13TH MARCH

 

 

2 Unlimited continue to reign supreme and indeed up their sales, albeit slightly to 57,000 bringing its total to 360,000 as it also becomes their personal best seller finally moving past “Get Ready For This”. Runner up this week is Shaggy who climbs 5-2 (47,000) and could overtake 2 Unlimited next week, he also forces Michael Jackson back 2-3 (31,000).

 

 

 

 

The title track of their last LP “Fear Of The Dark” gets a single release as a live recording for Iron Maiden. Recorded during their recent world tour, this version will appear on their forthcoming live LP “A Real Live One” which is out in three weeks. The single also features live versions of “Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter” and “Be Quick Or Be Dead” and is Iron Maiden’s 9th top 10 single as it debuts at No 8 (19,000), if you want a copy then you better hurry as it’s a limited release to 50,000 copies.

 

 

 

This Friday is Comic Relief day (I’m sure you knew that) and this year’s single comes courtesy of Right Said Fred & Friends and returns the band to the top ten after their last single “Daydream/ Those Simple Things” surprisingly hit the buffers at No 29 last summer. It climbs 13-9 (17,000) ahead of the big day and gives the charity an unbroken record of placing all 7 of the discs issued to its benefit inside the top ten.

 

 

 

Marking her 29th top 10 single in a career still under a decade long, Madonna is back with “Bad Girl”, a third single from the “Erotica” album. It comes with a customary lavish video featuring actors Matt Dillon and Christopher Walken and sees Madonna murdered in it! She may be getting a hammering by the critics for her recent film “Body Of Evidence” but her pop career carries on as this climbs 11-10 (15,000) but it’s already losing sales and looks like becoming her smallest hit since “Lucky Star” only made No 14 in 1984, the album however reacts brightly by soaring 71-49 as it avoids falling out the charts.

 

 

In other news on the album charts Lenny Kravitz smashes into the top spot but that has probably made his single hold at No 4 (26,000) and also remaining as they were are Whitney Houston (No 6, 24,000) and Suede (No 7, 20,000) but bad news for Annie Lennox who finally drops 3-5 (24,000).

 

 

1- NO LIMIT- 2 Unlimited (57,000)

2- OH CAROLINA- Shaggy (47,000)

3- GIVE INTO ME- Michael Jackson (31,000)

4- ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY- Lenny Kravitz (26,000)

5- LITTLE BIRD/ LOVE SONG FOR A VAMPIRE- Annie Lennox (24,000)

6- I’M EVERY WOMAN- Whitney Houston (24,000)

7- ANIMAL NITRATE- Suede (20,000)

8- FEAR OF THE DARK- Iron Maiden (19,000)

9- STICK IT OUT- Right Said Fred & Friends (17,000)

10- BAD GIRL- Madonna (15,000)

 

20TH MARCH

 

 

Shaggy’s expectant coronation at the top comes right on cue with 64,000 buyers convinced to part with their money. Shaggy’s version was available for 8 weeks before it finally made the top 75 but it’s moved sharpish up the charts since and it marks a major resurgence in dancehall considering the new tracks in the top 10 this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Jamaican reggae artist Shabba Ranks courted controversy last year with an appearance on “The Word” when some ill- judged remarks about homosexuals gave him negative press and “Mr Loverman” stalled at No 23. Now the dust has somewhat settled the song has gone and been re-issued and improves immediately 12-3 (27,000) to become his first time in the top ten. It’s his 6th hit and betters his previous best of No 17 achieved last year with “Slow And Sexy”.

 

 

 

Number 1 in the US at the moment and climbing 24-8 (17,000) is more reggae/rap from Snow (real name Darrin O’Brien). “Informer” recants his tales of being arrested and imprisoned on occasion back in his native Canada, it’s his debut single and sees the rapper become an instant success on both sides of the pond, an album “12 inches of Snow” will be out soon.

 

 

 

Northern Ireland’s Therapy? Released two mini albums on independent labels which saw them supported by John Peel and earned them a major label deal last year with A&M. “Teethgrinder” became their first hit making No 30 and now the “ShortSharpShock EP” does far better debuting at No 9 (16,000) and has earned some comparison’s to Nirvana with the band being hailed as the UK grunge band of the moment. Lead track "Screamager” is a new composition and not available on last year’s debut album “Nurse” which has assisted with sales no doubt.

 

 

http://i47.fastpic.ru/big/2017/0509/78/322b959795d4899dbe2f9574f19cb078.jpg

 

Jamiroquai derive their name from the native American Indian tribe Iroquais and have been drumming up industry buzz over the past six months helped by the No 52 peak of their first single “When You Gonna Learn?” last year. The band are busy preparing their first album due in the summer but a second single “Too Young To Die” lifts 15-10 (15,000) to mark their arrival on the pop landscape, it deals lyrically with fear of war and should ensure that the album is a top seller.

 

 

Elsewhere we have good news for Right Said Fred & Friends who leap 9-4 (27,000) as they capitalise on Comic Relief day last Friday, surely the only way is now down though?. Heading down are 2 Unlimited 1-2 (45,000), Michael Jackson 3-5 (26,000), Lenny Kravitz 4-6 (20,000) - though he keeps the top spot on the album charts, and Annie Lennox 5-7 (19,000).

 

 

1- OH CAROLINA- Shaggy (64,000)

2- NO LIMIT- 2 Unlimited (45,000)

3- MR LOVERMAN- Shabba Ranks (27,000)

4- STICK IT OUT- Right Said Fred & Friends (27,000)

5- GIVE INTO ME- Michael Jackson (26,000)

6- ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY- Lenny Kravitz (20,000)

7- LITTLE BIRD/ LOVE SONG FOR A VAMPIRE- Annie Lennox (19,000)

8- INFORMER – Snow (17,000)

9- SHORTSHARPSHOCK- Therapy (16,000)

10- TOO YOUNG TO DIE- Jamiroquai (15,000)

 

Oops I missed the previous bump of this thread so some belated additional love for ‘Animal Nitrate’ and ‘Give In To Me’ here too!

 

I much prefer ‘Informer’ to the other reggae songs in the top 10 at the moment :lol:

'Informer' is fab and I don't care what anyone says.

oh I remember I was totally obsessed with Therapy and Screamager, a very unexpected top 10

I kept telling everyone they were gonna be bigger than Nirvana and Metallica :D but that really never happened hahaha

I even forced all my friends to go see them live in Barcelona, and the audience was like 5-10 people max :o

 

Not a fan of those reggae songs, bad days for the top 10 with Shaggy and Shabba Ranks at the top, Snow-Informer it's kinda catchy at least

That top 10 takes me right back to the lower Sixth form at school!

 

Thinking Snow was saying farmer not informer and randomly saying ‘Shabba’ for no real reason :lol:

The first seed of Britpop has been sown! :D

 

Watching a TOTP episode from March 1991 here and ‘Sit Down’ by James sounds very britpop too!

Looking at the album chart, big competition this wee with Lenny Kravitz vs Sting vs Deacon Blue

wonder why all went for the same week

 

1 NEW Lenny Kravitz - Are you gonna go my way

2 NEW Sting - Ten summoner's tales

3 2 Eric Clapton - Unplugged

4 NEW Deacon Blue - Whatever you say, say nothing

5 2 REM - Automatic for the People

6 1 Annie Lennox - Diva

Who would have thought Lenny Kravitz would outsell Sting? Well for a short while anyway

Reggae revival definitely starting now with 3 songs from the genre top 10!

Edited July 14, 20222 yr by The Sake

Yes… it was very short lived though, this is essentially the peak already

The namesake of a Buzzjack member made their chart debut at #36 in the latest of these weeks. The namesake of another Buzzjack member made their chart debut at #36 about 3 months later.

^ Hahaha brilliant!

 

Some highlights for me from the beginning of 1993 (including some I hadn’t discovered before this):

 

Pop Will Eat Itself - Get the girl kill the baddies!

USURA - Open your mind

Beloved - Sweet harmony

DD - Ordinary world

Annie’s double A

Jacko - Give in to me

Suede - Animal nitrate

Snow - Informer

And the Therapy? EP is good but I need to give it a few more spins.

I can kinda imagine the one charting in 3 months time :D but can't at the one charting now?

Realised I haven’t shown any love yet for Too Young To Die so I’ll rectify that now by saying it’s one of my favourite songs from 1993. The single edit removes all of the wonderful jazzy/funky sections but I can understand why they needed to do it. I found the album difficult at the time but these days I think it’s one of the best from the 90s

Yes… it was very short lived though, this is essentially the peak already

 

Faint praise. I can't think of any reggae songs from 1993/94 that I actually like. Unless we're counting Ace of Base.

The namesake of a Buzzjack member made their chart debut at #36 in the latest of these weeks. The namesake of another Buzzjack member made their chart debut at #36 about 3 months later.

*.*!

^Oh I see now :D Jade- Don't walk away :)

We only had 1 episode this week for some reason!

 

I guess more will cancelled soon due to the proms…..

27TH MARCH

 

 

Reggae/ Dancehall takes unprecedented charge of the top of the charts this week with the first top 3 domination ever seen. It’s spearheaded by Shaggy who takes a second week at No 1 with “Oh Carolina” (67,000), a slight improvement week on week. Snow flies 8-2 (40,000) and Shabba Ranks holds at No 3 (36,000) both improve in terms of sales by 137% and 35% respectively and if they can repeat that then Shaggy could yet be in trouble!

 

 

 

The power of the television commercial is proved again this time resurrecting The Bluebells 1984 #8 hit “Young At Heart” from the record loft and pushing it straight into the charts three places higher than its previous peak at No 5 (28,000), the band have long since split up so we’ll have to see if they can reunite for TOTP! The song was of course originally performed by Bananarama, it comes to us now after being used on the current Volkswagon advert,

 

 

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/artists/ugly-kid-joe-20130601113836.jpg

 

Despite being a US chart topper in 1974 “Cat’s In The Cradle” failed to chart here, until now that is, Ugly Kid Joe have covered the track and find themselves with a second top 10 hit as the song jumps 13-7 (18,000). It started out as a poem by Harry Chapin’s wife about Chapin’s relationship with his father but was completed by the singer himself as he reflected on his own relationship with his son.

 

 

 

Another US hit which bombed here gets a much more successful cover this time from Cliff Richard, “Peace In Our Time” made No 11 in the states for Eddie Money in 1990 but now smashes straight into No 8 (18,000) as Cliff registers his 62nd top 10 single- well clear of the opposition, a new album is available next month. The song was written by Andy Hill and Pete Sinfield who you may recall wrote many a Bucks Fizz record back in the day.

 

 

 

Grabbing a slightly less impressive 23rd top 10 single is David Bowie who has now moved to Arista records and scores his first top tenner in 7 years with “Jump They Say”. The song deals with the death of Bowie’s half brother Terry back in 1985 and is produced by Bowie’s old friend Nile Rodgers, it previews Bowie’s new album “Black Tie, White Noise” which will be his first solo studio album in six years so expect big sales. The single sold 14,000 to debut at No 10, it’s the 147th song to debut in the top 10 in the 90s which is one more than in the whole of the 80s and gives you an idea of how fast the charts have become over the last few years.

 

 

 

2 Unlimited drop 2-4 (34,000) while Lenny Kravitz holds at No 6 (19,000) and Michael Jackson loses traction 5-9 (17,000).

 

 

1- OH CAROLINA- Shaggy (67,000)

2- INFORMER- Snow (40,000)

3- MR LOVERMAN- Shabba Ranks (36,000)

4- NO LIMIT- 2 Unlimited (34,000)

5- YOUNG AT HEART- The Bluebells (28,000)

6- ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY- Lenny Kravitz (19,000)

7- CAT’S IN THE CRADLE- Ugly Kid Joe (18,000)

8- PEACE IN OUR TIME- Cliff Richard (18,000)

9- GIVE INTO ME- Michael Jackson (17,000)

10- JUMP THEY SAY- David Bowie (14,000)