24TH SEPTEMBER

 

 

The market takes a general decline this week but the decline sees a new UK No 1 in the form of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies. It becomes their second chart topper and their first in 23 years, a record gap, it suffered a 5% decrease in sales to 98,192 but a chart topper is a chart topper, Phil Collins drops 1-2 (95,336) a more severe 15% drop in sales doubtless lost to the soundtrack which debuts at No 6 on the album charts, Womack & Womack, who hold at No 3, make little more progress to them as they register an increase of just 2% to 54,383. Fears that Bill Medley's alternative version may cost The Hollies a No 1 prove unfounded but Medley revealed this week that he was actually offered the track back in the 60s before The Hollies got it yet turned it down, silly move!

 

 

 

We’ve had Charlene so it must be time for Scott! Yes “Neighbours” star Jason Donovan makes the move from Ramsey Street to the charts with the help of S/A/W and the song “Nothing Can Divide Us”. It was originally destined for the new Rick Astley album but he passed on it and so it ends up in the hands of Donovan who scores himself a first top 10 as it flies 13-5 (46,954)

 

 

 

The newest dance act on the block are Detroit duo Inner City who have been exciting dance aficionado’s this year and translate that into chart success with their debut release “Big Fun”. The song powers 20-8 (27,319) as it seeks to emulate its dance No 1 status, though it is credited as Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson he is actually one of the duo- his reputation as a dance innovator in certain circles was clearly seen as something worth promoting. The track appears on the "Detroit Techno" compilation album which has been getting promotion through DJ Paul Oakenfold creating underground support for the song.

 

 

 

Heralded by many as their fifth chart topper The Pet Shop Boys are back with “Domino Dancing” lead single from their forthcoming third album “Introspective” due next month. Their new found Latin edge hasn’t been a hit with all their fans but the song does debut at No 9 (27,217), it’s their 8th top 10 single and the fifth to shoot straight into the top 10, watch out for this one next week.

 

 

Last week’s big new entry Bros flounder this week dipping 4-6 (36,363) perhaps pointing to overkill for the group this year and Yazz & The Plastic Population fall 7-10 (24,463) and is now about 50,000 short of Kylie in the YTD race.

 

Bill Withers rises 6-4 (49,062) and thus gives a second No 4 hit for remixer Liebrand this year, and Yello climb 8-7 (27,676) and are now the second highest peaking Swiss act ever.

 

1- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (98,192)

2- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (95,336)

3- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (54,383)

4- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (49,062)

5- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (46,954)

6- I QUIT- Bros (33,363)

7- THE RACE- Yello (27,676)

8- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (27,319)

9- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (27,217)

10- THE ONLY WAY IS UP- Yazz & The Plastic Population (24,463)

 

'Big Fun'! :D It's quite poppy for Detroit techno but if you just listen to the intro and also the ending with just the beat and bassline, you can hear how modern beatport techno was influenced.

 

'Domino Dancing' is good - Latin freestyle a bit like Madonna's 1987 era but also sounds Italo Disco influenced.

Edited February 12Feb 12 by TheSnake

Domino Dancing and Big Fun, both excellent :wub:

love Domino Dancing but my impression back then was that the GP didnt

Inner City never did much for me, not my thing as a kid

and poor Jason getting a Rick reject, the single is beyond band really not even album filler

And his vocals are so poor, I still bought it as a good Neighbours fan 😝

great that PSB debited top 10, quite competitive week with comebacks!

 

Rick Astley debuts at #16 with She wants to dance with me, the lead of his album 2

Bon Jovi at #18 with Bad Medicine, the lead of their new abum New Jersey

and Whitney debuts at #24 with One Moment in Time, a one-off single for the Olympics but her first material post Whitney

 

too big fav of mine peak in the low top 40:

Transvision Vamp-Revolution baby,

the follow up to I Want Your Love, actually a re-release of their 1st single, peaked at #30

 

Belinda Carlisle-World Without You

single #4 from Heaven on Earth, after 3 top 10 singles this peaked at #34

Domino Dancing was obv an instant chart-topper for me, loved the rhythms and the video - which was essentially a homo-erotic wrestle in Florida, in line with the sound fitting in with the dance scene there (see Miami Sound Machine and many others). Being as neither PSB was out yet, it was a culture shock to some, including musically. Rick turned down Jason's hit? Well, can't blame him, but that was the end of Rick getting the top SAW songs then....

 

Inner City had cool dance grooves, they still sound good.

I think both Ricks comeback and Jason's debut were kinda bad

Oh looks like She wants to dance was written by Rick alone, she was already starting the SAW separation

'Domino Dancing' is utterly fantastic! Such a meaningful song lyrically too.

1ST OCTOBER

 

 

With total sales now almost 340,000 The Hollies spend a second week at the top with “He Ain’t Heavy, he’s My brother”, its sales again on the slide at 81,226, it’s slender victory over Phil Collins last week is much easier this week as though Collins holds at No 2 he sold 57,307 copies, his total is 346,715 as he runs slightly ahead of the Hollies. The re-issued 1969 track is incidentally the fourth 1960’s cover/ re-issue to make the top in 1988.

 

 

 

For a third week in a row there’s a new entry inside the top 10, this time it’s U2 who place “Desire” at No 3 on a strong sales of 51,782, it is the best start by any U2 track either in terms of first week sales or chart debut position. It clocks in at just under 3 minutes and is the first release from their new album “Rattle & Hum” which will go head to head with the new Pet Shop Boys album in just 3 weeks. Talking of the Pet Shop Boys they rise just two spots 9-7 (42,347) with “Domino Dancing” and look to be in trouble with the track, a third No 1 on the trot now looks unlikely!

 

 

 

Composed for NBC’s Olympic coverage in Seoul by Albert Hammond and produced by long time collaborator Narada Michael Walden, Whitney Houston returns to the upper reaches with “One Moment In Time” to give her a seventh top 10 single as it flies 24-8 (30,651)

 

 

 

An opening salvo of four Top 3 singles is nothing to be sniffed, especially when one of those tracks spent 5 weeks at No 1 here and two of them made the US No 1 spot, that’s the enviable track record of Rick Astley thus far. That second album is nearing completion and the lead single “She Wants To Dance With Me” has surprised many by struggling so far, relatively speaking, it debuted at No 16 (his lowest entry since his debut hit) and this week can only rise 16-10 (29,342). Some point to the fact that he’s written this song himself and not relied on the S/A/W writing machine to generate another hit for him, or the fact that the magic trio are not even the producers on the track, that duty being performed by Ian Curnow and Phil Harding, or maybe the Astley phenomena is just wearing out, whatever the reason the progress of this single will be much scrutinised by the record industry.

 

 

The arrival of U2 pushes a series of tracks down a spot, they include Womack & Womack 3-4 (51,782)- yes that's exactly the same sale but naturally registers a lesser sales increase than U2 , Bill Withers 4-5 (46,410) and Jason Donovan 5-6 (44,523), Inner City also dip 8-9 (30,175).

 

 

1- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (81,226)

2- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (57,307)

3- DESIRE- U2 (51,782)

4- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (51,782)

5- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (46,410)

6- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (44,523)

7- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (42,347)

8- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (30,651)

9- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (30,175)

10- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (29,342)

 

not crazy about any of those 3 newbies tbh

Desire is not the bestest U2 song, always thought it was a weak comeback single, especially after the jugernaut that was Joshua Tree, half of the album tracks from that album are better than Desire

 

Whitney's One Moment is kinda the snoozefest. I generally like her ballads but not this one. Probably my least favourite of her ballads.

 

She Wants to Dance with Me is rather weak too, not a patch on his previous era.

'Desiiiiiiiiire' isn't great.

 

'One Moment In Time' for me is a song that's so bad its good! Its whole over-the-top-ness!

 

'She Wants to Dance With Me' is good, it still sounds very S/A/W even if it wasn't produced by them!

'Desiiiiiiiiire' isn't great.

 

'One Moment In Time' for me is a song that's so bad its good! Its whole over-the-top-ness!

 

'She Wants to Dance With Me' is good, it still sounds very S/A/W even if it wasn't produced by them!

Phil Harding and Ian Curnow were in house producers for PWL which is probably why so it isn't entirely S/A/W free.

this week we have Proclaimers peaking at #11 with the classic I'm gonna be(500 Miles),

bit unlucky as it did 19-14-12-11-15 in the t20

 

 

and Bon Jovi peaking at a kinda disappointing #17 with Bad Medecine. This is the first material since the huge era that was Slippery When Wet, but it's not a patch on Livin' on a Pryer or You give love a bad name. Still a US #1...

 

 

 

Edited February 14Feb 14 by Bjork

Can we avoid mentioning stuff that will make the top 10 please?

Urghhhh 500 Miles has to be one of the most annoying songs in existence.

Desire is a departure for U2, it's their first semi-FUN record, Bo Diddley-stylee and I rate it. OK it's not angst-ridden Pride or epic Joshua Tree, but it was a sign that they were going to avoid repeating themselves. I went to see Albert hammond a few years back, quite the back catalogue he has as songwriter, but Whitney's overblown Olympic song did nothing to endear her to me as she became more and more a cartoon version of herself. The song might be rescued in a substantially different treatment, though. My reaction to Rick's first self-written hit song was "oh dear oh dear, he needs to go back to SAW!" He did nothing to change my mind for the next 30 years, but got there in the end and is now a mini-national-treasure.

8TH OCTOBER

 

 

A rare week, outside Christmas, when there are no new entries to discuss at all in the top 10, that being said it doesn’t mean that we don’t get a new No 1! After 8 years of trying U2 can finally celebrate grabbing a UK chart topper with “Desire” lifting 3-1 (62,118) helped by the release of the 12" version of the song, they overcome The Hollies who dip 1-2 (55,233)- that sale takes the title to 394,536 and in terms of 1988 here’s the YTD chart as we enter the final quarter:

 

 

1- I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY- Kylie Minogue 611,371

2- THE ONLY WAY IS UP- Yazz & The Plastic Population 608,617

3- I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW- Tiffany 496,383

4- NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU- Glenn Medeiros 493,527

5- WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS/ SHE’S LEAVING HOME- Wet, Wet, Wet/ Billy Bragg & Cara Tivey 408,425

6- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies 394,536

7- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins 384,812

8- THE LOCO-MOTION- Kylie Minogue 362,355

9- PERFECT- Fairground Attraction 340,017

10- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack 299,795

 

 

“Desire” also becomes the first original composition to make the top slot since Bros back in July!, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” meanwhile is now the 6th biggest hit of the year (as you can see), and you’ll note no doubt that Phil Collins slides in beneath them at No 7 for the year, he’s also at No 5 on the weekly charts after selling 38,097 copies last week. Whitney Houston dashes 8-3 (43,843) to score her biggest hit since “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” topped the charts last year, Womack & Womack meanwhile show remarkable staying power to hold at No 4 (43,588) who themselves now almost top the 300,000 mark better than some of the year’s chart toppers and are at No 10 on the YTD.

 

A PWL double bill at No’s 6 & 7 this week, Rick Astley continues to inch up 10-7 (32,572) whilst the song he rejected “Nothing Can Divide Us” holds at No 6 (36,074) for Jason Donovan, Bill Withers drops 5-8 (30,685) and the Pet Shop Boys go into decline 7-9 (26,741) whilst Inner City continue to slide 9-10 (26,605).

 

1- DESIRE- U2 (62,118)

2- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (55,233)

3- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (43,843)

4- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (43,588)

5- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (38,097)

6- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (36,074)

7- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (32,572)

8- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (30,685)

9- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (26,741)

10- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (26,605)

 

Haha a week a lot like a lot of today's chart weeks with no top 10 new entries!

I'm really surprised that Nothing Can Divide Us was "rejected" by Rick Astley. I didn't think he would've had a choice as to which songs he recorded, which made the album and which were singles. I would just think that PWL would decide everything and he would be the singing puppet.

 

I guess after the success of his first album, he did get a say.

He was on RCA not PWL as regards record label and they would have probably chosen singles. As the whole first album was SAW written and produced it didn't matter what the singles were. Plus the relationship had broken down between SAW and Astley in the main. That was in part due exhaustion on Astley's part after breaking the USA, he was ordered to take some months off earlier in 88 by doctors so I suppose he was determined to do things his way for the second album which inevitably meant less reliance on SAW.