There are some pop acts you discover once and never forget — not because they had chart-topping hits or award shows full of trophies, but because they should have. For me, that band is Avenue. Formed during The X Factor’s wild early-2000s era, Avenue had it. Harmonies smoother than Impulse body spray, hair that defied… Read more

Part 1: The Tony Rich Project – Nobody Knows (1996) Before the 00s gave us glittery pop chaos, the 90s had its own breed of one-hit wonders — the smooth, soulful, “you’ve-just-been-dumped-and-it’s-raining” kind. The Tony Rich Project – Nobody Knows (1996) Enter The Tony Rich Project — real name Tony Rich — who gave us… Read more

aka: The songs that ruled our lives for five minutes… and vanished forever. Every decade has them — the artists who crash into the charts like a glitter cannon and disappear just as quickly. But the 00s? We perfected the one-hit wonder. From school discos to Smash Hits magazines, these tracks were everywhere… until they… Read more

A mini-rant-meets-tribute from Actually Asten 💖 There are a few things that defined British childhood in the 2000s: MSN Messenger, Sunny D, and a certain orange fox yelling “Boom Boom!” on CBBC every afternoon. Basil Brush wasn’t just a puppet — he was a personality. He had more charisma than half the adults on telly,… Read more

If CBBC was cosy and safe, Cartoon Network was wild, weird, and wonderfully ours. Cartoon Network in the late 90s/early 00s felt like the slightly older sibling of kids’ TV: loud, chaotic, and full of characters who made no sense but all the sense in the world. The bright colours, surreal bumpers and that checkerboard… Read more

Before CBBC and Saturday morning chaos, there was a softer, slightly surreal corner of early 90s telly that quietly shaped who I became. Before I was old enough for SMILE, Xchange or Raven, there was a whole other world of TV: gentle pacing, handmade sets, and theme tunes that still live rent-free in my head.… Read more

Between Spice-mania and Girls Aloud came a glittery little pocket of UK pop/R&B girl groups who deserved way more love. Consider this my love letter to the ones you might’ve misplaced behind your Woolworths CD singles. The 411: smooth R&B and a CBBC crossover (!) If you know, you know: “On My Knees” and “Dumb”… Read more