1 March 1996 Robbie had left, the other four had just announced their split, and this was the obligatory new track on their imminent greatest hits compilation. Those are the facts. However, Take That releasing a schmaltzy '70s ballad cover version as a high-profile single was a surprise and a disappointment. Were the boyband who … Continue reading Take That – ‘How Deep Is Your Love’
Category: Uncategorized
Oasis – ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’
23 February 1996 U2 were post-punk. Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses were hair metal. Even Coldplay were bedsit indie. What those bands have in common is that as soon as they reached stadium-sized success they instead started making stadium-sized soft rock: slow churning guitar chords; performative pseudo-profound lyrics; try-hard anthemic choruses. Yes, I mean … Continue reading Oasis – ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’
Babylon Zoo – ‘Spaceman’
19 January 1996 Here's how I remembered it. The jeans ad featured half a minute of ear-catching futuristic electronica. Everyone duly rushed out to buy the single, only for our collective jaws to drop when we realised that those opening thirty seconds turned into something entirely different. The next thing we dropped was the single … Continue reading Babylon Zoo – ‘Spaceman’
George Michael – ‘Jesus To A Child’
12 January 1996 The common denominator in George Michael's better songs—'Careless Whisper', 'Last Christmas', 'A Different Corner', 'Praying For Time', 'Freedom '90'—is his ability to express confused, vulnerable hurt, often just in a striking lyric or vocal phrasing. Unfortunately, it's a strength he gets to flex to its utmost in 'Jesus To A Child', which … Continue reading George Michael – ‘Jesus To A Child’
Boyzone – ‘Father And Son’
1 December 1995 Just as East 17 did the previous year, Boyzone had the first and last Irish number one of 1995. ('Love Me For A Reason' re-took the number one spot at the start of the year.) That's where the similarity ends. Anyone with a passing acquaintance of the Boyzone oeuvre will know that … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘Father And Son’
Coolio ft. L.V. – ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’
3 November 1995 Stevie Wonder spent the '80s trying to turn '80s kids like me off his music for life, so in 1995 I didn't know the track of his that's used so heavily in 'Gangsta's Paradise'. Even now, Coolio's track exists separately in my head to Stevie's 'Pastime Paradise'; I don't feel the need … Continue reading Coolio ft. L.V. – ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’
Def Leppard – ‘When Love And Hate Collide’
27 October 1995 The '90s presented a real existential crisis to '80s hair metal bands and cheery three-chord rockers. Nirvana and the power divas had changed the market demand to authenticity: out with the perms and spandex, out also with the densely-layered studio-bound sound, and out with the kitschy OTT fun. For Bon Jovi and … Continue reading Def Leppard – ‘When Love And Hate Collide’
Simply Red – ‘Fairground’
6 October 1995 Hearing, or overhearing, 'Fairground' by Simply Red on the radio back in 1995, our first reaction would have been to recognise the pounding drum sample from 'Give It Up' by The Good Men, which itself had been an airplay-bossing hit a couple of years before that. We may not have known that … Continue reading Simply Red – ‘Fairground’
Shaggy – ‘Boombastic’
29 September 1995 There were a few mid-'90s number ones from jeans commercials which, instead of classic rock and possibly as a flex of Big Trousers' marketing muscle, used new tracks by new artists. Trouble was, the snippets used in the ads were often unrepresentative of the whole track: the thundering rock riff of Stiltskin's … Continue reading Shaggy – ‘Boombastic’
Blur – ‘Country House’
18 August 1995 Neutrality or a notional Irish Sea border couldn't keep the Battle of Britpop from reaching our shores. Even at the time, the most notable feature of this skirmish was the combatants' choice of weapons: each with a remarkably poor single, as if there were some gentleman's agreement not to draw blood. If … Continue reading Blur – ‘Country House’
