August 22Aug 22 Author 18TH APRILEaster arrives, and whilst it isn’t the massive sales boost that Christmas is, it brings with it a minor boom of its own. Behind all week to the highest new entry Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins had to battle back but it managed it at the death with an increased sale of 128,000 (up 13%) bringing its total to 791,000 during its 5 weeks at No 1 so far. The follow up hit looks like another Jason Nevins remix, this time of “It’s Tricky” which, just like “It’s Like That”, is already charting on imports at No 74 and is a big hit on the continent at the moment.That midweek leader came from Busta Rhymes, a rapper whose previous biggest hit was 1996’s “Woo-Ha!! Got You All In Check” (#8) but an inspired use of the “Knight Rider” theme transforms an average album track into a great single choice. “Fire It Up (Remix)/ Turn It Up” had, as we’ve noted, sprinted into an early lead but slackened the pace as the week wore on eventually coming to rest on 123,000.Scoring a massive hit last summer with “Free” Ultra Nate finally gets round to that follow up and “Found A Cure” duly arrives at No 6 (42,000). “Free” sold almost half a million so there will be much riding on the performance of this single, both hits will appear on her album “Situation: Critical” out next month.The current US No 1 single enters here at No 8 (36,000) for K-Ci & Jojo (they’re brothers) who were of course formerly members of Jodeci, though they've been releasing the occasional track as a separate entity away from the group. Now with the group on a break they’ve decided to make their duo into a regular chart act and this is their third, and largest yet, “solo” track. “All My Life” leapt from 15-1 in the US and was written by Jojo using his daughter as inspiration, originally it was intended for another unnamed female vocalist but kept back- a wise move!Celine Dion drops 2-3 (54,000) but Billie Myers holds on to No 4 (50,000) along with Savage Garden at No 5 (49,000). The notable increase for “Truly Madly Deeply” can only be attributable to the school holidays and has sold 342,000 copies so far after 8 weeks in the top 10. Sash! fall 3-7 (39,000) with LeAnn Rimes holding at No 9 (35,000), Robbie Williams rounds the top ten off moving 6-10 (31,000) but celebrates anyway as “Life Thru A Lens” finally makes No 1 in its 28th week in the chart!1- IT’S LIKE THAT- Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins (128,000)2- TURN IT UP/ FIRE IT UP- Busta Rhymes (123,000)3- MY HEART WILL GO ON- Celine Dion (54,000)4- KISS THE RAIN- Billie Myers (50,000)5- TRULY MADLY DEEPLY- Savage Garden (49,000)6- FOUND A CURE- Ultra Nate (42,000)7- LA PRIMAVERA- Sash! (39,000)8- ALL MY LIFE- K-Ci & Jojo (36,000)9- HOW DO I LIVE- LeAnn Rimes (35,000)10- LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU- Robbie Williams (31,000)
August 22Aug 22 Author 25TH APRILWith a day of sales lost to Easter Monday Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins retain the top spot for a 6th week, that equals the total for a rap record held by “I’ll Be Missing You” and is now the longest uninterrupted stint at No 1 since “Wannabe” in 1996. Sales are predictably down at 87,000 which makes “It’s Like That” a sitting duck for the new Boyzone single out this week but its success has been astonishing!Busta Rhymes remains in second spot (58,000) but will not now pose any threat to the top spot.Straight into No 3 (46,000) this week comes another slice of Italian dance music courtesy of The Tamperer (production duo Mario Fargetta and Alex Farolfi) featuring Maya Days (credited only as Maya) and “Feel It”. Based extensively around a sample of the Jacksons “Can You Feel It” and taking lyrics from Heather Leigh West’s “Drop A House” the song has proved irresistible to both radio and clubbers.British dance duo 187 Lockdown first appeared as a remix duo before grabbing a hit in their own right last year with “Gunman” (#16), follow up “Kung-Fu” does much better however coming in at No 9 (32,000). The mildly violent video has been avoided by some TV stations but it seems hasn’t hampered the progress of the single which uses samples from computer games “Mortal Kombat 2” and “Street Fighter II”.Celine Dion continues her slow descent 3-4 (45,000) but “My Heart Will Go On” has now sold 1,136,000 making it the 14th biggest hit of the decade and just 100,000 behind her biggest hit “Think Twice”. Savage Garden are also long stayers, nine weeks in the top 10 as it holds at No 5 (42,000) and will sell their 400,000th copy this week.Ultra Nate holds at No 6 (40,000) but hats off to LeAnne Rimes who climbs 9-7 (39,000) with “How Do I Live” equalling the peak of the track that it achieved 7 weeks ago, it’s chart trajectory this far has been 7-9-12-17-12-9-9-7 accumulating 258,000 copies thus far. Sash! dip 7-8 (35,000) and Billie Myers hangs on in there 4-10 (29,000).1- IT’S LIKE THAT- Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins (87,000)2- TURN IT UP/ FIRE IT UP- Busta Rhymes (58,000)3- FEEL IT- Tamperer Featuring Maya (46,000)4- MY HEART WILL GO ON- Celine Dion (45,000)5- TRULY MADLY DEEPLY- Savage Garden (42,000)6- FOUND A CURE- Ultra Nate (40,000)7- HOW DO I LIVE- LeAnn Rimes (39,000)8- LA PRIMAVERA- Sash! (35,000)9- KUNG FU- 187 Lockdown (32,000)10- KISS THE RAIN- Billie Myers (29,000)
August 22Aug 22 What happened to It's Tricky in the end, was it cancelled? I don't understand why on earth they would do that, it could have been massive. It didn't chart at all in 1998 outside of that import.
August 22Aug 22 Author 36 minutes ago, gooddelta said:What happened to It's Tricky in the end, was it cancelled? I don't understand why on earth they would do that, it could have been massive. It didn't chart at all in 1998 outside of that import.One of life's mysteries, it was slated for release then just disappeared.
August 22Aug 22 I loved It's Like That at the time, it felt like such a cool track and I remember being amazed when it did as well as this. Busta Rhymes was also pretty decent, the Knightrider sample was basically what sold it but it was an inspired idea.
August 22Aug 22 A very hip hop top 2 there! Don't remember the Busta Rhymes track from the time but it sounds good listening there.'Feel It' is iconic and great! Started a brief trend for chimes in songs! *looking at you Steps and Texas*Misread that 187 Lockdown song title for a second and thought it was another similarly titled/themed chart song from 1998! Edited August 22Aug 22 by TheSnake
August 23Aug 23 When Life Thru A Lens topped the album chart on the 18th April, the gap to Celine Dion in 2nd place was just 4 sales !Life Thru A Lens - 42,995Let's Talk About Love - 42,991 Edited August 23Aug 23 by mrpopquiz
August 23Aug 23 What a run for 'It's Like That' at the moment the last few TOTP repeats have been lacking in major highlights for me but that stands out for a mile. Shocked to learn that 'It's Tricky' was a cancelled single here as I'm pretty familiar with that one too, argh.I do quite like 'Feel It' as well though, the Jacksons production sample and wacky lyrics are a fun combination.Oh my at 'Kung Fu' being a top 10 hit. I don't think I'd ever come across that until yesterday!
6 hours ago6 hr Author 2ND MAYTheir third album is now just weeks away from release and in preparation Boyzone crash straight into the No 1 spot this week with “All That I Need”. It becomes the band’s third chart topper but more importantly means that all 11 of their singles have gone top 5, they therefore equal the best start to any chart career established by Kylie Minogue. The boys are undoubtedly the biggest boyband in the land at present and sold 80,049 to prove it but one word of warning, that’s the lowest opening tally for any Boyzone single since “Coming Home Now” back in 1996- and it didn’t even have an album to hamper it……Boyzone’s rocket to No 1 was helped considerably by the tired legs of “It’s Like That” which limps 1-2 (61,000) after 6 weeks at the top spot, with total sales of 939,000 it should easily cross the million mark this month.The return of Kula Shaker has been notable for several reasons. The band have refused to make a promo for the single and this is the first single since lead singer Crispian Mills extolled the virtues of the Swastika and generated negative publicity for the group last year. It appears not to have dented their bankability so far with new single “Sound Of Drums” crashing straight in at No 3 (57,000), it’s their 5th consecutive top 10 single.Catatonia, or rather Cerys Matthews, have had a great 1998 so far, their single “Mulder & Skully” proved a major breakthrough making No 3 in January and was followed by Matthews moonlighting on Space’s “Ballad Of Tom Jones” (No 4). Time then for a new Catatonia single and “Road Rage” makes a pleasing sequential new entry at No 5 (44,000), it takes its title and theme from the murder of Lee Harvey by his fiancé back in December 1996. It pushes parent album “International Velvet” 13-5, its highest placing yet.The Steps success story continues apace, debut single “5,6,7,8” only made No 14 but sold an amazing 300,000 to boot. The group take their name from a marketing ploy whereby each of their singles had a planned dance routine to accompany the song which would be easy to learn. They are managed and overseen by Pete Waterman who has already stated that he wants to make a modern day ABBA out of the group, indeed the Waterman connection explains why their second single is a cover of a Bananarama track written in part by Waterman. “Last Thing On My Mind” proved a No 71 hit in 1992 for the duo but does much better now entering at No 6 (39,000) to keep up the group’s momentum.Reaping the rewards of the National Lottery Live show, The Mavericks prove that 1998 might just be a great year for country with LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twain already scoring top 10 hits and now they add to it with “Dance The Night Away”. The single do-se-do’s in at No 9 (33,000) to bring some sunshine to the top 10, the band have been recording for 7 years without much success outside of the country circuit but their attempt to cross into mainstream pop has gone well.The Tamperer Featuring Maya drop 3-4 (54,000) even though it increased sales, and Savage Garden slip back 5-7 (36,000). A couple of big fallers round off the top 10, Busta Rhymes tumbles 2-8 (34,000) and Celine Dion’s massive “My Heart Will Go On” finally docks 4-10 (31,000)1- ALL THAT I NEED- Boyzone (80,049)2- IT’S LIKE THAT- Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins (61,000)3- SOUND OF DRUMS- Kula Shaker (57,000)4- FEEL IT- Tamperer Featuring Maya (54,000)5- ROAD RAGE- Catatonia (44,000)6- LAST THING ON MY MIND- Steps (39,000)7- TRULY MADLY DEEPLY- Savage Garden (36,000)8- TURN IT UP/ FIRE IT UP- Busta Rhymes (34,000)9- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (33,000)10- MY HEART WILL GO ON- Celine Dion (31,000)
6 hours ago6 hr Author 9TH MAYThe All Saints are on top of the charts this week with a pair of covers. Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Under The Bridge” (#13, 1994) and Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” (#17, 1975) are the songs in question and both are available on their album which is also up 12-10 this week having sales of almost a million itself. Proceeds from the single are going to breast cancer charities which helped to contribute to 106,956 copies being sold last week, more than double the tally of “Never Ever” when it occupied the top slot in January though of course that single went on to sell 1,250,000 and exits the chart this week.The promos are designed to viewed sequentially “Lady Marmalade” first then “Under The Bridge”, and were shown before screenings of the film “Jackie Brown” in cinema’s last month- an usual strategy which has clearly reaped rewards.Madonna scores back to back top 2 singles for the first time in 8 years with her 41st top 10 single and title track from her current album “Ray Of Light”. Starting out life as a 1971 track called “Sepheryn” by folk duo Curtiss Moldoon, it has been substantially altered with some new lyrics in places to give the material girl a No 2 hit with a sale of 76,000. Naturally being Madonna it comes with a new image and this time the “earth mother” look gets an airing and assists the album bouncing 9-4.The return of Garbage has been much heralded by the indie press over the last few months and the new single “Push It” finally arrives at No 9 (30,000) as the lead single from their second album “Version 2.0”. Featuring an interpolation of the Beach Boys “Don’t Worry Baby” becomes their third top 10 single but somewhat incredibly was as high as No 3 in the midweeks.And whilst Garbage were at three Massive Attack were just a place behind when the first sales flashes were released but again they end up just securing themselves a No 10 single with “Teardrop”. Featuring the vocals of Cocteau Twins lead singer Elizabeth Fraser who got the gig by a vote within the trio who went 2-1 in favour of her over Madonna who was apparently keen to record it after working with Massive Attack on “I Want You” a few years ago. This is the group’s first top 10 single after moving 28,000 copies, and that despite the parent LP “Mezzanine” spending a second week at No 1 on the album charts.The Tamperer Featuring Maya move back up 4-3 (53,000) overtaking last weeks No 1 Boyzone who fall 1-4 (49,000) and the other big former No 1 from Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins which depletes 2-5 (43,000).You can’t deny the consistency of the Savage Garden single “Truly, Madly, Deeply” which has spent 11 weeks in the top ten having sold 456,000 copies including 36,000 this week. Steps slip 6-7 (34,000) and The Mavericks climb 9-8 (31,000) but lost sales.We’ll see if next week if Aqua can grab their third No 1 from as many releases!1- UNDER THE BRIDGE/ LADY MARMALADE- All Saints (106,956)2- RAY OF LIGHT- Madonna (76,000)3- FEEL IT- Tamperer Featuring Maya (53,000)4- ALL THAT I NEED- Boyzone (49,000)5- IT’S LIKE THAT- Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins (43,000)6- TRULY MADLY DEEPLY- Savage Garden (36,000)7- LAST THING ON MY MIND- Steps (34,000)8- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (31,000)9- PUSH IT- Garbage (30,000)10- TEARDROP- Massive Attack (28,000)
5 hours ago5 hr Oh my both Ray of Light and Tear Drop entering in the same week, two of 1998's very best tracks in one go there and indeed two songs that have permanent slots on my essentials playlist <3Also love Push It out of the other new ones. Road Rage I liked it at the time, but it's a little bit irksome sometimes. The All Saints track was okay, but neither of the AAs were as good as the originals - I find Under the Bridge easier to listen to than Lady Marmalade which I find a little irritating in any form. Their best material was still ahead of them (and not just in 2000 too!)
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