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May 11 2011

Why films on TV in their original widescreen ratio is good for you

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Jason Maloney reviews

Seal Just as 12 months' previously, Madonna was at the top of the UK chart in mid-April. Whereas that 1989 #1 Like A Prayer had been a daringly different effort, Vogue - up 3 from its debut position of #4 - aligned itself firmly to clubland. The track never even gained A-side status in America (playing second fiddle to Keep It Together; their roles were reversed on this side of the pond) but it proved an instant smash with its slick black-and-white video, references to American icons of the past (mostly from the Golden Age of Hollywood), and its nod to the fashion for striking a "pose" while on the dancefloor. Vogue's 4-week residency at the summit was sandwiched between two more dance anthems from the year; Snap's outgoing chart-topper The Power (falling just one notch to #2) and Adamski's seminal Killer (new at #39). The former was the first in a surprisingly enduring run of hits for the German-based act, none of which ever matched The Power's magnifinence (the less said about Mary Had A Little Lamb, the better). As for Killer, it launced a then still-uncredited lead vocalist by the name of Seal into the Top 40. He would quickly carve out a major solo career in 1991 while Adamski himself would all-too-swiftly disappear off the radar following a pretty wretched debut album at the end of 1990.

UB40: Labour Of Love Vols 1-3 Alannah Myles was the immediate casualty of Madonna's supremacy; the rapid rise of her introductory smash Black Velvet seemed to put the Canadian rock chick on course for a Transatlantic #1 (the single having already hit the top of Billboard's Hot 100) but after moving #36-#17-#3 and now up to #2 Black Velvet then ground to a halt. The follow-up, Love Is, struggled to reach #61 and, despite continued success in her homeland with further singles from the album, Alannah Myles would score just the one UK Top 40 hit. (DVDfever Dom adds: "I hated 'Black Velvet' with a passion, but 'Love Is' was an absolute belter and I can still remember it to this day!) During their first decade of chart activity, UB40's fortunes fluctuated - indeed, often alternated - between big hit singles and misfires that fell short of the Top 40. Very few releases settled in the middle-ground of the lower teens and upper 20s. Homely Girl, the opening single from their latest album Labour Of Love II, had reached #6 in November 1989, but then Here I Am progressed no further than a disappointing #46 in early 1990. True to form, single number three - Kingston Town - put the Birmingham reggae outfit back in the Top 10. Having entered at #30, it had risen to #11 and now climbed 7 places to its peak of #4. (DVDfever Dom adds: "I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers this. It was certainly an oddity for any band to have this happen.)

The Very Best Of The Stone Roses Gleefully fronting the Madchester assault on the charts and collective (un)consciousness with their peers and rivals The Stone Roses, 1990 was a very good year for the Happy Mondays. Whereas the Roses became paralysed by their own hype and genuine potential, the Mondays - for a time, at least - built upon their own breakthrough with a brace of Top 10 entries in 1990 and a cracking second album Pills'N'Thrills & Bellyaches. Step On - their cocksure, baggy cover of a #22 hit from the 70s by John Kongos - vaulted 11 places from its debut position of #16 to #5 on this week 14 years ago. The SAW sound may have been dominant for some considerable time but by the Spring of 1990 not even they could get away with sub-standard fare like Hang On To Your Love, the latest Jason Donovan single which alarmed many chart observers by reaching only #8. Prior to this setback, Donovan had been on a particularly hot streak of consecutive top 3 hits and narrowly missed out on the 1989 Christmas #1 to Band Aid II. In truth, the comparative failure of Hang On To Your Love was the start of a permanent decline for the original PWL team; the triumphant Better The Devil You Know couldn't get Kylie a UK #1 either the following month when previously it would surely have been a stick on chart-topper, and Jason's next release Another Night bombed out at a disastrous #18. Sonia, SAW's bright new hope who stormed the charts in 1989, was also reduced to middling success with her unexceptional 4th single Counting Every Minute (in this week at #30).

The Cure: Greatest Hits Between September 1989 and September 1990, Janet Jackson would score no fewer than seven UK hits (all from her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814), but remarkably none of them made the Top 10. Escapade, up 3 to #18, was the fourth of the septet and one of the album's many highpoints. Meanwhile Paula Abdul, the woman responsible for choreographing the dance routines for Miss Jackson's videos, was a major force in her own right with the Forever Your Girl album still generating huge hits after more than a year on release. Its latest single, and biggest UK success (leaping #33-#16 en route to #2), was Opposites Attract; a fairly routine album cut was transformed by a remix and an accompanying video which mixed live action and animation in the same fashion as the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? had done not so long before. In the bottom half of the Top 40, The Cure were climbing 4 places to #24 with Pictures Of You, the third and final UK single from 1989's Disintegration, while 90s indie favourites Ride made their chart bow at #32 with the Play EP. Jesus Jones, too, were enjoying a first genuine hit with Real Real Real (up 3 to #23), and Faith No More were new at #37 with the follow-up to Epic, the er..epic From Out Of Nowhere. A nicely seasonal slant was offered by another new entry; Easter - Marillion's third post-Fish single with new frontman Steve Hogarth - arrived at #34. Their next three singles would peak at #34, #26 and #34.

Page Content copyright © Jason Maloney, 2004.

The following is a list of Jason's Jukeboxes online for week ending:

Vol.40: The 40 Best Singles That Missed The UK Top 40 (20/12/2004)
Vol.39: November 12th 1977 (12/11/2004)
Vol.38: October 29th 1984 (29/10/2004)
Vol.37: October 15th 1987 (15/10/2004)
Vol.36: October 6th 1973 (08/10/2004)
Vol.35: September 30th 1995 (30/09/2004)
Vol.34: September 22nd 1979 (24/09/2004)
Vol.33: September 13th 1986 (16/09/2004)
Vol.32: September 9th 1989 (09/09/2004)
Vol.31: September 4th 1982 (02/09/2004)
Vol.30: August 26th 1978 (26/08/2004)
Vol.29: August 21st 1976 (19/08/2004)
Vol.28: August 13th 1983 (12/08/2004)
Vol.27: August 3rd 1985 (06/08/2004)
Vol.26: July 25th 1981 (29/07/2004)
Vol.25: July 21st 1979 (22/07/2004)
Vol.24: July 4th 1992 (08/07/2004)
Vol.23: June 24th 1965 (01/07/2004)
Vol.22: June 16th 1984 (17/06/2004)
Vol.21: June 11th 1977 (10/06/2004)
Vol.20: June 8th 1967 (03/06/2004)
Vol.19: May 29th 1971 (27/05/2004)
Vol.18: May 18th 1991 (20/05/2004)
Vol.17: May 14th 1969 (13/05/2004)
Vol.16: May 8th 1982 (06/05/2004)
Vol.15: May 3rd 1980 (29/04/2004)
Vol.14: April 19th 1986 (20/04/2004)
Vol.13: April 14th 1990 (13/04/2004)
Vol.12: April 8th 1989 (08/04/2004)
Vol.11: April 2nd 1983 (06/04/2004)
Vol.10: March 24th 1979 (23/03/2004)
Vol.9: March 19th 1988 (16/03/2004)
Vol.8: March 9th 1985 (09/03/2004)
Vol.7: March 3rd 1973 (02/03/2004)
Vol.6: February 28th 1987 (24/02/2004)
Vol.5: February 20th 1993 (17/02/2004)
Vol.4: February 11th 1978 (10/02/2004)
Vol.3: February 3rd 1966 (03/02/2004)
Vol.2: January 31st 1981 (27/01/2004)
Vol.1: January 21st 1984 (20/01/2004)

And in chronological order:

June 24th 1965: Vol.23 (01/07/2004)
February 3rd 1966: Vol.3 (03/02/2004)
June 8th 1967: Vol.20 (03/06/2004)
May 14th 1969: Vol.17 (13/05/2004)
May 29th 1971: Vol.19 (27/05/2004)
March 3rd 1973: Vol.7 (02/03/2004)
August 21st 1976: Vol.29 (19/08/2004)
June 11th 1977: Vol.21 (10/06/2004)
November 12th 1977: Vol.39 (12/11/2004)
February 11th 1978: Vol.4 (10/02/2004)
August 26th 1978: Vol.30 (26/08/2004)
March 24th 1979: Vol.10 (23/03/2004)
July 21st 1979: Vol.25 (22/07/2004)
September 22nd 1979: Vol.34 (24/09/2004)
May 3rd 1980: Vol.15 (29/04/2004)
January 31st 1981: Vol.2 (27/01/2004)
July 25th 1981: Vol.26 (29/07/2004)
May 8th 1982: Vol.16 (06/05/2004)
September 4th 1982: Vol.31 (02/09/2004)
April 2nd 1983: Vol.11 (06/04/2004)
August 13th 1983: Vol.28 (12/08/2004)
January 21st 1984: Vol.1 (20/01/2004)
June 16th 1984: Vol.22 (17/06/2004)
October 29th 1984: Vol.38 (29/10/2004)
March 9th 1985: Vol.8 (09/03/2004)
August 3rd 1985: Vol.27 (06/08/2004)
April 19th 1986: Vol.14 (20/04/2004)
September 13th 1986: Vol.33 (16/09/2004)
February 28th 1987: Vol.6 (24/02/2004)
October 15th 1987: Vol.37 (15/10/2004)
March 19th 1988: Vol.9 (16/03/2004)
April 8th 1989: Vol.12 (08/04/2004)
September 9th 1989: Vol.32 (09/09/2004)
April 14th 1990: Vol.13 (13/04/2004)
May 18th 1991: Vol.18 (20/05/2004)
July 4th 1992: Vol.24 (08/07/2004)
February 20th 1993: Vol.5 (17/02/2004)
September 30th 1995: Vol.35 (30/09/2004)
The 40 Best Singles That Missed The UK Top 40: Vol.40 (20/12/2004)

As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: