And now, 1994. On the date of this chart, Europe's first invert roller coaster, Nemesis, opened at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire. Let's see if the charts at the time provided similar thrills.
40 - "Stay Together," Suede
These Londoners are credited with helping launch Britpop with their 1993 debut album. Before releasing their follow-up, they put out this standalone single, which became their first Top Five hit. It's a Bowiesque ballad about love among the ruins of a crumbling civilization. I like what it's trying to do, but I find Brett Anderson's voice grating on this. And the title proved ironic, because guitarist Bernard Butler would leave the group shortly after this was recorded.
39 - "Switch," Sender
The biggest hit for these London rap-rockers was this example of the politically minded hip-hop that was falling out of fashion at the time. Pretty convincing, and well worth a listen.
38 - "I Never Want an Easy Life if Me and He Were to Get There," The Charlatans
Their seventh hit was this loping rock tune about preferring a life of drug-addledness. I think that's it. It's all right, but not quite as memorable as the title promises.
37 - "Murder She Wrote," Chaka Demus and Pliers
The fourth hit for the Jamaican duo is this dancehall track about a manipulative woman named Maxine. She seems shady, but funnily enough, nowhere is it suggested that she has killed anyone. And there's no mention of the TV show the song takes its title from. Which is disappointing, because I feel like "Angela Lansbury" is a name that would sound cool with a Jamaican accent.
36 - "Love Come Down," Alison Limerick
After some notable backup singing work in the 80s, Londoner Limerick had a handful of 90s dance hits, including this cover of Evelyn King's 1982. Nice singing, but otherwise inessential.
35 - "Come in Out of the Rain," Wendy Moten
The biggest of two U.K. hits for this Memphis lady was this passionately performed reconciliation ballad. Meh material uplifted by Moten's church-nurtured voice.
34 - "Groove Thang," Zhane
The second of three Brit hits for this Philly duo was this slinky dance tune about slinky dancing. One of the better examples of R&B of the period.
33 - "Again," Juliet Roberts
One of the several hits by this Grenada-born singer was this sophisticated soul-dance track about a brief love affair. Roberts has a smooth, jazzy voice that makes this more than just a playlist filler.
32 - "The Power of Love," Celine Dion
The first U.K. Top Five for the Quebecoise cha teaser was this cover of a 1985 #1 by American Jennifer Rush. Big singer, big ballad. If that's what you're looking for, this is your jam,
31 - "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," Morrissey
One of Stephen Patrick's whopping 33 Top 40s here, and the closest he came tout having one in America. Definitely one of his most accessible pop tunes, but the premise of him being threateningly inescapable is definitely in keeping with his overall theme. Very good.
30 - "Let's Face the Music and Dance," Nat King Cole
Haven't been able to find out why his 1961 recording of a song originally written for the 1936 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film Follow the Fleet was on the charts at this time. I'm guessing it was in a commercial. Doesn’t matter though, it's the King swinging a standard, and there's never a bad reason to give that some love.
29 - "Because of Love," Janet Jackson
Miss Jackson with an uptempo Jam/Lewis love song. Nothing more or less than what you'd expect from that description. And that's not a bad thing.
28 - "All for Love," Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting
Three rock stars sap out for this dreckfest from a Three Musketeers movie featuring future TV stars Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, and Charlie Sheen. Awful. Adams had already planted himself in this world, but the other two still had enough respectability that they didn’t need to piss away. Best I can say is that it only hit #2 here.
27 - "Whispering Your Name," Alison Moyet
The Essex singer's most recent hit was this acoustic ballad about suspected infidelity. I love that voice. She should have been a bigger worldwide star.
26 - "I Can See Clearly Now," Jimmy Cliff
The reggae pioneer covered Johnny Nash's 1972 optimism ode for the soundtrack of Cool Runnings, the fictionalized account of the Jamaican bobsled team's appearance at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Okay movie, okay cover.
25 - "Move On Baby," Cappella
The first of three Top Tens for this Italian dance outfit. Okay beats, good soul singing, unspectacular rap. The usual.
24 - "Glam Rock Cops," Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
The ninth of twelve hits by the London duo of Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and Les "Fruitbat" Carter was this rocker about being young and bored and disenchanted. It's much better faux-Bowie than the Suede track.
23 - "Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud)," The Beautiful South
After the breakup of The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed a new group that was even more successful, scoring 22 Top 40s between 1989 and 2005. The eighth of these was this bouncy pop song about longing for something better even though one knows one's limitations. I think that's it. This might not be one of their best, but it's still damn good. These guys hit the same sweet spot for me that Crowded House does.
22 - "Loser," Beck
L.A.-born Beck Hansen grew up wanting to be a folk/blues singer, but after moving to New York he absorbed hip-hop and surrealist influences which created a unique sound typified by his breakthrough hit, a combination of slide guitar samples and Beck's nonsensical Rap about "butane in my veins" and "beefcake pantyhose." It all combines into something wonderful. Two fun facts: 1) The first line of the chorus is "Soy una perdador;" Spanish for "I'm a loser." Many people heard many different things. I myself first thought he said "sodium pentathol" aka truth serum. Like he was reluctantly admitting his loserdom, you know? 2) The voice that says "I'm a driver, I'm a winner" is not, contrary to popular belief, that of George H.W. Bush.
21 - "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," Elton John and RuPaul
Sir Elton's 1993 Duets album produced this new version of his smash 1976 Kiki Dee collaboration, this time performed with drag performer RuPaul Charles, who had recently broken through as a recording artist with the dance hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)." The house beats and Ru's attitude make it something different than the original, so it works.
In Part Two: violence, innocence, and...the Charleston?
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