Hits 21 - 1993 (2): George Michael & Queen, Ace of Base, UB40

Episode Date: March 28, 2025

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Hits 21: The 90s.At the roundtable this week it's Rob, Ed, and Andy!This week - George Michael pays loving tribute to Freddie Mercury, Ace of Base manage to avoid being the Arse of Barse, and Ed Be Almost 40.Email: [e-mail]

Music Hi there everyone and welcome back to Hits 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. Email us, send it on over to Hits21podcast at gmail.com. Thank you so much for joining us again and thank you for waiting a couple of weeks. My fault last week, scheduling clash. We are currently looking back at the year 1993 and this week we'll be covering the period between the 25th of April and the 19th of June, so nearly covering two months there. Not quite as big a leap through 93 as the previous week and I think it might be our

shortest episode in terms of time covered for a while considering how few number ones there were in 92. Our first pole winner of 93, two unlimited. Well done to those guys. It's time to press on with this week's episode and here are some news headlines from the kind of spring into summer period of 93. In football, Manchester United win the first ever Premier League title and it's their first top division title for 26 years. Arsenal win the FA Cup after beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the competitions last ever final to go to a replay. And Marseille win the European Cup after beating AC Milan 1-0 in the final and that was at the Olympia Stadion in Munich.

World tennis number one Monica Sellers is stabbed in the back during a tennis match in Germany. Sellers survived her injuries and returned to playing tennis within two years but never to the same level. Police rescue seven people from a school in France after they were held hostage for two days and a hotel in Scarborough falls into the North Sea following a landslide. The hotel had thankfully already been evacuated. The Queen announces that Buckingham Palace will be open to the public for the first time. In America, a mail bomb attack by the Una bomber, who is still unidentified as of 1993,

injures a professor at Yale University. And 132 people are killed when a commercial jet in South America crashes into a mountain range in Columbia. The films to hit the top of the UK box office during this period were as follows. Summersby for two weeks, Groundhog Day for one week, Indecent Proposal for three weeks, Falling Down for two weeks, before Indecent Proposal returns to the top for two weeks. Ireland win the Eurovision Song Contest for the second year in a row, becoming the first country to win consecutive contests since Israel in 1979. The contest was won by Niamh

Kavanaugh and her song In Your Eyes. The United Kingdom finished second, having given 12 points to Ireland on the night, which very much makes it seem like Ireland were running some sort of protection racket with us at that time. Comedian Les Dawson dies at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack in Manchester. And that happens one day before fellow comedian Bernard Dresselord dies aged 59, also from a heart attack. Andy, the UK album charts, how are they doing? Yes, we've got quite a few again this week. Well, I say quite a few, the same faces keep popping up at the top over and over again.

So we begin this period with Automatic for the People by REM at number one, which was six times platinum, all told, and in this instance, it's number one for one week, before that's briefly toppled by Cliff Richard with The Album, and I think if we're putting that head to head with The Album by ABBA, the winner is clear. And that went gold and went number one for just one week before REM came back to the top with Automatic for the People for another week. Then we have a new entry at the top it's New Order with Republic and that went number one for one week and went

gold before it's toppled by REM with Automatic for the People once again coming in for one more week. Then we've got Janet Jackson with Janet's imaginatively titled album there which went number one for two weeks and went coming in for one more week. Then we've got Janet Jackson with Janet, imaginatively titled album there, which went number one for two weeks and went double platinum before we finished the period with Two Unlimited, friends of the podcast,

of course, with their album No Limits, which, you know, I think that's an unimaginative title as well, to be honest. We've had the band name Two Unlimited, the song No Limit and now No Limits the album. I feel like their stance on Limits is extremely clear at this point. They should have called the album Limits, you know, really surprise us. That went number one for one week and for the second time on the show we have an album, a number one that

received no certification at all. It's, a number one that received no certification at all. It's another dance electronic one that's done it so maybe there is something to that about a genre but yes, no certification at all and that's it for this period. Alright then, Ed, The States, how are they? Bodyguard! Yeah, for two weeks it's not that bad, before Aerosmith once more prove alongside Def Leppard, quite recently, that there was still in fact a big place in the US charts for grandstanding cock rock schlock post Nirvana with Get a Grip.

You know, it's the one with the udders on the front. But music is evidently not the weapon for these scrappy young rock and roll rebels, for they managed to steal just a single week from the fucking bodyguard. Sorry, but Jesus Christ, I feel like I'm being buried alive here. The only way that album could have sold more copies

is if Whitney Houston had died before it was released but then Fresh for June actually fresh Janet Jackson gets an actual grip on the top of the chart and keeps it for the whole month of June with their self-titled fifth album now as for singles May sees the end of sn's seven week chart white out as Freak Me by Silk takes the top spot for two whole weeks. But why have Silk when you can have Janet Jackson and her snuggly sounding production team of

Terry Lewis, Jimmy Jam and Captain Snugglewump. They dominate the chart from mid-May until the foreseeable with That's the Way Love Goes. They all sound like villains from a Roald Dahl book. I may have added one, but just one. Yeah, Terry Lewis doesn't exist. I do not believe, to be honest, that The Bodyguard returns to number one. I don't think it does. But please don't make me a liar. Time, you bastard.

Anyway, back to you, Rob. Well, thank you both very much for those reports, and we are going to crack on with the first song this week which is this Take a look in the mirror and I cry Lord, what are you doing to me? I spend all my years believing you But I just can't believe Lord, somebody, somebody, somebody Can everybody find me? Somebody, somebody I need somebody's love I work hard, it was hard, every day of my life I worked like my bones at the end

At the end of the day I take all my heart and pay all on my own I go down my heart and pay all on my own I go just now, my need is not enough To the tears that run down from my eyes Lord, somebody, somebody, somebody I get anybody by me Somebody, Lord He works hard every day Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, it's not a song, it's an EP. This is the 5 Live EP by George Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield. Released as an extended play, the 5 Live EP is George Michael's first EP to be released

in the UK, his first EP to reach number 1 and his fifth number 1 overall. And it's not the last time we'll be coming to George Michael during our 90s coverage. This is Queen's first EP to reach number 1 and also their fifth number 1 overall, and Lisa Stansfield's first EP to reach number 1 and her 2nd number 1 overall. The 5 Live EP went straight in at number 1 as a brand new entry. It stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks! In its first week atop the charts, it sold 73,000 copies beating competition from Everybody Hurt by R.E.M. which climbed to number 9. In week 2 it sold 93,000 copies beating competition from That's the Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson

which got to number 2, Tribal Dance by 2 Unlimited which got to number 4, All That She Wants by Ace of Base which got to number 5 and Sweat 93 by Inner Circle which climbed to number 6, and in week 3 it sold 64,000 copies beating competition from Believe In Me by Utah Saints which climbed to number 8. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, the 5 live EP dropped 1 place to number 2. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 12 weeks. The EP is currently officially certified gold in the UK as of 2025, we're only a few months away but that's still based on pre-cantar data and I will note as well that this is the last ever EP to get to number

one in the UK. Happening at the same time as the last ever FA Cup final to go to a replay as well. I can feel the 21st century coming in the slow death of the 20th. So Ed, you can kick us off with George Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield, but with more focus on somebody to love because that was the big hit from the EP. Kind of like we did with Take a Chance on Me with Aberesque, Erasure. Which is something of a shame actually because as much as I think it's a good song, I think the version of Somebody To Love is probably the least interesting thing on the EP for my money. What Somebody To Love does put into start perspective is what an amazing technical vocalist George Michael is

because most other people trying to do a Freddie Mercury sound shit but he doesn't sound like he's sweating that much doing this. That said he is flying awfully close to the source material including that take a look bit which always makes me shudder a little bit. Do you know what it reminds me of? Do you remember Catchphrase? Yes. The Buzzer on Catchphrase.

Take it in. It's good, it's good, but it's not there. It's good, but it's not the one. Yeah, I do think this is a strong song. He sings it great, but you know, as as always with me, Miserable Bugger, I do have some issues with the original. It is an interesting piece of composition. It's a well-formed song with a memorable hook,

but the problem is given its subject matter, it has absolutely no resonance for me whatsoever, and I am usually a total sucker for a weepy, lonely, yearning ballad. But it's so, you know, all of those theatrical, operatic backing vocals, it becomes like an over-egged exercise in a way. Not, again, that it isn't well done, but it sounds about as lonely and desperate as like a monster truck derby, to be quite honest. I do think the fact that it's live does reinforce its intention as a tribute.

I think it helps as a bit of audience interaction too. It's tastefully done. I can't really fault anybody on this. It's no worse than the original actually, which is in its own way pretty impressive because one thing you can always say about Queen is they were pretty hot performance-wise on record. But just a quick word about the EP itself. I was kind of expecting it to be a bit of a similarly slavish exercising kind of queen worship and like, oh, I remember Freddie.

Oh, I'm just pointlessly rehashing it. But pleasingly, it is a surprising and occasionally slightly humorous selection of songs. I mean, that temptations and killer mashup, where the fuck did that come from? And once you get past the kind of naff synth horns, which is, you know, it was brought on by necessity because of the life setting, it's great and he really does a good job with Killa as well. And it's a medley that works.

I'm dead pleased with that and it gives a good idea of how many different influences George Michael was drawing from. Lisa Stansfield does a pretty good job. I think she over-sings a bit to be quite honest, but hey, she's got a good voice. And all through, I mean, there's a track later on that's kind of, I've never heard it before, but it's sort of like a sort of atmospheric, slightly gothic sounding ballad

that I think was taken from a film. And yeah, he never seems out of his depth and he obviously was very, very flexible. I think the saddest thing about this EP is that I'd never really thought of George Michael as a live proposition before. Just never had considered him in that context. Then listening to this, I'm like,

oh, I'd like to see him live. And of course I can't. But do you know what this this EP was a nice surprise for me, I think Yeah, I think the EP was a nice surprise for me as well It's confirmed to me I think that when we come to the end of the 90s killer by Adamski is gonna be the song I you know choose to revolt because I didn't do it in the original episode. It was whole again in the two thousands for me. And then I'm going to put killer in because they also play it as a bed

underneath the guest, the year show on greatest hits radio. It's sort of soften on in the evening. I whenever I listen to it, the the sky is always dark and I'm always out getting something from Morrisons and the car or something and it's always That's always playing underneath like, you know, I think also it must be you know early 90s then but no That's just the the theme tune if you want to whenever I hear it. I'm like, yeah, this is great This is you know, it's making me feel the same way as The Sonic it feels so good where it's like a cool dance track from the beginning

of a decade that I keep coming back to and keep going like oh yeah this was really solid like you know there's something going on here. But then there are other parts of the EP that I'm more lukewarm on and Somebody To Love is one of those parts. It feels a bit trapped in an eternal 80s in a way. I understand there's probably nowhere more appropriate to host a Freddie Mercury tribute gig than at Wembley Stadium, but I do get this feeling all through it that the gig itself and the live recordings feel a bit like they're trying to recapture Live Aid in some way and

not quite managing it. It feels a bit too organized and orchestrated to make me feel much in the moment. I think it's just an impressive cover of a well known song being performed at an event I didn't attend. It's like someone telling me about some crazy party I apparently missed but I don't feel the need to like wish I was there. The feeling I get from this reminds me of when I was about 18 or 19 and the big group of friends I was part of, like sixth form college, was kind of splintering and we were falling out a lot.

I guess it's what happens when teenagers spend a bit too much time in each other's company and in each other's trousers, like you all kind of fall out with each other in the end. Half the group I remember went on a holiday to Tunisia over the Easter holidays and half of us stayed at home and that formed a big divide in line because all the ones who went to Tunisia they came back with all these in-jokes and experiences and memories that the rest of us didn't have and I remember like the week they came back we did a really big like impromptu house party on a Saturday, totally unorganized, it was literally just like a couple of us were around and we were like hey should we

just get everybody round? And it was like yeah great idea and it was one of our best ever. We had several house parties and it was one of our best ever. Like even as someone who has never drank and didn't drink then it was a great night and I still remember it and we all woke up on the Sunday still excited about how good it had been and how it had been the first big party that we'd had without an argument for ages. So we decided to do a midweek one on Wednesday because it was still the Easter holidays and that Wednesday party was flat as fuck and it was the last time most of us ever saw each other because we had tried to recapture something spontaneous by organizing it and that's kind of how I feel about this where Live Aid in my head is like the

Saturday night that we had and this feels like the Wednesday when it's a bit committee driven and a bit with capital letters organized fun but it sounds like it was a lovely night and I think the presence of the audience livens up Somebody To Love in a way that it just felt kind of false during Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, which was another organized fun reenactment of something which was once impromptu at Live Aid and felt like a spur of the moment thing. But I will say I agree Ed that like what a singer George Michael was and I'm glad that we're nowhere near close to being done with him on this show because especially during his mid 90s period which is when he feels

like he embraces a side of himself that was there in the 80s but kind of briefly disappeared disappeared sort of from about 91 to about 94. I feel like if he'd retired or died at that stage we could have predicted some kind of Gary Barlow style future for him but instead he brings himself right back on track in the mid 90s and carries on in a new guise through to a new millennium which he then you know does with stuff like Flawless and you know songs like Amazing and things like that which are you know some of the coolest coolest bits of music I think he ever put out as opposed to this which feels a little bit like he's... look I'm just saying if this was Gary Barlow I would be accusing him of begging for a knighthood.

Andy, how do we feel on somebody to love and five live? I agree with most of what both of you have said to be honest. Just before I get into it, I just want to very quickly mention Everybody Hurts, which is Beat No. 1, which probably, you know, would have got there almost under most other circumstances. I coincidentally have been listening to Automatic for the People a lot recently, I've really, really got into it. And I just wanted to mention that it's a real shame that we don't get to cover that because although it's not one of our AM's very best I don't think like it was really

interesting reading what Michael Stipe has to say about it which is that he's completely ambivalent towards the song he just accepts that it's important because it saved a lot of lives which is lovely I would have been very nice about that song had we got to cover it so that's a shame. Yeah it was a real throwaway as well I gather when when it was just one of those classic almost left off the album because you know, how simple and dry in a way, but got a life of its own I think. Yeah, yeah, it's just a shame because I would have had loads to say about Everybody Hurts,

but anyway, with this, this is unusual for sure, to have an EP this long showing up at number one, I'm not fond of EPs getting to number one, to be honest, and I'm glad this is the last. But this is definitely a worthwhile listen. I had never listened to it before this came up, or the podcast. I didn't know it existed before this came up. And I was taken aback, firstly, by George's vocals, just as you two have said. I had to ask myself a few times like is this definitely live have they

Just called this live like is this definitely live? I had to double check that this was from the concert because there is just like not an otters toenail out of place in his performance like you could you could you could really believe that's a studio recording even for a song like Somebody to love which apparently Freddie Mercury didn't like singing he found that difficult to sing it was one of his least favorites to do and he makes it sound George Michael I mean it makes it sound incredibly easy which is remarkable and yeah it's wonderful to hear his voice but it's strange that we've covered George Michael twice now and it doesn't feel like we have covered him really like it doesn't

feel like he's been here even though we've done two number ones because we've had this EP of someone else's songs and then we've had don't let the song go down on me which was sort of vague noise you know Rob and I didn't have many strong feelings about it. Ed very much did. I did. But yes, it's just a huge reminder to me of what a fantastic talent he was in his own right, that there's almost no one better to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury as a vocalist and as a performer and as a communicator of emotion in music than George Michael. That's fantastic. And I normally don't like these kind of tribute concerts at all because I find them very saccharine and very sort of public morning weird kind of thing.

It's just not for me. But this is an absolute pleasure if it's all like this. I do think it's strange that like nothing is done with somebody to love like nothing other than that live bit that everyone does You know where they build up the find me somebody to love other than that They don't do anything with the song really and I find that oddly enough with Every version that I've heard of this by any artist which is not that many but I've heard a few and whether it's from you know Serious artists or very much not serious artists They never do anything different with it really and I've been trying to figure out why that is and I think what it is

potentially is that there's just so much to do as a singer and as a pianist and as a guitarist as well because the Chord changes come at you very fast There's just so much to do with this anyway that there isn't really much room to do much else with it. I'm not saying it's like, oh you can't disturb any of it because it'll spoil all the rest, it's not like some perfect craftsmanship thing. I just think like there's stuff coming at you with such frequency when you're singing this song that you just sort of forget to do other things, like there's a lot of weird little runs that you have to do just to keep pace with the chord changes and it's an impressive exercise for any vocalist to do it so yeah as for the rest Killer yeah I mean wow that is just a match made

in heaven for George Michael and I had the same sort of thoughts as you two did that when I was listening to it and I thought that's a strange choice of cover but then also hang on this is the guy who does Amazing and Fast Love and freedom 90 and even faith to some extent is Similar in that it's so spiky and jumpy in the way the killer is as well like I can totally imagine that George Michael would have had killer and been a huge fan of it and Just a really really lovely match for him. They're really enjoyed that I think that's the standout of the whole five or six songs on this for me So yeah, I enjoyed listen to this. It's not like the most interesting thing in the world

But I definitely think it has more merit that it looked like on the page to be honest Yeah, I do wish these are a little bit more with the songs But one thing I really do like is that it's not all just Freddy songs for the entire night that the stuff like Killer thrown in there, you know, because I don't like this sort of, I'm going to say it's a modern idea because I do think it's a modern idea. If something like this were to happen now, it absolutely would be wall to wall songs of that artist. And I think, you know, these things still have to be shows. You know, you can make it a show that the

person who's died would have enjoyed. You can sort of stay on theme and still have it be respectful, but you don't have to do literally every song by that person. And that's something that we don't do anymore. We've kind of lost that art of just because it's a tribute concert, it's not a funeral. You can still have fun, you can still do things that they would have liked. And I like that spirit and that is very much in the Freddie Mercury spirit, I think. So yes, broadly enjoyed this.

It's not the most interesting thing that exists ever, but like, yeah, it's pretty good. Enjoyed this, yeah. All right then, the second song this week is this. She leads a lonely life She leads a lonely life When she woke up late in the morning like every day had just begun She opened up her eyes and thought, oh what a morning It's not a day for work, it's a day for catching time To slide in on the beach and having fun, she's going to get ya All that she wants is another baby, she's gone tomorrow boy All that she wants is another baby, yeah

All that she wants is another baby She's gone tomorrow boy All that she wants is another baby All that she wants Ok, this is All That She Wants by Ace Of Bass. Released as the second single from the group's debut studio album titled Happy Nation. All That She Wants is Ace of Base's second single to be released in the UK and their first to reach number 1 but as of 2025, it is their last. All That She Wants first entered the UK charts at number 5, reaching number 1 during its third week. It stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks. In week 1 it sold 92,000 copies beating competition from I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

by UB40 which got to number 4, House Call 93 by Shava Ranks which climbed to number 8 and In These Arms by Bon Jovi which climbed to number 9. In week 2 it sold 104,000 copies beating competition from I Don't Wanna Fight by Tina Turner which climbed to number 7 and Jump Around from House of Pain which climbed to number 8. And in week 3 it sold 84,000 copies beating competition from 2 Princes by The Spin Doctors, which climbed to number 4, 3 Little Pigs by Green Jelly, which got to number 5, and Shout It Out by Loochie Lou, which climbed to number 7. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, all that she wants dropped one place to number 2.

By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 16 weeks. The song is currently officially certified platinum in the UK as of 2025 but yeah pre-cantar etc. Andy Ace of Bass. Yeah I have a very specific memory of this, that there was a time in my life where I knew like every quaver of this, like really strongly off the top of my head. And it's kind of faded now because it was a long time ago, but I went on holiday to a resort in sunny beach in Bulgaria in 2008, which was actually a really nice holiday by the way. But the resort that we stayed in, it was like they knew they had to have music on

but they didn't bother to do a playlist. So other than the odd appearance from something else, while we were in the pool or at the bar like most of the day, it was just three songs over and over and over again. We actually asked the staff about it at one point and they just said oh yeah we'll put some more music on and I think one day they put like Elvis on or something but generally it was just those three songs over and over again which were the then current pop hit Give It To Me by Madonna which is quite good actually always reminds me of that holiday, Ride On Time by

Black Box which is fine happy to hear that a million times a day and All That She Wants by Ace of Base. Strange little group that gave it to me by Madonna all that she wants and Ride on Time. Strange little mix but all three of them like really strongly associated with that holiday and this was probably at the time this is my least favorite of the three this was almost like I'll get back to Ride on Time get back to Madonna you know because I'm never spoiler for the next song that we're going to cover I'm never really into those sort of a bot sort of cod reggae but not really you know just those kind of chill out kind of beats I think I think referring to it as reggae as being extremely complimentary, unnecessarily to be honest. It's just not something that I like at all. And this is fine, I don't dislike

this, but I do think this is minimal to an extent that gets uncomfortable for me. There isn't much going on instrumentally, if you take the vocals out of it, there really is not much. There's not many. I always talk about like how many bars are there on the mixing desk? How many channels do we have here? Feels like there's not many in this. And specifically that I'm not going to call it a bridge because it isn't a bridge.

The sort of place where a bridge would be like it almost feels like it's just going to literally stop like it's so, so minimal where there's only like, there's literally just a bass and a drum at some point. Like, and it feels like the entire thing is swallowing up and imploding. It makes me uncomfortable. Like minimalism to that extent, which I don't think was the intention at all.

I don't think it was trying to, you know, sort of challenge the attention of the listener in that way. I don't think they were trying to make some kind of point. I think it was just very lazy production, which meant it came across really, really bare and meager, and I don't like that at all. The lyrics as well, also unusual. Like I, at the time that I was getting to know this, which was back then in 2008, assumed that this was about a woman who wants to get pregnant, and I don't think I'm the only person who thought that, but obviously it isn't. It's the, you know, be my baby kind of baby that all that she wants is another lover for the night. But I certainly wasn't the only one to think that.

And several critics thought that. Actually, I was reading some contemporary reviews of it, and one of them said, this is the most unusual song I've ever heard about a woman desperately seeking unwed motherhood. And there was another review that said something like, well, this is what happens when songs are released to the world by people whose grasp of the English language is barely beyond the phonetic, which I thought was a very funny way of putting it. But yeah, it's just like nothing for a lot of this. Like it's just a bit of an earworm and that's it.

I can see why it got in people's heads to the point that they would have gone out and bought the single and I definitely think this is something that would have been big in the streaming age because it is that kind of thing where you just want to put it on and get that earworm out of your head by listening to it. So I think like it's actually weirdly prescient of the future. And I also think it sort of sounds like a lot of the stuff from the late 90s. I think there will be more kind of stuff like this. Like the Vengaboys cover of We're Going to Ibiza was quite strongly in my head with this. Stuff by Aqua and those kind of bands, you know.

So I do think there's a lot of this in the future so it has some relevance but it's not particularly for me to be honest. Mainly because it is sort of so minimal and so basic and it just has this sort of oddness to it that I don't think I like. I'm coming down on the side of not for me, to be honest. So it's a sort of shrug. Shrug. Shrug. That's all I've got for it, yeah. Do you know what this does remind me of that's way in the future, that bloody rockabye, the clean bandit thing. Oh, yes. Because the opening line is that she spends a night by the water.

And I'm just a bit like, so just laying on the beach having fun, she's going to get you kind of. It just, I don't know why, but then there was some artist on YouTube whose name I've forgotten has mashed the two songs together so I'm glad I wasn't going completely insane. Or maybe we're both going completely insane, me and that guy. Hey, did you know that pop reggae was popular in the UK in 1993? Yeah, we've said it a million times on this show in our 90s era but there are so many songs that just go absolutely nowhere. All you really get

in this is the same kind of four bar sample repeating over and over and over and over and then a bass line comes in to kind of give it a bit more beef in the chorus and like that's it. I just don't feel like I've been transported anywhere. I don't feel like I've gone on a journey with this. I have no great criticism of Lin's vocals, which I think the most captivating feature, and I think the idea of making a song about a sort of female apex predator of love kind of thing is curious and interesting. You don't get songs about that often, but past the first minute I'm just aching for that backbeat to do literally anything else like I get it Like I get the point. I get the popularity. I understand why a chorus like that can last

I definitely prefer this to the sign which feels like ace of bass have done their thing again But have dialed up the kitsch factor to a thousand. It's like exactly the same the sign is like yes Literally this you could just sort of keep going and start singing the song Whereas this does have this slightly menacing minor key quality to dig into and get your teeth into but yeah I think this is decent. I've never disliked this but I have grown slightly tired of it Only slightly tired. It's just one of those where if it's on the radio. I'm just like this again Only slightly tired. It's just one of those where if it's on the radio, I'm just like this again It's one of those songs where you know

That greatest that even the library of greatest hits radio has limits and that they often play the same songs two or three times A week the other one is evil woman by yellow and there's the one that always gets played on smooth radio because They can't they can't afford you to me are everything by the real thing so they always play that can't get by without you need you more each day it's exactly the same song it's like the follow-up single clearly much cheaper for them to play all the time can I just on that it's funny enough so when when me and my husband go out the house and we leave my dog in for a bit,

we put smooth radio on for him because we want like sort of gentle, unchallenging music for him to listen to while we're out. So we hear smooth radio when we come back quite a lot. And I've noticed that I always think they're playing Part-Time Lover by Stevie Wonder, but they're not. They're playing that, whoa, here she comes. And I suspect that might be the same thing. There's like, oh, let's get, we've got part-time lover at home. Yeah. Oh, ouch. Yeah, ouch, the Hall of Notes there.

So I didn't even know what that was called, but it's definitely, we've got part-time lover at home. Sorry, yeah. Yeah, cause it does have that, tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch Gates part-time lover actually, just thought I should say that. Ed the Hall of Notes defender. I do love me some Hall of Notes, I do confess. So Ed, you love some Hall of Notes, but do you love some Ace of Bass? Love is a strong word. I can't really add much to either of you have said.

Andy, he basically phrased a bunch of stuff better than I was going to. You know, he said, it's an earworm and not much else. Can't really disagree with that. Cod reggae, but not really. Can't really disagree with that. And minimal to the point of discomfort was an interesting one too. The thing about this, isn't it? I've not grown tired of it, because it's actually quite a short song which is refreshing but the problem is

it never quite satisfies on either of the things it seems to stylistically promise. The weird thing is that ostensibly it sounds like a pop reggae track with a bit of electronica thrown in. I think probably sound wise the intro is actually the best bit of the song but anyway that's probably a bit of a bit of a hipster cut. But yeah it's it's the the verses are basically they sound like something that's been shoehorned in to a reggae style and I say the verses because there is a verse in a major key which goes it's kind of very bouncy and up and down, there's lots of harmonic unusualness which is a bit weird for reggae and then it doesn't actually repeat. What seems to happen is the only other time we get a verse or any other thing that isn't the chorus, it's a minor key version of the first verse and

I realised that, this one was like, oh, that's weird. Well, at least they're trying to vary it, you know? But then the chorus still plays about a bajillion times. But let's be frank, they know what the important bit is of the song. And it is an undeniable, tenacious hook. I've remembered it since I was a kid. It lives in my head as they say and yeah I

don't have anything against this track but it is spindly it just doesn't feel like it quite lands enough outside that chorus and the other bits seem a bit perfunctory there is a lot of blank space which wouldn't actually be a problem but might even be an asset in you know actual reggae or dub or something. Interestingly enough I was listening to a kind of dub slash dub hybrid, I'll come on to that album recently, and you know they're like 12 minute songs with kind of two two chords in them but the fact that it's mesmeric and so empty and just full of vague echoes, it just slowly kind of entrances you. This doesn't do that, so it doesn't quite have

the, you know, the synth pop chart punchiness, but it doesn't allow itself to get into that mesmeric groove either because it's got that weirdy harmonic verse. And I think the reason that people haven't talked about it is because it's it's so odd it's forgettable and it doesn't actually repeat in a strange way but yeah it's um it's fine I don't mind it it's it's good it's a good chorus that's it really it's such a weird one because the sales figures are huge. Like doing 200,000 across like two weeks, like 250,000-ish across like, well more than 250,000 across like three weeks at number one. Especially during a period where the charts are so slow.

You have to say like, fair play to him and well done for that, but also, and yeah, I don't know I just I'm so tired I think of the lack of dynamic development in so many songs that we cover in the 90s and that's so strange because like I'm a rap fan but like rap songs are all about repetition and stuff like that especially in the back beat, but the performers always find ways to jazz it up or they'll throw in loads of ad-libs or they'll change the sample for a bit and then, you know, whip back round to the other one and just...

In some ways it's constant change with good rap though, isn't it? True, yes, because of the rap, yeah. Because they bring the theatre with their vocals, it's a different kind of aesthetic expectation. I agree there, Rob, it's a different kind of aesthetic expectation. I agree there Rob, it's the lack of urgency for me, the lack of feeling the need to justify your existence as a song which I'm not saying that as some like sort of precious oh you must always justify yourself to me but like I think songs should do that really, like this is why I demand your three minutes whereas this it's like it doesn't feel

any sense of needing to explain why this is what should be in your ears for the three minutes like it's not just me with that I'm not gonna call it a bridge again I don't want to call it because it isn't a bridge that that bit of empty space between the second and third chorus that's not just me is it like that's like it's almost unfinished it's really genuinely quite unsettling to listen to. It does need something else, doesn't it? That's the feeling I get. There is a binding element missing. It's strange.

Speaking of missing elements, the third song this week is this. Oh I've been seen, only fools rushing And I've been here, only fools rushing Only fools around here And I can't bear falling in love with you Shall I stay, wouldn't be a sin I can't live falling in love with you As the river flows gently to the sea Okay, this is I Can't Help Falling In Love With You by UB40, no, IB30, released as the lead single from the band's 10th studio album titled Promises and Lies

and from the soundtrack to the movie Sliver, I Can't Help Falling in Love with You is UB-40's 37th single overall to be released in the UK and their third to reach number 1. However, as of 2025, it is their last. The single is a cover of the song originally released by Elvis Presley which reached number 1 in 1961. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You first entered the UK charts at number 4, reaching number 1 during its fourth week. It stayed at number 1 for 2 weeks.

In week 1 it sold 77,000 copies beating competition from What Is Love by Hadaway which climbed to number 6, Can You Forgive Her by Pet Shop Boys which got to number 7, In All The Right Places by Lisa Stansfield which climbed to number 9, and Do You See the Light by Snap which got to number 10, and in week 2 it sold 84,000 copies beating competition from Dreams by Gabrielle which got to number 2, and Tease Me by Shaka Damis and Pliers which climbed to number 6. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You dropped one place to number 2.

By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 16 weeks. The song is currently officially certified platinum in the UK, could be pre-cantar, may have been updated since, unsure. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh uhhhhhhhhh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh He's just too short for this. I just... You know what? I'm hurtling into middle age now. I'm pretty much there by a lot of definitions. When Homer had his midlife crisis in The Simpsons, he was younger than I am. Whatever that's worth.

Comparing myself to a cartoon character. Not the first time. But yeah. Okay, I'll try and break this down a little bit. Not the first time But yeah Okay, I'll try and break this down a little bit right Cheap drum loops do not Necessarily kill the soul of a song I mean have you heard any of Prince's 80s stuff that's like, you know, it's some of the tackiest drums

You'll ever hear but that's got plenty of soul to it. Have you heard Suicide's first album? What a tense thing that is and those drums are about as primitive as you can imagine. Have you heard Boogie Down Productions with the world's most crude unvarnished 808s? That doesn't necessarily matter nor theoretically do reggae covers of country adjacent songs. The Heptones, for instance, did a fucking beautiful version of the band's I Shall Be released. It's really, really good.

And Toots and the Maitles did a damn fine Take Me Home Country Roads as well. It can really work. A white singer doing Jamaican patois isn't necessarily fatal to a song either, nor are cribbing, you know, cribbing reggae elements in a pop song as we've discovered about a trillion times on the show as you say Rob. For example, yeah, The Police's early singles, Sting is basically doing a thin, weedling version of Bob Marley, but those songs are excellent, so I don't care. Ritty Pallitty's mid-80s stuff has certain stylistic similarities to this.

And that's... I love that. To pieces. You know, Cupid and Psyche, 85, is one of my favourite albums. It's wonderful. UB40, I would argue this, aren't inherently damaging to a song. I mentioned... No, I'm... Yes, they are. Do you know what? Thinking about it, I just realised that does sound like a major, like, controversial statement. But it's true. I've, you know, I'll say this for them, right? I couldn't believe that they were always shit, partly because I remember hearing on,

oh god was it like, Old Grey Whistle Test, some old performance? Them doing 1 in 10, which was off their second album I think? That's a great single. It's really sad, it's really catchy and it gets the reggae pop balance just right. They were quite politically charged, but obviously, you know, it was a mixed band and they loved reggae music. I mean, that's always been apparent, even on their somewhat misleading sounding Labour of Love albums, which I'm shocked to discover this wasn't actually off. But listening back to their first album, which I didn't know any of the songs off, it's not for everyone but if you want you know 10 minute long tracks that are kind of mesmeric

but have a real earnest like political bent to them, it's good. They were good and they should be fucking embarrassed that they ended up here. I know that sound, I hate using the should word, but really, how do they feel about this song? Because I can tell you how I feel about it. It's fucking sterile lift music. It's terrible. This is... Life is too short, really. I'm passing this on. You've arrived at the same point I did with Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny where I was just sort of like, I'm only going to be alive for so long, I don't think I want to waste any of my Earth seconds discussing it. Andy, you can use some of your earth seconds to discuss falling in

love with you. Oh Jesus, erm, not many, yeah. I'm exactly the same. I was thinking about that Itsy Witty Titty Weedy thing as well because that's exactly how I feel about not only this song, but all of UB40's material really, which is that life is too short to listen to something that I actively dislike to this degree. Just some context, those who have listened to, I'm just gonna briefly plug this because it is relevant, those who have listened to the other podcasts I do about the Now albums called Now That's What I Call Musings, we've done about 20 of those and

UB40 appear on almost all of them, those first 20, and they are all almost as bad as each other like there's been some absolute garbage you know there's been their cover of I Got You Babe which is interminable and sucks every ounce of joy I mean look at my Sonny and Cher you know come on and yeah out sucks every single ounce of fun out of it and then this I think I think this does show up on an album than in the early 90s although it would have been later on than where we are and my least favorite song of all time I think the worst thing that any

artist has ever released for the UK charts at least their seven minute version of Rat in Me Kitchen I remember the first time I listened to it because I it was because I needed to listen to the Now album and I had a bit of a bad day anyway, I was quite rushed off my feet and then I was getting on the train and I was working well, I was on the train and I thought I'd stick that Now album on. And Rat in Me Kitchen, where it started, I already knew I disliked UB40 and then about a minute in I was like, oh right, okay, more of this, how much more of this? Seven minutes? Okay, and by the end of it,

I felt a bit sort of like I wanted to cry, like genuinely, I was like, I hate this so much, I can't skip it because I'm doing a podcast about it, like I was really like genuinely upset and to waste seven minutes when I was already in a bad mood, listening to, there's a rat in my kitchen, what am I gonna do, there's a rat in my kitchen. And that's it. It's like nothing else in it. And so we come to this and I am at the point in my life where I am very, very certain. Easy answer, whenever anyone asks me who's the worst artist in the world for you, for me, you'd be 40. Easy. Easy, easy, easy. Never listen to a single thing by them that I've liked and I think they have this horrible mix of a genre I already am not hugely with. Like reggae, you know, I don't particularly like but there is some reggae I like and I

like some of these sort of adjoining genres to it, like ska, you know, no problem with those but this kind of plodding, deliberately relaxed form of reggae and not something that I like at all. Sapping the joy out of songs with soulless covers of them that are just designed to make you a quick book is one of the biggest berserk buttons that I have in chart music. Vocals that don't add any texture or soul or storytelling to a song is another one of my biggest bugbears. Overly long songs is

something that I always go on about on this show, like that I really really don't like overly long songs. Everything, everything about UB40 I dislike and this is just, I mean I almost wanted to give it a point for that intro that is more interesting and has something to it that you know it sounds a bit more kind of psychedelic perhaps and like it's going to take us to a different place but then it just thuds to a halt and takes us into a ba ba ba aaaah can't help but it he'll laugh. I think it actually makes the whole song even worse. It would be better without that intro because it's promised you something and then it's

dropped you from a height and you've hurt yourself and you've landed and you're like oh thanks for that UB40, this is where we are are we? So it made me even more annoyed at them. It's a cover of an Elvis song which is certainly not one of my favourite Elvis songs but you know I really like Elvis' music and I think this song has become an old standard for a reason that it's just Nice little thing that you can sing in the pub and that you can sing to your loved one and everyone Can sort of have a different image in their mind when they sing this it's it's what standards are for is that they're basic But they've got a nice little form and you can apply it to a lot of things

basic but they've got a nice little form and you can apply it to a lot of things. For them to do this old standard like this with no clear objective and with nothing new that either they haven't done before or that anyone else hasn't done before with the song, it's nothing but shameless cash grabbing that sounds like it was made in about five minutes, you know there is so little to this. This actually going back to what I said earlier about George Michael, where you could have fooled me that that was in the studio. This is the reverse. You could have fooled me that this was recorded live, if not for that intro,

because it's so straight down the line and like so little bells and whistles have been added to it. And I've really tried to think of anything good to say about this. I will admit I only gave it two lessons because I was like, no I'm not giving this any more of my time. But no, this is the first zero I've ever given on Hits 21. This is, for me, the single worst piece of garbage that has ever appeared on this show. Yeah, I wish I had something more positive to say than the two of you, although I will

say that like the run of early singles that UB40 had, like you know, than the two of you, although I will say that like the run of early singles that UB40 had, like you know, 1 in 10, King, The Earth Dives Screaming, you know, yeah, decent run. Clearly wasn't making them enough money though, was it? Because Red Red Wine appears and Labour of Love appears and it's that forever and you get like that feeling initially when it comes in with the super saiyan cell they're just doing another run round of red red wine again a little bit but then when the song properly gets going you get that echoing drum sample reverberating around the track that that i'm like hey oh they're gonna try something different here. Nope, nope, it's red red wine and I got you babe all over again.

Normally with covers my rule is that doing the cover has to put their own stamp on it but I hate UB40 stamps so much. I just, oh, I understand that there's a lot of nostalgia for UB40 for people who were around in the eighties and stuff and whenever I slagged them off to my mum She goes like oh, no, don't worry She said like I know you don't like their 80s stuff But like, you know that they're sort of you know Cusp of the 80s stuff like, you know what she was telling me like one in ten get on that

Get on those early albums get on the really early stuff like you'll at least enjoy something there and then maybe you'll warm up to the really early stuff like you'll at least enjoy something there and then maybe you'll warm up to the mid-eight no I didn't warm up to their mid-80s stuff at all the difference between UB 40 in 1981 and UB 40 in 1983 is hideous so the difference between UB 40 in the early 90s oh my god there's a point where they realize that they just won't get hits if they don't do their thing which is very slow cod reggae covers, which are then repeated and repeated and repeated and trampled to death forever after this. And this is that, but like it's also been left on the side for a decade.

The sandwich is curling up at the edges and the ham's going brown. It's just so anemic and scared. So scared. And those horns that come in and keep infecting the mix, those shitty people, the way it runs beyond its shelf life, miles past its expiry date, which was somewhere in the 80s. Just I'm excited for next week, because from the moment that dreams starts, I'm like, ah, there's the 90s, there's the rest of the 90s, even some of the early 2000s

in there. As much as we've had sparks of the future appearing, I still feel like we're surrounded by stuff that's just dribbling out of the 80s and it ends up in a position of great prominence at the top of the charts because the charts themselves are very slow and there's no emergent scene or sound of the decade yet. I feel like we're just kind of waiting and kind of stumbling around a little bit. It felt this way a little bit at the start of the 2000s where a lot of it was just stuff left over from the 90s and then loads of Americans come through the door in 2003 with this like, you know, like Beyonce with like this fast R&B sound that's like urgent and sexy and blah and that's the other, there you go, there's a ignition point and it just, I'm just kind

of waiting. This song goes on too long and it's reminding me that the 80s have gone on for too long. I've said this in the past on this show where like there are so many songs released between 88 and 93 where I'm like The this could have been released at any point in those five years I find it my muse my knowledge of pop charts and my interest of Music and stuff like that, you know I pay attention obviously to the beginning of the charts because I'm always gripped by you know, the the 50s and the shape of the charts and how they became a thing and obviously the 60s with the British invasion and the

Beatles and the Stones but then obviously at the end of the 60s, I love the emergence of like really strong like when they kind of in America they amalgamate the the kind of the the black charts and they just kind of you know the r&b charts as a way to kind of when they sort of desegregate them and you get all this exciting music coming through and then obviously you know like disco and punk and all this stuff and then rap through the 80s and things and then I just sort of reached the end of the 80s I'm like what is the what's the dominant sound and it's a weird amalgamation of like there's it's just kind of massive ballads like massive ballads that all sound exactly the same with little bits of house and house is so kind of nascent at that point that it doesn't really develop fingers and limbs for a bit later as sort of a chart concern and we don't really get a serious rap song until Coolio in the UK, you know like actually getting to the top

of the charts and with this it's just sort of like a thing, like UB40 were a bit of an anomaly in the 80s charts, they were just kind of their a thing like you be 40 were a bit of an anomaly in the 80s charts They were just kind of their own thing and you knew it was you be 40 because it was slow and slightly monochrome and it was a cover of something and I Just feel like if you'd have told me that this came out in like 1986 or 1985, but I've just been like yeah Yeah, that makes sense like I wouldn't Google it I wouldn't doubt that it came out like this is 93 with three

years it's just yeah um I just I can feel time stopping when I listen to this freezing in the same way that you'd be 40 kind of froze in place and stopped and never did anything different after Labor of Love where it was like right guys the kind of dub scar stuff that we're doing It's not really making us any money Last couple of singles didn't chart fancy Neil Diamond Okay. Oh, that's a massive hit. Oh, maybe we should just do this over and over and over again and That's the feeling I get. Yeah, I think it was regard to that. I mean you can You can sort of play it one way or the other but it probably does come down to the fact that labor of love was a big

Hit and so they decided to continue that it does sound, and I mean, I don't know whether, you know, they've tried to make this sound more of a, well, a labor of love in retrospect, but it does sound like they'd always wanted to do that. And they actually wanted to do, you know, expose more people to reggae classics by doing that. And apparently, they wanted to do it for their first album, apparently.

But their record label's like, no. No. Rekay covers, fuck off. So it could have been a surprise that Labour of Love, where they'd got a bit of traction, people knew who they were, that that sort of, you know, thrown off album turned out to be a hit. What was then the choice that was lamentable was the fact that that was the road they seemed to have followed ever since and no one gives a shit anymore. It should be said just on the label point as well. Again, I looked into this with the Now albums because I was like, what is it about them that I'm not missing? I can't

be this detached from the zeitgeist of the 80s. I can't be missing something this big. All of these songs are garbage. How did this many people like so many of these songs? I'm not saying that nobody liked them, but it should be said that they were being really aggressively pushed by the label. There's been things written about this about how an album was a part of it. There was actual financial deals being made to always have them on TVs, always have them on compilation albums, always license them out, always get them to the big clubs, etc. in terms of airplay. Like they were being pushed on us to the extent that it still happens now, obviously, where it's like the industry decides that this group is popular and people just sort of go along

with it in a kind of propaganda sense and again people genuinely like them I'm not questioning that but a lot of people were kind of forced to especially in the late 80s early 90s like they were really really heavily pushed to a point at which I think I'd now you've lost your credibility really there's no authenticity there so yes another point against them unfortunately yeah for what it's worth I don't mind writing me kitchen or sing our own song yeah the single version of at least of rat in me kitchen the slightly condensed three-minute version as opposed to the the set the mind-numbing seven-minute thing Kingston town okay you know but like I got you babe and oh dear yeah not keen on red red wine it yeah yeah I'm

just sort of looking at the list trying to find things that I don't dislike by them yeah all the early stuff it's like 1980 and 81 and then yeah after that it gets a bit if I had to pick one of the ones you've just said it would be Kingston town because that's at least got like it's at least got something it's not nothing it's something you know but like I should say as much as I hate this and have given this a zero out of ten like this isn't even close to my least favourite of the hair so like Labour of Love Red Red Wine certainly I got you babe and certainly Right in My Kitchen I think are all worse than this

like I can't really do justice to how much they irritate me It's comparing dung though, isn't it? To be quite honest. It is. It is. You know, just scoop it all into a pile and remove it. It is. It's just looking at different poos and analysing them. I'm Gillian McKeith. But with no science kit, it's just like, you know, and with no glasses, it's just like, well, it is shit, regardless.

It's funny mentioning Gillian McKeith and no science. Well exactly yes. So Five Live all that she wants I can't help falling in love with you Andy how we feeling? Five Live it wasn't something for me to love but neither was it something for me to hate so that stays in the middle and as for all that she wants well all that I wanted was to feel something stronger about it that's staying in the middle as well and I can't help falling into a deep burning hatred of you that's what I'm saying to you B40 I just if I I often feel like would you rather questions? I was thinking with this like if I had to choose between Like a week of listening to this on repeat constantly and being burnt alive

I would be like that. What's his name? Saint Lawrence is it who was like who made that joke when he was on the burning rack saying this side's done turn me over Please that's what I'd be doing To I hate it that much. So yeah, the pie hole is not It's not big enough phrase for it It's not just a pie hole like it is the oven like this is where you go when you get put in the pie hole You are greeted by you be 40 That is the devil's hand there to greet you when you go into the pie hole it's UB40.

Andy draws red red blood from UB40. So George Michael, Ace of Base and UB40. I liked the George Michael and co EP quite a lot, but that sort of slightly, sort of slavish tribute thing does stop it from really being vaultable. But it is a shame because I do recommend people listen to that EP. It's fun and it's unusual in its song choices after the initial one. All that she wants isn't quite the fish of the day but it isn't ass of bass. Oh, ass of bass.

It goes nowhere but pleasantly. Like that ray that I saw at open sea life. I don't know why I said that anyway. Doesn't mean a damn thing. Don't look into it. Yeah, UB40 is perhaps the most sort of uncategorical slam into the pie hole I have yet issued on this podcast. I think it deserves to be lower than the George Michael and Elton John collaboration,

even though I thought that was dirge-like bullshit. At least I have more respect for their surrounding career trajectory than UB40, because this is the same old shit that it sounds like people were somewhat brainwashed into buying to the tune of Platinum Sales. Utter fucking crap. As for me, the five live EP, I would agree with Andy, not something for me to love, but my interest was peaked, but it's staying in the middle. All that she wants, it's not exactly what I want, but I don't not want it either.

So that's gonna stay in the middle as well. I can't help slamming you into the pie hole. If you can cram the syllables together. Yeah, it's a triple pie hole for you before too, unfortunately, but I will. I would say that one in 10 would probably get a vaulting. So, you know, make of that what you will. We'll be back next week. We'll be back next week with more stuff from 1993.

Thank you very much for being patient. Thank you very much for listening this week. We'll see you then. Bye bye! to you. But I do the things that you want me to. The second time baby that I came to you. But oh you found my love for you. The third time baby that I came to you. Oh oh oh I knew. The last time baby that I came to you I heard your touch and I became the world Name a girl, I'll grow

That girl was never real