Haddaway. WHY?

[lebowskibukowski]

Anybody on here know much about the inner workings of radio stations and playlists?
Because I get a lift into work most mornings, I am forced to suffer the delights of Heart Sussex on the journey in. (If you are not familiar with this franchise, it features Jack The Lad, an appallingly unfunny cock-er-nee sparrer, a human graveyard of wit).
The playlist seems to be new pop supplemented by 90's chart hits. What they do, however, is to play Haddaway's "What Is Love?" at least three times a week.
Why?
It wasn't the biggest hit at the time was it? I don't think that it is now remembered as a classic of the era?
Will the station have a deal with a record company where it has to play specific songs from a back catalogue? Does Haddaway's mum work at the station in some important role? Is it solely bantz? Is he now an actor in a successful Netflix drama/film so it gets airplay for that reason, a new "She's Like The Wind"? Or does everyone now love Haddaway?
Can anyone fill me in because i'm completely perplexed...

[greenman]

Although it(the sketch) wasn't much known at the time the reflected meme of its use on that Saturday Night Live sketch with Jim Carry and Will Farrell seems to have helped.

[Sin Agog]

The smegging cleaners at Brighton Marina where I live play that smegging station and that smegging song all the sm--- bleeding time.  And it's because of their total ignorance of Cardiacs that they shall ever remain cleaners.

[boki]

It's a solid banger.

Hope this helps.

[Captain Z]

I don't think that it is now remembered as a classic of the era?

I think it is. I'm not saying it was one of the best, but if you asked the average person to name ten 90s dance classics I'm sure this would be in their list.

[buzby]

In the UK, radio stations pay royalties to the copyright holders thorugh their annual PRS licence and rolyatly fees (in the US, the statios deal directly with a small number of large music catalogue companies), so in theory they shouldn't give preferential airplay to certain artists and lebels. However, there are no doubt deals doen behind the scenes between the big radio corportations and the publishers/rights holders.

In the instance of Haddaway, his back catalogue has ended up with BMG after their aquisition of the Logic Records label (who licenced his recordings from the producer's own label Coconut) in 1996. BMG also bought out Chrysalis' publishing arm from EMI in 2010, and Heart's parent company Global Radio was built on the aquisition of Chrysalis' radio division (which owned Heart, Galaxy, LBC and The Arrow) form EMI in 2007. There's certainly potential there for a bit of 'cooperation' between Global and BMG.

[Norton Canes]

Haddawhy. WAY?

[Captain Z]

WHY IS LOVE

[lebowskibukowski]

In the UK, radio stations pay royalties to the copyright holders thorugh their annual PRS licence and rolyatly fees (in the US, the statios deal directly with a small number of large music catalogue companies), so in theory they shouldn't give preferential airplay to certain artists and lebels. However, there are no doubt deals doen behind the scenes between the big radio corportations and the publishers/rights holders.

In the instance of Haddaway, his back catalogue has ended up with BMG after their aquisition of the Logic Records label (who licenced his recordings from the producer's own label Coconut) in 1996. BMG also bought out Chrysalis' publishing arm from EMI in 2010, and Heart's parent company Global Radio was built on the aquisition of Chrysalis' radio division (which owned Heart, Galaxy, LBC and The Arrow) form EMI in 2007. There's certainly potential there for a bit of 'cooperation' between Global and BMG.

Many thanks for this. Maybe this explains the obsession with Snap's 'The Power', also...

[Billy]

Certain songs have just become the "go to" song to represent an entire decade or musical genre in question, like Toto - Africa for the early 80s and Haddaway for the early 90s. Internet memes help.

What mystifies me is how some songs which were big US hits but comparative flops in the UK have somehow become retrospectively huge here - absolutely everyone now seems to know Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back ("I like big butts and I cannot lie!") even though I don't think it even charted here at the time. Presumably the advent of Youtube and people searching for "1990s songs" and that being near the top of the list helped.

[the]

Vot is point vot is love

[Vodka Margarine]

If we're talking Heart Sussex, it would appear they've also done some shady deals with The Goo Goo Dolls, DeBarge, Boy Meets Girl, Usher, Corona, Starship, Toni Braxton, DJ Sammy, Pras Michel, Strike, CeCe Peniston and Snap! must have seized the managing director's entire hard drive.

[Funcrusher]

Poor old Howard Jones, the pioneer of this particular philosophical enquiry, then Haddaway steals all the glory.

[BlodwynPig]

In the UK, radio stations pay royalties to the copyright holders thorugh their annual PRS licence and rolyatly fees (in the US, the statios deal directly with a small number of large music catalogue companies), so in theory they shouldn't give preferential airplay to certain artists and lebels. However, there are no doubt deals doen behind the scenes between the big radio corportations and the publishers/rights holders.

In the instance of Haddaway, his back catalogue has ended up with BMG after their aquisition of the Logic Records label (who licenced his recordings from the producer's own label Coconut) in 1996. BMG also bought out Chrysalis' publishing arm from EMI in 2010, and Heart's parent company Global Radio was built on the aquisition of Chrysalis' radio division (which owned Heart, Galaxy, LBC and The Arrow) form EMI in 2007. There's certainly potential there for a bit of 'cooperation' between Global and BMG.

I knew you posted this before I looked at the username. Encylopaedo

[Funcrusher]

Buzby is a force of nature and a great bunch of lads.

[Kane Jones]

Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back ("I like big butts and I cannot lie!") even though I don't think it even charted here at the time.

This song featured prominently on an episode of Coffee Friends, so that may have helped increase its popularity over here.

[the]

Coffee Friends

Give up.

It was also referenced in Futurama and other 90s stuff (like Beavis & Butt-Head). It did have a fair bit of notoriety when current, just less so on this side of the pond. That said, I remember seeing an item on something like The Word about Put 'Em On The Glass.

Richard Cheese's cover also.

[purlieu]

This has been a bit of a 'classic' in a sort of 'remember that song, eh?' kind of way for as long as I remember. Liked passionately, ironically, and everywhere in between. I'm surprised it isn't played more often than three times a week to be honest.

[Kane Jones]

Give up.

To be fair, it's the first time I've ever done that. And the last now.

[buzby]

If we're talking Heart Sussex, it would appear they've also done some shady deals with The Goo Goo Dolls, DeBarge, Boy Meets Girl, Usher, Corona, Starship, Toni Braxton, DJ Sammy, Pras Michel, Strike, CeCe Peniston and Snap!

Well....
The Goo Goo Dolls = BMG (through aquisition of Virgin)
DeBarge = BMG
Boy Meets Girl = BMG
Usher = BMG (through aquisition of Minder Music)
Corona = joint ownership between BMG and Warner/Chappell
Starship = BMG (though aquisition of RCA)
Toni Braxton - BMG
DJ Sammy - if it's Why? then it's BMG as they publish Annie Lennox
Pras Michel = BMG
Snap! = BMG (through ownership of Ariola)

What mystifies me is how some songs which were big US hits but comparative flops in the UK have somehow become retrospectively huge here - absolutely everyone now seems to know Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back ("I like big butts and I cannot lie!") even though I don't think it even charted here at the time. Presumably the advent of Youtube and people searching for "1990s songs" and that being near the top of the list helped.

In the case of Baby's Got Back, it got to no. 56 here. However, as mentioned by other posters it has been referenced in many US TV shows that have been shown here, and more recently was heavily sampled and the lyrics quoted on Nicki Minaj's Anaconda which got to No. 3 in 2014.

[Icehaven]

What mystifies me is how some songs which were big US hits but comparative flops in the UK have somehow become retrospectively huge here - absolutely everyone now seems to know Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back ("I like big butts and I cannot lie!") even though I don't think it even charted here at the time. Presumably the advent of Youtube and people searching for "1990s songs" and that being near the top of the list helped.

I'm in the UK and used to watch channels like VH1 and MTV2 in the mid-late 90s and it was always turning up on 90s classic hour, one-hit-wonder hour, novelty record hour, non-gangster-rap-like-De-La-Soul-etc. hour (OK I made the last one up but you get the picture.)

[Spiteface]

I liked it then, I like it now.

Fight me.

[Dr Rock]

You've already lost.

[Gulftastic]

What is love?

Hale & Pace can help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY_-1fkCW4I

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

As a worker of night shifts I used to have to contend with a Mellow Magic listener who aggressively policed which station was tuned into (this was in a work van and he was in charge of our team). After weeks on end of hearing "Say You, Say Me" and Phil Collins' version of "Against All Odds" played on rotation every 3 hours you soon become murderous.

[Rolf Lundgren]

'What is Love' was a massive song here too. One of the great Europop triumvirate of 1993 alongside 'Rhythm of the Night' and 'Mr Vain'.

If we're talking Heart Sussex, it would appear they've also done some shady deals with The Goo Goo Dolls, DeBarge, Boy Meets Girl, Usher, Corona, Starship, Toni Braxton, DJ Sammy, Pras Michel, Strike, CeCe Peniston and Snap! must have seized the managing director's entire hard drive.

My local radio station which has numerous trails bragging about how you never know what they're going to play then inevitably plays one of:

Rock the Casbah by The Clash
Disappear by INXS
Real Wild Child by Iggy Pop
Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds
And She Was by Talking Heads

In fact I heard 'And She Was' on Absolute Radio this afternoon. It's a great song but an obscure one to feature so heavily nowadays unless it's on a soundtrack I'm not aware of.

[Kane Jones]

And She Was featured on Look Who's Talking, Bewitched and Storks.

[Rolf Lundgren]

And She Was featured on Look Who's Talking, Bewitched and Storks.

Unless any of those have had a major resurgence lately I'm still stumped.

[gmoney]

WHAT IS POINT? BABY DON'T HURT ME

[Glebe]