13TH DECEMBER

So Bookies favourite for the Christmas No 1 spends little time waiting on ceremony and arrives straight at the top with a mighty sale of 317,000 copies. “Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh” is viewed by many as the only track that can prevent the new Spice Girls single becoming their second festive chart topper in a fortnight and it certainly starts out brightly enough, if novelty record vs teen favourites of the year is the race they are set on then shades of 1993 can be seen when it was Mr Blobby Vs Take That- and we all know how that one ended! The show has been the Kids sensation of the year on TV and thusly a remix of the theme was always destined to do well, but one way or another the destination of the festive No 1 will be decided by the under 10’s this year possibly for the first year ever.

A 12th top 10 single for Janet Jackson comes with “Together Again” a song which is an homage to a close friend of Jackson’s who died of AIDS. Conceived as a ballad it’s been reworked into a dance song but has two videos available for both versions. It enters at No 4 (91,000) to not only give Jackson her first top 4 single in 2 years but also her highest weekly sale ever, the “velvet Rope” album is also significantly helped by the single flying 75-50 this week.

Robbie Williams can also breathe a huge sigh of relief, his last single “South Of The Border” became his first to miss the top 10 coupled with his album peaking at No 11 before the leaving the chart after just 4 weeks. It re-enters this week at No 63 as it contains his new single “Angels” which is now his 4th top 10 hit as it arrives at No 7 (80,000)- the song is already subject to a litigation over writing credits but it has certainly revived interest in his solo career.

Can you imagine a male version of the Spice Girls? Well imagine no more because we now have new boyband Five who were put together by the same team as the Girls themselves and are already signed for a six album deal! Their first single “Slam Dunk (Da Funk)” is new at No 10 (57,000) and is based extensively around Herbie Critchlow’s “Clap Your Hands” and is written by the same team behind most of the Backstreet Boys singles. The future seems bright.

“Perfect Day” dips 1-2 (198,000) bringing the tracks three week tally to an incredible 857,000 and putting it on course for a million copies next week! Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” puts in another amazing performance to hold at No 3 (101,000)- the 8th week that the song has generated a six figure sum- yes that is a record!

All Saints prove to have tenacity bouncing back 6-5 (89,000) to move one place higher than a quick falling Boyzone 2-6 (82,000) and further down Steve Houghton (4-8, 62,000) and Natalie Imbruglia (5-9, 58,000) complete a stellar selling top 10.


1- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (317,000)
2- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (198,000)
3- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (101,000)
4- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (91,000)
5- NEVER EVER- All Saints (89,000)
6- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (82,000)
7- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (80,000)
8- WIND BENEATH MY WINGS- Steve Houghton (62,000)
9- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (58,000)
10- SLAM DUNK (DA FUNK)- Five (57,000)



 

20TH DECEMBER





A very quiet week on the charts means that we have, for the first time this year, no new entries to discuss but lots of action as tracks jostle for position in next week’s chart and the Christmas No 1. Leading the way are those Teletubbies who score another week at the top shifting 230,000 in the process. Whilst certified Platinum it has in fact sold only 547,000 in a fortnight but still pretty incredible- can it hold off the Spice Girls next week though?

Various Artists’ “Perfect Day” remains No 2 (145,000) pushing its total sales to 1,002,000 to become 1997’s 4th million selling single, no other year in the 90s can boast that figure nor indeed any year since 1984. Aqua hold again at No 3 (94,000) though they slip below the golden 100,000 mark for the first time, and All Saints lift again 5-4 (92,000), “Barbie Girl” has now sold a mighty 1,425,000 to move to No 2 on the YTD whilst “Never Ever” has convinced 465,000 people to buy it and has never sold less than 85,000 copies in any of its 5 weeks on sale- remarkable. Other massive sellers in the top 10 include Natalie Imbruglia at No 8 (681,000), Steve Houghton at #9 (326,000) and Elton John at No 10 (4,671,000) indicating what a truly amazing period for sales 1997 has become. They added 64,000, 59,000 and 47,000 to their tallies last week respectively.


Robbie Williams lifts 7-5 (79,000) with “Life Thru A Lens” also improving 63-32, Janet Jackson is a beneficiary even though “Together Again” limped 4-6 (78,000) her album soars 50-28, and Boyzone slide 6-7 (76,000). So next week is the big one- Teletubbies, Spice Girls or Chicken Shed Theatre- take your pick!


1- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (230,000)
2- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (145,000)
3- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (94,000)
4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (92,000)
5- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (79,000)
6- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (78,000)
7- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (76,000)
8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (64,000)
9- WIND BENEATH MY WINGS- Steve Houghton (59,000)
10- CANDLE IN THE WIND 97/ SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT- Elton John (47,000)

Together Again

Her very best!

oh my those sales for the Teletubbies :o

Together Again is peak Janet!

Also the arrival of Angels……!

Together Again <3

Quite amazing really that Elton was still selling 47K at this late stage, usually these things peak and then fall off quickly once people have moved on.

Together Again is so good.

I am bored senseless with Angels, but it was a moment at the time.

Slam Dunk Da Funk was a great introduction to 5ive.

I was thinking yesterday what an odd time to launch a new act. Convention has it that Christmas is reserved for established big acts but Five is the first instance I can think of where it happened in the festive period.

Sure it would have been better to wait a couple months and release in Feb or Mar

maybe they thought the song would be a Wannabe

I'm sure I approved of Teletubbies at #1 at the time as a 4-month-old baby

Ah, Robbie's solo career finally kickstarted into action now! 'Angels' is a great ballad even if majorly overplayed as aforementioned.

The top 5 sales recently remain a thing of beauty.

Back to back BBC Number Ones!

Edited May 24May 24 by chartjack2

I echo all the Perfect Day views, I found it a spine-tingling mix of voices and pure class, definitely the best charity ensemble ever recorded. Topped my charts and I bought it, and Torn and Lucky Man are not far behind in quality. The Spice Girls also topped me charts for 4 number ones in total in the top 10 xmas/new year period.

I was a bit slower on Angels, though I liked it a lot, it took a few years to top my charts as it hit "anthem" classic status - and after I'd seen Robbie close Net Aid with it in 1999. Anyone remember Net Aid? Thought not. I was there, it was the more modest follow-up to Live Aid broadcast on the internet. Bowie, George Michael, Robbie Williams, Eurythmics, Bryan Adams, Catatonia, Bush, Stereophonics, Corrs.

Really fascinating watching Never Ever, Angels and Together Again simultaneously. Least of all because I'm not sure any of these were expected to be quite as big as they ended up being!

40 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

Really fascinating watching Never Ever, Angels and Together Again simultaneously. Least of all because I'm not sure any of these were expected to be quite as big as they ended up being!

I remember being so surprised (and chuffed) by Together Again in particular - it was a bit like Everything But The Girl a couple of years earlier where an act that I assumed were well past their commercial peak suddenly had by far their biggest hit.

Never Ever actually passed me by completely for a while, I didn't really get the appeal until 1998 when I started to pay more attention to it. Angels was another that I grew to like, although it very quickly became hugely overrated when it rather ludicrously started winning those best song ever kinda polls for a while!

27TH DECEMBER

The day has to come when the Spice Girls fail to make No 1…..but it won’t be with this release, yes just in time for Christmas the new Spice Girls record “Too Much” instantly tops the chart after shifting 252,000 copies to eager hands. With “Spice world- The Movie” opening on Boxing Day expect this to continue at the top, they don’t have it all their way though with the album “Spiceworld” stuck at No 2 behind Celine Dion but selling 186,000 copies nonetheless. The single becomes their 6th chart topper from six releases and means they now double the old record that was held originally by Gerry & The Pacemakers back in 1963. The promo incidentally pays homage to some of the girl’s favourites movies and naturally ties in with their own forthcoming film- ever an eye on marketing! They are also the first act to grab back to back Christmas No 1 singles since the Beatles back in the 60s though honourable mention must go to Cliff Richard who was No 1 in both 1988 and 1990 and featured on Band Aid II in 1989.

The top 10 is naturally slow at this time of year but in 1997 is bookended by new entries- The Spice Girls at No 1 and at No 10 US rapper Ma$e who is top 10 stateside with this track “Feel So Good” another slice of Puff Daddy co-written and produced music. The two main samples in the song come from Kool & The Gang (“Hollywood’s Swingin”) and Miami Sound Machine’s “Bad Boy” and is the fourth single of the year to feature the rapper having previously guested on tracks from Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. The single sold a mighty 53,000 copies last week.

Teletubbies fall 1-2 with a sale of 203,000 the highest for the runner up position since Oasis’ “Roll With It” in 1995 and brings the song’s tally to 750,000 exactly. “Perfect Day” dips 2-3 (132,000) and the All Saints have a best week yet holding at No 4 on sales of 119,000 and there’s some re-arranging just beneath it. Janet Jackson is back up 6-5 (103,000), Aqua are down 3-6 (100,000) but they’ve improved their sales and get that record 9th week of six figure weekly sales, and Robbie Williams tumbles 5-7 (94,000). Natalie Imbruglia holds at No 8 (72,000) as Boyzone continue to descend 7-9 (64,000).



As a footnote the much touted Chicken Shed Theatre enters at No 15 with sales of 34,000 proving that the bookies don’t know it all.


1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (252,000)
2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (203,000)
3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (132,000)
4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (119,000)
5- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (103,000)
6- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (100,000)
7- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (94,000)
8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (72,000)
9- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (64,000)
10- FEEL SO GOOD- Ma$e (53,000)

3RD JANUARY

1997 draws to an end with no new entries in the top 10.

The top 5 remain static so The Spice Girls get a second week at No 1 though sales are off slightly at 218,000 thanks in part to the launch of their movie and the fact that this week contains four days of sales pre Christmas.

The rest of the top 5 are therefore Teletubbies (150,000), Various Artists (137,000), All Saints (102,000) and Janet Jackson (91,000).

Slight movement at least in the lower half with Robbie Williams and Aqua swapping places at No’s 6 & 7 with sales of 88,000 and 60,000, Williams’ album “Life Thru A Lens” also reaches No 18 and is back in the top 20. Natalie Imbruglia holds at No 8 (60,000) as it moves over the 800,000 mark, Boyzone stick at No 9 (58,000) and Elton John returns to the top 10 moving 11-10 (54,000).

See you next week in 1998!

1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (218,000)
2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (150,000)
3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (137,000)
4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (102,000)
5- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (91,000)
6- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (88,000)
7- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (60,000)
8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (60,000)
9- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (58,000)
10- CANDLE IN THE WIND 97/ SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT- Elton John (54,000)

Not sure if there was a TOTP on January 2nd so I've posted that chart here too as it belongs in 1997 saleswise. At any rate that rounds off TOTP repeats for the year. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread as we chalk another year off!

On 24/05/2025 at 10:34, Gezza said:

I was thinking yesterday what an odd time to launch a new act. Convention has it that Christmas is reserved for established big acts but Five is the first instance I can think of where it happened in the festive period.

Atomic Kitten's Right Now launched around Christmas too. They were defintiely pushed as a major concern although clearly took some time to get going.

The late 1997 sales are just absolutely enormous all round, what a classic period for music. Huuuuge sales for Lucky Man and Angels both at No.7, I still cannot fathom why he released South of the Border before this - ok it suits the Christmas market well but that track could have derailed everything before he got to it.

How many of those Chickenshed singles had to be pulped or ended up in bargain bins. An advance order of 250k to sell little over 30k in week one is mad. I understand the sentiment behind it and why it might have appealed to fans of Diana but it just isn't a particularly good song, and was extremely dated sounding in this late '97 chart.

Edited May 30May 30 by gooddelta

With hindsight it was the peak of the CD single era- a gentle decline hereon in......

That most recent top 10 surely has to be in contention for the chart with the most huge selling songs in the top 10 at the same time.