The UK top 40 of exactly one decade ago

Lots of forgotten follow-ups, there.

One of these had Pato 'singing' the original version of this with a parrot doing Roger's parts. Imagine a video with parrot on Pato's shoulder 'singing' "We're bubbling hot hot hot, we're bubbling hottttt.." like the parrot from the old Cariba advert.

Never heared the song the same way since. Mind you, never heard the song since, either.

15 Grace Not Over Yet
16 Strike U Sure Do

Channel four had one as part of one of their extended "yoof" progs, but I'm fairly sure it was a bbc2 thing.

Oh come on, that Weezer song is fucking excellent. Dumb, singalong and undemanding but all the better for it. In a NOTOASIS way.

KLASSIK

runrig were like a twee scots nationalist type band.

i prefer this chart to 1985 or 2005. i am wintering till the revival comes round, cf reynolds in the observer: hey, baby boomers, get off the stage, it's time we ex-post-punks have a go!! well, i'm hanging in there for the handbag/trip hop/big beat/r'n'b era.

The album is shit, though.

But anyway, ones from this list worthy of worship: 15 (maybe Rob Davis' finest moment, above even "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"?), 19, 20, 22, 24.

And those to whom I would serve fresh coffee the morning after: 1-4, 14, 21.

16 Strike U Sure Do

i guess this is my favourite, though it wasn't at the time. i associated handbag with people haveing fun, which i wasn't, being a fourteen year old boy. i liked 'some might say' best, at that point. followed by 'fool's gold' no doubt. though i still have the bucketheads single. 'u sure do' is just big. and i can't imagine we'll see its like again.

-- Marcello Carlin (marcellocarli...) (webmail), April 27th, 2005 9:58 AM. (link)

Umm, that means you like them, yeah?

That having been said, I have never heard of or forgotten 95% of this week's chart, in some cases while they're still playing.

and i am shocked and stunned that razorlight are top five, and were number two. how? how? how?

The obvious stand-out for me.

I haven't heard 'Some Might Say' for years but I liked it a lot at the time. Portishead is a funny one. It sticks out but I'm not sure how much I really liked it as opposed to admiring it for being innovative.

I was reminding myself of the first "O"Rang album the other day (from 1994) and had forgotten that Beth turns up on that!

B-sides to "Some Might Say" were Talk Tonight/Acquiesce/Headshrinker, two of which have to count as highly as the A-side; this was their great period for B-sides.

I need to re-visit that Brownstone single; I had quite a lot of time for them back then, but can't altogether remember why.

As for this week's Top 40, I could sing 19 of them to you now from memory. It's actually not a bad chart at all; there are 16 that I wouldn't kick out of bed.

Not their worst, although their new "adult contemporary" approach wasn't all that interesting either.

2 Outhere Brothers Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)

Extremely annoying.

3 Oasis Some Might Say

This is when I really started to take notice. Hadn't been that much into the "Definitely Maybe" album, but this was a strong song indeed, and a deserved chart topper. The guitar amp sound is still annoying though.

4 Bobby Brown Two Can Play That Game

The remix worked out quite nicely, but I don't like the very idea of remixes.

5 Boyzone Key To My Life

They did some decent stuff later, but early Boyzone was way too sugar coated to be any fun.

6 Tina Arena Chains

Not familiar with this one.

7 Bryan Adams Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?

Spanish instruments and everything, to illustrate the song being from "Don Quijote". Among his more decent 90s moments.

8 MN8 If You Only Let Me In

Horrible song from a horrible act.

9 Brownstone If You Love Me
10 Let Loose Best In Me

Not familiar with any of these, I think.

11 (MC Sar And) The Real McCoy Love And Devotion

Knew some of their earlier stuff, and the cheesy 90s Eurodance certainly didn't appeal to me.

12 Corona Baby Baby

This is a bit more fun, with obvious influence from Italo disco, but this was not their best moment.

13 Love City Groove Love City Groove

I have always thought that Eurovision has needed a kick in the ass to become more musically recent and relevant, and from that point of view this was an interesting change. Whether it worked or not, I'll leave that up to those who do actually like rap.

14 Paul Weller The Changingman

With a few exceptions, I never quite liked his solo stuff. Weller made some excellent music with The Jam, but already with Style Council, he was a bit stuck with these soul influenced that just didn't fit him. "Wild Wood" was great, but this one is just boring and way too bluesy.

16 Strike U Sure Do

Another case of extremely annoying noise.

19 Bjork Army Of Me

One of my favourite songs by her. Some interesting harmonic stuff going on.

21 Weezer Buddy Holly

Trying to get into Weezer on several occasions, but this is the only song I am able to like by them. Still great stuff though.

22 Portishead Sour Times

Their best single IMO. I wasn't that much into them, but this is where they really managed to be what they were aiming at being.

23 Joshua Kadison Jessie

This was a hit in Norway two years earlier, and it was just as boring back then.

24 Bucketheads The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)

A lot of these extremely annoying dance tunes during the first half of 1995.

26 Snap! featuring Summer The First, The Last Eternity

I kind of liked Snap better after they got rid of the annoying Turbo B. This isn't their worst moment by any means.

30 Stone Roses Fools Gold '95

I don't even think I've heard this version, I mean, I suppose it was a remix, right?

37 Wet Wet Wet Julia Says

A followup to their biggest hit, and a lot better. I consider this Wet Wet's best moment ever. Actually a great classic ballad, and the closest they ever got to greatness.

I've just worked out what this is. It takes the chorus from 'Serious' by Donna Allen, which I'd bought as a teenager (in 87? 86?). Even in 1995 I felt like a bit of an old man wandering around going 'I remember this the first time around', and I was only 21.

Conclusion: pop music just keeps getting better and better!

The man is one of my unknown heroes!

Strike fans, you must search 'Inspiration' without fail.