But it's arguable that it doesn't make any sense to ignore Tragedy, the song definitely would not have made #1 if it were not for Tragedy - if you were to ask any casual music fan which song was Steps' biggest hit or #1, they would say Tragedy and most definitely not Heartbeat as Tragedy was literally inescapable...

 

I agree, as Superbossanova said earlier, it was Heartbeat that was pushed first, which took it to a fanbase #2 sort of debut, but then the single became genuinely popular with the masses later on thanks to Tragedy, if it was just a single a-side of Heartbeat I reckon they'd have been looking at a 250-300k seller as opposed to a song which sailed over a million.

Oh and Candle In The Wind and Candle In The Wind 97 really should be treated as different songs also...

 

Why so? They're the same song but the 97 version just has slightly different lyrics. It's no different to Three Lions/Three Lions '98 which I combine and the OCC also combine now (so I assume they would combine the two CITWs as well)

I just think they are different songs that mark different things... I wouldn't personally combine the different versions of 3 Lions either but each to their own...

Regarding Steps, I'm not saying Tragedy wasn't far more popular - but that sort of brings us back to the Goo Goo Dolls thing again. Iris was clearly the more popular of the two songs at least after a certain time. Does that mean the whole thing should be credited as 'Iris'? Or should there be a cutoff point between SWY and Iris and if so when does that cutoff point come? It's fair to say at the start of Heartbeat/Tragedy's run people were buying it for Heartbeat and it wasn't until a few weeks later it started selling for Tragedy. Where do the Heartbeat sales end and the Tragedy sales start? That's why I'm just lumping it all to 'Heartbeat', as that fits with my rule of going with the first A-Side.

 

I realise this can all be avoided by just crediting it as the double A-Side. But I don't do that.

Edited July 9, 201113 yr by Bré

Why so? They're the same song but the 97 version just has slightly different lyrics. It's no different to Three Lions/Three Lions '98 which I combine and the OCC also combine now (so I assume they would combine the two CITWs as well)

The OCC are inconsistent though. Everybody Wants To Rule The World and Everybody Wants To Run The World are essentially the same Tears For Fears song with a slight change in the words for the inaugural Sport Aid but they have always been treated as separate songs.

The OCC are inconsistent though. Everybody Wants To Rule The World and Everybody Wants To Run The World are essentially the same Tears For Fears song with a slight change in the words for the inaugural Sport Aid but they have always been treated as separate songs.

 

Well, I'd personally classify those as the same song too unless the Sport Aid one has an additional featured artist :P

 

EDIT: Which it doesn't. So I consider them to be the same song.

Edited July 9, 201113 yr by Bré

Number of Double-A sides in the top 40 in each of the last 20 years:

 

1991 - 10

1992 - 19

1993 - 15

1994 - 17

1995 - 25

1996 - 15

1997 - 12

1998 - 12

1999 - 11

2000 - 12

2001 - 18

2002 - 23

2003 - 20

2004 - 25

2005 - 23

2006 - 7

2007 - 4

2008 - 6

2009 - 2

2010 - 1

 

By the way, I did this by searching the Everyhit database with "contains the word '/'" as the title, so I'm not responsible for any that were miscredited on there. Although I didn't notice any but then I didn't look that hard as I did this very quickly in like 10 minutes.

 

So I guess the peak of the double-A side was 2001-2005 (even though more hit #1 between 1995-1999 as the first post shows), before downloads cut the number drastically right afterwards. No idea why 1995 had much more than all its surrounding years though.

 

EDIT: Removed one from 2001 (Lighthouse Family) as I've just remembered it was a medley, not a double-A side.

Edited July 9, 201113 yr by superbossanova

Which 2 were 2009?

Edited July 9, 201113 yr by Bré

Which 2 were 2009?

According to Everyhit:

 

Sub Focus - Rock It / Follow The Light

Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones / Sharon Corr - Silver Bells / Me And My Teddy Bear

According to Everyhit:

 

Sub Focus - Rock It / Follow The Light

Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones / Sharon Corr - Silver Bells / Me And My Teddy Bear

 

Oh, yeah. Should have remembered Sub Focus seeing as Rock It is among my top 5 favourite songs of 2009 :lol:

The Vaccines' debut single was a double A-side - "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) / Blow It Up". It debuted at #157 in the UK and was credited as the double A-side, with music videos for both sides released on the same day. However, usage on programmes such as Skins saw only 'Wreckin' Bar' re-enter the T200 - so I'm not sure whether the #157 chart position was them combined under [WB(RRR)].

According to it's cover art, Nero's Me & You would technically a Double A-Side. Both that, and Welcome Reality are credited on the cover so I would personally call it a Double A-Side. :P

According to it's cover art, Nero's Me & You would technically a Double A-Side. Both that, and Welcome Reality are credited on the cover so I would personally call it a Double A-Side. :P

 

There are loads of single covers that also list the B-Side in the artwork :P Doesn't make them double A-Sides

There are loads of single covers that also list the B-Side in the artwork :P Doesn't make them double A-Sides

I can't have it having another song on the artwork without that song being equally credited as well. On my iTunes, I have Me & You down as being on the album "Me & You/Welcome Reality" :P

Also, I just looked closer at the artwork and it says "A Me & You/AA Welcome Reality" :P

Also, I just looked closer at the artwork and it says "A Me & You/AA Welcome Reality" :P

 

Oh yeah, so it does :o I suppose it technically is a double A-Side then! I wonder why the OCC don't credit it as such then :unsure:

 

It actually says 'A Me And You' by the way :kink:

Edited July 9, 201113 yr by Bré

Oh yeah, so it does :o I suppose it technically is a double A-Side then! I wonder why the OCC don't credit it as such then :unsure:

 

It actually says 'A Me And You' by the way :kink:

Yes, but I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered write the whole word. :lol:

Maybe they don't credit it that way because iTunes don't even credit it that way, which is odd seeing as the artwork practically completely indicates Double A. :P

I think some of those were listed a week later for example KWS, Game Boy was added a week later.

 

edit

 

 

OK, checking back it looks like "Game Boy" wasn't added until the third week on chart, but that was also the week it reached number one.

 

Information like this was a staple of the old Guinness chart books but like EP track listings, is sadly missing from the otherwise excellent Virgin ones.

 

--

Richard