Oh yes Black Grape is great, I think their album is the best thing Shawn Ryder ever worked on

I didn’t realise Shaun Ryder and Bez even had another band - another reason to love these repeats and threads!

ah if only Yes had been the one selling in bucketloads, with Common People at 2. Class....

never got the appeal of Shaun Ryder, not a fan of Happy Mondays or Black Grape :/

 

Common People is sure the best #2 of the 90s and should have been a #1

 

also big shoutout to Fake Plastic Trees, how could this only be a minor hit while R&J were selling thousands at #1:/

17TH JUNE

 

 

So U2 go the way of Pulp, Michael & Janet Jackson, and Perez Prado and fail to unseat Robson & Jerome despite leading midweek and a TOTP premiere of their video. The “Soldier Soldier” boys put in another sterling performance which saw sales of 145,000 copies meaning that “Unchained Melody” now flies past both “Think Twice” and “I Will Always Love You” to rank as the 3rd biggest selling single of the 90s behind Bryan Adams and Wet wet wet despite only being in the charts for 5 weeks!

 

 

 

In the end U2 debut at No 2 (120,000) with their single “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” which can be found on the new “Batman Forever” film which you have to wait a month for. It is U2’s 15th top 10 single and only 1991’s instant No 1 “The Fly” has ever debuted higher for them. Bono was originally interested in having a cameo in the film but when it failed to happen the band offered this song (originally written for the “Zooropa” album) for the soundtrack, with Nellee Hooper on production and Kevin Godley making the promo the group have pulled out all the stops. At the very least it equals the peak of Prince’s “Batdance” which was the franchise’s biggest hit until now, for U2 it is not only their fastest seller but also the biggest weekly sale ever for the Irish supergroup.

 

 

 

Whigfield’s back! After the million selling “Saturday Night” and the sound-a-like “Another Night” we’ve had a small break from the Danish songstress but “Think Of You” at least deviates from the formula slightly and she gets rewarded with a climber 12-7 (32,000). It’s already been a hit over Europe and proves she might have distance in her career after all.

 

 

 

Somebody somewhere is looking through a list of minor top 40 hits over the last 2 years and re-issuing most of them it appears. The trend of 1995 continues with the track which climbs 14-10 (24,000) for Jam & Spoon who are a German dance duo who have some help on vocals from Plavka who herself was last heard on Shamen’s “Hyperreal”. “Right In The Night (Fall In Love With Music)” was first released in 1993 when it flopped but after a remix and a new video it become a major Euro hit and we deigned to make it No 31 in February 1994. It now gets a third bash at the charts and finally gives the duo a hit.

 

 

Pulp drop 2-3 (48,000) keeping Baby D stranded at No 4 (41,000). Michael & Janet Jackson drop 3-5 (40,000) which is where “Scream” debuts at in the US chart. The video has been held back and will now be shown in full on TOTP this week which could be quite fortuitous as sales of unchained Melody” drop! Jackson’s “HIStory” is out now so that may hamper any good the video will do. Bon jovi can only limp 7-6 (36,000), but heading south are Scatman John 5-8 (29,000) and Perez “Prez” Prado mambo 6-9 (26,000).

 

 

1- UNCHAINED MELODY/ WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER- Robson & Jerome (145,000)

2- HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME- U2 (120,000)

3- COMMON PEOPLE- Pulp (48,000)

4- (EVERYBODY’S GOTTA LEARN SOMETIME) I NEED YOUR LOVING- Baby D (41,000)

5- SCREAM- Michael & Janet Jackson (40,000)

6- THIS AIN’T A LOVE SONG- Bon Jovi (36,000)

7- THINK OF YOU- Whigfield (32,000)

8- SCATMAN- Scatman John (29,000)

9- GUAGLIONE- Perez “Prez” Prado & His Orchestra (26,000)

10- RIGHT IN THE NIGHT- Jam & Spoon (24,000)

 

Right In The Night is superb, good to see it finally getting into the top 10.

 

Also a big fan of the U2 song, my favourite of theirs post Joshua Tree.

'Common People' is of course nothing short of brilliant :wub: I hadn't come across the TOTP performance until last week's airing and now I somehow love it even more.

 

Agreed that the U2 song is a good'un too. Outside the top 10 - you can't go wrong with Radiohead either, a flawless vocal from Thom on TOTP as ever

24TH JUNE

 

 

It’s topped the charts longer than any other version of the song, yes “Unchained Melody” remains at No 1 for a sixth week! Though it seems unmovable the song’s sales drop now to just 90,000 making it very vulnerable indeed however with a tally of 1,527,000 it has made its money and is now the 2nd biggest seller of the 90s. It has, apparently, convinced RCA that an album is now necessary- you lucky lot.

 

 

 

The Outhere Brothers return with more of the same that made “Don’t Stop” the massive No 1 it was- namely available in a clean radio version and a rather more explicit rude version nestled away on the CD. The single powers 15-5 (30,000) proving that they have an audience but they don’t seem to be able to sell albums, their LP “1 Polish, 2 Biscuits, & A Fish Sandwich” only made the charts for 2 weeks peaking at No 69 (appropriately enough) and contains mostly lyrics that make “Relax” (banned in 1984) look like a nursery rhyme. Anyway for now the kids are loving it.

 

 

 

 

Wet wet wet continue to be rejuvenated by the success of “Love Is All Around” with a third single to be lifted from the No 1 album “Picture This” and a third top 10 hit in the bag from it. “Don’t Want To Forgive Me Now” lifts 11-7 (26,000) and helps the album retain its top 10 position where it’s been for the last 10 weeks since release!

 

 

 

Originally pencilled in as their second release from “Bizarre Fruit” but overlooked for “Open Your Heart”, “Search For The Hero” finally becomes an M-People single and hit at No 9 (23,000). The group are currently on a world tour which hit the UK this week and now have an 8th top 10 single to perform on it.

 

 

 

And the obligatory re-issue story for this week is Edwyn Collins former vocalist with 80s band Orange Juice who made No 8 in 1983 with “Rip It Up”. He’s onto album number 3 of his solo career and “A Girl Like You” was given a release here last November when it narrowly missed out at No 42 as lead track on the “Expressly EP”. It since went on to become a big European hit and that meant a second bash here, lucky thing too as it advances 13-10 (21,000).

 

 

U2 hold at No 2 (76,000) but are selling more than double Baby D who may rise 4-3 (36,000) but are far away from toppling either track. Michael Jackson’s “HIStory” was only released on Friday but sold over 100,000 to debut at No 1 (plus a price tag of around £22 to boot) and we got a full screening of the video on TOTP despite the song moving down last week plus a giant statue of himself floated down the river Thames but the single “Scream” merely bounces 5-4 (35,000) for him and Janet and won’t now reach the top position. A David Morales remix also debuts at No 43 and cost it a top 3 place- probably.

 

Pulp drop 3-6 (28,000) and Whigfield retracts 7-8 (26,000).

 

 

1- UNCHAINED MELODY/ WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER- Robson & Jerome (90,000)

2- HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME- U2 (76,000)

3- (EVERYBODY’S GOTTA LEARN SOMETIME) I NEED YOUR LOVING- Baby D (36,000)

4- SCREAM- Michael & Janet Jackson (35,000)

5- BOOM BOOM BOOM- Outhere Brothers (30,000)

6- COMMON PEOPLE- Pulp (28,000)

7- DON’T WANT TO FORGIVE ME- Wet, wet, wet (26,000)

8- THINK OF YOU- Whigfield (26,000)

9- SEARCH FOR A HERO- M People (23,000)

10- A GIRL LIKE YOU- Edwyn Collins (21,000)

 

The U2 song is great, needless to say that and Common People should have been No.1s over the dreadful Unchained Melody and its even worse double a-side that we also keep being subjected to on TOTP.

 

Love the Whigfield song, glad it gave her a decent sized hit.

 

Weird that such a clearly huge and catchy track in Boom Boom Boom only debuted at No.15 to follow up a No.1 single. It just sounds like such a big and instant song to my ears that I can't believe it didn't open in the top five at worst.

The 'Right In The Night' vocalist Plavka reminds me a lot of Madonna. The song is perhaps the first vocal trance hit and brilliant.

 

'Search For The Hero' I remember a lot from the time.

 

'Boom Boom Boom' has good production if nothing else.

 

Never knew Edwyn Collins is the singer for Orange Juice 'Rip It Up', that is a more mellow style of indie track than AGLY, which is a good and well known song!

 

'Don’t Want To Forgive Me Now' is one of the Wet's better 90s songs, it reminds me of Elvis Costello.

Edited November 25, 20231 yr by TheSnake

The 'Right In The Night' vocalist Plavka reminds me a lot of Madonna. The song is perhaps the first vocal trance hit and brilliant.

 

 

The vocals always sounded like Kim Wilde to me! :D

amazed you guys like the U2 song so much, one of their worst for me but I barely like anything they did post 1991, but kudos to them for selling 120K in week 1

 

lots of meh newbies but at least we got a little gem with A Girl Like You, that's a great great track

I love Right in the Night, but Find Me (Odyssey to Anyoona) was even better :wub:

 

I’m another that likes the U2 song, it was very well suited to a Batman movie

The U2 song is a classic for me and sounds great in the movie.

 

A Girl Like You is an absolute classic as well!

A Girl Like You is superb! Only the second CD single I bought in 1995 at the time :P

I regularly listen to 'A Girl Like You', love it so much!

1990s U2 was mostly great and this single is no exception.

 

I definitely hear more Madonna in Plavka than Kim Wild.

 

I got very bored of A Girl Like You.

1ST JULY

 

 

Seven weeks later and still Robson & Jerome prove too popular at the top for any competition though its sales are now weak and it becomes more a default chart topper this week with 73,000 being sold which of course means it hits the 1.6 million mark in total- and STILL No 1!

 

 

Outhere Brothers are now the main challengers as they rise 5-2 (51,000) with a real possibility of toppling R & J next week, as for U2 they fall 2-3 (46,000), the film “Batman Forever” isn’t out for 3 weeks yet which may be too late to save the single.

 

 

A 1993 US #2 hit for Tag Team, “Whoomp! (There It Is)” flopped here on first release eventually making No 34 on a re-issue in early 1994 meaning its relatively unknown track here and ripe for a cover. Right on cue here come Clock with a version which is follow up to their first top 10 hit, itself a cover of the Harold Faltermeyer track “Axel F”, their new single is the highest new entry of the week at No 4 (39,000).

 

 

 

Since the death last year of Kurt Cobain all eyes have been on what Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl would do next, we have an answer for the latter whose new band Foo Fighters take their name from the UFO/ unexplained aerial objects witnessed by WWII pilots and given the collected terms “Foo Fighters”.

 

Their first regular single “This Is A Call” has met with critical acclaim and it seems the public has been eager as well sending it straight in at No 5 (38,000)- the album is out this week!

 

 

 

Here’s a story at No 9 (24,000) for Jamiroquai’s new single “Stillness In Time”. The release schedule from their second album “Return Of The Space Cowboy” has been the inversion of the normal rule of diminishing returns with previous singles peaking at No 17, and No 15 and now this single. At a stroke the single becomes their biggest hit in the main not due to the title track, which is what makes it interesting, but because on the CD version you’ll find the Morales remix of their previous single “Space Cowboy” which has previously been available on US import but has been a much sought after dancefloor favourite in the intervening period and thereby generated significant demand.

 

 

Baby D drop 3-6 (31,000) and Michael & Janet Jackson fall 4-8 (30,000) as Jackson is also toppled from the album chart top spot by Bon Jovi. Edwyn Collins completes our recap holding at No 10 (24,000). Whigfield bucks the trend by boomeranging 8-7 (30,000) which is probably due to the fact that adverts for her album are promoting the song whilst not overly convincing people to buy the LP which debuts at No 13 anyway.

 

 

1- UNCHAINED MELODY/ WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER- Robson & Jerome (73,000)

2- BOOM BOOM BOOM- Outhere Brothers (51,000)

3- HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME- U2 (46,000)

4- WHOOMPH! THERE IT IS- Clock (39,000)

5- THIS IS A CALL- Foo Fighters (38,000)

6- (EVERYBODY’S GOTTA LEARN SOMETIME) I NEED YOUR LOVING- Baby D (31,000)

7- THINK OF YOU- Whigfield (30,000)

8- SCREAM- Michael & Janet Jackson (30,000)

9- STILLNESS IN TIME- Jamiroquai (24,000)

10- A GIRL LIKE YOU- Edwyn Collins (24,000)

 

The Clock cover of 'Whoomph There It Is' is a bop! The female singer, Tinka didn't have any singing to do for their first two top 10 hits ('Axel F' was instrumental)!

 

Didn't know the Foo Fighters started this early!

Edited December 2, 20231 yr by TheSnake

I always thought it was weird that Stillness in Time broke the top 10 - but that makes much more sense with that explanation that the Morales Mix of Space Cowboy was on it. Although tbh Stillness in Time is probably my favourite single from the second album, but couldn't imagine 24,000 people buying it.

 

Interesting that they never really had a big single before 1996.