east 17

Top 10s – The 1990s

/ UK #1s blog / 12 Comments

Now that my most recent recap has drawn the ’90s to a close, it’s time to announce what are officially my 10 Best Number Ones of the Decade. Conclusively, ultimately, unarguably….

I’ve done this for all the previous charts decades – follow the links if you’d like to catch up (the ’50s, the ’60s, the ’70s, the ’80s) – and it works like this. Every recap I’ve named a Very Best Chart-Topper, plus some other #1s that came close. This isn’t me retrospectively choosing my ten best, this is what I chose as I went. No changing of mind allowed, for better or worse. For the previous Top 10s this method threw up some interesting choices, and the 1990s is no different…

‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, by Sinéad O’Connor – #1 for 4 weeks in January/February 1990

I think the records at the very top and bottom of this list are perhaps the two songs people can have the fewest complaints about. For who can dispute ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’s haunting beauty? It was only the 3rd #1 of the nineties, but remains one of the decade’s strongest, and was the Very Best Chart-Topper in my end of the 80s/early 90s recap. Plus the stories around it have passed into legend: Prince’s reaction, Sinéad’s solitary tear… Read my original post here.

‘Would I Lie to You?’, by Charles & Eddie – #1 for 2 weeks in November 1992

1991 provides no number ones for this list, probably because Bryan Adams was on top of the charts for roughly half that year. So the next winner of my ‘Very Best Chart-Topper’ award was this retro-soul number from Charles and Eddie, a #1 in November 1992. It’s not a song I had thought much about before writing my post on it, but it charmed me, standing out in unashamedly old-fashioned style in the charts of the time.

‘No Limit’, by 2 Unlimited – #1 for 5 weeks in February/March 1993

Okay, here’s where things get a little silly. I actually named ‘No Limit’ as runner-up to ‘Would I Lie to You?’. Whether this is a reflection of the poor quality of competition at the time (the early-to-mid nineties were a weird no-man’s land of cheap dance, reggae revival, and power ballads), nostalgia blinding my eyes (‘No Limit’ is one of the first pop songs I can remember in ‘real time’), or me being on the wine while writing that recap, I don’t know. Of course, ‘No Limit’ has no right being on any ‘Best Of’ list. But at the same time… It’s a banger. I regret nothing. Techno, techno, techno, techno…

‘Stay Another Day’, by East 17 – #1 for 5 weeks in December 1994/January 1995

The undisputed winner of my ’93-’95 recap, East 17’s stately ballad remains one of, if not the, best boyband number one of all time. Written about a brother’s suicide, the timely additional of church bells turned this into a festive classic, with most people assuming its about the singer begging a lover to remain around at Christmas time. Whether or not it’s a Christmas hit is up for debate; what’s not up for debate is the record’s undoubted quality. Read my original post here.

‘Firestarter’, by The Prodigy – #1 for 3 weeks in March/April 1996

Runner-up in the following recap, it’s one of the decade’s most controversial number ones. I’m the bitch you hated, Filth infatuated… With the ‘Fat of the Land’ album, the Prodigy rebranded themselves from cool dance act to public enemy number one, and ‘Firestarter’ was only the beginning. It’s an acquired taste, but an era-defining chart-topper. This also means that 1995 becomes the decade’s other year not to place a song on this list, and that’s because, looking back, 1995 could well be the worst year on record for number one singles… (Robson and Jerome…. The Outhere Brothers… Cotton Eyed Joe… shudder…)

‘Setting Sun’, by The Chemical Brothers – #1 for 1 week in October 1996

Just edging the Prodigy out to win a ‘Very Best’ award, with a track carved from very much the same block of stone as ‘Firestarter’, it’s the Chemical Brothers. Well, it’s two for the price of one, as an uncredited Noel Gallagher also features (I had to squeeze Oasis in here somehow, even if none of their own songs feature on this list). Original post this way.

‘Your Woman’, by White Town – #1 for 1 week in January 1997

The decade’s 5th ‘Very Best’ number one, and one of its strangest. Recorded by a fairly nerdy man in his bedroom, and based around a trumpet sample from 1932, it has an eerie, yet goofy, oddness to it which you don’t often find at the top of the charts. I debated long and hard about choosing this, or the record below (which is also the record that knocked it off the top of the charts), as The Best. But in the end, they both get to feature on this list. Original post here.

‘Beetlebum’, by Blur – #1 for 1 week in January/February 1997

Replacing ‘Your Woman’ at the top, (which makes that fortnight in January 1997 officially the best two weeks of chart music, ever…) here’s Blur. It’s the ’90s, so we really had to have one Britpop song on this list. Problem is, most of the truly great Britpop anthems famously failed to make it to #1. So we’re left with this fuzzy dirge, and Damon Albarn slurring some lyrics about being on heroin, that many now claim marked the beginning of the end of Britpop…

‘Believe’, by Cher – #1 for 7 weeks from October-December 1998

We seem to have become side-tracked. The past few songs are great pieces of music – I mean, that’s why I chose them – but they’re hardly the first tunes people remember when they think of ‘the nineties’. Luckily, we finish on a gigantic pop big-bang. Starting with Cher’s biggest-selling record. In fact, the best-selling single ever released by a member of the female race. It was my final ‘Very Best’ record of the decade, it introduced the world to autotune, and it remains a stone-cold, classic floorfiller to this day.

‘…Baby One More Time’, by Britney Spears – #1 for 2 weeks in February/March 1999

But is ‘Believe’ better than this…? I still don’t know. They’re both great, they both bring this rundown to a close, and both represent the best of the nineties’ poppy final years. In my mind, though, ‘Believe’ is ’90s through and through, whereas ‘…Baby One More Time’ feels much more of the 21st Century. Which means it’s the prefect record to end on, really.

Since this officially closes both the 1990s, and the 20th century, as far as this blog is concerned, here are the fifty best number one singles of the singles chart’s first five decades, according to me. Deep breath…

‘Look at that Girl’, by Guy Mitchell (1953)
‘Such a Night’, by Johnnie Ray (1954)
‘Mambo Italiano’ by Rosemary Clooney (1955)
‘Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White’, by Perez Prado & his Orchestra (1955)
‘Dreamboat’, by Alma Cogan (1955)
‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love’, by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers (1956)
‘That’ll Be the Day’, by The Crickets (1957)
‘Great Balls of Fire’, by Jerry Lee Lewis (1958)
‘Who’s Sorry Now’, by Connie Francis (1958)
‘Dream Lover’, by Bobby Darin (1959)
‘Cathy’s Clown’, by The Everly Brothers (1960)
‘Shakin’ All Over’, by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (1960)
‘Telstar’, by the Tornadoes (1962)
‘She Loves You’, by The Beatles (1963)
‘Needles and Pins’, by The Searchers (1964)
‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin”, by The Righteous Brothers (1965)
‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, by The Rolling Stones (1965)
‘Good Vibrations’, by The Beach Boys (1966)
‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’, by Procol Harum (1967)
‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’, by Marvin Gaye (1969)
‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, by Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
‘Baby Jump’, by Mungo Jerry (1971)
‘Metal Guru’, by T Rex (1972)
‘See My Baby Jive’, by Wizzard (1973)
‘Tiger Feet’, by Mud (1974)
‘Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)’, by The Stylistics (1975)
‘Space Oddity’, by David Bowie (1975)
‘Dancing Queen’, by ABBA (1976)
‘I Feel Love’, by Donna Summer (1977)
‘Heart of Glass’, by Blondie (1979)
‘Atomic’, by Blondie (1980)
‘The Winner Takes It All’, by ABBA (1980)
‘My Camera Never Lies’, by Bucks Fizz (1982)
‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, by Bonnie Tyler (1983)
‘Relax’, by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984)
‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’, by Dead or Alive (1985)
‘The Power of Love’, by Jennifer Rush (1985)
‘It’s a Sin’, by Pet Shop Boys (1987)
‘Theme from S-Express’, by S’Express (1988)
‘Ride on Time’, by Black Box (1989)
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’,  by Sinéad O’Connor (1990)
‘Would I Lie to You?’, by Charles & Eddie (1992)
‘No Limit’, by 2 Unlimited (1993)
‘Stay Another Day’, by East 17 (1994)
‘Firestarter’, by The Prodigy (1996)
‘Setting Sun’, by The Chemical Brothers (1996)
‘Your Woman’, by White Town (1997)
‘Beetlebum’, by Blur (1997)
‘Believe’, by Cher (1998)
‘…Baby One More Time’, by Britney Spears (1999)

*Abba and Blondie get around my ‘1 song per artist’ rule by cleverly releasing two brilliant number one singles in two different decades… And 1955 emerges as officially the best year for chart-toppers! Though the ’50s had an obvious advantage in the fact that I was choosing ten #1s out of seven (and a bit) years instead of a full decade. Maybe I should trim it down to eight ’50s number ones… But that would spoil my nice round fifty.

714. ‘Stay Another Day’, by East 17

/ UK #1s blog / 6 Comments

Every good guy needs a bad guy. Every superhero a nemesis. And the cutest, cleanest-cut boyband of the day needed some rough east London lads as their foils…

Stay Another Day, by East 17 (their 1st and only #1)

5 weeks, from 4th December 1994 – 8th January 1995

Take That have dominated the charts of 1993-1995 like few acts ever do: they’re on five number ones in our countdown – and it’ll very soon be eight – having stuck to a winning pop formula. East 17 meanwhile had been ticking along since mid-1992, scoring five Top 10 hits packed with edgier dance and hip-hop touches, yet not coming close to matching Gary and the boys’ success.

Though the one thing East 17 can lay claim to that Take That can’t is a Christmas number one. A classic Christmas number one at that. A record… I’m just going to stick my neck on the line right now… better than any Take That ever released. (Yes, including that one…) And, ironically, to score their only number one they momentarily dropped the bad-boy posturing, and out-Barlowed Barlow himself; recording a sophisticated, grown-up ballad the likes of which Take That’s chief songwriter would have jumped at.

Baby if you’ve got to go away, Don’t think I could take the pain, Won’t you stay another day… It’s a ballad, of course, and on first listen the lyrics are standard weepy, break-up fare. The four voices meld together in an almost a cappella way – a nod to Christmas hits past? – led by a painfully young sounding Brian Harvey. It’s touching, but when you learn that Tony Mortimer actually wrote it following his brother’s suicide, then lyrics the might on the surface sound simplistic Oh don’t leave me alone like this… hit ten times harder, and elevate the song much higher.

The only controversy that surrounds this record is whether or not it’s a Christmas song. So pressing an issue is it that YouGov polls have been conducted on the subject (the ‘no’s had it, with a slim majority). I’d have to say it is though. It clearly ends in a hail of church bells, that were tacked on once the song had been slated for a festive release. Plus the video has snow in it! Luckily the fact that it now gets filed away with the other festive favourites for ten and a half months of the year means it’s not been done to death. Unlike some other boyband ballads from the mid-nineties…

Speaking of the video… It’s both iconic (those white parka jackets) and yet terrible (pretty much everything else – the dodgy green screen, the floating dancer, the white gloves…) But even that can’t ruin the song. East 17 would continue until the end of the decade – scoring a further six Top 10s – with their fair share of sackings, drama and drug-related controversies. Take That, it’s fair to say, won the war, if there ever was one. Though I was very surprised to learn that if you look beyond British shores, East 17 actually sold more records worldwide, thanks to their popularity in Europe and Australia. And recording one of the best ever boyband singles ever probably helped too.