The "Why Was It A Single" Thread

[Si Hunt]

Yes. You have a dark but catchy pop nugget like "Reaching Out" on your album and you are Take That. So what do you release as a third single? The WORST, most dreary Barlow ballad on the CD! It duly flops like old tits.

You are the hippest, Welshest rock band in the land. You have at least four classic thumpers and tender ballads on your new album "Pull The Pin". You release not the gorgeous "Stone" or the headbanging "Passing The Buck" but the disposable, forgettable "My Friends" instead. It duly stalls at Number 32 in the charts.

Pop stars eh? It's obvious that WE know far better than them which singles to pick. So this is the thread to name and shame the all-time stinkers.

Just feel glad Melanie run out of money before "Protected" could venture forth as a single of doom. We hope.

Si.

[P-Bal]

It's true as day is long. Melanie Jayne Chisholm is a complete finger licker when it comes to single picking. The uplifting and radio friendly Positively Somewhere or storming Yeh Yeh Yeh to launch the second album? No, let's finger the stodgy as old porridge Here It Comes Again and ram the generic radio tat On The Horizon right up the chuff box as the second single. Who does that?!

Don't even get me started on Spice and the wretched, yet legendary, WOMAN!

[WhiteCrow]

I'm afraid I think Kylies "Better The Devil You Know", is one of the most awful, repiticious drivel I've ever heard. I'm glad she's got much better material now.

I can't even hear the phrase now without shuddering. I notice when they covered her on Doctor Who Confidential, they only seemed to use soundbites from her Crap Awful and Waterman era.

[Dave Tudor]

I'm afraid I think Kylies "Better The Devil You Know", is one of the most awful, repiticious drivel I've ever heard. I'm glad she's got much better material now.

Sacrilege! That was a very special song for this 15-year-old - and an even more special video.

[Pip Madeley]

It's a great song, but not as good as Never Too Late or Shocked

[Si Hunt]

I agree with Mr White Crow, it was such a flop!

Si.

[P-Bal]

The joyous thing about Better The Devil You Know is that Mr Stock and Mr Aitken wrote it from Jason's perspective about Kylie dumping him to go out with Mr Hutchence, and the monumental pain of waiting around for someone to come back to you because you can't cope with being without them, even if they have hurt you badly. So infact, it's Jason's song, but Kylie sings it. And it's monumental for Min, because she literally throws off the shackles of being a sweet girl next door and goes dark disco princess on the world.

Plus it's got the chunkiest, wavering, blast it in the disco, bassline known to mankind. Genius.

But, admitedly, it doesn't match Nu-di-ty on her latest album.

[Si Hunt]

The video also features that old staple of 1990 pop videos, the slinky shadow of a house-piano grooving nightclub dancer amid strobe lighting.

Si.

[Alex]

Pulp's Help The Aged. However much I like the song, it's not a "first single from the highly anticipated new album" track, they should have gone with This Is Hardcore or The Fear.

Edit: Thinking about it, Cocaine Socialism would have been even better, but that didn't even make it on to the album somehow, and ended up as a b-side.

[WhiteCrow]

Pulp's Help The Aged. However much I like the song, it's not a "first single from the highly anticipated new album" track, they should have gone with This Is Hardcore or The Fear.

That was a wierd track, surely it's message (shag an oldie) makes it ideal for the Rolling Stones to cover.

Mind you after the mega success of the tracks from their previous album, it was always going to be an awkward act to follow.

[Pip Madeley]

Pulp's Help The Aged. However much I like the song, it's not a "first single from the highly anticipated new album" track, they should have gone with This Is Hardcore or The Fear.

Edit: Thinking about it, Cocaine Socialism would have been even better, but that didn't even make it on to the album somehow, and ended up as a b-side

Even that was a reworking of Glory Days from the Hardcore album, and the lyrics would've been rather controversial.

"This Is Hardcore" wasn't an obvious choice for single, given it's length (6 minutes 27 seconds) and the rather adult lyrics, but that made it all the more satisfying when it charted at #12 back in March 1998 (boosted by my purchase of CD1 & CD2 ). A real victory for such a great piece of music. As for "The Fear", no, I don't think so. But "Help The Aged", yes I agree, it wasn't really first single off the new album material.

For my choice of single, see the other thread.

[Alex]

I think the controversial element of Cocaine Socialism would have got them a lot of press, and the fact that it was such an attack on the labour government is really refreshing to me - I honestly think it would have got to number one if it had been released.

I like the idea of This Is Hardcore being the first single just because it's pretty different from anything theyd done before, plus it was incredibly lucious to hear. I too loved it that it did well in the charts as it was great to hear first thing in the morning...And I know what you mean about The Fear, but then there's something I like about really bleak songs doing really well in the charts amongst all the bland happy stuff around.

I'm not sure about Party Hard though, it's an upbeat song and likable enough, but it's never personally grabbed me as a classic Pulp song...

[Pip Madeley]

It's not classic in the way that 'Do You Remember The First Time?', 'Common People' and 'Wickerman' (oh yes!) are, but nevertheless I think if it was released first, at the right time, it could've got them that first number one.

[Phillip Culley]

but that made it all the more satisfying when it charted at #12 back in March 1998 (boosted by my purchase of CD1 & CD2 )

At least it's good to know I wasn't the only sad individual who would get both CDs of most of the Pulp singles

[Pip Madeley]

Certainly not - I've got a complete back catalogue

Hardcore CD1 was excellent, with Ladies' Man, The Professional and the sublime End Of The Line Mix which I edited into the beginning of Hardcore for my own personal enjoyment. Shame that CD2 was stuff with crap remixes.

[Matthew T]

Mentioning "Better The Devil You Know" in here shows you've missed the point of the thread!

Certainly not - I've got a complete back catalogue

Hardcore CD1 was excellent, with Ladies' Man, The Professional and the sublime End Of The Line Mix which I edited into the beginning of Hardcore for my own personal enjoyment. Shame that CD2 was stuff with crap remixes.

That's the whole point of 2 CDs though! Fans like you get treated to B-Sides on one CD, where as a dance fan I bought CD2 with the dance mixes on. Something for everyone!

[Pip Madeley]

Oh I agree, but the Hardcore remixes were crap. Whereas (for example) the Trees/Sunrise remixes were great.

[Simon R]

One of the greatest puzzlers of 21st century pop is why by numbers latino dance ditty "Please Stay" was chosen as the final UK single from Astrid Peth's "Light Years" album when camp anthem, fan favourite and released in Europe with crappo video "Your Disco Needs You" was not.

Presumably it was too OTT for dreary radio stations to touch.

[Si Hunt]

I liked it.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

I liked the video. As Smashie and Nicey might say, it was sexy smooth legs dressing gown-tastic.

[Matthew T]

I've read the reason "YDNY" wasn't released here was that they didn't want to stereotype her even more to the gay market!

[P-Bal]

That's what ist written in her La La La tome. I think Light Years would have made a fabbo single, not least as it was promo remixed and Kylie's said that track more than any other on the album signalled the direction she wanted to take.

[Simon R]

Will Baker says in "La La La" that "Butterfly" was the song that led the way for the "Fever" album. Wasn't that a US single with mixes an'ting?

Who has got the "Fever" album? Why wasn't the title track the 5th single with campy hospital set video?

[P-Bal]

Butterfly was indeed a US only single. With mixes galore. Apparently the same fate of the Fever album befell the final single - Your Love and Love Affair were also fingered for release!

[Carol Baynes]

To add comment, in my opinion Pulp didn't release a bad single from "Babies" in 1992 (which I bought when I was 19!) 'til "Help the aged" in 1997. It was an odd choice, but a good song. "This is hardcore" is a great song, but not a great commercial single choice and they never had a top ten hit again.