12 November 1992 I've mentioned before how any list of the most influential singles of the '90s has to include Mariah Carey's 'Vision Of Love' for kicking off the power diva vocal style. I think we also should include 'End Of The Road' as the demon seed of the Irish boyband ballad: four or five … Continue reading Boyz II Men – ‘End Of The Road’ →

15 October 1992 Hate is a strong word to use about a mere pop song. When I was young in 1992, though, I hated 'Sleeping Satellite'. That naff "I blame you for the moonlit sky" chorus hook! Those clumsy, wordy lyrics! Its deification by middle-aged music press like Q magazine as Proper Songwriting Craft! I … Continue reading Tasmin Archer – ‘Sleeping Satellite’ →

8 October 1992 Wahey! I doubt anyone seriously thought 'Ebeneezer Goode' was about some sort of quaint Dickensian eccentric, or anything other than a surreptitious way of getting a blatant drug reference to number one (in the UK as well as Ireland). Still, it's done so smartly, with a few other 'e' uses ("'e's a … Continue reading The Shamen – ‘Ebeneezer Goode’ →

13 August 1992 There's no denying that it's a rotten lyric, the kind of ostentatious crassness you'd sooner expect from a teenage boy or a privileged, entitled, middle-aged 'edgy' male comedian. But if you ask people what they remember about 'Rhythm Is A Dancer', they'll probably say "I'm as serious as cancer / when I … Continue reading Snap! – ‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’ →

23 July 1992 Phil Collins is already, by 1992, left in the '80s elephants' graveyard. However, Phil Collins-ism—sour, middle-aged misogynistic songs dressed up as Everyman coffee-table soul—remained a variant of concern. Here, the thing of which there isn't any doubt is that "a woman like you is no good for me". Oh, and whenever she … Continue reading Jimmy Nail – ‘Ain’t No Doubt’ →

18 June 1992 I've always thought I should like Erasure more. Some of their songwriting is really good: 'Oh L'Amour' and 'A Little Respect' are solid pop tunes. It's just that their finished product is bland and boring: a single Casio hi-NRG setting let gallop across fields of astroturf. And now they're taking on the … Continue reading Erasure – Abba-esque (EP) →

11 June 1992 Would this have got to number one if the two lads had worn their jeans the right way around and were old enough to shave? You'd have to suspect not. By this stage in 1992, rap singles only got to number one in Ireland and the UK as some sort of novelty … Continue reading Kris Kross – ‘Jump’ →

4 June 1992 With due respect to Linda Martin's Eurovision win, the major live music happening of 1992 was the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley that April. The concert was billed as an AIDS awareness event, with proceeds going to AIDS charities, and it was the Live Aid-style all-star shindig of its time, broadcast … Continue reading Guns N’ Roses – ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ →

30 April 1992 The English taste for mildly saucy end-of-the-pier humour, as evinced by Carry On films and 'Deeply Dippy', leaves me cold. There's also an English strain of male, white, middle-aged, entitled "anti-woke" celebrity, and like the pair of buttocks they resemble, the Right Said Fred brothers now squeeze out the dribbliest, whiniest diarrhoea … Continue reading Right Said Fred – ‘Deeply Dippy’ →