Single Of The Week
Riva featuring Dannii Minogue – Who Do You Love Now? (Stringer)
After three years away, and three hits before that when she pretended she didn’t have a surname, Notre Dame de L’Australie returns on someone else’s hit. It’s sheer pop-dance brilliance which will be played at G-A-Y for the next year at least. Also includes an ambient mix which is straight out of Ibiza’s Café Mambo at sunset – absolutely gorgeous (although unrecognisable from the original version).

Today’s other purchases:
Muse – Hyper Music / Feeling Good: Muse seem to be getting some recognition at last, and winning some awards. Feeling Good seemed an unlikely track to cover when it appeared on their second album, but their unique take on it makes it their own. Best known as a Nina Simone track, it was actually a bigger hit for Huff & Herb in ’97, but Muse should beat their #31 placing.
S Club 7 – Have You Ever: Children In Need’s house band release another sad song for charidee. This can hardly fail, as every schoolchild in the country has had the opportunity to appear on backing vocals on the CD’s second version, so they’ll all be buying it. Genius. This week’s #1.
Shed Seven – Step Inside Your Love: From the box marked ‘Groups everyone else has forgotten about but I really like’, York’s finest suddenly appear in the shops again with a single I haven’t heard, and guess what? It’s a stormer! Instantly appealing, but I bet it stiffs in the charts. Includes a rollicking version of Jean Genie as well, which really works because Witter doesn’t try to do a Bowie impersonation, but does his own thing.
The White Stripes – Hotel Yorba: Yes, I’m a week late catching up with this one, but I didn’t realise how much I liked it until it entered Sunday’s chart. While I’m not convinced they are The Future Of Rock’n’Roll, I find their back to basics, demo style quite refreshing. I also think they might be slightly mad.

What else is spinning in Chig’s CD tray this week?
Westlife – World Of Our Own (album). Scoff all you like. I don’t care. It’s brilliant – and very, very long. The big debate must surely be which tracks NOT to release as monster singles. Having just equalled Abba and the Spice Girls with nine #1s, this little lot should provide them with a few more as they equal Madonna (10) on the way to their stated aim of beating The Beatles and Elvis Presley’s seventeen.
The Cure – Greatest Hits + Acoustic Hits (album). Best value for money this year: 36 tracks for £8.99 from www.cd-wow.com . (Why does anyone buy new albums from shops any more?) Glorious reminiscences of happy student union disco days dancing to The Lovecats (every week for four years, actually) and a few tracks I’d completely forgotten.


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