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Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 09:47 PM

I'm being even more self-indulgent than usual by starting a list of tracks old and new (mostly very old!) that have made my charts, and been given "sales" weighted according to actual sales in the Uk for one chart week in 1976. These are now as good as any, thanks to streaming doing the same these days for the UK singles chart!

So anyways, there have been 718 "million" sellers up to this week, and another 82 that have come very close, which were too good to ignore. Obviously I love the vast majority of these records, so I won't go into too much detail (I'm still posting old charts for that), and chart positions are pointless since most hit 1, and the few that didn't hit 2 or 3, so just the year and the "sales"..

THE TOP 800

800. SHAME - Eurythmics (1988) - 953,700



Eurythmics forgotten record, a gorgeous flop that missed the UK top 40, and one that had a fantastic colourful hippie-era Second Summer Of Love video. Which is entirely absent from youtube, so just the audio sadly. First of 3 or 4 for Annie Lennox....

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 09:53 PM

799. SHORLEY WALL - Ooberman (1998) 954,300




A 90's flop championed by Mark Ratcliffe & Marc Riley, and one I loved so much I decided to share it with Buzzjack Song Competition (and gave me a chance to re-chart it), where it dropped to the bottom of the sea as quickly as the girl in the video. I still think it's charming and ethereal...[size="3"][/size]

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 10:00 PM

798. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - The Beatles (1964) 956,650



The film theme chart-topper from the band that changed everything for pop music. The first of many from the greatest group in pop history, and one I went to see at the cinema aged 7, oh how we loved all four Beatles. Ringo quipped, after a long recording day, that it had been a hard day's night. John & Paul liked it so much they wrote a song round it...

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 10:06 PM

797. (I NEVER PROMISED YOU A) ROSE GARDEN - Lynn Anderson (1971) 956,700



A great country music classic, as sampled in the 80's substantially for the fun I Beg Your Pardon (Kon Kan) which contributed to it's chart points along with a re-entry in 2015 following her death. Ah, good ol' country music, love it...

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 10:11 PM

796. FANTASY - Mariah Carey (1995) 957,300



Once in a while Ol' Mariah (I Call The Wind Mariah) comes up with a doozie to make up for the criminally awful covers she releases, and this Tom Tom Club-sampling goodie was one of 'em. Pure joy. First of 2 for Ms. Carey...

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 04:04 PM

795. EVERYWHERE - Fleetwood Mac (1988) 957,750



First of 4 for the fabulous Mac, plus one solo to come. This was one was Christine McVie's tunefully gorgeous single off Tango In The Night, a terrific album, and I recently saw the classic line-up all on one stage together, and they was fab. Still, even after all these years, and frankly I was a child when I first liked them!

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 04:11 PM

794. MAKE IT WITH YOU - Let Loose (1996) 958,050



Let Loose had a decent run of pleasant singles in the mid-90's without ever doing anything extra special. This was the closest they came, a decent cover of Bread's 1970 superior original. Bread were under-rated, as proven by the amount of big covers of their songs by other acts. Nik Kershaw wrote and produced for Let Loose, and he was very good in concert t'other week, 2015, 31 years after first seeing him live.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 04:18 PM

793. WHEN YOU'RE GONE - Bryan Adams featuring Melanie C (1998) 958100



One of two for Canadian Rocker Bryan, drafting in Spice Girl Mel for a poprock duet that works well. It's one of Bry's best records, he's always good live too, and shockingly although Melanie C also has another on the list, not one of the Spice Girls biggest and best are on the chart. Oops!

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 04:23 PM

792. STARLIGHT - The Supermen Lovers featuring Mani Hoffman (2002) 958,650



First 21st Century track on the list, a fab dance anthem from the days when I was clubbing every weekend, and this was one of the best of that period, amusing video, catchy as hell. I'm always going to like anything called starlight or superman though...

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 04:37 PM

791. YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE - Gerry & The Pacemakers (1963) 959,300



The street urchin footage on here is pretty much my childhood in Mansfield and Liverpool (when not on RAF camps), and Gerry was very much a kiddie fave, especially in home-town Liverpool. He struck gold though with this cover of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Carousel musical standard, and grabbed the definitive version, much re-charted and covered, for football-related events. If you don't get tingles down your spine for that rousing finale you need to replace your emotion chip, it's faulty.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 08:38 PM

790. BAD ROMANCE - Lady Gaga (2009) 959.350


The first of 5 for La Gaga, this one was huge Christmas 2009 in the holiday club I was popping to in Gran Canaria, and Gaga looked like she was going to dominate Pop Music Future. It's very very catchy, though not one of my top 5 Gaga's these days, and this video version is annoyingly not the single version. Hey ho.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 08:44 PM

789. SINGLE - BILINGUAL - Pet Shop Boys (1996) 959,400



Since they first popped up in 1985, Pet Shop Boys have been my major love, never let me down, and everything they do is quality, lyrically and musically, and versatile much. This is the first of oodles and oodles, coming from their latino-drums-dance-inspired mid 90's period, and it's fab, even though not widely remembered these days.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 08:49 PM

788. HERE I GO AGAIN - Archie Bell And The Drells (1969) 959,900



Northern Soul was super-cool in the UK in 1972, when this became a UK chart hit, though the US release was 1969. Recently used in advert, it gave me an excuse to rechart it and combined the sales enough to hit the 800. I just love the fast 60's soul beats, and the great melody.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 08:54 PM

787. HEARTACHE AVENUE - The Maisonettes (1982) 959,950



Talking of Northern Soul...here's an 80's pop hit that sounded like it was 60's soul, courtesy of ex-City Boy (5-7-0-5) member, and much played by Steve Wright on Radio 1, back when he was the fresh cutting edge of popular DJ broadcasting in the UK. He still plays much the same tracks he played in early 1983 when this was big and fab. Still sounds out of time in a good way.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th November 2015, 09:01 PM

786. MY OH MY - Slade (1983) 960,700



First of 2 for Slade, under-represented a bit for their early Glam Rock fabness, but by the time this was kept off the top by some Flying Pickets at Christmas 1983 (this is much better, a rousing singalong anthem) Slade had been re-born following a storming live set at Reading in 1980, and stayed good to the end, till Noddy packed it all in never to return. Oh Nod, why oh why!?

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 09:53 AM

785. SOLDIERS - Abba (1981) 961,050



Album track off the oh-so-sad final Abba LP The Visitors, this would have made a better single than Head Over Heels in 1982, wistful, gorgeous guitar and charted in the 21st century when I changed my chart rules to allow album tracks. I had to exclude them during Abba's reign or else they would have had most of the entire top 20 for every new release, much as streaming now permits big acts to do. It's good enough for Bieber and co nowadays to tenuously invade the singles charts, it's good enough for Abba! First of very many Abba tracks...

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:01 AM

784. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - Foreigner (1984) 961,150



Starting like a follow-up to typically 80's soft-rock ballad Waiting For A Girl Like You, the second-half brings in a gospel choir and raises it's game, bungs in The Thompson Twins, and the coup de grace, Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday has the spine-tingling vocal guest finale along with band singer Lou Gramm. A chart-topper everywhere...

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:09 AM

783. THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL - Donna Summer (1989) 961,450



Donna Summer's comeback to the big time, courtesy of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, and a pure pop gem with a bloody brilliant melody and vocal performance from Donna, taken for granted by music critics for far too long. She had to die to get some respect. First of 2 for Donna, no prizes for guessing the other one, but don't expect it any time soon...

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:16 AM

782. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys (2009) 962,000



The original video seems not to be available, annoyingly, and it was the original version I love most - Alicia Keys equally big solo version was good, and I included it's chart points with this one, just because. Alicia's only showing, but Jay-Z has at least one other with his missus to come.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:24 AM

781. ALANE - Wes (1998) 962,700



This Cameroon-musician African-rhythmed dance track came out of nowhere, and disappeared quickly into obscurity after charting in Europe. I liked it a lot for sounding different, I like world music, and anything out of the current-chart-fashion. Not an easy one to sing along to but it's sweet and doesn't deserve obscurity.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 07:45 PM

780. BRANDY - Scott English (1971) 962840



Better known by the blander name and version, Mandy and Barry Manilow, this original quirky brilliant song was one I loved right off the mark, and so much it cam back again in 1975 for more chart points. As usual for the early 70's there is no existing footage, even though Scott was on Top Of The Pops (I firmly recall his performance, so it happened!) as some d*ck wiped out my teenage memories forever. I never forgave Barry Manilow for taking the glory, though I guess the songwriting royalties for Scott English made up for it somewhat!

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 07:51 PM

779. IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS - Chanee & N'evergreen (2010) 963,000



Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Denmark, a great big ol' chorus, a boy-girl duet, and it came 4th in a very strong contest, not least behind Lena's Satellite, the winner. For me, this was better - more old fashioned, but that hooky chorus and climax won me over.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 08:01 PM

778. SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU - The Congregation (1971) 963,200



This is real weird 'un, a choral choir singing a cover of David & Jonathan's original (aka songwriters Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway - see Blue Mink, New Seekers and hordes of other acts of the period), but the real appeal was the odd contrast with a fab electric guitar and gravelly-voiced male singer Brian Keith (Formerly of Plastic Penny), what a fab singer, what a fab song....!

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 09:40 PM

777. OUR HOUSE - Madness (1982) 963,350



One of 3 for the Nutty Boys, and quite likely their finest moment (and biggest American hit) in a very long run of great moments. The strings add to the usual ska laddy appeal, and the video doesn't hurt at all. A national institution, they have become in latter years, and quite rightly - Madness couldn't have emerged from any other country, very English working class.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 09:49 PM

776. OPEN YOUR HEART - The Human League (1981) 963,500



One of several from the band who became my fave band in the period between Abba quietly splitting and Pet Shop Boys emerging, Open Your Heart was irresistible synth pop from one of the greatest pop albums of all-time, Dare. Phil Oakey went off it for the longest time, but it's back in the live set again now. Human League remain one of the great reliable fab nights out for live gigs, happily, and Phil is still cool.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:00 PM

775. WAY DOWN - Elvis Presley (1977) 964,907




How to turn a minor return to better form into a sensation: die suddenly and unexpectedly at a young age. I can't hear this without being taken back to the unbelievable news that The King was dead. Elvis was larger than life, and he'd always been there my whole life, throwing out the odd decent effort even in his post-Vegas days. It was of course, a hugely-successful career move, Elvis dead has made more money than Elvis alive, and his career dead is now 15 years longer than his career alive. First of quite a few...

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:07 PM

774. GOLDEN BROWN - The Stranglers (1982) 966,600



No video available for the original promo, for some reason, for The Stranglers far and away most-popular track, almost late 60's in it's gentle harpsichord pop delight for the veteran punk band - of all the punk bands, I went biggest on The Stranglers, they just seemed to have more going for them, and were genuinely full of attitude (witness spells inside) and a cut above musically than most of the younger crowd. Sadly none of those punk greats made the list, but I'm sure most will be happy with this one.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:13 PM

773. AGAIN - Janet Jackson (1994) 966,600



First of 5 from Michael's sis, this is easily her most touching and classy ballad, pretty much piano and tasteful orchestral arrangement and Janet. Lovely song, but the lovely video is also not available - at least not with a decent sound - and I don't reckon this will be on for long either, a la Prince removal of videos and music from Youtube. Pity.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:22 PM

772. SUNDAY GIRL - Blondie (1979) 966,650



I loved Blondie from the first time I heard them, and never really stopped, they still make great records, but they were HOT for 3 years, including this melodic French-flavoured New Wave delight, and UK chart-topper. Debbie Harry was premiere College pin-up at the time, and this is the first of 4 from the New York versatile band - labelling them as a genre does the sheer variety of music they have released a disservice, and they are BTW still good in concert too.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th November 2015, 10:29 PM

771. JOHNNY REGGAE - The Piglets (1971) 966,750



Once upon a time there was a student wag who took the piss out of moon in june cliched love songs, and grabbed a UK hit as no-one realised it was taking the michael cos it worked purely as a fab tuneful 60's pop song anyway. That song was Everyone's Gone To The Moon, and it gave Jonathan King a mini-pop-empire with his own record label and all, not to mention a very long string of novelty records under false names. This one features a female vocalist, but it's a parody of the then-popular skinhead "birds" (as they were referred to in those days) who were heavily into reggae music in the UK. JK always amused me....first of 2. Sorry!

Posted by: AH Gold 29th November 2015, 04:52 PM

Think I'm going to love this!

Some great tracks so far. Looking forward to the rest. Think I may have a rough idea of what the No.1 will be...

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 04:53 PM

Thanks AH! I'm sure you can guess It's a bit self indulgent but I couldnt bear to leave out even 100 fab tracks, but the advantage is it's not too time consuming to bung a few out a time

Anyone feel free to comment speculate love or hate Some of them are REALLY embarrassing too, hah! No editing out conveniently

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 05:01 PM

770. SWEET CHILD O' MINE - Guns N' Roses (1988) 967,350




It's all about the vocal passion, the multitude of geetar riffs, and removing the pomp from rock during a very pomprock decade in the USA. GNR's best record, and a bit of a rock classic. Swagger!

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 05:10 PM

769. HOME LOVIN' MAN - Andy Williams (1970) 968,000



The only thing has in common with GNR is a title apostrophe, but Andy was a sublime crooner, loveable and funny, and a lifelong fave long before he became "cool". Pretty much a UK hit, the romantic roaming theme to this hit the spot in my pre-teen days, and the wistful gospel organ and dramatic swishing chorus didn't hurt at all.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 05:16 PM

768. PERSONAL JESUS - Depeche Mode (1989) 968,200




I pretty much liked DP from day 1, and they had a good run of singles, but I'd never gone big on them till this came out and then grew on me more and more over the next 6 months, till it became obvious it was special. Stomping, exciting, ominous and just plain FAB.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 05:21 PM

767. MOVE YOUR FEET - Junior Senior (2003) 968,250



A ray of sunshine in one my very darkest years, this one is just plain joyous and irresistibly catchy, sounded like nothing else much at the time and of no particular time-period which was part of it's charm. One-hit wonder or what, but hey, you only need one to be remembered...

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd December 2015, 05:27 PM

766. TIME IN A BOTTLE - Jim Croce (1973) 969,050



From joy to tragic sadness, the song is beautifully sad in it's own right, being about the fleetingness of time and love, but it become spine-tinglingly poignant when Jim died young in an aircrash just as he was breaking big. I already loved this when I charted it in early '74, but the clincher was the awesome slow-mo sequence with Quicksilver in X-Men: Days Of Future Past in 2014. Layers on layers for me...

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd December 2015, 08:10 PM

765. HOLLABACK GIRL - Gwen Stefani (2005) 970,900



Gwen was on a roll, with a great album and run of singles, and managed what No Doubt never did - make my All-time list! First of 3 for the ska-lovin' dance-cool Gwen, the cheerleader chanting was infectious, the video great fun, and I loved the Japanese entourage. OK it's simple, but it's terrif!

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd December 2015, 09:30 PM

764. THE WAR SONG - Culture Club (1984) 971,150



The song that started the tide turning against Boy George, some saw it as banal, I saw it as stating something blindingly cynically obvious to a jolly "It's A Miracle" tempo, and under-rated. It could have quite comfortably fit onto the previous Colour By Numbers album rather than the lacklustre one it ended up on.

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd December 2015, 09:40 PM

763. STAY - Shakespear's Sister (1992) 972,250



Take on ex-Banana (rama) and one American singer-songwriter and hey presto you get quirky, and then out of the blue you get "woah!" with this dramatic passionate ballad spine-tingling vocal performance and morbid video. It all went horribly wrong for Siobhan and Marcella soon after, but what a way to go!

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd December 2015, 10:04 PM

762. TORCH - Soft Cell (1982) 972,950



First of 2 for Soft Cell, or first of 4 for Marc Almond, depending on how you look at it. The deliciously sleazy saxxy synths of Marc n Dave hit my spot more often than not, and this is just a great single. Marc once popped his head into the door of a bar I was sat in, and then walked on. Pity as I was going to shout "Do a cover of Gene Pitney's I'm Gonna Be Strong". Still waiting for my opportunity...

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd December 2015, 10:11 PM

761. MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE - The Police (1979) 973,200



In mid-run of a bunch of chart-toppers for me, The Police slipped this exciting rock-reggae gem out of nowhere, and Sting was on fire for the next few years. There are even better ones to come, but this remains their most exciting track. As an ex-teacher Gordon Sumner was very popular with my teacher-training college mates.

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th December 2015, 11:36 PM

760. GOOD LUCK - Basement Jaxx featuring Lisa Kekaula (2004) 974,400



My fave Basement Jaxx track, a storming dance track with a passionate guest vocal from American singer Lisa Kekaula, who hasn't really had any other success sadly, though anyone half-Hawaiian always has a distinct advantage with me - Hawaii was my vision of Paradise growing up! Jaxx had loads of hits of course, frequently fun, but not often as gutsy as this one.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th December 2015, 12:12 AM

759. UNPRETTY - TLC (1999) 974,500



First of 2 from TLC, the lovely, in sound and sentiment, Unpretty. TLC were generally top-notch, and I still feel sad that the early death of volatile Lisa Lopes finished the band as well as being the final tragic chapter in a life that had a few too many. Sad sounding, but in a way, a positive message of self-belief.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th December 2015, 12:20 AM

758. NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO - Madness (1980) 974,600



Second entry from Madness, the first act to have two on the countdown, and it's half-instrumental, half cockney-ska-romp-down-the-Nile, cheeky, uptempo, frolics and fun. Having a laugh, but doing it with class and tongue in cheek, both. Madness had their own style, and they had a timeless Style, outside of music fashion. Still love this lead track off an EP...

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th December 2015, 11:21 PM

757. RADIOACTIVE - Imagine Dragons (2012) 975,000




The terrific powerful rock anthem that nearly wasn't, in the UK, it took ages to start to chart, and then peak, a real slow burner. Imagine Dragons have had a string of good tracks since, but most have struggled in the UK charts. It was topping my charts some time before it charted in the UK, so I like to think I can still spot a potential big hit when I hear one, even if it's out of step with what's selling genre-wise. Sadly, I can't count though, and have just added 200 to some of these chart positions. Doh! Corrected!

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th December 2015, 11:33 PM

756. PRAY - Take That (1993) 975,000



The one that made me revise my Take That opinion from bland boyband to good pop boyband, a nice production, a great toon and showed ol' Gazza Barlow had the ability to knock out a gem amongst the general meh-ness of their singles of the time. I still wasn't convinced they would last beyond the usual boyband 4 years lifespan, but I was happy to change my mind when they bunged out great pop like this.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th December 2015, 11:48 PM

755. STAND BY ME - Ben E. King (1961) 975,150



The late great Ben had a whole other career singing lead for the Drifters (and one of those to come) but started his solo career at the turn of the 60's with this classic. The song first came to my notice in a chart-topping cover (for me) by John Lennon in 1975, but the original is even better than that one, and duly topped the UK chart 26 years late thanks to the film of the same name, and mine too. The film had oodles of future stars in the cast - but I've yet to see it, amazingly.

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th December 2015, 09:05 PM

754. (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION - Human League (1983) 975,400



Released as a stand-alone single during the long wait for a follow-up to epic album Dare, this was pure classy happiness and synthjoy, the whole band get a look-in on a tune with hooks to spare, a memorable video and Human League were on top of their game. Things looked very optimistic for the next album....oops!

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st December 2015, 08:24 PM

There has been another new million seller increasing week on week, so all tracks below this one drop one place. I'm too lazy to go and change the numbers though, so although this looks like a repeat of 754, it isn't...

754. ON THE BIBLE - Deuce (1995) 978,200



Another teenpop band from manager Tom Watkins (he's in the video), Deuce were 2 boys 2 girls specialising in forgettable dancepop, but this one borrowed more from the sound of former Watkins acts East 17/Pet Shop Boys, and the gospel feel to it, especially the chorus, made On The Bible far and away their best record and strongest song. A bit flattered here, probably, but it sounded good at the time!

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st December 2015, 08:32 PM

753. LOVE RUNS OUT - OneRepublic (2014) 978,650



One-man hit songwriting machine Ryan Tedder (co-writer with oodles of current pop stars, as in a significant reason their songs are so good) has hits in his own right, quite deservedly, with OneRepublic, quite a few of them didn't quite make my Top 800, but this stomping chanter, classy pop track did. I've yet to hear a bad song he's been involved in, and some, like Counting Stars, should be in the list too really.

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st December 2015, 08:38 PM

752. MIRROR MAN - Human League (1982) 979,850



The first of the stop-gap between-albums singles, Mirror Man still had the classic Dare sound, but modified into a Motown beats 60-s stylee song, and it was fab. The second Human League track so far and their 3rd chart-topper in a row en route to 6 in a row, which was mightily consistent over a 3-year period. Still love 'em of course.

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st December 2015, 08:49 PM

751. BEACH BABY - First Class (1974) 980,258





First Class were essentially 1967's Flowerpot Men back from Summer Of Love Let's Go To San Fransisco (it can be heard on the fade out), back in the midst of Glam Rock with nostalgia for my childhood years, and I was only 16 - but 8 years was SO long ago when that young. The live performance is pretty damn good, but is cut off half-way, and the sheer exhuberance, harmonies, strings and brass combos are all part of the immaculate production of this mini-pop-epic. Oh, and the singer is Tony Burrows, the man with the voice of so many pop groups he was on Top Of The Pops 3 times in 1970, and he will appear again! So convincingly a surfer epic it was an even bigger American hit. Brilliant!

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd December 2015, 02:49 PM

750. REPTILIA - The Strokes (2004) 980,600



Not exactly their most well-known song, but the urgent pace and shouty-throat-hurty vocals just caught my mood at the time during a difficult year. The band seem to have been quite influential, and the punkrock sensibilities of The Strokes appeal to me. It didn't hurt having a band member who's dad had written some gems too, that'll be Albert Hammond Junior. Senior, sadly not on the list though...

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd December 2015, 02:56 PM

749. GHOSTTOWN - Madonna (2015) 981,800



Classic Madonna ballad that really should have been the lead track off Rebel Heart. It's as good as any of her great hit ballads, just a great song, and it's criminal that Madge effectively sabotaged what could have been a great return to form by having a schizophrenic overlong album. In amongst the urban stuff, which just don't fit, there is a classic Madonna album which would have appealed to old-time fans. The urban tracks should have been reserved for a follow-up dance-aimed album. An album is as good as it's weakest tracks, and 10 or 12 would have done nicely...

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th December 2015, 09:02 PM

748. 3 WORDS - Cheryl Cole featuring will.i.am (2009) 983,050



Completely unlike any of her pop dance big hits, this will.i.am creation was generously gifted to the ex-Girls Aloud superstar, and it was an "eh?!" moment, unexpected and off-the-wall, about a minute and half in it kicks into gear and just becomes SO irresistible, then reverts back to understated gentle acoustic-ness before the spelling starts. By far Cheryl's best record, effective and touching, and shows will can do gentle too (though he will be back in banging form 2 or 3 times). I saw it in a videoclub, on loud, at the time, and it all made perfect sense...

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th December 2015, 09:19 PM

747. BETTER - Cat And The Menagerie (2013) 984,600



The first Buzzjack track in my chart, as in one introduced to me by the contest, and this one is still waiting for a proper release, criminally tucked away on a computer game, it's clearly inspired by Gotye's epic global chart-topper Somebody That I Used To Know, but it's fabulous in it's own right and deserved a proper electropop release. Rather bizarrely it only just made the final of the contest and came very close to last. Just no pleasing some people, it's great!

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th December 2015, 02:45 PM

746. I'M MANDY FLY ME - 10CC (1976) 984,900



The first of 5 or so from the 10CC lads just before the band broke into 2 parts, both parts going on to millon-seller status. The 4 originals were inventive, smart, witty, emotional, social commentators and are massively under-rated these days, long overdue for re-appraisal. This was their final single together and its an atmospheric and gorgeously macabre story song. More Iikely they were pastiching the then-popular airline tv "fly me i' m mandy" adverts but as a piece of music it works as a mini-epic anyway. Sadly the original is not on youtube so the best on offer is this live version from around the same time i saw the remaining 2 members live at nottingham.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th December 2015, 02:57 PM

745. THE SIGN - Ace Of Base (1994) 985,800



Scandi-pop with a reggae vibe i was always partial to the Ace's catchy pop, and this one of the most-commercial. They had some better and more interesting pop hits late in the 90s but never caught the moment quite as much as they did when they saw the sign. Still fun!

Posted by: Tombo 26th December 2015, 05:10 AM

Yaaay Love Runs Out and 3 Words, I like both those songs. 3 Words was my jam back then

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 10:31 AM

Thanks Tombo I still love both those tracks, never get bored of hearing them which is always a good sign

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 03:45 PM

744. HI HO SILVER LINING - The Jeff Beck Group (1967) 986,350



No party was complete without this singalong stomping classic in the 60s and 70s, and it was so popular it hit big in 1972 again. It's still fab but Jeff was not a fan, being as it was pure pop and he was an admired guitarist in the blues rock genre. I still think Jeff is embarrassed by the Micky Most creation, and much as I admire his other stuff he needs to just give in and love the party fun! Written by Scott English, already in the countdown with Brandy. Oh yes that's Rod Stewart on backing vocals, soon to be doing lead vocals for the band..

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 04:13 PM

743. SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY - Abba (1982) 986,550



An Abba B side which could easily have fit onto The Visitors and added to the album, the low-key quality ballad deserved better than b-side obscurity. The Abba boys think the structure jars which is presumably why its not on youtube in its original form, sadly. I dont see it myself, i like the downbeat chorus and odd upbeat pretty verse, or vice versa, its kinda hard to pick out a hook as such, which seemed to be where they were creatively heading as they split up: subtlety.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 08:12 PM

742. HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO - Abba (1980) 986,900



A double-A side (actually bonus tracks to a reissue of Thank You For The Music in the 90's) of 2 tracks from the Super Trouper album, and a major missed opportunity with Happy New Year to become an annual new years anthem. It clearly should have been the quick follow-up to Super Trouper in December 1980 (it's still a Russian perennial and if it can work there...), it's gentle, wistful and tinged with regret and hope both, and quite, quite lovely.



and the closing track of the album is another lost single, this has a Thank You For The Music feel to it, only more anthemic, full-on orchestra and choir and accordion, and a better tune, positive and uplifting. This should have been the early Spring 1981 single - and as so often is the case with Abba, they instead release nothing! 3rd and 4th Abba tracks so far, or 3rd depending on how you view it. This is aching to be a charity cover version....organisers take note!

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 08:20 PM

741. FOX ON THE RUN - The Sweet (1975) 987,850



The Sweet's first self-written single, after leaving the hit-machine that was Chinn-Chapman for 4 years, and it really was more what Sweet wanted to be (metal pop) but was still enough glamrock-ish to give them a new lease of life after the disaster of the previous flop single. It's not quite up to the classic glamrock run of singles, but it's still pretty good, and set them up for even better self-penned singles, absent in this chart: Action and Love Is Like Oxygen, in particular. First of 6 in the list....

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 08:27 PM

740. CONSTANT CRAVING - k.d. Lang (1992) 987,900



kd came out of nowhere, out of fashion, with a classic honey-perfect voice, sort of alternative country with an Easy Listening crooner overtone, and this single was just gorgeous, the achingly sweet vocal has a sense of yearning, and a sense of understated adult class. kd never quite managed to top this, but she was never less than good, and could hold her own even against the soon-to-be-late Roy Orbison on his Crying, which is not an easy one to pull off convincingly. Terrific!

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2015, 08:33 PM

739. LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (T.G.I.F) - Katy Perry (2011) 988,750



One of the most-consistent singles acts of the last decade, Katy Perry is pure pop fun, with a varied catalogue of catchy pop, her biggest tracks not necessarily matching equally in my charts, but all doing well. This one was rather oddly one of her minor hits in the UK, which I find rather mystifying, as it's pretty damn fine and the video is one of her funnest best. First of 3.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th December 2015, 08:08 PM

738. WALKING ON THIN ICE - Yoko Ono (1981) 990,600



The track John Lennon was working on with wife Yoko the day he was brutally murdered, and I can't ever view the record without that knowledge. It's Yoko's best record, harrowing and exciting and moving, a sort of disco alternative art rock slab of genius, and showed Yoko was a musician in her own edgy right, and her solo albums pretty good. Quite apart from losing John Lennon and all his future works, we probably also lost fab Yoko tracks in the aftermath of loss.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th December 2015, 08:15 PM

737. DO YA THINK I'M SEXY - Rod Stewart (1978) 990,600



These days often much-reviled, as much for the arrogant, egotistical lyrics as the disco-bandwagon beats, this was actually Rod's first chart-topper for me, despite better earlier self-written tracks. By 1978 everyone was having a go at disco, cos disco was HUGE - and the sax-synth chord riffs at the key to fabness of the track, so hookily delicious with the disco rhythm, the melody's not bad either. These days I'll take the previous year's Killing Of Georgie in preference, but it's still a good pop record anyhows.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th December 2015, 08:22 PM

736. (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK - Bob And Marcia (1970) 990,750



Jamaican reggae music was new and exciting, and black empowerment was rightly all the rage in music of the period. Mix them up, with a brilliant melody, string-laden reggae-rhythms, and you have one of the great pop tracks of the 70's. I missed this at the time, being out of the country and all, but caught it on reissue in 1974 when I went big on it. Marcia Griffiths in 1974 was one of the I-Threes, Bob Marley's backing singers, which was about as Reggae Royalty as you can get....

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th December 2015, 08:47 PM

735. CRAZY HORSES - The Osmonds (1972) 990,800



Osmondmania was in full swing, and I'd gone from loving the Osmond Brothers as regulars on the Andy Williams Show, to being annoyed by the pre-teen girlie Donny Osmond OTT screaming, not to mention Little Jimmy's Liverpool monster. In the middle of this the lads let out Crazy Horses, a fab slice of pop metal with even-more-social-relevance anti-pollution lyrics than it had in 1972. I under-rated it for a decade or so, preferring some of their other singles like One Bad Apple, Going Home or The Proud One, but came around in the end as it kept coming back into the UK charts until I gave in!

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th December 2015, 08:52 PM

734. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME - Culture Club (1982) 991, 300



Picture the scene: Top Of The Pops, androgynous singer in a frock, the nation tries to decide if he is boy or girl, and throws him into worldwide stardom. George sabotaged his own career with substances, but for a while he was the darling of the media and Culture Club had a run of fantastic singles, starting with this heart-aching slow-reggae ballad, and George had quite the voice for it. Not the last time Culture Club will feature...

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th December 2015, 08:58 PM

733. OUTLINES - Mike Mago & Dragonette (2015) 991,400



A Spinnin' Records recent dancepop gem, it didn't quite become the huge hit it deserved to be, but did OK. I love this record, the melody is swoonsome, the whole package is just a beautifully-packaged whole, oh and the video is fab too. It has a certain sweetness and sadness to it, and you can still dance to it. It also allows us old folk to have a laugh at having Mr Magoo in the charts... (sort of)

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st January 2016, 08:57 AM

732. TO SIR WITH LOVE - Lulu (1967) 991,650



Lulu was 19 and had a few years of hits behind her already when this was released, the theme song to Sidney Poitier's black-teacher-in-the-UK movie. It was a huge North American hit, and in the UK it was stuffed away on the B side of a forgettable pop single, one of producer Mickie Most's worst decisions, cos it's just SO wonderful. Sweet, brilliant melody, great vocal performance from Lulu, and the song is pure teen appeal for girls with crushes on teachers, wistful and engaging. First of 2 from Lulu, one of pop's survivors who has 50 years of genre-varied material, some of it great (Bowie, Take That, soul-period) and one of the biggest label-hoppers of all-time for charted acts, each one a come-back with a new style.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st January 2016, 01:09 PM

731. HE AIN'T HEAVY...HE'S MY BROTHER - The Hollies (1969) 992,450



The Hollies were one of the big singles acts of the 60's, and this slow ballad track marked a move towards more adult, less pop sounds, after co-singer Graham Nash had left to form Crosby Stills & Nash, leaving Allan Clarke as lead singer. The trademark harmonies were still present, and the message of the song inspirational, so good, in fact, it topped the UK chart - 19 years after hitting the top 3! The power of beer ads, and just being great. First of 3 for The Hollies in the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st January 2016, 01:20 PM

730. HOLD ON TIGHT - E.L.O. (1981) 994,000



Jeff Lynne's final big chart hit, an exuberant retro pop rocker with a hint of La Belle Francaise, I was an instant fan, and still am, of Electric Light Orchestra, and most things Jeff Lynne from his Move days through the Wilbury's and his latest stuff via Beatles fabdom. After this single and a decade or so of hits, they started to decline in UK chart positions as they went out of fashion pretty much for 20 years. Not in my charts though, as I don't let minor things like being uncool change my opinion: there are quite a few more ELO's to come in the rundown, and the follow-up Twilight only just missed the run-down by 2 places. Doh!

Posted by: Fgiboy2511 1st January 2016, 11:26 PM

I really enjoy reading this. Very eclectic taste in music!

Posted by: Jack! 4th January 2016, 04:46 PM

Stay

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th January 2016, 07:24 PM

Thanks Fgiboy appreciate that, I will keep on keeping on

There's been another current million seller which knocks everything down a place so far, and a correction to xmas perennial which just dropped out my chart and will slip in between Good Luck and Message In A Bottle - so everything will drop down two places below it. More tomorrow:)

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th January 2016, 07:25 PM

Yay! I musta been predicting it's 90's No.1 victory

Posted by: Jack! 4th January 2016, 08:13 PM

Just wish it was released during a higher sales period

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 07:51 PM

OK a quick update of current positions up to the first new entry - my sales charts change constantly! The second batch of numbers are the position they held when I did my first million sellers at the final week in 1999, the new entries are those that have gained since (or else gained when I retrospectively decided that my Oldies Charts in 1974-7 also counted, as they were quite full of classics. Obviously that means tracks predating 1977 have a distinct advantage in my list, but I felt it was unfair to not count great records which predated my first chart just cos I didn't start early enough (aged 10)

5 have now dropped out of the 800...

764 487 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
765 488 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
766 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 972250
767 489 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150
768 NEW HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
769 NEW TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
770 NEW MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
771 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 968200
772 491 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
773 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
774 NEW JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
775 492 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 966650
776 493 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
777 NEW GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 966600
778 NEW WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907
779 495 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
780 NEW OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
781 496 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200
782 NEW IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
783 497 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840
784 498 ALANE Wes 1998 962700
785 NEW EMPIRE STATE OF MIND/ PART 2 Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys 2009 962000
786 NEW THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
787 NEW I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner 1984 961150
788 NEW SOLDIERS Abba 1981 961050
789 499 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700
790 NEW HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
791 NEW HERE I GO AGAIN Archie Bell And The Drells 1969 959900
792 500 SINGLE BILINGUAL Pet Shop Boys 1996 959400
793 NEW BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350
794 NEW YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE Gerry & The Pacemakers 1963 959300
795 NEW STARLIGHT Supermen Lovers 2001 958650
796 NEW WHEN YOU'RE GONE Bryan Adams/ Melanie C 1998 958100
797 NEW MAKE IT WITH YOU Let Loose 1996 958050
798 NEW EVERYWHERE Fleetwood Mac 1988 957950
799 NEW FANTASY Mariah Carey 1995 957300
800 NEW (I NEVER PROMISED YOU A) ROSE GARDEN Lynn Anderson 1971 956700
801 NEW A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles 1964 956650
802 NEW SHORLEY WALL Ooberman 1998 954300
803 NEW SHAME Eurythmics 1988 953700
804 NEW ONLY YOU CAN Fox 1974 952650
805 NEW TWILIGHT E.L.O. 1981 952050

....and this one has entered at ...

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 07:59 PM

763. STOP THE CAVALRY - Jona Lewie 974,050



I always loved Jona Lewie tracks, from his Terry Dactyl days right through to this christmas annual classic. I say christmas - actually the only thing christmassy about it is a mention of it, and a few bells amongst the brass band backing, it's much more of a sorta sad jolly anti-war record set in the Great War trenches in the video. It was a christmas hit however, and lost a lot of sales in my chart due to the John Lennon tracks dominating my charts following his murder. It keeps popping back occasionally though, cos it's brilliant, at christmas-time and here it is at last. It may well go up higher next year...!

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:01 PM

731 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
732 469 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450
733 NEW TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650
734 NEW OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
735 470 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300
736 471 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800
737 NEW (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
738 472 DA YA THINK I'M SEXY Rod Stewart 1978 990600
739 NEW WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
740 NEW LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
741 473 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
742 474 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850
743 475 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO Abba 1980 986900
744 NEW SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY Abba 1982 986550
745 476 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
746 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800
747 478 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10CC 1976 984900
748 NEW BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
749 NEW 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
750 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
751 NEW REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600
752 479 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258
753 480 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850
754 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
755 482 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
756 483 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
757 NEW STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 975150
758 NEW PRAY Take That 1993 975000
759 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
760 484 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 974600
761 490 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500
762 NEW GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
763 NEW STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 1980 974050

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:09 PM

730. DON'T TELL ME - Madonna (2000) 994,450



Madonna's second entry on the rundown is the follow-up to gimmicky Music, a much better, acoustic-tinged uptempo EDM pop song with a country-themed video. Don't Tell Me was Madonna continuing the Ray Of Light album return to form and she really was sounding mature and confident and still keeping relevant in the ever-changing world of dance-pop. Perhaps a little flattered here, considering Like A Prayer has yet to broach the million (It needs a re-chart for a few weeks to push it over! Shock!), but not TOO flattered.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:19 PM

729. OH PITY - Cashier No. 9 (2011) 995,600



A band that have never made the big time, or even the middling time, but this record just grabbed me 4 years and so insistent I never grew tired of it. I love the construction of it, the chugging nature interspersed with so many musical little intricacies and harmonies, and around 3 and a half minutes in comes the fab guitar and harp. It's galling that such a marvellous little record hasn't reached a wider appreciation. The West Coast American-sounding but Belfast band have now changed name to EXMAGICIAN. Fingers-crossed lads!

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:28 PM

728. OBSESSION - Animotion (1985) 997,250



One-hit wonders, as American bands inspired by the New Romantic/Futurist MTV video invasion started to wake up and smell the future, and it was synth and techno dance pop. I loved synths from the first time I heard them in 1972, and through to 2015, so many possibilities for new sound and new excitement. The video sound quality is a bit suspect on the original video so this out-of-synch better-quality dub is worth looking at instead,: the record here is like the Human League's missing classic, a terrific song and great raunchy full-bodied production.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:36 PM

727. BLUE MONDAY - New Order (1983) 997,850



Talking of synths, talking of ground-breaking, talking of voting on this or True Faith as New Order's best record, well shh I can't give the game away but this is the first of two New Order tracks in the rundown from the former Joy Division lads and new lass. I always liked this but never loved it to bits, probably cos I got annoyed when records weren't available in 7-inch vinyl versions (I refused to buy full-price 12-inch), but it just kept on going and going, and just as in the UK sales charts, all the various re-entries, reissues and remixes pushed it over the million - it just needs one more week at 75 in my chart to do it!

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 08:49 PM

OK, do I pause while I'm on a street-cred high...?

Oh sod it, here's 3 to destroy it!

726, I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER - Sarah Brightman And Hot Gossip (1978) 997, 950



Look, it had sci-fi references from all my fave sci-fi obsessions, it had Star wars sound effects, it had naughty Kenny Everett dancers smack-bang when he was the funniest thing on British TV, and it had future Opera mega-star Sarah Brightman hiding her talent behind cheesy disco music. I remain unashamedly fond of this poptabulous bit of throwaway cash-in disco. First of 2 from Sarah, and the other couldn't be more different

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 09:00 PM

725. END OF THE ROAD - Boyz II Men (1992) 998,250



For a time in 1992, I found this sweet soul ballad a bit of a 70's soul throwback, which was fine by me, I adore 70's soul. Boyz II Men were HUGE, a boyband with soul appeal, and then they stayed on top of the radio-dominated US singles charts for years and years and years and the novelty quickly wore-off for me. They capped it off with a Mariah Carey overblown monstrosity and I just haven't been able to recapture the charm of the moment for this track ever since, the band's simpering, off-key and constipated vocal style just rubs me the wrong way. This is by far their best record, though.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th January 2016, 09:09 PM

724. SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) - Neil Diamond (1969) 998,450



Back in the 60's Neil was cool, he wrote great pop songs for pop acts and for himself, loads of 'em, but he didn't quite break through as a solo act in the UK until 1970 with Cracklin' Rosie, which he followed up with this re-issued pop singalong classic in 1971 - which is when I loved it, in tropical boyhood Singapore. Imagine my surprise when it belatedly became a huge 21st century singalong party classic, after Neil had sabotaged his songwriting street cred career circa 1974 and opted for bland MOR superstardom. Neil is cool again now, and quite right too, but I still divide his career into love (pre-1973) and at-best-like (post-1972). First of three for Neil...

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th January 2016, 08:43 PM

723. RESCUE ME - Madonna (1991) 991,100



Single to push The Immaculate Collection hits remix set, this new track was really Enjoy Yourself/Vogue/Open Your Heart dance House stylee with a touch of gospel, and a perfectly good single, though not quite the freshness of the earlier tracks and no video either. Which sort of lacklustre attitude summed up the album for me: needless tinkering with the original single versions, and not even including all of the big hits such as True Blue. The 2 new singles should have been held back for the next album, no tinkering, and a full track list. So there! That's why I never bought the mega-selling album until it was in a second-hand bargain bin. Third of many from Ms. Ciccone, anyway!

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th January 2016, 08:55 PM

722. FOUR LETTER WORD - Kim Wilde (1989) 999,150



Kim and bruv Ricky (not to mention dad Marty) were a real family unit New Romantic-era pop delight, almost glam-rock for the 80's, after Ricky's teenpop career didn't happen (Teen Wave was great). Rick did it right for his sis Kim, who was one of the few British solo female pop stars around amongst all the synth bands. Kids In America, Cambodia, and loads of other great hits followed one after another and then it all seemed to die down in the mid-80's. Kim left Mickie Most's RAK Records, switched to MCA and came out with a more adult sound and a great album in Close, her most complete work, including Four Letter Word. In retrospect I'm more fond of her earlier stuff, but it's still very pleasant. First of two, and her latest album is still very much a family affair, and she still features in my top 10 singles chart with Isobel's Song as I write (Jan 2016). I love Kim.

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th January 2016, 09:04 PM

721. SUNRISE - Simply Red (2003) 999, 300



Sometimes Mick Hucknall got on my nerves, especially during his mega-selling Stars period, and sometimes Simply Red bunged a single I really liked, and once in a while one I loved. Long after the party seemed to be over Mick cheekily borrowed Hall & Oates' I Can't Go For That, wrote a new melody over the top of it, kept a bit of the hook, and had a new song that just appealed to me (big Hall & Oates fan). It's not remembered much, but it's pretty smooth enough for me to rate it as the highest-selling track to fail to quite hit one million. Mick does, of course, have the advantage of a great singing voice, which never hurts in pop music. First of two for Simply Red.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2016, 08:34 PM

720. BACK IN THE USSR - The Beatles (1968) 1,000,000



Back in '68 The Beatles sprawling double album came out, and there were no singles taken off it - this was good news for all those doing cover versions and getting hits, but it was a lost opportunity for this certain-chart-topper, though it eventually came out in 1976 and duly made the top 20 in the UK. It's the Fabs doing a Beach Boys supercharged parody essentially, and it really rocks the groove, still sounds fab loud in a club. As A Hard Day's Night has just been pushed down to 801, you can call this the Beatles' first of dozens in the rundown - but who has the most, Beatles, Abba or Pet Shop Boys. I'll try and keep count!

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2016, 08:44 PM

719. JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY - Haysi Fantayzee (1982) 1,000,400



I always love anything that sounds unusual and endearingly quirky, so that's why this cowboy-yee-haw piss-take did so well in my charts. Jeremy Healy later resided in the dance club scene, but this was just pure fun, and ever so naughty and irreverent to national treasure John Wayne. Don't ask about Big Leggy and standing so high, it's a bit rood, but great fun. Showdown!

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2016, 08:56 PM

718. DREAMS - Fleetwood Mac (1977) 1,001,162



The biggest hit off the classic, eternal, mega-selling Rumours album, and Stevie Nicks at her ethereal, lacy, atmospheric, haunting best. The album was huge at College, and it's huge now, constantly finding new fans and passing down the generations. There are Mac and Stevie songs I love more these days, but that may be down to the Corrs sucking the mystery out of the song for me and overdosing on the melody. Stevie is a poet of imagery, and I love her voice, image and songs. Second of four.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2016, 09:04 PM

717 is a David Bowie song that is going to chart on Sunday in my new charts (there is going to be an invasion, as there is on itunes at the moment) so it will be going up and I'm going to assume it's jumping over the next few tracks when I do the next batch...

Previous artist chart invasions*:
Beatles
Elvis Presley
John Lennon
Beatles
Abba
Beatles
Pet Shop Boys
Michael Jackson
Abba

Justin Bieber is not going to join this list. David Bowie is.

(* at least 6 at a time)

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th January 2016, 04:11 PM

717. IN THE CROSSFIRE - Starsailor (2005) 1,001,500



I haven't heard this in a decade, Starsailor being as they are one of the unfairly under-rated rock bands of the noughties, so it's almost new and fresh to me as I play it now - great riffs, and I always liked the vocal range and angst stylings of singer James Walsh, and of course the song is pretty good too. Sort of a more intense, uptempo Coldplay. Not their most well-known track, I think, and they had quite a few goodies, and are long overdue for some appreciation and a comeback.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th January 2016, 04:20 PM

716. RUN BOY RUN - Woodkid (2012) 1,0001,600



The first Buzzjack classic track for me, I noticed it in the multi-chart long before I discovered the BJSC and took a look-see, and oh. my. word! Fantastic horror-cum-Fritz Lang Metropolis video, and just a brilliant record, nowadays much used in sporting ads and the like, despite never cracking the UK top 40. First off, it's that hypnotic frantic rhythm, then there's those stirring sweeping synth-strings, and the urgent, insistent low-key song in between them. Woodkid is French video-artist, graphic designer and singer-songwriter Yoann Lemoine, and all those elements go towards the whole that is this brilliant video-record.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th January 2016, 04:34 PM

715. I SAW HER AGAIN - The Mamas And The Papas (1967) 1,001,800



One of my fave bands of the 60's, and one of the great hippie-era pop back catalogues, The Mamas And The Papas were the ultimate male-female harmony band, and were a sort of template for Abba and Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac, not to mention daughters in Wilson Phillips. John Phillips was the creative backbone, and his wife Michelle joined with Mama Cass Elliot on vocal harmonies, along with Denny Doherty on male vocals with John. Mama Cass was a huge family favourite, and the West Coast pop symphony creations of the band were just so on the spot for 3 years, and then it was all over! This song is under-rated, an uptempo gorgeous-sounding production with an infidelity relationship lyric giving it a bitter twist. Fab.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th January 2016, 05:02 PM

714. DELILAH - Tom Jones (1968) 1,002,250



The Voice, the perennial Tom, still kicking it in 2016, and throughout my music life really, give or take. Delilah was one of those now lost art-forms, the story ballad, and a thundering jealousy murder ballad it is, and an oddity, with waltz rhythms, Spanish-ey brass sections, and a manic piano-riff all trying to battle that belter of a voice from Tom, and very nearly winning. A fantastic pop track, still pretty well-known, and the first of two for Sir Tom.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th January 2016, 08:30 PM

713. LAST STOP: THIS TOWN - Eels (1998) 1,002,400



One of the great quirky bands. Quirky bands always get under-rated, and this fab whimsical, clever, musical collage of rock, harpsichord and deep down vocal interludes is no exception. Eels were very consistently good, and this was my fave track of theirs from their heyday 1995 to the early 90's, when they were labelled Alternative Rock and hailed originally from California, which endeared them even more to me - we're used to endearing quirky British bands, American ones less so post-60's. Still sounds great this one.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th January 2016, 08:36 PM

712. THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE - Percy Faith (1960) 1,002,500



There's a hint of Mantovani about this film theme (starring Sandra Dee, well look at me, reading Wikipedia!) which became a worldwide breakout tuneful lush hit, and is still well-known popping on ads, in movies, and on The Simpsons when Jasper adds vocals to it, hilariously. Just to underline how old this is, I knew it as a toddler and have loved it my whole life, that melody is just good enough to eat, and the sweeping strings just hit all of the pleasure centres in my brain - percy was born in 1908 (that's 108 years ago!) and was already in his fifties when this came out. Hooray for oldies! One of the very oldest tracks in my countdown...

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th January 2016, 08:51 PM

711. DID YOU EVER - Nancy & Lee (1971) 1,002,700



A final hit collaboration for the greatest male-female vocal duo act of the 60's (and all subsequent decades), and that includes the marvellous Sonny & Cher. It was the combo of Nancy Sinatra's sweet-girl vocals (I'll take her over her dad anyday) and Lee Hazelwood's gravel-singing and songs/productions. The best stuff is hippie trippie poetry, swirling ballads set to music with wild romantic imagery, such as Sand (still waiting to chart that one, long overdue, easpecially as I've successfully had it played on Radio 1 and Radio 2 as requests with stories - of Singapore life), but they occasionally flirted with Country and Western music and grabbed a huge UK hit in late '71 with this very suggestively naughty amusing lyric which has them interrupting each other before any risky words come.....out. First of 2 for the duo, and another 2 more for Nancy solo.

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th January 2016, 07:41 PM

710. THE DARK IS RISING - Mercury Rev (2001) 1,003,100



Ambitiously epic, a crescendo of swirling strings just to start with, then fragile vocals and piano, a touch of violin, and as always I love moody or exotic lyrical imagery. Buffalo, New York's Mercury Rev never quite made it big, but were touchingly quirky, and this track just moves me tremendously and I still don't understand why it wasn't huge, though it did well in the UK and the band were critically rated highly. The Dark Is Rising could feature quite happily as the centrepiece of a Hollywood movie, art or blockbuster, and I still have my fingers crossed for a re-discovery.

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th January 2016, 07:53 PM

709. I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING - Pet Shop Boys (1993) 1,003,450



A lot of people, throughout their career, have had problems with Neil's voice and the dance nature of a lot of their material. Their loss, the PSB's are peculiarly British, immensely talented, and as art-ful and musically, lyrically and visually talented as any act in pop music history. This record, in keeping with their one-word-title-or-immensely-long-title tradition, is just pure upbeat fun, with a bonus zany computer-cum-60's mad-as-a-hatter video, and came off the back of their final Big Pop Stars period (Go West and Can You Forgive Her). This video version isn't loud enough, the CD version is fab. 2nd of many for Chris 'n' Neil, and to boot they have also remixed tracks by Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Madonna which also feature in the rundown. Just saying....

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th January 2016, 08:01 PM

708. JUMP - Madonna (2006) 1,003,600



Talking Of Madonna, her last entirely wonderful album, Confessions On A Dancefloor, saw me standing outside Cardiff's Millennium Stadium for a great standing view of Madge touring the album this dropped off. By the time they opened the doors it had been 9 hours without toilets, respite from the sun, or any kiosks selling food and drink and I wilted at the last minute. Never mind, got a seat with a great view and Madonna was just fab, this track came over well and got a boost in my charts perhaps more than it otherwise would have. The people at the front had more fun though, but I'm not bitter, oh no....

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th January 2016, 08:15 PM

707. NO MILK TODAY - Herman's Hermits (1967) 1,003,800



Teenage Peter Noone was a fresh young Manchester pop star fronting Herman's Hermits, and they were huge in the 60's, both in the UK and the USA. I was 9 years old when this Graham Gouldman song (of 10CC, then just a 20-year-old jobbing songwriter) came out during the year of the summer of love, and the tune was just fab. I could mention a huge list of great tuneful pop tracks from the lads, most of them forgotten these days, tragically (and one naughty playground version of Sunshine Girl) , but this was their best record, a lovely production, Peter at his cutest, and I eventually got to see him of all places in Disney Epcot in the 90's when they specialised in 60's acts doing performances. I still have the video...

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th January 2016, 08:35 PM

706. YOU DON'T KNOW ME - Armand Van Helden (featuring Duane Harden) (1999) 1,003,800



As the 20th century drew to a close, this fantastic club track pointed the way forward for dance music in the 21st century for me, urgent bpm's, swooping synth chords, and a good vocal over the top of a brilliant production. Soulful and passionate, but oh did it make you want to go mad dancing like a whirling dirvish. Can I use that phrase in the 21st century? Too late! Boston, Mass. DJ Armand never really captured another massive hit single, but he pretty much has remixed everyone who is anyone over the last 20 years, often to great effect, oh and then he came back as Duck Sauce and gifted us all with the big hit Boney M sampling song Barbara Streisand. Shh don't tell anyone but it's great fun...

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2016, 08:36 PM

705. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BUT I CAN'T GIVE IT ANYMORE - Pet Shop Boys (1999) 1,003,900



Back with the long song titles, the Nightlife first single was back in full-swirling strings and EDM beats mode. Another change of image, still eccentric of course, and an arty video. It's quite low-key melodically, and an interesting breaking-up treatment of a traditional song theme, but wasn't that well-received when it came out - to be fair there are a couple of better tracks on the album, and it was an odd choice, but I find it quite affecting in a dour sort of way for a banging dance tune. 3rd for the Petties.

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2016, 08:45 PM

704. FAIRYTALE - Alexander Rybak (2009) 1,003,950



Eurovision winner from young Norwegian Alexander with his fiddle and a fresh fab song. It stood out right away as classy, and refreshingly different from previous winners, and returned Eurovision to the UK top 10 after years in the chart doldrums. Unfairly, I thought, as the contest has gone from strength to strength in the 21st century with Europeans taking it a lot more seriously than the invariably half-hearted and hopeless UK entries - largely thanks to the BBC, it must be said, and the bad press of the contest in the British media who conveniently forget the best pop act of all time (Abba) used it as a platform to worldwide success and eventually critical acclaim. There will be more Eurovision, you have been warned!

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2016, 08:54 PM

703. LOVE ME DO - The Beatles (1962) 1,004,100



I turned 5 when this was in the charts over xmas and new year 1962/1963, and The Beatles began the rapid journey to world domination, the creation of Britpop as a world force, artistic development as a creative force, the album as art, the pop video, politics, love, death, break-up and a mere 7 prolific years containing 3 world-class songwriters. Who woulda thought it from this happy little ditty?! Within a year the Beatles had taken over pop culture and dominated my pre-teen years like no-one else, I saw the movies, bought the bubblegum cards, and dad bought some singles. Not this one, but it eventually made the top 10 in 1982 as the 20th anniversary reissues got going. Fab. Four.

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th January 2016, 07:56 PM

702. MISS YOU NIGHTS - Cliff Richard (1976) 1,005,300



The song that saved Cliff's reputation, along with follow-up Devil Woman, after years of frothy tuneful pop and TV family fare. Not that I hold the same critical venom for that period of Cliff's career (I was a pre-teen fan of his pop songs, and he of course did Summer Holiday, the song and film that sparked all UK kids dreams of travelling the world in a double-decker bus), but he hadn't really impressed the critics much since Move It introduced genuine British teen rock 'n' roll to the world. Miss You Nights was a breathy, classy, minimal ballad (bar violin, piano. multi-tracked harmonies and some strings) and Cliff was now entering his golden mature pop period, which lasted a decade or so, give or take the odd Xmastime blip.

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th January 2016, 08:04 PM

701. CHASING PAVEMENTS - Adele (2008) 1,005,350



Hard to believe this is 8 years old, and who could have predicted Adele was on course to become the biggest pop star on the planet, by far! Shockingly, this is her only entry in my rundown - not that I don't rate her stuff since this debut hit, but it's fair to say that there's no avoiding Adele in the media and over-familiarity tends to cut chart runs down in my charts. I'm sure there will be re-entries for the likes of Hello in the future, and there's still Water Under The Bridge as a potential future hit and "million-selling" in my charts. Long may she reign!

Posted by: popchartfreak 22nd January 2016, 12:45 PM

OK, starting THE TOP 700 without starting a new thread!

700. CRACKLIN' ROSIE - Neil Diamond (1970) 1,005,400



I'm 12 years old and Neil Diamond was writing great pop tune after pop tune (mostly for other acts like The Monkees), and was at last hitting the UK singles chart with this terrific pop song, chunters along beautifully and the great deep-voiced bits are fun. I still love this one, partly for nostalgia of my Singapore sunny days, where other Neil songs of the period have varied a lot more in my affections, some have gained, some have slightly declined. For me 1970/1971 were his peak years, so expect at least one more to come! OK, second of three, gave it away (though there are even more Diamond songs on the way too)!

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd January 2016, 02:58 PM

699. UNFINISHED SYMPATHY - Massive Attack (1991) 1,006,550



Massive classic, of course, this one. Shara Nelson gives a stunning vocal performance over this haunting soulful, shuffling strings-laden brilliant record. Passion runs throughout every second of it, and the video is a work of art in itself, I love slice-of-life running visuals, people are endlessly fascinating and Shara is just cool. Massive Attack were always good, and came close to equalling this a couple of times, but they never quite hit the same special moment once Shara had her solo career to concentrate on.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd January 2016, 04:49 PM

698. MY NAME IS JACK - Manfred Mann (1968) 1,006,650



Manfred Mann were a bluespop band fronted by Paul Jones, and they were great. They were also led by South African Manfred Mann, who became an Earthband in the 70's to great success. After Paul left for a solo singing, acting, Blues Band-ing, and DJ'ing career the Manfred's grabbed frontman Mike D'Abo who was poptastic cool and the hits just kept coming, this time helped by Mike's pop songwriting (two of his songs will feature in the list higher up). Any similarities between Manfred Mann and Ocean Colour Scene are probably deliberate, at least visually! My Name Is Jack was perfect for 10-year-old's who were very keen on pop music (that'll be me), loved the whistling, loved the schoolground lyrics, and loved the flutey chanty tunefulness of it. Still do. First of 2.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd January 2016, 09:38 PM

697. RADIO GA GA - Queen (1984) 1,008,300



Queen were huge for me in the early to mid-70's, but they'd gone off the boil a bit until this came out in early 1984. By this stage all of the band were writing hit singles, not just Freddie and Brian, and this is Roger Taylor's best song hooked up with that fabulous Fritz Lang Metropolis-inspired video. Queen were a rock band not afraid to dabble with other genres, in this case synths and a wobbly disco beat amongst the hand-clapping and the fab tune. Queen were back with a bang, and this was my number one track when I moved from Mansfield to Poole, which pretty much was the dividing point between a hectic ever-changing ever-moving life and a static life. Who Knew!?

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd January 2016, 09:48 PM

696. I HEAR YOU NOW - Jon And Vangelis (1980) 1,008,450



Now this was an unusual collaboration: a prog rock vocalist with an unusual vocal style and range, and a Greek synth-composer-arranger on his way to film scores after a career in the fabulous Greek prog rock band Aphrodite's Child with the well-known Demis Roussos. Gentle, melodic, and sounding like nothing before it, it was a gorgeous glimpse of the potential future of pop for me. I just can't resist anything that sounds new and fresh, and this did. They had a bigger hit (I'll Find My Way Home), and a better-known song (Donna Summer's glorious version of State Of Independence) but this is till my fave of theirs, just gorgeous.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th January 2016, 02:24 PM

There's been another million seller to add (an oldie) which means all so far drop another place. I won't refresh overall positions again as the horrible list of veteran pop stars passing away is having an impact on total chart point "sales" as they re-enter my charts and there will likely be more to come. I will do a complete list of the top 800 to wherever I get to soon as things look settled for a while..

696. BABY LOVE - The Supremes (1964) 1,008,850



The Supremes became Motown's huge pop act with this jolly popsoul ditty - actually the beat is uplifting, the song is more broken-heart-time - and Diana Ross was on her way to a massive solo career once she squeezed the other girls out of the limelight, Mary Wilson still tours (I saw her the other year - Fab!) and Florence Ballard ended dying young in poverty after being booted out. Not their greatest single by any means, but I grew up with it from age 6 onwards and by the time it was a hit all over again in 1974 I'd already known it a decade, which for a 16-year-old is positively historically nostalgic. It was, also, the start of an amazing run of singles, so expect to see both the girls and Ms. Ross crop up again (and again).

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th January 2016, 02:32 PM

695. ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS - Paloma Faith (2014) 1,009,550



One of our current national treasures, Paloma is all about Art and Passion, and is endearingly quirky and open - as shown on The Voice UK right now - I have a lot of time for Paloma's commitment and dramatic ballads especially. This one is great, a fab vocal performance, a fab song, and a sweeping orchestral backdrop. I saw her in concert the year before this where she was giving teasers of the new stuff not released yet, and she was exactly as you'd want her to be performing live. First of 3 on the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th January 2016, 03:01 PM

694. CARNAVAL DE PARIS - Dario G (1998) 1,010,900



90's remixer and dance producer Dario G goes all Brazilian and World Cup for this banging latin-ish-rhythm instrumental anthem. Ah remember the good ol' days when FIFA wasn't a dirty word and footballers could burst into tears..? Actually I'm not a huge soccer fan, but I do watch World Cup's and this is one my fave football-related songs, plus I can't resist banging beats and a good melody. Fun!

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th January 2016, 03:22 PM

693. BLACK AND WHITE - Greyhound (1971) 1,011,000



A 1956 socio-political song written to mark the end of segregation in US schools, first recorded by co-writer Earl Robinson, covered by Pete Seeger and Sammy Davis Junior, and then in the post-hippie world of racial equality in 1971 reggae band Greyhound did a brilliant version that became a big UK hit on the cooler-than-cool Trojan label. I came back from Singapore unaware of the song in late 1971, and was puzzled why in assembly everyone just couldn't quite get the song together: turns out kids knew the reggae version and nothing else would do. I finally got to hear the hit version and fell in love with it, and Greyhound. Take a look at this dubbed-over TV live performance and be amazed at the sheer effort of the fab lead singer to get the audience give-up the morgue impression. He really couldn't have done any more, and then right at the end his flies burst open with all the frenetic movements. Now I call that commitment! Brilliant record, but let's not talk about the huge US hit cover of this version by Three Dog Night, or as I prefer to think of them, Three Dog Serial Killers. Sorry lads!

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th January 2016, 07:43 PM

692. MATHEMATICS - Cherry Ghost (2007) 1,012,650



Cherry Ghost have never quite broken through, though Birdy covered one of their singles People Help The People, but I really was taken by the strings and melody of this song, beautifully sung. Main man Simon Aldred now sings and writes for others, notably Avicii's Waiting For Love, some Sam Smith, but this remains my favourite despite goodies like 4.a.m. I find the song just achingly lovely, one of those that make you feel all tearful with wistful joy, and a bit of a loss that it only made 57 in the UK singles chart. Gorgeous record!

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th January 2016, 07:52 PM

691. CARELESS WHISPER - George Michael (1984) 1,012,900



A sophisticated heartfelt ballad showed us George was a bit more than a Young Gun, with that fantastic sultry sax, wonderfully passionate melody and a flawless vocal. This was the song that made everyone view George in a more serious light, despite the blow-dry hair, including me. The song is heartbreaking in it's own right, but I was also having a depressive time of it myself, so I've never been able to view it dispassionately. And after it was played at my sister-in-law's funeral (she was a huge George fan) it became one I can't play and enjoy, if one can "enjoy" heartbreak songs. George was a teenager when he wrote it. First of many for Georgie, Wham!, duetting, sampling, the lot.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th January 2016, 08:00 PM

690. LUCKY MAN - The Verve (1997) 1,012, 900



Follow-up to a monster classic, and immediately before this track came, a UK number one (The Drugs Don't Work) which wasn't quite as big in my charts as this one - it's not quite in the same league as the previous 2, but is still good enough and The Verve were huge for a year before splitting, leaving Richard Ashcroft to enjoy a less successful but just as good solo career, with some equally dour-but-fab string-swept ballads. If it's not already obvious, I do like my strings in a song! First of 2 or 3.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th January 2016, 08:20 PM

689. (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION - The Rolling Stones (1965) 1,013,300



A Stones classic, their most famous song as I was growing up in the 60's, and what a pent-up song-of-sexual-frustration it is, urgent, shouty, and that backbone guitar riff is just genius. Mick Jagger and Keith Richard had accepted the Lennon/McCartney challenge and thrown down a little gauntlet of sheer attitude. Rivals to the Beatles, the Stones star also faded in singles-chart terms a bit when the Fabs split, but they used to time singles releases between them so as not to clash. Jonathan King did a peculiarly-satisfying amusing acoustic-ballad cover as Bubble Rock, which i rated, but it does underline the brilliance of the original. Still! First of only 2, shockingly, for the Rolling Stones.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st February 2016, 07:57 PM

688. IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND - Agnetha Faltskog (2004) 1,013,350



This was a very unexpected cover version choice for Abba's Agnetha and her solo comeback after forever away, it's a lovely half-forgotten Cilla Black gem from 1969. In my case, I was abroad and missed Cilla's version so I only got to know it in the 80's when I got the Greatest Hits, and it's such a sweet melody and song, and Agnetha gives a sad quality. There are dozens of Abba tracks on the list, but only one by a solo Abba act. Agnetha has had her best album recently, not bad given she's been having them since the 60's! Frida's best was with Phil Collins, and her best track isn't here but deserves to be, the thundering I Know There's Something Going On from 1982. Time for Frida comeback please!

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th February 2016, 10:06 PM

687. SUMMERTIME SADNESS - Lana Del Ray (2013) 1,013,550



Lana arrived with a fantastic debut album and a big single in Video Games, but she had to wait for a seriously good dance remix of her classic 60's siren-tinged stylish deliciously morose songs to get a million seller. that will be Summertime Sadness courtesy of Cedric Gervais. It's a style she hasn't really returned to, sadly. She herself half-seriously compared herself to the brilliant Nancy Sinatra (with Lee Hazelwood) for reference and atmosphere, and she has the same classic feel, so easily she could do a David Lynch soundtrack. Since the first album, I got peed off with her British record company treating her UK fans badly, deluxe versions of albums already bought, late releases of new material in the UK compared to the rest of the world, so I've just cherry-picked the odd track since in protest, and judging by the declining sales so are most of the fans of her debut album. Shame, cos she's got the talent.

Posted by: popchartfreak 8th February 2016, 08:07 PM

686. LOVE ETC. - Pet Shop Boys (2009) 1,014,700



An odd album lead single this one, more of a chant-as-chorus and low-key verses, chugging along nicely. As ever, Neil Tennant takes an off-kilter and beautifully-phrased lyric - this time it's "you can have everything, be famous, but you still need love". Quintessentially British pop music, and even though the boys were long-past their commercial peak by this time, they still put out good, interesting, pop music. No, it doesn't all sound the same, just listen more carefully....! 5th of many, many...

Posted by: popchartfreak 8th February 2016, 08:14 PM

685. EYES WITHOUT A FACE - Billy Idol (1984) 1,015,000



Billy left punk Generation X behind and aimed squarely at 80's rockpop, it took a while to happen and the USA took to him first, and biggest, but eventually he happened in the UK too - this was his break-through single, and what a beaut it is too. Love that gorgeous melody, Billy's sneering rock and vocal bridge, and back to the tender song again. He had almost as good singles a-plenty, like White Wedding, Rebel Yell and Sweet Sixteen, and he's just back with some good stuff again, but this is the sole entry in this list. It deserves to be higher.

Posted by: popchartfreak 8th February 2016, 08:22 PM

684. PAPA DON'T PREACH - Madonna (1986) 1,016,100



This was the single that signalled Madonna was more than just a big dance popstar who appealed to teenage girls. She'd had some good singles already, and a couple of classics, Like A Virgin, Into The Groove and Holiday, but this one set her agenda with a bang: a new blonde-crop image, a song about teenage pregnancy, and a string-section intro, not to mention the film-stylee promo video. Madonna knew what she wanted, and had mapped it out years earlier, she didn't deviate, she did. Films, albums, singles, videos, fashion, dance and she was a woman in a man's business. Barring the odd songwriter, usually singer-songwriter or soul, girls didn't control pop music, till she changed the rules. 5th of many for Madonna.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th February 2016, 09:58 PM

683. I'M WITH STUPID - Pet Shop Boys (2006) 1,017,400



A very 1993-sounding schizophrenic track, it's a bitter attack on Blair and Bush, beautifully-disguised behind a genuinely-amusing video starring then-Little Britain's Matt Lucas and David Walliams paying "tribute" to past Pet Shop Boys images and videos, lots of self-mockery going on. The song works anyway, even if you ignore the politics (though I agree with every word) as it's non-specific naming lets it be taken as an actual relationship going wrong. The political relationship, of course, went tits up 2 years later along with the world economy.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th February 2016, 10:09 PM

682. STOP LOVING ME STOP LOVING YOU - Daryl Hall (1994) 1,018,000



A great Marvin-Gaye-esque smooth soul shuffle, and a comeback solo gem from Daryl Hall around 8 years since Hall & Oates burned-out, in a fab career that started with the brilliant She's Gone in the early 70's, a track that is waiting for a good excuse to get those elusive million sales - it's one I've grown more in love with over the decades. Never mind, there's one classic John & Daryl track in the list, though sadly not including fantastic soulpop singles like Maneater and Out Of Touch from their golden American-hits early 80's period. Still good in concert, seen them 3 times over the years.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th February 2016, 10:16 PM

681. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART - Roxette (1989) 1,018,500



Sweden's duo hit it big in 1989 and the early 90's, especially in the USA where their AOR sound went down a storm. It took a little longer to break the UK, but Look Sharp! the parent album was chock filled with hit singles like this one, a double-A in the UK after flopping, along with the unreleased track Dangerous (in the UK). A power-ballad that I'm just not that in love with these days, flattered as it was a bit by having Dangerous share the chart placing/sales - both had already charted in my charts previously but Dangerous was bigger - so you can expect that one to come up, and another one to boot!

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th February 2016, 07:17 PM

680. AMERICAN PIE - Don McLean (1972) 1,019,400



An Americana classic, lamenting the day Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, it made Don McLean a star and set him up for a good run of good singer-songwriter singles and albums, like Vincent, Wonderful Baby and another million seller yet to come. One of my pride and joys was learning all the words to side 1 of the split full-length song - I used to buy Disco 45 magazine to get song lyrics. I didn't however put in a bid for the original manuscript lyrics when they sold for 1.2 million dollars in 2015! Don famously inspired a song himself, Killing Me Softly With His Song is about him..

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th February 2016, 07:27 PM

679. EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE - The Police (1983) 1,019.950



A genius moody, disturbing ballad, the dark stalker nature of the lyrics is matched by the fab black and white video from Godley & Creme and the terrific bassline running through it. The Police were actually in the throws of breaking up after the huge success of the song, and Sting was in the throws of ending and beginning relationships, but was a bit off-put by the frequent misunderstanding of the lyrics, which are not happy and positive at all. The song became huge all over again in the 90's in awful rewrite as I'll Be Missing You. I'll stick with Sting & the lads, thanks. 2nd of 4 for The Police.

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th February 2016, 07:36 PM

678. DIRTY DIANA - Michael Jackson (1988) 1,020,250



Jacko goes rock as the Bad album mines even more singles from it than Thriller. Michael could do no wrong by 1988, already having the biggest album in history and a 19-year career, and still only 30 years old! As Diana Ross took some credit for "discovering" Motown's Jackson 5, I always thought it a bit suspect using her name in a not-very-flattering lyric, but hey ho, who am I to judge! Maybe not his best record ever, though he certainly has a bit of venom and passion on display, but he was on a roll and everything he released from Bad did well in my charts by virtue of having it on cassette to play on my 1987 South West USA holiday, so nostalgia ruled - even months-old nostalgia! First of many for Michael, solo, duo and group.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th February 2016, 08:15 PM

677. PRAYING FOR TIME - George Michael (1990) 1,021,000



George got serious with the first single off Listen Without Prejudice - no more videos, serious subjects, he was following the mega solo album Faith with a laid-back sobering collection - and I loved it. This is a haunting and beautiful, bitter and sad, ballad that lacked the love-song across-the-board appeal of his earlier stuff, but it's dealing with the World and let's be frank the sentiment and comments are (sadly) pretty timeless. 2nd of many for Georgie, from the days when he was angry about wrongs.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th February 2016, 08:31 PM

676. STARS - China Black (1994) 1,021,300



I was fond of the mixed ethnicity of China Black, one of my pet peeves in pop was the lack of visible Asians, so the British Hong Kong born part of the band had my full support (Simon Fung), and they fit in nicely with the shuffle soul and reggae grooves of 1994. Debut hit Searching is the one best-remembered but this minor follow-up was just so sweet I went overboard on it for a while even more than Searching. Jamaica-origined singer Errol Reid has a sweet voice, and has guest-vocal'ed here and there, and Stars is just "nice" in the good sense of the word. Nice!

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th February 2016, 08:44 PM

675. PAINT IT BLACK - The Rolling Stones (1966) 1,022,000



The Stones perennial classic, the one that out of their whole catalogue appeals most to new generations. It's dark, exotic, and has attitude, and that sitar hook is so obviously George-Harrison Beatles-influenced pyschedelic rock. I was big on flower power, hippie and all that as a 60's pop fan, but this Rolling Stones record I more or less missed at the time for some reason - Stones hits were usually very well known - despite it chart-topping in the UK and USA. I've come to love it since then though, and is the highest-rated Rolling Stones track in the chart (which is fair enough) of only two (which isn't fair enough). Sadly no space for Honky Tonk Women, Jumping Jack Flash, She's A Rainbow, Ruby Tuesday, Miss You, Start Me Up, Undercover Of The Night, Sympathy For The Devil...at least for now. Some reissues or re-entry's should knock some of them over the million.

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th February 2016, 06:44 PM

674. PERFECT DAY - Various Artists (1997) 1,022,100



Lou Reed's classic 1972 non-hit done by the BBC for Charity and to promote music variety on the channels, it was surprisingly effective, and is one of the few charity multi-artist singles that isn't a complete mess. Lou Reed finally got a hit with it, starting it off appropriately enough, along with his best mate David Bowie, and other acts who will appear in these charts like Elton John, Tammy Wynette, Bono, Tom Jones along with ones who won't like Emmylou Harris, Boyzone, Lightning Seeds, Heather Small, Joan Armatrading, Brett Anderson and many others from all sorts of music genres. Classy, and it still works, which is rare for charity singles.

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th February 2016, 06:53 PM

673. THE LEBANON - Human League (1984) 1,022,400



This was the single that almost killed their career, an abrupt change from synth (EDM) to rock, wailing guitars and worthy sentiments about the eternal middle-eastern conflicts that just seem to get worse with time. Ahead of it's time, I say! It did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for the band who were my fave still-active act of the time, the soaring riffs and the subject matter fit in with my mood at the time. 3rd of over a handful of entries for Phil & the gals & co.

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th February 2016, 07:01 PM

672. SOUND AND VISION - David Bowie (1977) 1,023,365



Pushed up a few dozen places by recharting following the recent loss of the great Man, thos one came out of the blue in 1977 and sounded pretty futuristic, straddling his funk period and Berlin stark-synth period. The extended instrumental intro was fab, it was such a tease making you wait for the vocals and the synth chords were a delight, Bowie ahead of the game as he always was back then. It's one of his most upbeat and jolly, all-out-dance, tracks, and I love everything about it still, from sax to vocal hooks, melody to groove. Joyous! First of half a dozen or so for dear David.

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th February 2016, 07:12 PM

671. SLOOP JOHN B - The Beach Boys (1966) 1,023,450



First of a batch of classic 60's tracks from the greatest American poprock band of the decade. They just were. Surfing, cars and girls had by this time evolved into a real life creative rivalry with The Beatles, the biggest and greatest poprock band in the world. Brian Wilson rose to the challenge with critically acclaimed singles and the album Pet Sounds, from which this arrangement of a traditional Bahamas sailing song, the usual gorgeous vocal harmonies and the great melody did the trick and the lads were on the cusp of their great period, and Brian was on the cusp of mental illness. Much as I loved their early surfer classics like I Get Around, California Girls, Help Me Rhonda and many many others, it all came together in 1966 and the Beach Boys have never really gone away in pop culture, always having summertime revivals periodically, or touring, reforming, and solo Brian Wilson boosts. Quite right too.

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th February 2016, 09:26 PM

670. ANNIE YOU SAVE ME - Graffiti6 (2010) 1,023,950



Neither Graffiti6, nor mainman and vocalist Brit Jamie Scott have had major success as artists (just a few mid-2000's singles), which is very disappointing, he's a great singer and good songwriter, and this record is pure magic, soulful, harmonically resplendent and oddly moodily downbeat and up on the beat at the same time. Love the vocal old-time distortion too. and those chords. There's no obvious pop-hook but it's just fabulous anyway, the melody is just so cool and laidback. Happily, Jamie has had loads of success writing songs for others since Annie popped out unnoticed - songs such as Heartbeat (Enrique), Loving You (Matt Cardle & Mel C) and oodles of songs for current pop acts like The Vamps, Ella Henderson, Olly Murs, and most of all a serious chunk of One Direction tracks. Few of them are quite as good as the solo stuff though, and he can outsing most of 'em!

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th February 2016, 09:41 PM

669. COME UNDONE - Duran Duran (1993) 1,024,300



By 1993, Duran had been boyband huge, had a break for other projects, done a Bond theme and had declining sales for a few years. Ordinary World was their big revival as serious rock stars (not that they weren't good in the 80's) and this follow-up was even better, decidedly a more adult Duran. Simon Le Bon had learnt a bit more control in his vocals, subtlety winning over foghorn full-on bluster, and the slow Soul-II-Soul shuffle rhythm didn't hurt at all. My only disappointment is the lack of artist credit for the wonderful emotive background vocalist Kenyan-born Omani Lamya who also worked on Soul II Soul records, and toured with Duran Duran, and worked with Bowie, Macy Gray and James Brown before dying at 35 from a heart attack. 1st of 2 for Duran Duran.

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th February 2016, 09:06 PM

668. THE EYES OF TRUTH - Enigma (1994) 1,024,450



I loved the fusion of various world music genres into chilled dance vibes, and no-one did it more consistently than, and with greater variety than, German New Age band Enigma. This was the 2nd single off the successful Cross Of Changes album, and featured samples of Mongolian folk music. Michael Cretu, the Romanian-German mastermind behind Enigma, had previously been the producer and co-writer of his then-wife Sandra's succesful European dancepop career with a string of hit albums and singles (except in the UK), including the fabulous (I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena which just missed-out on making the run-down. Sandra helped on backing vocals in Enigma through to 2001, most notably on one of the 2 other Enigma records in the listing. All will be revealed...

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th February 2016, 09:20 PM

667. DARE - Gorillaz featuring Shaun Ryder (2005) 1,024,850



Neither Damon Albarn's classic Blur records, nor Shaun Ryder's Happy Mondays quite managed to get into the listing, though Blur had several records even better than UK chart-topper Dare, such as the brilliant To The End. Cartoon band Gorillaz were a side-project with Manga animation artist Jamie Hewlett, and produced by Danger Mouse, who has had artist success himself with various collaborations, of which more some time later. Gorillaz had a string of good records, including the more-famous Feel Good Inc and Clint Eastwood, but this was the one I went big on, the video is fabulous, Shaun Ryder as a singing head was inspired, and the female vocals are effective (Roses Gabor as "Noodles"), and the whole dance groove is so infectious. Play it loud.

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th February 2016, 09:32 PM

666. TELEGRAM SAM - T.Rex (1972) 1,025,008



from december 1970 through to summer 1973 Marc Bolan could do no wrong, the former hippie had a run of 10 glorious glampop singles, 9 of them in my listings for the former quirky hippie acoustic imp of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Marc took his vocal inspiration from Donovan (who also deserves to be in the listing but isn't), went electric, wore some glitter on his forehead and wore colourful fashion clothes on UK top TV show Top Of The Pops, as the nation was in the process of converting from black and white television to colour - hey presto a new music movement was born: Glam Rock. His big mate David Bowie gets the credit, being the artier, more creative end of the genre along with Roxy Music, but it was Marc who started it all. Telegram Sam was actually my least-fave single T.Rex single of the early period, but it launched his own record label in early 1972, and took on new sadness for me on reissue in 1982 following his tragic death 5 -years earlier. I still miss Marc.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th February 2016, 08:12 PM

665. SUPERSTAR - Jamelia (2003) 1,026,100



Jamelia has turned into a comedy-panel show regular since her music career came to an abrupt end, which has been entertainment's gain cos she's funny and engaging. When she was busy having a string of hit singles this was the best one, just a good dance track, the song is catchy without being annoying, the melody rides along, rises nicely for the minimalist chorus and flows back into the chorus without even noticing. I'm a bit surprised it's almost been forgotten these days in the UK (I don't think it was an American hit though it hit big in Europe). Sadly the official video has rubbish sound quality so I've gone with the Top Of The Pops version, which only has annoying crowd noises on it.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th February 2016, 08:23 PM

664. SUBURBIA - Pet Shop Boys (1986) 1,026,150



Chris and Neil's 4th gem in a row, and their third chart-topper for me, it was becoming obvious that the boyband synthpop had a good deal of substance in the songs, this one a sort of sequel to The Monkees' Pleasant Valley Sunday in subject matter, dealing with youth boredom in urban suburbia - pretty much a topic that never dates. It is, of course, also a brilliantly-produced dance record with a good video. I am, of course, biased, as the Pet Shop Boys were pretty much taking over during 1986 as my newest fave pop act. A slot they've yet to give up, actually. Yes. Very. 6th of quite a lot for PSB's.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th February 2016, 08:41 PM

663. BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU - The Foundations (1967) 1,027,400



One of the first multicultural pop acts, The Foundations popped out of nowhere in late 1967 when I was a kid of 9 on the Isle Of Anglesey, and this was a fab catchy soulful British pop song. Clem Curtis has a terrific popsoul vocal, and the song was pushed by brand new Radio 1 looking for non-pirate-radio tracks that had been missed, having a quality poducer/songwriting pedigree: Tony Macauley had loads of great big pop hits in the 60's and 70's, and this was one of his best songs, later covered beautifully by Alison Krauss in gentle bluegrass style. Sadly Clem left in 1968 and missed out on an even more famous hit for the band (see much later on in the list) - he is, though, still around happily guesting here and there.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th February 2016, 08:56 PM

662. A THING CALLED LOVE - Johnny Cash (1972) 1,027,950



Johnny Cash was huge with my parents, they loved his working-class American brand of story-song country music as I was growing up, so great stuff like Ring Of Fire and I Walk The Line were well-known to me. Then he dropped this sentimental twangy-country song as I hit 14 and it just became an obsession for a few weeks, I loved the background gospel choir mixing it up with the great melody on this short, upbeat UK pop hit. Johnny's vocals, of course, low and increasingly gravelly as he aged - which led him to turn out a career-highlight album or two, and the heart-breakingly sad song and video to Hurt shortly before his wife and life-singing partner June Carter passed away shortly followed by a bereft Johnny. Quite rightly they made a movie about them, I Walk The Line, and Hurt is just short of my million at present but could do it yet on one of it's occasional minor chart rebirths - being a steady-seller in the real world.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd March 2016, 05:39 PM

661. UNINVITED - Alanis Morissette (1998) 1,028,850



I was mystified why this brilliant atmospheric movie song (City Of Angels) was not a UK hit single - it wasn't even released, which was ridiculous. Coming off the back of Jagged Little Pill, a massive-seller, it would have been a biggie. Alanis is un-typically restrained vocally on this one, but my faith in the song was at least proven by being a big radio hit in the USA (again no physical release) and later a hit dance cover by the Freemasons, who did a pretty good job on it too. Both Alanis and the Freemasons will feature later on the listings - but how many for each? (hint: one has one and one has two. I sound all posh!)

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd March 2016, 05:55 PM

660. I WALK ALONE - Cher (2014) 1,029,200



You see Cher's life flashing before your eyes in this video, courtesy of photos, which underlines just how long she's been a fixture in my life (since age 7 1965 with Sonny) and a fave pretty much throughout from the days of Little Man, Bang Bang, Gypsies Tramps & Thieves, All I Ever Need Is You, Dark Lady and on into the 80's - many of those tracks just need a re-entry to do the million, as I love them more than I did at the time these days. Anyhoo, another iconic diva follows another here as Cher's most-recent great single, and a bonafide non-hit anywhere pretty much. Her 2013 comeback album had one good hit ballad but they failed to follow-up with the best track on the album, this country-flavoured bangin' dance toon, which strikes right at the heart of Cher's appeal, a belter who does it her way and is uncompromising even well into her 60's. I'm a fan, seen her in concert, and she will appear again (and again) in the listings, soon and much, much later.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd March 2016, 06:07 PM

659. GET OUTTA MY WAY - Kylie Minogue (2010) 1,029,200



From one dance diva to another, Kylie has had a substantial pop career against the odds, given she sort-of fell into via soap opera stardom and Stock Aitken Waterman's hit-making machine. I took some convincing she was here to stay, to be honest, but once I was converted I've remained faithful. By 2010 Kylie was well into her second-wind career, and was a show-stopping live draw. This great tuneful dance track came off Aphrodite, my equal-fave Kylie album (along with her comeback album Light Years - only that album has no million-sellers on it and Aphrodite has 3). It didn't hurt that I saw both tours for the respective albums, but it's a great minor Kylie hit single, big on the bpm's and a melody that never stops, frantic and tuneful.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th March 2016, 04:07 PM

658. LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS - Mud (1974) 1,029,270



Glamrock-tastic Mud were huge faves of mine in 1973/74 and had a string of glam tracks, some of which will pop up in the list, but this christmas perennial was their first ballad and just didn't grab me as much at the time. By the 80's though I was all nostalgic for glam rock, and on one of it's occasional christmas comebacks it went big, and still grabs sales on the odd xmas chart as it's one I don't overdose on - it's a charming, Elvis-styled sad christmas song, and Mud were just so loveable, especially fun singer Les Gray who had a real lads-appeal in the pop scene. Guitarist Rob Davis went on to write turn of the century hits for others (not least Kylie's most successful track, by co-incidence, and which just missed out on the list - Can't Get You Out Of My Head - along with Spiller's Groovejet and Fragma's Toca's Miracle), and he also had a hand in some of the band-written latter hit singles, including the brilliant Shake It Down, a rattling disco-guitar-romp that set up his later dance hit success.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th March 2016, 04:24 PM

657. I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR - U2 (1987) 1,029,850



The best track from one of the great rock albums, The Joshua Tree, this gospel soulful widescreen ballad was stuffed with feeling and emotion, and really hit home in it's message for me in the title and theme at the time. It still does, though there is also now the bonus literal meaning as I still haven't found what I'm looking for (which is the original 1987 Las Vegas promo video on Youtube). My admiration for U2 had grown from liking Fire in 1981, through to loving the singles off the previous The Unforgettable Fire, but this was the one that won me over - along with seeing them live at Wembley Stadium, a virtual religious experience involving popping out of a giant lemon. I'll squeeze that one in later - first of 2 for U2.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th March 2016, 04:38 PM

656. THE REFLEX - Duran Duran (1984) 1,030,200



Duran Duran were at the height of their pop-ularity when this Nile Rodgers-produced pop goodie upped their game. The early singles were a mixed bag, some were good, others less-so, and Simon Le Bon's voice sometimes went just a bit too OTT whiny for me, but the quality of the songwriting improved (for me) with Union Of The Snake in 1983 and onwards from there right up to 2015 where they were still topping my charts with great new singles. Simon at this stage still hadn't discovered subtlety vocally, but it kind of fit in with the grand thumping bluster of the singles of the mid-80's. One more to come for the lads.

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th March 2016, 07:20 PM

655. JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES - Cher (1989) 1,030,250



Not one of Cher's favourite songs (go figure!) this Diane Warren/Desmond Child cowboy-themed song was a mini-singalong-anthem with a terrific hook, and one of Cher's typically punchy vocal performances, and followed on from the equally good If I Could Turn Back Time in giving Cher some singles chart consistency for the first time in the UK since the 60's, though in the USA she was pretty huge in the early 70's, quite rightly. It's a great single, her 2nd on the listing, though to be honest I'd much prefer the missing Gypsies Tramps & Thieves, Dark Lady or Half Breed to have been in the 800 - Half Breed is yet to chart, the others need a re-issue. Unusually for an artist, Cher has made the list with tracks from 3 of the last 4 decades, while also grabbing one from the 60's. Bit of a legend. It was around this time I saw her in concert, having a rough night as it turned out from illness - which showed - at Wembley Arena. Ah well the Sonny & Cher video and costume changes made up for it.

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th March 2016, 07:33 PM

654. MY GIRL - The Temptations (1965) 1,032,600



The Tempts were the coolest Motown singing group from start to various tragic ends, notably having solo careers for falsetto Eddie Kendricks and the gorgeous vocals of David Ruffin (on display here) from the 60's line-up, 4 of whom are now sadly gone. My Girl is one of Smokey Robinson's best songs and generously gifted to the boys, who had a doo-wop flavoured huge USA hit and minor UK hit - until the movie of the same name made it huge at last in the 90's. The Temptations went through many line-up changes, but this was the classic one, though oddly I'm more into the early 70's funk-based line-up that changed the golden days of tracks like Get Ready for monster energy funk of I Can't Get Next To You, Psychedelic Shack, Ball Of Confusion and mellower social conscience goodies like Papa Was A Rolling Stone and Take A Look Around. All of them deserve to be in the list too, but sadly aren't as my love for them has grown with time rather than being huge when they charted.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th March 2016, 04:43 PM

653. HUMAN BEINGS - Seal (1998) 1,033,250



No official video on youtube sadly for this flop for Seal, following on from a great run of singles including another entry higher up, it just struck a chord with me at the time for some reason, probably the always-reliable Trevor Horn production and the serious message of the song, but it was very out-of-step with the pop heavy charts of the time, and in retrospect it's not a patch on the missing Crazy or the truly classic Seal debut (uncredited with Adamski) Killer both of which fell short undeservedly. Seal doesn't do happy in his music, but he does angst, wistful and sad very well. This one has varying degrees of each, but I kinda over-rated it. Hey ho, makes up for Killer not being on the list!

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th March 2016, 04:54 PM

652. NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE - Bucks Fizz (1982) 1,033,850



This is just lovely and sad, terrific harmonies and with a fragile lead vocal un-typically from Mike Nolan rather than Bobby Gee or Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston. Coming off the back of 3 UK chart-toppers it slightly under-performed in the UK charts, but it was a refreshing change of direction. Bucks Fizz were almost treated like the manufactured anti-christ, subject to much derision outside their fanbase especially from music critics. They were actually musically well-produced and varied, and the songs were top-notch pop confections - too sweet for most tastes it seems though. Not mine, though, this is a touching under-stated melodic lost-love-song, if a little heavy on the multi-layered synths at times.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th March 2016, 05:07 PM

651. SHOOT THE DOG - George Michael (featuring the Human League) (2002) 1,035,250



An oddity from George, a very understated politically-motivated funk track that sampled the Human League's Love Action (uncredited on the single but not by me). I think I was swayed by it being a) Human League b) George back and not being in melancholy mood c) the amusing video d) the political nature of the lyrics, which I was and am still in agreement with. It kinda saw Bush as an idiot, and Blair as a shallow suck-up. I think history will probably come to that conclusion too. Of course Georgie paid the commercial price of not releasing a proper good ol' pop song when it didn't sell, but I rather preferred it to a dull ballad, though again I over-rated it - his more recent singles like Outside or As were more deserving of crossing the million line - but it's good. 3rd of 11 solo/duet entries for George, plus one for Wham!

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th March 2016, 05:20 PM

650. HUNG UP - Madonna (2005) 1,035,850



Talking of samples, this one cheekily nicked Abba's instrumental Gimme Gimme Gimme hook (but no credit as the vocals aren't sampled), and crafted an equally great dance song around them. The scene-setter for Madonna's best album of the 21st Century (Confessions On A Dancefloor) and it was Madge at her last consistent Big-Time (to date) bar one more huge single after the album, everything since has been patchy one way or another, albeit with flashes of pop brilliance. 6th of 15 for determined dancing queen, still dancing on long-after rallying cries of "give up you're too old", purely because she deals with dance pop music which is the most ageist genre of them all, especially for women. No-one says that for rock, singer-songwriters, soul, classical, jazz, reggae, or whatever else is of a certain age. Madonna, of course, continues to do what she has always done and done it her way, sod the critics. Quite right too.

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th March 2016, 08:31 PM

649. SCREAM - Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (1995) 1,037,050



A case of the video really selling a song here - OK it's Michael and Janet together at last, fans of both, but it's the outer-space no-expense-spared video that made this sound so good at the time. If you listen to it without a video, it's fine, quite pumping, a bit of attitude, a bit of rock, a bit of funk, but it's not one of my all-time fave 800 records these days, not even close. Second entry in the list for both though (even though they both have much better records that didn't make the list, such as When I Think Of You for Janet, or Got To Be There, Michael's awesome debut ballad as a mere 14-year-old). Better to come for both, happily...

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th March 2016, 08:42 PM

648. TUSK - Fleetwood Mac (1979) 1,037,100



After a decade of near-misses and one of the all-time great albums, the Mac finally topped my chart with this ambitious Lindsay Buckingham flight of fancy from a double album of the same name. Everything including a marching band is thrown in, the drum beats are tribal and thumping, the tune menacing, and no-one could have predicted this would be the follow-up release to Rumours. It's still fab, still sounds fab live, and is one to play loud. The third Mac attack on the chart, with more to come, though tragically not the follow-up, the gorgeous gorgeous Stevie Nicks track Sara, nor her equally fab ballad off the next album, Gypsy. Both songs make me cry at the sheer beauty of them, but both need another chart boost.

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th March 2016, 08:55 PM

647. GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA - Cliff Richard (1970) 1,037,300



Bit of a farce that this is in my chart when The Next Time, or early obsessions of my childhood like Bacholer Boy and Summer Holiday, aren't, but hey ho, I wasn't charting then, and in 1970 I was in Singapore where wholesome Cliff went down pretty well. Post-Eurovision Cliff became locked into a career-strangling string of oom-pah disposable pop singles, which, fairly obviously, I was partial to. The song was catchy and jolly and has been pretty much forgotten with time - I doubt if even Cliff would agree to sing it in concert - but I'm kinda fond of it still. Cliff had a much better ballad that was almost as big the following-year (Sunny Honey Girl) but that was pretty much it until 1976, bar the odd Eurovision try or peace n love ballad. Second of 3 for Cliff in the list, and it's not the classic Devil Woman up next time, either, shockingly...

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th March 2016, 01:28 PM

646. HEY YA - Outkast (2003) 1,037,950



Outkast were an r'n'b duo very much split stylistically down the middle, to the extent that their album featuring this world-wide smash was split one solo album each of the double Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Very odd. My taste was very much more for Andre3000 stuff like this glorious catchy pop hit with the fab 60's-styled video, and less for the pleasant-enough Big Boi more laid-back tracks. Of their other releases, Ms Jackson is the stand-out track of several good singles, but they never managed another track which registered with me as great as Hey Ya.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th March 2016, 01:39 PM

645. TAKE ON ME - a-ha (1985) 1,038,750



I f you've never seen the video that promoted this famous pop hit to worldwide success, where have you been hiding for the last 30 years?! The video is still one of the most-famous promos of all-time, unusual and innovative, but that's not to take away from the record itself, pop delight, beautifully produced, and with Morten Harket's striking, almost yodelling, vocals. a-ha became hugely successful, still going right up to 2016, and put Norwegian pop firmly onto the world stage. a-ha's instant teen-appeal looks, especially Morten, led to them being categorised as teen-pop, but in fact every single after Take On Me was pretty much not teen-pop in style, they had far more credibility than they were given at the time (including by me). This is still a great record though, despite many an inferior cover, and set the stage for an even better record (and career) to come.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th March 2016, 01:53 PM

644. THE LOCO-MOTION - Little Eva (1962) 1,039,200



Eternal. Pop. Gem. Simple, catchy, chugging, this is essentially a Carole King pop hit of a Goffin & King classic song - OK it's Little Eva, the husband and wife team's babysitter (and as featured in Beautiful, the stage musical of Carole King's life and career) singing over the top of it, but it might as well have been Carole, it certainly sounds a lot like her! The song seems to lend itself to other genres, as Grand Funk rocked it to the top of the US charts in the 70's and Kylie bopped it worldwide in the 80's. This is still the definitive version, so good it was a UK hit all over again in 1972, from when I latched onto it. Carole King meanwhile, one of my pop heroes, writing glorious pop song melodies (and later lyrics) at a time when it was unheard of for women, never mind teenagers (which she was!), before becoming a hugely-successful post-divorce singer-songwriter. Her big UK hit of the period was It Might As Well Rain Until September, one of the best early-60's girl-pop songs which I adored as a nipper, and adore now. Sadly, that one, and her entire recording career, have yet to chart or re-chart enough to make the million, not even It's Too Late has crossed the line from Tapestry, one of the greatest albums of all-time. Her songs will pop up though...

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th March 2016, 03:11 PM

643. (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER - Jackie Wilson (1967) 1,039,750



Joyous 60's funk pop dance classic from a 50's soul crooner who had many hits in the USA, but who was mostly known in the UK for Reet Petite, Motown's Berry Gordy's brassy singalong. This was Jackie's comeback in the summer of '69 for UK audiences, including me, and to my ears it's still his best record, so good it charted again in both the UK charts and my charts in 1975 and 1987, the former as a double A with another track still to feature, and the latter after the afore-mentioned double A track had followed the revived blockbuster chart-topper Reet Petite to the top at Christmas 1986, thanks to a novelty video of plastic-figured Jackie.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th March 2016, 03:20 PM

642. COOL - Gwen Stefani (2005) 1,041,500



Taken from her debut solo album, which I was rather partial to, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, I consequently slightly over-rated this very nice, sweet-sounding mid-tempo ode to a former lover. Positive sentiments, kudos all round, but really No Doubt's Don't Speak should be here instead, while these days I prefer the lower-placed Hollaback Girl from the same album. There's still one more biggie from that album to come, and I'm pleased to see Gwen back in both No Doubt stylee, and now (2016) in solo style again. It's been too long!

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th March 2016, 03:34 PM

641. GRENADE - Bruno Mars (2011) 1,042,400



Diminutive* and perfectly-formed Bruno arrived fully-formed with his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, a Smeezingtons' collaboration with a long-list of co-writers (as is the current norm). First-off was a featuring credit on the smash hit Nothin' On You with B.O.B, and also Travie McCoy's Billionaire, the best bits of both records largely being the Bruno bits, followed up by instant chart-topper the fab Just The Way You Are, which just falls short of the list, and this even-fabber melodramatic single. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't support violence and the use of grenades to prove ones devotion, but the imagery usage to show the depth of love for the gal who don't love him quite so much is pretty powerful. First of 2 for Bruno, but it's not going to be the one you're expecting....

(* this is a very good thing, cliquey tall people just look down on us less-tall types - they selfishly block the view of the stage at standing gigs and always, always stand in front of me on purpose. Lose some height people! )

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th March 2016, 01:58 PM

640. TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART - Bonnie Tyler (1983) 1,042,450



Meatloaf's loss was Welsh 70's country-flavoured songstress Bonnie's gain, as she took on the mantle of favoured OTT vocalist from Meatloaf-estranged Jim Steinman's epic-productions-inc. I love Steinman productions, OTT, overblown, pompous, drama pushed over the edge, and yet somehow sometimes brilliant. Never more so than on this perennial fave, Bonnie's finest record, and Steinman's post-Bat Out The Hell greatest record. The video is spooky, effective and memorable, and very much added to the appeal of the song and Bonnie's gravel-passion vocal, she could rise to the challenge of a majestic backdrop and come out of it smelling of sweet roses. Earlier records like Lost In France and It's A Heartache were fab, but this was the one that made her career, right on down to a fairly decent UK Eurovision entry this decade.

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th March 2016, 02:09 PM

639. GENO - Dexy's Midnight Runners (1980) 1,042,600



There was a ska-revival going on as Kevin Rowland went down the retro-funk route for a couple of years, most notably on this wonderful tribute to 60's soul-funk singer Geno Washington. The brass section was in the forefront, the passionate vocal style was still very British, no Mid-Atlantic drift going on, and the song had a tempo all over the place. Dexy's were very much a Rowland-production-creation from day one, day one being the fab Dance Stance, and losing half the band in a dash to create a rival funk band The Bureau if anything spurred the creativity for Kev. The follow-up singles were all good, as was The Bureau's debut single - I got to see them supporting the Pretenders in 1981 in Mansfield. Never play Mansfield is my advice, kiss of death to a career, quite obviously! First of 2 for Dexy's. No prizes for guessing the other one....

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th March 2016, 02:19 PM

638. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES - Mark Brown featuring Sarah Cracknell (2008) 1,042,900



Sarah Cracknell, of great 90's indie-pop band Saint Etienne, was my way in to this fab dance track. I love Sarah, her sweet vocals, and the band's records. It's a shame that terrific tracks like You're In A Bad Way, I Was Born On Christmas Day and He's On The Phone, among many many others, didn't do the million, but the band have plodded on around the periphery of the music biz, never making it big, but making a virtue of going their-own 60's-influenced way regardless of changing music fashion. House DJ Mark Brown never had any chart success to speak of, bar this one, which is a shame. Hey ho, great video too, you even get to see Sarah briefly in it.

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th March 2016, 07:18 PM

637. THRILLER - Michael Jackson (1983) 1,043,150



The ultimate Halloween song bar none, the title track from the biggest album of all-time by the biggest star of the decade, already 13 years into his career, and the 4th single off the album. The single release was delayed and delayed to coincide with the event that was the extended movie-style promo video. It was worth the wait! Fantastic, classic, timeless and of course it's usually a chart re-entry every Halloween these days. To be honest I no longer chart it as I've overdosed on the annual appearances, but that doesn't deny it was ground-breaking, it had Vincent Price (yay!) it was written by Rod Temperton (fab British songwriter who will appear several times, both with more Michael tracks, and with his band Heatwave) and it's great to dance to, zombie or not zombie. 2nd of 10 solo Jacko singles, plus ooh, another 3 or so with his family and friends.

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st March 2016, 08:06 PM

There has been another million seller (from 2016) overtake the list from here so all drop a place, corrected from here upwards (a resume to follow at 601-800 to make it current...

637. BRIGHT LIGHTS BIGGER CITY - CeeLo featuring Wiz Khalifa (2011) 1,043,550



Not CeeLo's biggest solo hit (Forget You) in the list, instead it's this swirlingly brilliant James-Bond-ian coulda-been-a-movie-theme track*, by far my favourite single of his after departing Gnarls Barkley - of which more sometime later. A great singer, and occasional movie star, it all seemed to be going so right for CeeLo prior to a faux pas (to say the least), and his singles were welcomingly varied. This is just fab, though, the strings arrangement and CeeLo's vocal lie at the heart of the appeal, throw in a great melody and I'm hooked.

(* that's cos it's a sample of You Only Live Twice - this will appear again in a different song, though the brilliant original Nancy Sinatra version just misses the rundown (Boo!) although Nancy has already appeared and will again)

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st March 2016, 08:21 PM

636. UNDER ATTACK - Abba (1982) 1,044,800



And so my favourite perfect pop group's singles chart career ended with a whimper, with this final single as an active band, a bonus hits album track that under-performed in the charts. I didn't realise it was all over at the time (or I would have been mortified and shocked with the loss of my heroes), but that didn't stop me loving this understated low-key melodic ditty anyway. In fact a bit of the melody hook was lifted (to my ears) from an old Glen Campbell track I was fond of, The Straight Life, a Bobby Goldsboro song. Happily for Abba only I knew the song and shhh I'm not gonna tell. As always, Abba a bit flattered in my charts, though I do still like it a lot. OK, 4th of 28 on the countdown for Abba. Told you I was a fan....

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st March 2016, 08:35 PM

635. JE T'AIME..MOI NON PLUS - Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg (1969) 1,044,950



Infamous and notorious in the early 70's this UK chart-topper from 1969 was unknown to me at the time, being as it was banned by radio for being rather naughty by morals of the time. Pretty tame these days of course, largely lots of heavy breathing and whispering and a haunting organ refrain throughout, plus the French lyrics (ooh saucy but classy!) and a strings section, as so many pop hits had in those days. So how did I chart it? Winter 1974 and this was reissued, a hit all over again for British actress Jane and the multi-talented French Serge, who dabbled in many art forms. This time I got to hear it on radio Luxembourg, realised I knew the tune from cover versions, and as I firmly didn't like being told what to listen to by goody-two-shoes media as a teenager, I went out and bought it. It's still great, and still a bit naughty.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd March 2016, 07:19 PM

634. OUR LIPS ARE SEALED - Fun Boy Three (1983) 1,045,750



Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynville Golding left the Specials after Ghost Town and formed this breakaway trio who followed the pattern of The Specials - going out on a classic then breaking up. Doh! Fun Boy Three had a good run of singles, stuff like Summertime (the old Gershwin classic), The Tunnel Of Love and It Ain't What You Do a duet which gave Bananarama a long career off the back of it. Sadly the girls never managed a million seller, despite fantastic singles like I Heard A Rumour, Venus, and Preacher Man, but the boys did on this terrific song, co-written between Terry and Gogo's Jane Wiedlin (she of Rush Hour solo hit). The Gogos had the first upbeat single version, and good it was too, but this haunting, hypnotic, tribal version was the gloomy definitive. It has a great melody and Terry's deadpan presentation of his vocal style tends to hide what a great singer he is - bittersweet, but with understated emotion. Ably supported here on backing vocals by The Mo-Dettes June Miles-Kingston, also later to have a hit with Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat and Communards fame. That's quite a cast list of name-dropping for one song, and I haven't even mentioned Belinda Carlisle yet... (more later)

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd March 2016, 07:32 PM

633. TROUBLE - Lindsey Buckingham (1981) 1,045,850



A solo project after the marathon Fleetwood Mac Tusk album for Lindsey, this single slipped out and never became a huge hit, sadly, cos it's just gorgeous. It's very Fleetwood Mac, as you would expect, and still my fave Lindsey track outside of Mac, love that acoustic melody, the shuffling beat, and the oh-soooo-sweet vocal and song. It could happily have sat on any of the band's 80's albums and become better known, but anyways, he has one up on his ex Stevie Nicks who has had loads of fabulous, gorgeous solo singles, like Rooms On Fire, Edge Of Seventeen, Leather And Lace, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You and many others, but never done the million outside of Mac. More from them to come though, happily.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th March 2016, 03:58 PM

632. OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) - Pet Shop Boys (1986) 1,046,200



The Petties second chart-topper for me, coming after the under-rated gorgeous follow-up to West End Girls, Love Comes Quickly, it sounded pretty much like a mission statement for Chris and Neil on face value, but was more of a sly dig at opportunism in the Thatcherite yuppee 80's (the speakers of the song are doomed to failure as they are just spouting empty bragging). The original version flopped but this banging tune and glossy video did pretty well in both the UK and USA, peaking at 11 and 10 - it works ironically or on face value, I guess! Great pop single and it was obvious the band had legs to last from here on.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th March 2016, 04:14 PM

631. DOMINO DANCING - Pet Shop Boys (1988) 1,050,900



2 years on and it's another Pet Shop Boys classic, latin-rhythms this time, recorded in Florida with Lewis Martinee, producer behind the big US girl band Expose, who I liked but never caught on in the UK. I love latin music, so it was a winner for me, along with the great video, and a big UK hit leading off album Introspective, a total dance-groove album and just as successful as Actually and Please. The video had a bit of a laddie romp which pretty much ended their hit American singles and albums career, just crossing the line a bit too far towards homo-eroticism (despite the girlfriend in the video) and started the ball rolling towards a less-pop-star career for Chris and Neil who no longer felt the need to always appear in promos themselves. The single failed to challenge the number one slot in the singles chart - they had been on a roll prior to this. 8th PSB track in the list, romping ahead of everyone else so far....

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th April 2016, 09:12 AM

There's been another entry to the chart at 699 thanks to a version i'd not heard before following the death of David Bowie. The rundown will continue after this brief interlude...

699. ALL THE YOUNG DUDES - Mott The Hoople (1972) 1,008,350



The band who's faltering career was rescued by this generous donation of one of Bowie's best ziggy-period songs. Cooler than cool at the time All The Young Dudes was clearly Bowie but Mott's version with Ian Hunter's vocal and that fab guitar and soaring chorus is the definitive, still better than the Bowie/Mott version. Cool slacker with attitude. Mott immediately proved they didn't need the maestro by having a short run of great singles like Honaloochi Boogie, All The Way From Memphis and especially the Thunderthighs-tastic Roll Away The Stone before Ian Hunter left for a solo career.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th April 2016, 07:57 PM

630. MARRY YOU - Bruno Mars (2011) 1,051,050



Bruno's biggest hit here was one of his lesser UK hits late off his debut album. What sold it for me? Glee. They did a great version and made me spotlight the then-album track. It's just so joyously melodic and positively uplifting, love those chimes adding to the whole matrimonial vibe. Bruno since then has been more interestingly retro and varied of genre but has only managed one more biggie. That'll be the Mark Ronson guest vocalist spot monster Uptown Funk, then, which just fell short of the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th April 2016, 08:14 PM

629. JUST DANCE - Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'donis (2009) 1,054,250



From my point of view Gaga came out of nowhere to huge with this track - I'd stopped watching pop videos due to lack of free time and with no TV spots didn't have a clue who she was, what she looked like and that she was a full artistic dance popstar in the tradition of Madonna. It soon became obvious though. She really was heading for Monster Fame and a huge album chock full of singles and great non-single tracks. This track in retrospect isn't my fave Gaga these days but it was a great debut, dance with pout. First of 4 for m'lady.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th April 2016, 02:19 PM

628. MONKEY - George Michael (1988) 1,054,750




George's 4th USA chart-topper from the Faith album was as big in my charts too. In the UK it now officially rates a Pointless answer in naming tracks off Faith! Ridiculous! The album version is good but the Jam & Lewis single remix is the magic version. Jam & Lewis were the hot dance producers of the late 80s and George had released his debut classic and genre-varied album, deliberately showcasing he was a teen fave pop star no more, he was all adult with the best of them. Tracks like Faith, Father Figure, Hand To Mouth, Kissing A Fool and One More Try were pure class. Monkey was the only real out and out dance track, but it was a great one in single version. Cool with pop attitude, it is long overdue a critical bit of love. The stylish ballads and gospel tracks are easy to see as classy, pop dance less so, and it's a real Monkey on my back, better watch out! 4th on the list for George.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th April 2016, 02:36 PM

627. DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE - Jane Child (1990) 1,054,950



A minor UK hit, a bigger US hit, this is here purely cos it was getting radio play on my first-ever trip to Orlando, Florida with my neice, nephew and my parents, so it was instant nostalgia back in the UK and I bought the vinyl single - yes still making them in 1990! Canadian Jane was a one-hit-wonder sadly, she was a bit late to the 80s popsynth dance party just as the music scene was morphing into rave and madchester and grunge, but it's still a minor gem of a pop record all catchy hooks and stomping rhythm, and she had a quirky image to boot.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th May 2016, 07:04 PM

There's been some oldies and newies hitting a million since the last update, knocking everything down a few spots, so here's the current 800. The figures after the position relate to End Of The Century positions (I did a top 500 for the 20th century in 2000, which has now had a neat extra 300 in 16 years - not entirely because of all-new tracks, as a lot of them are oldies getting reactivated boosts)

So I can start the rundown again from here..


631 406 I DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE Jane Child 1990 1054950
632 407 MONKEY George Michael 1988 1054750
633 NEW JUST DANCE Lady Gaga 2009 1054250
634 NEW MARRY YOU Bruno Mars 2011 1051050
635 NEW DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys 1988 1050900
636 408 OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys 1986 1046200
637 409 TROUBLE Lindsey Buckingham 1981 1045850
638 410 OUR LIPS ARE SEALED Fun Boy Three 1983 1045750
639 411 JE T'AIME...MOI NON PLUS Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 1969 1044950
640 412 UNDER ATTACK Abba 1982 1044800

641 NEW BRIGHT LIGHTS BIGGER CITY Cee-Lo Green/ Wiz Khalifa 2011 1043550
642 485 THRILLER Michael Jackson 1983 1043150
643 NEW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES Mark Brown/ Sarah Cracknell 2008 1042900
644 413 GENO Dexy's Midnight Runners 1980 1042600
645 460 TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART Bonnie Tyler 1983 1042450
646 NEW GRENADE Bruno Mars 2011 1042400
647 NEW COOL Gwen Stefani 2005 1041500
648 415 (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER Jackie Wilson 1967 1039750
649 418 THE LOCOMOTION Little Eva 1962 1039200
650 NEW TAKE ON ME a-ha 1985 1038750

651 NEW HEY YA Outkast 2003 1037950
652 419 GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA Cliff Richard 1970 1037300
653 424 TUSK Fleetwood Mac 1979 1037100
654 420 SCREAM Michael/Janet Jackson 1995 1037050
655 NEW HUNG UP Madonna 2005 1036850
656 NEW SHOOT THE DOG George Michael/ Human League 2002 1035250
657 421 NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE Bucks Fizz 1982 1033850
658 422 HUMAN BEINGS Seal 1998 1033250
659 NEW MY GIRL Temptations 1965 1032600
660 425 JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES Cher 1989 1030250

661 426 THE REFLEX Duran Duran 1984 1030200
662 NEW I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR U2 1987 1029850
663 NEW LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud 1974 1029270
664 NEW GET OUTTA MY WAY Kylie Minogue 2010 1029200
665 NEW I WALK ALONE Cher 2014 1029200
666 427 UNINVITED Alanis Morissette 1998 1028850
667 NEW A THING CALLED LOVE Johnny Cash 1972 1027950
668 428 BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU Foundations 1967 1027400
669 NEW SUBURBIA Pet Shop Boys 1986 1026150
670 NEW SUPERSTAR Jamelia 2003 1026100

671 429 TELEGRAM SAM T.Rex 1972 1025008
672 NEW DARE Gorillaz/ Shaun Ryder 2005 1024850
673 430 THE EYES OF TRUTH Enigma 1994 1024450
674 431 COME UNDONE Duran Duran 1993 1024300
675 NEW ANNIE YOU SAVE ME Graffiti6 2010 1023950
676 NEW SLOOP JOHN B The Beach Boys 1966 1023450
677 NEW SOUND AND VISION David Bowie 1977 1023365
678 433 THE LEBANON Human League 1984 1022400
679 434 PERFECT DAY Lou Reed & friends 1997 1022100
680 NEW PAINT IT BLACK The Rolling Stones 1966 1022000

681 435 STARS China Black 1994 1021300
682 436 PRAYING FOR TIME George Michael 1990 1021000
683 NEW DIRTY DIANA Michael Jackson 1988 1020250
684 NEW EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE The Police 1983 1019950
685 450 AMERICAN PIE Don McLean 1972 1019400
686 438 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette 1989 1018500
687 440 STOP LOVING ME STOP LOVING YOU Daryl Hall 1994 1018000
688 NEW I'M WITH STUPID Pet Shop Boys 2006 1017400
689 441 PAPA DON'T PREACH Madonna 1986 1016100
690 442 EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol 1984 1015000

691 NEW LOVE ETC Pet Shop Boys 2009 1014700
692 NEW SUMMERTIME SADNESS Lana Del Ray vs Cedric Gervais 2013 1013550
693 NEW IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND Agnetha Faltskog 2004 1013350
694 NEW (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION The Rolling Stones 1965 1013300
695 444 LUCKY MAN Verve 1997 1012900
696 NEW CARELESS WHISPER George Michael 1984 1012900
697 NEW MATHEMATICS Cherry Ghost 2007 1012650
698 446 BLACK AND WHITE Greyhound 1971 1011000
699 451 CARNAVAL DE PARIS Dario G 1998 1010900
700 NEW ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS Paloma Faith 2014 1009550

701 NEW BABY LOVE The Supremes 1964 1008850
702 447 I HEAR YOU NOW Jon & Vangelis 1980 1008450
703 NEW ALL THE YOUNG DUDES Mott The Hoople 1972 1008350
704 448 RADIO GA GA Queen 1984 1008300
705 NEW MY NAME IS JACK Manfred Mann 1968 1006650
706 NEW UNFINISHED SYMPATHY Massive Attack 1991 1006550
707 452 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond 1970 1005400
708 NEW CHASING PAVEMENTS Adele 2008 1005350
709 453 MISS YOU NIGHTS Cliff Richard 1976 1005300
710 465 LOVE ME DO Beatles 1962 1004100

711 NEW FAIRYTALE Alexander Rybak 2009 1003950
712 NEW I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BUT I CAN'T GIVE IT ANYMORE Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003900
713 454 YOU DON'T KNOW ME Armand Van Helden/ Duane Harden 1999 1003800
714 NEW NO MILK TODAY Herman's Hermits 1967 1003800
715 NEW JUMP Madonna 2006 1003600
716 455 I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING Pet Shop Boys 1993 1003450
717 NEW THE DARK IS RISING Mercury Rev 2001 1003100
718 456 DID YOU EVER Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood 1971 1002700
719 NEW THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE Percy Faith 1960 1002500
720 457 LAST STOP: THIS TOWN Eels 1998 1002400

721 NEW DELILAH Tom Jones 1968 1002250
722 NEW I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
723 NEW RUN BOY RUN Woodkid 2012 1001600
724 NEW IN THE CROSSFIRE Starsailor 2005 1001500
725 NEW DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 1977 1001162
726 458 JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY Haysi Fantayzee 1982 1000400
727 459 BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. Beatles 1968 1000000
728 NEW SUNRISE Simply Red 2003 999300
729 461 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 1989 999150
730 462 RESCUE ME Madonna 1991 999100

731 NEW SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond 1969 998450
732 468 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250
733 463 I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER Hot Gossip/ Sarah Brightman 1978 997950
734 464 BLUE MONDAY New Order 1983 997850
735 466 OBSESSION Animotion 1985 997250
736 NEW OH PITY Cashier No 9 2011 995600
737 NEW DON'T TELL ME Madonna 2000 994450
738 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
739 469 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450
740 NEW TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650

741 NEW OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
742 470 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300
743 471 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800
744 NEW (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
745 472 DA YA THINK I'M SEXY Rod Stewart 1978 990600
746 NEW WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
747 NEW LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
748 473 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
749 474 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850
750 475 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO Abba 1980 986900

751 NEW SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY Abba 1982 986550
752 476 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
753 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800
754 478 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10CC 1976 984900
755 NEW BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
756 NEW 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
757 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
758 NEW REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600
759 479 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258
760 480 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850

761 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
762 482 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
763 483 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
764 NEW STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 975150
765 NEW PRAY Take That 1993 975000
766 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
767 484 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 974600
768 490 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500
769 NEW GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
770 NEW STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 1980 974050

771 487 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
772 488 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
773 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 972250
774 489 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150
775 NEW HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
776 NEW TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
777 NEW MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
778 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 968200
779 491 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
780 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350

781 NEW JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
782 492 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 966650
783 493 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
784 NEW GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 966600
785 NEW WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907
786 495 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
787 NEW OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
788 496 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200
789 NEW IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
790 497 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840

791 498 ALANE Wes 1998 962700
792 NEW EMPIRE STATE OF MIND/ PART 2 Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys 2009 962000
793 NEW THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
794 NEW I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner 1984 961150
795 NEW SOLDIERS Abba 1981 961050
796 499 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700
797 NEW HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
798 NEW HERE I GO AGAIN Archie Bell And The Drells 1969 959900
799 500 SINGLE BILINGUAL Pet Shop Boys 1996 959400
800 NEW BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th May 2016, 06:43 PM

630. GET TOGETHER - Madonna (2006) 1,055,250



Madonna's 8th track on the list (already!) is one of her lesser-known gems, fresh off seeing her on the Confessions tour in Cardiff. Get Together is a fab tuneful psychedelic-EDM track, one of many great tracks on the album, but it works for me on it's own - not banging, more of a subtle groove for when you're running out of steam on the dancefloor and need to wind down for a bit. It deserves to be better known IMHO.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th May 2016, 06:53 PM

629. LOVE SHACK - B52's (1989) 1,055,400



PARTAAAY CLASSIC! Love this, always gets me going. I first heard it on a holiday tour of North-East USA with 2 mates in late 89, driving the highways of New York State, Vermont and Massachussets. I liked it, but it was one of those tracks that took time to appreciate the brilliance, it was SO quirky. Quirky is the raison d'etre of the B52's, I went straight for their 60's-punkish-art-rock from Rock Lobster in 1979 through to the theme tune to the Flintstones movie as the BC52's. Hah! Fun and loveable, one of the funniest radio parodies ever was one back in the 90's where some DJ wag commissioned a series of short covers of big hit songs - done B52-style. Hil-ar-i-ous!

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd May 2016, 05:54 PM

628. WALKING ON THE MOON - The Police (1979) 1,058,650



It's the 3rd of 4 from The Police, Walking On The Moon was the third in a hat-trick of chart-toppers for me in 1979, as they opted for a more gentle jazzy reggae rock sound, that topped the UK chart before the juggernaut of Another Brick In The Wall stole it's thunder. In retrospect it's a bit too laid back, but I liked the lyrics, and especially the video featuring the Saturn V rocket at Nasa, Florida, as it was when I first saw it - outside. These days it's indoors, and more impressive cos you can walk underneath it, and it's HUGE. My brother walked into my bedroom while I jiggling and singing along to this pre-Christmas '79 with his new cine-camera. Sadly (or thankfully) the footage is long gone.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd May 2016, 06:06 PM

627. LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU - Robbie Williams (1998) 1,059,350



Take That was already history as Robbie ramped up the energy like a man on a mission (which he was), and this was his mission-statement. Rockpop drama supreme, Robbie was one of the great showman in concert (I caught him at Net Aid, and he blew all the other acts away) and he and Guy Chambers were on fire as a songwriting team, winner after winner from here on for the next few years. The 5th track off Life Thru A Lens and featuring a fab Kiss homage video, that was far better than anything they had ever done. The first of 5 solo entries on the list for the Robster, plus 3 more with Take That.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd May 2016, 06:15 PM

626. MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF - The Walker Brothers (1966) 1,060,300



Scott Walker has one of the greatest male vocal voices in pop, just magnificent and cool and classy, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote so many of the greatest, coolest, sophisticated love ballads of all-time, it was a combo that even out-did the ever-cool Dionne Warwick original version. From the opening sweeping strings to the first spine-tingling break into the chorus, it's genius. The Walker Brothers were an American unrelated vocal group who hit it big in the UK in the mid-60's before quickly splitting into solo careers, of which Scott's was and is the most successful, and artistically credible, influencing many future pop stars. The first of 2 for the band, and one more for Scott solo. Fab.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th May 2016, 03:48 PM

625. UP ON THE ROOF - The Drifters (1962) 1,060,550



The Drifters only track on the listing, though it's hard to pin down which line-up recorded what sometimes in their very long and line-up changing career! In this case the lead singer is Rudy Williams, taking over from departing Ben E. King. I admit I'd love Ben to have sung it, but regardless this is a classic Goffin & King song, eventually recorded by Carole King herself (and she plays piano on the track). Sophisticated urban pop/soul, a great sentiment (escaping the troubles of the world Up On The Roof) and a bonafide much-covered classic, this huge song missed out in the UK to a cover version by Kenny Lynch - so it has never made the UK charts! That's despite hit covers from the likes of James Taylor through the brilliant Laura Nyro to the tolerable karaoke version of Robson & Jerome who topped the UK charts in 1995. Just stick with The Drifters (or Carole King), though, all others are just bonuses.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th May 2016, 04:04 PM

224. FOREVER MORE - Moloko (2003) 1,061,400



A forgotten dance gem this one, better even than their more famous big hit Sing It Back and as good as The Time Is Now. Sadly, the original video isn't available, so the stomping club anthem that it is is kinda watered down by the versions available on Youtube. I love the way it builds on a basic line of new lyrics over a repeat melody, and the subtle hook changes almost 3 minutes in, and played loud it's a stormer. Roisin Murphy has done some good solo stuff in the years since Moloko, an under-rated singer and act, but I feel the Moloko brand needs revival now!

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th May 2016, 07:26 PM

623. COMMON PEOPLE - Pulp (1995) 1,063,100



Britpop classic, one of the greatest tracks of the 90's and Jarvis Cocker's perfect moment with Pulp, followed by many other goodies, but this is in a class of it's own. Fabulous lyrics, terrific video, great vocals, frantic, lively, energetic and exciting poprock of the sort that is utterly absent from the 2016 music scene. Time Rock had that much-delayed revival, say I, or more to the point, Poprock - cos Rock these days means shouty and moody and subtlety-and-melody-lite. This also cemented Jarvis as a star in his own personality right, being articulate and all, as a future broadcasting career beckoned. Fab.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th May 2016, 07:39 PM

622. THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL - Michael Jackson (1987) 1,063,800



Following Thriller Michael was very Bad, and that meant a record-breaking number of singles from the one album, still Quincy Jones immaculately-produced, and a throbbing rhythm backdrop to a whooping catchy little rnb pop toon, the third off the album. Written by Michael, it did the chart biz for me in a way that I Just Can't Stop Loving You fell a bit short, perhaps a bit too sentimental at the time, but these days I prefer the first single off the album. The album was the soundtrack (along with Pet Shop Boys Actually) to my Big West Coast USA holiday in August/September of 1987 - which meant by the time the singles all came out they were like old faves with holiday nostalgia attached. so they did well in my charts! The 4th of 15 for Jacko in his various guises.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th May 2016, 06:15 PM

621. WILD WOOD - Paul Weller (1993) 1,064,650



The only track on the listing for Paul Weller, and that includes close calls for great chart-toppers for me from the Style Council (You're The Best Thing) and The Jam (Going Underground), which is a bit of a shame, but this gorgeous, gentle acoustic and melancholic song is affectingly lovely and melodic. While I enjoy Weller when he's fired up and angry (Funeral Pyre, Eton Rifles) I tend to lean more towards his melodic songs (Speak Like A Child, Long Hot Summer) or the more soulful. I saw The Jam in concert at Bingley Hall, Stafford back in the day, and more recently when he was heavily plugging his latest album. He is still an award-winning relevant veteran, but I tend to buy single tracks rather than albums for all but a special few acts, and he falls into the occasional single bracket these days for me.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th May 2016, 06:50 PM

620. I AM...I SAID - Neil Diamond (1971) 1,064,800



Neil was in his Prime with this evocative ballad - for me it conjures up images of tropical Singapore where it was big on my reel-to-reel tape recorder, I loved it. Neil had already written hits for other acts in the 60's, like The Monkees and Lulu, but his own solo stuff had never really caught on in the UK until 1970's Cracklin' Rosie. This was his last huge hit in my chart, though the album Stones and Song Sung Blue kept up the quality into 1972. Thereafter he drifted into pleasant MOR, and I grew less interested until he returned to his singer-songwriter roots in the 2000's. I always go back to 66-72 for my Diamond Life though. 3rd of 3 on the list, with only his songs still to come.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd June 2016, 06:59 PM

619. WIG WAM BAM - The Sweet (1972) 1,067,200



Thank heavens for European TV Shows importing British clips from Top Of The Pops! As my classic pop period of the late 60's and early 70's have been cruelly wiped by the BBC, a few bits survive to remind us how much fun Glam Rock was, and specifically The Sweet and Chinn-Chapman, the writer-producers of many a teen glam pop idol. Wig Wam Bam was total glamrock cheese, and a move away from the calypso-pop of their early singles like the fab Co Co, Funny Funny and Poppa Joe, and expanding on the glam innuendo naughtiness of Little Willy. Wig Wam Bam, though signalled what was to come, more rocky, a bit of camp, and a lot of hook. You couldn't get away with the stage getup and lyrics nowadays of course, but it's good-natured and clearly Chinnichap had come up with a great song-title and then wrote a naughty song around that. Second of 6 for The Sweet.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd June 2016, 07:09 PM

618. RIDING INTO BLUE (COWBOY SONG) - Inga (Humpe) (1990) 1,067,650



I swear this is totally co-incidental! Cowboys follow Indians in my list, courtesy of a gorgeous flop record from 1990 produced by Trevor Horn for Inga, one of the Humpe sisters who were better known as Swimming With Sharks, and who had a good minor UK hit with Careless Love. Sis Annette has the bigger online profile, but I just adore this smooth synth pop track with cowboy theme and amusing, arty video. I even revived it in 2016 for the Buzzjack Song Contest as I felt it deserved to be known. Inga later covered a great Pet Shop Boys album track Do I Have To?, so I kinda would like her! Trevor Horn, I should say, will pop up even more times in my chart than he already has.

Posted by: DrakeViews 29th June 2016, 12:52 PM

amazing

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th July 2016, 05:57 PM

Thanks Drakeviews (I think! after all the Drake comments from me... )

Before I restart the countdown after a break and more new entries shoving everything down a few notches, here's one that entered and has hit...

759. SIGN O' THE TIMES - Prince (1987) 982,450



The late lamented Prince, who left us thanks to stupid over-medication, now features a few times in my rundown, first off with this classic, stark, percussive comment on Life, The Universe, and Everything. It's as relevant now as in 1987, and it will continue to remain so until the end of human history. One of his great singles, from one of his great (double) albums, of the same name. It peaked at 2 twice in my charts - as a huge supporter of the space industry (the only chance Mankind and fellow terrestrial beings has of avoiding going extinct is to go to the stars) I couldn't quite get over the inclusion of it as being a bad thing when he might as well have said hairspray is a bad thing cos we spend money on that when it's needed for helping people. Brilliant track though, even if I couldn't gift it a chart-topper.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th July 2016, 05:33 PM

620. HE LOVES U NOT - Dream (2001) 1,069,250



3 more new entries to the chart since I last did a batch pushes this down 3 places (and all others so far). Dream were an American girl group in the mode of N'Sync and Destiny's Child pop of the time (2000), and this one I took a shine to more than the UK record-buying public (it peaked at 17, but 2 in the USA in 2000). I've nothing much to say about it other than it's a good rnb-flavoured pop track, well-produced, and Dream's only moment in the sun to speak of. It's not one remembered that well these days, not even by me - I think I've heard it 3 times in the last 14 years (two of them just now)!

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th July 2016, 05:52 PM

619. SKY - Sonique (2000) 1,070,100



This, on the other hand, is still a classic dance track for me, following up the monster It Feels So Good, and peaking at 2 in the UK charts. DJ Sonique had been involved in Bass-o-matic and S'Xpress tracks and singles prior to her solo career starting with minor success in 1998, before reissued number one It Feels So Good made 2000 a rather good year for her. Sky, is an insistent, fab, classy song and Sonique is a great singer, quite why she she fizzed out it a mystery to me, though having Rick Nowels as co-songwriter on Sky didn't hurt the chances of it being great - Rick features several times in this chart, and has hit big in my chart with songs by Belinda Carlisle, Santana, Melanie C, Texas, Ronan Keating, Stevie Nicks, Dido, Lana Del Ray, and the New Radicals. To be honest, most people would be shocked to know that he had co-written so many great songs by so many acts over such a long period of time. First of 3 for Sonique, and many more for Rick Nowels.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th July 2016, 06:12 PM

618. I WANT YOU BACK - *NSync (1998) 1,070,200



Doesn't Justin Timberlake look young! Years ahead of his movie and monster solo career, he was lead singer in a Florida-based boy band pop-hit-factory along with the likes of Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys, all churning singles of mixed quality, some great, some not-so-great. The great ones tended to be written by Swedish songwriters Max Martin and the late Denniz Pop, Max Martin has been unstoppable as a monster Songwriter/producer-of-choice for pop acts ever since, and his list of credits is astonishing and current: he trails only The Beatles/George Martin in terms of US Number Ones, most recently with Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Pink, and in terms of top 10 hit songs he trails no-one, he rules. Justin, of course jumped ship early on, always a wise move for boyband members, and at least that meant he no longer had to listen to UK radio DJ's and the entire UK population habitually mis-pronounce IN-Sync (a musical pun) as EN-Sync (which meant nothing). That drove me crazy for several years, as I regularly holidayed in Florida in the late 90's and had no problem with saying it right. In fact I bought this CD single in Florida, as they were still making CD singles at the time for pop acts, though not for much longer. Justin will feature again, solo and in duet.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th July 2016, 07:09 PM

617. TICKET TO RIDE - The Beatles (1965) 1,070,550



Sadly the influential jangly guitar genius of this tuneful Beatles single, and it's inspiring "frollicking in the snow" Help! movie video is not available on youtube, and nor is any audio version, so the best on offer is a live version of the fabs in concert during a period when they ruled the pop world, literally, and in every sense, sales, critically, and influentially. I lived in Liverpool around this time, went to school, was a street urchin "mind your car mistah" on Liverpool match days (down the road from my grandma's) - cash for making sure it didn't get nicked or damaged, a sort of kiddie protection racket! The Beatles were at the very core of my childhood, everyone knew them, they were properly famous. Watching John introduce the band, I still can't believe he's been dead 36 years, cos he was so ingrained in pop culture, lively and vital and media savvy. Third of many Beatles songs on the list, courtesy of a 1976 and 1985 re-issue.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th July 2016, 07:20 PM

616. THE RETURN TO INNOCENCE - Enigma (1994) 1,071,000



It's that Enigma man again, this time with his second biggest hit, the 1994 World Music smash, incorporating an album of songs with ethnic music samples set to New Age beats. That combo was irresistible to me (again), and led to a hat trick of million-sellers in John's musical world from the fab album The Cross Of Changes. Michael Cretu, the writer/producer of the album had his 80's disco diva wife on the track, the breathy vocal bits are her as she ends with The Return To Innocence, narey any singing at all from her. The main singing is a Taiwanese drinking song sample, which (in the end) made the singers a few undisclosed banknotes following a court case. Cretu wasn't aware he wasn't using non-public-domain material. Don't we all....

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2016, 06:16 PM

616. BLACK VELVET - Alannah Myles (1990) 1,072,000



After a break, and another classic oldie leapfrogging the rundown so far, all tracks drop one place, and at 616 it's the frankly brilliant Alannah Myles track, Black Velvet. The lyrics say it all, it's the sultry blues, bringing back the Deep South, channeled through any classic blues acts, drop the names...John Lee Hooker, Tony Joe White, Joe South and zillions more. A great title, a great image, and the slow southern rocking is just fab, refreshing at the time and opening up chart success for veteran blues-based acts in the early 90's once again. Sadly, Alannah never managed to follow it up, but for me it will always conjure up cruising the highways around Orlando's theme parks with my parents and my little niece and nephew as it got blanket play on local radio stations ahead of it's UK success. Florida is fairly close to Mississippi, good enough for me, even if Alannah comes from Canada....

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2016, 06:33 PM

615. E=MC2 - Big Audio Dynamite (1986) 1,072,100



Once in a while a record comes along that makes you go "OMG that sounds like nothing I've heard before!" in a very, very good, exciting way. This was one of those moments for me, Mick Jones had left the Clash, took up with Don Letts, musician and stylish video/film director, and for a while they made me think this would be hugely influential. Sadly not, but it was utterly marvellous anyway, I loved the odd lyrics, all very Nicholas Roeg homages and imagery, right down to samples of dialogue from his movies and references to Don't Look Now, Jagger's Performance, and other cult movies, including Bowie's The Man Who fell To Earth. Musically, there's that insistent backbone of throbbing synth chords, a hint of Clash punk, and semi-rapping semi-singing semi-chanting from Mick's unusual vocal style, then there's the fab music video, the Einstein-referencing title and lyrics, and yes I sang along to every word, I made sure I was able to sing along to every odd phrase and image perfectly. Well. Worth. It.
SO under-rated.....

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd September 2016, 12:39 PM

614. WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER - Texas (1999) 1,074,450



From the period when Texas were in their most-commercial soulrockpop phase, and in this case very fabulously 60‘s Motown in sound and feeling. Frankly, Sharleen Spiteri can do no wrong for me, but when she and the boys were on fire they were just brilliant, both live in concert and on record. 3rd single from the terrific album The Hush, and written by both Sharleen and fellow-bandmember and producer Johnny McElhone - giving away the Scottish/Italian heritage of the band - The Hush is home to some great non-singles, like the absolutely gorgeous falsetto Prince-influenced Tell Me The Answer, criminally ignored as a single. Johnny McElhone also had success in the 80’s with bands Altered Images (and co-wrote Happy Birthday and other hits) and Hipsway, while Sharleen has had solo success in the noughties and Ally McErlaine has released country albums as Red Sky July with his wife Shelly Poole (of Alisha’s Attic and Ex-Tremeloes Brian Poole’s daughter fame). All quality from 1989 debut through to now. First of 7 tracks on the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th September 2016, 07:19 PM

613. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT - Hot Chocolate (1980) 1,074,800



When this track came out in the late spring of 1980 it was a sure-fire fave for me: I’d loved the band for a decade already, and their ever-changing sound and mixing-up of genres. Hot Chocolate, having been picked up by The Beatles on Apple Records, switched immediately to Mickie Most's RAK Records (my other fave record label), and Errol set about writing hits for Mary Hopkin and the band themselves, a multi-cultural group (not that common in 1970) which had a string of hit singles for 15 years in a row. Given they never sold albums (until the Greatest Hits) and not all their releases were hits, each single became a hit on merit alone as they were never guaranteed a hit, they didn’t have that sort of loyal teen following, either in the UK or USA where they were covered and also had hits themselves. With this fab moody single they moved into synths up-front to match the UFO subject-matter (another sure-fire appeal to Close Encounters-worshipping me), and grabbed a UK number 2 hit. First of 6 in the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th September 2016, 07:39 PM

612. RHYTHM IS A DANCER - Snap! (1992) 1,074,850




Snap! hit the charts with a classic rap pop stormer in 1990, the wonderful The Power, which fell short of the list, sadly, despite being fantastic and a UK chart-topper. From my point of view the follow-up’s had been lack-lustre in comparison to the sheer vitality of the debut hit, although they did well in the singles charts. Snap! Despite American rapper Turbo B and American singer Penny Ford being the initial centrepiece of the band (they were essentially a German-production dance project) they never had control - that went to producers Anzilotti and Munzing - and which inevitably led to a split following this 1992 worldwide monster dance hit. The sound had changed, very much more techno/house than rap by now, but it was just as good as The Power, and was far and away their biggest hit. I caught Snap! in concert just as they split, sadly, as Turbo B and Penny Ford never made it solo, and Snap became an ever-changing vehicle for guest female vocalists, notably Summer and Niki Harris for the next few years of decent hits.

Posted by: fiesta 8th September 2016, 12:00 PM

632 407 MONKEY George Michael 1988 1054750
My fave single from Faith, I bought the 7", and loved the remix too!

635 NEW DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys 1988 1050900
636 408 OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys 1986 1046200
My favourite period for the Pet Shop Boys, I started to go off them from about the mid 90's onwards, but their late 80's early 90's singles are great.

648 415 (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER Jackie Wilson 1967 1039750
Classic Jackie Wilson
655 NEW HUNG UP Madonna 2005 1036850
Love This
668 428 BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU Foundations 1967 1027400
Never get bored of this song, one of Tony McCaulay's best.
672 NEW DARE Gorillaz/ Shaun Ryder 2005 1024850
I thought Feel Good Inc was good then this came out, even better!
674 431 COME UNDONE Duran Duran 1993 1024300
One Duran Duran's most underrated songs, follow up to Ordinary World which stole all the limelight
682 436 PRAYING FOR TIME George Michael 1990 1021000
I have a Live unplugged version of this song by George and it is absolutley stunning, better than the original

713 454 YOU DON'T KNOW ME Armand Van Helden/ Duane Harden 1999 1003800
Love This
714 NEW NO MILK TODAY Herman's Hermits 1967 1003800
Graham Gould man is such a good songwriter, 10cc one of my fave bands
722 NEW I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
Just heard this for the first time at the weekend on POTP's cant beat some Mamas and papas
732 468 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250

738 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
Love anything by ELO
753 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800

757 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
One of madonna's best songs and it failed it chart

761 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
love this
766 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
Been listening to their new album and Shot and I'm So Sorry are brilliant tracks, as is this
773 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 972250
I Don't Care and Hello are also brilliant songs
780 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
Classic
793 NEW THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
One of the best SAW songs
796 499 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700
Love this slade song, massively overlooked
797 NEW HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
I got into this when it was sampled by some grime rapper about 10 years ago!
800 NEW BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350

Posted by: popchartfreak 8th September 2016, 07:03 PM

Thanks for the list Fiesta, it's good of you to comment on loads and fab that you love so many too! It's great when other people share the love for a brilliant record

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st September 2016, 07:09 PM

611. OH MY GOD - Kaiser Chiefs (2005) 1,075,850



One of the bright lights of the mid-noughties rock-pop revival Kaiser Chiefs, and especially future The Voice sex-symbol laddy frontman Ricky Wilson, were fab. A string of great singles, including the rocking I Predict A Riot, Ruby, Everyday I Love You Less And Less and Everything Is Average Nowadays, were as impressive as their live act, full of energy. I caught them when I had a bad cold, and no energy to join in, but they were fab and lively, led by the ever-pogoing Ricky, not yet as slim as he is these days. This is a great record, aggressive, singalong, fun and like all their best tracks, packed with memorable hooklines, energy and a laddy lovableness. They don’t sell records like they used to, sadly, cos they are still good, but they are still quietly building up a great varied unpretentious back-catalogue.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th October 2016, 05:34 PM

it's been so long since I did one of these (busy life sadly) that another song has overtaken so all fall yet another place leaving this at at...

611. IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE - Roxette (1990) 1,076,100



2nd of 3 for Roxette, and this time it's their monster song from the Pretty Woman movie, and their third US chart-topper. It's a very 80's movie ballad, but the popularity of the film keeps it remaining fairly well-known. To be honest I kind of over-dosed on it, after it managed a couple of UK chart runs, the second one in 1993 which was enough to push it into the million-club in my charts. It's original chart run was about right though, and it's not one I rush to play anymore. Much as I was as big on Roxette at the time, they made better records as their sales declined, I thought, and still chuck out the odd great single now and again.

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th October 2016, 05:46 PM

610. WUTHERING HEIGHTS - Kate Bush (1978) 1,076,212



Epic. The record that launched a major artist, and of course based on the novel, swirling strings, that odd vocal from teenage prodigy songwriter Kate, taken under the Dave Gilmour Pink Floyd wings, and launched to UK chart-topping success. I was at college in my first year, and Kate hit like an other-worldly hammer among students: "she'll have trouble following that one up!" my room-mate Pete opined. Not so much, actually! This record would have been much higher in the list (deservedly) had it not had the misfortune to collide with my all-time fave record grabbing the top spot for weeks, which effectively knocked off a few hundred thousand "sales" - there can be only one Number One! It did however get a re-chart on the back of Kate's tout revival a few years back which took it over the million and to the top spot. A genuine one-off classic, sounding like nothing before and nothing since.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th October 2016, 05:58 PM

609. HEAD OVER HEELS - Abba (1982) 1,076,250



I was such a huge Abba fan that even a minor tail-end hit bit of fluff hit a million in my charts. I mean it's great fun, but it's not in the same league as classic earlier hits, then-recent hits or even most tracks on the album The Visitors from whence it came. Second single, Benny & Bjorn actually wanted a double A side Two For The Price Of One (another bit of fluff) and Slipping Through Her Fingers (a gorgeous ballad now well-known from the Mamma Mia show and movie). That would have made a much better single than this one which peaked at 25 in the UK, while the blatantly obvious classic single should have been When All Is Said And Done, criminally never released at all in the UK. I was so annoyed at Epic for being dicks at the time. Still am. Anyway, I still like Head Over Heels' jolliness and catchiness, but it's a bit flattered to be in the rundown! 4th Abba track in the 800 (as Soldiers has been kicked out in the last few weeks).

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th October 2016, 06:12 PM

608. WHEN DOVES CRY - Prince (1984) 1,077,300



The late great Prince may be gone but his videos still get chased off the net by his legal team and/or record company, as per his wishes that no-one get to hear them except on the radio. Expect the link to be gone before long to this brilliant percussive, innovative, haunting utter classic from 1984. The first single from Purple Rain, the movie and album, one of the great albums of all-time, and most probably still Prince's finest moment, When Doves Cry still sounds fresh as a daisy, as does the album, cos Prince at this point dropped the more-standard funk workouts for a sharper, cutting edge sound that influenced many afterwards and which helps it avoid sounding of it's time: more Out Of Time, sign of a classic. I saw Prince twice in concert, and he was as amazing as he was prolific, no question. I'm praying that his vast unreleased catalogue from this period sees the light of day as there will be some classic gems amongst them: has to be, he gave away some real classics he was that prolific. One will crop up later along with 2 more from the man. Second of only 4 on the list.

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th November 2016, 07:53 PM

607. I'VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU - The Bee Gees (1968) 1,077,450



This UK Number One was in the tradition of Green Green Grass Of Home, a love-story-song set on death-row, and came only months after their debut chart-topper in 1967, showing the Gibb Brothers were bonafide great songwriters as well as rock-ballad singers and musicians. Long before disco existed The Bee Gees were an Australian-based Manchester ex-pats band, and these sort of death-story songs were all the rage in the 60's. In retrospect not quite as good as some of their other classic records of the period, I still love it as it was charting high when I discovered the Alan Freeman Pick Of The Pops radio chart rundown, and my world was changed forever! It took the Gibbs a decade to get over the disco backlash, but was a time they were a one of a group of great British pop groups who hit it big worldwide in the late 60's, and who could zip between country, soul, blues, ballads, albeit with a tendency towards mawkishness or drama-emotion. Many didn't go for that. My mum did, like many women in their 20's and 30's, and I loved them too from day one. Never gave up on them or lost faith at any period of their career, cos, y'know, talented.....

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th November 2016, 08:06 PM

606. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME - Monaco (1997) 1,077,450



Cripes, not heard this in ages and ages! One I was mad on at the time, but have not sustained the love to the same degree since, though it's still great, sort of New Order with strings. Not entirely unreasonably as it's a spin-off New Order band headed by Peter Hook, New Order bassist, with David Potts of band Revenge. It would be unthinkable for New Order to not feature in the list too, though - just as well they do then! Till then, this uptempo, middling exciting track will have to do.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st December 2016, 07:22 PM

605. GOODBYE TO LOVE - The Carpenters (1972) 1,077,900



The Carpenters best record, probably, and they had a lot of potential rivals for the title, but this sublime ballad had the bonus attraction of a perfect fuzz guitar solo to put a crown on the sheer beauty of Karen’s vocals and brother Richard’s song and orchestration. I love a record that builds and then perfectly peaks, and this one has a multi-layered harmony peak to boot. Some call it the first power ballad, but that is a bit unfair, power ballads tend to lack subtlety and this one is not in yer face at all. It took The Carpenters on a slight diversion from their previous more adult-oriented lush hits like We’ve Only Just Begun and Rainy Days And Mondays, and built more on their haunting cover of Superstar. Exquisite.

The Carpenters were, of course, regarded as bland and middle of the road by many a rock critic of the time, as Easy Listening became a dirty name that took decades to shake off. I had no such sniffy pretentions then or now, I loved early Carpenters and still do, and if anything they are under-represented in this rundown. First of 2.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st December 2016, 07:35 PM

604. MONY MONY - Tommy James & The Shondells (1968) 1,078,700



Tommy James & The Shondells had a string of rapidly-developing and ever-more adventurous singles hits in the USA, a truly great band that remain under-appreciated in the UK, save for this solitary UK chart-topper. From the basic Hanky Panky, through to the psychedelic Crimson & Clover and pure gorgeousness of Crystal Blue Persuasion, they had a varied run of great singles. Tommy set off on a solo career in the early 70’s, sadly most notable only for US hit Draggin’ The Line, but the band have provided huge hits as covers for Tiffany, Billy Idol, REM, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and others from the 80’s onwards.

Mony Mony comes from their mid-period of dance-pop Beatles-ey Northern Soul-cum-bubblegum, following on from I Think We’re Alone Now, and it remains a dancefloor stomper with a fantastic vocal. Pop with passion. I liked it at the time, but grew to love it when dad brought 16 Big Hits when we lived in Singapore, an Aussie compilation hits album predating “Now” and K-Tel records. Other tracks will pop up through the list, cos, y’know, played it to death, and love ‘em all. Fab.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th December 2016, 11:19 AM

603. NEW FRIDAY'S CHILD Will Young (2004) 1078750



I wasnt a Will fan, to say the least, after the awful Evergreen and talent show start. This track made me change my mind, its just lovely, lush strings, understated classy soul II soul shuffle, and a subtle melody. Love it, and the video didnt hurt, nostalgia for golden days doing my life saving badges age 13 in the RAFChangi swimming pool in Singapore. Mellow was good.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th December 2016, 11:35 AM

602. MY COO CA CHOO Alvin Stardust (1973) 1078750




Back in late 73 we had ITV pop shows aimed at kids, like Lift Off and Alvin debuted in a coat of feathers with this fab 50s-styled glam rock stomper. fab riffs, and some media exposure that it was actually 60s pop star Shane Fenton making a glam comeback pushed it onto Top Of The Pops by which time Alv had gone for cool, posing leathers a la Gene Vincent, voila a huge hit and a new bigger career. The former Bernard Jewry lived near my hometown of Mansfield, still the only pop star of note, so we loved him. He had even better hits to follow, like Jealous Mind, Pretend and other lesser tracks, but this remains his most-famous.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th December 2016, 11:50 AM

601. AIRPORT Motors (1978) 1079000



Post-punk thete was a New Wave explosion which revitalised the pop charts big-time, and The Motors were just one of many to grab a big hit, in this case with a fab synth-driven, urgent and passionate pop gem. No let up in pace, a great song, and a track i have never got tired of, still sounding fab some 38 years on. Exciting! Nothing else they did compared in any way sadly, though many a decent single, but you only need one great record to be fondly remembered...

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th December 2016, 11:56 AM

Ok this rundown is a long-haul thing! As its ever-changing week on week, heres the current 800 to 601 list, featuring some still climbing, and note around 15 or 20 have dropped out of the listings..

phew!

601 387 AIRPORT Motors 1978 1079000
602 388 MY COO CA CHOO Alvin Stardust 1973 1078750
603 NEW FRIDAY'S CHILD Will Young 2004 1078750
604 389 MONY MONY Tommy James & The Shondells 1968 1078700
605 390 GOODBYE TO LOVE Carpenters 1972 1077900
606 391 WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME Monaco 1997 1077450
607 NEW GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU The Bee Gees 1968 1077450
608 NEW WHEN DOVES CRY Prince 1984 1077300
609 393 HEAD OVER HEELS Abba 1982 1076250
610 NEW WUTHERING HEIGHTS Kate Bush 1978 1076212
611 394 IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE Roxette 1990 1076100
612 NEW OH MY GOD Kaiser Chiefs 2005 1075850
613 NEW RHYTHM IS A DANCER Snap! 1992 1074850
614 395 NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate 1980 1074800
615 NEW WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER Texas 1999 1074450
616 396 E=MC2 Big Audio Dynamite 1986 1072100
617 400 BLACK VELVET Alannah Myles 1990 1072000
618 397 RETURN TO INNOCENCE Enigma 1994 1071000
619 NEW TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles 1965 1070550
620 398 I WANT YOU BACK N-Sync 1998 1070200
621 NEW SKY Sonique 2000 1070100
622 NEW HE LOVES U NOT Dream 2001 1069250
623 NEW RIDING INTO BLUE (COWBOY SONG) Inga 1990 1067650
624 399 WIG WAM BAM Sweet 1972 1067200
625 401 I AM...I SAID Neil Diamond 1971 1064800
626 402 WILD WOOD Paul Weller 1993 1064650
627 449 THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL Michael Jackson 1987 1063800
628 NEW COMMON PEOPLE Pulp 1995 1063100
629 NEW FOREVER MORE Moloko 2003 1061400
####630 NEW HURTS Emeli Sande 2016 1061000####
631 NEW UP ON THE ROOF The Drifters 1962 1060550
632 NEW MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF The Walker Brothers 1966 1060300
633 403 LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU Robbie Williams 1998 1059350
634 404 WALKING ON THE MOON Police 1979 1058650
635 414 LOVE SHACK B52's 1989 1055400
636 NEW GET TOGETHER Madonna 2006 1055250
637 406 I DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE Jane Child 1990 1054950
638 407 MONKEY George Michael 1988 1054750
639 NEW JUST DANCE Lady Gaga 2009 1054250
640 NEW MARRY YOU Bruno Mars 2011 1051050
641 NEW DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys 1988 1050900
642 408 OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys 1986 1046200
643 409 TROUBLE Lindsey Buckingham 1981 1045850
644 410 OUR LIPS ARE SEALED Fun Boy Three 1983 1045750
645 411 JE T'AIME...MOI NON PLUS Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 1969 1044950
646 412 UNDER ATTACK Abba 1982 1044800
647 NEW BRIGHT LIGHTS BIGGER CITY Cee-Lo Green/ Wiz Khalifa 2011 1043550
648 485 THRILLER Michael Jackson 1983 1043150
649 NEW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES Mark Brown/ Sarah Cracknell 2008 1042900
650 413 GENO Dexy's Midnight Runners 1980 1042600

651 460 TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART Bonnie Tyler 1983 1042450
652 NEW GRENADE Bruno Mars 2011 1042400
653 NEW COOL Gwen Stefani 2005 1041500
654 415 (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER Jackie Wilson 1967 1039750
655 418 THE LOCOMOTION Little Eva 1962 1039200
656 NEW TAKE ON ME a-ha 1985 1038750
657 NEW HEY YA Outkast 2003 1037950
658 419 GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA Cliff Richard 1970 1037300
659 424 TUSK Fleetwood Mac 1979 1037100
660 420 SCREAM Michael/Janet Jackson 1995 1037050
661 NEW HUNG UP Madonna 2005 1036850
662 NEW HOTTER THAN HELL Dua Lipa 2016 1035300
663 NEW SHOOT THE DOG George Michael/ Human League 2002 1035250
664 421 NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE Bucks Fizz 1982 1033850
665 422 HUMAN BEINGS Seal 1998 1033250
666 NEW MY GIRL Temptations 1965 1032600
####667 NEW FIRST TIME HE KISSED A BOY Kadie Elder 2016 1031700####
668 425 JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES Cher 1989 1030250
669 426 THE REFLEX Duran Duran 1984 1030200
670 NEW I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR U2 1987 1029850
671 NEW LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud 1974 1029270
672 NEW GET OUTTA MY WAY Kylie Minogue 2010 1029200
673 NEW I WALK ALONE Cher 2014 1029200
674 427 UNINVITED Alanis Morissette 1998 1028850
675 NEW A THING CALLED LOVE Johnny Cash 1972 1027950
676 428 BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU Foundations 1967 1027400
677 NEW SUBURBIA Pet Shop Boys 1986 1026150
678 NEW SUPERSTAR Jamelia 2003 1026100
679 429 TELEGRAM SAM T.Rex 1972 1025008
680 NEW DARE Gorillaz/ Shaun Ryder 2005 1024850
681 430 THE EYES OF TRUTH Enigma 1994 1024450
682 431 COME UNDONE Duran Duran 1993 1024300
683 NEW ANNIE YOU SAVE ME Graffiti6 2010 1023950
684 NEW SLOOP JOHN B The Beach Boys 1966 1023450
685 NEW SOUND AND VISION David Bowie 1977 1023365
686 433 THE LEBANON Human League 1984 1022400
687 434 PERFECT DAY Lou Reed & friends 1997 1022100
688 NEW PAINT IT BLACK The Rolling Stones 1966 1022000
689 435 STARS China Black 1994 1021300
690 436 PRAYING FOR TIME George Michael 1990 1021000
691 NEW DIRTY DIANA Michael Jackson 1988 1020250
692 NEW EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE The Police 1983 1019950
693 450 AMERICAN PIE Don McLean 1972 1019400
694 438 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette 1989 1018500
695 440 STOP LOVING ME STOP LOVING YOU Daryl Hall 1994 1018000
696 NEW I'M WITH STUPID Pet Shop Boys 2006 1017400
697 441 PAPA DON'T PREACH Madonna 1986 1016100
698 442 EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol 1984 1015000
699 NEW LOVE ETC Pet Shop Boys 2009 1014700
700 NEW SUMMERTIME SADNESS Lana Del Ray vs Cedric Gervais 2013 1013550

701 NEW IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND Agnetha Faltskog 2004 1013350
702 NEW (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION The Rolling Stones 1965 1013300
703 444 LUCKY MAN Verve 1997 1012900
704 NEW CARELESS WHISPER George Michael 1984 1012900
705 NEW MATHEMATICS Cherry Ghost 2007 1012650
706 446 BLACK AND WHITE Greyhound 1971 1011000
707 451 CARNAVAL DE PARIS Dario G 1998 1010900
708 NEW ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS Paloma Faith 2014 1009550
709 NEW BABY LOVE The Supremes 1964 1008850
710 447 I HEAR YOU NOW Jon & Vangelis 1980 1008450
711 NEW ALL THE YOUNG DUDES Mott The Hoople 1972 1008350
712 448 RADIO GA GA Queen 1984 1008300
713 NEW MY NAME IS JACK Manfred Mann 1968 1006650
714 NEW UNFINISHED SYMPATHY Massive Attack 1991 1006550
715 452 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond 1970 1005400
716 NEW CHASING PAVEMENTS Adele 2008 1005350
717 453 MISS YOU NIGHTS Cliff Richard 1976 1005300
718 465 LOVE ME DO Beatles 1962 1004100
719 NEW FAIRYTALE Alexander Rybak 2009 1003950
720 NEW I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BUT I CAN'T GIVE IT ANYMORE Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003900
721 454 YOU DON'T KNOW ME Armand Van Helden/ Duane Harden 1999 1003800
722 NEW NO MILK TODAY Herman's Hermits 1967 1003800
723 NEW JUMP Madonna 2006 1003600
724 455 I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING Pet Shop Boys 1993 1003450
725 NEW THE DARK IS RISING Mercury Rev 2001 1003100
726 456 DID YOU EVER Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood 1971 1002700
727 NEW THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE Percy Faith 1960 1002500
728 457 LAST STOP: THIS TOWN Eels 1998 1002400
729 NEW DELILAH Tom Jones 1968 1002250
730 NEW I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
731 NEW RUN BOY RUN Woodkid 2012 1001600
732 NEW IN THE CROSSFIRE Starsailor 2005 1001500
733 NEW DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 1977 1001162
734 458 JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY Haysi Fantayzee 1982 1000400
735 459 BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. Beatles 1968 1000000
736 NEW SUNRISE Simply Red 2003 999300
737 461 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 1989 999150
738 462 RESCUE ME Madonna 1991 999100
739 NEW SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond 1969 998450
740 468 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250
741 463 I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER Hot Gossip/ Sarah Brightman 1978 997950
742 464 BLUE MONDAY New Order 1983 997850
743 466 OBSESSION Animotion 1985 997250
744 NEW OH PITY Cashier No 9 2011 995600
745 NEW DON'T TELL ME Madonna 2000 994450
746 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
747 469 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450
748 NEW TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650
749 NEW OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
750 470 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300

751 471 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800
752 NEW (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
753 472 DA YA THINK I'M SEXY Rod Stewart 1978 990600
754 NEW WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
755 NEW LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
756 473 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
757 474 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850
758 475 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO Abba 1980 986900
759 NEW SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY Abba 1982 986550
760 476 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
761 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800
762 478 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10CC 1976 984900
763 NEW BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
764 NEW 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
765 NEW SIGN O’ THE TIMES Prince 1987 982450
766 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
767 NEW REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600
768 479 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258
769 480 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850
770 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
771 482 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
772 483 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
773 NEW STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 975150
774 NEW PRAY Take That 1993 975000
775 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
776 484 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 974600
777 490 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500
778 NEW GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
779 NEW STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 1980 974050
780 487 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
781 488 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
782 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 972250
783 489 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150
784 NEW HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
785 NEW TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
786 NEW MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
787 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 968200
788 491 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
789 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
790 NEW JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
791 492 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 966650
792 493 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
793 NEW GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 966600
794 NEW WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907
795 495 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
796 NEW OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
797 496 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200
798 NEW IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
799 497 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840
800 498 ALANE Wes 1998 962700

Posted by: King Rollo 21st January 2017, 04:57 PM

I have read this thread all the way through. Some excellent choices and interesting commentary on each song. I am putting together my own top 1000 song list and will put it on this forum but it won't be ready for about a year as it involves listening to my entire record collection.

From your list,the ones I like the best are:

Twilight
Shame
Open Your Heart
Golden Brown
Everywhere
Personal Jesus
3 Words
I'm Mandy Fly Me
He Ain't Heavy,He's My Brother
Hold On Tight
Blue Monday
Last Stop This Town
Unfinished Sympathy
Radio Ga Ga
I Hear You Now
Suburbia
Now Those Days Are Gone
Tusk
Take On Me
Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Make It Easy On Yourself
No Doubt About It
Wuthering Heights
Airport

13 of those are likely to be included in my top 1000. I hope you resume your countdown soon. I know not many people have left comments on the thread but I would make a comment on most of the songs if you did.

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st January 2017, 07:58 PM

Thanks Rollo, and thanks for the comment

Good choices there I think on your part I look forward to seeing your rundown!

I've had on slow for a few weeks cos 800 is quite a challenge to get through (I under-estimated how long it would take!) but also since George Michael died, there's been a lot of activity in the 800 (again! Happens every time a major star dies, sadly) as I rechart old faves. About 5 have dropped out of the top 600, with a few more about to, so I need to do an update again, and review those dropping out before (AT LAST) getting into the top 600

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 03:16 PM

OK, a gap of 8 months since the last batch in this chart so it's clear the only way I'm going to ever finish it is by not commenting - much - on the tracks! Just take it as read that I love every track from here on and just the video (if available) and basic facts and I might get to finish it some time this decade!

There have been 9 new entries into the Top 600 since January which has the effect of pushing everything down 9 places - so these are the remaining 9 tracks...

609. LOVE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP - Robert Knight (1968) 1,079,300



A Northern Soul classic originally a B side to the original version of Everlasting Love, Robert had a smash Northern Soul smash in the UK over Christmas 1973, that'll be when the Telly went off at 10 to save power, and schools had 3 day weeks to save power during all the strikes. Happily I had my tranny under the bedsheets to listen to Radio Luxembourg. (NB for younger folk, tranny's used to be short for Transistor Radio, a little battery-powered portable thingy - the mobile phone of our day. If you remove every feature of mobile phones, and just stick a radio on it.

The TOTP clip is one I haven't seen for 43 years, being as I thought it was deleted - but someone somewhere has found a copy, albeit a bit ropey sound. Fab!

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 03:23 PM

608. THE LOOK OF LOVE - ABC (1982) 1,080,950



ABC very under-represented in this chart - the classic single from the classic Lexicon Of Love album, pure Trevor Horn polished lovelorn classy pop perfection - as were the band when they toured the terrific sequel and this track and album last year with a full orchestra. Genius.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 03:28 PM

607. DON'T YOU WORRY CHILD - Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin (2012) 1,081,400



Unbelievably already 5 years old! The band no longer exist, and the music scene has moved on from banging exciting dance tunes like this, rather sadly in my opinion, replaced with the new tropical-housey plinkety-plonk mid-tempo bandwagon-jumpers to a substantial degree. I have a way with words. Great vocal on this. Great tune.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 03:40 PM

606. FREE AS A BIRD - The Beatles (1995) 1,081,400



Released as the first new single off the Anthology albums, set around the TV series and accompanying previously-unreleased archives tracks from the Greatest Band In The World (official), this was a basic cassette tape John had recorded before his murder in 1980, which the other 3 members finished off with the help of Jeff Lynne on production. It was the closest we would ever get to a reunion, and I found this soaring track endearing and nostalgic for my childhood, though reaction at the time was mixed, having to live up to the Legend of course that was bound to happen, but I think looking back it stands up pretty well with The Beatles back catalogue and had it been recorded 60's style could have snuggled amongst tracks on their later albums quite comfortably.

By the way, the images at the start the video are TOTALLY my mid-60's childhood - I lived in Liverpool for a year then and visited my grandma there before and after regularly. Ferry cross the Mersey, the Liver Building, mantelpieces and ornaments, and The Fabs really did rule the pop whole wide world to huge local pride.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 04:36 PM

605. I WANT YOU - Savage Gardens (1997) 1,082,150



Here's one that never gets oldie airplay - a shame as it's better than all but one of their turgid ballads that tend to get played. I started off being a fab of Savage Garden and then went right off them - perhaps because this single wasn't that typical of their output, almost Fine Young Cannibals in it's backing track, albeit a bit faster. The first of 2 for Savage Garden.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 04:42 PM

604. PARTY FEARS TWO - The Associates (1982) 1,082,150



The much-missed Billy McKenzie had a unique soaring vocal style, and a quirky indierock full-bodied production of unusual songs. This was The Associates finest moment, a record that sounds like them and no other, and it takes me back to an army camp near Winchester - nothing to do with the song, just where my parents lived and worked (running the NAAFI) so I got to doss about many weekends and holidays watching pop music on TV there.

Posted by: King Rollo 26th August 2017, 04:43 PM

Good to see the return of your top 800. The Look Of Love by ABC is the pick of those four. Great production by Trevor Horn with Anne Dudley doing the string arrangements as she did on the sequel last year.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 04:50 PM

603. YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT - Desmond Dekker (1970) 1,082,400



Take two reggae pioneers - Jimmy Cliff wrote the song, Desmond Dekker was the first ska/reggae breakthrough act in the UK - and a fab tune, a positive message, and here I am back in tropical Singapore in the summer of '70. Desmond is of course famous for another record still to come, but he had the fab It Mek, jolly 007 (covered by Musical Youth in the 80's) and more. Jimmy Cliff had the songs though, The Harder They Come, Many Rivers To Cross, and several hits of his own including a cover of I Can See Clearly Now - written by Johnny Nash, the main chart rival to both acts in the late 60's and early 70's. Johnny also covered a Bob Marley song - Stir It Up - and set the legend on the path to immortality.

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 04:52 PM

Thanks Rollo, and quite 100% spot on there - Anne Dudley pulled the strings - literally!

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 05:00 PM

602. MY LITTLE ONE - Marmalade (1971) 1,082,400



I guarantee this sweet ditty won't appear in anybody's list of fave songs - very much pure 1971 for me, I woke up one non-school morning in Singapore to this on the radio and became obsessed by the chorus and getting hold of a copy on my reel-to-reel (well, dad's technically, but I bought the tape with my pocket money) off the radio - Singapore just didn't have the latest UK hits available on record. Marmalade were in the tail end of their career, as Junior Campbell was about to jump ship for a solo career of fab gospel-tinged singles, but they had a great run of pop singles - though remembered (if at all) for their copycat cover of The Beatles Ob-La-Di, it was the ballads that were the main appeal, from Loving Things in '68, through Baby Make It Soon in '69, and later more quirky tracks like Cousin Norman in '71 and Radancer in '72. Two more million-sellers though, one mentioned, one not...

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th August 2017, 05:09 PM

601. TEMMA HARBOUR - Mary Hopkin (1970) 1,083,500



Talking of Singapore, it was 3 massive fave singles in 3 years for Mary at this time, and no record conjured up the tropical world I was then living in more than this song - OK it was Caribbean-calypso-flavoured, but the lyrics were just so much the world I saw around me, the palm trees, the sand, the sunshine, the exotic locale, and it was a back-to-form improvement after previous Eurovision song Knock Knock Who's There? I only got to hear that track a couple of times, and of course missed the Eurovision Song Contest that year, and 1971, which was quite frustrating as Mary Hopkin was my top fave female singer from late 68 through to this track. Bizarrely, Mary's pleasant, Apple Records career was about to end abruptly - one more minor hit with an Errol (Hot Chocolate) Brown song and that was that for 6 years.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th February 2018, 08:28 PM

OK I got as far as 600, having started with 800. Well, since then there have been some new entries (both new and old from many of the tragic pop star losses of the last 3 years). I won't restart just yet till Rollo ends his countdown (I couldnt meet that pace!) but I will update and match sections of the 850 to 600 - without reviews though for any new entries, other than a highlight in red...

801 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 974600
802 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500
803 GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
804 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
805 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
806 STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 972250
807 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150
808 HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
809 TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
810 MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
811 PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 968200
812 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
813 MAGNIFICENT Hurts 2017 967900
814 SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
815 JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
816 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 966650
817 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
818 GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 966600
819 WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907
820 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
821 OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
822 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200
823 IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
824 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840
825 ALANE Wes 1998 962700
826 EMPIRE STATE OF MIND/ PART 2 Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys 2009 962000
827 THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
828 I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner 1984 961150
829 SOLDIERS Abba 1981 961050
830 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700
831 HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
832 HERE I GO AGAIN Archie Bell And The Drells 1969 959900
833 SINGLE BILINGUAL Pet Shop Boys 1996 959400
834 BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350
835 YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE Gerry & The Pacemakers 1963 959300
836 STARLIGHT Supermen Lovers 2001 958650
837 I’M YOUR MAN Wham! 1985 958400
838 WHEN YOU'RE GONE Bryan Adams/ Melanie C 1998 958100
839 MAKE IT WITH YOU Let Loose 1996 958050
840 EVERYWHERE Fleetwood Mac 1988 957950
841 FANTASY Mariah Carey 1995 957300
842 (I NEVER PROMISED YOU A) ROSE GARDEN Lynn Anderson 1971 956700
843 A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles 1964 956650
844 SAY IT TO ME Pet Shop Boys 2016 954650
845 SHORLEY WALL Ooberman 1998 954300
846 SHAME Eurythmics 1988 953700
847 ONLY YOU CAN Fox 1974 952650
848 GO! M83 featuring Mai Lan 2016 952150
849 TWILIGHT E.L.O. 1981 952050
850 CHINA GIRL David Bowie 1983 950000

Posted by: King Rollo 20th February 2018, 05:11 PM

From those 50 songs we have four matches. Golden Brown is at no.949 in my chart. The other three are still to come so I won't say what they are. Personal Jesus is a great song from Depeche Mode but didn't make it into my chart.

Posted by: The Snake 20th February 2018, 05:23 PM

I do usually really like Donna Summer's stuff but it was 1989 she should have went dancier rather than letting SAW do a poppy production.

The Kelly Llorenna version from 2004 I prefer!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st February 2018, 12:40 PM

Hi Rollo, well that is an 8% crossover rate, so not too bad

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st February 2018, 12:41 PM

Hi Sanakey,

yes I also had mixed feelings about the SAW crossover, but she'd not had a big hit in years and the song was fab

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th March 2018, 07:47 PM

The next 51 update (there has been another new entry pushing everything from 800 down a place):

New entries from the late David Cassidy and the late Prince as new chart runs take his totals close to a million. Midge Ure enters cos I'd omitted it from my year-end chart by mistake, OMD following a live concert, and the rest because they are recent biggies for me.

751 I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
752 RUN BOY RUN Woodkid 2012 1001600
753 IN THE CROSSFIRE Starsailor 2005 1001500
754 DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 1977 1001162
755 JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY Haysi Fantayzee 1982 1000400
756 BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. Beatles 1968 1000000
757 SUNRISE Simply Red 2003 999300
758 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 1989 999150
759 RESCUE ME Madonna 1991 999100
760 SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond 1969 998450

761 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250
762 I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER Hot Gossip/ Sarah Brightman 1978 997950
763 BLUE MONDAY New Order 1983 997850
764 OBSESSION Animotion 1985 997250
765 OH PITY Cashier No 9 2011 995600
766 DON'T TELL ME Madonna 2000 994450
767 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
768 TRUE FEELING Galantis 2017 993350
769 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450
770 SECRETS The Weeknd featuring Tears For Fears 2016 992000

771 TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650
772 OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
773 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300
774 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800
775 (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
776 WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
777 LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
778 BECOME Midge Ure 2015 988400
779 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
780 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850

781 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO Abba 1980 986900
782 SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY Abba 1982 986550
783 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
784 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800
785 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10CC 1976 984900
786 BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
787 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
788 SIGN O’ THE TIMES Prince 1987 982450
789 GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
790 REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600

791 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258
792 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850
793 LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
794 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
795 I’M A CLOWN David Cassidy 1973 978000
796 COULD IT BE FOREVER David Cassidy 1972 977100
797 MAID OF ORLEANS (THE WALTZ JOAN OF ARC) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 1982 976500
798 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
799 STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 975150
800 PRAY Take That 1993 975000
801 RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000

Posted by: King Rollo 14th March 2018, 08:48 PM

Three of that batch are in my chart,He Ain't Heavy at 988 and two more to come. Great songs that just missed out are Maid Of Orleans,Mirror Man,3 Words,Fox On The Run and Hold On Tight.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th March 2018, 07:14 PM

Ooh keeps me guessing! If I had to plump, and I am a plumping man, I'd opt for New Order and Culture Club, I think as most likely.

Posted by: The Hissmobile 16th March 2018, 07:27 PM

Fox On The Run is one of my favourite 70s songs, great song and the synths sound futuristic for the time!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th March 2018, 07:40 PM

yes it's a goodie, and one they wrote themselves - I remember being pleased and relieved they could do it on their own without Mike Chapman/Nicky chinn

Posted by: Good Old Days 24th December 2018, 08:53 AM

No updates

Almost 800 million selling singles.
Not sure if I will have even 100 songs with such huge sales numbers.
My # 1 is somewhere near 2 millions.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th January 2019, 05:01 PM

Hi Alex, sorry for the late reply - just noticed the comment! I'm hoping to re-start this soon after a straight list of all my number ones (then it will be guessing time which turn out on top, as most will chart-toppers bar 10 or 20). I think my top seller is over 9 million (it was in my charts for a decade, hah!), top 3 over 7 million, top 5 6 million, top 8 5 million, top 16 4 million, top 42 3 million, top 105 2 million, and top 762 1 million! I have been charting for 50 years though!

Posted by: Good Old Days 20th January 2019, 06:43 AM

My virtual total sales are much lower, possibly I will have the similar number of million-selling singles with UK from the start in 1949 to the last year.
I'm not a fan of the current pop scene, so don't have million-selling singles from last 5 years.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2019, 04:30 PM

Time to get back to this rundown. I'd got to number 600 several times before new entries kept messing things up, and I took a break from it. There has now been another 15 new tracks or oldies enter above 600, meaning I have 15 more to review before I get back to 600 again!

Here's the bottom end with unreviewed new entries in red: for info the (previous) figures and (NEW) are relative to my listing at the turn of the century 19 years ago, so a lot of new entries in 2 decades almost...

616 377 TEMMA HARBOUR Mary Hopkin 1970 1083500
617 379 MY LITTLE ONE Marmalade 1971 1082400
618 380 YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT Desmond Dekker 1970 1082400
619 386 PARTY FEARS TWO Associates 1982 1082150
620 381 I WANT YOU Savage Garden 1997 1082150

621 382 FREE AS A BIRD Beatles 1995 1081400
622 NEW DON'T YOU WORRY CHILD Swedish House Mafia/ John Martin 2012 1081400
623 383 THE LOOK OF LOVE ABC 1982 1080950
624 385 LOVE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP Robert Knight 1968 1079300
625 387 AIRPORT Motors 1978 1079000
626 388 MY COO CA CHOO Alvin Stardust 1973 1078750
627 NEW FRIDAY'S CHILD Will Young 2004 1078750
628 389 MONY MONY Tommy James & The Shondells 1968 1078700
629 391 WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME Monaco 1997 1077450
630 NEW GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU The Bee Gees 1968 1077450

631 NEW WHEN DOVES CRY Prince 1984 1077300
632 393 HEAD OVER HEELS Abba 1982 1076250
633 NEW WUTHERING HEIGHTS Kate Bush 1978 1076212
634 394 IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE Roxette 1990 1076100
635 NEW OH MY GOD Kaiser Chiefs 2005 1075850
636 NEW RHYTHM IS A DANCER Snap! 1992 1074850
637 395 NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate 1980 1074800
638 NEW WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER Texas 1999 1074450
639 396 E=MC2 Big Audio Dynamite 1986 1072100
640 400 BLACK VELVET Alannah Myles 1990 1072000

641 397 RETURN TO INNOCENCE Enigma 1994 1071000
642 NEW TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles 1965 1070550
643 398 I WANT YOU BACK N-Sync 1998 1070200
644 NEW SKY Sonique 2000 1070100
645 NEW HE LOVES U NOT Dream 2001 1069250
646 NEW RIDING INTO BLUE (COWBOY SONG) Inga 1990 1067650
647 399 WIG WAM BAM Sweet 1972 1067200
648 401 I AM...I SAID Neil Diamond 1971 1064800
649 402 WILD WOOD Paul Weller 1993 1064650
650 449 THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL Michael Jackson 1987 1063800

651 NEW COMMON PEOPLE Pulp 1995 1063100
652 NEW SUBURBIA Pet Shop Boys 1986 1062050
653 NEW UP ON THE ROOF The Drifters 1962 1060550
654 NEW MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF The Walker Brothers 1966 1060300
655 403 LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU Robbie Williams 1998 1059350
656 404 WALKING ON THE MOON Police 1979 1058650
657 414 LOVE SHACK B52's 1989 1055400
658 NEW GET TOGETHER Madonna 2006 1055250
659 406 I DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE Jane Child 1990 1054950
660 407 MONKEY George Michael 1988 1054750

661 NEW JUST DANCE Lady Gaga 2009 1054250
662 NEW MARRY YOU Bruno Mars 2011 1051050
663 NEW DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys 1988 1050900
664 408 OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys 1986 1046200
665 409 TROUBLE Lindsey Buckingham 1981 1045850
666 410 OUR LIPS ARE SEALED Fun Boy Three 1983 1045750
667 411 JE T'AIME...MOI NON PLUS Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 1969 1044950
668 412 UNDER ATTACK Abba 1982 1044800
669 NEW HOUSE OF CARDS Red Sky July 2016 1043950
670 NEW BRIGHT LIGHTS BIGGER CITY Cee-Lo Green/ Wiz Khalifa 2011 1043550

671 NEW ALONE AGAIN OR Love 1968 1043350
672 485 THRILLER Michael Jackson 1983 1043150
673 NEW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES Mark Brown/ Sarah Cracknell 2008 1042900
674 413 GENO Dexy's Midnight Runners 1980 1042600
675 460 TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART Bonnie Tyler 1983 1042450
676 NEW GRENADE Bruno Mars 2011 1042400
677 NEW LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud 1974 1041770
678 NEW COOL Gwen Stefani 2005 1041500
679 415 (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER Jackie Wilson 1967 1039750
680 418 THE LOCOMOTION Little Eva 1962 1039200

681 NEW TAKE ON ME a-ha 1985 1038750
682 NEW CARELESS WHISPER George Michael 1984 1038700
683 NEW KILLER Adamski featuring Seal 1990 1038350
684 NEW HEY YA Outkast 2003 1037950
685 419 GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA Cliff Richard 1970 1037300
686 424 TUSK Fleetwood Mac 1979 1037100
687 420 SCREAM Michael/Janet Jackson 1995 1037050
688 NEW HUNG UP Madonna 2005 1036850
689 NEW HOTTER THAN HELL Dua Lipa 2016 1035300
690 NEW SHOOT THE DOG George Michael/ Human League 2002 1035250

691 NEW ONLY YOU Yazoo 1982 1034600
692 421 NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE Bucks Fizz 1982 1033850
693 422 HUMAN BEINGS Seal 1998 1033250
694 NEW MY GIRL Temptations 1965 1032600
695 425 JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES Cher 1989 1030250
696 426 THE REFLEX Duran Duran 1984 1030200
697 NEW I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR U2 1987 1029850
698 NEW GET OUTTA MY WAY Kylie Minogue 2010 1029200
699 NEW I WALK ALONE Cher 2014 1029200
700 427 UNINVITED Alanis Morissette 1998 1028850

701 NEW A THING CALLED LOVE Johnny Cash 1972 1027950
702 428 BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU Foundations 1967 1027400
703 NEW STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 1980 1026950
704 NEW SUPERSTAR Jamelia 2003 1026100
705 429 TELEGRAM SAM T.Rex 1972 1025008
706 NEW DARE Gorillaz/ Shaun Ryder 2005 1024850
707 430 THE EYES OF TRUTH Enigma 1994 1024450
708 431 COME UNDONE Duran Duran 1993 1024300
709 NEW ANNIE YOU SAVE ME Graffiti6 2010 1023950
710 NEW SLOOP JOHN B The Beach Boys 1966 1023450

711 NEW SOUND AND VISION David Bowie 1977 1023365
712 433 THE LEBANON Human League 1984 1022400
713 434 PERFECT DAY Lou Reed & friends 1997 1022100
714 NEW PAINT IT BLACK The Rolling Stones 1966 1022000
715 435 STARS China Black 1994 1021300
716 NEW DIRTY DIANA Michael Jackson 1988 1020250
717 NEW EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE The Police 1983 1019950
718 450 AMERICAN PIE Don McLean 1972 1019400
719 438 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette 1989 1018500
719 440 STOP LOVING ME STOP LOVING YOU Daryl Hall 1994 1018000
720 NEW I'M WITH STUPID Pet Shop Boys 2006 1017400

722 441 PAPA DON'T PREACH Madonna 1986 1016100
723 442 EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol 1984 1015000
724 NEW LOVE ETC Pet Shop Boys 2009 1014700
725 472 DA YA THINK I'M SEXY? Rod Stewart 1978 1014000
726 NEW SUMMERTIME SADNESS Lana Del Ray vs Cedric Gervais 2013 1013550
727 NEW IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND Agnetha Faltskog 2004 1013350
728 NEW (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION The Rolling Stones 1965 1013300
729 444 LUCKY MAN Verve 1997 1012900
730 NEW MATHEMATICS Cherry Ghost 2007 1012650

731 446 BLACK AND WHITE Greyhound 1971 1011000
732 451 CARNAVAL DE PARIS Dario G 1998 1010900
733 NEW ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS Paloma Faith 2014 1009550
734 NEW BABY LOVE The Supremes 1964 1008850
735 447 I HEAR YOU NOW Jon & Vangelis 1980 1008450
736 NEW ALL THE YOUNG DUDES Mott The Hoople 1972 1008350
737 NEW MY NAME IS JACK Manfred Mann 1968 1006650
738 NEW UNFINISHED SYMPATHY Massive Attack 1991 1006550
739 452 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond 1970 1005400
740 NEW CHASING PAVEMENTS Adele 2008 1005350

741 453 MISS YOU NIGHTS Cliff Richard 1976 1005300
742 NEW IT’S ALRIGHT Pet Shop Boys 1989 1005300
743 465 LOVE ME DO Beatles 1962 1004100
744 NEW FAIRYTALE Alexander Rybak 2009 1003950
745 NEW I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BUT I CAN'T GIVE IT ANYMORE Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003900
746 454 YOU DON'T KNOW ME Armand Van Helden/ Duane Harden 1999 1003800
747 NEW NO MILK TODAY Herman's Hermits 1967 1003800
748 NEW JUMP Madonna 2006 1003600
749 NEW GOOD RIDDANCE (TIME OF YOUR LIFE) Glen Campbell 2008 1003500
750 455 I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING Pet Shop Boys 1993 1003450

751 NEW THE DARK IS RISING Mercury Rev 2001 1003100
752 NEW FOOTSTEPS Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003050
753 NEW STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 1002950
754 456 DID YOU EVER Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood 1971 1002700
755 NEW THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE Percy Faith 1960 1002500
756 457 LAST STOP: THIS TOWN Eels 1998 1002400
757 NEW DELILAH Tom Jones 1968 1002250
758 NEW I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
759 NEW IN THE CROSSFIRE Starsailor 2005 1001500
760 NEW DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 1977 1001162

761 458 JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY Haysi Fantayzee 1982 1000400
762 459 BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. Beatles 1968 1000000
763 NEW SUNRISE Simply Red 2003 999300
764 461 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 1989 999150
765 462 RESCUE ME Madonna 1991 999100
766 NEW SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond 1969 998450
767 468 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250
768 463 I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER Hot Gossip/ Sarah Brightman 1978 997950
769 464 BLUE MONDAY New Order 1983 997850
770 466 OBSESSION Animotion 1985 997250

771 NEW OH PITY Cashier No 9 2011 995600
772 NEW DON'T TELL ME Madonna 2000 994450
773 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
774 NEW TRUE FEELING Galantis 2017 993350
775 469 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450
776 NEW SECRETS The Weeknd featuring Tears For Fears 2016 992000
777 NEW TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650
778 NEW OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
779 470 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300
780 471 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800

781 NEW (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
782 NEW WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
783 NEW LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
784 NEW BECOME Midge Ure 2015 988400
785 473 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
786 474 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850
787 475 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO Abba 1980 986900
788 NEW SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY Abba 1982 986550
789 476 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
790 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800

791 478 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10CC 1976 984900
792 NEW BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
793 NEW 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
794 NEW SIGN O’ THE TIMES Prince 1987 982450
795 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
796 NEW REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600
797 479 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258
798 480 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850
799 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 978850
800 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650



801 482 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
802 NEW I’M A CLOWN David Cassidy 1973 978000
803 NEW COULD IT BE FOREVER David Cassidy 1972 977100
804 NEW MAID OF ORLEANS (THE WALTZ JOAN OF ARC) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 1982 976500
805 483 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
806 NEW PRAY Take That 1993 975000
807 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
808 NEW MONSTERS Saara Aalto 2018 974650
809 484 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 974600
810 490 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500

811 NEW GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
812 487 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
813 488 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
814 489 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150
815 NEW HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
816 NEW TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
817 NEW MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
818 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 968200
819 491 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
820 NEW MAGNIFICENT Hurts 2017 967900

821 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
822 NEW JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
823 492 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 966650
824 493 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
825 NEW GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 966600
826 NEW DIAMOND HEART Alan Walker & Sophia Somajo 2018 965000
827 NEW WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907
828 495 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
829 NEW OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
830 496 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200

831 NEW IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
832 497 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840
833 498 ALANE Wes 1998 962700
834 NEW EMPIRE STATE OF MIND/ PART 2 Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys 2009 962000
835 NEW THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
836 NEW SOLDIERS Abba 1981 961050
837 499 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700
838 NEW HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
839 NEW HERE I GO AGAIN Archie Bell And The Drells 1969 959900
840 500 SINGLE BILINGUAL Pet Shop Boys 1996 959400

841 NEW BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350
842 NEW YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE Gerry & The Pacemakers 1963 959300
843 NEW STARLIGHT Supermen Lovers 2001 958650
844 NEW I’M YOUR MAN Wham! 1985 958400
845 NEW WHEN YOU'RE GONE Bryan Adams/ Melanie C 1998 958100
846 NEW MAKE IT WITH YOU Let Loose 1996 958050
847 NEW EVERYWHERE Fleetwood Mac 1988 957950
848 NEW FANTASY Mariah Carey 1995 957300
849 NEW (I NEVER PROMISED YOU A) ROSE GARDEN Lynn Anderson 1971 956700
850 NEW A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles 1964 956650

851 NEW SAY IT TO ME Pet Shop Boys 2016 954650
852 NEW SHORLEY WALL Ooberman 1998 954300
853 NEW SHAME Eurythmics 1988 953700
854 NEW ONLY YOU CAN Fox 1974 952650
855 NEW GO! M83 featuring Mai Lan 2016 952150
856 NEW TWILIGHT E.L.O. 1981 952050
857 NEW CHINA GIRL David Bowie 1983 950000

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2019, 04:35 PM

615. MERCY MERCY ME/I WANT YOU Robert Palmer (1991) 1,085,100

Robert Palmer's only listed track is also a cover of a fab track off Marvin Gaye's timeless classic album What's Going On, mixed with a cover of Gaye's I Want You, neither of them UK hits in the original versions, criminally. Robert did a fab tasteful mash-up, though, still sounds good, and the message is even more desperately relevant than it was in 1971, and 1991.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2019, 04:45 PM

614. WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME/CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU Pet Shop Boys (1991) 1,085,100

By pure coincidence, another cover version mash-up from 1991 on the exact same points, this time from the Pet Shop Boys, back in pop mode after the relative chart underperfomances of the Behaviour album tracks. This one is hilarious from start to end: the boys decided to take the piss out of U2 who were getting very Oh-so-serious with their own mythological rock images and work after the brilliant The Joshua Tree, and covered the rattling rock Where The Streets Have No Name from the album to great effect by mashing it up with one of the campest gay dance covers of a Frankie Valli classic from The Boystown Gang as the inspiration. Cue cowboy suits, a romping dance pop track, a big hit, and U2 changing creative direction into a more experimental phase, and no bombast.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2019, 04:52 PM

613. TRUE FAITH New Order (1987) 1,086,000

New Order's masterpiece - sorry Blue Order is also in the list but this is my fave, and here by virtue of the Quincy Jones 90's remix which took it to the top of my charts after it had merely gone top 5 first time round. Shockingly it's not the top-rated New Order track, and neither is Blue Monday, there's one more yet to come and a gold star to anyone who can guess what it is. No chance! This rhythm is just gorgeously insistent, the video is quirky and fab, and just an all-round perfect record in it's original form, though the remix is pretty damn fine too, tweeked but not ruined. No it's not a clue, it's not Ruined In A Day....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 7th February 2019, 09:48 AM

612. DANGEROUS - Roxette (1990) 1,086,150

Here by virtue of having a good run as an American hit while I was on holiday in Florida for the first time in spring 1990, followed by double A-side UK success along with a reissued Look Into Your Heart, they got listed together by which time my affections had switched to Look Into Your Heart, so it's position here is extremely flattered because in those days I listed double A sides together - these days they would be split away from one another and this wouldn't have made the top 600. Indeed it's not even one of their 10 best records, yet here it is the highest of 3 entries on the list. That's the problem with chart sales and double A sides





611. THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics (1985) 1,086,650

An OTT tongue-in-cheek entry from Annie & Dave gives them the second of 3 entries on the list, plus one more for Annie to come. Normally they go for dark lyrics on uptempo synth beats, or later, stadium rock, this one was a bit of fun, wailing angels & harps incorporated, and they nabbed Stevie Wonder for the harmonica solo to boot. There aren't enough harmonica solo's in pop anymore! Even the video is a right ol' laugh.

Posted by: King Rollo 7th February 2019, 01:43 PM

Good to see this back again. Once you can get beyond number 600,it will all be downhill from there.

I'll have a guess at Fine Time to be the New Order song still to come.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th February 2019, 10:23 AM

Thanks Rollo, 600 is the magic number! The New Order track is not Fine Time sadly (though I liked that one)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th February 2019, 10:35 AM

610. ONE LAST NIGHT Vaults (2015) 1,087,250

From the Fifty Shades Of Grey soundtrack, and not a hit, which is so unfair as it's sensitive, classy and fab. Vaults has never really had a commercial breakthrough which is a great shame. Introduced to me by our own HarryEzra as a rare (for me) after-plug session of new tracks to comment on and I fell in love with it immediately. Fab!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th February 2019, 07:25 PM

609. PUT YOURSELF IN MY PLACE - Kylie Minogue (1994) 1,087,400



The one that turned me into a bonafide Kylie fan, her early stuff had a few good poppy disposable hits among the more mundane, then she changed her image with Better The Devil You Know and started a great run of singles before going indie away from stock Aitken & Waterman. I loved the hook and the video to this one. Anything with outer space, and throw in Barbarella influences, and I'm convinced. In retrospect it's not quite up Better The Devil, Step Back In Time, and Confide In Me, but it's still pretty fab, and the first and earliest of 6 Kylie tracks on the list.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th February 2019, 07:32 PM

608. TELL IT TO MY HEART - Taylor Dayne (1988) 1,087,450



a triffic 1987 synth dance track with a biiiig diva sensibility and sung with passion by Taylor, I adored this one in January 1988, not long after I'd returned from California and the South-West, so I was well up for US dance tracks that had a bit of Pet Shop Boys feel to them. Covered to much lesser effect a decade on, the original is the best, and the video is also a goodie, wiping the floor with rivals in the days of teen girl idols like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th February 2019, 07:46 PM

607. ROCK & ROLL PART 2 - Gary Glitter (1972) 1,088,550



His entire record career now tarnished beyond redemption, let's just instead focus on Mike Leander who was the brains and production driving force behind Gary Glitter records and the Glitter Band's similarly blokey tribal chanting side career, who have also suffered from the fall-out This former stadium anthem was a tribal-drum worldwide hit, and huge in the USA too, unlike all of Glitter's follow-up's in the UK where he went from strength to strength and inspired acts like Joan Jett. Part 1 had the ego-on-legs-who-killed-off-the-name-Gary singing, but it was the instrumental (bar the hey hey's) flip that was the big hit and the best Mike Leander-produced record.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th February 2019, 07:55 PM

606. YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) - Dead Or Alive (1984) 1,090,200



This Hi-NRG groundbreaker took ages from debuting in 1984 to top both the UK and my charts in 1985, a real grower and much-loved classic now, I had to argue how fab it was to an older work-colleague who headed the team of 3 as we surveyed half of the roads in Dorset in the mid-80's - we had a radio in the van switched to radio 1. I was right and he was wrong, let's leave it at that. It was the start of a great run of similar-sounding singles, and made the late Pete Burns quite famous, what with his androgyny and all things Scouse being top of the hit parade in those days. Oh, yes, it also started that SAW-sound in a good way before they took over the charts entirely and became a minor nuisance circa 1988/89.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th March 2019, 07:35 PM

Hey Ho, been another track go up into the 600, so everything gets shifted down one place again - I really should have thought this through and frozen it at one point or other!

606. THAT LOOK IN YOUR EYE - Ali Campbell featuring Pamela Starks (1995) 1,090,750



I literally haven't heard this in 23 years, it's never played on radio or anywhere else, and I've never reviewed 1995 charts, so first impression is - it's sweet, but what's it doing in my list?! I think I liked the melody, and Ali's voice is so under-rated and unique, Pamela (who?) does a good job too and I'm a sucker for duets. He was taking a break from UB40 at the time, these days he's taking a much longer break, but has turned 2 of his former mates to record & tour as their own version of UB40 away from his brother's name-holding version. Outrageously there are no UB40 tracks on my list, not Food For Thought, Kingston Town or Don't Break My Heart (all much better) and not Red Red Wine or Can't Help falling In Love, their actual chart-toppers.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th March 2019, 07:44 PM

605. SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) - Eurythmics (1983) 1,091,900



Talking of duo's (rather than duets) here's Dave n Annie's breakthrough synth classic, still fresh, menacing, exciting, passionately cold, and a genuinely brilliant record from a consistently great 80's act. The video was groundbreaking too, Annie going all gender-bending from the woman's point of view, and let's not forget her powerfully immaculate vocals. Sadly this is the highest of Eurythmics' 3 great singles on my list, no room for near-misses like Sex Crime (1984), nor fab tracks like Here Comes The Rain Again and Love Is A Stranger. Annie will be back though.....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th March 2019, 07:52 PM

604. IMITATION OF LIFE - REM (2001) 1,095,250



First off, this later-career track from REM hooked me with the fabulous video - I actually bought the DVD single (yes they used to have such a thing!) cos I couldn't get enough of all the fascinating people in and composition of the video, and the record was beautifully jangly REM, far away from dirge-REM who tended to get on my nerves (bar the brilliant Find The River). It's their only listing, so is it their best record? No. That's clearly Losing My Religion, which I chart-under-appreciated at the time, and it needs a big movie moment to give it a boost again. Their biggest chart-song otherwise for me, though, was Crush With Eyeliner (see Captain Marvel for more), though I also was partial to a cover of Tommy James' Draggin' The Line....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd March 2019, 05:18 PM

603. THE CRUNCH - The Rah Band (1977) 1,095,350

It was the summer of '77, Punk Rock & Disco ruled, and electronic music was stirring, I had left school and was waiting to go to Uni, and Elvis died suddenly. This topped my charts, a sort of semi-synth/semi-funky quirky instrumental with random noises, and Richard Hewson gathered some folk together for a TOTP appearance that was striking, but ruined by having to do a pre-record with the generally-bored TOTP orchestra. So one of those are here, followed by the original better record. The Rah Band went on to jazz-funk smooth 80's dance with Clouds Across The Moon, and Hewson, well he'd already had a career as an arranger for The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Cliff, Fleetwood Mac, and the arrangement for the band Jigsaw (Sky High) who were to be my very first live gig a few months later at Uni, so having some Rah Band time to himself for a decade or so was only fair.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd March 2019, 05:34 PM

602. FOOTSEE - Wigans Chosen Few (1968/1975) 1,095,600

The Wigan Casino Northern Soul nights were legendary in the early 70's among teens, and the reason so many obscure 60's tracks cluttered up the UK charts of the late 60's and early 70's, as kids travelled far and wide to get their Oxford Bags trousers flapping around the dancefloor, especially lads showing off their fitness, and tight tops, tight crotch and baggy 30's-retro-styled baggy trouser-legs (see clip)




Footsie wasn't the greatest-ever Northern Soul track (plenty more of those to come) but it went top 5 for me in 1975 ahead of a 12" reissue in 1977 at a time I was doing an oldies chart to exclude all the hordes of 12" and picture-disc and singles sets that were out in 1976/78. Dating from 1968, and an obscure Canadian Band The Chosen Few, Footsee became one of the first remixes - essentially overdubbed with car noises and stuff, speeded up, and crowd chanting thrown in - for a bit of a laugh. Should this be in the chart? NO! It wouldn't be if not for the reissue, and when I see awesome classics like John Lennon's #9 Dream (in the charts of 1975 at that time) not in the list, I feel like rewriting my own chart history Yet there it is, warts and all. The dancing's great though.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd March 2019, 05:42 PM

601. FLY BY II - Blue (2002) 1,096,850

This was a great pop track for a boyband that got a lot of stick. Always a bit more adult than your average group of 4 lads singing someone else's songs and productions, and at least they weren't all whiter than bland white pretty-boy 17-year-olds. They could sing, they had personality. Fly By II was their best record, though others, like debut Rise Up, or even their quite successful comeback via Eurovision, I Can, were pretty good too. Yes those were the days when the UK entered tracks that got top 5 of the Eurovision popular vote, aaahh good times.....!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd March 2019, 05:45 PM

and with that I'm freezing the top 600, no more new entries! The rest of the countdown will stay consistent and I may move the top 500 to the personal charts thread, see how it goes!

Posted by: dandy* 22nd March 2019, 06:31 PM

That REM track is great, it's definitely one of their best so nice to see it appear in here

Posted by: King Rollo 23rd March 2019, 12:02 AM

I remember The Crunch was in the chart around the same time as Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre and Magic Fly by Space. All of them were synth based instrumentals which were a big contrast to the ballads,disco and pop songs that I was used to seeing performed on Top Of The Pops.

I remember that Footsee song as well,great choice.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2019, 07:17 PM

Glad you like it dandy* I wasnt sure anyone else would agree so

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2019, 07:23 PM

Yes indeed, and I went HUGE on Donna Summer I Feel Love, The Crunch, Magic Fly and Oxygene (the whole album) in the space of 3 or 4 months. Sadly Oxygene Pt 4 only peaked at 2 in my chart and missed out on the rundown but Jean-Michel Jarre has another on the list, happily. It sounded like the sound of the future to me, all the synths, whereas punk sounded like the past, albeit a DIY anyone-can-have-a-go past with attitude. There are no punk tracks on my list, though New Wave is represented muchly as it got a bit more sophisticated in sound.

Cheers Rollo, glad you liked Footsee, a bit of fun

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2019, 07:30 PM

SO, TA DAH! THE TOP 600. GOT HERE AT LAST!

600. NEW YORK - Paloma Faith (2009) 1,097,150

It's hard to believe this is a decade old, I still think of it as recent, but there you go the wondrous Paloma has been having hits for 10 years. I loved her brand of quirky passionate soul right from the get-go, she's engaging, unique and great in concert, her stage sets as arty as her dress style. New York is the 2nd of 4 on the list for her, and got overshadowed in the collective memory by another New York track at the time (also on the list for Alicia Keys & Jay-Z, Empire State Of Mind). Paloma currently holds my chart-topper as I write, so a bit of a career stayer for me!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2019, 07:51 PM

599. CIRCLE IN THE SAND - Belinda Carlisle (1988) 1,097,300

Belinda first charted with The Gogos, We Got The Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed and others, before striking out on a solo career that had a fab run of good pop singles well into the 90's, starting with the massive Heaven Is A Place On Earth, and including the terrific Leave A Light On and We want The Same Thing, among many. This was her only chart-topper for me, though, it's just a great song, nice melody, from her regular hitmakers Rick Nowels & Ellen Shipley. Rick will be back another 8 times with some of his other big songs for or with other acts (Dido, Lana Del Ray, Melanie C, Santana, Ronan Keating, Sonique, New Radicals, Texas) but here's a list of some acts for which he's written some of their best material that didn't make the list: Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion, Madonna, Robert Miles, Geri Halliwell, Craig David. While more recently: Sia, Keith Urban, Chase & Status, Lykke Li, Marina & The Diamonds, Nelly Furtado, loads more Lana Del Ray, Foxes, FKA Twigs, Tom Odell, Dua Lipa, Kesha, Alessia Cara...

Go on, admit you never knew who he was and that he was still relevant... Songwriters write the hits that you love...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd March 2019, 08:04 PM

598. TWO FUX - Adam Lambert (2017) 1,098,300

The Freddie Mercury substitute-vocalist of choice for Queen, a USA singing competition winner, and a great act generally making interesting stuff, this topped my chart 2 years ago, quite deservedly. I generally get annoyed with gratuitous use of swear-words in pop music, acts choosing to swear then artistically compromising themselves immediately with bleeps to make sure they get the sales. If you don't need the swearword leave it out (half the current charts are guilty of this habit as invariably the word is irrelevant or just highlighting how they haven't really got anything remotely of interest to say). In this case it's in the title, it's the hook, and it's the whole point of the playful, melodic, clever autobiographical song. He doesn't give Two Fux, as he says it's his "mission statement" and that includes making a video, or getting it bleeped to get radio play. Power to you Adam. Fab.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th June 2019, 06:27 PM

597. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - Foreigner (1984) 1,099,050

Far and away the best thing Foreigner ever did, the UK/US rock band had a good run of 70's rock tracks like Feels Like The First Time and Cold As Ice, before turning towards MOR ballads like Waiting For A Girl Like You, but hit the jackpot with this gospel-flavoured passionate gem. The Lou Gram vocal is good, the rousing gospel choir finale is fabulous, and the fade-out Patti Labelle solo is just spine-tingling, boosting her profile a decade after Lady Marmalade. Topping the UK and US charts both, deservedly.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th June 2019, 06:36 PM

596. BRASS IN POCKET - The Pretenders (1979) 1,099,250

As the 70's drew to a close in my final year at Uni, and at home for Xmas and New Year, this fab track was on the "up" and was the first new chart-topper of the 80's for both me and the UK charts. Jangly New Wave was rarely done better than the Sandie-Shaw vocal stylings of former-US-Music Journalist Chrissie Hynde and her kicking band. I saw them in concert the following year when they were hot and hungry - and then tragically 2 of the band were dead within months. Chrissie has effectively been the band since then, total legend, a UK-based icon of the period. They had further great singles like Don't Get Me Wrong through the 80's, and plenty of guest vocal spots for Chrissie (including 2 more UK chart-toppers with UB40 and Cher & co), but this is the only one on the run-down. Pity!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th June 2019, 06:46 PM

595. JOHN I'M ONLY DANCING - David Bowie (1972) 1,099, 650

David Bowie. I'd missed Space Oddity entirely, it never turned up on Singapore radio, so by the time I was back in the UK in 1972 I had no inkling who he was - the first time I saw him was Kiddie TV show Lift Off With Ayshea, a pop music show on ITV which had current and forthcoming pop music stars: and on marched David Bowie doing his trial run for spangly spandex alien-looking gender-bending classic Top Of The Pops' performance of Starman, the record that gave us Ziggy Stardust and a superstar artist. I loved it. I loved this follow-up non-album track even more, SO exciting with it's riffs, rocking out, and the video here was actually shown on TOTP to make it even more exciting, as a nation of boys started to get the Bowie haircut (or Rod Stewart feathered haircut was the other biggie) school-rules permitting. Still love this one, but it didn't top my charts in '72, nor in '79 when it was a double A-side of alternate versions, one a rubbish discofunk experiment, the version that got no radio airplay was pretty much like the '72 version, the original single version that topped my chart in the Bowie chart invasion following his unexpected death in 2016.

Posted by: King Rollo 15th June 2019, 11:03 PM

I Want To Know What Love Is still sounds great. I love the use of the gospel choir long before it became common in pop or rock songs. Waiting For A Girl Like You is a good song as well (the then unknown Thomas Dolby played synths on that one). Brass In Pocket is a good one,my favourite Pretenders single is I Go To Sleep from 1981.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd June 2019, 06:01 PM

Thanks Rollo, yes still sounds good that Foreigner track. I didnt know Thomas Dolby was on Waiting For A Girl! I love I Go To Sleep, seems to get forgotten that one, another Ray Davies track (along with Stop Your Sobbing) and her partner for a while ol' Ray..

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd June 2019, 06:23 PM

594. SAVE ME - Clodagh Rodgers (1976) 1,100,600

Hands up who expected this one? Thought not. Hands up who's heard this one? Thought not. Clodagh is a Northern Irish lass who had a string UK pop hit singles from 1969 through to Jack In The Box, the UK song for Eurovision in 1971 which all but killed her singles career off, bar one more minor hit, thanks to Engelbert nicking her other Eurovision song before she could release it as a follow-up hit (he hit 13)...and that was it for Clodagh in the charts, though she carried on doing variety shows on TV until 1976, when she released Save Me to radio airplay success, not once but twice, after it failed to chart in '76, as a remix in '77, and then again as an oldie a year later. That's why it appears in the list, 3 chart runs without actually troubling my top 3. A bit more sultry and slower than hits of yore, and a song that was a hit in several other countries when it got covered by other acts such as Clout and Merrilee Rush. Robbed! Probably her best record, and I had nostalgic affection for childhood fave Clodagh that made me a fan of this song at the time. It's still pleasant.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd June 2019, 06:39 PM

593. 10538 OVERTURE - The Electric Light Orchestra (1972) 1,101,200

This was one of those "wow" moments when I heard this. I'd already been a fan of The Move for 5 years or so, especially Blackberry Way, and California Man had just rocked itself into the charts for Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne & Bev Bevan, when lo and behold they morphed into this experimental orchestral-based rock act always owing a nod of the head to The Beatles. 10538 Overture was on Top Of The Pops and it sounded other-worldly, what with all the cellos and the dark lyrics, a haunting guitar riff (nicked by Paul Weller in the 90's to much lesser effect), and those catchy ah-ah ah-ah ahh's. So much going on and a fab toon to boot, along with Jeff's great vocal, and me lovin' the mysterious number as the title. It topped my chart, and was the launching pad to fave teen act of 73/74 after Roy Wood fell out with Jeff Lynne and opted to create Wizzard and do solo albums, while Jeff took ELO to massive fabulous 70's success and beyond. I loved them both, so the fall-out worked out fine for me. Yay! The third of 9 ELO tracks of the list, and the first of 5 Roy Wood-related tracks. Just brilliant.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd June 2019, 06:46 PM

592. MOULDY OLD DOUGH - Lieutenant Pigeon (1972) 1,101,500

The title says it all for this UK chart-topper, also in 1972 when it peaked at 2 in my charts, with a re-issue pushing it into the listing - sadly! Definitely doesn't deserve it, I mean it was a bit of ragtime fun for the guys of Stavely Makepeace and their piano-tinkling mum having a surprise novelty monster hit. Oddly, the follow-up Desperate Dan (pretty much the same song) DID top my chart when my actual fave kept dropping out the chart (which meant out of my chart too) - I'm On My Way To A Better Place by Chairmen Of The Board was a soul goodie better than either fluffy bits of fun. Ah well, at least Dan's not on the list.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th June 2019, 03:37 PM

591. AIN'T NO SUNSHINE - Bill Withers (1971) 1,101,500

First of two on the rundown - two for Bill Withers, and two versions of Ain't No Sunshine. This '71 US biggie flopped in the UK, where we had to wait another year for the soul coolness of Bill Withers to hit, and Bill had to wait for late 80's remixes and subsequent entries of the original version to make my charts - so this is entirely based on "after the event" "sales". Such a great song, a great version, and still not the best version. It's that good. There is a live version stripped-back in the studio which is nearly as good, Bill was just fab, I wish he would do some new stuff. Included that performance to catch him at his mature best in real life settings.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th June 2019, 03:48 PM

590. BORN TO RUN - Bruce Springsteen (1975) 1,103,650

Bruce had a slow build to a career, and then "overnight" was heralded as "the future of rock'n'roll" when this track came out as the lead track off his album, hitting in the States, and getting airplay on radio in the UK - and not a hit! Yes, this major landmark classic was a flop, and is yet to chart in the brilliant Phil-Spector Wall-of-sound epic original anthem version. It's hard to believe, I know, I bought it, and charted it, it was obvious it was fab, but the UK is always anti-hype even when it's true-hype. What was selling in bucketloads of drivel back then? D.I.V.O.R.C.E by Billy Connolly, Trail Of The Lonesome Pine by Laurel & Hardy (not drivel, just whimsical). OK, not fair, there was also Bo Rap, Space Oddity, You Sexy Thing, Mamma Mia and assorted classics too, but there was space for Brooooce too! Ah well, he has the last laugh, still releasing chart-topping albums and still making great albums, with a whole consistent body of work throughout - none of which appear in my rundown apart from this one.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th June 2019, 04:00 PM

589. ENJOY THE SILENCE - Depeche Mode (1990) 1,104,350

I saw the lads in Sheffield in 1981 when Vince hadn't buggered off to Erasure and Yazoo, and who would have thought that the teeny synth band would morph into an influential industrial synth band, firstly via pop chart success, and then worldwide album success and touring, predominantly? Not me! By the time this came out they'd just delivered their best track to date with Personal Jesus (on the rundown, and lower), and then went and bettered it with Enjoy The Silence topping my chart in 1990 while I was on my first-ever Florida holiday. It was in a record store off Orange-Blossom Trail in Orlando called Peaches that I got all sweaty and excited about the stuff I had available to buy - like maxi-CD-singles of both of these, with lots of remixes and bonus tracks. I even bought two copies so I could sell at profit in the UK, still wrapped and mint, sometime down the line. Never did though! This thing called the internet came along and ruined my plans, as scarce stuff stopped being scarce. Outrageous!

Posted by: King Rollo 24th June 2019, 08:51 PM

Great to see 10538 Overture here. It was number 644 on my countdown. I was seven when it came out so I only became aware of it when I started buying ELO's early albums around 1982.

Enjoy The Silence I have at number 179. One of their best songs certainly.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th June 2019, 11:32 AM

Thanks Rollo, yes we nearly had the same position for ELO Enjoy Th Silence could do with a good film slot to give it a boost in my charts, it prob should be 100 or 200 places higher, at least.

Posted by: dandy* 26th June 2019, 01:07 PM

I am enjoying many of your inclusions however am increasingly nervous and concerned that we may be counting down to Human

Posted by: dandy* 26th June 2019, 01:08 PM

Ps Enjoy the Silence is quite possibly my favourite ever single.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th June 2019, 06:47 PM

Oh you can tell from it's chart run it's done well It, however, is nowhere near the top 40. I'm only human! You can sleep easy...

Enjoy The Silence is a great choice of "poss fave ever single" it never sounds boring from overplay, has loads in the production that peeks through, and is subtly dark and yet tuneful and upbeat.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 09:08 AM

588. SE A VIDA ES (THAT'S THE WAY LIFE IS) - Pet Shop Boys (1996) 1,104,500

Back in latin-rhythm territory 8 years on from Domino Dancing, this lead single off Bilingual was probably the last of their biggish hits, one non-fans would know, and drew the first decade to a close, as the lads moved into a more fan-base and still-critically-acclaimed direction. The drums on this are fab, underpinning an uplifting melody with a hint of wistfulness, and it sorta moved into the boys "I'm gay" statements, having previously never talked about their private lives, and the video chock-full of topless young men cavorting in a pool and at the beach amid a more general "diversity is fab" footage and message. The key verse?

"Why do you want to sit alone in gothic gloom
Surrounded by the ghosts of love that haunt your room?
Somewhere there's a different door to open wide
You gotta throw those skeletons out of your closet and come outside"

Advice I took to heart.

We are only 250 in and the 13th track from the Neil n Chris on the rundown.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 09:35 AM

587. GET DOWN TONIGHT - KC & The Sunshine Band (1975) 1,105,350

KC was a disco-funk powerhouse in '74/75 bridging the gap between soul-funk and actual disco as a genre, and should be credited with kick-starting the whole genre IMHO. There was Philly Soul, there was funk, there was Motown but KC came up with his own Florida brand of groove that had discos bopping. The record that could be thought as the first breakout disco hit (Rock Your Baby) was his (via George McCrae) - it topped the UK charts in late summer '74 as KC's own Queen Of Clubs topped my personal charts as well, such an exciting track that didn't make the rundown sadly - this one though, topped the US charts as KC became unstoppable for a couple of years, That's The Way (I Like It), Shake Shake Shake, and a string of George McCrae tracks. In the UK I was miffed this was just a minor hit, but felt justified a bit when Bamboogie revamped it in the noughties (to lesser effect). There was a weekly NME-styled History Of Rock magazine that built up into an encyclopaedia which eventually annoyed me when it got to disco - disco was sniffily ignored by many music critics, and KC was totally not given his own section when lesser nobodies were given space in other genres. Possibly reverse-discrimination going on, cos KC was white, even though he worked with multi-ethnic musicians on a black label (TK Records) on black genre music. Or else possibly the critics had never actually been to a disco and danced in their life, so the concept was totally alien to them. Dance music? Wassat!?

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 09:47 AM

586. WALK AWAY RENEE - The Four Tops (1967) 1,105,650

Levi Stubbs, for me, is one of the greatest, emotive singers of all time in popular music, his vocals are epic - see Billy Bragg's Levi Stubbs Tears for back-up - and The Four Tops were just a Motown highlight throughout their career on classic after classic. Criminally this is their only classic on my rundown and it's not even a Motown song! Originally a US hit for The Left Banke, a pleasant record, this was a UK-release a few months later over Xmas 1967 and became a monster hit, quite rightly as it's the definitive version, just fab. Here purely on re-issues as I wasn't charting at the time in '67 - though it was a fave of mine back then. The Four Tops first topped my charts in 1972, with 1967 reissued classic Bernadette, and then newie Keeper Of The Castle, but they kept on having hits well into the 80's, by which time they'd been together for over 30 years in the same line-up. I saw them in 1989, around the time my grandma died, which gives them additional pathos for me - as if Reach Out I'll Be There, Baby I Need Your Lovin', and oodles of other heartbreak songs need extra emotion.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 06:33 PM

585. WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE - Cliff Richard (1979) 1,106,200

The moment when Cliff's 2nd career started, his first chart-topper in a decade, and bar the brilliance of the double-whammy of Miss You Nights (744 on the countdown currently) and Devil Woman in 1976 his reinvention had been a long time coming as he had descended into family entertainer and musically had lost relevance, despite the odd great pop single. This 1979 UK chart-topper became a hit in the USA too, and gave him a boost there too, thanks to the production of his old Shads mate Bruce Welch and the fab songs of Alan Tarney. It set up the 80's beautifully, arguably the peak of his career. Look at Cliff on TOTP in the video, looking good, pushing 40 and 20 years into his career already. Let's try and forget about Mistletoe And Wine and The Millennium Prayer and instead recall Wired For Sound, Carrie, Some People, and the gorgeous definitive version of All I Ask Of You. 2nd of 3 on the rundown. This? Probably his career-best record. Sadly all the fab performances seem subject to copyright removal, so this at least has been on nearly a decade..

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 06:41 PM

584. DOWN UNDER - Men At Work (1982) 1,06,400

The ultimate Aussie record, an 80's anthem, and worldwide chart-topper thanks to that fab fun video. I'd already rated Who Can It Be Now prior to this, and liked the follow-up too (Overkill), but this really was their moment in the sun, and then wham bam thank you m'aam, gone. I caught them in Nottingham in 1983 at the height of their success, and they were rocking. Reminds me of driving the works van (a Mansfield photolab factory where I worked, dropping off the photographs to chain stores in the region, like Boots, back when people printed photos off) while listening to Steve Wright In The Afternoon on Radio One, back when he was funny and ground-breaking, rather than boring and repetitive.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th June 2019, 06:51 PM

583. WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND - Noel Harrison (1969) 1,106,850

Noel, son of actor Rex Harrison, fit nicely into the cool swinging late 60's, starring alongside Stefanie Powers in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. the never-repeated spin-off from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fantasy-spy romping from the USA when Brits were cool and in demand on US TV. Noel was more an Olympic skier (yes he so was) than singer, but his talking-singing style totally suited this song, the Michel Legrand gem of a song used as the theme to Steve McQueen & Faye Dunaway's cult movie The Thomas Crown Affair. Covered by thousands, including the US hit version from the sublime Dusty Springfield who did the 2nd-best version - yes even she couldn't manage to top the laid-back atmospheric beauty and coolness of this version. I loved it aged 11, and loved it all over again more recently when Noel died and it charted enough posthumous sales to tip it over into my list.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th July 2019, 09:41 AM

582. DONNA - 10C.C. (1972) 1,109,200

10CC were basically one-hit wonders Hotlegs (Neanderthal Man, 1970) located in their own studio in Manchester, experimenting in Artrock - Graham Gouldman joined them for the new project, on Jonathan King's UK Records, which meant that Kevin Godley & Lol Creme (future 80's duo artrockers, and music-video creatives) were in the company of young 60's successes Eric Stewart (The Mindbenders and future Paul McCartney co-worker) and Graham (songwriter of many a hit record like Bus Stop while in his teens) Gouldman. Donna was a 50’s pastiche that gave them a debut hit and kick-started their varied, if short, career. Charming, tongue-in-cheek and catchy, Donna introduced the first two years of 10C.C.s career and their first brilliant two albums (10C.C. and Sheet Music) are chock-a-block full of inventive artpop, structurally and production-wise original, from the US-culture-referencing chart-topping Rubber Bullets, the whimsical The Dean And I, the chilling greedy-banker-condemning rocker Wall Street Shuffle, to the modest, amusing Worst band In The World, the rifftastic Speed Kills, and the beautiful, gentle Old Wild Men foretelling the ageing rocker set, the sheer variety (and the abundance of humour) was probably a factor in their being critically-acclaimed at the time, and subsequently ignored for a few decades. Too clever by half! They topped my charts with the far superior Wall Street Shuffle and Speed Kills, but this track is on the list, the 2nd of 5 under the band name, though there’s another 2 on top pending....

Posted by: King Rollo 13th July 2019, 10:21 AM

Donna is a great song. It was kept off the top of the chart for two weeks by Mouldy Old Dough so I suppose those two songs would have been in a battle on your personal chart at the time as well. I'll add to that list from the first two albums,Fresh Air For My Mama and Somewhere In Hollywood.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th July 2019, 11:21 AM

Hi Rollo, good guess, yes Mouldy Old Dough was peaking at 2 around that time. Somewhere in Hollywood is also fab, lovely record.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 01:57 PM

581. WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti (1984) 1,1109,400

Scritti Politti started their chart career with a bang, the fabulous Wood Beez referencing the brilliant Aretha Franklin on her finest moment, and doing it in style and with beats, Green Gartside's vocals adding a melodic quality to an unusual synthpop gem. It spent 4 weeks on top of my chart as I languished unemployed again, in a new place with no friends, no job, no car, no future - Poole, in the house I still live in. Severe depression was on the horizon, but at the moment it was job hunting again, and terrific pop to keep me going. Scritti Politti never reached these heights again, but they had a few years of good pop songs like Absolute, The Word Girl, and even a cover of The Beatles B side She's A Woman.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 02:11 PM

580. DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE - The Mamas & The Papas (1967) 1,109,750

Mama Cass was one of my boyhood loves, and this record was far and away my fave record of theirs during the 60's. A cover of a 1959 Shirelles cover of a 1957 minor "5" Royales song, the cool folk-rock combo made it their own with their brilliant harmonies - still very much a lost artform in pop music this century - and became one of my fave bands of the 60's. At this time I lived at RAF Valley on the Isle Of Anglesey and very much into big pop hits. This was one of my faves and remained that way right through the 70's as I managed to tape it off the radio and then bought the terrific Hits album (part 1) on the budget MFP label in late '73/early '74 - for the price of 2 singles you got an actual album with 12 or 14 tracks on! It sold pretty well, and the remaining hits were also released in 1974, I bought it right away, I was a bonafide fan. In the meantime enjoy this performance, all now sadly gone except for Michelle. There will be more from Cass and from the band. This is only this low because I wasn't charting in 1967 - it was a re-issue charting in 1976/77 when I had to create an additional chart for oldies because the record companies were re-issuing at such a furious pace they cluttered up my current charts and oldies started to swamp newies!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 02:24 PM

579. MESSAGES - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (1980) 1,110,450

Another debut chart-topper here, as the fab OMD had not entirely convinced me to chart the previous single, Electricity. By this time, my final year at Lincoln Uni (or Bishop Grosseteste College Of Further Education as it was known then, Bishop Bigballs in some circles) was into exam and assignment mode but I hadn't yet become maudlin with sorrow at having it all come to an end. I loved being there. I loved the new sound of pop synths. I loved this uptempo and fresh-sounding record, and Andy & Paul became faves - though the bigger hit Enola Gay I was less fond of, oddly, just a top 10, but the next hit was also a biggie chart-topper. This though, the first of 5 number ones straddling 35 years, had a 3 weeks on top. Note: there will be no Atomic Kitten featuring in the rundown, Andy's side-project when OMD ran out of steam for a while. They are currently touring and still fab.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 02:37 PM

578. ATOMIC - Blondie (1980) 1,110,850

The best track on the album Eat To The Beat, which they created a series of videos for in it's entirety, a bit of a first back then, and arguably the best Blondie single of all. I insist best "Single" though, the edited version is perfectly-formed and exactly as long as it needs to be, this video version has the meandering instrumental break - but at least it shows the fab video which was a big part in my love of the track, and a step up on previous singles Dreaming and Union City Blue, and back on form. Their 4th chart-topper, 3 weeks on top, and oddly-enough not the highest-placed - there are 2 more to come, previous chart-topper Sunday Girl already having featured. Sadly no room for later chart-toppers, Rapture from 1981 which featured Debs rapping and cool, and the late-career number one - no not Maria, it's Good Boys a flop from 2003 which is way better. Blondie have remained good, including this century.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 04:49 PM

577. ANGEL FINGERS - Wizzard (1973) 1,111,155

Roy Wood's 4th number one (including The Move, ELO, and Wizzard, to date at this point) and following-up the record I was obsessive about for a year (of which more at a later date), this came out in the summer of '73 as we were packing to leave RAF Swinderby, near Lincoln, having had a fair few weeks on radio already. I recorded it, so by the time it came out I'd already gone past my peak love for it, but it still grabbed 2 weeks on top. Roy Wood was my pin-up popstar hero of 1973/74, I was seriously impressed that he was a one-man record-maker, and he harked back to the epic sounds of Phil Spector but with a rock'n'roll spin - and he was SO colourful on Top Of The Pops. Plus he was going out with another fave, Ayshea Brough who had been in the fab Gerry Anderson TV show UFO, and was host/singer of Lift Off With Ayshea, where so many popstars debuted and were showcased. Both Lift Off and Top Of The Pops of the early 70's have been wiped from the recorded archives. No debut by Bowie ahead of Top Of The Pops, virtually nuttin' left, all gone. Colour TV was a new thing at this time and popstars made the most the new medium, glammi' it up big time in multicolour, especially Roy. This is the best clip available - imagine perfect sound quality, spotless full-colour, and Roy competing with the likes of Monster Mash, Donny Osmond's sickly 50's cover-crooning, 50's crooner Al Martino and the bloody TV theme from Van Der Valk to top the charts, and you can see why teens bought up lively Wizzard, Sweet, Mud, Slade & Glitter tracks.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 11th November 2019, 05:20 PM

Alreadydone at 704 but Radio Ga Ga would occupy this space from extra sales following BoRap....

Posted by: E L Rollo 11th November 2019, 06:21 PM

I wasn't sure if I knew the Mamas & Papas song from the title but I recognised it when I played the clip. It's certainly a good song with a lot of tempo changes and other treats packed into just 3 minutes. Radio Ga Ga,Messages and Atomic were all in my top 1000. I prefer the longer version of Atomic myself. I like the Scritti Politti song but it was another one,'Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy),that made its way into my chart. Great to see Wizzard here as well.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 09:03 AM

Great song. Yes Steve Wright then was fab. Mr. Angry from Purley, Damian, Gervase the gay hairdresser. Sid his manager. LOL.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 09:04 AM

Actually prefer this to See My Baby Jive but not really sure why. Both with that big wall of sound.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 09:06 AM

My favourite Blondie single. What a brilliant group.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th November 2019, 08:24 PM

Hi Rollo, Dedicated was a hit all over again in the 90's I could have mentioned - for Bitty McLean, generally endearing but not a patch on M&P version. Oh Patti was a goodie too, yes.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th November 2019, 08:28 PM

Hi Chris, yes my fave Blondie too and a fab band, seen them a couple of times, always good. You guessed which Wizzard track I was mad on! Re Steve Wright, Mr Angry was fab, I'd forgotten the others you mentioned till you mentioned them "I'm so angry I'm going to THROW the phone down!" (cue dead phone noise)

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 09:55 PM

The Pretenders were great. My fave of theirs wasn't a huge hit, just scraped the top 40 I think. Stop Your Sobbing. Was a bit surprised that this went to No.1 as I'd never have predicted it as a chart-topper.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 09:57 PM

OMG someone else here knows this song. I love it and bought it in a bargain bin after first hearing it at the works disco. Should have been a huge hit. Had to ask the DJ who it was as he played it three times, trying to promote it as he loved it too. Polydor label.

Think she performed it on several BBC shows including as a new release on TOTP and also Val Doonican's Saturday night show. The BBC really did try to make it a hit and it had extensive Radio 2 play.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 10:05 PM

I loved Footsee too. Catchy track. I only last year bought the album Oxygene but remember the track in the charts along with Magic Fly and The Crunch in 1977.

You're spoiling me with nostalgia in this thread John.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 10:10 PM

Another song I loved and bought in 1977 aged a mere 17. Great band with so many good and varied singles. Their only No.1 is one that I actually like the least John. You Sexy Thing should have been a No.1. but was denied by Queen.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 10:15 PM

Another of my favourites from her brilliant album which I bought, My Colouring Book. Great 60's covers.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 12th November 2019, 10:19 PM

Still love and play Gary's songs as I have 2 GH albums. Not meaning to make light of what he's done at all which was unforgiveable but we can't change musical history. He sold a million copies in the UK alone of I Love You Love Me Love, which entered at No.1 and would have been Christmas No.1 in 1973 if it weren't for those Slade boys. My fave Xmas song is his 1984 Top 10 hit Another Rock 'N' Roll Christmas which you won't hear these days although I did hear it last Dec. in a shopping mall.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th November 2019, 08:06 AM

Thanks for dipping into the nostalgia-fest Chris!

Yes, that was a decent comeback album, and I also bought the polydor Clodagh single and was miffed it never made the charts - though I suspect it would have been a minor hit had they compiled a top 75 at the time - and the RAK picture-sleeve Hot Choc No Doubt About It gem. You Sexy Thing is enormously popular, you don't get to hit in 3 different decades by being forgettable! Bad timing they missed out on number one, really - hard to believe they stuck it out as a B side first!

I also love Stop Your Sobbing, should have been a big hit! And I agree about trying to rewrite the past - same with Michael Jackson, if he is actually guilty of something - the 11-year-old Michael had done nothing wrong so why should those recordings be banished forever. Using that logic would mean all Phil Spector xmas songs be banished because he's a murdering, abusive control-freak, that Naked Gun should never be shown again cos there's a huge ol' crook (and maybe worse) in the cast. And of course, the new Joker film would have been banned because it deliberately chose to underline the choice to move into embracing your murderous side by picking Rock & Roll Part 2: using the rewritten history to make an artistic statement in this case. The record has since sold quite well, cos it's actually a great track used effectively, despite what he did - and he's not in a position to gain from it, being locked away for probably the rest of his life.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 13th November 2019, 08:30 AM

Hey John. Have you ever heard a song called Sail The Summer Winds by Lyn Paul, ex of New Seekers?. From the film The Dove, also on Polydor, about 1974. Great song, absolutely love it but alas not a hit.

It's on Youtube.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 13th November 2019, 08:35 AM

Great song. Also love I'd Have To Say I Love You In A Song.

Posted by: Freddie Kruger 13th November 2019, 08:38 AM

One of my top 10 favourite songs of all time John. Joe South penned and he recorded it too but this is THE best version because of the lush full-on arrangement mainly. Have heard it by other country singers but none of them come close to this.

Reached No.3 in Feb.1971 and really got me in to country music. Have a few CD's by her. Love Snowbird and How Can I Unlove You too.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th November 2019, 04:49 PM

Yes, I know that one, used to like Lyn Paul (and was mad on the New Seekers back in 1971/72 they had 3 chart-toppers for me).

I was also big Peter Doyle's Rusty Hands Of Time after he left the band, also a flop tragically.

Jim Croce was a loss - who knows what his next LP might have been like, but the signs were Time A Bottle-ish. I like the Joe South but it's not a patch on Lynn Anderson's. I was even more mad on Anne Murray's version of Snowbird - as featured more recently on a whole episode of Family Guy, including actual Anne Murray who gets kidnapped by Stewie doing a Misery-style stalker thing.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th November 2019, 05:02 PM

576. CRYSTAL - New Order (2001) 1,113,250

New Order's second chart-topper, after True Faith, though Peter Hook also topped with What Do You Want From Me as Monaco in 1998. Crystal is not unlike that one in spirit, and it was in the noughties I finally caught the band in concert - a "sea of grey-haired or bald men" said Bernard or Hookie of the audience, accurately. Bernard Sumner of course also had a few great singles with Johnny Marr & Neil Tennant as Electronic who peaked at 2 but never topped my chart. Their great days had seemed behind them but then came this under-rated storming guitar-driven goodie, I loved it almost as much as True Faith at the time, the riffs were pure Joy Division-era mixed with the synth-indie mood. Fab.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 15th November 2019, 05:11 PM

575. ORDINARY LIVES - The Bee Gees (1989) 1,114,250

OK hands up who knows this one? Thought not. It came after the You Win Again comeback and was the lead track off the next album for the Brothers Gibb, things look promising - but it didn't happen. I think the songs were affected by and reflecting on the death of younger brother Andy Gibb, and there is certainly a maudlin feel to the tracks which got to me but not the buying public. In retrospect the public were right, it's not in any way deserving of a slot in the rundown that could have been occupied by past greats like First Of May, Jive Talking, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart and other classic tracks. Hey, ho, it topped my chart anyway - only their 4th at that point but there oodles to come, both new and old, and several more on the rundown.

Posted by: dandy* 15th November 2019, 05:59 PM

I love this, was such a brilliant comeback for them and holds up so well against their back catalogue.

Posted by: common sense 19th November 2019, 12:23 AM

Yes I know it as it was the last track on their 1.7 million selling 1990 GH collection The Very Best Of The Bee Gees.

Posted by: Pogueschartpeak 28th December 2019, 02:31 PM

574. UNDER CONTROL - Calvin Harris & Alesso featuring Hurts (2013) 1,115,100

The only entry on the list for Calvin Harris, though he has another chart-topper with Haim, and Alesso's sole mention too. Calvin has had many a great single over the years, most memorably with Rihanna, but featuring here there are no more! Hurts, on the other hand have 4, of which this is the second on the list. While Calvin Harris has had success galore, Hurts have been more niche commercially, big in parts of Europe but never headliners. I saw them supporting Scissor Sisters back in the early days, and have become more and more convinced they are one of the most-criminally-ignored British acts of the decade, consistently good and yet consistently out of step with what is selling. The vocals on this one elevate it in an era when most pop guest vocalists are female.

Posted by: Pogueschartpeak 28th December 2019, 02:48 PM

573. GHOST ON THE CANVAS - Glen Campbell (2011) 1,150,950

I've been putting off the latest batch of reviews due to this track, which is a difficult one for me. Glen features a lot in my list, but this was his last hurrah after announcing he had alzheimers. I caught him on tour, still a brilliant guitarist, guided by his daughter if he forgot which song was up next, and his illness was hugely personal to me. This song is about living through dementia, Glen's album was the first album mum and dad bought for me when I was 12 (on my request) and mum also came down with alzheimers around the same time as Glen did, at least 15 years ago but probably longer ago than that. By the time it was obvious to me, she had already forgotten how to write and was no longer the upbeat, happy person she normally was. I took her to the co-op one day, and a dementia sufferer was shuffling round with help. "That's going to be me, one day" she said quietly, sadly. The worst part of the illness is the gradual loss of you, and the endless number of stages you have to deal with, the frustration at not being able to get your words out, the fears, the loss of abilities, and for me the sorrowful anxiety panic attacks when they get upset or worse, ill, and the constant emotional and physical toll it takes on the person and the family. Mum is now unable to do anything for herself, she can't speak hardly at all, and I cope because I have to do what's best for her and my dad, regardless.

I first heard this track on Ken Bruce's show as a new release while I was driving to a work site visit about a tree boundary on the Bournemouth Westcliff, and I had to pull over and park. It made me cry.

Posted by: FKA Twiglets 28th December 2019, 08:41 PM

Intriguing choice of Calvin track to do so well, it's not what I can recall at all to be honest!

Posted by: Crazy Chris-tmas 28th December 2019, 09:26 PM

Don't know that Glen Campbell one but like his earlier stuff. His 20 Golden Greats album was huge, UK No.1 at Christmas 1976.

Posted by: Pogueschartpeak 29th December 2019, 02:27 PM

It seemed like a new track when I replayed it for this - I don't think I've heard it in over 5 years anywhere, despite it topping the UK charts! Bizarre!

Posted by: Pogueschartpeak 29th December 2019, 02:29 PM

Yes, I was one of the many buyers of that GC album in 1976, so many great tracks on it!

Posted by: Crazy Chris-tmas 29th December 2019, 06:31 PM

I bought it too then the CD years later.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 1st January 2020, 12:17 PM

572. TRUE BLUE - Madonna (1986) 1,116,250

Madonna's 2nd chart-topper, and 2nd track off the True Blue album. I'd loved Holiday, Into The Groove, Like A Virgin and Live To Tell in particular, but it was that album that made me a fan, she was dominating the pop world, changing the face of pop to focus on women, and flag-waving the idea that women can be in control of their own music career without being traditional singer-songwriters. rather odd, then, that Madonna excluded this UK chart-topper from her first Greatest Hits in favour of lesser pop gems. I still don't own the single remix as I'd bought the album and didn't want to pay twice, and the only place it's been available since is on a maxi-CD of Holiday in the 90's I think. Madonna not a fan of it. I'm guessing her bust-up with Sean Penn rather changed her attitude towards it's 50's-retro-pop girlie-charms....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 1st January 2020, 12:31 PM

571. VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR - Buggles (1979) 1,118,100

Well, this is a key classic ahead-of-its-time pop gem! Trevor Horn starting his career as a music maestro-producer with an anthem stating intent for the 80's and beyond - promo videos for records became not only essentially, but they changed the whole way you reacted to music: a great promo can make a hit, and not having one can be a death-knell. The video is whimsical, the song is cheerful synthpop, and it was a sign of the future: MTV started with this track. It's made the UK and my personal charts in subsequent decades - and yet it's never topped my charts! 1979 was one of the greatest pop years of all-time, so even great tracks like this got held off the top. Both Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes morphed after a few hits as Buggles into the new line-up of Prog-Rockers Yes as they went all 80's stadium rock with flawless-Horn-production-values. Owner Of A Lonely Heart and Leave It were fab, the follow-up's to this track (The Plastic Age, Clean Clean) were great, and Trev loaned his skills to pop acts galore, some in the listings, and some not (Dollar had a string of quality pop singles that failed to top my charts). This is what the boys will be remembered for as artists though.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 1st January 2020, 12:42 PM

570. POP MUZIK - M (1979) 1,119,550

Talking of 1979 synth-pop leaders, here's another one that didn't top my charts that year (it peaked at 2) though it has made up for it on re-issue since. Robin Scott never really achieved much more success, give or take the nice follow-up Moonlight And Muzak, which is a shame. I liked the global view the song had, and the Top Of The Pops backing singer in Hindu dress-up was fab, anything that pushed Asian music and culture was something I was in favour of, what with my nostalgia for living in multi-cultural Singapore at full-swing in those days. It even became a US number one, not something that was as frequent as you might think - and sort of setting the scene for the MTV-led Brit-invasion of the stodgy, dull American charts in the early 80's. The UK New Wave scene was vital and lively and fresh, the US scene by this time still living in the early 70's, bar disco which had already been intentionally killed-off in a successful media-backlash, and a few US New Wave-inspired acts that broke through. This track is still great fun...

Posted by: Bjork 1st January 2020, 01:45 PM

love True Blue both single and album

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2020, 02:46 PM

569. MY GUY - Mary Wells (1964) 1,119,900

Essentially a Smokey Robinson hit (but sung my Motown up-and-coming Mary Wells), both written and produced by Smokey as a companion-piece to his My Girl for The Temptations, and a US chart-topper that I still knew when it recharted in the UK in 1972, and still was a fan of the 60's oldies even though they sounded dated by that time. Subsequent reissues pushed it over the million in my charts, though it's never topped my chart. Mary Wells had some duets with a young Marvin Gaye for Motown - and then that was it! Her husband persuaded her to leave Motown after she hit 21, as per the clause in her Motown contract, and sign with another label. Huge mistake. This is still a decent 60's single, but I wouldn't rate it high enough to make my all-time top 1000 these days. My Girl is much better. Smokey will feature again in the list though.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2020, 02:57 PM

568. JESUS TO A CHILD - George Michael (1996) 1,1119,950

The 5th George Michael or Wham! tracks so far, with another 9 still to come, this understated gem previewed his new melancholy-mood 1996 album, Older, and topped my chart, as well as the UK's. Slow, sad, and affecting, the song dealt with the loss of his lover to HIV-related-illness. Royalties were quietly donated to Childline by George, who never publicised his generosity, a troubled man with a social conscience who never seemed to find lasting personal happiness. His work, in hindsight, speaks more than we knew at the time. I still love this track, though it tends to get overlooked by more high-profile hits.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2020, 03:07 PM

567. CLOUDBUSTING - Kate Bush (1985) 1,120,700


This Kate track is largely here by virtue of extra sales donated from the significant sampling of Utah Saints 1992 Something Good which topped my charts where Cloudbusting only went top 10, but hey it's Kate, it's a great video, Donald Sutherland features, and the song is about err a relationship between a psychiatrist and his son. You can't say Kate ever follows cliches in her work....! From her best album, Hounds Of Love - and there are still 2 more to come from it, including the previous lead single. Since Wuthering Heights hit 2 in my charts (and made this list) she'd come close with other singles, such as the fab Sat In Your Lap, Wow, The Man With The Child In His Eyes, Babooshka, Army Dreamers and Them Heavy People but never quite got that chart-topper. Stay-tuned...

Posted by: Crazy Chris-tmas 3rd January 2020, 11:44 PM

Me too but prefer the album version of True Blue to the single.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th January 2020, 08:16 AM

Hi Chris It's a good album - at least one advantage with neither version being on The Imacculate Collection is Madonna didn't get to muck about with True Blue - I didn't think there was any need or point in remixing a Greatest Hits set, so I didn't buy it till it was on sale in a charity shop. I like to think that's why she didn't do it again...

Posted by: Crazy Chris 4th January 2020, 09:05 AM

Hiya. Yeah it was done in Q sound too, quadrophonic, except they forgot that most people don't listen through 4 speakers! I bought it on release day in Nov.1990 and she knocked The Very Best Of Elton John double album off the top. True Blue was THE glaring omission as it had been a No.1 single.

Posted by: Crazy Chris 4th January 2020, 09:10 AM

Am not a huge Kate fan but this is a great track. I only own The Whole Story, to my shame and she's long overdue a complete GH album release. Whether we'll ever get one in the download and streaming age is anyone's guess but bet it would sell, especially at Christmas.

Posted by: dandy* 4th January 2020, 09:50 PM

Cloudbusting is absolutely essential, a definite 11/10 moment. Those strings are just wonderful and the way it all pans out to an almost train like rhythm is just stunning.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th January 2020, 08:28 AM

Thanks dandy* I forgot to mention why it's so fab, and you managed to sum it up in a sentence!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 17th January 2020, 02:03 PM

566. IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU - Yvonne Elliman (1978) 1,121,650

I adore Yvonne Elliman. She is Hawaiian by birth, and Japanese-Irish by heritage, gifted with a honey-sweet emotional voice that takes a song and wrings every bit of emotion out of it in a subtle, non-histrionic, style, starting with the songs from Jesus Christ Superstar, which she starred in for 4 years as Mary Magdalene. She also starred in the 1973 film version, I was instantly taken by her versions of I Don't Know How To Love Him, Could We Start Again? in particular, and which would be here in the rundown if I'd allowed film soundtracks in my charts. I played the vinyl album to death back in the 70's. Yvonne's 2 entries in the rundown, though, are both Bee Gees songs, and we start with the later anthem from Saturday Night Fever. There are higher entries still to come from that album/soundtrack, but Yvonne's pumping disco version outdoes the Bee Gees original, and gave her a new disco diva fade-out to her chart career, this and the club choon Love Pains (later covered by Liza Minelli/Pet Shop Boys, among others) in particular. This is her signature song though, most people have no idea who she is these days, but most know the track, cos it's fab.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 17th January 2020, 02:21 PM

565. FOREVER AUTUMN - Justin Hayward (Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds) (1978) 1,123,200

Talking of huge albums from 1978, there's this monster hit from a lush sci-fi concept album based on H.G.Wells War Of The Worlds, and eventually a stage musical theatre production that is still running, albeit without Richard Burton as narrator these days. Justin was guesting solo on a break from The Moody Blues (of which more much later in the countdown) and not only sang this gorgeous ballad, my late Aunty Eileen's fave song, he also did the brilliant Eve Of The War to boot, which just missed out on a spot in the rundown. It's fair to say Jeff Wayne never did anything before or since with anywhere near the same scale of artistic and commercial success, but then when you can keep on re-booting, remixing, and touring, who needs to! Justin was the perfect choice for this, I can't imagine anyone else getting the tone right and doing it justice.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 17th January 2020, 02:36 PM

563. I HEAR YOU KNOCKING - Dave Edmunds (1970) 1,124,500

Another long-time fave popstar here, Dave Edmunds first popped up in band Love Sculpture on their 1969 frantic instrumental cover of Sabre Dance, which I loved. Dave is a fab guitar player, you have to hear Sabre Dance at least once in your life and walk away amazed anyone can play that fast. At which point I left the UK until late 1971, and came back to hear Alan Freeman's Pick Of The Pops rundown of Big Hits of 1971 on Radio 1 starting off with this track, which had never made it to Singapore despite being a huge UK chart-topper. I recorded it and loved it right off the bat. I hear You Knocking was a 1955 song first recorded by the namechecked Smiley Lewis, and clearly is Dave's homage to 50's rock'n'roll, but with a 70's modern production-value - something Dave would specialise in when he set up his own recording studio, Rockpile, in his home in Wales (and of which more at a later date). So how did I get this into my charts if I was out the country? I got a hold of the BBC charts in a book a few years later which allowed me to retro-do my late-1969 through late-1971 rundowns based on what I liked during that period - and I included songs that I actually knew during 1971 - so it just qualified, pipping in at the end of the year!

Posted by: Crazy Chris 17th January 2020, 03:16 PM

Great single from a great classic late 70's double album. Still sells to this day.

Posted by: Crazy Chris 17th January 2020, 03:17 PM

Great single which I bought in 1978. Her Xmas '77 hit Love Me was nice roo.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th March 2020, 04:30 PM

OK, been off the radar a while, life is hectic and stressful, but now house-bound so...here's one I missed out accidentally..

564. SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME - Rockwell (1984) 1,123,00

Beware the official video - it's not the one that was on Top Of The Pops and which I went big on, a sort of spooky, paranoid very 80's video (why it's not yet been on Stranger Things is a mystery...) and a fit topless Rockwell aka Berry Gordy's lad, owner of Motown, mate of Michael Jackson. Jacko looms large on this record, fresh off Thriller - and it shows: pure halloween, Jacko singing the chorus and bruv Jermaine also lending a hand. This was the first record I bought once I'd moved from bleak, factory-work Mansfield down to suburban, friendless, jobless Poole, where at least I had great pop music to keep me going (for a while). It was later reworked to far lesser effect by Beatfreakz 2005 smash which just used the chorus and a Thriller-stylee video backdrop.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th March 2020, 04:41 PM

562. HOLD ON - Wilson Phillips (1990) 1,125,300

A bit of 21st century ladies anthem following a prominent feature in the good rom-com Bridesmaids, but for me it's totally my first Florida holiday, blanket airplay on local radio, and theme park heaven accompanied by my parents and my 6-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew. It became a UK smash too, and it was always going to appeal to me - a tune, a girlgroup with famous parents who I adored (Brian Wilson Beach Boys genius & father of Carnie & Wendy Wilson, and John & Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas parents of Chynna). They never did anything anywhere near as good again, but then again once you've got that "appealing to new generations" slot in a movie with legs you don't need to have 2 90's pop classics...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th March 2020, 04:56 PM

561. YOU'RE SO VAIN - Carly Simon (1972) 1,126,100

If ever a song caused speculation over the subject of the lyrics it was this one: Carly kept mum for 45 years before revealing who it was about (her ex moviestar Warren Beatty, first verse) - though to be honest we all thought it was Beatty anyway. Carly was a singer-songwriter, cool and popular, making up the showbiz folkie super-couple along with James Taylor, and the track pushed the album No Secrets into the top of the charts worldwide. Still her signature tune, and with backing vocals from Mick Jagger to boot, but Carly was so much more, not least the follow-up the fab Right Thing To Do, 5 years later the Bond Theme Nobody Does It better, 5 years later the Nile Rodgers/Chic cool dance cut Why 5 years later the big ballad Coming Around Again. You get the theme - every 5 years a new goodie, but none of them featuring in my rundown, sadly. No video, cos in those days US stars didn't do videos and they usually didn't to appear on UK TV shows if they were busy plugging in the USA - it was err 1977 I think before we got to see her in the pre-recorded video flesh. So to speak, and much to the chagrin of many of her male admirers.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th March 2020, 07:19 PM

560. SPIRIT IN THE SKY - Norman Greenbaum (1970) 1,126,300

One-hit-wonder who remains timeless and definitive with this much-covered chart-topping song, Norman just got the groove right at a time when social awareness, the environment and world troubles were everywhere in the news and in pop music - it's an oddly-life-affirming clapalong singalong gospel-rock song with a killer guitar riff and a darkly-optimistic lyric, never quite sure whether it's belief in life-beyond-life or a cynical-piss-take, or a bit of both. Regardless it's survived a good chart-topping comic-book version from tongue-in-cheek Doctor & The Medics in 1986, a comedy-novelty charity chart-topping version from Gareth Gates & The Kumars in the noughties, and a contemporary Top Of The Pops budget album cover from the little-known Reg Dwight. I kid you not, Elton John was a big cover-er of 1970 hits at the time, and you can hear his go at it on his album Reg Dwight's Piano Plays Pop. The original is still the best....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th March 2020, 07:33 PM

559. SPEED OF SOUND - Coldplay (2005) 1,126,850

The first of 6 for Coldplay in this rundown was their 2nd million-"seller" and first of two in 2005. I'd caught them in concert early in their career, after rating Yellow, but only liking the follow-ups rather than loving them until 2002 when I crossed the line into being something of a fan, and then by 2005's X&Y, a fan. What sold this track for me was the jangly riff intro and the slow build to the chorus. There's no woah-ohs and as a song it flows beautifully without any jarring changes, more ebb and flow. Lyrically, well Speed of Sound is a good image, Speed Of Light is pure sci-fi geek-appealing, even if planets can't move at the speed of light. No matter how much Space: 1999 tried to convince you otherwise!

Posted by: Bjork 21st March 2020, 08:23 AM

haha funny cos for me it's the total opposite for Coldplay, I was the biggest fan from day 1, loved both album 1 and 2 and all the singles especially The Scientist, but then they totally lost me with that song, Speed of Sound... with that song they became something different that I didn't like

amazing how Hold On has ended up being such a classic, I also liked their other song Imnpulsive but the rest were a bit too cheesy

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st March 2020, 01:06 PM

Yes one of my friends was the same - big early-on fan then went right off them just as I was getting into them big. I think it's because they started off as Radiohead-stylee rock and morphed into stadium anthemic poprock - me I usually respond less-well to glum navel-contemplating, and more positively to uplifting anthems, so that colours my tastes Yellow is better than Speed Of Sound, though, but it won't be featuring on the list

Posted by: Bjork 22nd March 2020, 08:32 AM

don't think there was anything navel-contemplating about Coldplay in the beginning, it was silly lyrics as usual, it's Chris martin's attitude what changed the most, by album 3 he thought he was Bono

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th March 2020, 07:31 PM

558. RIGHT THERE - Nicole Scherzinger featuring 50 Cent (2010) 1,129,650

The only Pussycat Doll in the list, if I'm honest I havent heard this in 10 years and I could easily have forgotten how much I liked it at the time - I often like new sounds, once upon a time autotune sounded fresh rather than annoyingly obligatory, and even the fact that 50 Cent was barking over a good pop record didn't affect it too much. Is it the best thing Nicole or The Pussycat Dolls has done? I think that's Jai Ho! This is a good runner-up though...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th March 2020, 07:38 PM

557. LIBERATION - Pet Shop Boys (1994) 1,130,650

A later Very track released with a state-of-the-art video. I usually love the boys melodic laid-back compositions, and this period was their best since Actually for me, adored the video which I saw in a 3D cinema set up for the purpose, a massive screen, which got knocked down at 8 million pounds cost to taxpayers in Bournemouth because motorists wanted a sea view for the 12 seconds they drove down the seafront road. Not making it up. The sea was still there on the attractive sea frontage beach side, you just had to walk to it. Anyway, this video was awesome in 3D. The song is lovely.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th March 2020, 07:56 PM

556. I WISH U HEAVEN - Prince (1988) 1,132,450

Prince could knock off a gorgeous soul track whenever he felt like it, and this was one of his most melodic, loving the hippy, trippy 60's vibe of the video, and as always the percussion is just fab. For a decade he could do no wrong, so it's a bit embarrassing to note this is single 3 of 4 on the list, just one more to go. By this time I was seeing him live (awesome) and buying the albums - as he often did, though, he annoyed me with his ludicrous decisions, this time the CD was one whole track, you couldn't skip to the track you wanted to play, you had to fast forward the whole bloody album to get to the singles I wanted to play as individual tracks to dance along to in my bedroom on a good mental and physical workout. I did continue to buy subsequent albums, but Batman was vinyl, and I made sure the next 3 were properly sequenced as individual tracks until he decided to commit commercial suicide by stating Prince was dead, at which point I decided if he was dead then I wouldnt bother buying anything by the pretender that replaced him with the squiggle for a name. Pity.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th March 2020, 07:06 PM

555. YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND - Big Fun & Sonia featuring Gary Barnacle (1990) 1,132,600

OK, stop spluttering, without any sense of irony or cheese, I'm happy to say this is the best Stock Aitken Waterman track of all-time, sung by two of the cheesiest acts in their stable - the diminutive cheerful scouse Sonia, who rarely got their A-list material, and the very camp and cheesy Big Fun. As if that wasn't enough, this song was written for a charitable cause, all proceeds going to Childline, usually the kiss of death for quality, being worthy rather than artistically inclined. It worked beautifully - and it mystifyingly failed to register even with SAW fans. Probably because it was a soul throwback rather than jolly pop romp - the song is essentially a rewrite of the genius 1969 Junior Walker & The All Stars hit What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) with a heart-rendingly fab melody and a brilliant sax hook courtesy of Gary Barnacle. They even had the cheek to nick a famous song title, the timeless You've Got A Friend, written by Carole King, and get away with it. 30 years later I still adore this, the lyrics, the sentiment, the melody, the vocals, the arrangement. Totally under-rated.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th March 2020, 07:50 PM

554. EVERYTHING SHE WANTS - Wham! (1984) 1,133,200

I still miss George, a troubled but thoroughly decent person. I'd gone off him a bit in 1984 after his cancelling a video shoot to get a better hair-do, and the whole annoying Wake Me Up Before You Go Go blatant move into the Big League. After really enjoying the early Young Guns period, and especially the hot Club Tropicana video and song, it took the quality of Careless Whisper (which we've already had), Freedom, and especially a monster track still to come to convince me that the man was a significant talent. Everything She Wants a US chart-topper, but relegated to a double A-side track in the UK that didn't start to pick up plays until New Year 1985, which meant it never really got the attention it would have had as a solo release, though a remix did chart in it's own right in 1997. If any Wham! track was the sign of solo things to come, though, it was this one - funky and cool and passionate. 7th of 15 for George, in various guises, in the rundown.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th March 2020, 08:03 PM

553. IF I TOLD YOU THAT - Whitney Houston & George Michael (2000) 1,134,300

Talking of various guises, here's George again, with the also sadly late & troubled Whitney Houston, it really seems like we've slipped into the Twilight Zone in the 21st century with one impossible thing after another. Whitney started off fabulously withe smooth, cool Saving All My Love For You, before quickly turning into a parody of herself where it seemed as though she was trying to out-compete Celine Dion & Mariah Carey for showing off the range of her admittedly impressive vocals. Not least, her completely OTT mangling of great records like I Will Always Love You and The Greatest Love Of All. Turns out, though, she was a junkie. Not Bobby Brown, her hubby was a lightweight, it was Whitney. Her voice declined a bit from abuse, but in the process she learned to sing actual soul tracks with emotion for a short great period in the late 90's with fab tracks like My Love Is Your Love and It's Not Right, But It's OK. The piece de resistance for me was this cool hook-up with George in 2000, never one to turn down a vocal dual with a female diva who could keep up with him. My fave Whitney track, and the only one on the list.

Posted by: EternalBlue 27th March 2020, 12:36 AM

OMG i loved this song!! so mnay memories

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th August 2020, 01:18 PM

Sorry for the delay replying its been a weird 4 months! It's her best track, I reckon!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th August 2020, 01:30 PM

552. YOUR SONG - Elton John (1970) 1,134,800


As Elton is even more famous now than he was when this was a hit, it's easy to forget what a master-songwriting team Bernie Taupin & Elton were in their heyday, and to under-rate just what a brilliant singer Reg was in his younger days, a voice that emoted, it's no co-incidence that he also found popularity on US Black Music Stations, end of the day he was rarely a rocker, more a balladeer/soul man. This was the song that broke him internationally, and it's still gorgeous and touching. Oddly I totally missed this at the time, it never made it across to Singapore, so I gradually became aware of it from 1972 onwards, and charted it as part of the Old Four Eyes Is Back EP in 1977, and other various reissues and versions. 4th of 9 for the Rocket Man, though I'd almost say I preferred Border Song these days, from the same album, and the first chart entry in the USA.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th August 2020, 01:53 PM

551. SUPERSTITION - Stevie Wonder (1972) 1,135,250


This is the record that kick-started Stevie's grown-up career, from the album that was the marker that he was an influential serious musician, rather than a pre-teen and teen Motown star. Not that Phase 1 of Stevie was anything other than fab, cos he was already Stevie Wonder-ful from 1967 through 1972, never bad, and frequently very good, but this notched it up a gear. Still his most-popular track in the 21st century, the funktastic modern-sounding single hit in the UK in early 1973, and made my top 10 - but it's popped in and out of the charts over the last 20 years, and finally topped to edge it over the million. At the time I preferred You Are The Sunshine Of My Life off that album, and it was the bigger UK hit too, but it hasnt weathered quite as well as his funky tracks - my absolute fave funky track of that period isn't on the list as it's not had the reissue treatment yet, still patiently waiting for Living For The City to be used in a movie soundtrack. Though Higher Ground or You Haven't Done Nothing would be worthy substitutes. Stevie's topped my charts with fab tracks like I Wish, Sir Duke, Isn't She Lovely(albeit a rip-off soundalike cover as Stevie wouldn't release it a single), Lately, and less fab ones like I Just Called To Say I'm Yawning, but none of them have hit the million yet, so it's the first of only 2 on the list! Criminal!

Posted by: Flopiday 17th August 2020, 01:11 PM

A big post by me to catch up with all the entries in this great thread.

'Right There' is quite good and has some nice production to it but for me 'I Hate This Part' is easily the best thing Nicole or Pussycat Dolls did.

Part Time Lover is my favourite Stevie Wonder track but Superstition is good too.

Cloudbusting is great, pity the good remix by Just Us didn't become a hit a few years ago.

Forever Autumn is a beautiful song, I have long liked that song as my parents have the War of The Worlds CD.

I have long liked If I Can't Have You, one of the best songs of the disco era.

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, good song and I like how it was sampled by Kon Kan

Down Under, a great 80s pop song as is Messages by OMD, the latter really heralding the start of the 80s synthpop era. I love Electricity by OMD, pity it never became a hit.

See My Baby Jive I prefer to Angel Fingers but yes Wizzard were a good band and its a pity only their Christmas song gets played much now.

A wall of sound is better in my opinion than the minimal productions we get nowadays in much pop music. Some electronic dance songs also rely on a wall of sound effect, which brings me on to one of the songs in John's top 800, Under Control by Calvin Harris, Alesso and Hurts, a good example of this. The vocal is great and makes it stand out because male vocalists are not that common in dance music, and for Alesso I also really liked the remix of One Republic's If I Lose Myself which became a hit.

I do like I Want To Know What Love Is but a few other 80s rock ballads are better in my opinion, notably Mr Mister - Broken Wings and The Voice by John Farnham, the latter also using a choir towards the end like IWTKWLI.

Bill Withers had a very good jazz voice and Ain't No Sunshine is a good relaxing track.

Enjoy the Silence and True Faith are both very good epic songs with a good driving rhythm, I would prefer True Faith of the two.

The Fifty Shades soundtrack was surprisingly good apart from the overplayed Love Me Like You Do. Aside from One Last Night I really liked 'Undiscovered' by Laura Welsh

You Spin Me Round was certainly different and more dancey than anything else in the chart at the time.

Party Fears Two - good but I prefer Club Country from them - 1982 had quite a few quirky alternative songs in the chart like this

My Oh My by Slade well its more Rod Stewart than Slade in sound which isn't necessarily a bad thing though. A good song anyway.

Move Your Feet I didn't like much at the time and still don't like it, find it a bit annoying oops

Heartache Avenue - I really like this - I was confused when I started hearing this on the radio in the background in 2005, took me ages to wonder why, it turns out it was Roll Deep - The Avenue which used a lot of the song in it. 2005 was a strange retro revival year as later in the year I started hearing a song from the 80s Dr Beat everywhere again and it took me a while to realise it was a new remix of it. Then of course Leo Sayer was back in the charts in early 2006.....

Which brings me on to another song in your list that became part of the mid 00s retro revival Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me, a quirky track, was surprised to find that this unremixed version was still an energetic dance tune before Beatfreakz remixed it. It's a good fun tune and not too much of a novelty track that I can't still enjoy it.

Good Luck by Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula - now thats a song that was ahead of its time, could be a song from Sigma in the 2010s

This Time I Know It's For Real - its not bad, but well its a bit cheesy with the SAW production and not one of Donna Summer's best. The Kelly Llorenna cover I like a bit more but its not one of her best songs either.

Empire State of Mind - good but Alicia Keys' best song in my opinion is Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart - great vocal of course and the production is great.


Sky by by Sonique I actually prefer to It Feels So Good, the chorus is epic and listening to it makes you realise how dance music was really at the top of its game in 2000

Bright Lights Bigger city was my favourite track from Cee Lo Green's album The Lady Killer, it does sound quite Bond theme-esque

The Journey Continues by Mark Brown/ Sarah Cracknell is a really nice dance track, I liked at the time how the tune from the bank advert was turned into a song.

The Reflex by Duran Duran is a bit of a mess of a song but it somehow works - still good.

Hotter Than Hell by Two Lips, I like how the unique way she sings the word 'Hell' in the song. My favourite of her songs is Be The One still gets played quite a bit on the radio and hopefully this will become a classic in years to come.

Dirty Diana is my favourite Michael Jackson song becuase the production is epic in it and I like how it builds up.

Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray vs Cedric Gervais - who would have thought the producer behind mediocre novelty track Molly would create one of the dance anthems of the year of 2013 by remixing a Lana Del Rey song and I really liked this song at the time especially the epic instrumental 'drop' part of the song which it builds up to.

Finally, Stay by Shakespear's Sister is a beautiful song, I like the acapella part at the start and how it builds up after that. Number 1 a few weeks after I was born!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 17th August 2020, 06:59 PM

Phew! Thanks for going through so many tracks, Flopiday! Glad you like so many - I also go for full-on Epic Productions - not exclusively, but I find them more moving in the same way as I can find a single instrument or vocal moving, but am more likely to go for a full production than a pared-back song.

War Of The Worlds is fab, one day I'll get to see the stage production!

Suedey also is a fan of Electricity (OMD's first single) - I quite liked it but didn't get into them as early as Suedey did, I was about 4 months later

If I can grab some spare time, I'll get some more of these done

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd August 2020, 03:50 PM

550. MAD WORLD - Tears For Fears (1982) 1,135,450

The record that launched a fabulous career for Curt & Roland, and I finally caught them a couple of years back on tour, Curt still a hottee, and the back catalogue sounding impressive. Mad World is dark, pounding, moody electronic music, the song so strong that it was covered by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews for a very different gentle, haunting, but still dark, chart-topper in 2003 taken from the classic movie Donnie Darko - which also used the Head Over Heels Tears For Fears track to great effect. The track originally peaked at 2 for a few weeks in my chart in 1982, behind Abba locking out the top spot with The Day Before You Came, I think. It finally topped my charts a few years back when I got an excuse from a TV show or movie feature, boosting it into the rundown. Second of 4 in the rundown for TFF.

Posted by: Flopiday 22nd August 2020, 04:22 PM

Great song. I, like a lot of people in the UK who weren't yet born in the 80s heard the Gary Jules and Michael Andrews version and thought it was the original before becoming aware of the Tears for Fears version. I remember being surprised to discover the singer wasn't Michael Stipe from REM as the vocal style in that cover is so similar I think.

When I discover the original Tears For Fears version i was surprised how different it is, faster, almost dance music, but yes still dark with the vocal and lyrics.

I like Pale Shelter and Change from Tears For Fears too. I am not surprised to learn that Change got a remix by the man behind dance artist Jakatta in the 00s given that the instrumental of Change in the chorus does remind me a little bit of Jakatta in style.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd August 2020, 07:32 AM

Hi Snakey, Now you mention it I could see the REM mood in the cover. Pale Shelter is also fab, I loved The Weeknd's adaptation of it the other year too. Change is good too, and of the early stuff Suffer The Children is an unknown goodie

Posted by: Bjork 23rd August 2020, 11:07 AM

love the song Mad World but have to say I much prefer the cover to the original.
Love the original vocals but the production is so bad and the instruments used are so upfront they drown the vocals and the song

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd August 2020, 01:15 PM

The Gary Jules version is fab, and as you say, it does focus more on the song than the original, and we all tend to like the version we hear first the best on the whole (or at least I do )

Posted by: Steve201 24th August 2020, 09:47 PM

Always remember my dad asking me has that Mad World song been done before when Gary Jules performed on totp in December 2003 and being astounded when I advised him it was Tear For Fears.

It's an example of an old synth pop dance record being changed to a more acoustic version years later, it's normally the other way round these days!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th August 2020, 02:56 PM

yes, and it shows that synthpop had strong songs that can be done in many ways, as much as any other genres

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th August 2020, 03:44 PM

549. PARADISE - Coldplay (2011) 1,136,050

I saw Coldplay at the start of their career, and enjoyed them a lot, but didn't suspect they would become the premier world poprock band of the early 21st century, nor that they would be the among the last of a small group of rockstars that would be able to top the singles chart. They topped mine quite a few times, and appear 7 times in the list. This the 3rd anthemic track, a UK chart-topper that gave-away a lot of sales before it was officially released, at a time when downloads were huge and everyone was getting an ipod for christmas. From Mylo Xyloto, the fab Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall didn't quite hit my very chart-top, but the very hooky had no problem, you can sing along with knowing English, to be honest, never a disadvantage in pop music. And this is not the biggest track off the album for me, either, one more to come much later...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th August 2020, 03:58 PM

548. FURTHER - Longview (2003) 1,137,950

Here's another semi-anthemic rock track, from the forgotten Longview, with a hint of the early 90's grunge attached to a ballad, and possibly one of my least-remembered chart-toppers for me - I've not heard it since 2005 when it topped my chart in a remixed version of the 2003 top 20 version. Further, is therefore a bit flattered to be this high due to combined sales of 2 chart runs, but poor ol' Longview only just avoided becoming a one-hit wonder when the 2003 version had a minor follow-up that sneaked into my charts. Then they hit the top - and nothing ever again from the Manchester band that got no higher than 24 in the UK singles chart with this one! Songwriter Rob McVey is currently working solo - and has recently joined a band called....Paradise! I love it when links come together. Coldplay. Paradise. Longview.

Posted by: TheSnake 29th August 2020, 07:54 PM

I thought 'Every Teardrop' was way better than Paradise.

My favourite example is Rhianna who had a hit with Oh Baby in 2003 apparently later being in a band called Little Fix!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th December 2020, 03:24 PM

547. GOOD DANCERS - The Sleepy Jackson (2003) 1,138,350

A complete flop everywhere was this brilliant George Harrison-esque Aussie alt-rock band's Good Dancers. The Sleepy Jackson was based around Luke Steele, future member of Empire Of The Sun and you can SO hear the influence between the two bands in this track. It's the sort of pyschedelic tuneful harmonies crossed with odd sounds at unusual pitches, that totally works anyway. I was so pissed off this got nowhere I entered it into Buzzjack Song Contest, and of course it didn't qualify for the final. It would be a dull world if we all liked the same tracks, and 60's/70's vibes don't always work with modern music fans...but anyone who didn't vote for this must be mad! If you like Empire Of The Sun or George Harrison you really should enjoy this

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th December 2020, 03:36 PM

546. LIFE - Haddaway (1993) 1,139,400

A big ol' 90's Eurodance anthem....was What Is Life, Haddaway's monster hit. While I rate that track a lot, this follow-up was the one that got ME dancing round my bedroom imagining I was at a club - still 8 years in the future that experience. Eurodance with late 80's House dance rhythms became the sound of the 90's dancefloor, and this is a great example of what's good about it. Haddaway was born in Trinidad & Tobago, and as a kid I had a thing about Caribbean island nations thanks to Geography TV features when I was 10. He moved to Germany, after growing up in the USA. And stayed in Germany ever since. I guess I'm the only one that prefers this track to What Is Life....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th December 2020, 03:45 PM

545. LIVING IN THE PAST - Jethro Tull (1969) 1,142,693

Ian Anderson's Prog-Rock band had a good 3 years-worth of singles success and albums success ever since as he moved into minstrel-folk-rock and salmon fishing. This was the best Tull moment by some distance, the breakthrough hit in the summer of 1969 that co-incided with me doing a spate of personal charts in a music scene that greatly excited me at rural RAF Swinderby, with married quarters housing stuck out in the middle of Lincolnshire arable fields and woodlands. We had a bus-stop. That was it. Nothing else. No car, no phone, no internet, just a black and white TV with BBC1 and ITV, and Radio 1 or Radio 2. So music was important to me, and in later years tracks like this got the nostalgia factor when reissued, as this was in 1993 or so. That pushed it over the million. I like Life's A Long Song, that's a quirky one, and Ring Out Solstice Bells, one of the few rock-era more-authentic-sounding festive season hits, but this is the one to check out.

Posted by: dandy* 29th December 2020, 05:58 PM

Oh I used to like Life by Haddaway but my favourite was always Rock My Heart - or was it Rock Your Heart? I can't quite remember!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd January 2021, 02:51 PM

Dya know I cant recall whether it was Rock My Heart or Rock Your Heart either! The former if had to hazard a guess in a pub quiz. (Checks: yay! Correct)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd January 2021, 02:59 PM

544. WE WILL ROCK YOU - Queen (1977) 1,143,210

Queen's most-famous B-side in the UK. Why oh why oh why oh why was this not a double-A! Due to my chart-rules of the time, I therefore couldn't chart this so only We Are The Champions made my charts and went top 10 on about 300,000 sales instead of this way better track doing magnificently in my late-1977 charts - up to that point Queen had had at least one chart-topper in 1974, 1975, 1976 and may well have grabbed another. Instead they had to wait for me to change my rules to allow non-charted tracks from charting albums to qualify years later. This was written to be a crowd-chanting anthem in concert, it's short, it's sweet, it's Brian May at his best and it SO rocks. Second on the list for Queen.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd January 2021, 03:19 PM

543. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - Lou Reed (1972)

Groundbreaking track this one - Bowie, who could no wrong by 1973, was a huge Velvet Underground fan, and got into pushing Lou Reed solo where his band had never been more than "known" in music circles, and from their associations with Andy Warhol and his whole Popart movement. They were hugely influential, and this track taken off the classic Transformer album was against the odds a big UK hit. The odds being against it were it's lyrics, essentially describing all the goings-on and people in Andy Warhol's scene, including male prostitutes, female prostitutes, transgenderism, gay, oral sex, and many drugs. What was amazing was the BBC, and 15-year-old me, had no clue what was being sung about so the song was blithely played on the radio of the time while pop hits from Paul McCartney, Wings, Judge Dread were all banned and big hits like 10CC's Rubber Bullets got faded before the line about "we all got balls & brains". Hysterically amusing in retrospect that they got away with it. Bowie & Mick Ronson produced it, and their are 2 more Reed songs yet to come. My fave "did you know"s about this track? Herbie Flowers did the key bassline part. He was then in the fab (now-forgotten) pop band Blue Mink, and had written a UK number one single for Clive Dunn, he of Dad's Army: Grandad. The other, the "coloured girls" singing the doo-doo-doo's were actually backing singers Thunderthighs, soon to appear on Top Of The Pops with Mott The Hoople, and to have a solo hit with Lynsey De Paul's Central Park Arrest, a song that was also about more than it seemed (flashers getting arrested, basically). Top 10 in 1973 for me, and a chart-topper this century when Lou passed away.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd January 2021, 03:29 PM

542. DUST - Royworld (2008) 1,144,000

Well, here's one I haven't heard in 12 years or so, it came and it went, and it got immediately forgotten in the annals of pop history, which is a shame as it's a catchy poprock tune sung with conviction. I think it's retro New Radicals-vibe appealed to me at the time, and I played it over and over for ages. Radio avoids it like the plague. That'll be due to it's paltry chart position of 29 in the UK, for the British band. Sadly, they broke up the same year, and became what we might call low-profile in and out of the music industry. Best I can say is their music featured in The Inbetweeners and Made In Chelsea.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd January 2021, 04:51 PM

541. THE ROAD TO MANDALAY - Robbie Williams (2001) 1,144,550

This was a great track, but got overshadowed by the boring Eternity on this double-A-side, for some reason. It didn't actually top my chart, but still "outsold" most of those that did - The Robster has had 14 chart-toppers, but this is the 2nd of 6 on the rundown, not counting Take That tracks. It's a great song, and the bom-bom-bom's returned a long-forgotten pop-music tradition to the charts. It also marked the dividing line between Robbie's Imperial Phase (as the Pet Shop Boys might call it) and his more sporadic career, and his album consistency with Sing When You're Winning - much more patchy from here on.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd January 2021, 05:06 PM

540. RHINESTONE COWBOY - Glen Campbell (1975) 1,146,050

Rhinestone Cowboy was a return to UK hitmaking for the fabulous Glen, after a gap of 4 years as his run of Jimmy Webb winning tunes ran-out - Jimmy was still writing them for him, but they lost their evocative memorable edge. This was an instant fave for me, though it took a few months to chart in the UK singles chart, which is why its chart-run was extended for me. It's glossy, string-laden, and pure Americana and popcountry - though this cover of a Larry Weiss flop, was a lyric Glen related to - persevering against the odds, and coming up smelling of rhinestone roses: Glen had paid his dues as a session musician for years before hitting the big time. This, more than any other, is his personal signature song for the public - though not his absolute greatest record, it's still fab. 3rd of 10 Campbell tracks to feature.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd January 2021, 05:24 PM

539. ELENORE - The Turtles (1968) 1,146,200

I absolutely love this record. I was 10, and it inspired me to start my own personal charts in late 1968. I already knew the songs of the Turtles, Happy Together (covered by Jason Donovan years later) and She'd Rather Be With Me, both fab, but I had no idea what they looked like, being as UK TV at that time rarely had US pop stars featured until they'd got fairly big. Turns out the duo of Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman were not what you'd call photogenic popstars, but they knew how to write great pop songs. Probably their best-known hit (a cover) these days is the much-covered You Showed Me (Lightning Seeds, Salt 'n' Pepa), but their entire hits collection is pretty good, especially Elenore. As they had gotten less-commercial, and more into the art of music, the story goes the record company asked them to write another pop song like Happy Together. So, pissed off, they wrote Elenore, designed to be a parody of pop song cliches lyrically, notably featuring "you're my pride and joy etcetera" indicating they couldn't be arsed to finish the sentence. Turns out that was the most memorable bit apart from the amazing hook, both funny and effective at the same time. By 1970 they broke up the group, became studio session musicians and singers known as Flo & Eddie, and appeared on...Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, T.Rex's Electric Warrior & The Slider albums and singles like Get It On, Bruce Springsteen's Hungry Heart, samples of De La Soul, and an Alice Cooper album to boot. Not bad, really, then...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2021, 12:02 PM

538. EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING / (PERFECTO MIX) - U2 (1992) 1,146,300

These days generally slagged-off, once upon a time lauded, and everything in between, but I've always got time for Bono and the lads, I liked them from the right-off when they did Fire on Top Of The Pops, started getting good with New Year's Day and then hit the jackpot with the brilliant Pride (In The Name Of Love). Sadly, this is the second of only two on the list, despite obviously great tracks like One, Beautiful Day and quirky stuff like Lemon. They have one more song on the countdown though. Even Better Than The Real Thing came out as a more traditional rock number on Achtung Baby and they backed it up with the then-hot dance-producer Perfecto dance mix, completely different and both versions worked. My preference is for the original version, on balance, but there's not much between them, and that's why combined sales was a logical move.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2021, 12:23 PM

537. POPCORN - Hot Butter (1972) 1,146,800

It's 1972, I'm at the start of the 4th year at school, and one of the more bully-types kids who generally made my life a misery sat at the same table as me at dinner-time and we got to talking about pop music (as I tend to do) and I told him about this great new record called Popcorn by Hot Butter. He thought it was a gag, I assured him it wasn't and explained him what it sounded like: like nothing else that had been a hit before, possible exception of Chicory Tip's Son Of My Father which debuted proper synth sounds into number one records earlier that year - a Giorgio Moroder song, who else! Taken off the 1969 Music To Moog By album by New York composer Gershon Kingsley, it was given a re-record in 1971 under the pseudonym, and eventually became a worldwide hit, ushering a new entirely-synth-based sound that bided it's time for 5 years until I Feel Love created the "woah!" moment that hit me across the face on first listen and made it bloody obvious that music was about to change in a big way. Popcorn, is as suggested by the title, Pop, corny, bubblegum, but a) I like pop, b) I like bubblegum and c) I like records that sound like nothing else on Earth, so 14-year-old me loved it, and I also learnt a lesson: just because bullies talk to you one day doesn't mean that they suddenly turn into decent human beings, I still got punched in the face at the back of a Geography lesson for no reason whatsoever.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2021, 12:39 PM

As I can't be bothered to re-number my countdown as new tracks enter high, they will just feature as bonus interruptions! So here's a recent one:

FADES AWAY - Avicii featuring Mishcatt (2019) 1,148,100

The damaged Avicii was a tragic loss to music and his loved ones, and his final album was filled with obviously-now statements about his mental health, which made the touching dance songs and beats all the more sad. I always liked his records, some of them were bigger than others, but this posthumous track was the one that hit me the most. Noonie Bao did the album version guest vocal, but at the tribute concert to Tim Bergling, Puerto Rican singer MishCatt guested on an emotional performance of the track, and so she got the single release version. And it's fab.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th February 2021, 06:46 PM

536. LET'S STAY TOGETHER - Al Green (1972) 1,148,950

Soul music in the early 70's was the Bees-Knees and few did it better than Al Green, and best of all his sensual ballads was this 1972 hit, Let's Stay Together. Al never did Top Of The Pops that I recall, so I had no idea he was a bit of a hot pin-up, I just loved his records, covered by the liked of Texas (Tired Of Being Alone) and Tina Turner (this song, which effectively brought her back from the wilderness and turned her into an 80's Superstar, following a key performance of it on The Tube). By the 80's Al Green had turned his back on the music biz and become a Preacher, but still dabbled here and there, for example along with Annie Lennox on Put A Little Love In Your Heart. Since then his back catalogue has only looked even better as the years go by. His Greatest Hits should be an essential in any music fan's dig into the archives.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th February 2021, 06:55 PM

535. BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS OF HEARTACHE - The Bandwagon (1968) 1,149,400

Johnny Johnson later got lead credits on Bandwagon hits like Blame It On The Pony Express, but on this funky dancefloor groove with Northern Soul beats beloved in the early 70's UK, he was rockin' my delighted 10-year-old ears. Great record, and not nearly as well-known as it deserves. Sadly, Johnny died in 1979, but his sound influenced Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners (they did a cover of this, and the influence is clear).

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th February 2021, 07:08 PM

534. (THERE'S) ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME - Sandie Shaw (1964) 1,150,300

This record fills me with waves of nostalgic love for my childhood years. Aged 6 the love I had for this record was almost physical, like getting butterflies in the stomache. Absolutely loved it and loved young Sandie Shaw, loved the Bacharach/David song and in fact I usually loved anything Bacharach & David well into the 70's, right from an early age their brand of melodic, sophisticated Easy Listening never failed to hit the spot with me, whoever was singing it, Sandie, Cilla, Herb Alpert, Carpenters or most of all Dionne Warwick who did the original to this and made a career out losing out to British covers. Deservedly in this case, Sandie's voice is fab, and her follow-ups divine, like the fab Long Live Love, Girl Don't Come or her 80's Morrissey-spearheaded revival on Hand In Glove. She was second only to Dusty Springfield in 60's British female cool. Bizarrely, this wasn't well-known in the States until an 80's synth cover grabbed some fame. Not anywhere near in my affections of this one, though - this is in the chart based on a re-issue, so had I been charting in 1964, in amongst my Doctor Who TV enthralment, or cutting bits out of magazines of film and pop stars to stick in Scrap Books, or reading comics like Robin & Playhour, this would have featured WAY higher in the list!

Posted by: King Rollo 13th February 2021, 06:07 PM

The Naked Eyes cover is my favourite version of that song. I became aware of Hot Butter by Popcorn after it was used as background music on various 1970s TV programmes. It was years ahead of its time. Rhinestone Cowboy is another good pick here.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th February 2021, 08:29 PM

I enjoyed the Naked Eyes version, and was happy to see get to be a US hit, even if not so much in the UK. Instrumentals like Hot Butter were regularly used back in the day for TV item backdrops, I'm still finding tunes I recognise and saying "Oh THAT'S what it was!" 55 years later. I guess Woodkid'a Run Boy Run will be the equivalent in 45 years time...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th May 2021, 03:29 PM

533. YOU WEAR IT WELL - Rod Stewart (1972) 1,152,350



Rod was still with The Faces in his heyday years, and at his peak creatively, I actually preferred this UK chart-topper to Maggie May at the time, I think the fiddle helped. I will always love a fiddle. No, titter ye not! However, both tracks were reissued as a double A side single in 1976 and Maggie May got the lion's share of attention, so that did much better second time round (and third) while this one did better on its first run. Rod can be a great songwriter, when he can be arsed, but his tendency to rely on bland covers has always annoyed me. The 3 tracks on my rundown are all Rod songs, and the best track of all (probably) that is missing is also a Rod song: Baby Jane didn't quite make the rundown. I went to see the Rod/Ben Elton musical Tonight's The Night, an attempt to do another We Will Rock You. I'll never get that night of my life back! Upstart Crow is infinitely better.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th May 2021, 03:42 PM

532. AIN'T GOT NO...I GOT LIFE - Nina Simone (1968) 1,152,650



Picture this: 10-year-old John getting excited for Christmas and starting to arse about compiling his own charts in a notebook with cute spaniel dogs on the cover, and he's very very mad on this record. Nina Simone's voice is like no other, hippy is cool, anti-war songs are all the rage as the Vietnam War drags on and on, and long hair is a sign of rebellion against the boring unsympathetic establishment. Cue the hit musical called "Hair" which was awash with great hit songs, and a little bit of stage nudity to stir things up a bit on a storyline set against the US draft for the War. Nina Simone was very particular about her records, she didn't sing just any old piece of tat, she was well into Civil Rights and Black Pride and songs were well-chosen, notably later on in 1969 when Young, Gifted & Black emerged. So, nobody has done a better version of this unusual song than Nina, and that includes the pumped up remix of a different version she'd done. This is the great version. I loved it then, I loved it when everyone had forgotten all about it, and I loved it when it came back in the 21st century in a catchy ditty. Still, it helped top up the total sales for this one.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th May 2021, 03:57 PM

531. FEEL THE NEED IN ME - The Detroit Emeralds (1972)



A great Philly-era lush disco classic from the Emeralds, who got a mini-run of UK hits out of it in 1973, and then nothing else except re-issues or re-records (top 20 again in 1977) of this song. It's never topped my charts, but in different runs it's had a sizeable total to feature. It's great - I wouldn't say it's an absolute top 800 fave, but it still sounds pretty fine, and it's been covered by acts as diverse as Forrest (1983), teen idol Leif Garrett (1979) and ultimately even Shakin' Stevens had a go at killing off the charm of the original in 1988 (all 3 versions went top 40). The original, as I've just said for Nina Simone, is the best, and that also applies to the very similar 1977 re-record. I'm just very anal-retentive about covers by and large, unless it's done totally differently and inspirationally, or charmingly.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th May 2021, 04:07 PM

530. SUPREME - Robbie Williams (2000) 1,154,200



The Robster was into his Imperial Phase around this time, and he could do no wrong for me, and the UK charts, and album sales. Taken from his Sing When You're Winning album, Rob & Guy Chambers borrow cheekily from Gloria Gaynor's disco classic I Will Survive and create a new pop goodie. Possibly a bit flattered position-wise by that nicking (I can't confirm where or if Gloria Gaynor is on the list but I was a big early fan long before I Will Survive), as generally it wasn't quite as big as his chart-topping faves of the time, but hey, Rob is never bad, and frequently he's great. The 3rd of 6 Robbie tracks on the countdown, with 3 biggies still to come, bet you can't guess which 3. OK, you will guess 2 of them, but the 3rd, no chance....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th May 2021, 04:36 PM

529. FAIRGROUND - Simply Red (1995) 1,154,700



Talking of judicious use of samples, here's something I never thought would I would see: Simply Red topping my charts! And doing it in style, helped by the rhythm track sample of The Goodmen's Give It Up, with Mick Hucknall concocting a surprisingly life-affirming, joyous monster hit after a ten-year career of mostly inoffensive and generally forgettable soul ballads or covers of soul standards, give or take the odd diversion into reggae (Night Nurse), politics (Money's Too Tight To mention) and the like and notwithstanding the CD monster-hit that the album Stars was. I still rate this, and he learnt how to appeal to me by using a bed of a great soul sample and writing a new song around it after he'd left his record company - see Hall & Oates sample and Simply Red's other previous listing). As I like Pop Links, Mick (who is a great singer) stood in for the non-show of Rod The Mod (see 533 above) on a recent Faces batch of live shows in recent years. Rod being too busy churning out kerching American Song Book production-line to join his surviving old mates, presumably. I like Mick generally more than I like his back catalogue, so would have loved to have seen him doing "Stay With Me" and the other Faces hits!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th May 2021, 01:07 PM

528. I HAVE A DREAM - Abba (1979) 1,154,950



Held back for Christmas 1979 to help plug the latest Abba hits album, making it a 5th track off the Voulez Vous album to get a single release, and that's not even counting one track which was scheduled to go on, but didn't. There were at least another 2 potential big hit singles, one of which isn't in the rundown - If It wasn't For The Nights was eventually dropped due to fears it was too similar to Dancing Queen (it isn't, and it's fab). This is very singalong, features kids singing and was held off the UK top spot by another track with kids singing - the very different Another Brick In The Wall, Pink Floyd's classic. I know both these appealed to young kids cos that Xmas we spent with family friends from Birkenhead who's daughters were both around 8, 9, 10-ish and each bought one single for that Xmas. Floyd and this one. So, yes it's a bit twee and hopelessly positive, but OMG do we need that attitude in these miserable times. It's also tuneful to the nth degree. It's a shame the concert footage which was used to promote the track isn;t on the official Abba site, cos until the hologram tour gets going that's still the most recent opportunity I could have had to see them in a live setting. 42 years and still waiting...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th May 2021, 01:24 PM

527. POWERLESS (SAY WHAT YOU WANT) (2003) 1,156,300



Crikey, not heard this in 17 years or so, most likely, seems like ages which is odd as the lyrics and sentiment very much apply in 2021 as much as 2003. Nelly was great, she had a good run of singles over a few years - and then AWOL for nearly a decade now (from my charts). That's a shame. Also a shame, this video isn't on her official Youtube so soon as I post it I expect it to be removed, that's what usually happens - and it's a good video too, I can't understand how pop stars don;t hold the rights to showcase videos they perform in singing their own musical product. Anyways, first of two on the rundown, and t'other one isn't the great I'm Like A Bird which topped my chart but just missed, or her kicking UK chart-topper Maneater, nor Promiscuous, but it is another chart-topper - in the USA.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th May 2021, 01:38 PM

526. WHITE FLAG - Dido (2003) 1,156,550



Recently voted out early in a dodgy Buzzjack poll (sorry to those deluded souls who feel this isn't wonderful, shame (ring bell) shame (ring bell) shame (ring bell) ), Dido's finest, lush, moving moment deserves to be in the rundown more than her other key tracks, Here With Me, Thank You, Sand In My Shoes, and Stan (credit due cos her sample is a big part of the Eminem classic's appeal). I find her albums very playable, late night mood, melancholic sweetness, and I've never disliked anything she's released albeit not necessarily always memorable, but always of a decent quality, and her recent stuff has been more interesting than one might expect. Brother of Faithless' Rollo, with who she had a pretty good 2002 single (One Step Too Far), and an act who have also been good over a long period before turning up recently with some interesting stuff. Sadly Salva Mea is also not on the list, despite topping my chart in 1997.

Posted by: dandy* 14th May 2021, 03:03 PM

White Flag is such a good song, definitely Dido at her best and I really wish it had beaten the BEPs to #1 that week

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th May 2021, 04:35 PM

Me, too!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 05:48 PM

Nearly 2 years since I last did this, and it's expanded to 947, so a lot of new entries and dropping positions. Rather than re-do any or review new ones, I'm going to just list the chart up to Dido's White Flag, which is currently number 561 (not 526 anymore!) and was the last one I reviewed.

Having re-set everything, just to make it slightly less repetitive I've included a previously position just before the song - this was the chart I did at the end of the 20th Century, so all changes relate to what it was at that point. Then the artist, year and chart "sales" all with no brackets, oops!

Hope that makes sense, and this is what 23 years of extra charts has done to the 31st Dec 1999 positions:

901 495 OPEN YOUR HEART Human League 1981 963500
902 NEW OUR HOUSE Madness 1982 963350
903 496 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU Congregation 1971 963200
904 NEW IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS (Denmark) Chanee & N'evergreen 2010 963000
905 497 BRANDY Scott English 1971 962840
906 498 ALANE Wes 1998 962700
907 NEW DAYDREAMING Harry Styles 2022 962000
908 NEW THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 1989 961450
909 NEW SOLDIERS ABBA 1981 961050
910 499 MY OH MY Slade 1983 960700

911 NEW HEARTACHE AVENUE The Maisonettes 1982 959950
912 NEW HERE I GO AGAIN Archie Bell And The Drells 1969 959900
913 500 SINGLE BILINGUAL Pet Shop Boys 1996 959400
914 NEW BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga 2009 959350
915 NEW STARLIGHT Supermen Lovers 2001 958650
916 NEW I’M YOUR MAN Wham! 1985 958400
917 NEW THIS IS HOW (WE WANT YOU TO GET HIGH) George Michael 2019 958250
918 NEW WHEN YOU'RE GONE Bryan Adams/ Melanie C 1998 958100
919 NEW MAKE IT WITH YOU Let Loose 1996 958050
920 NEW VIOLENT THING Ben Dolic 2020 958000

921 NEW BAND ON THE RUN Paul McCartney & Wings 1974 958000
922 NEW EVERYWHERE Fleetwood Mac 1988 957950
923 NEW (I NEVER PROMISED YOU A) ROSE GARDEN Lynn Anderson 1971 956700
924 NEW A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles 1964 956650
925 NEW IT’S MY LIFE Talk Talk 1984 956350
926 NEW SAY IT TO ME Pet Shop Boys 2016 954650
927 NEW SHORLEY WALL Ooberman 1998 954300
928 NEW SHAME Eurythmics 1988 953700
929 NEW ONLY YOU CAN Fox 1974 952650
930 NEW GO! M83 featuring Mai Lan 2016 952150

931 NEW TWILIGHT E.L.O. 1981 952050
932 NEW SAY SOMETHING Kylie Minogue 2020 950600
933 NEW CHINA GIRL David Bowie 1983 950000
934 NEW THE TANGO’S OVER Mick Robertson 1974 948000
935 NEW WHERE DO YOU GO No Mercy 1997 947750
936 NEW CROCODILE ROCK Elton John 1972 947700
937 NEW WORRIED ABOUT RAY The Hoosiers 2007 947400
938 NEW BIRD SONG Lene Lovich 1979 947200
939 NEW WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE Love Unlimited 1972 947050
940 NEW WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? Emma Bunton 2001 946650

941 NEW HOLD ME TIGHT Johnny Nash 1968 946350
942 NEW MEGAREX T.Rex 1985 946250
943 NEW THE POACHER Ronnie Lane 1974 946150
944 NEW RAPTURE Blondie 1981 946150
945 NEW GHOST TOWN The Specials 1981 945850
946 NEW THE MODEL Kraftwerk 1978 944800
947 NEW CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD Kylie Minogue 2001 944750

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 05:53 PM

851 NEW LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (TGIF) Katy Perry 2011 988750
852 NEW BECOME Midge Ure 2015 988400
853 473 CONSTANT CRAVING k.d.Lang 1992 987900
854 474 FOX ON THE RUN Sweet 1975 987850
855 NEW TRUE LOVE WAYS Buddy Holly 1960 987700
856 475 HAPPY NEW YEAR/THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO ABBA 1980 986900
857 NEW SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY ABBA 1982 986550
858 476 HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck Group 1967 986350
859 477 THE SIGN Ace Of Base 1994 985800
860 NEW LOVELY DAY Bill Withers 1978 984950

861 478 I'M MANDY FLY ME 10C.C. 1976 984900
862 NEW BETTER Cat And The Menagerie 2013 984600
863 NEW MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT Starbuck 1976 984150
864 NEW NUMB Jessi 2020 984000
865 NEW IN YOUR EYES Robin Schulz featuring Alida 2020 983850
866 NEW 3 WORDS Cheryl Cole/ will.i.am 2009 983050
867 NEW SIGN O’ THE TIMES Prince 1987 982450
868 NEW GHOSTTOWN Madonna 2015 981800
869 NEW REPTILIA The Strokes 2004 980600
870 479 BEACH BABY First Class 1974 980258

871 480 MIRROR MAN Human League 1982 979850
872 NEW STAY Shakespears Sister 1992 978850
873 NEW LOVE RUNS OUT OneRepublic 2014 978650
874 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode 1989 978400
875 NEW EMPIRE STATE OF MIND/ PART 2 Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys 2009 978200
876 482 ON THE BIBLE Deuce 1995 978200
877 NEW I’M A CLOWN David Cassidy 1973 978000
878 NEW COULD IT BE FOREVER David Cassidy 1972 977100
879 NEW HEART AND SOUL T’Pau 1987 976800
880 NEW MAID OF ORLEANS (THE WALTZ JOAN OF ARC) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 1982 976500

881 484 NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness 1980 975900
882 483 (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION Human League 1983 975400
883 NEW RADIOACTIVE Imagine Dragons 2012 975000
884 NEW PRAY Take That 1993 975000
885 NEW MONSTERS Saara Aalto 2018 974650
886 490 UNPRETTY TLC 1999 974500
887 NEW GOOD LUCK Basement Jaxx/ Lisa Kekaula 2004 974400
888 487 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Police 1979 973200
889 488 TORCH Soft Cell 1982 972950
890 489 THE WAR SONG Culture Club 1984 971150

891 NEW HOLLABACK GIRL Gwen Stefani 2005 970900
892 NEW TIME IN A BOTTLE Jim Croce 1974 969050
893 NEW MOVE YOUR FEET Junior Senior 2003 968250
894 NEW BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 1974 968200
895 491 HOME LOVIN' MAN Andy Williams 1970 968000
896 NEW MAGNIFICENT Hurts 2017 967900
897 NEW SWEET CHILD 'O MINE Guns 'N' Roses 1988 967350
898 NEW JOHNNY REGGAE The Piglets 1971 966750
899 493 AGAIN Janet Jackson 1994 966600
900 NEW WAY DOWN Elvis Presley 1977 964907

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 05:55 PM

801 NEW UNFINISHED SYMPATHY Massive Attack 1991 1006550
802 NEW CHASING PAVEMENTS Adele 2008 1005350
803 NEW IT’S ALRIGHT Pet Shop Boys 1989 1005300
804 453 MISS YOU NIGHTS Cliff Richard 1976 1005300
805 NEW NOTHING BREAKS LIKE A HEART Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus 2019 1004600
806 465 LOVE ME DO Beatles 1962 1004100
807 NEW I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BUT I CAN'T GIVE IT ANYMORE Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003900
808 454 YOU DON'T KNOW ME Armand Van Helden/ Duane Harden 1999 1003800
809 NEW NO MILK TODAY Herman's Hermits 1967 1003800
810 NEW JUMP Madonna 2006 1003600

811 NEW GOOD RIDDANCE (TIME OF YOUR LIFE) Glen Campbell 2008 1003500
812 NEW DEAR FUTURE SELF (HANDS UP) Fall Out Boy featuring Wyclef Jean 2019 1003450
813 455 I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING Pet Shop Boys 1993 1003450
814 NEW THE DARK IS RISING Mercury Rev 2001 1003100
815 NEW FOOTSTEPS Pet Shop Boys 1999 1003050
816 NEW STAND BY ME Ben E. King 1961 1002950
817 NEW NON HO L’ETA PER AMARTI Gigliola Cinquetti 1964 1002850
818 456 DID YOU EVER Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood 1971 1002700
819 NEW THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE Percy Faith 1960 1002500
820 457 LAST STOP: THIS TOWN Eels 1998 1002400

821 NEW DELILAH Tom Jones 1968 1002250
822 NEW I SAW HER AGAIN The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1001800
823 NEW IN THE CROSSFIRE Starsailor 2005 1001500
824 NEW THE KILLING MOON Echo & The Bunnymen 1984 1001400
825 NEW DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 1977 1001162
826 458 JOHN WAYNE IS BIG LEGGY Haysi Fantayzee 1982 1000400
827 459 BACK IN THE U.S.S.R. Beatles 1968 1000000
828 NEW SUNRISE Simply Red 2003 999300
829 461 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 1989 999150
830 462 RESCUE ME Madonna 1991 999100

831 NEW SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond 1969 998450
832 468 END OF THE ROAD Boyz II Men 1992 998250
833 463 I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER Hot Gossip/ Sarah Brightman 1978 997950
834 464 BLUE MONDAY New Order 1983 997850
835 466 OBSESSION Animotion 1985 997250
836 NEW OH PITY Cashier No 9 2011 995600
837 NEW DON'T TELL ME Madonna 2000 994450
838 467 HOLD ON TIGHT E.L.O. 1981 994000
839 NEW TRUE FEELING Galantis 2017 993350
840 469 HE AIN'T HEAVY... HE'S MY BROTHER Hollies 1969 992450

841 NEW SECRETS The Weeknd featuring Tears For Fears 2016 992000
842 NEW TO SIR WITH LOVE Lulu 1967 991650
843 NEW OUTLINES Mike Mago and Dragonette 2015 991400
844 470 DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME Culture Club 1982 991300
845 NEW FANTASY Mariah Carey 1995 991200
846 471 CRAZY HORSES Osmonds 1972 990800
847 NEW (TO BE) YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK Bob & Marcia 1970 990750
848 NEW WALKING ON THIN ICE Yoko Ono 1981 990600
849 NEW SWEET HARMONY The Beloved 1993 990150
850 NEW MOVIESTAR Harpo featuring Frida 1975 990000

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 05:57 PM

751 NEW STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 1980 1033550
752 422 HUMAN BEINGS Seal 1998 1033250
753 NEW MY GIRL Temptations 1965 1032600
754 NEW RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM Maxine Nightingale 1975 1030700
755 425 JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES Cher 1989 1030250
756 NEW KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE Freiheit 1988 1030200
757 426 THE REFLEX Duran Duran 1984 1030200
758 NEW I WALK ALONE Cher 2014 1029200
759 NEW GET OUTTA MY WAY Kylie Minogue 2010 1029200
760 427 UNINVITED Alanis Morissette 1998 1028850

761 NEW A THING CALLED LOVE Johnny Cash 1972 1027950
762 NEW RELEASE 220 KID & ASDIS 2022 1027800
763 428 BABY NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU Foundations 1967 1027400
764 NEW ONE SHY MORNING Amon Tobin 2019 1027000
765 NEW SUPERSTAR Jamelia 2003 1026100
766 429 TELEGRAM SAM T.Rex 1972 1025008
767 430 THE EYES OF TRUTH Enigma 1994 1024450
768 431 COME UNDONE Duran Duran 1993 1024300
769 NEW ANNIE YOU SAVE ME Graffiti6 2010 1023950
770 NEW SLOOP JOHN B The Beach Boys 1966 1023450

771 NEW SOUND AND VISION David Bowie 1977 1023365
772 NEW (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION The Rolling Stones 1965 1022500
773 433 THE LEBANON Human League 1984 1022400
774 434 PERFECT DAY Lou Reed & friends 1997 1022100
775 NEW PAINT IT BLACK The Rolling Stones 1966 1022000
776 NEW ARCADE Duncan Laurence 2019 1021750
777 435 STARS China Black 1994 1021300
778 NEW DIRTY DIANA Michael Jackson 1988 1020250
779 NEW EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE The Police 1983 1019950
780 450 AMERICAN PIE Don McLean 1972 1019400

781 438 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette 1989 1018500
782 440 STOP LOVING ME STOP LOVING YOU Daryl Hall 1994 1018000
783 NEW I'M WITH STUPID Pet Shop Boys 2006 1017400
784 441 PAPA DON'T PREACH Madonna 1986 1016100
785 NEW LOVE ETC Pet Shop Boys 2009 1014700
786 472 DA YA THINK I'M SEXY? Rod Stewart 1978 1014000
787 NEW SUMMERTIME SADNESS Lana Del Ray vs Cedric Gervais 2013 1013550
788 NEW IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND Agnetha Faltskog 2004 1013350
789 444 LUCKY MAN Verve 1997 1012900
790 NEW MATHEMATICS Cherry Ghost 2007 1012650

791 446 BLACK AND WHITE Greyhound 1971 1011000
792 451 CARNAVAL DE PARIS Dario G 1998 1010900
793 NEW ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS Paloma Faith 2014 1009550
794 452 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond 1970 1009400
795 492 SUNDAY GIRL Blondie 1979 1009150
796 NEW BABY LOVE The Supremes 1964 1008850
797 NEW CA PLANE POUR MOI Plastic Bertrand 1977 1008550
798 NEW ALL THE YOUNG DUDES Mott The Hoople 1972 1008350
799 NEW FAIRYTALE Alexander Rybak 2009 1007150
800 NEW MY NAME IS JACK Manfred Mann 1968 1006650

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 06:00 PM

701 NEW LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud 1974 1064670
702 402 WILD WOOD Paul Weller 1993 1064650
703 NEW WHEN IT’S COLD I’D LIKE TO DIE Moby featuring Mimi Goese 1995 1064550
704 NEW ALL BY MYSELF Alok, Sigala & Ellie Goulding 2022 1064000
705 449 THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL Michael Jackson 1987 1063800
706 NEW YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE Gerry & The Pacemakers 1963 1063550
707 NEW COMMON PEOPLE Pulp 1995 1063100
708 NEW SUBURBIA Pet Shop Boys 1986 1062050
709 NEW UP ON THE ROOF The Drifters 1962 1060550
710 447 I HEAR YOU NOW Jon & Vangelis 1980 1060350

711 403 LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU Robbie Williams 1998 1059350
712 404 WALKING ON THE MOON Police 1979 1058650
713 414 LOVE SHACK B52's 1989 1055400
714 NEW GET TOGETHER Madonna 2006 1055250
715 406 I DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE Jane Child 1990 1054950
716 407 MONKEY George Michael 1988 1054750
717 NEW JUST DANCE Lady Gaga 2009 1054250
718 NEW DARE Gorillaz/ Shaun Ryder 2005 1053150
719 NEW MARRY YOU Bruno Mars 2011 1051050
720 NEW DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys 1988 1050900

721 408 OPPORTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys 1986 1046200
722 409 TROUBLE Lindsey Buckingham 1981 1045850
723 NEW ROCK THE BOAT The Hues Corporation 1974 1045650
724 411 JE T'AIME...MOI NON PLUS Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 1969 1044950
725 412 UNDER ATTACK ABBA 1982 1044800
726 NEW HOUSE OF CARDS Red Sky July 2016 1043950
727 NEW BRIGHT LIGHTS BIGGER CITY Cee-Lo Green/ Wiz Khalifa 2011 1043550
728 NEW ALONE AGAIN OR Love 1968 1043350
729 485 THRILLER Michael Jackson 1983 1043150
730 NEW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES Mark Brown/ Sarah Cracknell 2008 1042900

731 413 GENO Dexy's Midnight Runners 1980 1042600
732 460 TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART Bonnie Tyler 1983 1042450
733 NEW GRENADE Bruno Mars 2011 1042400
734 NEW COOL Gwen Stefani 2005 1041500
735 NEW DIAMOND HEART Alan Walker & Sophia Somajo 2018 1040050
736 415 (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER Jackie Wilson 1967 1039750
737 418 THE LOCOMOTION Little Eva 1962 1039200
738 NEW TAKE ON ME a-ha 1985 1038750
739 NEW CARELESS WHISPER George Michael 1984 1038700
740 NEW KILLER Adamski featuring Seal 1990 1038350

741 NEW HEY YA Outkast 2003 1037950
742 419 GOODBYE SAM HELLO SAMANTHA Cliff Richard 1970 1037300
743 424 TUSK Fleetwood Mac 1979 1037100
744 420 SCREAM Michael/Janet Jackson 1995 1037050
745 NEW HUNG UP Madonna 2005 1036850
746 NEW DADDY COOL Boney M 1976 1036107
747 NEW HOTTER THAN HELL Dua Lipa 2016 1035300
748 NEW SHOOT THE DOG George Michael/ Human League 2002 1035250
749 NEW ONLY YOU Yazoo 1982 1034600
750 421 NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE Bucks Fizz 1982 1033850

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 06:02 PM

651 NEW IMITATION OF LIFE REM 2001 1095250
652 NEW SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) Eurythmics 1983 1091900
653 366 THAT LOOK IN YOUR EYE Ali Campbell/Pam Starks 1995 1090750
654 494 YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive 1984 1090200
655 367 ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 Gary Glitter 1972 1088550
656 368 TELL IT TO MY HEART Taylor Dayne 1988 1087450
657 369 PUT YOURSELF IN MY PLACE Kylie Minogue 1994 1087400
658 NEW ONE LAST NIGHT Vaults 2015 1087250
659 423 THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics 1985 1086650
660 370 DANGEROUS Roxette 1990 1086150

661 371 TRUE FAITH New Order 1987 1086000
662 NEW KISS IT BETTER BirdSMITH 2022 1085700
663 372 WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME/CAN'T TAKE.. Pet Shop Boys 1991 1085100
664 373 MERCY MERCY ME/ I WANT YOU Robert Palmer 1991 1085100
665 NEW GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 1973 1083550
666 377 TEMMA HARBOUR Mary Hopkin 1970 1083500
667 NEW SAY SO Doja Cat 2020 1082450
668 379 MY LITTLE ONE Marmalade 1971 1082400
669 380 YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT Desmond Dekker 1970 1082400
670 NEW TEARS OF GOLD Faouzia 2020 1082250

671 381 I WANT YOU Savage Garden 1997 1082150
672 NEW DON'T YOU WORRY CHILD Swedish House Mafia/ John Martin 2012 1081400
673 382 FREE AS A BIRD Beatles 1995 1081400
674 385 LOVE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP Robert Knight 1968 1079300
675 NEW ASTOUNDED Bran Van 3000 featuring Curtis Mayfield 2002 1079000
676 387 AIRPORT Motors 1978 1079000
677 NEW FRIDAY'S CHILD Will Young 2004 1078750
678 388 MY COO CA CHOO Alvin Stardust 1973 1078750
679 389 MONY MONY Tommy James & The Shondells 1968 1078700
680 391 WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME Monaco 1997 1077450

681 NEW GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU The Bee Gees 1968 1077450
682 400 BLACK VELVET Alannah Myles 1990 1077300
683 NEW WHEN DOVES CRY Prince 1984 1077300
684 393 HEAD OVER HEELS ABBA 1982 1076250
685 NEW WUTHERING HEIGHTS Kate Bush 1978 1076212
686 394 IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE Roxette 1990 1076100
687 NEW OH MY GOD Kaiser Chiefs 2005 1075850
688 NEW RHYTHM IS A DANCER Snap! 1992 1074850
689 395 NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate 1980 1074800
690 NEW WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER Texas 1999 1074450

691 NEW THIS IS YOUR LIFE Banderas 1991 1072200
692 396 E=MC2 Big Audio Dynamite 1986 1072100
693 397 RETURN TO INNOCENCE Enigma 1994 1071000
694 NEW TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles 1965 1070550
695 398 I WANT YOU BACK N-Sync 1998 1070200
696 NEW SKY Sonique 2000 1070100
697 NEW HE LOVES U NOT Dream 2001 1069250
698 NEW RIDING INTO BLUE (COWBOY SONG) Inga 1990 1067650
699 399 WIG WAM BAM Sweet 1972 1067200
700 401 I AM...I SAID Neil Diamond 1971 1064800

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 06:04 PM

601 NEW SPEED OF SOUND Coldplay 2005 1126850
602 334 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Norman Greenbaum 1970 1126300
603 343 YOU'RE SO VAIN Carly Simon 1972 1126100
604 336 HOLD ON Wilson Phillips 1990 1125300
605 364 DOWN UNDER Men At Work 1982 1125200
606 337 I HEAR YOU KNOCKING Dave Edmunds 1970 1124500
607 481 SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell/ Michael Jackson 1984 1123300
608 339 FOREVER AUTUMN Justin Hayward 1978 1123200
609 340 IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU Yvonne Elliman 1978 1121650
610 NEW CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush 1985 1120700

611 384 JESUS TO A CHILD George Michael 1996 1119950
612 341 MY GUY Mary Wells 1964 1119900
613 392 POP MUZIK M 1979 1119550
614 NEW VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR Buggles 1979 1118100
615 342 TRUE BLUE Madonna 1986 1116250
616 NEW GHOST ON THE CANVAS Glen Campbell 2011 1115950
617 NEW UNDER CONTROL Calvin Harris and Alesso featuring Hurts 2013 1115100
618 344 ORDINARY LIVES Bee Gees 1989 1114250
619 NEW CRYSTAL New Order 2001 1113250
620 448 RADIO GA GA Queen 1984 1111900

621 346 ANGEL FINGERS Wizzard 1973 1111155
622 347 ATOMIC Blondie 1980 1110850
623 348 MESSAGES OMD 1980 1110450
624 NEW SUN IS SHINING Bob Marley Vs Funkstar Deluxe 1999 1109950
625 349 DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE The Mamas & The Papas 1967 1109750
626 350 WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti 1984 1109400
627 351 DONNA 10C.C. 1972 1109200
628 NEW WATERMELON SUGAR Harry Styles 2019 1108300
629 NEW WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND Noel Harrison 1969 1106850
630 NEW GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers 1982 1106600

631 353 WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard 1979 1106200
632 NEW WALK AWAY RENEE The Four Tops 1967 1105650
633 354 GET DOWN TONIGHT KC & The Sunshine Band 1975 1105350
634 386 PARTY FEARS TWO Associates 1982 1104700
635 NEW 3 A.M. ETERNAL (LIVE AT THE S.S.L.) The KLF featuring the Children Of The Revolution, Ricardo Da Force & P.P. Arnold 1991 1104600
636 355 SE A VIDA ES Pet Shop Boys 1996 1104500
637 356 MOULDY OLD DOUGH Lt. Pigeon 1972 1101500
638 NEW AIN'T NO SUNSHINE Bill Withers 1971 1101500
639 NEW 10538 OVERTURE E.L.O. 1972 1101200
640 358 SAVE ME Clodagh Rodgers 1976 1100600

641 383 THE LOOK OF LOVE ABC 1982 1100350
642 NEW JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING David Bowie 1972 1099650
643 360 BRASS IN POCKET Pretenders 1979 1099250
644 NEW I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner 1984 1099050
645 NEW TWO FUX Adam Lambert 2017 1098300
646 361 CIRCLE IN THE SAND Belinda Carlisle 1988 1097300
647 NEW NEW YORK Paloma Faith 2009 1097150
648 NEW FLY BY II Blue 2002 1096850
649 362 FOOTSIE Wigans Chosen Few 1968 1095600
650 363 THE CRUNCH Rah Band 1977 1095350

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th January 2023, 06:10 PM

561 NEW WHITE FLAG Dido 2003 1156550
562 NEW POWERLESS (SAY WHAT YOU WANT) Nelly Furtado 2003 1156300
563 316 I HAVE A DREAM ABBA 1979 1154950
564 317 FAIRGROUND Simply Red 1995 1154700
565 NEW GRAPEJUICE Harry Styles 2022 1154600
566 NEW SUPREME Robbie Williams 2000 1154200
567 318 FEEL THE NEED IN ME Detroit Emeralds 1972 1154000
568 NEW AIN'T GOT NO... I GOT LIFE Nina Simone 1968 1152650
569 320 YOU WEAR IT WELL Rod Stewart 1972 1152350
570 NEW (THERE'S) ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME Sandie Shaw 1964 1150300

571 322 BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS OF HEARTACHE Bandwagon 1968 1149400
572 NEW LET'S STAY TOGETHER Al Green 1972 1148950
573 NEW FADES AWAY Avicii featuring Mishcatt 2019 1148100
574 323 POPCORN Hot Butter 1972 1146800
575 324 EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING/REMIX U2 1992 1146300
576 325 ELENORE Turtles 1968 1146200
577 330 RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell 1975 1146050
578 NEW ROAD TO MANDALAY Robbie Williams 2001 1144550
579 NEW DUST Royworld 2008 1144000
580 NEW WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Lou Reed 1972 1143400

581 NEW WE WILL ROCK YOU Queen 1977 1143210
582 327 LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull 1969 1142693
583 NEW SPACE MAN Sam Ryder 2022 1141050
584 329 LIFE Haddaway 1993 1139400
585 NEW GOOD DANCERS The Sleepy Jackson 2003 1138350
586 NEW FURTHER Longview 2005 1137950
587 NEW HELLO IT’S ME Todd Rundgren 1973 1136950
588 NEW PARADISE Coldplay 2011 1136050
589 NEW MAD WORLD Tears For Fears 1982 1135450
590 NEW SUPERSTITION Stevie Wonder 1972 1135250

591 417 YOUR SONG Elton John 1970 1134800
592 NEW IF I TOLD YOU THAT Whitney Houston/ George Michael 2000 1134300
593 NEW EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham! 1984 1133200
594 NEW TINY DANCER Elton John 1971 1133100
595 331 YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND Big Fun/Sonia 1990 1132600
596 NEW HOPE Stefan 2022 1132450
597 NEW I WISH U HEAVEN Prince 1988 1132450
598 332 LIBERATION Pet Shop Boys 1994 1130550
599 NEW RIGHT THERE Nicole Scherzinger/ 50 Cent 2010 1129650
600 NEW ENJOY THE SILENCE Depeche Mode 1990 1128100

Grapejuice will make the current "featured" list shortly along with a few other current tracks so I'll just bung them in as bonus tracks in the rundown when they've finished their chart runs - Grapejuice is number 565 but will be in the top 560 next week so that will prob be the first bonus track...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2023, 02:14 PM

561. MARY'S BOY CHILD/ OH MY LORD - Boney M (1978) 1,156,650




One of 3 on the list, Daddy Cool has featured in the 700's and one still to come for Boney M, Mary's Boy Child was a fabulous Caribbean-style reworking of Calypso star Harry Belafonte's lovely Mary's Boy Child, which topped the charts when I was born. It very nearly hung on till my 21st birthday, but YMCA booted it off the top of the UK singles chart. Oddly, much as I still love this Xmas perennial, it's never topped my chart - it peaked at 2 but has "outsold" Daddy Cool which was a number one in 1977. Frank Farian grabbed some songwriting credit (along with singing on it and producing it) with his Oh My Lord addition, but that actually works in its favour, I think. A lot of christmas songs are overplayed, but this one manages to crop up each year without going top 40 and remains delightful. It has recharted a few times for me, and in the UK charts, and hopefully will continue to into the far future.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2023, 02:27 PM

560. IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE - Glen Campbell (1970) 1,157,400



We've already had 2 Glen tracks on the list. Expect more - I adore Glen Campbell and have done since I asked for his album as my first-ever album present from mum and dad in 1970, the year this was huge for me. I was vaguely aware it was an oldie, but of all the numerous hit versions, and non-hit versions, this big-ballad is far and away the definitive version, it builds like a Roy Orbison classic, it has Glen's gorgeous vocal range, effortlessly clocking those big notes, he was a family fave, what with his TV specials and his role as cowboy lawman in True Grit with John Wayne, and in 1970 he could do no wrong. And this isn't even amongst his 10 best records (though it's good enough to be). Sorry Conway Twitty, you might have been on top of the UK chart for my first birthday but this was big for me on my 13th birthday.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2023, 02:37 PM

559. FIRST TIME HE KISSED A BOY - Kadie Elder (2016) 1,158,050



Talking of John Wayne, he starred in fab movie called The Sons Of Katie Elder. As I don't believe in co-incidence I expect this Copenhagen-based electronic pop duo had seen the movie, but in any case it didn't make the record a hit in 2016, sadly. I was rather taken with it, a good pop track with a suitably gay-referencing video for the song subject matter. And they never had another chart hit in my charts, so a One-Hit Wonder then. You-tube seem to think that people who like this might like Elaine Page and Barbara Dickson doing an Abba song from Chess. OK, guilllllty, but that's not what's up next...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2023, 02:48 PM

558. DEEPER AND DEEPER - Madonna (1992) 1,159,650



Madonna will also feature on this rundown a lot. Better get used to it! This is her 8th appearance so far, and it's the wonderful Deeper and Deeper, the best track on her underwhelming Erotica album - glorious house-dance, this is pounding classic Madonna courtesy of Shep Pettibone, co-writer and remixer to endless classic 80's and 90's pop tracks (see Pet Shop Boys). The quality shines through, and it ends with a self-referencing nod to a bit of Vogue - criminally not on my rundown, it's easily as good as this, if not better. Pettibone did most of the Erotica album with Madge, and they were admittedly the best tracks (and singles), but none of them did as well in my charts as this one.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th February 2023, 02:59 PM

557. DYNAMITE - Mud (1973) 1,160,100




In an alternative universe this would have been the follow-up to Ballroom Blitz for The Sweet, who got top pickings of the latest Chinn-Chapman songs, but they turned it down so they gave it to Number 3 RAK Chinney-Chap act at that time, Mud, who'd paid their dues for years before getting some chart action with the fabulous tango-glam of Crazy in early 1973, a record that sounded like no other and has been sadly forgotten these days. Mud were definitely lads' lads, and I loved 'em. Les Grey was a terrific frontman, energetic & upbeat and FUN with a capital F, as were the rest of the gang. This was the record that put them into full-on Glamrock mode and set the template for the next few singles, one of which to come later and others not on the list but big with me like The Cat Crept In and Rocket - the record that mimicked Elvis Presley, then well into middle-aged turgid ballads, and got kudos from the great Mama Cass just before she died, on Rosko's Roundtable record review show. "If only Elvis was making records like that" she opined. Quite! Mud even did Elvis-style ballads way better in the 70's, witness the already-appeared Lonely This Christmas.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2023, 12:03 PM

556. SUNNY AFTERNOON - The Kinks (1966) 1,161,250



A blast from my life in Waterloo, a run-down suburb of Liverpool in World Cup Year (not that I watched it), but I've always found gorgeously evocative, a terrific laid-back, lazy, summery, tuneful pseudo-Ragtime gem. The Kinks were hitting their peak years after their 1964 arrival with a bang, more of which later in the rundown as there's two more to come - but jaw-droppingly not their best record Waterloo Sunset. As I wasn't charting prior to 1968 all their early tracks (like this one) have had to rely on re-issues or Movie spots and the like to get into the rundown. So lots of absolute faves missing, notably Autumn Almanac which I was mad on in late 1967 and would no doubt feature if I'd started personal charting a bit earlier. Doh!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2023, 12:13 PM

555. GRAPEJUICE - Harry Styles (2022) 1,161,700




The last of three Harry Styles tracks on my list and this one hasn't yet been a single, annoyingly. It's got the very laid-back vibes of Watermelon Sugar - without the hook, admittedly - but like The Kinks' track it's got those summer vibes, just so dreamy, and like Sunny Afternoon Harry is opting for the "recorded-in-a-tin-can" style vocals that give it a 1920's feel. Still on my charts, so it'll edge up a bit higher, but I'll settle for it resting at this slot for now. Watermelon Sugar is his classic, As It Was his biggie and fab too, but that one doesn't feature on the rundown where two non-single album tracks from Harry's House do: Daydreaming being t'other laid-back unknown gem. Still time, Harry.....!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th February 2023, 12:28 PM

554. I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (FOR ME) - George Michael & Aretha Franklin (1987) 1,163,000




George could do wrong by 1987, witness he decided to do a cover of a song he didn't write with soul-legend Aretha Franklin - just because he could. At the time, George was getting a bit out of his proper teen-pop groove and hitting above his station according to the critics - but let's be honest, no-one could vocally compete with Aretha. No-one. So, he gifted her a missing chart-topper in the UK after 20 years of trying, added to his own tally, and he rather did a great job too - not one of his productions, it's Team Aretha - but George has a flawless warm vocal quality that can lift a song as much as Aretha can. Is it their best material? No, there's more to come from both of them on their own classics. But it's still very very good. Aretha already got a song title name check from Scritti Politti on this countdown, so that won't be a shock when it crops up - but I will list the ones that should be on the rundown and aren't when I get to that one...

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th July 2023, 04:32 PM

Hey been a busy year so this has been sidelined yet again. Plus side I have handed my notice in at work for September (or Dec if they accept one day a week to deal with incoming problems only) so I might even get this done one day...

557. PERFECTLY UNTRUE - Lucia & The Big Boys (2020) 1,163,500



Scottish Lucia and her Big Boys have been on my youtube regular visits since I came across it in someone's personal chart and fell for it immediately, then entered it into the Buzzjack Song Contest (top 10 result). It's got a very 80's Indie vibe to it and a magnificent bit of guitar riffing going on. Love the video, love the record, and it's criminal that it got no radio exposure, never mind become a hit of any sort. What it needs is some musically adventurous TV show to stick it in a feature-slot - if you're reading Umbrella Academy showrunners, take note and play very loud.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th July 2023, 04:42 PM

556. IN MY PLACE - Coldplay (2002) 1,163,900



Yellow was an early fave, but it was this one that made me start to take notice properly of Coldplay (and go to see them in concert around the same time), though it never topped my chart, peaking at 2. It's Chris & the boys in ballad singalong mode, and over 2 decades later it's not amongst my top Coldplay tunes, they've done so much more that ups the ante since. It's their 3rd on the list so far, but Speed Of Sound and Paradise are better records than In My Place, but not to worry there's more to come. I think it was around here that some early Coldplay fans started to go off them a bit as they moved more towards stadium rock and global rock dominance. Not me though....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th July 2023, 05:01 PM

555. ARE YOU READY FOR LOVE - Elton John (1979) 1,164,000



Here mostly for the 2003 remix chart-topping version, but it was still the original version I was playing so that's the one featured here. By 1979 Reg was having a break from Bernie and had moved off to Philly soul and disco with catastrophic UK chart results. Elton's Imperial phase was over and he'd try a few things before his 1983 comeback, including a Thom Bell sessions 12" EP which I bought when it came out. Thom Bell was one of the prime Sound Of Philadelphia acts of the early to mid 70's disco explosion, and Elton had done his own version of it in 1975 - the under-rated Philadelphia Freedom, ode to Billie-Jean King and others, which was pure genius Philly, topped my chart and is currently about to enter my all-time list thanks to Elton featuring it on his Glastonbury goodbye, and me re-charting it. It's a better record than this one, which was recorded about that time and released later - a middling hit for me in 1979, the year when the charts were overcrowded with genius and many tracks came a cropper, undeservedly. My fave track of the time was the bigger US hit Mama Can't Buy You Love, a smash while I was touring California and Nevada/Arizona as a student that summer, with friends. Not even released in the UK as a single, that one. So, anyway, it came as an unexpected nice Fat Boy Slim-pushed surprise when this suddenly went from obscure to massive hit. Hooray, it's got a fab groove and great tune and lush strings! It's a top record, and he really should have pushed it out as the follow-up to Philadelphia Freedom, after all Bowie was getting slagged off for his Plastic soul period in 1975, so Elton mights as well have gone full-on soul too. Of course he had 2 albums to kick out before the end of the year, Captain Fantastic and Rock Of The Westies, so I can see why he didn't - but neither album had anything as commercial as this track on it, so delaying Someone Saved My Life Tonight shouldnt have been an issue. The issue would have been 3 non-album singles in a row.....

Posted by: Popchartfreak 16th July 2023, 05:21 PM

554. THE MAN IN THE MIRROR - Michael Jackson (1988) 1,164,150



I've not attached the posthumous video as it has nothing to do with my memories of this record, which came out just after the christmas after the Bad album debuted in 1987. This finger-clicking gospel track was written and gifted to Michael by Siedah Garrett, who'd already duetted with Michael on the lead single I Just Can't Stop Loving You, which also had no video and which didn't make this list. Maybe she didn't want the publicity! This was probably my fave track on the album, and the 4th single, so it came as something of a shock when it didn't even make the UK top 20, despite topping the US and my charts. Quite a few ballads that would have been expected to have been big hits (George Michael for one) flopped in early 1988, I can only put it down to an unusually large number of ballads in the chart over that Xmas, and everyone getting sick of it and getting ready to dance along to the new oncoming Second Summer Of Love in the new year instead. Cos when Michael suddenly died in 2009, this was the big posthumous hit that was the centrepiece of attention, and it seemed sort of appropriate, and finally had been re-appraised in the UK. The 6th Jacko track of many on the list.

Posted by: JulianT 18th July 2023, 11:11 AM

You can’t change the world but you can work on yourself just a little bit. Best ever song about self improvement.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 18th July 2023, 03:57 PM

And plus side it prob made Siedah very very financially comfortable for coming up with something so good and giving it away!