Hits 21 - 1990 (5): Steve Miller Band, Maria McKee, The Beautiful South

Episode Date: November 3, 2024

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Hits 21! It's time for a new season: Hits 21 - The 90s. At the roundtable from now on it's Rob, Andy, and Ed, with Lizzy stepping aside for the next while. This week we've got Steve Miller Band wit-wooing their way through T-Rex lyrics, Maria McKee surprising all of us, and The Pogues on Broadway. Twitter: @Hits21UK Email: [e-mail]

The End Hi there everyone and welcome back to Hitch 21, the 90s, where me, Rob, me, Andy and me, Ed, are looking back at every single UK number one of the 1990s. If you want to get in touch with us you can find us over on Twitter, we are at Hits21UK, that is at Hits21UK. And you can email us too, send it on over to hits21podcast at gmail.com. Thank you ever so much for joining us again, we are currently looking back at the year 1990 and this week we'll be covering the period between the 9th of September and the 27th of October, so nearly a two month period there. Last week, a surprise winner on the poll, as far as I'm concerned anyway not for the listeners who voted who made

turtle power The winner what of last week's episode? I'm shocked. I'm really shocked. I may have to review that in a few weeks Maybe there are a few issues with Spotify polling because that is a bit of a surprise But we'll have it down as the winner for now And if you don't hear anything else about the poll from last week's episode, presume that Turtle Power will stay the winner of last week's episode forever. So it's time to press on with this week's episode and as always here are some news headlines from September-October-y time in 1990. The Pound sterling joins the European

exchange rate mechanism. The occasion is marked by hectic trading in the city of London and more than 500 million shares are traded in the first two hours and by the end of the day the turnover is more than a billion shares, the highest daily volume since the stock market crash in 1987. East and West Germany, along with the four power authorities, signed the Treaty on the Final Settlement with respect to Germany in Moscow, known for its catchy title, paving the way for German reunification. In tennis, 19-year-old Pete Sampras wins the US Open, meaning that all eight Grand Slam winners in 1990 are different people.

In America, Ellis Island reopens as a museum. In South Africa, 36 people are killed when a train in Johannesburg is attacked by terrorists, and at Guangzhou Airport in China, 128 people are killed when a hijacked flight crashes into two more planes that were stationed on the runway. The films to hit the top of the UK box office during this period were as follows. Another 48 hours for one week, Presumed Innocent for one week, and then Ghost begins an eight week run at the top. Yes, we are recording this episode on Halloween, so we've got Turtle Curses and Ghosts suitably in the background in the mise-en-scene

of this episode and in America the first episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is broadcast on TV. Also in the world of comedy we don't need to keep up with the US with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air because we've got something even more hip, street and cool, Keeping Up Appearances debuts on the BBC and over in America again Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Julia Sweeney join the cast of Saturday Night Live, marking a new era for the sketch comedy show. Star Trek The Next Generation makes its debut on BBC Two

three years after it originally started in America. So we got after all of that wait all that anticipation to see that bloody awful first season three years late. The BBC airs the very first episode of Have I Got News For You with Angus Dayton as the host and David Lynch's new drama Twin Peaks also debuts on BBC Two six months after its original run in the USA. Andy, how are the album charts? Well yes, last week was very much the dominion of one Luciano Pavarotti, and that's not over yet.

He is still at number one as this period begins with his in concert CD with the other two of the three tenors. That is briefly toppled for one week by Listen Without Prejudice, volume one by George Michael. Lovely album that which went four times platinum but did only stay at number one for one week before we had another four weeks for the three tenors with In Concert again back at number one. That went five times platinum in the end and saw us through almost the whole rest of this period so another another solid few months on the chart for Pavarotti and for the three tenors in general and then sneaking in for one week at the end we have some friendly by the charlatans which only went gold and was number one for just one week. Okay, Ed, how about the states?

Funnily enough, when it comes to Charlottesons albums, that's the only one I know. Oh. Yeah, US albums, it's pretty simple this time. It's hammer time all the way up to November the 10th when things start to get frosty with Vanilla Ice providing a chilling portent of things to come. To the extreme holds the top spot for the rest of the year. Wow singles a bit more varied actually

pretty busy during this period. To start with we've got Wilson pissing Phillips for two weeks. Then I Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection by Nelson. That's only there for one week though, so ha ha. And that's before one week each for Maxi Priest with Close to You, George Michaels Praying for Time and I Don't Have the Heart by James Ingram, before Black Cat doesn't cross the number one spot twice for Janet Jackson, unfortunately, being run over and skinned by Bland Behemoth Ice Ice Baby for one week, and Love Takes Time by Mariah Carey

takes its time with three weeks at number one, seeing as up to the end of November. Maxi Priest gets all the attention. I'd love to hear more from Mini Priest. I'd like to hear more from Judas Priest but anyway. Well thank you both very much for those reports and we are going to press on now with our first song of the week which is this I speak of the pompadice of love People talkin' bout me baby Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong

Well don't you worry baby don't worry Cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home Cause I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover and I'm a sinner I play my music in the sun I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight talker I sure don't want to hurt no one I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover, and I'm a sinner I play my music in the sun. I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker.

I get my lovin' on the run. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo Okay, this is The Joker by Steve Miller Band. Reissued as a standalone single, The Joker is Steve Miller Band's fifth single to be released in the UK and their first to reach number one. The song was originally released in 1973 when it did not chart in the UK but was a US number one. The song was originally released in 1973 when it did not chart in the UK, but was a US number one. However, it is the last UK number one for Steve Miller Band as of 2024. The Joker first entered the UK chart at number 69, reaching number one during its sixth week on the chart. It stayed at number one for two weeks. In its first week atop the charts,

it sold 44,118 copies, beating competition from number two, Groovers in the Heart by D-Lite. I forgot the bike. Eight copies. Eight copies. But carrying on, The Space Jungle by Adamski, which climbed to number 7, and Vision of Love by Mariah Carey, which climbed to number 9. And in week 2,

it sold 64,000 copies, beating competition from Holy Smoke by Iron Maiden, which got to number 3, Show Me Heaven by Maria McKee, which got to number 4, and The Groovy Train by The Farm, which got to number 9. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, The Joker dropped one place to number 2. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 104 for 13 weeks. The song is currently officially certified gold in the UK as of 2024 but that's again based on that pre-Kantar data. So Ed kick us off with Steve Miliband. Yeah that's Steve Miliband, brother of politicians Ed and David.

Oh you stole that from me! I was about to say if I don't do it now I know Andy's gonna get that because just the way you were saying it Rob I'm like oh that's just floating for the taking that but he's keen to differentiate himself from his political brothers in choice of career if not in overall vibe because this is um this is fine it's it's absolutely fine um it sounds nice I mean this is fine. It's absolutely fine. It sounds nice. I mean, this is very much of a different era from the rest of the songs here.

It's obviously, it came out originally in 1973, I believe, and it firmly sounds like that. There were a bunch of singles of this kind of like horizontal, you know, happy-go-lucky, stoner, floater sort of character going around in the 70s from like Walk on the Wild Side to Spanish Stroll by Mink DeVille. And this is probably the least charismatic of those three. Not that it's particularly a bad song, but I've got to say, I'm always kind of wary of declarative songs

like I am this. I think unless you're subverting something or taking on a character to provoke a reaction from the audience, like something like Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones or Manifesto by Roxy Music or everyone's favourite Rock Drill by the sensational Alex Harvey band. You know, it's on the edge of everyone's tongue.

Or if you're going just OTT and creating some crazy theatrical character, like speaking of Judas Priest, like half the Judas Priest catalogue is full of characters called things like the Metalizer, the Demonizer, the Ground Render, the Ripper, and it knows that it's just ridiculously campy and over the top and full of fire and brimstone and vague sexual overtones. But here this is just like ooh I'm a nice guy you know I'm not

I'm a bit cheeky I like a smoke this that and the other it's like a declarative nice guy song with no other angle to it what is the point and what is the substance behind this I know what the substance behind it is. But yeah, it's just, it's a very three-star experience. It's not unpleasant at any point except for that stupid Maurice bit that Rob quoted earlier on. Yeah. It's got some nice slide guitar.

It's got that, you know, nice, loose, soft, pummeling tom-tom sound that I like from the early 70s. And yeah, it's fine, isn't it? It's not at all unpleasant. But I can't help but think that there are more interesting, more substantial, more exciting songs in this kind of cyclical, road trippy style song from the 70s. They changed their tune pretty quickly. I mean, he didn't go into politics, but they did Abra Kadabra later on, which depending on who you speak to, is a lot of fun or one of the worst things ever perpetrated on the pop charts.

So yeah, the other Miller Band, that's me. Yeah, Abracadabra's recently made a bit of a comeback thanks to Eminem as well. Really? Yeah, Houdini, number one from last year, his first solo number one, like without a featured artist since like Toy Soldiers, I think. And yeah, it was Abracadabra. The first the first time I really knew about the Joker's existence was back in about sort of like 2003. I was about nine years old because I got given my first mobile phone.

And now the phone couldn't do anything it was like this old flip-top thing it was an NEC E616 was the the specific model and in the menus it had a whole library of shitty MIDI ringtones like the days like the James Bond theme and this weird new Jack Swing rendition of Scarborough Fair, not joking, and a whole host of stock themes that were called like Good Time Scarbeat or Amazon Rainfall. And when you selected the ringtone you had this little John Travolta slash Elvis guy kind of dancing along to it and doing moves and stuff and one of those ringtones was just called The Joker and it played this little MIDI version of the chorus melody

and I remember vaguely recalling the melody from somewhere at the time but I didn't know where exactly and then around the time shortly afterwards the song was inevitably played on like radio 2 or something and my mind immediately jumped back to that phone and the ringtone and then it all coming together and then obviously later years watching that early episode of the Simpsons. The Homer Simpson bit where he's singing along to it in the car goes, some people call me the space cowboy. Yeah. The song itself is alright, I'm kind of cool and lukewarm on it.

I think my main issue is that there's something sweet there, but I feel like it's just buried in this irony that I don't want. There's a nice kind of 70s novelty naffness to this, where it's slightly dusty and untrendy, slightly unkempt. I think there's a little bit of Mark Bowlin in the lyrics as well. You can imagine him being all, you know, some people call me the space cowboy, some people call me the gangster of love, you know, over something like I Love Taboogie. And there's the slightly goofy revolving guitar pattern as well, which gets picked up years later by Shaggy and Rave On for Angel and ends up being the best part of that song.

But I think if it was written and delivered in the way that Homer Simpson understands it in that episode of The Simpsons, I think we'd be onto something because Homer clearly, the way that Homer Simpson is characterized in the first kind of nine seasons of The Simpsons with regards to the songs that he is into, he really sincerely and sweetly enjoys the naffness of 70s soft rock. So much of his listening habits throughout the show are littered with these like songs from the 70s. Things like Steve Miller band and you won two tickets to Paradise and the

competent drum work of Don Brewer, Grand Front Railroad and you know things like that. Why can't we be friends? You know he's got like a real affinity and a real affection for things like this and I wish that the Joker just it was more of that. I wish it wore its heart on its sleeve a bit more because I think it gets scared of leaning too far into this kind of goofball territory where you end up with it kind of half committing but mostly just kind of winking at you the whole time trying really hard to pretend that it's too cool to do the very thing that it's doing because I mentioned before the Mark Bowling

connection in the lyrics, because the thing that kind of takes it away from Mark Bowling territory is the, some people call me Morris, whoop whoop, like it has to kind of go, oh well we don't, I'm not really a gangster of love or a space cowboy. Like it is a joke, don't worry. I feel like it's constantly trying to catch my eye and remind me that it isn't too, it isn't sincere after all. I wish that it just leaned into that a little bit more. It's a lyric that Lizzie has referenced on this podcast from the slider, you know, Never Never Never Kissed a Car Before before it's like a dough. Oh

Oh That is great because mark Boland leans miles into that knows how ridiculous it is and kind of just balls straight through it anyway Boar is in you know Like rams through it Whereas with this it doesn't lean into the kind of slightly goofy side of it Just kind of lean into the space cowboy thing without doing the what? Whoa, it's a big joke, everybody. Don't panic. You know, that sort of thing. I feel like that persists through the song.

And I will say as well, another kind of issue is that the song is too long. Again, it's I mean, I know it's a 70s song, but like, what is it with the 90s and like, oh, yeah, well, we can't buy this unless it goes over four minutes. We're not we're not allowing this guys sorry you know i just i don't really get it because it reaches a nice emotional climax around sort of like three minutes 23 minutes 30 and you think it's going for the outro but then it comes back around with that slower rendition of the first verse and... Yeah. Why?

Why? It adds nothing. There's no sense of closure, there's no sense of bringing things to... You know, it's trying to go for closure and bringing things back to the beginning, but it's not there. I just feel like it's a pointless epilogue that I could do without. But I don't... I really don't mind this.

I think that there's just... I think there's something potentially vault-worthy here, it's just that... I just want it to s- I just wish it leaned into the silliness a bit more instead of going like, oh well we are leaning into the silliness a bit but oh, not in the way that you think. And yeah, not a particularly heinous crime or a particularly horrible offense but it means I will remain on the fence with it. Andy, the Joker. I really don't have a huge amount to add to be honest and I think I'm just going to be kind of riffing and bouncing in order to fill a couple of minutes here talking about it

because there are few songs that we've had on the show that have really kind of generated almost no reaction from me at all and I'm not talking about like oh I really don't want to talk about that because I really didn't like it or that's going straight into the pie hole kind of reaction I mean I just a kind of shrug emoji reaction in fact I do want better than the shrug emoji the exact reaction this gets from me is that Alan Partridge moment where Tony Hayes says, Oh, he's the he's in charge of our news and current affairs. And Alan just does that aggressive shrug.

That's exactly how I feel about this. Just like, well, what do you want me to say? The cards act against it for me, really, because it it fits exactly into that Homer Simpson core, as you've said, Rob, you know, that kind of aggressively mid 70s soft rock thing, which I just do not go for at all. And it's just really instinctively tends me off that kind of sound. I used to be in a pub band and I always used to say that I would never, ever, ever allow us to do hotel

California because I thought that was an insipid horrible annoyingly bland piece of music I feel the same way about this that I would absolutely veto this because it's just frankly a very boring song to be honest the one thing that really stirred some emotion in me was The woo woo as you mentioned, you know, I agree with you completely, Rob. Lean further into that and make this a bit of cheeky fun and take the piss out of your grandiose statements about,

oh, I'm this and I'm that, and aren't I a cool guy? And, oh, you know, take the piss out of that a little bit. You've got potentially quite a fun song there, quite a subversive song there, but this plays it straight really and that means it plays it very blandly Which is really disappointing really disappointed You know, I have I have so little else to say about it other than the fact that it's just a kind of four minutes That's a little bit of a wasted opportunity

It certainly is a wasted opportunity on the charts. This taking up the number one spot is something I don't like, but there's nothing that offends me in it. I just think it doesn't go for any big swings and just leaves me feeling completely cold and completely neutered. I actually think it would have been more fun if it had been performed by one of the Miller Band brothers, and I wouldn't have ever done that, you know, as a karaoke, just for a bit of fun. Saying, you've heard of the Steve Miller Band and now some people call me the space cowboy. That would have been a labour of love.

Oh god. I'm gonna be honest, I started that whole little track there just as an excuse to do my Ed Miller Band impression, which I'm still doing long after it's lost its relevance. I need to work on my Keir Starmer. But anyway, yes, nothing else to say about this. It's just, it exists. This is a song that was released and exists. That's my review of this. It's one of the songs of all time.

Of all the songs we've got to number one this week, I honestly think this is one of them. I've just got to credit to you, credit you Rob, with actually trying to find like an emotional landscape and a through flow. Yeah, you definitely went for that more than I thought you would. It just sounds to me like a pile of tropes that don't add up to either a personality or a statement or a provocation or anything but not in a way that's annoying as everybody said it's like and I think the main problem with skirting around here is that Mark Boland and even even though I think he's a tit, Lou Reed, could make quite a lot out of

something like this because of their force of character they could take nonsense lyrics and make it work. The thing with skirting around is that there's just, there is no charisma here. I think it was, I think it was Miles Davis who once said, he has all sorts of nice things to say about all sorts of artists of many different genres. But I remember he was being supported

by the Steve Miller band at one point, and in his autobiography he said, and there's this band, the Steve Miller band, playing, the least charismatic motherfuckers I've ever seen in my life. And I'm like, well, you know, and it's not quite a total criticism, because the problem is they just don't exude a centre of gravity at all. They're fine. And I wish them all the best. They did very well on being so fundamentally okay.

So well done. Well done. Really weirdly, exactly the issue that Ed Miliband had as leader. So he was charisma free and was just aggressively okay at the job and didn't inspire any great belief. So maybe you'll make a huge comeback and top the charts. Let's go for that. Let's get Ed Miliband the number one, shall we? Yeah. Hell, yes, he's tough in us. Hell, yeah, he's tough. So. Yeah.

So onto the second song this week, which is... THIS! I can see the echo, flashing fever from your eyes Hey baby, come over here and shut down tight I'm not denying We're flying above the law Hold my hand, don't let me fall You've such amazing grace I've never felt this way Oh, show me heaven come on me Lead me breathless Oh, show me heavenly grace Okay, this is Show Me Heaven by Maria McKee. Released as the first single from the Days of Thunder movie soundtrack, Show Me Heaven

is Maria McKee's first single to be released in the UK and her first to reach number 1, however as of 2024, it is her last. Show Me Heaven first entered the UK chart at number 26, reaching number 1 during its third week on the chart. It stayed at number 1 for… FOUR WEE weeks! Across its four weeks atop the charts, it sold 270,000 copies, beating competition from I've Been Thinking About You by London Beat, Cult of Snap by Snap,

and Fascinating Rhythm by Bass-O-Matic, Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton, So Hard by Pet Shop Boys, The Anniversary Waltz by Status Quo and I Can't Stand It by 24-7, Megamix by Technotronic, Have You Seen Her by MC Hammer and A Little Time by The Beautiful South and Let's Try It Again by New Kids on the Block. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, Show Me Heaven dropped one place to number two. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the

top 100 for 14 weeks. The song is currently officially certified silver in the UK as of 2024 but that is based on that pre-cantar data that we keep referencing at the moment. Andy, Maria McKee, Show Me Heaven, Show Me Your Feelings on Show Me Heaven. I am delighted to inform you that this one I actually do have feelings on, quite complex feelings so I've got rather more to say on this. Thank you for bearing with me with whatever the last track was, we've all already forgotten it. With this, so, little bit of a odd thing this because I have only ever grown up with this being one of those ballads basically by which I mean your sort of Sam Bailey's Tesco Mary's kind of

ballads that will go out on the X Factor to get it here out with people. So basically one of those one moment in time, wind beneath my wings, that sort of thing really and this is very much one of those. Power of Love by Jennifer Roche, that's the one I was trying to think of definitely and I think it's a little bit unfair really because I do think it's kind of undeniable it does sort of get recognized as one of those songs now where you'll kind of pelt it out a karaoke to get some tears. But I think it's better than that, really. I just kind of find it hard not to think, oh, this is a bit, it's kind of mid really, isn't it?

Because of that association. But one thing it really has going for it, which no version that anyone else does will be able to recapture of course, is Maria McKee herself. Great name, by the way, Maria McKee really rolls off the tongue, got to bang the drum for fellow alliterative name people. And yeah, her performance on this is really nice. She has a lot of character in her voice

and I think this would be quite forgettable if it wasn't for that. She has quite a lot of different tonalities that she expresses in this. That sometimes she's very fragile and is kind of accessing the same sort of things that we had in Nothing Compares to You. Sometimes she's really big and it sounds like something by heart or something like that, you know. I think she has a lot of versatility and a lot of rise and fall and a lot of expression in her voice. I think that's undermined by the fact that the song itself, like so many songs from this year which I keep going on about, don't really have that kind of progression and rise and fall and different beats throughout that it's

there to kind of just exist as a thing to sing along to. It's such a problem with this era I think. But Maria McKay actually really rings quite a lot of emotion now with this and does far more with it than I would have expected. So I give her a huge thumbs up and I'd love to hear her sing some more stuff. The actual song, I think in some ways it's very representative of its era. In some ways it feels really old and feels like it could have come out in like 1984 or 5 really. That Cor Anglais at the start I'm really not a fan of. It's really given me a

you know peep show. She's gonna get you babies coming after you. I thought that was really tacky and really low rent kind of stuff to be honest. really tacky and really low rent kind of stuff to be honest. But I do think that with some better production and with a little bit more finesse in the songwriting and giving it more of a lift all the way through, this could actually stand as a really good power ballad because it's got the singer for it and it's got the basic materials for it. I just can't really get too excited about it, partly because it's got that association with so many other kind of boring power balance

of that era, which have been homogenized by the talent show machine. But also just because I don't think there's enough meat on the bones here to really carry it into anything special. But definitely stuff to like here. And I definitely have a stronger reaction towards this than I did about the Joker. So, so far, this is the best of the week.

We'll see if that holds. I liked this. Yeah. Yeah, I sort of agree with you, Andy, that with this, I'm not necessarily that keen on the material, which I find to be a bit sub top gun, which I guess is the whole thing with Days of Thunder. It also feels a bit like what you were saying about this being kind of like a last attempt or a bit of a, you know, last gasp of the 80s where AOR goes very, very large and never comes back, where the snare alone could bring down a small house. But I don't think this tries to beat me into submission. It sounds, and a lot of that is to do with Maria herself, it's a bit afraid of not sounding like Hart's late 80s material.

It knows where the big books are, in this kind of field, but I think the real strength of this comes through Maria, who laces this whole thing with restraint and colour, sudden dynamic shifts that the arrangement around her doesn't really bring but the song kind of follows her. And that means that after weeks and weeks and weeks of songs that just kind of start where they mean to go and then finish, this is very kind of, there's a sway to this, there's a bit of ebb and flow, there's a bit of up and down, how she goes from belting out the, show me heaven, to then immediately going, show me heaven. That's probably my favorite little moment in the song. It makes the melody,

which is basically the same on each line of the chorus, feel very different. All of a sudden, there's a lot of control there. I've actually gone and watched live performances, live performances of this, and she is impeccable, really. I think, you know, we're currently a bit stuck in an era where simply hitting the notes as loudly as possible is what constitutes good singing but

it's about so much more than that and I think Maria kind of proves it. It's a little bit out of her comfort zone too because she was more of a country singer to begin with and she got drafted in for the movie soundtrack so like yeah fair play to her. The song around her isn't up to that much, it's nice without being particularly emotional to me but I think what Maria McKee really brings is the best of it and I think if the arrangement was matching her I would be tempted to vault this. I think that as much as it's, you know, like you say, it's of a type and it's a type that aesthetically I can spot a mile away and there's nothing new that can be revealed to me about it. But it's a bit of a shame that this has kind of been lumped in alongside things like, you know, other ones you kind of mentioned, Dandy, because I think this has got more going for it than that. And yeah, Ed, what about you? How do you feel on Maria McKee? Largely the same. In fact, a lot of what you've said, it almost feels like you have reached

into my brain and taken notes out verbatim because I can't add much more to that. I mean, you know, even the ebb and flow, the 80s hangover thing the the yeah it's well I'll put this way it sounds like about a million other songs and I'm not just talking about 80s power ballads if you kind of smushed together the beautiful ones by Prince with back for good by take That. Oh, good chance. And added as some little terrible, terrible, forgive the pun, spice, the kind of stereotypical music they used to use in sitcoms and sketch shows

to denote being in an Indian restaurant. Yeah. And that's, you get something here. The only problem is there's not really a defined big chorus or anything to it. But as you've both indicated, particularly Rob, I think, it's all about that bloody textured, experienced sounding voice that just has so many different facets to it. And it ebbs and flows, as you say, Rob, with the song.

I like the way the song moves the way it... I really don't get the impression of it being kind of like a steamroller effect like a lot of the tracks we've been listening to here because while it lacks any sort of highlight spots it does move I think very in a very wave-like fashion and but really without her voice I don't think I'd give a shit but I'd never really heard her before and now I really do give a shit to such an extent that I'm actually seeking out other records from her discography because I was bloody impressed by this it was enough for me to actually give this a solid secret score.

Yeah I think this was the biggest surprise of the week for me. I went into this thinking, oh, it's that song that gets used on adverts all the time, let's see how we go. And it feels like adverts just pick the most kind of like, batter you over the face kind of moment of the song and then run it into the ground until it kind of loses all meaning. Yeah, I guess I guess the point of division between possibly both of you and I just what you say about what you've both said about the ebb and the flow of the song and how the song kind of follows her I think is the words you used Rob like the song kind of follows her with the dynamics.

I guess what I would say about that is that does it not feel a little bit like she's fighting against the song, like she's having to kind of drag it along into a bit more dynamism. So I'm not sure I would consider that a good thing really because it does feel quite obvious to me at times that her voice has gone quiet enough that they're having to turn the volume down on the other channels, you know, it's and I'm not sure that's something that I like. Like, I like that she's got control of the dynamics there and that she's not afraid to kind of do a bit of rise and fall with it. But it just feel like she's fighting against the song.

So I wasn't as happy about that, to be honest. I guess that's where we divide a little bit. But yeah, interesting that we all kind of had a different take on that. Yeah. The only other thing I want to say about this song, I can't be the only person who has noticed the real similarity to Underneath Your Clothes by Shakira. Really, really sounds like it, which I know came years and years later. Must have been an influence, surely? Same key, same chord sequences?

Yeah, I definitely would not argue against that, actually. Yeah, now you've said it. Haha, yeah, oh. Sorry, I'm just... Yeah, sorry, I've just had argue against that actually. Yeah, now you've said it. Haha, yeah, oh. Sorry, I've just had a little moment there. But yes, we will move on from my moment and do the third and final song this week, which is... This. I need a little time to think it over I need a little space just on my own I need a little time to find my freedom I need a little Funny how quick the milk turns sour, isn't it? I need a little room to find myself I need a little space to work it out

I need a little room all alone I need a little room for your big head, don't you? Don't you? You need a little space for a thousand beds, won't you? Okay, this is A Little Time by The Beautiful South. Released as the first single from the band's second studio album, titled Choke, A Little Time is The Beautiful South's fourth single overall to be released in the UK and their first to reach number one, however as of 2024 it is their last. A Little Time first entered the UK chart at number 30, reaching number 1 during its fourth week on the chart. It stayed at number 1 for one week. In its first and only week atop the charts, it sold 64,000 copies, beating competition from Unchained Melody by the Righteous

Brothers which got to number 3, Kinky Afro by Happy Mondays, which climbed to number 5, I'm Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston, which climbed to number 6, and Take My Breath Away 1990 by Berlin, which climbed to number 8. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, a little time dropped one place to number 2. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 14 weeks. The song is currently officially certified gold in the UK as of 2024 but that's on that pre-cantart stuff that we mention now. Funny that Take My Breath Away is back in the charts immediately after Show Me Heaven and Days of Thunder. Ed, A Little Time, Beautiful South. Pogues on Broadway. Yeah, I like this.

I like Beautiful South from what I've heard and they were always kind of there and I'm always like, oh, they're smart. They're a clever and fun band that don't take themselves too seriously and they know how to craft a song. I always thought that even though I was never that drawn to them, like, oh, I've got to get a best of or I've got to get an album or something. But it reminds me a bit of Fairy Tale of New York, this. And I think it might be the version of Fairy Tale of New York for you, if you really, really like Kiesh.

I mean, a lot. It has... I mean, this is going into all of the bourgeois stereotypes in the world, but you know, I'm allowed to do that. I know how they think. But it's this track, you know, it's not quite anything. It's very careful. It's very safe. It always feels a little bit rushed and like this, you know, it's just kind of happily sort of trundling between the different sections as well proportioned and graceful as it is. It's got the atmosphere of a National Trust cafe. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I mean, it's like the arrangement's sort of like, well, let's connote soul, but not too soul. You don't want proper, you know, you just want some Van Morrison horn players sitting on one of the old sort of wooden pews they've adapted at the back of the cafe to give it some character. It's a converted bar, this is very nice. But bits of flamenco, not too flamenco though,

that suggests sort of a simmering sexual energy that this has none of. And then, you know, just to make sure that this is a, you know, bit of fun, we don't take ourselves too seriously. Krusty the Clown pops in for the last verse with a bit of a kind of do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do you know, oh, aren't we all so charming and winsome? Oh, it's only us. Is also immaculately calculated at the same time. And I think there is a profound difference between tweeness and earnestness. I love earnest music.

I love stuff that's, it can be cheesy as you like. It can be as sort of awkward and gawky and melodramatic as you like. But as be as sort of awkward and gawky and melodramatic as you like but as long as it's really meant and really forward-facing and earnest that works for me. It touches a sort of a sweet innocent side to me. Tweeness is a bit more vacuum-packed. It's an observance of what people think children are like from the outside. It's like a simplification in order to create the impression of innocence. I'm going way off track here because this isn't an overtly simple song. It's got that nice sort of transition

into the promises, promises turned to dust. And it's thoroughly pleasant. It just doesn't really make any loud or shocking noises for the patrons. And just the thing that reminds me the most of the pokes here is that tongue so sharp, the bubble bursts. And like all the songs to put that line in. It's like, what did you call him? A silly Billy or something completely on toward. And it's good though this and it's a memorable track, people know it, it's probably it's definitely the most memorable track I think of this episode which is an achievement in itself given that it is so deliberately low-key. I have a far longer history with this track than the other two

actually. It seems like you have that very unique mobile experience with the Joker Rob, but mine came about and From a CD set. I think my mum bought in the late 90s called music of the Millennium There was it was very popular. There were two CD sets and there was so popular There was a second one which was basically second best songs of the millennium. They were just good as based on a poll which apparently was conducted by HMV, Channel 4 and Classic FM. Evidently that nothing from that made it onto this CD because it was all pop stuff but this is on there. This is what the end of the 90s, a small select pocket of the UK public voted

to be one of the 40 greatest songs of all time. And it's not bad, but I think that's rather, you know, a bit of recency bias, a bit of that generation holding it very close to their heart. I get it, but it's lost a bit of its luster. Do you want to know what follows it on this collection of like the top 40? greatest songs since the year 999 Texas

Okay, say what you want. Oh, come on Songs it's just kind of that's like an Steve Miliband one that's just But but this is this is the closing stretch of the second CD, the last three tracks in a row West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys. I'm down with that. Love that song. Staying Alive by the Bee Gees. Might not have been my definitive Bee Gees pick But I'm fucking happy to see the Bee Gees represented and finally last track on the double disc album What song would you like to see? I've taken any suggestions here.

It's totally fucking deserved by the way. Is it going to be like Bohemian Rhapsody or something like that? Oh, other end of the album. That starts the album. This is an equal, and I would say I prefer this, monolith of 70s radio. It's something ABBA-ish isn't it? If it's ABBA then yeah. It's Dancing Queen. Oh, oh't it? Oh if it's ABBA then yeah. It's Dancing Queen.

Oh oh yeah. You can't fucking argue with that. You know it's got a bit of recency bias to it but honestly it's a decent comp. It's a decent comp. Anyway way off the topic I just wanted to have more to say. Andy, the beautiful south, how are we feeling? I am delighted we get to talk about The Beautiful South but I will say that I think all that stuff about them being twee and National Trust and oh I'll be clever clever like I think that is something that definitely is present in this song.

I don't think that's a fair characterization of The Beautiful South in general though to be fair because one of the things that I really like about them, I have a lot of things I really like about them, but I do think they are genuinely very unpretentious and very kind of will sing about subjects that are not particularly glamorous and Paul Heaton and Jack Eber will just take relentless piss out of each other. So I think basically the headline for me is that I don't think this is a very representative song

for the People of the South. And I think it's a bit of a shame that this is their only number one, to be honest. It's early days for them. And it's definitely a little bit more twee and radio friendly than I would normally expect from them. Can I just break in on your point to support you actually here because I'll be honest,

I knew like two singles by them, including this. And then Lizzy, good old Lizzy, recommended me their debut album, literally about three months ago. And she was quite right too, because it's a really good album actually. And it's far more illustrative of what you're saying. I think I agree that this isn't that characteristic.

And so I don't want you to think that I'm, which I probably gave the impression I was, tarring the whole band with that brush. With a bit of a lot, there was a bunch of bloody hyperbole in my assessment anyway, so it's just radio. No, it's just well, I think it's just it's just a bit of a shame.

It's a little shame, if you like, that this is the one that gets the number one over everything else, really, because there are three songs, at least three, but certainly three beautiful South songs that are really special for me. And my memory, one of them is Manchester, which is a lovely I think it's just an album track Don't if they even release as a single but a lovely lovely song which is just about how shit the weather in Manchester is But how that's like a really comforting thing that reminds you of home and that's just one of mine and my husband's favorite car Songs that we sing an awful lot and that's a lovely piece of music. And then Song for Whoever is one that my whole family love and we all kind of grew up on a little bit and I recently recorded

my mum and dad doing a duet of that song which we made in my little home studio which was lovely and the other ones being The Perfect Ten which as Rob will know is mine and my husband's go-to karaoke duet. Yes. Which I think is a genuinely lovely, romantic and ironic tongue-in-cheek little song for couples to sing. So I love the Beautiful South and I think it's a little bit of a shame that something that's quite inoffensive and not particularly striking is what gets them in at number one, really. So I just kind of want to take the opportunity to say that I really think there's so much more to uncover.

A really surprisingly mature and surprisingly refreshing group, really. And I think, although I definitely get the Pogues comparison, I think that's a really good point. These things kind of have no start point, really. So I think they take the baton from the Pogues really well. And I think things kind of have no start point really, so I think they take the baton from the Pogues really well. And I think that kind of sense of irony that they

have quite a lot, as well as their sound as well, I think really paves the way for a lot of the tone that you get in 90s kind of alternative pop really. And even stuff like pulp and their kind of like sort of throwing insults at the woman in the song sort of thing. I really think there is DNA here that will carry through a lot of the 90s. Not particularly in this song though, and I've avoided talking about this because it is a little not representative of the beautiful South as I've said really. I do think it has a really nice chorus and I do think that you can definitely still and I do think that you can definitely still hear glimmers of brilliance in there but yeah I wish we could just talk about Perfect 10 or something instead or

Rotterdam or anything else it's such a shame but this does pip as my favorite of the week because I've always got time to listen to the other stuff so yes this is basically just being talking about their whole discography but so much of what they do is better than this So that's just what I'm going with. Yeah, I I have liked this more and more this week You know like in like I'm saying and like you said Andy and like we've said basically every week We're in an era of number ones where there's not a lot of ebb and flow songs Just kind of start and stay where they are

But this is up and down, mid-tempo, stops, starts again, we get both sides of an argument, you get sensitive and tender deliveries from the male vocals and then the Fumo vocal comes back in like oh trying to control the narrative are we, I see, it's a neat little subversion of a kind of song that we've all heard plenty of over the years, doesn't really hold a candle to Fairy Tailor New York but I think that's probably the greatest Christmas song of all time. Oh I'm a Gaudete person myself. I actually am, I'm sorry to say I dig that track. It goes from little jazzy sections into sounding like it's about to break out into like a Martika number or like 99 Red Balloons and then it goes right back

into jazzy pop again like you're walking through a door or having a complete change of scenery which is really helped by that that great music video they did for it where they're walking through different rooms on different days but having the same argument like the life that happens when the cameras turned off is basically pointless because they find no joy in anything anymore except arguing and that's when the cameras turn back on and the video picks up while they get covered in more and more feathers and wallpaper paste and I think in the case of this song though the constant changes of scenery I get a little

frustrated with after a while because it'll transition into that promises promises turn to dust thing and you think oh here we go gear change but then it stops and it goes back to the original gear and I just feel like in those kind of sections I just want it to break out into something and it doesn't it just keeps coming back and it's not quite Comfortable enough it feels to move away from the dynamic it establishes quite early on But that's not a major major issue. I just think it's a bit of a double-edged sword this kind of constant changing Well, I agree Andy that it's a little weird to get a number one from this stage of

the beautiful South with David Hemingway and Brianna Corrigan on vocals rather than Paul Heaton and, you know, we're still four years off Jackie Abbott joining. But it's like if we were to look back at, you know, like number ones of before the nineties and we only get to discuss Albatross by Fleetwood Mac or something. You know, it's like, it just feels like a different band at a different moment that just happens to have the same name, but that's not really a comment on the song's quality, it's just a surprise that we don't come to things like Don't Marry Her or, as you've said, Rotterdam or Perfect 10 or whatever, but I definitely appreciate this, I think

it's my favourite of the week. It's a bit of a tie really between this and Show Me Heaven I think, but hey, you know, I think we've had a pretty good week all things considered, considering how, well, considering last week was the way it was, where something like Turtle Power can win the poll. Win. Yes. Which was a bit of a surprise, but I don't entirely disagree with it either. Next week will be a little better and a bit, you know,

each one will give us a bit more to talk about one of the songs actually we've got we've already covered on the podcast just by a different artist. Oh, so you have. Yeah, should we stop and see what your thoughts are on Gareth Gates next week? I have thoughts on Gareth Gates? That's news to me.

Anyway. So, that is it for this week's episode, but before we go, I'm just going to check. Andy, Steve Miller band Maria McKee, The Beautiful Self. Where are we putting everything? Steve Miller bland more like. So that's not going anywhere. Oh take that man to the Burns unit. As for Show Me Heaven, it didn't quite show me heaven but it certainly didn't show me hell. I guess that means it sort of showed me limbo, which means it sticks right in the middle. And as for a little time, I think if it was a little better, then it might have a little cheeky vault mention, but it doesn't. So unfortunately, it's right in the middle.

All right then, Ed, the Joker, show me heaven a little time. He's a lair. He's a loafer. He is on the sofa He doesn't climb into the hole. He's a sitter. He's an alter and he's not a Volta can see him climbing up that pole I was very labeled but basically my way of saying he ain't going nowhere Maria McKee she sings like an angel but she flies on a drone close but no stairway and for the beautiful South I needed a little time but not that much time it's the beautiful Midlands so yeah no no no

vaulting for me this week, unfortunately. Okay, yeah, I'm the same for all three. The Joker, Show Me Heaven, A Little Time. I think in that list I think I've just named in order from worst to best my songs this week, but none of them are going into the pie hole or the vault. So next week we will be continuing our journey through 1990. We're not quite at the Christmas number one race just yet, but we will get to that and we will see you next week and we'll see you for episodes hence. So yeah, see you soon. Bye bye. If I was to ask for Megan D, Stalian if she would collab with me, Would I really have a shot at her feet? I don't know, but I'm glad to be back like Abra, Abra, Kadabra

Check it, and for my last trick I'm about to reach in my back, bruh Like Abra, Abra, Kadabra Check it, and for my last trick I'ma feel just like that in my back, bruh