1ST FEBRUARY

 

 

They have publicly said that they have “moved on” from Britpop but that doesn’t diminish the appeal of the band, yes Blur are back and “Beetlebum” wastes no time in smashing in at No 1 with ease after selling 120,000 copies. It is the first release from the forthcoming “Blur” album out in a few weeks, they may have ultimately lost the Britpop battle to Oasis but they can still command a devoted fanbase and this is now their 6th top 10 hit on the trot.

 

 

White Town slip 1-2 (90,000) but has had an interesting week in the tabloids with much musing over the lyrics and exactly from whose point of view the song is sung from.

 

 

It recovered from a midweek No 3 position at the expense of the new George Michael single, double header “Older/ I Can’t Make You Love Me” which ends in bronze position with 83,000 takers. The title track to his album, the “Older” era is already the most successful for the singer selling more than any Wham! or solo album by Michael and this release comes with a cover of the Bonnie Raitt track “I Can’t Make You Love Me” which he performed at last year’s MTV Unplugged session. Airplay has been split between the two perhaps accounting for the top 3 position as it offers fans something new. This is his 15th top 10 single but his 7th top 5 hit on the trot stretching way back to 1991.

 

 

 

Critic’s darlings for much of 1996 Placebo’s first two singles narrowly missed the charts but “Teenage Angst” finally gave them a hit making No 30 last summer. Fourth single from the debut self- titled album is “Nancy Boy” deals with themes of drugs, sex, and Sexuality and gives them the biggest hit as it smashes in at No 4 (69,000). Their album made No 40 on release last year but will be getting re-issued in a fortnight.

 

 

 

Gabrielle’s pre Christmas appearance on “TFI Friday” caused her to perform a version of the Bert Bacharach’s “Walk On By” with the man himself in the audience. Such was the reaction that she’s committed the song to CD and gets herself a new entry this week at No 7 (54,000), it’s the third time the song has been top 10 with the Dionne Warwick original making No 9 and Sybil’s remake in 1990 doing the best at No 6.

 

 

 

Based around a sample of Marlena Shaw’s “Woman Of The Ghetto” Blueboy’s “Remember Me” has been a hot club track for the past few months and now finally unleased debuts at No 9 (40,000). Blue Boy is actually an alter ego of DJ Alexis Blackmore who toured with the Shamen back in 1991.

 

 

No Mercy find the going tough and stall at No 5 (59,000) though they are still improving at retail but Texas falter 3-6 (56,000) and Tori Amos is the big casualty collapsing 2-8 (41,000). En Vogue slip 9-10 (38,000) but the film “Set It Off” is now on general release.

 

 

 

1- BEETLEBUM- Blur (120,000)

2- YOUR TOWN- White Town (90,000)

3-OLDER/ I CAN’T MAKE YOU LOVE ME- George Michael (83,000)

4- NANCY BOY- Placebo (69,000)

5- WHERE DO YOU GO- No Mercy (59,000)

6- SAY WHAT YOU WANT- Texas (56,000)

7- WALK ON BY- Gabrielle (54,000)

8- PROFESSIONAL WIDOW (IT’S GOT TO BE BIG)- Tori Amos (41,000)

9- REMEMBER ME- Blueboy (40,000)

10- DON’T LET GO (LOVE)- En Vogue ( 38,000)

 

Absolutely adore all of Your Woman, Beetlebum, Nancy Boy and Remember Me :wub: Four of my favourite singles of the year all arriving in very quick succession, the latter of which went on to be my song of the year.

Your Woman and Beetlebum are fantastic chart toppers. :wub: Texas, Placebo and Blueboy all greats too. :wub:

 

Lol at East 17 going 3-16. The first weeker era is well and truly upon us now.

Edited January 10Jan 10 by My...Tuppence!!

so many great songs and two fabulous #1s in a trot

both Your Woman and Bettlebum are absolute classics

Also love Nancy Boy, was a huge Placebo fan since day 1 so glad they made such an impact

also love Saturday Night from Suede, great single

and Remember Me is a great dance track too

the George Michael one is so-so for me

Remember Me is very good too.

Echo the love for Your Woman and Beetlebum (my 21st birthday chart topper) - two amazing number 1s in a row.

 

Adore Nancy Boy, Saturday Night and Remember Me as well.

 

2 brilliant top 10s!

Also love how the first week sales of both Your Woman and Beetlebum are within 500 copies of each other :o

'Nancy Boy' really is pure magic :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

 

Also 'Saturday Night' is fab, the Coming Up album has so many childhood memories for me. Really impressive for them to get a #6 single this far into the campaign!

Incredible that songs as left-field as 'Your Woman' and 'Satan' achieved #1 and #3 positions respectively. The former is my favourite hit to appear in 1997 so far :wub:

 

I also have a lot of time for 'Nancy Boy' and 'Remember Me' <3

So many great new entries in the last couple of weeks alone - I think 'Saturday Night' may just be the best for me, certainly my favourite Suede song.

Loved Nancy Boy at the time.

8TH FEBRUARY

 

 

There aren’t many acts that wait 9 years after their debut to grab themselves a chart topper but that’s what James Todd Smith does this week. Otherwise known as LL Cool J his previous best was last year’s “Loungin” (No 7) but his re-interpretation of Chaka Khan & Rufus’s “Ain’t Nobody” sweeps all opposition aside to hit No 1 after selling 80,000 copies last week, it features in the yet to be released (here) film “Beavis & Butt-head Do America” and is the 5th version of the song to chart with the original making the top 10 twice, once in 1984 and then five years later.

 

 

 

Next up is the return of The Orb, one of the leading lights in the ambient music genre of the early 90s they’ve been rather quite of late but they were asked by Jean Michel Jarre’s to provide a remix of his track “Oxygene 8” which features on his new album. Reportedly when Jarre heard the remix he was less than impressed as it was more or less unrecognisable from his track so he passed on it meaning that the band were free to issue the track themselves. So we get “Toxygene” which instantly becomes their biggest hit as it crashes in at No 4 (46,000) and is their 3rd top 10 single.

 

 

 

Second album time for Michelle Gayle who has surely shrugged off the “her from Eastenders” tag by now. Her first album generated her biggest hit “Sweetness” (#4) along with 4 other top 30 singles so she has high expectations for this new album. First single “Do You Know” gets her off to a racing start being new at No 6 (38,000) and as a co-writer she should be generating a fair bit of cash for her, the second album is due in the spring.

 

 

 

It’s been 17 years since Barbra Streisand has been in the top flight but her duet with Bryan Adams on “I Finally Found Someone” has sent her back there. It is taken from her current film “The Mirror Has Two Faces” and was released with the movie last month when this made No 85 but it has been a slow burner at the flicks and is now re-issued to capture the fact that it is now more widely known- it arrives at No 10 (27,000).

 

 

No Mercy sell at best yet 68,000 and power 5-2 and may yet prove a surprise No 1 next week if U2 can’t make it, White Town slip 2-3 (56,000) but En Vogue climb 10-5 (43,000). It is worth noting that despite “Don’t Let Go (Love)” chart form so far 5-5-9-10-5 it has improved in sales week after week.

 

 

 

Blur fall 1-7 (34,000) replacing the Spice Girls as the biggest fall from the summit in the last 5 years. Texas slide 6-8 (32,000) and Placebo slip 4-9 (29,000).

 

 

1-AIN’T NOBODY- LL Cool J (80,000)

2- WHERE DO YOU GO- No Mercy (68,000)

3- YOUR TOWN- White Town (56,000)

4- TOXYGENE- The Orb (46,000)

5- DON’T LET GO (LOVE)- En Vogue (43,000)

6- DO YOU KNOW- Michelle Gayle (38,000)

7- BEETLEBUM- Blur (34,000)

8- SAY WHAT YOU WANT- Texas (32,000)

9- NANCY BOY- Placebo (29,000)

10- I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE- Bryan Adams & Barbra Streisand (27,000)

 

 

boo after so many great #1s in a row and great newbies in the top 10, this week is a huge let down

with that silly LL Cool J cover at #1, don't really understand how did this happen, such a mediocre and useless cover

 

the only newbie I kinda like is the Bryan Adams one ;)

Was the LL Cool J No.1 expected at the time? It was about a year and a half before I started following the charts, but I always saw it in the list of No.1s shortly after I started following it and thought it really stood out in early 1997 as a crap/pointless cover among a lot of really strong and unique sounding songs. The chart run was crap too, so I suppose it just got lucky with a quiet week. Also it didn't go top 10 in any other country in the world, so what did we think was so special about it? :lol:

 

Some quite uncommercial stuff was doing really well in this period - Orb and Blur in the last couple of shows.

 

Really glad En Vogue and Texas were hanging around well, and interesting that No Mercy was having a good climb against the trends of the time.

Edited January 17Jan 17 by gooddelta

Nothing of note new in that chart. A big slump after the last couple of weeks.

 

LL Cool J is a huge non number 1. Awful.

15TH FEBRUARY

 

 

It’s an historic chart week all around! The headline is that U2 get their third chart topper but the top 10 features a record 6 new entries!

 

U2’s “Discotheque” may be the first song to be leaked on the internet and was available to the tech savvy before Christmas causing the single to be brought forward by a few months. It is the lead track from their new album “Pop” out in a few weeks and comes with a promo which pays homage to the Village People, why not! The single sold 125,000 copies which is the best start to any U2 track ever.

 

 

For the 6th week on the trot we also have a different record at the top, a turnaround which is now in the record books.

 

By contrast No Mercy hold at No 2 (77,000) and are still increasing at retail weekly, “Where Do You Go” has now sold 281,000 in 5 weeks to become the biggest selling single of the year so far, and it hasn’t even made No 1….yet.

 

 

Mark Owen was the first ex-Take Thater to release an album but “Green Man” failed to deliver peaking at a lowly No 33, it has since revived moving 43-37 this week as second single “Clementine” tries to convince more buyers. The single however replicates the success of first hit “Child” by smashing straight in at No 3 (55,400) well below the 62,000 that “Child” sold, regardless of that Owen is the first of his former band mates to make it to a second single with both Barlow and Williams hard at work getting that first album just right, Owen proves however that he can write solo hits at least.

 

 

 

A lot has happened to Depeche Mode since we last saw them in the charts three years ago. Alan Wilder left the band, Dave Gahan was hospitalised after an attempted suicide attempt and other members of the band suffered from alcoholism and depression. But they’ve made it through and are back recording as a trio with a new album “Ultra” ready for release and the dark “Barrel Of A Gun” now becoming their biggest hit since “People Are People” also made No 4 thirteen years ago. For all their success and hits this is only their 10th top 10 single in 16 years but we must have missed them as this sold 52,000 copies last week, for trivia fans this is produced by Tim Simenon or Bomb The Bass as he’s also known.

 

 

 

Dance music continues to use rock and re-invents the genre and there’s no finer example at the moment than Apollo 440’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Dub” which is of course a pun on the track it uses as its base, namely Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”. The group are about to release their second album and are clearly getting bigger and bigger as this debuts at No 7 (42,000).

 

 

 

Another one of those bands who are just getting bigger and bigger are Mansun, they’re approaching the release of their first album “Attack Of The Grey Lantern” will now house five singles before it hits the shelves (the album’s title refers to the band’s original name in case you wondered). All five singles have peaked higher than the previous one culminating in “She Makes My Nose Bleed” appearing at No 9 (36,000). Whilst some have read the song as being about cocaine the band assure us that it is not but controversy never hurts a record.

 

 

 

US band Eels are hotly tipped to be big in 1997 with a string of articles raving about them and support from Radio 1 for their debut single “Novocaine For The Soul” which now becomes the record breaking 6th top 10 new entry in the top 10 this week at anchor position (35,000).

 

 

LL Cool J is last week’s news as he dives 1-5 (48,000) pushing En Vogue down 5-6 (47,000) but you’ll notice it is still increasing at retail, and Blue Boy do an about face with “Remember Me” which rebounds 13-8 (39,000) reaching a new peak.

 

 

1- DISCOTHEQUE- U2 (125,000)

2- WHERE DO YOU GO- No Mercy (77,000)

3- CLEMENTINE- Mark Owen (55,400)

4- BARREL OF A GUN- Depeche Mode (52,000)

5-AIN’T NOBODY- LL Cool J (48,000)

6- DON’T LET GO (LOVE)- En Vogue ( 47,000)

7- AIN’ T TALKIN ‘BOUT DUB- Apollo 440 (42,000)

8- REMEMBER ME- Blueboy (39,000)

9- SHE MAKES MY NOSE BLEED- Mansun (36,000)

10- NOVOCAINE FOR THE SOUL- Eels (35,000)

 

Wow, big chart with the six top ten debuts, the chart was so fast moving by this point with the quick turnover at the top. Pretty impressive considering all those debuts that Blueboy managed to return to the top ten! Shame Your Woman was dropping so swiftly though. 1-2-3-11 is a little odd.

 

I really think Clementine is a great song by Mark Owen. I'm less keen on the U2 track but interesting fact about them pulling it forward due to an internet leak :o

 

Gosh, Let Me In by OTT is a song me and my sister used to listen to all the time when we were younger, I really have not thought about it for a long time before seeing it on the show. What a naff track and dance routine, good grief :lol:

 

Amazing staying power for No Mercy, it did deserve to grab a week really.

Really really like that Apollo 440 song, nice to see another artist jump on the dance-rock trend of the Prodigy!

 

Yeah 'Where Do You Go' must have hung around for a while as I knew it well when I rediscovered it a few years ago. Still wasn't on the airwaves anywhere near as long as the 2022 Jax/MNEK song that had a similar chorus and guitar.

Edited January 17Jan 17 by TheSnake

A lot of high new entries but I really do like the fact there were still so many climbers increasing at retail week on week for a while as late as spring 97! The internet story about U2 a sign of how this era would coke to a huge halt within 4/5 years!

oh wow surprised Discotheque did so well

I kinda remember the song as being poorly received and alienating half of their fanbase, me included

so those are huge numbers

 

Barrel of a gun is my fav of the newbies, dark but great single from DM. Ultra is one of their best albums if not the best.