With the 2021 Hottest 100 set to take place on January 22nd, 2022, we here at Tone Deaf have decided to take a stroll down memory lane, recapping the countdowns of yesteryear in the lead-up to the latest edition of musical democracy. Today, we’re taking a look back at the Hottest 100 of 1997.
Taking place in January of 1998, the triple j Hottest of 1997 was the fifth annual countdown held by the station which limited votes to songs released in the last year.
Following on from the first Australian winner of the countdown the previous year, expectations were high as to whether this streak would continue, or if it would turn out to be something of a one-off occurrence.
As it turned out, the countdown would be taken out by The Whitlams with their iconic anthem ‘No Aphrodisiac’. Famously, the band’s winning achievement was announced by none other than former Prime Minster Gough Whitlam himself.
“Fellow triple j listeners, I’m Gough Whitlam, and as an avid supporter of Australian music I’m very proud to announce the number 1 song for 1997’s Hottest 100,” the former PM announced. “With their smash hit, ‘No Aphrodisiac’, please put your hands together for my favourite band, my eponyms, The Whitlams.”
Check out The Whitlams’ ‘No Aphrodisiac’:
As the countdown went on, there managed to be a number of notable events, including Blur’s ‘Song 2’, which – with a runtime of 2:02 – managed to chart at #2 in the countdown.
Likewise, The Verve’s ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ hit #22, the same position that Ben Harper’s cover would reach in 2001, while the Pendulum that charted at #32 is a different band than the drum’n’bass act from Perth that would place in later countdowns.
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At #5 though, we saw one of the countdown’s most infamous moments, when Pauline Pantsdown’s ‘I’m A Back Door Man’ made the chart, but couldn’t actually be aired due to legal reasons.
As Simon Hunt, the mastermind behind the Pauline Pantsdown persona explained a few years ago, the track was constructed out of samples of controversial politician Pauline Hanson’s speeches and interviews, rearranged in a satirical manner.
“I made a song… to perform at this underground gay party in Sydney, and someone approached triple j to promote the event,” Hunt told News Corp. “They heard the song, began playing it and it just went crazy from there.”
“Suddenly this character was in the limelight and the track was the station’s number one request.”
After receiving massive popularity, the track was being played almost hourly on the station due to an immense number of requests. However, after just eleven days of airplay, Pauline Hanson took the matter to court, alleging it was offensive and defamatory towards her.
As a result, the track was pulled from airplay, though not officially banned, and triple j have never played the song since. Even with Pauline Pantsdown recording a satirical response the following year called ‘I Don’t Like It’, triple j have stayed well away from the track, with Double J skipping the tune during their replay of the 1997 countdown in 2017.
Check out Pauline Pantsdown’s ‘I’m A Back Door Man’:
At the end of the day, triple j’s Hottest 100 for 1997 featured songs by 88 different artists (a current record) from a total of 8 countries, including 40 from the USA, 34 from Australia and 21 from England.
No specific artist ended up becoming the best-performer of the countdown, in fact, the 1997 countdown is the only one to date in which no artist received more than two entries, making it the most diverse poll to date.
However, the artists who did manage to receive two entries in the 1997 chart were Arkarna, The Bloodhound Gang, Everclear, Faith No More, Grinspoon, Jebediah, The Living End, Radiohead, Silverchair, The Verve, Ween, and The Whitlams.
Also, if you’re keen on some of the more obscure facts, the shortest track to appear in the countdown was Spiderbait’s ‘Calypso’ at 1:51, while the longest was Quindon Tarver’s ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ at 7:10.
Check out the full list of songs in the triple j Hottest 100 for 1997 below. If you’re keen to learn more, head over to the Hottest 100 Database, and check out the Hottest 100 songs that didn’t make the Hottest 100.
triple j’s Hottest 100 of 1997
#1. ‘No Aphrodisiac’ – The Whitlams
#2. ‘Song 2’ – Blur
#3. ‘Tubthumping’ – Chumbawamba
#4. ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ – The Verve
#5. ‘I’m A Back Door Man’ – Pauline Pantsdown
#6. ‘Dammit’ – Blink-182
#7. ‘Paranoid Android’ – Radiohead
#8. ‘The Beautiful People’ – Marilyn Manson
#9. ‘Karma Police’ – Radiohead
#10. ‘Leaving Home’ – Jebediah
#11. ‘Walkin’ On The Sun’ – Smash Mouth
#12. ‘One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces’ – Ben Folds Five
#13. ‘Freak’ – Silverchair
#14. ‘Down Again’ – The Superjesus
#15. ‘Prisoner Of Society’ – The Living End
#16. ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ – Quindon Tarver
#17. ‘Crazy’ – Cordrazine
#18. ‘Into My Arms’ – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
#19. ‘Everyday Formula’ – Regurgitator
#20. ‘I Will Survive’ – Cake
#21. ‘Monkey Wrench’ – Foo Fighters
#22. ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ – The Verve
#23. ‘Calypso’ – Spiderbait
#24. ‘A.D.I.D.A.S.’ – Korn
#25. ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’ – Green Day
#26. ‘The Perfect Drug’ – Nine Inch Nails
#27. ‘The Door’ – Silverchair
#28. ‘Cows With Guns’ – Dana Lyons
#29. ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ – Third Eye Blind
#30. ‘Forty Six & 2’ – Tool
#31. ‘Ashes To Ashes’ – Faith No More
#32. ‘Coma’ – Pendulum
#33. ‘Military Strongmen’ – Jebediah
#34. ‘DCx3’ – Grinspoon
#35. ‘Summertime’ – The Sundays
#36. ‘Mutilated Lips’ – Ween
#37. ‘Naughty Boy’ – The Mavis’s
#38. ‘The Memory Remains’ – Metallica
#39. ‘Captain (Million Miles An Hour)’ – Something For Kate
#40. ‘Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ On Me?’ – Bloodhound Gang
#41. ‘Deadweight’ – Beck
#42. ‘Brimful Of Asha’ – Cornershop
#43. ‘You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way’ – Ammonia
#44. ‘Temptation’ – The Tea Party
#45. ‘Wrong Number’ – The Cure
#46. ‘Fire Water Burn’ – Bloodhound Gang
#47. ‘(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do’ – Filter & The Crystal Method
#48. ‘Anatomically Correct’ – Custard
#49. ‘From Here On In’ – The Living End
#50. ‘Eat Me’ – Arkarna
#51. ‘So Much For The Afterglow’ – Everclear
#52. ‘#1 Crush (Nellee Hooper Mix)’ – Garbage
#53. ‘You Sound Like Louis Burdett’ – The Whitlams
#54. ‘Everything To Everyone’ – Everclear
#55. ‘Love Rollercoaster’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
#56. ‘Funky Shit’ – The Prodigy
#57. ‘Girl At The Bus Stop’ – My Drug Hell
#58. ‘I Go Off’ – Diana Ah Naid
#59. ‘Your Woman’ – White Town
#60. ‘New York City’ – They Might Be Giants
#61. ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ – The Chemical Brothers
#62. ‘The End Is The Beginning Is The End’ – The Smashing Pumpkins
#63. ‘Repeat’ – Grinspoon
#64. ‘Stripsearch’ – Faith No More
#65. ‘The Outdoor Type’ – The Lemonheads
#66. ‘JC’ – Powderfinger
#67. ‘I Choose’ – The Offspring
#68. ‘Cosmic Girl’ – Jamiroquai
#69. ‘Waving My Dick In The Wind’ – Ween
#70. ‘Place Your Hands’ – Reef
#71. ‘Sick With Love’ – Robyn Loau
#72. ‘Pulse’ – Front End Loader
#73. ‘Lakini’s Juice’ – Live
#74. ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’ – Rage Against The Machine
#75. ‘Female Of The Species’ – Space
#76. ‘Legend Of A Cowgirl’ – Imani Coppola
#77. ‘Lovefool’ – The Cardigans
#78. ‘Degenerate Boy’ – The Mark Of Cain
#79. ‘All Mine’ – Portishead
#80. ‘Faded’ – Ben Harper
#81. ‘Did It Again’ – Kylie Minogue
#82. ‘Shake Hands With Beef’ – Primus
#83. ‘I Wanna Be A Drug-Sniffing Dog’ – Lard
#84. ‘Feelin’ Kinda Sporty’ – Dave Graney ‘N’ The Coral Snakes
#85. ‘Nightmare (Sinister Strings Radio Edit)’ – Brainbug
#86. ‘Smokin’ Johnny Cash’ – The Blackeyed Susans
#87. ‘6 Underground’ – Sneaker Pimps
#88. ‘Nothing’ – Beaverloop
#89. ‘Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth’ – The Dandy Warhols
#90. ‘Society’ – Pennywise
#91. ‘Remember Me’ – Blue Boy
#92. ‘Titanic Days’ – Sidewinder
#93. ‘Weightlessness’ – Skunkhour
#94. ‘Way Of All Things’ – Rebecca’s Empire
#95. ‘Don’t Leave’ – Faithless
#96. ‘Bound For The Floor’ – Local H
#97. ‘The Future’s Overrated’ – Arkarna
#98. ‘Da Funk’ – Daft Punk
#99. ‘Naked Eye’ – Luscious Jackson
#100. ‘I Give In’ – Effigy
Quick Facts:
Artists: 88
Most Successful Artists: Arkarna, The Bloodhound Gang, Everclear, Faith No More, Grinspoon, Jebediah, The Living End, Radiohead, Silverchair, The Verve, Ween, and The Whitlams (2 tracks)
Number Of Countries: 8
Top Three Countries: USA (40 tracks), Australia (34 tracks), England (21 tracks)
Shortest Song: ‘Calypso’ – Spiderbait (1:51)
Longest Song: ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ – Quindon Tarver (7:10)
