The summer of 1996, when David Beckham thought he would announce himself by pinging one in from 50 yards out, was a happy time.
England, despite eventual heartache, had successfully hosted the Euros and had even played well, the St George’s cross was reclaimed from the right and the country baked in seemingly never-ending days of sunshine.
The IRA did their best to ruin things with the bombing in Manchester in June that year, but in the world of football and music all was well in the world.
One of few negatives on August 17, 1996 was that OMC’s abysmal How Bizarre was ending its five-week run at No 1, an interlude of filth in a sterling Britpop year that saw the likes of Dodgy, Suede, The Bluetones and (of course) Blur and Oasis enjoy stints at No 1.