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Posted by: Bré 🐠 9th April 2020, 10:42 PM

(thanks Calum for the banner x)

welcome to an ambitious countdown type thread that I am gonna have a crack at finishing before this forum expires on Monday, wish me luck!

Over the years since the UK Singles Chart began in 1952, there have been 43* UK #1s by or featuring artists born and bred in Scotland. In this thread I'll be providing a retrospective over these most successful of Scottish musical icons and giving some facts and opinions on each one. I'll post the first 3 tonight (I wanted to start this earlier but blame the quiz finishing so late ) and will aim to do 10 per day over the next four days!

Feel free to comment along with your own thoughts I'll be going in chronological order so we're kicking off with some pretty vintage tracks, but this opening trio are all pretty iconic in their own way, for better or for worse xx

<sup>*I'm trusting an OCC list on this subject, so if there are any omissions it's their fault; notably Rod Stewart doesn't feature which seems to be because he was born in England despite generally being considered Scottish, I'm not going to complaint that's 6 fewer songs to write about though x

(as such you can look up the article yourself if you want some spoilers of what's to come but it might be more fun if you don't x)</sup>

Posted by: Jade 🐠 9th April 2020, 10:48 PM

Very excited for this!

Posted by: Bré 🐠 9th April 2020, 11:19 PM

01: Marmalade - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
3 weeks at #1 in 1969
Top 75 run: 45-22-9-7-{1}-3-1-1-4-10-9-14-23-23-40-28-34-32-47-48->20



We begin all the way back in 1969 as the first Scots to reach the top of the chart in the UK were pop rock group Marmalade, prior to this they'd had a top 10 hit with 'Lovin' Things' and one further minor hit but they hit the big time by capitalising off a popular song originally by The Beatles (off their iconic White Album) which they never released as a single themselves. They were 1969's Precision Tunes one might say. They'd go on to have a further six top ten hits over the next 7 years before disappearing from the charts.

It's fair to say this is... not the most critically acclaimed song to ever come out of the Lennon-McCartney partnership, often actually considered to be one of the worst Beatles songs and even sometimes named as one of the worst songs ever. Aren't we off to a good start here! I don't really have any particular hatred for it, the sloppy appropriation of reggae has a little bit of a charm to it and it has a nice uplifting singalong chorus. Not a highlight of The Beatles' discog for sure though, and this version of it (which I'm hearing for the first time) is a little more lifeless than the original which I'll dock a point for.

I award this 5 Irn Brus out of 10



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02: Middle Of The Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
5 weeks at #1 in 1971
Top 75 run: 36-16-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-8-8-13-22-22-29-24-30-35-39-45-49-49-46-42-43-48-38-39-39-41-42-44-48->34



Fast forward to 1971 for our second Scottish chart toppers, although it's still not quite an original as this one is also a cover, originally recorded by the English Lally Stott. That version was only a very minor hit in the US and didn't chart elsewhere, this one is definitely the definitive version, being a big hit worldwide and selling more than 10 million copies worldwide making it one of the biggest selling singles of all time. This was Middle Of The Road's first single to chart in the UK and they coasted off its coattails with 2 other biggish top 5 hits in 1971 but it was a big case of diminishing returns, they charted just 2 more songs lower down the chart in 1972 then were never to be heard from again.

We're still firmly in novelty song territory here and it's another song that doesn't have a particularly great reputation, being named by The Observer in 2006 as #1 in a list of most unintentionally creepy songs, as the lyrics do sound a little pertinent to child abandonment. Whoops. I'm actually shocked to find out this came out as late as 1971 (1970 for the original version), I always thought it was a standard that dated back to the 50s or so! It's not a great artistic piece or anything but I have a soft spot for this, the chorus is just too cute, some of the vocal harmonising gives me a bit of ABBA vibes too or is it just me ~

I award this 6.5 Irn Brus out of 10



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03: The Pipes & Drums & Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Amazing Grace
5 weeks at #1 in 1972
Top 75 run: 31-3-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-3-8-11-18-23-26-28-32-28-30-31-37-42-39-41-43-42R(15)-42-42->27



Another year on and another track with 5 weeks at the top, yet again though it can't quite be said to be a Scottish original as this is just a version of the standard Christian hymn that dates all the way back to the 18th century and is also English in origin. It doubles as one of the fairly small number of instrumental UK #1 hits. Recorded by the senior Scottish regiment of the British Army, the 'artist' in question naturally doesn't have a huge pop chart history behind them but they did chart 2 other songs in the top 40 following this in 1972 and have made occasional appearances in the album chart over the years.

I don't really know what you want me to say about this, it's just Amazing Grace on bagpipes. It certainly gets points for being very, very Scottish. Your opinion on this probably comes down to whether or not you like the sound of bagpipes - I personally do, and so while it's not a song I'd be bumping frequently in the whip, it's a nice track to have on as background music.

I award this 7 Irn Brus out of 10



More to come tomorrow

Posted by: Wall🐠 9th April 2020, 11:26 PM

Omg rating by irn bru’s *.*

Posted by: Jade 🐠 9th April 2020, 11:28 PM

Well we're off to a memorable start

I agree that 'Amazing Grace' is the best of the three! There's such a charm to the bagpipes. 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' is definitely not a Lennon-McCartney highlight (although there's certainly worse on The White Album) but it is irresistibly catchy so that's the case for the Marmalade version too. 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' is also an earworm, although I have to say I never realised the child abandonment thing so childhood ruined tbh

Posted by: Calum 🐠 9th April 2020, 11:29 PM

I'm howling at the Irn Bru ratings

Posted by: Hauspital* 9th April 2020, 11:36 PM

Omg this is instantly iconic! *_*

Posted by: Chez Wallago 🐠 9th April 2020, 11:39 PM

Three iconic songs to start off with (and Amazing Grace aside, I never knew either were Scottish!), vote Amazing Grace in the ultimate bagpipe poll x Looking forward to seeing more of this.

Posted by: Bré 🐠 10th April 2020, 02:20 PM

04: Pilot - January
3 weeks at #1 in 1975
Top 75 run: 27-9-{1}-1-1-2-9-24-36-48->10



We now go forward another three years to 1975, a fruitful year for Scottish chart icons as it saw the total number of Scottish #1s more than double. First up we have 'January' by Pilot, entering the chart appropriately enough in its titular month and grabbing three weeks at the top spot. Pilot are another act who had a very short chart shelf life, this was the second of just four hits for them all in 1974-75, with none of the others making the top 10 (their debut hit 'Magic' peaked at #11 and their 2 follow-up hits to their big success both fell short of the top 30). This is the first song on the list to be a Scottish original rather than a Scottish act covering a song of English origin.

This was the first song on the list that I didn't recognise by its name (a lot of 70s and 80s chart toppers are like this for me, being obviously well before my time), Wikipedia claims it was used in adverts for ASDA in 2016 so I wondered if I might recognise it when I listened to it but I think those ads must have passed me by as it sounds very unfamiliar to me. It's a worthwhile discovery though, a quality bit of classic pop rock, enjoying the incorporation of strings in it as well as the guitar work. My favourite song so far just from the one listen. It's very 'Rolloland BJSC entry' (in a good way). x

I award this 8 Irn Brus out of 10



~

05: Bay City Rollers - Bye Bye Baby
6 weeks at #1 in 1975
Top 75 run: 8-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-5-8-19-28-35-37-46-46->16



We reach the first of 5 acts on this list who have had more than one chart topper, as well as the longest running #1 so far as this one topped the charts for 6 weeks. Teen idol band Bay City Rollers had been a regular chart fixture for a few years before getting their first #1, this being their sixth chart hit, all of which made it to the top ten. We're back to the covers here, this one being a version of American group (Frankie Valli &) The Four Seasons' song from 1965.

I definitely know of this song but I'm not sure I've ever heard the Bay City Rollers version, I think it is the original that I'm familiar with even though it wasn't the version that was a hit in the UK. Honestly I think this cover sounds a bit underwhelming and almost amateurish, I much prefer both the vocals and the instrumental on the original, so although it's a perfectly decent song (not one I'm itching to listen to often once again but it'd sit very well on a good 60s classics playlist) I can't really give a high mark to this particular version of it.

I award this 4 Irn Brus out of 10



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06: Bay City Rollers - Give A Little Love
3 weeks at #1 in 1975
Top 75 run: 7-{1}-1-1-2-4-11-24-33->9



And in quick succession, Bay City Rollers' 7th chart entry made it 7 for 7 on top 10 hits and gave them a second #1 in a row, this time with an original song. Unfortunately for them they wouldn't keep up their hit streak for too much longer - their run would last into 1976 with a further three top 5 hits bringing them up to a neat 10 top 10 hits in a row but they flamed out quickly after that with just two more chart entries before they disappeared from the charts for good in 1977. Their legacy these days is a little tainted due to their association with disgraced manager / producer Jonathan King, though as far as I can tell he had no involvement with either of their #1s and the band in themselves aren't ~problematic~.

This is another song that I'm not recognising at all on listening to it now and I'm coming to the conclusion that Bay City Rollers' music probably just isn't really my thing, this is a pretty plodding and dull by-the-numbers rock ballad for the most part. It does have a pretty decent guitar solo in it at least and sounds a bit less amateur than 'Bye Bye Baby' so I'll give it a slightly higher mark for that but still not hugely impressed.

I award this 4.5 Irn Brus out of 10

Posted by: Calum 🐠 10th April 2020, 02:21 PM

Honestly I don't think I can even bring myself to listen to any of these

Posted by: Jade 🐠 10th April 2020, 02:23 PM

My mum was a Bay City Rollers stan as a young girl

I had no idea that ‘Bye Bye Baby’ was a cover

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 10th April 2020, 02:56 PM

There were lots of screaming girls every time the Bay City Rollers appeared. They were the One Direction of the 70s. I agree January by Pilot is the best song so far.

Posted by: Bré 🐠 10th April 2020, 06:53 PM

07: Billy Connolly - D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
1 week at #1 in 1975
Top 75 run: 26-9-2-{1}-3-7-18-35-39-39->10



The fourth and final 1975 #1 from Scotland and it's a slight oddity, coming from a man who's better known as a comedian than a singer (though he has a background as a folk musician as well). This song continues two running themes with plenty of songs in this list so far - 1) it's not an original song, being a parody of the song of the same name by American country legend Tammy Wynette, and 2) it was the only significant hit single for the artist in question. Billy Connolly had three other minor top 40 hits over the next decade, including the intriguingly titled 'Super Gran' which reached #32 in 1985, notably the only post-70s charting hit by any of these artists mentioned so far.

As for the song... I think this one is best left in 1975. Some credit for having a concept that I can see people getting some level of amusement from depending on personal sense of humour (changing a song about hiding things from a child to instead hiding things from a dog) but I think I'm missing some essential cultural context here, not least the context in which the word 'queer' was acceptable as a final punchline. (aside: wasn't able to find a studio version of this on YouTube so I've embedded a lyric video with a rather relevant thumbnail x)

I award this 1 Irn Bru out of 10



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08: Slik - Forever And Ever
1 week at #1 in 1976
Top 75 run: 39-12-2-2-{1}-2-5-9-22->9



Next we move to 1976 for this song by glam rock band Slik which notched up a solitary week at #1. It was the band's third single but the first to attract any attention, with the first two not managing to place anywhere on the charts, and it's a familiar story again as Slik too flamed out very quickly after their crowning success; the follow-up 'Requiem' stalled at #24 (though spent the same number of weeks in the chart as this one) and they were never to be heard from again after that. Their singer Midge Ure, however, would be sticking around for a while longer.

I don't have a lot to say about this one, I was hoping for something a little more exciting seeing Wikipedia tagging its genres as glam rock & progressive rock, but it's unfortunately just very middle of the road (no chirpy chirpy cheep cheep pun intended), not precisely bad but I'll forget this immediately.

I award this 5 Irn Brus out of 10



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09: Lena Martell - One Day At A Time
3 weeks at #1 in 1979
Top 75 run: 50-28-9-5-{1}-1-1-2-5-16-27-32-40-40-35-55-59-69->18



We jump ahead three more years to the final Scottish-origin #1 of the 70s (we'll get to some more relevant songs soon I promise!) when one Lena Martell took her version of 'One Day At A Time' to the top spot for three weeks. I've always assumed whenever I've seen this name that she was German, the more you learn. 'One Day At A Time', a 'country and western style Christian song' (sounds right up my street!) has apparently been recorded by over 200 artists, but it's both the only version of the song to chart in the UK and the only time Lena herself ever graced the charts, though she's apparently had a more fruitful career in the world of theatre.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that as a song that combines 2 of my least favourite genres, this is pretty naff. There are some nice harmonies on it, that's the only positive I can really give it. Moving swiftly on.

I award this 2 Irn Brus out of 10



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10: Kelly Marie - Feels Like I'm In Love
2 weeks at #1 in 1980
Top 75 run: 61-29-16-8-5-3-{1}-1-4-7-12-27-34-50-58-69->16



Into the 80s we go (and with it, the first proper music video unless I missed one for any of the previous songs), and the first Scot to reach the chart summit in the decade was disco singer Kelly Marie who'd released a ton of singles with no one noticing throughout the latter half of the 70s, including this one, but hit the big time when this was re-released in 1980 and went all the way to the top for 2 weeks. She'd swiftly return to no one noticing her as she had just two more top 40 hits over the following year (neither making the top 20) before vanishing entirely.

Listening to those last 5 songs has been a bit rough, this song injects some much needed life, which hopefully the 80s will continue to provide. This is one of those songs that I've always known but didn't know for a long time who the artist was, and I certainly didn't know they were Scottish. A joyful disco classique. We are forced to stan! I think 'January' remains my favourite song so far but this runs it pretty close.

I award this 8 Irn Brus out of 10

Posted by: dandruff* 10th April 2020, 07:00 PM

Brilliant thread, this is very King Rollo esque which is great.

Bye Bye Baby is a brilliant tune imo, I am sad you only awarded it four Irn Brus.

Posted by: Jade 🐠 10th April 2020, 07:03 PM

OMG that section was painful - especially 'D.I.V.O.R.C.E.' sadly I don't even like your highlight of 'Feels Like I'm In Love' that much because her voice has always slightly irritated me oops. The disco production is good at least! Hope the next section will be better

Posted by: coi 10th April 2020, 07:11 PM

This thread is brilliant!

I echo the disappointment at the Bay City Rollers receiving less than five Irn Brus with both songs but I have to say I didn't realise Bye Bye Baby was a cover either!

And Amazing Grace definitely should be bumped frequently in the whip tbh!

Looking forward to seeing more of these.

Posted by: dandruff* 10th April 2020, 07:23 PM

Oh yes...looking forward to a great song by him possibly appearing on this thread soon.

Posted by: Fisher 🐠 10th April 2020, 07:25 PM

I am floored to see that a bagpipe song not only got to #1, but had five weeks there and 21 weeks in the top 40! The taste jumped out

Posted by: Bré 🐠 10th April 2020, 07:25 PM

Surprised that people aren't aware of 'Bye Bye Baby' being a cover, I'm sure the original has been used in adverts? (I'm not entirely sure where I'd know it from if not but I definitely do!)

Posted by: coi 10th April 2020, 07:29 PM

I've heard the Bay City Rollers version loads but I have no recollection of hearing the original before!

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 10th April 2020, 08:09 PM

It was a long time after the 70s that I found out that Bye Bye Baby was a cover.

The Slik song is very good,the best one so far. I assume wiki have included prog rock as part of its genre because of the organ intro. When Ultravox were having hits in the 80s,I didn't realise that Midge Ure was the same singer from Slik.

There were many great no.1s in 1979 but 'One Day At A Time' was not one of them. It was a big contrast to all the new wave songs at the time.

Posted by: Wall🐠 10th April 2020, 08:17 PM

So right now our most popular bagpipe act is Red Hot Chilli Pipers, who have actually went top 40 on iTunes quite a few times. I think once they went top 10?

Posted by: Bré 🐠 10th April 2020, 10:51 PM

11: Aneka - Japanese Boy
1 week at #1 in 1981
Top 75 run: 60-19-4-{1}-2-3-6-13-21-34-49-62->12



The one hit wonders continue rolling in, this being perhaps one of the most archetypal one hit wonders of all time (her only other chart entry was the follow-up 'Little Lady' which barely made a blip at #50 in the UK, though she did actually have 3 moderately big hits in both Germany and Austria). Before and after her brief moment in the spotlight she was a traditional Scottish folk singer, but her Scottishness is a little less obvious on her one big hit (to the point where, again, I wasn't actually aware she was Scottish).

This is another song that hasn't really aged very well (though thankfully not quite to the extent of that Billy Connolly song), would certainly be the target of accusations of cultural appropriation and cancellings among certain circles if released today. I don't think it's sonically aged amazingly well either. As far as Japanese-adjacent one hit wonders go I much prefer The Vapors' 'Turning Japanese' (honestly I find this song a little difficult to remember because its space in my mind is entirely occupied by that song). This one is ok though.

I award this 5.5 Irn Brus out of 10



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12: Jim Diamond - I Should Have Known Better
1 week at #1 in 1984
Top 75 run: 40-13-3-2-{1}-2-6-18-20-19-28-46-57->13



We jump ahead more than 3 years for the next Scottish #1, this one from the late soft rock singer Jim Diamond with his debut his 'I Should Have Known Better' (which is also the name of a Beatles song, but unlike Marmalade's chart topper this one wasn't a cover). Diamond had only one other top 40 hit as a soloist, hitting #5 two years after this one with 'Hi Ho Silver', while he had previously made the chart in 1982 as a member of the band PhD who were a one hit wonder themselves, getting to #3 with 'I Won't Let You Down'. To be entirely honest I don't think my mind had ever processed that Jim Diamond was a different person to Neil Diamond when perusing lists of 80s #1s. Today I learned.

I didn't think this was a song I'd ever heard but it is sounding somewhat familiar on listening to it, I don't know if that's because I do actually know it or it's just a very formulaic 80s pop rock ballad. Either way I'm quite liking it, I think he has a good voice for this kind of song and I'm enjoying the Phil Collins esque drums at one point in it. Nothing out of this world but it does its job solidly enough.

I award this 6.5 Irn Brus out of 10



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13: Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson - I Know Him So Well
4 weeks at #1 in 1985
Top 75 run: 63-34-6-3-2-{1}-1-1-1-2-8-10-28-34-41-62->16



Now we have the first song on the list that is a collab with a non-Scottish artist, this the classic duet between English musical theatre legend Elaine Paige and the woman we care about in this thread Barbara Dickson, taken from the musical 'Chess'. Barbara had three top 20 hits (peaking at #9 with 1976's 'Answer Me') between 1976 and 1980 before vanishing from the chart entirely until this song hit big in 1985 - it would prove to be her final UK chart outing but she certainly went out on a high, spending a whole month atop the chart. A coincidence that this song has nearly the exact opposite title to the previous song on the list? (Yes).

I'm not a huge fan of musical theatre / theatrical songs but I can recognise this one as a classic among its 'genre', some great vocals on here and a powerful chorus, what's to complain about. Oh and of course we have this song to thank for another memorable moment by a Scottish icon, when we got the DEFINITIVE version of the song, that of course being the Susan Boyle duet with Geraldine McQueen *.* though sadly that didn't manage to follow previous Peter Kay charity singles to #1, instead stalling at a criminal #11, so it won't get to be highlighted in its own right in this thread.

I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



That's it for tonight, 10 more Scottish #1s coming up tomorrow hopefully! I've stuck to my plan so far

Posted by: Jade 🐠 10th April 2020, 10:56 PM

Oh oops I really like 'Japanese Boy' as a song but never really thought about the cultural appropriation aspect

Subo and Geraldine deffo the more iconic version of 'I Know Him So Well'

Posted by: Cameron 🐠 10th April 2020, 11:21 PM

Japanese Boy is a banger

Posted by: Bré 🐠 11th April 2020, 04:22 PM

14: Midge Ure - If I Was
1 week at #1 in 1985
Top 75 run: 29-8-4-{1}-2-2-8-16-24-37-58->11



So although his chart career as a member of Slik was pretty brief, Midge Ure did go on to get a second #1 in his own right with this track in 1985, and he would of course also achieve chart success (though infamously never reaching #1) with his more long running band Ultravox as well as being one of the key figures behind Band Aid. Midge had 6 top 40 hits as a solo artist over the course of the 80s and very early 90s, this was the third of the six. The only other to make the top 10 was his #9 peaking debut solo hit 'No Regrets' in 1982.

This is another song that I don't think I've ever heard before but thankfully finding it much more to my taste than Midge's previous chart topper, just sounds like your quintessential glorious 80s synthpop track, a little surprised I haven't come across it before as it seems like the kind of thing that should be an 80s essential. It isn't quite as great as 'Vienna' (that would be a big ask) but takes over as comfortably my favourite song so far in this thread. Also liking the satisfying aesthetic in the music video, makes me want one of those pin art toys x

I award this 9 Irn Brus out of 10



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15: Wet Wet Wet - With A Little Help From My Friends
4 weeks at #1 in 1988
Top 75 run: 5-{1}-1-1-1-3-10-22-31-35-57->11



Only two Scottish acts managed multiple #1 singles before the turn of the millennium - we already had the back-to-back Bay City Rollers #1s and we now come to probably the most successful Scottish act of the 20th century, Wet Wet Wet. They have two more songs to come in this countdown but for their first #1 in 1988, it's The Beatles rearing their heads once again as it's another cover of one of their songs. The original Beatles version wasn't released as a single in the UK but the song has nonetheless become a UK #1 three times over, this being the second cover of it to reach the top spot following Joe Cocker's in 1968. It was Wet Wet Wet's 5th top 40 hit, with 3 of the previous ones making the top 10. What pushed this over the top to become their first chart topper was it being a charity release (for ChildLine), released as a double A-Side with another Beatles cover, 'She's Leaving Home' by Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey, with both recordings appearing on an entire album of Beatles covers for charity.

This is a better choice of Beatles song to cover than 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' (still wouldn't call it one of my absolute favourite Beatles songs but it's a classic eh). The cover isn't anything to write home about, I'd never choose to listen to it over the original but it's competent enough, certainly better than the Sam & Mark version. It's a charity cover version, I doubt anyone really ever listened to this much.

I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



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16: Simple Minds - Belfast Child
2 weeks at #1 in 1989
Top 75 run: 2-{1}-1-6-13-22-32-47-56-73-72->11



And for the final Scottish #1 of the 80s, it's another very long running and successful band, although in this case this is their only song to reach the top spot. The song actually takes its instrumental from that of an Irish folk song (hence the reference to Belfast in the title) but the band themselves are from Scotland. Simple Minds' chart discography spans back to their first minor hit in 1979 and forward to their most recent appearance in 2005 (though their album chart relevance has carried on further with them achieving a top 10 with a live album just last year). They achieved 8 top 10 hits and 23 top 40 hits in all throughout their run, most notably 1985 #7 hit 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' which I imagine is much more well-known than this song (certainly is to me at least).

Another song that I don't think I've ever heard before (we're getting closer to songs that were released when I was actually alive so there aren't many of those left!) - my first impression is that this really doesn't sound much like a #1 single (was this really played on the radio and all at the time?), I think it might be one that takes a bit more familiarity to give a proper assessment but it sounds pretty powerful to me, some heavy politically charged lyrics and a great building instrumental, another very worthwhile discovery from this thread.

I award this 8.5 Irn Brus out of 10

Posted by: coi 11th April 2020, 04:27 PM

I've heard If I Was and Belfast Child quite a lot on radio in recent years actually!

If I Was is definitely my favourite from these songs so far, glad you agree!

Posted by: Jade 🐠 11th April 2020, 04:27 PM

I agree that 'If I Was' is the strongest of that section! The avatar of that YouTube channel being a cat though *.*

The only 'With A Little Help From My Friends' cover version that I'm a particular fan of is Joe Cocker's, he really transformed the arrangement of it. Both the Wet Wet Wet and Sam & Mark ones are nothing special.

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 11th April 2020, 04:47 PM

Good to see 'If I Was' get your highest score so far. It is the best song here.

'Belfast Child' is a bit of an epic with Trevor Horn's sumptuous production.

Posted by: Wall🐠 11th April 2020, 04:52 PM

Finally two songs that I know!

With A Little Help From My Friends is a decent tune

Posted by: Calum 🐠 11th April 2020, 04:56 PM

I still don't know many of these songs so far, oops

Posted by: DalekTurret32 11th April 2020, 10:47 PM

I'm more into Magic than January, but I like both of them.
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep was a road trip staple of mine back in 2004 and I did not know about the child abandonment thing.

Irn Bru XD

Posted by: Bré 🐠 11th April 2020, 11:03 PM

17: Wet Wet Wet - Goodnight Girl
4 weeks at #1 in 1992
Top 75 run: 20-9-3-{1}-1-1-1-2-7-21-57->11



Checking back in with Wet Wet Wet, they picked up their second of three #1s (does anyone remember what the third was? ) and with it the first Scottish #1 of the 90s with this track in 1992. This was the only one of their #1s to actually be an original song. In the intervening years between their first two #1s they had five other top 40 hits, though only one more that made the top 10.

Once again this is another song I don't think I've heard before but in this case I'm not surprised, this sounds very much 'of its time', I think you'd have to be a pretty big Wet Wet Wet fan to really care about this one. It's them at their most Westlife, just a soppy ten-a-penny ballad. Yawn.

I award this 3 Irn Brus out of 10



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18: The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode
4 weeks at #1 in 1992
Top 75 run: 6-2-{1}-1-1-1-3-8-29-48->10



Keeping in 1992, and another song that topped the chart for a month, although sonically couldn't be much more different to the previous song. This was the only chart-topper for rave / electronica group The Shamen, who I always thought were a one hit wonder but it actually turns out they racked up quite a few hits in the early 90s - this was not even their debut hit, it was the third of five top 10 hits for the group amongst a total of 10 top 40 hits spanning as late as 1996, who knew? This proved to be a controversial song at the time because apparently there was a subconscious pro-drugs message in the song, personally I'm not sure what people were on about, sounds totally innocent to me. It's just about a guy named Ebeneezer Goode, nothing at all to do with ecstasy!

Now this right here is a proper classic - I'm a huge fan of rave music and this is one of the most essential songs from the genre. An absolutely banging instrumental, a hook that won't leave your head for ages after listening, and that iconic line naughty, naughty, very naughty. I can't endorse that ~alleged~ pro-drugs sentiment, being a boring person who does not take any substances x but I can definitely imagine if I were such a person I'd only enjoy this song even more than I already do while permanently sober. x

I award this 10 Irn Brus out of 10



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19: The Bluebells - Young At Heart
4 weeks at #1 in 1993
Top 75 run (1984): 54-36-20-14-10-{8}-11-17-23-32-43-65->12
Top 75 run (1993): 5-{1}-1-1-1-2-8-13-22-39-51-66->12



My first thought at seeing this on the list was being shocked it was released as recently as 1993 - but of course the reason for that is that it wasn't, this is actually just another delayed Scottish #1 that was released in the 80s, though it only peaked at #8 on its original release. It was already their highest charting single (their only top 10 out of three top 40 hits during a chart career that spanned 1983-5) but it was the song's use in a TV ad for the Volkswagen Golf that prompted a full re-release in 1993 that saw it become the group's only #1, and indeed provided their final appearance in the UK chart. I was also surprised to find out that this is also a cover, originally recorded by Bananarama in 1983.

No surprise that this was pushed to #1 by an advert (and has continued to be used on adverts since), it really sounds like it was made for use on ads (can't really put my finger on why, maybe it's just confirmation bias). I've been intrigued by finding out this was a cover and had a listen to the original, The Bluebells' version is a pretty significant makeover of the song, and definitely for the better, turning a pretty average and forgettable pop track into a much more memorable folksy stormer.

I award this 8.5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

20: Take That - Relight My Fire (feat. Lulu)
2 weeks at #1 in 1993
Top 75 run: {1}-1-2-8-16-37-46-53-54-67-68-71-57-62->14



The first Scot to have a song go straight into the chart at #1 (a feat that used to be, and to some extent once again is now, pretty rare, although of course there was also a significant stretch of time where it was rarer for #1s to not have debuted there), and also the first Scot to be #1 as a featured artist. This was the second #1 hit for Take That, at the time a fresh-faced young boyband who would go on to hit #1 with nearly everything they farted out, but we don't care about Take That in this thread - more importantly this provided an extremely overdue first and only #1 hit for featured singer Lulu. She had hits going all the way back to 1964 and even managed to win Eurovision for the UK in 1969 but neither her Eurovision winner 'Boom Bang-A-Bang', her iconic single 'Shout' nor any of her other five top 10 hits prior to this went all the way to the top. This wasn't quite her last hurrah in the charts as she went on to get three more top 40 hits spanning as late as 2002 when she went out of singles chart relevancy with a bang with another boyband adjacent feature (the #4 peaking 'We've Got Tonight' by Ronan Keating). This is yet another cover, originally released by Dan Hartman in 1979 (though the Take That & Lulu version is the only one to chart in the UK).

This is another bit of cheesy and somewhat 'of its time' boyband fodder but in this case it's one that's stood the test of time a little better, Take That had some tunes back in the day and while this one is a little more in the guilty pleasure category than the likes of 'Back For Good' this is one that I can jam to as well. And it was iconic of them to revive a 60s legend like that - after all, if they hadn't, then Lulu would be a pretty significant name in Scottish music history to be absent from this thread.

I award this 7.5 Irn Brus out of 10



One more section coming up later tonight, this has been held back by a quiz going on for ages again

Posted by: Jade 🐠 11th April 2020, 11:10 PM

'Ebeneezer Goode' fully deserves those 10 Irn Brus definitely my favourite song to appear so far *.*

'Young At Heart' and 'Relight My Fire' both good too, but yes, another skippable offering from Wet Wet Wet x

Posted by: coi 11th April 2020, 11:14 PM

Surprised that you weren't aware of any of The Shamen's other hits, I've heard Move Any Mountain played more frequently than Ebeneezer Goode! But no doubt that Ebeneezer Goode is the best of their tracks, glad it got to number one and glad it's the first to receive 10 Irn Brus from you!

And I had the experience of seeing Take That and Lulu perform Relight My Fire together at a concert last year, back when those were a thing that could take place.

Posted by: Chez Wallago 🐠 11th April 2020, 11:26 PM

Ebeneezer Goode is a real favourite, absolute classic <3 I can't believe they ever tried to pretend it wasn't about drugs though lmaooo

Posted by: Nancy 🍾 12th April 2020, 12:09 AM

the shamen

11 irn bru's tbh!!!

Posted by: Bré 🐠 12th April 2020, 12:19 AM

I may be saving that honour for another song later on ;o (a good argument for The Shamen deserving it as well but I've decided to limit myself to just the one x)

Posted by: Nancy 🍾 12th April 2020, 12:24 AM

ohh looking forward to that then...don't disappoint me though, it better be good!!

Posted by: Fisher 🐠 12th April 2020, 02:10 AM

I've now listened to 'Young At Heart' as it sounded like something I would enjoy based on the description, and indeed it is

Posted by: Bré 🐠 12th April 2020, 02:14 AM

21: Stiltskin - Inside
1 week at #1 in 1994
Top 75 run: 5-{1}-2-4-6-8-15-17-28-28-40-42-64->13



Stepping ahead to 1994 and here's an example of the ubiquitous power of the Levi's jeans adverts at the time, here's a band that apparently came into existence for the original purpose of soundtracking the ad and they got an instant #1 hit with their first single out of it, one of several songs that became #1 hits thanks to the company. Their popularity was mostly just limited to this one song and they didn't manage to build a long-lasting career from it, landing only one more song on the charts at #34 later in the year (and a #17 album) before disappearing.

I think this is the final song on the list that I hadn't previously heard, as we approach the turn of the millennium. I wasn't expecting this to have such a heavy grunge sound to it - I know that's not entirely unfitting of the Levi's advert aesthetic given that Babylon Zoo's 'Spaceman' was also used in their ads but this song doesn't even have the fake-out less grungey part at the start of it! I quite like it on first listen, not blowing me away but a solid bit of moody grunge.

I award this 7 Irn Brus out of 10



~

22: Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
15 weeks at #1 in 1994
Top 75 run: 4-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-4-8-16-21-35-39-46-47-52-58-59-54-60-52-37-37-50-63-66->37



And we had to get around to it eventually - checking in again for their third and final #1, and by far the longest running of the #1s in this thread (in fact with the joint 3rd most weeks at #1 in the UK out of any song in history), Wet Wet Wet's 'Love Is All Around' lodged itself in the top spot in 1994 and refused to exit for a gruelling 15 weeks, aided by being taken from the soundtrack to 'Four Weddings And A Funeral'. It was a return to form and a half for them, as in the intervening period since 'Goodnight Girl' they hadn't scored a single additional top 10 hit (charting 5 songs further down the chart). They would resume being frequent chart stars for a while after this one though, picking up six more top 10 hits with the last, 2008's 'Weightless', giving them a memorable final hurrah as it debuted at #10 before promptly dropping out of the top 75 entirely in its second week. This is another cover, originally by The Troggs and dating back to 1967.

For such an enormous hit single that I believe gets quite a bit of hate (perhaps just because of people getting bored of it monopolising the chart for such an excessive period of time), I don't really have any strong opinions on this. It's a fairly pleasant radio filler track. Not much more to say about it. It's my favourite of the 3 Wet Wet Wet #1s, not that that's saying much.

I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



~

23: Dunblane - Knockin' On Heaven's Door
1 week at #1 in 1996
Top 75 run: {1}-2-3-15-44-69-54-55-61-69-52-54-44-40-67->15



And for the final Scottish #1 of the 1990s, it's a pretty melancholy note to end the night on - this track was a charity release following the tragic death of one teacher and 16 schoolchildren in the Dunblane massacre. It's a slight re-write of the Bob Dylan song of the same name (also well known for a cover by Guns N' Roses), credited simply to 'Dunblane'. It's the brainchild of Scottish musician Ted Christopher, also including the voices of children from the village of Dunblane and with Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits on guitar. Due to the nature of its release 'Dunblane' is of course a one hit wonder.

I have pretty much the same opinion on this as Wet Wet Wet's 'With A Little Help From My Friends' - I can't hate on it, it was for a great cause and it's a competent cover, albeit not one I'd ever choose to listen to over the original (well, in this case the Guns N' Roses version as I haven't heard the original), nor do I imagine many people did listen to it that much after purchasing it.

I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



Into the 21st century tomorrow!

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 12th April 2020, 10:40 AM

Stiltskin is the best of those three,certainly. The singer,Ray Wilson,joined Genesis a couple of years later as their lead singer. They only did one album and tour with him before stopping which he was really annoyed about. He's a big Genesis fan and wanted to carry on for a lot longer than that. I believe he still includes Genesis songs as part of his solo live sets.

Posted by: Jade 🐠 12th April 2020, 11:09 AM

^ Didn't know that about Stiltskin

Okay so 'Love Is All Around' is actually a Wet Wet Wet song I really like probably helps that I wasn't even born when it was released so I wasn't exposed to its mammoth run at the top. I have a real soft spot for it. The other two are fine - the Dunblane one is of course for a brilliant cause and not bad at all as a cover.

Posted by: Calum 🐠 12th April 2020, 11:31 AM

So I know Relight My Fire and Love Is All Around from the most recent songs

Relight My Fire is... just classic Take That really? A decent song but not one I'd ever go and listen to out of choice lmao!

Posted by: dandruff* 12th April 2020, 05:04 PM

Indeed, for me one of the best #1s of the 80s, the chorus is epic.

Posted by: dandruff* 12th April 2020, 05:10 PM

Young At Heart brings back the memories, I remember hearing it on the radio quite a bit as a child.

Don't approve of the drug reference of course but in general Ebeneezer Goode is great, our first dance track on this thread.

As for Wet x3 Goodnight Girl was my birthday #1 and it is a very nice chilled out song and Love Is All Around is nice and of course iconic but probably shouldn't have been #1 for that long.

Posted by: Cameron 🐠 13th April 2020, 05:02 PM

HYPED FOR MICHELLE

Posted by: Bré 🐠 13th April 2020, 05:43 PM

Whoops I was a little preoccupied with BJSC and may have failed to find the time to do this yesterday... (let's be honest, me sticking to my plan for even two days is a bit of a miracle with my track record on countdowns like this). Today is the last day the Scottish Icons forum will exist though and I'm still determined to finish this so let's fire through the last 20 songs now.

After these 6 songs the rest of the list is almost totally dominated by one artist (guess who?) so I'm gonna break my plan of going entirely chronologically and devote one post to all the #1s by that artist after this, and then one final post covering the other 4 remaining songs on the list.

24: Darius - Colourblind
2 weeks at #1 in 2002
Top 75 run: {1}-1-2-5-6-8-14-25-28-38-39-50-58-54-46-57->16



The first Scottish #1 of the new millennium, fast forwarding all the way to 2002, and it's legends only now as we of course have the debut single from Pop Idol bronze medallist, Popstar to Operastar winner, subject of a BuzzJack artist forum that lasted a frankly unbelievable amount of time beyond the point where he stopped releasing music or having any notable news to discuss (and a community which lives on via a dedicated thread in the Throwback forum), and just all around icon Darius. This was his only #1 and the only song he's remembered for now (is even this really still remembered by the wider public? I feel like it's more of a meme song on BuzzJack than anything) but he did have sustained singles chart success for a little over two years, racking up 6 top 40 hits, 5 of which made the top 10.

I legit have memories of really liking this song when I was a young kid, one of only a handful of early music memories I have as I didn't really listen to music that much when I was younger. That nostalgia combined with it (and Darius in general) being a BuzzMeme and how can I not give this a high score? I do think the song still holds up well enough today, it has some pretty cheesy lyrics but what early 00s pop song doesn't xx I can imagine this song not really sounding great if you didn't know it at the time and were just discovering it now but there's something about this factory line talent show pop song formula that had some charm to it back in the day.

I award this 9 Irn Brus out of 10



~

25: David Sneddon - Stop Living The Lie
2 weeks at #1 in 2003
Top 75 run: {1}-1-3-8-10-20-26-30-35-46-54-52-56-48-36-58-68-74->18



Continuing with the talent show theme, our next #1 comes from the winner of the first series of Fame Academy (remember that?), David Sneddon with his debut single 'Stop Living The Lie'. Sneddon's entire chart career was confined to the year 2003, with him scoring one more top 3 hit with the follow-up to this and then 2 increasingly minor further top 40 hits before making his exit from relevance. In fairness, the reason for his complete disappearance after 2003 seems to be that he only ever released one album, with his only new music mentioned on Wikipedia since then being a short EP in 2007.

Stiltskin was the last song on the list I'd never heard, but this is actually the last song on the list that I have no memory of - it's one I have definitely heard at least once but unlike 'Colourblind' I have no memory of hearing it when it first came out so my belated listen to it has clearly left no impression as it's not sounding remotely familiar. And this one may be the other side of the coin to what I said about Darius - it sounds extremely bland and non-descript. Maybe I'd hold it in higher regard if I had some nostalgia for it but as it is, nah.

I award this 3 Irn Brus out of 10



~

26: Michelle McManus - All This Time
3 weeks at #1 in 2004
Top 75 run: {1}-1-1-3-4-8-11-20-31-44-56->11



And here she is!!! All this time, we've come a long, long way, I've waited a lifetime for today! Completing this little trio of talent show acts, we have the ultimate BuzzJack icon herself, the Lady Michelle, winner of the second series of Pop Idol, with her timeless, iconic and flawless winner's single 'All This Time'. She wouldn't have a lasting music career either, scoring just one more top 40 single with the #16 peaking 'The Meaning Of Love' before retiring to general icon status, but who needs more hits when you have this one?

This is definitely more meme than song, at least on BuzzJack, and in reality it's an extremely formulaic talent show winner's single with no particular standout qualities that shouldn't really deserve in its own right to be memorable. And yet... it's legitimately going to be my wedding song. x All hail the icon Michelle.

I award this 10 Irn Brus out of 10



and a FISHY BONUS for general iconatry



~

27: Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)
1 week at #1 in 2006
Top 75 run (2005): {55}->1
Top 75 run (2006): 15-2-{1}-2-2-3-4-6-5-8-11-11-13-22-27-31-34-48-57-63-58-66->22



Stepping forward to 2006 we have this little folk-pop ditty from another one hit wonder Sandi Thom, who notably became an early example of an artist blowing up via the Internet with 'fame' on MySpace and a series of concerts recorded and streamed online from the comfort of her own flat, leading to the interest of major labels. This song was a very minor hit on its original release in 2005 but following the major label push it became a pretty big #1 hit. Alas she wouldn't recapture that magic again as she'd have only one more top 40 hit in 2006, a very muted comeback in 2008 with one further very minor hit and then nothing from that point on. She's most recently been relevant for an expletive-laden rant at radio stations for refusing to play her music in 2015.

The lyrics to this one are a little bit boomer-y in retrospect but this is another song I have some memory of actually hearing at the time (I even remember hearing the story about her rise to fame via the Internet) so it gets a bit of a nostalgia bonus. It's certainly a bit of an earworm as well. Kind of a shame that she never had any more notable success after this.

I award this 8.5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

28: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (feat. Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin)
3 weeks at #1 in 2007
Top 75 run: 3-{1}-1-1-4-9-17-31-55-72->10



Forward to 2007 and similarly to Lulu it's another iconic Scottish act who got their first and only #1 long past their original run of chart hits - in this case they originally had five top 40 hits between 1987 and 1994, with the highest peaking being their debut hit 'Letter From America' which reached #3. One of their other hits was the #11 peaking 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' from 1988 - and it was this song that would eventually net them their chart topper, albeit not in its original form. I already mentioned one of Peter Kay's charity singles earlier in the thread under the commentary for 'I Know Him So Well' but this is one of the ones that did actually make it to #1 (supporting Comic Relief 2007), with Kay in character as Brian Potter from the TV series 'Phoenix Nights' featuring on a novelty remake of the song, also aided by Matt Lucas in character as Andy Pipkin from 'Little Britain'. (Matt Lucas is of course back in the top 40 with another charity single as I'm typing this - the relevance!) The release of this version also prompted the original Proclaimers-only version to re-enter as high as #26. They had no further top 40 hits after this but did lodge two more very minor hits in 2007 and 2014. They continue to enjoy some level of albums chart success.

The original of this is definitely an iconic and classic song, and unlike the other charity covers in this thread, I think there is actually some unique merit to this particular version, though I may be a bit biased there because 'Little Britain' is one of my favourite TV shows, so I can actually appreciate the comedic context of Andy Pipkin's performance and ad libs. (The Brian Potter contribution is a bit more lost on me, not sure if there's any particular joke there). I can't lie, when I have this song stuck in my head I often remember the chorus as saying 'roll' instead of 'walk', and them yelling 'Bobby Davro'. It's a shame the Comic Relief single has died a death in recent years as there were some bangers back in the day.

I award this 9 Irn Brus out of 10



~

29: Leon Jackson - When You Believe
3 weeks at #1 in 2007
Top 75 run: {1}-1-1-5-15-27-42-67-71->9



We end this section as we started, with another talent show contestant, in this case Leon Jackson who won the 2007 series of the X Factor, and nabbed the Christmas #1 back in the pre-Rage Against The Machine days when winning the X Factor came hand in hand with that achievement. This is in fact the only Christmas #1 by a Scottish artist. How does that make us feel? x This is of course another cover (thankfully the final one of those in this thread!), originally recorded by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Leon Jackson became... not one of the more successful or memorable X Factor winners, he got a #3 hit with his debut 'proper' single 'Don't Call This Love' the following year but would then never grace the singles chart again after that.

X Factor winner's singles were basically all attempts to recreate the magic of 'All This Time' and in the process nearly all of them were really pretty naff, and this is probably the worst of them all. Leon Jackson just has no star power at all and this wasn't a good song to start with. Zzzz. It's probably marginally better than that Billy Connolly thing to avoid being the absolute worst song on the list but it's pretty close.

I award this 1 Irn Bru out of 10

Posted by: Jade 🐠 13th April 2020, 05:45 PM

That section is ICONIC BEYOND BELIEF *.* (except David Sneddon x)

Posted by: Fisher 🐠 13th April 2020, 08:05 PM

Oh I thought 'All This Time' would get the coveted 11 Irn Brus out of 10 I'm proud to have been a fan prior to its meme status on Buzzjack, thanks in part to the iconic hand motions in the music video *.*

Posted by: coi 13th April 2020, 08:27 PM

Colourblind is a banger and easily the best song from that section for me, also Radio 1 do still play it quite a bit in their throwback shows, including earlier today as it turns out!

Some very uninspiring talent show winners in that section too but glad the Comic Relief version of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) received a high rating!

Posted by: Bré 🐠 13th April 2020, 08:53 PM

I considered Michelle for the 11 rating too but 10 + the fishy bonus is arguably even better tbh!

Onto the true identity of the 11 though

30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41: Calvin Harris' 10 UK #1 hits

By far the Scottish artist with the most UK #1s is of course superstar DJ Calvin Harris, who has racked up an astonishing 10 of them (and even more when considering songs on which he was an uncredited producer, as well as Florence + The Machine's 'Spectrum (Say My Name)' which hit #1 courtesy of a Calvin Harris remix, though it doesn't officially count to his tally as he was billed only as the remixer) between 2008 and 2018. He has the clear potential to add to the tally in the future, though he's currently on an uncommercial tangent with his Love Regenerator side project so it may be a bit of a wait before he likely eventually returns to chart domination. In all he's had 26 UK top 10 hits as a named artist to date.

His first album produced two top 10 hits but no #1s, leaving his first trip to the top spot to be as a feature on Dizzee Rascal's 'Dance Wiv Me' (also featuring Chrom3), which he both produced and sang the chorus for. Following this success the lead single from his second album, 'I'm Not Alone', became his first chart topper as the lead artist. One more top 10 hit followed from that album, then his third album had a string of four straight unlucky #2 peaks before its fourth single 'Sweet Nothing' (featuring Florence Welch on vocal duty) finally yielded a #1 from the era. (In the gap between 'I'm Not Alone' and 'Sweet Nothing' he had his third #1 as the producer and credited featured artist on 'We Found Love' by Rihanna, spending 6 non-consecutive weeks at the top spot). 'Sweet Nothing' was followed by three further top 10 hits from the same packed album. The next album was similarly packed with four more top 10 hits, the first three of which all hit #1 in succession - 'Under Control' (with Alesso and featuring Hurts on vocals), 'Summer' (his last #1 which he performed the vocals for himself) amd 'Blame' (featuring John Newman). Next he had a mini era of songs which never made it onto an album, giving him three more top 10s including two more #2s but no #1s. His next (and most recent) studio album which saw him drastically change his sound to a retro funk style did not quite have the same level of consistent big hits but did give him two more top 10s including his eighth #1 'Feels' (featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean). Returning to more of his dance sound his most recent batch of hits came from another mini era of three singles which haven't yet been (and may never be) on an album - the first two, 'One Kiss' (with Dua Lipa) and 'Promises' (with Sam Smith) completed his set of UK #1s to date, with 'One Kiss' being his longest running #1 with 8 weeks at the summit, while the last, 'Giant' (featuring Rag'n'Bone Man), was yet another #2 for good measure and remains his most recent top 10 hit.

I'm conscious of time and have another quiz to be partaking in so not going to go into detail on my opinions here but here are the songs, chart runs and my Irn Bru ratings:

30: Dizzee Rascal - Dance Wiv Me (feat. Calvin Harris and Chrom3)
4 weeks at #1 in 2008
Top 75 run: {1}-1-1-1-2-3-5-6-8-9-13-19-24-28-31-34-37-43-49-46-57-65-50R(4)-31-38-49-48-59-65-66-75R(9)-68-62-48-42-62-67-70R(12)-68->



I award this 9 Irn Brus out of 10



~

31: Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone
2 weeks at #1 in 2009
Top 75 run: {1}-1-3-4-4-8-12-14-17-28-29-34-48-54-46-34-39-38-42-40-40-57-67-69R(131)-67->25



I award this 11 Irn Brus out of 10 - one of my favourite songs of 2009 / the entire decade, what an absolute banger and a half



~

32: Rihanna - We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)
6 weeks at #1 in 2011
Top 75 run: {1}-1-1-3-2-1-1-1-3-4-5-10-5-9-11-17-24-28-32-34-22-24-26-34-34-41-49-55-52-39-49-62-64-66-65-72-74-75-54-52-53-57-71-62R(7)-69-68-74-66R(10)-72R(3)->49



I award this 8.5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

34: Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch)
1 week at #1 in 2012
Top 75 run: {1}-3-6-11-14-18-20-23-26-27-25-18-24-37-45-46-59-64-71->19



I award this 9.5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

36: Calvin Harris and Alesso - Under Control (feat. Hurts)
1 week at #1 in 2013
Top 75 run: {1}-4-11-17-20-26-26-28-37-43-59->11



I award this 8 Irn Brus out of 10



~

37: Calvin Harris - Summer
1 week at #1 in 2014
Top 75 run: {1}-2-4-7-10-11-15-17-16-16-15-17-23-23-24-28-33-35-42-44-51-55-58-61-66-72-64-52-63-73->30



I award this 8.5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

38: Calvin Harris - Blame (feat. John Newman)
1 week at #1 in 2014
Top 75 run: {1}-2-4-5-6-8-7-9-11-15-20-20-31-33-36-32-29-31-36-37-40-42-48-51-59-60-63-60-67-67-69->31



I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



~

39: Calvin Harris - Feels (feat. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean)
1 week at #1 in 2017
Top 75 run: 21-21-6-4-4-4-3-{1}-2-3-4-18-26-27-33-36-44-50-54-56-62-74-75R(7)->23



I award this 5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

40: Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa - One Kiss
8 weeks at #1 in 2018
Top 75 run: 3-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-7-10-10-16-17-18-14-20-24-22-28-28-31-35-39-45-48-52-53-63-70-75-37R(8)-22-26-32-35-38-69R(2)-56-65R(8)->40



I award this 8 Irn Brus out of 10



~

41: Calvin Harris and Sam Smith - Promises
6 weeks at #1 in 2018
Top 75 run: 4-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-1-2-3-4-18-23-22-38-46-45-68-21-27-30-38-42-50-50-50-37-45-49-53-52-57-63-72-61->36



I award this 9 Irn Brus out of 10



Generally mostly really like Calvin's discography though 'Blame' and 'Feels' are clearly weaker than the rest!

One more post which I'll hopefully squeeze in before midnight ;o

Posted by: Jade 🐠 13th April 2020, 08:54 PM

'I'm Not Alone' is so deserving of the 11 Irn Brus my favourite of Calvin's #1s too!

Posted by: Calum 🐠 13th April 2020, 08:55 PM

That section including Colourblind, All This Time and I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker is truly ICONIC three amazing songs!!

Calvin on the other hand is really hit and miss for me

Posted by: Cameron 🐠 13th April 2020, 09:21 PM

Omg, I remember in primary school David Sneddon was on all the bin posters encouraging us to pick up litter. *.*

Posted by: Jade 🐠 13th April 2020, 09:22 PM

Screaming!

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 13th April 2020, 10:18 PM

In David Sneddon's defence,it's worth mentioning he's now a successful songwriter,writing for many well known singers.

I liked that first series of Fame Academy. If you pressed the BBC red button,you could see live coverage from the house that they were living and working in at whatever time you wanted. I can still remember about ten of them now. Lemar had the most success after the show even though he didn't win. I think about five of them had hit singles.

Posted by: Bré 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:38 PM

and just barely managing to finish this thread before our forum is locked at midnight!

33 & 35: Emeli Sandé's 2 UK #1 hits

Calum's favourite Emeli Sandé never managed to hit #1 in her own right, but she makes it onto the list not once but twice thanks to featuring on other people's songs. First up there was her singing the chorus on Professor Green's 'Read All About It' - which she would also record a solo version of, confusingly tagged as 'Part III' (iirc Part II was an obscure collab with some Italian or maybe French singer), which charted as high as #3 itself after being used at the Olympics - and then she also featured on Labrinth's #1 hit 'Beneath Your Beautiful' (wince-worthy title and questionable grammatical structure and all) which blasted to the top spot after a performance on the X Factor. She had a total of 11 top 10 hits (including features) during her career, spanning 2009 to 2014, with her highest charting songs as lead artist being her best song 'Heaven' as well as 'Next To Me' which both topped out at #2. She's still musically active but has had a shockingly quick decline into irrelevance after her debut album broke a record for most consecutive weeks in the top 10 (for a debut release).

42 & 43: Lewis Capaldi's 2 UK #1 hits

And to complete the thread, the two most recent #1s by Scottish artists are both by the same man, the one the only Lewis Capaldi. We all know him, we're all slightly sick of him x but he's here to stay as both of these songs are still in the UK top 40 as we speak, despite the fact that the first of the two, 'Someone You Loved', hit #1 over a year ago. He's had 5 UK hits so far, all taken from his first and only album to date (with his second #1 and the most recent song in this thread, 'Before You Go', being added to a deluxe re-release of the album) and all 5 have notched up top 10 peaks. Time will tell if he will remain a chart force for the long term - he certainly looks like likeliest candidate for the next Scottish act to get at least 3 UK #1s.

And for the last time, here are the songs, chart runs and my Irn Bru ratings:

33: Professor Green - Read All About It (feat. Emeli Sandé)
2 weeks at #1 in 2011
Top 75 run: {1}-1-4-9-13-19-32-41-44-23-32-35-36-43-49-53-63-65-71R(25)-65->20



I award this 7 Irn Brus out of 10



~

35: Labrinth - Beneath Your Beautiful (feat. Emeli Sandé)
1 week at #1 in 2012
Top 75 run: 71-{1}R(2)-2-2-4-4-4-4-8-11-10-10-15-20-27-32-32-30-35-40-42-45-58-71-69R(8)->25



I award this 6 Irn Brus out of 10



~

42: Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved
7 weeks at #1 in 2019
Top 75 run: 66-29-13-10-9-3-3-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-4-3-4-3-3-3-3-11-14-10-13-14-19-22-25-23-19-23-21-27-28-24-19-23-18-20-23-25-31-28-26-34-27-38-58-15-7-7-10-9-6-7-6-6-8-10-28-30-36-36->66

I can't find the video for this one

oh wait here it is



I award this 5 Irn Brus out of 10



~

43: Lewis Capaldi - Before You Go
1 week at #1 in 2020
Top 75 run: 19-2-2-4-3-12-2-2-2-5-{1}-3-3-4-18-21-23-21-25-27-31->21



I award this 8 Irn Brus out of 10



Thank you everyone who has contributed to this thread, it's been fun going back through all of these! (apart from Calvin/Emeli/Lewis' ones which I didn't really have time to relisten to and type up proper opinions on but I knew them all well enough to rate them anyway x)

Posted by: Jade 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:38 PM

Brilliant effort with this thread Brer

Posted by: Chez Wallago 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:41 PM

Excellent effort, thank you!

Although wow this really wasn't the most high quality bunch of songs lmao

Posted by: coi 13th April 2020, 10:42 PM

Strong finish with Calvin Harris and Lewis Capaldi!

Really enjoyed following this, your commentary was superb!!

Posted by: Toilet Rollo 13th April 2020, 10:47 PM

Great thread,Bre.

My top 5:
1. If I Was
2. Belfast Child
3. Forever And Ever
4. January
5. Japanese Boy

All those songs from the 21st Century are not in the same league.

Posted by: Calum 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:48 PM

Bray how rude re. the someone you loved video

but honestly, this has been a FANTASTIC read, so much effort so WD

Posted by: Hauspital* 13th April 2020, 10:55 PM

Iconic thread tbh Some *choice* scores but was expected x

Posted by: Fisher 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:55 PM

So only three Scottish artists had #1s last decade with eleven different songs, compared to seven artists the decade before with eight #1 songs. (I'd add this up for the other decades but running out of time heh)

Thanks for this thread, really enjoyed it!

Posted by: Bré 🐠 13th April 2020, 10:59 PM

Indeed, it's not quite the spotless record that this forum deserves oops

But hey. There were some good songs.

Posted by: Bré 🐠 14th April 2020, 08:48 PM

Bumping because this thread has been moved over to this forum now if anyone who missed my promo thread wants to have a read through it xo

Posted by: DanChartFan 15th April 2020, 01:35 AM

Just catching up this thread now, and it's a really fascinating read. I was suprised to see Aneka was Scottish, as shortly after her number one she appeared on Wogan in character (with her Japanese wig etc, then pulled off the wig to reveal her real self, in doing so she told Wogan, in a very posh rp-type voice that playing the character had 'all been rather a hoot'.

As for the Big Yin hi'self, I'm suprised to see Billy getting such a slaughtering. To give a little bit of context, in the days before VHS was a thing people bought and consumed their stand-up comedy on LPs which were probably recorded by sticking a reel-to-reel or tape recorder on the wings of the stage, and Billy was one of the bigger sellers of stand-up LPs (as was Jasper Carrott). This particular song was one part of such a stand-up show and LP, and the track was spun off onto a single. You won't find a studio version as there wasn't one, just the live stand-up performance. As for the word queer at the end, I really don't see any problem at all with describing a fictional dog using a synonym for strange or odd, which is all queer means in the context of that sentence. There certainly isn't any connection with sexuality at all, so surely there can be no suggestion of homophobia or even of being non-PC, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be acceptable. I'm also not sure that last line is intended as a punchline, as such, I just think the writer had settled on the 'so as my dog can't hear' line and just needed a rhyme. If nothing else this single was notable for being the first charttopper to, if not actually use, then heavily imply, the f-bomb and c-bomb as part of the lyrics (albeit one used in a partly softened form, and the other bleeped, as they are on the video you embedded). Billy's popularity at that time was partly fuelled by his semi-regular appearances on the first incarnation of Michael Parkinson's talk show, so it's entirely possible that he either performed a version of it on the show, or that a clip of it was played as part of one of his interviews. He made shockwaves on one of his Parkinson appearances by telling a joke in which a badly buried body ends up with it's bum up out of the ground and someone passes it off as a bicycle stand (the joke is far funnier than I make it sound), so it's not impossible that this song could also have been performed on one. As for the intriguing sounding Supergran, it was the theme to the children's show of the same name, set in Scotland, featuring a tartan clad granny with super powers, and made for ITV by Tyne Tees Television.

P.S. Just to reassure me, all this talk of a forum closing at midnight doesn't mean that Buzzjack is closing down does it? [It's 2:30am by now, so I'm guessing not, but thought I'd ask anyway].

Posted by: Bré 🐠 15th April 2020, 01:45 AM

Oh yeah sorry, this was part of an event going on elsewhere in the site that meant we had a Scottish Icons subforum for a few days and I was rushing to finish the thread before that was closed there may be other posts / references in this thread that won't make much sense without the context oops, I just wanted this thread to be moved here as the main meat of it is relevant to the chart forum.

I'm aware the use of the word 'queer' presumably wasn't intended to be homophobic but that's why I said it's best left in the past as the use of that word in such a casual context hasn't aged well. (For the record my score for it wasn't really influenced by that, it's just a song in a style that I'm not really a fan of to begin with and with humour that didn't really connect with me, I can understand the appeal but it's not for me).

I did wonder if it might just be that there wasn't a studio version of 'D.I.V.O.R.C.E.' so thanks for confirming!

Posted by: Steve201 15th April 2020, 07:53 PM

Simple Minds were great - 'Promised You A Miracle' was my favourite of theirs.

Check out my totp 1989 thread to see their No1 stint -

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=208534&pid=6479965&st=700&#entry6479965

Posted by: dandruff* 22nd April 2020, 07:20 PM

Just remembered about this wonderful thread - pity the Scottish icons forum is gone now

My favourite of the 8 number 1's Calvin Harris has been part of is definitely 'Under Control'. As for Emeli my favourite song of all of her hits is 'Lifted'. Still very relevant on radio 2, her song from a few months ago 'Extraordinary Being' is very good.

My favourite song from Wet Wet Wet is easily their debut hit in 1987, such a unique sounding pop song.