1995 was the real start of my teenage years, and the beginning of my weekly charts which I've still kept. I remember everyone else in our year having lots of fun going to house parties, fighting each other, getting pregnant...you know all the joyous activities 14 year olds participate in. Me? Well, myself and my gang of geeks and misfits spent most of the year making our own 'TV shows and concerts' (one of them had video cameras and loved 'editing') I still have these VHS tapes buried deep into the far reaches of the cupboard. I must destroy them before I die. Can't have those seeing the light of day!

This was also the year I fell in love for the first time. Or lust. By now, hormones were raging. I already had crushes on a few teachers, but this was different. A new boy joined our year. He was a Geordie. He was perfect as far as I was concerned. Love at first sight etc. Though not for him obviously. For the next four miserable years he occupied every single waking thought. When everyone else threw things at me, bullied me or called me names I'd get angry. When he did it, I would be overjoyed. Tragic really. At least I never went on to do anything so pathetically stupid like only taking certain A Level classes because I knew he was taking them...Oh no wait, I did do that. Looking back it's incredible he never cottoned on. I mean I was hardly subtle. I practically salivated every time he was in the same room as me. Shockingly, we never did hook up romantically or otherwise. I can't think why.

Oh, one more thing. Because my greatest talent is making a complete tit of myself, I should tell you about when I went on holiday to Spain. It was karaoke night at the hotel. Mum and Dad egged me on to do it. I did 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac (recently covered by Wild Colour, which I adored). Five lines in, I caused a power cut. They wouldn't let me do karaoke again.

 

Anyway, on to the soundtrack to my despair. A massive 77 songs made my shortlist for '95. Some more famous ones end up outside the 40 than inside, and they include Madonna, Green Day, Prodigy, Weezer, Oasis, Blur, Portishead, Strike, Def Leppard, Pulp, Supergrass, Whigfield & Scatman John.

 

My Favourite Top 40 Hits Of 1995

 

1. Sparks – When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’

2. Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You

3. Wild Colour – Dreams

4. Everything But The Girl – Missing

5. Livin’ Joy – Dreamer

6. Grace – Not Over Yet

7. Saint Etienne Feat. Etienne Daho – He’s On The Phone

8. Crescendo – Are You Out There

9. Jam & Spoon Feat. Plavka – Find Me (Odyssey To Anyoona)

10. Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms

11. Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains

12. Kingmaker – You And I Will Never See Things Eye To Eye

13. Rappin’ 4 Tay Feat. The Spinners – I’ll Be Around

14. Deuce – Call It Love

15. Garbage – Queer

16. Bucketheads – The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)

17. Lightning Seeds – Change

18. Jinny – Keep Warm

19. Human League – Tell Me When

20. Jam & Spoon Feat. Plavka – Right In The Night (Fall In Love With Music)

21. Erasure – Stay With Me

22. E’voke – Runaway

23. N-Trance – Set You Free

24. Sophie B Hawkins – As I Lay Me Down

25. De’Lacy – Hideaway

26. Scarlet – Independent Love Song

27. Those 2 Girls – All I Want

28. Corona – Baby Baby

29. Nightcrawlers Feat. John Reid – Push The Feeling On

30. Ace Of Base – Lucky Love

31. Erasure – Fingers And Thumbs (Cold Summer’s Day)

32. Bobby Brown – Two Can Play That Game

33. Boo Radleys – Wake Up Boo

34. Isha D – Stay (Tonight)

35. Corona – Try Me Out

36. Tyrell Corporation – Better Days Ahead

37. Alex Party – Wrap Me Up

38. Moby – Everytime You Touch Me

39. Ruffneck Feat. Yavahn – Everybody Be Somebody

40. 20 Fingers Feat. Gillette – Short Short Man

from your list I like: Missing, A Girl Like You, He's on the Phone,

Your Loving Arms and Independent Love Song plus the Garbage songs

 

fav 1995 songs for me: Portishead - Glorybox, Massive Attack - Protection,

Pulp - Common People and Disco 2000, all the Bjork singles,

all the Radiohead singles especially Fake Plastic Trees,

all the Tricky singles, all the Alanis Morissette singles,

Oasis - Wonderwall and Some Might Say

 

 

Good to see Sparks at no.1 in your list. I think their last top 40 hit before this year was in 1979. My top 20 from the year:

 

1. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

2. Massive Attack - Protection

3. Passengers - Miss Sarajevo

4. Lightning Seeds - Perfect

5. Radiohead - High And Dry

6. Mike & the Mechanics - Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

7. Sophie B Hawkins - As I Lay Me Down

8. Queen - A Winter's Tale

9. Marillion - Beautiful

10. Sparks - When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'

11. New Order - 1963 (remix)

12. Lightning Seeds - Change

13. Saint Etienne - He's On The Phone

14. Annie Lennox - No More 'I Love You's

15. The Human League - Tell Me When

16. Mike & the Mechanics - Over My Shoulder

17. Queen - Heaven For Everyone

18. Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You

19. Suggs - I'm Only Sleeping

20. Radiohead - Just

1995:

 

Ooops just 3 chart-toppers (Edwyn Collins, Bobby Brown, Human League) for me, bit of a drop from 10!! I notice some of me others listed as outside the 40 though.

 

To be fair, Sparks hit 2, and should have topped my charts, as should Missing, Grace, Garbage.

 

I'm guessing the hormone-raging dance tracks pushed out the other chart-toppers for me, poor you, it's hard to be in love with someone who doesn't belong to you. TBH I've only ever been in that situation if you don't count part-time semi-relationships. Though I can beat yours, mine was a close friend in the early 90's, and last talked to him, oooh, yesterday. Took about 6 or 7 years, but I came to my senses eventually :lol:

Ooh I don't know - I'll look forward to finding out!

 

And you have my favourite chart hit of 1995 at #10 - Billie Ray Martin - Your Loving Arms - great vocal and brilliant dance tune. Jam and Spoon ft Plavka - Right In The Night is my second favourite chart hit of the year with De'Lacy - Hideaway third. Dreamer, Not Over Yet, Set You Free, Push The Feeling On and Missing are four iconic dance tracks. Push The Feeling On definitely sounds more modern than 1995. Bucketheads, Bobby Brown - Two can Play That Game, Jinny - Keep Warm and the Corona tracks are good dance tunes. The unfortunate double meaning of 'Corona - Try Me Out' now though. No thanks!

 

'Wake Up Boo' really is the 90s equivalent of 'Mr Blue Sky' isn't it. Great uplifting song. Short Short Man reminds me of those weird minimal dance tracks that made the charts in 2014-5 like 'Jack' and 'Rhymes'. It is catchy though.

 

Human League - Tell Me When is another good song from them

 

Would also add Scooter - Move Your Ass just for the pure energy of the track, and the Scatman John, Supergrass and Strike tracks that just missed your top 40. And the Annie Lennox and Mike and the Mechanics tracks from Rollo's list. I do remember No More I Love You's from when I was younger and I have always liked that song.

Edited May 26, 20205 yr by The Snake

from your list I like: Missing, A Girl Like You, He's on the Phone,

Your Loving Arms and Independent Love Song plus the Garbage songs

 

fav 1995 songs for me: Portishead - Glorybox, Massive Attack - Protection,

Pulp - Common People and Disco 2000, all the Bjork singles,

all the Radiohead singles especially Fake Plastic Trees,

all the Tricky singles, all the Alanis Morissette singles,

Oasis - Wonderwall and Some Might Say

 

Glorybox, Protection, Common People, Disco 2000 & Wonderwall all made it onto my shortlist. Glorybox in particular only just missed out on a place in my Top 40.

 

Cheers for the comments :wub:

Good to see Sparks at no.1 in your list. I think their last top 40 hit before this year was in 1979. My top 20 from the year:

 

1. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

2. Massive Attack - Protection

3. Passengers - Miss Sarajevo

4. Lightning Seeds - Perfect

5. Radiohead - High And Dry

6. Mike & the Mechanics - Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

7. Sophie B Hawkins - As I Lay Me Down

8. Queen - A Winter's Tale

9. Marillion - Beautiful

10. Sparks - When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'

11. New Order - 1963 (remix)

12. Lightning Seeds - Change

13. Saint Etienne - He's On The Phone

14. Annie Lennox - No More 'I Love You's

15. The Human League - Tell Me When

16. Mike & the Mechanics - Over My Shoulder

17. Queen - Heaven For Everyone

18. Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You

19. Suggs - I'm Only Sleeping

20. Radiohead - Just

 

Yes, Sparks :wub: It should have been a much bigger hit, although it did go Top 10 in Germany. Protection, Perfect, 1963, No More I Love You's & Over My Shoulder are my picks of the others which didn't make my list.

 

Cheers for the comments :wub:

1995:

 

Ooops just 3 chart-toppers (Edwyn Collins, Bobby Brown, Human League) for me, bit of a drop from 10!! I notice some of me others listed as outside the 40 though.

 

To be fair, Sparks hit 2, and should have topped my charts, as should Missing, Grace, Garbage.

 

I'm guessing the hormone-raging dance tracks pushed out the other chart-toppers for me, poor you, it's hard to be in love with someone who doesn't belong to you. TBH I've only ever been in that situation if you don't count part-time semi-relationships. Though I can beat yours, mine was a close friend in the early 90's, and last talked to him, oooh, yesterday. Took about 6 or 7 years, but I came to my senses eventually :lol:

 

It's nice that you're still in contact. Sadly, this wouldn't be the last time of me falling for someone who didn't feel the same way :lol: Ah, memories.

 

Surprised there was just 3 chart-toppers. I did think Sparks might have topped your chart. Although, looking at my list for '96 there may be even less :lol:

 

Cheers John :wub:

And you have my favourite chart hit of 1995 at #10 - Billie Ray Martin - Your Loving Arms - great vocal and brilliant dance tune. Jam and Spoon ft Plavka - Right In The Night is my second favourite chart hit of the year with De'Lacy - Hideaway third. Dreamer, Not Over Yet, Set You Free, Push The Feeling On and Missing are four iconic dance tracks. Push The Feeling On definitely sounds more modern than 1995. Bucketheads, Bobby Brown - Two can Play That Game, Jinny - Keep Warm and the Corona tracks are good dance tunes. The unfortunate double meaning of 'Corona - Try Me Out' now though. No thanks!

 

'Wake Up Boo' really is the 90s equivalent of 'Mr Blue Sky' isn't it. Great uplifting song. Short Short Man reminds me of those weird minimal dance tracks that made the charts in 2014-5 like 'Jack' and 'Rhymes'. It is catchy though.

 

Human League - Tell Me When is another good song from them

 

Would also add Scooter - Move Your Ass just for the pure energy of the track, and the Scatman John, Supergrass and Strike tracks that just missed your top 40. And the Annie Lennox and Mike and the Mechanics tracks from Rollo's list. I do remember No More I Love You's from when I was younger and I have always liked that song.

 

I'm glad all three of your faves were in my list. Your Loving Arms is pretty faultless. I'm surprised it hasn't been covered in a crossover dance hit in the last ten years.

 

There's a youtube video of an uncensored version of Short Short Man being performed on children's TV in, I think, Brazil. It's pretty jaw-dropping :lol:

 

Cheers for the comments :wub:

1996 proved to be a monumental year for me. As well as me pointlessly pining away for a straight Geordie 24/7, I made a life-changing decision. I had it all planned. It would take place on my 15th birthday, at school. I would round up my the other six members of my social group and break the news to them during the hour long lunch break. They would be aghast, shocked even, and say things such as "Is this a sick joke?" whilst choking on their sandwiches.

After many second thoughts, I decided to go ahead with my plan. They were all sat on our favourite wall and I whispered (so no one else could hear) "I'm gay."

I looked down, with my head in my hands waiting for the inevitable gasps. Silence. I looked back up and they were all still engrossed with their sandwiches. "Didn't you hear me," I said. "I'm gay!" Without looking up, one of them said "Oh we knew that before you did! Anyway when does the essay on Himmler have to be in?"

Not even a slap! I was livid.

 

66 tracks made it onto my shortlist of favourites this time. Among the more well known missing out on my Top 40 for the year: Space, Sheryl Crow, Oasis, Joan Osborne, Celine Dion, JX, Robert Miles & Madonna.

 

My Favourite Top 40 Hits Of 1996

 

1. E’voke – Arms Of Loren

2. Faithless – Insomnia

3. Dubstar – Not So Manic Now

4. Menswear – Being Brave

5. Belinda Carlisle – In Too Deep

6. Underworld – Born Slippy

7. Wink – Higher States Of Consciousness

8. Stretch ‘N’ Vern Present Maddog – I’m Alive

9. Bjork – Hyperballad

10. Susanna Hoffs – All I Want

11. CJ Bolland – Sugar Is Sweeter

12. Dubstar – Stars (Motiv 8 Remix)

13. Klubbheads – Klubbhopping

14. Mansun – Wide Open Space

15. Everything But The Girl – Wrong

16. Cast – Walkaway

17. Wannadies – You And Me Song

18. Belinda Carlisle – Love In The Key Of C

19. Hysteric Ego – Want Love

20. Tina Arena – Sorento Moon (I Remember)

21. Duke – So In Love With You (Pizzaman Remix)

22. Chicane – Offshore

23. Pet Shop Boys – Se A Vida E (That’s The Way Life Is)

24. Cher – One By One

25. Strike – Inspiration

26. B.B.E – Seven Days And One Week

27. Everything But The Girl – Driving

28. Helicopter – On Ya Way ‘96

29. Grace – Down To Earth

30. Gina G – Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit

31. Luniz – I Got 5 On It

32. Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun

33. Prodigy – Firestarter

34. Dana Dawson – Show Me (Motiv 8 Mix)

35. Alisha’s Attic – I Am I Feel

36. Gat Décor – Passion

37. Bedrock Feat. Kyo – For What You Dream Of

38. Pet Shop Boys – Before

39. Porn Kings – Up To No Good

40. Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life

when I think 96, I think of all the great dance tracks by UK alt-dance acts

Firestarter, Breathe, Insomnia, Setting Sun, Born Slippy

 

other fav tracks of mine:

Robert Miles - Children, Oasis - Don't look back in anger

Alanis - Ironic, Tori Amos - Caught a lite sneeze

Sheryl Crow - If it makes you Happy, Bjork - Hyperballad, Lush - Ladykillers

Joan Osborne - One of us, Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight tonight and 1979

Suede - Trash and Beautiful ones, all the Manics singles, all the Fu-Gees singles

 

overall a great year both in singles and albums too

Edited May 28, 20205 yr by Bjork

1996 - well we have 5 chart-toppers for me, a slight increase on 1995! :cheer: Chemical bros, PSB's Se a Vida Es/ Before, Cher, EBTG Wrong. Plus side, Duke, mansun, Wannadies all faves too, among the more obvious biggies, but the dance invasion make it the least-agreed chart to date! :lol:

 

My faves not in your list? Ironic, Wonderwall, Spinning The Wheel, Fastlove, Woman, Hallo Spaceboy, Jesus To A Child, Govinda, Single Bilingual, Don't Look Back In Anger, Neighbourhood, female Of The Species, Tattva, Return Of The Mack, 6 Underground, Children, Say You'll Be There, Stupid Girl, X Files....and many more... :o

 

Loved the dramatic wall confession and reaction. I was shocked - what on Earth was your school doing making you write essays on Himmler!

 

I was also blissfully unaware I was anything less than straight-appearing, and I'd had some girls fancying me to keep me deluded, till I eventually bumped into a work acquaintance (and later friend) who I had no idea was otherly-leaning in a gay bar. He wasn't surprised at all either, so I asked why not. "Something about your manner" he tactfully suggested. I presume he meant I was skipping and mincing through the flower beds a lot when I was checking on stuff in the various Parks & gardens (my job then). :lol:

E'voke - Arms of Loren as your #1, its one of my favourite dance songs but not the original (its still good though), its all about the Ferry Corsten remix for me, which I discovered a while back and was a low top 40 hit in early 2002.

 

Faithless Insomnia I have long considered the most iconic track in dance music, even when I was younger. I remember liking it too when it was re-released with a slight remix in 2005, even though I didn't usually like the trance side of dance music much back then.

 

Underworld - Born Slippy, unique mix of indie and hard dance music, the buildup is great in it. Higher State of Consciousness is certainly a very different sounding dance track to anything else around in the charts at the time. I'm Alive is one of the best hits from the disco house genre. Klubbhopping is quite similar in style with the rap influence, good tune too, Klubbheads have two other reasonably well known tracks under different artist names, E by Drunkenmunky which just missed top 40 in 2003 and then Hi-Tack Say Say Say in early 2006.

 

Seven Days And One Week - good trance track, Ooh Ahh Just A Little Bit is cheesy but a good track.

 

A Design for Life was one of the first songs I ever liked, remember it from the music channels and i really liked how dramatic it was. I also remember Firestarter from the time from its video on the music channels, still a brilliant track.

 

Porn Kings, what an artist name! The high voiced rap does remind me of the Klubbheads and Stretch N Vern songs. The production reminds me a bit of Public Domain - Operation Blade (Bass in the Place) from 2000. I also know Shake Ya Shimmy from Porn Kings and Flip & Fill - quite a fun track.

 

Loads of tracks that miss your top 40 to add to my personal list of favourite top 40 track of 1996. Here we go then, in no particular order. Donna Lewis - Love You Always Forever and Joan Osborne - One Of Us both lovely songs. Also would add Stupid Girl by Garbage, Ocean Colour Scene - Day We Caught The Train (one of the best Britpop songs imo), JX - There's Nothing I Won't Do, Robert Miles - Children and One and One (I prefer One and One of the two I think as I do like a vocal on a dance track), Livin Joy - Don't Stop Movin' and Follow The Rules, and from popchartfreak's list: George Michael - Spinning The Wheel (great mix of jazz and pop this!) and Space - Female of The Species (a quirky song I have liked for a long time). Also Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's, Rotterdam and Don't Marry Her by the Beautiful South. This sort of music of these last three was what I was most familiar with on the radio in the late 90s - must have been the station my parents listened to, but lots of this indie pop sort of stuff. Good memories.

Edited May 28, 20205 yr by The Snake

My top 20s for each year have not included much dance music but 1996 is when that all changes. The shift to a more electronic sound of dance music in the charts was more to my liking.

 

1. Underworld - Born Slippy

2. Faithless - Salva Mea

3. The Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun

4. Faithless - Insomnia

5. BBE - Seven Days And One Week

6. OMD - Walking On The Milky Way

7. Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life

8. Mike and the Mechanics - All I Need Is A Miracle (remix)

9. Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

10. Robert Miles featuring Maria Nayler - One & One

11. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over (peaked 2 places higher than it did in 1987)

12. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight

13. Wink - Higher State Of Consciousness

14. Manic Street Preachers - Kevin Carter

15. Pet Shop Boys - Single

16. Baddiel & Skinner and the Lightning Seeds - Three Lions

17. Presidents of the USA - Peaches

18. Space - Female Of The Species

19. Pet Shop Boys - Se A Vide E (That's The Way Life Is)

20. Queen - You Don't Fool Me

Love 1996. I mean you have the new sounds of dance listed above, britpop was still at its peak and legends like George Michael came back with two of the biggest hits this late in his career, 'Jesus To A Child' is one of the greatest Soul songs in uk chart history for me.

when I think 96, I think of all the great dance tracks by UK alt-dance acts

Firestarter, Breathe, Insomnia, Setting Sun, Born Slippy

 

other fav tracks of mine:

Robert Miles - Children, Oasis - Don't look back in anger

Alanis - Ironic, Tori Amos - Caught a lite sneeze

Sheryl Crow - If it makes you Happy, Bjork - Hyperballad, Lush - Ladykillers

Joan Osborne - One of us, Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight tonight and 1979

Suede - Trash and Beautiful ones, all the Manics singles, all the Fu-Gees singles

 

overall a great year both in singles and albums too

 

Agreed, it was a fantastic year!

 

Thanks for the comments :wub:

1996 - well we have 5 chart-toppers for me, a slight increase on 1995! :cheer: Chemical bros, PSB's Se a Vida Es/ Before, Cher, EBTG Wrong. Plus side, Duke, mansun, Wannadies all faves too, among the more obvious biggies, but the dance invasion make it the least-agreed chart to date! :lol:

 

My faves not in your list? Ironic, Wonderwall, Spinning The Wheel, Fastlove, Woman, Hallo Spaceboy, Jesus To A Child, Govinda, Single Bilingual, Don't Look Back In Anger, Neighbourhood, female Of The Species, Tattva, Return Of The Mack, 6 Underground, Children, Say You'll Be There, Stupid Girl, X Files....and many more... :o

 

Loved the dramatic wall confession and reaction. I was shocked - what on Earth was your school doing making you write essays on Himmler!

 

I was also blissfully unaware I was anything less than straight-appearing, and I'd had some girls fancying me to keep me deluded, till I eventually bumped into a work acquaintance (and later friend) who I had no idea was otherly-leaning in a gay bar. He wasn't surprised at all either, so I asked why not. "Something about your manner" he tactfully suggested. I presume he meant I was skipping and mincing through the flower beds a lot when I was checking on stuff in the various Parks & gardens (my job then). :lol:

 

:lol: I totally get you. I always maintained I wasn't remotely camp and got annoyed when camp people suggested otherwise. Then, in a club one night, a Dannii Minogue track came on "oooohhhhh!...……..oh :("

 

Fear not, the dance invasion will subside soon. Ish. Of the ones you mentioned, Fastlove, Hallo Spaceboy, Single Bilingual, Female Of The Species, Don't Look Back In Anger, Spinning The Wheel & 6 Underground were among those who made my shortlist.

 

My school was always a bit special :lol:

 

Cheers John :wub:

E'voke - Arms of Loren as your #1, its one of my favourite dance songs but not the original (its still good though), its all about the Ferry Corsten remix for me, which I discovered a while back and was a low top 40 hit in early 2002.

 

Faithless Insomnia I have long considered the most iconic track in dance music, even when I was younger. I remember liking it too when it was re-released with a slight remix in 2005, even though I didn't usually like the trance side of dance music much back then.

 

Underworld - Born Slippy, unique mix of indie and hard dance music, the buildup is great in it. Higher State of Consciousness is certainly a very different sounding dance track to anything else around in the charts at the time. I'm Alive is one of the best hits from the disco house genre. Klubbhopping is quite similar in style with the rap influence, good tune too, Klubbheads have two other reasonably well known tracks under different artist names, E by Drunkenmunky which just missed top 40 in 2003 and then Hi-Tack Say Say Say in early 2006.

 

Seven Days And One Week - good trance track, Ooh Ahh Just A Little Bit is cheesy but a good track.

 

A Design for Life was one of the first songs I ever liked, remember it from the music channels and i really liked how dramatic it was. I also remember Firestarter from the time from its video on the music channels, still a brilliant track.

 

Porn Kings, what an artist name! The high voiced rap does remind me of the Klubbheads and Stretch N Vern songs. The production reminds me a bit of Public Domain - Operation Blade (Bass in the Place) from 2000. I also know Shake Ya Shimmy from Porn Kings and Flip & Fill - quite a fun track.

 

Loads of tracks that miss your top 40 to add to my personal list of favourite top 40 track of 1996. Here we go then, in no particular order. Donna Lewis - Love You Always Forever and Joan Osborne - One Of Us both lovely songs. Also would add Stupid Girl by Garbage, Ocean Colour Scene - Day We Caught The Train (one of the best Britpop songs imo), JX - There's Nothing I Won't Do, Robert Miles - Children and One and One (I prefer One and One of the two I think as I do like a vocal on a dance track), Livin Joy - Don't Stop Movin' and Follow The Rules, and from popchartfreak's list: George Michael - Spinning The Wheel (great mix of jazz and pop this!) and Space - Female of The Species (a quirky song I have liked for a long time). Also Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's, Rotterdam and Don't Marry Her by the Beautiful South. This sort of music of these last three was what I was most familiar with on the radio in the late 90s - must have been the station my parents listened to, but lots of this indie pop sort of stuff. Good memories.

 

I liked the Ferry Corsten remix, but the original Nip N Tuck mix is the one for me. Loads of fantastic club tracks this year!

 

Of the ones you mentioned, Donna Lewis, Joan Osborne, Garbage, JX, Robert Miles (though actually I'd go for Fable as my fave of the three '96 singles), Livin Joy's Follow The Rules, Space, George & Beautiful South all made it onto the shortlist. Great tracks all.

 

Thanks for the comments :wub:

My top 20s for each year have not included much dance music but 1996 is when that all changes. The shift to a more electronic sound of dance music in the charts was more to my liking.

 

1. Underworld - Born Slippy

2. Faithless - Salva Mea

3. The Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun

4. Faithless - Insomnia

5. BBE - Seven Days And One Week

6. OMD - Walking On The Milky Way

7. Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life

8. Mike and the Mechanics - All I Need Is A Miracle (remix)

9. Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

10. Robert Miles featuring Maria Nayler - One & One

11. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over (peaked 2 places higher than it did in 1987)

12. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight

13. Wink - Higher State Of Consciousness

14. Manic Street Preachers - Kevin Carter

15. Pet Shop Boys - Single

16. Baddiel & Skinner and the Lightning Seeds - Three Lions

17. Presidents of the USA - Peaches

18. Space - Female Of The Species

19. Pet Shop Boys - Se A Vide E (That's The Way Life Is)

20. Queen - You Don't Fool Me

 

 

7 shared tracks here, plus many others I love too. Don't Dream It's Over is my favourite Crowded House song - it nearly made it into my Top 40. Salva Mea, Tonight Tonight, Female Of The Species, Single Bilingual & You Don't Fool Me are my picks of the others.

 

Thanks Rollo :wub:

Love 1996. I mean you have the new sounds of dance listed above, britpop was still at its peak and legends like George Michael came back with two of the biggest hits this late in his career, 'Jesus To A Child' is one of the greatest Soul songs in uk chart history for me.

 

1996 was such a great year! Cutting down my faves to just a top 40 was incredibly hard.

 

Cheers Steve :wub: