I finally got my hands on the very issue of the magazine that is guilty of being the root of many a karaoke performance from myself. Smash Hits was a hugely popular magazine in the UK in the 80s and 90s and it was famous for having the lyrics of some of the biggest chart songs printed each week. This was of course before the internet, so this magazine was the main way to get hold of the official lyrics. Some LPs would have the lyrics printed in the album inlay but often the bands would release their singles months before releasing the full album, so if you wanted to be accurately singing along while the song was on the radio you often had to buy Smash Hits.

Now, as a young kid with a stutter, I became a bit obsessed with any rap songs that hit the mainstream. The reason being that when I sang or rapped, I didn’t stutter. And rapping was more like speaking than singing, so for me rapping was a fantastic release mechanism. And what was one of the biggest mainstream rap hits of the late 80s/ early 90s? Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby of course! Love it or hate it, it was a massive hit, and this issue of Smash Hits, from 28 November – 11 December 1990 had the lyrics.

I learnt every word of this song and I stared at this page of Smash Hits so much that I have still remembered every single word to this song for the last 27 years. I still sing it at karaoke parties to this day and do it without having to look at the screen. And the best thing of all is that there are still some people that are impressed by that. Thank you Smash Hits!

While we’re at it, here’s a few more pages from the issue for your reading pleasure.

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