Hits 21 - 1992 (1): Wet Wet Wet, Shakespear's Sister, Right Said Fred

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Hits 21: The 90s. At the roundtable this week it's Rob, Ed, and Andy! This week - The Wets make our eyes wet, Shakespear's Sister brings Madonna out of her coffin, and we're Deeply Dippy about the THOUGHTS Ed's got. Twitter: @Hits21UKEmail: [e-mail]

Music Hi there everyone and welcome back to Hits21 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, we're on Twitter at Hits21UK, that is at Hits21UK, and you can email us too, send it on over to Hits21Podcast at gmail.com. Thank you so much for joining us again, we are now looking back at the year 1992, Then we are now looking back at the year 1992 and this week we'll be covering the period between the 1st of January and the 2nd of May. We are time travelling in this episode, moving at light speed. There was no poll winner last week as it was Christmas so it is time to press on with this week's episode and here are some news headlines from the opening four to five months of 1992.

Eight people are killed in an IRA bombing in Tobain before five people are killed in a UDA shooting in retaliation. The Department of Health announces that the number of HIV and AIDS cases in heterosexuals increased by 50% in 1991. Buckingham Palace announces that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are to split after six years of marriage. Election campaigning is marred by the War of Jennifer's Ear controversy. In football, Aldershot FC become the first club in 30 years to resign from the Football League and they subsequently reformed as Aldershot Town. And in horse racing, Party Politics becomes the tallest horse to win the Grand National.

What an apt time for a horse with that name to win the Grand National, right? Yes. In the middle of an election. John Spencer, father to Princess Diana, dies of pneumonia at the age of 68. Three people are killed in the Baltic exchange bombing carried out by the IRA. Princess Anne announces her divorce from Captain Mark Phillips after 19 years of marriage and the Conservatives win the 1992 election with a majority of just 21 seats. So the war of Jennifer's ear was basically it was a health ad campaign by

Labour during the election. They were basically comparing two children with the same condition and how slow slash fast they could get health care through the NHS or through private means but it turns out that one of the children who was supposed to have had glue ear didn't actually have glue ear it was like a child actor or a miscommunication and there was a lot of words said to off-com about it but anyway the films to hit the top of the UK box office during this period were as follows the Adams family for three more weeks Freddy's Dead the final Nightmare for one week.

JFK for two weeks. My Girl for two weeks. Father of the Bride for three weeks. Cape Fear for four weeks. And Hook for three weeks. As comedian Benny Hill dies at the age of 68, the dancer and singer Roy Castle announces that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 59. I believe there's now quite a big lung cancer charity in his name.

The BBC has a special tribute to Freddie Mercury presented by Elton John before a live memorial concert is held at Wembley Stadium attended by 72,000 people. Before a live TV broadcast of Central Weekend, Tory MP Edwina Curry pours a glass of orange juice over the head of Labour MP Peter Snape. Curry later said it was in a bid to shut him up before they went on the air, and ITV airs the first episodes of Heartbeat and Men Behaving Badly. Andy, the UK album charts, how are they doing? You may remember that last year, the highest selling album of the year was Stars by Simply Red,

which went 12 times platinum. And we opened 1992 with this year's biggest album of the year, back at number one. Which is Stars by Simply Red. Yes, that's a, I believe that's a a hit 21 first, not an all-time first, but it's a first for our show that the same album has outsold everything else in the year two years on the run with again 12 times platinum which is extraordinary and it comes in just after Christmas and spends the whole of January at number one. Finally that's toppled at the start of February by Wet Wet Wet with High on the Happy Side. That album went just single platinum and was number one for two weeks. Simply Red then go back to number one for another three weeks. So almost a whole season with Simply Red at number one there. Before they are knocked off the top spot again by Madness

with their latest Divine Madness, which went to number one for three weeks and went triple platinum. Getting into April now, which feels surreal, getting through all of this. Getting into April, we've got Bruce Springsteen back at number one with Human Touch. That album was at number one for just one week

and went gold and the same goes for Adrenalize by Def Leppard that was number one for one week and went gold and that is then followed by Diva by Annie Lennox which again spent just one week at the top but went quadruple platinum. Big hit for Annie Lennox there. Then we've got Right Said Fred with their album Up, if only we had a chance to discuss them as well. That went number one for one week and went double Platinum. The final one on the list for this week is Wish by The Cure,

which was at number one for one week and went Gold. Ed, the US, how are they doing just basically in the first half of 1992 basically? Yeah thankfully there aren't actually as many albums I think and there's actually a bit of LP warfare going on so I will start with the albums. Michael Jackson is temporarily dangerous before being defanged for a single week by the most influential album of the 90s with a guitar on it. It's Nevermind by Nevermana. After just a week of Geffen and blinding though, a ropy wind blows through once again.

It's Garth Brooks again for two weeks of whatever it is that he does on that record. Sick of hearing about him, I really am. That's unfortunate Andy. But wait! How low, how low did Nirvana really go? Because they're back for another week before returning to living off the drippings from their ceiling. And guess who replaces them? For eight fucking weeks!

It's Garth Brooks. Oh, bloody hell. Wow. Yep. It's eight weeks of wind and Brooks, but as for Garth, you can make that 10 weeks because we've got a fortnight of party times that are excellent with the Wayne's World soundtrack.

So that's Bohemian Rhapsody again, the Americans catching up. And yeah, who can follow that? And are they not worthy? It's the 80s with, why isn't this the 80s? Yes, it's three weeks off the glossy stadium inevitability of Def Leppard's Adrenalize. Now fans debate the relative merits of their first four records.

I, High and Dry is pretty, High and Dry, I'll go to bat for that, I think that's a pretty good album. However, fans seem to forget that there was actually a fifth. Singles, right, starting from the start of January, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, to paraphrase Tony Blair. Before January ends with Colour Me Bad, who fail to correctly score Wimbledon on their hit All For Love. Well, Colour Me Amused. Then our staff finally fades into total heat death with George Michael and Elton John proving

A. They are still bankable in the States at this point and B. That they can produce something truly wretched. The problem may have been that they weren't sexy enough. Well, fortunately I have just the remedy for that. I just won't use it because the government or something. It's right said Fred, laying his little turd on the catwalk. On the catwalk, yeah. He laid his little turd on the catwalk. Three weeks of I'm So Sexy, which far outstripped its UK performance by the way, before even Sexy Mr. Fairbrass, which is my favorite Ealing comedy, by the way,

even he can't stand up to three weeks of happy, clappy Bovril from Mr. Big with To Be With You. However, March saves the best for last with five weeks of good gravy for Vanessa Williams, taking us to late April and the beginning of a long, long run. Oh, well, that should be a long, long jump for Criss Cross. Can I just say before we go into that, that Ed mentioned Nevermind, of course, which stormed the US album charts and people may have been wondering if they missed me mentioning Nevermind of course, which stormed the US album charts and people may have been

wondering if they missed me mentioning Nevermind in our albums charts and I do have to point out the extraordinary fact that no you did not miss it because Nevermind, despite its impact, peaked at number seven on the UK albums charts. Yes, bananas. All right then, thank you both very much for those reports and we are going to crack on now with our first song this week, which is this. You heal me so freely And see how I try You feel me so heal me And tear me apart me and I won't tell it so I won't tell at all and do they have to know

do they have to know about my good night girl Okay, this is Good Night Girl by Wet Wet Wet. Released as the third single from the group's fourth studio album titled High on the Happy Side, Good Night Girl is Wet Wet Wet's thirteenth single overall to be released in the UK and their second to reach number one, and it isn't the last time we'll be coming to the wet's during our 90s coverage. Good Night Girl first entered the UK charts at number 20, reaching number one during its fourth week. It stayed at number one for...FOUR WEEKS! Across its four weeks atop the charts, it sold 201,000 copies beating competition from the following

songs. Give me just a little more time by Kylie Minogue and Twilight Zone by 2 Unlimited. I wonder why by Curtis Stigers, Welcome to the Cheap Seats EP by The Wonderstuff and Stay by Shakespeare's Sister. I'm doing fine now by The Pasadenas and The Bouncer by Kicks Like a Mule, Remember the Time by Michael Jackson, Leave Them All Behind by Ride and Reverence by The Jesus and Mary Chain. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, Good Night Girl dropped one place to number two. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 11 weeks.

The song has never received any official certification from the BPI, which I find strange considering it sold over 200,000 copies while it was number 1, which makes it eligible for silver certification. Maybe you have to apply, maybe they never bothered. Yeah maybe they never bothered, but I think we should give them an honorary silver certification for selling the required amount of copies. I will say there that the fourth week that I mentioned, remember the time, leave them all behind, and reverence Jesus and Mary,

chain Michael Jackson and Ride, that is the first time in UK chart history that three new entries had all gone into the top ten. Possibly the only time I imagine that Bride and Jesus in the Mary chain were that high up in the charts. I mean bloody hell. Yeah, two sort of like, I mean, Jesus and Mary chain I guess were doing sort of slightly more jangly stuff by the 90s but you know, a shoegaze act getting into the top ten.

But yeah, anyway, so Ed, Ed will start with you with the wets I thought I was gonna hate this And I don't actually I've not really gone with much else Wet wet wet have done. There may be an exception. Maybe spoiler, but This isn't the most imaginative ballad in the world is it? But nonetheless it it's I find it entirely pleasant. It's a bit overdone in terms of the strings and the pillowy vocal arrangements.

It's all a little bit too decorative and dense, I think. But what pleases me is that it doesn't fall back on some cheap, like fish slapping drum loop or the lion king loop that seems to be very popular at this time. So it does have a nice sort of very sophisticated if a little over slick air to it. It kind of reminds me especially in that harmony intro and outro of like late 70s you know upmarket yacht rock which is something that I have a bit of an

affection for, like something coming out of the Caribou studio if that means anything at all. Beach Boys Fleecing recorded there if that gives you some indication in there are waning years of commercial relevance. Now I don't love Marty Pello's voice. It is suitably pillowy, but it's not always bang on the money pitch wise as he would like it to be. I don't necessarily think it's the most pleasing or most faceted voice in the world, but you know, it's pleasant enough. It does. It's good enough. voice in the world but you know it's pleasant enough it does it's it's it's good enough I do feel that the the chorus doesn't really lift sufficiently

either it just kind of cycles at the end now I don't want them to resort to naff of the time percussion but I feel it does need a little bit of an extra an extra kick but that, I like it. I like this track, I find it sweet, and it seems weirdly analog-y for a kind of single of this era, especially for a ballad. It's not very time-locked as a ballad.

It feels more, as I say, kind of late 70s, which is maybe why I like it so much. I don't know. But yeah, not actually bad so much. I don't know but yeah, not not not actually bad at all I don't think Yeah, I have to concur I think that I went into this sort of expecting it to be like oh god here we go Like not even one of the better known wet songs, you know, like I think of their three number ones I'd say this was probably the least well known after the get a little help from my friends.

I'd never heard it before. But yeah, I don't know. Maybe that's just me. But I would agree with you. Yeah. Yeah. So but I found this to be such a nice surprise. This has grown on me and grown on me and grown on me so much this week.

I was totally unfamiliar with this but it's such a nice unexpected curveball because you know the characterisation I have of the Wets is that they made it pretty big in the late 80s with a sort of adult contemporary blue eyed soul thing, they did that Beatles cover with Billy Bragg, they made a bunch of successful overblown ballads that meant they were the first band to play Manchester Arena in 95, my mum was there, and they're currently, as of 2025, touring with one of the guys from Liberty X as their lead singer. So yeah, presumably Marty Pello's finally been kidnapped by Jacqueline McCafferty after all this time. So them having a number one in 92 was a bit unexpected as my memory had it. With this I kept expecting drums to come in and big guitars and maybe a massive choir

but it exercises a lot of restraint in terms of the arrangement and it keeps it focused on the four vocalists and there are some lovely moments in this. I love returning to them, the hooks, you know, if you will, the, Got up in your wishing well, and the, Make them laugh, like just lovely, really lovely vocal terms in this. I think this is pretty and I do feel a sense of strong emotion coming out of this. The obstacle I can't get over just with regards to whether this gets in the vault or not is this feels a little too glitzy for me. I think we're in a very glitzy era of pop and the backing instruments are kind of recorded and delivered in such a way that they occasionally go kind of...

They float a little close to MIDI territory for me. I think the chintziness of the whole thing just kind of envelopes me a little bit and I end up being a little taken aback but I'll be damned if there isn't a really gorgeous song buried in here somewhere and most of it comes out to play which I really didn't expect you know that the wets are not a group that I would ever have down as someone you know recording a song I would enjoy but hey you know this is the best thing about doing this show. You never know what can surprise you.

So Andy, good night girl. I agree with you both completely, actually. And I come at this from the same starting point that you two did as well, perhaps a little bit more so because just of recent events for me. So very quick shout out, a relevant shout out, I promise you, to the other podcasts I do about the now albums called Now That's What I Call Musings. And the Wet Wet Wet have shown up a lot on those like they're on almost every one

of the late 80s going into the early 90s. And I hate that stuff. Um, I hate that stuff. I think it's it's it's almost like. The absence of any feeling towards them has created hate because the problem I've always had with wet, wet, wet on stuff before this is that Marty Pellow's voice is completely blank. I think it's completely impenetrable and anonymous. The sound of the songs usually is as well.

The melodies don't do much interesting stuff either. So it's really hard to analyze them at all. Like they feel like a band that exists purely to irritate people like us. And certainly people like me, you know, who actually want to talk about the stuff that they're doing and analyze it. They sort of defy analysis a lot of the time, I think,

because there's so little there. And it baffled me, you know, how they ever got popular really, because they're just like beige to the extreme. And frankly, I just think that their name is very apt, you know, that they are extremely wet, extremely soppy. I think, right said Fred might describe them as deeply drippy. Yeah, still that one from Ed's joke book definitely feels like one of yours. It's too good for that. You flatter me. But so I so I was coming at this from the worst possible starting point, really,

like about four steps back from the starting line thinking, you know, oh, God, wet, wet, so I'm ready to tear this a new one because they're one of a few acts that came through you know big in the 80s and kept on going in the 90s I've got the odd number one hit in the 90s that I'm hating seeing their name here my least favorite band of all time ever to exist has a number one next year And I definitely think I'll be tearing them a new one And I really really thought I'd be tearing this a new one because I haven't liked anything that Wet Wet Wet has done up till this point So I was really surprised really surprised that

First time I listened to it. I didn't hate this and then the second time I listened to it I didn't hate this and then the second time I listened to it I felt neutral about it and then the third time I was like is this actually like a bit good? I think there is good stuff in this and then as the last few weeks has gone by I'm like yeah like I actually like do quite like this I think it it's kneecapped to an extent by again Marty Pelloges you can't get anything out of that voice at all completely nondescript so nothing's ever gonna be too emotive for me and it is a bit cheesy it definitely like has a bit too much sappiness to it like that you know old dogs are not gonna learn new tricks that

quickly so it's definitely you know not gonna ever inspire too much love from me. But there's things about this that I really enjoy. I really like that it doesn't cave into, you know, big drums and big swooping things hitting, you know, it stays mellow all the way through, really. And I think there's a running theme of songs this week. think all three you know that I'm gonna talk about how much they commit to the bits how much they know what they are and are happy to commit to what they are to varying degrees because some of them do it well some of them don't do it so well this week and this one that was the thing I most liked

about it that actually it stays in that quiet level all the way through that it knows what it's doing and it's happy to just let the song speak for itself. A rare level of confidence I think for something, well for a band as commercial and as bass level a lot of the time as wet wet wet. I was impressed by that. I really like the sound of it as well that it's got this soft kind of wooshy sound that goes through the ears quite widely. Sort of reminds me of the flying pickets a little bit. Oh yes, I had the same thought. Yeah, I could just sort of imagine in the gaps between the verses just hearing

ba-ba-da, ba-ba-da, ba-ba-da-da-da. I could just imagine that happening and that's a compliment. You know, I really like that sound. So I think they hit upon something that's quite nice with this. And I, you know, have voluntarily gone back and listened to this more times than I needed to when I had my notes ready, gone back and listened to this a few more times.

Like it's really started to grow me quite a lot. It's not vault material because like I say, it's sort of like getting blood out of a stone as far as I'm concerned to get real heart and real connection out of wet, wet, wet. But as far as they go, yeah, I'm surprised. This is quite good. Quite like this. So let's hope that the same is true of their big big hit that is Still to Come which I've deliberately not listened to yet and I'm not going to be listening

to until nearer the time because I don't know how that's going to land with me. Let's see if I like that one as well. I don't think I'll be as positive on that as I am about this, but yeah, I was surprised and had a lot of good things to say about it, yeah. All right then, so the second song up this week is this. ["If This World Is Where You Think"] If this world is wearing thin And you're thinking I'll escape I'll go anywhere with you

Just wrap me up in chains But if you try to go alone Don't think I'll understand Stay with me In the silence of your room In the darkness of your dreams You must only think of me There can be no in-between When your pride is on the floor I'll make you beg for more Okay, this is Stay by Shakespeare's Sister.

Released as the second single from the group's second studio album titled Hormonally Yours. Stay is Shakespeare's sister's sixth single overall to be released in the UK and their first to reach number one. However, as of 2025, it is their last. Stay first entered the UK chart at number 27, reaching number one during its fifth week on the chart. It stayed at number 1 for 8 WEEKS! Across its eight weeks atop the charts, it sold 328,000 copies, beating competition from the following highest climbers and new entries. My Girl 92 by The Temptations, I Love Your Smile 92 by Shanice and For Your Babies by Simply Red, Thought I Died and Gone to Heaven by Bryan Adams, November Rain by Guns N'

Roses and America What Time Is Love by the KLF, 1 by U2. Weather With U by Crowded House and Come As You Are by Nevada. Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton. Finally by C.C. Penniston. Deeply Dippy by Right Said Fred. Let's Get Rocked by Def Leppard. High by The Cure and Why by Annie Lennox. Breath of Life by Erasure and Joy by Soul to Soul and Save the Best for Last by Vanessa Williams and I Want to Be Elected by Mr Bean and the Smear Campaign.

When it was knocked off the top of the charts, Stay dropped 1 place to number 2. It initially left the top 100 in May 92 but re-entered the charts in 2010 and then again in 2013. So by the time it was done on the charts 11 years ago it had been inside the top 100 for 22 weeks. The song is currently officially certified gold in the UK as of 2025 but I think some of that is based on that pre-Kantart data. So many songs we went past there that I cannot believe did not get a week at number one. Yeah, I'm really shocked by some of them because this didn't sell very well for an eight week number one. 328,000 copies across eight weeks is pretty low going, but apparently

looking into this data there is sort of like evidence of the recession kind of wreaking havoc with people's pockets and so that's why the charts are the way they are for eight weeks where not a lot of movement goes on. So Andy, stay by Shakespeare's sister. Yeah, this is a juicy one. This one has sparked off quite a lot of thoughts from me. This, I'll just give you the headline that I do think this is really good. I really, really like this and I can see why this not only was such a big hit at the time, but does seem to have lingered, which I'll come round to. But yes, this has sparked off a lot of thoughts from me, really. I will say straight off, I'll credit this to Lizzie,

who mentioned this in our group chat, but it's exactly the same for myself as well, that I think for most, well, not most, for a lot of people of our generation, the first thing they think of with this song is Cher Lloyd on the X Factor some 18 years later. And that's definitely the first thing I thought of with this.

But for people who are slightly older than that, there is a certain generation where I think this song really means quite a lot that I've seen. I've got a cousin who's about 12 years older than me, and I've met, like, quite a lot of their friends and seen them at like hair parties and stuff. And when this comes on, it really, really unites people. You know, it really like gets them singing that I think this means quite a lot to that specific generation. And something really connects there, you know, in quite a big way. And so, you know, it's reflected on how long this is at number one for.

And when we've covered songs about these massive runs at number one before something like Umbrella or Crazy in the noughties, you know, we've naturally started talking about, you know, sort of past, present and future, where they've come from, what this is going to lead to, you know, because any song that's at the top for this long, for whatever reason, you know, it's going to occupy a place in history really. And so I was just thinking about like what sits around this and what to compare it to. And that's brought up a few things think about really like I I'm a big fan for my sins of 80s power ballads it depends on the one to be fair but stuff like China in your hands for example love that I think that's great and I think this is you know

not too far removed from that really. It just brings the production down for a lot of it and comes at it from, you know, a different tone. Nothing compares to you is one that comes to mind with this. Ironically, this compares to nothing compares to you as far as my notes are concerned. That with that, I thought it was quite interesting that there was like this big sense of space, like really wide, you know, that it was quite interesting that there was like this big sense of space, like really wide,

you know, that it was just kind of drums and then Sinead's voice powering through the middle, which I'm still not that sure how much that was a good thing, but that was a really like interesting thing about this song. And that's sort of the case with this as well, that it's, for a lot of it, it's just about the vocals, and quite sparse vocals, not that many different lyrics, not that much happening melodically, but that chorus, you know, it's like anthemic. It really powers through into that big drum beat

that hits about halfway through, and turns this into the power ballad that it's kind of yearning to be right from the start and I do think it feels a little bit similar to Nothing Comparables to You for a couple of different reasons. But one that really stood out to me, and I will get to this because the thing that it really sort of started me off is that there's another song called Stay With Me from The Tens from 2014 by Sam Smith. That I was like, well that's, they're both sort of, I mean no this isn't called Stay With Me, but they both have that same sort of central thing where the chorus is just saying the word stay with me

and then a few other little bits. And actually that got me down a bit of a rabbit hole of comparing the two and in a very complimentary way to this, not necessarily in a uncomplimentary way to Sam Smith, but in a complimentary way to this that it does a few things differently to that song that gives it a completely different tone despite having the same lyric, which I think is fascinating that you can turn things on a dime with that just by making musical choices. This is, if you'll indulge me, one of my rare installments of Theory Corner, which I think was established down the road from Gay Corner. Gay Corner's a

bit loud and Theory Corner, they like to sit quietly with the record player on. So with Theory Corner, yeah. And I was sort of thinking about how do they develop musically. The obvious thing, first of all, is the melody, that this keeps rising in in the chorus it's stay with me, but that's those five steps up overall. Like it's just reaching up and up like it's yearning. Whereas with Stay With Me by Sam Smith, that's going stay with me cause you're all I need. It keeps going down and down and down. Like that's reaching a place of safety, reaching a place of comfort, which is what that song is all about,

that you're kind of comforted by that person's presence. Whereas with this, it's that sort of desperate yearning where it just keeps going higher and higher. The chord sequence as well is the opposite way around, really, from one song to the other. In Sam Smith's one, that goes from the sort of A minor from the C, which is like you're kind of, oh, you're in peril, come back down to the root chords, go to the fourth and to the first.

That's a very classic, safe cadence. And that's like a really kind of comforting thing. Again, you start with a minor, you come closer to the home key, you land in the home key. And that creates that sense of warmth and that sense of belonging that that song is trying to put across. With this, it starts in the home key with the stay and then in the next chord it goes with, where you land on this uncomfortable sort of diminished minor and then it ends on this very strange minor sixth chord where the melody is out of tune with the chord. If you play

this on a keyboard that you have to play this really atonal note to become a little bit unharmonic really whereas Stay With Me by Sam Smith it's gradually getting you to a place of safety and that was fascinating to me that's the same exact line same exact lyric but feels completely different because they're going in different directions harmonically and melodically so that I've just been in a rabbit hole all week just analyzing those two songs which I've really enjoyed so that was my theory corner. But anyway, as for this, I really really like that sense of desperation and that big siren song thing that's happened all the way through this. Hell of a voice there. The only thing that I think takes this down a

couple of notches for me, well there's two things that take this down a couple of notches, but the main thing is that the drums, as much as they're welcome when they arrive, they are way too sudden and way too big when they arrive. It's just like, whoa, drums, whoa! Unsigned posters, I thought, and too heavy in the mix. And it was a bit of a shame really that I wanted it to go bigger, but I didn't want it to go that big that quickly. And I thought it detracted from the very fragile, very alone in the dark kind of vocal work

that we've been getting. So that was a bit of a shame. The other thing that I don't particularly like is just how sparse the lyrics are sometimes that there's just not much that there's a lot of space in the song. There's like these eight bars in the middle where there's no singing happening at all. There's not much happening musically it's just really nothing and then she comes in with that scream which I like the scream but there's just it's just a bit too much empty space sometimes in the song but

for what there is I think this is really entrancing I think it's really transportative I think like it really has such a sense of tone to it and quite a specific tone that I wouldn't really describe that many things as having to be honest. The only thing I could really compare it to in more recent times is with Every Heartbeat by Robin, which like sort of has that drone thing happen in the background just like this and similarly kind of fragile vocals. I don't know if this was an inspiration in my well-being, but yeah, said I've been as you can probably tell I'm trying to think of a lot of things to compare this to because I think this has a really quite unique

sound to it and a really specific tone that it's trying to capture with relatively little parts. I think this is more than the sum of its parts so I really like this. I wish that they just hang on a little tighter with those drums like don't don't assault us with those drums a bit too much. But other than that, I don't really have that many bad things to say about it. And I've really kind of fallen for this. It's not one that I've listened to that much before, but I've found newfound appreciation for it. So despite the same thing having happened to Wet Wet Wet,

or they are unfortunately completely blown out of the water, so to speak, by this, I really, really like this this really enjoyed it. Yeah Always love an Andy's Theory Corner Next week Andy is to do a Theory Corner for stay with me by ironic the Me to fall asleep too soon. I couldn't find anything by the way on whether Stay With Me by Sam Smith was influenced by this. I mean it probably was, let's be honest. Like it's the same line, just done in a completely opposite way. So it probably was influenced but...

I think it's in the back of a lot of people's minds. Yeah, yeah. You know, number one for eight weeks. So yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. Yeah. Um, with Shakespeare's's sister I first heard this song when I was about 15 or maybe 14 because I watched an episode of The Thick of It where Ollie and Phil are having an argument because Ollie is about to be broken up with by Emma who is Phil's work colleague and Phil's very happy about this, and starts to film Ollie on his phone and then says, in the words of Shakespeare's

sister, your history! Ollie throws coffee on his trousers. Why have you got wet trousers? Sorry, I seem to have wandered into some sort of Ray Cooney farce as Peter Manning says. Sorry about vicar about to come in? Sorry about the puffing. So that was when I first kind of came across Shakespeare's Sister, and I thought, oh, OK, I'll listen to Stay. And then, would you believe it, a year later, I think, Cher Lloyd on the X Factor getting

picked to sing this as manfully as she could. She did alright with it. She did okay with it. I think that they were trying to sell a narrative before she'd even started singing, which means that her slightly crackling vocals as she gets into the upper registers in the chorus are completely ignored by all of the judges who all say the same thing who all say especially in the light Louie Walsh says you're you've shown tonight you're not a one-trick pony and that's what everyone at home will be what and then Cheryl says exactly the same thing you've shown tonight that you're not a you know that you're not a you're not a one-trick pony oh she's really cool is she and going, well yes, you've shown tonight that you're not just one thing, you're

many things, you're many things. And that was, and there's all these people going, oh it's a very emotional performance and all this stuff. And I'm like, well it wasn't that. They did so much of that with Sherloy. Like, purely through song choices alone, they created this this whole narrative like she was on some higher plane what really pissed me off is when she did that audition with Hard Knocked Life and they were like whoa you've got something different about you it was a straight cover she didn't write that she did

like a straight cover of that song it's just a song choice that's all it is that really annoyed me yeah that's kind of my history with it and then I kind of let it slip and now I've come back to it. I think that it is a strong number one this and a strong song. The first half feels like a gothic Madonna has emerged from out of a coffin to give us this atmospheric ballad where in the lyrics she's begging her lover not to leave but the way they're delivered sounds like she's begging her lover not to die or go back to a parallel universe where they'll never see each other again or just once every 10 years like in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Oh god. Yeah, very odd. Such is the strength of Marcella Detroit's delivery as well where she really sounds like she's weeping her way through it but there's also a little bit of Kate Bush in here which I imagine a lot of people in the UK immediately jump to in their minds.

It has that tremendous, I think, unexpected gear shift where we go from this atmospheric ballad to something that feels like it's dripping in black and everything's velvet lined and there are candelabras everywhere. I actually wish the guitars went a bit harder and it leaned into the eighties hard rock influences a little bit more, but the change is a welcome one anyway. And obviously Siobhan Fahey, you know, she provides a great contrast from Marcella in the vocals where she goes for something a bit more vampiric and fantastical where she feels like she's more part

of the story. She feels like she's talking about this parallel universe where this lover is gone. But I thought this was strong, I just think that it misses the vault for me because I'm more in appreciation of it rather than genuinely feeling something. It's definitely melodramatic but I feel like the melodrama is just something I recognise rather than something I experience. But big thumbs up on this one I think probably my favourite song this week Ed stay Shakespeare's sister stay with me how do we feel I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got Madonna vibes from her voice I put down my original notes um her pitch is a bit good though

for that oof take that match but anyway I do remember this one from the time, at least I assume I do, you know how history can warp your mind in that way. It's the first number one I think that I do clearly remember from the time as having some sort of an impact very much to its credit and a lot of it down to that main motif which, Andy, you broke down really well there, I think. How well that works through the piece. But I totally forgot that it amps up at the end. For me, my memory of it was just sort of that ghostly, Stay with me.

And for me, that was almost like enough as a little sort of weepy ballad loving kid. But yeah, I really like the gear change. I mean, it brings a kind of... This song has a kind of transatlantic early 90s feeling in a good way. Yeah. Where there's a bit of like down tempo spaciness. As you were saying, there's a bit of Kate Bush in there as well, Rob. I get what you mean from that. Something like this woman's work or something like that. Yeah

But also when it kicks into full gear it courts of it sort of slightly presages that you know the country tinge Journey woman rocker thing that produced some good, you know Transatlantic singles through the decade was very much a kind of American sound You know a bit of American sound, you know, a bit of Sheryl Crow or something, or Shania Twain in there. Maybe a bit of Atlanta Miles as well, if you get where I'm coming from.

Definitely. But as I say, it's a good kind of early 90s transatlantic thing, which in some ways could, you know, end up being like vanilla ice with Lion King drums or something, which no, nobody wants. But I think, while I like the change and it's a nice extra trick up its sleeve and it does create dynamic interest, I don't necessarily think it does a huge amount for the actual material because that very, the plaintive main motif

isn't particularly well served by the bombastic arrangement at the end. Completely agree Andy, that the drums are like a bit too in the air tonight really. It's like, oh shit, okay, chill out. And again, just like the previous song, it just doesn't feel like it has anywhere to go after a certain point.

And it kind of just hopes that by getting louder or creeping up octaves and things, it's going to actually get more impact. For me, I kind of, I sort of struggle to remember what happens in the last part of the song, where it seems crystal icy clear to me in my memory that first couple of verses. But it grows amp up very effectively, although it seems like it sort of flips on a dime if I'm buggering up a statement

there. But anyway, there's actually a little bit of prep to it. There's a little bit of sort of sub bass and sub percussion and some down tempo wibbly wobbly woos as they call them in the industry in that second verse. They're just kind of getting you prepared for if you know the tires hitting the tarmac as it were. But yeah, while I don't feel it, it goes to the, it soars as much as it wants to, at least not for me. And I feel that a lot of the value is in that lovely opening, pleading section.

I think it is, I think it's a very good single and I do like the turnaround. There's a hell of a lot of effort that's been put into this as a grand production, as something that maintains interest. And it really, it's ambitious. It feels like an ambitious single, this, for its rather surprisingly short length.

So yeah, I like it. I've just got a few more things to add about this. The first is that chorus, that inclining chord sequence that lands in a weird place. It's the same chord sequence and same key and everything as Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen. So that's interesting. That might influence it too. And it's not a wildly different tone to that as well.

The other thing I have to say is way more click-baity and like a bit of a hot take if you like. But, and stay with me on this because yeah, because it might sound strange, but if you think about the kind of things that entered this competition I'm about to mention in the present day and the stuff that does well in a parallel universe where this song doesn't exist, which is hard to imagine. But if this came out now, I think this would have a chance of winning Eurovision. Now, I think this is exactly the type of thing that actually storms it and wins by several hundreds of points. It like if you look at the stuff that actually goes ahead and

wins it that has that like sort of slightly fractures tortured soul about it and like if it was like a all-female act performing it with lots of theatricality on stage. I think this could get hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of points at Eurovision. I think something like this is exactly it in the present day. So like, way ahead of its time potentially for that specific niche. Yeah. Yeah, people like things that where there could be unexpected and sudden pyro and this song definitely has a moment for that.

Yeah. I can see that. All right then, so the third and final song this week is... this. Deeply, deeply bad, the curve you got. Deeply hot, hot for the curve you got Deeply dip about the fun we had Deeply mad, mad for the fun we had Oh my love, I can't make head nor tail of passion Oh my love, let's set sail for seas of passion now Deeply, dippy about the way you walk

A contact support, let the neighbours talk Deeply, dippy I'm your Superman I'll explain, You're my Lois Lane, oh my love. I can't make head nor tail of passion, oh my love. Let's set sail for seas of passion now. Okay, this is Deeply Dippy by Right Said Fred. Released as the third single from the group's debut studio album titled Up, Deeply Dippy is Right Said Fred's third single overall to be released in the UK and their first to

reach number one. However, as of 2025, it is their last. Deeply Dippy first entered the UK charts at number 16, reaching number 1 during its fifth week. It stayed at number 1 for… THREE WEEKS! In week 1, it sold 32,000 copies, beating competition from Evapor 8 by Altered 8, which reached number 6, On A Ragged Tip by SL2, which got to number 7, You're All That Matters To Me by Curtis Saigars, which got to number 9,

and Viva Las Vegas by ZZ Top, which climbed to number 10. In week 2, it sold 48,000 copies, beating competition from Be Quick Or Be Dead by Iron Maiden, which got to number 2, The Only Living Boy in New Cross by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine which got to number 8, The Days of Pearly Spencer by Mark Almond which got to number 9 and You by Ten Sharp which climbed to, you guessed it, number 10. And in week 3 it sold 29,000 copies, beating competition from Temple of Love by the Sisters of Mercy which got to number 3, In the Closet by Michael Jackson and Mystery Girl which

climbed to number 8 and Please Don't Go by KWS which climbed to number 9. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, Deeply Dippy fell two places to number three. By the time it was done on the charts, it had been inside the top 104, 14 weeks. The song is currently officially certified silver in the UK as of 2025. Ed, Deeply Dippy, about the thoughts you've got on this. So what do you think? Right, I don't understand Richard Fairbrass just as outside the sphere of his music and inside sometimes. I don't know if he's just trying to be contrarian, but I am somewhat baffled by his general persona and some of the things that he has spoused online. But anyway, I will say this.

I thought that he was the best thing about I'm So Sexy. He had a nice baritone and it was kind of simultaneously come onish and sort of deliberately kind of croaky and silly. And it worked and it took its core lyrical conceit to a ridiculous place. It had a natural amp up and you know that I'm too sexy for this song. It's fun, it's silly, I like it. I think however it's like everything from that is broken here. He is also the worst thing in my opinion about Deeply Dippy

Now he sings it technically fine. He's got a decent range. He manages it. Okay, but It's totally all over the place. It's lyrically Nonsensical and he just kind of comes off. I think he's going for kind of cheekily, you know sexy again but it comes off like a sort of decrepit creeper. That deeply hot, hot father curve she got. Who wants that? Who wants that? Nobody. It is, first off, right,

this seems a little bit of an odd pick. It sort of, it seems like massively, overbearingly kind of hetero-coded after the campiest dance hit of the early 90s. They're both on the debut album, they were both probably recorded the same sort of time, long before the singles plan was unveiled and it was probably a record label decision, but it is a bit odd and it doesn't help that the lyrics are confusing to be here. It's the female beauty imagery here is so kind of cookie-cutter and yet incoherent, like a load of snatches from newspapers and media of that is what is attractive,

that is what sells, rather than any personal statement. It's like the nine-year-old, who sounds like they wrote The Stonk, has finally had to go a full-blown sex jam, just entirely just by getting newspaper clippings and things like that. deeply, deeply about Marilyn. She has hips, also lips. And it's like, what? I mean, it sounds like someone doing an impression of a sex song. And, you know, we have, there's a proud British history of songs about the slightly awkward lover, you know, and the, you know, I'm in the shadow, I'm a bit of a loser, but I really like you, would you, that kind of slightly gawky,

but giving it a go sort of aspect. But what is this character here that Richard Fairbrass is trying to put forward? I mean, I know I'm probably reading too much into this, but I'm So Se, had actually a coherent, you know, motif that ran through it. It's just bollocks. The only message I'm getting from him is that, that, hey, you are a female archetype, let's shag.

There doesn't seem to be anything in the way of that. And there doesn't seem to be any particular requirements about that or any particular type or any any it's just bizarre you know sometimes he's fey and unassuming you know about his i can't make head nor tail of passion oh i'm a bit of a oh a bit of a klutz but then he's just saying like i'm superman you're lois lane let me rock your fucking world and turn your time backwards or whatever Let me rock your fucking world and turn your time backwards or whatever And some of these lyrics just sound like sort of chacarron style placeholders anyway

I honestly I looked at the lyrics to make sure I wasn't mishearing it and he didn't just rhyme passion with passion over and over I know oh I can't make head nor tail of passion. So let's set sail on seas of passion I mean, that's just fucking crap If you're gonna write a nonsense song that you have all the latitude in the world to make it rhyme and he couldn't even do that It just sounds like he's making it up. They're not Relatable lyrics. They're not coherent lyrics. They're confusing bollocks I mean his inability to settle on a coherent accent or a singing style, like he actually pushes himself a little bit too deep.

So his sexual exhortation sounds so sound like Austin Powers in that bit. It's like, oh, deeper. How's that, baby? Do you know what I mean? But that is the antithesis of sex. But you know what? As a piece of music, as a melody, as an arrangement,

and a dynamic piece of slightly weird and uncategorizable pop, it is too catchy and interesting for me to dismiss. The chromatic descending chord sequence that keeps coming up, too catchy and interesting for me to dismiss. The chromatic descending chord sequence that keeps coming up, sounds like something off Electric Ladyland. And there's your little guitar interjections that are like, they're not showy, but it's like you get a bit of blues,

then you get a bit of psych and all of this, and it's a nice little cheeky counterpoint to the random bollocks going on in the foreground. And then they mix it up with the horns and they do a bit of back and forth with the rhythm on that descending section. Yeah, the lyrics are beyond tripe, but it does stick in the head. The melody is good. It's really solid.

Yeah, this ain't vault material Richard Fairbrass sees to that firmly, but you know, I'm not this isn't going near the pie hole for me. I think there's too much interesting shit here. And I do largely enjoy it aside from the previous reservations. So yeah. Okay, Andy, deeply dippy yeah well I'm gonna just launch off what Ed said you obviously were shy about announcing it but this is the time for us to announce to everyone that the three of us are forming an act called right said Ed and our first single is going to be called you are an attractive female let's shank anyway with this you know

it's interesting though because right said Fred an artist that I really don't know much about at all like at all I think I'm limited to about three or four songs with them two of which are this and I'm too sexy and I know that like I have a you know quite I talk quite a lot about queer artists but I can't be across everything and this is a bit of a blind spot for me to be honest but I had this years ago I had this about 10 years ago and I remember thinking it was alright so I was quite looking forward to coming to this again I was really underwhelmed really really underwhelmed

and I do think that there is the gem of a good idea in this, that the way it starts, and I mean, right from the start, the instrumentation would have to be different. I'm sort of trying to polish it a little bit here, but the idea of keeping it really low with just the, oh, 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, I think there's a place for that kind of thing where like they're doing this pastiche of like Like Heartbreak Hotel kind of thing I think there's there was like there's a place for that like if it was really low and stuck to that all the way through This is that theme of been going on about the episode of like decide whether you're big or you're small or whatever

and with this it's like if it just stuck to that kind of restrained kind of Jazz bar sort of thing thing I think there could be something to this not much but there could be something to this and there'd be a place for it that makes it sound different to other things rather chop but then it just sort of gives up on that halfway through and it turns into this really completely meat and potatoes production that like is indistinguishable from anything else say what you like about I'm Too Sexy, but that song, you know that when you hear it, you know, that's that's like quite visionary, really, whether you like it or not.

And I know that like a lot of people don't care for that. And I know that you two don't particularly care for it because it came up in Born to Run or Up. And I like that one more than you two. But like this, I don't mind. I don't mind. No, but like you know what I mean? Like with with I'm too sexy, like this, I don't mind that. I don't mind. No, but like, you know what I mean? Like with with with empty sexy, like this, that is something like they've got something there with this.

It's like they could have something if they kept it really like mellow, like mellow yellow, actually, like if they sort of kept it with something like that and kept it really low and just like a little funky, silly pastiche of like old sort of sexy songs of like the 50s and 60s. I think they might have something there, but then they just throw that away. So what this is, is just like fluff, like just not much of anything really

that doesn't really know what it's pastiche-ed and I'm not a hundred percent sure it's really pastiche-ed anything rather than just trying to do some of these things and do them quite badly. So it's just like a bit of a damp squib for me more than anything else and I'm quite disappointed by that. Like I really wish it just stuck to like keeping it really low and really kind of sensual. Like if nothing else then they'd be committing to the bit but they're just not

committing to the bit here at all. So I don't really have anything else to say about it other than that. It's just sort of a waste of time that it doesn't commit to anything really that it like has what I thought was an idea but by the end of veered so far away from it that I'm not even sure that was the idea and I think this might have basically just been a NAF song that I'm being too kind to because different production things have been done to it at different stages. It makes it seem like it's more of an idea than it was, which is entirely possible that that's the case,

to be honest. I'll give it a mild pass because it does seem like there is at least some creativity on the show here, but it just isn't fully cooked. Like it just comes out as just nothing really. So I'm really disappointed by this one I Thought I might end up going to bat for this because I knew that you two weren't gonna be that fond of it And I thought I might end up being really fun to this but when I actually started listening to it

The opposite happened to me as did with wet wet wet where with that was like, oh, this is a grower I like this whereas this is like the opposite of a grower Like the more I've listened to it the more I thought this is just wasting, I like this. Whereas this is like the opposite of a grower. Like the more I've listened to it, the more I've thought this is just wasting my time. Like there's nothing to this. It's not sexy. It's not doing a proper parody of anything. It's not really making clear where it's supposed to be located, that parody or pastiche

or whatever it's doing. It's just like a sketch that got a bit out of hand and got released as a single. Not a fan, I've got no time for this. Yeah, for a number of reasons I kind of recoil at the sight and mention of Right Said Fred so maybe I'm not in the best position to give a fair overview of whether Deeply Dippy's actually any good or not. I appreciate that they were happy enough to have a laugh at themselves, play a bit of

a stooge in the charts. You know, there are lots of examples from around this time of the British public starting to not exactly give up on the charts a bit, but you know, there's lots of novelty stuff that goes to number one over more sophisticated songs that maybe ostensibly deserved it more. And I think the Zenith or maybe Nadir of this is probably Mr Blobby which I think is next year which we've got to do and after that I think things get a bit serious again for a while but the early 90s are full of this kind of stuff and right said Fred at least tried to make the novelty stuff memorable you know for the people who bought it and you know I'm too sexy I think I stood the test of time with a bunch of people

not not me, but regardless that being number one would make more sense than this and it's a bit of a mystery as to why it was so successful in America but was less successful than Deeply Dippy over here. This just feels like the lesser right said Fred Hitt in that way where the commitment to novelty feels a bit uncertain. I think we were it not for the slightly knowing vocal delivery that feels like it's winking at me every five seconds,

I wouldn't have much of an inkling that this was meant to be a bit silly, a bit fun, because otherwise I think this is actually played fairly straight but not particularly convincingly. I think when it gets going into the big band instrumentation, unfortunately I don't feel much swing or sway, which I did expect to and I had everything you've said about it and I'm like yeah it's true and like maybe I need to give this kind of like more of a chance but it all feels a bit surprisingly uptight and straight to me just at the point where it feels like it should let go it gets stiff and then it's over. And I completely agree about all the lyrical concerns that you mentioned. I've been convinced

I'm in some kind of parallel universe all week where like, is he really rhyming passion with passion? It turns out he is! So yeah, I'm a little bit confused by quite a lot of this to be honest. Not particularly a fan, which is a bit of a shame. I think my mum's gonna be quietly sad when she listens to this because I think she likes Deeply Dippy, but you know, what can I do? You know, I've tried. I have tried with Deeply Dippy this week, but I don't hate every fiber of its being. I think it has little things going for it every now and again. I appreciate the effort that it's gone from, you know, something like Mellow Yellow to, you know, something that, you know, maybe like the Spice Girls would try and do with

like Lady is a Tramp a little bit. Lady is a vamp, sorry, a little bit further down the line. And even there's even echoes of this in things like Stop, which is the one Spice Girls song that we won't cover during the 90s, which yeah, could have been a clean sweep there, but never mind. But yeah, so it's less than okay for me, it is gonna sneak into the pie hole, but it's only sneaking in, it's not something I'll wake up about in the middle of the night going, oh god that song, it's not like that, but like it was with itsy bitsy teeny weeny all that nonsense, but yeah, that's the kind kind of noise I'm settling on

so Andy wet wet wet Shakespeare's sister and Wright said Fred where are the songs going? Wet wet wet is going nowhere it's good but I don't love it that much so it's not good vault girl but it's also not good pie girl. As for stay, I'll tell you where that's staying. It's staying in the vault. Yes. Which is round the corner, three doors down from theory corner. And then you cross the road at the gay corner and then you get to the vault.

Yes. And it's staying in the vault. Yeah. Only made that decision right now, but I'm feeling good and feeling generous. And I really did like that. And I want to go and listen to it again. So that's staying in the vault. Yeah, only made that decision right now, but I'm feeling good I'm feeling generous and I really did like that and I want to go and listen to it again So that's good in the vault and then as for deep deeply dippy It nearly dipped into the pie hole, but it's not quite going to it's close Really close but again, I'm in a good mood right now. So I'm being kind to it Don't ask me again because I might give you a different answer but that's not

going in the pie hole right now but it's close yeah. All right then Ed good night girls stay and deeply dippy. I like wet wet wet but bit like Andy I mean it's neither quite a gas gas gas nor is it a total solid so it's kind of just in the middle, but I like it. Yeah. Shakes me sister, won't go to the hole or the vault. It will stay with... Yeah, you get where we're going with that.

That was very low-hanging fruit. Right said Fred, neither dips deeply nor takes to the skies. Of passion, of course. I do like it though, even though I fully concede that what I hear as sort of psychedelic experimentation may in fact be an accident and an attempt to do something else or an actual defined genre that they fail at. But anyway, yeah, so nowhere really for me, but no, I thought it was above average on the whole, really, this. Yeah, this week I think has been just about average or overall really, you know, just about above average.

I've enjoyed most of the, you know, two thirds of the songs this week, but Good Night Girl and Stay, they're not making it into the vault for me and deeply dippy's just been sneaked in to the to the pie hole so bit of a bit of a sour note to end on there with right said Fred but never mind we will be back next time as we continue our very short journey through 1992 we're already gonna be halfway through the year and there's only I can't believe this even including the Christmas episode there were gonna be five episodes for 1992 yeah so so short lots of songs staying at number one for a very long time so we will see you next week thank you very much for listening this week.

Bye bye now. To Rome. Bye bye. Please stay Don't cry The angels can wait For the promise They can wait for a moment Don't cry for me when I'm done No pain in wasting tears, out time will come one day