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The Niche Reference

A new name, inspired by all influences…

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The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 38)

Sep 21, 2023Apr 27, 2024 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ 2 Comments

As the Spice Girls began to grow up, so too did their interests outside the band grow, as Mel B took her first steps into a solo career with Missy Elliott...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 37)

Sep 14, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Renewed with confidence and purpose after the slow blossoming success of "Angels", Robbie Williams announced his arrival as Britain's biggest male solo star...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 36)

Sep 7, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Four singles into their career, Five solidified their reputation as the - relative - bad boys of late 90s pop music with a Joan Jett sampling anthemic monster of a hit...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 35)

Aug 31, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

"One For Sorrow" opened the curtain for Steps' debut album, leaning into their ABBA referencing credentials and starting the rise to their massive global success...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 34)

Aug 24, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

It took approximately three years for The Corrs to become one of Ireland's biggest musical exports. And it took some timely remixes and a Fleetwood Mac cover to do so...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 33)

Aug 17, 2023Apr 27, 2024 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Take one member of Daft Punk, a French house pioneer, an old Chaka Khan sample, and what have you got? One of 1998's biggest dance anthems by far...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 32)

Aug 10, 2023Apr 28, 2024 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

For all their adulation and avid fanbase, Boyzone still lacked a huge selling crossover single. That was until Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber entered the equation...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 31)

Aug 3, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

No other dance DJ and producer felt quite so keenly the pain of being the eternal chart best man - and never the groom - as Sash! did in the 90s...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 30)

Jul 27, 2023Mar 29, 2025 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ 1 Comment

"Viva Forever" is widely recognised as one of the Spice Girls' most accompolished ballads - even if it became the unofficial soundtrack to external circumstances around its release...

The Story of Pop: 1998 (Chapter 29)

Jul 20, 2023Apr 27, 2024 ~ Alex the Pensmith ~ Leave a comment

Jamiroquai had gone six years deep into their career without earning a number one single. It took a film of monster proportions to do so...

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