19 December 1993 By the time Take That get to number one in Ireland, they're no longer Robbie Williams' Take That—cheeky dance routines and disco bops—but instead Gary Barlow's Take That: 'classic' songwriting and Gary at the piano with four bored-looking backing singers. As it happens, the lead vocal on 'Babe' is by Mark Owen, … Continue reading Take That – ‘Babe’
Tag: 1993
U2 – ‘Stay (Faraway, So Close!)’
5 December 1993 Wim Wenders must really be a great director if he can make me believe a U2 song is dreamy and lovely. Back in my mid-teens, when I was impressionable in many things but not impressionable enough to buy a U2 album, I consumed 'Stay (Faraway, So Close!)' through its Wenders-directed video, and … Continue reading U2 – ‘Stay (Faraway, So Close!)’
Bryan Adams – ‘Please Forgive Me’
28 November 1993 If your favourite part of 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)' was the droning, dreary middle section, have I got another Bryan Adams song for you! But wait: what has our Bryan done to you that he has to ask you to "Please forgive me" here? Left the toilet seat … Continue reading Bryan Adams – ‘Please Forgive Me’
Meat Loaf – ‘I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)’
17 October 1993 The '90s resurgence in power balladry was in part the US music industry's way of sweeping the Milli Vanilli lip-syncing scandal under the carpet: they lucked onto Mariah Carey, saw how her debut single caused a sensation and a flurry of record-buying, then lumped in on her strain of loud, technically impressive … Continue reading Meat Loaf – ‘I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)’
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – ‘Boom! Shake The Room’
10 October 1993 In 1993 Will Smith was not yet an Oscar-winning actor, an Oscar-host-slapping stage-crasher, or even Will Smith. Much in keeping with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince made rap and hip hop records that were generally either goofy ('Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble'), sentimental ('Summertime') or … Continue reading DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – ‘Boom! Shake The Room’
Pet Shop Boys – ‘Go West’
3 October 1993 You can write songs as brilliant as 'West End Girls', 'Suburbia', 'Love Comes Quickly', 'Rent', 'Being Boring' and 'What Have I Done To Deserve This?', but wear designer traffic cones as hats (for 'Can You Forgive Her?') and then cover a Village People hit and all that gets forgotten. 'Go West', for … Continue reading Pet Shop Boys – ‘Go West’
Culture Beat – ‘Mr. Vain’
29 August 1993 There's a sad story behind this number one single. Culture Beat was the project of German producer Torsten Fenslau. In November 1993, a mere two months after 'Mr. Vain' topped the charts across Europe, he was in a car crash and died, aged only 29. That said, there's no hidden depth or … Continue reading Culture Beat – ‘Mr. Vain’
Freddie Mercury – ‘Living On My Own’
22 August 1993 Our second posthumous Irish number one of 1993: however, I'm pretty sure that this wasn't from the momentum of the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert that has already given us two other Irish chart-toppers. If you don't recall the original 1985 release of 'Living On My Own' you're not alone; I only … Continue reading Freddie Mercury – ‘Living On My Own’
4 Non Blondes – ‘What’s Up?’
18 July 1993 Grunge: what were we thinking? Sludgy guitars, droning songs, whiny singers, lumberjack shirts - as a scene and a sound it hasn't aged well, and to be honest didn't sound all that great in the first place. Its performative angst became a tool for the US music industry to pivot away from … Continue reading 4 Non Blondes – ‘What’s Up?’
Haddaway – ‘What Is Love’
27 June 1993 Well, you can't say Haddaway shirks the big philosophical questions. (The B-side was called 'Where Do Odd Socks Go?') Not that he gives us an answer or anything. Also, as those of you joining us from Pedants' Corner are already shouting at your screen, the lack of punctuation in the song title … Continue reading Haddaway – ‘What Is Love’
