A week in 1998 I remember Mark Goodier going on about the biggest superstars of the world and all new top 5.

 

1. Cher - Believe

2. George Michael - Outside

3. U2 - The Sweetest Thing

4. Culture Club - I Just Wanna Be Loved

5. Alanis Morissette - Thank You

This was the week I pinpoint as being the week that really got me into the charts! I'd often listened when Mum was listening from being really young, but it became a religious listening EVERY SINGLE WEEK from this point onwards.

I’ve actually literally just found that link on the internet of a less than ten minute recording of the top 5 (with the songs cut off, only intros and outros) and all the mark goodier commentary within the top 5 and the countdown and a chat with Cher on the phone

A week in 1998 I remember Mark Goodier going on about the biggest superstars of the world and all new top 5.

 

1. Cher - Believe

2. George Michael - Outside

3. U2 - The Sweetest Thing

4. Culture Club - I Just Wanna Be Loved

5. Alanis Morissette - Thank You

It was a good week for sales too. This is from the weekly chart analysis in Music Week for that week by Alan Jones:

 

1 Believe - Cher 168,000

2 Outside - George Michael 116,000

3 Sweetest Thing - U2 111,000

4 I Just Want To Be Loved - Culture Club 71,000

5 Thank U - Alanis Morissette 59,000

 

WK ending 13 October 2012.

 

1. (N)Rihanna- Diamonds

2. (1)Psy - Gangnam style

3. (N) One direction -live while we're young

4. (N) Adele - skyfall

5. (N) Ellie Goulding - Anything can happen

 

4 brand new entries, Rihanna rush released diamonds, one direction were battling it out early midweeks.

Then Adele rush released on Friday, really early? What time was it.

I remember on Sunday, trying to find out before chart was announced where Rihanna would end up.

There was a post on ATRL forum with the chart positions, and they were correct.

 

Also going way back to WK ending 6 August 1988.

 

1. (10) Yazz and the plastic population- the only way is up

2 (-) Kylie minogue - the locomotion

 

It was very very close that week and Kylie ALMOST made chart history, nearly becoming first female soloist going in at number 1. But yazz caught her in the end. Yazz sold 54,000, Kylie sold 52,000.

If it was released one week earlier she would have made chart history.

Something similar happened in 1989, where her cassette sales were not added, because of retail price.

Also WK ending 27 December 2003.

The big Christmas week, one of the most exciting chart battles ever.

 

1. (N) Michael Andrews/ Gary jules- Mad world

2. (N) the Darkness- Christmas time don't let the bells end

4. (N) Bo selecta- proper crumbo

5. (N) the idols - War is over

9. (N) Atomic kitten - ladies night

10. (N) Sugababes- Too lost in you

 

One of my all time favourite charts! So close as well if I recall. I'm glad mad world went number one

 

 

Oops! Atomic kitten was new entry at number 8 :blush:

I think the Scottish chart actually had a week with 8 new entries in the top10. In the UK the 8th new entry went in at #11

Edited May 18, 20187 yr by Euphorique

No Scrubs, Windowlicker, Out of the Blue - best three singles of 1999 all on the same day.

And another week in early 99 where seven new entries were in the top 10 (I think this may have been the first time that there were seven new entries in the top ten (I may be wrong))

 

I'd need to double-check, but from memory I believe the first time that feat occurred was W/E 19 April 1997. There was concern at that stage that by the end of the century the entire Top 10 (and beyond into the 20) would be new entries on a regular basis. Happily, despite the best-efforts of the front-loading effect that the industry was so set on in that era, that never quite materialised, and despite repeated examples of seven newbies in the ten across the next few years, I don't believe eight was ever achieved on the official chart.

 

Personally I hated that 15 new entries almost every week period, albeit that I concede things felt a lot 'fresher' and diverse than they do currently. I guess that's because I brought myself up in an era when chart movement was slower, but crucially not as slow as now - in the 1980s the norm was an average of say perhaps three new entries, four breakers from below No 40, a further ten climbers within the 40, 15 or so descending, and three non-movers, with an average chart life of eight to 12 weeks within the Top 40 for a record that made the Top 10 or 20, hitting that peak around the middle of that tenure. You never knew quite what was going up or where new stuff would land, as things built organically over the weeks and it wasn't all about that week's new releases, which by the late 1990s one knew would take up most of the expected positions at the top end and then often fall back quite precipitously. And of course there was no media issuing midweek info to give sneak previews! By the same token, records would descend steadily but readily, which allowed for a fair balance whereby enough space was freed typically each week to allow newer material to enter/rise further, keeping turnover at about the right pace.

No Scrubs, Windowlicker, Out of the Blue - best three singles of 1999 all on the same day.

 

New Radicals - You Get What You Give was also released that week. There was also an all-new top 3 that week:

 

1 (-) Mr Oizo - Flat Beat

2 (-) Cartoons - Witchdoctor

3 (-) Billie - Honey To The Bee

 

Make of that what you will.

 

Another big week (in terms of number of new releases, albeit in a low sales era) was w/e 16/10/2004, where 12 of the top 16 were new entries (including Robbie Williams - Radio at #1).

Also the week in June ‘98 when lots of football songs were in the chart

That week in 2000 where the top 6 were all new entries (Craig David, Sweet Female Attitude, Richard Ashcroft, Bloodhound Gang, Steps, Lock N Load) plus another new entry at #10 (Airwave)

 

The great chart massacre of December 1999 when Vengaboys, Len, Progress and William Orbit entered the top 10, but B*Witched got stuck #13 and TLC's Dear Lie at #32 and follow-up singles by Thunderbugs, Enrique Iglesias, Lou Bega and Bryan Adams all missed the top 40.

It was a good week for sales too. This is from the weekly chart analysis in Music Week for that week by Alan Jones:

 

1 Believe - Cher 168,000

2 Outside - George Michael 116,000

3 Sweetest Thing - U2 111,000

4 I Just Want To Be Loved - Culture Club 71,000

5 Thank U - Alanis Morissette 59,000

 

Also interesting that the average age of the performers in the top four that week was around 40 iirc. Something that definitely would never happen now :lol:

 

While we're not talking about album charts, I remember being surprised that The Beatles, Kylie, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Busted, Michael Jackson, Ronan Keating and Blink-182 all released in the same week in 2003: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/album.../20031123/7502/

 

I suppose Xmas is always going to get a big pile-up of major releases on some weeks but that seemed insane.

WK ending 13 October 2012.

 

1. (N)Rihanna- Diamonds

2. (1)Psy - Gangnam style

3. (N) One direction -live while we're young

4. (N) Adele - skyfall

5. (N) Ellie Goulding - Anything can happen

Anything Could Happen always feels bigger than its #5 peak

Also interesting that the average age of the performers in the top four that week was around 40 iirc. Something that definitely would never happen now :lol:

 

While we're not talking about album charts, I remember being surprised that The Beatles, Kylie, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Busted, Michael Jackson, Ronan Keating and Blink-182 all released in the same week in 2003: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/album.../20031123/7502/

 

I suppose Xmas is always going to get a big pile-up of major releases on some weeks but that seemed insane.

 

And Britney!

How can I forget them few weeks in late 2013 when every week there were at leat 3 new entries in the top 10 for a good 4/5 weeks

Not really a big release week because of tragic circumstances but the WK ending 11 Jul 2009, may have been a huge week for sales because of Michael jackson's death, so I wonder how the chart was affected that week.

I wonder what new releases were absorbed by the onslaught on Classic Jacko songs.

Was there any factors contributing to why in the mid 90s the charts’ movement had shifted from singles climbing to their peak to singles debuting at their peak? Because I never understood it and it still baffles me today, might be a stupid question

Was there any factors contributing to why in the mid 90s the charts’ movement had shifted from singles climbing to their peak to singles debuting at their peak? Because I never understood it and it still baffles me today, might be a stupid question

The main reasons were:

 

1. Singles were promoted for longer in advance, often being playlisted at radio a month or more ahead of release, building up demand for the record

2. From May 1995 the release date for almost all singles was fixed to a Monday with shops agreeing not to sell the single when they received stock a few days earlier (though sometimes some shops did break rank)

3. Singles sold much cheaper in release week and rising in price in week 2

 

There may be more but I think those were the main three. Build up demand, sell the single cheap in week 1 and release it on the first day of the chart week for maximum impact.

 

The singles market became very frontloaded as a result with most singles peaking at the position where they had entered the chart. The inclusion of downloads did bring some stability to the chart and climbers returned but had it not been for the inclusion of streaming the charts looked like they were heading back to first week peaks as labels began to hold back download releases, again like a decade earlier sometimes for weeks on end.

 

The main reasons were:

 

1. Singles were promoted for longer in advance, often being playlisted at radio a month or more ahead of release, building up demand for the record

2. From May 1995 the release date for almost all singles was fixed to a Monday with shops agreeing not to sell the single when they received stock a few days earlier (though sometimes some shops did break rank)

3. Singles sold much cheaper in release week and rising in price in week 2

 

There may be more but I think those were the main three. Build up demand, sell the single cheap in week 1 and release it on the first day of the chart week for maximum impact.

 

The singles market became very frontloaded as a result with most singles peaking at the position where they had entered the chart. The inclusion of downloads did bring some stability to the chart and climbers returned but had it not been for the inclusion of streaming the charts looked like they were heading back to first week peaks as labels began to hold back download releases, again like a decade earlier sometimes for weeks on end.

 

Thank you for this explanation someone else explained some of these reasons too but I felt like it wasn’t complete until you mentioned release dates I feel like this may have been what I was looking for, do you happen to know what day they were released on before may 1995 (singles, that is)

Edited May 24, 20187 yr by RockafellerSkank