14TH SEPTEMBER- FANTASY- Appleton (1 wk)

 

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/000/473/0000047391_350.jpg

 

"Solo" records are always a potentially dodgy affair, after all how much do you try to carry your former audience with you and how much to strive for something new? Famously half of the quartet in All Saints, the Appleton sisters struck out as a combo with this promising first offering.

 

It's kinda Natalie Imbruglia-esque in execution (though you suspect she'd have given this a bit more gusto) and the chorus is much better than the rather lame verses which are pretty forgettable all told. In fact this is rather reminiscent of "Big Mistake" without the punch, their case for stardom was rather hampered by the suspicion in most corners that the girls themselves were very hard to warm too, anyone witnessing Natalie Appleton's performance on "I'm a celebrity" was certainly not under any impression that it painted her in a positive light.

 

Passable but rather forgettable.

 

 

21ST SEPTEMBER- GOT TO HAVE YOUR LOVE- Liberty X (1 Wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/Avoiramour.jpg

 

Originally a 1990 top 5 hit for Mantronix, this is a rather perfunctory cover does nothing to make the song better or new. Its rather note for note in fact and you can't help but thing that the group were stuck for a follow up hit to the massive "Just A Little" which had become their sole No 1 back in May 2002. Their problem was, in part, that they were always relatively amateur, like 5 individuals who were just chancing their luck in the world of pop and even at this early point of their career they were far more "Heat" magazine fodder than was wise for a group who wanted to be taken seriously.

 

Michelle Heaton had quickly become a media favourite with a permatan that would occasionally put Jordan to shame, and Kevin Simm was off "The Games" (remember that?) making the day job look even more like a side line. Having been formed from the rejects of "Popstars" they had outlasted victors Hear'Say it's true but the liking for the celebrity lifestyle proved the precursor to a lacklustre pop career. Though they amassed 8 top 10 hits (not a bad tally) only a few were truly palatable the excellent "Thinking It Over" and "Song For Lovers" come to mind, in the end they just seemed to fizzle out in 2006

 

21ST SEPTEMBER- GOT TO HAVE YOUR LOVE- Liberty X (1 Wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/Avoiramour.jpg

 

Originally a 1990 top 5 hit for Mantronix, this is a rather perfunctory cover does nothing to make the song better or new. Its rather note for note in fact and you can't help but thing that the group were stuck for a follow up hit to the massive "Just A Little" which had become their sole No 1 back in May 2002. Their problem was, in part, that they were always relatively amateur, like 5 individuals who were just chancing their luck in the world of pop and even at this early point of their career they were far more "Heat" magazine fodder than was wise for a group who wanted to be taken seriously.

 

Michelle Heaton had quickly become a media favourite with a permatan that would occasionally put Jordan to shame, and Kevin Simm was off "The Games" (remember that?) making the day job look even more like a side line. Having been formed from the rejects of "Popstars" they had outlasted victors Hear'Say it's true but the liking for the celebrity lifestyle proved the precursor to a lacklustre pop career. Though they amassed 8 top 10 hits (not a bad tally) only a few were truly palatable the excellent "Thinking It Over" and "Song For Lovers" come to mind, in the end they just seemed to fizzle out in 2006

By far the best Liberty X song was Holding On For You - still adore it now!

5TH OCTOBER- LITTLE BY LITTLE/ SHE IS LOVE- Oasis (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/LittleByLittleSheIsLove.jpg

 

I've always had a lot of time for "Little By Little", it's much more subtle and low key than the overly bombastic sounding SCYHO to my ears. Either that or it sounds much more like Oasis crica 1996 ad to this day remains my favourite single they released in the 00s. With a video starring Robert Carlyle and Noel sole vocal it strikes me as a much classier affair than previous singles from "Heathen Chemistry", certainly more thought out and less Oasis on auto-pilot.

 

There's also another truth here, it's a prime example of how good Noel CAN be as a lyricist, lines like "We dream our dreams alone with no resistance/ Fading like the stars we wish to be/

Why know I didn't meanwhat I just said/ But my God woke up on the wrong side of his bed" are actually quite poetic, a quality that he is rarely given credit for, the press always surrounding Liam's rather more succint pronouncements and the band's working class roots.

 

"She Is Love" is a light breezy acoustic love song that is hard to dislike and equally hard to remember one it's over, indeed scant attention was paid to the track at the time and a promo for it was never aired, so despite this being the band's only double A-Side release, here it really is only about LBL in reality.

 

12TH OCTOBER- DOWN BOY- Holly Valance (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Hollydownboycover.jpg

 

From the pop majesty of "Kiss Kiss" (although that had little to do with Valance) to THIS. I never really could tell if this song had any real chorus to speak of, a song that is sold to the audience not really on the basis that this is a cracking tune or not rather as a vehicle to state how sexy Holly Valance proportedly is.

 

It trades on a very vaguely sounding middle eastern pop sound much like its predecessor but without the killer chorus and thusly seems to meander around aimlessly. Its appeearance in this thread therefore is entirely down to the fact that "Kiss Kiss" was so successful and that she probably got her clothes off in FHM or Loaded in the month of its release- clever girl.

 

19TH OCTOBER- NEW DIRECTION- S Club Juniors (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/New_Direction_single.jpg

 

OK so "Automatic High" was shocklingly meh, BUT this actually put them back in my good books, it's no "One Step Further" but it's a bit of a more sophisticated sounding record from them. I recall clubbing at the time and the only version of this you heard was the mix incorporating Space's 1977 No 2 hit "Magic Fly" which admittedly added to my love for this track.

 

The "Kids" sound significantly less "heliumised" on the track (perhaps voices had broken?) but unlike their previous track this probably does deserve to be in this thread. Indeed the group managed to join a select number of groups who managed to score a hat-trick of No 2 hits in their career (not done since Five in 1998/9) and yes I KNOW I should hate these records but I just can't alright!.......

 

New Direction is the ONLY S Club Juniors song that I would rate higher than 7/10, it's actually pretty decent.

02ND NOVEMBER- LIKE I LOVE YOU- Justin Timberlake (1 Wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/Jt_likeiloveyou.jpg

 

Of all the songs released in late 2002 nothing sums up the period liek this. I FLIPPIN LOVE IT. A track so ruthlessly ambitious that it sets out its aims at the beginning of his career so patently- in short this is step one on making the biggest pop star of the decade. Curiously it's also a record plagued with doubts and insecurities about this fact as well, cutting edge production thanks to the neptunes (who had steered N*Sync's last single "Girlfriend" to this position) it's a record clinically polished and finished, with nothing out of place, almost sterile in an odd way.

 

Striking out on your own must be daunting but it's as if Timberlake knows that striking out from a boy band is a harder trick to pull than most. OK so parts of the record, and even the vocal techniques are obviously "borrowed" from Jackson (in his heyday), the record pleads, and so obviously wants, to be liked but here's the catch and what I think makes it an ultimate success. Most records that attempt to be so very "now" and on trend do, as a consequence, tend to sound very dated very quickly, yet I believe that "Like I Love You" still sounds fresh and cound still hit No 1 if released today, that Timberlake changed his career plan around 2007 remains a mystery but that he even had an option is an incredible feat

 

 

New Direction is excellent, though not as good as Fool No More and Sundown.

"Like I Love You" is really rather great, it's odd that he's only got one #1 as the lead artist ("SexyBack" probably is his best single though) but he had the ability back in the middle of the decade to become the biggest pop star of this generation bar none. Probably still can if he puts his mind to it.

30TH NOVEMBER- DON'T LET ME DOWN/ YOU AND I- Will Young (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/WYDLMD1.jpg

 

Charity records are a funny old affair really, usually dreadful covers or sappy ballads (and often both) and here's Will Contribution for "Children In Need". It was with a sense of satisfaction (I think) that he would deprive the CIN single of the top slot just 12 months after this, but back in 2002 he was still a creature of Simon Cowell fresh from the "Pop Idol" victory adn to be fair "You And I" isn't actually that bad, much more dynamic certainly than the non event that is "Don't Let Me Down" (much better verses than a chorus).

 

With a chorus that almost emerges from nowhere it's certainly one of the best things on his debut album with less of the theatricalities and vocal flicks that surround much of his initial output. Obviously no "Leave Right Now" but all that was still in front of him, perhaps that this was seen as a "failure" after 3 straight No 1's (and this was widely tipped to follow suit) allowed him a little space to make that follow up album with less stress and expectation, given all of that I'd be surprised if many people, outside of Will fans, who would recall either track and even by Christmas 2002 the track had left the top 20 still rather nice to hear again after all this time.

 

7TH DECEMBER- THE LAST GOODBYE/ BE WITH YOU- Atomic Kitten ( 1wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Atomic_Kitten_Last_Goodbye_single.jpg

 

I'm very much a fan of the later Kitten work (02-04 period), the awful "Ladies Night" aside, and whilst "It's OK" started my love for them it was this song that sealed it. "Last Goodbye" is a sweet little winter warmer about love gone wrong, it's actually one of their more simpler and heartfelt songs with an earnestness that makes you cling it to your heart and harmonies which are actually quite good, certainly in comparison to early Kitten work, it's a song that makes me all warm in the heart- not an easy thing I can tell you!

 

"Be With You" is just the opposite, an uptempo dance track borrowing heavily from ELO's "Last Train To London", oddly it's also a slightly melancholic air to it, a mix of depression and dancefloor magic that I've never been able to ignore (I blame 80s PSB records for that). It's a combination that makes this after "Someone Like Me" my favourite Atomic Kitten ever- yes it's THAT good!

 

 

You and I is excellent and beautiful track - it really showed the direction Will would go with album 2. Probably one of my fave Will songs to this day.

 

Be With You has always been my fave Atomic Kitten song - good to see some love Gezza!

14TH SEPTEMBER- FANTASY- Appleton (1 wk)

 

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/000/473/0000047391_350.jpg

 

"Solo" records are always a potentially dodgy affair, after all how much do you try to carry your former audience with you and how much to strive for something new? Famously half of the quartet in All Saints, the Appleton sisters struck out as a combo with this promising first offering.

 

It's kinda Natalie Imbruglia-esque in execution (though you suspect she'd have given this a bit more gusto) and the chorus is much better than the rather lame verses which are pretty forgettable all told. In fact this is rather reminiscent of "Big Mistake" without the punch, their case for stardom was rather hampered by the suspicion in most corners that the girls themselves were very hard to warm too, anyone witnessing Natalie Appleton's performance on "I'm a celebrity" was certainly not under any impression that it painted her in a positive light.

 

Passable but rather forgettable.

Great song, and I disagree it needs more "punch" to it. It's clearly aiming for more sensuality to its sound rather than being an all-out rocker IMO. Of course whether or not it achieves that still is debatable but I actually think Natalie in particular has a great voice in that respect.

 

I also LOVE Down Boy but I can't exactly disagree with your review of it either - an acquired taste, perhaps. :lol: I think the thing that makes me laugh the most about it is the way they covered her lack of singing ability by letting her MUMBLE her way through the track. Holly was actually one of my favourite things about '02/03 I confess - talentless she might be but she made great pop tunes and I bought all of her singles and both albums. Also fancied her a bit too, of course - she was such a siren compared to what I was used to before!

 

Was never that fond of Like I Love You, I'm afraid. Personally find it bordering on corny. Neither was I that fond of Justin Timberlake as a solo artist (even though I always felt I should like him, something always put me off) but his next two entries to come in this thread are MUCH better.

Edited April 29, 201213 yr by superbossanova

14TH DECEMBER- CHEEKY SONG (TOUCH MY BUM)- Cheeky Girls (4 wks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Cheeky_song_(touch_my_bum).jpg

 

There is a long line of "comedy" records and novelty hits in British Pop and whilst the Newspapers may have a"silly" season (around August time when real news is thin on the ground) so too does pop music, and it is most assuredly Christmas time.

 

Seems when we're drunk we're far more tolerant of pure crap than at any other time and here's an example of a VERY thin joke that went on far too long. The girls were of course catapulted to fame off the back of an atrocias display on "Pop Stars: The Rivals" and delivered up this track which I am reliably informed was very big on the playgrounds of the UK back in Dec 02, a kind of song to a younger generation what "Agadoo" was to me, school disco/ kids party favourite that we've long since grown out of now. That they managed to score three other top 10 hits to boot amazes perhaps, then I recall that the girls were on practically every TV show going at the time (perhaps acutely aware of the limited time span they had). More "Fame" was to be had to when one fo the girls started dating Liberal MP Lembit Opik, but I was to get my own bit of revenge this year when, on my birthday, Gabriela was arrested for shop lifting at Sainsbury's. Karma I tell you!

 

28TH DECEMBER- SACRED TRUST/ AFTER YOU'RE GONE (I'LL STILL BE LOVING YOU) - One True Voice (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Sacred_Trust.jpg

 

Failure, as with success, is all relative, and this failure was of course in direct opposition to the success of Girls Aloud an important factor in understanding quite why the tabloids went for the jugular with One True Voice who probably weren't the worst of the bunch of this time. Of course this is the price you pay when you get launched with such a high level of promotion though of course I suspect a lot of antagonism was directed at Pete Waterman who came across as arrogant and pompous on the programme and had a long history with the press and the "establishment" within the industry dating back to the S/A/W heyday of the late 80s. Indeed quite why Waterman took the boys is a bit of a mystery for whilst he wasn't exactly flush with girl group experience (the Nana's being the standout exception) Walsh (the other judge) had less adn was reknown for Boy band success, Waterman's sole brush with the genre was really Brother Beyond who were a brief fad to say the least.

 

Having said all of that, he did offer the press an open goal with this duo of tracks, a cover of a Bee Gees track which even they deemed only worthy of an album filler, and an utterly forgettable Double A Side. Now by 2002 I would still consider myself as familiar with the hits of the day but I confess until last week I'd never heard "After You're Gone" which perhaps is damning enough in itself but it's really boyband by numbers with a suitable awful cliched video, little if any attempt, at innovation in the genre has been attempted here sadly.

 

Admittedly "Sacred Trust" is slightly better (what did you expect from the Gibb brothers) but its verses are again much better than the chorus. I recall after the competition for the Xmas No 1 was all over the boys acknowledged that as soon as they heard "Sound Of The Underground" they knew they had been beaten. Only one track followed "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" in early 2003 but within 12 months from formation the band had split, though it was clear Waterman lost interest in them virtually from the second they failed to make No 1 with this.

 

Not as bad as some would have you believe but then not good either.....

 

Both awful songs, thank GOD for Sound of the Underground, something really amazing came from Popstars: The Rivals and that was Girls Aloud :wub: Kudos to Louis Walsh for the decision to launch with that instead of the rumoured cover of Stay Another Day as the lead single, which ended up as the b-side.

 

Sacred Trust was just so dated and MOR, and so was their look, it just didn't wash for a boyband that were meant to be the next big thing. After You're Gone is incredibly plain and forgettable too.

18TH JANUARY 2003- DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE- Electric Six (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/ElectricSix_Danger!HighVoltage.jpg

 

For a US band this is always a track that very definitely British at heart, perhaps its the swagger (as Cher Lloyd might say) but back in January 2003 it was an oddity as it seemed to come entirely from leftside. I must admit at the time it rather passed me by unnoticed sadly and I really only "got" it a few years down the line. Helped considerably at the time by the rumour that Jack White is on secondary lead vocals (at varying times denied and then not refuted by the parties) it was the debut hit for the group who had to change their name from The Wildbunch after legal pressure from the rap collective of Massive Attack who used that name also.

 

Perhaps the slightly comedic vocals lend an air of British tongue in cheek humour to the proceedings here, certainly follow up "Gay Bar" only ramps up this feeling but they seemed like have a go popstars entirely reminiscent of 80s british bands who seemed quite amateur in their quest for pop fame, but it all works to perfection. The nod and the wink to those who get the joke implies subtlety and a sense of irony that just seems quite un-american and the fact that the song is catch as hell doesn't harm it either.

 

There's also a strong element of the "performance" here, a song full of quirks, all of which makes their 2004 cover of "Radio Gaga" an entirely natural step for the band. Maybe the joke was a bit too sophisticated for a record buying public who by 2003 were being spoon fed supply of reality popstars every year, but whilst it lasted it was all rather fun!

 

25TH JANUARY- YEAR 3000- Busted (1 wk)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Year_3000_cover.jpg

 

Common agreement appears to state that Busted were pretty awful. On certain records I would have to agree "You Said No" and "Crashed the Wedding" I would have to agree but they also made some quite catchy music that led to them dominating the teen market of 2003 (quite rightly so as the opposition was even more woeful IMO). "Year 3000" is passable, clever lyrics incorporating references to "Back To The Future" are all suitable teenage boyish enough, indeed the plan for Busted seems entirely to have changed quite quickly and we would learn quite quickly not for the better in the eyes of all the the memebers of the band! The music itself attempts to incorporate elements of indie, the boys play the instruments, write their own stuff, albeit there's a lot of McFly on the credits too, and the skating references and iconography all point to an attempt to appeal to their male peers rather than teenage girls.

 

Let's be honest here it was, with deep irony, the looks of Charlie Simpson that led to the championing by such magazines as Smash Hits which led to a level of success that they probably wouldn't have attained otherwise but which led to Simpson's disillusionment with the band and the split in January 2005. The teaming up for the Thunderbirds soundtrack in Aug 2004 seems like a sad admittance that this genre will be theh one they are forever tied to and remembered for which is perhaps the music of Fighstar is so marketedly different, it's probably what Simpson was anticipating the Busted project to be.

 

However that's all in the future for the time being, busted may be remembered for the teen fans and frustrating many by able to enter at No 1 on fanbase sales alone, but I have a soft spot for them if only because they were young lads who became accidental teen hearthrobs.

 

Good work, Gezza.

 

I'm here for 22.03.2002, when my all-time # 1 song reach # 2 in UK charts.

+ I must add some amazing pop songs, which were # 1 in my charts and # 2 in UK. It was really good time for Pure Pop.

Steps, H & Claire, S Club 7, Cheeky Girls, Westlife, Atomic Kitten e.t.c 1997-2003 is my favourite era in music.

Edited August 23, 201311 yr by AlexRange