The latest in an occasional series mining the British Book of Hit Singles for obscure gold, crazy covers and brickbats. Not much text and lots of vintage Youtube clips. This week’s gold is from some Belgian producers producing a dance classic. Ah yes the 90s and 00s. No, the early 70s and here is frankly filthy Jungle Fever from the early 70s, years before Donna Summer and Lil Louis made moaning on the radio an art form. See how you get on, I think it’s fab. In the comments an earworm to ruin/make your day, two amazing vocal performances, a wikipedia dubious claim and of course the sound of a barrel being scraped (nothing as bad as supermodel week).

Having unshackled myself from the weekly schedule, and posting when there is a sufficient range of gourmet delicacies from the British Book of Hit Singles…let’s go..it’s supermodels week, and it will not surprise you to know they do not feature in the delights discovered, but rather in the why oh why section in the comments. Here’s a proper singer with a proper pedigree, stepping out from James Brown’s band where she replaced Tammi Terrell, and a terrific stab of pop soul with a touch of the Motown beat. Crazy covers (well crazily awful this week), some nearly tracks of the week, and those supermodels in the comments.

Ok what week is it? Week seven, week Ten? Anyway, better late than never (possibly) here are the hits and the misses of the rest of the B’s in the veritable British Book of Hit Singles. First up is a totally anonymous club banger. Anonymous as in who the hell are they? (puts on). Oh it’s this. Again, check out the bass line and the classic filter house sound. Brings to mind all those cartoon covers on the Hed Kandi compilations. Ah memories. In the comments some Crazy Covers and one quite gob-smackingly awful track from 1959.

Week Five of the British Book of Hit Singles: Obscurities Only, from Archie Bell to Bizzi. You know the form, so let’s get straight to the finds. Top of the pile, this early 00s Massive Attacky slice of slow-burn trip-hop. Two more gems in the comments, a curio, and the worst track of the week…

It’s a fairly standard response in this place to the current situation – immerse yourself in a crazily large audio project. Then share your findings. So here’s mine, for this week at least. I own a copy of hits bible The British Book of Hit Singles – 18th edition, which is the penultimate in printed form (2004). So how’s about working through the whole shebang (about 500 pages) at a page a day. That should take me through the current scenario and out the other side.

Ground rules: it’ll be A-Z. Unfamiliar stuff only. So the whole page that is David Bowie can be skipped (see the ‘it’ll take about a year’)…er skip that as Rebel Never Gets Old reached no 47 in 2004. Need to hear that (don’t get too excited it’s a mashup but an official one).

The greatest hit is it. Not got time to listen to all of A – so clearly it’s their top 10 Hit Nothing and unless my curiosity is greatly piqued (reader it was not, generic late 90s Green Day punky rock) then in this case their other 9 top 75 smashes will remain for others to discover.

Nothing unfamiliar skipped » Continue Reading.