255 | PM Dawn - Looking Through Patient Eyes

 

Next up is one of those acts that are only remembered for one song despite actually having a few other hits during the 90s. I actually had a couple of their album and the second, The Bliss Album..., was their best and this was the second single to be lifted from it. They had a very laid back and cool style to their music and I definitely thought they had a real vibe to them with lots of layered vocals and blissed out harmonies. They managed five top 5 hits for me so that quite possibly makes me their biggest ever fan.

 

This was out at a time when reggae inexplicably became fashionable in the UK and this was one of a few singles that kept the likes of Snow, Shaggy and Shabba Ranks from reaching #1 for me... the former came the closest peaking at #3 in this week.

 

 

The stats:

 

Date: 28 March 1993

Weeks: One

1990s chart rank: 225

2020s plays rank: 260

Biggest song it kept from #1: Snow - Informer (#3 in w/c 28 March 1993)

Biggest fave now that I didn't love at the time: Peter Gabriel - Blood of Eden

Both Blood of Eden and Looking Through Patient Eyes are great.

Thanks for reminding me of both.

Edited January 1, 20232 yr by Colm

“U Got 2 Let The Music” really hooks you from the start, just how I remember it- I distinctly remember that in the chart and “More and More” from Captain Hollywood Project (which was their biggest hit) but don't remember the one that made #1 for you. There were loads of these type of tracks breaking in 93/94 which just shows how fast paced the music scene, particularly dance was in the 1990s given rave's dominance in 92.

 

My favourite Cappella was actually when they were Anticappella and released the (as far as I know) only irrational number ever to chart: “2 √ 231” in 1991. : ) I quite liked “Take Me Away” too.

 

254 | Tasmin Archer - Shipbuilding

 

Next up we've got another act who most people would regard as a one hit wonder in the form of the lovely Tasmin Archer. This was the lead song from an EP that she released between her first two albums and was a cover of the Elvis Costello song - at the time it was overshadowed by a cover version that Suede did as part of the Warchild album project but I've always preferred Tasmin's effort. It's quite a 'grown up' song both lyrically and stylistically and it definitely capitalised on a slower January market to make the top, however it's one I've loved being reminded of and I'll be adding this to a playlist... probably the one called 'suitable for my family'. Tasmin once joined a live Q&A session on the other forum that formed from the collapse of Cool Clarity and I remember asking her why she chose this song and complemented her on her version - she left almost immediately after my question but did manage to get top 50 in the posters rate that year *.*

 

 

The stats:

 

Date: 09 January 1994

Weeks: One

1990s chart rank: 264

2020s plays rank: 216

Biggest song it kept from #1: D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better (#2 in w/c 98 January 1994)

Biggest fave now that I didn't love at the time: One Dove - Why Don't You Take Me

 

Tasmin once joined a live Q&A session on the other forum that formed from the collapse of Cool Clarity and I remember asking her why she chose this song and complemented her on her version - she left almost immediately after my question but did manage to get top 50 in the posters rate that year *.*

 

Iconic! Guess we'll never know why she chose it. Yeah I remember that. Didn't someone ask her when “Sleeping Satellite” had entered the chart at No.50 whether she thought it'd get to #1?! 🤣

 

It must have been around September 2006 because in my iTunes from that month is the single she released at the time “Effect Is Monotony”.

 

“Shipbuilding” is a powerful, wonderful track in any form, though I prefer the Costello version. A shame that nothing came of Tasmin's comeback in 2006, crazy to think that a lot more time has passed since then than had at the time since her last Top 40 hit in 1994.

Let Her Down Easy is the only Terence Trent D'Arby song I've particularly liked, nice ballad. I always preferred U Got 2 Know Out of Cappella's 'U Got 2...' titles. Only With You was mentioned in a recent thread in the UK Charts Forum, maybe I should have embedded those YouTube links... I didn't know Tasmin Archer covered Shipbuiliding, the Robert Wyatt version will be hard to beat as the definitive one for me.

A few that I don’t actually know and need to check out but Looking Through Patient Eyes is lovely - so chilled like you say.

not the biggest PM Dawn fan myself I have to admit

The Capella tune is a good dance track, I like manic catchy dance as a rule.

 

I dont know that Captain Hollywood track, it didnt chart for me (though they went top 40 in 1994 with one called Impossible I think) so I prob didnt get to hear it. More & More was fab though, loved that one.

 

I always liked PM Dawn and they generally went top 10/20 in my charts and Bliss was a huge top 5.

 

Shipbuilding was a nice cover from Tasmin (48 in my chart), but I also see Robert Wyatt's version as the definitive version of the Elvis Costello song, a disabled singer singing an anti-war song during the Falklands War is hard to beat, but Tasmin gave a good old go.

 

 

Listening to those PM Dawn and Tasmin songs back-to-back was a pleasant experience. Both solid discoveries from artists who I could previously only name one song by.

 

253 | Erasure - Run to the Sun

 

Well they were bound to appear sooner or later and here it is, Erasure's first song to fall. Run to the Sun was the second single to be lifted from the I Say, I Say, I Say album and it was the final one to top my chart in the 90s after they had pretty much dominated my musical life through the first half of the decade. It's a pretty catchy track but stuck out on the album as it was far more high nrg than anything else there, it's also not one I go back to much at all these days as there were many other tracks like Take Me Back, So The Story Goes or All Through The Years that I vastly preferred. This song always takes me back to a school geography trip to Aberystwyth as I had to buy it from a Woolworths whilst I was there (obviously I couldn't entertain the concept of not getting it in week one) and I bought it at least three times with the various CD formats and a neon yellow 7". Sadly I prioritised buying this instead of buying sun cream like my parents had actually given me money for and as such I ended up in the Aberystwyth hospital with heatstroke after passing out at the end of a long day studying what could be found on the sand dunes ooops.

 

 

The stats:

 

Date: 24 July 1994

Weeks: Two

1990s chart rank: 223

2020s plays rank: 244

Biggest song it kept from #1:

(#4 in w/c 31 July 1994)

Biggest fave now that I didn't love at the time:

 

 

252 | The Lightning Seeds - Marvellous

 

This was the only #1 for the Lightning Seeds and it's still one of my absolute faves of theirs today, it's just so happy sounding. You couldn't go too wrong with any of their 90s singles to be fair to them, I didn't give them enough credit at the time but their best of album is pretty much wall to wall joyous indie-pop music. You will therefore be spared from 3 Lions cropping up at any point in the countdown. I really like all the songs I'm highlighting in the stats below, the Bobby Brown track was a great remix and Portishead delivered a great single from the classic Dummy album. The biggest fave one is Mory Kante which is a bit of a cheat as it was the 95 remix package that was charting at the time, however some versions did include the original and it was that original version that I've really grown to love over the years.

 

 

The stats:

 

Date: 16 April 1995

Weeks: Two

1990s chart rank: 226

2020s plays rank: 240

Biggest song it kept from #1: Bobby Brown - Two Can Play That Game (#2 in w/c 16 April 1995),

(#2 in w/c 23 April 1995)

Biggest fave now that I didn't love at the time:

 

Both of those are great songs, and the parent albums are among the first I bought / got as presents - in the case of Erasure's specifically because Run To The Sun wasn't on any of the Now albums - although I went back to Jollification more often with its four sparkling singles.

Erasure dropping out much earlier than expected! Run To The Sun was a top 10 for me, which is about right I think, not quite up to their top-notch classics but pretty good anyway.

 

Bobby Brown topped my charts, I still stand by that, much as I loved Marvellous!

 

Lightning Seeds can do no wrong for me, they are Marvellous, both then and now. Sense, Pure, Lucky You, Life Of Riley, Life's Too Short all gems every one and much more....

Always was the last great Erasure single, after that one it was a big downfall and Run to the Sun is the first of many mediocre singles from them

LS were great t the time, Lucky You is probably my #1 LS song... have to say I prefer Sour Times though... and also had a soft spot for that Bobby Brown song oops :D

I think there were a few great Erasure singles later than Always, largely from their self titled album but I do agree that Run To The Sun was a step down after an almost flawless run for a while.

 

Not sure whether I prefer Sour Times or Marvellous today tbh, both do something very different so it's almost impossible to compare them

Ok. Gonna have to stop y'all and say that Erasure's best piece of music is Fingers and Thumbs which we clearly won't be seeing later in this thread. I'm guessing a certain remixed tune may have dominated that period in late '95.

 

251 | Fatboy Slim - Praise You

 

Fatboy Slim's only UK #1 was also a chart topper for me too, taking advantage of a very slow week to debut there in January 1999. I do like it but I think he's had better songs that didn't make it... however this wasn't his only one for me so there will be at least one more to come later. There was a real lack of competition at the time so it was Bryan Adams & Melanie C that was the nearest competition after the likes of Ace of Base and Steps plummeted after New Year. As with all the Fatboy Slim singles at the time, the video was quite the talking point thanks to Spike Jonze directing... it wasn't my favourite of his videos (hello Elektrobank or Da Funk) but it was one of many great shorts he directed during the 90s.

 

 

The stats:

 

Date: 10 January 1999

Weeks: One

1990s chart rank: 255

2020s plays rank: 208

Biggest song it kept from #1: Bryan Adams & Melanie C - When You're Gone (#2 in w/c 10 January 1999)

Biggest fave now that I didn't love at the time: N/A

 

Ok. Gonna have to stop y'all and say that Erasure's best piece of music is Fingers and Thumbs which we clearly won't be seeing later in this thread. I'm guessing a certain remixed tune may have dominated that period in late '95.

Oh yes it is excellent but you're right that we won't be seeing it as a #1 here. There was a lot of competition at the end of 1995 and sadly it couldn't make it through, it does feature as one of the highest non #1s one week though.

I also didn't know about Afrika Bambaata until I entered his single 'Looking For The Perfect Beat' into the Club Bizarre 70s/80s contest and it was mentioned then.

 

King Of Snake is a good one from Underworld and Let Her Down Easy is the only Terence Trent D'Arby song I like.

 

I love Robert Wyatt's version of Shipbuilding, I didn't know Tamsin Archer had done one.

 

Jollification was a great album by the Lightning Seeds with Marvellous as one of the highlights. I've also enjoyed listening to their new album that came out a few months ago.