Yep, we just crossed over the Oasis/Spice Girls divide.

3RD AUGUST

 

 

Now with new nicknames courtesy of Smash Hits magazine, Posh, Baby, Sporty, Scary, and Ginger Spice continue to rule the charts if only for another 7 days with “Wannabe”. It sold 154,000 copies last week, a best week tally ever to date and may prove tougher competition to the new Robbie Williams single than some expected.

 

 

The top 3 however may be the first time in chart history that two of the three tracks have been officially deleted! The Fugees continue to play runner up with another sale of 49,000 whilst Peter Andre continues to confound expectations lifting again 4-3 (44,000). Obviously with shops now unable to order new stocks the songs should move down the chart swiftly but on a side note “Killing Me Softly” is now the biggest selling single of the year as it crosses the 1.1 million mark.

 

Los Del Rio power 8-4 (39,000) as the song hits No 1 in the US.

 

 

Title track from their new album “Everything Must Go” is now a single and debuts at No 5 (35,000) for Manic Street Preachers. The lyrics are a message to long standing fans of the group who might feel disappointed with the new manic sound but for now new fans seem to outnumber those leaving them as this is only the third top 10 single of their career but second in a row!

 

 

 

One of the biggest stars in the US over the last year has been Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, her “Jagged Little Pill” album has dominated listings spending 9 weeks at No 1 over there and six weeks at the top here including this week with UK sales currently at 1.4 million. The singles has spawned five singles to date, the first three all peaked between No 20-30 but “Ironic” was a breakthrough making No 11, now fifth single “Head Over Feet” is the biggest yet as it arrives at No 7 (28,000).

 

 

 

No-one can accuse Neneh Cherry of rushing albums, “Raw Like Sushi” (1989), “Homebrew” (1992) show that albums normally take three years but she’s taken 4 years now to give us “Man” which is out this month. Lead single is “Woman” funnily enough, not a cover of the John Lennon 1981 chart topper but a new song which is a response record to James Brown’s classic “It’s A Man’s World” with the same feel and a guest appearance from ex-suede guitarist Bernard butler. It’s new at No 9 (24,000)- her 5th top 10 single.

 

 

Underworld fall 5-6 (30,000), Wink falls 7-8 (27,000) and Gary Barlow falls out of favour 3-10 (22,000).

 

So we finally see Gary Barlow’s former bandmate and new found enemy Robbie Williams single released this week- tipped to be an easy No 1 how much can it sell in week one?- Should be an interesting week.

 

 

1- WANNABE- Spice Girls (154,000)

2- KILLING ME SOFTLY- The Fugees (49,000)

3- MYSTERIOUS GIRL- Peter Andre Ft Bubbler Ranx (44,000)

4- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (39,000)

5- EVERYTHING MUST GO- Manic Street Preachers (35,000)

6- BORN SLIPPY- Underworld (30,000)

7- HEAD OVER FEET- Alanis Morissette (28,000)

8- HIGHER STATE OF CONCIOUSNESS 96 REMIX- Wink (27,000)

9- WOMAN- Neneh Cherry (24,000)

10- FOREVER LOVE- Gary Barlow (22,000)

 

Head Over Feet is very good, the chorus is quite unique and quirky melodically I think, my favourite Alanis song I think.

 

The Neneh Cherry song is good too.

Edited October 5, 2024Oct 5 by TheSnake

10TH AUGUST

 

 

Another week when the charts didn’t quite go as expected. It did turn into a battle between the incumbent chart topper from the Spice Girls and the new debut release by former Take That member Robbie Williams, but whereas former bandmate Gary Barlow grabbed a week at the top before the Spice Girls took over, Williams can’t quite manage to bookend them and has to settle for No 2.

 

That of course means a third week at No 1 for “Wannabe” whose sales are off a mere 3% to 148,000 bringing its total to 483,000 after its first month on sale and should be in the YTD top 10 by next week.

 

 

 

So onto that new Robbie Williams which is of course a cover of George Michael’s “Freedom 90” which peaked at No 28 back in 1990, thematically discussing his days with Wham! and his need to change and break free from his old image, it is obviously something that Williams can relate to. Williams has of course been at pains to distance himself from Take That with various attacks on the work of his old band and on lead singer Gary Barlow which the media have had a field day with. Time to justify the hype now and in truth it was an almighty battle with “Freedom” chasing “Wannabe” all the way tracking it like for like although it faded a little to 146,000 copies in the end- substantively more than “Forever Love” which is some bragging rights for Robbie I guess. By the way Barlow departs the top 10 after just 3 weeks- the only song to make No 1 and spend less weeks in the top 10 was Queen's "Innuendo" which went 1-2-12 in 1991.

 

 

 

Suede’s first album with Bernard Butler is almost ready and primed to go and that means a lead single and here it is with “Trash” straight in at No 3 (86,000) tying it with “Stay Together” as their biggest hit, though of course the current single is by far their biggest weekly sale ever. Third album “Coming Up” is out next month, this is the band’s third top 10 single.

 

 

 

Dodgy’s last 6 singles have all peaked higher than the previous one, an enviable track record in this day and age and is crowned by new single “Good Enough” powering in at No 4 (77,000).

 

 

 

Already an 8 week chart topper in the US, “Tha Crossroads” is the second UK hit for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony following “1st Of The Month” which made No 32 last year. Written for and in memory of the group’s former mentor Easy Z (formerly of NWA) Who died last year, the song comes with a rather poignant video showing the figure of death collecting souls, it may not top the UK charts but is new at No 8 (27,000).

 

 

Los Del Rio fall back 4-5 (59,000) despite a healthy 52% sales increase but is pushed down by the weight of all those new entries. Old hits that ease down the charts are the now deleted Fugees 2-6 (34,000), Peter Andre 3-7 (30,000), Underworld 6-9 (24,000) and Wink 8-10 (21,000).

 

 

1- WANNABE- Spice Girls (148,000)

2- FREEDOM- Robbie Williams (146,000)

3- TRASH- Suede (86,000)

4- GOOD ENOUGH- Dodgy (77,000)

5- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (59,000)

6- KILLING ME SOFTLY- The Fugees (34,000)

7- MYSTERIOUS GIRL- Peter Andre (30,000)

8- THA CROSSROADS- Bone Thugs N Harmony (27,000)

9- BORN SLIPPY- Underworld (24,000)

10- HIGHER STATE OF CONCIOUSNESS 96 REMIX- Wink (21,000)

 

Good enough is good enough I suppose but not among my favourite Britpop songs.

 

We didn't really need a cover of Freedom by George Michael, the original is very good but this cover is decent enough. I guess it was a symbolic cover lyrically for Robbie though.

Interesting that Freedom sold 37k more in its first week than Forever Love did. Would have been amazing to have a Gary v Robbie head to head!

I was on holiday this week and I played Trash to death on my portable CD player. Still a brilliant song.

 

Good Enough is MORE than good enough for me - a sunny classic!

 

I thought Robbie and the Spice Girls were close, but not 2k close :o It was a huge shock at the time that Robbie didn't go in at number 1.

Was Good Enough by Dodgy ever higher than #4 in the midweeks at any point leading towards the 10th August chart?

That Robbie cover is seriously bad 😳

 

Trash :wub:

Good Enough :heart:

It’s a shame Robbie launched his career with a crap cover instead of an original song but interesting that even from day one his solo debut outsold Gary Barlow.

 

Nice for Wannabe that its run at the top wasn’t broken though!

 

Really enjoyed last night’s episodes - Alisha’s Attic, the intriguing climb by OMC, Suede, a great Alanis track. I even used to like that 3T and MJ song.

 

Good Enough is one of my favourite Britpop songs and that was a high opening sale for No.4! The bridge and middle eight are my favourite parts - utter joy.

 

We’re finally at the period where music started to mean something to me and soundtrack my memories. I very vividly remember singing How Bizarre with my friends, and of course Wannabe.

Edited October 5, 2024Oct 5 by gooddelta

It feels like a turning point in British pop music right now with two huge artists in Spice Girls and Robbie Williams arriving around the same time. Not the best start to Robbie's career quality-wise though. I had no idea that he was so close to the #1 with 'Freedom' :o or that he sold more than Gary Barlow's first week.

 

'Trash' is my favourite new entry of those past two weeks, wonderful :wub:

I read at the time Robbie was close to number 1, certainly it was expected he would get there.

Really enjoyed last night’s episodes - Alisha’s Attic, the intriguing climb by OMC, Suede, a great Alanis track. I even used to like that 3T and MJ song.

 

'I am, I feel' I remember from radio at the time, I used to think was an Alanis song, it is a bit more poppy than her on reflection.

 

 

 

 

I suppose a lot of 'angst-pop' sprung up thanks to Alanis' success. Although a lot of their other stuff was less like her and more kooky and British sounding, for want of a better word.

 

The way they had five singles in a row peak between 12 and 14 without ever managing a top 10 was odd.

 

I Am, I Feel feels a lot bigger than it was (mainly due to mass airplay for years), but it did meander around the chart for a while.

Freedom was such a rubbish debut single tbh. I am surprised to see it actually sold more than Gary's song though, guess Robbie was potentially actually more popular from the off even though at the time I assumed that Gary was. Wannabe is much more iconic so I'm pleased it held Freedom off.

 

Some great new tracks in this past couple of weeks though. Trash is one of Suede's best singles and the accompanying Coming Up album was a huge favourite of mine for the rest of the year. Good Enough was a great single from Dodgy, I remember thinking that was going to be huge and - whilst pretty big - it didn't quite do as well as it deserved to.

 

Head Over Feet was my favourite Alanis single to date and I was so chuffed when she made the top 10, she really did have so many great singles from Jagged Little Pill. Manics with another decent track, although it wasn't one of my favourites from the album. And that comeback single from Neneh Cherry was pretty good too, was good to hear her flirt with a trip hop kinda style.

 

 

Also - I have a soft spot for Alisha's Attic, it's a shame they'll never quite manage a slot in this thread as they had a run of lovely pop singles from their first (and maybe only?) three albums.

Nice to see Neneh Cherry still bagging top 10 singles 8 years into her career!

 

The Barlow song was such a non-number one!

oh my some fantastic singles in the last 2 weeks

 

love Trash. It was a huge turning point for Suede whose last album had been very dark and this was very poppy in comparison. But for me, it kinda brought me back as a Suede fan. I really liked their debut album but somehow they lost me with Stay Together/We are the Pigs. Trash is great and it's all kinds of amazing to see it sell nearly 100K.

 

about time Alanis got a top 10. Ironic should have been a 10 week #1 instead of peaking at #11. I know the masses were buying Jagged Little Pill but Ironic deserved top 10 status at minimum. Head Over Feet is one of Alanis best songs so totally deserved.

 

Everything Must Go the single is also another excellent MSP track. One of their best actually, maybe not as good as A Design for Life, but nearly there. I definitely count it in their top 10 best songs.

 

ohh and also love love love Neneh Cherry's Woman. Guess this was helped by being her first proper single since 7 Seconds. The album Man was great too, too bad Feeel didn't become a hit, was my fav from the album.

 

also love the Dodgy song. Very very poppy but very catchy. Always liked Dodgy. Was really surprising at this point how Britpop bands suddenly could sell so many singles in week 1, like we've seen with Suede and Dodgy. I think I was more used to see them struggle and debut 20 places lower.

 

the Robbie single is the only misfire of the week in singles. What a crap idea to launch his career with this. Didn't know he sold so much and was so close to the top. A top 2 of 148 and 146K is insane.

Loved 'Good Enough' at the time and still enjoy it. That summer felt like an optimistic time in many ways.

 

'Tha Crossroads' is still the song that plays in my head when I see the title of Coldplay's 'We Pray' :lol:

It was only 6 years after GM’s Freedom too!

17TH AUGUST

 

 

“Wannabe” continues show girlpower at the top as it earns a fourth week at No 1 on a sale of 145,000, another 3% drop week on week following on from the 2% dip last week. That shows the consistency of the figures that the Spice Girls are putting in, enough for it to go platinum (600,000) in a mere 5 weeks.

 

 

Los Del Rio surge 5-2 (48,000) now that those new entries last week have subsided but “Macarena” actually lost sales last week and indicating that replicating its current US No 1 status here looks really beyond it. Robbie Williams’ sales are off a whopping 72% to just 41,000 in its second week evidencing the rather niche appeal of the song which doesn’t seem to expand to the general public.

 

 

Spice Girls may be the newest girlgroup on the block but they’ve some way to go to match the success of Eternal who this week secure an 8th top 10 single with “Someday”. The song is taken from the new Disney film “Hunchback Of Notre Dame” which features Eric Clapton on guitar, the song is actually recorded by different acts in varying countries, All-4-one in the US, Luis Miguel in Latin America, and Neri Per Caso in Italian but it is Eternal who get the gig here. It is perhaps a reminder to the Spices that they have competition though of course a top 3 hit still eludes Eternal- this enters at No 4 (36,000) to equal their best ever showing. It’s also the highest placed Disney film track ever.

 

 

 

Eternal have Eric Clapton and the new Paul Weller single has Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Craddock on guitar of his new single which narrowly fails to be the biggest new entry of the week as it crashes in at No 5 (33,000). That makes it Weller’s highest placed solo single and indeed biggest hit since “Groovin” made No 5 in May 1984 as the Style Council.

 

 

 

OMC stands for Otara Millionaires club (Otara is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Auckland so it used somewhat in irony) and is the recording name of brothers Phil and Pauly Fuemana and Alan Jansson. The outfit’s debut international release is “How Bizarre” which has already made No 1 in earlier in the year in both New Zealand and Australia and finally makes inroads here lifting 11-8 (26,000)- who said that “Macarena” was the song for the summer?

 

 

Dodgy dip 4-6 (33,000) while The Fugees continue a slow descent 6-7 (28,000) as the song nears the 1.2 million mark even though it remains top 10! Underworld hold steady at No 9 (22,000) with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony dipping 8-10 (20,000).

 

 

1- WANNABE- Spice Girls (145,000)

2- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (48,000)

3- FREEDOM- Robbie Williams (41,000)

4- SOMEDAY- Eternal (36,000)

5- PEACOCK SUIT- Paul Weller (33,000)

6- GOOD ENOUGH- Dodgy (33,000)

7- KILLING ME SOFTLY- The Fugees (28,000)

8- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (26,000)

9- BORN SLIPPY- Underworld (22,000)

10- THA CROSSROADS- Bone Thugs N Harmony (20,000)