I was a bit too young for the scene the first time round...

...so thought I'd do a bit of Wiki research into what sounds from the underground reached the mainstream airwaves (and therefore my 11/12 year old ears) in 1991:
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Firstly I have to confess to being partially to blame for The Simpsons Do the Bartman reaching no.1 for three weeks early that year; it was the first bit of music I bought for myself - on cassette. We've never had Sky and at that point I'd never even seen an episode of The Simpsons! But I can remember my old middle school mate raving about them from the late 80s onwards and used to love playing the arcade game.

The number one that preceded it for a fortnight was at least The KLF's 3am Eternal and I did at least love that right off via the vids on TCS, along with no.2s Justified & Ancient and Last Train to Transcentral. The album The White Room made no.3, though I had to make do with the singles appearing on the NOW! albums instead.

In later years I'd pick up Queen's last studio album, Innuendo, (a no.1 plus the title track & These Are the Days of Our Lives both being no.1 singles) before Freddie died late that year. At the time we had a taped copy of Greatest Hits II off Mum's old school mate who was a massive Queen fan (so they played a huge part of my 80s car journeys etc). Bohemian Rhapsody was also re-released off the back of Wayne's World and as a double-A with TAtDoOL.

I can remember Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It for You dominating the charts throughout my summer holidays and into the next school term right up til October half term, by which time everyone was thoroughly sick of it, though I was into the Robin Hood film at the time, but even so: SIXTEEN bloody weeks of that soppy dirge!

I can remember being handed some Pepsi endorsed promo cassette at Pleasurewood Hills with one or two tracks from MJ's Dangerous which hit no.1 late that year, but don't think it had Black or White on it which was the no.1 single at that time.

2 Unlimited had a no.2 with Get Ready for This which I can't recall, but then they were only ever No, No, No-ing, really, weren't they?

Other cheesy dance numbers included:
Now That We Found Love by Heavy D & the Boyz (no.2)
& -shudders-
Wiggle It by 2 in a Room (no.3)

Whereas there was:
(I Wanna Give You) Devotion - Nomad featuring MC Mikee Freedom (no.2)
&
The Prodigy's Charly at no.3 of course
&
You Got the Love (Erens Bootleg Mix) - The Source featuring Candi Staton (no.4)
& on a more chill note:
Set Adrift on Memory Bliss - PM Dawn (no.3)

And more mainstream/poppy dance numbers:
Love to Hate You - Erasure (no.4)
&
Crazy - Seal (no.2)
Move Any Mountain - The Shamen (no.4)
&
Everybody's Free (To Feel Good) - Rozalla (no.6)

And to end on a funky tip, I was loving:
Gett Off - Prince and the New Power Generation (no.4, off Diamonds and Pearls, itself a no.2)

...Actually, where there's funk, there's also soul:
with The Commitments OST a no.4, an album I picked up in later years and a film I loved at the time & books (the Barry Town trilogy that it comes from) and author (Roddy Doyle) I've read & loved since too.

...Right, I'm getting away from this meandering musical musing...

Posted By: DJ Ginga on March 12th 2019 at 04:45:51

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