Not an amazing chart topper from them that so agreed again.

I must be in the minority that love Booty Call. Admittedly it's not a patch on Never Ever, but I still listen to it every now and then.

That's fair. Never Ever will be quite a lot later on <3

Looking forward to this countdown very much! I know I've said that a lot already. My first full year of following not just the Australian charts but the UK and US charts as well. It's where my love of the charts and pop music really started. Acts like Steps, B*Witched, Billie and Honeyz all entered the scene. Aqua proved they weren't going to be one hit wonders, All Saints went from strength to strength and the Spice Girls were still scoring #1's.

10 hours ago, gooddelta said:

32. Spacedust - Gym and Tonic

Score: 3/10

Reason: There's really nothing among the 1998 No.1s that I truly dislike, so it was quite hard to pick what to put last. But the one that stood out most to me was Gym and Tonic by British dance act Spacedust. It is, for all intents and purposes, a cheeky cash in that ripped off an idea of Bob Sinclar's - he couldn't clear a vocal sample from Jane Fonda so presumably they left it there and it wasn't released as a single.

Spacedust saw the opportunity and got a session vocalist in to do the spoken part but it's otherwise pretty identical. It just comes across as cheap and opportunistic to me; it's not the best track in the first place and the story behind it doesn't make me want to listen to it.

It had a very short UK chart run after its surprise appearance at No.1, seeing off 911's More Than A Woman cover. Just four weeks in the top 40, going 1-6-16-34. And I think it is probably long since unlicensable for compilations as I haven't seen it on anything since the 90s. A very forgotten, curious No.1, but with good reason.

I had to look this up as I don't ever think I've heard it. It also looks like it didn't chart in Australia, though I'm not sure if it was released here.

5 hours ago, gooddelta said:

31. Melanie B feat Missy Elliott - I Want You Back

Score: 4/10

Reason: The first solo Spice single came little over two years after the band made their chart debut (somehow their two years of chart domination felt more like five), and it was Scary Spice Melanie B striking out on her own first, albeit alongside Missy Elliott on rap and production duties, with Missy also co-writing the track. For me this is an ok R&B/rap song that misses the mark in terms of going anywhere particularly special.

The production is nice, but it's quite a one-note bassline and the melody doesn't really do much outside of the repeated chorus line. It's a mid to low tier Missy production when you think about some of her classic 00s hits, although it was nice to see her at No.1, and also cool to hear Melanie B on a genre that isn't pop. Ultimately, though, I feel this one got there thanks to Mel's star power and not due to the strength of the song. And the fleeting chart run of 1-4-15-28-33-40 does support the 'fan purchase' assumption.

I don't mind this one, though I do remember finding it a little underwhelming being the first solo Spice release. It's not one I revisit much though. Saying that I think it's probably the only Mel B solo song I can remmeber. I don't think I could recite a line of the others.

I like 2 of the 3 records featured so far.

Spacedust takes me back to a time when I listened to Dave Pearce on Radio 1 every Sunday night. I get the criticisms of it being a bit cheesy and ripping off someone else's idea but I enjoy listening to it.

Mel B is the one I don't like, whilst the Spice Girls weren't quite finished the solo careers that followed were every bit as bad.

All Saints have one of the more obscure number ones but that means you don't hear it much anymore as opposed to the overplayed "Never Ever" but I always thought "Bootie Call" was the better of the two.

On a more personal note 1998 was the year I opened myself up to music that wasn't rave so my tastes had become more varied and give me fond memories as a result. At the same time there was complete dross such as Steps, B*Witched and worst of all Destiny's Child.

46 minutes ago, Paddington James said:

Looking forward to this countdown very much! I know I've said that a lot already. My first full year of following not just the Australian charts but the UK and US charts as well. It's where my love of the charts and pop music really started. Acts like Steps, B*Witched, Billie and Honeyz all entered the scene. Aqua proved they weren't going to be one hit wonders, All Saints went from strength to strength and the Spice Girls were still scoring #1's.

I love the Australian charts in 1998, it was far more slow moving than the UK at the time but Australia had some great #1s that year and quite different to the UK (aside from the few big #1s earlier in the year). I mean Ricky Martin had the best selling single of the year and it only reached #29 here and 5,6,7,8 was a big #1 there too, and that only got to #14 here.

I am really looking forward to this thread, 1998 is still one of my favourite years in terms of #1s (same with 1999 too). A good time for the charts though there were a few non-#1s.

I quite liked Spacedust at the time but its definitely not a song I go back too. Interesting story behind it and you've got to wonder how big the Bob Sinclar version could have been earlier in the Summer.

I did buy the Mel B song and it has its charm (I was a big Spice Girl fan at the time) but I'd have probably put it near the bottom as well.

I like Bootie Call but don't love it, its their worst #1 but i'd have put it a bit higher.

In response to a post above I really hope B*Witched’s 3 chart toppers from 98 do well :)

I always find it interesting that Australia took so much to 5,6,7,8. It was huge here too in terms of sales, just not peak. It is by far their biggest song on Spotify though, and along with Tragedy would be considered one of their signature songs despite the No.14 peak.

It is strange that the Ricky Martin song did so poorly here but maybe it was just World Cup song saturation as we had so many homegrown football anthems charting that year (3 Lions, Vindaloo, Carnaval De Paris, Top of the World or whatever it was called) that we had plenty already.

It certainly was an interesting couple of years. I always think of 1998/9 as the start of the modern world as we now know it, in that looking back they are kind of recognisable to today but the technology we all use was very much in its infancy although finally coming to the fore, lots of songs about mobile phones and emails etc and the internet was in use by more people, website addresses were starting to feature in magazines and on the back of some CDs.

Edited Monday at 23:171 day by gooddelta

11 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

I always find it interesting that Australia took so much to 5,6,7,8. It was huge here too in terms of sales, just not peak. It is by far their biggest song on Spotify though, and along with Tragedy would be considered one of their signature songs despite the No.14 peak.

It is strange that the Ricky Martin song did so poorly here but maybe it was just World Cup song saturation as we had so many homegrown football anthems charting that year (3 Lions, Vindaloo, Carnaval De Paris, Top of the World or whatever it was called) that we had plenty already.

It certainly was an interesting couple of years. I always think of 1998/9 as the start of the modern world as we now know it, in that looking back they are kind of recognisable to today but the technology we all use was very much in its infancy although finally coming to the fore, lots of songs about mobile phones and emails etc and the internet was in use by more people, website addresses were starting to feature in magazines and on the back of some CDs.

I can remember the cds and magazines from then with a little tag line at the bottom. “Check out or brand new website”. Oh they were simpler times.

I actually love Spacedust, although the story behind it always fills me with amusement.

I've never been able to find anything good or interesting in that Mel B song.

Bootie Call - agree 100% with everything you say about it. Another non- number 1.

I’m surprised Bootie Call sold as much as it did in its opening week to get to #1. If only Steps released One For Sorrow one week later.

They did well to beat Five that week too, whose star was quickly ascending, although comparatively they waited ages for a No.1 (10-4-3-2-2-2 for their first six singles). Everybody Get Up is definitely more remembered overall these days (55m combined streams vs 5m on Spotify).

Edited yesterday at 08:121 day by gooddelta

8 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

They did well to beat Five that week too, whose star was quickly ascending, although comparatively they waited ages for a No.1 (10-4-3-2-2-2 for their first six singles). Everybody Get Up is definitely more remembered overall these days (55m combined streams vs 5m on Spotify).

Didn’t realise that about Five. Everybody Get Up was the far bigger hit in Australia peaking at #5. Bootie Call could only manage a peak of #59.

29. Oasis - All Around The World

Rank: 5/10

Reason: Oasis had some brilliant No.1 singles covered by Jester and Chez in their respective 1995/1996 and 2005 rates. Unfortunately their 1998 chart topper isn't one of them for me. All Around The World is the kind of song that sums up what I found a bit tedious about Be Here Now. With a near 10 minute long album version, it is too bloated and over the top without being a good enough song to have a reason to be. It just plods along a bit for me, with the three key changes and kitchen sink production not really improving it, and Liam doing his best parody of himself (the elongated shiiiiine). Safe to say this didn't make it to their tour setlist this summer, and it's a shame Stand By Me wasn't released in the quiet January period instead because that is one of their best post imperial phase (1994-1996) singles.

All Around The World would have been given an easier ride as a b-side perhaps, but wasn't great as a single, and it was not selected for Now 39 although did feature on New Hits '98 in the 4:50 edit, which I find more bearable although it isn't on Spotify. I'll give them that the video has some cool imagery - it's all very psychedelic and Beatles-esque. The song was swiftly forgotten about by many chart watchers after a 1-5-14-25-34 run in the top 40 although reappeared in discussions three years later when Hear'say's Pure and Simple appeared to borrow the melody somewhat.

'All Around The World' is a crushing bore.

3 hours ago, Paddington James said:

I’m surprised Bootie Call sold as much as it did in its opening week to get to #1. If only Steps released One For Sorrow one week later.

I think it literally only got there because the single was being sold cheaply.

4 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

'All Around The World' is a crushing bore.

I think it literally only got there because the single was being sold cheaply.

Ah that makes sense. I mean I remember seeing in Top of the Pops magazine back in the late 90’s that some singles were £2 or £3. It made me so jealous as singles here in Australia often cost $10, some were $5 though. 10 year old me didn’t quite understand different currencies though.

A fair last place, I don't think much of 'Gym & Tonic' musically anyway but the context of how it came to be does sour the whole thing.

The Missy production and feature was a cool, futuristic move for Melanie B at the time but 'I Want You Back' isn't a particularly memorable solo Spice moment despite those credentials. The "I know it might sound wack" line also feels quite dated now.

All Saints are great but the appearance of 'Bootie Call' on TOTP recently reminded me how much of a non-#1 that was. There are some interesting ingredients, like the beatboxing, but ultimately it falls flat as a whole song.

'All Around The World' feels like Oasis' attempt at a 'Hey Jude' moment but it doesn't capture my attention for its whole duration like that does. The music video actually reminds me of the animated Yellow Submarine movie too! So, very Beatles all round and it's... okay, but definitely too bloated.