agree the 97 version of You Got the Love is the best

 

I bought the Republica album back i the day and that was pretty good too

 

 

'Encore Une Fois' is probably my favourite since I last commented these days, but I loved 'Don't Speak' at the time and bought it.

 

Extraordinary to see 'Don't Let Go (Love)' increased in sales over its first 7 weeks, considering it peaked in week 1 and only matched it later on - think it was the first song to visit its peak position 3 times since the 1970s. 'Remember Me' (also a modern day fave for me) separately climbing to #9, #8 and #9 was a very unlikely run at the time too.

Never cared about the Sash tracks waaay too basic

Aside from 'La Primavera', I'd say that run of singles from 'Encore Une Fois' to 'Move Mania' is absolute classics.

La Primavera (Chariots of Fire inspired as it is) is my second fave after Mysterious Times.

 

Encore Une Fois was actually my least favourite of his 97/98 singles but is still a banger.

8TH MARCH

 

 

It was behind in the midweek charts but in the end No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” triumphs for a third week, by far the longest chart topper of the year so far. “Don’t Speak” sold just over 100,000 copies, another 28% drop week on week as their album also recedes 5-7 but it must count as a great week for the band.

 

 

 

So onto that midweek champion which was Kula Shaker, they had 3 top 10 singles in 1996 including “Hey Dude” which made No 2 behind the Spice Girls last summer. They clearly didn’t want to risk that again (the new Spice Girls single is out this week) and so their cover of “Hush” takes its bow at No 2 (87,000), the track was written by Joe South for Billy Joe Royal who had a minor US hit in 1967, but it was a cover by Deep Purple the following year that made the song famous. That version made US #4 but didn’t chart in the UK until they re-recorded it in 1988 when it could only make No 62 and so remained unknown to many over here. Kula Shaker took home best newcomer at last month’s BRITS you may recall and are certainly in demand at present, this single was helped by the fact that it isn’t on their album “K” which responds 20-10 this week anyway.

 

 

 

Eternal’s 10th top ten single proves to be their most successful as they crack the top 3 for the first time ever! “Don’t You Love Me” shifted an impressive 72,000 copies last week to collect bronze position and is a precursor to their third album “Before The Rain” which is out in a few weeks. Dealing with themes of child neglect it is hardly an upbeat number but it cements their position as the biggest girl group of the decade so far if not of the last 6 months!

 

 

 

 

Peter Andre might have expected more from the title track of his album “Natural” but in the end it arrives at No 6 (51,000). It is his 4th straight top 10 single however to take the positives and is also the sixth release from it so perhaps its chart position is no shock, the album incidentally lingers at No 70 seemingly unmoved by the single.

 

 

 

Robin Stone is back (also known as Robin S), a remix of her 1993 single “Show Me Love” by Lisa Marie Experience is new at No 9 (31,000) three places lower than the original peaked four years ago. It follows in the footsteps of The Source in terms of early 90s dance music remixed and a hit all over again, “You Got The Love” tumbles 3-8 (32,000) this week.

 

 

Sash! are pushed 2-4 (63,000) by those new arrivals but the Bee Gees hold firm at No 5 (62,000) with a substantial sales increase (38%). No Mercy descend 4-7 (39,000) while Blue Boy ebb 9-10 (27,000).

 

This week sees the fourth release for the Spice Girls- can it make chart history by making the top?

 

 

1- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (100,000)

2- HUSH- Kula Shaker (87,000)

3- DON’T YOU LOVE ME?- Eternal (72,000)

4- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (63,000)

5- ALONE- Bee Gees (62,000)

6- NATURAL- Peter Andre (51,000)

7- WHERE DO YOU GO?- No Mercy (39,000)

8- YOU GOT THE LOVE- Source Featuring Candi Staton (32,000)

9- SHOW ME LOVE- Robin S (31,000)

10- REMEMBER ME- Blueboy (27,000)

 

15TH MARCH

 

 

The Spice Girls once again enter the charts and the record books as “Mama/ Who Do You Think You Are” debuts at No 1 on a sale of 248,000 copies. They are the first act ever to record four chart topping singles from their first 4 releases and, like everything with the girls, has been planned meticulously. Picking up 2 BRIT awards they performed “Who Do You Think You Are” and caught the headlines with Geri in THAT dress, the song also got picked to support the forthcoming Comic Relief event (this Friday) and in the meantime “Mama” gets the promo for Mother’s Day which was on Sunday- great timing! The girls were on TOTP to perform the track and the promo features their real life mothers.

 

 

The Girls are also currently No 1 Stateside with “Wannabe” making them the first act since Tiffany in 1988 to be No 1 in both countries but with different singles, the only glitch is however that “Spice” falls 1-2 on the album charts seeding the way to U2’s “Pop” but it becomes the first studio album to house five UK No 1 singles!

 

 

The best selling single of last year was a tight race between the Fugees and The Spice Girls and this week they went head to head with the former coming off worse. Recorded for the soundtrack to the forthcoming documentary “When We Were Kings” the single “Rumble In The Jungle” contains a sample of Abba’s “The Name Of The Game”- a rare example of where the group have authorised a sample of one of their singles. The documentary chronicles the legendary fight between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali in 1974 (hence the title) and enters at No 3 (73,000) having ran in second place all week. It is worth noting that the intention was to re-release “Fugee-La” (A No 21 hit last year) but was dropped in favour of this track, a wise choice as it proves their fourth top 3 single in just 9 months, the group have announced that they will concentrating on solo projects for the rest of the year so don’t be expecting a new album this side of Christmas.

 

 

 

Another BRITS performer was Mark Morrison who went home empty handed but he gets another top tier hit with “Moan & Groan”. An incredible 6th single to be culled from the “Return Of The Mack” album and a fifth to make the top 10- yes folks that’s a record as no other debut album has been home to as many top 10 singles as this one (honorary mention to the Spices although Morrison does it without the help of double A-Sides). It smashes at No 7 (42,000).

 

 

 

Ant and Dec continue to quietly rack up the singles, “Shout” is their 13th release and all but two have made the top 20, but crucially this single is just their third to make the top flight. With a chorus inspired by the Tears For Fears track of the same name and using a chord structure very similar to Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” it also features backing vocals by Erasure’s Andy Bell, and the guys have returned to TV with a new successful C4 series as the new song debuts at No 10 (24,000).

 

 

Last week’s No 1 from No Doubt dips 1-2 (74,000) but does become the track to beat as it makes No 1 on the YTD overtaking No Mercy who themselves fall 7-9 (31,000). Holding up well are Sash! (No 4, 67,000) and The Bee Gees (No 5, 63,000), but falling out of the top 3 from last week are Kula Shaker 2-6 (46,000) and Eternal 3-8 (36,000).

 

Next week we’ll see if Boyzone can topple Spice Girls in an act of revenge?

 

 

1- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE- Spice Girls (248,000)

2- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (74,000)

3- RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE- The Fugees (73,000)

4- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (67,000)

5- ALONE- Bee Gees (63,000)

6- HUSH- Kula Shaker (46,000)

7- MOAN & GROAN- Mark Morrison (42,000)

8- DON’T YOU LOVE ME?- Eternal (36,000)

9- WHERE DO YOU GO?- No Mercy (31,000)

10- SHOUT- Ant & Dec (24,000)

 

Don't You Love Me :wub:

 

I've never heard 'Natural' before, and whilst nothing special at least it's not as bad as that awful ballad that scraped #1 a few months prior.

It's about now that TOTP started losing the plot and regularly having songs which were falling down the chart (Kula Shaker and No Mercy in the latter week's case) and allowing the same song in consecutive weeks even if they weren't #1.

 

Huge opening sales for The Spice Girls, they were unavoidable in all forms of mass media at this point.

Edited January 31Jan 31 by jimwatts

Oh I recognise the part of the middle of that Fugees song in a certain song we'll see when we get to 2001 on this, as it uses the same sample but I think I definitely prefer that 2001 song.

 

'Who Do You Think You Are' is very good, influenced by the recent revival of disco influenced dance music that there was. 'Mama' is a nice enough ballad.

The Eternal song is my favourite from these newbies, great single and well-deserved top 3

 

I was too old to like Spice Girls but kudos for them to got the record for 4 #1s out of their first 4 singles. Glad it was them that did it and not Jive Bunny or Robson & Jerome :D But none of those Spice songs does much for me

 

The rest are so-so for me. Never liked Kula Shaker, kind hated that band, so kinda glad Hush didn't make it.

 

 

That Ant & Dec song is not half bad, you know.

 

Basic as hell lyrics, but catchy as...

I’m certain of ‘Don’t Speak’ was released in the pre-1995 era it would have been 6-8 week no1 run!

 

Good steady run for Bee Gees sales wise, shows the MOR/R2 stations had not yet went for the held back strategy or maybe the youth who dominated the charts meant artists like the Bee Gees could be more consistent!

Edited February 1Feb 1 by Steve201

I think maybe because something like 'Alone' was perhaps a more unexpected hit from an older act that didn't initially have as much exposure, it probably picked up more as it cut through.

 

There's probably loads of similar examples from the mid-late 90s.

Yeh that’s what I meant - The Mavericks chart run in 1998/99 another example and ‘Lonestar’!

Edited February 1Feb 1 by Steve201

I hadn't realised 'Alone' increased in sales over its first 3 weeks - it was close to taking #4 in its second week (which would also have meant Sash! going back up in the third week).

 

It was becoming rarer for songs to climb in their second week, but the numbers of songs that did this dropped off further over 1998 and 1999, and in each of the first few years of the 2000s these could be counted on one hand (there's a thread about this somewhere in the chart forum).

That Eternal song is fantastic, it's a shame they imploded right when they released three brilliant singles in 1997.

 

Not a particularly great couple of episodes other than that, but Shout was a very mature offering from Ant & Dec (and impressive they were still getting big hits this far down the line) and that Fugees song with the ABBA sample is decent, not one you ever hear now.

22ND MARCH

 

 

It was Comic Relief this week and those Spice Girls were everywhere! Promotion flipped from “Mama” to “Who Do You Think You Are” for which two promo’s were available a normal one and a comic relief version featuring the sugarlumps (Dawn French/ Jennifer Saunders/ Kathy Burke/ Lulu/ Llewella Gideon) a parody of the group, and for three of that entourage a reprisal of the fictional group Lananeeneenoonoo who played with Bananarama in 1989. The track struggled early on only narrowly ahead of the new Boyzone single but after Friday’s Comic Relief event it pulled well clear ending up with sales of 152,000. “Spice” is of course home to both singles and returns itself to the No 1 spot on the album charts with total sales of 2.4 million in just 19 weeks- they truly are a phenomenon.

 

 

 

Onto Boyzone then, an eighth release and an eighth top 4 hit placing them behind Gary Glitter and Kylie Minogue in terms of the best start to a career ever. “Isn’t It A Wonder” is another cut from their second album “A Different Beat” and follows to consecutive chart toppers for the Irish boys, they were in the papers this week following tales of the filming the promo which apparently saw a near death experience when a plane almost landed on them!! The song ends up at No 2 (110,000) selling more in its first week than their previous chart topper did to make the top.

 

 

 

10 years since their debut Wet Wet Wet are about to release a celebratory “10” album, they’ve had 23 hits in that space of time and can now count their 24th as “If I Never See You Again” makes it big. Debuting at No 3 (81,000) it marks their highest ever debut and have announced a one off concert date at Wembley in August which has already sold out.

 

 

 

Six new entries again this week and next up is Gina G who continues to confound expectations of Eurovision acts. Her third release debuts effortlessly at No 6 (56,000) and is a precursor to her debut album of the same name which is released in a fortnight and will be the real test of her popularity.

 

 

 

Also releasing their debut album next month are Damage, the boys have generated a lot of goodwill in the press and critics as one of Britain’s leading RNB groups. “Love Guaranteed” dives in at No 7 (47,000) and comes with a promo featuring Christopher Lee!

 

 

 

Lisa Stansfield’s recent stock has risen thanks to the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remix of “People Hold On”, she capitalises on that with new single “The Real Thing” which debuts at No 9 (39,000). The CD version of the song indeed features a remix by those scoundrels hoping to recapture the chart magic, this is Stansfield’s 8th top 10 hit in 8 years.

 

 

 

After three top 10 hits in a row back in 1995 Clock seemed to have peaked commercially especially as their next three releases all missed the top flight, but proving you can’t write them off just yet “It’s Over” puts them back in the pink. It arrives at No 10 (34,000).

 

 

No Doubt drop 2-4 (64,000) but will be platinum (600,000) next week, Sash! are also holding on impressively 4-5 (64,000), but fading fast are The Fugees 3-8 (41,000).

 

 

1- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE- Spice Girls (152,000)

2- ISN’T IT A WONDER- Boyzone (110,000)

3- IF I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN- Wet, wet, wet (81,000)

4- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (64,000)

5- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (64,000)

6- FRESH- Gina G (56,000)

7- LOVE GUARANTEED- Damage (47,000)

8- RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE- The Fugees (41,000)

9- THE REAL THING- Lisa Stansfield (39,000)

10- IT’S OVER- Clock (34,000)

 

29TH MARCH

 

 

The Spice Girls domination continues with double A Side “Mama/ Who Do You Think You Are” remaining at No 1 for a third week whilst “Spice” keeps control of the album charts. Even with Mother’s day and Comic Relief over they are the face of the new TV channel 5 which launches next weekend and so they’re still on TV daily at present which can only help them. It shifted another 85,000 to raise its 21 day tally to 485,000.

 

 

 

Runner up this week is R Kelly who scores his biggest hit as performer as “I Believe I Can Fly” debuts at No 2 (68,000), he has of course written a chart topper (“You Are Not Alone”) and previously been in the top 3 himself with “She’s Got That Vibe”. The song features in the new part animated film “Space Jam” which hit the cinemas this weekend itself, and over in the US it has already peaked at No 2 as well, this time behind Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart”.

 

 

 

The Backstreet Boys bring the UK up to date with the continent with the release of a 5th single from their debut album called “Anywhere For You”. They are still increasing in popularity here and starting to rival Boyzone in the boyband stakes with this now their 5th top 20 single in 9 months, it couldn’t quite maintain its early showing in the top 3 and debuts at No 4 (51,000). The album incidentally has sold just over 200,000 copies and rests outside the top 40 currently.

 

 

 

Picking up from where they left off are BBE whose new single “Flash” is new at No 5 (48,000) just two places lower than “Seven Days And One Week” peaked last Autumn.

 

 

 

That’s only BBE’s second top 10 hit but acts with rather more big hits to their credit crash into the top tier slightly lower down. Firstly Madonna who now has her 39th top 10 hit in the form of “Another Suitcase In Another Hall” which is a third hit to be pulled from the current “Evita” soundtrack. It made No 18 way back in 1977 for Barbara Dickson but is a much bigger hit in the arms of Madonna as it crashes in at No 7 (39,000).

 

 

 

Meanwhile the Pet Shop Boys are up to their 17th top 10 hit with “Red Letter Day” new at No 9 (36,000). Their last single “Bilingual” only made No 14 so they must be happier with this showing, Neil Tennant was apparently so enamoured with the skills of remixer Motiv-8 that he asked the producer to remix this song and liked the mix so much that it gets sampled in the main version!

 

 

Elsewhere No Doubt climb again 4-3 but they lost 18% at retail to sell 53,000 in the process, Sash! fall 5-6 (42,000), Boyzone hurtle 2-8 (37,000) and Gina G ripens 6-10 (31,000).

 

 

1- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?- Spice Girls (85,000)

2- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (68,000)

3- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (53,000)

4- ANYWHERE FOR YOU- Backstreet Boys (51,000)

5- FLASH- BBE (48,000)

6- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (42,000)

7- ANOTHER SUITCASE IN ANOTHER HALL- Madonna (39,000)

8- ISN’T IT A WONDER- Boyzone (37,000)

9- A RED LETTER DAY- Pet Shop Boys (36,000)

10- FRESH- Gina G (31,000)

 

Sublime Pet Shop Boys song!

 

Even in a period that was considered a commercial nadir for Madonna, she could still chart top 10 with literally anything it seems.