| This |
Tot
wks |
| Peak |
| Number One |
| 1 |
6 |
| NO MATTER WHAT |
Whistle Down the Wind |
| Boyzone |
|
1 |
|
The third single lifted from Lord Loud-Webby's new musical is a pleasant enough song, but nothing to write home about. It provides the 'Zone with their third list-leading hit, and means they break Kylie's mark by going top 5 with all of their first 12 releases. This becomes Lord Hyphen's third chart-topper, following Julie Covington's hit with "Don't Cry for me Argentina" back in 1978, and Jason Donovan's remake of "Any Dream Will Do" in 1991. Writer Jim Steinmann also gets his third topper, following Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" from 83, and Meatloaf's "I'd do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" ten years later.
|
| 2 |
8 |
| VIVA FOREVER |
Spiceworld |
| Spice Girls |
|
1 |
| Apparently, the Spices should be a spent force now. Reduced to a four piece, lasting beyond their two-year sell-by date, and their last single barely made the top. Pah! This one shifts 425,000 (full-priced) copies in thirteen days to become the fastest selling single of the year, and storm to the top by a country mile. It becomes, of course, their eighth number one from as many releases, a track record that puts their popularity on a par with the Beatles' heyday in the early 60s. |
| 3 |
12 |
| GHETTO SUPERSTAR |
Ghetto Superstar |
| Pras Michel, ODB and Mya |
|
1 |
| The third member of the Fugees opens his solo career, and has the biggest solo hit - and first number one - of any of them. Wyclef Jean produces, while the Mya singing is no relation to the Maya of the chimney on her. She is, however, performing to the tune of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's hit "Islands in the stream". Pras is, we now find, the Fugee who enlivened every "Top of the Pops" performances by rhythmicly chanting "Top of the Pop! Top of the Pop!" at some point. |
| 4 |
11 |
| SAVE TONIGHT |
Desireless |
| Eagle-Eye Cherry |
|
4 |
| Two months on, this is still a great track. It combines a hard, almost grungy, beat with a fragility and delicacy that's a joy to behold. And it is one of the best records of this year. |
| Sureshot |
| 5 |
6 |
| TO THE MOON AND BACK |
Savage Garden |
| Savage Garden
|
|
2 |
| So, the song that follows up "Truly Madly Deeply" and becomes a massive hit is the exact same song that preceeded TMD, and flopped totally last October. Quite why radio didn't pick up on the tune then has remained a mystery; that this becomes a deserved hit for the Aussie duo is a clear fact.
|
| 6 |
15 |
| THE BOY IS MINE |
Never Say Never |
| Brandy & Monica |
|
2 |
| This slow, sultry hit comes as something of a pleasant surprise. Neither Brandy nor Monica had had a significant UK hit until now. Their pairing is one of the most sublime - and successful - soul records to hit the stores in a very long time. It's now moving into Premier League status, heading to the whole year Top 20, and just missing a third month in the top 5. |
| 7 |
5 |
| MYSTERIOUS TIMES |
Life Goes On |
| Sash! feat Tina Cousins
|
|
4 |
| He had to run out of languages eventually... Back to English for his fifth hit, Sash! makes another instantly accessible slice of Europop, and another rather good one at that.
|
| 8 |
10 |
| LIFE IS A FLOWER |
|
| Ace of Base |
|
3 |
| Back in 1993, Swedish act Ace of Base hit the top with the infernally catchy number "All that she wants", and very nearly followed it up the following year with the even more catchy "The Sign". Since then, they've been ominously quiet, until now. Back with another twee single, that might just be hiding humour behind the impenatrable accents, Ace of Base have a slightly smaller than I expected summer hit with this. The illogical follow up is the US single, "Cruel Summer". |
| Single Of The Month |
| 9 |
6 |
| EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT
| |
| Sweetbox
|
|
4 |
| Based on Bach's Air on a G string, as was the classic "Whiter Shade of Pale", this is a slow, sensuous tune, with some haunting vocals. It's brilliant. It's wonderful.
|
| 10 |
4 |
| MUSIC SOUNDS BETTER WITH YOU
| |
| Stardust |
|
2 |
| In reality, this is half the French techno duo Daft Punk under a pseudonym. The anthem of the summer at the clubs in the Med finally gets released, and becomes the obligatory tune that's going to get everywhere but no-one will remember fondly in years to come. It's so-so techno, really nothing to write home about. Kevin Greening, the best DJ on Radio 1, thinks this is the worst big hit of the year. I can't disagree.
|
| Sureshot |
| 11 |
6 |
| COME WITH ME |
Godzilla OST |
| Jimmy Page and Puff Daddy |
|
5 |
| This is Led Zepplin's Kashmir, remade here in honour of the abysmal movie about a big lizard stomping over New York. And, no, we're not referring to Liz here. This is a way better song than Jamiroquai's track, and almost makes me want to go out and do something really silly, like listen to it again. |
| 12 |
7 |
| JUST THE TWO OF US |
Big Willie Style |
| Will Smith |
|
4 |
| Sometimes, the venom with which I hate a certain record surprises even me. A case in point is this record. It's by Will Smith, which isn't the best of starts, but that's a minor detail. It's been held up for something like three months - ostensibly, while the greatest hits package of (DJ) Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Smith taking the latter role - came and went, and just happens to be released in the aftermath of the birth of his lover's (or is it wife-of-the-week's) child. It's based on Grover Washington Junior's very minor hit (#34, believe it or not) from 1981. It's a love song with a sick twist: from New Rapping Father to Unsuspecting And Hugely Embarrassed Child, with absolutely no mention of the mother in all of this. And the whole thing makes me want to hurl. It's just the most insufferably abysmal, tuneless, hypocritical track. Now, where did I leave my copy of "Forget-me-nots"? |
| 13 |
5 |
| WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE YOU LOVE ME?
| Talk on Corners |
| Coors
|
|
3 |
|
It took a Fleetwood Mac cover for Ireland's biggest family group of the moment (except for those moments when that's B*Witched) to break it big in the UK. They've now re-released their previous track which fell short in March. Only, rather than the original soft love song, there's a bass-heavy mix that rather ruins the fragility of the track. Shame, really.
|
| 14 |
13 |
| LIFE |
Supernatural |
| Des'ree |
|
6 |
| This is Des'ree's biggest hit - and one of her greatest affronts to both punctuation and sensible lyrics, rhyming "seen a ghost" and "thing I fear the most" with "have a piece of toast". It's workmanlike soul, not her best, but certainly not bad. |
| Sureshot |
| 15 |
6 |
| LOST IN SPACE THEME |
Lost In Space OST |
| Apollo 440
|
|
4 |
| Baaah, ba-ba-da-baa-daa-bAAAAAh! Just when we thought they didn't make records like this anymore, they do. A glorious, brassy remake of the original is slightly spoiled by the presence of Matt le Blanc's words.
|
| 16 |
15 |
|
1 |
| The Irish four-piece feature Ronan from Boyzone's cousins (or something). On the strength of that, they got a record deal. On the strength of one of the most wonderful summer hits ever made, they appear on the lips of almost everyone able to hum, and in the heads of quite a few others. This is a total classic, with the most upbeat singalong for a good year. Denied a six-week run at the top by the football records, they did manage to bookend the World Cup at #1, and look set to sell well into the summer. |
| 17 |
9 |
| FREAK ME |
Another Level |
| Another Level |
|
4 |
| Everything that soul giants do right is done wrong here. This is leaden, clunky, poorly written, badly performed, and sounds like a dog. And someone tell them that one doesn't reproduce by "freaking". |
| 18 |
5 |
| IF YOU TOLERATE THIS YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE NEXT
| |
| Manic Street Preachers
|
|
1 |
| The Welsh wizards are back, and still only have one good song to their name. This is not the fifth re-hash of it. In fact, this is just tedious.
|
| 19 |
7 |
| DEEPER UNDERGROUND |
Godzilla OST |
| Jamiroquai |
|
2 |
| There are a few bands who just can't put a foot right. Take Jamiroquai. Please. Just take them. This is yet another repetitive plank of repetitive, small-minded white boy funk, repetitive in the extreme, and advancing the cause of popular music not one iota. It's crap, taken from a rotten movie; the two kinda go together. |
| 20 |
13 |
| LOOKING FOR LOVE |
|
| Karen Ramirez |
|
8 |
| Three years ago, Everything But The Girl were nonentities, known only for a Rod Stewart cover, and their status as perrenial student faves who never crossed into the mainstream. Then Todd Terry remixed "Missing" from their "Amplified Heart" album and turned it into a worldwide smash. On the same album was a track called "Looking for love", which has now been re-made by a rising British r&b singer. The effect is clearly meant to resemble "Missing", and it succeeds in doing that. The problem is that this isn't such a good song to start with, and the result is insipid. Radio seems to love it, though. |
| 21 |
15 |
| HORNY |
|
| Moose feat Hot and Wet |
|
4 |
| Two months on, this remains on of the worst records on the survey. Two women sing about how much they resemble rhinoceri. Has the world gone crazy? |
| 22 |
4 |
| THE AIR THAT I BREATHE
| Blue |
| Simply Red
|
|
10 |
| Very limp Hollies cover, with no redeeming features whatsoever. Sometimes, all I need is a shotgun...
|
| 23 |
4 |
| I WANT YOU BACK
| Comin' Atcha |
| Cleopatra
|
|
10 |
| The third single from the British female Hanson (ssh! don't mention that!) is their first cover. The old Jackson Five number was a runner up in 1970, and returned to the top 10 in 1988. Ten years after that, back comes this particular classic.
|
| Sureshot |
| 24 |
3 |
|
10 |
| The largest thing to come out of Iceland since the last weather report's temperatures is a simple pop tune that has gone down a storm in Scandanavia, and has been picking up airplay over here for the past two months.
|
| 25 |
4 |
| I CAN'T HELP MYSELF |
|
| Lucid |
|
10 |
|
This is meant to be the future of dance music. It's just the same as the rest; inoffensive, but nothing to perk the interest.
|
| 26 |
6 |
|
21 |
| In 1988, husband and wife team Womack and Womack had the biggest hit that didn't make Number One with this simple yet highly effective song. No-one's dared cover it since, as it's darned hard to improve on it. But, a decade later, Lovestation do pretty much a note for note cover. It won't be anything more than a footnote in history, but it does remove the song from the list of Classics Without A Cover. |
| Sureshot |
| 27 |
4 |
|
17 |
| With their first big hit in a year and a half, the Codfathers of Weird strike back into the public consciousness. This is, of course, a very strange song, going at a pace through friends in need, things being better than other things. It's either a work of genius or complete drivel, depending on your point of view.
|
| 28 |
5 |
| MILLENNIUM
| |
| Robbie Williams
|
|
22 |
| For the first six months of the year, it appeared that "Angels" was never ever going to be torn away from the radio. It took the guy's new single, featuring a hook from some old song or other, to break the deadlock and reduce his old material to filler. Only, this new one is a total pile of pants, and people are requesting this only as often as "Angels". Go fig.
|
| March's Single Of The Month |
| 29 |
28 |
| HOW DO I LIVE |
You Light Up My Life |
| Leann Rimes |
|
4 |
| When this first came out in March, I remarked on Leann's 26 week residence in the US top 10, and pointed out that she probably wouldn't repeat the feat in the UK. Whoops. The 15 year old American sensation has become the biggest breakthrough act of the year. |
| 30 |
4 |
|
10 |
| A slight, insubstantial piece of pop-lite. It's nice in small doses, but two plays a day is too many.
|
| 30 |
4 |
| NEEDING YOU
| |
| David Morales presents The Face
|
|
22 |
| Hey kids, it's got a good beat!
|
| 31 |
11 |
|
12 |
| The British version of the Backstreet Boys return with a cheap rap track that just gives them an excuse to show off their bodies. The difference between them and the BBs is that the Yanks make good records. |
| 32 |
14 |
| STRANDED |
Lutricia McNeil |
| Lutricia McNeil |
|
2 |
| There's no shifting this one, is there. I wonder just how much she owes to the fact her record label is part-owned by one of the largest radio stations in the UK. |
| Sureshot |
| 34 |
2 |
| ONE FOR SORROW
| Aquarium |
| Steps
|
|
6 |
| The third hit single from Steps may be the first one that follows the usual route of entering high and falling down. This reminds a lot of people of some ABBA hit, but no-one can quite put their finger on which one. We think it's "The Winner Takes it All", used as the backing track of the chorus. Really observant people will have played Spot the Sample on the verse, and found the bass line from "(Can you) Feel It" from the Jacksons or Tamperer. But there's no place for the drum motif from Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy".
|
| 35 |
8 |
| BECAUSE WE WANT TO |
|
| Billie |
|
6 |
| Child model is picked out by teen mag for advertising campaign. Based on her looks, record company signs her, and gives her songs to sing. Child records them, releases them, and has large hit. See also: Tiffany Darkowitz (now retired from the music business) and Debbie Gibson (formerly of London's Grease, now performing on Broadway's Beauty and the Beast - as Deborah Gibson). Billie would have one-git wonder stamped all over her, if the typist was more accurate. |
| 36 |
3 |
| I WANNA BE YOUR LADY
| Hinda Hicks |
| Hinda Hicks
|
|
18 |
| Yet more cheap and grotty Brit R an' B.
|
| 37 |
7 |
| IMMORTALITY |
Let's Talk About Love |
| Celine Dion & Bee Gees |
|
10 |
| How does one follow up the biggest hit of the year so far? If you're Celine Dion, you book a studio session with the Bee Gees, and record a song about how you're never going to be forgotten. Well, I think that what the song's about, but I really can't remember it. In a year when the three biggest hits so far have all come from Commonwealth countries, this could be New Zealand's best chance for a big hit. |
| 38 |
9 |
| LOST IN SPACE |
Postcards from Heaven |
| Lighthouse Family |
|
4 |
| The masters of laid-back pop take the genre to its limits with a song that is totally somnolent, but still remarkably listenable. It's not got the anthemic intensity of "High", but it's still head and shoulders above much of the competition. |
| Sureshot |
| 39 |
2 |
|
7 |
| Oh, this is wonderful. A sweet dose of female R&B, and British to boot.
|
| 40 |
2 |
| MY WEAKNESS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
| The Good Will Out |
| Embrace
|
|
18 |
| Single six from this lot's album. A bridge too far. By a long way. |