N-S

35. "Wannabe" Spice Girls (4 weeks) Reached #1: 30 Aug 1996 UK chart peak: #1 One of the songs that instantly pop into everyone's minds when anyone think of the 90's, in my opinion this hasn't aged as well as it should but no doubt about how arresting it was. It debuted in my chart straight at #1, ending the Fugees reign at the top. Despite allegedly taking 22 takes to shoot the video, the final cut isn't a continuous take, as it contains two cuts: one before the dance routine in the stairs and other when Victoria pulls the tablecloth. gJLIiF15wjQ

34. "Killing me softly" Fugees (6 weeks) Reached #1: 19 Jul 1996 UK chart peak: #1 "Killing Me Softly With His Song" was originally recorded in 1972 by Lori Lieberman allegedly inspired after seeing Don McLean in concert, however it was Roberta Flack's 1973 version the most celebrated one. The Fugees intended to change the lyrics into something about poverty and drug abuse but both out of respect for Flack and without permission from the writers, their version ended up being Lauryn Hill crooning the song along hip hop beats put together with Praz and Wyclef's intro and occasional "One time, two times" ad libs. Still, the rework worked wonderfully and introduced the song to a new generation. Not only this was my year-end #1 of 1996, it was the first #1 song to spend more than 4 weeks in my chart, and with a total six weeks on top, a record that would last ten years. oKOtzIo-uYw (Lauryn has already six kids, seven kids to go)

33. "Fable" Robert Miles Reached #1: 12 Jul 1996 UK chart peak: #7 There was no need to change the winning formula, so the follow-up to "Children" was yet another massive instrumental dance hit. However, a version with vocals by Fionnuala Quinn (dubbed the "Message Version") was also featured in his "Dreamland" album. jJHpK0EQ93A

32. "Because you loved me" Céline Dion (1 week) Reached #1: 5 Jul 1996 UK chart peak: #5 Here is Madame Dion again, this time with "Because You Loved Me", featured in the soundtrack of Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer movie "Up Close & Personal". A chart-topping hit in the USA, Canada and Australia, a trademark in Dion's repertoir and a wedding-song favourite ever since, the song was penned by Diane Warren as tribute to her father. VTxnqUhhlIY

31. "Brighter day" Kelly Llorenna (4 weeks) Reached #1: 7 Jun 1996 UK chart peak: #43 After famously singing lead vocals in N-Trance's "Set You Free", Kelly Llorenna's first solo offer fell short of the UK top 40. Yet, having discovered it on a cassette compilation, I was swept away by the track and it rapidly shot to the top of my chart. Kelly Llorenna would have two more solo top 30 hits in my chart, both cover versions: "Tell It To My Heart" (2002) and "This Time I Know It's For Real" (2005). Original version DV8mPiGtrQU The version in my cassette compillation M64uEPh36bY

30. "He's on the phone" Saint Etienne (1 week) Reached #1: 31 May 1996 UK chart peak: #11 I discovered this song through my copy of NOW 36 and instantly fell hard for it and still love it today. A new track to promote their Greatest Hits album "Too Young To Die", "He's On The Phone" was a remixed version by Motiv8 of one of the tracks (originally titled "Accident") from 1995's "Reserection" EP, where the band collaborated with famous French singer-songwriter Etienne Daho which in turn was an English-language rework of Daho's 1984 hit "Weekend À Rome". Daho's spoken-word part was lifted from the intro of the title-track of "Reserection". The lyrics are about a young girl trying to escape her relationship with a married man. It remains the band's biggest UK hit under the Saint Etienne moniker, apart from their 2000 collaboration with Paul Van Dyk. Ddr9EpezslU

29. "I'll never break your heart" Backstreet Boys (4 weeks) Reached #1: 3 May 1996 UK chart peak: #8 By May 1996, following their manager's tactic to start their career in Germany, the Backstreet Boys were conquering Continental Europe but UK success would only come later that year (and in their native US a couple of years later). Their debut hit "We Got It Goin' On" was followed by this sugary but still quite endearing ballad. "I'll Never Break Your Heart" goes down in my chart's history as the first track ever to enter straight at #1. QS5S5OCWoxU

28. "Falling into you" Céline Dion (2 weeks) Reached #1: 19 Apr 1996 UK chart peak: #10 Originally recorded in 1994 by Argentine singer Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, "Falling Into You" was first meant to be covered by Belinda Carlisle, but it was Céline Dion who finally recorded it, the track even giving the title to her brand new English album and becoming its first single in Europe and Australia. It topped the charts in Spain and Greece, as well in my chart making Dion the first act with 3 #1s. 8tWMCGRWr-Y

27. "Children" Robert Miles (1 week) Reached #1: 12 Apr 1996 UK chart peak: #2 Doubtlessly one of the biggest hits of the year, Swiss-born Italian DJ Roberto Concina came up with this legendary instrumental dance track inspired by footage of children in war-torn Bosnia and as a way to calm down clubgoers at the end of the raves and club parties, thus reducing the risk of road accidents on their way back home. The track spent 13 weeks at #1 in the Eurochart and topped the charts in 12 countries, and in mine as well. 6QEPrDBMqJ0

EDIT

26. "Count on me" Whitney Houston & CeCe Winans (2 weeks) Reached #1: 29 Mar 1996 UK chart peak: #12 Like "One Sweet Day", I too loved this back then but now I wouldn't place this so high in my chart. Taken from the "Waiting To Exhale" soundtrack, her "The Bodyguard" follow-up acting stint, "Count On Me" saw Whitney teamed up with CeCe Winans from the Winans gospel royal family, sister to the slightly more famous BeBe and Mario. Nowadays I regret having this topping the chart for two weeks allowing only the next tune coming up a sole week at the top. ae2iX6vZCoM

25. "Right here" Ultimate KAOS (2weeks) Reached #1: 15 Mar 1996 UK chart peak: #18 Simon Cowell's first #1 in my chart! The London r&b quartet was doing backups for Sinitta and Cowell saw the potential for a boyband. After a first release under the name of Chaos in 1992, it was under the moniker Ultimate KAOS that they got noticed. "Right Here" was their 4th UK top 40 hit. In leading vocals was a then only 13-year old Haydon Eshun. Ultimate KAOS would chalk three more top 40 hits in my chart, all in 1998: "Casanova", "My Lover" and "Anything You Want". YnRjYT3SbKs

24. "Earth song" Michael Jackson (1 week) Reached #1: 8 Mar 1996 UK chart peak: #1 The UK Christmas #1 in 1995, "Earth song" entered my chart in December and also had a meandering run until it finally topped the chart for a solitary week. The track was originally written for the "Dangerous" album but would only be released in Jackson's 1995 part-greatest hits part-new material album "HIStory". This would be Jacko's only #1 hit in my chart though follow-up "They Don't Care About Us" almost did it too, instead peaking at #2. XAi3VTSdTxU

23. "Gangsta's paradise" Coolio (2 weeks) Reached #1: 23 Feb 1996 UK chart peak: #1 "Gangsta's Paradise" entred my chart in November 1995 and went up and down in the following months peaking at #10. It only reached #1 heights after the film "Dangerous Minds" was released in Portugal and I went to see it, thus become the first rap track to top my chart. Coolio (born Artis Leon Ivery jr.) had in total 4 top 30 hits in my chart. YFK6H_CcuX8

22. "One sweet day" Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (2 weeks) Reached #1: 9 Feb 1996 UK chart peak: #6 At the time a mammoth ballad by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men was a sure #1 to me but now it has since gone down as a song I loved back then but don't care much for it now. However at the time, there was no stopping the success of the track, that stayed a record 16 weeks at #1 in the US and also topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand. UXxRyNvTPr8

21. "Beautiful life" Ace Of Base (2 weeks) Reached #1: 26 Jan 1996 UK chart peak: #15 Second single from Ace Of Base's "The Bridge" album, this one is widely considered one of their best loved and perhaps the most popular outside the "Happy Nation" debut album. The football scene in the music video was shot at the Fulham stadium. gTmITmHvSps

20. "3 is family" Dana Dawson (2 weeks) Reached #1: 12 Jan 1996 UK chart peak: #9 A UK top 10 hit in the summer of 1995, "3 Is Family" only got my attention after I got a CD compilation in Christmas 1995 that included the track. At the time, the New York-born singer was living a new step on her career after being a former Broadway child star and having a string of hits in France in her teens, "3 Is Family" was the biggest hit from her "Black Butterfly" album that showcased her as a new r&b talent, a mementum which sadly she was never able to emulate. Even more sadly, Dana Dawson passed away in 2010 of colon cancer at age 36. As you will find out later on, this wasn't the only 1995 hit to claim the topspot of my chart well into 1996. DdJ4zYiEgOQ

19. "Nirvana" Elbosco (4 weeks) Reached #1: 15 Dec 1995 UK chart peak: DNC "Nirvana" was the leading track of Spanish project Elbosco whose 1995 album "Angelis" that featured tracks that mixed gregorian chants sung by a choir of catholic schoolboys mixed with Enigma-esque pop beats. The album was very successful both in Spain and Portugal and the spiritual appeal of "Nirvana" made it fit for a Christmas #1. Although the music video was shot in India, the song's undecyphering chorus is in Latin. If the track sounds familiar to UK listeners, it may be due to its use in Danny Boyle's 2004 film "Millions". spGWQ5STXlc

18. "Lucky love" Ace Of Base (1 week) Reached #1: 8 Dec 1995 UK chart peak: #20 After three weeks at #2 behind Meat Loaf, "Lucky Love" finally was allowed a single week at #1. This was the first single from the sophomore album "The Bridge" and oddly enough, it was Ace Of Base's first #1 in their native Sweden. The video for the US version of the song was the last one with Malin Beggren singing in a music video, before she took a backseat in the group's activity until leaving it altogether. 5U9Lg5OHEZQ

17. "I'd lie for you (And that's the truth)" Meat Loaf (3 weeks) Reached #1: 17 Nov 1995 UK chart peak: #2 Meat Loaf wasted no time following up his new claim to fame in 1993 by releasing a new album with songs not only by buddy Jim Steinman, but also by Tom Waits, Sammy Hagar and Diane Warren who penned this first single, yet another epic ballad featuring Patti Russo. The music video saw model Dana Patrick reprising her role as Meat's love interest and once again lip-synching the female vocals. RbdpXx-PHuM

16. "Fantasy" Mariah Carey (2 weeks) Reached #1: 3 Nov 1995 UK chart peak: #4 First single of her awaited "Daydream" album, follow-up to the massively successful "Music Box", "Fantasy" duly became another US #1 for Ms. Carey, and a UK top 5 hit. The track is notorious for a) becoming the first music video directed by Mariah herself b) sampling Tom Tom Club's "Genius Of Love" and c) reportedly being the song played while she was giving birth to her baby twins. qq09UkPRdFY

15. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" Céline Dion (3 weeks) Made to #1: 13 Oct 1995 UK chart peak: #7 While her 1993 English-language album "The Colour Of My Love" was still going strong all over the world thanks to hits like "Think Twice" and "Only One Road", Céline Dion released in 1995 the French-language album "D'Eux", with all songs written by famous singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman. The album was rapidly a success in French-speaking countries and its first single "Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore" ("So you might still love me") becoming a million-seller in France alone. Such was the demand for anything related to Ms. Dion that the album and the single's popularity was extended to non French-speaking countries, becoming the biggest international hit in French language since the days of "Joe Le Taxi" and "Voyage Voyage" back in the 80's. Heck, it even made top 10 in the UK. The music video is arguably one of Dion's most unconventional. An English version of the track, titled "If That's What It Takes", was featured in Céline's 1996 album "Falling Into You". AzaTyxMduH4

14. "Nothing like the rain" 2 Unlimited (4 weeks) Made to #1: 22 Sep 1995 UK chart peak: DNC Fourth and final single from their 1994 "Real Things", "Nothing Like The Rain" saw the popular Euro-dance Dutch duo approaching the realm of balladry, proving that Anita Deis not only had some nice tits, she also had enough pipes to croon this lovely ballad. Unreleased in the UK, the single also a featured a nice dance version (the "Rainy Edit"). A greatest hits album and three more hits followed in 1996 until Ray and Anita left the project. The producers carried on with two female singers but success was limited. Ray and Anita have rejoined forces in 2009 and still tour occasionally in Europe and release the odd new single in their native Netherlands. 7Cpb6inmHZM

13. "Scatman's world" Scatman John (1 week) Made to #1: 15 Sep 1995 UK chart peak: #3 One of the most unforgettable pop hits of 1995 came from the most unlikely of sources, a 50-something jazz musician that turned scatting singing (a technique he mastered to overcome his severe stuttering) into an eurodance smash . "Scatman (Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)" was such track, topping the charts pretty much everywhere in Europe and hitting top 3 in the UK. In my chart, it peaked at #2 held off by the Boyz II Men track. Chart-topping glory would come with the follow-up single, who pretty much had the same formula who still worked well enough to also be #1 in Belgium, France, Finland and Spain. Two more minor hits followed until John Larkin's death in 1999 at age 57. Xt_YhSxjshY

12. "O bicho" Iran Costa (3 weeks) Made to #1: 25 Aug 1995 UK chart peak: DNC In 19 years of chart, chances are there are some chart-toppers that I'm not proud of or even embarassed by. Such is the case of this, who became the first #1 of my chart in my mother tongue. Longtime Portugal-based Brazilian singer Iran Costa hit paydirt in 1995 with this eurodance version of a traditional Brazilian song. Cheesy as it may be, this song was everywhere in Portugal in the summer of 1995, even in the campaigns for that year's Government elections and everyone would do the choreography shown in the video. The album sold by the bucketloads to a whopping six platinum records. Despite never duplicating the success (and last troubling my chart in 1998), Iran Costa is still active touring and releasing material in Portugal. E6sfoqSDDAk