Mark Owen :wub: I'm such a big fan of his solo stuff, it's a shame his solo success was so limited, it's so much better than Take That.

Those are all logical. You can always tell Mark Owen's songs, he has a distinctive style, and that style is Shine on the number ones, but his solo stuff like Four Minute Warning and current singles are all fab too. Greatest Day and Patience just sound like Gary songs to me.

 

 

No 103- Per Magnusson & David Krueger (5)- 10 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• If I Let You Go (1999)

• Fool Again (2000)

• My Love (2000)

• Evergreen (2002)

• Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake) (2002)

 

How many former members of Cheiron will feature here? Well Magnusson and Krueger were one of the founding members and started writing No 1 hits when they co-wrote for Westlife’s first two albums which in turn led to their involvement with the original “Pop Idol” series contestants. Krueger still writes regular entries for Swedish Eurovision tracks.

 

No 102- Kenny Gamble (5)- 10 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• When Will I See You Again? (1974)

• Show You The Way To Go (1977)

• Don’t Leave Me This Way (1986)

• Dilemma (2002)

• My Place (2004)

 

One half of the famous Gamble and Huff partnership who together created the Philadelphia Soul sound of the mid to late 70s. Together they wrote such as “Love Train”, ”If Don’t Know Me By Now” and “Ain’t No Stop Us Now” as well as the hits that made No 1. Naturally Nelly seems to have loved their work sampling them twice on chart toppers.

 

No 101- Nate Hills (5)- 11 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• Maneater (2006)

• Sexyback (2006)

• Give It To Me (2007)

• The Way I Are (2007)

• 4 Minutes (2008)

 

Teaming up with Timbaland in 2003 to co-produce regularly, his main era coincided with the main man’s fortunes and his work with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado which helped create the sound of the mid to late 00s. You may know him better as “Danja”.

 

Impressive longevity for Gamble and Huff with #1s in the 70s, 80s and 00s, and at least a #3 in the 90s as well since The Love I Lost was one of theirs too.

Gamble & Huff were way more than the number 1's suggests, I absolutely adore them and their songs and productions. No offence to Westlife's writers (of their better stuff it seems) but monster songs for me like these should also have topped the charts:

 

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations (1968)

Here I Go Again - Archie Bell & The Drells (1969/UK1972)

Back Stabbers - O'Jays (1972)

Love Train - O'Jays (1972)

Me & Mrs Jones - Billy paul (1972)

If You Dont Know Me By Now/The Love I Lost/Don't Leave Me This Way - harold melvin & the Bluenotes

Now That We've Found Love - O'Jays (1973)/Third World (1978)

T.S.O.P - MFSB (1974)

Year Of Decision - Three Degrees (1974)

I Love Music - O'Jays (1975)

You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls (1976)

 

Still a fan!

 

 

No 100- Katy Perry (5)- 11 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

• I Kissed A Girl (2008)

• California Gurls (2010)

• Part Of Me (2012)

• Roar (2013)

• Feels (2017)

 

I’m sure you don’t need a bio about Perry and her appearance here reflects the height of her UK career when she could barely do any wrong. The fact that she co-writes her own tracks should ensure that her pension is secure!

 

No 99- RedOne (5)- 12 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

• Just Dance (2009)

• Poker Face (2009)

• Bad Romance (2009)

• Start Without You (2010)

• On The Floor (2011)

 

With a history stretching right back to the mid 90s it looked like it wasn’t going to happen for RedOne. He initially worked with Rami Yacoub until the late 90s when Yacoub broke up the relationship to move to the Cheiron team and helped write 3 chart toppers himself including “Oops I Did it Again”. Not to worry RedOne started to produce hits for A*Teens and some success in Scandinavian charts, but it was his move to New York in 2007 and his work with Lady Gaga that catapulted him into the limelight. Chart toppers followed but he’s still lower on this list than I imagined probably because he was so ubiquitous in the early 10s.

 

No 98- Apl.de. ap (5)- 12 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

• Where Is The Love (2003)

• Boom Boom Pow (2009)

• I Gotta Feeling (2009)

• Meet Me Halfway (2009)

• The Time (Dirty Bit) (2010)

 

One of only two members of the Black Eyed Peas make this list and I’m sure you guess the other one! Anyway one of the more media shy members of the group he had a hand in all the BEP’s chart toppers (I’m sure he’s ashamed of “The Time” as he should be) and was last seen on “The Voice- Philippines” it would appear.

 

Those are all logical. You can always tell Mark Owen's songs, he has a distinctive style, and that style is Shine on the number ones, but his solo stuff like Four Minute Warning and current singles are all fab too. Greatest Day and Patience just sound like Gary songs to me.

 

Four Minute Warning :wub:

no grumbles from me there for that batch of chart-toppers, I rate 'em all!

No 97- Mort Shuman (5)- 12 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• Surrender (1961)

• (Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame (1961)

• Little Sister (1964)

• Sweets For My Sweet (1963)

• Little Children (1964)

 

He may have written such classics like “Viva Las Vegas” and “Save the Last Dance For me” but neither of those make the list here. Indeed it’s Elvis (in the main) who used him as a source for this hits during the height of his fame and helps Shuman onto the list.

 

No 96- Bruce Welch (5)- 12 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• Please Don’t Tease (1960)

• I Love You (1960)

• Bachelor Boy (1963)

• Summer Holiday (1963)

• Foot Tapper (1963)

 

Guitarist with the Shadows he had the golden touch in 1963 not only writing three chart toppers but knocking himself off the top too! Interesting bit of trivia- he was at one time engaged to Olivia Newton-John.

 

With a history stretching right back to the mid 90s it looked like it wasn’t going to happen for RedOne. He initially worked with Rami Yacoub until the late 90s when Yacoub broke up the relationship to move to the Cheiron team and helped write 3 chart toppers himself including “Oops I Did it Again”. Not to worry RedOne started to produce hits for A*Teens and some success in Scandinavian charts, but it was his move to New York in 2007 and his work with Lady Gaga that catapulted him into the limelight. Chart toppers followed but he’s still lower on this list than I imagined probably because he was so ubiquitous in the early 10s.

Yeah, I definitely would have expected RedOne to be a little higher up on the list than this!

No 95- Doc Pomus (5)- 13 weeks

 

 

Chart toppers:

 

• Surrender (1961)

• (Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame (1961)

• Little Sister (1961)

• She’s Not You (1962)

• Sweets For My Sweet (1963)

 

A blues singer originally he gave it all up for songwriting and formed a partnership with Pianist Mort Shuman to create some No’1’s for Elvis. He also worked later with Phil Spector.

 

nice to see all 3 of those get some kudos here, Bruce Welch also came 2nd in Eurovision with his Shadows mates, and produced Cliff's greatest number one, We Don't Talk Anymore - with Alan Tarney who wrote it, and who produced a-ha's biggest tracks and Cliff's greatest period of hits.

That is quite surprising how few RedOne #1s there were, felt like he was really everywhere at the time (albeit burning out pretty quickly).

No 94- Brian Higgins (5)- 14 weeks

 

 

Chart topper:

 

• Believe (1998)

• Round Round (2002)

• Sound Of The Underground (2002)

• Hole In The Head (2003)

• The Promise (2008)

 

“Xenomania” otherwise known as “Saviours of Pop” in the early 00s, consisted of Miranda Cooper and this guy (along with some others)! A budding pop star for much of the 90s it never quite happened for him but he ended up in “Motiv-8” and started to get some hits under his belt including the million selling “Believe”. Xenomania were formed in 2000 and within 2 years saw work with the two biggest selling girl groups of the decade as the No 1’s started to mount.

 

No 93- David Bowie (5)- 15 weeks

 

 

Chart topper:

 

• Space Oddity (1975)

• Ashes To Ashes (1980)

• Under Pressure (1981)

• Let’s Dance (1983)

• Heroes (2010)

 

Sampled on

• Ice Ice Baby (1990)

 

A musical icon, and one who arguably, kick started not only Glam Rock with his Ziggy Stardust persona, but also the 70s themselves. A musical chameleon he has been cited as an influence to everyone from Culture Club to Suede but ends up with only 5 chart toppers.