UK hits of the 90's V

Time now to look at the biggest hits of the 90's in the UK, again my source is a list I created on my rateyourmusic account (you can check it out here) and again I'm only including candidates that were a hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day. I'm also using alternate art for entries I'm able to find it for in case you don't recognise them from other areas on my site.

I bet you were beginning to wonder if I had forgotten all about these guys, it turns out they had less success overall in the UK than they did throughout the rest of the world even if the Brits were the ones to discover them initially. Indeed, this was the bigger of the two hits they had, although we will get to their other hit eventually on this list.

This may be the only entry from Sash on this list, however he had four other candidates from my rateyourmusic list which goes to show how much the Brits loved the German DJ during the final stretch of the decade. Sash also holds the record for the most songs to peak at number two on the UK charts without ever having a number one hit with five of his songs achieving this feat.

Given how this became a moderate success in America, it only makes sense that it would be a massive hit in the Verve's homeland even if its placement on this list suggests it didn't do so well over there. Again, this is due to how chaotic the UK charts were as this somehow failed to get to number one as opposed to "The drugs don't work" which was a candidate for this list even if it's not appearing on here.

We're racking up the appearances from Madonna on this list, aren't we? Here she is with her titillating single from the Immaculate collection which almost repeated its success on Billboard over in the UK by reaching number two on their charts. Don't think we've seen the last of her as she's still got plenty of entries to come on here.

Seeing as though we had an entry from Ugly kid Joe earlier on this list, it makes sense that Guns n roses would also see some representation on this list with a track of theirs that goes equally as hard as "Everything about you." Admittedly this might've been a hit in the UK due to it being the theme song for Terminator 2 rather than the Brits suddenly wanting these guys to have mainstream success.

Again, we have a fairly low placement on this list for a song that I'm sure did far better back in the day than its position here would suggest, it was the lead single to Spiceworld after all as well as it being the fifth consecutive chart topper from the Spice girls in their homeland.

I wasn't expecting the kiwis to discover Lutricia Mcneal through the success she had in the UK back in the day, however it appears that was the case as the American RNB singer managed to score two out of her three hits she had in NZ on the UK charts with her second single being the bigger of the two. We'll look at her debut single a bit later down this list.

This is the third and final entry from Boyzone to make it on this list, again they would've had nine entries on here had they had any of their other hits crossover to the southern hemisphere. It's interesting to note that if I only went with the Australian or NZ charts, they would only have two entries on here as "Father and son" bombed in NZ whilst this bombed here in Australia.

Honestly, I'm not that surprised this was more of a hit here in Australia than it was in the UK even though it was the Brits that came across this mashup from the Grease soundtrack back in the day, this is mainly because the love we Aussies have for the film to this day is greater than the love the rest of the world has for it.

We're really starting to rack up the heavier rock singles on this list, I should point out that just because these songs weren't as popular as the other genres that dominate these lists, doesn't mean the Brits weren't fans of the genre overall. That said, this collaboration MJ has with Guns n roses guitarist Slash managed to be another entry on this list that almost topped the British charts.

If you can believe it, this was released in the UK before it saw the light of day in Ce Ce's native America, although in a bizarre twist for this site, it turns out this only became a hit over there when it became a massive hit for her on the Billboard charts. Had it been a hit upon its initial release, it might've been able to top the UK charts instead of stalling at number two.

This was such an inescapable hit throughout the rest of the world that even the Brits were willing to let this be a massive hit in the UK even if it didn't quite get to number one on their charts like it did on Billboard and in the southern hemisphere. Their success over there was the same as it was here in Australia, in that this is the only song of theirs they care about.

First off, I know that I should've used this cover art when I featured it on the Australian side of my site as its usage in Flipper is the only reason why it was a hit down under for Shaggy. That out of the way, this was also an immediate success for the rapper in the UK given how he was on a winning streak over there following the success of his debut album.

Although this was a massive hit for N trance in their homeland, it appears their fellow Brits weren't as in love with this remix of the Bee gees classic as we Aussies were given how it not only failed to get to number one on their charts but also left their charts fairly quickly back in the day. It appears the Brits love for their music faded after this as this is their final appearance on this list.

We're still not done with featuring Madonna on this list as her big hit from the Evita soundtrack worldwide was as such in the UK despite all the stiff competition it had from local British artists at the time of its release. While she may have more appearances on here than on my Billboard list, it's worth noting she still found more success in her homeland overall this decade.

Again, you have to forgive this song's low placement on this list as it was yet another victim of how chaotic the UK charts were during the final stretch of the 90's. It also had just one week at number one during the Christmas season before it got beat out by Isaac Hayes "Chocolate salty balls" from the Chef aid soundtrack.

Well, this had to be a massive hit here in Australia and NZ somehow, again it's low placement on this list is more due to its failure to remain in the top twenty as long as many of the other entries on this list due to the stiff competition it had from other weaker songs of the day. All this to say that Ann Lee didn't have another hit in her homeland even as a fan single.

I feel like this would've been a huge sleeper hit here in Australia even if it flopped in the UK as we Aussies already knew who David Stewart was with his worth with Annie Lennox from the Eurythmics. Even so, it's interesting to see his instrumental collaboration with Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer become a success in his homeland at the start of the decade.

I guess this being a surprise hit here in Australia is a bit less surprising when you consider that it did fairly well in the duo's native UK, it almost topped the British charts after all (side note, take a shot every time I say some variation of this throughout my site if you want a drinking game.) This is their only entry on this list as well as the only candidate I had from them.

If you're confused as to how we Aussies came across this breakthrough single from R Kelly, then you can thank the Brits for helping us discover it as they were the ones who put him on the map when they made this a huge hit on the UK charts two years before his first big hit in his native America "Bump n grind."

We haven't heard from these guys in a while, have we? Here they are with their third and final entry from this list which proves that the Brits loved them just as much as the Americans did (again it's lucky this was just big enough in NZ to qualify for this spot.) They had one more candidate for this list with "Life is a flower" from 1998, proving the Brits loved them for the remainder of the decade.

It's a bit surprising this wasn't as big a hit in the UK as it was in America for the Real McCoy, at least it was big enough to comfortably make it on this list even though I'm sure we Aussies were following in the footsteps of the Americans when making these guys a household name. Not only where these two entries of theirs the only candidates for this list, but they were also their only hits in the UK altogether.

It looks like the Brits were also huge fans of Shania Twain's 90's rendition of "Girls just want to have fun" as this was a massive hit in the UK just like it was in the southern hemisphere in the final year of the decade. Even though there are only four songs nonfans will know from Come on over, the album spawned a total of twelve singles out of its fifteen tracks.

Why hello Janet, it's been a while since we last looked at you on this list hasn't it? Here she is with the biggest hit of her career in most parts of the world, however it wasn't the case in the UK even though this almost topped the British charts just like her duet with Luther Vandross from earlier on this list.

I don't know what's stranger, the fact that Def Leppard was able to appear on this list or that it was with a song that was released way past their prime. Admittedly this was a sleeper hit for the hair metal band here in Australia (hence why it appears on this list) however how this managed to be their biggest hit in their homeland and not something from Hysteria is beyond me.

It's been a while since we heard from these three, hasn't it? Here they are with their third biggest hit in their catalogue (I skipped over "Oh baby I" which would've appeared slightly higher on this list had it been a bigger hit in NZ) which likely would've charted higher in their homeland had it not peaked during the Christmas of 1995 over there.

I debated in giving a boost to entries from the final three years of the decade on this list like Billboard did for the first two years of the decade, however I didn't want to be biased when I created my rateyourmusic list and I'm certainly not going to be biased on this list either. Please keep that in mind when you see how low this solo debut from Ronan Keating is as there's no doubt it was a massive hit for him in his homeland.

If I didn't vividly remember this track from its constant usage throughout the first season of Beverly hills 90210, I would've been dumbstruck as to how this managed to be an even bigger hit for her here in Australia and NZ than it was in her native UK. While it was a decent hit for her in her homeland, it clearly has novelty written all over it without even mentioning its bizarre music video.

If you can believe it, this was the song that put Mariah Carey on the map in the UK as "Vision of love" was too minor of a hit to be considered for this list with that being the only hit her debut album spawned over there. Of course, things would get better for her as the decade went on as we've already seen on this list.

Looking at how this list is shaping up to be, you'd think I'd be confused to see that Guns n roses has two entries on this list given how the Brits weren't that into heavier rock music over the years. I would be confused if it wasn't for the fact that this was released as a single specifically as a tribute for Freddie Mercury given how the proceeds of this song went towards one of his charities.

Much like the rest of the world, this was Wilson Phillip's only success in the UK as the Brits didn't care much for the other hits they achieved in their native America back in the day. Again, I can't stress how much representation they would've had on my Billboard list if I didn't skip over their other hits they had on Billboard.

The success of this theme song to A league of their own in the UK is sandwiched between what it achieved here in Australia and Madonna's native America as the Brits have it chart higher on the UK charts than it did on ours but not have it go to number one like it did on Billboard.

This was a huge hit over in NZ for Swedish singer Emilia, I'm not sure how this became such a big hit over there as this feels like something that should've been big here in Australia but wasn't for whatever reason. In any case, she scored a massive hit before fading into obscurity even throughout Europe.

This was the only hit that Shaft had in their homeland, although it's worth noting that a different EDM group with the same name had a minor hit in 1991 with "Roobarb and custard" even if they have no affiliation with these guys. Their second single "Mambo Italiano" bombed in their homeland despite it being their only success here in Australia.

I bet you forgot that I said these guys had a second hit in the UK, here it is where it proved to be less popular over there than their earlier entry by a considerable margin. In fact, I think the UK is the only place in the world where this didn't outperform "I wanna sex you up" on the charts.

We haven't looked at a track from Whitney in a while, although we would've had "It's not right but it's OK" been a hit anywhere outside of the UK as that would've appeared slightly higher on this list if it did. This was equally as popular as "I have nothing" which would've appeared right after this entry had that been a hit in Australia or NZ.

Ah yes, the Christmas staple that will forever hog the number one stop at Christmas time for the rest of recorded history. As was the case here in Australia, this also came close to topping the British charts for Mariah Carey upon its initial release despite failing to find an audience amongst her fellow Americans back in the day.

How has it taken me this long to feature a solo single from Robbie Williams you may ask? That's because we Aussies and kiwis ignored "Angels" back in the day which would've appeared towards the top of this list had it been a hit for him in either country. At least this double A-side caught on in NZ likely due to it topping the UK charts for him.

Given how this was a hit in the UK for En vogue, it makes you wonder why we Aussies passed up on this debut single from them if everyone else was able to tell this difference between this track and Wilson Phillips track of the same name we looked at earlier on this list. This is their final entry as a lead artist on here, although they still have one more appearance to make.

This may have had a higher peak in her homeland; however, it appears that the only reason why the kiwis gravitated towards this track was due to the success of her earlier entry due to it being played in several episodes of Beverly hills 90210. We Aussies also noticed this track, just not enough for it to appear on the Australian side of my site.

We Aussies really were taking a page out of the Brits books when it came to Salt N Pepa's success weren't we? Here they are once again on this list with the song they released just before their magnum opus from earlier on this list where it became a massive hit for them in the UK as well as a sleeper hit here in Australia.

This is the final entry from Eternal on this list, although they would've had two more entries had "Angel of mine" and "Just a step from heaven" been hits in Australia and/or NZ back in the day. I likely would've also skipped over this track had we Aussies not been compelled to make it a hit due to it charting on Billboard for some bizarre reason.

You know the Brits were willing to be contrarians against any form of rock and roll when this struggles to make it on this list, I guess they were won over by how catchy this is as well as it being a chart topper here in Australia for Sheryl Crow, however this feels like an outlier even compared to the other rock oriented tracks on this list.

There were only three candidates for this list that failed to crack the UK top ten, this is the first and one that was a bit of a sleeper hit over there due to it being a flop upon its initial release only to catch on when someone created a dance craze based on the choreography in the music video. Even so, it's placement on this list is pitiful compared to what it achieved in Australia and NZ for Steps.

Can you imagine if this song managed to make it to number one anywhere in the world, it very nearly did in the UK which means that this song about spanking really titillated the Brits upon its initial release. This is the final appearance from Madonna on this list, again she racked up quite the number of entries with none that I wound up skipping.

If you're wondering how this managed to be a hit here in Australia, then I feel that its success in the UK should be all you need to know as there's no doubt the Brits fell in love with the Prince sample just like we Aussies did. They were also big fans of "Addams groove" as I skipped over that track from my rateyourmusic list due to its failure in the southern hemisphere.

This is Janet Jackson's final entry on this list, it's fitting that we send her off with the one song in her catalogue to be nominated for an Oscar even if this ballad lost to Bruce Springsteen's entry from earlier on this list.

Although they had several minor hits in their homeland, this is the only one that was noteworthy enough to appear on one of my lists even if I were to include songs from theirs that failed to crossover anywhere in the world. For what it's worth, both "I don't want a lover" and the Wu Tang Clan remix of this track were among the bigger hits they had after this.

Had this song not stalled at number two for the Spice girls, they would've had ten out of ten chart toppers in their homeland. Alas they missed out on that achievement with this track even though it isn't even their worst performing song on the UK charts as we still have one more entry from them to get to on this list.

You know the Brits weren't interested in shaking off the allegations they didn't like rock music when this is among the heaviest songs to make it to number one on their charts, again this would've been higher had there not been so much competition from so many other songs that didn't have a prayer in becoming candidates for this list.

It feels weird that the highest entry from Will Smith on my Billboard list would be his final entry on this list, hey at least this going to number one on the Billboard charts was enough of an incentive for the Brits to make this a hit for the rapper turned actor back in the day.

We have our final entry from Five on this list, this is another song that came so close to topping the UK charts but didn't due to the stiff competition it faced upon its initial release. Naturally its placement on here is pitiful compared to what it achieved in the southern hemisphere even if it should by all accounts be higher on this list.

As this is an EDM track from a British artist, it seems obvious by this point that it didn't necessarily need to be a huge success in Rozalla's homeland to crossover here in Australia. That said, it was a big sleeper hit for the African born diva as well as achieving its entire success on its initial run as opposed to having bonus success down under with its one-year anniversary release.