Aah, 1993…or should that be ‘aargh’ 1993? I don’t know why but numbers ending in a ‘3’ always jar in my mind. Whether it’s because it’s an odd number or a prime number I’m not sure but I’ve never trusted them. The same can apply to years ending in ‘3’. 1983, for example, was the year my beloved Chelsea finished in their lowest ever league position and nearly got relegated to the old third division. And 1993? Well, Chelsea had another terrible season flirting with relegation before finally securing a mid table finish. On a national level, the England team had a year to forget managing to lose to the USA (a result that was seen as a disgrace in the press) before following it up by failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Manager Graham Taylor resigned as a consequence. Sticking with sport, disaster befell the Grand National and caused heartache for bookmakers as it was cancelled after a false start!

In the world of entertainment, Carry On film stalwarts Bernard Bresslaw and Kenneth Connor shuffled off this mortal coil as did comedian Les Dawson. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer had a busy year with two new BBC shows starting in The Smell Of Reeves And Mortimer and Shooting Stars. ITV had a ratings winner on their hands with crime drama Cracker starring Robbie Coltrane whilst Channel 4 hosted the debut of late night cult TV show Eurotrash. Shopping channel QVC appeared on our screens for the first time. In the literary world Irvine Welsh’s iconic novel Trainspotting was published whilst A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess passed away.

But this is a music blog isn’t it so what was happening on the pop landscape? In my head, the charts of 1993 were populated by some tunes that stank them out but could I be mistaken? A quick glance at the Top 10 best selling singles of the year is as grim and lacking in sense as a Nadine Dorries interview. It’s mostly nasty Eurodance anthems punctuated by a couple of cover versions and a song by a blubbery, intensely irritating figure whose name began with ‘M’. No, not Meatloaf; I’m referring to Mr Blobby of course…or am I? Elsewhere, before the Blur vs Oasis chart battle of 1995 came East 17 and Take That duking it out for the title of top teen sensation whilst reggae fusion / dancehall briefly dominated the charts courtesy of the unholy ‘S’ trinity of Snow, Shaggy and Shabba Ranks. Oh God, I’m having flashbacks!

Work wise for me, 1993 was a year of much change. By the end of it, I would have worked in four different Our Price stores. Some of it I really enjoyed, some of it I really, really didn’t. So, I don’t think I’ve made myself feel any better about the prospects for 1993 in that little preamble. I’m going to go down that road in spite of myself though. Are you gonna go my way?

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00165cm/top-of-the-pops-the-story-of-1993