The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's existence were former Housemartins roadie Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums) and Dave Rotheray (guitar). The band's original material was written by Heaton and Rotheray.
"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"She's the One" is a song by British rock band World Party. It was written and produced by Karl Wallinger for World Party's fourth studio album, Egyptology (1997). The song won an Ivor Novello Award in 1997. It was featured in the 1997 movie The Matchmaker and the 1998 movie The Big Hit. World Party performed the song live on British TV show, Later... with Jools Holland in 1998. Robbie Williams recorded a cover of the song in 1998, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.
"Never Ever" is a song by English girl group All Saints. Written by All Saints member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and Sean Mather and produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes, it was released on 10 November 1997 as the second single from their debut album, All Saints (1997).
0898 Beautiful South, also referred to as 0898, is the third studio album by English band the Beautiful South. After the success of their previous work over 1989–1991, the band hired prolific record producer Jon Kelly and recorded the album at AIR Studios in London. The album contains a more "muscular" yet sometimes more sombre sound than their previous albums, although still entirely retains lyricist Paul Heaton's witty and bitter lyrical style. The album "deals in fragile melodies and harmonies, soulful but low-key instrumentation, and lyrics full of subtle social commentary and humour." The album title refers to the 0898 premium rate dialling code associated with sex hotlines in the UK at the time.
"Perfect" is the debut single of English band Fairground Attraction, written by Mark E. Nevin. Released on 21 March 1988, the single reached number one in the United Kingdom on 14 May 1988, where it stayed for one week. It also reached number one in Australia, Ireland, and South Africa. In the United States, the song peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Perfect" won the award for British Single of the Year at the 1989 Brit Awards.
"Strong" is a song by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 15 March 1999 as the third single from his second studio album, I've Been Expecting You (1998). The song managed to break into the top five in the United Kingdom. The B-side is the live version of "Let Me Entertain You" recorded at the 1999 Brit Awards, the performance was included on the single in the enhanced section.
"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album, Life for Rent. The song was first released to US radio on 7 July 2003 and was issued in the United Kingdom as a physical single on 1 September 2003. The song performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"House of Love" is a song by British boy band East 17, released in August 1992 as their debut single from their first studio album, Walthamstow (1993). The song became a number-one hit in Finland, Israel, and Sweden, and was a top-40 hit in several other countries between 1992 and 1994. In the UK, it peaked at number ten. Two different music videos were produced to promote the single.
"Just a Little" is a song by English-Irish pop group Liberty X. Written by singer Michelle Escoffery and produced by the BigPockets, it was released on 13 May 2002 as the third single from the group's debut studio album, Thinking It Over. The song proved to be Liberty X's breakthrough to mainstream and critical success, in the process overtaking fellow Popstars alumni Hear'Say in terms of success.
"Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. It is the fifth song and lead single from the band's ninth studio album, Murder Ballads (1996), released on Mute Records. It was written by the band's frontman Nick Cave and produced by Tony Cohen and Victor Van Vugt.
"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released by London Records in January 1992 as the second single from their second album, Hormonally Yours (1992). The single was written by Siobhan Fahey, Marcella Detroit, and Dave Stewart, and became a massive hit. It is the duo's first and only number-one single in numerous territories, including the UK, where it topped the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks and was the fourth-biggest-selling single of 1992. "Stay" also reached No. 1 in Sweden and in band member Siobhan Fahey's birthplace, Ireland. It was a transatlantic hit as well, reaching No. 4 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.
"If You Were with Me Now" is a song written by British songwriting team Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue, and American R&B singer Keith Washington for Minogue's fourth studio album, Let's Get to It (1991). The song was produced by Stock and Waterman. The song was released as the second single in October 1991 and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, as well as the top 10 in Ireland and the top 30 in Australia. The song is Minogue's first hit single to feature her as a co-writer.
"Don't Stop Movin'" is a song by British pop group S Club 7, released on 23 April 2001 as the lead single from their third studio album, Sunshine (2001). The song was written by the group, along with their regular songwriter Simon Ellis, together with Sheppard Solomon. Solomon had worked on hits in the 1990s by Eternal and Michelle Gayle. The disco-oriented song features lead vocals by Bradley McIntosh and Jo O'Meara.
"Sleeping Satellite" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tasmin Archer, released in September 1992 as the first single from her debut album, Great Expectations (1992). Co-written by Archer, the song received favorable reviews from music critics and became an international hit. It peaked at number-one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greece and Israel, and reached the top 20 in 13 other countries as well as number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1993. There were produced two different music videos to promote the single.
"Pray" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by band member Gary Barlow, the ballad was released on 5 July 1993 as the second single from their second studio album, Everything Changes (1993). It is the first of twelve singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks, and starting a streak of four consecutive number-one singles. The song has received a Gold sales status certification and sold over 438,000 copies in the UK, won British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year at the 1994 Brit Awards, and was the finale of Take That's Beautiful World Tour 2007.
"Sweet Surrender" is the first single from British band Wet Wet Wet's third studio album, Holding Back the River (1989). It was released on 18 September 1989 and reached number six on the UK Singles Chart. In Ireland, "Sweet Surrender" peaked at number one, becoming the group's second of three number-one singles there. In Australia, "Sweet Surrender" reached number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart in May 1990 and was certified gold.
"7 Days" is a song by British singer Craig David. It was released on 24 July 2000 as the second single from his debut studio album, Born to Do It (2000). "7 Days" topped the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "7 Days" peaked within the top ten of the charts in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United States. It received a Gold sales certification from the British Phonographic Industry and became Britain's 17th best-selling single of 2000. In 2001, the song was nominated for the BRIT Award for Best Single, and in 2003, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. There is also a remix produced by DJ Premier featuring Mos Def.
"Song for Whoever" is a song by English music group the Beautiful South, written by band members Paul Heaton and David Rotheray. The first and highest-charting single from their debut album, Welcome to the Beautiful South, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in July 1989 and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Considered typical of the band's gently subversive, self-reflexive signature style, it is sung from the point of view of a cynical songwriter who romances women solely to get material for love songs.
"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is a medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", a 1967 song by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1982 disco version of the song by Boystown Gang rather than the original. The song accompanied "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", the third single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990), as a double A-side in the United Kingdom (both singles were released separately in the United States). Released in March 1991, the song became the duo's 15th consecutive top-20 entry in the UK, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The band have said that they thought the guitars in the original sounded similar to a sequencer.
