Forgotten Hit Singles You Love

[The Mumbler]

I Wanna Be a Winner by Brown Sauce

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

As Good As New by ABBA. Never considered up there with the Dancing Queens and Waterloos, but I think it's one of their better songs.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Regina by The Sugarcubes. Actually, it wasn't a hit, but fuck it. Nobody ever talks about this song any more - much better than Birthday, I reckon.

[DJ One Record]

White Town "Your Woman"
Bran Van 3000 "Drinkin' In LA"

Two of the most original top 10 hits in the last ten years I'd say.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Police Officer by Smiley Culture

The Show by Doug E Fresh

(If anybody can find an mp3 of those two on the net somehere, please please post a link here...)

[The Mumbler]

Lalla, I have The Show on an otherwise great Hip Hop Don't Stop compilation (released in 1998), but sadly the Michelle bit's gone.  For legal reasons, I suspect.

[The Mumbler]

Let It All Blow by The Dazz Band.  Fucking brilliant and almost never included on Motown compilations (though they break their necks to accommodate Boyz II arseing Men).

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Lalla, I have The Show on an otherwise great Hip Hop Don't Stop compilation (released in 1998), but sadly the Michelle bit's gone.  For legal reasons, I suspect.

Cut from the Smash Hits lyrics too!

Michelle bit aside, I can't actually play The Show in my head - it's completely gone. But I just remember loving it at the time.

There were loads of great one-off hip-hop singles in the mid-80s. Remember Just Buggin' by Whistle?

Smiley Culture seems to have been airbrushed out of pop history. Can I find a compilation CD or website anywhere? No I can't. He was huge though wasn't he? And people forget how extraordinary it was for a song like Police Officer to get into the charts. Even Richard Skinner on the Top 40 was bemused: 'How does he remember the words, that's what I want to know! Anyway, here's Foreigner...'

[The Mumbler]

The Whistle track's on the very same compilation as The Show!

*prepares compilation*

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Does it have Turn It Up by The Conway Brothers as well?

[The Mumbler]

Ah, sadly not.  All together now: "Young man, would you please turn that up?"

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Their follow-up 'Raise the Roof' was even more barking. Didn't chart though.

[The Mumbler]

It got to 76 in the charts, one place below where Guinness stops.

[The Mumbler]

What's The Colour of Money by Hollywood Beyond?.  Kicking myself for not buying this strange rickety-funk with concertina solo that was still catchy as hell.  The "band" was really just one bloke called Mark Morris, and big things were predicted for him, but after Money went top ten, he had a couple of very minor hits, then seemed to completely disappear.

[Ambient Sheep]

The Show by Doug E Fresh

(If anybody can find an mp3 of those two on the net somehere, please please post a link here...)

Oooh, good call!  I don't have an MP3...but I do have the original 7" (and I think 12") vinyl single of that, "Michelle" intact, but sadly no turntable set up at the moment.  But maybe one year.

It brings back memories of my first proper girlfriend, does that.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Chenko - Red Box

For America - Red Box

[another Mr. Lizard]

5.7.0.5  - City Boy

I mentioned this one at work on July 5th this year, after writing the date '5/7/05' on several letters/forms and finding the song had lodged itself in my head as a result. Nobody that I work with had ever heard of it, despite all of them being fairly expert on things musical.


As my contribution to this thread:

'Only You Can'  - Fox

[dot]

"I love your smile" by shanice, I really liked that. They played it on the radio the other week.

[Labian Quest]

5.7.0.5  - City Boy

I mentioned this one at work on July 5th this year, after writing the date '5/7/05' on several letters/forms and finding the song had lodged itself in my head as a result. Nobody that I work with had ever heard of it

"5..7..0..5
But there's no reply!"

[Neville Chamberlain]

The Mobiles - Drowning in Berlin

[TJ]

What's The Colour of Money by Hollywood Beyond?.  Kicking myself for not buying this strange rickety-funk with concertina solo that was still catchy as hell.  The "band" was really just one bloke called Mark Morris, and big things were predicted for him, but after Money went top ten, he had a couple of very minor hits, then seemed to completely disappear.

This was included on the Hits 5 compilation if you're looking for a cheaply and easily obtainable copy - I'd imagine the original Hollywood Beyond releases change hands for a fair whack now.

[TJ]

5.7.0.5  - City Boy

I mentioned this one at work on July 5th this year, after writing the date '5/7/05' on several letters/forms and finding the song had lodged itself in my head as a result. Nobody that I work with had ever heard of it, despite all of them being fairly expert on things musical.

And of course, the Peter Sutcliffe-alike Lol Mason of City Boy was later the driving force behind the even better Heartache Avenue by The Maisonettes (who of course included future comic actress Carla Mendonca).

[TJ]

Smiley Culture seems to have been airbrushed out of pop history. Can I find a compilation CD or website anywhere? No I can't. He was huge though wasn't he? And people forget how extraordinary it was for a song like Police Officer to get into the charts. Even Richard Skinner on the Top 40 was bemused: 'How does he remember the words, that's what I want to know! Anyway, here's Foreigner...'

"Smiley Culture used to be a big television lover, until certain things he discover"... despite quite liking Police Officer, Schooltime Chronicle and Cockney Translation (those were the other minor hits), thanks to Adam and Joe I can now never look at him in the same light again.

On a similar reggae-influenced mid-1980s 'tip', Just Don't Wanna Be Lonely by Freddie McGregor, Hello Sweetness by Tippa Irie, and Strollin' On by Maxi Priest.

A couple of other general nominations - Let My People Go-Go by The Rainmakers (whom I later realised looked unnervingly like the assembled cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway In America), and Love Is Contagious by Taja Sevelle.

Also, here's one that I never actually liked as such, but always enjoyed a chuckle at the ridiculousness of - The Rain by Oran 'Juice' Jones.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Not sure how 'forgotten' this is, but I absolutely love E=mc² by Big Audio Dynamite.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Tarzan Boy by Baltemora (sp?).

[TJ]

Not sure how 'forgotten' this is, but I absolutely love E=mc² by Big Audio Dynamite.

Oh, that's very forgotten.

But is the most forgotten hit single of all time Young Idea's version of With A Little Help From My Friends? I'd never even heard it until about five years ago, and even then I had to purposefully seek it out. It isn't that bad, to be fair.

[Derek Trucks]

Green Tamborine by The Lemon Pipers

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Apollo 9 by Adam Ant. His last brilliant single, and it would have made a great swansong. Unfortunately, he then did Vive le Rock...

[another Mr. Lizard]

On a similar reggae-influenced mid-1980s 'tip', Just Don't Wanna Be Lonely by Freddie McGregor, Hello Sweetness by Tippa Irie, and Strollin' On by Maxi Priest.

Not forgetting 'Clunk Click' by Laurel & Hardy...

[foxprorawks]

"The Lone Ranger" - Quantum Leap
"Don't Play Your Rock 'N' Roll To Me" - Smokie
"Airport" - The Motors