Our BuzzJack veteran @gooddelta recently came up with an idea for a countdown thread to give his personal countdown of UK #1 singles from 2000.

We now turn our attention to the following year, 2001, for which the UK Singles Chart recorded a total of 30 unique chart toppers.

2001 was a pivital year in history. The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. In popular culture, the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings film franchises were launched, the iPod and iTunes were invented for music, and three major sixth-generation video game systems became available. The Mac OS X and Windows XP were launched, as was the Wikipedia project.

I have chosen to take on the continuation of this BuzzJack event by sharing my personal ranking of all 30 UK #1 singles of 2001, together with my reasons for the choices. I will endeavor to create interesting commentaries to follow the high standard set by gooddetla in the previous year. I will start this thread by revealing the songs that finished in positions 30, 29 and 28 shortly. Please feel free to share your own thoughts on the songs as they are posted, along with any other personal memories you may have at the time.

Fantastic year for #1s was this.

Seated for Roger Sanchez ❤️

Looking forward to this, eagerly anticipating this.

Great to pass the baton on to Wardy for a memorable and pivotal year. Intrigued to see what order they end up in, and it's probably lucky I'm not doing this one for how inexplicably high I'd put Eternal Flame and The Way To Your Love!

Looking forward to following this!

#30

Afroman – Because I Got High

Date Charted: 27/10/2001

Weeks at #1: 3

UK Chart Run: {1}-1-1-2-4-8-14-19-26-18-15-27-42-49-64-63R(2)-60-62-63->19

Chart Commentary

In last place for this personal countdown, is rapper Afroman with one of his only two hits (the other being 'Crazy Rap' which peaked at #10 in 2002). The novelty surrounding 'Because I Got High' was about how Afroman neglected his responsibilities in life due to his excessive drug use. It is all meant to be taken in a light-hearted fashion and has comedic elements to the lyrics and sound effects used throughout. It was apparently written in just a few minutes which doesn't surprise me at all. What does surprise me is how it managed an impressive 3 week run at the top of the charts, denying singles by Britney Spears, Five and iio all from getting a #1, not to mention replacing Kylie at the top with one of her most remembered hits ever. I don't think anyone would rate this as one of their favourite #1 singles of the year, but I could be wrong...

Not a fave of mine, but it never annoyed me either, I think it was generally good-natured but nothing I would choose to replay much!

Eh, I don't have too many faves among the #1s of 2001; I'd probably put Because I Got High in my top 5 of the year, it's very fun.

nice to see another one of these though!

I get why it did so well, I was a 14-year-old boy at the time, and while it wasn't my cup of tea, my classmates were obsessed with it, it went very viral in the way things could back then. It's a simple singalong too which helps.

I would rank it in my bottom five I think although one to come is definitely bottom by a mile.

I did enjoy 'Because I Got High' at the time and thought it was funny but also not something I'd eagerly go out my way to play though.

#29

Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men

Date Charted: 12/05/2001

Weeks at #1: 2

UK Chart Run: {1}-1-2-7-7-17-21-20-30-39-40-44-53-56-73->15

Chart Commentary

Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell achieved a UK #1 single in the Summer of 2001 thanks in part to its feature in the movie 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. That, along with the fact that the song is a cover of a famous 80's single by The Weather Girls, the song garnered many fans and became Geri's first hit from her second solo album. The song may be fun and full of attitude, which are two things Geri had in common as a former Spice Girl, but the song goes down for me in my memory as nothing more than a carbon copy of the original with maybe just a little bit of improved overall production. It's not original and if I wanted to hear the song I'd pick the 80's version. Geri's two week stint at the top is sandwiched together by the only song to have re-peaked at #1 in this year, that was by S Club 7.

No argument about those being the bottom 2 - 'Because I Got High' became annoying for me very quickly. I hope DJ Otzi doesn't appear too soon though, the song's undeniably a cheesefest but quite fun.

Yeah not sure I’d quite put them bottom but they’re both pretty rubbish so no real quibble.

I'd also have that near the bottom. Everything about it is ok as far as covers go but I far prefer the follow up, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster.

Afroman's version of Frosty the Snowman was just vile.

Possibly my least favourite #1s from 2001 year are "Touch Me" and "Do You Really Like It".

#28

Bob The Builder – Mambo No. 5

Date Charted: 15/09/2001

Weeks at #1: 1

UK Chart Run: {1}-2-4-7-9-15-22-23-32-41-43-45-56-58-63-60-52-72-67->19

Chart Commentary

A little bit of naffness that's for sure. Another novelty #1 single for Neil Morrissey (aka Bob The Builder) with his unique take on the Lou Bega #1 single from two years earlier. It's pretty pants overall and apart from its novelty element doesn't offer anything extra. A much weaker #1 than 'Can We Fix It?' from 2000, it spelled the end of the novelty singles for the children's enterprise, though Bob can be seen accompanying many other children's TV characters on a charity single fronted by Peter Kay some time later in 2009. In the week it was a chart topper, 'Mambo No. 5' denied Supermen Lovers from reaching #1 with their single 'Starlight'.

I do like 'It's Raining Men' and it's one i bought but certainly not added anything to stand out from the original. Also have the other two Geri's singles from 2001 too and generally do prefer both to this one tbh.

Nothing more to add on Bob really, quite pointless to cover a song that was only two years old and probably in my bottom three No.1s of the year too.

Big Fish Little Fish is far more entertaining and didn’t chart at all!

Still, to get two chart singles and both being No.1 is quite a cool record to have.