24 October 1997
Right after ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’, here’s another tribute to a famous blonde. Apart from that, two more different number ones you’d be hard-pressed to find. And lest you think this was just the Irish charts being heartless, on this same weekend in October 1997 the new UK number one was a different sort of iconic Brit-girl with ‘Spice Up Your Life’: it seems the flame of Diana-hysteria burnt out even before the candle did. Anyway, life has to go on, and for our singles chart that meant Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’.
Here in 2022, Barbiecore fashion has gone viral. In 1997 many people felt ‘Barbie Girl’ was also something of a virus. As a record, it is what it is: cartoonish hi-NRG bubblegum Euro-dance. Why did it go to number one? You could point to the previous number one and its overhanging cloud of funereal sadness, then point back at this number one’s sunny escapism. There’s probably something in that, and despite Mattel’s subsequent (unsuccessful) legal objections you can’t rule out the purchasing power of Barbie completists either, but I think ‘Barbie Girl’ was a smash hit on its own merits. And yes, it has merits. That chorus is earworm-grade catchy, the whole track has an irresistible energy, and Lene Nystrøm puts in a star-making performance. Also, I like the way it slips in some smart lyrics: “You can brush my hair / Undress me everywhere” captures more about the sexualised objectification of famous and un-famous women than rotten old ‘Candle In The Wind’ ever could.
Yes, the debit side of the ledger fills up too: gruff, gurning co-vocalist René is like an in-your-face Gregg Wallace at your dinner table uninvited, and regardless of my goodwill a mere one or two listens of this record’s helium harshness delights me enough. Still, Aqua and ‘Barbie Girl’ at number one feels like the pop charts getting back to what God intended: fun, catchy pop singles that divide the nation.
Irish Number Ones 