Side 2 of my sojourn through the 1990s, skidding to a halt in 1997.
The year that Labour ousted the Tories from government in a landslide general election result. The year that Princess Diana died in a car crash, attempting to escape the paparazzi. The year that The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered. The year that we got a glimpse of the comet Hale–Bopp passing by our tiny planet. The year that South Park debuted on TV.
It was also the year of the mud, at least if you were at Glastonbury that summer. If that wasn't disappointing enough, Neil Young pulled out of a headline slot, to be replaced by Kula Shaker. No refunds on your £75 ticket.
At a glance, 1997 may seem like a dire year for music. Candle In The Wind by Elton John was the year's biggest seller by a long chalk, released the weekend following Princess Diana's funeral. The rest of the Top 5 was made up of Aqua, Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, and the 'various artists' patchwork cover of Perfect Day by Lou Reed. Oh, and Teletubbies.
Sadly, Bristol-born actor and comedian Dave Thompson couldn't enjoy the latter's #1 success in December 1997 as five months previously he'd been given the boot as Tinky Winky (the purple one, I had to look it up). Apparently, BBC bosses deemed that Dave's "interpretation of the role was not acceptable".
No such comment from the BBC about Katrina & The Waves' performance at the Eurovision Song Contest, representing the United Kingdom. Surprisingly, they won it. Less surprisingly, 1997 remains the last time that the UK have won it.
There was lots of great music in 1997 too, so don't despair. I've sifted through and found a dozen nuggets that haven't lost their shine in the last three decades.
Remember Indie Kylie? Kylie Minogue's sixth album Impossible Princess underwent a swift swap to an untitled/eponymous UK release in 1997, following Diana's death (the original title reinstated in 2003).
Kylie co-wrote the album, mostly with Brothers In Rhythm, Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk. A couple of songs were written with Manic Street Preachers, including the rather fab Some Kind Of Bliss. These were the days when Kylie wasn't guaranteed a #1 with every single but even so, #22 was a bit harsh.
I've surprised myself by upping 1996's brace of UK #1s with a hat-trick today. First up is You're Not Alone, originally a #42 hit for Olive in September 1996, then re-released and hitting the top spot in May 1997. Olive never really bettered this song.
Likewise, White Town whose single Your Woman gained traction on Radio 1 thanks to Mark Radcliffe and became a global hit. Your Woman proved to be a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for Jyoti Mishra, and neither the B-sides, album or subsequent music could hope to match the inspired brilliance of this song.
Block Rockin' Beats was The Chemical Brothers' second #1 and also proved to be their last, although Tom and Ed enjoyed a further ten Top 20 hits between 1997 and 2007.
A second appearance for Suede, with the final single from third album Coming Up. Feeling sidelined and dismissed by the music press, who were lathering over Blur, Oasis and Pulp, Brett Anderson determined to "write a straightforward pop album. Just ten hits." And he was half right, in as much as Suede's label released five of the ten songs as singles in the UK, every one of them cracking the Top 10.
When I first settled on the track listing for 1997 (from the usual shortlist of nearly 50 songs), I'd expected quite a few of them to have been minor hits, outside the Top 40 at least. I was surprised to find that only two fit that particular bill.
Today's Mandatory Andrew Weatherall song is Touch Me With Your Love by Beth Orton, which peaked at 60 in January 1997. Touch Me With Your Love was released as a standalone single and, according to the credits, reproduced rather than remixed by Weatherall and his fellow lone swordsman Keith Tenniswood.
Death In Vegas, led by Richard Fearless, would go onto greater things in 2000s but I was a huge fan of debut album, Dead Elvis. Rocco only got to #51 but it's a cracking single, with it's sampled refrain of "Gonna die if sweetness should pass me by" inspiring the name of a mixtape I made for my brother.
Other first-timers which I happily discovered all made a dent in the Top 40 are My Life Story, Tindersticks and Monaco, the latest venture from Peter Hook. In What Do You Want From Me?, Hooky created one of the best New Order singles that New Order never made.
An honorable mention to Blue Boy aka Lex Blackmore. Like You're Not Alone, Remember Me was released as a single the year before, but a remix by Sure Is Pure in 1997 rocketed the song to #8. Like Olive, Blue Boy are pretty much only remembered for Remember Me (see what I did there?). Trivia fans may be thrilled to know that this is Lex Blackmore's second appearance in the Decadance series. Way back in 1990, Lex accompanied The Shamen on Make It Mine as one half of rap duo Rhyme & Reason.
Last but not least, Daft Punk with a catchy little tune called Da Funk. The song first came out in 1995 and I first heard it on Annie Nightingale's late night Radio 1 show sometime in 1996. Da Funk was edited and packaged as a double A-side with Musique, giving the French robots a #7 hit in February 1997. The rest is history. Well, of course it is!
Next weekend sees the final two installments of the Decadance series, as I take a long hard look at 1998 and 1999, trying to decide whether to party like Prince or try to back up all my computer files ahead of the inevitable crash caused by the Millennium Bug, dragging society as we know it back into The Dark Ages.
1) Some Kind Of Bliss (Radio Edit): Kylie Minogue
2) Filmstar (Original Demo): Suede
3) Strumpet (Album Version): My Life Story
4) What Do You Want From Me? (Edit): Monaco
5) Remember Me (Sure Is Pure 7” Edit): Blue Boy ft. Marlena Shaw
6) Touch Me With Your Love (Radio Edit): Beth Orton
7) Bathtime (Single Remix): Tindersticks
8) You're Not Alone (Radio Edit): Olive
9) Rocco (DRVRSLZ Edit): Death In Vegas
10) Block Rockin' Beats (Radio Edit): The Chemical Brothers ft. Schoolly D
11) Da Funk (Radio Edit): Daft Punk
12) Your Woman (Album Version): White Town
19th January 1997: Women In Technology (#1): 12
26th January 1997: Touch Me With Your Love EP (#60): 6
9th February 1997: Remember Me EP (#8): 5
16th February 1997: Da Funk/Musique EP (#7): 11
9th March 1997: What Do You Want From Me? (#11): 4
30th March 1997: Block Rockin' Beats EP (#1): 10
11th May 1997: The Golden Mile (#27): 3
11th May 1997: You're Not Alone EP (#1): 8
1st June 1997: Bathtime EP (#38): 7
17th August 1997: Filmstar EP (#9): 2
14th September 1997: Some Kind Of Bliss EP (#22): 1
26th October 1997: Rocco EP (#51): 9
Side One here
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