I don't know if I like Soft Cell's 'Torch' much, probably not really.

 

'Hungry Like The Wolf' to me is more American sounding from Duran Duran than their previous hits with the drivetime rock electric guitar lead. Yeah its more soft rock than synthpop. Good track and good chorus.

 

Genesis - 'Paperlate' sounds more 1987 than 1982 with the prominent use of horn sounds and Phil Collins singing.

Edited October 20, 2024Oct 20 by TheSnake

I've Never Been To Me is such a cringe

19TH JUNE

 

 

Adam Ant holds the top spot but the summer slump has set in well and truly and this week "Goody Two Shoes" sells just 74,000 copies- a 2% boost for the track which at least halts its reversal in sales but is hardly conclusive! The track has sold 362,000 copies in total a pale shadow of the kind of figures that he was shifting last year, his debut solo album is currently pencilled in for September to catch that Christmas market.

 

 

He also overtakes (in terms of total sales) his constant rival with this single "House Of Fun" toppling 2-5 (44,000) ABC hold at No 4 on 53,000 (again a further sales decrease) and two climbers threatening Ant's reign, Soft Cell climb 3-2 (70,000) but they will be without TOTP this week and could struggle, and Charlene climbing 9-3 (55,000) who should pose the biggest threat seven days hence.

 

 

The first new hit comes from August Darnell who is better known as lead vocalist with Kid Creole and his band The Coconuts. The band's debut album produced the No 32 hit "Me No Pop I" last year but it looks like their second album could be the break through they were after with lead single "I'm A Wonderful Thing (Baby)" rising 17-7 (43,000) following their first UK tour last month.

 

 

 

Also seeing a September release will be the sixth Gary Numan album "I, Assassin", first release "Music For Chameleons" disappointed by peaking at No 19 but that looks like a blip as this week "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" debuts at No 9 (37,000), the 25th single to enter the charts in the top 10 in the decade and his third track to do the honours in the last 2 years. The singer has famously relocated to the US to become a tax exile a few months ago but that hasn't seemed to dent his popularity here.

 

 

 

Surging 22-10 (36,000) is the new single from Diana Ross "Work That Body" with a video that draws inspiration from the current craze for keeping fit. The Sight of Ross in a leotard might not be everyone's cup of tea but it does become her 16th top 10 hit (if you ignore those tracks credited to just the Supremes), incidentally the song seems like something Donna Summer might sing then there's a reason for it, it's co-penned by Paul Jabara who co-wrote Summer's "Last Dance".

 

 

Also to briefly mention that Duran Duran can't seem to move at No 6 (44,000) and Tight Fit drop 5-8 (40,000).

 

1- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (74,000)

2- TORCH- Soft Cell (70,000)

3- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (55,000)

4- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (53,000)

5- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (44,000)

6- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (44,000)

7- I’M A WONDERFUL THING (BABY)- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (43,000)

8- FANTASY ISLAND- Tight Fit (40,000)

9- WE TAKE MYSTERY TO BED- Gary Numan (37,000)

10- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross. (36,000)

 

A song about contraception being at #1 when the Pope visited the UK is just 👌

I really really like that Gary Numan song, better than 'Music For Chameleons' which was good but a bit slow for my tastes in comparison.

 

Both tracks though kind of mix Britfunk with the bass guitar with synthpop which works really well.

 

The Diana Ross song is good, its like a part 2 to Olivia Newton-John's Physical.

Edited October 21, 2024Oct 21 by TheSnake

Wow, Soft Cell came close to having a second #1 there! To me, the Wii Party Robot Factory tune sounds similar :kink:

 

Not familiar with any of the new additions but most intrigued to hear the Gary Numan one.

didn't know the newbies but all are pretty bad :/

 

kinda fearing the evil Charlene song might hit #1 next week :/

Great #1s from Madness and Adam Ant but that Charlene song is hideous.

 

Shame Torch didn't quite manage its turn at the top too.

The follow up track "Fantasy Island" arrives this week climbing 11-5 (56,000) and is again a cover, this time the track was performed by the Millionaires in the heats for the Dutch entry for Eurovision earlier this year, Producer Tim Friese-Greene saw some worth in the track and plucked it from failure to become a Tight Fit single and now a top 5 UK hit, and the group actually sing on this one!

 

Not only by Millionaires, but also Bonnie St. Claire and Bill van Dijk.

 

 

 

Oh my word, that Bill Van Dijk version was unlistenable.

 

I love the Tight Fit version.

 

 

26TH JUNE

 

 

The Summer lull continues and as Charlene's "I've Never Been To Me" climbs to the top spot 3-1 it sells a mere 62,000 copies, the record for the 2nd lowest tally required for a No 1 record in the decade so far, despite a TOTP appearance it registers a small 14% sales increase. The track has been on the charts for 7 weeks and has so far sold just 227,000 copies hardly a massive song. it is however the first wholly American No 1 act since Michael Jackson almost a year ago, co-incidentally they are both on the Motown label and both tracks that were 6 years old by the time they made No 1- spooky.

 

 

 

In the top 10 for a fifth time Odyssey have a new album out "Happy Together" and the lead track "Inside Out" propels itself 18-7 (46,000) this week to become their biggest hit since "Going Back To My Roots" last year.

 

 

 

Earlier this year Bow Wow Wow made No 7 with "Go Wild In The Country" and looked set for fame but follow up "See Jungle" unexpectedly failed to make the top 40 peaking at No 45, that downward spiral is arrested with the bands cover of "I Want Candy". It was originally sung by the Strangeloves in 1965 which made the US top 20 but flopped here, it was covered by Brian Poole & The Tremeloes later that year when it made No 25, so it now hits the top 10 for the first time as it reaches 14-9 (42,000).

 

 

 

Wonder continues to reap the rewards of his first UK No 1 single ("Ebony & Ivory") as "Do I Do" arrives this week 15-10 (39,000) for the US superstar. It comes from his greatest hits album (of sorts) "Stevie Wonder's Musiquarium I" which has underperformed comparative to his "Hotter Than The Sun" period.

 

 

Adam Ant falls from the top spot this week 1-2 (60,000) after losing the top spot to Charlene at the last gasp of the week, he manages to outstrip "Torch" this week as that song dips 2-3 (50,000) in a week when the famous "sex dwarf" video got pulled from general release in a blaze of bad headlines- Did it deprive them of a No 1?, and ABC tumble 4-6 (46,000) but they will be concentrating on their debut album which is out this week.

 

Climbers come from Kid Creole & The Coconuts 7-4 (49,000) who just manage to leapfrog Duran Duran 6-5 (49,000) and Diana Ross 10-8 (44,000). Only 20,000 copies separate No's 1 and 9- next week anything could happen!

 

 

 

1- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (62,000)

2- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (60,000)

3- TORCH- Soft Cell (50,000)

4- I’M A WONDERFUL THING BABY- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (49,000)

5- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (49,000)

6- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (46,000)

7- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (46,000)

8- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross (44,000)

9- I WANT CANDY- Bow Wow Wow (42,000)

10- DO I DO- Stevie Wonder (39,000)

 

I can understand why that Charlene song got to #1, it sounds like a MOR/older audience favourite.

 

'Inside Out' is the best of those new entries, great vocal, I first discovered it in a remix online.

 

The 'Do I Do' chorus is iconic and good though!

Edited October 22, 2024Oct 22 by TheSnake

'Inside Out' is also my favourite of the new additions and Odyssey's best song for me, more subtle than their #1 and other two big hits which are perhaps better known.

I can understand why that Charlene song got to #1, it sounds like a MOR/older audience favourite.

 

'Inside Out' is the best of those new entries, great vocal, I first discovered it in a remix online.

 

The 'Do I Do' chorus is iconic and good though!

 

Exactly why it did get to no1 in a low sales week.

That Charlene song is referenced a lot in popular culture, but yeah I can't say I particularly enjoy it :lol:

Torch is the top track of the last few weeks Soft Cell still at their peak. Bought it and topped my charts. Stevie Wonder and Kid Creole were pretty good singles and the rest were ok or just bad - hi Charlene, which was and is insipid. It should have been Soft Cell at 1.

Torch is the top track of the last few weeks Soft Cell still at their peak. Bought it and topped my charts. Stevie Wonder and Kid Creole were pretty good singles and the rest were ok or just bad - hi Charlene, which was and is insipid. It should have been Soft Cell at 1.

3 more mediocre songs in the t10, amazed at how many terrible made the top 10 that year

I like that Stevie Wonder track, although it is incredibly long on the album!

 

I’m surprised to read that Original Musiquarium did so poorly, it’s a great compilation

3RD JULY

 

 

Another slice of chart history is made today as former "Damned" guitarist Raymond Burns (Better known as "Captain Sensible") leaps 33-1 with his version of "Happy Talk", originally a song from the musical "South Pacific". That's the biggest jump to the top spot in chart history and can thank in part a low sales climate for performing the miraculous feat as the song sold just 77,000 copies, not spectacular however that is a marked (25%) increase on the performance of Charlene last week. Captain Sensible is joined by the Dolly Mixtures on backing vocals who have had a lot of radio 1 support thanks to John Peel but this is their first slice of chart fame. it's the third Rogers & Hammerstein composition to make No 1 after "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

 

 

"I've Never Been To Me" drops 1-2 this week and sells a further 56,000 copies into the bargain but again TOTP didn't help its cause at all indicating that its appeal is limited and dare I say it, a fortunate No 1.

 

 

Three new hits to cover this week, first up are the Steve Miller Band who's only previous UK hit was "Rock N Me" which peaked at No 11 back in 1976. Six years down the line the band return with "Abracadabra" which jumps 12-4 (54,000) to easily score the biggest hit of their career to date.

 

 

 

Not quite the climb that Captain Sensible experienced this week, but then not far off either. for Imagination whose "Music and Lights" rocket 31-5 (53,000) and is the band's third top 10 single and follow up to the No 2 hit "Just An Illusion". September sees the release of a second album for the trio and will be produced by Jolly & Swain who are now much in demand among chart acts.

 

 

 

Thought the medley craze was over? Not quite- after holding off for a year Parlophone finally assented to the release of a Beatles Medley of music from their various films and this week sees the return of the fab 4 to the top 10 for the first time since 1976 and is their 24th visit to the upper reaches. The song heads up 18-10 (35,000) this week and will hopefully help to sell the album "Reel Music" which has not met expectations so far and perhaps explains the u-turn on this track which was originally only a US release making it, until now, a rarity for UK collectors.

 

 

On to the climbers this week which include Odyssey (7-3, 56,000),and Diana Ross 8-7 (41,000), and three fallers. Kid Creole & The Coconuts (4-6, 41,000), Duran Duran 5-8 (39,000), and Adam Ant who trails off 2-9 (38,000). You'll note that Charlene's fall could have been far more substantial!

 

1- HAPPY TALK- Captain Sensible (77,000)

2- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (56,000)

3- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (56,000)

4- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (54,000)

5- MUSIC AND LIGHTS- Imagination (53,000)

6- I’M A WONDERFUL THING BABY- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (41,000)

7- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross (41,000)

8- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (39,000)

9- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (38,000)

10- BEATLES MOVIE MEDLEY- The Beatles (35,000)