Lost In Music – 20 ‘forgotten’ pop classics

2013 was the year when Tegan & Sara’s pop gem, ‘Heartthrob’, struggled to pass the 10,000 UK sales mark (despite a discounted selling price, the girls in the country for tour dates & a single - ‘I Was A Fool’ - on heavy rotation at Radio 2) while Emeli Sande’s hit-filled, bland-fest, ‘Our Version Of Events’, breezed past 2 million UK sales - let’s take a look at 20 more ‘lost’ pop classics from the past 30 years...

1 – Holly Valance – State Of Mind – Nov 2003

 UK Chart position: No. 60 – 2 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 24,981

The 2002 debut album ‘Footprints’ was an instant success for the former ‘Neighbours’ actress.  Containing the number one single ‘Kiss Kiss’ (the saucy ‘peek-a-boo’ nudity of the promo video had  turned the song into a massive international hit in May of that year) and the number two follow-up ‘Down Boy’, the album debuted inside the UK Top 10 in October eventually selling over 160.000 copies in the UK. Keen to maintain momentum, the follow up was recorded within a year and was preceded by the favourably received title track, ‘State Of Mind’ (No.8 in November 2003). The album contained song-writing and production credits from Mark Taylor, who’s Metro Production team were riding high after their work with Cher (‘Believe’), Enrique (‘Hero’) and Kylie (‘On A Night Like This’), Rick Nowels (Belinda Carlisle, Kim Wilde), Steve Anderson (Brothers In Rhythm) and dance producer Stuart Crichton (Kylie, Sugababes). Compared with the sultry but ‘sunny’ Euro-pop of her debut, the sound was far more experimental and a considerably ‘darker’ mix of retro 80’s synth-pop and a more mainstream take on the emerging electro-clash sound that was delivering critical acclaim, but not Top 10 success, for the likes of Goldfrapp and Ladytron. Within one month Girls Aloud released a similarly ‘flavoured’ cover of The Pointer Sister’s ‘Jump’ (No.2 in November 2003), which would act as a sound template for the majority of their future output, reinvigorate their career and setting them on an unbroken run of 20 Top 10 singles and 5 Platinum selling albums.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 1.25%

2 – Siobhan Donaghy – Ghosts – May 2007

UK Chart position: No.92 – 1 week on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 8,851

The solo career of the former Sugababe had gotten off to a far from auspicious start. After jumping ship in 2000 after the release of debut album ‘One Touch’ (and setting in motion the ‘revolving door’ recruitment policy that would end with the eventual reformation of the original line-up as Mutya Keisha Siobhan in early 2013), Siobhan was signed as a solo artist and released ‘Revolution In Me’ on London Records in September 2003. The album peaked at No. 117 and she was subsequently dropped by the label. Donaghy spent the next couple of years writing, and eventually recording in a studio near Barneville-Carteret, France, with producer James Sanger. The songs were recorded independently and licensed to Parlaphone Records, who eventually issued the resulting album in June 2007 following the relative failure of the singles ‘Don’t Give It Up’ (No. 45 in April 2007) and ‘So You Say’ (No. 76 in June 2007). The album received predominantly positive reviews and stands as a heady mix of left-field pop – drawing comparison to its main influences such as Elizabeth Fraser / The Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush and Bjork - and the then fashionable laid-back dance grooves (akin to the likes of Morcheeba and Moloko).  Stand-out tracks include ‘So You Say’ which echoes the laid-back swagger of All Saint’s ‘Pure Shores’ and ‘Medevac’,  icy cool electronics mixed with soaring, ethereal vocals that bring to mind Florence Welsh, Kate Bush and Bjork’s ‘Big Time Sensuality’.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 0.44%

3 – Frazier Chorus – Sue – May 1989

UK Chart position: No .56 – 1 week on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 1,396 (Cherry Red re-issue)

Signed initially to the independent 4AD label (home to Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance and The Pixies) in 1987, the Brighton four-piece would eventually release their debut album on Virgin Records in the spring of 1989. The album was preceded by two quirky, but radio friendly slices of pop perfection, ‘Dream Kitchen’ and ‘Typical’, neither of which broke the UK Top 50 Singles Chart, but which effectively epitomise their lyrical humour and melancholia, coupled with sing-a-long melodies and ‘arty’ instrumentation (there were relatively few singles that year that contained an oboe solo in the middle of the track).  The songs are a curious mix of Morrissey at his most lyrically whimsical (‘Hairdresser On Fire’, ‘Cemetery Gates’) and Pet Shop Boys at their Alan Bennett-esque, sardonic best (‘Rent’, ‘Being Boring’), existing as the ‘missing link’ that helped turn The Housmartins into The Beautiful South (who were, at the time ‘Sue’ was released, enjoying the first of their, subsequent seven, Top 5 albums).

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 0.075%

4 - Rachel Stevens – Come & Get It – Oct 2006

UK Chart position: No.28 – 4 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 27,029

Following on from a hugely successful career with S Club 7 (11 consecutive Top 5 singles and 4 Top 20 albums), Rachel Stevens was the only member of the group to sign a solo deal with the groups label, Polydor Records. Presumably no-one from the production team had actually told the label that is was Jo O’Meara’s vocals which had been the most prominent voice on the majority of the group’s output!  Stevens’ solo career got off to a decent start with a No.2 single (‘Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex’) and a Top 10 album (‘Funky Dory’), but things started to lose focus after the title track follow-up single failed to make the Top 20. Over the next twelve months two further Top 3 singles were released (and subsequently stripped onto the debut album) before work on the follow-up proper began in earnest. Tracks were recorded with Xenomania (Girls Aloud), Richard X (Liberty X, Will Young), Pascal Gabriel (Erasure, S-Express) and Jewels & Stone (5ive, Hear’say, S Club 7). The first two singles (‘Negotiate With Love’ and ‘So Good’) both reached No.10 in the UK during the spring / summer of 2005, but the album release date kept slipping on the Polydor release schedule, until it was finally released in October (following the single ‘I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)’ peaking at No. 12 on the UK single chart) with limited fanfare (and a launch event at the Walthamstow Dog Racing Track!!!!!). Considering the track records of the writers and producers involved it’s hard to see why the album failed to ignite in a fairly desolate pop market. All three singles proper (as well as the ‘stripped on’ ‘Some Girls) are perfect examples of the pop-dance, electro-clash sound that was proving so successful for Girls Aloud and album cuts such as the Cure sampling ‘It’s All About Me’, ‘Crazy Boy’ & ‘I Will Be There’ are as good as anything released by Kylie in the last 10 years.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 1.35%

5 – Nicola Roberts – Cinderellas Eyes – Oct 2011

UK Chart position: No. 17 – 3 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 19,782

At some point in the extended Girls Aloud hiatus that would last from 2009 until 2012, Nichola Roberts realised that the shoes and handbags weren’t going to pay for themselves and she needed to pull her finger out and start a solo career.  Deciding to take a more experimental approach and avoid the assembly line writing / production style employed by Girls Aloud’s key musical collaborators, Xenomania, she began writing and recording in exploratory studio sessions with producers such as Dragonette (who had just scored an international hit with Martin Solveig on ‘Hello’ , Diplo (M.I.A. , Beyonce)  and Joseph Mount (Metronomy, Kate Nash). Critically acclaimed and lauded in the UK music press, the resulting album is contemporary sounding and unexpectedly lyrically confessional.  In equal parts ambitiously experimental and palatably commercial. Prior to release, producer Diplo removed samples from lead single ‘Beat Of My Drum’ to use in (presumably better paying client) Beyonce’s ‘Run The World (Girls)’, her subsequent album ‘4’ went on to sell over 600,000 copies in the UK.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 0.95%

6 - Richard X – Richard X Presents His X Factor Volume 1 – Sep 2003

UK Chart position: No.31 – 4 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 23,246

Starting out as an underground bootleg DJ /producer, Richard Philips, gained notoriety under the pseudonym Girls On Top, creating genre defining mash-up  "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", which was a mash-up of  Adina Howard’s ‘Freak Like Me’ and Tubeway Army’s’ ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric’. Having achieved massive commercial success with the Sugababes re-recording of this track, now just called ‘Freak  Like Me’,  Virgin Records signed Richard X as an artist and he started work on his ambitious debut album. Featuring several collaborating guest vocalists, cover versions, mash-ups and original material, the album is hard to define or categorise. Pure pop collaborations with Liberty X and Kelis delivered two Top 10 singles (‘Being Somebody’ a mash-up of The Human League’s ‘Being Boiled’ and Rufus & Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’ and ‘Finest Dreams’ a mix of The S.O.S. Band’s ‘The Finest’ and The Human League’s ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’) and album tracks feature a diverse list of guest vocalists including Pulp front-man, Jarvis Cocker, ‘Popstars – The Rivals’ shock evictee, Javine, Soul II Soul legend, Caron Wheeler and ultra-hip DJ (soon to be pop artist), Annie.  Overall it’s a giddy rollercoaster ride of disco-ball illuminated electro-pop-dance, offering a sneaky glimpse into the near future of pop music.

 Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 1.15%

7 – Saint Etienne – Words & Music By Saint Etienne – Sep 2012

UK Chart position: No 26 – 4 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 13,112

In late 2012 Saint Etienne were at a bit of a crossroads. The bands last few collections of new material had seem them slowly slipping from chart mainstays to cult status artists with an extremely loyal fan-base, while suffering the sales dip that comes with such a slide. Universal Records were marking the end of an on-going re-issue programme, which had seen the band heavily involved in the compiling and overseeing of deluxe double CD editions of their back catalogue, with the release of the ‘Casino Classics’ box-set. This 4 CD collection of the bands remixes and re-working is a brilliant reminder of their place in the history of dance culture.  All this looking back seems to have had an effect on the overall feel of their next project. ‘Words & Music By Saint Etienne’ is practically a concept album charting and celebrating the bands enduring love of all things pop, club culture and the nostalgia evoked by music at its most powerful. ‘I’ve Got Your Music’ authentically recreates and celebrates the relentless positivity of the Stock Aiken Waterman Hit Factory production-line at its peak, the anticipation and excitement of early live experiences are explored in ‘Tonight’ and ‘DJ’ perfectly captures the exhilaration and escapism of staying out late, clubbing and worshiping at the alter of The Superstar DJ.  The accompanying live shows to support the album saw the band suitably revitalised and euphoric.

By far their most complete and accomplished collection in over a decade.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 0.65%

8 – Robyn – Body Talk – Jun 2010 / Sep 2010

Part  1 - UK Chart position: No 47 – 4 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 24,525

Part  2 - UK Chart position: No 38 – 2 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 16,256

Part  3 - UK Chart position: No 168 – 2 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 20,066

Robin Miriam Carlsson had found success as a teenager, signing to RCA Records at sixteen and working with in-demand pop producer Max Martin, on UK breakthrough hit ‘Show Me Love’ (No. 8 in 1998). Within a year, Martin would turn Britney Spears into an internationally successful pop icon with ‘Baby...One More Time’. Robyn was ambitious but determined not to be manipulated by her record company and moulded into the manufactured Pop Princess that was soon to be Spears’ fate.  Thus began a half decade long journey of experimentation and& the eventual setting-up of her label, Konichiwa Records. In July 2007 the single ‘With Every Heartbeat’ hit No.1 in the UK and the subsequent self-titled album reached No.11.  The album was a moderate success, but never managed to fully capitalise on the success of the number one single. It was decided that her next project needed to reflect the changes in the public’s purchasing habits, embracing the cherry picking of tracks rather than the downloading of complete albums. The ‘Body Talk’ album would be  staggered, with two ‘bite-sized’ mini-albums and a third ‘full’ album acting as round-up of the previous two albums with a few new tracks, released between June and September 2010. Of all the titles on this list, the lack of mainstream commercial success for the ‘Body Talk’ albums is the most baffling. With an air of cool credibility, key tracks such as ‘Dancing On My Own’, ‘Indestructible’ and ‘Hang With Me’ pre-date (or plough a similar furrow to) the likes of Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’, Pink’s ‘Raise Your Glass’ or Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) all of which have  enjoyed massive international success.

All three albums Sales combined compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 3.0%

9 – Natalie Imbruglia – Come To Life – No official UK Release

UK Chart position: Did not place on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 2,362

Former soap actress Natalie Imbruglia built a hugely prosperous pop career spanning 10 years largely due to the all encompassing success of her debut single ‘Torn’ and its parent album ‘Left Of The Middle’. By 2006 Imbruglia had all but abandoned her music career to concentrate on acting. But when her Oscar for ‘Johnny English’ failed to materialise, a proposed comeback album was conceived during the promotion of the ‘Glorious: Greatest Hits’ collection. Tracks recorded over a three year period, included collaborations with Chris Martin, Coldplay and Brian Eno. The resulting album showcases a more sophisticated song-writing style within many varied sonic landscapes – including driving beats and dark atmospherics. In the UK, Imbruglia’s new label Island Records promoted ‘Want’ as the first single but when the single failed to penetrate the Top 100 singles chart the album release was cancelled. Subsequent attempts to licence the album to other UK labels were fruitless as negotiations proved ‘difficult’ and the album was never given an official UK release.

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 0.12%

10 – Roisin Murphy – Overpowered – Oct 2007

UK Chart position: No.20 – 10 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 62,954

As lead singer with under-appreciated dance/electro/trip-hop duo, Moloko, Murphy had tasted internationally success with ‘Sing It Back’ (No.4 in September 1999) and the subsequent ‘Things To Make & Do’ album (No. 3 in April 2000). The groups label had allowed her to take the time she needed to produce a ‘whenever it’s ready’ solo album, before asking her to re-consider the direction she was moving in and produce something a little more ‘radio friendly’ – she refused. ‘Ruby Blue’ was released in June 2005 to mostly positive reviews, but failed to find a wide audience. When she signed to EMI in May 2006 she stated that she intended to record a much more commercially accessible pop album with a strong disco flavour. While it’s hardly Sister Sledge’s ‘We Are Family’, it’s pretty much ‘mission accomplished’. Tracks such as ‘You Know Me Better’ and ‘Movie Star’ prowl the sleazy underground clubs of 1970’s San Francisco, creating a throbbing electro-pulse soundtrack, nodding to Giorgio Moroder’s Kraftwerk inspired euro-disco, evoking Grace Jones’ post Studio 54, performance artist, cultish sophistication and adding sly winks to Sylvester and Cerrone’s campy,  flamboyant, chemically enhanced, gay abandon.  Only one single managed to break the UK Top 40 singles chart (‘Let Me Know’ No. 28). This album is by far the biggest seller on my list...but still only manages the following rating on the ‘Emeli Sande Scale’:

Sales compared to Emeli Sande’s ‘Our Version Of Events – 3.1%

See also:

11 – Win – Uh Tears Baby – Apr 1987

UK Chart position: No 51 – 1 week on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: unknown

Rising from the ashes of Scottish cult art-rockers, The Fire Engines (no pun intended), Win grabbed the attention of corporate sponsors (a massively influential McEwan’s Lager commercial featured their ‘nearest hit’ track ‘You’ve Got The Power’) but found little commercial success. The dizzying mix of electronic sequencing, glam beats and crushing power chords, layered with lyrics that cast a satirical and often humorous eye on popular culture and early ‘80’s politics, contained in such songs as ‘Un-American Broadcasting’ and ‘Shampoo Tears’, pre-date the likes of Jesus Jones and Pop Will Eat Itself who achieved widespread acclaim and fairly decent sales by the end of the same decade.

12 – Ladyhawke – Anxiety – Jun 2012

UK Chart position: No 36 – 2 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 10,987

New Zealand born ‘Pip’ Brown achieved a degree of commercial success with her eponymous debut album in 2008, following critical acclaim for her ‘Paris Is Burning’ and ‘My Delirium’ tracks. Her follow-up should have seen her move onto the next level. Record company wrangles saw the album’s released pushed back from the October 2011 to June 2012 and with no hit singles, ‘Anxiety’ came and went within a fortnight.

  

13 – Tracie – Far From The Loving Kind – Jun 1984

UK Chart position: No 64 (original release) – 1 week on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 1,182 (Cherry Red re-issue)

Discovered when she answered an ad in Smash Hits placed by Paul Weller during a search to find artists for his fledgling Respond label, Tracie went on to sing backing vocals on both the last single by The Jam (‘Beat Surrender’) and the first by The Style Council (‘Speak Like A Child’) before launching her own career with ‘The House That Jack Built’ – a No.9 hit in 1983 written by her Respond label mates, Scottish indie poppers, The Questions. Despite production and song-writing assistance from Weller and Elvis Costello, none of the other singles from her debut album made the Top 20 and the album was released with little fanfare.

14 – Shaznay Lewis – Open – Jul 2004

UK Chart position: No 22 – 6 weeks on UK album chart – cumulative UK sales: 31,552

After co-writing some of All Saints biggest hits (including the number one singles ‘Never Ever’ and ‘Pure Shores’), Lewis looked set for solo stardom when the band split under a cloud of money disputes and a fight over who would wear a certain jacket during a photo-shoot...good to see that it wasn’t anything trivial then girls! Her first single, ‘Never Felt Like This Before’ peaked at No.9, but the album failed to make the Top 20 and a follow-up single stalled outside the Top 40 singles chart.

15 – Sia – Some People... -

UK Chart position: 106 – 5 weeks on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 30,257

Before she became the number one songwriter on everyone’s speed dial, Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was a struggling singer-songwriter who had been chipping away at the music industry for more than a decade. While a fluke Top 10 single (‘Taken For Granted’) in 2000 has yet to be matched as a solo performer, she has written massive hit songs for Rihanna (‘Diamonds’), Lea Michelle (‘Cannonball’), Ne-Yo (‘Let Me Love You’) and Celine Dion (‘Love Me Back To Life’) as well as collaborating with Flo Rida (‘Wild Ones’) and David Guetta (‘She Wolf’ and the No.1 single ‘Titanium’).

16 – The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes – Jul 2006

UK Chart position: No 41 – 6 weeks on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 31,562

Formed as ‘an experiment in manufactured pop’ by indie singer-songwriter Robert Barry (Monster Bobby) to showcase an updated twist on the Phil Spector girl-group wall-of-sound, the girl’s line-up employed a revolving door policy second only to The Sugababes. A couple of extremely catchy singles (‘Pull Shapes’, ‘You’re Kisses Are Wasted On Me’) saw them crack the UK Top 40, but there was no momentum into the album release and after a respectable six week chart run the band failed to trouble the UK chart compilers again.

17 – Tracey Thorn – Out Of the Woods – Mar 2007

UK Chart position: No 38 –4 weeks on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 25,800

As one half of Everything But The Girl, Thorn had her fair share of success and world-wide acclaim, but her post-EBTG solo efforts have had been largely ignored by the band’s broader audience. Produced by dance producer and remixer Ewan Pearson, the album mutated from (as Thorn herself described it) a “quick little record, a little bit acoustic, a little bit dance” into a full-on, pop masterpiece.

18 – Paul Haig – Rhythm of Life – Oct 1983

UK Chart position: No 82 – 2 weeks on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: unknown

After his stint as lead singer with Scottish Indie darlings Josef K, this was Haig’s debut solo album and hopes were high. Signed as a solo artist to Island records and packed off to New York with Alex Sadkin (fresh from his success producing Grace Jones, The Thompson Twins and Duran Duran) the resulting album is an early ‘80’s classic. Unfortunately reviews pitched Haig as falling catastrophically between two stools – the slick dance/pop sound was considered too commercial to be taken seriously by his Josef K fan base and slightly too cutting edge and ahead of it’s time for the pure pop, New Romantic crowd.

19 – Annie – Don’t Stop

UK Chart position: 126 – 1 week on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 4,069

Similar to Ladyhawke, Annie had become an indie/pop/dance darling after making the largely unprecedented move from DJ to recording artist with her ‘Anniemal’ debut in 2004 – including underground smash, ‘Chewing Gum’.  Now signed to Island Records, the second album was recorded, including collaborations with man-of-the-moment Richard X, Girls Aloud hitmakers Xenomania and future Adele producer Paul Epworth. Unfortunately the label didn’t like what they heard and declined to release the album. It was eventually issued on an independent label over a year later.

20 – Gossip – A Joyful Noise – May 2012

UK Chart position: No 47– 2 weeks on UK Album Chart – cumulative UK sales: 12,541

Sony Music had signed Beth Ditto and her band after their breakthrough hit ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ only for the next album, ‘Music For Men’, to land with a fairly heavy thud in 2009 - everywhere except Germany that is – the first single release, ‘Heavy Cross’, becoming one of the biggest selling songs in German history, enjoying a record breaking 82 weeks in the Top 100 Singles Chart.  Their success on mainland Europe guaranteed them another bite of the cherry and the next album would see them collaborate with Xenomania and saw them cross the line into pure pop. No-one in the UK seemed to care! The album failed to break the UK Top 40 and none of the singles even charted. The album was however a substantial hit abroad, hitting the Top 5 in Austria, France and Germany, while going all the way to No.1 in Switzerland.