Billie 'Honey To The Bee'

Chart Peak: 3

YouTube

Due for release on March 15th, 'Honey To The Bee' is a sophisticated, sultry number from sixteen-year-old pop diva Billie Piper... With its classy mix of catchy pop and R&B groove, the single is sure to be a hit with fans and new converts alike.

One of at least two tracks on Now 42 to feature the London Community Gospel Choir, the almost title track of her debut album Honey To The B (see what they did there?) was its fourth single. It was presumably chosen for that slot as a possible bridge to her future career, when the novelty of her being a teenager had worn off. As it turned out, things didn't really work out that way, but this is certainly her most grown-up sounding single. It doesn't wholly convince on that score, and it does have that slight feel of a little girl who's been in the dressing-up box, but that probably isn't a bad thing at her age in all honesty. It's her most musically satisfying single at any rate, with a charmingly undulating melody and a production that's aged surprisingly well. It even gives her the chance to do some pretty decent singing for once.

By the time this song surprisingly returned to the chart in early 2007, thanks to Chris Moyles taking advantage of the full inclusion of downloads, she seemed faintly embarrassed by her musical career. I can see why, but this is probably the least shameful part of it.

Also appearing on: Now 40, 41, 46, 47
Available on: The Singles Collection

Honeyz 'End Of The Line'

Chart Peak: 5

YouTube

If you're a fan of R&B, Heavenli, Celena and Naima are the hottest new names to drop... Following the success of debut single 'Finally Found', the Honeyz returned to the Top 5 with the gorgeous ballad 'End Of The Line' in December 1998.

As I've mentioned before, Honeyz were one of those acts who never quite seemed to reach the tipping point, in an era when a consistent run of Top 10 singles didn't exactly prove you were a viable star. They slipped between the cracks enough that even their allegedly official Youtube channel only has a partial version of the video. On the upside, I was able to find the original version of the song, recorded in 1995 by a quartet of three Malay singers and one Indonesian. This version follows the arrangement almost slavishly, except that the chorus melody is a little flatter. Ironically, considering the demanding lyric, the music and production are decidedly average, and at a time when RnB - particularly when female-fronted - could be quite experimental, this hardly qualifies as hot in any way.

It turns out somebody does remember them though, as they're currently part of the Big Reunion tour. They were in Manchester a couple of weeks ago.

Also appearing on: Now 41, 43, 44, 45
Available on: The Big Reunion

Spice Girls 'Goodbye'

Chart Peak: 1 (3 weeks)
YouTube

Since scooping the Christmas Number No1 spot for the third year running with 'Goodbye', the Spice Girls collective have taken a break from the world of pop... Victoria and Mel G have been too busy extending the Spice family with the births of Brooklyn Joseph (Baby Posh) and Phoenix Chi (Baby Scary).

Wait, does that mean Beau Jones is Baby Baby? And does Amy Grant know about this? 'Goodbye' was of course the first single by the Spice Girls as a quartet and its release less than sixth months after 'Viva Forever' served a double purpose, both in securing them that Christmas chart-topper (they were only the second act to do so, after the Beatles, though Cliff Richard had also managed three over the course of 29 years) and proving the act to be a going concern without Geri Halliwell. In the event, they didn't release anything else for almost two years and were never really the same again, but for the time being they hadn't collapsed.

Musically, it's a big sweeping ballad that more or less picks up where 'Viva Forever' had left off, though the lyric seems quite consciously to refer to their now ex-member's departure: my recollection is that it was denied at the time, though possibly more for the publicity value of making the song's content a story than because they thought anyone would believe them. Certainly it's hard to hear the chorus of "Goodbye my friend/It's not the end" as anything other than a message to the fans now. In paces the song seems a bit rushed ("look for the rainbow in every star" is a bit of a mangled metaphor) but it slips down easily enough and it's probably the context that's the main reason you don't often hear it nowadays. In fact you're more likely to hear its B-side, the Anglicised cover of 'Christmas Wrapping' that's wheeled out by radio stations every December these days. And in the light of the previous post, I should probably mention that the Spice Girls are proof not every attempt at a songbook musical works.

Also appearing on: Now 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 47
Available on: Greatest Hits [+video]

Starring: Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie 'Thank Abba For The Music'

Chart Peak: 4

Knowing Me, Knowing YouTube

This sensational collaboration of pop's hottest young stars - Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie - was revealed at the 1999 Brit Awards, when this fantastic medley was performed as a tribute to one of pop's greatest ever groups - the legendary Abba.

Apparently the video of that performance is still on Youtube, but blocked in the UK due to the recent intervention of the BPI, who've taken down a lot of unofficial Brits uploads now they have their own channel.  So I've had to make do with an unofficial upload that's oddly synced to pictures of the real Abba, though fortunately the below is still available:


You almost have to wonder whether somebody saw that and didn't think it was a joke, don't you? Mind you, even as late as 1995 such a medley might have been an odd thing for such acts to be associated with - it really seemed like the social acceptability of Abba built during the 1990s, from the band nobody would admit to liking to the one nobody could admit to not liking. 1999 was the year that saw the 25th anniversary of their Eurovision and thus their British chart debut, and was duly marked by such promotional activities as a repackage of Abba Gold (which returned to the top of the chart), ITV's ABBAmania TV special and its accompanying charity album and the UK premiere of the musical Mamma Mia, which as we now know proved to be one of the biggest phenomena in theatre in recent years and spawned countless imitators, though only Queen's We Will Rock You really succeeded.

The teen oriented stars gathered here are sometimes billed as the Supertroopers, though this name wasn't used on the single cover (maybe there was some contractual issue?). Instead they're billed under their separate names  - in order of appearance, in case you're wondering how Tina Cousins gets second billing. Between them they (and some uncredited backing singers) work through 'Take A Chance On Me', 'Dancing Queen', 'Mamma Mia' and of course 'Thank You For The Music', of which this is technically the highest-charting version ever. It's not so much a medley as bits of four songs being sung in sequence, though, with no attempt to join the parts together beyond the fact that they're all being played on the same cheap-sounding keyboards. In fact, with the rushed production and anonymous singing, this sounds more like one of those "soundalike" versions that get thrown onto cheap compilations and lurk on download stores to trick the unwary. It does provide a sort of tribute to Abba, if not the one intended - it certainly emphasises how much effort went into the sound of the original Abba singles, and the fact that this isn't painful to listen to says something for the quality of the original songwriting. Just ask Jeremy Hardy.

Steps also appear on: Now 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51
Tina Cousins also appears on: Now 43, 44
Billie also appears on: Now 40, 41, 46, 47
Available on: Thank Abba for the Music

Cher 'Believe'

Chart Peak: 1 (7 weeks)

YouTube

High tempo dance tune 'Believe' gave the legendary Cher her biggest hit in the UK to date.. It became the biggest selling and longest running No1 single of 1998, and has also qualifed as the biggest selling single by a female artist in the UK... ever!

OK, we don't have the biggest hit of early 1999 on here, but we do have the biggest one of late 1998 (and a bigger seller in total, in fact). 'Believe' is a track that has several claims to a place in history: it was Number One in the first ever Top 5 to consist entirely of new entries, it made her the oldest woman to top the singles chart in the UK or the US and as the sleevenote mentions, it remains to this day the biggest selling single by a female solo artist, admittedly favoured by its release in a very strong sales climate. It was particularly important as a comeback hit for her in the US, where her releases in the middle of the decade hadn't seen the same success they did in Europe. Not bad going for a single that was rush-released in the UK even before the video had been finished.

The track's biggest influence though is of course musical. 'Believe' was surely not the first hit single to use AutoTune, but it was the first to make a feature of it, with it turned up to overdriven levels to create an odd semi-robotic sound, most obviously on the "can't break through"/"can't do that" lines in each verse. Of course, this is really just an extension of the usual studio effects producers have been trying out on vocals since double-tracking became possible, but it's also the obvious antecedent of the sound of radio in 2013, with pitch correction used as an end in itself and applied liberally whether the singer needs it or not. I have to admit that it's not a sound I'm keen on: unlike some people I have no moral objection to the use of Autotune and more than I have to varispeed or reverb, but I find long exposure to this sort of vocal too wearing on the ear. Even in the four minutes of 'Believe' itself it's tiring to listen closely to. Whether it was intended to emphasise any part of the song's sentiment or simply to be a gimmick for its own sake isn't clear: you could fashion some sort of theory that the protagonist might have sacrificed some of her humanity in order to become a survivor, but I suspect it's coincidental. Mind you, in all these years I've never totally figured out what the chorus is supposed to mean anyway; when she sings "I can something inside me say, I really don't think you're strong enough", is "you" the singer herself or the ex she's addressing (and dismissing) in the verses? Either way, it doesn't seem to matter that much, it's just a vehicle for a big chorus and in that sense it works.

Also appearing on: Now 30 (with Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry), 32, 33
Available on: Believe

Steps 'Better Best Forgotten'

Chart Peak: 2

YouTube

Steps ended 1998 with a bang, when their double 'A' sided single 'Heartbeat/Tragedy' hit the No. 1 spot after 8 weeks on the chart!... And things are still on the up, follow-up single 'Better Best Forgotten' shot straight into the Top 5 in March '99.

At rather the opposite end of their career from Boyzone, Steps made their fifth chart appearance with what proved to be the third of thirteen consecutive Top 5 hits. The last single from their debut album - unusually for bubblegum pop, it's as late as ninth in the running order - has a title that invites dismissive comments, but it's actually one of their best singles, almost as close as they ever got to the Abba soundalikes Pete Waterman intended. To be sure, the song doesn't quite have the depth that some of the Swedes' music managed, but it is modelled on the more mature later songs rather than the obvious camp classics. I'm not among the people for whom resemblance to Abba is an instant win, but I can enjoy the melody and that naggingly familar wordless vocal part. It's formulaic, but the good sort of formulaic.

Also appearing on: Now 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51
Available on: Step One

Boyzone 'When The Going Gets Tough'

Chart Peak: 1 (2 weeks)

YouTube

This year's traditional Comic Relief single is a cover of the 1986 Billy Ocean hit 'When The Going Gets Tough...' The star-studded video for the track features comedy greats such as Graham Norton, Jo Brand, Phil {sic} Jupitus and Mel Smith as well as cast members from top soap Emmerdale.

Back after the Bank Holiday break on a new album. And yes, I suppose 43 might have been the more logical place to go after 33 and 3, but I've been meaning to do 42 for some time now because it's particularly interesting (and further away from 44, which I did early in the history of this blog).

The album was released in time for Easter 1999, but as long-term readers will know the biggest hit of early 99, '...Baby One More Time', didn't show up until Now 44 so we start instead with the song that eventually knocked it off the top of the chart. This was the Comic Relief single for the year, and follows the typical formula for this slot around the turn of the century, with a popular vocal group of the day performing a cover version and comedy represented by the celebrities in the accompanying video. I know it's a pretty generous definition of "comedy" that incorporates Mel Smith holding a TV aerial against his groin, but that's how things were in the 1990s. In fact the video's so 90s it even has Mystic Meg in it. 1999 was also the last year of Boyzone's original career, though they were able to go out in some style with two Number Ones that year, plus a solo Number One for Ronan Keating. Unsurprisingly, it's Keating who takes the lead on this interpretation of Billy Ocean's 1986 chart-topper, though there's a solo spot for Stephen Gately who was obviously the main solo prospect already. And the other three stand around and do something, I guess. It's a perfectly competent rendition, but really has nothing else to add (it's actually less funny than the original, because it doesn't sound like they're singing "Go and get stuffed" at any point). It does the job with an almost ruthless efficiency: to sell well for a couple of weeks, raise a handy amount for charity, bolster their image and then step aside to be dethroned by another Louis Walsh-managed act. Nobody seems to be having enough fun.

Also appearing on: Now 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 71
Available on: Key To My Life (The Collection)