2004

 

3/22: Atomic Kitten - Believer (1 week at No.1)

 

 

A fourth and final chart topper for Atomic Kitten, Believer for me was the big highlight on the very good Ladies Night album. An anthemic ballad with a soaring chorus and a brilliant middle eight and, of course, talking ad libs from Jenny, it had a strong songwriting pedigree from Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg, who between them are responsible for so many classic pop anthems. The fact that this wasn't given a single release - even as a double a-side instead of the pointless remix of Right Now - is a crime.

2004

 

4/22: Kelly Llorenna - This Time I Know Its For Real (5 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Queen of clubs Kelly Llorenna was back at it in 2004, two years after her previous run of hits, and this time with a cover of Donna Summer's This Time I Know It's For Real. An excellent song in its original form, Kelly gave a lot of welly to her cheesy Eurotrance remake, with an incredibly camp, low budget video. It peaked at a respectable No.14 for her in the UK and spent a whopping five weeks at the top of mine - her final ever No.1!

2004

 

5/22: Sarah McLachlan - Fallen (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Every year there seems to be an artist I obsess over, but 2004 had quite a few - for me it was the best year of the 00s for albums, I was absolutely spoilt with quality. Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan had actually released Afterglow, the very long awaited follow up to her 1997 opus Surfacing, in late 2003 but I only obtained it in early 2004. I saw it in a record store during my college lunch break and decided to take a chance, having loved Silence years before. I instantly fell in love - a 10 track album, and all but one of the songs I adored. Fallen, the lead single, is a tender ballad that builds and builds, the second verse/bridge being my favourite part of the song. I do not understand how a classy, insanely talented artist with a beautiful voice, amazing songwriting craft and so many well known classics - Angel, When She Loved Me, Silence, Adia, Building A Mystery - barely touched the charts in this country, Fallen peaking at No.50 in early 2004.

Edited February 23, 20232 yr by gooddelta

I'm so far behind, how'd this happen?? Haha

 

Great end to 2003 gooddelta! Love the continued love for Delta. Also great to see Life Got Cold get a mention too.

 

You may have mentioned it but what was the most amount of songs Delta had in the top 10 at once?

I'm so far behind, how'd this happen?? Haha

 

Great end to 2003 gooddelta! Love the continued love for Delta. Also great to see Life Got Cold get a mention too.

 

You may have mentioned it but what was the most amount of songs Delta had in the top 10 at once?

 

I ran a bit far ahead ha, slowed down again now.

 

Thanks! If I recall correctly it was 7/10 upon the release of Mistaken Identity. Interestingly she shared the top ten with Kylie’s I Believe In You, Dannii’s You Won’t Forget About Me and Summer Rain by Slinkee Minx. So it was the only time ever my top ten all came from the same country.

I ran a bit far ahead ha, slowed down again now.

 

Thanks! If I recall correctly it was 7/10 upon the release of Mistaken Identity. Interestingly she shared the top ten with Kylie’s I Believe In You, Dannii’s You Won’t Forget About Me and Summer Rain by Slinkee Minx. So it was the only time ever my top ten all came from the same country.

 

Thanks.

 

Summer Rain is another great choice!

 

Did you ever hear more from Slinkee Minx? I liked their cover of Careless Whisper.

Thanks.

 

Summer Rain is another great choice!

 

Did you ever hear more from Slinkee Minx? I liked their cover of Careless Whisper.

 

I didn't tbh, in fact Summer Rain in the end didn't even chart in the UK despite having good TV airplay and a spot on a few big dance compilations at the time.

 

I'll have to check out their other stuff.

I didn't tbh, in fact Summer Rain in the end didn't even chart in the UK despite having good TV airplay and a spot on a few big dance compilations at the time.

 

I'll have to check out their other stuff.

 

That’s strange. Did it get a proper full release? It sounds like it got good coverage.

 

I think they’re worth checking out. Closer, Careless Whisper and Someday we’re ones that I enjoyed.

I guess there's a high chance it was cancelled, as no doubt I'd have bought it on CD single if it was released here, and I don't own it.

 

Thanks for the tips.

I guess there's a high chance it was cancelled, as no doubt I'd have bought it on CD single if it was released here, and I don't own it.

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

You’re welcome. :)

 

Hopefully you like them. :)

 

I forgot to add Way of Life to the List. They had me hyped for when they finally released an album in 2007.

Motorcycle! :wub:

 

Also belated love for Robert Miles and Maria Naylor, I absolutely loved that back in the 90s. Be As One with Sasha was also really nice, she was an underrated vocalist.

Yes the Delta love started off reasonably normally before the album release ramped it up massively.

 

Wow, I forgot California Dreamin' had been re-released and went top 10 in 1997, I suspect it would have topped my chart too at the time if it had started earlier. What is your longest ever run at No.1?

 

California Dreamin is the longest consecutive run on top for me, but in total weeks it's Dancing Queen (19 weeks in 3 runs). I was mad on Abba from day 1 and then went into hyperdrive from Mamma Mia onwards :)

 

never heard Delta's version of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) which has topped my charts on more occasions/years than any other track, for John & Yoko. Did you know Delta has a duet with Olivia Newton-John on her posthumous new Duets album?

 

Motorcycle is fab, and Ladies Night decent, of your latest batch of toppers.

You’re welcome. :)

 

Hopefully you like them. :)

 

I forgot to add Way of Life to the List. They had me hyped for when they finally released an album in 2007.

 

Just checked them out - nice - I'm surprised it's the first dance cover of Careless Whisper I've heard as seems like an obvious song to do in a dance cover. It works well, added it to my playlist.

 

Motorcycle! :wub:

 

Also belated love for Robert Miles and Maria Naylor, I absolutely loved that back in the 90s. Be As One with Sasha was also really nice, she was an underrated vocalist.

 

She was, her album has recently appeared on streaming services. Quite a pleasant listen, it features the original version of Even God by Charlotte Church, which I didn't realise was a cover.

 

California Dreamin is the longest consecutive run on top for me, but in total weeks it's Dancing Queen (19 weeks in 3 runs). I was mad on Abba from day 1 and then went into hyperdrive from Mamma Mia onwards :)

 

never heard Delta's version of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) which has topped my charts on more occasions/years than any other track, for John & Yoko. Did you know Delta has a duet with Olivia Newton-John on her posthumous new Duets album?

 

Motorcycle is fab, and Ladies Night decent, of your latest batch of toppers.

 

19 weeks *.* 17 is my longest runner, also non-consecutive, for Loreen's Euphoria in 2012 (so after the cut off for this countdown).

 

It's a lovely version, for me it's such a good song that it's hard to mess up if you stick quite faithfully to how it was intended to sound. Yes, I believe it's the same song that appeared on Delta's Christmas album a couple of years ago, it's a lovely track.

 

Glad you're liking those.

Edited February 26, 20232 yr by gooddelta

2004

 

6/22: Sarah McLachlan - World On Fire (6 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

 

Another long runner now, and replacing herself at No.1 was Sarah McLachlan, with the second single from Afterglow, World On Fire. A very poignant mid-tempo, Sarah wrote the song in the wake of the September 11 attacks. I always loved the chords in the verses of this track and the middle eight in particular. The video, directed by Sophie Muller, also stuck with me because it had a budget of $150,000 but only cost $15, because the rest was donated to charity (as seen throughout the video). A nice touch and a real standout from the album for me, which of course did nothing in the UK, peaking at No.72. I guess it's a miracle it charted at all.

Edited February 26, 20232 yr by gooddelta

2004

 

7/22: The Corrs - Summer Sunshine (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

 

Four long years since their last studio album and three years since they were last at the top of my chart, my favourite group The Corrs finally returned with the excellent album Borrowed Heaven. Anthemic lead single Summer Sunshine was very much in the same vein as the singles from In Blue, maybe a touch rockier in production, and happily it restored them to the UK top ten at No.6, their first top 10 hit since Breathless. They had just about clung onto relevance despite such a long hiatus although the song dropped away quickly, but had a couple of weeks at the top for me during the competitive Eurovision period. I had really missed them and only realised just how much when this came out, I remember buying the album on a sunny day and loving it instantly. I also saw them live for the first time in 2004 and they were absolutely brilliant, even though Caroline wasn't there as she was pregnant.

Edited February 26, 20232 yr by gooddelta

2004

 

8/22: Julie & Ludwig - On Again…Off Again (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

 

For the third year on the trot, the Maltese Eurovision entry topped my chart. This time around it was pop/operatic duo Julie & Ludwig with the incredibly corny but infectious On Again…Off Again. A much bigger hit for Malta than the previous year, the track narrowly missed the top 10, and imo should have been inside it. It's a little oddball and cheesy but the melody and performance is so uplifting, it's one of my go to 'happy songs'. It takes me right back to my college journeys too, I was hammering this on my old 60 song capacity MP3 player!

2004

 

9/22: Ruslana - Wild Dances (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

The second and final Eurovision related No.1 of 2004 was the winner. Ukraine's Ruslana felt like Shakira imitating Lara Croft but with a touch of Ukrainian authenticity in the production and instrumentation. An awesome song and performance by the brilliant Ruslana, it was absolutely no surprise to me that this became the first of Ukraine's three wins and the precise moment they became a Eurovision powerhouse - in fact I had a bet on it, the first I had ever placed and obviously the first I ever won as well. The song peaked at No.47 in the UK, not great but the first winner to chart in the top 50 since 1999 (Sertab peaked at no.72 in 2003) and of course this was back in the day when the CD singles were issued weeks after the contest so the hype had gone.

2004

 

10/22: The Corrs - Angel (1 week at No.1)

 

 

Andrea and Sharon Corr both wrote songs about their late mother for Borrowed Heaven. While Sharon's was the mellower Goodbye, which was later issued as a single in 2006 alongside the release of The Ultimate Collection, Andrea's had a more uplifting vibe to it. Angel was the most the band had worn their Irish heritage on their sleeve since the 1990s, with a barnstorming violin and tin whistle breakdown in the chorus, yet still retaining the more commercial, rockier pop elements that had crept into their music during the 00s. It was an early arrival at the top of my chart for Angel based on album listens, as it wouldn't become a single until September, when it peaked at No.16 in the UK.

2004

 

11/22: The Corrs - Baby Be Brave (1 week at #1)

 

 

Caroline's key contribution to the album, meanwhile, was the excellent drama of Baby Be Brave, which had the same vibe as some of the moodier songs on Forgiven Not Forgotten, albeit with 2004 production, with some menacing minor chords, fantastic backing vocals from Caroline and Sharon, and a build to an epic middle eight. I would have loved to have seen this one as a single.

2004

 

12/22: Zero 7 feat Sia - Somersault (1 week at No.1)

 

 

Three years after Destiny had topped my chart, Zero 7 were finally back with their second album, When It Falls. And the lead single, again featuring the wonderful Sia, was a very easy No.1 for me. Featuring the same gorgeous chilled vibes as Destiny, it's one of those songs that lasts for 7 minutes but never feels that long at all because you get lost in how gorgeous and relaxing it all is and appreciate the subtle build as it goes along. A radio edit does exist but I never listen to it. The track only peaked at No.56 in the UK but the album was a success, reaching No.3.