Good question - certainly my circle of friends were expecting Blur to win, but obviously that's hardly a representative sample haha.

 

When I went to Woolworths and ASDA to buy them on release day, they definitely had Blur at #1 and Oasis at #2 so would assume that was reflective of what the industry expected to happen. Plus Blur were out in front from the off so largely the media expected them to win with the coverage during the week, I remember tuning in on the Sunday feeling like it was definitely a done deal.

 

I believe there were also two CD singles for the Country House as opposed to just the one for Roll With It, which again would have helped Blur in the same way as the cheaper price point.

was during this time that Noel told a reporter he wished Damon Albarn would catch AIDS and die? Not Noel's finest moment.

Edited February 12, 20241 yr by Bjork

I also think that both would have got to number 1 without the battle given how huge they both were at the time.

 

In terms of what was expected during the week, I think from memory Blur were expected to win, but given both were pre album singles it wasn’t guaranteed. I was team Blur so clearly I picked the winning side!

Yeah I think that quote was about 1995 bjork - I don't think that would have helped their cause tbh, most people I knew at the time thought it was an awful thing to say under any circumstances

I've never been particularly fond of 'Country House', but when I saw them do it live at Wembley last summer it sounded AWESOME. It really worked for me in a bit of a rockier style.

 

I wish I'd been old enough to follow the Blur + Oasis battle in real time, even though I do distinctly remember it being spoken about when I was at school.

The tracks were at 14 and 15 on the airplay charts for week of release, advance orders were greater for Oasis and they sold more in the Indie shops. RWI was not shipped to shops until the Monday (due to a barcoding error) so would not have been available everywhere on the Monday (i imagine that was sorted by Tuesday)

Country House has one of the most beautiful single art covers just lovely! Not sure if that helped with the sales.

 

Edited February 12, 20241 yr by TheSnake

The tracks were at 14 and 15 on the airplay charts for week of release, advance orders were greater for Oasis and they sold more in the Indie shops. RWI was not shipped to shops until the Monday (due to a barcoding error) so would not have been available everywhere on the Monday (i imagine that was sorted by Tuesday)

Did that many people buy from indie shops or pre-order back in those days? Would be interested to know the figures if you know them. I would have expected the vast majority of sales to come from the supermarkets/woolworths/HMV etc

2ND SEPTEMBER

 

 

Though there was much less press attention this week it rapidly became clear that it was going to be another week of Blur Vs Oasis though both titles suffered severe losses in sales, Blur down 56% and Oasis down 51%, but it didn’t matter as they romped home with sales of 120,000 to 105,000 respectively to easily retain control of the top 2 whilst both holding their positions from last week. Incidentally the 12” version of “Roll With It” debuts at No 83 but unlike earlier in the year with “Some Might Say” its sales, if added to the main version, wouldn’t have seen the song overturn Blur but what I did omit to mention last week is that “Roll With It"s opening salvo of 216k was the highest sale for a No 2 track since “Last Christmas” 11 years ago.

 

 

 

Meanwhile in the US Michael Jackson’s new single “You Are Not Alone” becomes the first song in Billboard’s history to debut at No 1 on the hot 100. His single doesn’t quite make as much of a splash here but is new at No 3 (62,000) to match the debut of “Scream” his last single, this is his 17th solo top 3 hit. Written and co-produced by R Kelly and with a promo featuring wife Lisa Marie Presley he’s pulled out all the stops but “HIStory” remains stubbornly outside the top 10.

 

 

 

Written and released by the great Ellie Greenwich in 1968 on her album “Composes, produces and sings” “The Sunshine After The Rain” was finally turned into a UK hit by Elkie Brooks in 1977 (No 10) and then given a dance overall in 1994 when it was credited as by New Atlantic/ U4EA featuring Berri and made No 26. Re-issued and re-recorded as a solo track by Berri (real name Rebecca Sleight) it now debuts at No 5 (42,000) to continue the trend of second time around dance hits that will come to symbolise 1995. Greenwich was of course co-writer of such classics as “Da Do Ron Ron Ron”,“Be My Baby” and “Leader Of The Pack” so the pedigree is high here. The backing for this version is an interpolation of “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer in case you thought it was familiar.

 

 

 

From the promo you may think The Rembrandts were a group but they are actually a duo formed in the late 80s but must have counted their blessings when their song “I’ll Be There For You” was chosen as the theme to the TV sitcom “Friends” which has become something of a hit over the summer here. The song debuts at No 6 (39,000).

 

 

 

Underlining what a great year it’s been for dance music US outfit De’Lacy smash in at No 9 (28,000) with “Hideaway” which is officially credited as the deep dish remix. It was involved in an incident this week when imports by an Italian label who also held a licence for the song were also available and which doubtless took sales from the track, colour the deconstruction label unimpressed with their rivals!

 

 

Elsewhere The Original fall 3-4 (52,000), TLC cascade 5-7 (35,000), Take That get forgotten 4-8 (30,000) and Clock are excluded 6-10 (24,000)

 

 

1- COUNTRY HOUSE- Blur (120,000)

2- ROLL WITH IT- Oasis (105,000)

3- YOU ARE NOT ALONE- Michael Jackson (62,000)

4- I LUV U BABY- Original (52,000)

5- THE SUNSHINE AFTER THE RAIN- Berri (42,000)

6- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (39,000)

7- WATERFALLS- T.L.C (35,000)

8- NEVER FORGET- Take That (30,000)

9- HIDEAWAY- De’Lacy (28,000)

10- EVERYBODY- Clock (24,000)

 

Did that many people buy from indie shops or pre-order back in those days? Would be interested to know the figures if you know them. I would have expected the vast majority of sales to come from the supermarkets/woolworths/HMV etc

I don't know the exact sales but I recall that Blur won it in the chains. It also rubbed off on the wider market with the top 25 clearing 15k sales each, the week before it was the top 17.

Also forgot to mention that W/E 26/8 was the first top 40 not to feature a single climber!

That Hideaway Deep Dish remixed version is such a great atmospheric and euphoric diva house track, a lot better than the unremixed version I think. Quite a few years before Deep Dish got a few hits of their own.

 

Have never really watch Friends but like the Rembrandts song anyway and remember it a lot on the radio when I was younger!

 

'Sunshine After The Rain' is good and uses the sample well.

Edited February 12, 20241 yr by TheSnake

Hideaway is one of the essential dance records of the 90s in my opinion, an absolute classic and one I still listen to regularly these days. Also really still love I'll Be There For You, the nostalgia attached to it is just too high.

 

Sunshine After The Rain was always one I found to be merely okay, it didn't convince me to buy it which was rare for big dance songs back then. And finally MJ back in this thread as well as the 80s one! At the time I thought this was kinda okay but a bit generic sounding by his standards, like it even less now it has the R Kelly association - it's the only big hit from his major albums that I haven't included on my MJ playlist.

If Oasis had managed to overtake Blur in week 2 and also got to the top, I wonder if the battle would be as fondly recalled. It wasn’t close but also 15k is closer than I thought for the second week.

 

Some great new entries there - Berri - such an uplifting strong with a great bassline and charismatic performer - no surprise that I Feel Love was reissued while this was charting and the Now compilers then put them next to each other on Now 32! And Rembrandts is such a great theme tune, the whole song, not just the bit used for Friends <3

 

I like Hideaway too. But I won’t give any oxygen to the writer of the other of the week’s new entries.

I was a big fan of The Rembrandts a few years earlier (in 1990 I think) and even bought their album, think it was their debut, cos I loved this song called That's the Way It Is, was huge in the US, but did nothing in the UK.

I never knew the second week was closer between Blur and Oasis (albeit still not that close) - neither of them are anywhere near their best song for me but I do like 'Roll With It' more out of the 2 so kind of a shame it didn't get its turn at #1.

Didn’t realise The Rembrandts had had hits elsewhere before this. Just looked it up and it was big in Europe too, weird it was missed here.

 

So weird how they came to do the Friends theme - REM turned down the gig with Shiny Happy People so Warner asked Rembrandts to sing a song written especially for the show instead, as apparently they were the only available band to do it on Warner!

The MJ song I found trite, boring and underwhelming anyway, I think the press also did too from what I remember.

I appreciate the tidbits from here a lot as a chart geek who wasn't born yet during the legendary Blur vs. Oasis chart battle! I had no idea that the prices of the singles were different for example. It's so good to have both this thread and the TOTP repeats back again <3 the 'Country House' and 'Roll With It' performances were memorable of course with Alex James wearing an Oasis shirt and Noel miming to Liam's vocals :lol: these songs aren't either band's finest work but would happily take one of those options over that dreary Michael Jackson single, zzz.

 

'Hideaway' is indeed wonderful :wub: really liked Björk's 'Isobel' and Echobelly's 'Great Things' outside of the top 10 in recent episodes too.

Also forgot to mention that W/E 26/8 was the first top 40 not to feature a single climber!

I remember that at the time! At least since I started tracking the Top 40 in a notebook in early 1994, things had been heading that way for a few months. Non-movers at #13 and #22 though, so it was close.