Coco Jamboo – Mr President

This song was popular in 1996 and 1997, it peaked at No. 7 in Australia, No. 8 in the UK and No. 21 in the UK and had done well in other countries around the world, it is definitely one of the most memorable songs out of the 30 on the two CD compilation.

Lovefool – The Cardigans

No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 2 in the UK and No. 11 in Australia, this hit by The Cardigans has enjoyed a long life, it was released in 1996 and then re-released in 1997, it was in 1997 when it got plenty of attention, helped by its inclusion in the soundtrack to ‘Romeo + Juliet’.

Don’t You Love Me – Eternal

‘Don’t You Love Me’ was a success in the UK, it peaked at No. 3 while in Australia it peaked at No. 25, it had also charted in several other countries, it is a song that feels more memorable than its peak position of No. 25, it just proves that you don’t have to hit the top to be memorable.

All I Wanna Do – Dannii

‘All I Wanna Do’ peaked at No. 11 in Australia but had great success in the UK when it peaked at No. 4, the song also charted in Belgium and Sweden.

It is Dannii’s highest selling single in the UK in a career that started in Australia on the TV show Young Talent Time before her solo career kicked off in 1990, a career that has been up and down in terms of chart success.

A move to recording Dance Music turned out to be a wise career move as her chart success there outdone her main chart success, Dannii had 11 consecutive No. 1 dance singles in the UK.

Twisted – Keith Sweat

This song was a big hit for Keith Sweat as it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 9 in Australia and No. 39 in the UK.

The song charted on five Billboard charts, topping the Rhythmic chart and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Got ‘Til It’s Gone – Janet Jackson

This song featured Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell, the song samples the well-known Joni Mitchell song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, the song was reached the Top 10 in Australia, the UK and several other countries and made eleven Year end charts with Canada Dance/Urban the best with No. 20.

There was controversy as Des’ree believed that ‘Got ‘Til It’s Gone’ sounded similar to her 1992 song ‘Feel So High’ and so she sued, a settlement awarded 25 per cent of the publishing royalties from the song to Des’ree which was worth two million pounds.

2 Become 1 – Spice Girls

This love song with a message about contraception thrown in was a hit around the world in 1996 and 1997, it peaked at No. 1 in the UK, No. 2 in Australia and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and graced the charts in many other countries as the Spice Girls dominated the charts for a couple of years.

There is a Christmas music special hosted by Andrew Ridgeley (who was part of Wham! with George Michael) and among all the songs about Christmas is ‘2 Become 1’ and it is quite bizarre, perhaps it was included because of its contraception message to remind people who were having Christmas parties at work to use protection.

Love to Love You – The Corrs

‘Love to Love You’ was released in the middle of The Corrs seven consecutive charting singles run in Australia, it peaked at No. 25 making it the third best single out of the seven, the song’s next best performing market was Spain where it peaked at No. 40.

The song was outside the Top 50 in the UK as it peaked at No. 62 and they wouldn’t hit the Top 40 until their eighth single ‘Dreams’ was released in 1998, that song peaked at No. 6.

Something About The Way You Look Tonight – Elton John

This song is a song that had two lives, it was originally released as a solo release and then it was released five days later as a double A-side with ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’, the song that was released in tribute to Princess Diana which was a rewrite of ‘Candle in the Wind’ a tribute to Marilyn Monroe.

So, while the original release peaked at No. 32 in Australia, the double A-side was a No. 1 hit in Australia and 25 other music markets around the world and at the end of 1997 it was No. 1 on the year-end list of 11 markets.

Temporary One – Fleetwood Mac

The ‘classic’ lineup of Fleetwood Mac returned with ‘The Dance’ and the song ‘Temporary One’ was released, it was released in Germany and Australia and both singles contained four songs, the other three songs were Gypsy, Silver Springs and Songbird.

Temporary One peaked at No. 99 in Germany but ‘The Dance’ was far more successful, it hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 4 in Australia while charting well in many other countries.

Rani is an Australian performer who released ‘Always on My Mind’ to success in 1997, the song peaked at No. 33, her only album peaked at No. 99, and she was nominated for two ARIA Awards.

Rani is the daughter of the legendary singer Kamahl, Kamahl has sold over 20 million albums, and he performed ‘The Elephant Song’, that song went to No. 1 in Belgium and the Netherlands while also charting in New Zealand.

There is no doubt that quite a number of Australians who listened to Triple J etc. would recognise the song even if they don’t recognise the singer.

Nightmare – Brainbug

This instrumental song by Italian dance musician Brainbug done well in Australia in 1997, it peaked at No. 14 and had done better in the UK with a peak of No. 11, the UK dance charts loved it more as it hit No. 1.

Professional Widow (It’s Got to Be Big) – Tori Amos

This song by Tori Amos was a UK No. 1 hit, it done well in Australia with a peak of No. 17, Tori’s music was always a big seller in Australia and the UK with nine Top 20 albums in Australia.

There’s two Professional Widow songs, Professional Widow and Professional Widow (It’s Got to Be Big), this song is the latter, and it is a remix by Armand van Helden.

Block Rockin’ Beats – The Chemical Brothers

This song hit No. 1 in the UK, their second and last one to reach the top though their albums were far more successful, six eligible for charting albums hit No. 1 in a row, their album ‘Further’ was ineligible as buyers had the chance to win an iPad.

This song peaked at No. 28 in Australia, it was their second single to chart in the country, their most successful single was ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’ in 1999 and that song peaked at No. 25 though like the UK, they were far more successful with their albums.