On this wintry day we spent a couple of hours in The Nineties. Part three took us down the countdown from number 61. The music was (in reverse order) –
45 “Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit” Gina G 790,000 1996 1 – The United Kingdom’s entry in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest. Although the song only finished in eighth place in the contest it was successful in Europe, it reached number one in the United Kingdom on 19 May 1996.
46 “Three Lions” Baddiel/Skinner/Lightning Seeds 785,000 1996 1 – Released in 1996, the official anthem of the England football team for that year’s European Championships, held in England. The music was written by Ian Broudie, with comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner providing the lyrics. The title comes from the emblem of the England football team
47 “Fairground” Simply Red 783,000 1995 1 – It was the first (and only) single by the group to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart. It spent four weeks at the top and fourteen weeks in the Top 40.
48 “Tubthumping” Chumbawamba 780,000 1997 2 – The term ‘tubthumper’ is commonly used for someone, often a politician, seeming to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ with a populist notion or idea. It was Chumbawamba‘s most successful single, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart
49 “Livin La Vida Loca” Ricky Martin 775,700 1999 1 – Sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling singles of all time
50 “Un-Break My Heart” Toni Braxton 770,000 1996 2 – Debuted at number four in the UK Singles Chart, reaching is peak at number two after seven weeks on the chart
51 “Children” Robert Miles 770,000 1996 2 – Was a success worldwide peaking at #1 in more than 12 countries and holding that position for several weeks.
52 “That Don’t Impress Me Much” Shania Twain 763,000 1999 3 – Became Twain’s biggest single in the UK. It debuted, at its peak, on May 22, 1999 at number three, where it remained for three weeks, and remained in the top ten for another seven weeks. It remained on the entire chart for 21 weeks
53 “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” Meat Loaf 761,200 1993 1 – The title of the song confused some listeners, who were curious to know what “that” is. The song was a commercial success, reaching number one in 28 countries
54 “Mysterious Girl” Peter Andre 750,000 1996 2 – peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart
55 “Baby Come Back” Pato Banton 750,000 1994 1 – Released on 19 September 1994 and entered the chart for the week ending 1 October 1994 at #16 and reached #1 in its 5th week on the chart, where it stayed for four weeks. It was the 4th biggest selling single of 1994 in the UK.
56 “Together Again” Janet Jackson 741,000 1997 2 – Attained massive commercial success worldwide, peaking within the top five in most countries. It is among the best-selling singles of all time, having sold over six million copies worldwide.
57 “Don’t Look Back In Anger” Oasis 730,000 1996 1 – The fifth single from their hit second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. The song was written by the band’s guitarist and main songwriter, Noel Gallagher. The song became the band’s second single to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart, where it also went platinum.
58 “How Do I Live” LeAnn Rimes 713,900 1997 7 – Despite only peaking at #7 in the UK Singles Chart Rimes’ version of “How Do I Live” spent 34 weeks on the chart, ending up as the 6th best selling single of 1998.
59 “MMMBop” Hanson 712,000 1997 1 – From their 1997 album Middle of Nowhere. The song was nominated for two Grammys in February 1998, and is the band’s most successful single to date. “MMMBop” was phenomenally successful, especially for a debut single, reaching number one in 27 countries including the United States and the United Kingdom
60 “You Are Not Alone” Michael Jackson 710,000 1995 1 – The single has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and 4 million digital downloads in USA.
61 “Breathe” The Prodigy 709,000 1996 1 – Became the group’s second consecutive number-one on both the Official UK and Finnish Singles Chart.
3@3 this week was from the third best selling album of the 90s – Spice by The Spice Girls
Spice is the debut album by the Spice Girls. It was first released by Virgin Records in November 1996 in Europe, then in February 1997 for the rest of the world.. Five singles were released from the album: “Wannabe”, “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1”, “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Mama”. The first single, “Wannabe”, went to number one in 31 countries, and the next two singles, “Say You’ll Be There” and “2 Become 1”, reached number one in 53 countries. “Who Do You Think You Are” was released as the official Comic Relief single in the UK as a double A-side with “Mama” and both songs reached the top 20 in charts across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In the band’s native UK, all four singles went to number one on the UK singles chart and, in the United States, the album produced three top five singles. Spice went on to become the third best selling album of the 90s in the UK