RDJ's claim to have written secret pop songs (1995)

I've been vaguely wondering about this for years. In 1995 RDJ was interviewed by NME magazine and had this to say:

 

  Quote

“I already have written catchy pop songs with big choruses and they’ve already been successful. I’m not telling you which songs they were. They were by famous people. I’m not saying who, no. It’s a secret. They were Top 40 hits and everything, which I’ve never had with my own stuff, but I’m not that bothered, really. Maybe I’ll do a song like that myself one day, but you have to choose the best way for a song to come out.”

See the interview here: https://lannerchronicle.wordpress.com/2020/09/26/aphex-twin-nme-18th-march-1995/

Now, with the utmost respect to RDJs talent, was he just talking out of his arse here? Because surely 20+ years later, if he had written secret pop songs that had got into the Top 40 we would know about it? (for americans: Top 40 was/is the UK singles chart)

So I hereby ask watmm - can we identify what secret 1995-ish pop songs he might be talking about? Surely we could identify his sound signature if it was there? Or was it all a load of bollocks?

Because lets face it, he has been known to talk bollocks in interviews, especially in that era

my guess is you do not shoot something like come to daddy or window licker out of your armpit. I guess he did help in production with other songs and learned by this how the industry ticks. It also makes sense if you have expensive studio equipment why not use it for other projects as well 

Seem to remember a few years back PRS for music (a royalty services for recording artists) having their database open to the public (now closed off without an account:  https://searchworks.prsformusic.com/ ) where it definitively showed The Tuss being Richard, but there were no other surprises on there. Pretty sure any releases hitting the Top 40 back then would've had him credited on there somewhere....

EDIT: actually looks like it might've been BMI not PRS -  https://forum.watmm.com/topic/70627-steinvord-speculation/page/30/#comment-1970788

Wonderwall

Yeah, not everything he said was true, especially in the 90s.

He sung every track on Radiohead - The Bends.

Well, we do know he was involved in nine inch nails stuff around that time. Not really pop though, but maybe something adjacent to that?

  On 10/10/2023 at 4:24 PM, Berk said:

Wonderwall

Lmao I mean he did say he liked oasis earlier in the same interview

This is textbook bollocks isn't it. Oh yeah my pop songs go to another school in the next town over yeah you havent met them, their choruses are maaasive tho and theyre deeead successful. Sorry I can't tell you who they are I'm not allowed.

He hates pop music ffs and as far as I know has no real contacts or friends in that wing of the industry. The only brief interest was around this same period where he did Milkman and Beetles as kind of pop music parodies, or conceptual dares - it mustve been playing on his mind.

I was wondering if maybe he did colab with bjork but it wasn’t super obvious and he went uncredited or something. 

He was east 17 all along!

That would make sense as one of my biggest pop guilty secrets is Stay Another Day. I knew it had to be Rich. The mastermind.

pretty curious

"wrote" could mean contributed to composition. 

someone get the top 40 from 90 - 94 and paste them here

nin closer?

Definitely not the pop song but I always thought this was him but maybe tricky and bjork sampled him.

Nice find, definitely has his dustbincore sound of the mid-90s era

Uhhhhm, I realize this is an IDM forum but none of you actually listen to any popmusic?

This has richard all over it. Just listen to the snare.

  On 10/12/2023 at 6:23 PM, endera3rd said:

Definitely not the pop song but I always thought this was him but maybe tricky and bjork sampled him.

 

 

Expand  

kind of interesting considering the timing and naming of this release and another remix album Richard was on: nin “further down the spiral”

Keep chris rock's name out yo godamn mouth

Be funny if it was true. Obviously not East 17 but I wouldn't bet against Aphex putting out a few joke tracks, here and there. Obviously he wouldn't admit to the ones that bombed.

I found him

  On 10/12/2023 at 8:18 PM, Ivan Ooze said:

I found him

 

 

Expand  

and obviously. so much afx

it would be harder to find top pop music that he did not make