That JX track is a bit cheesy lyrically but the backing vocal and production is great.

I absolutely love the JX track, think it is one of the best commercial dance tracks of the decade.

 

Tonight Tonight is also wonderful. I hadn’t really ever heard of Smashing Pumpkins until then, it prompted me to buy their Mellon Collie album, which was much harder than I’d expected but did end up loving once I’d persevered and become used to their sound

Finally a top 10 for Smashing Pumpkins, so deserving, Disarm should have been top 10 in 94, think it peaked at #11

 

'There's Nothing I Won't Do' is absolutely tremendous :wub:

Echo the love for JX - easily the best dance song of summer 96.

 

Also adore Tonight Tonight. My uni friend was really into the Smashing Pumpkins and took me along with him!

I was kinda obsessed with Smashing Pumpkins since the previous album

I remember I had a Siamese Dream t-shirt that was wearing everywhere

I adore the JX song too, one of my favourites of the year.

 

Wow Gina G was really close to two weeks at the top, I hadn't realised another CD was released to coincide with Eurovision. The juries really underrated it so much (although tbf her live vocal was really off, but I doubt it was ever in contention to win even with a perfect vocal such was the dominant musical style in the contest at the time).

25TH MAY

 

 

Another fascinating week on the charts, George Michael is No 1 on airplay and in the album chart where “Older” sold 280,000 to debut at the top, but on the singles chart he fades 1-2 with “Fastlove” selling another 49,000 in the process.

 

Despite only finishing in 7th place on the big night Gina G got enough pre publicity for “Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit” to see it finally rise 2-1. In doing so it becomes the 9th Eurovision performed song to make the top and the first since Nicole in 1982, in terms of UK entries it is the first entry to hit the top since Bucks Fizz back in 1981. It sold a more healthy 75,000 copies last week to bring total sales of the track to 502,000- impressive. It’s taken 8 weeks to make No 1 and becomes the first song to actually drop down the charts on its way to No 1 (in a continuous run) since Celine Dion’s “Think Twice”.

 

 

Mark Morrison again completes a top 3 which has contained the same tracks for the last month, selling 40,000 in doing so.

 

 

Mike Stock and Matt Aitken took Robson & Jerome from “Soldier Soldier” to the top of the charts and now they’re trying to take actor John Alford from “Grange Hill” and “London’s Burning” to the same place. Alford featured on the 1986 Grange Hill Cast recording of “Just Say No” (No 6), but his first single, a cover of the Platters “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” made No 13 earlier this year but he chances another cover with double a-side “Blue Moon/ Only You” hits in the 50s/60s and hits harder at No 9 (27,000).

 

 

 

Black Grape are currently recording their second album and whilst we wait we get the single “Fat Neck” which becomes their third top 10 single debuting at No 10 (23,000). Bez has of course left the group now but the hits seem to roll on.

 

 

JX rocket 7-4 (39,000) with Tony Rich Project hard on his heels 10-5 (34,000) which means there’s no room for Suggs who dips 5-6 (32,000). Smashing Pumpkins lift 9-7 (31,000), their album also accelerates 37-18, the first time in the top 20 since its release back in November. Liverpool FC crash 4-11 but it’s better news for victors Manchester United who are still down but only 6-8 (27,000). Next week more football records!

 

 

1- OOH AHH JUST A LITTLE BIT- Gina G (75,000)

2- FASTLOVE- George Michael (49,000)

3- RETURN OF THE MACK- Mark Morrison (40,000)

4- THERE’S NOTHING I WON’T DO- JX (39,000)

5- NOBODY KNOWS- Tony Rich Project (34,000)

6- CECILIA- Suggs Ft Louchie Lou & Michie One (32,000)

7- TONIGHT TONIGHT- Smashing Pumpkins (31,000)

8- MOVE MOVE MOVE (THE RED TRIBE)- Manchester United Football Squad (27,000)

9- BLUE MOON/ ONLY YOU- John Alford (27,000)

10- FAT NECK- Black Grape (23,000)

 

Echo the love for JX - easily the best dance song of summer 96.

 

I can think of another that I prefer.

Edited August 9, 2024Aug 9 by TheSnake

That's a really impressive sales total already for Gina G, I don't think I'd ever appreciated how big a success it actually was. I actually think it is better now than I did at the time - still never going to make a playlist of mine but I can appreciate it for being a decent, fun and catchy pop song.

 

Smashing Pumpkins actually climbing in the top 10 as well! :o *.*

Ooh I thought Tonight Tonight peaked at 8. Good to see it climbing to 7!

1ST JUNE

 

 

Touted as something of a homecoming when the country won the right to host the Euro championships back in 1992, England is of course the country to be in if you’re a football fan over the course of the next month and naturally the occasion merited a record to promote it. Comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel were roped in thanks to their show “Fantasy Football League” and Ian Brodie of the Lightning Seeds wrote the music and the result is “Three Lions” so named after the England Football shirt. The track sold 110,000 copies last week to get the campaign off to a good start- the proceedings start on June 8th! Whilst Skinner and Baddiel are new to the charts this is the Lightning Seeds 9th top 40 hit never hitting higher than No 13 until this week.

 

 

Gina G is on her post Eurovision come down 1-2 (66,000) and will go platinum next week whilst we have another new entry at No 3.

 

 

Peter Andre has been “about to happen” for at least 6 months now in this country but has been a star in Australia since the early 90s where he’s been generating hits. He’s actually UK born but has been living down under since he was just 6 which accounts for his rise to fame via an Australian talent contest. He’s star is the ascendency with each of his three hits so far charting higher than the last, “The Only One” made No 16 back in March and now “Mysterious Girl” crashes straight into the No 3 spot. It’s actually a re-issue of the song which made No 53 last September and features rapper Bubbler Ranx to add a little sunshine, naturally it has already been a hit in Australia where it made No 8, the single sold 65,000 copies last week narrowly failing to maintain its midweek No 2 position. The song is co-penned by former 80s popstar Glen Goldsmith who never peaked higher than No 12 as a solo act.

 

 

 

It’s taken 5 years but Metallica are finally back with a new album “Load” out later this month and a new single “Until It Sleeps” which instantly matches their highest peaking single “Enter Sandman” by debuting at No 5 (42,000).

 

 

 

It’s also been 5 years since Bryan Adams’ last studio album, that was of course prefixed by the 16 week chart topper “Everything I Do” but he doesn’t look like he’ll get quite the same launch this time around with his new single “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me” arriving at No 6 (39,000). Incredibly it’s only his 6th top 10 single in the UK.

 

 

For the first time ever the top 6 contains four new entries!

 

 

Already a US chart topper Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” finally gets its UK release and is new at No 9 (28,000). It is featured in the new Robert Redford/ Michelle Pfeiffer movie “Up Close & Personal” which is out in a month and is penned by Diane Warren like so many of her hits. It’s Dion’s 7th top 10 hit but her most instant debuting higher than any of her previous singles.

 

 

Tony Rich Project climb 5-4 (51,000) whilst JX tip 4-7 (30,000). George Michael takes a big hit this week 2-8 (30,000) as “Older” remains No 1 on the album chart, and Mark Morrison slips 3-10 (27,000) but has sold almost 700,000 copies before it has left the top flight.

 

 

1- THREE LIONS- Baddiel/ Skinner/ lightning Seeds (110,000)

2- OOH AAH JUST A LITTLE BIT- Gina G (66,000)

3- MYSTERIOUS GIRL- Peter Andre Ft Bubbler Ranx (65,000)

4- NOBODY KNOWS- Tony Rich Project (51,000)

5- UNTIL IT SLEEPS- Metallica (42,000)

6- THE ONLY THING THAT LOOKS GOOD ON ME IS YOU- Bryan Adams (39,000)

7- THERE’S NOTHING I WON’T DO- JX (30,000)

8- FASTLOVE- George Michael (30,000)

9- BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME- Celine Dion (28,000)

10- RETURN OF THE MACK- Mark Morrison (27,000)

 

That Celine song is another big MOR radio favourite.

 

Forgot about that JX single cover art; it is iconic!

Edited August 9, 2024Aug 9 by TheSnake

Metallica is my fav of the newies, really liked that one

 

Terrible singles from Bryan Adams, which I generally liked but not this one, and Celine Dion, one of biggest snoozefests

I personally love the Celine song, it’s a classic 90s ballad and still seems huge today (430m streams on Spotify).

 

I’d genuinely never heard (or even heard of) the two entries just outside the top ten in the first show before today. The Eric Cantona song and the US R&B singer. Lots of terrible football records around at this time.

Oh wow, 'Three Lions' and 'Mysterious Girl' both occupying spots in the top 3 at the moment, they may both have another shot at that one day... :P

 

Liking the JX and Metallica new additions. The former was a great opener to the first TOTP episode tonight :music:

Thanks for posting that Gina G No.1 performance Gezza. Gutted that it wasn't shown on TV, I know she showed up to perform that song seemingly every week for two months but that performance is understandably the most triumphant with the crowd audibly singing along.

 

The second episode was pretty solid too. Backstreet Boys with their final song that didn't go top 10 for five years! Lighthouse Family already looking like future stars, brilliant Manics (but I'll talk about that when it charts), Peter Andre delivering a very solid live vocal, and I still think Three Lions is a genius piece of songwriting. Coming up with an effortless terrace chant wrapped around a strong pop song (and not naff like most football records) is not exactly easy. I know it gets rinsed every tournament now and everyone is sick of it but I still think it's a great track.

Edited August 10, 2024Aug 10 by gooddelta

I do not approve of the incorrect three lions cover art - I expect 100% accuracy from out countdown guru 💯 :kink:

 

As unlikely as it sounds in retrospect, I actually bought three lions in its first week

I do not approve of the incorrect three lions cover art - I expect 100% accuracy from out countdown guru 💯 :kink:

 

As unlikely as it sounds in retrospect, I actually bought three lions in its first week

Imagine me trying to get away with that! fixed. As per Bryan Adams "Please Forgive Me" (given that David Gray's track doesn't exist in 1996).

I’ve been watching these re-runs since they were at the end of 1986, and I’m sure that was 2018/19 so probably.

 

I’ve been watching them since 1976 when they started, pretty sure that was 2009??