Same with Dry Your Eyes, I only very recently added it to my recurrents playlist. I'm quite cool on a lot of his material post the first album but this is quite a unique and special song, the verses more than anything else for me.

Not a fan of Cha Cha Slide particularly, but it was interesting to see it slide up to No.1 at the time after debuting behind Britney. I see the appeal of it at a party.

Edited October 14Oct 14 by gooddelta

'Dry Your Eyes' would probably be in my top 10. The best thing I've heard from The Streets!

Not crazy on what else has dropped out since including 'These Words' which for some reason I've never been keen on much. Prefer 'Unwritten' for sure.

I think that’s quite a fair placing for both “Dry Your Eyes” and “Cha Cha Slide”. I wouldn’t seek them out but they’re both very good examples of their style.

Ah, we're losing some good stuff now! 'Dry Your Eyes' would be up near the top for me (maybe only held off by 'Mad World', assuming that's still to come?) 'Cha Cha Slide' isn't one I'd listen to outside of a party setting, but it's iconic and certainly unique of its era.

1 hour ago, jimwatts said:

Ah, we're losing some good stuff now! 'Dry Your Eyes' would be up near the top for me (maybe only held off by 'Mad World', assuming that's still to come?) 'Cha Cha Slide' isn't one I'd listen to outside of a party setting, but it's iconic and certainly unique of its era.

yes I'm including Mad World for its one week at the top, but won't re-review it much from 2003 🙂

12

Girls Aloud - I'll Stand By You (2 weeks - 27th November) 7.6/10

Another charity track, and a cover of the fabulous Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg song as co-written with Chrissie Hynde for the Pretenders in the mid 90's. That version should have been a number one for Chrissie, I absolutely love it to the point that it might well be my fave Pretenders track - and there's loads of others to love! But this cover stays within the same vibe and sounds pretty tasteful now I play it again. I'm not generally a fan of charity covers after hearing them a few times, but Girls Aloud get away with it, I think. Not in the same league as the original, but still good enough for a worthy second chart-topper - though they had many better records that should have hit the top spot but didn't. It's sad and sweet 2 decades on and classy. Girls Aloud, as far as I am concerned, have stood the test of time Xenomania-productions galore, xenomania-songs and singing.

as I'm still faffing about with flu symptoms following a flu jab on saturday, I might as well take this rate to the top 10 today and peak at the weekend.

11

Busted - Thunderbirds (Are Go) (2 weeks - 7th August) 7.8/10

Take one beloved 1960's puppet TV show theme, get me excited with the intro and then diverge into a matey rockpop romp with strings and Ben Kingsley as The Hood to push an expensive flop live action movie in a pop video. What's not to love! Much better than I remembered this is great fun. This may be a generational thing - the well-meaning live-action movie directed by Will Riker Next Gen's alter-ego Jonathan Frakes bombed as it lacked the puppeteer 21st century charm of the 1964 TV show. I can't understate how much Gerry Anderson shows meant to 60's kids, firing imagination in a way no other show could (bar Doctor Who) but they were mini-cinema-style BIG productions where Who was slow but disturbing - these were relatively manic for the time! And the TV theme remains exciting, it's an all-time classic, which is why there was a dance remake for us 30-somethings in the early 90's. This isn't quite that good but it's pumped up and fun. Those too young to have grown-up with Thunderbirds may not be as fussed, but it had two weeks on top so that must say it was at least popular as a double A for a while.

Was oddly talking about Dry Your Eyes today at work. A bit of a forgotten classic imo.

Awful Busted song - should be 10 plus places lower!

'I'll Stand By You' never been a GA favourite of mine at all, but it has a new poignancy since Sarah's passing.

'Thunderbirds' is absolutely dreadful

Call on Me and Take Me to the Clouds Above were both decent songs, there was a much better dance number 1 this year (which I'm pleased to see in your top 10 x), but I'd rank them a fair bit higher.

Dry Your Eyes is probably my favourite so far and would be in my top 10, it's definitely not in the same league as the songs on Original Pirate Material which were groundbreaking, but the use of monotone spoken word and heavy strings really gives it an authentic emotional feel.

I agree it is such a shame that Girls Aloud's many pop classics that year like Love Machine or The Show didn't get to number 1 and instead a boring, charity cover got there, that's the UK public for you x Although I do appreciate that it has acquired new meaning in recent years as a tribute for Sarah.

Both Thunderbirds Are Go and Cha Cha Slide are pure nostalgic classics, I'm not sure they'd be that high for me but I enjoy hearing them both. The Thunderbirds movie was utterly terrible, but man that theme song was always on our car radio x

I have a real soft spot for I’ll Stand By You from Girls Aloud. It’s not their best but its still a beautiful song.

“Thunderbirds” starts off well but bores by the chorus. “I’ll Stand By You” is a dull effort - I thought they must be running out of ideas by that point but thankfully they went on to have some more.

I like 7 of the Top 10 plus another is at least pretty iconic, and another is iconic on Buzzjack I suppose. 😆

I prefer all Girls Aloud cover versions over the originals.

"I'll Stand by You" is my second favourite UK # 1 from 2004 year.

'Jump' is usually the only Girls Aloud cover I would seek out, but must admit, it was quite emotional hearing their version of 'I'll Stand By You' on tour last year, in the wake of Sarah's passing. Both that and 'Whole Lotta History' from their catalogue hit a bit differently whenever I hear them now.

10

Brian McFadden - Real To Me (1 week - 18th September) 7.9/10

ah, Brian's escape record! I have no memory of this, not heard it since it left the charts, but It went top 3 for me! Quite a thing as a generally early non-Westlife fan. It's pretty good actually, obviously not remotely like Westlife, more poprock anthem ballad wannabe, that does everything right and sounds great, Brian does a good vocal, it suits his new moody style and yet...the fact that I still don't recognise the tune 21 years later despite rating it at the time is quite telling. It's more of an event and statement than a great song, albeit one that didn't lead to a long solo career. Now if Robbie had recorded it instead (it's a Guy Chambers co-write/production) I suspect the lyrics might have been more quirky and the end result more memorable. As a Robbie/Guy fan, though, maybe I would think that. For 2025? It's not as good as Robbie's recent single Spies and that covers the same genre ground but is more upbeat, and it has a memorable hook. Still like this though and I'm pleased to see 10 good to great songs comprise the top 10 of 2004.

I really like the Girls Aloud and Busted songs - both were in my top 100 of the year. The original is obviously great by The Pretenders but I think Girls Aloud did it justice, and it's a lovely version - not a highlight of their catalogue by any means, but I like it and it was lovely on their tour last year, as a tribute to Sarah.

Unpopular opinion but there's something about Thunderbirds that I find very addictive. Turning a very old theme into a pop-rock song was cleverly done. It starts off better though, the verses and bridge are fantastic.

Real To Me would be in my bottom five, I strongly dislike it and thought it was a really poor debut solo single from Brian with awful lyrics about the downsides of fame, quite a corny middle eight ("I raise up my finger and watch football on TV"), and an unlikeable vocal performance. I did like the follow up single Irish Son though, and also Almost Here (probably more for another reason, and even then it's not one of my favourite Delta Goodrem songs).

9

Michelle McManus - All This Time (3 weeks - 17th January) 8/10

Reality TV. This should be rubbish, but the Never Ever beats continue to bring hits for non-All Saints acts, but actually this is a good song and she has a nice voice. As per I didnt watch the TV series and had no investment in anyone. That said, the backlash against her at the time and since seem to be based on the fact that she had the gall to go in for singing without being thin, buxom and perfectly featured, as if that is in anyway relevant. I'm on her side, this is a good, albeit now-cliched Reality-show inspiring first single blueprint, and has impeccable songwriting credentials in Steve Mac and Wayne Hector - I Wanna Give You Devotion as Nomad to start with, for Steve, and then with Wayne, ooh, little-known number one songs for Westlife, JLS, The Wanted, and together or apart, and production on some, hits like Starships for Nicki Minaj, Olly Murs Army Of Two, Sigma/Paloma's Changing, Clean Bandit Rock A Bye, Cry Baby & Symphony, Pink's What About Us, Sheeran's Shape Of You and many more. So pretty damn fine.

Real To Me came on on my #1’s playlist shuffle on the weekend and similar to you it was the first time I’d heard it since 2008. It’s a decent song, worthy of top 10 in my view.

I'd actually take 'Real To Me' over the majority of Westlife's #1s, although I don't exactly like it. The lyrics are very shoddy and self-aggrandising.

All This Time is another one I quite enjoy, so I’m glad to see it in the top 10. I remember the name Michelle NcManus Freon 2004, but being here in Australia I have no recollection of the song itself from that time.