10TH OCTOBER

 

 

With pent up demand for “Pump Up The Volume” satiated it loses 4% sales wise as it still holds the top spot with relative ease though with that kind of loss it could be in serious danger next week. Michael Jackson is unlikely to be the main threat however, “Bad” holds at No 3 (41,021) with a 29% loss in sales as the album makes it 5 straight weeks at No 1, but Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding hold more promise spiraling 7-2 (46,563) with a 55% sales burst and may be able to topple M/A/R/R/S in seven days time. Of course the way the charts are broadcast was changed this week with Bruno Brooks unveiling the charts for the first time on a Sunday afternoon instead of Tuesday afternoon, a move which brings the charts fully up to speed with the computerisation process that commenced under Gallup four years ago.

 

 

 

After a pretty amazing second half of the 70s when The Bee Gees became the biggest group in the world thanks to the “Saturday Night Fever” film and the associated disco hits, the 80s have proved to be troublesome for the Gibb brothers. They’ve only had two charting hits and neither of them top 10 songs, the fall from favour mirrored the demise of Disco as a phenomenon and the brothers retreated to penning hits for other hits including Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers which proved they could still pop tunes that would top the charts. Their first album in 6 years “ESP” climbs 46-22 month and their first release in 4 years seems to illustrate that we’ve missed them with “You Win Again” fly 22-6 (37,026) in just its third week making it their 14th top 10 single and their first since “Tragedy”.

 

 

 

They’ve disbanded twice and reformed again with only frontman Andrew Eldrich as the only constant of Sisters Of Mercy, but after ten years as a “group” the band finally arrive in the top 10 with “This Corrosion”. Former member Wayne Hussey was in the band between 1983-1985 before he left (as indeed many of the former members do) citing difficulty working with Eldrich, Hussey’s new band The Mission reached No 11 earlier this year with “Wasteland” but had to rename themselves when they started out as they were called “The Sisterhood” which was deemed to trade too closely on his association with Eldrich’s group causing the latter to get a settlement of £25,000 to add the acrimony, he gets some bragging rights with the band’s new hit rising 13-7 (30,209).

 

 

Elsewhere Jan Hammer improves 6-5 (37,706) and LL Cool J holds at No 9 (24,310) with the fallers including Rick Astley 2-4 (41,021) which means he’s now about 13,000 away from hitting the YTD top slot, Cliff Richard drifts 4-8 (30,022) and Madonna drops 5-10 (24,021).

 

 

1- PUMP UP THE VOLUME- M/A/R/R/S (66,674)

2- FULL METAL JACKET (I WANNA BE YOUR DRILL INSTRUCTOR)- Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding (46,563)

3- BAD- Michael Jackson (41,021)

4- NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP- Rick Astley (41,021)

5- CROCKETT’S THEME- Jan Hammer (37,706)

6- YOU WIN AGAIN- Bee Gees (37,026)

7- THIS CORROSION- Sisters Of Mercy (30,209)

8- SOME PEOPLE- Cliff Richard (30,022)

9- I NEED LOVE- LL Cool J (24,310)

10- CAUSING A COMMOTION- Madonna (24,021)

 

That's a very leftfield top 2.

 

Omg This Corrosion - probably for me the second best song of 1987 after True Faith! Such a great gothic dance rock bop.

 

Although You Win Again runs it close, it is a great and iconic late 80s anthem.

 

Didn't know there was a live performance of Pump Up The Volume!

Edited February 13, 20241 yr by TheSnake

You Win Again is peak Bee Gees!

You Win Again, what an iconic comeback although wish they had been credited on Chain Reaction the previous year! It kind of sounds like a slowed down version of Depeche Mode with the production!

never liked The BeeGees, too much falsetto, but You Win Again is ok

 

talking of Depeche Mode, the fantastic Never et Me Down Again peaked at a low #22!!!

 

 

 

We would have to wait for 1990 before some more iconic DM returned although Never let me down again is fantastic!

Edited February 13, 20241 yr by Steve201

17TH OCTOBER

 

 

Few saw it coming but this week The Bee Gees claim their fifth No 1 and the only act apart from Cliff Richard to be able to claim a No 1 song in the 60s, 70s and now the 80s (honourable mention to Paul McCartney), “You Win Again” overcame a small disadvantage to Abigail Mean and Nigel Goulding to score an easy victory in the end of 60,274 copies to “Drill Instructor”’s 52,139. It’s nothing short of an amazing comeback for the brothers who truly are evergreen when it comes to pulling chart toppers out of the back this coming 8 years after the last one and in total they are just the third act after Elvis and Cliff to have chart toppers covering a 20 year period. Former chart topper “Pump Up The Volume” was never in with a shout lapsing 1-3 (45,254) despite a minor surge late in the week, the Bee Gees are the 599th UK No 1 single meaning the hunt is now on for the 600th with most money on the new George Michael single out next week!

 

 

 

Jan Hammer continues to surprise some by moving up again 5-4 (41,072) and right behind that are Kiss. Long a major touring act in the US where their performances drew mainstream publicity for their propensity to wear heavy make-up, their pyrotechnics, and their outrageous stage performances, the band have almost passed by the UK entirely since their formation in 1973 without ever scoring a top 30 hit. That’s rectified this week with “Crazy Crazy Nights” leaping 12-5 (30,753) and shows the group appear to have called it right when they turned their look around losing the make up and rebranding themselves as a modern rock band with a stadium rock sound. Their 14th album “Crazy Nights” is available in 3 weeks.

 

 

 

 

A No 49 hit in 1984 “I Found Lovin” appears in the top 10 in two versions this week, the original flies 15-7 (26,741) whilst the cover by BBC London DJ Steve Walsh surges 22-9 (23,630). The story is that the song was pioneered and revived almost by Walsh on his radio show which prompted the record label to re-issue the track in 1986 when it peaked at No 55, and this year he decided to record his own more “interactive” version with his audience when he DJ’ed in nightclubs which really took off.

 

 

 

His version seemed to peak at No 74 but got a boost when he started doing the track live in clubs, the original meanwhile has so far spent 29 weeks on the chart this year between No’s 76-100 proving longstanding appeal and has followed the Walsh version up the charts being ahead of it for just the last 3 weeks since the two have been in competition. It’s the Fatback Band’s second top 10 single following “(Do The) Spanish Hustle” 11 years ago!

 

 

LL Cool J inches 9-8 (24,072) when many had thought the track didn’t have further legs, and Michael Jackson finally relinquishes his top 3 position 3-6 (26,741) and he’s also knocked off the top spot of the album charts by Bruce Springsteen- all good things have to come to an end! Rick Astley is out in the cold 4-10 (23,596) as it becomes the biggest selling single of the year and the first to cross the 700,000 mark since Jennifer Rush.

 

 

1- YOU WIN AGAIN- Bee Gees (60,724)

2- FULL METAL JACKET- Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding (52,139)

3- PUMP UP THE VOLUME- M/A/R/R/S (45,254)

4- CROCKETT’S THEME- Jan Hammer (41,072)

5- CRAZY CRAZY NIGHTS- Kiss (30,753)

6- BAD- Michael Jackson (26,911)

7- I FOUND LOVIN- Fatback Band (26,741)

8- I NEED LOVE- LL Cool J (24,072)

9- I FOUND LOVIN- Steve Walsh (23,630)

10- NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP- Rick Astley (23,596)

 

'You Win Again' :wub: such an epic track. Am generally a fan of KISS but that's not one of their best for me. 'Bad' is of course a classic.

With 'I Found Lovin', I didn't know there were two versions of the same song in the top 10. 'I Found Lovin' represents the former post-disco dance music which will soon be overtaken by house in the charts. Although the post-disco sound evolves at the same time to become new jack swing and R&B.

 

'Crazy Crazy Nights' is a 80s rock classic certainly and a great upbeat track.

Edited February 14, 20241 yr by TheSnake

Wonderful number 1! Great year for number 1 classics :D

Very sad what happened to Steve Walsh, he died in 1988.

oh I Found Lovin' x twice!

'You Win Again' :heart: it means a lot to me, my grandad who I adore is a massive Bee Gees fan and explained to me once that the song came out when he was going through a really bad bout of depression; he'd play it over and over again as something to hold on to during that time. Great to see it at #1 and during the late 80s at that, such longevity for them after debuting in the 60s.

 

Sisters of Mercy too <3

oh was listening to some old TOTP on Youtube with T'Pau performing

and was surprised it's pronounced "Té Pau" not "Ti Pau", always thought (maybe imagined) it was the latter

My favourite Bee Gees song, and by some distance. Really love the production on it

24TH OCTOBER

 

 

The country may have taken a battering last week in the great storm but last week’s victory for the Bee Gees is compounded this week with “You Win Again” dominated the field and selling 109,123 copies, over 70,000 clear of the No 2 track in a top 10 where the No 2 track and the No 10 are just 11,000 copies apart. Not that that matters to the Brothers Gibb who look set for another couple of weeks at the top at least, the parent album moves 15-5 making it their highest placed album of the decade.

 

 

As noted the Storm of last Thursday night/ Friday Morning cut many power lines and made trading for some stores especially in London and the South East especially difficult and may have impacted on sales in addition to the return of kids to school after the half term break, but whatever the reason the No 2 track this week comes from Jan Hammer who lifts 4-2 but only sold 36,754 copies- that’s the second lowest of the year. Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding slide 2-3 (35,275) and were only just outpaced.

 

 

The highest new track in the top 10 comes from a returning Bananarama who seem to have ditched Jolley & Swain on a more permanent basis in favour of S/A/W a move which has already reaped US success with “Venus” topping the charts over there and more recently “I Heard A Rumour” making No 4 a few weeks ago though it missed out here making No 14. Their fourth album “Wow” is produced entirely by S/A/W but only made No 61 when released last month though it returns to the charts this week at No 78 thanks to the success of “Love In The First Degree” which is officially a double A Side with “Mr Sleaze” credited to the producers themselves which is in the “Roadblock” vein. The track flies 22-5 (29,104) to become their 8th top 10 single and biggest since “Robert De Nero’s Waiting” three years ago.

 

 

 

Erasure’s second album “The Circus” has shifted 250,000 already since its April release and is now home to a third top 10 single with the title track getting its moment in the sunshine. The group are preparing an album of remixes for the Christmas market called “Two Ring Circus” which will serve as an accompanying album as a treat to fans. The title track takes on a more socially aware subject matter than we’re used to from Erasure as it deals with the loss of industry and the disenfranchising of some sections of community, regardless of that they see the track rise 12-7 (28,951) and is their third top 10 single. A new album is promised next year from the duo.

 

 

 

Billy Idol has missed the top 10 with his last three singles, perhaps the reason why he’s done a cover, but it’s worked! His version of the Tommy James and The Shondells 1968 No 1 single “Mony Mony” was first recorded by Idol back in 1981 on the “Don’t Stop” EP but is released this time as a live version and strides 17-8 (28,526) on its way to rivalling the No 6 peaks of both “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell”.

 

 

 

George Michael’s first solo album is just three weeks away and will now contain at least two top 10 singles as the title song “Faith” debuts straight in at No 10 (27,897) this week, it’s the fourth solo Michael record to turn the trick though it is also his lowest debut since “Careless Whisper” arrived at No 12 back in 1984. The promo features both “I Want Your Sex” and Wham!’s “Freedom” at its start- presumably to evidence his new found independence from the “teen scream” tag that accompanied his “Smash Hits” days, we’ll see how this departure from his normal style plays with the public next week.

 

 

Kiss lift 5-4 (31,620) with a bump in sales, M/A/R/R/S slip 3-6 (29,087) and Fatback Band reverse 7-9 (28,033).

 

1- YOU WIN AGAIN- Bee Gees (109,123)

2- CROCKETT’S THEME- Jan Hammer (36,754)

3- FULL METAL JACKET (I WANNA BE YOUR DRILL INSTRUCTOR)- Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding (35,275)

4- CRAZY CRAZY NIGHTS- Kiss (31,620)

5- LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE/ MR SLEAZE- Bananarama/ S/A/W (29,104)

6- PUMP UP THE VOLUME- M/A/R/R/S (29,087)

7- THE CIRCUS- Erasure (28,951)

8- MONY MONY- Billy Idol (28,526)

9- I FOUND LOVIN- Fatback band (28,033)

10- FAITH- George Michael (27,897)

 

Fantastic sales for The Bee Gees!

 

Was the Bananarama song actually credited to SAW like it is here?

Fantastic sales for The Bee Gees!

 

Was the Bananarama song actually credited to SAW like it is here?

No it was given as Stock, Aitken, & Waterman

I never realised Crockett’s Theme got to number 2 :o

Fantastic for Bananarama to be back in the top 5

at least it kinda compensates for I Heard a Rumour missing the top 10

Love in the First Degree is just amazing, and the video is pretty funny with the prisoner costumes and all

 

Faith is not half bad, but was not 100% convinced by his latest output so never bought Faith the album, although I loaned it from the library :D those were the days :D

 

surprised Victim of Love and The Circus went top 10 when the much much better It Doesn't Have to Be Like This missed.

 

Billy Idol I kinda disliked back them, never liked him/any songs from him :o