16TH SEPTEMBER

 

 

Still continuing to grow at retail Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” spends a second week at the top on a healthy sale of 100,000 and a much more commanding lead. “HIStory” improves 9-4 in response and has now sold over 400,000 copies since its release 13 weeks ago.

 

 

 

Off to a roaring start is N-Trance’s update of the Bee Gees classic “Stayin’ Alive” which erupts into the No 2 position (64,000). They’ve roped in former KLF associate Ricardo Da Force (he’s the rapper on “3 AM Eternal”) to produce something which has already gone down a storm on the dancefloor and is now the group’s second No 2 hit on the trot following on the heels of “Set You Free” earlier this year.

 

 

 

Michael Bolton will be releasing his “Greatest Hits 1985-1995” in a fortnight and new track “Can I Touch You….There” will feature as his fourth top 10 single with it moving 14-6 (39,000) this week. Only “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” has ever gone higher here and like that hit Bolton has co-written the song.

 

 

 

Just as Celine Dion has struck it big on the international stage she takes the decision to revert back to French for her next project! Even more surprising is that her first release from the new album “D’Eux” has become a UK top 10 single given our aversion to foreign language tracks. “Tu M’Aimes Encore (To Love Me Again)” climbs 11-7 (34,000) to become the first song sung to make the top 10 not in English since Enigma’s “Sadness”, it’s also her 5th top 10 single in 3 years and topped the French charts for an astonishing 12 weeks this summer.

 

 

 

 

One of the more unlikely hits of 1995 is a revival of sorts of the Smokie classic “Living Next Door To Alice” which made No 5 in 1977, one of 5 top 10 singles for the outfit. Come early 1995 and a record executive was in a bar in Nijmegen in Holland called Café Gompie where they regularly played the track and after the word “Alice” was sung the DJ would lower the volume for the patriots to chant “Who the f*** is Alice?”. Spotting an opportunity he got his friend Peter Koelewijn to record a version and named the project Gompie- that version went on to become a major hit in central Europe coming to the attention of Smokie who got in on the act and recruited the comedian Roy “Chubby” Brown for an equally explicit version.

 

Both versions got a UK release in May peaking at No 64 (Smokie/ Chubby Brown version) and No 34 (Gompie) but fizzled out. Post summer and now that the tourists have returned, having heard the song pumping out of dancefloors across Europe, there is renewed interest in the song with the Smokie version re-charted one week before the Gompie version which may have decided which is the bigger hit now as Gompie rises 29-19 but Smokie/ Brown lift 20-9 (24,000). It’s the first time that two competing versions of a song have been top 20 simultaneously since 1987 when Rick Astley and Nat “King” Cole both took “When I Fall In Love” into the top 10.

 

 

The Rembrandts hold at No 3 (57,000) as Blur fall 2-4 (53,000) but the album “The Great Escape” is out this week so attention will be switched. Berri slide 4-5 (43,000), TLC reverse 7-8 (28,000) and Oasis hurtle 5-10 (23,000). Next week The Outhere Brothers new single is out- can they make it three chart toppers out of three?

 

 

1- YOU ARE NOT ALONE- Michael Jackson (100,000)

2- STAYIN ALIVE- N Trance Ft Ricardo Da Force (64,000)

3- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (57,000)

4- COUNTRY HOUSE- Blur (53,000)

5- THE SUNSHINE AFTER THE RAIN- Berri (43,000)

6- CAN I TOUCH YOU ......THERE- Michael Bolton (39,000)

7- TU M’AIMES ENCORE (TO LOVE ME AGAIN)- Celine Dion (34,000)

8- WATERFALLS- T.L.C (28,000)

9- LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE (WHO THE f*** IS ALICE)- Smokie Ft Roy Chubby Brown (24,000)

10- ROLL WITH IT- Oasis (23,000)

 

 

That version of 'Staying Alive' is truly awful. What a way to follow-up 'Set You Free'

 

That combination of MJ and R. Kelly is almost like Yewtree squared 💀

So many climbers still in Sept 95!

So much awfulness in those 2 charts! I am shook at how close Blur came to a 3 week chart topper though argh!

Still can’t understand why that MJ single became so popular, one of his worst ever singles.

 

I used to like Stayin’ Alive at the time, although it does seem pretty bad in retrospect

Yes Staying Alive is a weird and much follow up to Set You Free. I don't mind it though, also it would start a trend.

 

Their true stylistic follow up to Set You Free, Electronic Pleasure (#11 hit) is fab though.

 

I'm sure he didn't mean it but that Michael Bolton song has one of the worst named song titles ever.

 

'Alice' is iconic. Loads of people remember the sweary version in my experience.

 

Didn't know that both Berri which samples it and a remix of Donna Summer's I Feel Love were both briefly top 10 at the same time.

Edited February 24, 20241 yr by TheSnake

Oh I absolutely DETEST that Alice song

Oh I absolutely DETEST that Alice song

 

The original, that version or both?

Particularly that version, but I don’t really care for the original either

that MJ song, that Michael Bolton song, the Bee Gees cover, the Celine song, all terrible

by comparison Alice is genius :D too bad Smokie got the glory in the UK instead of Gompie, who haad started the trent

Stayin' Alive is so bad. N-Trance were way too hit and miss to ever be a favourite artist of mine, despite Set You Free being my all-time favourite song. When you have it in you to make that, and to a lesser extent stuff like Forever and Destiny, but most of your hits are actually just crap disco covers :( Weird photo of the band with Polos around their eyes there too :lol:

 

I guess the explicit call and response in Alice was all that was required to make it a hit again. It doesn't surprise me that it took off in The Netherlands first, the Gompie version is such naff schlager, I can completely hear it blasting out of Benelux and Bavarian bars.

 

Thought both episodes of TOTP this week were poor, yet the top tens were largely good - other than MJ, N-Trance and Michael Bolton, so maybe a weak set of songs were picked on the whole.

 

Must admit I like the Celine track, not one I ever really hear anywhere, shows how big she was here at the time that she could take a French song into the top ten.

Edited February 24, 20241 yr by gooddelta

Has there ever been such a chasm in quality between two directly succeeding singles as the euphoric Set You Free and the dismal Stayin Alive retread?

 

Hardly an MJ highlight at #1 either. Plus Celine Dion crowing on and Michael sodding Bolton?

 

Alice on the other hand is good fun imo. Although maybe that's just childhood memories of everyone joining in with the rude bits at the pub and family parties. :lol:

 

 

 

 

23RD SEPTEMBER

 

 

Few saw it coming but Shaggy debuts at No 1 this week all thanks to those clever guys at Levi jeans who used his track “Boombastic” on their new ad. Its arrival at the top gives Shaggy a second No 1 single and Levi their 5th since their ads started using songs back in 1986, Shaggy’s third album, to which this is the title track, is released next month and he’ll be hoping to do better than his both his previous albums, the best of which “Pure Pleasure” only made No 67. His victory was not clear cut as he ended up only around 1,200 clear of the competition on 92,000, its entry at No 1 is the 7th track of the year to perform the feat making 1995 a record breaking year in this respect.

 

 

Shaggy’s new entry forces everything else in the top 3 down a spot to Michael Jackson falls 1-2 (91,000) and N-Trance relent 2-3 (79,000)

 

 

Mariah Carey’s last album “Music Box” plus associated singles really put Carey into the A league here in the UK and with her next album “Daydream” ready for release we get the first release “Fantasy” which is new at No 4 (74,000) giving her a 9th top 10 single. It features Tom Tom Club’s “Genius Of Love” heavily in sample form and has a slew of more R & B remixes on the CD and a promo directed by Carey herself.

 

 

 

And talking of returning diva’s Janet Jackson is back too with “Runaway” from her forthcoming greatest hits set. Written and produced with long time collaborators Jam & Lewis the song was, apparently, written as a duet with brother Michael until they choose “Scream” and this became a Janet only production, it means that her Greatest hits album will now contain 9 top 10 singles with this smashing it at No 6 (47,000).

 

 

 

“La La La Hey Hey” becomes the fastest selling single by The Outhere Brothers as it enters at No 7 (42,000) this week. It begins their search for a third chart topper from three releases but contrary to their first two singles it doesn’t feature a more risqué version on the album and can be seen as a clear bid to keep their rather more mainstream audience acquired along the way. We’ll see if the ploy works.

 

 

The Rembrandts fall 3-5 (51,000) but their album is new at No 14 to compensate, Smokie Featuring Roy “Chubby” Brown creep 9-8 (37,000), Berri tumble 5-9 (28,000) and Michael Bolton retreats 6-10 (24,000).

 

1- BOOMBASTIC- Shaggy (92,000)

2- YOU ARE NOT ALONE- Michael Jackson (91,000)

3- STAYIN ALIVE- N-Trance Ft Ricardo Da Force (79,000)

4- FANTASY- Mariah Carey (74,000)

5- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (51,000)

6- RUNAWAY- Janet Jackson (47,000)

7- LA LA LA HEY HEY- Outhere Brothers (42,000)

8- LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE (WHO THE f*** IS ALICE)- Smokie Ft Roy Chubby Brown (37,000)

9- THE SUNSHINE AFTER THE RAIN- Berri (28,000)

10- CAN I TOUCH YOU.....THERE- Michael Bolton (24,000)

 

30TH SEPTEMBER

 

 

When Take That’s “Back For Good” was serviced to radio 6 weeks early back in March it seems to have set a precedent which other labels have been quick to follow meaning that many songs are now sent onto the airwaves earlier and ensuring that radio now plays tracks without a proven commercial track record. What that also means is a lot of demand built up pre-release and records debuting higher with more regularity than ever before, to illustrate this Simply Red’s new single “Fairground” has been atop of the airplay charts for a month already before it was in store and it now sells a mighty 211,000 copies to debut at No 1. The band are of course preparing to follow up the massive “Stars” album which remains the biggest selling album of the decade so far with sales of over 3 million so there is much to live up to for Mick Hucknall et al. The new single samples the Goodmen’s 1993 No 5 hit “Give It Up” and finally gives the band a No 1 hit after 19 hits, their previous bests being the No 2 tracks “Holding Back The Years” (1986) and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” (1989), fifth album “Life” is out next month.

 

 

 

Wet wet wet continue to bask in the slipstream of “Love Is All Around” with a 10th top single (4th on the trot) with another cut from the “Picture This” album called “Somewhere Somehow”. It debuts at No 10 (26,000) just as the album drops 19-22 equalling the lowest position it’s ever held, not to worry it has already sold 500,000 copies!

 

 

Shaggy’s sales improve 19% to 109,000 despite dropping 1-2 and Michael Jackson is still selling well as he moves 2-3 (78,000) as sales stand at 414,000 after 5 weeks- it will become Jackson’s biggest seller since “Billie Jean” next week.

 

Lower down and Mariah Carey holds steady at No 4 (77,000) as she debuts at No 1 in the US only the second time that it has been achieved, and Smokie Featuring Roy “Chubby” Brown rise 8-5 (55,000) to match the peak of their version.

 

The bottom half of the top 10 is dominated by fallers, N-Trance drop 3-6 (51,000), The Rembrandts dive 5-7 (44,000), Janet Jackson escapes 6-8 (29,000) and The Outhere Brothers surprisingly reverse 7-9 (28,000) as it looks like a third No 1 is now beyond them!

 

Next week we’ll be looking at a new Pulp single- can it go one better than “Common People”?

 

 

1- FAIRGROUND- Simply Red (211,000)

2- BOOMBASTIC- Shaggy (109,000)

3- YOU ARE NOT ALONE- Michael Jackson (78,000)

4- FANTASY- Mariah Carey (77,000)

5- LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE (WHO THE f*** IS ALICE)- Smokie Ft Roy Chubby Brown (55,000)

6- STAYIN ALIVE- N-Trance Ft Ricardo Da Force (51,000)

7- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (44,000)

8- RUNAWAY- Janet Jackson (29,000)

9- LA LA LA HEY HEY- The Outhere Brothers (28,000)

10- SOMEWHERE SOMEHOW- Wet, wet, wet (26,000)

 

Wow so close for Shaggy! Love Boombastic.

 

Great new entries for Mariah and Janet, too.

Probably not gonna be that popular an opinion on Buzzjack but I really like 'Fairground', its quite joyous. I like the Goodmen's original track too, and how Mick Hucknell refers to them in the lyrics: 'like all good men should'.

 

Didn't know Boombastic was in a Levi's ad. Good song.

 

'La La La Hey Hey' is good fun and an improvement both in lyrics and production from the Outheres' previous two hits in my opinion.

Edited March 2, 20241 yr by TheSnake

ouch that awful awful awful simply red song selling 211K :/

not many favourites in those recent top 10s

Agree with Snake there Simply Reds song is an excellent return, different for them!

 

Thought ‘Fantasy’ would have been a big selling no1 for Mariah since it was a big come back from a huge previous era for her and it’s a great single too, but a bit more rnb I guess!

I think Fairground is a good track too, nice sample of Give It Up, and over 200k on week one is huge. Shows how their commercial stock had risen following Stars.

 

Largely another couple of weak episodes of TOTP, it's only struck me the last few weeks how much of a debt Louise's Arms Around the World owes to Janet's Runaway.

I just can’t like Fairground - I’ve tried but it’s just so bland. It also has full quiet verses then sudden loud shouty choruses which grates on me.