It’s fair to say we needed a bit of a chillout, after cutting all those mad shapes to our past couple of chart-toppers, ‘Rhythm Is a Dancer’ and ‘Ebeneezer Goode’. Enter Tasmin Archer then, with ‘Sleeping Satellite’.
Sleeping Satellite, by Tasmin Archer (her 1st and only #1)
2 weeks, from 11th – 25th October 1992
First things first, this is just as ‘nineties’ as the rave anthem that preceded it. The trip-hop drums and light guitars, for a start, and the way Archer sings the verses quietly before ending them LOUDLY. It’s very nu-soul, in the same vein perhaps as Lisa Stansfield’s semi-recent #1, and the lyrics are quite new-age – a genre that’s been popping up ever since Enya in 1988. It’s grown up, is what it is. Your mum might say she’d heard it on the radio the other morning, and quite liked it. Certainly no schoolboy innuendo about class-A drugs here.
Archer has a great voice, with a rasp that kicks in on those loud bits. You could perhaps accuse her of over-singing, but she gives the song an energy that stops it from becoming too MOR (you know, ‘mum oriented-rock’…) Because, let’s be honest, the lyrics are wishy-washy. I blame you for the moonlit sky, And the dream that died, With the eagles’ flights… She’s referencing the moon landings – the ‘Sleeping Satellite’ of the title is our very own moon – and the fact that we’re neglecting Earth in favour of space adventure. Though, to be fair, the lines in which she seems to be predicting an apocalypse don’t seem too far off, thirty years on…
I like the organ that kicks in, and the power chords that offer some oomph as the song grows. It goes on a bit too long, though, and ultimately the message gets lost in the perfectly pleasant melody. It’s one of those songs, outside Christmas classics, and the various summer-themed number ones, that perfectly suits the time of year that it reached top spot. This was an autumn #1, ideal as the nights started to draw in. I’d also suggest that it joins the likes of ‘Baby Jump’, Slik, and Boris Gardner, as one of the most-forgotten number ones of its time.
‘Sleeping Satellite’ was Tasmin Archer’s debut release, with her having previously worked as a backing singer and recording studio assistant in Bradford. She’s labelled as a one-hit wonder, which is unfair as her follow-up single made the Top 20. In fact she has five Top 40 hits, and a 1993 Brit Award for Best Breakthrough Act. She released her most recent album in 2006, before announcing that she was going into TV and film soundtrack work.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
Nice tune and great vocals! I neither recognized the artist’s name nor the song’s title. But once I started playing it, I immediately remembered the song. Which proves that while I may have lived under a rock in the ’90s, that rock was on planet Earth, not somewhere else!
Well that’s good to know! I guess it is a quintessentially 90s song
Not sure how I missed this when it came through…but I found a lot of 1992 No. 1s utterly forgettable, or else totally disposable dance stuff. This always stood out as one of those records that identifiably seemed to have been made by human beings without technology taking over. Jimmy Nail comes into that category too, though ‘Ain’t No Doubt’ was a bit bland for me. I won’t call this exactly five-star, but it’s one of the few chart-toppers of that year that did really hold some appeal for me.
it’s a great record, another chart-topper for me, though I don’t necessarily agree with the cliche that money spent on space exploration should be used for worthy causes on the planet, that has positive technology as spin offs not to mention knowledge being it’s own reward in helping to bring a sense of wonder and unity to those realising how small, fragile and insignificant Planet Earth is. One could better argue that, say, hair-spray, mass weapons of destruction and keeping oil and gas polluting the planet for vast profits might have been better targets – but a much less potentially great song! Tasmin looked to be a long-term act, but sadly not to be! A few good singles and that was it!
Well luckily MJ will address those concerns in a couple more years. ‘What about the elephants…?’, indeed!
When they say “the inmates have taken over the asylum”, they’re referring to natural born narcissist’s who have a exorbitant fear of death. They still have their place in society, but are now out of control.
Very good voice and melody…she is talented.