I don't think I commented on 'Perfect Day' in the 1997 thread so I agree that it's right up there as one of the best ever charity ensemble records. The myriad of voices from different genres was an inspired move and comes together really well. Shame about the licensing minefield preventing it from being on streaming nowadays.

'Deeper Underground' has an awesome bassline that reminds me of No Doubt's 'Hella Good' but I don't find myself returning to it all that much now. I can see why the likes of 'Virtual Insanity' and 'Canned Heat' have gone down as their classics instead despite not having the same #1 status.

'Doctor Jones' is the weakest of the Aqua #1s for me, verges on annoying, but I have a bit of a soft spot for their remaining chart-topper so I'm pleased it's come out on top for you.

'Millennium' containing grandeur Bond strings yet also lyrics like "come and have a go if you think you are hard enough" is Robbie in a nutshell, some pleasing duality there. I was shocked when I first found out that a song called 'Millennium' came out in 1998 but the hype being so big in the lead up to it makes sense. A strong first U.K. #1 for him and also appearance on the Hot 100.

What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her? *.* I went through a similar journey as you with this song. I initially found the vocal a bit annoying but it eventually clicked as a bit of quotable fun, agree that Maya's presence was off the scale during the TOTP performances too. Once at the pub I heard a medley of 'Can You Feel It?', 'Feel It' and 'Tragedy' all together *.*

Millennium is slightly higher for me - "Feel It" among my favourite #1's of 1998 - so would appear much later.

8 hours ago, Chez Wombat said:

Think these last two have been my favourites (I have got a bit of a soft spot for Because We Want To I confess, might be my Doctor Who nostalgia coming through x) Millenium is admittedly all about the sample, but I think Robbie does put his own stamp on it. Feel It is straight out iconic with one of the most quotable lyrics of the time, it shouldn't work but it really does. 1998 had a lot of naff number 1s, but some real classics in there too.

Poor Stardust being as low as 9 in the number 2s rank! That would very easily be my favourite in a pretty poor list, bloody Boyzone -__ Mysterious Times is really good though and One for Sorrow one of a small handful of Steps songs I really like.

Yes Stardust is another that has grown on me more over time. A bit like Modjo in 2000 I'm not sure I was really ever particularly enamoured with the vocal on it at the time but over time I've come to like the song a lot, mostly thanks to the backing track and music video, and I'm not sure another style of vocal would have worked on it to be fair. I do think it deserved some time at No.1 too.

4 hours ago, Jade said:

I don't think I commented on 'Perfect Day' in the 1997 thread so I agree that it's right up there as one of the best ever charity ensemble records. The myriad of voices from different genres was an inspired move and comes together really well. Shame about the licensing minefield preventing it from being on streaming nowadays.

'Deeper Underground' has an awesome bassline that reminds me of No Doubt's 'Hella Good' but I don't find myself returning to it all that much now. I can see why the likes of 'Virtual Insanity' and 'Canned Heat' have gone down as their classics instead despite not having the same #1 status.

'Doctor Jones' is the weakest of the Aqua #1s for me, verges on annoying, but I have a bit of a soft spot for their remaining chart-topper so I'm pleased it's come out on top for you.

'Millennium' containing grandeur Bond strings yet also lyrics like "come and have a go if you think you are hard enough" is Robbie in a nutshell, some pleasing duality there. I was shocked when I first found out that a song called 'Millennium' came out in 1998 but the hype being so big in the lead up to it makes sense. A strong first U.K. #1 for him and also appearance on the Hot 100.

What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her? *.* I went through a similar journey as you with this song. I initially found the vocal a bit annoying but it eventually clicked as a bit of quotable fun, agree that Maya's presence was off the scale during the TOTP performances too. Once at the pub I heard a medley of 'Can You Feel It?', 'Feel It' and 'Tragedy' all together *.*

Oh good shout with Hella Good, I can hear that too.

For sure, Millennium felt like Robbie being cheeky but knowing he could now get away with it. He definitely had more of a spring in his step after the success of his last couple of singles and it came out in this song, he oozed star power and charm. In the final few months of 1999 everyone was banging on and on about the millennium bug, the upcoming millennium dome, you truly couldn't escape it, but I didn't hear about it that much before 1999 so Robbie did seem early!

Haha, must have been fun to hear them all in sequence. One For Sorrow isn't that dissimlar either, in fact Steps have started singing 'Can You Feel It' in the instrumental middle eight of that track.

'Feel It' is the first #1 to appear that would be significantly higher for me, most likely top 10. Of the #2s, 'Music Sounds Better With You' is my favourite by some distance, with 'Ray Of Light' next, although when I think about it, this is probably my least favourite year for #2s out of the second half of the 90s.

16. Spice Girls - Too Much

Rank: 8/10

Reason: Still clinging on for dear life at No.1 for the first three days of 1998, is the 1997 Christmas No.1 Too Much by Spice Girls, which spent two weeks at the top. I won't go too much into this one as Jester covered it in the 1997 thread and we've all shared our thoughts on the track there. It's more or less a mid tier Spice single for me, but still a really lovely ballad, with a gorgeous vocal from Melanie C in particular. Happy memories of late '97/early '98, particularly the Spiceworld film and of my sister throwing a Spice Girls party for her 7th birthday on 27th December 1997 while this was at the top (both of my sisters were born within days of Christmas). Despite having Geri's hair colour, she went as her favourite member, Melanie B. More from Spiceworld later...

15. Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds - 3 Lions '98

Rank: 8/10

Reason: For those that like Three Lions most people have a preferred version out of the 1996 original and this 1998 re-record with updated lyrics and for me, it's this one. The ultimate football anthem, the original landed at the peak of Britpop with a very fitting indie-pop sound and lyrics about British hope and optimism, becoming a huge No.1 in the process.

Fast forward two years and England were represented musically by official single On Top Of The World by England United - a strange ensemble of various B-tier indie bands and Spice Girls, saddled with a miserable song with no oomph to it whatsoever. Presumably the thought was that the presence of Spice Girls would take it to No.1, but a bad song is a bad song and it barely scraped the top ten. Luckily, we had our pick of unofficial anthems that year - everything from Fat Les' lairy terrace anthem Vindaloo to Dario G's wonderful dance track Carnaval De Paris - the UK chart must have seen about 10 football related tracks chart that summer. But we also had this second version of an anthem that was quickly becoming THE football song of England, and remains so to this day, the original going back to No.1 in 2018 and charting for basically every major football tournament since its original release. If Euros 2008 feels like a memory that doesn't exist, it's because we didn't qualify! But otherwise we tend to see a smattering of footie anthems every two years, and this is always in the mix.

I'm not a huge football fan at club level, although I do always get into watching the World Cup and the Euros as it's nice to have something that unites the nation, especially as England's men have found something approaching good form in the last decade which is nice after all those years of hurt. England's women, of course, are doing far better!

3 Lions '98 gave the single another three weeks at the top ahead of Vindaloo in 1998 and it really reminds me of good times right at the end of primary school, marred by David Beckham's infamous red card, which we watched together in a special school assembly. It also reminds me of a school trip to Butlins Bognor Regis where everyone was singing this, Vindaloo, and 'Ole, Ole, Ole' for some reason. Upon just checking the charts of the time, Chumbawamba were in with No.21 smash Top Of The World (Ole Ole Ole) so it's nice they still had some relevance to us. For me, 3 Lions' 98's commentary is more relevant to my era (Southgate, Shearer etc) and I just enjoy the production a bit more than the original. It is the only version I ever listen to anyway, and even outside football tournaments I enjoy it.

I still prefer the original Three Lions, anthem, but this version was good too. Dario G was my chart-topper though, total banger!!

3 minutes ago, Popchartfreak said:

I still prefer the original Three Lions, anthem, but this version was good too. Dario G was my chart-topper though, total banger!!

Absolutely, a fantastic track from Dario G. Ricky Martin had a good one too, huge all over the world but a minor hit here. Too many England songs fighting for our attention for us to notice anything else.

Too Much is one of my favourite Spice Girls songs, so it’s nice to see it do well here. I was t a huge fan at the time, but my sisters were. So I heard it 100’s of times through them.

3 Lions never took off here in Australia, which I guess is understandable. So this was the first time I heard it. It’s actually quieter decent. I think I’d have loved it if I was living in England at the time.

Already commented on 'Too Much' in Jester's thread so won't bore you with repeat thoughts but aww at the added lore of your sister's Spice Girls themed party! I remember being Nicola when my friendship group pretended to be Girls Aloud (I wasn't even ginger but did have quite an unusual shade of brown hair, with tints to it that looked ginger in the sun, so was the closest to it ) so probably would've been assigned Geri as well if I had been around/older for the Spice Girls' heyday. I wonder if Spiceworld: The Movie will ever be added to streaming platforms!

I am also someone who prefers the '98 version of 'Three Lions' to the original so yay! This might have been partially influenced by it being the first version I was exposed to. We had a "going for goals" themed assembly in year five which featured the likes of Spandau Ballet's 'Gold', Five's 'Keep On Movin' and of course 'Three Lions '98'; that iteration makes sense looking back with the more uplifting lyrics. Of course the British thrive on self-deprecating humour but I do like the more positive spin too and think the updated vocals, production and crowd noise enhances it.

13 minutes ago, Paddington James said:

3 Lions never took off here in Australia, which I guess is understandable. So this was the first time I heard it. It’s actually quieter decent. I think I’d have loved it if I was living in England at the time.

That's understandable indeed although weirdly I found out it charted in Germany and Norway, not sure why they were buying it!

It's a good, anthemic track but becomes overplayed every time England go deep into a major tournament. In 2018 especially it was everywhere again.

14 minutes ago, Jade said:

Already commented on 'Too Much' in Jester's thread so won't bore you with repeat thoughts but aww at the added lore of your sister's Spice Girls themed party! I remember being Nicola when my friendship group pretended to be Girls Aloud (I wasn't even ginger but did have quite an unusual shade of brown hair, with tints to it that looked ginger in the sun, so was the closest to it ) so probably would've been assigned Geri as well if I had been around/older for the Spice Girls' heyday. I wonder if Spiceworld: The Movie will ever be added to streaming platforms!

I am also someone who prefers the '98 version of 'Three Lions' to the original so yay! This might have been partially influenced by it being the first version I was exposed to. We had a "going for goals" themed assembly in year five which featured the likes of Spandau Ballet's 'Gold', Five's 'Keep On Movin' and of course 'Three Lions '98'; that iteration makes sense looking back with the more uplifting lyrics. Of course the British thrive on self-deprecating humour but I do like the more positive spin too and think the updated vocals, production and crowd noise enhances it.

Ahh that's great hahah, good choice of GA member. We definitely need that movie on streaming, I do wheel out the DVD to watch every now and then.

Oh that's cool, as I often can't find many people who prefer it! Also it was on Now 40 which I used to spam so it had that recognisability factory, I don't think the original ever made it to the numbered Nows but was on Hits instead. Oh cool, that's a great tale - yes, it's quintessentially English isn't it, but in an uplifting way.

27 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

Absolutely, a fantastic track from Dario G. Ricky Martin had a good one too, huge all over the world but a minor hit here. Too many England songs fighting for our attention for us to notice anything else.

The Cup Of Life is pretty good, pity it wasnt a proper hit. Latin footie tracks often bomb but are big elsewhere. Germany still loves Three Lions, I think it must be to do with defiance in the face of losing - which they did in 1966 and bounced back to win in later years.

8 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

That's understandable indeed although weirdly I found out it charted in Germany and Norway, not sure why they were buying it!

It's a good, anthemic track but becomes overplayed every time England go deep into a major tournament. In 2018 especially it was everywhere again.

Haha that’s so crazy and random.

We in Germany love well conducted football songs. "Three Lions" is imo one of the best football songs of all time, but of course the '98 version is just a marginally different version to the '96 original. "Three Lions" was also adapted from my favourite German football team "Werder Bremen" - this is a great german version of it:

This song was created in the year of our last German championship in 2004, that's why I have great memories of that.

I don't remember "Too Much" very, so I have to give it a re-listen.

My places 20 to 16 are:

20. Billie - Because We Want To

19. Oasis - All Around The World

18. Spice Girls - Goodbye

17. Usher - You Make Me Wanna

16. Boyzone - All That I Need

Already talked a lot about 17, 19 and 20. I find "Because We Want To" quite infectious, evethough Billie's later stuff was better. Prefer that one clearly over "Girlfriend". "All Around the World" is not Oasis' catchiest song, but still quite good. "You Make Me Wanna" is a good R&B song with great garage mixes by Tuff Jam.

"Goodbye" is another softer Spice Girls song designed for the christmas time. It is quite OK, but nothing special imo. "All that I Need" is one of the better Boyzone songs. The nice thing about this release is that it also features dance remixes by Piz Danouk and Trouser Enthusiasts. Eventhough they have not much to do with the original, they are quite nice.

2 hours ago, DaTilt said:

We in Germany love well conducted football songs. "Three Lions" is imo one of the best football songs of all time, but of course the '98 version is just a marginally different version to the '96 original. "Three Lions" was also adapted from my favourite German football team "Werder Bremen" - this is a great german version of it:

This song was created in the year of our last German championship in 2004, that's why I have great memories of that.

I don't remember "Too Much" very, so I have to give it a re-listen.

My places 20 to 16 are:

20. Billie - Because We Want To

19. Oasis - All Around The World

18. Spice Girls - Goodbye

17. Usher - You Make Me Wanna

16. Boyzone - All That I Need

Already talked a lot about 17, 19 and 20. I find "Because We Want To" quite infectious, evethough Billie's later stuff was better. Prefer that one clearly over "Girlfriend". "All Around the World" is not Oasis' catchiest song, but still quite good. "You Make Me Wanna" is a good R&B song with great garage mixes by Tuff Jam.

"Goodbye" is another softer Spice Girls song designed for the christmas time. It is quite OK, but nothing special imo. "All that I Need" is one of the better Boyzone songs. The nice thing about this release is that it also features dance remixes by Piz Danouk and Trouser Enthusiasts. Eventhough they have not much to do with the original, they are quite nice.

Thanks for recommending the remixes, I have made a note of mixes you mentioned during the thread to listen to.

Also, I bought this album in Saturn when I was in Munich in 2023 to familiarise myself with some German football hits, and did notice Three Lions '98 on there along with, I'm sure, some songs that are more familiar to you.

Edited yesterday at 15:581 day by gooddelta

14. Run DMC vs. Jason Nevins - It's Like That

Rank: 8/10

Reason: Pioneering US hip-hop act Run DMC had been around since the early 1980s, and had their previous biggest hit in 1986 with the Aerosmith collaboration Walk This Way. 12 years later and each part of that collaboration was weirdly destined to get their biggest ever hit separately. First up was Run DMC, whose 1983 debut single It's Like That was remixed by house DJ Jason Nevins into a much dancier affair with a gymnasium based video that showed breakdance crews battling each other. I remember thinking the song sounded very fresh at the time and it was certainly soundtracking discos and after school gatherings held by the cooler contingent of my year six class (other parties were heavier on Steps and LeAnn Rimes as I recall).

The song built up a lot of advance hype and after charting for a month on import sales from the German and US releases, the UK release sent it straight to No.1 where it stayed for six weeks - the second longest run of the year - and sold over a million copies, ultimately becoming the third biggest seller of 1998.

A Jason Nevins remix of It's Tricky appeared on the release schedule and surely would have been another top 10 hit for the band and their new remixer of choice, but it was pulled for some mysterious reason and only ended up charting at No.74 on import. A memorable crossover rap and dance single with a bassline and style that was copied both in the immediate term (see the cover of Fight For Your Right by N.Y.C.C. which charted in May) and in the slightly longer term (Black Legend and Mad'House owe a debt to this production style), It's Like That was one of the most distinct hits of the year.

I remember this being all over the music channels back then, Video Hits and Rage. It was also constantly on the radio. I really disliked it at the time but it has grown on me now to the point that I don’t turn it off when comes on.

Indeed, I remember it on music channels a lot at the time and I liked it at the time as a child. It was my introduction to the rapping part of hip hop really (with the Fugees I remembered the soulful choruses more).

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by TheSnake