REWIND: Gene - 'Haunted By You'

Every week on my other music site RW/FF, I take a look back at the songs entering the UK singles chart 20 years ago in 1995. A few weeks ago (in an article you an find HERE) I looked back at the chart from March 5 1995, and picked a golden great from the Britpop scene as my favourite entry of the week, the number 32 'Haunted By You', from the marvellous Gene. Often dismissed as Smiths wannabes, the more attentive always knew that there was a lot more to them than that, although 'Haunted By You' does remind me of a more sentimental 'What Difference Does It Make'. Gene went on to release four studio albums before eventually disbanding in 2004. Those albums were all reissued last year with lots of bonus material, and a full review of the whole collection can be found HERE. Meanwhile, frontman Martin Rossiter released his long awaited debut solo album 'The Defenestation Of St Martin' in 2012, which turned out to be a wonderful record. More about that HERE.

REWIND: Elastica - 'Blue'

Today it's 20 years since Elastica's self titled debut album was released on February 14, 1995. Led by the Queen of Britpop Justine Frischmann, this was perhaps the most spiky and post-punkish of all the records associated with Britpop. It was also the fastest selling UK debut album of the 90s.

After the success of this album turned them into one of the coolest things around, they ended up becoming addicted to heroin, taking 5 years to make a bad follow-up album, and then splitting up. 

It's unlikely that we'll ever see this lot reform, but what a superb debut album. From it here's the terrific 'Blue'.

REWIND: Radiohead - 'High And Dry'

It's that time where every week I pick my favourite song from those that entered the UK singles chart 20 years ago in 1995. This week's chart is from March 11 1995 and can be seen in full HERE. Every week a Twitter account called @ThisIsMyJam95 invites followers to pick their favourite new entry of the week, and I have decided to take it a step further by listening to ALL of the new entries before picking the best of the bunch.

Although it features some nice trumpets, I can't say I'm that keen on 'Close To You', the number 38 from The Brand New Heavies, while the number 37 entry credited to MC Spy D And Friends turns out to be the work of Brian May. And since 'The Amazing Spiderman' is terrible, it's no surprise. Although I loved some of their work, The Cranberries' number 35 'I Can't Be With You' firmly establishes Delores O Riordan's voice as an acquired taste, and lacks the appeal of their other singles. As for Aaliyah's number 32 'Age Ain't Nothing But A Number', I don't like this bland style of RnB and I don't care much for the song either. I wasn't aware of the BBC comedy series The Glam Metal Detectives, but I remember the number 29 hit that it spawned, 'Everybody Up!', which sounds worse now than it did then. Sophie B Hawkins scores a number 24 entry with the nauseatingly lightweight 'As I Lay Me Down', while Des'Ree's notoriously dull 'You Gotta Be' gets a re-release and enters at number 19.

Sparks deliver an infectious helping of high energy, euro-flavoured melodrama with the brilliant 'When I Kiss You I Hear Charlie Parker Playing', which comes in at 36, Rockford Files and the excellent house floorfiller 'You Sexy Dancer' enter at 34, while the Hardfloor mix of Mory Kante's 1987 gem 'Yeke Yeke' comes in at number 25.

Dodgy's wonderful 'Making the Most Of' was re-recorded for a single release, which reached number 22. The guitar solo is excellent, and Britpop era brass combo The Kick Horns were more prominent on the song, but the verses just don't sound right compared to the original from the 'Homegrown' album. Faith No More's rocking 'Digging The Grave' comes in at 16, but it's three 90s indie classics that provide the three highest new entries this week, all fine songs that have gone on to stand the test of time. At number 11,  the beautiful 'Ten Storey Love Song' was the second single from the second Stone Roses album 'The Second Coming', and the B-sides 'Moses' and 'Ride On' were the last new songs that the band released. At number 9, the sound of Summer 95 arrives early with 'Wake Up Boo', which gives the Boo Radleys the highest new entry. It's a shame none of their other (and better) songs made it as high.

But my pick of the week goes to the number 17 entry, Radiohead's classic 'High And Dry', one of the band's most infectious and anthemic songs, and one that still works magic 20 years later. 'High And Dry' was taken from their magnificent second album 'The Bends'. According to Wikipedia: ""High And Dry" was recorded during the Pablo Honey sessions but was dismissed by the band, who thought that it sounded like a Rod Stewart song(!). However, during the sessions for The Bends it was rediscovered and remastered, as it was felt that it worked well with the rest of the album's content. The version that appears on the album is the original demo; it was never re-recorded. The song is widely regarded as Radiohead's most accessible pop hit, and was a live favorite, though it has not been performed in almost two decades. In a 2007 interview with Pitchfork Media, Thom Yorke stated that he did not like the song, saying "It's not bad... it's very bad". He also stated that he was pressured into including the song on The Bends."

Unbelievably, 'The Bends' is exactly 20 years old today (February 13). A powerful and dynamic record that sounds just as brilliant now as it did when I first heard it two decades ago. It sounds absolutely timeless.

Meanwhile in the album chart, The Fall's 'Cerebral Caustic' enters at 67. Certainly not one of their best albums, although 'The Joke', 'Don't Call Me Darling' and a few other tracks provide stand out moments. Meanwhile, Tricky is at number 13 after releasing the superb 'Maxinquaye', which entered at number 3 a week earlier, and Leftfield's seminal 'Leftism' is at number 35, spending its 5th week on the chart. PJ Harvey's 'To Bring You My Love' enters this week's chart at number 12.