Spiller 'Groovejet 'If This Ain't Love'

Chart Peak: 1

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Christiano Spiller's anthemic offering, 'Groovejet', first made its way on to the dance-floor at Christmas, when it appeared as an instrumental on the Mighty Miami EP... Due to the popularity of the track, a version has been produced featuring the outstanding vocals of Sophie Ellis-Baxter [sic], lead singer with indie-band, The Audience [sic].

Like the previous track, 'Groovejet' wasn't instantly chart-ready, starting with the original instrumental so closely based on the sample of Carol Williams' 'Love Is You' you have to wonder how Spiller got away with claiming the writing credit. His record company clearly saw the hit potential though, so he's joined in the credits of this version by Ellis-Bextor (whose name is spelt correctly in the credits part of the booklet) and Rob Davis, formerly of Mud. And if that sounds a bit of a leap from 'Tiger Feet', it makes more sense if you think of Davis as the writer of 1976 TotP favourite 'Shake It Down' (he's the shirtless one). Between them they supply a lyric and vocal melody which turns this into a classic summer pop hit - by accident or design the words being about a holiday romance fit perfectly with the season (it was released in August) and the joyful, slightly light-headed mood of the music. If the single had just come out and been a success it would already have been one of the great summer hits of the era.

However, the song does have an extra place in history as part of a major chart battle against 'Out Of Your Mind' by Truesteppers, Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham. At the time it was probably the most hyped such tussle since Blur Vs Oasis (coincidentally five years earlier to the day) but it seems less remembered now, possibly because fewer were disappointed by the result. Apparently this was also the first track ever played on a prototype iPod, which I guess makes it all the more important. In 2000 we just didn't know how important.

Available on: 101 BBQ Songs

Sophie Ellis-Bextor 'Catch You'

Chart Peak: 8

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Sophie is back after a 3-year break, during which time she had a baby boy, Sonny, with husband Richard (bassist in The Feeling)... She also wrote over 70 songs, whittled down enough to fill her new album Tripping The Light Fantastic with tracks which Sophie says are "an invitation to dance". 

She may indeed have written over 70 songs, but this isn't one of them, being penned by old hand Cathy Dennis and the producer Greg Kurstin. It seems to encapsulate a lot of what's disappointing about Ellis-Bextor's solo work, the sense that she's playing too much at being a pop star. Not that there's anything wrong with actually being a pop star but there's a tendency to sound like she feels it beneath her, as if it's expedient rather than whole-hearted. And in fairness to her, there are some lyrics it'd be hard not to sing with derision, all that stuff about hiding in coffee spoons and so forth.

Musically it works a little better than lyrically, with a catchy little intro but it never really goes anywhere. Like most of her career, it seems a wasted opportunity.

Also appearing on: Now 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57
Available on: Trip The Light Fantastic

Sophie Ellis-Bextor 'Take Me Home'

Chart Peak: 2

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It's 5 years since Sophie Ellis-Bextor began her pop career but she's already experienced a dramatic change of direction - Sophie originally fronted super-slick indie outfit The Audience [sic], but it was her guest vocal performance on Spiller's 'Groovejet' that really propelled her into the pop limelight... Now Sophie is on her own - and cool disco number 'Take Me Home', originally an American chart hit for Cher, gave her a UK Top 5 hit.

I don't know why, but something about her solo career has never quite gelled with me. I saw theaudience live a few times, and I've still got the coloured vinyl 7" of
'A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed' - indeed looking up that clip reminded me how much I used to love the band. I don't think it's just the fact that she went in a different direction when she went solo: I'd enjoyed her star turn on 'Groovejet' but extending the same style to her subsequent records never seemed to have the same magic. Maybe it's because she can't write music and is thus at the mercy of collaborators, but I think the big problem is that there's always an atmosphere of self-conscious kitsch about her music that seems to spoil the fun somewhat.

All of which said, I had cause to listen back to 'Murder On The Dancefloor' a couple of weeks ago, and found it had aged rather better than I expected. This relatively forgotten debut hit has too, it turns out. Only for the purposes of this post have I ever listened to Cher's original, never a hit in the UK. It's surprisingly similar in style, although the lyrics were partly re-written for this version. It's more pleasant now I don't hear it with the same air of disappointment, but I still feel like it's not the best music she could make and worse, it seems like she knows it too. The fact that she's made effectively the same record for the subsequent ten years  is a bit gruelling too.

Also appearing on: Now 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 66
Available on:Read My Lips