Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 19, 2021 21:29:25 GMT 1
23.08 Campbell (highest new entry in the top 10, George Michael's "Praying For Time" not on - I think no video? At the time TOTP played the song over a montage of his former solo videos so I have no idea why they didn't show it again.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 27, 2020 13:49:59 GMT 1
Yes Yell is not a SAW production though it is Pete Hammond who was a mixer at PWL so there is a connection. Same with Sybil which is only remixed by Tony King another mixer at PWL. Technically though neither are directly SAW.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 22, 2020 14:11:17 GMT 1
Haha- it's actually rather good
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Feb 21, 2020 23:32:25 GMT 1
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 24, 2019 21:39:36 GMT 1
I was watching the excellent Timelords track on TotP 1988 the other day, and like others reflecting on the fact that while the BBC would never now show a performance by to Gary Glitter, they are obviously OK with one where he gets a writing credit and will therefore earn a bit of cash from them broadcasting it. Then I noticed in the chart forum Rock & Roll Part 2 is actually climbing iTunes thanks to it's appearance in the new Batman film the Joker. The Sun have picked up on it today, their front page headline is "BEYOND A JOKER - Movie fortune for perv Glitter". It raises some difficult questions. I don't think anyone would advocate preventing convicted criminals from being able to secure a legitimate legal income, I expect with a lot of crimes (although perhaps not the sort Glitter committed) it's one of the key things that keeps them from reoffending. Should we be outraged, or does it not really matter? He sold the rights to his songs years ago so he won't be profiting at all from it. It remains publicity for him (of a fashion) I suppose.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 13, 2017 19:54:46 GMT 1
Love "Luther"- one of my favourite TV shows of all time!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 18, 2017 21:09:33 GMT 1
Boo ESW was robbed! Thanks for hosting
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 17, 2017 21:34:37 GMT 1
Yay- Only "Faith" remains as the sole single in that lot I didn't award any points to so I'm happy overall.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 16, 2017 21:34:33 GMT 1
"kissing A Fool" is my first loss (albeit I gave it 1 point) so my top 10 made it the top 15 overall- I'm happy! Effortlessly classy from George.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on May 16, 2017 20:28:34 GMT 1
The only single I like from Michael from 2001 onward is "Shoot The Dog" even though it was critically panned. "Amazing" is OK but a bit throwaway
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 14, 2015 22:28:12 GMT 1
Oh pants I missed out on this one! That'll teach me for not paying attention to this section!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Mar 10, 2014 18:56:39 GMT 1
I might add beg steal and borrow as well (I know not strictly in line with the thread but I thought it was appropriate)
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 27, 2013 15:16:45 GMT 1
So that's it folks! I've covered 30 years on the "journey" as an X Factor contestant would say, thanks to everyone who has commented and agreed or disagreed with me. It's been......long
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 27, 2013 15:14:29 GMT 1
12TH DECEMBER- RUSSIAN ROULETTE- Rihanna (1 Wk)Few would claim that Rihanna had a voice to match Lewis but of course Rihanna is a POPSTAR without question. She doesn't always get it right (some single choice have just been bizarre) but no-one can refute that she does take CHANCES and has a good popstar's eye for popping in and out of genres with ease. "Russian Roulette" isn't ground breaking but it has a menacing tone that you suspect Lewis would have trouble pulling off and its charms, whilst subtle, are undeniable, and she sells it with utter conviction. I wasn't won over by this when I first heard it but its grown on me over the years and by the end of 2009 she probably was the biggest popstar on the planet (well her or Gaga) and so it's fitting that we should end the decade with her
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 27, 2013 15:03:26 GMT 1
21ST NOVEMBER- HAPPY- Leona Lewis (1 wk)Dorothy Parker once wrote "Every love is the old love in a duller dress" quite an apt phrase for Lewis' career until recently. No one can deny that she has a fine set of pipes on her, nor that she looks the part of a popstar, but the personality doesn't quite measure up and she had become by round 2010 a one trick pony. "Happy" is essentially an attempt at "Bleeding Love Pt II" co-written similarly by Tedder and naturally it isn't quite as good and perhaps the rather predictable move makes this song a little underwhelming. Of course when your one trick is as impressive as Lewis' voice is then that's fair enough but the risks and chances that she has taken with her output over recent years perhaps came too late to salvage the image of Lewis as balladeer. With the right song its possible she reach the No 1 spot again but "Happy" is rather too formulaic to hit home and dare I say it, a tad LAZY.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 21, 2013 20:45:34 GMT 1
7TH NOVEMBER- WHAT ABOUT NOW- Westlife (1 wk)Written by two former members of Evanescence and lead singer Amy Lee's Husband, this is of course a track originally recorded by Daughtry who had a US top 20 hit and thanks to use in the "X Factor" it made No 11 just weeks before this version saw the light of day from those Westlife boys. Essentially their problem was the same as Williams, there was little development in their career, clever Westlife however had switched their marketing from the notoriously fickle teenage market to much more predictable "woman of a certain age" market- I generalise obviously and to some extent Robbie had done the same, but for Westlife they were never really concerned about "artistic credibility" it was all about what sells- they had long since sold their souls to the dark spirit called Louis Walsh. "What About Now" is, like most Westlife covers, competent enough, even if it drains the life out of the original, but really to be still doing this kind of thing 10 years into a career built to a large extent on cover versions seems quite pointless and this does little to alter that opinion.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 21, 2013 20:02:33 GMT 1
24TH OCTOBER- BODIES- Robbie Williams (1 wk)So by 2009 brand Robbie Williams had taken rather a battering after a decade when he could do little wrong. The whole "Rudebox" era had been a commercial failure by his admittedly very high standard and for the first time ever it looked like he'd lost the magic touch, thusly "Bodies" had a lot to prove, a lot to re-invigorate, a lot to REMIND. On all grounds it has to be considered a failure sadly, the fact its barely heard these days nor I would argued remembered perhaps backs up this opinion, it's quirky enough and is obviously a Robbie song which perhaps manages to sell it to the faithful who had lost heart after the experimental "Rudebox" single but it fails to convince outside of this group, it feels slightly like a mish mash of previous tracks, a bit of "Feel" in the chorus, spots of "Supreme" in the verse all without the clever penmanship of Guy Chambers to give direction. The point I suppose being that his career post 2004 has been a series of re-treads each less successful artistically than the last with his one really bold attempt to do something different ending up a sales turkey. He's gone from an act who could easily pluck 3 or 4 top 10 hits from an album to one who struggles to get a second hit from an era, the fact that "Bodies" is a mess lyrically and hangs all its hopes on the chorus that disappoints when it arrives doesn't manage to salvage it.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 15, 2013 20:19:25 GMT 1
17TH OCTOBER- FOREVER IS OVER- The Saturdays (1 wk)I didn't realise this was co-penned by ex-Busted member James Bourne! Anyway iTunes tells me that I'm quite a fan of The Saturdays though I find them VERY hit and miss, but when they get it right ("Ego""Higher", "Up") they do with conviction and verve, this isn't quite in that category. Don't get me wrong, its entirely passable pop which dips its toe into a rockier feel than they had hitherto gone with some mixed success, I think the route of the problem is that it doesn't quite know what it wants to be and thusly it becomes harder to "sell". Perhaps this is indicative of the problem with the Saturdays in general. Whilst flitting about with genre's is very 2010's it invariably means that some "Experiments" will be more successful than others, on the other hand it makes for a more interesting discography but their constant dabbling did, on occasion, come across as desperation to have that No 1 hit at any price- perhaps they're happier now it finally happened. Anyway in conclusion FIO isn't their worst but it is FAR from their best!
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 5, 2013 18:24:44 GMT 1
10TH OCTOBER- EMPIRE STATE OF MIND- Jay Z Featuring Alicia Keys (1 wk)OK, rap isn't a genre that I feel I can review with confidence, having said that I'm obliged to and to be honest I don't half mind this tune if only for the fact that Alicia Keys lifts the track into something approaching greatness. Naturally I prefer her solo version but I think I was first won over to Jay Z's charm on "Ghetto Anthem" back in 1998 but in between I can't say I paid too much attention other than his work with Beyoncé. His anthem to New York featured a sample from The Moments "Love on a Two Way street" and all in all it seemed to hang around FOREVER probably more to do with Keys' solo version which came out in early 2010 but all in all not bad at all.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Oct 5, 2013 17:52:49 GMT 1
12TH SEPTEMBER- GET SEXY- The Sugababes (1 wk)One of the great things about the Sugababes was the seeming ease with which they seemed cool, an urban Girls Aloud with slightly more clothes, the all saints to GA Spice Girls, and of course that their singles were classy, so it is with sadness that I come to review "Get Sexy". Borrowing from Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" this is a song without soul, a shameless attempt to cash in on recent dance trends and production and to strip anything of their personalities out of the song, their previous ability to make trends look naturally part of their repertoire halts here and this whole thing seems a tad boring and altogether contrived and forced. The girls of course try to sell it but their hearts don't seem to be in it and indeed Keisha's departure was only weeks away, but this is a sad end to Sugababes Mk II. It is all about the style over the substance and the verse is sadly weak, a record sold doubtless on the name of the act rather than merit, and even the name can't sell much these days......
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