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[Popchartfreak]

15th January 2017

3 weeks on top (7 in total) for A Different Corner, as the late much-missed George Michael also has many other tracks shooting up my charts, notably the sombre and powerful Praying For Time, up to 3 after topping my chart in 1990. George was very much a man with a social conscience, and a way with words and melody, on top of his flawless vocals. That would also apply to Hand To Mouth, a 1987 album track easily good enough to be a single, and up to 28 at long last becoming the top 40 "hit" it always should have been (I disallowed album tracks from 1976 onwards until the 21st century - a foolish decision! - so I have spent opportunities since giving lost great album tracks a second chance, and sadly George's death at least allows great tracks like the groovy Soul Free and the very minor hit Cowboys And Angels (gorgeous for every laid-back and moody 9 minutes or so) to get proper chart positions.

It's a new peak for Noah Cyrus and Labrinth at 4, a big climb for Lukas Graham, and an instant top 40 new entry shock comeback from Right Said Fred - in the list of most-unlikely returns to impress me, the lads would have figured quite highly on my list! Putting aside the awful novelty big hits they had (bar I'm Too Sexy which was quite clever), they had some very decent pop dance tracks, a couple of them making my top 10. Happily Sweet Treats is in that vein, and gives them a run of new hits over 25 years. As does Testify at 47 for guest vocalist Crystal Waters, Hifi Sean doing the twiddly bits. At 58, another of those multi-artist tracks featuring X Ambassadors, and Elle King, and Wiz Khalifa, all having made my top 10 previously, but not the lead act - hello to Alex Da Kid. The video is excellent.

That leaves 2 re-entries for the sadly late Peter Sarstedt, both from 1969, both I loved as an 11-year-old and I learnt all the lyrics to Where Do You Go To - I used to cut them out of a magazine mum bought (I think it was called Weekend, and they published one pop song a week - the first one I discovered was Autumn Almanac by The Kinks in 1967!). I saw Peter and his two solo hit-making brothers in concert together (Eden Kane and Robin Sarstedt) back in the 90's and good they were too.


1 1 1 3 A DIFFERENT CORNER George Michael 510000
2 2 1 10 WHEN YOU KNOW Robbie Williams 1535000
3 12 3 3 PRAYING FOR TIME George Michael 138000
4 10 4 8 MAKE ME (CRY) Noah Cyrus featuring Labrinth 356750
5 5 2 8 SECRETS The Weeknd featuring Tears For Fears 720000
6 3 3 11 ROCKABYE Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul & Anne-Marie 458450
7 4 4 5 WE STAY TOGETHER Kaiser Chiefs featuring Sarah Thomson 244000
8 6 4 13 CLOSER The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey 480350
9 7 7 4 LEVITATE Imagine Dragons 144000
10 11 3 8 I FEEL IT COMING The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk 388400

11 52 11 2 SOUL FREE George Michael 48500
12 17 12 2 SHAPE OF YOU Ed Sheeran 58000
13 15 13 6 WANTED MORE Betsy 105900
14 18 14 4 GOOD MORNING Grouplove 85800
15 13 3 9 REDBONE Childish Gambino 428400
16 9 9 5 STAR CROSSED LOVERS Barry Gibb 116900
17 25 17 2 COWBOYS AND ANGELS George Michael 41750
18 19 18 3 IN THE ARMY NOW Status Quo 60600
19 14 8 7 NEVER GIVE UP Sia 271000
20 23 20 7 IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN Agnes Obel 111700

21 8 8 3 FASTLOVE George Michael 102750
22 24 22 5 SHED A LIGHT Robin Schulz & David Guetta featuring Cheat Codes 70500
23 51 23 2 YOU’RE NOT THERE Lukas Graham 31000
24 22 1 18 HURTS Emeli Sande 1213000
25 16 10 10 MAGNETISED Garbage 208850
26 21 2 18 GO! M83 featuring Mai Lan 890250
27 27 27 2 SILHOUETTE Tom Odell 36800
28 71 28 2 HAND TO MOUTH George Michael 24100
29 29 29 4 OOPS Little Mix featuring Charlie Puth 56150
30 33 30 7 AFTER THE AFTERPARTY Charlie XCX featuring Lil Yachty 65300

31 31 18 7 ON WHAT YOU’RE ON Busted 118300
32 34 29 7 ALONE Alan Walker 96600
33 20 20 11 1000 NIGHTS Frenship 166900
34 36 34 3 RAIN Status Quo 46750
35 26 5 10 BRUCE LEE Robbie Williams 388000
36 NEW 36 1 SWEET TREATS Right Said Fred 17400
37 49 37 3 JESUS TO A CHILD George Michael 40000
38 72 38 2 CALL ON ME (RYAN RIBACK REMIX) Starley 22800
39 42 39 10 FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN Leonard Cohen 100900
40 61 40 7 SO GOOD Louisa Johnson 65800



41 32 14 12 BREATHING UNDERWATER Emeli Sande 213450
42 41 1 12 KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU Abba 827850
43 28 10 10 ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Vaults 207300
44 37 6 15 STARBOY The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk 366600
45 35 10 10 ONLY HEAVEN Coldcut featuring Roots Manuva 221600
46 50 46 3 FAITH George Michael 32250
47 NEW 47 1 TESTIFY Hifi Sean featuring Crystal Waters 12500
48 38 9 16 HUMAN Rag’n’Bone Man 309900
49 55 49 3 PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN Status Quo 29500
50 47 1 20 FIRST TIME HE KISSED A BOY Kadie Elder 1117450

51 39 17 10 SEXUAL NEIKED featuring Dyo 157700
52 46 33 10 DAMN Red Rosamond 121850
53 48 1 17 HOUSE OF CARDS Red Sky July 1030050
54 54 54 5 I DON’T WANNA LIVE FOREVER ZAYN and Taylor Swift 39000
55 45 32 7 STARVING Hailey Steinfeld featuring Zedd and Grey 79400
56 30 24 5 A CHRISTMAS WE DESERVE ABC 76100
57 63 57 3 WHATEVER YOU WANT Status Quo 23600
58 NEW 58 1 NOT EASY Alex Da Kid featuring X Ambassadors, Elle King & Wiz Khalifa) 10200
59 44 20 8 EVERYBODY’S FREE (TO FEEL GOOD) Kylie Minogue 128050
60 62 60 2 FIGHTING FOR LOVE Dami Im 17400

61 43 20 12 RUN TO HIM Bobby Vee 173900
62 59 4 17 CAN’T LET GO, JUNO Kishi Bashi 463500
63 NEW 63 1 TALKING TO YOU Izzy Bizu 7200
64 68 64 10 OH, PRETTY WOMAN Roy Orbison 47400
65 67 53 5 SEPTEMBER SONG JP Cooper 38750
66 66 66 3 I’M YOUR MAN Wham! 20400
67 56 27 10 CLOSER TO LIFE Atella x Froder 128600
68 NEW 68 1 WHERE DO YOU GO TO (MY LOVELY) Peter Sarstedt 6400
69 69 69 8 SHOUT OUT TO MY EX Little Mix 32600
70 75 70 2 HELL IN PARADISE (DAVE AUDE EXTENDED MIX) Yoko Ono 11000

71 53 19 10 FIND ME Sigma featuring Birdy 165950
72 NEW 72 1 FROZEN ORANGE JUICE Peter Sarstedt 5600
73 73 1 40 WICHITA LINEMAN Glen Campbell 742200
74 65 38 7 I FEEL SO BAD Kungs featuring Ephemerals 76050
75 NEW 75 1 STEPPIN’ OUT Joe Jackson 5000

DROP OUTS
40 2 5 I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake 311250
57 57 2 CARELESS WHISPER George Michael 20800
58 58 2 FATHER FIGURE George Michael 15600
60 60 4 LOVE MY LIFE Robbie Williams 23700
64 59 6 WEIGHT IN GOLD Gallant 45700
70 70 1 TILTED Christine And The Queens 6000
74 7 8 WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE Adele 192600