We’re taking a look at the music milestones we’ll be celebrating in 2021 – and today it’s back to 1991!

It was a monumental year for pop music – Madonna was celebrating almost a decade of success with The Immaculate Collection, fresh off their first world tour, Bananarama dropped their only album with Jacquie O’Sullivan and Dannii Minogue made her international debut – as sister Kylie continued to promote her brilliant Rhythm of Love.

Take yourself back to better times as we reminisce on thirty brilliant tracks turning 30 this year.

The KLF featuring The Children of the Revolution – 3 a.m. Eternal

Release date: 7 January 1991
Album: The White Room

Originally released in 1989, it was the acid house pop version of 3 a.m. Eternal that became an international Top 10 hit single and hit No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It led to The KLF becoming the internationally biggest-selling singles band of 1991.

Cathy Dennis – Touch Me (All Night Long)

Release date: 14 January 1991
Album: Move To This

Released as the third single from her debut album Move To This, Touch Me (All Night Long) hit the Top 5 in the UK and US and became Cathy’s biggest hit of her career.

Kylie Minogue – What Do I Have to Do

Release date: 21 January 1991
Album: Rhythm of Love

Originally intended as the second release from Kylie’s Rhythm of Love, What Do I Have to Do was bumped in favour of Step Back in Time. Despite being her first single to peak outside of the UK Top 5, it remains a classic from her discography.

Kim Appleby – G.L.A.D

Release date: January 1991
Album: Kim Appleby

Featuring a rap from Aswad vocalist Brinsley Forde, G.L.A.D was the second single from Kim’s eponymous debut album and landed the star her second UK Top 10 hit.

Roxette – Joyride

Release date: 27 February 1991
Album: Joyride

The lead single from Roxette’s third studio album of the same name, Joyride became one of the duo’s biggest hits – topping the US charts – and was one of the most successful singles of 1991.

Chesney Hawkes – The One and Only

Release date: February 1991
Album: Buddy’s Song

Written and produced by Nik Kershaw, Chesney’s debut single was featured in the 1991 film Buddy’s Song – which starred the singer as the eponymous Buddy and Roger Daltrey as his father – and spent five weeks atop the UK charts.

Madonna – Rescue Me

Release date: 23 February 1991
Album: The Immaculate Collection

Lifted from Madonna’s first greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection, Rescue Me was never intended as the follow-up to Justify My Love. However, continuous radio airplay prompted her label to release the track, which became a UK and US Top 10 hit.

Dannii Minogue – Love and Kisses

Release date: 18 March 1991
Album: Love and Kisses

Originally released as Dannii’s debut single in Australia in 1990, the track was issued as a single from the repackaged album of the same name internationally, and became a Top 10 hit in the UK.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Sailing on the Seven Seas

Release date: 18 March 1991
Album: Sugar Tax

While Sailing on the Seven Seas was OMD’s first single to be released without original member Paul Humphreys, it is, along with 1981’s Souvenir, the band’s highest-charting UK hit to date, peaking at No. 3 in the UK.

Lonnie Gordon – Gonna Catch You

Release Date: April 1991
Album: Bad Mood

Written and produced by Black Box, Gonna Catch You became Lonnie Gordon’s second Top 40 hit in the UK and was later featured in the 1991 film, Cool as Ice, and on her second album, Bad Mood.

Paula Abdul – Rush Rush

Release date: 2 May 1991
Album: Spellbound

The lead single from Paula Abdul’s second album Spellbound fared well as the follow-up to opposites attract, landing in the UK Top 10 and topping the US charts.

Bananarama – Long Train Running

Release date: 18 May 1991
Album: Pop Life

Bananarama’s pop/house version of the Doobie Brothers’ classic was the last track to be added to their fifth album Pop Life and released as the third single from the collection, landing in the UK Top 30.

Kylie Minogue – Shocked

Release date: 20 May 1991
Album: Rhythm of Love

The fourth and final single from Rhythm of Love tied What Do I Have to Do on the charts, coming in at No. 6.

Sonia – Only Fools (Never Fall in Love)

Release date: 20 May 1991
Album: Sonia

Just months after wrapping the campaign for her debut LP Everybody Knows, Sonia returned with Only Fools (Never Fall in Love), originally written with Diana Ross in mind, scoring the star her third and final UK Top 10 hit.

Pet Shop Boys – Jealousy

Release date: 27 May 1991
Album: Behaviour

The fourth and final single from Pet Shop Boys’ fourth album, Behaviour, is the first proper song ever composed by the duo and was left off their previous three albums as the pair awaited legendary film composer Ennio Morricone’s orchestral input. Instead, it was Harold Faltermeyer who finalised the arrangement for release.

Prince and The New Power Generation – Gett Off

Release date: 7 June 1991
Album: Diamonds and Pearls

Remembered as one of the greatest songs of the ’90s, Gett Off was released as the lead single from Diamonds and Pearls and became Prince’s final release to top the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

Jason Donovan – Any Dream Will Do

Release date: 10 June 1991
Album: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Jason, who was then playing Joseph in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks with Andrew Lloyd Weller’s classic tune.

Erasure – Chorus

Release date: 17 June 1991
Album: Chorus

The title track and first single from Erasure’s fifth studio album saw them return to the UK charts and landed them their first US Billboard Hot 100 hit since 1989’s Stop!

Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It for You

Release date: 18 June 1991
Album: Waking Up the Neighbours

Featured on two albums simultaneously – the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Brian’s sixth album, Waking Up the Neighbours – (Everything I Do) I Do It for You was the top selling song of 1991 in the UK and US.

Martika – Love… Thy Will Be Done

Release date: 25 July 1991
Album: Martika’s Kitchen

After finding success with her debut self-titled album and its massive hit Toy Soldiers, Martika launched her second LP, Martika’s Kitchen, with the electronic, Prince-penned Love… Thy Will Be Done, scoring her another chart success.

Salt-N-Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex

Release date: 6 August 1991
Album: Blacks’ Magic

Highlighting safe sex, the positive and negative sides of sex and the censorship that sex in American mainstream media, the fourth single from Salt-N-Pepa’s Blacks’ Magic album landed them a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Mariah Carey – Emotions

Release date: 13 August 1991
Album: Emotions

The title track and lead single from Mariah Carey’s sophomore album extended her run at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 with a fifth chart-topper, making her the first and only act to have their first five singles make No. 1 on the chart.

Diana Ross – When You Tell Me That You Love Me

Release date: 20 August 1991
Album: The Force Behind the Power

The lead single from Diana Ross’s 1991 album The Force Behind the Power quickly became one of the star’s signature songs, peaking at No. 2 in the UK thanks to a release including her 1985 hit Chain Reaction.

Rozalla – Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)

Release date: September 1991
Album: Everybody’s Free

Released as the second single from her album, Everybody’s Free, Rozalla’s Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good) had been a staple in the clubs in Ibiza and Mallorca, where it was discovered by holidaymakers and soon became a hit back in the UK.

Lisa Stansfield – Change

Release date: 7 October 1991
Album: Blacks’ Real Love

The lead single from Lisa Stansfield’s second album Real Love was an international hit, charting in the Top 10 across Europe and propelling the singer to the top of America’s Hot Dance Club Songs rundown.

Cher – Save Up all Your Tears

Release Date: October 1991
Album: Love Hurts

Cher’s cover of Bonnie Tyler’s 1988 Diane Warren-penned single was the second release from her 20th album, Love Hurts, and became a hit in the UK and US, breaking the Top 40 on both sides of the pond.

Michael Jackson – Black or White

Release date: 11 November 1991
Album: Dangerous

Described by Epic Records as “a rock ‘n’ roll dance song about racial harmony,” Black or White became the fastest song since The Beatles’ Let It Be to top the Billboard Hot 100 and saw the King of Pop become the first artist to have number one hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Donna Summer – Work That Magic

Release date: 18 November 1991
Album: Mistaken Identity

The second and final single from Donna Summer’s 15th album, Mistaken Identity, was the strongest throwback to the Stock Aitken Waterman sound of her previous effort, Another Place and Time, and remains a fan favourite – despite stalling at No. 74 in the UK.

George Michael and Elton John – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Release date: 25 November 1991
Album: N/A

Originally a Top 20 UK hit for Elton in 1974 from his Caribou album, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me found further success as a live cover version from Live Aid in Wembley Stadium in 1985 between Elton and George Michael, which topped the UK and US charts.

The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette – Justified & Ancient

Release date: 25 November 1991
Album: The White Room

Featured on The KLF’s 1991 album, The White Room, but dating back to their debut, 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), Justified & Ancient is best known for its pop-house remake, subtitled Stand by The JAMs, with verses featuring Tammy Wynette.