Double helpings today starting with.......

 

38. LOLA’S THEME- The Shapeshifters (264,000)

 

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/000/006/0000000674_350.jpg

 

YEAR: 2004

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS ON CHART: 15

 

I never knew that half of the Shapeshifters was Swedish but there you go. The “Lola” involved was the wife of one of the band members and was a working title that stuck after the band came across a record in her collection by Johnny Taylor called “What About My Love” from 1982 which was used as a sample extensively throughout the track. Promoted on TV over the summer of 04 (it was originally released as an instrumental in 03 in limited quantities) the sample was re-recorded and vocals put on meaning that there was little doubt this would make No 1 upon release.

 

SWE: 41 FIN: 9 DEN: 17

 

37. LIFE IS A FLOWER- Ace Of Base (269,000)

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lGNzzcfnXxE/UPKZzUl8QQI/AAAAAAAAB44/2pU9DhaAIoY/s1600/Ace%20Of%20Base%20-%20Life%20Is%20a%20Flower.jpg

 

YEAR: 1998

PEAK POSITION: 5

WKIS ON CHART: 11

 

Few predicted that Ace of Base would have another top 10 hit after a barren spell in that respect since 1994, however this lead single from third album “Flowers” proved the doubters wrong. Its lyrics were re-written for the US market and the track re-titled “Whenever You’re Near Me” in order to make it a hit, they needn’t have bothered as it still floundered at No 76 there.

 

SWE: 5 NOR: 20 FIN: 3 DEN: 2

 

I wish I could go back to 1998. :(

36. SUN IS SHINING- Funkstar De Luxe Vs Bob Marley (273,000)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Bob_marley_vs_funkstar_de_luxe-sun_is_shining_s.jpg

 

YEAR: 1999

PEAK POSITION: 3

WKS ON CHART: 10

 

Dating back to 1971 in its original form, it took a certain Martin Ottesen AKA Funkstar De Luxe to pluck from the back catalogue and propel it into the top 10. It was the first time that permission had been granted by the Marley estate to release a remix of the singer’s work.

 

SWE: 17 NOR: 8 FIN: 8

 

LOOOOVE "Life Is A Flower". :heart: Great comeback track.

 

"Lola's Theme" is very good too, but gets extremely annoying when you hear it over & over again (i.e. like it was in 2004).

Lola's Theme :wub: Brilliant sales for it considering when it was released!

35. RELEASE ME- Agnes (273,000)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Agnes_Release_me.jpg

 

YEAR: 2009

PEAK POSITION: 3

WKS ON CHART: 17

 

A prime piece of Scandipop up next with Agnes’s first international release and still her only top 20 hit, the follow up track “I Need You Now” just scraped into the top 40. However she’s a much more famous star back in her native Sweden where she won a series of “Swedish Idol” and even tried out for Eurovision.

SWE: 9 NOR: 6 DEN: 6

 

34. ALL I EVER WANTED- Basshunter (277,000)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7f/All_I_Ever_Wanted_Basshunter_single.jpg/220px-All_I_Ever_Wanted_Basshunter_single.jpg

 

YEAR: 2008

PEAK POSITION: 2

WKS ON CHART: 16

 

A song whose roots lie in 2000 and in a track called “Daddy DJ” by DJ Daddy which did nothing here but was big in Europe and forms the basis of this Basshunter hit. It was released in Sweden in 2006 as “Vi sitter i ventrilo och spelar dotA” and was re-written into English for his follow up to the massive “Now You’re Gone”.

SWE: 58 NOR: 3

 

"Release Me" is GLORIOUS *.* I absolutely loved it at the time and still do now! The parent album is also very good, it's a shame the UK release was so messed up though, but that was to be expected from her UK record label. "Lola's Theme" is also very good, one that I didn't like at the time but fully appreciate it for a great piece of mid-00s dance now! :D

33. BUFFALO STANCE- Neneh Cherry (279,000)

 

http://www.gavinbradley.com/linernotes/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/buffalostance.jpg

 

YEAR: 1988

PEAK POSITION: 3

WKS ON CHART: 13

 

This track first appeared as a B-side to a track called “looking Good Diving” by Morgan-McVey in 1986 and produced by non other then S/A/W and yes Cherry sung vocals on that version. Some two years later Cherry reworked the track into “Buffalo Stance” (meaning to stand as though posing for a photoshoot) with the infinitely more trendy Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass on production credits and it headed for the top 3. Cherry was 8 months pregnant at the time and still performed on TOTP!

 

SWE: 1 NOR: 3

 

Buffalo Stance is an important part of my life.

"Buffalo Stance": :wub: :wub: Nothing imperfect about it! I really like "Release Me" too, Agnes deserved more than one hit in the UK with "On & On" and "I Need You Now".

'Lay All Your Love On Me' had sold 21,000 UK Downloads by May 2010. In 1980, I knew many ABBA

Fans who thought it was one of the best Tracks on 'Super Trouper'. But, when it came out as an

expensive 12" Single in 1981 - not even extended - several ABBA Fans, I knew refused to buy it.

It really was regarded as a rip off. (One ABBA Fan, I knew, went to buy it in her lunch hour, &

came back without it. She called it a 'con job', & no way was she paying double the price of a normal

Single for it, when it was not even extended. So 2ABBA really shot themselves in the foot, with the

stupid way they released that Single!).

 

So, the Track itself was fine. It was how it was released that put a lot of people off buying it.

 

ABBA never did understand such matters. In 1980, Epic Records had tried to stop Bowie's 'Ashes To Ashes'

rising from 4 to 1, & knocking 'The Winner Takes It All' off the top spot. They rush released a 12" version

of 'TWTIA', in a Gatefold Sleeve. But, they wanted £3 for it, & it was not even remixed or extended. It was

even more of a con than the 12" 'LAYLOM' in 1981. Needless to say, Bowie went to No.1, & the poor value

ABBA 12" did not stop 'Winner' falling from No.1 to No.2.....

 

 

I think you're being very harsh by blaming Abba for the release ("ABBA really shot themselves in the foot, with the

stupid way they released that Single", " ABBA never did understand such matters"), the 12" releases were solely the decision of CBS/Epic.

 

"The Winner Takes It All" gatefold 12" was such a limited edition anyway that it would have had little impact on the number one slot that week - it took me years to track down a copy by which time the price had gone up massively. These days of course they go for about a tenner plus P&P on Ebay.

 

I wish I could go back to 1998. :(

 

I was just thinking that myself after listening to 'Life Is A Flower'. YouTube'd the rewritten version and it isn't anywhere near as good as 'LIAF'.

 

Anyways, this thread continues to be brilliant, so many brilliant songs. :D Also never realised there was a Swedish connection with Shapeshifters. Always thought they were a UK based dance act.

 

The only song that I can't stand is 'All I Ever Wanted' by Basshunter. One of the worst dance hits of 2008 imo. :lol:

Life Is A Flower is sooo good. Shame I didn't rate it that much at the time.

Life Is A Flower and Release Me are two of the only GREAT songs they regularly hammer where I work. Despite a LOT of competition, Life Is A Flower is my favourite Ace Of Base single, gloriously summery and cheery. And Release Me is a stunning pop song, it topped my personal chart before it had even charted in Sweden, I was hooked instantly. Needless to say I assumed it would go the way of every other Swedish song that I love and not get a UK release. I was absolutely amazed when it smashed into the top three here but it was fully deserved.

32. WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT- Robyn Vs Kleerup (283,000)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/Robyn_-_With_Every_Heartbeat.jpg/220px-Robyn_-_With_Every_Heartbeat.jpg

 

YEAR: 2007

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS ON CHART: 25

 

It had been 9 years since Robyn had been on the UK charts and that wasn’t expected to change with the release of her fourth album “Robyn”. Indeed first single “Konichiwa Bitches” had only just scraped the top 100 and didn’t look good for the era but this inspired track caught the attention of Radio 1 who playlisted it and used it on adverts for the station that summer, it took just a fortnight to power to No 1.

 

SWE: 23 DEN: 7

 

31. CRY FOR YOU- September (293,000)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/September-cry_for_you-uk.jpg

 

YEAR: 2008

PEAK POSITION: 5

WKS ON CHART: 22

 

With a nice slice of borrowing of “Smalltown Boy” this became by far the biggest hit for Petra Marklund who had been big domestically since 2003. “Cry For You” actually saw the light of day in 2006 in Sweden where it went top 10 but it took 18 months to be picked up by hard2beat in the UK and we lapped it up.

 

SWE: 6 FIN: 13 DEN: 10

 

Wow, two fabulous tracks for the price of one. :wub: "With Every Heartbeat" is still flawless and the "Smalltown Boy" samples pretty much makes "Cry For You" still a joy.

30. BIG BIG WORLD- Emilia (306,000)

 

http://991.com/newgallery/Emilia-Big-Big-World-127134.jpg

 

YEAR:; 1998

PEAK POSITION: 5

WKS ON CHART: 13

 

Swede Emilia Rydberg proved just what a small world Swedish pop was when she was discovered by Lars Anderson, son of Stig who of course managed the giants of Scandinavian pop ABBA. Considered by many to be a one hit wonder Emilia never managed to crack the top 50 after this debut hit which owes its rather healthy sales to being big at Christmas time 1998. A comeback of sorts in 2012 reminded us all of her again.

 

SWE: 1 NOR: 1 FIN: 4