Rebecca Wheatley, as far as I can recall James, was a cast member of the BBC's Casualty (from the period where people still watched it and gave a damn about it). I think her character sung it in some sort of talent contest in the series and I think Auntie bosses were hoping she'd do a Martine McCutcheon. Only slight problem being that she never had a hope in hell of doing an Anita Dobson, let alone a Martine.

 

Oh Shania. I picked up 'Come on Over' second hand again recently. I'd say 'Don't Be Stupid' is fairly well remembered though, it was on Now 46. 'When' which was off the same album and a top 20 in 1998 before her mega success kicked off is lesser remembered.

Rebecca Wheatley, as far as I can recall James, was a cast member of the BBC's Casualty (from the period where people still watched it and gave a damn about it). I think her character sung it in some sort of talent contest in the series and I think Auntie bosses were hoping she'd do a Martine McCutcheon. Only slight problem being that she never had a hope in hell of doing an Anita Dobson, let alone a Martine.

 

Oh Shania. I picked up 'Come on Over' second hand again recently. I'd say 'Don't Be Stupid' is fairly well remembered though, it was on Now 46. 'When' which was off the same album and a top 20 in 1998 before her mega success kicked off is lesser remembered.

 

So less remembered I totally forgot it even existed

 

11th March 2000: Madonna - "American Pie"

 

 

Controversial opinion here, this actually could have been half-way decent, in theory. Most people roll their eyes and look uncomfortable whenever Madonna's cover of this standard is brought up but I believe that's only because we have got so used to this version being terrible but I think that a William Orbit version of 'American Pie' really could have been something unique and special but....we ended up with this, so here we go.

 

I'm not 100% sure why this version exists to be totally honest. Madonna's never struck me as being someone who would fold and be a lap dog for her record label, especially not by 2000 by which time she was 42 and had been the biggest music artist in the world for 15 years. Madge has blamed everyone from her record label to co-star Rupert Everrett for the existence of this cover but some of the blame has to lie on her shoulders because no matter who persuaded her, she still did the damn thing and did a really botched job of it - and this is coming from somebody who is actually pretty so-so on the original!

 

On their best day (i.e. 'Ray of Light') Madonna and Orbit could have made something really unique and special, but the fact there hearts weren't in it shows and it's of no surprise to me that Madonna has totally disowned this

 

*whispers, so as not to be stamped on* I rather liked this cover. I knew of the original anyway cause my mum had it on one of those budget CDs of 70's pop. I liked the dreaminess of it all in William Orbit's production. Of course, this isn't Madonna's best single of 2000 overall for me - that is still to come - but there are far worse cover versions that were around at the time than this.

11th March 2000 - Lene Marlin - "Sitting Down Here"

 

 

Quite a nice little folky affair, Lene Marlin charted her first and only top ten single in March 2000 with this track. I was four when this was out, and it's probably the first record we've come across thus far that I actually have memories of from the time. My Dad really liked the track for whatever reason, added it to a seemingly endless tape he always played in the car and as he drove me to school most mornings, I became very familiar with the song - though, my Dad's insistance on singing the track in a exaggerated Cumbrian accent and adding the F word between "can't" and "see me" has annoyed me in recent years despite amusing at the time.

 

In 2015, I still have a lot of time for this. In the hectic and loud year of 2000, it struggles to standout, though blaring it from my iPod in a Uni friends car on a road trip to the beach this summer suggested it is actually a quite fondly remembered track, the fact it just quietly got on with being a reasonable sized hit against the Britney's, the Geri's and the Madonna's only makes me appreciate it a lot more. I'm always a sucker for folk-pop records, there's something ever so warm and comforting about them and 'Sitting Down Here' is absolutely no different.

 

Ah, love 'Sitting Down Here'. Her two singles that followed it - which we're yet to meet - and their parent album 'Playing My Game' were good 'uns too, quite laidback acoustic style pop. Shame she never really was more than a one hit wonder here in the UK. I've heard her albums that followed in the years after were good as well.