Being slightly generous with my combination of artists for this entry, but OTHERLiiNE being a duo consisting of George FitzGerald and Lil Silva meant I felt that their points should be awarded to both, as in reality they were no different to Roll Back which had charted previously, similar to The Carters for Jay-Z and Beyoncé. George has become one of my favourite electronic music producers in recent years, having now released three excellent albums. There was only one big hit from his first in Full Circle, featuring vocals from Boxed In, but it was an album I listened to a lot up until the release of his second in 2018, which was even better, though once again it was only the singles where he'd collaborated which charted, Roll Back some great chillout with Lil Silva, and Nobody But You with Hudson Scott, both made the top 3.
The OTHERLiiNE project with Lil Silva was somewhat different in style to Roll Back, more upbeat and not quite as understated as the first song from it Chimes went one place higher than previous, and the two other singles from the strong EP both made the top 20. Last year he released his third album Stellar Drifting, with the singles preceding it giving him a first completely solo chart hit, and a first number one. Ultraviolet was a great return and Cold grew on me hugely to reach the top, it's somewhat repetitive but I thought it was his best song yet. For the first time an album of his produced more than two hits, as his collaborations with SOAK and Panda Bear also charted, and there's also an excellent song with London Grammar hidden away on the album.
Chart History:
16/03/2015 Full Circle (feat. Boxed In) 24-14-09-08-07-05-05-08-14-24-34 (11 weeks)
11/05/2015 Crystallise (feat. Lawrence Hart) 31-31-39 (3 weeks)
12/02/2018 Roll Back (feat. Lil Silva) 34-30-23-17-13-09-03-05-09-13-17-22-32-38 (14 weeks)
21/05/2018 Nobody But You (feat. Hudson Scott) 25-19-14-06-05-03-03-05-09-13-19-27-35 (13 weeks)
21/09/2019 Chimes (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 27-17-11-07-02-02-03-05-09-14-18-24-30-36 (14 weeks)
02/11/2019 Hates Me (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 37-28-22-18-15-14-16-21-29-36-40 (11 weeks)
15/02/2020 One Line (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 31-26-20-16-15-21-27-34-39 (9 weeks)
13/08/2022 Rainbows and Dreams (feat. SOAK) 29-25-21-23-30-38 (6 weeks)
17/09/2022 Passed Tense (feat. Panda Bear) 29-17-14-12-12-14-19-30-39 (9 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Cold
02 Chimes
03 Nobody But You
04 Full Circle
05 Roll Back
Author
Hey RFC, just catching up.
Jamie xx is fantastic. I listen to In Colour quite frequently still and it's packed with so many favourites, “Loud Places”, “Gosh”, “Girl” and “Sleep Sound” which all went to #1 for me, and he also got to #1 with “All Under One Roof Raving” which was a non-album single but came in that era and I've always felt like it should have been on there. Shame that the xx don't make this list but I guess they've never been the most prolific group for singles and that would ultimately penalise them over groups you maybe enjoy less but have released quite frequently over the last 20 years.
Btw, I will not accept ur heinous slur against “KILL DEM” tho - it samples the Father Ted junglist massive track “Limb By Limb” (!) That alone = must play. *.*
I share ur feelings about Bloc Party, “If We Get Caught” was a lovely reminder of how great they can be- though when Matt Tong (astounding drummer) left I kind of lost interest over time sadly. The album Silent Alarm holds special memories and my Dad now has the T-shirt with the lyrics from the entire album on it starting 'it's so cold in this house' because he was always tight with the heating.. I did see their final gig as the traditional line-up (with Sarah Jones from Hot Chip taking on the drums) in summer 2013 which was amazing.
I still hold a lot of love for “Young Blood” and still believe that they never bettered it, but I do also really like the choice you have for your favourite single. It is also the only time (here and on ChCMedia) that I've ever won any song contest!
Bicep are probably one of my favourite picks here- I follow a blog which is run by an active participant in the Northern Ireland music scene and they helped me to discover “Just” in summer '15 after raving about Bicep for months on end. It became a big favourite, rising to No4, and then 2 years later like you I was perched for any new material. Their self titled debut won me over and I've enjoyed pretty much everything since. Their set at Glastonbury this summer was incredible!
My brother-in-law loves Feeder, I actually played “Just a Day” as the final track when he married my sister and almost exactly hit the curfew time!
Thanks for your continued comments Dr B (sorry, missed seeing this earlier somehow!)
I knew you were a big fan of Jamie, but that's a seriously impressive haul of number ones. A shame The xx aren't here but they did fall well short, you're right about them not exactly being prolific, and I did think their first album was more of a great album together than loads of brilliant individual tracks, so only a couple from that made it.
I saw Bloc Party on their tour last year, they were great but do wish I'd managed to see them earlier, that sounds like a great gig to have been at.
The Bicep set at Glastonbury was great when I watched it. A shame I didn't go to it even though I was there, Sunday night a bit awkward and have to be in the mood for that type of set, think I'd have definitely gone if they were on Saturday.
Just a Day is an absolute belter, always loved that song and if I'd been doing this a bit longer would definitely have been a big number one, always much preferred that to their other big hit Buck Rogers which I found really annoying after a while.
Author
#65
Basement Jaxx
Points: 706
Date first charted: 10/11/2003
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 106
Most Successful Year: 2004, 14th
Despite being past their commercial and musical peak by the time I'd started recording my chart, Basement Jaxx were still prolific hitters with a string of six singles all reaching the top 10, with Good Luck getting there twice and also being their first of two back-to-back number ones. It probably remains my favourite of theirs ahead of some of their earlier songs, and whilst Plug It In is still something I enjoy it's not a personal #1 I hold in that high regard. Their 2005 Singles Collection showed what an excellent body of work they'd created in a short space of time and continued with that, Oh My Gosh being another top song and finally an official release for Do Your Thing, deservedly regarded as one of their best.
Whilst they weren't as strong after 2005 they'd still released the odd decent single, and Scars had some great songs on it, Saga, with Santigold on vocals, just misses this top 5 behind My Turn with the underappreciated Lightspeed Champion. Just the one hit since the noughties ended in Never Say Never, but they're rightly regarded as one of dance music's finest acts.
Chart History:
10/11/2003 Lucky Star (feat. Dizzee Rascal) 05-06-13-16-19-25-26-28-30-32-35 (11 weeks)
05/01/2004 Good Luck (feat. Lisa Kekaula) 01-02-02-04-06-07-10-10-12-14-15-18-21-26-34-39 (16 weeks)
29/03/2004 Plug It In (feat. JC Chasez) 01-01-04-05-04-09-12-12-16-15-16-18-23-25-29-34-34-36-38 (19 weeks)
28/06/2004 Good Luck (feat. Lisa Kekaula) [Re-Issue] 06-07-13-17-19-22-24-29-34 (9 weeks)
14/03/2005 Oh My Gosh 08-09-09-11-13-15-17-24-33-37 (10 weeks)
13/05/2005 U Don't Know Me 07-13-28-37 (4 weeks)
26/09/2005 Do Your Thing 08-12-16-18-26-27-33-40 (8 weeks)
28/08/2006 Hush Boy 14-24-36 (3 weeks)
30/10/2006 Take Me Back To Your House 20-11-17-23-30-34-37 (7 weeks)
22/06/2009 Raindrops 39-26-24-20-36 (5 weeks)
14/12/2009 My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion) 38-32-22-12-07-10-16-29-36-40 (10 weeks)
18/08/2014 Never Say Never (feat. ETML) 32-25-20-18-30 (5 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Good Luck
02 Do Your Thing
03 Oh My Gosh
04 Plug It In
05 My Turn
Author
#64
The Fratellis
Points: 709
Date first charted: 10/04/2006
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 105
Most Successful Year: 2006, 1st
Time for another 2000s indie band now and one who, for a long time, were very much of that time. They were another one who I enjoyed with their first release, Creepin' Up The Backstaits, and bought their debut album as soon as it was released, and it was one of the more impressive albums of the time. Chelsea Dagger has certainly felt the effects of complete overplay, but I don't mind it compared to other big indie its of the time, I think I'd still rather listen to it than either Mr Brightside or Sex on Fire... But that was never my favourite anyway, Henrietta was one of my final CD single purchases, went straight in at the top and it remains my favourite of theirs, similarly anthemic but better.
Like so many others they really fell away with a second album, A Heady Tale is the only song on it worth listening to now, and soon split up. But they reformed a few years after but anything I did listen to I wasn't bothered by. That was until the end of 2017 when they released Stand Up Tragedy, the lead single for their 5th album. It was a huge grower when I enjoyed it far more than I ever imagined I would a Fratellis song again, I began to pay more attention to them again, the album was surprisingly decent, and they've charted twice more which has pushed them up about 50 places from just outside the top 100.
Chart History:
10/04/2006 Creeping Up The Backstairs 15-09-13-21-25-29-34-35 (8 weeks)
24/11/2008 A Heady Tale 34-25-25-20-19-21-38 (7 weeks)
18/12/2017 Stand Up Tragedy 34-27-20-13-08-04-03-02-04-05-08-14-20-29-39 (15 weeks)
12/02/2018 I've Been Blind 26-17-13-11-12-14-14-12-14-15-20-23-31-37 (14 weeks)
15/03/2020 Six Days In June 36-29-26-25-26-29-36 (7 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Henrietta
02 Baby Fratelli
03 Stand Up Tragedy
04 I've Been Blind
05 Whistle For The Choir
Author
#63
Poliça
Points: 711
Date first charted: 07/05/2012
Number of entries: 13
Total weeks on chart: 118
Most Successful Year: 2013, 14th
Poliça's 2012 debut album Give You The Ghost was a bit of a random find in 2012, but its synth driven indie pop made it one of my favourites of the year, with two charting singles and some excellent other tracks on it, Dark Star and Lay Your Cards Out being the pick. They returned fairly quickly with just 18 months between their first two albums, and teamed up with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon for its lead single Tiff, which peaked at #2 but really should've made it that place higher. It was another good album and the chart positions of its singles probably don't do it justice.
Since then, the majority of their entries have come in the form of teaming up with dance artists, with either Poliça or lead singer Channy Leaneagh credited on tracks by Leftfield and Lane 8, doubling their amount of top 5 entries and the understated No Captain going all the way to the top in 2017. Despite not charting in the last three years they've still been involved in some decent stuff and weren't far from extending on a number of occasions, with more dance collaborations with Lane 8 and Sonnee, and a new album last year.
Chart History:
07/05/2012 Dark Star 32-26-18-12-08-08-04-04-06-10-13-16-21-31-34 (15 weeks)
20/08/2012 Wandering Star 32-19-15-13-18-35 (6 weeks)
06/11/2017 No Captain (w/ Lane 8) 31-17-07-01-01-03-04-07-08-11-13-18-27-33-38 (15 weeks)
12/10/2019 Brightest Lights (w/ Lane 8) 35-28-22-18-15-20-33-37 (8 weeks)
21/12/2019 Forget Me Now 37-30-19-12-11-11-09-08-13-19-31 (11 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Tiff
02 No Captain
03 Dark Star
04 Lay Your Cards Out
05 Bilocation
Author
#62
Public Service Broadcasting
Points: 712
Date first charted: 19/11/2012
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 115
Most Successful Year: 2021, 4th
Probably the most unique act of the 100 now at #62, in the form of Public Service Broadcasting. When I first heard their early work in Everest and Spitfire I was pretty mesmerised, putting clips of old public information films to music was certainly nothing like anything I'd ever heard before, and it worked so well. The debut album Inform - Educate - Entertain is one of my favourite of all time, with the same theme running throughout, each song based upon a different film, with Signal 30 (road safety) and Night Mail (the postal service) both released as singles, and the latter reaching the top, such an infectious song. As a live act, they were simply incredible. The 2014 tour I saw them on definitely one of the most satisfied I've ever been coming away from a gig.
Each album has been made in a similar way, taking clips of old films and videos and setting them to music, taking in the US-Soviet space race, the Welsh mining industry and Berlin. There was little success from The Race for Space, it seems to be the most popular album amongst their fanbase but I found it hard to get into, I think down to a combination of this type of music being quite samey and one perfect album was enough, and there being few things I find quite as boring as space travel. Gagarin was a nice return with a great brass section involved, but a couple of weeks just in the chart for Go! was all else it could muster.
2017s Every Valley wasn't a huge difference, I preferred it as an album to their last but the tracks on it don't stand out so weren't especially successful and they looked like being a one album wonder, but their fourth album Bright Magic changed that. Their return People, Let's Dance was an upbeat earworm that made you want to... dance, with EERA providing some excellent vocals in both German and English, it finally returned them to the top 10 at #4 and the subsequent singles continued to take them further, Blue Heaven is a beautiful song with Andreya Casablanca providing as much singing they've ever included, and Im Licht getting them a second number one - there's no doubt its sharp rise to the very top was influenced by seeing them live a second time, I do prefer the other two but it is great.
21/08/2021 Blue Heaven (feat. Andreya Casablanca) 25-19-14-06-02-02-02-02-05-07-10-14-07-07-08-11-14-21-30-37 (20 weeks)
13/11/2021 Im Licht 19-02-01-01-03-07-11-17-25-33-39 (11 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Everest
02 Blue Heaven
03 Spitfire
04 Night Mail
05 People, Let's Dance
Author
#61
Grimes
Points: 720
Date first charted: 27/02/2012
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 124
Most Successful Year: 2012, 9th
Grimes has amassed a brilliant collection of singles here, but she's certainly not someone I've ever considered to be amongst my favourite acts. Outside of this lot, I find her far more miss than hit and there are some quite popular singles (hello Delete Forever, We Appreciate Power, REALiTi) that I just don't understand the fuss over at all.
Genesis was my introduction to her, it was a huge debut hit and remains a brilliant song I listen to regularly. Oblivion was also excellent and its parent album Visions is the only one of hers I've listened to much, quickly followed by the first of two excellent Blood Diamonds collabs (quite surprised I never charted Go). There were some excellent singles from her next album, but I didn't get into them until the album had come out, whilst Kill V. Maim went on to be her biggest hit with 4 weeks at number one, Flesh Without Blood has been the one that lasted.
Her collaborations have always been quite endearing, working well with acts of different genres, the Janelle ones are both excellent and the rockier sound of Play Destroy with Poppy was such a good fit and gone on to become one of my favourites. Listening again to the singles from her most recent album, I'd say the chart runs of Violence and 4Æm were the wrong way around, the former I'm no longer fond of as its recent excellent chart run would perhaps suggest.
Another British indie band to have emerged in the mid 00s now, but this time one who very much got better into the next decade. The Maccabees had four UK top 75 hits from their debut album, but the only one I was that fussed on was About Your Dress, which over time has gone on to become one of my absolute favourite songs of that period in indie. I still think their best work was their middle two albums though, Love You Better was a belter of a single to return with and gave them a first big hit, and half of its parent album Wall of Arms is brilliant, but its highlight came on the deluxe version as Roots Manuva added some verses to the chorus of No Kind Words. The Maccabees + Rap = A winner
2012 was their peak though, with the album released at the beginning January following the release of Pelican, a punchy song that was very typically Maccabees and became their first of three number ones. Given To The Wild was certainly a more varied album than anything they'd released previously, typified by Went Away and its closer Grew Up at Midnight which are both stunning, far more mellow songs than was usual. They called it a day after album four which, although decent, was definitely a come down on previous, though their last single Spit It Out was amongst their best, and gave them a third and final number one.
Chart History:
19/02/2007 About Your Dress 26-20-13-15-22-32 (6 weeks)
20/04/2009 Love You Better 33-15-08-06-04-07-16-24-35 (9 weeks)
06/07/2009 Can You Give It 33-30-30-29-35 (5 weeks)
05/10/2009 One Hand Holding 35-28-22-16-10-06-03-05-13-24-33-40 (12 weeks)
05/03/2012 Feel To Follow 36-31-22-16-09-08-05-03-08-18-29-38 (12 weeks)
21/05/2012 Went Away 27-21-10-01-01-01-04-06-08-10-12-15-19-19-24-25-23-30-36 (19 weeks)
21/04/2015 Marks to Prove It 31-26-28-35-35-36-39 (7 weeks)
28/09/2015 Spit It Out 24-18-10-02-01-01-02-03-05-08-13-17-23-36 (14 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 About Your Dress
02 Pelican
03 Grew Up At Midnight
04 Went Away
05 Empty Vessels
Author
#59
Crystal Castles
Points: 724
Date first charted: 21/04/2008
Number of entries: 9
Total weeks on chart: 133
Most Successful Year: 2010, 6th
:mansoncheer:
A difficult one to write about given the allegations that came out from Alice Glass about the other member of the duo Ethan Kath, related to sexual abuse and control, since any music was released under the Crystal Castles name. They were once a great outfit who's output I loved for a long time, but its quite rare that I listen to them now, only when the classics come on shuffle.
I struggled with the sound of most of their 2008 debut at the time but Courtship Dating was on the right side of their acquired sound. It was from album 2 that I properly started enjoying them, with Celestica being so much more accessible but very much still classically them, and Baptism doing what they did before but better, and continued a strong 100% top 5 run, but nothing they ever did came close to the sheer brilliance of the Robert Smith version of Not In Love. The album version was a nice enough album track but adding his vocals to it took it to a whole new level, the perfect match-up, it's defintiely up there with the best singles of the 2010s.
The last album with Alice on vocals, 2012s (III) is my favourite record of theirs, Plague unlucky not to become their 2nd number one by being out at the same time as Purity Ring's Fineshrine making one hell of a top 2. The albums with Edith Frances on vocals were largely fine but didn't really make anything like the same kind of mark on me as the work prior to her arrival, but Concrete was a great song that saw them back on top form, and Kept I thought was excellent, like a better version of Sad Eyes. When they released good enough songs for me to chart, they certainly never missed - quite comfortably the top act not to reach double figures in entries, infact every act ahead has at least two more entries than them.
Chart History:
21/04/2008 Courtship Dating 40-22-10-05-04-09-12-17-27-39 (10 weeks)
It feels right to discuss the solo career of Alice Glass in this post too, as her post-Crystal Castles career has been stronger than theirs was. On her own she ranks ??? with 260 points. It kicked off in 2015 with the incredible Stillbirth, an anthem about starting again after fleeing abuse, and string of decent singles varied in style have followed, with a couple of really strong ones in 2018 and 2019 which still sound great and I Trusted You is lyrically superb, it also feels harsh not to have charted Suffer and Swallow too.
12/02/2018 Cease and Desist 31-23-18-09-07-05-05-06-08-10-15-20-27-34-39 (15 weeks)
12/01/2019 I Trusted You 27-21-17-11-09-10-13-21-32 (9 weeks)
Edited by RabbitFurCoat
Author
#58
Goldfrapp
Points: 670
Date first charted: 14/04/2003
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 96
Most Successful Year: 2008, 28th
2003 would have been my introduction to Goldfrapp, with the singles from their second album to be the first that made the UK top 40, and I enjoyed all of them with all four making the top 20 and two of them top 10. Black Cherry is a nice album full of synthy goodness, but it was their next album when I got properly into them and they scored a string of big hits. Ooh La La was a great upbeat anthem that became their biggest hit, both for me and across the world, follow-up Number One was more melancholic and Ride A White Horse somewhere between the two as it entered at the top spot, completing the 1-2-3 hat-trick of peaks for that album. Some people who'd been fans since the early days weren't as impressed by Supernature, but for me it's by far their best album, a wonderful variety of beauty and disco stompers - outside of the singles Lovely 2 C U, Satin Chic and You Never Know are also excellent.
A second number one single soon followed with A&E, the lead single from their fourth album Seventh Tree, which entered high and quickly rose to the top. It was a bit of a change in direction back towards their earliest work, less synth led and much lower tempo, and is the track of theirs I go back to most now. Their success since then has been very limited, I've tended to find their songs quite boring although Anymore did sneak in for 5 weeks with a low peak six years ago, and I am absolutely stretching the limits of acceptability by including The Night here, as it is technically only featuring Alison Goldfrapp and not them as a duo, it's been the clear standout from Röyksopp's recent output and returned both acts to the upper echelons of the chart for the first time in a while.
Bonus fun fact: I was listening to their song Utopia when I had to decide a name for my country in BJSC.
29/10/2022 The Night (w/ Röyksopp) 31-25-22-16-12-09-12-17-22-31* / -37 (10 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 A&E
02 Number One
03 Satin Chic
04 Ride A White Hors
05 Train
Author
#57
Calvin Harris
Points: 739
Date first charted: 26/02/2007
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 106
Most Successful Year: 2007, 14th
There's certainly more of a sense of "what was I doing there?!" when looking at Calvin Harris' chart history than there is with everyone else in here. For five years he was responsible for some great commercial dance and his remixes were always on point. There's a significant amount of undercharting here, the chart runs and peaks for I'm Not Alone and Feel So Close are awfully low looking back, the former one of the decade's best number ones and the latter something I loved hearing out back in the days where I might spend nights in establishments that'd play the likes of Calvin Harris. We Found Love, too, was and still is excellent although I at least gave it the longevity it deserved. That said, it's balanced out by his second highest peak being for The Girls, which now I would rank considerably lower than the other 11 entries here.
Acceptable In The 80s was an excellent debut single, something quirky and different that I loved, and Dance Wiv Me was the deserving big commercial success for both him and Dizzee. The 00s also produced a couple of excellent remixes for lesser known acts I was a fan of in The Hours and The Mitchell Brothers (the rappers). The following decade started well with some more great collabs with big artists, but despite continuing to get huge commercial success, there was precious little of his I had any time for - looking through his UK chart history it's a huge swathe of bad, generic dance. I'd still typically listen to his new songs which is why I did manage to catch the excellent Promises, but post Sweet Nothing there's only One Kiss and I Need Your Love that would also have come close to making my chart.
Chart History:
26/02/2007 Acceptable In The 80s 38-22-06-02-04-07-07-15-22-26-34 (11 weeks)
21/05/2007 The Girls 14-16-05-09-16-23-38 (7 weeks)
15/10/2007 Michael Jackson (Remix of The Mitchell Brothers) 33-32-29-12-07-11-11-15-28-31-40 (11 weeks)
#66
George FitzGerald
Points: 701
Date first charted: 16/03/2015
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 118
Most Successful Year: 2022, 14th
Being slightly generous with my combination of artists for this entry, but OTHERLiiNE being a duo consisting of George FitzGerald and Lil Silva meant I felt that their points should be awarded to both, as in reality they were no different to Roll Back which had charted previously, similar to The Carters for Jay-Z and Beyoncé. George has become one of my favourite electronic music producers in recent years, having now released three excellent albums. There was only one big hit from his first in Full Circle, featuring vocals from Boxed In, but it was an album I listened to a lot up until the release of his second in 2018, which was even better, though once again it was only the singles where he'd collaborated which charted, Roll Back some great chillout with Lil Silva, and Nobody But You with Hudson Scott, both made the top 3.
The OTHERLiiNE project with Lil Silva was somewhat different in style to Roll Back, more upbeat and not quite as understated as the first song from it Chimes went one place higher than previous, and the two other singles from the strong EP both made the top 20. Last year he released his third album Stellar Drifting, with the singles preceding it giving him a first completely solo chart hit, and a first number one. Ultraviolet was a great return and Cold grew on me hugely to reach the top, it's somewhat repetitive but I thought it was his best song yet. For the first time an album of his produced more than two hits, as his collaborations with SOAK and Panda Bear also charted, and there's also an excellent song with London Grammar hidden away on the album.
Chart History:
16/03/2015 Full Circle (feat. Boxed In) 24-14-09-08-07-05-05-08-14-24-34 (11 weeks)
11/05/2015 Crystallise (feat. Lawrence Hart) 31-31-39 (3 weeks)
12/02/2018 Roll Back (feat. Lil Silva) 34-30-23-17-13-09-03-05-09-13-17-22-32-38 (14 weeks)
21/05/2018 Nobody But You (feat. Hudson Scott) 25-19-14-06-05-03-03-05-09-13-19-27-35 (13 weeks)
21/09/2019 Chimes (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 27-17-11-07-02-02-03-05-09-14-18-24-30-36 (14 weeks)
02/11/2019 Hates Me (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 37-28-22-18-15-14-16-21-29-36-40 (11 weeks)
15/02/2020 One Line (w/ Lil Silva as OTHERLiiNE) 31-26-20-16-15-21-27-34-39 (9 weeks)
16/10/2021 Ultravoilet 29-19-13-09-11-14-17-21-27-32-36-39-40 (13 weeks)
04/06/2022 Cold 30-23-14-07-02-01-01-02-03-05-09-12-17-27-37 (15 weeks)
13/08/2022 Rainbows and Dreams (feat. SOAK) 29-25-21-23-30-38 (6 weeks)
17/09/2022 Passed Tense (feat. Panda Bear) 29-17-14-12-12-14-19-30-39 (9 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Cold
02 Chimes
03 Nobody But You
04 Full Circle
05 Roll Back
Thanks for your continued comments Dr B (sorry, missed seeing this earlier somehow!)
I knew you were a big fan of Jamie, but that's a seriously impressive haul of number ones. A shame The xx aren't here but they did fall well short, you're right about them not exactly being prolific, and I did think their first album was more of a great album together than loads of brilliant individual tracks, so only a couple from that made it.
I saw Bloc Party on their tour last year, they were great but do wish I'd managed to see them earlier, that sounds like a great gig to have been at.
The Bicep set at Glastonbury was great when I watched it. A shame I didn't go to it even though I was there, Sunday night a bit awkward and have to be in the mood for that type of set, think I'd have definitely gone if they were on Saturday.
Just a Day is an absolute belter, always loved that song and if I'd been doing this a bit longer would definitely have been a big number one, always much preferred that to their other big hit Buck Rogers which I found really annoying after a while.
#65
Basement Jaxx
Points: 706
Date first charted: 10/11/2003
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 106
Most Successful Year: 2004, 14th
Despite being past their commercial and musical peak by the time I'd started recording my chart, Basement Jaxx were still prolific hitters with a string of six singles all reaching the top 10, with Good Luck getting there twice and also being their first of two back-to-back number ones. It probably remains my favourite of theirs ahead of some of their earlier songs, and whilst Plug It In is still something I enjoy it's not a personal #1 I hold in that high regard. Their 2005 Singles Collection showed what an excellent body of work they'd created in a short space of time and continued with that, Oh My Gosh being another top song and finally an official release for Do Your Thing, deservedly regarded as one of their best.
Whilst they weren't as strong after 2005 they'd still released the odd decent single, and Scars had some great songs on it, Saga, with Santigold on vocals, just misses this top 5 behind My Turn with the underappreciated Lightspeed Champion. Just the one hit since the noughties ended in Never Say Never, but they're rightly regarded as one of dance music's finest acts.
Chart History:
10/11/2003 Lucky Star (feat. Dizzee Rascal) 05-06-13-16-19-25-26-28-30-32-35 (11 weeks)
05/01/2004 Good Luck (feat. Lisa Kekaula) 01-02-02-04-06-07-10-10-12-14-15-18-21-26-34-39 (16 weeks)
29/03/2004 Plug It In (feat. JC Chasez) 01-01-04-05-04-09-12-12-16-15-16-18-23-25-29-34-34-36-38 (19 weeks)
28/06/2004 Good Luck (feat. Lisa Kekaula) [Re-Issue] 06-07-13-17-19-22-24-29-34 (9 weeks)
14/03/2005 Oh My Gosh 08-09-09-11-13-15-17-24-33-37 (10 weeks)
13/05/2005 U Don't Know Me 07-13-28-37 (4 weeks)
26/09/2005 Do Your Thing 08-12-16-18-26-27-33-40 (8 weeks)
28/08/2006 Hush Boy 14-24-36 (3 weeks)
30/10/2006 Take Me Back To Your House 20-11-17-23-30-34-37 (7 weeks)
22/06/2009 Raindrops 39-26-24-20-36 (5 weeks)
14/12/2009 My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion) 38-32-22-12-07-10-16-29-36-40 (10 weeks)
18/08/2014 Never Say Never (feat. ETML) 32-25-20-18-30 (5 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Good Luck
02 Do Your Thing
03 Oh My Gosh
04 Plug It In
05 My Turn
#64
The Fratellis
Points: 709
Date first charted: 10/04/2006
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 105
Most Successful Year: 2006, 1st
Time for another 2000s indie band now and one who, for a long time, were very much of that time. They were another one who I enjoyed with their first release, Creepin' Up The Backstaits, and bought their debut album as soon as it was released, and it was one of the more impressive albums of the time. Chelsea Dagger has certainly felt the effects of complete overplay, but I don't mind it compared to other big indie its of the time, I think I'd still rather listen to it than either Mr Brightside or Sex on Fire... But that was never my favourite anyway, Henrietta was one of my final CD single purchases, went straight in at the top and it remains my favourite of theirs, similarly anthemic but better.
Like so many others they really fell away with a second album, A Heady Tale is the only song on it worth listening to now, and soon split up. But they reformed a few years after but anything I did listen to I wasn't bothered by. That was until the end of 2017 when they released Stand Up Tragedy, the lead single for their 5th album. It was a huge grower when I enjoyed it far more than I ever imagined I would a Fratellis song again, I began to pay more attention to them again, the album was surprisingly decent, and they've charted twice more which has pushed them up about 50 places from just outside the top 100.
Chart History:
10/04/2006 Creeping Up The Backstairs 15-09-13-21-25-29-34-35 (8 weeks)
12/06/2006 Henrietta 01-01-01-05-07-07-11-14-19-23-22-27-33-28-31-38 (16 weeks)
28/08/2006 Chelsea Dagger 03-03-03-11-14-14-15-23-36 (9 weeks)
27/11/2006 Whistle For The Choir 07-08-08-10-17-21-31 (7 weeks)
26/02/2007 Baby Fratelli 35-30-14-10-17-24-32 (7 weeks)
04/06/2007 Ole Black And Blue Eyes 38-32-20-25-34 (5 weeks)
19/05/2008 Mistress Mabel 33-31-19-05-13-26-37 (7 weeks)
18/08/2008 Look Out Sunshine 35-30-34 (3 weeks)
24/11/2008 A Heady Tale 34-25-25-20-19-21-38 (7 weeks)
18/12/2017 Stand Up Tragedy 34-27-20-13-08-04-03-02-04-05-08-14-20-29-39 (15 weeks)
12/02/2018 I've Been Blind 26-17-13-11-12-14-14-12-14-15-20-23-31-37 (14 weeks)
15/03/2020 Six Days In June 36-29-26-25-26-29-36 (7 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Henrietta
02 Baby Fratelli
03 Stand Up Tragedy
04 I've Been Blind
05 Whistle For The Choir
#63
Poliça
Points: 711
Date first charted: 07/05/2012
Number of entries: 13
Total weeks on chart: 118
Most Successful Year: 2013, 14th
Poliça's 2012 debut album Give You The Ghost was a bit of a random find in 2012, but its synth driven indie pop made it one of my favourites of the year, with two charting singles and some excellent other tracks on it, Dark Star and Lay Your Cards Out being the pick. They returned fairly quickly with just 18 months between their first two albums, and teamed up with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon for its lead single Tiff, which peaked at #2 but really should've made it that place higher. It was another good album and the chart positions of its singles probably don't do it justice.
Since then, the majority of their entries have come in the form of teaming up with dance artists, with either Poliça or lead singer Channy Leaneagh credited on tracks by Leftfield and Lane 8, doubling their amount of top 5 entries and the understated No Captain going all the way to the top in 2017. Despite not charting in the last three years they've still been involved in some decent stuff and weren't far from extending on a number of occasions, with more dance collaborations with Lane 8 and Sonnee, and a new album last year.
Chart History:
07/05/2012 Dark Star 32-26-18-12-08-08-04-04-06-10-13-16-21-31-34 (15 weeks)
20/08/2012 Wandering Star 32-19-15-13-18-35 (6 weeks)
13/05/2013 Tiff (feat. Justin Vernon) 38-27-16-11-05-02-02-03-04-06-10-12-15-21-25-29-32-38 (18 weeks)
16/09/2013 Chain My Name 31-24-17-15-17-24-32 (7 weeks)
23/12/2013 Spilling Lines 30-32-37 (3 weeks)
21/07/2014 Raw Exit 36-27-27-37 (4 weeks)
15/06/2015 Bilocation (w/ Leftfield) 26-17-11-07-05-05-09-15-26-34 (10 weeks)
14/12/2015 Lime Habit 39-31-24-27-38 (5 weeks)
28/03/2016 Wedding 39-32-32-31-23-21-22-29-40 (9 weeks)
05/12/2016 Kind (Boys Noize Remix) 30-19-20-25-32-40 (6 weeks)
06/11/2017 No Captain (w/ Lane 8) 31-17-07-01-01-03-04-07-08-11-13-18-27-33-38 (15 weeks)
12/10/2019 Brightest Lights (w/ Lane 8) 35-28-22-18-15-20-33-37 (8 weeks)
21/12/2019 Forget Me Now 37-30-19-12-11-11-09-08-13-19-31 (11 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Tiff
02 No Captain
03 Dark Star
04 Lay Your Cards Out
05 Bilocation
#62
Public Service Broadcasting
Points: 712
Date first charted: 19/11/2012
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 115
Most Successful Year: 2021, 4th
Probably the most unique act of the 100 now at #62, in the form of Public Service Broadcasting. When I first heard their early work in Everest and Spitfire I was pretty mesmerised, putting clips of old public information films to music was certainly nothing like anything I'd ever heard before, and it worked so well. The debut album Inform - Educate - Entertain is one of my favourite of all time, with the same theme running throughout, each song based upon a different film, with Signal 30 (road safety) and Night Mail (the postal service) both released as singles, and the latter reaching the top, such an infectious song. As a live act, they were simply incredible. The 2014 tour I saw them on definitely one of the most satisfied I've ever been coming away from a gig.
Each album has been made in a similar way, taking clips of old films and videos and setting them to music, taking in the US-Soviet space race, the Welsh mining industry and Berlin. There was little success from The Race for Space, it seems to be the most popular album amongst their fanbase but I found it hard to get into, I think down to a combination of this type of music being quite samey and one perfect album was enough, and there being few things I find quite as boring as space travel. Gagarin was a nice return with a great brass section involved, but a couple of weeks just in the chart for Go! was all else it could muster.
2017s Every Valley wasn't a huge difference, I preferred it as an album to their last but the tracks on it don't stand out so weren't especially successful and they looked like being a one album wonder, but their fourth album Bright Magic changed that. Their return People, Let's Dance was an upbeat earworm that made you want to... dance, with EERA providing some excellent vocals in both German and English, it finally returned them to the top 10 at #4 and the subsequent singles continued to take them further, Blue Heaven is a beautiful song with Andreya Casablanca providing as much singing they've ever included, and Im Licht getting them a second number one - there's no doubt its sharp rise to the very top was influenced by seeing them live a second time, I do prefer the other two but it is great.
Chart History:
19/11/2012 Everest 29-17-07-03-02-02-06-09-15-20-29 (11 weeks)
18/03/2013 Signal 30 40-33-25-19-20-28-36 (7 weeks)
17/06/2013 Theme From PSB 31-25-27-37 (4 weeks)
07/10/2013 Night Mail 27-16-06-03-03-02-01-01-03-04-06-08-14-20-30 (15 weeks)
19/01/2015 Gagarin 36-32-31-23-15-12-12-12-22-36 (10 weeks)
16/03/2015 Go! 34-33 (2 weeks)
10/04/2017 Progress (feat. Tracyanne Campbell) 31-26-28-26-27-34-40 (7 weeks)
17/07/2017 They Gave Me a Lamp (feat. Haiku Salut) 35-29-25-22-20-27-36 (7 weeks)
15/10/2018 White Star Liner 34-28-22-18-13-12-20-30-38 (9 weeks)
12/06/2021 People, Let's Dance (feat. EERA) 22-14-07-04-04-04-06-10-13-18-30-40 (12 weeks)
21/08/2021 Blue Heaven (feat. Andreya Casablanca) 25-19-14-06-02-02-02-02-05-07-10-14-07-07-08-11-14-21-30-37 (20 weeks)
13/11/2021 Im Licht 19-02-01-01-03-07-11-17-25-33-39 (11 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Everest
02 Blue Heaven
03 Spitfire
04 Night Mail
05 People, Let's Dance
#61
Grimes
Points: 720
Date first charted: 27/02/2012
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 124
Most Successful Year: 2012, 9th
Grimes has amassed a brilliant collection of singles here, but she's certainly not someone I've ever considered to be amongst my favourite acts. Outside of this lot, I find her far more miss than hit and there are some quite popular singles (hello Delete Forever, We Appreciate Power, REALiTi) that I just don't understand the fuss over at all.
Genesis was my introduction to her, it was a huge debut hit and remains a brilliant song I listen to regularly. Oblivion was also excellent and its parent album Visions is the only one of hers I've listened to much, quickly followed by the first of two excellent Blood Diamonds collabs (quite surprised I never charted Go). There were some excellent singles from her next album, but I didn't get into them until the album had come out, whilst Kill V. Maim went on to be her biggest hit with 4 weeks at number one, Flesh Without Blood has been the one that lasted.
Her collaborations have always been quite endearing, working well with acts of different genres, the Janelle ones are both excellent and the rockier sound of Play Destroy with Poppy was such a good fit and gone on to become one of my favourites. Listening again to the singles from her most recent album, I'd say the chart runs of Violence and 4Æm were the wrong way around, the former I'm no longer fond of as its recent excellent chart run would perhaps suggest.
Chart History:
27/02/2012 Genesis 24-20-08-04-03-02-04-04-06-09-14-20-29-38 (14 weeks)
14/05/2012 Oblivion 38-34-27-22-18-15-18-26-39 (9 weeks)
16/07/2012 Phone Sex (w/ Blood Diamonds) 27-15-13-10-14-27-38 (7 weeks)
23/11/2015 Venus Fly (feat. Janelle Monae) 35-25-17-13-18-23-34 (7 weeks)
30/11/2015 Flesh Without Blood 29-22-15-10-11-10-07-08-09-10-11-16-24-33-39 (15 weeks)
15/02/2016 Kill V. Maim 37-31-22-16-10-07-01-01-01-01-04-05-08-10-13-21-27-37 (18 weeks)
30/05/2016 California 32-28-35 (3 weeks)
30/04/2018 Pynk (w/ Janelle Monae) 25-18-11-08-06-06-08-14-23-34 (10 weeks)
26/11/2018 Play Destroy (w/ Poppy) 34-26-17-12-09-06-09-12-18-25-33-38-39 (13 weeks)
21/09/2019 Violence (feat. i_o) 37-30-23-15-09-03-02-03-03-05-09-15-22-30-35-39 (16 weeks)
11/01/2020 4Æm 31-27-22-17-20-28-27-23-21-27-33-39 (12 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Flesh Without Blood
02 Genesis
03 Kill V. Maim
04 Play Destroy
05 4Æm
#60
The Maccabees
Points: 722
Date first charted: 19/02/2007
Number of entries: 10
Total weeks on chart: 111
Most Successful Year: 2012, 11th
Another British indie band to have emerged in the mid 00s now, but this time one who very much got better into the next decade. The Maccabees had four UK top 75 hits from their debut album, but the only one I was that fussed on was About Your Dress, which over time has gone on to become one of my absolute favourite songs of that period in indie. I still think their best work was their middle two albums though, Love You Better was a belter of a single to return with and gave them a first big hit, and half of its parent album Wall of Arms is brilliant, but its highlight came on the deluxe version as Roots Manuva added some verses to the chorus of No Kind Words. The Maccabees + Rap = A winner
2012 was their peak though, with the album released at the beginning January following the release of Pelican, a punchy song that was very typically Maccabees and became their first of three number ones. Given To The Wild was certainly a more varied album than anything they'd released previously, typified by Went Away and its closer Grew Up at Midnight which are both stunning, far more mellow songs than was usual. They called it a day after album four which, although decent, was definitely a come down on previous, though their last single Spit It Out was amongst their best, and gave them a third and final number one.
Chart History:
19/02/2007 About Your Dress 26-20-13-15-22-32 (6 weeks)
20/04/2009 Love You Better 33-15-08-06-04-07-16-24-35 (9 weeks)
06/07/2009 Can You Give It 33-30-30-29-35 (5 weeks)
05/10/2009 One Hand Holding 35-28-22-16-10-06-03-05-13-24-33-40 (12 weeks)
25/01/2010 Empty Vessels (feat. Roots Manuva) 31-23-13-07-04-02-03-06-10-13-19-29 (12 weeks)
26/12/2011 Pelican 24-12-03-02-01-01-02-04-07-10-15-21-27-32-38 (15 weeks)
05/03/2012 Feel To Follow 36-31-22-16-09-08-05-03-08-18-29-38 (12 weeks)
21/05/2012 Went Away 27-21-10-01-01-01-04-06-08-10-12-15-19-19-24-25-23-30-36 (19 weeks)
21/04/2015 Marks to Prove It 31-26-28-35-35-36-39 (7 weeks)
28/09/2015 Spit It Out 24-18-10-02-01-01-02-03-05-08-13-17-23-36 (14 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 About Your Dress
02 Pelican
03 Grew Up At Midnight
04 Went Away
05 Empty Vessels
#59
Crystal Castles
Points: 724
Date first charted: 21/04/2008
Number of entries: 9
Total weeks on chart: 133
Most Successful Year: 2010, 6th
:mansoncheer:
A difficult one to write about given the allegations that came out from Alice Glass about the other member of the duo Ethan Kath, related to sexual abuse and control, since any music was released under the Crystal Castles name. They were once a great outfit who's output I loved for a long time, but its quite rare that I listen to them now, only when the classics come on shuffle.
I struggled with the sound of most of their 2008 debut at the time but Courtship Dating was on the right side of their acquired sound. It was from album 2 that I properly started enjoying them, with Celestica being so much more accessible but very much still classically them, and Baptism doing what they did before but better, and continued a strong 100% top 5 run, but nothing they ever did came close to the sheer brilliance of the Robert Smith version of Not In Love. The album version was a nice enough album track but adding his vocals to it took it to a whole new level, the perfect match-up, it's defintiely up there with the best singles of the 2010s.
The last album with Alice on vocals, 2012s (III) is my favourite record of theirs, Plague unlucky not to become their 2nd number one by being out at the same time as Purity Ring's Fineshrine making one hell of a top 2. The albums with Edith Frances on vocals were largely fine but didn't really make anything like the same kind of mark on me as the work prior to her arrival, but Concrete was a great song that saw them back on top form, and Kept I thought was excellent, like a better version of Sad Eyes. When they released good enough songs for me to chart, they certainly never missed - quite comfortably the top act not to reach double figures in entries, infact every act ahead has at least two more entries than them.
Chart History:
21/04/2008 Courtship Dating 40-22-10-05-04-09-12-17-27-39 (10 weeks)
24/05/2010 Celestica 33-28-23-17-14-09-03-02-02-03-02-04-06-11-15-23-30-37-39 (19 weeks)
26/07/2010 Baptism 35-30-17-13-09-07-04-06-14-24-34-40 (12 weeks)
08/11/2010 Not in Love (feat. Robert Smith) 29-15-04-02-01-01-01-01-01-01-02-05-06-06-07-09-10-13-17-21-25-31-40 (23 weeks)
27/08/2012 Plague 25-18-14-09-04-02-02-02-03-03-04-09-10-10-13-17-20-22-22-27-35-38 (22 weeks)
12/11/2012 Affection 37-28-22-16-11-10-12-18-25-39 (10 weeks)
28/01/2013 Sad Eyes 27-18-14-15-22-32 (6 weeks)
01/08/2016 Concrete 37-27-14-05-02-01-01-04-07-11-15-21-28-36 (14 weeks)
26/09/2016 Kept 32-23-20-17-14-12-10-08-07-08-10-13-19-23-27-34-39 (17 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)
02 Celestica
03 Plague
04 Kerosene
05 Baptism
It feels right to discuss the solo career of Alice Glass in this post too, as her post-Crystal Castles career has been stronger than theirs was. On her own she ranks ??? with 260 points. It kicked off in 2015 with the incredible Stillbirth, an anthem about starting again after fleeing abuse, and string of decent singles varied in style have followed, with a couple of really strong ones in 2018 and 2019 which still sound great and I Trusted You is lyrically superb, it also feels harsh not to have charted Suffer and Swallow too.
Alice Glass Chart History:
03/08/2015 Stillbirth 30-20-09-01-01-02-02-04-06-08-13-23-36 (13 weeks)
28/08/2017 Without Love 34-29-28-33 (4 weeks)
12/02/2018 Cease and Desist 31-23-18-09-07-05-05-06-08-10-15-20-27-34-39 (15 weeks)
12/01/2019 I Trusted You 27-21-17-11-09-10-13-21-32 (9 weeks)
Edited by RabbitFurCoat
#58
Goldfrapp
Points: 670
Date first charted: 14/04/2003
Number of entries: 11
Total weeks on chart: 96
Most Successful Year: 2008, 28th
2003 would have been my introduction to Goldfrapp, with the singles from their second album to be the first that made the UK top 40, and I enjoyed all of them with all four making the top 20 and two of them top 10. Black Cherry is a nice album full of synthy goodness, but it was their next album when I got properly into them and they scored a string of big hits. Ooh La La was a great upbeat anthem that became their biggest hit, both for me and across the world, follow-up Number One was more melancholic and Ride A White Horse somewhere between the two as it entered at the top spot, completing the 1-2-3 hat-trick of peaks for that album. Some people who'd been fans since the early days weren't as impressed by Supernature, but for me it's by far their best album, a wonderful variety of beauty and disco stompers - outside of the singles Lovely 2 C U, Satin Chic and You Never Know are also excellent.
A second number one single soon followed with A&E, the lead single from their fourth album Seventh Tree, which entered high and quickly rose to the top. It was a bit of a change in direction back towards their earliest work, less synth led and much lower tempo, and is the track of theirs I go back to most now. Their success since then has been very limited, I've tended to find their songs quite boring although Anymore did sneak in for 5 weeks with a low peak six years ago, and I am absolutely stretching the limits of acceptability by including The Night here, as it is technically only featuring Alison Goldfrapp and not them as a duo, it's been the clear standout from Röyksopp's recent output and returned both acts to the upper echelons of the chart for the first time in a while.
Bonus fun fact: I was listening to their song Utopia when I had to decide a name for my country in BJSC.
Chart History:
14/04/2003 Train 16-18-18-24-28-31-35-39 (8 weeks)
21/07/2003 Strict Machine 10-16-19-20-24-32-38 (7 weeks)
03/11/2003 Twist 08-15-18-25-30-38 (6 weeks)
01/03/2004 Black Cherry 17-23-30-38 (4 weeks)
10/05/2004 Strict Machine (re-issue) 16-18-22-28-36 (5 weeks)
08/08/2005 Oooh La La 02-05-09-13-19-22-31 (7 weeks)
31/10/2005 Number One 03-03-04-08-12-13-15-18-14-13-16-18-21-21-22-23-27-35 (18 weeks)
13/02/2006 Ride A White Horse 01-01-05-04-05-06-09-13-13-15-19-23-29-30 (14 weeks)
01/05/2006 Fly Me Away 18-27-32 (3 weeks)
04/02/2008 A&E 16-07-01-01-01-01-02-03-04-05-05-10-17-23-34 (15 weeks)
07/04/2008 Happiness 25-20-14-24 (4 weeks)
14/02/2017 Anymore 35-30-29-30-37 (5 weeks)
29/10/2022 The Night (w/ Röyksopp) 31-25-22-16-12-09-12-17-22-31* / -37 (10 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 A&E
02 Number One
03 Satin Chic
04 Ride A White Hors
05 Train
#57
Calvin Harris
Points: 739
Date first charted: 26/02/2007
Number of entries: 12
Total weeks on chart: 106
Most Successful Year: 2007, 14th
There's certainly more of a sense of "what was I doing there?!" when looking at Calvin Harris' chart history than there is with everyone else in here. For five years he was responsible for some great commercial dance and his remixes were always on point. There's a significant amount of undercharting here, the chart runs and peaks for I'm Not Alone and Feel So Close are awfully low looking back, the former one of the decade's best number ones and the latter something I loved hearing out back in the days where I might spend nights in establishments that'd play the likes of Calvin Harris. We Found Love, too, was and still is excellent although I at least gave it the longevity it deserved. That said, it's balanced out by his second highest peak being for The Girls, which now I would rank considerably lower than the other 11 entries here.
Acceptable In The 80s was an excellent debut single, something quirky and different that I loved, and Dance Wiv Me was the deserving big commercial success for both him and Dizzee. The 00s also produced a couple of excellent remixes for lesser known acts I was a fan of in The Hours and The Mitchell Brothers (the rappers). The following decade started well with some more great collabs with big artists, but despite continuing to get huge commercial success, there was precious little of his I had any time for - looking through his UK chart history it's a huge swathe of bad, generic dance. I'd still typically listen to his new songs which is why I did manage to catch the excellent Promises, but post Sweet Nothing there's only One Kiss and I Need Your Love that would also have come close to making my chart.
Chart History:
26/02/2007 Acceptable In The 80s 38-22-06-02-04-07-07-15-22-26-34 (11 weeks)
21/05/2007 The Girls 14-16-05-09-16-23-38 (7 weeks)
15/10/2007 Michael Jackson (Remix of The Mitchell Brothers) 33-32-29-12-07-11-11-15-28-31-40 (11 weeks)
30/06/2008 Dance Wiv Me (w/ Dizzee Rascal & Chrome) 09-06-07-10-20-27-32 (7 weeks)
08/12/2008 See The Light (Remix of The Hours) 35-17-08-08-10-17-28-40 (8 weeks)
06/04/2009 I'm Not Alone 26-13-13-10-10-14-25 (7 weeks)
31/05/2011 Bounce (feat. Kelis) 31-25-15-11-11-11-15-21-27-37-35 (11 weeks)
05/09/2011 Feel So Close 29-20-16-26 (4 weeks)
07/11/2011 We Found Love (w/ Rihanna) 29-20-14-11-14-15-20-17-15-15-22-32-35-39-40 (15 weeks)
09/07/2012 Spectrum (Say My Name) (Remix of Florence + The Machine) 30-25-13-09-05-08-11-14-20-24-34 (11 weeks)
15/10/2012 Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch) 38-34-40-30-24-35 (6 weeks)
03/09/2018 Promises (feat. Sam Smith) 27-15-10-09-10-19-28-39 (8 weeks)
2023 Top 5 Rank:
01 I'm Not Alone
02 Feel So Close
03 We Found Love
04 Dance Wiv Me
05 Acceptable In The 80s