Hooverphonic - The World Is Mine

Something a little bit different for you today, showing another side to my tastes. I don’t just like trashy pop…

Hooverphonic come from Belgium and are fronted by singer Geike Arnaert. (The G is pronounced like the "ch" in the Scottish word "loch"). The band have been going since 1997, since when they have released 5 albums: “A New Sound Spectacular” (1997), “Blue White Power Milk” (1998), “The Magnificent Tree” (2000), “Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane” (2002) and “Sit Down And Listen To Hooverphonic” (2003). Geike joined the band in 1998, replacing former lead singer Liesje Sadonius, who handled the vocals on the band's debut album.

Originally a trip-hop/ambient band, with comparisons made with Portishead and Australian band Single Gun Theory, they made it big in their home country and had some success in parts of Europe and the US with their successive releases. With the release of their fourth album “Jackie Cane”, the band embarked on a different style of music, with some controversy, which lost them some fans but gained others. "Jackie Cane" is a "pop musical" as the band call it, and tells the story from start to finish of the life of lounge singer Jackie Cane as she is catapulted from obscurity to stardom, and back down again, expanding from a song of the same title from their previous album.

“The World Is Mine” was the first single lifted from the album, and is from the part in Jackie’s life when she is famous and happy, (but of course this doesn't last forever). Some of you may recognise the song as the theme tune to Sky One’s drama “Mile High”, about flight attendants, which is where I first heard of the band. The song fits the TV show perfectly: both are bold, brassy, camp, and both put a smile on my face…