Yesterday, when we were young(ish)

Madam Arcati and I celebrate fifteen years together this month! [We don't mark a single date, that much detail is forgotten by both of us...]

When we first met in May 1998, we were both (through complicated circumstances) residents of his home town Plymouth, and both were desperate to get out (he to return to London, me to leave a city whose original novelty when I moved there two years earlier had faded to boredom) - which we did, of course. The world back then was very different - Tony Blair was still "the golden boy" Prime Minister, President Clinton faced shame and scandal, Diana's death was still causing ripples and accusations of conspiracy (mainly from Mohammed Al-Fayed), the Good Friday Agreement on Northern Ireland was signed (yet atrocities still went on), and Posh and Becks were merely engaged.

To mark this significant achievement, here is a selection of the music that was around at that time when everything was new and uncertain (both of us were wary of commitment at the time, and neither expected this to amount to a "relationship"), and our life in Plymouth was a whorl of nights out, pubbing and clubbing...

At Number 1 in the charts this week in May '98 was the "bouncing song" (for that is exactly how our then friend Billy used to dance to it) - Run DMC vs Jason Nevins - It's Like That:

Run-DMC vs. Jason Nevins - It's Like That

The Spice Girls - Stop had gone straight in at Number 2:

Spice Girls - Stop

Our Glorious Leader Madonna had just dropped from the Top 3 with Frozen:

Madonna - Frozen

Still holding on in the Top 10 was Cornershop and the brilliant Brimful of Asha:

Cornershop - Brimful of Asha

The Ballad of Tom Jones by Space featuring Cerys from Catatonia was just dropping down the charts - a song that remains high on our playlist, even today:

Space - Ballad of Tom Jones

And, finally... just arrived in the charts, but one we'd been dancing to for a while - Kylie and Breathe (Sash! Club Mix):

Kylie Minogue - Breathe

Happy Anniversary, darling!