Da Buzz......

Da Buzz are yet another Swedish group that are ruddy fantastic and should have somesort of record deal in the UK.

They have had loads of brilliant songs such as "Alive", "Wanna Be With Me" and "Dangerous". All are really good top quality dance-pop songs.

This is another live performance - one of their best songs ever and arguably the greatest song not to ever be put in the Eurovision final in any country in my opinion.

Great vocals.




Definate pop injustice!

More Carola, yes more...

We Love Carola, she's such an ace performer. I think that her actual final performance wasn't the best I've seen from her on the Eurovision Song Contest Final although I know she was suffering with throat problems.

Check this out for a live performance!



At the end of this performance she says "Cack", she's too hard on herself.

Bellefire

I felt sorry for Bellefire! What is it with me and acts that never seem to succeed?? They had some nice mid-tempo pop songs along the lines of Westlife but far catchier if you catch my drift.

This was definately their best song which was indeed their first. It was later covered by our favourite shouting Melodifestivalen duo "Fame" on their album but their version was nowhere near as good and had too much of a country edge to it.

DOWNLOAD:- Bellefire - Perfect Bliss


Bodies Without the organs ooh I mean BWO

God I love this Swedish group since they released "Living In A Fantasy". They should definately get a UK recording contract. It's a crime against music if they don't - they have been touted as the Pet Shop Boys for the 2000's and I think they deserve that acalade.

This song is from their first album, has one kick-ass key change. In true Bodies Without Organs style there is lots of "Woahhh woahhh woahhhh woahhh" - a winning formula.

One other thing, the lead singer is hot and he has curly hair. That's a first for me too!

Enjoy

DOWNLOAD:- Bodies Without Organs - Son Of A Gun

Back to some more 90's pop now.

First up is Deuce.

They tried to get into Eurovision for the UK but came a close 2nd - this one's definately their best choon in my opinion, nice mid 90s euro hi-nrg beat going on in the background which is of course a good thing...

DOWNLOAD:- Deuce - I Need You



Next is another of PWL's later artistes, Lonnie Gordon. She had a biggish hit with Happenin' All Over Again, which has been covered (unsuccesfully) by a number of acts. This song is "Better Off Without You" which was going to be one of her singles but somehow ended up with our favourite lesbian Hazell Dean who did a poorer version of it, well I think so anyway.

DOWNLOAD:- Lonnie Gordon - Better Off Without You

Anna Sahlene....

I can't believe how good the songs are in Sweden's pre-selection of the Eurovision actually are. Some of the songs in the heats so should have made the final but I think that's got alot to do with the Swedes favouring their most liked artists over the actual songs they are entering.

Anna Sahlene should be huge but she isn't. She's beautiful, talented and has a lovely back catalogue of middle of the road Americana Radio-pop music.

I love this one from one of the Melodifestivalen heats a few years back. "Unbreakable" could be a Natalie Imbruglia song....

DOWNLOAD - Anna Sahlene - Unbreakable

Louise....

We love Louise, she's ace. She needs to stop being a mother and trying to make babies with her good looking husband and get back into the recording studio God damn it.

Believe it or not "In Walked Love" was her least succesful single she released. But like I said before, since when did chart positions mean anything?

DOWNLOAD:- Louise - In Walked Love

Remember before "X Factor" and "American/Pop Idol"?

No?

Well there was this show called "Popstars" which started life in New Zealand of all places, then to Australia, then to Britain (I'm in Team Hear'say) and elsewhere in Europe.. there was even a version in little old Ireland.

At the time, Ireland was doing rather well with it's handful of acts making waves in the United Kingdom and further afield. Groups such as Boyzone, Westlife, B*Witched, Samantha Mumba were big players in the pop industry.

"Six", yes what an imaginative name, were formed out of Irish Television's version of the show (RTE Radio Television Eire). And yes, our favourite pop meister Pete Waterman produced their first singles which like many Irish groups were cover versions. This song has a lovely key change too, yay. *Waves Lighter*

DOWNLOAD:- Six - United We Stand

Scooch, God love em...

A complete copy cat group of Steps during the early 00's when pop was massive thanks to the likes of Steps, Westlife, Britney, NSync and BSB etc.

They had about 4-5 Top 30 singles in Britain but I don't think they really caught the public imagination.

Shame, because as usual, I liked them.

And this song is very ABBA with a very gay dance beat. What a heady combination!

Can you tell I like any pop that sounds a bit like ABBA? Noticing a correlation already? Surely not!

DOWNLOAD:- Scooch - More Than I Needed To Know

Eternal...

Well i've done a few One Hit Wonders/Euro/failed pop people and their songs time for a group that had alot more success and yet don't seem to have been well remembered.

Yeap, Eternal. They were quite quite ace and were really great singers. They were a 4 piece to start off with including Louise Nurding who had a successful solo career later on in the late 90s/early 00's. After Louise left they were a 3 some (ooherr) and developed into a glossier looking act, trying to replicate the likes of En Vogue in the States with big success in Europe and well, everywhere apart from the States. Quite surprising really as they did have a very American sound to them.

This is my favourite song they did and it's the album version too so worth the listen if you already know the song.

DOWNLOAD:- Eternal - Just A Step From Heaven (Album Version)

Ellie Campbell...

So the underdog series of popstars of the 90's/early 00's continues now with this Britney/Steps sound-a-like. It's a shame that she didn't succeed as she had a great voice and not a bad look.

I'm guessing by the sound that she came once again from the Pete Waterman fold but I could be mistaken.

She had a few Top 20 hits (i.e. they hit the late 20's the disappeared without a trace). We all know to take the charts with a big pinch of salt as there's many a song that got ignored by the UK Top 40 and the charts in the late 90's were a case of who got to Number 1 with the most publicity possible. Unfortunately for Ellie she wasn't different enough, nor did she get enough publicity.


DOWNLOAD:- Ellie Campbell, "So Many Ways"

Boy Krazy...

I'm a champion of the underdog me. Boy Krazy were supposed to be the female equivalent of New Kids on The Block but that sort of success never materialised. They were from the PWL/SAW stable but that was when their success was on the slide.

This is not to say that they didn't come up with some great choons for the girls from the U.S. Their biggest hit was a song called, "That's What Love Can Do" which was to be covered by another failed girl group called "Toutes Les Filles" (They were an English girl group despite that name).

This song was rumoured to be another single off their self titled album but because their singles after TWLCD didn't chart well it never got released. Needless to say it's an absolute gem.

Incidentily, this is the European/Japan Album version, the American version was very much a less PWL sounding version rather like Belinda Carlisle.

DOWNLOAD:- Boy Krazy - On A Wing And A Prayer

And whilst I'm at it....

She also had a song in 1983. The Swedish version was called "Framling" but translated to Love Isn't Love and it's generally quite ace. Very very ABBA. I think it also sounds a bit like a Carpenter's song which clearly isn't a bad thing.

What a key change....!!!

I do believe this song is quite legendary in Sweden. I've seen her sing it during the interval act of Sweden's Melodifestivalen a few years back attached to rope in the air doing flying somersaults....

DOWNLOAD:- Carola - Love Isn't Love

Well here's my first choon.

Yeap, I'm a Eurovision fan. Those that saw it, hmm I dunno, it's not the *best* song of the night really was it? Although I suppose it was something different if nothing else (the winner by the way)...

I was excited to see Carola making a return as i've been a big fan of hers. Who couldn't love someone with a wicked voice, looks pruddy and all of her songs in true Swedish pop stylie have that all important key change and cruscendo of an ending (or is that Eurovision? lol).

I do love Evighet/Invincible... it does sound very much like a Steps song at the beginning (but then again they sounded like ABBA too didn't they).

She came 5th which is respectable for Eurovision in its current state. Here I give you the English language version of her 1991 winner of Fångad Av En Stormvind, the lyrics make very little sense but who cares, it's so God damn catchy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, DOWNLOAD:- Carola - Captured By A Lovestorm

Hi there everyone, welcome to my new (and first) blog. Yes, it's all about good 3 and a half minute pop songs from all over the world (although mainly in the UK and mainland Europe/Scandinavia). I hope you will like the mp3's that I put on here. You'll have to bare with me though as I've never used a blog before and don't want to appear to much of a thicko....

All the very best,

Neil :o)