Imaani 'Where Are You?'

Chart Peak: 15

YouTube

The UK's Eurovision entry in 1998, which placed them in the Top 3 for the third year running: indeed the contest was in Birmingham following the victory of Katrina & The Waves the previous year. Only Dana International precluded a repeat of the same success again. I'd always had this idea that Eurovision songs were supposed to be written by people from the country represented, but apparently one of the co-writers of this was Scott English, whose 'Brandy' later congealed into the Barry Manilow/Westlife hit 'Mandy'. Perhaps he was granted a special exemption because of his name or something.

Anyway, the song is OK, but has that slightly stilted quality of a lot of Eurovision. Imaani herself (born Melanie Crosdale) puts in a decent performance but unfortunately for her it didn't get her very far; a follow-up single was cancelled although she did guest on a couple of dance tracks thereafter. Of course, it struggles to follow the excitement of somebody speaking Dutch over footage of the Mini factory, but then what wouldn't?

Available on: Original Hits - Dance

Gina G 'Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit'

Chart Peak: 1 (1 week)

YouTube

Funnily enough, I've never been that big a fan of Eurovision. Sometimes I listen to it on the radio if I'm in the kitchen on a Saturday night, but that's about it. Even I know, though, that Gina G (it stands for Gardiner, in case you were wondering) made one of the more successful British records to emanate from the contest in recent years; though she herself was of course the first singer from overseas (not counting Cliff Richard) to represent the UK in the contest. In fact, she only finished eighth on the night, but she won something of a victory in a non-competing country - this reached the Top 20 in the USA, one of the most successful songs from the contest over there. And it earned the ultimate honour of a cover version by the Wurzels.

The record couldn't sound more 1996 if it tried, and realistically is as representative of the times as the more obvious 'Born Slippy' or 'Good Enough'. Burbly keyboard sounds, predictable beats, a slight hint of rudeness ("every night makes me hate the day" and some heavy breathing). It's actually good for what it tries to do and a good vehicle for an eye-catching dance sequence, but not the sort of thing that lends itself to detailed analysis. At one point, it looked like it might lead to a glittering career for Ms G, with her next two singles also going Top 10, but the whole business turned rather sour amid contractual disputes and bad blood: apparently she claims to have co-written the song although she wasn't formally credited or paid for this. Naturally, it'd be inappropriate to take sides here. Still, perhaps it's better to remember it this way.

Available on: Beautiful People