Just a glorious chart all round which reminds me of being 19 and full of hope in life.

Barbie girl had the last laugh it later peaked at number 1 and has sold more than SUYL

 

I hate that it did better than SUYL - it makes the song look really small and lucky to have got to no.1 even for a week.

I hate that it did better than SUYL - it makes the song look really small and lucky to have got to no.1 even for a week.

 

So you think 'Barbie Girl' was "lucky" to get to #1 because it sold more than a song from a group you "loon" for?

 

That makes perfect sense... :lol:

No, he's saying the Spice Girls were lucky to get to #1 for a week. Not that luck had anything to do with it, given the Spice Girls shifted 321,000 copies and Aqua sold 183,000.

I think he means Spice Up was lucky to make number one for a week, but I don't agree with that either. With their huge fan base that was always going to get to number one. I know Stop exists but that wasn't half as good a song.

Thanks for clearing that up guys! :D

 

His post is slightly more "understandable" now but still incorrect as you both said.

It was still a chart battle. They should have delayed it by one more week for two weeks at the top.

 

The Spices were all hype. Look at rheir sales - their first week usually accounts for nearly HALF of their total sales!!

Spice Girls vs Aqua wasn't much of a chart battle in the first week, Spice Girls were ahead by 138k!

 

Spice Up Your Life was likely only ever destined for one week at #1, regardless of whether they had released a week earlier, or a week later. Its second week sales of 162,000 wouldn't have been enough to be #1 in any of the surrounding weeks of 1997 (obviously this is assuming they'd still have sold 162k in second week, in other weeks).

 

1997

18-Oct Candle In The Wind 97/ Something about The Way You Look Tonight Elton John 274,000 (Spice Up Your Life was originally scheduled for this week, but they delayed the release)

25-Oct Spice Up Your Life The Spice Girls 321,000 (Barbie Girl sold 183,000)

01-Nov Barbie Girl Aqua 190,000 (Spice Up Your Life sold 162,000)

08-Nov Barbie Girl Aqua 239,000 (Torn by Natalie Imbruglia sold 135,000 / Spice Up Your Life sold 117,000)

15-Nov Barbie Girl Aqua 190,000 {Spice Girls' Spiceworld album entered at #1 on sales of 192,000}

22-Nov Barbie Girl Aqua 165,000

 

Spice Up Your Life was the 9th best selling single of 1997 with 780,000 sold. Barbie Girl was 2nd, with 1,590,000.

 

The fact that Barbie Girl was bigger than Spice Up Your Life, and indeed all of the Spice Girls' hits (yes, Barbie Girl even outsold Wannabe), this doesn't undermine all of the incredible charts/sales achievements the Spice Girls managed! Spice Girls weren't just singles sellers, they were huge with their first two albums.

 

In regards to their albums, Spice Girls & Aqua also released in the same week as each other. Spiceworld reached #1 and was the 5th best selling album of 1997, with 1,060,000 copies sold in 8 weeks. Aqua's Aquarium sold 150,000 copies in those 8 weeks, initially peaking at #14. Spiceworld sold a further 438,000 in 1998 (27th best seller), while Aquarium sold 361,000 (36th), with an eventual peak of #6. Spiceworld's eventual 90s total of 1,520,000 placed it within the Top 40 of the decade.

 

-----

 

Re: "their first week usually accounts for nearly HALF of their total sales!!" // It wasn't untypical in the physical era for a first week sale to contribute a significant percentage of the overall sales (after all, physicals had a finite shelf life). Spice Girls' singles totals are increasing indefinitely now in the digital and streaming era, so the percentage their first weeks contribute is only ever going to decrease from here on out. As things stand, their first weeks contribute in the region of a third of their overall totals. There's no particular shame in this, it was a sign of the times.

 

First week vs total:

 

70,000 vs 1,545,488 = 1st week contributes 4.53% (Wannabe)

349,000 vs 991,788 = 1st week 35.19% (Say You'll Be There)

462,000 vs 1,181,653 = 1st week 39.10% (2 Become 1)

248,000 vs 732,000 = 1st week 33.88% (Mama/Who Do You Think You Are)

321,000 vs 932,000 = 1st week 34.44% (Spice Up Your Life)

252,000 vs 690,000 = 1st week 36.52% (Too Much)

115,000 vs 420,200 = 1st week 27.37% (Stop)

277,911 vs 708,000 = 1st week 39.25% (Viva Forever)

380,711 vs 900,000 = 1st week 42.30% (Goodbye)

106,000 vs 260,000 = 1st week 40.77% (Holler/Let Love Lead The Way)

When they talk about that chart on tv, like on those crap shows around Christmas, they ALWAYS mention a chart battle and Aqua 'having the last laugh', sellin much more, etc. Even if it wasn't a CLOSE racr the first week, history and what happened afterwards have made it one and chosen the opposite winner.

I’m struggling to see why it matters which one sold more when tbh. They’re both unarguably massive hits.

Wasn't 'Spice Up Your Life' released when the Spice Girls were going through a bit of a difficult period with a lot of negative press? Certainly by the time 'Stop' was released a few months later the negative press was having a big effect on their sales. But the girls managed to pull it around by releasing what is (to me) their best single, 'Viva Forever' - I still love that track. That track seemed to have a positive effect on their chart fortunes and sales but their time as a group was numbered by then and they would only have two more hits while they were in their prime.

I’m struggling to see why it matters which one sold more when tbh. They’re both unarguably massive hits.

Indeed. And 'Barbie Girl' has a novelty value too so attracted sales from casual singles buyers in a way that the Spice Girls were, by that point, no longer able to attract.

 

I can still remember 'Barbie Girl' being played as a pre-release for weeks on the music video channels. By the time the record came out it was obvious it was going to be a massive hit.

 

Indeed. And 'Barbie Girl' has a novelty value too so attracted sales from casual singles buyers in a way that the Spice Girls were, by that point, no longer able to attract.

 

I can still remember 'Barbie Girl' being played as a pre-release for weeks on the music video channels. By the time the record came out it was obvious it was going to be a massive hit.

 

Wait was that the point when the media told us to stop liking them, as the 'Spice bubble has burst'? ... long before it actually DID burst as the media wanted that narrative?

Wait was that the point when the media told us to stop liking them, as the 'Spice bubble has burst'? ... long before it actually DID burst as the media wantef that narrative?

 

It was indeed the time after they sacked Simon Fuller, rumours of infighting began and they were booed after turning up late to a concert. They did, however, have a very loyal fanbase that could keep them going another year with pretty high sales.

This must have been Travis and Feeders first hits?

 

Way late to this, but 'Happy' was the fourth Top 40 hit for Travis (and the first not to chart higher than their previous single, fact fans). 'High' was indeed the first Top 40 for Feeder even though they seemed to have been around for a while by then.

Way late to this, but 'Happy' was the fourth Top 40 hit for Travis (and the first not to chart higher than their previous single, fact fans).

 

In fact their next hit to chart lower than its predecessor would be their 12th hit Side in 2001 (#14 vs Sing's #3). Their first 11 peaks:

 

40-39-30-38-16-14-13-10-8-5-3

This Flashback Friday we go back to 1988 when Tiffany went to #1 with 'I Think We're Alone Now'!

 

tl;dr - the song has sold 626,700 copies and 6.2m streams - a combined total of ~688,700.

 

Whether you spend years trying to get one or luck out on your first attempt, a Number 1 is always something special. And if that chart-topper seems to come from nowhere, then even better.

 

US singer Tiffany Darwish – who ditched her surname when stardom came a-knocking – was just 16 when she hit the top with her first UK single I Think We're Alone Now this week in 1988, but she'd definitely put the hours in. The teenager made her name by touring the shopping malls of America, singing live and rounding up legions of new fans in one of the canniest promotional moves of the '80s.

 

As a gimmick it worked, and soon the song catapulted up the chart, with Tiff bringing her one-woman show to British shopping centres too – you can even spot Birmingham's much-missed (!) Bullring centre in a few scenes of the video for the song if you look closely.

 

The song itself was no newcomer, though; I Think We're Alone Now had been around for over 20 years, going Top 10 in the US in 1967 for Tommy James and the Shondells, but never hitting the UK chart.

 

Tiffany deposed fellow American Belinda Carlisle from the top of the Official Singles Chart and spent three weeks there.Finishing as the fifth bestseller of 1988, I Think We're Alone Now has shifted 626,700 copies to date and notched up 6.2m streams. It would be the first of three Top 10s for Tiffany – her last UK chart hit was Radio Romance, which peaked at 13 that December. Take a look at Tiffany's full chart history.

 

Elsewhere in the Top 40, boyband Bros broke into the Top 40 for the first time with When Will I Be Famous? at 6, and Beatmasters' Rok Da House (8) and Dollar's cover of Erasure's O L'Amour also climbed into the top flight, landing at 9. A reissued live version of Elton John '70s classic Candle in the Wind leapt up to 16 – a few years later we'd be seeing a lot of that song – and US teen sensation Debbie Gibson smashed into the Top 20 with debut UK hit Shake Your Love.

 

Other big climbers included Billy Idol's Hot in the City (18), early house record The Jack that House Built from Jack 'n' Chill (19), Taylor Dayne's future smash Tell it to My Heart (24). Further down there was a brand new entry from a certain Australian soap star – Kylie Minogue's I Should Be So Lucky zoomed 23 slots to Number 31 – and Sinead O'Connor also made her first Top 40 bow, with Mandinka climbing to 38.

 

Full top 75:

03 - 03 - 01 - Tiffany - I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW

08 - 01 - 02 - Belinda Carlisle - HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH

04 - 02 - 03 - Terence Trent D'Arby - SIGN YOUR NAME

10 - 04 - 04 - Krush - HOUSE ARREST

07 - 05 - 05 - Morris Minor And The Majors - STUTTER RAP (NO SLEEP 'TIL BEDTIME)

09 - 16 - 06 - Bros - WHEN WILL I BE FAMOUS

04 - 08 - 07 - Joyce Sims - COME INTO MY LIFE

06 - 14 - 08 - Beatmasters Featuring The Cookie Crew - ROK DA HOUSE

06 - 18 - 09 - Dollar - O L'AMOUR

09 - 10 - 10 - Climie Fisher - RISE TO THE OCCASION

10 - 06 - 11 - Cher - I FOUND SOMEONE

03 - 12 - 12 - AC/DC - HEATSEEKER

04 - 07 - 13 - Stranglers - ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

09 - 15 - 14 - Christians - IDEAL WORLD

09 - 09 - 15 - Wet Wet Wet - ANGEL EYES

04 - 30 - 16 - Elton John - CANDLE IN THE WIND (LIVE)

02 - 35 - 17 - Debbie Gibson - SHAKE YOUR LOVE

04 - 27 - 18 - Billy Idol - HOT IN THE CITY

10 - 33 - 19 - Jack 'N' Chill - THE JACK THAT HOUSE BUILT

08 - 11 - 20 - Pet Shop Boys - ALWAYS ON MY MIND

04 - 29 - 21 - Two Men, A Drum Machine And A Trumpet - TIRED OF GETTING PUSHED AROUND

04 - 20 - 22 - Bananarama - I CAN'T HELP IT

04 - 13 - 23 - George Michael - FATHER FIGURE

02 - 47 - 24 - Taylor Dayne - TELL IT TO MY HEART

03 - 37 - 25 - Jermaine Stewart - SAY IT AGAIN

03 - 23 - 26 - Motley Crue - YOU'RE ALL I NEED

04 - 25 - 27 - INXS - NEW SENSATION

08 - 17 - 28 - Jellybean - JINGO

08 - 21 - 29 - Rick Astley - WHEN I FALL IN LOVE

05 - 22 - 30 - GOSH - THE WISHING WELL

03 - 54 - 31 - Kylie Minogue - I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY

08 - 44 - 32 - Luther Vandross - GIVE ME THE REASON

1 - NEW - 33 - T'Pau - VALENTINE

02 - 36 - 34 - All About Eve - WILD HEARTED WOMAN

1 - NEW - 35 - Sharpe And Numan - NO MORE LIES

03 - 42 - 36 - Screaming Blue Messiahs - I WANNA BE A FLINTSTONE

08 - 19 - 37 - Sinitta - GTO

03 - 48 - 38 - Sinead O'Connor - MANDINKA

04 - 45 - 39 - Sweet Tee - I GOT DA FEELIN'/IT'S LIKE THAT Y'ALL

03 - 38 - 40 - Black - PARADISE

 

04 - 31 - 41 - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions - JENNIFER SHE SAID

03 - 43 - 42 - Gladys Knight And The Pips - LOVE OVERBOARD

09 - 26 - 43 - Michael Jackson - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL

02 - 66 - 44 - Eddy Grant - GIMME HOPE JO'ANNA

1 - NEW - 45 - James Brown - SHE'S THE ONE

1 - NEW - 45 - Fall - VICTORIA

04 - 24 - 47 - Depeche Mode - BEHIND THE WHEEL

03 - 51 - 48 - Basia - PROMISES

03 - 63 - 49 - Wendy And Lisa - SIDE SHOW

03 - 52 - 50 - Feargal Sharkey - MORE LOVE

05 - RE - 51 - Hue And Cry - I REFUSE

11 - 28 - 52 - Johnny Hates Jazz - TURN BACK THE CLOCK

02 - 61 - 53 - Deacon Blue - DIGNITY

02 - 59 - 54 - Donna Summer - ALL SYSTEMS GO

04 - 34 - 55 - Public Enemy - BRING THE NOISE

03 - 64 - 56 - Brother Beyond - CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET

1 - NEW - 57 - Living In A Box - LOVE IS THE ART

03 - 55 - 58 - Jethro Tull - SAID SHE WAS A DANCER

10 - 32 - 59 - Alison Moyet - LOVE LETTERS

1 - NEW - 60 - Sugarcubes - COLD SWEAT

1 - NEW - 61 - Mantronix - SING A SONG (BREAK IT DOWN)

07 - 41 - 62 - Eurythmics - SHAME

15 - 40 - 63 - T'Pau - CHINA IN YOUR HAND

1 - NEW - 64 - Robert Plant - HEAVEN KNOWS

1 - NEW - 65 - Ray Parker Jr And Natalie Cole - OVER YOU

1 - NEW - 66 - Pop Will Eat Itself - THERE IS NO LOVE BETWEEN US ANYMORE

07 - 56 - 67 - Damian - TIME WARP II

09 - 39 - 68 - Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl - FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK

02 - 67 - 69 - Scarlet Fantastic - PLUG ME IN (TO THE CENTRAL LOVE LINE)

10 - 46 - 70 - Jellybean Featuring Elisa Fiorillo - WHO FOUND WHO

02 - 75 - 71 - Walter Beasley - I'M SO HAPPY

02 - 81 - 72 - Thomas Lang - THE HAPPY MAN

07 - 49 - 73 - New Order - TOUCHED BY THE HAND OF GOD

14 - 50 - 74 - Alexander O'Neal - CRITICIZE

02 - 74 - 75 - Mighty Lemon Drops - INSIDE OUT

Text source: UKMIX

And as a bonus, for Australia Day the OCC have given us a list of every #1 by an Australian artist

 

1965 I'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER YOU THE SEEKERS

1965 THE CARNIVAL IS OVER THE SEEKERS

1969 TWO LITTLE BOYS ROLF HARRIS

1978 YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & JOHN TRAVOLTA

1978 SUMMER NIGHTS OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & JOHN TRAVOLTA

1980 XANADU OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA

1981 SHADDAP YOUR FACE JOE DOLCE MUSIC THEATRE

1983 DOWN UNDER MEN AT WORK

1988 I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY KYLIE MINOGUE

1988 ESPECIALLY FOR YOU KYLIE & JASON

1989 TOO MANY BROKEN HEARTS JASON DONOVAN

1989 HAND ON YOUR HEART KYLIE MINOGUE

1989 SEALED WITH A KISS JASON DONOVAN

1990 TEARS ON MY PILLOW KYLIE MINOGUE

1991 ANY DREAM WILL DO JASON DONOVAN

1996 OOH AAH… JUST A LITTLE BIT GINA G

1996 FLAVA PETER ANDRE

1996 I FEEL YOU PETER ANDRE

1999 EVERYBODY'S FREE (TO WEAR SUNSCREEN) BAZ LUHRMANN

2000 DON'T CALL ME BABY MADISON AVENUE

2000 SPINNING AROUND KYLIE MINOGUE

2001 CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD KYLIE MINOGUE

2001 SOMETHIN' STUPID ROBBIE WILLIAMS & NICOLE KIDMAN

2002 KISS KISS HOLLY VALANCE

2003 SLOW KYLIE MINOGUE

2004 MYSTERIOUS GIRL PETER ANDRE FT. BUBBLER RANX

2010 WE NO SPEAK AMERICANO YOLANDA BE COOL VS DCUP

2012 TITANIUM DAVID GUETTA FT. SIA

2012 SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW GOTYE FT. KIMBRA

2014 SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

2014 PROBLEM ARIANA GRANDE FT. IGGY AZALEA

That string of Kylie and/or Jason hits! *.*

 

'Ooh Ahh...Just a Little Bit', 'Don't Call Me Baby', 'Spinning Around', 'Can't Get You Out of My Head', 'Kiss Kiss' and 'Titanium' are my favourites there.

Whatever happened to 5SOS?