True, but then again the run very nearly never got off the ground to start with.

 

They only narrowly beat Better Off Alone to No.1 with If I Let You Go (under 500 copies lead), and that track had already been in the chart for a month at that point so wasn't exactly the biggest ever force to overcome.

 

And if Shakira had moved the release of Whenever, Wherever a week earlier she'd have beaten World Of Our Own instead of running straight into the biggest selling single of the year in Evergreen/Anything Is Possible.

 

So they had luck and well planned release dates on their side on several occasions, but unfortunately it didn't work out for What Makes A Man - which I actually like a lot more than several of their No.1s personally.

 

Had they got the 11 in a row though, the sudden fall to No.5 with Bop Bop Baby would have been a field day for the tabloids. So they might have saved themselves some pain by already having missed once before.

Edited November 23, 2024Nov 23 by gooddelta

Yeah, Westlife definitely fall into the camp of lucky to have quite as many #1s as they do and definitely not in the unlucky not to have more camp. Not trying to downplay their success as they obviously ended up doing very well but a lot of their early #1s were very fortunate so having only one that was less fortunate isn’t really unfair.

True, but then again the run very nearly never got off the ground to start with.

 

They only narrowly beat Better Off Alone to No.1 with If I Let You Go (under 500 copies lead), and that track had already been in the chart for a month at that point so wasn't exactly the biggest ever force to overcome.

 

And if Shakira had moved the release of Whenever, Wherever a week earlier she'd have beaten World Of Our Own instead of running straight into the biggest selling single of the year in Evergreen/Anything Is Possible.

 

So they had luck and well planned release dates on their side on several occasions, but unfortunately it didn't work out for What Makes A Man - which I actually like a lot more than several of their No.1s personally.

 

Had they got the 11 in a row though, the sudden fall to No.5 with Bop Bop Baby would have been a field day for the tabloids. So they might have saved themselves some pain by already having missed once before.

 

Why did Bop Bop Baby stall at Number 5? It's one of their better songs for me. Was it from an album that had been out for a while already or just a busy chart week?

Why did Bop Bop Baby stall at Number 5? It's one of their better songs for me. Was it from an album that had been out for a while already or just a busy chart week?

 

It was the third single from the World Of Our Own album, so it would have suffered in that respect.

 

According to Wikipedia the band would have preferred to release the song Why Do I Love You, which they had recorded a video for too. Although Shane and Brian co-wrote Bop Bop Baby so I'd be surprised if those two didn't back the decision to release it - it was a rare moment for members of Westlife to co-write a single.

 

It was quite a busy chart week, releasing on the same week as lead singles from Eminem (No.1) and Atomic Kitten (No.3) probably wasn't a great idea. Especially as former No.1s from Liberty X and Ronan Keating were still selling well too. I think No.3 is the very best they could have hoped for really so I'd have moved the release.

Outside the Top 75

 

81. Smokin Bert Cooper- Getting Warm

85. Mauro Picotto- Baguette/Ultimahora Ibiza

87. Various Artists- Hardbeat Ep 16

90. Dean Park- Wee Andy Webber Scottish Medley

92. Airheads- Stanley

 

Bob and tweenies what a time to be alive