Posted April 4, 200619 yr Thanks to Acerben for this classic commentary and the download link. Top 40 of 1993 with Bruno Brookes http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IMC0X81I UK Chart Commentary from James Masterton - Top 40 of 1993 So 1993 draws to a close. It's been a year of surprises and achievements for the unexpected. The singles scene in the UK, predicted dead after 1992, rallied this year and single sales overall rose year-on-year for the first time since 1989. It was a year of long-running No.1 records - only 15 songs topped the charts compared to a mere 12 in 1992, 17 in 1991 and 17 in 1990. Virtually every musical genre imaginable was represented at the summit as well: Techno, Rap, Ragga, Reggae, Rock, Soul, Pop and reissued oldies all had their turn as the nation's favourite track. So here then is the story of the year, the Top 40 of 1993. No. 40: Sub Sub featuring Melanie Williams - Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) A hit in the spring, this 70s styled dance track was one of a number of dance records to chart big in their first week, making No.10 first time out. Once in it peaked at No.3 and spent 6 weeks in the Top 10 overall. It was the only hit of the year for them though and it remains to be seen whether this single was more than a one-off. No. 39: Sybil - When I'm Good And Ready One of the longer-running singles of the year, this slice of soul/pop from the Chicago-born singer now based in Britain spent 11 weeks in the Top 40 in the spring, 5 of those in the Top 10 peaking at No.5. It was also significant in being the last ever Top 10 hit to be written and produced by Matt Stock and Pete Waterman. The semi-legendary production team from PWL had dominated pop music from 1986-1990 but had seen their fortunes wane in recent times and the team finally split in November leaving only PWL records as a reminder of what once had been a veritable hit factory and which had launched the careers of artists such as Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley and revived others such as Bananarama and Donna Summer. No. 38: East 17 - Deep Fated to spend their entire careers as second best in the teen stakes to Take That, East 17 here score their biggest hit of the year. In a way to define them as a teen band is to underrate the twentysomething South Londeners who actually have more dancefloor credibility than many other bands. This single was a case in point, promoted as an underground white label pressing for months beforehand credited to 'Levi and Friends' and consequently exploding onto the chart when officially released in January. Ultimately peaking at No.5, the sophistication of the rap track ensures it is probably the one record they will be remembered for, long after their stars have faded. No. 37: Bee Gees - For Whom The Bell Tolls Back in the summer the Bee Gees released their latest album 'Size Isn't Everything'. The British have always had a soft spot for the group, ensuring they have a hit every couple of years and sending their 1987 track 'You Win Again' to No.1. Surprisingly though the first single from the album 'Paying The Price Of Love' could only falter at No.23 and it took this classy ballad to slice through the Christmas market to peak at No.4 at the end of the year and become the brothers' biggest selling single since that No.1 five years previously. No. 36: Cappella - U Got 2 Let The Music Dance music did not have quite the domination of previous years in 1993 but that still did not stop the odd track breaking big. Italian production team Cappella were previously known for their 1989 Top 20 hit 'Helyom Halib' but bounced back to score two big hits this year, 'U Got 2 Know' made No.6 in April and this track became their biggest hit ever, making No.2 in early November. No. 35: Snap - Exterminate Only two hits this year for Snap, all eyes on them to see how the group would manage without the distinctive vocals of Turbo B. Rather well it happens, switching tack from Euro-rap to uptempo semi-instrumentals. 'Exterminate' was their new year offering, making No.2 for three weeks in January. No. 34: M People - Moving On Up M People began as an experiment in 1991 by Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering to see if he could recreate the best traditions of Northern Soul. By the end of 1993 the experiment had been judged a raging success as M People scored hit after hit with their brand of classy pop. 'Moving On Up' was perhaps not quite as distinctive as the summer hit 'One Night In Heaven' yet this was the one that sold the most, making No.2 in October. No. 33: Shabba Ranks - Mr Loverman One style of music did dominate the start of the year though and that was ragga. The harder edge of modern reggae, ragga had previously dwelt underground but this year crossed over in a big way. This hit though was unusual. Shabba Ranks had arguably crossed over in a small way before 1993 and indeed 'Mr Loverman' had made No.23 in August 1992. Reissued as part of the wave of ragga hits in March though it improved dramatically on that placing, making No.12 first week out and peaking at No.3 a week later. Other hits followed but none had quite the impact of this one. No. 32: SWV - Right Here (Human Nature) The US charts in 1993 were by and large dominated by what Billboard had affectionately tagged 'New Jill Swing', a series of all-girl soul groups giving a softer edge to what had been previously a male-dominated arena of New Jack Swing. The Sisters With Voices were by far the biggest across the pond but took time to break over here and by the time the US smash 'Weak' had faltered at No.33 in June it looked as if the UK would pass them by. All that changed with the radical remix of the album track 'Right Here', replacing the old backing track with Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature' to turn it into one of the most sophisticated soul hits of the year, peaking at No.3 in September. No. 31: Goodmen - Give It Up Well if any smash had the longest gestation period of the year it was this one. First heard in the spring as an underground white label, 'Give It Up' smashed its way from nowhere to No.29 when officially released in August. Despite extensive radio play it could only stagger to No.23 before sinking. The track refused to die however and still featured on DJ returns for months afterwards. On the back of this support it was re-released in exactly the same form and at the end of October made a dramatic return to the Top 30. From there there was no stopping it and it eventually peaked at No.5 and spent 4 weeks in the Top 10 - its sales for the year combined means it makes No.31 on the year end chart. No. 30: Elton John and Kiki Dee - True Love It was the reunion of the year. The combination that had scored the million selling smash in 1976 with 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' teamed up again for the first single from Elton John's new album of duets. Elton and Kiki's rendition of the old Bing Crosby/Grace Kelly song from the film 'High Society' was tailor made to be a major seasonal smash, complete with festive video. Despite all predictions however the song could only peak at No.2 but sold well enough in the last few weeks of the year to make the bestsellers list and gave the song itself the distinction of being one of the most charted compositions of all time - well over 50 weeks in the charts by all its recorded versions. No. 29: West End featuring Sybil - The Love I Lost The only womam to have two singles in the Top 40 of the year, this was Sybil's first hit of the year peaking at No.3 in late January. Her cover of the Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes classic had been an underground dance smash for months previously. These two tracks were to be Sybil's only hits of the year though, subsequent releases missed the Top 40 altogether. No. 28: Take That and Lulu - Relight My Fire The first appearance on the chart for the band who in most respects can be said to have dominated the year. This cover of an old Dan Hartman disco classic smashed its way to No.1 in its first week on release in early October. Despite being in many ways the best Take That single of the year it could only manage 2 weeks at the top before sinking rapidly. It's the smallest selling No.1 hit of the year. For Lulu though it was a triumph, ending a year which had seen her return to the Top 40 with a new hit since 1982 and the first time she had had a No.1 in any respect in a chart career that dates back to 1964. No. 27: Billy Joel - River Of Dreams What you could describe as a sleeper hit, the title track from the new Billy Joel album did not seem like a smash single at first but the gospel tinged track sold slowly but steadily to peak at No.3 in September and spend a massive 12 weeks in the Top 40 to give Billy Joel his biggest hit single since 'Uptown Girl' made No.1 in 1983. It may have been a fluke though - the followup could only manage to reach No.32. No. 26: Annie Lennox - Love Song For A Vampire/Little Bird Annie Lennox's biggest hit single since the days of the Eurythmics was a marketers dream. Combining the haunting ballad specially recorded for the film of 'Dracula' along with a set of new club-friendly remixes of the fifth single from the year-old 'Diva' album meant the single appealed to two different markets at the same time. The single went straight in at No.3 and held there for four weeks, spending 10 weeks in the Top 40 overall. No. 25: Spin Doctors - Two Princes After having flopped the first time round and following in the wake of another dead single, the potentially classic 'Two Princes' finally made a belated UK debut in May. It climbed slowly and steadily, gradually embedding itself into the public consciousness until it peaked at No.3 in late June. The Spin Doctors had to work hard to avoided becoming one-hit wonders though. A reissue of 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong' stalled at No.23 whilst 'Jimmy Olsen's Blues' could only manage a solitary week at No.40 in early October. No. 24: Bitty McLean - It Keeps Rainin' An astonishing summer for Bitty McLean who started the year as an engineer at UB40s studios in Birmingham. After singing backing vocals on their new album he got the chance to record his own material. The first single was this lilting reggae version of an old Fats Domino track and raced past all opposition to peak at No.2 in early September. He has yet to consolidate on that initial success but most critics agree a major new reggae talent has burst on the scene. No. 23: Dina Carroll - Don't Be A Stranger 1993 was the year it finally happened for Dina Carroll. It seemed she had been around for ages. Her album 'So Close' had been released in mid-1992 and had spawned a succession of moderate hit singles. 'Don't Be A Stranger' was a half-hearted one-off attempt to shift a few more units of the by now moribund platter. For some reason though this ballad captured the imagination of the public like no other Dina Caroll single had done before, selling by the bucketloads to ultimately peak at No.4 and make the former singer with Quartz a major British soul star at last. The single sold so well that the record company in the end had to resort to deleting the track as it was harming the sales of her Christmas release 'The Perfect Year'. Her perfect year ended with 3 Brits nominations, with this track nominated for Best British Single and the favourite to win the award by a mile. No. 22: Urban Cookie Collective - The Key: The Secret One of the biggest underground dance smashes of the year was this one. 'The Key: The Secret' entered in July at No.40 and crept up the charts without anyone really noticing until it had peaked at No.2 in early September. In doing so it became the biggest hit single ever for tiny Pulse-8 records and spawned a near-identical followup in the shape of 'Feels Like Heaven' which peaked at No.5 in November. No. 21: Take That - Babe The third No.1 single of the year for Take That, like the two previous ones it charged straight into the No.1 slot upon release. Their hopes for a Christmas No.1 were dashed though when they were swept aside by Mr Blobby the following week and could never manage to outsell it, despite coming close in Christmas week itself. It was not too much of a disappointment for them though - no other act had ever had 3 consecutive singles go straight in at No.1. No. 20: 4 Non Blondes - What's Up? One of the more surprising hits of the year, 4 Non Blondes screamed their way to the No.2 slot in late July with this track which is destined to be regarded as a rock classic for years to come. The success of the track though has to be seen as a fluke - several singles later they are still without a Top 40 followup. No. 19: Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own The death of Freddie Mercury in late 1991 prompted a demand for his old material that has yet to really abate. Few could have predicted the source of this smash though. 'Living On My Own' was an old song which had peaked at No.50 in September 1985. Remixed by a team of German DJs the track had become a continental smash when picked up for release here. Once out it powered to the No.1 slot, staying there for two weeks and giving Freddie Mercury a solo posthumous No.1 - the first artist to 'achieve' this since Jackie Wilson in 1986. The remixers themselves went onto further success when in the autumn they remixed Motorhead's 'Ace Of Spades' sending it onto the dancefloors and back into the Top 30. No. 18: Inner Circle - Sweat (A La La La La Long) In a similar manner to fellow reggae artists Aswad before them, Inner Circle had been around for years but had never had a big hit, their previous best being 'Everything Is Great' which made No.37 in February 1979. 'Sweat' had been a major continental smash in the autumn of 1992 but had flopped here, only able to reach No.43. Re-released in the spring on the wave of a series of reggae hits, the party tune sold by the bucketload, peaking at No.3 for 3 weeks and spending 8 weeks in the Top 10 alone before becoming an American hit later in the year. No. 17: Take That - Pray The biggest hit of the year for the biggest group of the year Take That. From an inauspicious beginning, the five lads have been cleverly marketed and promoted to achieve a teen appeal that has not been seen since the days of Bros in 1988. Combining that with a genuine songwriting talent that has seen them achieve critical support as well, the boys swept all before them in 1993. 'Pray' was the first of their record breaking string of 3 instant No.1 hits, staying 4 weeks at the top in July. No. 16: Snow - Informer Arriving on the wave of ragga crossovers which saw this track part of the three reggae records that dominated the entire Top 3 for the first time ever back in March. 'Informer' was actually riding high in the US charts as well by the time it charted in March. Eventually to reach No.2 of two occasions the record spent an incredible 5 weeks in the Top 3 and 14 weeks in the Top 40 overall. Despite successive releases and radio support for tracks like 'Girl I've Been Hurt' and 'Uuuhh In You', Snow remains a one-hit wonder. No. 15: Bryan Adams - Please Forgive Me A cynic might say this is a basic retread of 'Everything I Do', the track which in 1991 became the longest running No.1 hit ever, but this ballad from Bryan Adams' greatest hits collection 'So Far So Good' became his biggest hit since charting instantly at No.3 and staying at No.2 for three weeks, unable to dislodge Meat Loaf from the No.1 slot. Still on the chart at the year end, it is yet another success for Adams who before 1991 had only made the UK Top 20 once in his entire career. No. 14: Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Boom! Shake The Room Despite consistent success in the US, commercial rap had a rough year in the UK. The biggest non-hybrid rap hit of the year though was a massive No.1, marking the biggest hit ever for the duo who had started in the mid-80s as teenagers and who first charted in 1986 with 'Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble'. By the end of the year Will Smith was well on the way to matching his US celebrity over here, being asked to present the televised 'Smash Hits Awards' in November during which time he ended up taking part in a dancing contest with members of East 17. No. 13: Chaka Demus and Pliers - Tease Me Chaka Demus and Pliers had been virtual superstars on the underground reggae scene but were vitually unheard of in the mainstream. All that changed in 1993 with a string of Sly and Robbie produced hits that began with this, a cheeky lilting party track that outsold and outlasted many No.1 hits of the year despite only peaking at No.3. This was largely due to a run of 10 weeks in the Top 10 that saw them go 6-6-4-3-4-4-4-4-7-10, the longest stay inside the Top 10 by any record to fail to make No.2 since 1978 (that statistic incidentally not coming from me since I have no idea what the last record to achieve that feat was!). No. 12: Bluebells - Young At Heart Television has proven consistently over the years that it has the potential to make massive hits. TV ads can capture the attention and imagination of large sections of the population very quickly and if marketed properly can produce hit singles, no matter how old the record. That was the case for 'Young At Heart'. Originally a No.8 hit in the summer of 1984 for the Scottish band, it was featured in the spring in a jokey TV ad for Volkswagen cars. Upon its reissue the band reformed to promote it and were rewarded with a No.1 hit in early April, staying there for 4 weeks. No. 11: George Michael and Queen - Five Live EP With George Michael involved in heavy litigation with his record company his output is restricted to charity outings such as this. This EP of five songs was recorded live at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in April 1992. A year later it was released in aid of AIDS charities and became the second consecutive EP to go straight in at No.1 following Erasure's ' Abba-Esque' in May 1992. Standout tracks were George's rendition of 'Somebody To Love' and his duet with Lisa Stansfield on 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives'. It remained at No.1 for 3 weeks. No. 10: Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You Proving just what a megahit it was, the bestselling single of 1992 sold well enough to make the Top 10 bestsellers of the year in 1993, helped in part by a reissue for Christmas which saw it make the Top 30 for a second time. Whitney Houston was overall the top selling female artist of the year with a further 4 Top 20 hits to her credit. No. 9: Culture Beat - Mr Vain Formed in the mid-80s in Germany as a concept in poetry set to dance music, by 1993 Culture Beat had evolved into a classy European dance act but had only ever charted briefly in 1990 with 'Cherry Lips', an instrumental version of which appeared on the flip side of their biggest hit ever. A massive European club smash, 'Mr Vain' was released in August just in time for record buyers returning from their holidays to snap up the record that had dominated continental discos. The tactic had worked in the past and could not fail now and the record sped to No.1 where it stayed for 4 weeks. It was the first No.1 hit ever to be unavailable on 7-inch vinyl, a fact mourned by record collectors countrywide. In a year where the number of acts scoring 3 hits or more ran into single figures, Culture Beat followed up with another Top 10 hit 'Got To Get It', despite the death in the Autumn of producer mastermind and writer of their hits Torten Fenslau. No. 8: Haddaway - What Is Love European dance had a good year overall. The biggest selling single of the year not to reach No.1 was this one, Haddaway only able to make No.2 in late June/early July. A 9 week stay in the Top 10 though meant that the young singer outsold some of the biggest No.1 hits of the year and proved that the hit was not a fluke by scoring 2 more Top 20 hits by the year end. No. 7: Shaggy - Oh Carolina Prime beneficiary of the springtime domination of the charts by reggae acts was young unknown Shaggy who had released a string of underground hits without once achieving chart success. All that changed with 'Oh Carolina'. Startling in its ethnicity, Shaggy climbed slowly but steadily to make No.1 for two weeks in March and wound up the second biggest reggae hit of the year. He remains a one-hit wonder though, further singles in 1993 missed the chart altogether. By a strange coincidence the track also joined the biggest reggae hit of the year on the soundtrack of the Sharon Stone film 'Sliver'. No. 6: Mr Blobby - Mr Blobby By far the fastest selling single of the year, Mr Blobby had been on general release just 4 weeks by the end of the year and yet still wound up the sixth biggest seller. Originally conceived as a joke to help wind up celebrity guests on the top-rated BBC TV show 'Noel's House Party', by the end of the year the latex pink blob with no sense of balance and a permanent accident prone streak had become a zeitgeistian phenomenon and the subject of lengthly articles in the Sunday supplements about why a man in a rubber suit should be the most famous person in Britain. Not only this he was the star of his own hit record, which shot to No.1 in December and despite being briefly deplaced by Take That's 'Babe', became the first record since 1968 to return to the No.1 slot to eventually become Christmas No.1. No. 5: Gabrielle - Dreams By the time Gabrielle's 'Dreams' was released in June it had created such a demand on the nation's dancefloors that it shot straight in at No.2 to give the lady with the eyepatch the highest ever new entry by an unknown artist. She followed that with 3 weeks at No.1 and had scored two smaller hits by the end of the year to establish herself as a major new British soul talent for the 1990s. No. 4: 2 Unlimited - No Limit 'Technotechnotechnotechno' shouted Ray Slijngaard in January and gave rave music a new clarion call. 'No Limit' swept aside all opposition after just 2 weeks in the charts and remained at No.1 for five weeks whilst unusually for a new year hit, becoming one of the biggest sellers of the year. It was the biggest hit ever for the Dutch duo who had been charting hits since late 1991 and by the year end had also had Top 10 hits with 'Tribal Dance' and 'Faces' whilst 'Maximum Overdrive' made the Top 20 to make them far and away one of the most successful club acts ever. No. 3: Ace Of Base - All That She Wants The labels of 'the new Abba' became tedious after a while, particularly to the group themselves but when Ace Of Base exploded onto the chart at No.5 in May with 'All That She Wants' it looked to be that way for the Swedish foursome. Two weeks later they were No.1 to become only the third act from that country ever to top the UK charts. They were only there for 3 weeks yet sold enough to be No.3 on the chart of the year. Further success was difficult to come by as the followup 'Wheel Of Fortune' stalled at No.20 and 'Happy Nation' missed the Top 40 altogether. They cannot have been too worried though as 'All That She Wants' made the US chart too in the autumn. No. 2: UB40 - (I Can't Help) Falling In Love More than any other record released this year, UB40s gorgeously treated version of the Elvis Presley classic was made to be No.1. It had to wait though, spending 2 weeks at No.2 before pushing Ace Of Base aside and grabbing 2 weeks of glory for themselves. It was the third No.1 hit for the band from Birmingham who since 1980 had become the most successful reggae band ever. Coincidentally their two previous No.1 hits had also been cover versions, Neil Diamond's 'Red Red Wine' and Sonny and Cher's 'I Got You Babe'. They can also have hits with their own material though as the Top 10 followup 'Higher Ground' proved later in the summer. '(I Can't Help) Falling In Love' was also the biggest British hit of the year in America where it duplicated it's British success with ease. No. 1: Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) And so to the biggest and in many ways the most surprising No.1 hit of the year. Despite continuing popularity in Britain, Meat Loaf had never really been a big singles artist, his only previous Top 10 outing being in 1981 with 'Dead Ringer For Love'. All that changed with the new 'Bat Out Of Hell II' album marking his reuinion with producer/mentor Jim Steinman. The epic ballad crashed into the chart at No.8 at the end of September and was No.1 within 2 weeks, staying there for a massive 7 weeks overall. The success of the track was even more surprising given that its release as a single came a full 6 weeks after the release of the album from which it was culled. Both single and album sold in tandem though, for much of its stay at No.1 the album joined it at the top of the LP charts - confounding those who said the UK had no such thing as a singles market any more. At 7 minutes 58 seconds it was also the longest No.1 hit ever, surpassing the Beatles' 'Hey Jude' which had held the record since 1968. It was a double glory for Meat Loaf as 'Bat Out Of Hell II' was also the biggest selling album of the year. By the year end the total sale for the single was well over 800,000 units and it was still in the charts.
April 4, 200619 yr :wave: Not just a commentry it's a full show!!!! :dance: It's got Haddaway- What is love One of the best dance tracks of allllllllll time! :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: Thank you Acerben and thank you for posting it Mark
April 4, 200619 yr What a fantasic read! I had forgotten what a good year 1993 was, I turned 16 that year so it reminds me of some great days. Trouble is, I now feel a bit old!... :cry:
April 4, 200619 yr :wave: It's got Haddaway- What is love One of the best dance tracks of allllllllll time! :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: really? i thought it would have been re-released as many times as faithless if it was :lol:
April 4, 200619 yr What a fantasic read! I had forgotten what a good year 1993 was, I turned 16 that year so it reminds me of some great days. Trouble is, I now feel a bit old!... :cry: I was 17 then, so know how you feel! :cry:
April 4, 200619 yr so where's this weeks? have i missed it? http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2339
April 5, 200619 yr Wow! I was only 5 then but some great tunes. I think 94,97,98 were the best years of the 90s personally.
April 5, 200619 yr Thanks to Acerben for this classic commentary and the download link. Top 40 of 1993 with Bruno Brookes http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IMC0X81I UK Chart Commentary from James Masterton - Top 40 of 1993 so are you PK1996 from digitalspy mark? or did this poster nick it from here?
April 5, 200619 yr Some of my fave songs incl Spin Doctors Two Princes, 4 Non Blondes Whats Up, M People Movin On Up and George Michael Five Live EP of songs. It was a good year for pop, though it also had a lot of bad records i.e Mr Blobby and 2 Unlimited's No Lyrics
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