7 June 1998 'C'est La Vie' caught me on the hop. The first time I heard it—heard of it—was when B*Witched were already at number one in the UK and I saw them performing it on Top Of The Pops. At the start, I didn't even twig they were Irish: that only dawned on me … Continue reading B*Witched – ‘C’est La Vie’
The Tamperer ft. Maya – ‘Feel It’
17 May 1998 "What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her?" Not the trailer for a new Fred West-style homicidal home improvement show, but the most baffling pop lyric of 1998. Most of us thought it was some oblique reference to a black eye, and I recall a theory that it was a … Continue reading The Tamperer ft. Maya – ‘Feel It’
Boyzone – ‘All That I Need’
26 April 1998 Before re-listening to this Boyzone number one, I honestly couldn't remember it. I've just listened to it now and I still can hardly remember it. Of the impressions that have barely stuck with me, 'All That I Need' is vapid white-bread R&B-lite. Tasteful, over-produced acoustic guitar-picking and bossa nova rhythm on the … Continue reading Boyzone – ‘All That I Need’
Run-D.M.C. vs Jason Nevins – ‘It’s Like That’
29 March 1998 Re-listening to Run-D.M.C.'s original 'It's Like That' reminds me why I prefer Public Enemy. I find Run-D.M.C.'s rapping style here very stilted, like a primary schoolkid reciting a poem in class: they don't exactly make lines like "Street soldiers killing the elderly / Whatever happened to unity?" flow like a harpoon daily … Continue reading Run-D.M.C. vs Jason Nevins – ‘It’s Like That’
Celine Dion – ‘My Heart Will Go On’
15 February 1998 When Titanic came out on video, I reckon I saw it three times a day for two weeks. I should add that it was because I was working in Xtravision that summer, where it was playing non-stop on the shop-floor screens. People would come in to buy Titanic, then stand enthralled and … Continue reading Celine Dion – ‘My Heart Will Go On’
Aqua – ‘Doctor Jones’
1 February 1998 'Barbie Girl' was a smart, playful subversion of our sexist cultural objectification of women. Will 'Dr Jones' drop similar truths about, say, the Western appropriation of indigenous artefacts, the negative stereotyping of all Asians save for a solitary baseball-cap-wearing kid driving a car, or the use of consumerist household appliances to survive … Continue reading Aqua – ‘Doctor Jones’
Oasis – ‘All Around The World’
18 January 1998 Nine minutes thirty-eight seconds is the sort of running time you'd normally associate with the spin cycle of a washing machine, but it's actually what made 'All Around The World' for years our longest-ever number one single, until it was finally surpassed in 2021. To give us some yardsticks for this, 'Hey … Continue reading Oasis – ‘All Around The World’
Various Artists – ‘Perfect Day’
28 November 1997 There wasn't a Band Aid in the '90s but this was the closest thing. It was for a worthy cause too: the BBC Children in Need appeal, although it was originally conceived and broadcast as a public service announcement for the BBC licence fee. So, despite its Irish contingent, Ireland's 1997 Christmas … Continue reading Various Artists – ‘Perfect Day’
Dustin & Joe Dolan – ‘Good Looking Woman’
21 November 1997 Joe Dolan here becomes the only act to have an Irish number one single in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s. Surprisingly, since it was something of a signature song for him, the original 'Good Looking Woman' wasn't one of Joe's previous five Irish chart-toppers, only peaking at number four in 1970. … Continue reading Dustin & Joe Dolan – ‘Good Looking Woman’
Aqua – ‘Barbie Girl’
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 … Continue reading Aqua – ‘Barbie Girl’
