Oh my had never heard Shoot me with your love but Robbie's Let me entertain you is 100% a copycat of that, did they sue?

 

Some great tracks, fav by far is You Do Something To Me, Stanley Road is a great album, Weller at his best

 

Supergrass I don't mind, but never liked them enough to buy an album from them

 

Kiss from a Rose, almost too-sugary, don't love it that much

Also at this time the first release of La Bouche - Be My Lover only made #27 in the UK. :(

On your summary of the 15th July, you say that Happy by MN8 is a cover of a song by Surface from 1987.

 

The song was first recorded in 1984 as You Make Me Happy by Hi - Tension.

 

 

This Friday we will have the last 1995 double bill for at least 5 weeks.

 

 

We have Christmas and New Year - then on the 5th January BBC4 will be celebrating 60 years of Top of the Pops with an evening of 1970s shows - on tne 12th January we will have an evening of 1980 shows with The Story of 1980 and the Big Hits Compilations from 1980 / 81/82/83/84

 

 

So 1995 will not return until at least the 19th January

29TH JULY

 

 

The biggest pop news of the week was of course the news that Robbie Williams had left Take That, “Nobody Else” lifts 23-11 as a response coupled with the growing airplay for their new single “Never Forget” which is out this week.

 

The song it will have to depose is The Outhere Brothers “Boom Boom Boom” which completes a month at the top but it is a sitting duck already with sales off 15% at 65,000. Although the top 3 are the same again as last week there is some movement, Diana King rises 3-2 (56,000) and Supergrass fall 2-3 (50,000) but all three are losing ground at retail, in Supergrass’s case the explanation is simple as the album “I Should Coco” finally tops the charts.

 

 

“Batman Returns” dominates the top 5 otherwise with U2 climbing 6-4 (36,000) and Seal up 8-5 (34,000)- could the soundtrack yet produce a No 1 single?

 

 

Corona’s third single is their third top 10 hit- an enviable strike rate! “Try Me Out” is a cover of a single by Lee Marrow Featuring Charme which itself borrows a chord progression if not some lyrics from Teen Dream’s 1987 single “Toy”. The single improves 14-8 (26,000).

 

 

 

Mary J Blige’s last single “I’m Goin’ Down” proved her breakthrough making No 12 but she is back with a bigger hit, a cover of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell 1968 #19 single which was of course written by Ashford & Simpson. The single features on Method Man’s debut album “Tical” and so is really a guest spot by Blige, he’s a rising rap star here though his only chart entry prior to this was back in April on the No 46 single “Release Yo’Delf”- needless to say he’s a bigger star in the US.

 

 

Dana Dawson climbs 10-9 (24,000) but on the way out are Shaggy Featuring Reyvon 5-6 (29,000), and Edwyn Collins 4-7 (28,000).

 

Surely next week is a forgone conclusion with a new Take That single out?

 

 

1- BOOM BOOM BOOM- Outhere Brothers (65,000)

2- SHY GUY- Diana King (56,000)

3- ALRIGHT/ TIME- Supergrass (50,000)

4- HOLD ME THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME- U2 (36,000)

5- KISS FROM A ROSE/ I’M ALIVE- Seal (34,000)

6- IN THE SUMMERTIME- Shaggy Ft Reyvon (29,000)

7- A GIRL LIKE YOU- Edwyn Collins (28,000)

8- TRY ME OUT- Corona (26,000)

9- 3 IS A FAMILY- Dana Dawson (24,000)

10- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU/ YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY- Mary J Blige (20,000)

 

5TH AUGUST

 

 

It’s one of pops bittersweet moments. A much loved member of a boyband has left the group in the run up to the release of a new single and that the single begins with a sample of Verdi’s “Requiem” or mass for the dead- is it really the end? Only time will tell but if it is then Take That are going out on a high with “Never Forget” becoming their 7th No 1 from 8 releases with a sale of 115,000 copies more than the rest of the top 3 combined. A seventh chart topper lifts Take That to joint sixth place with Madonna in the all time list of acts with the most No 1’s- the five above them are Cliff Richard, ABBA, The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, all the more impressive is that they’ve done it in just 2 years.

 

If the single sounds like a slight departure from their normal fair and a tad “Dramatic” then that’s probably because a certain Jim Steinman has had a hand in the production which means it’s his first production credit since Meat Loaf in 1993 (which knocked off Take That's own "Relight My Fire" from the top). The track also continues to shift albums with the LP moving 11-7 this week.

 

 

Just as their last No 1 was deposed by Take That (“Don’t Stop” followed by “Back For Good”) so “Boom Boom Boom” makes way for “Never Forget” and the poor Outhere Brothers are shunted from the top again, a solid sale of 61,000 takes the total for their second single to 434,000 and should clear the half million mark in a few weeks. The last act to score two No 1 singles from their first two release and sell at least 500,000 of each was the mighty Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

 

 

Rapidly accruing the hits are Black Grape, debut album “It’s Great When You’re Straight….Yeah” is out in a fortnight and will now be home to 2 top 10 singles as “In The Name Of The Father” is new at No 8 (27,000). At a stroke it gives Ryder as many top ten singles as his previous outfit Happy Mondays managed to give him.

 

 

Good news week for Seal 5-4 (41,000), and Corona 8-6 (36,000) who are both heading up. Diana King dips 2-3 (53,000), Supergrass slide 3-5 (37,000) but are still No 1 on the album charts, U2 ease 4-7 (30,000), Shaggy Featuring Reyvon fall 6-9 (25,000) and Edwyn Collins is almost out 7-10 (22,000).

 

Next week it’s the battle of the boybands again- can Take That hold against Boyzone?

 

 

1- NEVER FORGET- Take That (115,000)

2- BOOM BOOM BOOM- Outhere Brothers (61,000)

3- SHY GUY- Diana King (53,000)

4- KISS FROM A ROSE/ I’M ALIVE- Seal (41,000)

5- ALRIGHT/ TIME- Supergrass (37,000)

6- TRY ME OUT- Corona (36,000)

7- HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME- U2 (30,000)

8- IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER- Black Grape (27,000)

9- IN THE SUMMERTIME- Shaggy Ft Reyvon (25,000)

10- A GIRL LIKE YOU- Edwyn Collins (22,000)

 

And I think that's it for 1995 until Mid January- so merry Xmas all!

Thanks Gezza, Merry Christmas!

Selected tracks outside the Top 10 TOTP 29th July and 5th August 1995

 

 

The Lightning Seeds - Perfect

Chart entry this week: 18

Peak: 18

 

 

Another great song from the Lightning Seeds, though not as perfect as some of their songs!

 

 

 

Tricky vs The Gravediggaz - The Hell EP

Chart entry this week: 12

Peak: 12

 

 

Lead song is the wonderful Hell Is Around The Corner, which samples the same song as Portishead's Glory Box i.e. Ikes Rap II y Isaac Hayes. Brilliant slice of Trip Hop from the album Maxinquaye.

'Perfect' is my pick of the 4 Lightning Seeds singles in 1995, and it made my top 10 for the year at the time which may have been a first for a non-Top 10 hit. However my favourite song played on either episode now is that week's new entry at #13, R.E.M. - Tongue

'Try Me Out' is a very good dance track. I prefer it to their previous single 'Baby Baby'.

 

The Mary J Blige vocal in the Method Man track is very understated.

I didn't know Peter Kay was in Black Grape. :lol:

 

LOVE Hell Is Round The Corner, shame that missed the top 10.

Love Never Forget, classic Take That!

Hell around the Corner is incredible but always felt like Tricky was a bit of a copycat

his first hit Overcome is basically Massive Attack-Karmacoma and this one is Portishead-Glorybox, so... yeah very original :D

at least he had other great songs in the album like Pumpkin or Black Steel

 

and at least he's a million times better than that Corona thing, terrible to say the least

Tricky was actually in Massive Attack though. I may be wrong but I always thought he left before the release of Protection but was part of the process of recording it - so in a way Karmacoma was as much his as the rest of the band.

I either didn't know or forgot Robbie left Take That in the run-up to 'Never Forget's release!

We have had the provisional BBC4 schedule for the 19th January and they are still celebrating the 60th Birthday of Top of the Pops with an evening of shows from 1984 to 1988 so the 1995 shows will not resume until at least the 26th January but probably later.

i know Tricky was part of Massive Attack but he was more of a side member than a core member

he has just 1/2 writing credits overall in songs with tons of people so don't think he was central in their songwriting

We have had the provisional schedule for the 2nd February and I can confirm 1995 will return on that day with a double bill from 7pm.

We have had the provisional schedule for the 2nd February and I can confirm 1995 will return on that day with a double bill from 7pm.

Thanks, about time!