Side 1 of a made up mixtape series, bounding through the first decade of the 21st century.
In the year 2000, Robbie Williams duetted with Kylie Minogue on the phenomenal crowd pleasing single Kids. in 2001, Kylie pushed the envelope further with the brilliant Can't Get You Out Of My Head. But what about Robbie?
2001 was pretty good to Robbie too, with three singles, two of which hit the top spot. 2002 saw just the one single, Feel, reaching #4 at the end of the year. Not that I was really all that bothered.
What interested me more with his guest spot on My Culture by 1 Giant Leap. It's a really good song and deserved to be a hit, but would it have been a Top 10 hit without Robbie and Maxi Jazz from Faithless on it?
Well... follow-up single Braided Hair featuring Neneh Cherry and Speech from Arrested Development managed one week at #78, whilst the eponymous debut album fared slightly better at #51. Which is a shame as 1 Giant Leap is a really good album. People were sadly more interested in buying the latest steaming slop by Blue and Celine Dion.
Likewise, Cornershop had followed up a #1 hit single and Top 20 album in 1998 with a great album, Handcream For A Generation, and a rifftastic lead single in Lessons Learned From Rocky I To Rocky III. Although neither could be considered a flop, with a Top 30 and Top 40 placing respectively, Cornershop never again enjoyed the UK chart success of the 1990s,. Didn't stop them making fantastic music, though.
Another legendary artist that consistently delivered wonderful music for frustratingly little reward is Edwyn Collins. His 2002 album Dr. Syntax is chock full of tunes that his contemporaries would sell their souls for, and Johnny Teardrop is in my Top 5 favourite Edwyn Collins songs. It's the perfect distillation of everything that makes Edwyn such a superb songwriter. And it got to bloody #192! Were there really 191 better singles on sale in the UK that week?!
The previous week, Sugababes were back with a vengeance - and their first UK #1 - with Freak Like Me. Having just watched the excellent Girlbands Forever documentary series on BBC2, I appreciated just how much was on the line for the group. Founder member and childhood friend Siobhan Donaghy had left, and Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan were teamed up with new member Heidi Range. Sugababes had been successful, but without a #1 single or album to date, it was make or break time.
DJ and producer Richard X has gained notoriety, not least for his bootleg mash-up of Freak Like Me by Adina Howard and Are 'Friends' Electric? by Tubeway Army. Sugababes and Richard X were paired up in the studio to record a commercial version for single release. It turned out to be a smart move for them both.
Another mash-up artist who exploded in 2002 was Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions. The Weather Episode is a glorious melding of The Next Episode by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg and Weather With You by Crowded House. When a mash-up works, it really hits the spot and this is a prime example.
I am completely disregarding the rules here, as The Weather Episode was released as a free bootleg MP3 download and therefore ineligible for the Official Chart in the UK. I'm applying the "played by Zane Lowe on his XFM On-Air radio show" rule to sneak this one into its rightful place in today's selection.
Other great songs in 2002 by Radio 4, Badly Drawn Boy and Amorphous Androgynous also gave a nod to producers that were gaining recognition in their own right, namely The DFA aka James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden, and Jacknife Lee aka Garret Lee.
Another remix that I loved was by dub legend Scientist aka Hopeton Brown, taking the title track of Death In Vegas' third album, Scorpio Rising. The second Top 20 single for Richard Fearless and co, their previous #9 hit had a guest spot from Iggy Pop and Scorpio Rising repeated the formula by featuring a certain Liam Gallagher.
I'm not a fan of Oasis or, generally speaking, the exploits of the Gallagher brothers in or out of the studio, so I was bought this single purely because it was Death In Vegas and Scientist. I don't think even a diehard Liam fanatic would deny that this is far from his best vocal performance, but I love Scientist's game attempt to wrestle it into a dubtastic shape.
Unlikely collaborations were plentiful at his time, yet X-Press 2 teaming up with David Byrne was a real surprise for Lazy A deserved #2 hit in April 2002, I was pleased to see Lazy included in Byrne's stunning American Utopia live set on the Sky Arts channel a while ago.
Another unlikely collaboration, and even more unlikely reunion in 2002, was David McAlmont and Bernard Butler. Bring It Back - album and single - proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the magic that peppered previous hits Yes and You Do was still there. This partnership also holds a special place in my heart as they were the first gig that Mrs. K and I went to together. They were utterly fantastic, of course.
Concidentally, I saw McAlmont and Butler perform live again in 2025, albeit not together. David was with current musical partner Hifi Sean, Bernard with James Grant and Norman Blake. Sadly, Mrs. K was unable to join me for either as I think she would have loved them.
Another welcome return for the Pet Shop Boys and Johnny Marr, who have both appeared in the previous 'decade' series. Home And Dry signalled a more reflective PSB and one which signalled and embraced their - and their audience's - transition from Radio 1 to Radio 2. Johnny had collaborated with Neil and Chris previously and his trademark guitar lines add class to a classy song.
And so, we've suddenly come to the end of another year and, if you ignored most of the Top 40 most of the time, another great year for music.
Could 2003 hope to find some gold amongst the grit? Join me on Sunday to find out.
1) Lessons Learned From Rocky I To Rocky III (Radio Edit): Cornershop
2) Freak Like Me (We Don't Give A Damn Mix By Richard X): Sugababes
3) Dance To The Underground (Edit By The DFA aka James Murphy & Tim Goldsworthy): Radio 4
4) Something To Talk About (The Four Tet Convention Remix By Kieran Hebden): Badly Drawn Boy
5) Johnny Teardrop (Remixed & Radio Edited): Edwyn Collins
6) Bring It Back (Album Version By Bernard Butler): McAlmont & Butler
7) Lazy (Radio Edit): X-Press 2 ft. David Byrne
8) Home And Dry (Single Mix): Pet Shop Boys ft. Johnny Marr
9) The Weather Episode (Original Version): Go Home Productions ft. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Crowded House
10) My Culture (We Love This Mix (Video Edit)): 1 Giant Leap ft. Maxi Jazz & Robbie Williams
11) The Mello Hippo Disco Show (Jacknife Lee Mix): The Amorphous Androgynous
12) Scorpio Rising (The Scientist Mix): Death In Vegas ft. Liam Gallagher
10th March 2002: Handcream For A Generation (#37): 1
24th March 2002: Release (#14): 8
14th April 2002: Muzikizum (#2): 7
14th April 2002: 1 Giant Leap (#9): 10
28th April 2002: Angels With Dirty Faces (#1): 2
5th May 2002: Doctor Syntax (#192): 5
16th June 2002: About A Boy OST (#28): 4
23rd June 2002: This Was Pop (2002-2007) (# n/a): 9
11th August 2002: The Isness (#68): 11
3rd November 2002: Bring It Back (#36): 6
24th November 2002: Gotham! (#94): 3
22nd December 2002: Scorpio Rising (#14): 12
