September 19, 20159 yr A massive comedown after “Boss Drum”, still ok - but really quite mediocre considering their previous form. “Coming On” was the sixth single wasn't it in 1993? It debuted at 18 and climbed to 14 the following week because of the single having to be taken off the shelves in week 1 (temporarily) after they dropped the artist who provided their artwork and the dropped artist subsequently took out an injunction on the new artwork for the single - it ended up re-released later that week in a black sleeve. Bizarre but true. They never once again made the Top 10. I'm pretty certain I bought the original version with artwork then, in fact I think there were 2 CDs housed in one overall package as was getting quite common during the 90s.
September 19, 20159 yr Yes sorry Tony, the single was an EP called Show of Strength (S.O.S.) and the lead single from it was “Comin' On” Here's the banned artwork (which Dandy owns :D ) http://www.discogs.com/Shamen-Show-Of-Stre...release/1916485 and the re-branded black sleeve: http://www.discogs.com/Shamen-SOS-EP-Part-1/release/1916484
September 19, 20159 yr Author Snap! - Exterminate http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/Exterminate.jpg Date 10th Jan 1993 3 Weeks Official Chart Run 7-2-2-2-4-7-13-19-36-50-64- *Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible. So far, not exactly in a hurry with their Madman's Return album campaign (one single in each year 1991, 1992 ) Snap! return to the charts in 1993 with Exterminate. This time with the assistance of Niki Harris. Exterminate wasn't really part of the album campaign in conventional terms. The song is "based on the track Ex-terminator" which did feature on the album but bears very little resemblance to the single release that it might as well be a different song - quite the opposite approach of the KLF who made several songs out of the same hook :D As Turbo D had left the band in 1992 they'd have had trouble promoting a song that featured his raps on it in any case, so perhaps this was also a motivation in releasing a song that didn't have him on it. It was a continent-wide success reaching the Top 5 in 9 territories and hitting the top spot in Spain and Finland. The star here is Niki Harris. Niki was somewhat of a friend of the stars at this point, working closely with Madonna since 1987 and choreographing one of her MTV Awards performances. Her portfolio is world class, having worked as backing singer or choreographer with countless performers, the most famous of whom are Mick Jagger, Prince, Whitney and Kylie. Check your local Wikipedia for a fuller list She held down a career in jazz also and even turned her hand to acting in Heat and staging scenes in Basic Instinct. An all rounder, you could say. Now this is the surprising part - perhaps. This is the last we'll see of Snap! with or without Niki. They continued to have original top 40 hits until the end of 1994 and one of them - Welcome to Tomorrow - would be their slowest rising taking eight weeks to peak at number 6 that year. After some minor hits after that in 1996 we'd regularly see them in the charts with re-releases, most commonly Rhythm is a Dancer. Alas, we must now say goodbye to the most successful dance band of the early 90s in terms of weeks in the official Top 10 and weeks at number 1. Their closest rival is up next. kLcns2KHDTE Edited September 19, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe
September 19, 20159 yr They took so long to follow-up “Rhythm Is A Dancer”... instrumentally this is actually pretty good and really doesn't sound as dated as it should from 1993, though I could do without the Enigma-esque pan pipes! Mostly rather forgotten and definitely not played anymore though as it has been overshadowed so much by its predecessor. At the time I much preferred The Beloved's “Sweet Harmony” which sadly will not be making an appearance in this thread. :(
September 19, 20159 yr Exterminate is pretty good. Love the vocals from Madonna's backup singer, Niki Harris.
September 19, 20159 yr They took so long to follow-up “Rhythm Is A Dancer”... instrumentally this is actually pretty good and really doesn't sound as dated as it should from 1993, though I could do without the Enigma-esque pan pipes! Mostly rather forgotten and definitely not played anymore though as it has been overshadowed so much by its predecessor. At the time I much preferred The Beloved's “Sweet Harmony” which sadly will not be making an appearance in this thread. :( I was obsessed with the Beloved in early 1993 and I still think the Conscience album is a decent enough listen. Sweet Harmony was fantastic but I also really liked 1000 Years From Today, You've Got Me Thinking, Spirit and Dream On. A shame the main single won't appear here, it went through a period of being quite the classic when Ministry of Sound first ventured into chill out albums.
September 21, 20159 yr Their closest rival is up next. Aha, I think I know who that is...no limit to my knowledge.
September 22, 20159 yr Author 2 Unlimited - No Limit http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/no%20limit.jpg Date 31st Jan 1993 9 Weeks Official Chart Run 4-2-1-1-1-1-1-2-4-5-8-10-18-24-43-60 (16 weeks) *Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible. How much can be said about this totemic, iconic staple of 90s eurodance? Ripe for parody ("There's no lyrics" :D ), the song made the duo a household name, established them as a major chart force and help propel them to the top of the album chart as well as dominating the singles charts for quite some time. Once again, the UK release had most of the rap removed at the behest of Pete Waterman (was he the Vidcapper of his day?) - all that was left for Raymond to mime to on Top of the Pops was the repetition of the word "Techno" four times. The Bluebells would take the mick on Top of the Pops a few weeks later by interjecting in their Young At Heart chart topping single a refrain of "indie, indie, indie, indie". It hit number 1 in 9 European countries and sold 2.8 million copies. No Limit remained one of the top 5 biggest selling dance singles of the decade until the late 90s when sales sky rocketed. It is also the current longest reigning number 1s in this run down. Will it keep that accolade? Any guesses for challengers? We will see more of Raymond and Anita in a while. qM5W7Xn7FiA Edited September 23, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe
September 23, 20159 yr Will it keep that accolade? Any guesses for challengers? I suspect there might be challenges from the Vengaboys, Outhere Brothers and, way way off, Eiffel 65. Hmm...what did the Europeans ever do for us?
September 23, 20159 yr Assuming you're counting the remix of the track as being the single, then I'd imagine the longest runner to be a certain unexpected smash that never even made the top 2... (and it would be a great title holder too!) Edited September 23, 20159 yr by dandystar
September 23, 20159 yr Assuming you're counting the remix of the track as being the single, then I'd imagine the longest runner to be a certain unexpected smash that never even made the top 2... Can't work out what that would be - will sit tight and wait :)
September 23, 20159 yr Author Assuming you're counting the remix of the track as being the single, then I'd imagine the longest runner to be a certain unexpected smash that never even made the top 2... (and it would be a great title holder too!) I couldn't possibly comment :P
September 23, 20159 yr "No limit" remains an eyesore on the face of pop music, not even an ironic revision of it can redeem it.
September 23, 20159 yr Author Sybil - When I'm Good And Ready http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/sybil.jpg Date 4th Apr 1993 1 Week Official Chart Run 22-16-8-5-5-5-7-13-16-23-40-54-65 (13 weeks) *Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible. Sybil Lynch arrived in the mid 80s with her wonderful voice and churned out a string of minor hits. It wasn't until her second album that she gained notable popularity updating classic Dionne Warwick songs - Don't Make Me Over and Walk On By (both written by Bacharach/David). Both UK hits. But she wasn't able to maintain the momentum of this recent success and her third album failed to produce any hits at all and so she trundled on in the margins quietly making beautiful music. In 1993, Messrs Aitken and Waterman took advantage of the traditional January slump in the singles market and promptly thrust our starlet into the lime-light with yet another cover, this time it was soul ballad writers Gamble and Huff's song The Love I Lost, made famous by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. This was a huge hit nestling behind Snap! as the second best selling dance single for two weeks in January. By the time March came it was time to follow this up and Aitken and Watermen (lordy, men do love writing songs in pairs) provided Sybil with a newly written song When I'm Good and Ready. As Doctor B mentioned in the Undercover write up (apolz from mentioning that again :( ) Pete Waterman was fond of using bleeps in his productions around this time, and this was no different. It's a pleasing confection, showcasing Sybil's effortlessly classy vocals. Alas, her success was short-lived and she never again had a Top 40 hit in the UK, managing to reach number 41 with her two follow up singles Beyond Your Wildest Dreams and Stronger Together. eFfQ_HeKUbY Edited September 23, 20159 yr by AntoineTTe
September 23, 20159 yr Author Always liked this. Inoffensive but fun! Perhaps inoffensive is the wrong word to use. I will change it.
September 23, 20159 yr This is such an underrated pop gem - it feels very poppy now but I guess it would have been closer to a dance track for 1993 ears. Has anyone heard it played in the last 20 years? I wasn't even aware of it existing until a decade ago, my iPod copy is from a second-hand purchase of Now Dance 93.
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