A Pop Fan's Dream

Review
So we reach the final edition of Now’s Millennium series. This 1999 entry differs from the others given that it only has nine months’ worth of songs to pick from – it was released at the end of September 1999. If it were up to me, I would have waited until February or at least March 2000. Jo Payton’s sleeve notes crackle with tales of Vengaboys and Cartoons before tackling the solo adventures of Boyzone and Spice Girls’ members.

Given the timing of this release, there were six tracks that hadn’t been compiled before. You can find discussion of the remaining 30 on the following albums:
Now That’s What I Call Music 41: Robbie Williams – No Regrets.
Smash Hits ’99: Billie – She Wants You.
The 1999 Brit Awards: Fatboy Slim – Praise You*.
New Hits ’99: Divine Comedy – National Express*, Stereophonics – Just Looking*, Steps – Better Best Forgotten*, Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweets Like Chocolate**, Inner City – Good Life (Buena Vida).
Now That’s What I Call Music 42: Lenny Kravitz – Fly Away, Terrorvision – Tequila (Mint Royale Shot), Emilia – Big, Big World, Boyzone – When The Going Gets Tough, Cartoons – Witch Doctor, Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden – You Don’t Know Me, DJ Sakin & Friends – Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess), Spice Girls – Goodbye, Mister Oizo – Flat Beat.
Smash Hits Summer ’99: Martine McCutcheon – Perfect Moment**, Geri Halliwell – Look At Me**, Phats & Small – Turn Around**.
Fresh Hits ’99: Wiseguys – Ooh La La**.
Now That’s What I Call Music 43: Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl, New Radicals – You Get What You Give, Madness – Lovestruck, 911 – Private Number, DJ Jurgen presents Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone, Vengaboys – Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Adam Rickitt – I Breathe Again, S Club 7 – Bring It All Back, Yomanda – Synth And Strings.
* Also on Now 42 / ** Also on Now 43.

“The fame thing isn’t really real.”
It was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz and first became a hit for Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 1988. Next came Alison Krauss, whose version was her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995. Lastly Boyzone singer Ronan Keating made it his first solo single and topped the UK and Irish charts during 1999. You will remember When You Say Nothing At All from Notting Hill. “Only a moment away from destiny.” Later on, things improve as we bounce along to Texas’ Summer Son, a sultry and alluring memory from August and taken from The Hush, their most assured album to date. Meanwhile viva Lolly but boo to her version of Hey Mickey. Described as “the ultimate bubble pop” by someone who hadn’t a clue. More like The Mini Pops re-invented for the end of the world. Also transformed was Sway or (Mucho Mambo) with Shaft on the controls. The follow-up was Mambo Italino.

Get ready for The Launch; DJ Jean’s progressive trance tune that reminds me so much of New Year’s Eve 1999, that party in Pearse Street, spinning to an almost empty room. Everybody waiting for the world to explode. On a similar vibe is Binary Finary’s 1999 or 1998 updated for one year on. A view from Bluebell 399: “For many people (at least those who were 19 years old in 1999) time index 3:01 was a defining moment of our lives. Hearing that in a club for the first time…you only get that experience once. The hands (and lighters) in the air, the lasers and then that bassline! It was almost spiritual, I was in Gatecrasher at the time and everybody around me knew that this was it, we had hit peak trance, even though we were all so young we just knew that this tune was “the one” and if you didn’t go mental when it drops, you have just missed out on life, of course every single person in the place went mental. And we was all correct because after this tune the uplifting scene died within months. This song killed trance but wow, what a way to go out. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about.”

The many faces of Nick Tilsley.
“I saw Adam Rickitt do a PA in a grim regional homosexual nitespot once which consisted of him taking his top off then singing I Breathe Again followed by a remix of I Breathe Again. It was amazing.” (I’d Rather Jack, Pop Justice)
Adam Rickitt has his own fan club:
The Adam Files
PO Box 101
Middlewich, CW10 9FL
United Kingdom

Back in the late ’90s, Saturday was my day for doing the record shop circuit. I’d start in Virgin and HMV as the indie shops were too cool – maan – to open before 11.00am. From there I’d hit the likes of Freak Out, Trinity, Smile, Road, Big Brother, Spin Dizzy, Mac’s, Rhythm, Record Collector, Mojo, The Secret Book and Record Store, Tower, Comet, Borderline, Abbey Discs, Tag, Outlaw, Chapters and Freebird. I’d also drop off my zine Analogue Bubblebath. What follows is an extract from a longer article called Going Underground which was written by Evan Jameson and originally published in Analogue Bubblebath issue #3 on 13 June 1998.

The thick bass sounds from the basement, the heavy thumping of shoes coming down the stairs, that ‘clack-clack-clack’ as the second-hand and new CDs are thoroughly flicked through again. For 23 years Freebird Records has provided shelter (from rain and reality) and advice for a multitude of music fans. Founded in 1978 by Brian Foley, joined later by Des Kiely and originally situated above Bus Stop Newsagents at 6 Grafton Street, the shop moved to its current home in the late 1980s. Renowned as one of the city’s great indie stockists and more recently developing into a fine dance music outlet, Freebird , thanks to its well-informed staff And modern approach, is flourishing. Hip-Hop addict and Shelbourne fan, John Dee Has been working there since 1989. He first heard of Freebird from a mod and a rocker in his class. He describes his first visit to the shop in its old Grafton St. location on October 31 1983.

“I remember going in and being really scared by it because of all the punks that used to hang out at the bottom of the stairs and then there was another flight of stairs which led to a kind of landing where all the mods were. Into the shop and the Goths were inside. So being an impressionable, skinny 13 year old who’d not been in town previous to that without the company of his mother, I was nervous. I remember my mod and rocker friends going in and buying The Merton Parkas and Iron Maiden and I can’t remember what I bought, probably something naff.” Soon he was hooked “I kept going into it. In about ’85 or ’86 I got talking to a guy who worked there who was really into stuff like The Swans and Sonic Youth. He used to lend me his records, and that’s how I got to know the employees. After a while I was giving as much advice as I was receiving.”

This precocious talent soon landed John a job in Freebird. “At the time there were two small sacks of CDs, the rest of the shop was vinyl. Loads of soul, loads of indie stuff, loads of punk. The second-hand vinyl section was amazing then.” So what have been the most significant changes of the last 11 years? “The move to CD. Outside of that, the rise of dance. I think indie peaked in 1994. The changeover just gradually happened. The staff changed, my tastes changed. hip-hop, drum and bass, techno just got bigger and the other sections got smaller and smaller.” Another great change has been the dance inspired vinyl revival. “For a couple of years vinyl sales (apart from second-hand) had been down to almost zero. Now we are trying to find more room for it. putting decks up on the counter is an indication of changed times.”

Freebird prides itself on its wide- ranging selection of music. How do they decide what records to stock? “Normally what we read in magazines, what we see on telly, what we hear people are looking for. I’m not really taken in by record company guff. So mainly from magazines I suppose.” Can you think of a big purchasing risk that paid off? “I ordered in a load of Wu Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu Tang when they weren’t at all popular. The album went on to be one of Freebird’s biggest sellers. I loved it. They were what rap needed at the time.” And any big flops? “We won’t mention Oasis’ last album.”

Famous Freebird clients have included Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnette, Sonic Youth, The Beautiful South, Joe Jackson, Phil Lynott, Paul Weller (he bought a Flying Burrito Brothers LP), Kathy Bates (she bought Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison). J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. popped in the day after a Dublin gig and bought albums by Nick Drake and Al Green. Morrissey made a visit but people started hassling him for autographs so he left quickly. All U2 used to be regulars up to The Unforgettable Fire. John is very proud to be part of Freebird. “It’s a good shop. I like the people I work with. We meet a lot of people over the counter and have made many friends.” And the future? “Constant change.”

Favourite tracks
New Radicals – You Get What You Give

Fatboy Slim – Praise You

The Wiseguys – Ooh La La

Texas – Summer Son

Lest we forget
Adam Rickitt – I Breathe Again

Missing tracks and other thoughts
To the end: while Now That’s What I Call Music 1998: The Millennium Series is surely the nadir of the entire run, the 1999 instalment runs close. The opening sequence is rather oily while the run of dance tunes is a well-trodden path. You Get What You Give seems ageless while the six previously uncompiled tunes are at least a bit fresh (no guarantee of uniform quality). CD2 is much of the same – flashes of brilliance (Breathe Again, Good Life, 1999) mixed in with mediocrity. The Robbie Williams tune was first compiled on 1998’s Now 41. There were three regular Now albums released in 1999 – albeit one came after this final Millennium edition – and 30 of the songs here appeared on them (some were included on other compilations first) while three more would end up on Now Dance 2000.

1999 saw 36 songs reach the top of the UK charts; about 27 of these occurred in the first nine months of the year. 10 number ones feature here. Most lamented are Baz Luhrmann’s deep Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen), Blondie’s storming comeback Maria and The Offspring’s abrasive but melodic Pretty Fly (For A White Guy). Otherwise I’d really love to see the following: Blur – Tender, Shawn Mullins – Lullaby, Eminem – My Name Is, Supergrass – Pumping On Your Stereo, Britney Spears – Sometimes, Steps – Heartbeat, Christina Aguilera – Genie In A Bottle, George Michael & Mary J Blige – As. In late 1999 all households in Ireland received millennium candles which were to be lit for the Last Light ceremony of 31 December. A sensitive and symbolic commemoration of the final sunset. “Station announcer, station announcer.”

Review
Theme From Error Orror is one of The Fall’s more obscure tunes. It was initially included on a Manchester compilation called Home which had bypassed me on original release in 1990. However as 1998 was largely devoid of releases from my favourite band (save the Masquerade single in January), I went looking for a fix elsewhere. Thanks to the new fangled search engine Altavista, I found a copy. It’s a percussive tune with free form lyrics about Izzy, Bizzy, Shakespeare – you name it. Sadly errors and mistakes continue on the 1998 edition of Now’s Millennium series. The sleeve notes include a paragraph about U2’s Discothèque which obviously belongs on 1997’s instalment. Secondly – and much worse – numerous copies of CD1 are pressed with the tracks from the 1999 Millennium release.

Every single song has already been compiled and discussed on the following:
Smash Hits ’98: Bamboo – Bamboogie*, Louise – Let’s Go Round Again*.
New Hits ’98: Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)*, Oasis – All Around The World, Lutricia McNeal – Ain’t That Just The Way*, Backstreet Boys – All I Have To Give*.
Now That’s What I Call Music 39: All Saints – Never Ever, Lighthouse Family – High, LeeAnn Rimes – How Do I Live, Tin Tin Out – Here’s Where The Story Ends, Billie Myers – Kiss The Rain, Space with Cerys – The Ballad Of Tom Jones, Radiohead – No Surprises.
Smash Hits Summer ’98: Aqua – Doctor Jones**, The Tamperer featuring Maya – Feel It**, Steps – Last Thing On My Mind**.
Fresh Hits ’98: Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting**.
Now That’s What I Call Music 40: Spice Girls – Viva Forever, Eagle-Eye Cherry – Save Tonight, The Mavericks – Dance The Night Away, Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank, Karen Ramirez – Looking For Love, David Morales presents The Face – Needin’ U, Mousse T vs Hot ‘N’ Juicy – Horny, Billie – Because We Want To.
Now Dance ’98: Jennifer Paige – Crush (Dance Mix)***, Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You***, Vengaboys – Up And Down***, Sash featuring Tina Cousins – Mysterious Times, 911 – More Than A Woman***.
Now That’s What I Call Music 41: Robbie Williams – Millennium, U2 – Sweetest Thing, Boyzone – No Matter What, Honeyz – Finally Found, Culture Club – I Just Wanna Be Loved, Melanie B featuring Missy Elliott – I Want You Back.
* Also on Now 39 / ** Also on Now 40 / *** Also on Now 41.

CD1 ends with the full length album version of All Around The World. Presumably because they had the space to include it. I didn’t buy the 7″ at the time but notice that it’s listed as 6:59 which matches the length of the official video. New Hits ’98 includes the rarer 4:50 edit which also appeared on a promo CD single from Creation. By spring 1998, used copies of Be Here Now started to flood the record shops. One particular outlet in Dublin stopped accepting it fairly quickly, given the number of CDs around. Unsold vinyl copies started to sit in Virgin for ages, well-thumbed and shopsoiled. Six months earlier, many people were queuing outside HMV the night before and obtaining certificates of purchase. The release date in each region was commemorated on the calendar pictured on the cover sleeve and on the back of the CD booklet. By dating the album the band felt it would encourage fans to believe that buying a copy on the day it hit the shops was to participate in some kind of historical event. How things can change for the worse.

White line fever has been largely blamed for the Be Here Know mess. The most common complaints related to the long songs and extremely harsh mastering – listening to the CD on headphones is fatiguing. Lastly, the track selection; even then, Oasis were still knocking out quality B-sides. Let’s take a look at five of them:
Angel Child: This never got past the demo stage and is really the only acoustic track of the era. Stick it before All Over The World.
Flashbax: Total corker even if it does sound a little unfinished.
Going Nowhere: Nowhere near as dense as much of the other material. “Wanna be wild.”
(I Got) The Fever: Three guitars, amazing vocal, total glam stomper.
Stay Young: Someone suggested that this would have been an ideal standalone single (like Whatever) between Be Here Know and Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants. A fantastic pop tune. They sound invincible.
Last year I compiled a follow up to The Masterplan. It’s called Don’t Go Away:
Cloudburst / Round Are Way / Step Out / The Fame / My Sister Lover / (I Got) The Fever / Flashbax / Let’s All Make Believe / It’s Better People / D’Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman / Take Me Away / One Way Road / (As Long As They’ve Got) Cigarettes In Hell / Idler’s Dream
Bonus disc: I Will Believe (Live) / Alive (Demo) / Angel Child (Demo) / Sad Song / Bonehead’s Bank Holiday / Fade Away (War Child)

Did you know that Kung Fu Fighting has sold a staggering 11,000,000 copies? Back in 1974 there was a chopsocky craze in the cinemas. The films while entertaining were prone to shockingly bad dubbling, excessive violence and fairly cheesy special effects. Most of them originated in either Hong Kong or Taiwan. Kung Fu Fighting was released to cash in on this movement and was produced by Biddu Appaiah. It became his international breakthrough. Unfortunately it became a millstone around singer Carl Douglas’ neck. Born in Jamaica in 1942, he could never shake it off and by the time 1998 came around, his presence on Bus Stop’s impressive cover was inevitable. Naturally, there are fight scenes in the video and Douglas appears after a minute. All together now: “Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah”

English Electric: Tin Tin Out joined forces with Shelley Nelson to record a cover of The Sundays’ Here’s Where The Story Ends. It won them the 1999 Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. While the original was delicately constructed and rather wistful, Tin Tin Out’s makeover gives the track a dance element but Nelson’s vocal remains faithful to Harriet Wheeler’s. I love the strings too; they give it a wonderful summery feel. There were a number of remixes spread across different formats, the best is Original Extended Mix.

The Sundays were touring around this time; their third and final album Static and Silence was released in September 1997 with before / after singles, Summertime and Cry. The US version of the album features the stunning So Much, omitted from the UK release and not even included on the Japanese pressing (which does come with three B-sides). Let’s go back to 1990 when the hype was enormous. There was a steady weight of expectation building after the superb debut single Can’t Be Sure which had emerged in early 1989 and topped John Peel’s Festive 50 – beating Pixies, Wedding Present, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc. The music press built up the band as true inheritors of The Smiths sound and when Reading, Writing and Arithmetic came out in mid-January 1990, the reaction was gushing. “An alluring slice of lighter-than-air guitar pop, a collection of uncommonly good songs graced by Harriet Wheeler’s wondrous singing.” (Rolling Stone)

Fresh from the break-up of The Smiths in 1987 and the dissolution of The Housemartins in 1988, the indie fans needed a saviour. While the NME were keen to push The Wedding Present as “Smiths’ fans second favourite band”, they were too abrasive and seen as somewhat one-dimensional. However, The Sundays, as their early live performances showed, were a different proposition – managing to sound like “a band who could actually be The Smiths and the Cocteaus IN THE SAME SONG.” (The Quietus) By the end of 1989, anticipation was building as the new decade approached. I remember the release day; yet another cold January day carrying a KG Discs bag around Waterford RTC. The crisp and jangly pop with Harriet Wheeler’s gorgeous vocals matching the weather perfectly. Rough Trade collapsed shortly afterwards and Here’s Where The Story Ends never came out as a single, although it was a big success on the US Modern Rock charts.

Reading, Writing And Arithmetic is a truly dazzling and beautifully cohesive LP. Skin And Bone’s carry-me-away soaring melodic arc and chiming guitars. Here’s Where The Story Ends recalls a sense of sadness from otherwise happier childhood moments: “It’s that little souvenir of a terrible year that makes my eyes grow soft.” And a guitar reminiscent of Cemetry Gates. Can’t Be Sure comes next, an epic of indecision with many hooks and amazing highlight “It’s my life” at 2:35. RT218; check out the 12″ and 3″ CD single for the great lost B-side, Don’t Tell Your Mother. A cheaper alternative may be to pick up the Geffen compilation, DGC Rarities Volume 1. The choppy I Won was given away as a flexi disc with the November / December 1989 issue of The Catalogue. This only heightened the buzz as show after show in Camden was sold out as the year progressed.

As the record progresses the songs almost blend into each other. Indeed the music feels like it’s tripping over itself on Hideous Towns. Marvel to I Kicked A Boy’s gentle acoustics. Listen to them haunted by the ghost of Johnny Marr on A Certain Someone. My Finest Hour’s wonderful lyric “The world it shows me up, My clothes they show me up.”. Finally there’s the textured Joy with its shifting guitar and bass line. A 12″ promo exists, a video was made and the track was chosen as the closing song on Beechwood’s Indie Top 20 Volume 9. In summary, The Sundays’ debut is overflowing with yearning, nostalgia and sadness – all hanging together with seeming effortlessness.
“Imagine England in 1990, sitting in your student bedsit in London in a holey cardigan, watching the rain streak the windows, clutching a cup of tea and reflecting on life’s frustrations with a mood of romantic, melancholic sentimantality and you get somehwere close to capturing the essence of this album.” (Tungsten Duvall)
“What a wonderful record, its like a celebration of simplicity because they understand that sometimes the greatest moments of your life is when you just happen to find a pound in the underground.” (Yakubu)

Favourite tracks
Tin Tin Out featuring Shelley Nelson – Here’s Where The Story Ends

Billie – Because We Want To

Sash! featuring Tina Cousins – Mysterious Times

Lighthouse Family – High

Lest we forget
Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting

Missing tracks and other thoughts
This edition of the Millennium series leaves a lot to be desired and is one of the weakest in the entire run. It doesn’t help that quite a few of the tracks included are over-played and simply not that good. The first half is fairly competent aside from the garish Mavericks sound. Props for including the winsome Viva Forever. They’re fairly mean on the Brit pop though; where are Placebo, Catatonia, Pulp’s This Is Hardcore, Hurricane #1 – Only The Strongest Will Survive, Bernard Butler’s Stay, Ian Brown’s My Star, The Verve’s Lucky Man or anything from the Manic Street Preachers? Disc 2 is like being on holidays on Star Beach, Crete – and not being in control of the sound system. If I never hear 911’s More Than A Woman or Horny, it’ll be too soon. While it’s brilliant to hear Kung Fu Fighting, it really needs to be followed by The Groove Generation featuring Leo Sayer – You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. Accept no other substitutes.

There were three regular Now albums released in 1998 and 34 of the songs here appeared on them (some were included on other compilations first). There were 30 number ones in 1998; 10 are on this (same number as 1997). Of the missing 66%, most lamented are Cher’s Believe, Spacedust’s banging Gym & Tonic, anything by B*Witched, Jamiroquai’s Deeper Underground and It’s Like That. But aside from those, there’s so much more not here. Deep breath clubbers: Faithless – God Is A DJ, The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up, Dario G – Carnaval De Paris (the spirit of France ’98). New pop: Matthew Marsden – This Heart’s Lone Desire, Natalie Imbruglia – Smoke, Hanson – Thinking Of You, Solid Harmonie – I Want You To Want Me or To Love Once Again. The final comedown: a 45 from Air’s Moon Safari, Massive Attack’s amazing Teardrops or Portishead’s Only You.

Review
From mid June 1997 right through until the end of December, every chart-topping UK single sold at least 100,000 copies a week. Like the previous year, 24 singles reached #1 which was twice as many as 1992. Burning at both ends were the Spice Girls with 2 Become 1 ushering in the new year while Too Much climbed to the top on 27 December. Elsewhere the double A-side Mama coupled with Who Do You Think You Are spent three weeks at the top during March while Spice Up Your Life knocked Candle In The Wind ’97 off its perch in October. The second LP, Spiceworld, emerged at the beginning of November and remains one of the best manufactured dance pop albums of its type. The vinyl version sold even fewer copies than Spice and is now highly sought after by fans and collectors with an eye for profit. Another £4.99 special from Dublin’s Virgin Megastore.

Check out these reviews of mine for more discussion on the following tunes:
Now That’s What I Call Music 9: Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing**.
Now That’s What I Call Music 36: The Beautiful South – Don’t Marry Her, Texas – Say What You Want, White Town – Your Woman, Bee Gees – Alone, Gabrielle – Walk On By, U2 – Discotheque, Blur – Beetlebum, DJ Quicksilver – Bellissima, Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats, Monaco – What Do You Want From Me?, Cast – Free Me.
Smash Hits Summer ’97: Spice Girls – Who Do You Think You Are*, Eternal featuring Bebe Winans – I Wanna Be The Only One*, R Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly*, Supergrass – Richard III, 911 – Bodyshakin’.
Now That’s What I Call Music 37: The Cardigans – Lovefool, Coolio – C U When U Get There, Hanson – MMMBop, Ocean Colour Scene – 100 Mile High City, Sash! featuring Rodriguez – Ecuador, Ultra Nate – Free, Todd Terry featuring Martha Wash & Jocelyn Brown – Something Goin’ On.
Fresh Hits 1997: Oasis – D’You Know What I Mean?
Now Dance ’97: Chumbawamba – Tubthumbing**, Bellini – Samba De Janeiro**.
The Greatest Hits Of 1997: Backstreet Boys – As Long As You Love Me**.
Now That’s What I Call Music 38: Boyzone – Picture Of You, Louise – Arms Around The World, All Saints – I Know Where It’s At, Radiohead – Karma Police, Meredith Brooks – Bitch.
New Hits ’98: Steps – 5, 6, 7, 8***, Aqua – Barbie Girl***.
Now That’s What I Call Music 39: Robbie Williams – Let Me Entertain You.
* Also on Now 37 / ** Also on Now 38 / *** Also on Now 39.

“Paul Jonson
DJ Funk
DJ Sneak
DJ Rush
Waxmaster
Hyperactive
Jammin Gerald
Brian Wilson
George Clinton
Lil Louis
Ashley Beatto
Neil Landstruum
Kenny Dope
DJ Hell
Louis Vega
K-Alexi
Dr. Dre is in the house yeah
Omega in the house
Gemini is in the house
Jeff Mills is in the house
DJ Deya
DJ Milton
DJ Slugo
DJs on the low
Green Velvet
Joey Beltram
DJ Else
Roy Davis
Boo Williams
DJ Tonka
DJ Snow
DJ Pierre
Mark Dana in the house
Tom Allen’s in the house
Romanthony’s in the house
Ceevea in the house
Luke Slater
Jerry Carter
Robert Hood
Paris Mitchel
Dave Carter
Van Helden in the house
Amanda in the house
Sir Jordan’s in the house, yeah”

February 2005: LCD Soundsystem release Daft Punk Is Playing At My House. The music video is a warped tribute to Spike Jonze’s and Michel Gondry’s promos for Daft Punk’s Da Funk and Around the World. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo got into the groove around 1993 and really came on my radar during 1995 when they were signed to the Soma label, dropping the boombox house of Daft Punk. Despite a number of positive write-ups, it wasn’t until late 1996 and the subsequent signing by Virgin when momentum started to build. Da Funk was re-released and reached the UK top 10 in early 1997. The superb debut album Homework hit the shops around the time of my 25th birthday (celebrations in The Long Stone) and was a major force in bringing French house music to the masses. Compilations such as Source Lab 3 and Super Discount; seminal albums from Dimitri From Paris (Sacrebleu) and Motorbass (Pansoul). But sadly not here.

Cast’s Mother Nature Calls arrived on 14 April 1997. The sleeve is somewhat bland and doesn’t promise a whole lot but persist and you’ll be rewarded. There’s a fantastic psychedelic vibe going on with some nifty orchestration and standouts like the rustic Live The Dream (Neil Young feel), the uplifting I’m So Lonely and the somewhat epic Dance Of The Stars. It reminds me of Champagne Supernova so bring out the joss sticks. The lead single, Free Me, is included as the closing song on CD2 of this Millennium entry and is a snarling Brit pop banger. The finest praise is reserved for the hidden piano loop of Soul Tied: “At the close of a lifetime when you slowly fade away chances are there’ll be some music playing in your mind. That overwhelming feeling of finality in that hidden track made me picture that future moment when I’m about to enter eternity, and vividly so. I’m not a believer of ESP, but it could be it triggered a sudden moment of clairvoyance. Or maybe it was just the associations of the melody. It’s a melancholy little tune, maybe with a slight sense of loss and loneliness to it, which might be the kind you experience at the time of death… Yeah, it definitely got me thinking…” (Hitherto)

More absent friends: 1997 was when the Cocteau Twins bowed out. It had been a tough few years, the Four-Calendar Café tour was very intense and Liz Fraser seemed oddly distracted. Nevertheless the band’s releases continued. There were two EPs in 1995; Twinlights which saw acoustic reworkings of oldies and Otherness, a remix project by Mark Clifford. 1996 brought the unintentional final album, Milk And Kisses, a deeply melancholic and sad listen that’s probably my favourite of theirs. The hallmark of a sad time. In later years, we learned that the album’s most direct song, Rilkean Heart, was written for and about Jeff Buckley, who Fraser became close to following her split from Robin Guthrie, though the relationship was quite brief. The youthful Buckley was mesmerised by her take on his Dad’s Song To The Siren (via This Mortal Coil in 1984) while she found both his music and singing very moving. The song even appears more tragic against the backdrop of Buckley’s unfortunate death in May 1997.

The year of Pop AKA the last great U2 LP: I was awestruck by the leaked Discothèque, Staring At The Sun being spun by 2FM certainly whetted my appetite. I queued up in Virgin at midnight on the Sunday. Do You Feel Loved sounded amazing on the shop’s speakers; the Madchester influences all coming together seven years later. And Mofo, the techno monster that they promised to unleash earlier in the decade. The double LP works like two six track EPs with riffs and grooves in abundance. Virtually every track worked much better live – the material really came alive in the stadium setting. Specifically, the live versions of Please and Last Night On Earth are just brilliant. The studio versions, particularly the latter, merely hint at the potential these songs actually had. The following songs were re-recorded for single release: If God Will Send His Angels, Please, Last Night on Earth while Discothèque, Gone and Staring At The Sun were given new mixes for the 1990-2000 Best Of. Meanwhile we got some great B-sides – Holy Joe, Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad and the full version of Slow Dancing.

“U2 albums don’t get finished. They get released.” (The Edge)
There is a sense of roughness with Pop. Something not quite complete. This adds to its charm but on the other hand, many of us wish that the album had been *finished* unlike the almost-there version that came out. The aforementioned subsequent single and live versions of some of these songs blow away the studio treatments. One reason given was that the tour was booked because they could close it out. It didn’t help that 1996 was regarded as a rather disappointing year for big album sales – examples of perceived failures include Pearl Jam’s No Code and REM’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi. The music industry was eagerly anticipating U2’s album and expecting it to steady the ship, but it slipped to early 1997 and then was met with lackluster sales. Q magazine described Last Night On Earth as “U2’s answer to Oasis”, and the whole dance-club aspect to the album was predicted by many as the thing that would push electronica into the mainstream.

The Pop title is also interesting because the album is quite a strong rock one – Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, Gone and Please are all powerful rock tunes. U2 had begun recording with the idea that they were going to make a real rock ‘n’ roll record. Working with Nellee Hooper, all the rumours said that they’d gone trip-hop. The news that Howie B. was on board surfaced and the focus shifted to dance. But there was one word that would allow them to explore all of these areas at once and not have to consider anything else: Pop. A Hot Press feature and interview from March 1997 identified that rock bands like U2 were susceptible to shifting trends:
“You have to keep in touch with what’s going on at the cutting edge of youth culture and of contemporary music.” (Adam Clayton)
“Structurally-speaking, dance music is probably the most experimental music right now. Albums like the Underworld album and the Chemical Brothers are really interesting — a lot more interesting than Brit pop.” (The Edge)
“At the end of the day, though, it’s more of a rock ‘n’ roll album even though it’s called Pop. It’s like a giant melting pot of different styles. Different things are pushed to the fore on different tracks but ultimately it’s something new — and yet something that’s still very much U2.” (Flood)

In some ways you could argue that the overblown hype of impending electronica actually hurt U2 with conventional fans (put them off purchasing the record) while they didn’t take the dance music far enough (two songs out of 12 isn’t enough) to really be considered an electronic record either. An alternative plan could have been a proper remix album coming out in late 1995 or early 1996. This could have included remixes of Discothèque and Mofo along with the likes of Lemon and all the dance 12″s from Achtung Baby and Zooropa. That could have freed up Pop to be a regular rock album with the inclusion of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me and Holy Joe fitting into the two vacant slots. This would be the last album where U2 pushed the envelope. After all the flack they got, they went back to basics with All That You Can’t Leave Behind. As of March 2018, Pop still hasn’t been reissued. Here is what a fan like JSB would like:

Disc 1: Pop remastered

Disc 2: Pop Reworked
Discothèque
01 (Best Of 1990-2000 Mix)
02 (DM Deep Extended Club Mix)
03 (DM Deep Beats Mix)
04 (DM Tec Radio Mix)
05 (DM Deep Instrumental Mix)
06 (David Holmes Mix)
07 (Howie B, Hairy B Mix)
08 (Hexidecimal Mix)
Mofo
09 (Phunk Phorce Mix)
10 (Black Hole Dub)
11 (Mother’s Mix)
12 (House Flavour Mix)
13 (Romin Remix)

Disc 3: Pop Reworked
If God Will Send His Angels
01 (Single mix)
02 (Grand Jury Mix/aka Big Yam Mix)
Staring At The Sun
03 (Best Of 1990-2000 Mix)
04 (Lab Rat Mix)
05 (Sad Bastard Mix)
06 (Monster Truck Mix)
Last Night On Earth
07 (Single Mix)
08 (First Night in Hell)
Gone
09 (Best Of 1990-2000 Mix)
Miami
10 (Allen Ginsberg Version)
Please
11 (Single Version)

Disc 4: B-Sides
01 I’m Not Your Baby (with Sinead O’Connor)
02 Holy Joe (Garage Mix)
03 Holy Joe (Guilty Mix)
04 North And South Of The River
05 Happiness Is A Warm Gun
06 Pop Muzik
07 Slow Dancing (with Willie Nelson)
08 Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad
09 Sunday Bloody Sunday (Live from Sarajevo)
10 Please (Live from Rotterdam)
11 Where The Streets Have No Name (Live from Rotterdam)
12 With Or Without You (Live from Edmonton)
13 Staring At The Sun (Live from Rotterdam)

Disc 5: Outtakes, Alternative Versions & Demos

DVD
U2: A Year in Pop documentary
All the video clips: Discothèque, Mofo, If God Will Send His Angels, Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, Please
Alternative videos: Staring At The Sun and Last Night On Earth have additional videos, plus there the video for the live version of Please (the Maps Version).

“Oh I’m gonna go away on a little holiday in the summer
‘cos I think I’m gonna come
Straight in at number 1 and stay there all summer, summer
It’s gonna happen for you and for me
Ooh when I feel the warm breeze then it’s summer” (Denim – Summer Smash)

Favourite tracks
The Beautiful South – Don’t Marry Her

Monaco – What Do You Want From Me?

White Town – Your Woman

DJ Quicksilver – Bellissima

Lest we forget
Cast – Free Me

Missing tracks and other thoughts
Once again, a fairly adequate representation of the year’s hits. CD1 has a variety of styles, experienced acts like the Beautiful South and the Bee Gees mixing with the new pop of Steps and Hanson. You Sexy Thing is here because of The Full Monty but once again, we get the inferior 1987 remix which wasn’t played anywhere in 1997 – it was the original version that got reissued to capitalise on the film. On the second disc, there’s a Brit pop flavour that really should have included The Verve (Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work or Lucky Man) while Stand By Me would have my preferred choice for Oasis, although at the time, D’You Know What I Mean?, was only on a Hits album. I do like the sequence of trance that follows Tubthumping. A real beach party – Samba De Janeiro, Bellissima and Ecuador. After Block Rockin’ Beats (would Setting Sons be better?), we go back to guitars on Peter Hook’s Monaco and yet another John Power classic.

There were three regular Now albums released in 1997 and 30 of the songs here appeared on them (some were included on other compilations first) while three more would end up on 1998’s Now 39. As stated in my introduction, there were 24 number ones in 1997; 10 are here which is reasonably impressive. Of the missing bunch, the absence of Puff Daddy (I’ll Be Missing You), Olive (You’re Not Alone) and the Teletubbies is most disappointing. Elsewhere I will make the case for Dannii Minogue’s perfect pop moment All I Wanna Do, Paula Cole’s heartfelt Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?, club classics Basement Jaxx – Flylife, Dario G – Sunchyme and Roy Davis Jr – Gabriel. Others that really hit the mark for me in 1997 were Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn, Gala’s Freed From Desire, Janet Jackson’s Together Again and Tori Amos’ Professional Widow. And for sentimental reasons: Time To Say Goodbye by my old favourite Sarah Brightman (and Andrea Bocelli).