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Post by Smurfie on Jul 28, 2020 19:53:41 GMT 1
Poor Never Gonna Give You Up - loved and hated in equal measures. I am sure Suedehead hasn't visited the SAW thread with the video in LEGO, as it might have elevated it to number 57.
Fairground is just 100% creepy/grotty.
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Roo.
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Post by Roo. on Jul 28, 2020 21:49:31 GMT 1
"The whole of the top ten that week was pretty poor so I have to go outside that to find some decent songs."
I don't think Anastacia's 'I'm Outta Love' and Sugababes 'Overload' count as pretty poor! Sisqo's 'Unleash The Dragon' I'll allow.
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Post by onehitwonder on Jul 29, 2020 13:19:16 GMT 1
It's a bit of a shame that 2 dismal versions of 'Against All Odds' made #1, but Phil Collins' version didn't. Mariah's solo version, which was featured on her 'Rainbow' album is actually quite good, but I'll never know why she felt the need to enlist the help of Westlife when she released it as a single. Maybe it was the other way around, they wanted another number 1 single and so did Mariah.
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Post by onehitwonder on Jul 29, 2020 13:20:00 GMT 1
It's a bit of a shame that 2 dismal versions of 'Against All Odds' made #1, but Phil Collins' version didn't. Mariah's solo version, which was featured on her 'Rainbow' album is actually quite good, but I'll never know why she felt the need to enlist the help of Westlife when she released it as a single. On a similar theme, A1's version of Take On Me was also in the chart that week. I am one of a few people who likes A1's version, but I also love the original!
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Post by suedehead on Jul 29, 2020 18:50:50 GMT 1
The year 1978 saw me take my A Levels, leave school and, a week after my 18th birthday, start university. Musically, the year was dominated by one film - Grease. In common with almost a third of the population at the time, my birthday number one that year was a song from the film - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John crashing their way through Summer Nights. I remembered Newton-John having hit singles in the early seventies, so the idea that she had suddenly gained worldwide fame playing a schoolgirl in 1978 seemed rather odd. Indeed, she turned 30 two days after my eighteenth birthday. At least Travolta was “only” in his early twenties.
Summer Nights (and its predecessor You’re The One That I Want) were unavoidable for most of the year and that is the main reason why I have placed it so low. I was never a fan of the song; by the time it started to get played rather less frequently, I was absolutely sick of it.
There was very nearly a much better song at the top for my coming of age. The week before, 10CC were at number one with Dreadlock Holiday - a cod-reggae song that sounds a bit dodgy today but was fun at the time. Indeed, on the morning of my birthday it was still number one but the new chart was announced at lunchtime. Music fans around my age will find it relatively easy to say which song ended Summer Nights’ seven weeks at the top as it led to one of Top Of The Pops’ most memorable moments. The performance of the new number one started with Bob Geldof tearing u[ a picture of Travolta and Newton-John before the Boomtown Rats mimed to Rat Trap, the first punk-related number one single.
Also in that chart were the wonderfully daft Jilted John by Jilted John (comic Graham Fellows), Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Hong Kong Garden and Blondie’s Picture This. You’re The One That I Want was still in the chart as was a diabolical version of the song by Arthur Mullard and Hilda Baker. Newton-John’s last hit (apart from a re-issue of You’re The One That I Want) was a duet with Cliff Richard, Had To Be in 1995, a full 24 years after her first chart appearance. Travolta never returned to the charts (again, apart from re-issues) once he had run out of songs from Grease.
While doing some research for this, I discovered that Olivia Newton-John’s father was an MI5 officer who had worked at Bletchley Park on the Enigma codes. Well done him.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 29, 2020 19:46:00 GMT 1
'Summer Nights' is another one that I got used to hearing all the time at student club nights and cheesy retro discos. In contrast to 'Saturday Night', I have always disliked it.
I feel the same way about most songs from musicals as I do superhero movies. All my friends seem to love them but I just don't get it! I have a few exceptions - Rocky Horror, Les Mis, Little Shop of Horrors, even Cats - but I can't be having with Grease or Dirty Dancing.
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Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 29, 2020 20:39:39 GMT 1
Summer Nights is another easy 10/10 for me. My favourite though is 'Hopelessly devoted to you'.
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Post by suedehead on Jul 30, 2020 19:09:46 GMT 1
We all have singers we don’t like. For many of us, our list will include singers who have received a lot of critical acclaim. Singers who we continue not to like however much the critics tell us how good they are. That introduction should be enough warning that the next song will be particularly controversial, even in a list that features Ride On Time in last place. Just to appease people slightly, this is the first song to have scored two out of five. The previous seven all scored just one.
Yes, it’s time to say that I have never got the appeal of Lauryn Hill’s voice. That means I have never liked anything by The Fugees either. That includes their version of Killing Me Softly which isn’t a patch on Roberta Flack’s sublime version. That song gave The Fugees their first number one in the summer of 1996 and, in September the same year, they were back on top of the pile again with Ready Or Not. Put me in the “not ready” camp when it comes to being prepared for this lot to have another number one.
They had climbed to number one the previous week, displacing Peter Andre’s Flava. The following week saw them knocked off the top by the vastly superior Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something. The Fugees had two more big hits, including a version of No Woman No Cry, before they went their separate ways. Deep Blue Something only had one more (not particularly big) hit.
As well as Breakfast At Tiffany’s at number two, the chart also included Marblehead Johnson by the Bluetones, OMC’s utterly bizarre How Bizarre and Lost Myself by the wonderful Longpigs. A little further down the top forty we also had Underworld’s brilliant Born Slippy and the Charlatans’ One To Another.
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Post by greendemon on Jul 30, 2020 20:57:19 GMT 1
The following week saw them knocked off the top by the vastly superior Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something. As well as Breakfast At Tiffany’s at number two, the chart also included Marblehead Johnson by the Bluetones, OMC’s utterly bizarre How Bizarre and Lost Myself by the wonderful Longpigs. A little further down the top forty we also had Underworld’s brilliant Born Slippy and the Charlatans’ One To Another. Damn. What a singularly impressive selection of songs. I actually don't mind 'Ready Or Not' but I vastly prefer all of those, especially Deep Blue Something, OMC and of course 'Born Slippy' which is just peerless.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 2, 2020 18:27:10 GMT 1
On we go, then, to number 52. The low finish for this one won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows my tastes in music. It’s time for the first song in this countdown from the 21st century and the debut hit from Pussycat Dolls, Don’t Cha which was number one in 2005. I’m still not sure how one chas or how many people are usually involved.
Pussycat Dolls are one of many examples of what I dislike about pop music in the 21st century. We have always had bands that have been formed by music moguis rather than by a few mates getting together. One of them, Westlife, have already appeared in this countdown and we can look back to examples such as Take That and even The Monkees. However, in the 21st century, they just seemed to grow in number.
Some of these manufactured bands have ultimately produced singers who have had successful solo careers, showing that at least some of the members have some musical talent. WIthout One Direction, Harry Styles may never have had a musical career. Robbie Williams could have been just a forty-something bloke from Stoke without Take That. That doesn’t alter the general belief that these bands are formed by a committee with their songs being chosen in the same way. It’s also worth mentioning that I liked Pussycat Dolls’ Jai Ho with AR Rahman.
My birthday week saw Don’t Cha at number one for the second week of three. It had replaced Gorillaz’s Dare (there’s a song that would have made the top ten of this list) and was replaced by Push The Button by another manufactured outfit, Sugababes.
As well as Dare, other songs in the top forty for my 45th birthday (a milestone that would have had some significance in the days of vinyl singles played at 45 rpm) included a remix of Faithless’s Insomnia, Goldfrapp’s Ooh La La and The Importance of Being Idle by Oasis, another former chart-topper.
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Post by S1m on Aug 3, 2020 0:22:09 GMT 1
I can't believe anyone would put that Westlife and Mariah dirge above any other #1!
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Aug 3, 2020 8:15:30 GMT 1
It's a bit of a shame that 2 dismal versions of 'Against All Odds' made #1, but Phil Collins' version didn't. People laughed when I said I was going to be a Phil Collins impersonator. Just take a look at me now.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 3, 2020 8:39:41 GMT 1
I can't believe anyone would put that Westlife and Mariah dirge above any other #1! I think this is the only song so far where the criticism has been that I’ve placed it too high
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Aug 3, 2020 9:08:07 GMT 1
I can't believe anyone would put that Westlife and Mariah dirge above any other #1! I will put their version of Against All Odds in my top 20 favourite UK number ones from 21st century.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 3, 2020 17:59:12 GMT 1
Following on from the remarks on the previous song, I am always a little nervous when a manufactured band splits up. There is, of course, the possibility that at least one member might surprise me and release some decent stuff. Harry Styles is the most recent example of this. On the other hand, we might end up with four or five individuals each releasing solo material that is very similar to the material they released as part of a group. Alternatively, at least one of them might release a song that is even worse than anything their band released.
That brings us to Melanie Brown, the former Spice Girl. Her debut single, I Want You Back, entered the chart at number one in September 1998 (yes, another 90s number one bites the dust) despite being worse than any Spice Girls chart-topper. That’s what name recognition can do for you. The song featured Missy Elliott and it was to be the only number one for both singers. It completes the bottom ten of this list at number 51. It starts with the two protagonists showing that they can spell their own names and goes downhill from there.
In another reference back to the previous remarks, I Want You Back replaced Robbie WIlliams’ Millennium which had entered at number one the week before. Millennium was a bright spot in a top ten that also featured Steps, Boyzone and Honeyz. Better pickings were to be found elsewhere in the top forty including If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next by Manic Street Preachers, Divine Comedy’s Generation Sex and P J Harvey’s A Perfect Day Elise.
I Want You Back lasted just a week at number one before it was replaced by the abysmal Rollercoaster by B*Witched. Sadly, that beat the vastly superior Perfect 10 by Beautiful South to the top spot.
Only ten songs down and five of the ten 1990s number ones are already out of the running.
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Aug 3, 2020 19:45:58 GMT 1
Where are all those awful number ones from streaming era?
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Post by S1m on Aug 3, 2020 21:19:49 GMT 1
I can't believe anyone would put that Westlife and Mariah dirge above any other #1! I will put their version of Against All Odds in my top 20 favourite UK number ones from 21st century. Jesus wept! I say this as someone who didn't actually mind Westlife and hasnt got it in for Mariah that it's a musical abomination. The only redeemable thing for me is the hilarious ogling of her boobs going on in the video and artwork.
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Post by S1m on Aug 3, 2020 21:20:36 GMT 1
I can't believe anyone would put that Westlife and Mariah dirge above any other #1! I think this is the only song so far where the criticism has been that I’ve placed it too high For me it's one of the all-time worst!
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Post by suedehead on Aug 4, 2020 16:06:08 GMT 1
The next song, at number 50, is responsible for coining the phrase Stevie Wonder Syndrome where a talented singer-songwriter achieves his greatest chart success with some utter dross. The man born Stevland Judkins has given the world classics such as Isn’t She Lovely, Sir Duke and Signed, Sealed Delivered I’m Yours (as well as Pastime Paradise on which Gangsta’s Paradise was based) but his only solo number one in the UK was I Just Called To Say I Love You in 1984.
In my early days as a music fan I had heard songs like Uptight (Everything’s Alright) and For Once In My Life. They were later joined by Superstition and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, all classic songs. Nevertheless, I was a contrary so-and-so as a teenager which meant that the hype surrounding the release of Songs In The Key Of Life in 1976 (his first album for two years) made me determined not to like it. The more of it I heard, the more I had to accept that it was worthy of the hype.
He released a number of sub-standard singles in the 1980s but nothing prepared the world for the horror that was I Just Called To Say I Love You. Many of us looked on aghast as it entered the chart at number three in August before climbing one place in each of the next two weeks and settling in for six weeks at number one. It replaced George Michael’s Careless Whisper but Michael eventually got his revenge as Wham’s Freedom was the song that finally rid us of this embarrassment to Stevie Wonder’s career.
If it had been released by an unknown, it might just about have been seen as “pleasant, if a little dull”. Had it somehow got to number one, it might even have featured slightly higher in this list. However, I can’t help but mark it down because of how it compares to so much of Wonder’s back catalogue.
Among the other songs in the chart in my birthday week were Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters (at number two), Depeche Mode’s Master And Servant and Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakey’s Together In Electric Dreams.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Aug 4, 2020 18:54:00 GMT 1
Where are all those awful number ones from streaming era? I think if you have managed to avoid hearing them, they avoid this list. I couldn’t name or recognise many recent number ones if I heard them
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