It’s Thursday at 9am, and time once again for more retro chart pop goodness of 25 years ago, with The Story of Pop: 1998. This week: we meet the man behind some of the late 90s biggest dance hits…
- Artist: Sash! feat. Tina Cousins
- Song: Mysterious Times
- Released: 03/08/1998
- Writers / Producers: Sascha Lappessen / Ralf Kappmeier / Thomas Alisson / Sash! / Tokapi
- Highest UK Chart Position: #2
- Weeks on Chart: 14
There are some artists for whom the expression “Always the best man and never the groom” applies when it comes to chart success. Sascha Lappessen, aka German DJ and mega producer Sash!, was most certainly one of them in the 90s.
Having been big in Europe with the release of his first single, “It’s My Life” in 1996, the following year, 1997, saw him cross over to and conquer the UK charts – all whilst never quite making it all the way to the top. His first three singles, “Encore Une Fois”, “Ecuador” and “Stay”, featuring a variety of guest vocalists including Rodriguez and LaTrec, had all been defining dance anthems of that year.
However, all had had the misfortune to stall at #2 upon release, held off by massive selling chart toppers from, respectively, No Doubt (“Don’t Speak”), Puff Daddy and Faith Evans (“I’ll Be Missing You”) and Sir Elton John (“Candle In The Wind 1997”).
With the release of his second album, Life Goes On, in the spring of 1998, Sash! was attempting to consolidate the crossover he had enjoyed from clubland into the mainstream pop charts. One single from the album had already gone first in April, “La Primavera”, which peaked at #3 behind the strong selling duopoly of the Run DMC and Celine Dion records we discussed earlier in the series.
The follow-up, “Mysterious Times”, attempted to bridge the gap further, and was the first Sash! release that truly felt like a dance pop song rather than a straightahead dance record. Guest vocals on the tune were provided by Essex born vocalist Tina Cousins, then at the time pursuing her own solo career under the guidance of Mark Topham and Karl Twigg of Pete Waterman’s record label, Ebul.
With its brooding, intense synths and juddering basslines, it acted as the perfect backdrop for a song that talked about living at unease in an uncertain world: “We’re all feeling the change, and we don’t know why / Choose one direction, just one more time / Don’t say you’re thinking too much, if you see what’s behind / And these are mysterious times”.
However, once again, despite a heady build up of pre-release support, “Mysterious Times” was only able to go the way of his first three singles, debuting and peaking at #2 behind the record we’ll be discussing next week. On the positive side, it did give much needed impetus to the Life Goes On album, as it climbed back up the chart to give Sash! his second top 10 album.
Tina Cousins meanwhile, would find chart success of her own – albeit on a more modest scale – with top 20 hits including “Pray” and “Killin’ Time”, as well as a guest spot on the all star tribute to ABBA at the BRIT Awards in 1999. She would reunite once more with Sash! in 2000, hitting number 8 with “Just Around The Hill”, the second single from his third album, Trilennium. But hopefully now, 25 years on, Sash! can finally have his overdue groomsmen flowers.
Don’t forget to follow our brand new playlist on Spotify – updated weekly so you never miss a song from the story of pop in 1998. And you can leave your memories of the songs below in the comments, Tweet us or message us on Instagram, using the hashtag #StoryofPop1998.
The Niche Reference 