Ah I don’t think I knew that before. Was britpop and dance like Prodigy, Chems etc popular in Spain then or was it more just you being interested in it?

12TH APRIL

 

 

With Easter over the singles market collapses by almost a third which left the field wide open in terms of the No 1. Leading in midweek flashes was “Richard III” by Supergrass but it was overtaken at the death by R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” which makes a dramatic bounce back 5-1 (51,000), that despite a 17% loss at retail. For Kelly as writer it marks his second chart topper as he also wrote Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone”, but more interestingly it is the first song to climb to No 1 for the first time after falling during its chart run since Gina G last year and the first to take as long as its 3rd consecutive week to make No 1 since Deep Blue Something back in October. That sales figure is however the lowest required for a chart topper since Tony Di Bart made No 1 in May 1994.

 

 

 

Onto that new Supergrass single then and “Richard III” has little to do with either kings or the play but is named after the band’s habit of giving their songs names and this was the third one called Richard. You only have to wait three weeks for their second album “In It For The Money” but the campaign is off to a good start with almost 51,000 buyers last week just 300 copies behind R Kelly.

 

 

 

The blessing of a Levi advert strikes again with Smoke City’s “Underwater Love” the latest track to be used by the company in its ads. The track was originally released in 1994 to minimal interest but with the right promotion it now debuts at No 4 (39,000), the song itself features a host of samples including James Brown.

 

 

 

It’s a busy Spring with a new album also due in a fortnight from Depeche Mode. “It’s No Good” is now their 11th top 10 hit but the group have now put together a string of 4 top flight hits in a row- a first for them, “Ultra” should be a big seller once it hit the shops with their new hit new at No 5 (37,000).

 

 

 

Makaveli is, as you may know, a new stage name adopted by 2Pac before the late rapper’s death last year, he recorded one album under the pseudonym “The Don Killuminati” which contains the single “To Live And Die In LA” itself now a top 10 hit as it strikes in at anchor position on sales of 25,000 and contains a sample of Prince’s “Do Me Baby”.

 

 

No Doubt remain at No 3 (43,000) a position they replicate on the album charts, while the Spice Girls tumble 2-6 (34,000) and DJ Quicksilver slips up 6-7 (31,000). Sash! holds at No 9 (27,000) but The Chemical Brothers hurtle 1-8 (28,000)- that’s the second biggest fall from the top slot of the 90s behind Iron Maiden’s “Bring Your Daughter” and the biggest tumble ever for a track which debuted at No 1 the previous week.

 

 

1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (51,200)

2- RICHARD III- Supergrass (50,900)

3- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (43,000)

4- UNDERWATER LOVE- Smoke City (39,000)

5- IT’S NO GOOD- Depeche Mode (37,000)

6- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE- Spice Girls (34,000)

7- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (31,000)

8- BLOCK ROCKIN BEATS- Chemical Brothers (28,000)

9- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (27,000)

10- TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA- Makaveli (25,000)

 

http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

A real shame that Supergrass didn’t sell slightly more and deny R Kelly this week. Richard III is great too, I liked their sound this album much more than their debut stuff.

 

Another good one from DM, some decent mixes of that on the single too.

 

Impressive run for No Doubt, it’s been bigger than I remembered. 8 weeks and still top 3 is very rare for this era

I knew Supergrass narrowly missed out on #1, but 300 copies? -_-

The 2-5-1 run for R. Kelly did seem bizarre, but it having a continued sales drop makes sense.

boo at R Kelly beating Supergrass by so little :/ not my fav from them but anything is better than R Kelly

 

2 absolutely faves of mine. Underwater Love is such a magic track, always been fascinated by it, great great single and glad Levis saved it from obscurity.

Also love It's no Good, one of the best songs ever from Depeche Mode. Their albums in the 90s were so different, Violator was ok-ish despite having Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence, the followup Songs of Faith and Devotion was terrible with just 2 good songs but then Ultra was all kinds of amazing and easily the best thing they've ever done. Back to back top 5s from them too.

Ah I don’t think I knew that before. Was britpop and dance like Prodigy, Chems etc popular in Spain then or was it more just you being interested in it?

Noooo I was in a minority. In Spain, then and now, English is a huge barrier so 99% of people only listen to music in Spanish. Britpop was a bit popular with Oasis but other than that, not much interest for Prodigy or Faithless etc

Supergrass only 300 copies off number 1? Dammit!

 

Love Underwater Love too, forgot it got as high as number 4.

300 evil, evil purchases.

 

Even if R Kelly wasn't a detestable human being that horrible dirge would still deserve to be nowhere near #1. Supergrass robbed! Richard III is a bop.

'It's No Good' is one of Depeche Mode's best songs!

19TH APRIL

 

 

 

R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” increased sales by 50% and it needed to do it in order to hold the top position- it managed it- just! Sales of 76,000 take “Fly”s total to 257,000 after its first month, not a bad haul.

 

 

 

Just as last week, Kelly was running in second place all week but managed to overhaul the midweek leader again, this time it was Blur’s “Song 2” . Their last single “Beetlebum” created chart history for all the wrong reasons when it fell 1-7-29 then out of the top 40 making it the shortest lived top 40 career for a chart topper then in moving 42-68-OUT the shortest time in the charts for a No 1, so they’ll be hoping for more longevity out of this single. Intended as a parody of grunge the song, if it progresses no further, which is likely, then it will be rather apt as it is the second single from an album on which it is track 2, has peaked at No 2 on the chart and is 2:02 in length. The 75,000 copies it sold last week is still a good start and has halted the decline of the parent album which has since lifted 35-29-18-10 over the last month.

 

 

Blur are the first of a record 7 new entries in the top 10- the highest tally yet and another step toward the whole of the top flight being new entries such is the pace of change at the top end.

 

 

Lots of new hits to discuss then and next up in the parade are Orbital. “Satan (Live)” you may recall became their biggest hit when it made No 3 back in January and now they’ve done it again with “The Saint”. Proving that anything that Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton can do these guys can do, they’ve taken a theme from a 60s TV show and remade it for the 90s with a movie tie-in. “The Saint” stars Van Kilmer and is on release here this coming week and should help the theme in sales with 52,000 of them last week.

 

 

 

Coming just a year after The Fugees turned the Delfonics “Ready Or Not” into a chart topper we get a europop version courtesy of the Course. They are a Dutch duo who have had some European success with this version which is now a UK hit as it arrives at No 5 (43,000).

 

 

 

Although known in the UK primarily as a hit for Randy Crawford (#11, 1981) “You Might Need Somebody” was originally performed by Turley Richards but is now a top 10 smash for 18 year old Shola Ama. She was discovered singing on a tube station platform at just 15 and signed on her 16th Birthday to WEA, her first single “You’re The one I Love” failed to ignite at No 81 at the end of last year but this cover does the business and is new at No 7 (35,000) and is a reflection of her positive reviews following her support slot on the recent 3T tour.

 

 

 

Fellow teenager Kavana continues to accrue the hits with new single “M.F.E.O” which stands for “made for each other” if you want to know. His debut album is out next month and will house a couple of top 10 hits with this new at No 8 (31,000) replicating the peak position of his last single “I Can Make You Feel Good”. His next single is confirmed as a remix of his first single “Crazy Chance” which was co-penned by former Take That member Howard Donald.

 

 

 

Suede’s rebirth continues to be an outstanding success with a fourth cut from “Coming Up” securing a top 10 position. “Lazy” is new at No 9 (28,000) enabling the band to score a top tier hit with every release from the album and it responds positively too as it rockets 51-38 and pushes over the 300,000 mark, it is already confirmed as their biggest selling album ever.

 

 

 

Another band who have a launched a successful comeback in 1997 are undoubtedly Texas who score their second top 10 single of the year in “Halo” new at No 10 (27,000). The single has been heavily supported by radio (It's airplay #5) and the album has reversed since it started getting exposure lifting 27-22-9-4 in the last month.

 

 

DJ Quicksilver rises 7-4 (47,000) proving popular in spite of all those new entries and No Doubt drop 3-6 (37,000) but it remains atop the airplay chart as radio seems to continue to love it.

 

New singles from U2 and Robbie Williams are vying for the top next week- are R Kelly’s days numbered?

 

1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (76,000)

2- SONG 2- Blur (75,000)

3- THE SAINT- Orbital (52,000)

4- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (47,000)

5- READY OR NOT- The Course (43,000)

6- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (37,000)

7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (35,000)

8- MFEO- Kavana (31,000)

9- LAZY- Suede (28,000)

10- HALO- Texas (27,000)

 

http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

The Course's version of 'Ready or Not' is such a bop! The production is great! Shola Ama's version of 'You Might Need Somebody' I really like too, its is an MOR radio classic!

Edited February 16Feb 16 by TheSnake

Double aarghhh at how close Song 2 was to number 1!

Poor 'Song 2' :cry: love both that and 'Underwater Love' from the past couple of batches, shame the TOTP performances were skipped

In an alternative universe, Supergrass and Blur both had turns at #1. Would have been less poetic for a 2-minute song called 'Song 2' perhaps. At least it has done well in the long run.

Also :wub: At the 9 & 10 of Lazy and Halo. Both superb songs.

Woo hoo for the #2 track

When i listen to it, I often sing along 'song 2' to the chorus of that Blur song instead of 'woo hoo'.

 

I guess the Orbital and The Course tracks are like today's dance hits which mostly require a famous sample to be a hit at the moment! Luckily there was plenty of completely original dance like Bellissima in 1997 too.

Blur robbed :/ and by the vile R Kely of all people :/

 

love Song 2 and really deserved #1, great single

also love Shola Ama and the newbies by Suede and Texas

CLASSIC top 10 there!

 

Great songs by Suede, Orbital, The Course, Blur, Shola, 'MFEO' is also a tune. Massive shame Blur were beaten, but at the same time I kind of like the whole "2" fact about it.

 

Also massive shame Supergrass were beaten so marginally, that's my fave of theirs. 'It's No Good' is also fantastic, such a brilliant era for DM.

26TH APRIL

 

 

If there is such a thing as a lucky No 1 single then “I Believe I Can Fly” must surely qualify. Number one now for a third week it has been behind in midweek sales flashes and for a third time it fought back to clinch the honours at the last moment, and in each week it has had to increase sales to do so. This time it sold 15% more (87,000) to defeat new singles from Robbie Williams and U2 and has demonstrated that it really is a genuine hit.

 

 

 

Robbie Williams has probably spent more time in the papers than in the charts over the last year with only his cover of George Michael’s “Freedom” to count as solo career thus far. So the release of his first original single was always going to generate considerable interest and “Old Before I Die” was looking to all like a chart topper right through the week before the curse of R Kelly took him the way of Supergrass and Blur in recent weeks. The song is co-written by Williams and Desmond Child who is more used to generating hits for Bon Jovi, Cher, and Aerosmith and debuts at No 2 (76,000) enough for No 1 in the last two weeks, the self-referencing lyrics have gone down well with the press as has Williams’ recent comments about former band member Gary Barlow. Still controversy sells.

 

 

 

U2 have their 17th top 10 hit with “Staring At The Sun” powering into the No 3 slot on a sale of 63,000. The band have never strung together four top 5 singles in a row so this appears to be their “purple” patch which isn’t bad for a band more than 15 years into their career and successful during all that time.

 

 

 

French disco continues to prosper in the UK charts with Daft Punk scoring a second top 10 hit. “Around The World” comes with a rather trendy video which is memorable and has got the critics singing their praises, the single meanwhile debuts at No 5 (51,000).

 

 

 

Late last year 2Pac sampled DeBarge’s “A Dream” on his No 13 hit “I Ain’t Mad At Ya” and that same song now forms the basis for Blackstreet’s “Don’t Leave Me” which is an even bigger hit smashing in at No 6 (47,000). At a stroke it becomes their biggest hit but can’t revive the album which is currently uncharted and has only spent a solitary week in the top 40.

 

 

 

Last Summer The Lightning Seeds were on a high after reaching No 1 with the Euro themed “3 Lions” but follow up singles “What If” and “Sugar Coated Iceburg” both missed the top 10, time maybe for a cover? Written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds “You Showed Me” became a US hit for The Turtles in 1968 but wasn’t a hit here until Salt N Pepa’s rap version six years ago. Now it’s revamped again into a pop track for Ian Broadie’s band and makes a new high of No 8 (43,000) it features in Mike Myers new film “Austin Powers” (not out here until September) and will also be present on a forthcoming Greatest Hits album by the group due this year, it is also the first “solo” top 10 hit for the band 8 years after their debut.

 

 

 

Faithless continue to produce top quality dance music and for a change aren't re-releasing their former minor hits, instead they give us the title track to their album “Reverence”. New at No 10 this week on a sale of 34,000 to become their third top 10 hit in a row.

 

 

DJ Quicksilver maintains No 4 (56,000) but two of last week’s new entries have contrasting fortunes, Shola Ama remains static at No 7 (46,000) whilst The Course collapse 5-9 (39,000).

 

 

1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (87,000)

2- OLD BEFORE I DIE- Robbie Williams (76,000)

3- STARING AT THE SUN- U2 (63,000)

4- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (56,000)

5- AROUND THE WORLD- Daft Punk (51,000)

6- DON’T LEAVE ME- Blackstreet (47,000)

7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (46,000)

8- YOU SHOWED ME- Lightning Seeds (43,000)

9- READY OR NOT- The Course (39,000)

10- REVERENCE- Faithless (34,000)

 

http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg