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’
Elton John – ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’ / ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’
19 September 1997 Here's Ireland's biggest-selling single ever: an Englishman singing about a British royal. It's also the biggest-selling single ever in Germany, but the British royal family are German anyway so they're practically their own. What's our excuse? Okay, 'Candle In The Wind 1997' is actually about the public shock and upset at the … Continue reading Elton John – ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’ / ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’
Chumbawumba – ‘Tubthumping’
12 September 1997 I've never been sure if 'Tubthumping' is meant to be satirical (binge drinking and let's be havin' you!) or sincere (drowning your sorrows and soldiering on). Alice Nutter sweetly singing "Pissing the night away" and a wisp of 'Danny Boy' certainly has its charm, but again I'm wondering if this record is … Continue reading Chumbawumba – ‘Tubthumping’
Will Smith – ‘Men In Black’
22 August 1997 Considering Will Smith's single 'Men In Black' as a rap record feels like I'm missing the point. It's promotional collateral for Will Smith's movie Men In Black. No, wait: maybe the single is merely the pretext for Will Smith's video for 'Men In Black', the real promotional collateral for Will Smith's movie … Continue reading Will Smith – ‘Men In Black’
Oasis – ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’
11 July 1997 If 'Don't Look Back In Anger' was the sound of Oasis going from Britpop to soft rock, 'D'You Know What I Mean?' is soft-rock Oasis kicking on to self-parody. Beatles references? It literally and randomly name-checks 'The Fool On The Hill' and 'I Feel Fine'. Cartoonish aggro? There's Liam bleating and sneering … Continue reading Oasis – ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’
