Posted December 28, 2024Dec 28 A thought that crossed my mind, what if you could go back and discover what made it into the chart and the position it reached, without knowing the outcome. Is there a week you would particularly be invested in following closely to find out what happens? Charts of today don't have this kind of tension as they once did, so many times charts are predictable and stagnant, but going back in time to listen to a chart show on Radio 1 would be quite something to do to enjoy some of the famous chart battles that were had before.
December 28, 2024Dec 28 Good question. Definitely a few charts from 1999 and 2000 I'd like to relive afresh again (although Mixcloud has dutifully seen to that in recent years, I love having an old chart on whilst working or pottering about). The specific ones I'd like to hear again that stand clear in my mind certainly in terms of action: - Battle of the Solo Spices (Geri Halliwell vs. Emma Bunton), November 1999 - True Steppers vs Spiller, August 2000 - Westlife vs Bob the Builder, Christmas 2000 (was so funny seeing their run of number ones get broken after how cocky they'd gotten about it) - Girls Aloud vs One True Voice, Christmas 2002 - Gary Jules vs The Darkness, Christmas 2003 Those are the main ones for me, can't think of any more recent than that with the same degree of excitement around them.
December 28, 2024Dec 28 Blur vs Oasis, Spiller vs Victoria, Duke Dumont vs Ding Dong, pretty much any Christmas chart before 2013 are the ones that spring to mind. If you want to see chart battles today, just check the albums charts on busy weeks :D Edited December 28, 2024Dec 28 by gasman449
December 28, 2024Dec 28 Rage vs Joe in 2009 definitely, it's the one week in my lifetime actively following charts where it felt like it was big news and a proper race for number 1...with the best possible outcome.
December 28, 2024Dec 28 Leona's "Better In Time" vs Duffy's "Mercy" It was a double A-side release with "Footprints In The Sand" but the digital copies for "Footprints In The Sand" charted separately, costing Leona the #1! Likely one of the last examples of a Double A side release - the digital/streaming era has now made these redundant.
December 29, 2024Dec 29 In my lifetime the 2003 and 2009 Xmas no1 races! Outside of that the 1973 Xmas chart, 1984. Xmas chart and the chart with Blur vs Oasis in Aug 95!
December 29, 2024Dec 29 Rage vs Joe in 2009 definitely, it's the one week in my lifetime actively following charts where it felt like it was big news and a proper race for number 1...with the best possible outcome. Same here. Felt like the last Christmas number one battle the nation was invested in.
December 30, 2024Dec 30 My fave was the week in 2015 where Cheerleader got to #1 for the first time, Cool (my fave song of the year) made the top 10 against expectations and I'm An Albatraoz made the top 40.
December 30, 2024Dec 30 I would have loved to experience the Blur vs Oasis one in real-time, I was quite young and not following the charts back then but I remember seeing bits about it appearing on the news. I was however following the charts in 2000, when Spiller vs Truesteppers happened and that was exciting!
December 31, 2024Dec 31 Two weeks that stand out as having exciting close races but the 'wrong' result for me were 25/09/1993 (the Pet Shop Boys missing #1 thanks to Will Smith) and 27/12/2003 (Darkness/Gary Jules). The '93 one is a bit before my time but I do remember Xmas 2003 quite well, watching CD:UK and hearing Cat Deeley say The Darkness were in the lead as of midweek made their defeat even worse! I did fear it would be Pop Idol that year, so Gary Jules at least felt like a semi-victory and Simon Cowell never troubled the festive #1 spot again. I just about remember Blur/Oasis when I was 6 and I was happy that Blur won as I couldn't understand a word that Oasis lot were singing. I also wanted Mike Flowers Pops to be Christmas number 1 that year as I preferred it to the original.
December 31, 2024Dec 31 Country House v Roll With It for sure. Elton selling 2m+ in a week. And then Rage v Joe, but I do still remember listening to that one quite clearly!
December 31, 2024Dec 31 Actually another one that I'd like to relive was Will Young's 1m+ sales week with his first single after Pop Idol. That was a special week.
December 31, 2024Dec 31 I would have loved to experience the Blur vs Oasis one in real-time, I was quite young and not following the charts back then but I remember seeing bits about it appearing on the news. It really wasn't as exciting as you'd be led to think by all those documentaries. Everybody I knew thought Roll With It was a bit underwhelming and as soon as you clocked that Blur had issued 2 CD singles instead of 1, like Oasis had, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. The NME went mental for it though and the rest of the media follwed their lead. To be honest I thik a lot of people were surprised that Oasis lost out by only 50,000 or so. That being said, I'm from the South and in '95 Blur were a lot more popular down my way than Oasis. Might have felt different up North.
December 31, 2024Dec 31 I'd like to have paid more attention to Steve Miller vs Deee-Lite. It seemed such a foregone conclusion that the latter would be #1 that it came as a genuine shock to see it lose.
January 24Jan 24 Good question. Definitely a few charts from 1999 and 2000 I'd like to relive afresh again (although Mixcloud has dutifully seen to that in recent years, I love having an old chart on whilst working or pottering about). The specific ones I'd like to hear again that stand clear in my mind certainly in terms of action: - Battle of the Solo Spices (Geri Halliwell vs. Emma Bunton), November 1999 - True Steppers vs Spiller, August 2000 - Westlife vs Bob the Builder, Christmas 2000 (was so funny seeing their run of number ones get broken after how cocky they'd gotten about it) - Girls Aloud vs One True Voice, Christmas 2002 - Gary Jules vs The Darkness, Christmas 2003 Those are the main ones for me, can't think of any more recent than that with the same degree of excitement around them. There was nothing funny for a cartoon to break the amazing streak of Westlife. As for them i doubt they were cocky, they took a huge risk by releasing a completely irrelevant song, post the album, to compete for the xmas #1. They could have released it few weeks later and their streak would reach double digits. Well done to Westlife. #14
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