it whereas the others were Tony Mortimer songs. It was however the Tony Mortimer songs that got released as singles with this being the last one. Interestingly though it had no Tony Mortimer rapping on it. The album version is much better than the single version but this still gets the thumbs up.

Verdict - Good


The Top 40 debut for Alisha's Attic. The first thing I thought when I heard this record was that it sounded a bit like "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette. But I thought both records were good in their own way. One memory I do have of this record is it appearing on the radio one morning when I was about to switch it off and go out, but instead I stayed and listened to it.

Verdict - Good


This record original charted in 1995 but then went one place better when it was remixed in 1996. It certainly felt a much bigger record this time round as I recall. I particularly liked the build up towards the end where it gets pitched up. 

Verdict - Good


It had been a couple of years since Bernard Butler had left Suede, but this was their first Top 40 hit to have no involvement from him. I don't think it's any better or worse than previous Suede hits generally speaking, but I'm not a fan either way.

Verdict - Rubbish


Nas was already a well established rapper by this point with his much celebrated debut album "Illmatic" coming out in 1994. This was his first UK Top 40 hit though and his joint highest charting single. It's based on the Kurtis Blow record of the same name. I do like Nas and have all his early albums.

Verdict - Good


The record that Peter Andre was best known for. It's a reggae style pop record that sounds a bit like its ripping off "Sweat" by Inner Circle. I remember this being in the charts when Peter Andre was presenting Top of the Pops and during the chart countdown he said it was "by Bubbler Ranx and me". It's not the worst record in the world, but I'm sick to death of it now and would happily never hear it again.

Verdict - Rubbish


I have to admit I did not like this record when I first heard it. I remember them being introduced as gangsta rappers but didn't like the singing element to their rapping. However after getting over that hurdle I can honestly say this is one of my all time favourites. I love how dark it is and how dark a lot of their music is for that matter.

Verdict - Good


What can I say about this record to do it justice? Underworld are one of my favourite acts ever and this was their biggest hit and what got me into them in the first place. At a time when commercially successful music was getting more and more mellow it was refreshing to see a banging techno record giving a big fuck you to all of that. 

Verdict - Good


Here's proof that there were charting musicians from New Zealand that had nothing to do with the Finn brothers. There had been John Rowles and Kiri Te Kanawa previously. It was the only Top 40 hit for OMC and the title more or less describes the tune. I like it though. I also know that we'll soon be getting OMD in the charts too just to confuse things. 

Verdict - Good


I remember this going straight into number one on the Top 40 countdown which was the first time I heard it. Initially from the intro I thought it was going to be a depressing song, but then the beats kicked in and I though hang on a minute this is actually quite good.

Verdict - Good


The biggest hit for Dodgy and the one they're best known for. What I can tell you from this record is that it was around the same time "The Noise", a short lived music TV show presented by Andi Peters, was on. It's a decent enough record.

Verdict - Good


Paul Weller is back with his song. OK to be fair I did like his previous single, but with this one he's back to doing the same old shit he's done many times before. Nothing more to say about it really.

Verdict - Rubbish


A question I've asked many times before is why do songs from Disney movies have to be so depressing. This was from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and is depressing. If you look at the clips from the film in the video they look so happy so why not do something fun instead. 

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been over a year since Robbie Williams had left Take That. In that time Take That had broken up and Gary Barlow had started his solo career. I remember in the summer of 1995 Robbie Williams was stating his intention of starting his solo career when he was on The Big Breakfast. He also implied he was going to make more credible music. After the long wait he finally launched his solo career with a George Michael cover. Not what I was expecting, and he has since admitted it wasn't the best way to start his solo career.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the big holiday song of 1996 and I can remember hearing it all the time when I went on holiday in 1996 myself. When this made the charts I wasn't expecting the 2 men who sing it to be so old, they were almost 50 by this point which actually doesn't seem that old these days. Anyway it's cheesy and terrible and everything you expect from a big holiday song.

Verdict - Rubbish


There was no escaping this song in the summer of 1996. It was the Top 40 debut for the Spice Girls and I thought it had one hit wonder written all over it at the time. Unfortunately it wasn't and there was no escaping them for the next 2.5 years which felt a lot longer. 

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%. I can't believe the score has gone up when I only liked 2 of the new entries. 
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