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Aug 13
Popular ’95
Year poll time! I give every No.1 a mark out of 10. In this poll, you can tick any that you would give 6 or more to. My highest marks this year went to Livin’ Joy and Coolio, my lowest to Robson And Jerome.
Loading ...Writing the 1995 entries has been tremendously enjoyable, reading the threads even more so. Thanks, as ever, to everyone who reads and comments on Popular and waits patiently for the oft-delayed new entries.
As ever, use the comments to share your own favourites from 1995, other lists, thoughts on the year in general, etc.
A relatively compact list. These polls are going to get very long in the not too distant future.
The NME top 50 singles (as found at http://www.rocklist.net)
1. Black Grape – Reverend Black Grape
2. Supergrass – Alright
3. Pulp – Sorted For E’s And Wizz
4. Oasis – Some Might Say
5. Foo Fighters – This Is Is A Call
6. Oasis – Wonderwall
7. Mcalmont & Butler – Yes
8. Pulp – Common People
9. Blur – The Universal
10. Tlc – Waterfalls
11. Tricky. Black Steel
12. The Boo Radleys – Wake Up, Boo!
13. Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise
14. Orbital – Times Fly
15. The Verve – History
16. Teenage Fanclub – Mellow Doubt
17. Radiohead – High And Dry
18. Ash – Girl From Mars
19. Method Man – Release Yo’self
20. The Bluetones – Bluetonic
21. The Stone Roses – Ten Storey Love Song
22. Blur – Country House
23. Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
24. Plush – Found A Little Baby
25. Blackgrape – Kelly’s Heroes
26. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Llanfwrog Ep
27. Nick Cave And Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow
28. Clubbed To Death – Clubbed To Death
29. Scarface – Hand Of The Dead Body
30. Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know
31. Black Grape – In The Name Of The Father
32. The Cardigans – Sick And Tired
33. Ash – Kung Fu
34. The Bluetones – Are You Blue Or Are You Blind
35. Weezer – Buddy Holly
36. Nicolette – No Government
37. Passengers – Miss Sarajevo
38. Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You
39. Beastie Boys – Root Down Ep
40. Pavement – Father To A Sister Of Thought
41. Pj Harvey – Down By The Water
42. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction
43. Elastica – Waking Up
44. Hole – Doll Parts
45. Spooky – Stereo EP
46. Tortoise – Gamera/Ciiff Dweller Society
47. Take That – Back For Good
48. Radiohead – Lucky
49. Supergrass – Mansize Rooster
50. The Connells – ’74-’75
interesting to see Pulp’s ‘Sorted…’ rated higher than ‘Common People’
re Pulp – I’m with them on that – though I always thought CP worked best with the last verse which was excised from the single
I also thought Mansize Rooster was Supergrass’ best song and far superior to Alright
The NME no.1 is a surprise. It’s a good record and not outside their frame of reference exactly, but it’s a strange choice for their annus mirabilis. Although seeing The Connells’ ’74-’75 in there is possibly even more surprising – who exactly at the NME was lionising that in 1995?!
and Yes was far and away the best song of the year
I’m fully with the NME on Reverend Black Grape, at least versus the other Britpop stuff. The list I reckon is a good indicator of just how inward looking the NME was at that time – very few tunes from beyond these isles.
If Radiohead really produced Lucky in 24 hours (I assume they had it written and ready to go before entering the Help sessions), that’s pretty scary. Given that they seem to send an age on each record nowadays, they should perhaps work on a less is more philosophy.
By the end of the year Muzik had imo established itself as the nation’s best dance mag and their first EOY lists are strong in quality and reasonably inclusive.
1995 – Singles of the Year
1. Josh Wink – Higher State Of Consciousness
2. T Power Versus Mk Ultra – Mutant Jazz
3. DJ Misjah & DJ Tim – Access
4. Faithless – Salva Mea
5. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction
6. The Bucketheads – The Bomb
7. Method Man & Mary J Blige – You’re All I Need
8. BT Featuring Vincent Covello – Loving You More
9. Dave Clarke – Red 3 (Of 3)
10. Urban Blues Project – Deliver Me
11. Plug 2 – Rebuilt Kev
12. Man With No Name – Floor Essence
13. PFM – The Western
14. Size 9 – I’m Ready
15. Green Velvet – Flash
16. Glenn Undeground – Beyond
17. D’Angelo – Brown Sugar
18. Ruffneck – Everybody Be Somebody
19. Ghost Dancer – Martians
20. Daft Punk – Da Funk
21. Jeff Mills – The Purpose Maker
22. Pizzaman – Trippin’ On Sunshine
23. Francois Kervorkian – FK
24. The Pharcyde – Running
25. Indica – Labia
Muzik 1995 – Albums of the Year
1. Saint Germain – Boulevard
2. Goldie – Timeless
3. Raekwon The Chef – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
4. Leftfield – Leftism
5. BT – Ima
6. Dave Angel – Tales Of The Unexpected
7. Tricky – Maxinquaye
8. Eric Kupper – From The Deep
9. Black Dog – Spanners
10. Towa Tei – Future Listening
11. Method Man – Tical
12. Beltram – Places
13. A Guy Called Gerald – Black Secret Technology
14. Pizzaman – Pizzamania
15. Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Return To The 36 Chambers
16. Danny Tenaglia – Hard And Soul
17. Robert Hood – Nighttime World
18. D’Angelo – Brown Sugar
19. Nightmares On Wax – Smokers Delight
20. As One – Celestial Soul
21. The Ballistic Brothers – London Hooligan Soul
22. KRS One – KRS One
23. The Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust
24. Larry Heard – Sceneries Not Songs Volume Tu
25. Omni Trio – The Deepest Cut
Muzik 1995 – Remixes of the Year
1. Jodeci – Feenin’ (LTJ Bukem Remix)
2. De’Lacy – Hideaway (Deep Dish Remix)
3. Method Man – Release Yo’ Delf (Prodigy Remix)
4. Espiritu – Always Something There (Tin Tin Out Remix)
5. Sade – Cherish The Day (Hani Remix)
6. System 7 – Alpha Waves (Richie Hawtin Remix)
7. Jamiroquai – Space Cowboy (David Morales Remix)
8. Scarface – I’ve Seen A Man Cry (4 Hero Remix)
9. Red Snapper – Hot Flush (Sabres Of Paradise Remix)
10. Rhythim Is Rhythim – Strings Of Life (Ashley Beedle Remix)
Muzik 1995 – Compilations of the Year
1. Penetrate Deeper (mixed by Deep Dish)
2. Coldcut: Journeys By DJ
3. Jazz In The House
4. Trade Volume 1 (mixed by Tony De Vit)
5. Freezone 2
6. Classic Hip Hop Volume 1
7. Perfecto: Perfection
8. Tresor Volume 3
9. AWOL Live At The Ministry
10. Artcore
I don’t much care for Wonderwall, but the NME list proves it was a marvellous year in so many ways. Singles, albums, weather.. the peak of Britpop before it disappeared up its own “ironic” Admiral 1982 England replica top.. (though tinged with great sadness amidst the disappearance of one of my favourite lyricists of all time from, well, Bunnied Welsh Band (the great one.))
.. and some number ones, apart from the 7-8-9 TT/Oasis/Livin’ Joy run, were.. alright, or downright terrible.
Along with Gangsta’s Paradise the only ones that hit 7 or higher. Earth Song and Fairground have enough ideas and execution to toe-poke a 6, as well as Country House. Was thinking of picking Cotton Eye Joe – it is freakin’ hilarious, but given it’s celebrated by the people who can only revive the nineties by posting Facebook memes like this, it can sling its hook.
http://www.sickchirpse.com/fake-nostalgia/
(Don’t you think the Blur and Rednex videos are very similar in tone though, in a “Carry on Hillbilly” way? It was strange to see such an aloof band as Blur having so much unapologetic, lowbrow fun – then again, they combined cartoon antics for the kids with adult introspection more than any British band since Madness. Is this a good or a bad thing? Er, you decide.)
5 – I guess it’s because it’s potentially the best song of the summer (Buddy Holly and Girl from Mars were wonderful, but spent a bit too long at the cheese counter), and the best thing REM never wrote – many consider the following year’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi as their last great (and interesting) album. In August 1996 something as screwed up and defiantly non-Shiny Happy People as E-Bow The Letter got to #4! The “now and then” high school yearbook video to 74-75 is quite something – tearjerking, even.
Hmm, it seems that whenever I vote on these, there are never any 100% songs (as per now), and usually there are no 0% ones (however, there are three right now)
TLC’s Creep is the actual best single of 1995 I reckon – but it seems to miss out on end-of-year acclaim because it came out in the US the year before (though not hitting big until 1995).
As for lists, The Face always had the best ones; their 1995 one is notable for how much across-the-board consensus there is, it’s like a handy blend of the NME and Muzik ones:
1. Method Man / Mary J Bilge -You’re All I Need to Get By
2. Pulp – Common People
3. Oasis – Wonderwall
4. Coolio – Gangster’s Paradise
5. Supergrass – Alright
6. Bucketheads -The Bomb (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)
7. Everything But The Girl – Missing (Remix)
8. Goldie – Inner City Life (rerelease)
9. Oasis – Some Might Say
10. Tricky – Black Steel
11. Massive Attack – Karmacoma
12. Bjork – Isobel
13. Stone Roses – Ten Storey Love Song
14. Black Grape – Reverand Black Grape
15. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction
16. Pulp- Mis-Shapes / Sorted For Es and Wizz
17. Elastica – Waking Up
18. Tricky – Hell is Around The Corner
19. Alex Reece – Feel the Sunshine / Jazzmaster
20. Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You (rerelase)
21. DeLacy – Hideaway
22. A Guy Called Gerald – Finlay’s Rainbow
23. Josh Wink – Higher State of Consciousness
24. The Verve – History
25. Mary J Blige – I’m Goin’ Down
26. D’Angelo – Brown Sugar
27. Ash – Girl From Mars
28. Method Man – Release Yo’ Delf
29. Chemical Brothers – Leave Home
30. Chemical Brothers / Tim Burgess – Life is Sweet
31. Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms
32. Portishead – Glory Box
33. TLC – Waterfalls
34. Rob D – Clubbed To Death
35. Blur – Country House
36. Massive Attack – Protection
37. DJ Crystl – Perpetual Motion
38. Wildchild – Renegrade Master (Legends Of The Dark Black Pt II)
39. Grace – Not Over Yet
40. Take That – Back For Good
41. McAlmont And Butler – Yes
42. Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Pt II
43. Notorious BIG – One More Chance
44. Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
45. DJ Shadow – What Does Your Soul Look Like
46. Monica – Don’t Take It Personal
47. Nick Cave / Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow
48. Daft Punk – Da Funk
49. Michelle Gayle – Happy Just To Be With You
50. Garbage – Queer
Note in particular no.48, making their debut two years ahead of schedule.
Melody Maker list
1. Common People – Pulp
2. Alright – Supergrass
3. Some Might Say – Oasis
4. Yes – Mcalmont & Butler
5. Tricky – Black Steel
6. Wonderwall – Oasis
7. Mis-Shapes – Pulp
8. Wake Up Boo! – Boo Radleys
9. Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe – Whale
10. Bonnie & Clyde – Luna
11. Reverend Black Grape – Black Grape
12. Down By The River – Pj Harvey
13. Bluetonic – Bluetones
14. Lucky – Radiohead
15. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
16. Where The Wild Roses Grow – Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue
17. He’s On The Phone – St Etienne
18. Waterfalls – Tlc
19. What Does Your Soul Look Like – Dj Shadow
20. Stars – Dubstar
21. You Oughtta Know – Alanis Morissette
22. I’ll Stick Around – Foo Fighters
23. The Universal – Blur
24. Plastic Bag – Minty
25. Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio
26. Kissing The Sun – The Young Gods
27. The Hell Ep – Tricky Vs. Gravediggaz
28. A Girl Like You – Edwin Collins
29. Dreamer – Livin’ Joy
30. In The Name Of The Father – Black Grape
31. Cf Kane – Delicatessen
32. Ten Story Love Song – The Stone Roses
33. I’ll Be There For You – Method Man/Mary J Blige
34. We Don’t Need Nobody Else – Whipping Boy
35. Horny Mutant Jazz – T Power & Mk Ultra
36. History – The Verve
37. Her Name – Telstar Ponies
38. Mr Boombastic – Shaggy
39. Inbetweener – Sleeper
40. Jullander Shere – Cornershop
41. Inner City Life – Goldie
42. Vow – Garbage
43. Freestyle Ep – Kushti
44. Back For Good – Take That
45. Disco 200 – Pulp
46. Now They’ll Sleep – Belly
47. Alright – Cast
48. Queer – Garbage
49. Happy When It Rains – Garbage
50. Superplus – Quickspace Supersport
They’re going all in for Britpop at the top, some more interesting choices lower down. Same with Select, actually. Select and MM had Different Class as #1 album, the NME chose Tricky’s Maxinquaye (and put Pulp at #7)
With end of year album/single lists on big publications there’s always a certain amount of horse-trading, factionalism, and so on – plus a bias towards recency, etc. “Reverend Black Grape” doesn’t seem like a very likely unity candidate though.
I think ‘Da Funk’ was on most of the dance mag lists (and ‘Alive’ made a few the previous year too) but I’d failed to notice the track until its official single release another year later. Shame that the original version of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ didn’t do too well either despite being such a glorious banger in its own right.
Peel list here:
1. Pulp – Common People
2. Pulp – Sorted For E’s & Wizz
3. Wedding Present – Sucker
4. Ash – Girl From Mars
5. Dreadzone – Zion Youth
6. Ash – Kung Fu
7. The Fall – Feeling Numb
8. Pulp – I-Spy
9. Dreadzone – Maximum
10. Long Fin Killie & Mark E Smith – Heads Of Dead Surfers
11. PJ Harvey – Send His Love To Me
12. Pulp – Mis-shapes
13. Supergrass – Alright
14. Zion Train – Dance Of Life
15. Bluetones – Bluetonic
16. Dreadzone – Fight The Power
17. PJ Harvey – Down By The Water
18. Catatonia – Bleed
19. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – If Fingers Were Xylophones
20. Elastica – All Nighter
21. Bluetones – Slight Return
22. Tricky – Black Steel
23. Dreadzone – Little Britain
24. The Fall – Don’t Call Me Darling
25. Tindersticks – My Sister
26. Dick Dale – Nitro
27. Pulp – Disco 2000
28. Hole – Violet
29. The Flaming Lips – Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
30. The Fall – Bonkers In Phoenix
31. Pulp – Underwear
32. Spare Snare – Bugs
33. Stereolab – Pop Quiz
34. PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love
35. Dreadzone – Captain Dread
36. Cornershop – 6am Jullander Shere
37. Billy Bragg – Northern Industrial Town
38. Van Basten – King Of The Death Posture
39. Solar Race – Not Here
40. Pavement – Father To A Sister Of Thought
41. Leftfield – Afro Left
42. Harvey’s Rabbit – Is This What You Call Change
43. Ash – Angel Interceptor
44. Dose (With Mark E Smith) – Plug Myself In
45. Garbage – Vow
46. Dave Clarke – Red Three
47. bis – School Disco
48. Dreadzone – Life, Love & Unity
49. The Fall – The Joke
50. Safe Deposit – You Can’t
Five for me – “Back for Good”, “Some Might Say”, “Country House”, “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Earth Song”. Gave “Dreamer” and “Boombastic” another listen to see if I’d nudge either of them up from 5 to 6, but not today.
Meanwhile, I gave twos to Cher et al., Robson & Jerome twice and The Outhere Brothers twice, which might be a personal record for a Popular year; all five have made the FT readers’ bottom 100, too. (I’m saving my ones for something even more awful. Not sure what yet, but I’ll know it when I hear it.)
The Dreadzone entries above have got me reacquainting with “Second Light”. Great album.
Moderately surprised that The Bluetones have turned up in a number of these lists. I mean I liked Expecting To Fly and thought that they were OK in general but I wouldn’t have put them at more than that.
To Bring You My Love was/is great.
Grading generously, 7 for me this year; a 700% improvement over 1994! Not a year for the ages at the level of #1s, rather just kind of what one would hope for every year.
That Peel list is miserable stuff – a few highly-approved long-servers getting half their output in; some lesser-approved long-servers with a song each; some proto-landfill indie; a ton of lo-fi; a bit of dance, but very much not-fun dance; and very little that was actually popular.
FIVE DREADZONE RECORDS*. This was in fact the last time I listened to the Festive 50 (though I tuned into Peel’s show occasionally until he died.)
*not that Dreadzone were particularly terrible – though I wasn’t a fan – but they epitomised how the F50 was becoming just Peel’s audience gatekeeping a list of approved bands from within the already fairly quirky confines of the man’s own tastes.
Five ticks and none of them higer than a 7. That’s not a fantastic year.
Some great stuff hidden away in the lists though – Da Funk, Sick & Tired, Mansize Rooster, Plastic Bag (sure nobody will agree with this one), Plug Myself In, Superplus, Down By The Water, Little Britain, Afro Left…
Crazy amount of Dreadzone on that F50 (I’ll still endorse ‘House Of Dread’ tho) – somewhat at the expense of Rockers Hi Fi, Sons Of Silence, Pressure Drop and others making similar stuff. Maybe the multiball action came from a particularly strong Peel Session tho (I can imagine them being a more compelling live act at that point).
Number 30 makes me think Phoenix should record a track called ‘Bonkers In The Fall’ (or indeed ‘Conkers…’).
The Bucketheads!
Hmm – – clicked the link from Facebook to find somehow that it had voted for me! Happy to have voted for Coolio and Shaggy but I would shifted these ‘votes’ from “Back For Good” and “Earth Song” to “Country House” and “Some Might Say.” Oh well…
Doc, you must share an IP with someone else. If you login, you might find it will let you vote tied to your account
Sophie B Hawkins – As I Lay Me Down (or indeed other of her singles/album tracks) : notably missing from all those lists….
(Quite the most boringly insular Peel Festive 50 list I’ve seen, too…)
#19,20,26. Four The Fall tracks and two other Mark E. Smith collaborations. It’s hard to believe that the Festive 50 *isn’t* a single person’s list.
Here’s the Billboard list of number ones, with a brief comment on each:
On Bended Knee – Boyz II Men
– Carryover from 1994. Typical Boyz II Men ballad for the period (ie kinda dull)
Creep – TLC
– I never liked TLC much, and this song didn’t change that.
Take A Bow – Madonna
– Trivia fact: At 7 weeks, this is her longest run at US#1. Of course, this stat is warped by comparing Pre-Soundscan hits vs. the Soundscan era. Certainly many of her best 80’s songs would have had long runs at #1 under Soundscan rules. Take A Bow by contrast was relatively forgettable.
This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan
– The number one the week I graduated from college (or University as you would say in the UK). I can’t say I liked it much, but at least it was better than the corresponding UK#1 at the time.
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? – Bryan Adams
– His 4th and final US#1. From a movie (of course). Noteworthy how different this sounded from any thing else on the charts at the time.
Waterfalls – TLC
– Again, not a TLC fan, but this was one of their better singles.
Kiss From A Rose – Seal
– A late bloomer thanks to Batman. Weird to think Seal’s had a US#1 but never a UK#1 under his own name.
You Are Not Alone – Michael Jackson
– First single to debut at #1. Already discussed.
Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio
– Billboard’s #1 single of 1995, despite a modest 3 weeks on top. Already discussed.
Fantasy – Mariah Carey
– Second single to debut at #1. I have a tendency to get this mixed up with Dreamlover, Heartbreaker, and really almost any other upbeat song recorded by her.
Exhale – Whitney Houston
– Third single to debut at #1 (sensing a pattern?). I can’t say I was a fan of what was her final #1. After a week of #1 glory, it proceeded to spend a record 11 weeks at #2 behind….
One Sweet Day – Mariah & Boyz II Men
– Yep, that one. The Hot 100’s biggest stars of the time team up and predictably debut at #1 and spend a record 16 weeks there. I know you guys don’t care your own 16-weeker that much, but at least it was better than this.
Overall, not a good list, unless you were heavily into R&B. If you drop Robson & Jerome, I prefer the UK one – I actually voted for 7 songs (and I admit to being the lone vote for LCBAB ;)).
One final note: The lack of single releases for certain big hits was becoming a major factor on the Hot 100 around this time. “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts could’ve hit #1 on airplay alone at its peak with just a single copy on sale. This would become an even bigger problem over the next three years until Billboard finally caved and allowed non-singles on its flagship chart.
Alan @ 25 – thanks! That did it. I suppose someone else at my university must be a reader!
Okay, here’s the run-down of Australian number ones from 1995, with comments from my extremely well-informed pop brain.
Real McCoy – “Another Night” – 6 weeks
Erm, can’t remember this one at all.
Hocus Pocus – “Here’s Johnny!” – 6 weeks
Nope, you’ve got me there.
Take That – “Back for Good” – 2 weeks
Hey, I hadn’t realised the That had an Oz number one. And it’s a good one.
Merril Bainbridge – “Mouth” – 6 weeks
Vaguely remember it existing, can’t remember how it goes.
Bryan Adams – “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” – 1 week
Oh for God’s sake. (I once wrote a limerick on Bryan Adams, wanna read it?)
U2 – “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” – 6 weeks
Oh yes. Top tune.
Jann Arden – “Insensitive” – 1 week
Uh, don’t remember this either.
Seal – “Kiss from a Rose” – 6 weeks
Hope your tetanus jabs are up to date, Seal.
Mariah Carey – “Fantasy” – 1 week
Not mine, Mariah.
N-Trance – “Stayin’ Alive” – 1 week
N-necessary.
Coolio – “Gangsta’s Paradise” – 11 weeks in 1995, 2 weeks in 1996.
Cool.
Those TLC tracks would have got high marks from me (“Waterfalls” especially) and so would, er, “Stayin Alive” by N Trance. That’s definitely one of the better U2 songs too.
#18. 600%, surely?
@Hardtogethits,32. Yes! (I knew I had that wrong even as I typed it.)
Those mid-’90s Mariah hits have blurred together for me too (e.g., I vividly remember that one had an amazingly expensive James Bond-style video, but which hit that was hasn’t stuck – it was the pretty good ‘Honey’), but checking now Fantasy was the “‘Tom Tom Club’ sample one”. It’s OK I suppose; I imagine that if you didn’t know the TTC original then it probably sounded pretty fantastic.
@5, @9 – The idiosyncrasies are often the most interesting things about those publications’ round-ups, aren’t they?
’74-’75 is not quite a lost REM song, I think: the lyrics are too direct for Michael Stipe. He’s a bit younger, too: it should have been ’78-’79 if he’d written it.
You are right, though, that it is in the same territory as REM, and while it is deeply sentimental, it is still lovely. One of the rare examples of middle-aged rock actually having something to say about being middle-aged.
MM’s high placing for Hobo Humping etc is less defensible, IMO. The answer to the question “what would happen if you combined The Red Hot Chili Peppers with The Sugarcubes?” turns out to be “something intensely annoying.”
I always thought they redeemed themselves slightly by having originally been called Tokyo Sex Whale, after the ANC activist and politician Toyko Sexwale, but Wikipedia doesn’t support that theory.
Other people who really ought to be bands: there is a US-based economist called Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, who I imagine got great reviews from the NME in 1981.
Re 28: I’m sure like a lot of people on here, I love both those TLC songs. I’m also really like Mariah’s Fantasy – in my case it was possible (re 33) to be fully aware (and a fan of) Genius Of Love and like the way the sample is used. Also, loosely in relation to the long-running/why are you even mentioning it again? argument about TV talent shows and the Mariah (etc) effect, one of the things I like about Fantasy is that it uses Mariah roaming free at the top of her range essentially as a (pleasing) layer of noise.
Fantasy, then, is the one with the roller-coaster video, and Heartbreaker the one where she fights herself in the cinema toilet, and the bloke from Stand By Me/Sliders is in it. The Honey vid reminds me of In Like Flint than Bond (either that or it anticipates Archer).
Re 11: I remember being very disappointed by Oasis sneaking their way on to The Face’s list. Poor, I felt. Still, at least they’ve got Meth and Mary J at the top, and found a place for D’Angelo’s retro loverman classic Brown Sugar.
Re 14: At #29 that should be The Flaming Stars , not The Flaming Lips.
@Mark M.,36. To be clear, I liked Fantasy too; I was just guessing that Fantasy would have been much more intoxicating if that was where one was first hearing those TTC hooks.
FWIW, I find the singles from Mariah’s breakthrough period when she used full-on whistle-voice a lot (e.g., on Emotions) and those from her comeback period in the ’00s more memorable than, to have more personality than those from the mid/late ’90s.
#37, thanks for the correction. If benevolent passing admin is able to correct my post @14, as Mark M has indicated, I would be very grateful.
people who should be bands: the nicely assonant 60s/70s footballer, Pop Robson
#30 Interesting list. All except two of them were also hits in the US (in fact all top 10, except “Insensitive” at #12). And I do remember them well.
Of the remaining two, I first listened to “Here’s Johnny” a few months ago. VERY bizarre to think something like this could be #1 in 1995 – it would be strange even today.
The other one is “Stayin’ Alive” – I’m assuming a Bee Gees remake.
Whoops, minor mistake from my previous post: “Hold Me” only reached #16 in the US. It seemed like a bigger hit though.
I think my childhood imperial phase ended, aged 10, on 31 December 1995 when some dodgy smoked salmon at a party at Sherwood Forest Center Parcs (YES! I’M PAINFULLY MIDDLE-CLASS! GET OVER IT!) made me projectile vomit all night. This should mean good things for future Popular entries, as the nosedive in nostalgic warmth means I’m going to be a right cranky, horrible bastard from next year onwards. The great thing about 1996 is that at least in the first half, most entries will score handsomely on the “deviation” mark.. the latent scent of Marmite.
Re 34: Incidentally, there used to be a techno night in Bristol around this time (’94, ’95) named Tokyo Sex Whale.
#41 How quickly I forgot – “Here’s Johnny!” was by the people behind “Doop”, performing under a different name. But I agree, an unlikely number one anywhere/when (now that I’ve reminded myself of how it went).
N-Trance is a rapped and sampled cover of the Bee Gees, yes.
I hadn’t realised Merril Bainbridge’s song was such a hit in the US. An Aussie singer. Here’s a link with Popular ’95 (and ’65 and ’85, come to that): she subsequently performed a duet with Shaggy.
N-trance’s ‘Stayin’ Alive” got to #3 in NZ (but had 19 weeks in the charts so ’twas pretty big). N-trance’s next cover-tastic recycling, of Rod Stewart’s ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’, did, however, get all the way to #1. Subsquent recyclings of G’n’R’s Paradise City and of Mister Mr’s (!) Broken Wings got to #4 and #43 respectively. It’s all a bit disappointing after the genuinely beloved, instant classic, ‘Set You Free’.
I liked the demented ‘Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe’ at the time (it got a big push in the US from its video being a fave of Beavis and Butthead) and eventually picked up Whale’s album very cheaply a year or so later – it wasn’t great. Second best track was the fresh ‘Young, Dumb and Full Of Cum’ so there’s that.
BTW, if anyone hasn’t seen it, Chic’s whole Glastonbury gig, all 1 hr 36 mins of it, is up on youtube, http://youtu.be/WmYSf52bncc. One for the ages.
#17 – My memory might be faulty, but I’m sure I remember The Bluetones being a very big deal indeed when they first emerged, with a lot of press talk about how they were the New Stone Roses. I still maintain that their first few singles were marvellous, but “Expecting To Fly” was patchier than expected, and from there on it seemed to be diminishing returns both in terms of sales and quality of output (though their diehard fans would disagree with me).
I also saw them live during their first flush but can remember absolutely nothing about the gig whatsoever other than that it was very hot and crowded. Given that I can remember gigs by no-hopers such as Spitfire in more detail, that doesn’t say much for their stage presence at that time.
This was my top 25 of the year as compiled at the time (the first year I did this properly) – includes a few from the previous year whether initially album tracks that became singles in ’95 (e.g. ‘Poison’) or re-releases/re-entries.
1. Leftfield Halliday – Original
2. Goldie – Angel
3. Massive Attack – Protection
4. Ruffneck ft. Yavahn – Everybody Be Somebody
5. Oasis – Some Might Say (lol token ‘indie’)
6. Nookie – Only You
7. Biosphere – Novelty Waves
8. Splash – Babylon (DJ SS Remix)
9. The Prodigy – Poison
10. Therapy? – Loose (Photek Remix)
11. Tricky – Black Steel
12. CJ Bolland – Starship Universe
13. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction
14. Black Grape – Reverend Black Grape
15. Nookie – A Drum, A Bass And A Piano
16. De’Lacy – Hideaway
17. Ray Keith – Sing Time
18. New Order – Blue Monday (Hardfloor Mix)
19. T Power vs DJ Trace – Mutant Revisited (Rollers Instinct Mix)
20. The Bucketheads – The Bomb!
21. Everything But The Girl – Missing (Todd Terry Mix)
22. Carlito – Heaven
23. Ken Ishii – Extra
24. Alex Reece – Feel The Sunshine
25. Pascal – P Funk Era
I still rate most of those now tho a few scream ‘too high’ including ‘Original’ which is really not better than ‘Protection’ as a cool plodder and not exactly the highlight of ‘Leftism’ either – can’t really explain my thinking there, should’ve just put De’Lacy top oh well.
#47 – I must be a diehard fan, I guess, because I rate 2000’s Science and Nature as their best album, and the 2006 The Bluetones is also very good. Tracks like Autophilia, Mudslide and Baby Back Up are all fine listening. Saw them live somewhere around 2004/5, and they were great performers too.
47 & 49: I saw The Bluetones at a gig at about this time – maybe 96? – which is why I am surprised that they were so rated early in their career (we went because it was the first gig by a name band in the area for some time – and we needed to support it, so that other bands might have turned up. It worked! After a fashion. The Manics turned up with Mansun in support and Weller played gigs on the way up to T In The Park). They were fine but I don’t think they were shattering by any stretch.
I sort of agree with Rory in as much as I think a decent greatest hits by The Bluetones is a decent enough listen – they were still capable of a tune even late in their career – but I’d stop short of recommending albums by them, with the possible exception of ETF, which I still think is reasonably good. I mentioned in a post elsewhere (Some Might Say? Country House? The Poll?) that the main thing I remember about them is that they had a fanatical following. They were still capable of selling out reasonable sized halls late in their career because there was a fanzine culture around them, and people would follow them around the country. I don’t think anyone was doing that to the same extent for anyone else in the lower leagues of Britpop. In that sense, they stick out in my mind as reasonable but not great and inspiring incredible devotion amongst a number even still.
The Bluetones were a big enough deal in 1995 for my sixth form magazine to run two articles about them, one of which featured the wonderful sentence “The Bluetones are possibly the best Britpop band to come from Hounslow”. Praise indeed.
As for Whale, the day after they appeared on Top of the Pops, I went on a trip to London with my Media A-Level class with the intention of getting to know better a cool indie chick who I’d taken a bit of a shine to, to the extent of bringing with me a copy of Select I could casually get out on the bus and impress everyone with my musical knowledge. It pretty much worked as well and my first proper conversation with her was, hooray, our shared liking of Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe.
Sadly although we became friends I was never able to take this relationship any further, not even after I invited her to watch me do my hospital radio show. She went out with someone who played rugby instead. But I like the idea that, had this been the start of a proper relationship, Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe would have been Our Tune.
I still don’t understand all those Bluetones/Stone Roses comparisons. They are both great, but nothing like each other.
The Bluetones’ lyrical sensibility actually reminds me of the Beautiful South (in a good way, usually), although musically they are very different.
Re: 51, Dodgy were arguably from Hounslow too, although I’m not sure which band I’d rate higher.
#49 – Most of their fans seem to say that! I heard it so often that I actually got a cheap copy of “Science & Nature” off Amazon so I could investigate for myself. It didn’t really blow me away and will probably be a CD I sacrifice to the charity shop in my imminent house move.
They’re one of those bands whose first rush of singles seemed so amazing that I always wanted to like them more than I eventually did. For some time after “Expecting To Fly” friends of mine would mock me for saying that The Bluetones were going to become increasingly successful. (“Is ‘Marblehead Johnson’ at number one this week, Dave?”)
#54 – ah well, at least you gave it a shot. I certainly wouldn’t claim that the Bluetones outrank Britpop greats like Pulp, Blur, and… uh… Kenickie… but they gave me consistent pleasure over the years, and they deserve some sort of prize for Britpop band longevity. And they hung up their hats before it got embarrassing.
Actually, if the Divine Comedy are considered Britpop I suppose they deserve the longevity prize, although given their personnel changes that would be more of a Well Done Neil Hannon For Not Dying prize.
A decent Bluetones greatest hits (by which I probably mean A Rough Outline) is definitely worthwhile. “If…”, “The Last of the Great Navigators”, “Marblehead Johnson”, “Solomon Bites the Worm”, “Colorado Beetle”, classics all, and that’s ignoring Expecting to Fly. I went to see one of the gigs on their farewell tour (dragged along a girl who left after the support band because she couldn’t face standing) and there was a slight return air of resentment from Mark that they never did better.
We get to discover whether “Slight Return” was justly or unjustly kept off the top very soon!
We all know that Common People is a CORKING song, Great Chart Injustice, blah, blah, blah, but I would, at best, put it as my third favourite single of 1995. That says more for what great songs my top three (or possibly four) are than it says anything against CP.
Drumroll Please…
At three (or possibly four) it’s Ash with Girl From Mars.
You probably know this masterpiece of pop-punk-rock joyousness, but it bears repeating, the sounds of a summertime infatuation, the druggy rush – or rushy drug – of a crush slamming up against a gorgeous melody and guitars that were made for jumping up and down to. This song has, relatively recently, gained a very special meaning for me, and one which means I have to be very careful not to change the words when I sing along to it!
At two…it’s The Supersuckers with Born With A Tail.
Bang! This country-fried rock’n’roll masterpiece, recorded in the week or so when Rick Sims joined them, hits HARD. A simple story of a young man with a Satanically Enhanced Coccyx, Eddie Spaghetti’s boys never sounded more fresh, vital or joyous. As Eddie sings ‘YOU KNOW! I’m In League With Satan!” you feel the full force of The Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band In The World (or, at least, The Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band In The World You’ve Never Heard Of). It never made the charts which is, frankly, the charts loss.
At One…it’s The Wildhearts with I Wanna Go Where The People Go.
Where to start with this? Arguably the greatest intro to any record, ever (well, OK, MAYBE Welcome To The Jungle) shimmers and slams its way into your ears, then some lovely harmonies, a bouncy riff, and a truly exhilarating chorus, there is nothing to this song that could, or should, be added or subtracted to. In the halcyon days of Britpop, a song so rocking getting Chris Evans’ record of the week and the Wildies appearances on TOTP (at least partly down to Ric Blaxhill being a fan – and, as someone once told me, there’s no such thing as a casual Wildhearts fan) was pretty remarkable.
Thus endeth my lesson.
#57 – I remember the enthusiasm for “I Wanna Go Where The People Go”, and I think Evans at least was disappointed he couldn’t make it a larger hit.
Also, I definitely voted in Peel’s “Festive Fifty” in 1995, so will be at least partly responsible for the predictability of the end list. The only song I can definitely remember voting for was “Mis-Shapes” which I’m faintly embarrassed about now. In retrospect, it’s very easy to see that “Common People” is by far the better Pulp track, but I’d taped the Peel Session version of that off the radio in 1994 so by the time it became a hit it was actually over-familiar to me (and for all the band’s talk about going on gut instinct when rush-releasing the song as a single prior to “Different Class” being ready, it should be noted that it had a strong showing in the 1994 Festive Fifty as well – public voting had already indicated there was major interest).
Secondly, I think I was naive enough to read the lyrics of “Mis-Shapes” as being some kind of righteous call-to-arms at the time, whereas now I see them as being a little bit dodgy, almost (but not quite) proto-chav bashing. Cocker would produce this kind of work again later in his career with “Fat Children” which has iffy undercurrents as well.
I think to say ‘Mis-Shapes’ is “dodgy” does the song a disservice. Even now, it IS a call to arms, a rally cry for the too clever, bookish, awkward, weird types who Jarvis so excellently represented.
On the other hand ‘Catcliffe Shakedown”, while amusing, has a seriously nasty streak.
#58/59 Yeah I lament the reductive argument about ‘Mis-Shapes’ (and it ties in a bit with what was talked about in the ‘Dreamer’ comments) where an attack on the mentality and attitude of suburban bullies based on personal but recognisable experience is conflated with ‘chav bashing’ (which by the time that complete term was established felt much more an attack on what its targets commonly wear and how they communicate than behaviour – also bearing in mind that in the ‘Mis-Shapes’ video the two factions are all over the place wardrobe-wise).
@57, fivelongdays. I’m slightly ashamed to say that all of your top 3 songs were new to me. Better late than never I suppose; they’re lots of fun. Thanks!
#58. Iffy undercurrents? Are you sure? So much of Jarvis’ stuff can be interpreted as a “call to arms”, but at no point does he suggest he’s comfortable with, less still enjoying, the situations he’s imagining and/or describing. A clearly more uncontroversial line-to-take would be one of “[you should] elevate your mind, free your soul” – but a refreshingly different and honest approach is to say “don’t allow yourself to become like the people you don’t like – take heed that if your values and behaviours become normalised by those around you, you may suffer as a result”. And in the case of Fat Children, this isn’t some nebulous or spiritual notion – it’s a song about inequalities, deprivation and childhood obesity. The lattermost is sometimes considered to be a consequence of the first two, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest it need not be.
The thing that really dates Mis-Shapes – not in a bad way, I love period details like this in pop – is the “check your lucky numbers…” bit. Blur did a song about the National Lottery too, it was a Big Cultural Deal in a way that seems slightly odd now. If anyone can find a third Britpop Lottery song then we have AN OFFICIAL TREND.
swanstep @61: if “Girl From Mars” is new to you, you should get yourself a copy of Ash’s 1977 post-haste. I suspect you’d love it. Their follow-up was less exciting but the one after that, Free All Angels, was also good stuff.
The Ash best-of, Intergalactic Sonic 7s, is another good place to start. That gives you the good ones from before 1977 came out.
#63 – a trend – I love that.
1 case = anecdotal evidence,
2 cases = data/comparison,
3 cases = a trend.
The bit of Mis-shapes I feel a bit odd about now is “the future that you’ve got mapped out / is nothing much to shout about” – because surely the problem is that aggressive anti-intellectuals / weirdo-haters (in my school this seemed to equate to Oasis fans, and with the lad culture thing emerging soon after it was clear that they had won the war) come from every strata of society, and some of them have very nice futures planned.
(Catcliffe Shakedown is fairly nasty I suppose, yes, but the twist at the end really makes it. Don’t forget that this is the place they rehearsed in for six or seven years.)
Unfortunately the word ‘chav’ has polluted the entire discourse around this issue. That’s the trouble with words and ideas – once they’ve got out into the world who knows who will use them for what ends?
Their futures might be materially comfortable but intellectually and spiritually bankrupt. I think this is what Jarv was getting at.
#64, 65. Thanks for the recommendations – will definitely explore (I always have to be led to this sort of ‘mainstream rock’, at which point I can really dig it). I think I may have confused Ash with Bauhaus-refugee Daniel Ash at the time!
#67 et al – surely it’s not any individual’s future, it’s the future of the world, it’s saying that the adult life that The Man has mapped out for the singer is one of drudgery and dis-satisfaction.
In fact I find it very difficult to think of Mis-Shapes as ‘chav-bashing’ because to me it reads as a fairly straightforward class-war jag; it’s not ‘chavs’ the singer is railing against but conformist top-down society itself. Although reading the lyrics I can certainly see the other interpretation too.
@63 – ‘England’s Irie’, Black Grape, 1996: “We live in the land of class hypocrisy, we’re gonna win the National Lottery, ee-aye-addio I don’t think so.”
It was a trend!
Great song, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvuqgyKj5iM
Always heard Mis-Shapes as a weirdo’s lib type of song, more even than a class-war one.
The mid-90s Pulp song that anticipates the Fat Children end of things is Joyriders, no?
@66 – That is essentially the journalist’s first law of statistical analysis, which says one case is a story, two a striking coincidence, and three a trend that is sweeping the country.
Other National Lottery / Britpop connections through the use of songs in adverts (from this excellent site: http://www.uktvadverts.com/home/Search.aspx?company=119) include Feeder (OK, Britrock, I guess), and some band called the Stone Roses.
I am still enough of a puritan to be appalled by the use of The Impressions. Never would’ve happened while Mayfield was alive, surely?
[I said something someone had already just said]
The trouble is the video, perhaps. From Owen Hatherley’s book:
“We’re in a nightclub where a townies vs ‘us’ fight is brewing; ‘we’ again look like the members of Menswear and Cast, while ‘they’ are casuals, yet of a weirdly dated sort – rather than the Ben Sherman shirts and Puffa jackets of the genuine mid-90s thug, they’re dressed as the likely late-70s tormentors of Pulp themselves, dressed in Fred Perrys, skinny ties, sequins and wedges. 15 years later it’s all completely reversed, as the vintage tracksuits and overgrown Liam Gallagher shagcuts worn by ‘us’ in the video are much more likely to be the uniform of someone kicking your head in outside Wetherspoons, while the circa-1980 thug-wear worn by ‘them’ fits perfectly with the never-ending 1980s revival favoured by vaguely bohemian or indie youth.”
When Oasis first broke through, they looked like their mums had dressed them: M&S sweaters and all that, the designer thug anoraks and Parkers came later. I remember when one of their endless re-launches had them in leather jackets and my brother commented ‘well, they’re just like The Charlatans now; another bunch of middle-aged hairdressers playing boring music’
My pick for Single of the Year in America would be “Waterfalls” by TLC. Looking at Billboard’s list of the 100 biggest American singles of ’95, I got some degree of enjoyment from “You Don’t Know How It Feels”/Tom Petty (#61), “Carnival”/Natalie Merchant (#60), “Roll to Me”/Del Amitri (#55), “Dear Mama”/2Pac (#51), “Runaway”/Janet Jackson (#29), “You Gotta Be”/Des’ree (#20), “Creep”/TLC (#3)and “Gangsta’s Paradise”/Coolio (#1). I should add there’s a bunch of songs I don’t know or can’t recall.
It’s an absolute crime that “Missing” by Everything But The Girl wasn’t #1 in ’95
From a personal perspective, Dreadzone’s opening run of 2014 tour dates is quite something.
http://www.dreadzone.com/?page_id=26
Popular (Not Popular) Top 10 – the records that spent most weeks in the Top 10 without being eligible for an entry here.
1. Everything But The Girl – “Missing” (14 weeks)
2. Oasis – “Wonderwall” (12 weeks)
3. Boyzone – “Father And Son” (10 weeks)
4. N-Trance – “Set You Free” (9 weeks, peak #2)
5. Ini Kamoze – “Here Comes The Hotstepper” (9 weeks, peak #4)
6=. Boyzone – “Love Me For A Reason” (8 weeks, peak #2)
6=. Alex Party – “Don’t Give Me Your Life” (8 weeks, peak #2)
6=. U2 – “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” (8 weeks, peak #2)
9. Smokie – “Living Next Door To Alice (Who The F*** Is Alice?)” (8 weeks, peak #3)
10. Bjork – “It’s Oh So Quiet” (8 weeks, peak #4)
The Number Ones with the shortest stay in the Top 10 are Blur’s “Country House” and Oasis’ “Some Might Say” (i.e. “Wonderwall” is where Oasis break out of being a ‘fanbase band’). Neither Take That No.1 manages as many weeks in the Top 10 as either Boyzone one.
Fascinating that Blurasis didn’t stay in the top 10 longer with those much-hyped songs.
The U2 song is a bit surprising there as although it was a big movie tie-in it wasn’t really one with mass appeal (or so you’d think based on its sound) nor is it really one of the band’s best-loved works. I’d give five of those 6 or more out of 10.
Scottish/UK chart no 1 differences
No 1 in Scotland but not UK :
1) U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
2) Oasis – Roll With It
3) Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You
4) N-Trance ft Ricardo da Force – Stayin’ Alive
5) Meat Loaf – I’d Lie For You (And That’s The Truth)
6) Beatles – Free As A Bird
7) Mike Flowers Pops – Wonderwall
No 1 in UK but not Scotland
1) Livin’ Joy – Dreamer
2) Michael Jackson – You Are Not Alone
3) Shaggy – Boombastic
Slightly surprised to see Livin’ Joy miss out in Scotland; the general conservatism of the Scotland-only no 1s is quite marked. Notable too that Oasis beat Blur in the “battle of the britpop bands” week, but succumbed to Blur a week later. “Cotton Eye Joe” got a whole five weeks on top in Scotland.
Late to this, but 1995 does seem to be the last year when the ‘silent majority’ records spent most of the year at no1. Most obviously Robson and Jerome, but also Simply Red’s only no1, Celine Dion and maybe even Michael Jackson fall into the category. Even if you’d known at the start of the year that new material was due from him, I think you’d have got good odds on him having two no1s from the same album. It was the year of Britpop, trip hop, jungle and handbag house, but those managed a grand total of four weeks at the top. If all the year’s no2 singles had made it, it would have felt much more representative, and certainly much stronger.
Five no-no’s: Rednex, Cher &c., Don’t Stop, and the two Green and Flynn ones. Otherwise, 12 thumbs up!
An OK year by my reckoning. Not as good as 1962, though.
Just reading the comments here and came across Tom’s reply to me at #72, which reminds me of the piece I wrote on ‘Joyriders’ (and which is completely in agreement with his comments) – https://pulpsongs.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/128-joyriders/ – hope nobody minds me tagging it on here.