The Story of Pop: 1999 (Chapter 35)

It’s The Story of Pop: 1999. Every Thursday, at midday, we take you back in time to the UK’s biggest chart hits of 20 years ago and tell you the stories behind them. And get ready, because we’ve got one of the year’s biggest floorfillers kicking off a whole month of dance related entries…

‘Do you like my tight sweater? See how it fits my body!’ That was the first thing a young Róisín Murphy said to Mark Brydon when she met him at a party in Sheffield in 1994. Not only a great chat-up line, it became the title of their first album a year later, when they signed to Echo Records as Moloko, so called after the narcotic laced milk drink featured in the popular Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange.

In 1996, they had their first UK top 40 hit with ‘Fun for Me’, featured on the Batman & Robin film soundtrack. In 1998, they released the follow up to their debut album, titled ‘I Am Not A Doctor’. The album’s first single ‘Sing It Back’ followed in the spring of 1999, in its original, more bluesy sounding form. That time it just missed the top 40, tanking out at #45.

But it wasn’t long before the track fell into the hands of one Boris Dlugosch, a German DJ and producer who had, amongst other things, remixed ‘Horny’, which had been a massive summer hit the previous year for Mousse T vs Hot’n’Juicy. He turned the original into a star-spangled filter disco belter that clubbers couldn’t get enough of.

Coupled with a memorable promo video from the legendary Dawn Shadforth with Róisín in a glitterball inspired ensemble, the reactivated single became one of the most essential floorfillers that summer, and upon re-release went hurtling into the charts at #4. More success for them followed into the new millennium, but this week we mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Sing It Back’, a hit so good it charted twice.

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.