BillyH

Think I remember a fair few people on this site predicting Bang Bang Bang was gonna flop, which made it all the more special when it went top ten! Great track. Not massively keen on the others on this page but S&M is one of the few Rihanna tracks I can stand, maybe cus it was played so much during my clubbing peak so brings back enjoyable memories.

Point of View is genius, obviously following Starlight's cue with a unique CGI video guaranteeing tons of MTV airplay but again the song is so brilliant it deserved to be a megahit all the same. Even if I did think it was called "Point of You" for the first couple of listens back in the day :P Another one that really reminds me of the era thanks to its huge airplay, that "I see life and light, all the colours of the world, so beautiful" break is heavenly. Credit to Alizee, while not a dance track (more dancepop), reaching top ten with ' ' in DB Boulevard's first week too, a two-year-old release sung completely in French becoming a big hit here was fairly astonishing - think it got a lot of airplay on The Box at the time? Fun fact, Point of View is the last dance #1 of the pre-Pop Idol era. Sure HearSay had charted before, but Will Young hit #1 the same week as the next dance #1 and the reality TV floodgates truly opened...

Addicted to Bass not reaching #1 is one of the biggest chart injustices for me, I have a really random memory of a Cartoon Network advert at the time cleverly editing an episode of 'The Powerpuff Girls' so it looks like they're singing it! This and the success of Body Rock really kickstarted a chart push for drum & bass in 2002, but while there were a couple more top 10 hits to come it didn't truly break through into a #1 hit-making force until the early part of the next decade, but by then it had all fizzled out into dull vocal pop songs with a two-second jumpup loop meekly thrown over the top, nowhere near the creativity of earlier tracks. Ok yeah 'Addicted to Bass' has an (awesome) poppy vocal hook, but the drum loops and basslines are way more creative than most D&B dance #1s since around 2012 or so. But maybe that's just me getting older :P What a story involving True Love Never Dies! I remember knowing it was an 'Airwave' mashup and being baffled as there was clearly no trace of Airwave anywhere in the song, but of course the Flip & Fill/Kelly cover took that bit out. I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Flip & Fill - this and their next track are to be fair quite enjoyable, and I'll always have love for Kelly's vocals, but there's very little creativity going on - this is just a cover of an already popular mashup made to quickly cash in, and we're a few months away from the "Let's take every happy hardcore song ever and slow it down and ruin it" era - which worked (more than) fine with their next single but got irritating really quickly. Again a dizzying amount of other dance tracks missed out during Puretone and Kelly's weeks at #1. Two vocal trance picks from me, one being (#9 in Puretone's first week at #2) and the other the Ferry Corsten remix of (#31 in Flip & Fill's peak week). Both far less known than they deserve!

WDYLN - Dannii's pinnacle I think, tricky to add to what's been written so far. Pretty much a vocal trance masterpiece. And all kinds of yes for Gotta Get Thru This, one of my fave UK garage tracks - imagine if Daniel Bedingfield had stuck to this kinda stuff instead of the dreary ballads that defined him later in the decade, imagining all kinds of kickass remixes of If You're Not The One and Never Gonna Leave Your Side right now! Interestingly that return to #1 early in '02 didn't happen in the Scottish Singles Chart, that honour went to (of all things) . The big loss though is PPK's Resurrection (#3 in DB's first week at #1), massive instrumental trance jam which is up there with both Dannii and Daniel's tracks as era-defining classics. Definitely deserved at least a week as dance #1, otherwise there's a ton of others during DB's six weeks at the top which are worth a listen. One of my picks is Andy C & Shimon's instrumental drum & bass anthem , which did astonishingly well to go top 30 in the first week of 2002 - one of the oddest but refreshingly different-sounding top 40 dance hits of its era. It kickstarted some major chart success for a dance genre that was easily about to have its best-selling year in the charts so far - and that and many other reasons is why 2002's gonna be so fascinating!

The Wikipedia list is the UK Dance Chart, which is compiled differently (anyone know how?) - Prince's 1999 is #1 in the first chart of - you guessed it - 1999, as presumably a million DJs all had the same idea at midnight on New Years Day that year. Otherwise it baffles me, depending on the charts I look at it's all over the place - mid-2009, during the time of my clubbing peak, is just this completely random mix of 90s and 00s tracks together which makes no sense at all. Downloads were added later that year which stabilises it to mostly newer tracks, and by 2016 there's not much difference between it and the main chart.

Rapture is indeed sublime, a massive radio hit at the time and very evocative of late 2001. I remember Colm using it as an example of how dance music fizzled out into underwhelming vocal dancepop later in the early noughties, something that did kinda happen but I don't think Rapture deserves to be lumped in with it - we're still in golden-age territory for now, and the real decline comes with some (but not all!) of the cover versions Flip & Fill cranked out in 2002-3. some of which we might be seeing here. I didn't know there was an Avicii remix! I have vague memories of it charting on iTunes but assumed it was just the original back. Just heard it for the first time...it starts really promising with the vocals, but when they stop and your typical 2010s 'drop' starts I kinda lose interest. Original's definitely way better. They Don't Know on the other hand...this is definitely the worst one in the thread so far :P Just four minutes of nothing, probably one of the least interesting top three tracks I've ever heard.

I posted this a couple years ago, but it's even more interesting reading now. An article from Reuters from 1997, talking about the "worrying" state of a "pointless" chart with too many new-entries and high-fallers - chart activity that I think many now miss!

HELL yeah to Mr Saxobeat, even if the UK radio edit is insultingly short - I remember the presence of both this and Inna's Sun Is Up made me think some epic Europop revival was on its way, but instead we got that deep/"big room" (what?!) house bollocks. Levels really should have done it, I was pissed off when Flo nicked it as I thought he'd completely killed off Avicii's one chance at a major hit (ha!) so was pleased when it charted highly all the same.

I did like 'T.H.E' at the time, but mostly for the novelty Mick Jagger bit at the end - the rest of its a bit of a non-event. DDS was definitely predicted as a potential #1 at the time, and got unlucky by being behind two of the most irritatingly overrated tracks of all time, would totally prefer it at #1 over Crappy and Rather Bland.

It's probably old news to everyone, but jesus christ I didn't realise how much of a mess that song's caused on Youtube. Every single top result - including those with over *two hundred million views* AREN'T THE REAL SONG, just random covers deliberately and falsely listed as 'Drake' and/or 'official video' to get views. The comments are full of some pissed-off people. Again everyone's probably aware of that but I seriously didn't expect it to be that nuts.

God this is a blast from the past, this show was basically my life in the late noughties - I remember how huge that Gossip song was that they used in all the trailers! I only ever finished the first three seasons, interest kinda fizzled-out with me and my friends when the fifth series started with the third lot of people. Might catch up some day though, still have no idea what happens to the second and third generations!

Flawless is great, I remember BBC Choice (early version of BBC Three) using it as their logo music for a few months. Although Linkin Park's 'In The End' did chart a place lower, which while definitely not a dance track is about as close to an early noughties classic as you can get! Two trance bangers that charted during Flawless's three-weeks at #1, both from Push: (#36 first week) (#22 third week),

The is a little more interesting, going a bit mad with filter/pitch effects later on the song (1:36 and 2:06 being good examples in the attached link) - it's ok as a pleasant bit of chillout.

Many Buzzjackers are probably aware of it already, but the full archived Scottish Singles Chart - at least back to 1994 - is on the Official Charts Company. You'd think there wouldn't be much difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK at first (except for the occasional football song) but there's actually a huge amount of differences, especially from a dance perspective. In the 1990s, acts like QFX, Q-Tex, Ultrasonic and Scooter are regular top 10 - some even #1 - presences, but charted low top 40 in the UK chart (or missed it completely) indicating that their success was mostly confined to the northern regions. In contrast, UK garage was way bigger in the south of the UK - particularly London - than in Scotland, so you've got huge UK garage #1s that missed the top 10 in Scotland in favour of trancier stuff. Two extreme examples from both sides - (check out the CGI video!) was a #1 hit in Scotland in 1997, but only #21 in the full UK chart. And on the other side, Oxide & Neutrino's 'Bound 4 Da Reload' a huge UK #1 but only entered at #28 in Scotland...however, it shot up to a peak of #11 in its second week, indicating the radio play once it reached UK #1 saw it catch on in Scotland a little better. A word of caution though, they start to get somewhat misleading from about 2006 onwards as downloads weren't integrated into the chart for years (late 2009 I think judging on the #1s), so there's all sorts of random tracks appearing and charting suspiciously highly which get less and less accurate as the noughties go on. But for the 90s/early noughties at least they're an interesting read. Full list of Scottish #1s here.

Amazing to hear those other DJ Otzi songs, seems crazy how big they were in Germany - reminds me how Rednex were a massive group in some countries right into the noughties, where here they're just known for their one hit. Ein Stern sounds very 90s for 2007 (and did the video cost *anything* to make? I thought it was a fan video until about 30 seconds in), but I suppose it was so radio-friendly a track that it was guaranteed mega airplay. Anton Aus Tirol is ridiculous but awesome :D And I'd forgotten about 'It's A Rainbow', seemed a *really* random release at the time but looking back the average uni student of the era (born early 80s) would remember Rainbow quite strongly from their childhood, so probably worked in the same way the early 90s "toytown techno" hits (Smart E's/Urban Hype/Shaft etc) did so well. Youtube just confirmed my vague memory of the "live" Top of the Pops performance of it, which must have baffled most of the kids watching and would baffle anyone under 25 today :P Back to 2001 - yep, Castles in the Sky is an early noughties masterpiece IMO, poppier than Sandstorm and Silence but layered enough to hugely stand out in the trancepop-dominated early noughties. There's something unusually sad about it, one of those dance tracks that's upbeat but with an underlying poignancy throughout - like the very idea of building 'castles in the sky' is hopeless, although maybe that's just me reading too much into it. Loads of trancepop tracks do this but it especially works here. 21 Seconds - Nah. Sorry, again, not for me, a couple of good bits but nothing that wows me, and it annoyed me perhaps too much that this was played at a "90s club night" about a year ago when it's nowhere near either musically or chronologically. 'Sandstorm' was too but I let that pass for being recorded in '99 and just being a way better dance track than this. Starlight (date needs fixing on this one I think) might be an early example of dance tracks realising that a memorable CGI video will guarantee them tons of TV airplay, particularly on 'music request' channels like The Box - the song itself was a massive radio hit anyway and unescapable right through the second half of the year, but there'll be a few over the noughties where I think their bright colourful CGI videos helped a fair bit with their chart success, at least until 2004 or so when "fit girls in underwear" videos started to regrettably dominate. The very end of it is amusing to listen to now, thanks to a radio station I was listening to about a decade ago having a technical breakdown and playing the last ten seconds on repeat for over an hour! N-Trance's 'Set You Free' remix misses out by one place (#4 the week Starlight was #3) and at #18 that week was the brilliant 'On The Move' by Barthezz, which sounds all the world like a random Euro club track that wouldn't get a UK release in a million years, but to my delight it did and hit the top twenty: BkhVK8bjLz4 And no Hey Baby...yeah, I think I agree there, it felt like a dance track at the time but it fits in more with things like Steps and S Club, just about on the pop side of things. I notice Kylie's Can't Get You Out of My Head isn't included either which again I agree with. Bizarre and kinda sad to think that out of all the songs to be #1 on that day in September, it was Otzi's...

It's a really odd situation, she's claiming that Fragma's use of her vocal track is technically illegal for various complicated reasons. The current version of Wikipedia's article suggests someone majorly on Coco's side has recently edited it, this is the first line: That's only been rewritten in the last few days, there was no "bootleg" or "stolen" wording before. Coco's in the music video for it - but was that newly filmed for Fragma or reused from the original Coco track?

Don't forget the "official video" that is obviously not the official video at all, just a random recording of a live performance :P Someone's uploaded the proper video too. A few years ago it was even more ridiculous, almost every single youtube result was the wrong version - the right version, or at least the one known in the UK (maybe it's another ATB - 9pm situation?) was finally buried on page 10 or something. Thankfully now the 'real' version is on page 1 at least. But anyway, more when it arrives on these pages!

Summer-dominating ANTHEM coming next!

One of the Christmas #1 chart "campaigns" is Pokémon related, either the original TV theme or this abomination from the bloke who later formed Rooster: oxdKz4pc6Uk (a top 40-missing flop from 2001) Profits to charity etc.

Further down at #31 in Mis-Teeq's first week, German techno group Members of Mayday scored a surprise top 40 hit with - the 'anthem' of that year's Mayday Rave held in Dortmund in Germany, but big enough to cross the channel and chart here. The following year their older track was released a whopping five years after its original German release (a #1 there in 1997) but it only reached #59. Still good going for something half a decade old and hardly the most commercial of acts. All I Want is ok but a little too poppy at times, the 'Why' remix is my fave of theirs.

Weapon of Choice was a huge MTV favourite thanks to its famous video - it was so well-known by the end of the year that Children in Need did a version with . Just realised what might be next, interesting choice - wouldn't immediately call it a 'dance' track but I suppose it's very heavily infuenced by the sounds of the time.

...no, I don't :P As mentioned this became the irritating playground chant of choice at the time, replacing Ali G impressions, "WAZZUP" and "You are the Weakest Link, goodbye" of the months prior. I don't mind the early UK garage hits - the Rewinds, Moving Too Fasts etc - but by now we're in dire territory, although I do have a soft spot for one we'll probably be seeing at the end of the year. , which would be a brilliant appearance here, misses out by one place - #3 when DJ Pied Piper was at #2, darn it! Seeing them perform that live at V Fest a few years back was a festival highlight.

I saw Fragma live - complete with Damae - as one of the supporting acts as part of the Dance Nation tour in early 2009. I remember when their name was announced a lot of "Fragma?!" shouts went up around the arena - this was only a few months after the Inpetto remix of Toca's Miracle charted and I think many were surprised that they were still going! Great to see them but musically they were a little underwhelming as none of their hits sounded like the originals, they'd all been remixed into Toca's Miracle 2008 clones which was a little disappointing. As opposed to Sash! who performed later that same night and blew the roof off with their own unaltered late 90s classics! Absolutely adore You Are Alive though, I'm probably alone in thinking this but it beats both Toca's Miracle and Every Time You Need Me any day - maybe because I've heard it the least out the three though so it never got overplayed. That fizzling trance-pop backing is awesome, particularly when it really kicks into gear about two minutes in - all my fave dance tracks are the ones that save the best bits to the end!

I heard 'This Is Your Night' in Australia earlier this year as part of a Eurodance playlist someone had on, it was the only one I'd never heard before! Massive in Oz too, #11 over there. Apparently it did get a UK release but didn't chart - I guess given its release date of late 1996 it sounds about two years too late for the UK, who were in dream house/early trance by then. Amber did have a top 40 hit here with Sexual in 2000. Love the Schiller track, particularly Tiesto's brilliant remix. Not as keen on Fatboy Slim, his best days were behind him by now although the Weapon of Choice video is always a fun watch. What does hurt a little is that in its second week, it blocked 's chance at being a dance #1 by one place....and, further down in that chart, some bloke called DJ Tiesto has his first solo hit with , charting at a criminally low #56 - happily it would reach top 40 with a the following year, and (even better) the commercial bollocks he ruined his name with a decade later came out well after the noughties ended so we won't see them here. One of those I knew of for ages but didn't know the name, and when I did I was slightly stunned to find it missed top 40 - #42 in March 2002 was as high as it got. Laboratoire Garnier's used it as their advert music for years, to the point that whenever I hear it now I'm expecting someone to sell me skincare products. This one's a new discovery to me - a downtempo electronica rare major US dance hit (#14!), helped hugely by the single version featuring on vocals. Don't think it was released outside of North America although Moby had plenty of hits from the Play album here too.

Lol just saw this, I was talking in the context of the noughties only - obvs yes lots of trends in the 2010s, dubstep and tropical house especially! What's 'future garage'? My musical knowledge starts sliding off a cliff after about 2011...