2001

 

16/20: Masai - Kick Back (1 week at No.1)

 

 

Another one I heard of via the music channels, although I had already charted a song by British female duo Masai, Anna and Sharon, earlier in the year - Heaven & Hell had only peaked at No.4 but had a long run in my top 10. Following a Westlife support slot, the follow up Kick Back looked and sounded to be a bigger affair all around, had lots of TV airplay, and its joyous radio MOR sound brought comparisons to The Corrs and All Saints, although lyrically it was more simple and carefree than either of those acts. Unfortunately, where Heaven & Hell had at least reached No.81 in the UK, Kick Back didn't chart at all. But it did get seven days on top of mine and they would return...

'Set You Free' :wub: of course one of your all time faves!

 

The all-time fave *.* Euphoria outsold (although it's close)

Now 49 is the best Now album imo!

Happy to recommend some Zero 7 anytime, just ask :D

Yes Zero 7 are great, but especially Simple Things but there were also quite a few highlights on their second album - Somersault and Passing By were lovely. Yes 2001 was such a good time for dance music, not just Eurodance and cheese but also British, American and Australian acts were producing some fantastic stuff.

Thanks guys, I'll have to delve into more of their stuff when I'm next in a chill-out music mood. Maybe a good future album session idea after Air went down well.

 

Woah 26 weeks for 'Set You Free' in your top 5 :o that's amazing! I am a fan too, it's a euphoric dance anthem for sure :heart:

2001

 

17/20: The Corrs - Would You Be Happier? (1 week at No.1)

 

 

From a Corrs soundalike to the band itself. Would You Be Happier? was the token single to be released from the band's Best Of album, which didn't actually do as well as I would have expected, peaking at No.6 in the UK - perhaps their studio albums had all sold in such vast quantities that people felt they didn't need it. But it did throw in this song, Make You Mine, and many of the hit radio mixes in one place (the original Runaway was chosen though) so I was happy with it.

 

But if the In Blue album was criticised for being too poppy, then the critics went to town on Would You Be Happier?, which could have been by any pop band of the time. The band knew it too, and played up to other parts in the very funny video, aping a rock band and Jim playing a rapper with the associated bling. I thought it was a very jolly, happy track, with a catchy pop chorus and a great middle eight, so I - for one - was happier. The fact that it only managed seven days at the top was more down to the power of Set You Free, which topped in non-consecutive runs. The track only got to No.14 in the UK and is pretty forgotten now, sadly.

Thanks guys, I'll have to delve into more of their stuff when I'm next in a chill-out music mood. Maybe a good future album session idea after Air went down well.

 

Woah 26 weeks for 'Set You Free' in your top 5 :o that's amazing! I am a fan too, it's a euphoric dance anthem for sure :heart:

 

Simple Things is definitely a good future shout for the listenthrough I think!

 

Yeah, I really didn't get over it :lol: 23 of those were in my top three as well, it was eight weeks at No.1 and No.3 and seven weeks at No.2!

2001

 

18/20: Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Sophie Ellis-Bextor launched her solo career around a year after the success of Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), with a very indie-pop album, Read My Lips, that had a couple of disco-pop gems on it that were the first two singles (a re-release brought a couple more of a similar sound, and they also became singles). A Cher cover, Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me), was the first single and peaked respectably at No.2 in the UK, and also in my chart, but she struck gold with the second single. Co-written with the New Radicals' Gregg Alexander, Murder On The Dancefloor was a shimmering, catchy, string-laden piece with fanastic vocals from Sophie and a massive, killer chorus.

 

The song finally, properly saw off Set You Free at the top of my chart, such was its power, and Sophie scored another No.2 in the UK - but a much bigger and longer running hit than its predecessor. It was unlucky not to get to the top in fact, stuck behind Daniel Bedingfield and Robbie Williams/Nicole Kidman, which were huge No.1s over the Christmas period. But Sophie had the last laugh with her absolutely iconic femme fatale meets Strictly style video, as the song has over 180 million streams on Spotify - more than Gotta Get Thru This and Somethin' Stupid combined! A pop classic and one that has helped to keep her career going for over two decades since.

'Would You Be Happier' is great and fairly underappreciated I find and 'Murder On The Dancefloor' needs no introduction, an absolute classic :heart: should have certainly been a #1..

Love Would You Be Happier? And especially Murder On The Dancefloor. Two fantastic songs there gooddelta.

'Would You Be Happier' is great and fairly underappreciated I find and 'Murder On The Dancefloor' needs no introduction, an absolute classic :heart: should have certainly been a #1..

 

Love Would You Be Happier? And especially Murder On The Dancefloor. Two fantastic songs there gooddelta.

 

Thanks both, I've always thought The Corrs song was an underrated track too, didn't deserve to be overlooked in the charts.

2001

 

19/20: Ian Van Dahl - Will I? (4 weeks at No.1)

 

 

While I prefer Castles In The Sky, which took a long run to its single week at No.1, Will I? actually proved both more instant and more enduring at the top, with four weeks at No.1 at the end of 2001. A poppier affair than its predecessor, and featuring the vocals of Annemie Coenen for the first time, Will I? emulated Castles In The Sky by debuting at No.5 in the UK. It went no higher but spent a month in the top 10 over the lucrative Christmas period. It has been a little forgotten now for all its success, not helped by being unavailable to stream in the UK due to various licensing and rights issues. It would fit right in now too, the UK radio edit coming in at just over 2 and a half minutes, very short by 2001 standards but normal today.

and another decent Ian Van Dahl track there as well!

2001

 

20/20: Flip & Fill feat Kelly Llorenna - True Love Never Dies (10 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Sneaking in at the end of the year (all but one of its record-breaking number of weeks at No.1 were in 2002), was Kelly Llorenna's follow up to Set You Free, this time with production duo Flip & Fill. If anybody was the major beneficiary of the reactivation of Set You Free, it was Kelly, who in the following year appeared on three other top ten hits, including one solo. Essentially a vocal version of Rank 1's Airwave - or very similar to that track at least - True Love Never Dies was a small UK top 40 hit in early 2001 and not one I can recall hearing - I must have done as I listened to the charts every week but it passed me by. But the 2002 hit remix had slightly different production that was a lot better and sounded bigger.

 

I was, of course, in the middle of my Set You Free obsession and at this point Kelly could sing the phone book and I'd have been obsessed. But I already loved Airwave, which was nearly in my top 10 of 2000, and a near enough vocal version of that was very much music to my ears. True Love Never Dies spent 10 straight weeks at the top of my chart and upon its UK re-release in early 2002, it peaked at No.7 and spent three weeks in the top 10.

2001 No.1s recap:

 

1) Dario G - Dream To Me (2 weeks at #1)

2) Fun Factory - I Wanna B With U (1 week at #1)

3) Caroldene - Time Is A Healer (8 non-consecutive weeks at #1)

4) Dream - He Loves U Not (2 weeks at #1)

5) Maria Rubia - Say It (1 week at #1)

6) Fragma - You Are Alive (1 week at #1)

7) Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL - Everybody (2 weeks at #1)

8) Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim - Lady Marmalade (3 non-consecutive weeks at #1)

9) Daft Punk - Digital Love (1 week at #1)

10) Atomic Kitten - Eternal Flame (4 weeks at #1)

11) Zero 7 feat Sia & Sophie Barker - Destiny (2 weeks at #1)

12) De Nada - Love You Anyway (1 week at #1)

13) A Camp - I Can Buy You (1 week at #1)

14) Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky (1 week at #1)

15) N-Trance feat Kelly Llorenna - Set You Free (Rob Searle 2001 Remix) (8 non-consecutive weeks at #1)

16) Masai - Kick Back (1 week at #1)

17) The Corrs - Would You Be Happier? (1 week at #1)

18) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor (2 weeks at #1)

19) Ian Van Dahl - Will I? (4 weeks at #1)

20) Flip & Fill feat Kelly Llorenna - True Love Never Dies (10 weeks at #1)

2001 No.2s:

 

1) Fragma - Magic (1 week at #2)

2) Alice Deejay - Megamix (1 week at #2)

3) Angelic - Can’t Keep Me Silent (1 week at #2)

4) Precious - Much Too Late (1 week at #2)

5) Avi + Nat - Together (3 weeks at #2)

6) Bardot - Poison (2 weeks at #2)

7) The Corrs - Rebel Heart (1 week at #2)

8) Alsou - Before You Love Me (1 week at #2)

9) Lindsay D - No Dream Impossible (2 weeks at #2)

10) Hear’Say - The Way To Your Love (1 week at #2)

11) Michelle - Out On My Own (1 week at #2)

12) Naimee Coleman - My Star (1 week at #2)

13) Bardot - Higher Than Heaven (1 week at #2)

14) Bardot - Girls Do, Boys Don’t (1 week at #2)

15) Wheatus - A Little Respect (1 week at #2)

16) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me) (2 weeks at #2)

17) Darude - Out Of Control (1 week at #2)

18) Artful Dodger feat Melanie Blatt - Twenty Four Seven (1 week at #2)

19) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Leave The Others Alone (2 weeks at #2)

20) Riva feat Dannii Minogue - Who Do You Love Now? (1 week at #2)

21) Kelly Llorenna - Brighter Day (3 weeks at #2)

22) The Corrs - Make You Mine (1 week at #2)

My top 20 of 2001

 

1. N-Trance feat Kelly Llorenna - Set You Free (Rob Searle 2001 Remix) (Peak #1)

2. Caroldene - Time Is A Healer (Peak #1)

3. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky (Peak #1)

4. Ian Van Dahl - Will I? (Peak #1)

5. Atomic Kitten - Eternal Flame (Peak #1)

6. De Nada - Love You Anyway (Peak #1)

7. Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim - Lady Marmalade (Peak #1)

8. Avi + Nat - Together (Peak #2)

9. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor (Peak #1)

10. Fragma - Magic (Peak #2)

11. Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL - Everybody (Peak #1)

12. The Corrs - Would You Be Happier? (Peak #1)

13. Masai - Heaven & Hell (Peak #4)

14. Sonority - Chase The Sun (Peak #4)

15. Fragma feat Maria Rubia - Everytime You Need Me (Peak #1)

16. Thrillseekers feat Sheryl Deane - Synaesthesia (Fly Away) (Peak #1)

17. Zero 7 feat Sia & Sophie Barker - Destiny (Peak #1)

18. Dario G - Dream To Me (Peak #1)

19. Fragma feat Damae - You Are Alive (Peak #1)

20. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Leave The Others Alone (Peak #2)

 

10 biggest faves that didn't make my top 2

 

Atomic Kitten - You Are

Bellefire - Perfect Bliss

De Nada - Bring It Onto My Love

Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes

Liberty - Thinking It Over

Michelle - To Live For Love

Safri Duo - Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

Steps - It's The Way You Make Me Feel

Uncle Kracker - Follow Me

Zero 7 feat Sophie Barker - In The Waiting Line

2002:

 

1/16: Minimalistix - Close Cover (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Going into when I was 14/15 years old, here's 2002, but a record low of 16 new No.1s in this year, thanks to that mammoth run for True Love Never Dies that stretched way into the year, and another long runner later on. First up is Belgian dance act (Belgian dance was going through a real purple patch), it's Close Cover by Minimalistix.

 

Another one I first heard on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems show, I taped half of it off the radio but Dave mumbled the artist and title and with no Shazam back then, I had no idea what on earth it was. A few weeks later I would find out when Close Cover geared up for its UK release. I absolutely loved the way an emotive piano piece had been turned into a brooding trance anthem, so much so that I asked my keyboard teacher at the time - who took requests - to write the sheet music for me, which he happily did and we learnt it over the following weeks. The original piano track came out in the 1980s, by a composer called Wim Mertens, and I sent that to BJSC a few years ago. But this cover ended up getting a fortnight at the top for me and peaked at No.12 in the UK.

Some more good stuff here Rich, 'True Love Never Dies' is a classic dance anthem. Also liking the Sophie, Hear'say, Lindsay, SEB and Wheatus tracks. Crikey I forgot that was a top 3 hit as well for them. 'twentyfourseven' is a forgotten goodie as well. Not heard that in yonks and remembered liking it a lot. Melanie has a lovely voice.

2002:

 

2/16: Anjo - Tears In The Rain (3 weeks at #1)

 

 

I do not buy the Daily Star. However, one week I saw that the paper came with a free CD called The Magnificent 7, promising 'the biggest dance tunes of 2002 now'. Of course, none of them became any of the sort, but tucked away on the album was a spellbinding trance song called Tears In The Rain, by the mysterious Anjo. After a two minute build the track slows into an isolated piano with a Blade Runner vocal sample before building back up into a real epic - I was so wowed by this and found it very moving, and the track was an instant No.1 for me, where it spent three weeks. After 20 years in the wilderness, I resurrected it last year and sent it to the 2000s edition of Club Bizarre, where it won!

Some more good stuff here Rich, 'True Love Never Dies' is a classic dance anthem. Also liking the Sophie, Hear'say, Lindsay, SEB and Wheatus tracks. Crikey I forgot that was a top 3 hit as well for them. 'twentyfourseven' is a forgotten goodie as well. Not heard that in yonks and remembered liking it a lot. Melanie has a lovely voice.

 

Oh yeah, easy to forget that Wheatus had a second top three hit Rob, but I guess anyone relatively big could smash with a song as great as A Little Respect. Agreed, Melanie's voice was my fave in All Saints <3

2002:

 

3/16: Atomic Kitten - It’s OK (1 week at No.1)

 

 

Atomic Kitten were due to release You Are circa November 2001 as the follow up to Eternal Flame but it was pulled at the last minute despite a lot of promotion and airplay, I don't know why because it's a great song and I believe would have been an easy top five for them. Anyway, they finally returned with a bigger sound, a bigger budget, and a glossier video in spring 2002 with It's OK, the first single from what would become their second album Feels So Good. Sticking in their now established catchy MOR pop lane, the song was effortlessly infectious, and they looked amazing in the video. It wasn't the No.1 I think the label expected - ending up at No.3 in the UK - but they did get to No.1 again later in the year with a cover of Blondie's The Tide Is High, and it did at least become their second chart topper for me.