Skip to content
The Niche Reference

The Niche Reference

A new name, inspired by all influences…

  • About Me (and the Blog)
  • Publications I’ve Written For

Category: Playlist

#SongoftheWeek: Four of Diamonds & Mr Eazi – ‘The Writer’

Jun 5, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

ARTIST: Four of Diamonds & Mr Eazi SONG: The Writer SO ALEX, WHY IS THIS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? By rights, the Four of Diamonds girls should be, if not globally huge, then at least of consistent top 10 hitting heights levels of success. That they remain slept on by Joe Public in 2020 … Continue reading #SongoftheWeek: Four of Diamonds & Mr Eazi – ‘The Writer’

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 23)

Jun 4, 2020Jun 7, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ 3 Comments

Always here every Thursday at midday to revisit the sights and sounds of the UK chart as it looked two whole decades ago, this is The Story of Pop: 2000. Onto this week's entry then - and by my reckoning, it's time for a bit of an S Club party... The new millennium had undoubtedly … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 23)

#SongoftheWeek: Izzy Bizu – ‘Faded’

May 29, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

ARTIST: Izzy Bizu SONG: Faded SO ALEX, WHY IS THIS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? Unlike most people, my knowledge of Izzy Bizu came prior to her break through as a solo artist in 2016. Prior to that, she was a member of SoundGirl, a clever if not quite big pre-Little Mix who supported Pixie … Continue reading #SongoftheWeek: Izzy Bizu – ‘Faded’

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 22)

May 28, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ 1 Comment

Revisiting the UK chart smashes from the year France won the Euro football championships and when Sir Michael Caine received his knighthood, this is The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: the tale of a UK club smash that found fame Stateside before topping our charts for three weeks... We saw earlier in the series … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 22)

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 21)

May 21, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ 1 Comment

It's Thursday, it's midday, and time as always to continue our look back at all the big UK chart hits from the turn of the millennium with The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: the third and final chart topper for a future assistant to the Time Lord... It's strange to think that with all … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 21)

#SongoftheWeek: Little Mix – ‘Break Up Song’

May 15, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

ARTIST: Little Mix SONG: Break Up Song SO ALEX, WHY IS THIS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? We can only imagine what a fine line music stars must tread in these current times. And for Little Mix, we imagine that line is an even finer one for them to tread being at the poppiest end … Continue reading #SongoftheWeek: Little Mix – ‘Break Up Song’

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 20)

May 14, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Taking our weekly Tardis ride back to the sights and sounds of the UK charts as they were at the turn of the millennium, this is The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: the sassy Antipodean floorfiller that struck it second time lucky... Formed of songwriter, DJ and producer Andy Van Dorsselaer and impossibly pouty … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 20)

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 19)

May 7, 2020Jun 5, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Time once again, as we do every Thursday, to take you back to the sights and sounds of the UK top 40 as it looked two whole decades ago with The Story of Pop: 2000. This week: Britney does it yet again... By the start of May 2000, it had been just over a year … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 19)

#SongoftheWeek: Lawson – ‘Lovers’

May 1, 2020May 16, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

ARTIST: Lawson SONG: Lovers SO ALEX, WHY IS THIS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? Lawson are - to use the Smash Hits term - BACK! BACK! BACK! Admittedly not in the time they thought they'd be returning in when they were mapping this all out a month or so ago but hey, it's a return … Continue reading #SongoftheWeek: Lawson – ‘Lovers’

The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 18)

Apr 30, 2020Apr 30, 2020 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to this week's instalment of The Story of Pop: 2000, as we revisit another huge UK chart smash from two whole decades ago. This week: the tale of two South London teenagers who rocketed to the top with an unusual take on UK garage... There could be little doubting that UK garage was the … Continue reading The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapter 18)

Posts navigation

Older Posts
Newer posts

Recent Posts

  • A Reflection On A Year
  • Top 10 Singles and Albums of 2025
  • Album Review: Olly Murs (@ollymurs) – “Knees Up”
  • Pop Essays #64: Girls Aloud, ‘Swinging London Town’
  • Pop Essays #63: Daniel Powter, ‘Free Loop’

Recent Comments

Matthew W's avatarMatthew W on Pop Essays #58: Mini Viva,…
Unknown's avatarPop Essays #64: Girl… on Girls Aloud’s “Wha…
Unknown's avatarPop Essays #64: Girl… on Pop Essays #48: Moonbaby,…
Terry Campuzano's avatarTerry Campuzano on Pop Essays #50: Diana Ross,…
Unknown's avatarPop Essays #61: Vict… on The Story of Pop: 2000 (Chapte…

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Create account
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
Blog at WordPress.com.
The Niche Reference
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • The Niche Reference
    • Join 228 other subscribers.
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Niche Reference
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...