Hits 21 - 1993 (5): Meat Loaf, Mr. Blobby, Take That

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Hits 21: The 90s.At the roundtable this week it's Rob, Ed, and Andy!This week - Meat Loaf brings theatre to the charts, we give Mr. Blobby a passing glance, and Mark Own tries his best for Take That.Email: [e-mail]: https://bsky.app/profile/hits21uk.bsky.social

Music Hi there everyone and welcome back to Hits 21 of the 90s where me, Rob, me, Andy and me are looking back at every single UK number one of the 1990s. If you want to get in touch with us, you can, you can email us, send it on over to hits21podcast at gmail.com. Thank you ever so much for joining us again, we are currently looking back at the year 1993 and this week we'll be covering the period between the 17th of October and the 18th of December, just over two months, taking you right up to the race for Christmas number one But not including the race for Christmas number one. That's next week last week pole winner culture be mr. Vane

We called him the winner and he was fine with that So time to press on with this week's episode and here are some news headlines from October-November-December-y time in 1993. In football, the England men's team fails to reach the 1994 World Cup despite beating San Marino 7-1 in their last qualifying game. Wales also fail to qualify after losing 2-1 to Romania, and worse still in that game, a 67 year old man named John Hill is killed when a flare is set off in the crowd, and 14 people are killed in a minibus crash on the M40. Princess Diana sues the Daily Mirror after it publishes photographs of her going to the, I think this is pronounced, Gaim? I think that's it. Oh, a Gaim. Oh, a Gaim, yes.

Diana then announces her withdrawal from public life. Despite a growing economy, the Conservatives find themselves 18 points behind Labour in the polls. And the Provisional IRA declares a ceasefire in the run-up to the Downing Street Declaration. In America, wildfires in California destroy 700 homes. The people of Puerto Rico vote to remain attached

to the United States. Six people are killed in New York during a mass shooting on a train. Bill Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and NASA launches the Endeavour Space Shuttle in an attempt to repair a fault on the Hubble telescope. The films to hit the top of the UK box office during this period were as follows.

Demolition Man for three weeks before Aladdin begins a seven week run at the top to close out the year and bring in 1994 and Roley the resident dog on EastEnders who had been in the soap since the very first episode dies in an episode watched by 15 million people. The ITC issues channel 4 with a warning after an episode of Brookside depicted a wife stabbing her abusive husband to death. The very next day however channel 4 is granted permission to show excerpts of a Clockwork Orange which is still banned in the UK. And on the BBC, something even more nightmarish than a Clockwork Orange, the music video for the song Mr Blobby is broadcast

on an episode of Noel's House Party. Carolina Hearn's talk show Mrs Merton airs its very first episode, and in America the first Got Milk commercial is broadcast on TV. The advert is directed by a man named Michael Bay. Wow. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera all join the cast of the all-new Mickey Mouse Club, and Diagnosis Murder makes its TV debut. So Andy, the UK album charts, how are they looking right now? As you may remember from last week, Meat Loaf is literally in one week out the other

for basically the whole back third of 1993, so we're going to be continuing on that theme this week. We start this period with Meat Loaf at number one, just to recap, with Bat Out of Hell 2, Back Into Hell, with a six times platinum record to its name. Have you seen this album cover by the way? Like I've seen all three of the Bat Out of Hell covers, but this one's the most ridiculous. A giant bat battling a flying motorbike on top of the Chrysler building. It's quite something. Yes. Why? After that, we've got Take That with Everything Changes coming in at number one their first of many number one albums

there that went four times platinum before Meatloaf are back in again for another three weeks this time then Phil Collins comes back in with Both Sides which went number one for one week and went double platinum. Both sides, I think, referring to the question someone asks, which side is the rubbish one? That's the answer. And then finally, we finished not only this period, but we finished 1993 with Meat Loaf back in for another five weeks. So in total, across the last two episodes of our show Meat Loaf has

been at number one on the albums chart for 11 weeks non consecutive weeks on five separate occasions and it is the highest selling number one album of 1993 but it's over just like that it won't be back at all in 1994 that's just it so it's had a massive 1993 and we say goodbye to meatloaf there. Alright then Ed, how's America? Garth Brooks continues his second stretch at number one in the albums charts with In Pieces but as the title indicates every now and then you fall apart so turn around shite eyes and embrace a week of meat. Loaf, that is.

But no sooner is he back from coming out of hell than he's run off the road to slash from hell by Pearl Jam, who sell nearly a million copies of their sophomore release Versus in the first week of five consecutive weeks at the top of the US Albums charts, before Snoop Dogg witnesses their death rose with a similarly lofty first week of sales for his sort of debut solo release, if you don't count the chronic, doggy style.

Then on to singles. Mariah's Dream Lover concludes its eight week stint at pole position to be replaced by a similarly restrained, nuanced vocal performance. Meatloaf does most things for love over the span of six minutes and five weeks at number one, but he won't do dat. Which proves problematic as it was the primary studio recording format at the time. Oh, I was about to say, can I trouble you for some cricket sound effects? But thank you for your charitable laughter.

And finally, it's Janet again, with again from Janet, which is at number one for a week and then again. Alright then, thank you both very much for those reports and we are going to check out the first, well, the first of three songs this week but we'll explain as we go along. So the first one is this. And I would do anything for love I'll never lie to you and that's a fact But I'll never forget the way you feel right now Oh no, no way And I would do anything for love But I won't do that No, I won't do that And some days it don't come easy And some days it don't come hard

Some days it don't come at all And these are the days that never end And some nights you're breathing fire And some nights you're cold and nice I know you can save me, no one else can save me now but you As long as the planets are burning, as long as the stars are burning As long as your dreams are burning, as long as your dreams are burning As long as you're burning burning As long as the stars are burning As long as your dreams are coming true You better believe it That I would do anything for love Oh, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. Okay this is I'd Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That by Meatloaf.

Released as the lead single from his sixth studio album titled Bat Out of Hell 2, Back into Hell, I'd Do Anything for Love but I Won't Do That is Meat Loaf's 17th single overall to be released in the UK and his first to reach number one, however as of 2025 it is his last. I'd Do Anything for Love first entered the UK charts at number 8, reaching number 1 during its third week. It stayed at number 1 for SEVEN WEEKS. Across its seven weeks atop the charts it sold 494,000 copies beating competition from the following songs. Stay by Eternal. You Got to Let the Music by Capella. One Love by The Prodigy and Don't Be a Stranger by Dina Carroll.

Please Forgive Me by Bryan Adams. Both Sides of the Story by Phil Collins. And Give It Up 93 by Good Men. Got to Get It by Culture Beat and Hero by Mariah Carey, Real Love 93 by Time Frequency Feels Like Heaven by Urban Cookie Collective and Little Fluffy Clouds 93 by The Orb, Runaway Train 93 by The Soul Asylum, True Love by Elton John and Kikki D and Ain't It Fun by Guns N' Roses, Again by Janet Jackson and Long Train Runnin' 93 by the Doobie Brothers and Mr. Blobby by Mr. Blobby, Stay by U2 and Don't Look Any Further by M People.

When it was knocked off the top of the charts I'd Do Anything For Love dropped 1 place to number 2. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 104, 21 weeks. The song is currently officially certified platinum in the UK as of 2025. We are oh so close to that Cantar deadline. Ed, meatloaf, how do we feel? Springsteen is back in comic book form. And I don't really mind that as it happens. I enjoyed this rather more than I was expecting. I mean, well, for starters, it's a much better sort of shorthand version

of Thunder Road than Don't Stop Believing is for my money. Yeah, look, I'm skirting around this very unsubtly. It is, as Steinman's stuff has always been, very rooted in a very specific era of a very specific artist's music, which is kind of a born-to-run era, Bruce Springsteen, which is very big, brassy, almost progressive, quite operatic, declarative,

like blue collar rebel music in a way. And this is effectively using a lot of the same tools, but upping their theatricality, upping the dynamic contrasts, upping the sketching and skewing of tempo, and getting rid of a lot of the sort of downtrodden working class apparel, should we say. Or we shouldn't say that because that's not what I meant. But other than that, yeah, I think it works. I mean, it is built around a silly joke, you know, that I won't do that, you know, oh, what is it? Oh, and that's basically it. So it's not really got much direct purpose to it even as a romantic song. But I like it. It's very catchy. Seriously, my brother

used to have a tape of this album when we used to go on holiday when I was a kid. And I remember it very clearly from then, even though I was not really directly engaging with it. And I think my parents only let him play it twice before they, well, I don't remember seeing the tape again. Not sure what happened to that. It might've been crushed on a road in Annecy or something like that.

But yeah, I dig this. However, I'm not 100% sure that this is really Meat Loaf's finest hour on the mic. He sounds like he's straining a bit at the edge of his register, which sounds a very pompous and arrogant things to say about such an accomplished and loud well, loud singer as Mr. Lowe. But it does sound a bit like he's forcing too much air

and it's just in an uncomfortable place, slightly too high in his tenor range. When he gets some accompaniment later in the song, it does help matters a little bit. But the whole song, interesting enough, is pretty breathless. It works for about half the duration and then it becomes a bit sort of fatiguingly panic-attacking

in terms of the lack of time spent in quieter moments on the record. It is a little bit too much. It is a little bit too much. It's a little bit too long, but it's a good pop song. It's big, it's silly, it's completely bombastic. And I quite enjoy it, to be quite honest. Yeah, I don't feel entirely different from you Ed actually.

But before we start, I'm just checking, you two and all three of us, we're all familiar with Michael Moore. Yes. Right? Documentary maker. Yes, yeah. This will make further sense down the line. So just in case there's literally anyone out, like one person out there who maybe isn't

100% familiar with Michael Moore is the American documentary filmmaker. Pretty staunch liberal, left-leaning guy. Don't think he's ever made a documentary that doesn't have a strong political bent to it in one way or another. His, just for the uninitiated, Ed and Andy maybe you could back me up here. I think his two most famous documentaries are probably Fahrenheit 9-11 and Bowling for Columbine. Yes, third of the big two. And he did one of the biggest. I think they're the only two I've seen to be quite honest. Documentaries are probably Fahrenheit 9-eleven and bowling for common-buying. Yes I've seen to be quite honest

About the health care system, which I can't remember what it's called. It's sicko something like that and that's very good Yes. Yeah. Yeah, so like I'll come back to him. So I'm not so meatloaf now I'm not 100% familiar with meatloaf on like a granular granular, detailed level. But he was one of those artists, I think, growing up, where if you had parents that were alive in the 80s, which I think is all of us, you just become aware of him by default. Because every household probably had a copy of Bat Out of Hell at one point, and he was a global superstar who was irrepressible at his best. One of those people that everyone sort of had an opinion on simply because his work eventually bled into your life in one way or another. My general opinion on him is that he was great, but I often found his music enjoyable but sort of befuddling.

You could never ever doubt him though. What he did and what he felt, he put it right on the record, didn't seem to feel any sense of shame about being a performer and you get spades of that here. You know, this launches itself into the stratosphere, comes back to earth, heads back to space, it's up, down, up, down, it's all over the place, it's very theatrical and loud and operatic. Meat Loaf is about as close as pop gets to like, you know, like a full stage theater production kind of thing. You can see the images in your mind of all the characters and all this stuff. And then you get the new bit towards the end of the five and a half minute single version, which is the, there are like three versions of this, well, technically four, because there's

the radio edit without Lorraine Crosby in it. you get the five minute version with her in it, you get the seven minute version which is the the music video and then you get that twelve minute version for the album but all the versions of it are very vivid and the characters are very strong and you can imagine them on stage and performing all this and whether it's Elizabethan or whether it's more modern theatre you can see it happening. But thinking about Meat Loaf now and looking back at him in the 80s and I say now as in you know now 2025 but also now 1993, looking back at Meat Loaf makes me realize that there are basically no sexy fat guys allowed in mainstream pop anymore.

Standards have shifted and that's a shame. Because Meat Loaf in his 70s and 80s guys, especially in something like Dead Ringer for Love, him and Cher are so hot together and it's marvellous. I would point anyone to Charm Music episode episode 49 the discussion about that video with Sarah B And the dearly departed Neil Kulkarni But even something like Paradise by the Dashboard light as well And I find meatloaf like I'm not attracted to him because I am not attracted to men But he is a very I think he's an incredibly sexy guy in the 70s and the 80s. Yeah, I can see that.

But something I think goes between Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell 2 and it's the raw sex appeal in this song. It's more of a romantic now, loving from a distance to the point where when Lorraine Crosby comes in here and she says, will you hose me down with holy water if I get too hot? I don't really feel the sex much because by this point he's not meatloaf all sweat

and carnal urges, he's portraying himself in the video as that sort of Quasimodo figure, a sort of hopeless shunned romantic who society rejects and he'll never have the woman but the woman sees something in him that society doesn't and oh And it's all I must reach out but oh we can't touch each other because society's dragging us away from each other and all This stuff and that's great. I just prefer the 80s Persona which kind of brings me back around to Michael Moore. Don't get me wrong I think Michael Moore's documentaries are on the whole great, but there's always a moment in one of his documentaries where I think he editorialises a little too much, because he assembles all this great research, all

this hard hitting arguments, or really damning footage, he pokes hole after hole in right wing arguments, but then he just can't resist the urge and he gets in front of the camera and he gives the puppy dog eyes look as if he hasn't already driven home the point. The one that really comes out in my mind is the one with Charlton Heston at the end of Bowling for Columbine where he really shows up Charlton Heston on gun control to the point where Heston kind of storms out of the interview and just wanders away. But then there's that bit that Michael Moore admitted that he went back and filmed afterwards where he started filming as if the camera was looking at Michael Moore holding up the picture of that dead girl who'd been killed in a shooting and then he leaves the photo in Charlton Heston's

driveway and walks away looking at the camera like, well, aren't I a good person? And it just, that doesn't turn me against him, but it just like, oh, Michael, you were almost there and you just had to be all American about it. And I feel that with this, where it's all there. All the things that make Meatloaf great are all there, but he has to stop and look at the camera and blink tears from his eyes every now and again.

And it doesn't turn me completely against it because I do enjoy it, but it has always prevented me from loving Meat Loaf and loving this, which is a shame because all the things, like so many things I've given tends to on this show, like my chemical romance, you know, like they're clearly indebted to Meat Loaf in one way or another, but this is just on the verge of great. But like every

now and again, I just feel this like Meat Loaf's character in this stage production looking directly at me as if to say, just checking that you're getting the point, Rob. Just checking. This is meant to be a sad song, really. And I would never hurt you but oh we're not we can't be to we can't be together because of all these things and oh isn't it terrible and oh but before I finish I will say that the jokey song title and all that stuff all the jokes that have been made about what the that is I do like that in on eight separate occasions apparently it's about eight different things he would never do and so there's a YouTube comment from nine years ago by Rod G 321

for the people confused here is a breakdown of all the things meatloaf won't do he'll never lie to his woman he'll never forget the way she feels he'll never forgive himself if lie to his woman. He'll never forget the way she feels. He'll never forgive himself if he and his woman don't go all the way in their relationship. He'll never turn his back on their love for each other. He'll never have better sex than he did when he was with his woman. He'll never stop dreaming about his woman. He'll never think that their relationship was just a fling and move on to someone else. He'll never break the relationship and start screwing other women.

So that's what he won't do. But just is he gonna run around and desert her? He'll never do that. Andy, meatloaf, how are we feeling? Yes, just a few points of order before I get started on this. First of all, I've been hanging on to this because I can't let this opportunity pass. When you said, Ed, that Meatloaf is sort of aping the Spring Scene, born to run sound in this era, would you say that that means he's born to runner up?

Wonderful. Now, if only we were covering this next week, that would have been perfect. Well, anyway, I would have been perfect. Well, anyway, I had to acknowledge that. And also the point that you raised, Rob, that's interesting what you said about how every family kind of has this. That was sort of very much not the case in my house growing up, because actually my mum and dad, I don't really know why, they absolutely detested me at loaf. And it was sort of like the, you know, every family sort of has one artist that

they just dick on all the time they're just like oh at least it's not as bad as that you know and ours was meatloaf where like we always joked about meatloaf and i don't know why because i'm ambivalent like he's not my favorite and as you'll see from what i have to say you know it doesn't particularly inspire me but there's anything wrong with it But no, I was like not brought up on Meat Loaf at all. My chief exposure to Meat Loaf was his performance in Spice World as the bus driver of the Spice Bus. He has a memorable moment where he stops the bus in the middle of the night for all of the Spice Girls to get off the bus and go into the woods for a collective shit together. Fantastic film this. And it's because the toilet's broken and Richard E. Grant, playing the manager Clifford, asks Meatloaf, would

he get his hands in there and fix the blocked toilet? And Meatloaf says, well, he'd do anything for those girls, but he won't do that. And I never got that joke as a kid and it's a fantastic joke. It's the only reason he's in the movie, let's be honest, is to make that joke. But yeah. So as for this, I don't have a huge amount to say about the actual song because I've got a bit of a anecdote to dive into with this one. Except that, I mean, I gave the 12 minute version ago and goodness me, I feel good that I was on a dog walk while I was doing it

because at least I was doing something else with my time. I didn't waste any time on that because Christ, 12 minute songs. And that's kind of my problem with Meat Loaf in general is that there's no brevity. There's just like everything is just an acre long. Everything. I remember in our karaoke league when someone got up and did Bat Out of Hell, the 10 minute version once and of karaoke league when someone got up and did bat out of hell, the 10 minute version once and it feels even longer than 10 minutes when someone without Meatloaf's gravitas is performing it. Let's just say that. I think also he's a good fit for the 1990s in a way that like he's a good fit for the era but not a good fit for what I like at all. Like I think he exemplifies one of the worst

things about the early 90s and the late eighties as well, which is this problem I keep going on about in these years of there's no zero to 60. You're just at booooo all the time. And Meatloaf is the vocal version of that. He's sort of like the music equivalent of Brian Blessed really. Where like, you know, every single line,

just turn it down, you know? And I like Brian Blessed as an actor, but he is a bit much. And Meatloaf, you know, every single line, just turn it down, you know. And I like Brian Blessed as an actor, but he is a bit much. And Meat Loaf, you know, it's just there's no zero to 60. It's always right at the top. And if you're into that sort of thing, fine. It's an it's an aesthetic, you know, a very noticeable aesthetic. And it's just not one that I'm really into. I have problems with songs that slow down for the chorus.

That's generally not something I like. I've always think you should power up into the chorus. And that slowdown that comes doesn't, I just don't like that at all. I actually think the verses are pretty nice, they have a real kind of weirdly kind of old style rock and roll vibe to them with the do anything for love, like sort of timeless, you know, I really, really like those bits. But I think the central hook in those choruses,

it just, it accepts all momentum out of there. So it's kind of neither one thing or the other. And, you know, I just sort of shrugged it to be honest. Like this is fine, but it wasn't made for me. It's not appealing to me 30 years on. Lots of people love it, but I don't. It's just like, it is what it is, to be honest. In terms of what he does not want to do for love, I mean, that's answered the question, Rob,

so thank you very much for that, but I did use a joke about that with my sister, what would he not do for love? And we always had the theory that because he's doing such an impassioned song about how much he loves this woman and the great love they have between them, that what she's asking him to do must be really heinous, must be really awful. And we used to think of really dark things sometimes like oh this is has she asked him to like punch the Queen or like you know set fire to a cancer ward or something like what she asked him to do that he had despite had the love he has for her he just won't do it he can't do that and it seems so it seems like it's much more innocent than that so he's off the hook anyway Anyway the thing I want to talk about with this was I'll take you back not as

far as 1993 but about half the way back and to sort of I think it was about 2008 2009. I've done a bit of research into this and that's the best I can date it to because I can't remember but Lorraine Crosby who sings that brief female segment of this song she performed at a Haven camp while I was there. I think it was Primrose Valley in Scarborough. It might have been a few others because we went to a lot of Haven camps as a kid. But it was around late noughties and Lorraine Crosby was on. And I don't know if you two have much experience with Haven camps listeners. Well, I'm sure a lot of you'll be aware of what it's like this all the entertainment clubs they're sort of

like large conservative clubs or later clubs or whatever where you know it's there's a stage but it's not much of a stage to speak of it's all kind of like parish hall kind of vibes just with a gloss of paint put on it and much higher prices but it's fine it's like the great British tradition of like shitty holiday camp entertainment clubs and I love that sort of thing. Is it Butlins adjacent? Yeah, it's exactly the same.

Probably a little bit lower budget than Butlins but yeah. And Lorraine Crosby was on one night. They did occasionally get some actual stars. I remember they had Daniel Johnson on shortly after the X Factor one year, which was a bit of a coup. They had Cannon and Ball on once as well, which I didn't go to because I was a kid looking to go watch Cannon and Ball. But anyway, Lorraine Crosby was on.

And bear in mind, this is like a family crowd. There's about 50 to 100 people there. It's not a big night. And she had several axes to grind in a non-subtle way throughout this performance. The first of which was kind of fair enough, which was that she was not happy about the fact that she was replaced in the video by an actress, which I've seen that come up multiple times where she's appeared on documentaries and talked about it and stuff.

And it's a bit like Black Box right on time where that happened there as well. And that's not okay, like fair enough to have an extra grind about that. I will say, you know, 15 odd years on in front of an audience, mostly of children, not 100 percent sure I would voice that there, but she did. And she went on to like play footage of her singing it in the studio or something like that and like got everyone to roar with praise and then boo the actress in the video is very strange. And then she pivoted even more sharply and it turned out a few years ago so in the very early years of the X Factor she went on the X Factor and I think she got through

the auditions got to boot camp or judges house or whatever and then didn't get through to the live shows and she had a major major problem with that and almost in between every song she did she went on these kind of odd like never-ending Ronnie Corbett style rants about how awful the X Factor is and how it's killing the music industry which to be fair true I knew that even at the time I agreed with her but again not the vibe we're on a night out here. You know, it was a bit unusual to be going into that in such depth. And at one point she got us like chanting like,

no to X Factor, yes to real music, something like that. And so it was a really strange evening that I've never forgotten because she, she definitely had some feelings about the way that her career had gone and I have a huge amount of sympathy for her because nothing she said was untrue. It was just a really strange forum in which to voice her. It stuck with me forever. What a strange evening that was with Lorraine Crosby

who was going by the Lorraine Crosby experience by the way. You know, Jimi Hendrix way even though there was only one of her and one of her was called Lorraine Crosby. An odd evening. Anyway, to round off on this on this yes like I say it's not my bag but I can see the appeal of it fine. Yeah I think um now you've sort of mentioned that she was not only replaced by an actress in the video she was paid no money. Yeah yeah yeah. In royalties. She wasn't happy with Meatloaf personally about it because yeah he was not exactly supportive In royalties. She wasn't happy with Meat Loaf personally about it. No. Because, yeah, he was not exactly supportive of her, apparently.

I don't know, this is all going from a 2007 memory, so I don't want to lie to myself with any of this, but I believe she wasn't happy with Meat Loaf personally about it, yeah. Her accusation is apparently that she moved to Los Angeles and she met with Steinman, who became her manager, and they were prepping this song for Meat Loaf, and she met with Steinman who became her manager and they were prepping this song for Meat Loaf and she came in and did guide vocals just like demo vocals and stuff as a track for Meat Loaf to hear and then be like oh that's what I'm supposed to do with it okay then and then you know she didn't think anything of it but then like six months

later like you know that gets a phone call, do you mind if we used your guide vocals on the actual single? Um, sure. And then because she performed them as guide vocals, it was kind of some weird loophole and she never got paid. Which would probably explain why 15 years later in front of 50 to 100 people, she has a big axe to grind about that but I don't know why she wouldn't maybe she did go to the media more maybe she thought like this is my opportunity seems like she released an album called Miss Loud in 2008 I don't know if that's around the time you were there I guess it would have been here was it was around then I can't accurately data

because you know she's not... Records of her gigs are spotty, especially when they're at Haven camps, but it was around then. She was promoting something, I believe, but she did perform this and made a big deal of, oh, this is my bit now. Like she got one of the male red coats or blue coats or whatever they're called in Haven to do Meatloaf's part and then she did her part and made a big fuss of it, which that nice that's nice it's fair enough. Right then so we would ordinarily be moving along to the second song this week but if we covered the second song this week there will be no song to discuss in our Christmas episode I can't believe we just have to spoiler everything and throw all of our subterfuge out the window.

But that's because next up this week, getting to number one is Mr. Blobby by Mr. Blobby. Released as the lead single from his first and only studio album titled Mr. Blobby the album. and only studio album titled Mr Blobby the album. Mr Blobby is Mr Blobby's first single to be released in the UK and his first to reach number one, however as of 2025 it is his last. Mr Blobby first entered the UK charts at number three, reaching number one during its second week. weekend week. It stayed at number 1 for... 1 week. In its first week atop the charts, it sold 69,000 copies beating competition from Controversy 93 by Prince which got to number 5 and It's Alright by E17 which climbed to number 9. When it was knocked off the top

of the charts, Mr Blobby dropped one place to number 2, but rather ominously it is not the end of its journey on the charts. I cannot believe it'd be a re-release of Controversy, which is my favourite Prince song, but never mind. So next up this week, and last up this week... ...is this! I'll come to your door to see you again But where you once stood, was an old man instead I asked where he'd been, he said she's moved on, you see All I have is a number, you better ask her, not me

So I picked up the phone and dialed your number I'm not sure how to put it down or speak There's a voice I once knew, answered in a sweet voice She said hello then paused before I began to speak Babe, I'm here again I told you I'm here again Where have you been? Where have you been? I'm back again I told you I'm back again Okay, this is Babe by Take That, released as the fourth single from the group's second

studio album titled Everything Changes, Babe is Take That's 10th single overall to be released in the UK and their third to reach number 1. It's not the last time we'll be coming to Take That during our 90s coverage. Babe went straight in at number 1 as a brand new entry. It stayed at number 1 for… ONE WEEK! In its first and only week atop the charts it sold 133,000 copies beating competition from Twist and Shout by Shakwa Damis and Plyers which got to number 4, For Whom the

Bell Tolls by The Bee Gees which climbed to number 5, and The Perfect Year by Dina Carroll which climbed to number 5, and The Perfect Year by Dina Carroll which climbed to number 10. When it was knocked off the top of the charts, Babe dropped one place to number 2. By the time it was done on the charts it had been inside the top 100 for 10 weeks. The song is currently officially certified platinum in the UK, pre-canter We're very, very close now. Andy, babe, would you tell us how you feel about the song? Oh, of course I'll tell you, babe.

Thanks, babe. Me and my husband always call each other babe and people constantly make fun of us for it. So I feel a bit seen by this, to be honest. Yeah, I will confess right from the start that I didn't know this before I had to read, I will confess right from the start that I didn't know this before I had to read it, I had to visit it for the podcast. Didn't know this, which wasn't the case for any of the others. And as soon as I listened to this for the first time,

I thought, ah, right, I can see why, understand now. Because Prey, you know, as much as I wasn't a huge fan of it, it's infectious. Definitely see how that took off. Realize My Fire, that's you know solid pop music bullseye straight down the line there. And ones that we've got coming up like Sure and Never Forget and Back 4 Good. You know definitely, definitely understand the appeal of those. Not sure how I'm gonna feel about them, gonna give them a bit more time to percolate. But it's quite rare to encounter or take that song from either of their eras when they were at either of their peaks of popularity that I don't know at all especially at

number one so I was interested in why and it's pretty clear right from the start I don't think it's just me I don't think this is stuck around as far as I'm aware because it is just a total and complete absence of fun. Like it's almost profound the extent to which they do not want to crack a smile at any moment at all. I'm honestly tempted to use the phrase serious as cancer. That's honestly, it's just like, there are things about boy bands that really kind of flip on a dime where sometimes they're fantastic and sometimes they're not. And I think the thing about boy bands that

always cuts through in either a good or a bad way is sincerity. Where like something like I want it that way, or a lot of stuff Backstreet Boys did actually, or a lot of stuff One Direction did, where they look incredibly goofy but they're just committing to it and really kind of looking like the cheesy silly pop troubadours they are. That can be great, it's really endearing to see people just go for it and be really sincere about this goofy place that they have in the music industry. The other side of that coin is when they're sincere in a way that isn't entertaining and it's just really maudlin and almost like funereal a lot of the time. It can be some of the worst music you can ever listen to. It's like unbearably dull and unbearably tedious a lot of the time.

The end of the road by Boys To Men, you know, I had this problem with it that it was just ringing every drop of emotion either artificial or real out of the listener to an extent that was really kind of uncomfortable to be honest it was just like wallowing in negative emotion and I feel like this is the same as this but even more so that it just it has a vibe to it that is like you might play it in the last scene of a movie when everything has gone to hell for the protagonist and you're committing to a sad ending. Like, it's just that there's no hope in this at all.

It's just really bleak. I couldn't believe this was Take That. If you put this on and told me this was Take That, I would be like, what, really? These are the people who, a few weeks earlier, were doing Prey, you relight my fire, everything changes. Like, wow. I can only assume that this got to number one because the power of that fan base and that there will admittedly have been some fans who take that who want them to get into

earnest man pain to this extent. I'm sure there was a market for that. But to me, this is bordering on unlistenable. I really like, properly can't engage with this at all because I just need a bit more fun and cheer. I don't need everything to be happy lovey dovey all the time. Like there are some really dark pieces of music that we've covered on this show that I really loved and really enjoyed. And I don't think dark is really the word for this.

It's just like, there is just the word for this it's just like there is just no pizzazz there's just no spark there's no fun to be had it's just wallowing in angst and self-pity and unless you're the kind of tween-ager from the 90s that loves that sort of thing I think this is just completely completely impossible to engage with for me. So, erm, I kind of hate this. I really do. Yeah, sorry. Oh, Ed, do we feel any different? It's serious as rabies. Mark Owen singing babies. We'll just imagine Mark Owen doing pulp there. Oh, good as a god, man. We'll just imagine Mark Owen doing pulp there.

Oh good as a god now. I come in paper. I come in paper. We're a bit off that, although to be quite honest I could do with a bit of boinging instead of whatever the fuck he's doing here. Because this is pretty bad. Really. No, you know, I hate to disappoint people who thought I was going to be the...

I don't know, maybe it's a relief for some people who thought I was going to be the take that fanboy, but I'm not that numb in the mind. This is Tosh. And it's not necessarily Gary Barlow's fault. It's not entirely Gary Barlow's fault. I mean, you know, it's a perfectly fine, fluid, derivative, dull, tedious ballad. It's perfect. Everything's in the right place for it to hit all the right spots in a very mechanical and effective way. It does its job very well, which is a gift and a curse.

But I think the real killer for this track, and I mean that in the old fashioned sense, not the, well, it's not even that modern, the use of killer as a positive word. It's not. It's not. Anyway. It's not. All killer, no filler, as the kid will say. I still say that. And, yeah. I'm going to make that a thing again. Yeah, it's Mark Owen.

He is not ready for a song like this at this point. This is a bad performance, I'm sorry. He gets much better and it's not just his lack of projection or lack of personality, it's the lack of any sort of binding element. It feels very tentative and now I do appreciate them wanting to give someone else in the group the spotlight But last week when we were covering Prey was it last week? No, it's really like my fire last two weeks ago. We had pray They've had a number one every week for the last three weeks on this show

Yeah, I'm getting confused But you mentioned and it felt a bit like the Gary Barlow show and having heard the albums here, there's a good reason for that actually. I don't hold that against him because he was the best singer and he was the songwriter. So it's perhaps fair that you give him the lion's share of the duty. I mean, it's just sort of Mark Irwin's pretty boy good looks that are selling this Maybe that was Gary's plan to some extent Maybe Gary thought let's give them a bit of a be careful what you wish for moment and they'll come crawling back to me

Maybe that was You know, he got to number one can't have been that bad and must have been a record company Edict rather than his I imagine I imagine, because all of it was the lead of the band. He was still very much, you know, under the thrall of what they had in mind, I'm sure. But it's also beyond the lack of character and the lack of precision, it's the fact that he just sounds too boyish to be doing a song like this. So it does sound weepy and ineffectual because it needs a bit more world weariness. There's got to be a bit more, you know,

emotional understanding of what's happening. I don't believe that Mark Owen understands what the fuck's going on in these lyrics, as sort of trite as they are. They kind of tell a story, at least, but he sings them like English is his second language and the lyrics have been translated from another language to begin with. It all sounds curiously clipped and sterile. It's a very alien love song in a way but that makes it sound quite cool and interesting like something David Bowie would do and not this really

really boring song It's just it's a bit sort of like Thy and All Richie's Hello and then it sort of floats about a bit. One thing I will give it credit for is that it tries to mix things up dynamically by bringing in the kind of obtrusive chugging guitars at the end, which don't really fit and they make Mark Owen sound even more sort of timid and out of his depth than he already does. But at least they're trying. And the song kind of falls to bits

in a bunch of sound effects, but that seems to be the production aesthetic? Question mark. That Take That Are Going For at the moment. But it is shit. I'm not gonna lie. I mean, maybe some, you know, adolescent girls got something out of this, but who else?

Mums. Mums. Oh, maybe if they want to protect the little boy because they certainly yeah I would I would be worried if they saw romance and virility in this because I sense neither from Mark Owen. It sounds like a little boy lost in an echo chamber and yeah that's that's that's my drubbing. I had the exact same thought of like, when I was talking about,

oh, I guess this satisfied a few kind of hormonal tweenagers at the time. And I thought, who else? Like literally who else? How did this get to number one? Because they can't be buying music in that much numbers, unless you're getting into this for a reason other than the music itself.

Like you're buying into the take that brand or you're buying into the, oh, look after those cute little boys. I want to keep them safe. You know, I guess there was a bit of that. I don't think this is like the worst thing that we've ever covered on the show. But I do think this is like one of the most inexplicable things of like I struggle to understand

how anyone could enjoy this. It is a flat line, isn't it? It's just a flat line. Yeah. It's like it's not like so bad that I have like a visceral anger one out of ten towards it but I do think it's one of those that's like I can't really imagine how anyone could disagree with me if I'm honest not to sound too cocky about it but it's like this is just like objectively awful. I guess it's not maybe not mums but more Brand new mums or mums to be my mom was obsessed with take that at this point So I get that but was she obsessed with this song maybe not this one

Particularly, although I would have to ask But I'd say she'd enjoy it, but I don't know if it's one of her favourite take that's, if you will. But this is her era of take that, you know, mine and Andy's era of take that is, she's less arsed about that really. Still enjoys it, but just not as bothered, ultimately. Babe, with every day that's gone past this week I've become less and less okay with this, to be honest. I'm not gonna pie-hole it, but if we'd have been doing this episode next week, I may have nudged it in.

Everyone listening to this will know I'm definitely not to take that cynic, given some of the scores we've handed out to them. And some of the scores I'm yet to hand out to them, actually. But oh no, this is not, this is not for me really. At first I was like, oh, something different from the boys here, you know, it's Mark rather than Gary, it's pretty unconventional for a, you know, a boy band song. Crafting this kind of moment to moment story, it ostensibly restrains itself enough not to be too overbearing, but that word ostensibly, that's crucial because I think this quietly becomes more of a cynical tearjerker than

I'd do anything for love. That Meat Loaf, like the second by second updates to the story, even at the sacrifice of rhyme and rhythm, Interesting. It's like every, it's like right in every step of his day and then turn into the camera going, does this make you feel sad? Well, I dialed the number. Does that make you feel sad? There was a dial tone. Does that make you feel sad? Someone answered, what about that? Do you feel sad? I waited. I wasn't sure if I was going to speak. Somebody spoke on the other end. And it's like, Oh my god. It's like Craig David. And I feel like I was a bit harsh on him. It is a little bit, yeah.

Looking back, because at least when he did that weirdly detailed minutiae kind of stuff that he used to do, at least it was entertaining. It was quite funny. With this, it's just like pulling teeth. Why do I not remember this song? But it just feels a little bit like if this song was called a day it would be like I open my eyes I Realized I was awake. I Wiped my eyes. I realized I was in my bedroom day It's back again yeah I really started to laugh I was walking along the street laughing at like every step updating me like all right Mark it's fine

I know where this is going the weird twist that involves a secret baby that's his it It's like someone playing this song on piano and keeps looking back at you to make sure you're crying in all the right spots. It's like it needs to keep checking whether it's latest turn or twist. Like, do you understand what's happened here? There's a baby and it's probably mine. I'm like, great.

And it's like, if you haven't caught up with it, Mark's gonna ham it up even further in the next line. I definitely appreciate though, that this is an unconventional approach for a boy band, take that are trying to expand what's possible within a boy band remit. We're still trying to work this stuff out in the early 90s, so fair enough, and I must remember that

but I did find myself getting increasingly annoyed by this not to the point where I would put it in the pie hole because I think that the the chuggy guitars that get included on the album version I like to consider that as the main version even though it's not the version that was put on the video, which is the return remix, which was the one that was released as the single, but again, we're in a really bad period in the 90s for like, several different versions of the same bloody song because of all the different formats that have got to be considered. But I do like the last minute of the album version, I suppose. It's an unexpected turn, this kind of like, quite sort of like alternative metal guitar stuff. And I guess that I don't really think Mark's ready yet, but his charm, his boyish charm is like, it's more like, oh and I feel bad.

It's like with Bart Simpson, I couldn't look him in the eyes and pie hole him. Who's gonna tell him? Yeah exactly. But I will say this week though that we have done one act this week who does theatre in pop very well and we've done an act who have tried to do a bit of theatrey pop here and have achieved the same financial result but with a much weaker product. But I don't hate it, I don't hate it, it's just, it's like they don't know it's shit and it's like, oh guys, and that's kind of where I am with it. Yeah, that's the thing. I will say this. I think Gary Barlow, you know, he loves, you know,

the big, you know, trickily 80s ballads and things, you know, the ones that you don't want to hear, not the good kind of power ballad style of things. I think he genuinely loves them and has studied them. And this is his version of that. And I think in form and theme, he's got it nailed. In terms of it being a selection of details as processed through an alien AI,

I think that is the problem. I mean, that's the thing with Gary Barlow. It's like he just doesn't do sexy. He's never been able to do sexy. And it's... And this kind of doesn't have the age for any sort of gravity or responsibility either. It could be funny if it weren't so dull. It's interesting, isn't it, that obviously this is all retrospect but it's weird that they don't yet realize that they have in the band with them a man who will become one of the UK's biggest sex symbols and they're just not using him at all. I had to remind myself about Robbie Williams

and here's a question that like you probably won't be ready for because it's easy to forget that he's even in this book Is this Robbie Williams's worst number one? Oh, I don't know radio is it's between this and radio for me. Yeah Yeah, I think it's this honestly. I do actually you might be right I think I do hate this slightly more than anything Robbie Williams has ever done solo There's a weird similarity between the two songs actually because Robbie Williams's radio is listen to the radio you might hear a song you know and it's like dial the you know call this number you may hear a voice on the other end and similar in that we said about that song at the time that he clearly didn't know that was bad he thought there was a profound idea in there, which there just wasn't.

Anyway, yeah. Alright then, so just the two songs to go back over this week. I'll go first. Meatloaf is just, just missing the vault for me. If only he didn't look at me so much. And babe, but I take that is just missing the pie hole partly because they look at me so much with this. So, yeah, make of that what you will. Ed, how are we feeling meatloaf and take that meatloaf

isn't a heavenly sourdough, but it is far from gluten free white bread. I had a perfectly enjoyable sandwich out of it, but that's the single version, you understand. I actually forgot that the album version, which I haven't heard since those distant childhood holidays, is about 12 hours long, and I'm not that inclined to go back to that, to be fair.

And, babe, I mean, it's pants, but I think it could have been saved from oblivion with a bit more time and a bit more seasoning. I would like to cram this in the pie hole with a fist of pure emotion, but I would also like to remove it again when it's a little more cooked. Meatloaf might be able to bring it back on one of his many lucrative round trips, perhaps. If it burns beyond redemption though, I really won't be too fussed because we have Hello by Lionel Richie at home.

Andy, I'd do anything for love but I won't do that and babe how we feeling? Well a few years back when we started the show Meat Loaf got in touch with me and said oh Andy would you put me in the vault sometime and I said gosh I'd do anything for you Meat Loaf but I won't do that and so it starts staying in the middle and funnily enough on a similar note Gary Barlow phoned me the other day and he said babe can you put babe in the vault? And I said, Babe, no, I'm putting it in the pie hole. Sorry, thanks Gary.

Oh, and pay your taxes. Bye Gary. So yes, not babe, more like PIBE. So yes. PIBE. All right then, so that is it for this week's episode It's almost it for 1993, but we've got one more stop a very blobby stop when we do the race for Christmas number one Next week. So again same as always

We'll do some roundup from America some TV stuff some toys and game stuff and we'll be covering the race for Christmas number one and also Well, I would say the bottom five and top ten of the year but I don't know if 15 number ones have come out of 1993 so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it and we will see you next time bye bye now But I'm never enough, I'm way overboard When you talk about me, you better have a good word I'll come face to face with Mrs. Loud Gonna get face to face with me baby

That's business loud