I discovered that there are seven songs that are named “I’ll Be There,” including ones by The Jackson 5 and Gerry & The Pacemakers, and decided, rather than going with what I was familiar with, I would choose three that I wasn’t familiar with, by bands I wasn’t familiar with (at least not musically). This should be interesting!
Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton, also known as “Baby Spice,” recorded her “I’ll Be There” on her second solo album, 2005’s Free Me. It was written by Ms. Bunton, Hélène Muddiman, and Mike Peden. It charted at #7 in the UK.
S Club 7
S Club 7’s “I’ll Be There” was written by the band’s Cathy Dennis and Dennis Poku and appeared on their 2000 album 7.
The Escape Club
Escape Club’s “I’ll Be There” was the second single from their third album, 1991’s Dollars and Sex. It reached #8 in the US.
Your Turn!
You probably already know what to do here if you’ve voted in these Battles in the past, but if you haven’t and would like to, here are the rules:
- Listen to the songs.
- Decide which song you like the best.
- Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
- Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:
- Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
- Arlee at Tossing It Out
- Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
- Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
- Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Debbie at The Doglady’s Den
- Cherdo at Cherdo On The Flipside
- Ai at Ai Love Music
- Kim at Storms And Stardust
I’ll tally the votes and announce the winner next Saturday, February 8, so be sure and get your votes to me by then.
The lines are now open! Good luck to Emma Bunton, S Club 7, and The Escape Club!
I’ll go with Emma
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Good choices – I love the variety of deliveries of this great tune! The shocker to me is that I liked EMMA BUNTON best!
Escape Club reminded me of Duran, Duran a little…like “Ordinary World” or one of their wispy, breathy versions. S Club 7 was okay, but couldn’t wrangle a vote. 🙂
Thanks, John!
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Give my vote to The Escape Club! I’ve only ever heard one of their songs before, “Wild Wild West”, but in this song, they sound like they’re going for a Depeche Mode sound, which I like. And I definitely like that sound better than the other two, though I loved Emma’s as well. And thank you for not using the Friends theme song – though, on second thought, I think that one is called “I’ll Be There For You”. Great battle!
Kim
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I’ll go with the Escape Club
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Each were pretty good in their own rights, but I think I’m going to give my vote to Escape Club. It was more pleasant to my ears (or maybe they just reminded me of the early 80’s)
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
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JOHN ~
When I read things like “Baby Spice”, “S Club 7”, and “Dollars and Sex”, I was all prepared to hate everything to come.
As it turned out, I only hated one of the three (S Club 7). The Escape Club was insipid mush, and like S Club 7, was just rehashing stuffs that has been done ad nauseam. However there wasn’t even enough “there” there for me to actually hate it.
“Baby” Bunton’s song, however, although polished to a slick, saccharine sheen, actually sounded like something that might have come out of the late ’60s / very early ’70s Bubble Gum Pop era. And, God only knows why, I actually do like some of those rubbery, pink tunes. In fact, Baby Bunton’s outfit on that cover even looks like it came from 1967, and if you told me this song was from “The Summer Of Love”, I might have believed you. It’s almost like The Archies meets The Supremes.
I’ll vote for Baby Bunton’s Bubble Gum in this round.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
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John,
At first glance I figured I’d go with S Club 7, mainly because that’s a group my daughters liked when they were younger and it was through them I was introduced to this British pop band but the song and artist that won me over is ESCAPE CLUB!
Thanks for stopping by earlier to vote in my Piece of My Heart #BoTB showdown 3rd round. Have a good weekend, my friend!
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Well, I’m going with S Club 7. I enjoyed their sound.
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My vote goes to The Escape club. That man’s voice is really good. I didn’t care much for the first one and I couldn’t play the second..even when I went to YouTube…bummer
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I left a comment, but don’t see it. Did it go into your spam? If you didn’t get it then I’ll send another vote for Emma.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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My spam filter saw the word “c-a-s-i-n-o” and trashed it. I get a lot of spam from online ca-si-nos… Sorry about that…
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These all sound like music in the background of a casino or someplace like that. They’re all listenable, but not particularly memorable. I guess they all sound like something else I’ve heard in some other place in some other time. Maybe some casino.
Of the three, Emma’s version was most to my liking. Give the young lady my vote and my number. I’ll be there waiting for her call, but I don’t really expect it.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Not keen on Emma Bunton or S Club 7 but the Bunton song is the better of those two, but the ESCAPE CLUB WINS by a country mile. I like the video too. 💜
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