Official Chart Flashback: 1993 – Gabrielle, Dreams

21/06/2013

By Justin Myers

 

http://c0903002.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/7479-gabrielle_420x250.jpg

 

A dream becomes reality as chart newcomer Gabrielle knocks UB40 off the top spot.

 

Ever had a dream come true? 20 years ago this week, Hackney-born singer Gabrielle was realising the first of many dreams when she hit the Official Singles Chart Number 1 with the classic anthem of hope that is – yes, you’ve guessed it – Dreams.

 

It was the debut release for Gabrielle – real name Louisa Gabrielle Bobb, fact fans – and entered the chart at Number 2 behind UB40’s (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You, a cover of the Elvis Presley track enjoying a renaissance thanks to featuring in saucy Sharon Stone movie Sliver. Support for Gabrielle’s track was too strong to let the dream end there, of course, and the song knocked the Birmingham reggae stars off the top just a week later, remaining at the summit for three weeks.

 

The original version of Dreams featured the distinctive acoustic guitar riff from Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit Fast Car, but the sample couldn’t be cleared for release, so it was removed from the single version, which would go on to sell just over 590,000 copies.

 

It was the start of a pretty impressive career for Gabrielle, who went on to have 16 Official Singles Chart Top 40 hits, including another Number 1 with Rise in 2000, which sampled Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and sold over 470,000 copies.

 

And it seems there’s no end to Dreams’ appeal. It’s sold over 12,000 copies so far in 2013 alone!

 

Elsewhere in our retro Top 5 this week in 1993, we see UB40 slip to Number 2 after two weeks at the top. It would be their last Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart, and after this single they would only grace the Top 10 twice more.

 

At Number 3 was the singalong summer hit What Is Love? by Haddaway, which spent nine weeks in the Top 10, two of those at Number 2 behind Gabrielle. Haddaway hadn’t yet had his fill of chart success – he returned to the Top 40 another five times.

 

At Number 4 was another former Number 1: Ace of Base’s breakthrough track All That She Wants. The song had been a massive hit on mainland Europe before the power of MTV helped make it a smash in the UK too. Ace of Base ended up with 12 Top 40 hits under their belt and are still recording. Are they set for a return any time soon? You’ll hear it here first…

 

And propping up the Top 5 big ones is Two Princes by US rockers Spin Doctors. The track, the group’s biggest hit and sole Top 10, spent six weeks in the Official Singles Chart Top 10, but never made it higher than Number 3.

 

New entries elsewhere in the Top 30 that week were Rod Stewart’s cover of Have I Told You Lately at Number 7, a dance remix of Gloria Gaynor’s 1979 hit I Will Survive at Number 11 and What’cha Gonna Do, a collaboration between Shabba Ranks and future Oscar-nominee Queen Latifah at Number 21.

Edited June 21, 201312 yr by liamk97

So in short:

 

590k Dreams (12k in 2013)

470k Rise

Over on Haven, the chart of 2000 has Rise on 448k, while the chart of the noughties has it on 462k, so presumably in the last three-and-a-half years it has sold 8k. So it's not quite the catalogue seller that Dreams is! Strange that, I always felt that - alongside Out Of Reach - Rise was Gabrielle's signature song. Personally though, I preferred Give Me A Little More Time!

I never realized Dreams was 1993. I always thought it was late 90's, since I heard it so much when I was a kid. I also never knew it was originally going to sample Fast Car either! :o

 

I love What is Love as well. It was used as the sample for my favourite song on Eminem's previous album.

 

Over on Haven, the chart of 2000 has Rise on 448k, while the chart of the noughties has it on 462k, so presumably in the last three-and-a-half years it has sold 8k. So it's not quite the catalogue seller that Dreams is! Strange that, I always felt that - alongside Out Of Reach - Rise was Gabrielle's signature song. Personally though, I preferred Give Me A Little More Time!

 

I definitely hear Dreams more much more than Rise now personally.

Edited June 21, 201312 yr by Eric_Blob

12k in 6 months is great.

So in short:

 

590k Dreams (12k in 2013)

470k Rise

 

Odd - I have Rise on ~480k as of 9/2/13 (no figure for Dreams, though).

Official Chart Flashback: 1993 – Gabrielle, Dreams

 

And it seems there’s no end to Dreams’ appeal. It’s sold over 12,000 copies so far in 2013 alone!

 

So that's 500/wk, which is consistant with what I estimate its average iTunes position should sell. :)

Since I happened to have it ready, here's the full chart (26th June 1993)

 

1. (2) Gabrielle Dreams

2. (1) UB40 (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You

3. (3) Haddaway What Is Love

4. (4) Ace Of Base All That She Wants

5. (5) The Spin Doctors Two Princes

6. (6) Chaka Demus And Pliers Tease Me

7. (NE) Rod Stewart Have I Told You Lately

8. (10) Lisa Stansfield In All The Right Places

9. (NE) M People One Night In Heaven

10. (8) Inner Circle Sweat (A La La La La Long) {1993 re-release}

11. (NE) Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive {1993 remix}

12. (9) Green Jelly Three Little Pigs

13. (11) Snap! Do You See The Light (Looking For...) ft Niki Harris

14. (7) Pet Shop Boys Can You Forgive Her?

15. (19) Terence Trent D'Arby Delicate ft Des'ree

16. (NE) East 17 West End Girls

17. (14) Sade No Ordinary Love {1993 re-issue}

18. (12) Louchie Lou And Michie One Shout (It Out)

19. (16) Sting Fields Of Gold

20. (20) The Time Frequency The Power Zone EP

[The Ultimate High; The Power Zone]

21. (NE) Shabba Ranks What'cha Gonna Do ft Queen Latifah

22. (15) Tina Turner I Don't Wanna Fight

23. (32) Brian May With Cozy Powell Resurrection

24. (27) Niamh Kavanagh In Your Eyes

25. (17) Sister Sledge Thinking Of You {1993 remix}

26. (13) Jamiroquai Blow Your Mind

27. (22) George Michael And Queen With Lisa Stansfield Five Live (EP)

[somebody To Love; These Are The Days Of Our Lives; Calling You; Papa Was A Rolling Stone - Killer]

28. (18) 2 Unlimited Tribal Dance

29. (33) Kingmaker Queen Jane

30. (21) House Of Pain Jump Around/Top O' The Morning To Ya

31. (NE) Teenage Fanclub Radio

32. (NE) Joey Lawrence Nothin' My Love Can't Fix

33. (NE) SWV Weak

34. (NE) Billy Idol Shock To The System

35. (35) Neneh Cherry Buddy X

36. (23) Janet Jackson That's The Way Love Goes

37. (42) Blackstreet Baby Be Mine ft Teddy Riley

38. (25) Manic Street Preachers From Despair To Where

39. (46) The The Love Is Stronger Than Death

40. (30) R.E.M. Everybody Hurts

41. (NE) Sybil Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

42. (37) Manchester United And The Champions United (We Love You)

43. (59) 4 Non Blondes What's Up?

44. (31) Bon Jovi In These Arms

45. (24) Cliff Richard Human Work Of Art

46. (55) The Hothouse Flowers Isn't It Amazing

47. (NE) RuPaul Supermodel (You Better Work)

48. (60) Soul Asylum Runaway Train

49. (36) Björk Human Behaviour

50. (34) Jungle Book The Jungle Book Groove

51. (29) Therapy? Face The Strange (EP)

[Turn; Speedball; Bloody Blue; Neckfreak]

52. (28) Thunder Like A Satellite (EP)

[Like A Satellite; The Damage Is Done; Like A Satellite (live); Gimme Shelter]

53. (40) PM Dawn More Than Likely ft Boy George

54. (26) A-ha Dark Is The Night

55. (NE) Jean Michel Jarre Chronologie Part 4

56. (NE) JC-001 Cupid

57. (39) Ugly Kid Joe Busy Bee

58. (66) Fluke Electric Guitar

59. (NE) William Orbit Water From A Vine Leaf

60. (NE) Unitone Rockers Children Of The Revolution ft Steel

61. (NE) Tim Finn Persuasion

62. (44) Tears For Fears Break It Down Again

63. (41) Danni'elle Secret Love

64. (NE) Brad 20th Century

65. (48) Naughty By Nature It's On

66. (50) Mary J Blige You Remind Me

67. (NE) 808 State 10x10

68. (NE) kd Lang Miss Chatelaine

69. (56) Bobby Brown That's The Way Love Is

70. (NE) Shinehead Let 'Em In

71. (57) Whitney Houston I Have Nothing

72. (47) Shabba Ranks Housecall {1993 remix} ft Maxi Priest

73. (43) Q Get Here ft Tracy Ackerman

74. (49) Bryan Ferry Will You Love Me Tomorrow

75. (38) Monie Love In A Word Or 2/The Power

 

My favourites are 31 and 61

This is the first year I actually start to remember chart music! I was 4 at the time of this chart and definitely remember One Night in Heaven being big (and follow-up Moving On Up), also that year 2 Unlimited's 'No Limit', Pet Shop Boys's 'Go West', Take That's 'Relight My Fire', and, erm, Mr Blobby :lol:

 

'Jump Around' is surely one of the longest-lasting songs out of that top 40, still a massive club staple to this day. It played a few weeks back and one of my friends asked "Is this Dizzee Rascal?" I kid you not :wacko: Think everyone knows 'Everybody Hurts' too!

Odd - I have Rise on ~480k as of 9/2/13 (no figure for Dreams, though).

Unless it is on 475k and it's been rounded up and down on respective occasions.

Dreams by Gabrielle has spent a lot of the year 59p on iTunes, probs why its sales are quite high this year

When 'Dreams' entered at #2, Gabrielle broke the UK chart record for highest chart entry for a new artist with their debut single. The previous holder of this title being Crystal Waters 'Gypsy Woman' when it entered at #3 (couldn't quite overtake the sheer selling power of Cher 'The Shoop Shoop Song' though).

 

The first artist to enter the UK charts at #1 with their debut single? Some female singer from Denmark called Whigfield. :D

That is a pretty good top 5. I love 'Two Princes', 'What Is Love?' and'All That She Wants'. My three favourite tracks of the year.

I have to say that I like a lot more songs in the charts then in comparison to now. Hate the current trend in urban music!

How much roughly did Give Me A Little More Time sell? Always been my favorite Gabrielle song :wub:

Dreams has sold well this year due to being featured on an advert for some 90s compilation album!

 

What do we think dreams total sales is ?

Dreams has sold well this year due to being featured on an advert for some 90s compilation album!

 

What do we think dreams total sales is ?

It's in the first post :D

Should I Stay is my fave. I do like Out of Reach too.

 

I think she could have had a huge come back if she'd done a retro-soul album in 2008 after the success of Amy W and Duffy.

How much roughly did Give Me A Little More Time sell? Always been my favorite Gabrielle song :wub:

It sold 416,000 copies in 1996 and was the 28th best seller of the year. I don't know how much it has sold since then

I thought the first post was saying it sold 590,000 copies when released not with all download sales on top?