Mousse T versus Hot ‘n’ Juicy

TOTP 17 JUL 1998

Posted on by 80stastic

It’s mid July 1998 and there’s two trends in evidence within the TOTP running order etiquette, one of which is possibly informing the other. The first is that, after a few records that have bucked the trend of seven days chart toppers by staying at No 1 for more than one week, we are back in a run of weekly changes to the pole position. From now until the end of the year, only four singles will manage more than one week at the top. This sequence seemed to inform the TOTP appearance policy because, as demonstrated in this show, we would get the previous week’s No 1 given another slot despite no longer being the country’s most bought single.

I’ve commented on this before making a case for both sides of the argument and my take on it remains confused. On the one hand, it was jarring that a show whose format historically was to showcase the records making the most strides in the Top 40 would be featuring singles whose sales had, if not dropped, been overtaken by other new releases. On the other, you could argue that none of this was the fault of executive producer Chris Cowey who possibly felt that he couldn’t just toss away a big hit record after just one showing because the record companies were manipulating the charts with their first week of release discount pricing. However, Cowey didn’t help himself by putting last week’s No 1 as the first act on the show the following week making a consecutive appearance segue albeit seven days apart as was the case here with Billie and her hit “Because We Want To”. Now, in my head this one stayed around the charts for ages which I suppose it did – a month inside the Top 10, two on the Top 40 altogether and yet it was constantly going down the charts. Not once did it reverse that descent as we had seen many a sustaining hit do this year. Still, a No 1 with your debut single aged just 15 was still quite the achievement. Ah yes, Billie’s age. In her first TOTP appearance, there was a lot of flesh on display what with her wearing a black singlet top. For this performance, she’s completely covered up. Do you think there had been complaints to the BBC about such a young girl wearing a top that revealed her midriff and bare shoulders? Or was it a decision made by Billie herself or her management team? Whatever the reason, it was a noticeable change of style.

And talking of changes of style…from pop song to schlock song as we get the infernal combination of Celine Dion and the Bee Gees duetting on “Immortality”. Whose idea was this?! Well, it was those dastardly Gibb brothers obviously who wrote the song for the stage musical of Saturday Night Fever and decided that Celine’s vocals were needed to complete the track. It was a terrible idea and an even worse sound though one that could easily have been predicted given the two artists involved. Don’t get me wrong, some of the Bee Gees classic catalogue is…well…classic but the 90s saw them record some desperately overwrought and whiny ballads and “Immortality” was no exception. The lyrics were vapid, rhyming ‘immortality’ with ‘eternity’ and banging on about fulfilling your destiny with the overall effect that, in keeping with its title, it seemed to go on forever. The whole thing was truly reprehensible.

Now there’s some jiggery pokery, some sleight of hand going on here as host Jamie Theakston was clearly superimposed over the Celine Dion/Bee Gees performance for his intro, as if Chris Cowey was trying to convince the watching TV audience that he was actually there but he obviously wasn’t. What was all that about? Couldn’t they have just done a voiceover or was there a clause in Theakston’s contract guaranteeing an agreed amount of screen time? Surely not.

Anyway, he’s definitely in the studio with the next artist (s) who is/are Pras Michel featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard and introducing Mýa. Now there’s a lot to unpack here starting with who were all these people? Well, Pras Michel was, of course, a member of the Fugees who were on hiatus following the mega international success of their album “The Score” allowing its three members to pursue solo careers. Pras was the second of the three to have a hit under their own name when “Ghetto Superstar” made No 2 in the UK. Ol’ Dirty Bastard (or ODB as he was styled for pre-watershed audiences) was part of the Wu-Tang Clan whilst I had to double check who Mýa was as I mistakenly believed her initially to be the woman who had that hit with The Tamperer – I was wrong as that was someone called Maya not Mýa; Maya Days to be precise. No, Mýa, if her discography is anything to go by, is a recording artist with quite the track record – eight studio albums and sixty-three singles. So, how do I neither remember nor know of her? What I do know about her is that she was in a battle with Billie as to who had the most winning smile in pop. Wow!

Erm…anyway, as we all know (even Jamie Theakston did), “Ghetto Superstar” interpolates the 1983 hit “Islands In The Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers that was written by the aforementioned Bee Gees. In my 80s TOTP blog, when reviewing that hit, I said it might as well have been called “Islands In The Mainstream” so middle-of-the-road was it. Turns out I was wrong about that as well as it was identified as the template for a hit by a member of one of the coolest acts of the decade and a man whose chosen professional name included an actual swear word. It shouldn’t work really but it did becoming the ninth best selling single of 1998 in the UK. Mind, we did have a track record for being susceptible to this sort of thing – “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio springs to mind.

My abiding memory of this song though involves a bus driver. Stay with me. I was living in Manchester when it was a hit and one Sunday, my wife and I were heading into town to do something (can’t remember what) so we hopped on a bus to save our legs. Once onboard, we quickly realised that this wasn’t your standard bus. The driver wasn’t wearing a uniform and he didn’t have a machine to issue passengers with any kind of ticket. He also didn’t seem to know what prices he should be charging but rather was making it up as he went/drove along. Who was this guy and how had he got hold of a bus? Had he hired one for the day? Had he stolen it? The clincher though that this wasn’t a regular bus service was that he had music blaring out which he was singing along to. The song that was playing when we boarded? Yep, “Ghetto Superstar”.

It’s Eagle-Eye Cherry again but his third consecutive appearance on the show can be justified I guess as it’s three weeks on the spin at No 6 for “Save Tonight”. This was a remarkably hardy hit spending six weeks inside the Top 10 and just under three months on the Top 40. That’s the power of a very radio friendly single, I guess.

In an attempt to distinguish this performance from his previous two, Eagle-Eye does an acoustic version of the track alongside two other guitarists and two blokes on either end of the line, one adding backing vocals and the other playing the most vigorous and energetic tambourine I think I’ve ever seen. It all hangs together pretty well though and makes for a memorable performance. Maybe Chris Cowey should have looked into doing more of these kind of slots but then not every single on the show would have lent itself to such a version so well. An acoustic “Ghetto Superstar” anyone? I think this guy proves my point..

Another two songs we’ve seen on the show before already now beginning with “Got The Feelin’” by Five. Whilst I could make a case for Eagle-Eye Cherry’s repeated appearances, this was preposterous. After debuting at No 3, this single had slipped every week since to No 5 then No 8 and eventually No 14. However, a rise of a solitary place to No 13 in week five on the charts was enough reason for Chris Cowey to show their initial performance (the one with the football shirts) again. However, according to official charts.com, “Got The Feelin’” is Five’s second biggest selling single ever, shifting half a million copies and clocking up 12 million streams and counting in the UK so does that add some credibility to Cowey’s decision? Oh I don’t know anymore!

Hell’s teeth! Cowey’s done it again with the very next song only this one is worse! I know I’m banging on about this but why are we watching Mousse T featuring Hot N’ Juicy when they are at No 11 in the charts with “Horny” having dropped a place from last week’s No 10? And what on earth is going on with those face-to-face graphics on either side of the screen?! It’s the same technology used to impose Jamie Theakston’s fizzog against a backdrop of the previously shown performance clip but this time features the women from Hot N’ Juicy. Why? Why do that? It looks cheap and nasty and adds very little in terms of impact. Make it make sense somebody. Please!!

No confusion as to why this next hit is on the show – crashing into the charts at No 9 are Garbage with the second single from their sophomore album “Version 2.0” called “I Think I’m Paranoid”. Now this is a tune! A deceptively sparse intro and simplistic verse leads immediately into a crunching power chord and Shirley Manson snarling the song title before coming back with an unexpected second part to the chorus with the “bend me, break me” refrain which would get them into trouble copyright wise with music publisher Helios Music Corporation. They claimed it infringed upon significant elements of the Scott English and Larry Weiss composition “Bend Me, Shape Me” which had been a hit for The American Breed in the US and Amen Corner in the UK. Yes, the words in that phrase are the same but there’s not much else to link the two songs to my ears. As for the performance here, you can’t take your eyes off Shirley who looks fantastic throughout in that polka dot dress. Erm…(again)… time to move on I think…

It’s another new No 1 that will only spend a solitary week at the top. Another Level would never return to the chart summit but they scaled it with “Freak Me”, a cover of an American No 1 by Silk from 1993 which never even cracked the UK Top 40 so it was possible to pass it off as their own song. Maybe. Anyway, it’s pure filth with lyrics about whipped cream and licking their baby up and down! Seriously though, I’m surprised the ‘whipped cream’ line got past the BBC sensors especially as there was a toned down version that the band performed on the promo video and for TV appearances though clearly not this one. I could never see (or hear) the appeal of this lot but judging by the screams from the studio audience, they were hot property for a while. I always get Dane Bowers from the band confused with Anthony Costa from similarly unremarkable outfit Blue. Anybody else have that problem?

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1BillieBecause We Want ToNo
2Celine Dion / Bee Gees ImmortalityHeavens no!
3Pras Michel featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard and introducing MýaGhetto SuperstarNope
4Eagle-Eye CherrySave TonightNo but my wife had his album
5FiveGot The Feelin’Nah
6Mousse T featuring Hot N’ JuicyHornyI did not
7GarbageI Think I’m ParanoidGreat track but no
8Another LevelFreak MeNO!

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/m002k7yz/top-of-the-pops-17071998?seriesId=unsliced

TOTP 12 JUN 1998

Posted on by 80stastic

It’s the Summer of 1998 and there’s only one game in town – the World Cup. Yes, France ‘98 is in full swing and, despite only starting two days before this TOTP aired, Scotland have lost a game already! It was hardly the embarrassment many were expecting (or hoping for if you were English maybe) going down 2-1 to the reigning champions and pre-tournament favourites Brazil to a late own goal. England are there as well for the first time since Italia ‘90 and after the hysteria and heartache of the Euros ‘96 tournament, expectations for Glenn Hoddle’s squad were high despite the omission of Gazza.

Now before you all start thinking I’ve turned this blog into a football fest (again), there’s a valid reason why I mention the World Cup which is the plethora of football themed hits that it generated in the UK Top 40. There’s two on this show but there’ll be a further three on the following week’s as well. Of course, football related songs were nothing new. Going right back to 1970 and the England World Cup Squad’s No 1 “Back Home”, there have always been attempts to merge the two worlds of football and music, some successful, some dreadful. 1972 saw my beloved Chelsea riding high in the charts with “Blue Is The Colour” whilst the 80s saw teams competing in the FA Cup final regularly releasing singles to mark the occasion. Who can forget the cringeworthy “Ossie’s Dream” from 1981 and that line from Spurs legend Ossie Ardilles “In the cup for Tottingham”? Into the 90s, we had the unspeakably awful “Come On You Reds” by Manchester United which topped the charts but at other end of the scale, we also had the sublime “World In Motion” by New Order. Then, of course, came Euro ‘96 and terrace anthem “Three Lions” – we would never see the end of that particular hit. So what are the class of ‘98 football songs like? Let’s find out with our host Jo Whiley (who is a Spurs fan – boo!)…The football songs are coming (I promise/warn you) but we start with two established Top 10 hits that have already been on the show previously beginning with “Horny ‘98” by Mousse T featuring Hot ‘N’ Juicy.

Despite just being on the previous week, I’d saved a couple of tidbits to wheel out for future appearances starting with the fact that it was included on “Chef Aid: The South Park” album. Around the end of 1998, the animated sitcom South Park became a TV ratings sensation and made household names of its four protagonists Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. Known for its profane, dark and satiric humour, it soon gained a reputation for being outrageous beyond the normal standards of broadcasting decency. It was also fabulously funny and to this day continues to push the boundaries by being a constant thorn in the side of man-baby Donald Trump. The Our Price chain for whom I worked stocked all the show’s merchandise and, of course, the album and hit single “Chocolate Salty Balls” by Chef which would appear at Christmas. We could never play the album in store because of the Parental Advisory sticker but, having found the version on the album with the conversation between show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker and the character of Sid Greenfield (America’s Most Wanted director) bracketing it, that version is much more palatable.

However, that’s nothing compared to this almighty mashup that appeared in 2006 that blended the track with “Bohemian Like You” by The Dandy Warhols. I’d never been aware of this until now but this is truly epic…

The second song we’ve seen before comes from Lutricia McNeal who is marooned outside of the Top 5 but still in the Top 10 at No 7 this week with “Stranded”. There really isn’t that much to say about this one and indeed, Lutricia doesn’t have the biggest online presence with even her Wikipedia page’s last update on her whereabouts being as long ago as 2011. As such, I’m forced to bang on again about how unusual her first name is. According to the mynamestats.com website, only 785 people in the whole of America are called Lutricia making the name the 10,377th most popular. That means there are 0.25 people per every 100,000 Americans called Lutricia. Even the name Lucretia with all its connotations is more popular. There is a singer called Lucretia – Lucretia Death whose LinkedIn bio refers to ‘vampiric longing’, ‘eternal darkness’ and ‘unholy ascension’! Gulp! Don’t fancy being stranded with her!

Still no football songs! Perhaps I should have realised that there was another trend going on in the charts which was the amount of female artists having hits at this time. Following Lutricia McNeal here’s Shania Twain (and there are two more solo artists and an all girl group at No 1 to come). In my head, Shania’s run of hits started with “You’re Still The One”, continued with “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and culminated in “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”. It turns out that these are just the ones I know and not a reliable account of her discography as there are other hits in that run and loads after it as well. Should I be embarrassed by my lack of Shania knowledge? I’ll live with it thanks. Anyway, one of those hits that I missed out was “When” which having heard it, does sound faintly familiar, presumably because of its catchy hooks. The lyrics however…I mean. Really? Look at these…

“I’d love to wake up smiling, full of the joys of Spring

And hear on CNN that Elvis lives again

And that John’s back with The Beatles and they’re going out on tour

I’ll be the first in line for tickets

Gotta see that show for sure

Songwriters: Robert John Lange, Shania Twain
When lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Is it me or do they seem a little bit…unsophisticated? Is that the right word? Clunky maybe? Ham-fisted? I don’t want to come across as a pseud or condescending but I think I prefer a bit more mystery in my lyrics. Maybe I’m missing the point of Shania though which, according to Jo Whiley, is that she’s gorgeous describing her as “drool-inducing” and instructing us to wipes our mouths after her performance. Really Jo?!

It’s another female solo artist now with her second hit single but that term is a complete antonym for the product she released. Nothing to do with the title of her song which was called “Gimme Love” but rather the amount of versions and mixes that were made of it. I’m talking about Alexia whose debut hit “Uh La La La” had made the Top 10 in March which itself had been the subject of multiple remixes that were commissioned by her record company Sony in an attempt to launch their artist in Europe. “Gimme Love” took it to another level with 20 different versions listed on its Wikipedia page. Single? They should have promoted it as a ‘multiple’. Now apparently “Gimme Love” is an example of Europop whereas “Uh La La La” was classified as Eurodance and the shift of genre disappointed her fan base. I can’t say I’m expert enough to be able to pinpoint the differences but what I can say is that “Gimme Love” is repetitive in the extreme which also renders it rather insubstantial – in my humble opinion of course. The initial pressings of the single contained a listing error showing the title as “Gimmi Love” which is rather appropriate as the word ‘Alexia’ can refer to an acquired reading disorder characterised by the inability to read.

We’ve finally got to a football song but this one was not a typical example of the genre. “Don’t Come Home Too Soon” was the official World Cup song of the Scotland squad and was recorded by Del Amitri providing the band with what would be their final Top 20 hit. Eschewing the traditional notion of the singalong football song, this was a slow ballad and, in truth, a rather mournful one and I say that as someone who is quite partial to a bit of Del Amitri. If it’s sound was mournful then its lyrics were positively pessimistic (if it’s possible to be such a thing) referring to the team as “long shots” and saying that the rest of the word “may not be shaking yet” and limiting Scotland’s chances to not being on “that stupid plane” and not coming home too soon. Not winning the damn thing, just staying a bit longer than usual. In fairness, that probably was the limit of their ambitions given that they’d never (and still haven’t) got past the group stage of any major tournament. Even so, the song didn’t go down that well with some of the Tartan Army. I’m sure I read something about lead singer Justin Currie saying he’d been abused in the street for writing such a negative song. As for Jo Whiley’s hope in her intro that Scotland would stuff Norway and Morocco, they drew 1-1 to the former and got hammered 0-3 by the latter leaving them bottom of Group A and on that ‘stupid plane’ home that Del Amitri feared.

Heck, we really were in the era of ‘lad culture’ back in the late 90s weren’t we? In her intro to yet another female artist on tonight’s show, Jo Whiley says “a woman who’ll always get her tassels out for the lads, this is Mariah Carey”. Or does she say “tonsils” not tassels? The subtitles say ‘tassels’. Either way, you were better than this Jo surely?! Or was she perhaps using irony to undermine the “get your t**s out for the lads” line? Nah, I think she was going along with the predominant narrative.

Anyway, Mariah is here with her new single “My All” which was taken from her “Butterfly” album the lead single from which (“Honey”) had combined hip-hop and R&B and gone Top 3. Its follow up – the album’s title track – was a pop gospel ballad which had only managed a high of No 22. As a result, Mariah edged her bets with her next release as “My All” is both a ballad and an R&B dance track. The first 2:20 of the track is in a slow paced, whispered vocals style reminiscent of Toni Braxton but with Latin guitars before the bpm winds up (the subtitles literally say ‘Beat kicks in, audience cheers’) and Mariah gets almost hysterical proclaiming she’d risk her life to feel someone’s body. Blimey! The blending of styles worked and gave Ms Carey a No 4 hit here and yet another Stateside chart topper. As with Alexia before her, there were loads of different mixes of the track to accommodate every radio station sub genre and she also recorded a Spanish version but the first line of that version was mistranslated and was grammatically incorrect. As a blogger, I can confirm that these things matter you know.

And so we get to the second football song of the night and like Del Amitri’s, it’s also the official World Cup song for a competing nation but this time England. After the terrace anthem and official song that was “Three Lions” just two years prior for Euro ‘96, the English FA wanted to go in a different direction for the ‘98 World Cup. The result was “(How Does It Feel) To Be On Top Of The World” by England United who were Echo and the Bunnymen, Ocean Colour Scene, Space and, rather inexplicably, the Spice Girls. The song was written by Ian McCulloch and Johnny Marr though the latter wasn’t officially part of England United. The reaction to it was overwhelmingly negative. ‘You can’t sing it on the terraces’ seemed to be the main complaint about it but I think, in truth, its major failing was that it wasn’t “Three Lions”, a song so durable, it still to this day gets trotted out for every international tournament. Indeed, the first reworking of it would will be along in the next repeat and would easily outsell “(How Does It Feel) To Be On Top Of The World” reaching No 1 again. According to Wikipedia, when the latter was played at Wembley in a pre-World Cup friendly, the crowd that day booed it.

Going against national taste once more, I quite liked the England United effort. Sure, it wasn’t much of a football song but it was a decent track. It’s nicely constructed and has an uplifting, soar away chorus. I wonder actually, if it was ultimately rejected as a potential Echo and the Bunnymen release for being too pop? As for the other artists on the record, I’m not entirely sure what linked them altogether. OK, you could draw a very basic line between The Bunnymen, Space and Ocean Colour Scene as being rock/pop groups whose paths might have crossed at some point or another? The first two were both Liverpool bands of course so there might be a potential association there but the Spice Girls? Mel C was another scouser so was there a link there? Talking of the Spice Girls, as with the “Viva Forever” performance the other week, this TOTP appearance was also clearly recorded some time previous to its broadcast date as the recently departed Geri Halliwell features and executive producer Chris Cowey must have thought himself doubly lucky to have another bit of film with Ginger Spice there in the ranks still. She doesn’t look too unhappy with her lot in life, bouncing around deliriously alongside Mel C and Emma Bunton. If anything you might have thought Victoria and Mel B were the ones potentially uncommitted to the cause, separated from the other three on the other side of Ian McCulloch and Simon Fowler of Ocean Colour Scene and turning in a much more reserved performance. So there you have it. England United. The forgotten English football song. I don’t see it being revived any time soon.

B*Witched remain at No 1 with “C’est La Vie”. Watching this performance back, it’s clear that they were being promoted as purveyors of bouncy, good time, care free pop music. The catchy tune, the hyper-energetic dance routine…and yet behind the image, as all too often happens, there was sadness, despair and dark times. The ridiculously long days the group would work and their relentless schedule was sometimes too much. So much that in the case of Keavy Lynch, it would cause a major mental health issue. Keavy is an interesting figure in pop being an identical twin whose sister was chosen as the focal point of an internationally successful group over her. That must mess with your head! Are there any other cases of this? The Proclaimers are identical twins but they very much come as a pair and are seen as a unit. I love The Proclaimers and I’m not sure I know which one is which! Bros? Again, I’m not sure that the screams and adulation were reserved just for singer Matt Goss. As the vocalist, I guess he commanded more profile than his drummer brother Luke but they had a ready made stooge in bassist Craig ‘Ken’ Logan. Maybe the other B*Witched members Lindsay Armaou and Sinead O’Carroll felt aggrieved as well as Keavy but they didn’t have the mind f**k that the chosen lead singer looked exactly like them. Having to sing a song called “C’est La Vie” just twisted the knife a little deeper.

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1Mousse T featuring Hot ‘N’ JuicyHorny ’98No
2Lutricia McNealStrandedNah
3Shania TwainWhenAbsolutely not
4Alexia Gimme LoveNope
5Del AmitriDon’t Come Home To SoonNo but I had it on a Best Of album of theirs
6Mariah CareyMy AllBig NO
7England United(How Does It Feel) To Be On Top Of The WorldIt’s another no
8B*WitchedC’Est La VieAnd no

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/m002jmlm/top-of-the-pops-12061998?seriesId=unsliced

TOTP 05 JUN 1998

Posted on by 80stastic

I’m nearly 30! Back in 1998 that is. I’m pushing 60 now. Where did all the time go? I’ll tell you where all the time goes these days – on writing this blog! Two TOTP repeats a week is hard work. I’m sure BBC4 only used to air one show every seven days when I first started doing this back in 2017. Much more manageable. Anyway, it’s my choice so I’ll just have to quit my bellyaching and get on with it. So, back in 1998, this particular TOTP was broadcast the day before my 30th birthday and to mark the milestone my wife and I went to Edinburgh for the weekend. Having looked at the running order for this one, I can see English, Irish and Welsh artists but nobody Scottish. As ever then, I was out of step with the musical tastes of the British record buying public!

Our host is Jo Whiley (who seems to be trying out Björk’s hairstyle for size) and we start with an Australian in the diminutive form of Natalie Imbruglia who is experiencing a form of diminishing returns as her third single “Wishing I Was There” peaks at its debut position of No 19. “Torn” and “Big Mistake” had both been No 2 hits with the former especially being a huge commercial and airplay success. This one, however, couldn’t replicate said success and watching this performance, I can see and hear why. There’s a lot of posturing, growling and attitude from Natalie but there’s not much of an actual song to hang it all onto. The overall effect is that of an overly eager Alanis Morissette wannabe. The rock guitar ending seems especially over the top. Bizarrely, a fourth single released from her “Left Of The Middle” album called “Smoke” would return her to the Top 5. You tell me.

The Irish contingent is represented next by Boyzone. Now this track. – “All That I Need” – was No 1 ages ago (the show dated 1st May to be exact) and was not even in the Top 20 at this point so what was it doing back on the show? Well, this seems to be a case of more performance recycling from executive producer Chris Cowey. He’s shoehorned this one in under the guise of the lads’ latest album “Where We Belong” being No 1 on the album chart but that’s seems like a flimsy bit of reasoning. An album chart section wasn’t a regular feature (I think it was back in the ‘year zero’ revamp era) so why bring it back now? Will we see it in every show from now on? Nah, I’m not buying it (the album chart grift not this Boyzone single though obviously I didn’t buy that either).

Here come the Welsh! Yes, it’s those alt rockers, those power poppers, those neo-psychedelics (I’ve no idea what I’m talking about!) the Super Furry Animals with the title track of an EP no less called “Ice Hockey Hair”. To quote Chris Tarrant, this is what the kids wanted! Something to make them think, to question the established norms and to fuck with their heads! Not that bland nonsense Boyzone were pedalling! And for once, maybe the kids were listening as this became The Furries highest charting single to date when it debuted at No 12 after their last five hits had all peaked between Nos 27 and 22. This was also a favourite of the inkies music press with Melody Maker naming it the tenth best single of the year and the NME proclaiming it the second. And why not? It’s a glorious mix of styles with some reviews detecting Queen, ELO, Pavement and Wings combined with what the NME termed “mad, techno squalling”. But what was “Ice Hockey Hair”? Well, it was another term for the mullet hairstyle that the band picked up from a conversation with a Swedish football player (as you do).

The EP’s opening track was a little ditty called “Smokin’” which was used to soundtrack a Channel 4 series about the Seven Deadly Sins and, in particular, the episode about ‘Sloth’ presented by Howard Marks. Yes, that Howard Marks so you can guess what the track was about. It should be of no surprise though as the Super Furry Animals weren’t afraid to push the boundaries. In fact, the band didn’t give a fuck. Ahem.

This next song represents the countries of Turkey, Germany and England – this is “Horny ‘98” by Mousse T versus Hot ‘n’ Juicy. Now depending on your point of view, this was either a cheeky, cheesy dance floor banger or utter filth which was corrupting the pure minds of the young generation. Actually, there’s a third option which was to find it, like me, just plain annoying. Mousse T is Mustafo Gündoğdu, a German-Turkish DJ and producer whose CV includes the accolade of being one of Germany’s first producers of house music and, by way of contrast, a stint as a judge on the German version of Pop Idol. Hot ‘n’ Juicy were Emma Lanford and Nadine Richardson who lived in a tower block in the former Lee Bank estate of Birmingham. There doesn’t seem an obvious connection between the two camps but at some point their paths crossed and “Horny ‘98” was the result. Listening to the track today, it seems quite repetitive (if catchy) but maybe that was requisite to be a club anthem? I don’t know. I was nearly 30 so I don’t think I was frequenting that many nightclubs at the time. I can imagine though that women up and down the country were receiving unsolicited attention from many a drunken male reveller whose opening line was “I’m horny, horny, horny, horny”. The whole thing was just awful.

What’s happening here? A performance of a song that wouldn’t be released as a single for six weeks and which host Jo Whiley says we weren’t meant to see until July? Ah but…there’s some headline-making, mitigating circumstances at play here which my last post was based around – Geri Halliwell leaving the Spice Girls. Right, so there’s a lot to unpack here starting with the insight from Whiley that some TOTP performances were filmed way ahead of release schedules. “Viva Forever” would not be in the record shops until 20th July yet here it was on TOTP on the 5th June! Was this standard practice? Certainly you can tell from some of the presenter links in these shows that the artists are not in the studio with the host at the same time. In the case of the Spice Girls though, there were some very specific circumstances peculiar to this single. The release schedule for “Viva Forever” was a mess. Originally reported as being out as a double A-side with the track “Never Give Up On The Good Times” on May 25th, it never appeared presumably because the group were on their Spiceworld tour and not available to do promotional duties. I’m guessing that this TOTP appearance was squeezed in to be kept until “Viva Forever” was in the charts before its broadcast. Then came the ‘Geri’s leaving’ bombshell but the tour had to continue and so the single’s release date was shifted three times in July before its ultimate appearance.

Given the seismic waves felt by the Halliwell departure, did Chris Cowey realise the footage that he had on his hands with the five piece performing together for possibly the last time was golden and so put it out there as almost an historical document? Then there’s the performance itself. Geri is hardly in it! She has no close ups and is it me or does she seem to be standing slightly away from the rest of the group, isolating herself? Was this how it was originally shot or had some heavy editing taken place post the news of her leaving breaking? If so, why? And if that was how it was originally recorded, also…why? Jo Whiley seems to take great delight in the splintering of the Spice Girls making wisecracks about them performing through gritted teeth. What about the song itself (and that video) though? Well look, it will be No 1 and for two weeks within a few repeats so I’ll keep my powder dry until then but for the record, I thought it was actually OK.

Widening this international array of artists on tonight’s show even further is Cuban-American superstar Gloria Estefan who has been away for a couple of years but was back with new single “Heaven’s What I Feel”. And when I say ‘widening this international array’, I mean stretching it like an elastic band as Gloria’s song was also recorded in Spanish as “Corazón Prohibdo” and French as “Amour Infini”. It received generally positive reviews with plaudits for it being a pop/dance crossover hit and for the fact that Estefan hadn’t resorted to a big ballad as she had done for so many of her hits previously. It sounds to me though like a song from a musical, moving a Romeo and Juliet style plot along but with enough beats to keep the audience tapping their feet. Actually, has there been a Gloria Estefan jukebox musical?

*checks internet*

Yes, there has. I thought there was and it’s called On Your Feet! and guess what? “Heaven’s What I Feel” is not one of the numbers featured in it. Missed a trick there Gloria.

We’re back in dear old Blighty next with “four young ladies who are widely tipped to be the next big thing” according to Jo Whiley. Wow! Who can she be talking about? No, she can’t mean N–Tyce can she?! The All Saints wannabes (check out their carbon copy cargo pants) who’d been around for a year, released three singles of which none got higher than No 12 and whose album peaked at No 44?! That N-Tyce? Couldn’t Whiley have come up with a more suitable intro? It’s almost sarcastic in its tone. “Boom Boom” was the fourth and final of those singles and it really is lowest common denominator stuff. The lyrics to the chorus are:

“Ooh it’s boom boom, hey it’s boom boom, yeah it’s boom boom, ooh it’s boom boom”

It’s not Radiohead is it? Apologies to Ario, Chantal, Donna and Michelle (yes I obviously had to look their names up) and they could, of course say “who are you to judge us and our four medium sized hits? Where’s your hits?” and that would be absolutely valid but ‘the next big thing’? No chance.

Our international tour finishes back in Ireland where we find, according to Jo Whiley in her intro, the youngest ever all girl group to have a No 1 record. Not only that but they’ve gone straight in week one at the top which not even the Spice Girls nor All Saints could lay claim to. Now surely these girls were the act that you should have been referring to as ‘the next big thing’ Jo? Two of the four piece act are the sisters of Boyzone’s Shane Lynch, a connection which actually works against my global theme rather. Three people not just from the same country but from the same family across two different acts. It’s all a bit parochial.

B*Witched appeared fully formed seemingly from nowhere and went straight to the top with their debut release “C’est La Vie”. Every year during the late 90s there seemed to be a single that would cause a selling sensation – “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt, “MMMBop” by Hanson, “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees and now this one. The very definition of joyful, this bubbly (if cheesy) pop confection bounced around your head almost as energetically as the girls bounced around the TOTP studio stage whilst performing it. Seriously, the whole thing was just exhausting. In some ways, it was preposterous. The Irish dancing breakdown section is sonically and visually ludicrous and the “Fight like me Da as well” line cranks up the cringe factor but somehow it all hangs together and just works. Indeed, the bridge into the chorus is almost pop perfection.

“C’est La Vie” would kickstart a period of undiluted and outright commercial success for the group with their first four singles all going to No 1 whilst their debut eponymous album went double platinum. That level of popularity proved hard to maintain and, almost inevitably, there was a downturn in sales come the release of second album “Awake And Breathe” and its attendant singles. By the time it came to recording a third album, the jig was up and they were dropped by their label Sony leading to the group splitting in 2002. Their management’s decision to base the vocals and focal point around Edele Lynch probably didn’t help build career longevity with the resentment it caused amongst the other group members. Those tensions were brought out into the open again when a spot on ITV reality show The Big Reunion in 2012 reactivated the B*Witched name but they were resolved enough that they could tour again and release new material in the form of two EPs.

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1Natalie ImbrugliaWishing I Was ThereI did not
2BoyzoneAll That I NeedNever
3Super Furry AnimalsIce Hockey HairLiked it, didn’t buy it
4Mousse T versus Hot ‘n’ JuicyHorny ’98Definitely not
5Spice GirlsViva ForeverNope
6Gloria EstefanHeaven’s What I FeelNah
7N-TyceBoom BoomNo
8B*WitchedC’est La VieNo but it was a favourite of my wife’s

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/m002j9qq/top-of-the-pops-05061998?seriesId=unsliced