The Story of Pop: 1999 (Chapter 7)

It’s time once again to head back two whole decades to a different time in pop music, as we bring you another installment of The Story of Pop: 1999. And you won’t believe who’s next for us to cover in the story…

Since he got his breakthrough producing Madonna’s 1990 hit ‘Justify My Love’, soul/funk/rock legend Lenny Kravitz has had an outstanding career, taking in millions of record sales and countless Grammys, BRITs and MTV awards along the way. However, his success this side of the pond has always been a little sporadic.

Sure, he’d had top 20 hits with the likes of ‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’ and ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’. But there was a fair amount of flops in between those big hits as well. However, the pop gods have occasionally been known to smile on those with such patchy chart success.

In Lenny’s case, it came when the car manufacturers Peugeot decided to use a song from his most recent album ‘5’ as the soundtrack to the TV advert for their then new 206 model. And much like several other songs we’ll meet in this series, all this exposure was only going to guarantee it’s success.

And surely enough, upon its release this very week in 1999, that song from the Peugeot adverts – otherwise known as ‘Fly Away’ – smashed in at the top of the UK charts to give Lenny the biggest hit of his career and his only number one single.

Don’t forget to follow our playlist on Spotify – updated weekly so you never miss a song from the story of pop in 1999. And you can leave your memories of the songs below in the comments or Tweet us, using the hashtag #StoryofPop1999.