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Before Leona Lewis : British Female Number Ones America Never Heard Leona Lewis has just had the first US No.1 single by a British female in twenty years. It's a decent track, but she's an extremely bland artist. Now apparently, the last female to achieve the same feat was Kim Wilde.  Kim Fucking Wilde! WTF?!! So, I thought given the historical significance of this moment and the scandalous imports America have taken to their hearts (Natasha Bedingfield anyone?) I'd point out some UK No.1 songs by British females that should have repeated the feat in America but didn't. Here goes....
Gabrielle - Dreams I have some very sexy memories associated with this track which was No. 1 in 1993. Naturally, I'm not gonna share those memories with you, but I just thought I'd mention it anyway. This was Alexander O' Neal's favorite song. He was an enthusiastic cheerleader for her throughout the '90s and tried to get her to duet with him, but it never happened. Maybe in the '80s his patronage might have helped her in America, but as it was, she never made a dent there though she was huge in Europe. She has a very unique voice and this song is great. Eternal - The Only One (featuring Be Be Winans) This is feelgood pop for girls, but I'm sure some guys must have secretly liked it too. The lead singer has a gospel background and boy does it show. They were the big girl band in Britain before The Spice Girls came along in 1996. 1997 was their last big year and that's when they scored this No.1 hit. I'm guessing you already know who Be Be Winans is. He sounds great here. All Saints - Pure Shores There was only one really talented member of this group. That was the black girl, Shaznay. She had the best voice and wrote all the songs. She tried a solo career afterwards, but like Susanna Hoffs outside The Bangles, it wasn't the same. This song comes from the Leonardo Di Caprio film "The Beach" and was No.1 in 2000. All Saints - Black Coffee This came just a few months after "Pure Shores", and just like that one, it was produced by William Orbit of "Ray of Light" fame. There are other songs I've probably missed, but these are the ones that came to my mind as being totally unknown in America. I could have mentioned Lisa Stansfield too, but she at least had some success Stateside, even if she didn't reach No.1. [Edited 3/30/08 14:15pm] “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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I know about Eternal and Gabrielle. Eternal made a song I think back in the 1990's called "Stay" and I think it was a single as well. | |
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Oh by the way , really nice.  | |
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EccentricLady said: I know about Eternal and Gabrielle. Eternal made a song I think back in the 1990's called "Stay" and I think it was a single as well.
Yes, "Stay" was their biggest hit here (Top 20 R&B and Pop). It's a cover of a Glenn Jones song. Speaking of covers, Monica's version of their song "Angel of Mine" was a #1 hit. Gabrielle received some airplay here with "Dreams." It was a minor hit (#26 Pop). While Lisa Stansfield never hit the top of the Hot 100, she has 3 #1 R&B songs ("All Around the World," "You Can't Deny It," and "All Woman"). [Edited 3/29/08 20:44pm] "Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis | |
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AlexdeParis said: EccentricLady said: I know about Eternal and Gabrielle. Eternal made a song I think back in the 1990's called "Stay" and I think it was a single as well.
Yes, "Stay" was their biggest hit here (Top 20 R&B and Pop). It's a cover of a Glenn Jones song. Speaking of covers, Monica's version of their song "Angel of Mine" was a #1 hit. Gabrielle received some airplay here with "Dreams." It was a minor hit (#26 Pop). While Lisa Stansfield never hit the top of the Hot 100, she has 3 #1 R&B songs ("All Around the World," "You Can't Deny It," and "All Woman"). [Edited 3/29/08 20:44pm] Lisa Stansfield never hit the Hot 100? Shit, if I'd known that then I'd have included "All Around The World" which was No.1 here in 1989, but I see SquirrelMeat beat me to it.  “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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SquirrelMeat said: Shame on me! How could I forget Tasmin Archer "Sleeping Satellite". I loved that song. That was her first single back in 1992, and for some reason her career went down the toilet soon afterwards. After getting off to such a great start, she was an unlikely contender for one-hit-wonder status. People will always remember that song though. “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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EccentricLady said: I know about Eternal and Gabrielle. Eternal made a song I think back in the 1990's called "Stay" and I think it was a single as well.
They also debut with one white female member. | |
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AlexdeParis said: EccentricLady said: I know about Eternal and Gabrielle. Eternal made a song I think back in the 1990's called "Stay" and I think it was a single as well.
Yes, "Stay" was their biggest hit here (Top 20 R&B and Pop). It's a cover of a Glenn Jones song. Speaking of covers, Monica's version of their song "Angel of Mine" was a #1 hit. Gabrielle received some airplay here with "Dreams." It was a minor hit (#26 Pop). While Lisa Stansfield never hit the top of the Hot 100, she has 3 #1 R&B songs ("All Around the World," "You Can't Deny It," and "All Woman"). [Edited 3/29/08 20:44pm] Lisa Stansfield also had This Is The Right Time (To Believe In Love) that charted high on the Billboard USA Dance Charts. [Edited 3/30/08 6:57am] | |
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midnightmover said: AlexdeParis said: Yes, "Stay" was their biggest hit here (Top 20 R&B and Pop). It's a cover of a Glenn Jones song. Speaking of covers, Monica's version of their song "Angel of Mine" was a #1 hit. Gabrielle received some airplay here with "Dreams." It was a minor hit (#26 Pop). While Lisa Stansfield never hit the top of the Hot 100, she has 3 #1 R&B songs ("All Around the World," "You Can't Deny It," and "All Woman"). [Edited 3/29/08 20:44pm] Lisa Stansfield never hit the Hot 100? Shit, if I'd known that then I'd have included "All Around The World" which was No.1 here in 1989, but I see SquirrelMeat beat me to it. She never hit the top of the Hot 100. "All Around the World" peaked at #3 in early 1990. "Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis | |
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AlexdeParis said: midnightmover said: Lisa Stansfield never hit the Hot 100? Shit, if I'd known that then I'd have included "All Around The World" which was No.1 here in 1989, but I see SquirrelMeat beat me to it. She never hit the top of the Hot 100. "All Around the World" peaked at #3 in early 1990. Oh, okay. Then I was right to leave her out. btw, notice how they ripped off Soul II Soul's sound on that track? That was when everyone started copying Soul II Soul. “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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wow!!!
=  Space for sale... | |
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Well everything by GIRLS ALOUD should be on this list, they just notched their 18th straight Top 10 and never have been issued in the USA. Though there was an attempt when they first came out in 2001-02 to issue them here and Universal said they were "too fast" for american radio, which is code word for "they arent bland like american shit to sell here". Which is really the only reason Leona Lewis sells here, because she is geared to america, Kim Wilde broke through with a cover and that was it, "Kids In America" was a minor hit, but was one of the classic new wave songs of its day, Kim never caught on here because of her complexity. "We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F | |
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lastdecember said: Well everything by GIRLS ALOUD should be on this list, they just notched their 18th straight Top 10 and never have been issued in the USA. Though there was an attempt when they first came out in 2001-02 to issue them here and Universal said they were "too fast" for american radio, which is code word for "they arent bland like american shit to sell here". Which is really the only reason Leona Lewis sells here, because she is geared to america, Kim Wilde broke through with a cover and that was it, "Kids In America" was a minor hit, but was one of the classic new wave songs of its day, Kim never caught on here because of her complexity.
Kim Wilde had a US No.1 single in 1987. It was a cover version of The Supremes "You Keep Me Hanging On", but America was right to reject her overall. She was pretty talentless. However, I always loved this song. It has a beautiful melody. Shame they didn't find someone better to sing it. “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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I think Melaine from all saints had a great voice too. She and Shaznay were the lead singers, they sounded great together | |
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Yeah that was her breakthrough cover but "Kids in America" did peak at No.25 in 1982 so she was already someone that had been heard here, though her music was too complex for the USA, songs like "cambodia" and "love blonde" were too much even for the diverse America in the early 80's plus Kim was early on the Brit invasion that would come later with the Stock Aiken Waterman productions, which she was part of, along with Rick Astley, Samantha Fox, Bananarama,Donna Summer etc...but like any invasion it didnt last for long as everyone started sounding the same prodcution wise, KIND OF LIKE what is happening now in the states with Timbaland and others, at least than the music and artists were 100 times better for the most part "We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F | |
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This should've been bigger Stateside too....
Shakespeare's Sister - Stay This was No.1 for 8 weeks in 1992. The band was formed by one member of Bananarama (Siobhan Fahey) getting together with singer/songwriter Marcella Detroit, which is a bit like Ginger Spice leaving The Spice Girls and hooking up with Tori Amos, but anyway, it worked very well. This was like a horror movie set to music. The video would be creepy if it weren't so camp. Kate Bush fans will like this one. [Edited 3/30/08 14:13pm] “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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sosgemini said: wow!!!
= Oh stop! For all we know the could have been separated at birth | |
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Ottensen said: sosgemini said: wow!!!
= Oh stop! For all we know the could have been separated at birth I have no idea who or what this is. “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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midnightmover said: Just realized I made an even bigger omission than Tasmin Archer. In the same year, Shakespeare's Sister hit No.1 with this gothic masterpiece. I'm editing my first post to include this one so read more details up there.
This is so beautiful. | |
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SHEENA EASTON (Scotland) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her US debut single "Morning Train (9 to 5)" in May of 1981.
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That Dreams song was definitely all over the radio in the US. Hearing it again makes me realize how much Desree's "You Gotta Be" was ripped off from it.
That Shakespeare's Sister song... 
But I LOVE that Tasmin Archer song, had totally forgotten about that one. Great topic, overall! [Edited 3/30/08 12:37pm] | |
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midnightmover said: Just realized I made an even bigger omission than Tasmin Archer. In the same year, Shakespeare's Sister hit No.1 with this gothic masterpiece. I'm editing my first post to include this one so read more details up there.
It wasn't an omission at all. "Stay" peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 here in the U.S. "Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis | |
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AlexdeParis said: midnightmover said: Just realized I made an even bigger omission than Tasmin Archer. In the same year, Shakespeare's Sister hit No.1 with this gothic masterpiece. I'm editing my first post to include this one so read more details up there.
It wasn't an omission at all. "Stay" peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 here in the U.S. I've corrected that now. I'm too lazy to do research so forgive the odd mistake. Good to know it made the Top 10. What mystifies me though is how come "Dreams" didn't do better considering it got a lot of airplay over there. There must just be a preference for homegrown acts. Monica's success with Eternal's "Angel Of Mine" would seem to indicate that, since her version was almost a direct copy of the original, yet Eternal couldn't get arrested after "Stay". [Edited 3/30/08 14:05pm] [Edited 3/30/08 14:15pm] “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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EccentricLady said: midnightmover said: Just realized I made an even bigger omission than Tasmin Archer. In the same year, Shakespeare's Sister hit No.1 with this gothic masterpiece. I'm editing my first post to include this one so read more details up there.
This is so beautiful. Yeah, can't believe I forgot to mention that one.  [Edited 3/30/08 14:17pm] “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
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midnightmover said: AlexdeParis said: It wasn't an omission at all. "Stay" peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 here in the U.S. I've corrected that now. I'm too lazy to do research so forgive the odd mistake. Don't worry about it. Good to know it made the Top 10. What mystifies me though is how come "Dreams" didn't do better considering it got a lot of airplay over there. There must just be a preference for homegrown acts. Monica's success with Eternal's "Angel Of Mine" would seem to indicate that, since her version was almost a direct copy of the original, yet Eternal couldn't get arrested after "Stay".
Well, I wouldn't say that. Americans were pretty engrossed with British acts from the '60s through the '80s. Of course, lots of things changed in the '90s (SoundScan, ClearChannelization of the radio, the mainstream rise of rap, etc.). "Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis | |
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midnightmover said: EccentricLady said: This is so beautiful. Yeah, can't believe I forgot to mention that one.
[Edited 3/30/08 14:17pm] | |
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midnightmover said: This should've been bigger Stateside too....
Shakespeare's Sister - Stay This was No.1 for 8 weeks in 1992. The band was formed by one member of Bananarama (Siobhan Fahey) getting together with singer/songwriter Marcella Detroit, which is a bit like Ginger Spice leaving The Spice Girls and hooking up with Tori Amos, but anyway, it worked very well. This was like a horror movie set to music. The video would be creepy if it weren't so camp. Kate Bush fans will like this one. [Edited 3/30/08 14:13pm] I left that one out as it was a band! . |
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lastdecember said: Well everything by GIRLS ALOUD should be on this list, they just notched their 18th straight Top 10 and never have been issued in the USA. Though there was an attempt when they first came out in 2001-02 to issue them here and Universal said they were "too fast" for american radio, which is code word for "they arent bland like american shit to sell here". Which is really the only reason Leona Lewis sells here, because she is geared to america, Kim Wilde broke through with a cover and that was it, "Kids In America" was a minor hit, but was one of the classic new wave songs of its day, Kim never caught on here because of her complexity.
it always amazes me that a band like Girls Aloud can have so many top 10 hits and be almost completely unheard off over in the USA. Although i am not a fan of theres much i do like some of their songs and i cant see why they arent considered marketable in the USA 
this is maybe the only Girls Aloud song that has got much play mainly cos its in the film st trinians but then again i dunno if that film was even released in the USA it is a very British film With Love there is no Death | |
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Well if your including girl groups in there then Leona Lewis is the first british female number 1 since 1997 since the spice girls had a number one hit with wannabe | |
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