Fun Factory, a Hamburg, Germany based dance pop group, can easily draw comparison to Swedish pop stars Ace of Base. Both acts feature a blend of female vocalists and male rappers, and the output of both groups is excessively pop radio-friendly. Fun Factory comprises of French vocalist Marie-Anett Mey, American rapper Rodney "Rod D." Hardison, and native Germans and record producers Toni "Smooth T." Cottura, and Stephan "Steve" Browarczyk.
Extracted from the group’s 1995 "Fun-Tastic" album, "I Wanna…" opens with a simple melody played using bells (or perhaps samples of bells), which lends the tune a light-hearted nursery rhyme feel. Once Mey sings the chorus for the first time, the song’s vibe then morphs into that of pop-reggae, and leads into a back and forth between a young couple who are declaring their romantic intent with one another. Overall, "I Wanna" successfully captures a very summery feel, which in turn is reinforced by the backyard barbecue setting of the music video.
Fun Factory just missed dancing into the US top 40 with "I Wanna…", as it peaked at #45 on the Hot 100, however, it ended up scoring much higher on the US Dance charts at #10. This was not the only track that they nearly placed into the top 40... two years prior in 1993, their single "Close To You", hit US #46 pop, and US #22 dance.
Also of note, is the group’s 1995 cover of Manfred Mann’s 1964 hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (the title of which was altered to "Doh Wah Diddy" for the remake), which peaked at #6 in Germany on the GfK Entertainment Charts (their own version of the Billboard singles chart), but the cover tune was not released as a single here in the states.
And despite the very Prince-influenced spelling of the title, it appears that the late purple one had nothing whatsoever to do with this song. No matter, it’s still a bouncy, easy going pop tune that deserved to break through greater on the charts.
"I wanna be with you, ‘cause my love is true… there’s so many things that I wanna do… I wanna be with you every night and day… Oh baby, oh baby please stay…"
Next, we hop a flight across the Strait of Dover from Germany to England to check out the second half of this "Two Fer", "Jellyhead" by UK based Crush.
Crush is a dance pop duo consisting of Jayni Hoy and Donna Air, and was a spin-off of an earlier girl group called Byker Grooove. That act was itself a spin-off of a British TV series, a teenage soap opera entitled "Byker Grove" which aired from 1989 to 2006 on the BBC, and featured Hoy, Air, and fellow cast member Vicky Taylor. Taylor left the trio, and Jayni and Donna continued on under the name Crush.
Byker Grove, was not aired in the states (despite being quite popular across the pond), so it’s rather interesting that Crush was promoted to American radio at all, given that the ladies in the group are relative unknowns over here. The best that "Jellyhead" could manage was a #72 pop showing, which was their only appearance on the US hot 100. Surprisingly, it didn’t set the airwaves on fire in the UK either, and reached only UK #50.
"Jellyhead" appeared twice on the ladies’ 1996 debut LP "Teenage Kicks"; a pop/alt rock version, and the "Motive8 Pumphouse Remix", (which is the one that tended to get airplay), and is also the version I’ve posted at the end of the review.
Even though the lyrics are rather simple, I originally thought that "Jellyhead" was being sung by a girl who was berating another girl for dumping her boyfriend unfairly. Although now that I’m really listening to the lyrics, it’s clear my first impression was incorrect, and the narrator is simply dumping her own guy, as he is total clod. A "Jellyhead", if you will. So I overthunk it. That’s what I do.
(Although I assume that not this much thought went into the lyrics when it was written… this is a song to get people shakin’ it on the dance floor after all…)
And what of the unusual opening line "So what if your jeans are torn… they’ve been torn since BRATS were cool"? What do these girls have against German sausages, anyway?
Turns out the actual line is "since Bros were cool", and "Bros" were a UK based pop trio who scored many hits in Europe from ‘87 – ‘91. So Crush was taking a dig at an earlier pop act, but interestingly enough, they also celebrate a contemporary one in the same song with the line… "I want The Prodigy really loud". Could Jayni and Donna be Firestarters?
"Over and over I feel it… boyfriend, you’re alone… you must be out of your mind… Jellyhead. You’ve really blown it."
I was about to call these songs guilty pleasures, but what do I have to feel guilty about? Both Fun Factory and Crush have created playful, upbeat dance numbers here, which although they certainly aren’t the most sophisticated or meaningful pieces of music ever recorded, both tunes possess a carefree youthful vibe that just exudes fun. And in today’s stress filled word, what’s wrong with a song or two that’s pure fun? Nothing, that’s what!
Every now and again, "Mrs. Radio Dial" will pull up pop and dance music videos on our WiiU (typically songs from the ‘90s) for our kids to bounce around to as a "dance party", frequently featuring tunes like Aqua’s "Barbie Girl", the Vengaboys’ "We like to Party", Real McCoy’s "Another Night", "Steal my Sunshine" by Len, etc. Methinks I’ll have to sneak Fun Factory and Crush into the playlist the next time around. Perhaps you’ll add them to your playlist as well.
Kyle’s Radio Dial… the more you listen… the MORE you remember!
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