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

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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