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[N-S]

The December 1999 market had been particularily busy, as with the turn of the millenium, there were the fears of the Y2K bug crippling IT systems worldwide and many music names had been keen on leaving some output just in time for that occasion. For the week ending on December 18th 1999, there was an absolute jampack of big names releasing singles hoping to cash in on the Christmas market. But when the chart was revealed on Sunday December 19, several acts fell way short of their ambitions, some even missing the top 40.
So unusual was the situation that Radio One Chart Show took some time to read out all the singles by big names that missed the top 40 as did James Masterton on his Dotmusic chart analysis. That chart week became a cautionary tale for record label about the perils of mistiming big releases.

13 I SHALL BE THERE - B*WITCHED: After a record four #1 hits from their debut album and a decent #4 for comeback single Jesse Hold On in October, it was expected that the new release could do even better, as it leaned on the celtic ballad feel of their chart-toppers To You I Belong and Blame It On The Weatherman with an African flavor, added by the guest starring of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. However it missed the top altogether and marked the beginning of the end for the Irish quartet.

32 DEAR LIE - TLC: No Scrubs and Unpretty had been top 10 hits, so the following single only hitting #32 (their lowest hit in seven years) was a disappointment. Eventually and unlike the others mentioned in here, Dear Lie had some life in it, staying around during the New Year chart shutodwn and bettering the peak at #31 in January 2000, which was rare at the time for a single charting that low. This also became sadly the last TLC single released during Left-Eye's lifetime.

43 IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU WERE MINE - THUNDERBUGS: Sony Music reportedly was more than willing to throw serious cash promoting Thunderbugs as a priority project. With debut single Friends Forever hitting the top 5 everything seemed to be going according to plan. But when follow-up missed the top 40, everything came to a crashing act and the whole project was simply binned.

45 RHYTHM DIVINE - ENRIQUE IGLESIAS: Already a big star in Latin America, Iberian Peninsula and Italy, Julio Iglesias's son finally crossed over to the big markets during the Latin fever of the summer of 1999, with Bailamos hitting #4. But when Rhythm Divine got lost among the plethora of new releases of the week, hitting only #45, all the promotion of Enrique Iglesias halted in the UK, with third single Be With You being denied a British release, despite being a US #1. It would take Enrique two years to finally become a UK chart force to be reckoned with it.

47 THE BEST OF ME - BRYAN ADAMS: Bryan Adams had a remarkable UK chart career through the 90's, compensating for his 80's heyday being rather overlooked on British shores (where classics like Summer Of 69, Heaven and Somebody missed the top 30), but since the glory obtained with Everything I Do (I Do It For You), Adams had only missed the top 40 by guest starring on a Bonnie Raitt duet. His previous two singles had even been solid top 10 hits, so one would expect that the new release tied with a new greatest hits album would do decently enough. Alas, it didn't. But at least it wouldn't be long until Adams enjoyed a surprising second UK #1.

55 I GOT A GIRL - LOU BEGA: Mambo N.º 5 was one of the biggest hits of the year, selling over a million copies. Novelty act he might have been, but one would expect that Lou Bega could at least have one followup single doing respectably enough, right? Not so much. Whereas I Got A Girl didn't do that shabby on Continental Europe (#2 in Finland, #5 in France, top 20 in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. Heck it even made to #23 in Ireland and #31 in Australia!), it sank in the depths of the UK chart and Lou Bega joined the one hit wonder club, whereas Eiffel 65 were conceded a sizeable sophomore hit soon after.

83 BLACK VELVETEEN - LENNY KRAVITZ: Lenny never really had a consistent UK chart career, his big hits being few and far between. But after scoring a #1 with Fly Away, one would expect that his material would gather more public attention. But new single Black Velveteen was released ten months after Fly Away hit the topspot, thus all the mementum was lost and it even missed the top 75.

Other new entries that week
3 KISS (WHEN THE SUN DON'T SHINE) - VENGABOYS
4 BARBER'S ADAGIO FOR STRINGS - WILLIAM ORBIT
7 EVERYBODY - PROGRESS FEAT. THE BOY WUNDA
8 STEAL MY SUNSHINE - LEN
14 UNDER PRESSURE 99 - QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE
17 BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - TOM JONES & CERYS MATTHEWS
20 A CHRISTMAS KISS - DANIEL O'DONNELL
28 ALIVE - BEASTIE BOYS
31 MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND - CHARLATANS
36 CRAZY - LEANN RIMES
39 WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER - NINE INCH NAILS
49 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - Y-TRIBE FEAT. ELISABETH TROY
63 1999 - PRINCE
65 AVE MARIA - ANDREA BOCELLI


The full top 100 for the week ending on December 18, 1999: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singl.../19991212/7501/

This post has been edited by N-S: 13th December 2017, 12:55 PM