Yeah, slow

Timeslip moment again...

We've plugged into The Matrix, and suddenly we've shot back two decades to 2003! The year of the Iraq War and the arrest of Saddam Hussein, Beyoncé, the repeal of Section 28, Finding Nemo, the mysterious death of Dr David Kelly, The Da Vinci Code, "that kiss" (Madonna, Britney and Christina Aguilera) at the MTV Video Music Awards, Grayson Perry, the Human Genome Project, Roman Abramovich, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Phil Spector arrested for murder, Michael Howard, Michelle McManus, Will Young's Leave Right Now, Cristiano Ronaldo, civil wars in Liberia and Sri Lanka, the "shoe-bomber", the life imprisonment of Soham child-killer Ian Huntley, the shock return of "Den Watts" in EastEnders, SARS, Gary Jules’ Mad World, Roger Federer, Jemini's nil points at the Eurovision Song Contest, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Tasers, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, HS1, Sir Mick Jagger, Rachel Stevens, a heatwave across the UK and Europe (with the UK's hottest recorded temperature at the time, 38.5°C/101.3°F), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, George Dubya Bush, the first gay kiss on Coronation Street, Get Rich or Die Tryin', the London congestion charge; the year MySpace, Tesla, Greta Thunberg, Ofcom, 4chan, Olivia Rodrigo, iTunes Store and Lady Louise Windsor were born; and Katherine Hepburn, Dame Thora Hird, Nina Simone, Celia Cruz, Johnny Cash, Gregory Peck, Regina Fong, Barry White, Alan Bates, Wish You Were Here...?, Lord Roy Jenkins, Don Estelle, Blind Date, Robert Palmer, Adam Faith, Buddy Ebsen, Edwin Starr, Only Fools and Horses, Denis Quilley, Bob Hope, Charles Bronson, Crossroads, Elisabeth Welch, Donald O'Connor, Maurice Gibb, Dame Wendy Hiller, Yugoslavia, Ron Goodwin, Stacy Keach, the Volkswagen Beetle, Little Eva, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hardy Amies, Suzy Parker, David Hemmings, Barry Sheene, Dennis Thatcher, Mickie Most, Elia Kazan, Britain's oldest radio DJ Alan Keith, and - erm - Idi Amin all died.

In the headlines in November 2003? Michael Jackson was arrested on charges of child molestation, the last ever flight of Concorde took off from Heathrow, President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia resigned after widespread protests, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as governor of California, the final episode of Brookside was broadcast after a 21-year run, England won the rugby world cup; and we bade a sad farewell to the faboo Dorothy Loudon, veteran actor Art Carney, Zimbabwean statesman Canaan Banana, and the utterly gorgeous Gene Anthony Ray. In our cinemas: Love Actually; Master and Commander; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. On telly: Charles II: The Power and the Passion; Hollyoaks; the 50th anniversary of current affairs programme Panorama.

And what of our charts this week twenty years ago? Robbie Williams, Sugababes, Pink, Blue, Atomic Kitten and Black Eyed Peas were all present and correct, alongside some completely forgotten nonentities Blazin' Squad, Fatman Scoop and Kevin Lyttle [nope, me neither].

However, a far more welcome Princess was elevated over all of 'em (as she should be) at the #1 slot:

Kylie Minogue - Slow

How the fuck is that song twenty years old?!!!