That Kerry's spoken word version is my favourite AK song.

I read once that Westlife fans helped Whole Again - this makes sense as otherwise it is a bit baffling.

#5

S Club 7 – Don't Stop Movin'

Date Charted: 05/05/2001

Weeks at #1: 2

UK Chart Run: {1}-2-2-1-2-4-7-9-9-14-19-23-25-32-40-39-48-52-70->19

Chart Commentary

A funky upbeat disco anthem from S Club 7 in the Summer of 2001 that had two stints at #1. Possibly one of my favourite S Club singles for it's feel-good vibes, and to enjoy the shared lead vocals of Jo and Bradley. It was clearly a pop fan's favourite go to party song for the Summer and would give the 7-piece band their seventh consecutive Top 3 single, and third UK #1 to date. It would go on to become the 7th best selling single of 2001 as well as achieving the prestigious Brit Award for Best British Single. Artists denied higher chart peaks during the weeks the song was at #1 included Depeche Mode, Fatboy Slim, Oxide & Neutrino, BBMak and A*Teens.

A great, classic pop single - critically it was their finest moment although there's a couple of their others I prefer myself.

It's a fantastic disco pop track though with great production and a rousing chorus, Jo and Bradley work so well together, his verses are so effective and her vocal soars in the middle eight going into the chorus. I hoped they would keep to this kind of more mature sound but they quickly reverted to form with the likes of You the following year. Of course they tried to recreate it with Alive but that was a rather flat number in comparison.

Loved that it returned to No.1 too as it definitely deserved more than a week, a far better song than Geri's cover.

Intrigued at the choice of final four. Three I am not surprised to see and another which will absolutely land like a lead balloon here (but got to No.1 in my personal chart for weeks so no grumbles this end).

For some reason I disliked this at the time, but I saw the error of my ways and I really like it nowadays!

I agree with Gooddelta, they were really on to something in this moment and 'You' was such a massive step back for them sonically - then they just imploded afterwards. Shame.

“Don’t Stop Moving’” is fantastic. It might be the best song to come out of any of these teen manufactured bands - certainly from any of the mixed boy and girl ones. It would be my #2 here.

4 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

For some reason I disliked this at the time, but I saw the error of my ways and I really like it nowadays!

I agree with Gooddelta, they were really on to something in this moment and 'You' was such a massive step back for them sonically - then they just imploded afterwards. Shame.

I think Paul even cited one of the reasons he left was because he was so happy to release something like that (they are all listed as co-writers on it too) and annoyed that they went straight back to the cheese. Even S Club Juniors released cooler singles in 2002 than You 😆

39 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

I think Paul even cited one of the reasons he left was because he was so happy to release something like that (they are all listed as co-writers on it too) and annoyed that they went straight back to the cheese. Even S Club Juniors released cooler singles in 2002 than You 😆

'Stronger' was right there! I don't get it

"You" is my favourite and "Don't Stop Movin" is worst S Club single.

What makes it so bad for you compared to their other singles?

42 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

'Stronger' was right there! I don't get it

Strangely this even appeared on a compilation album in summer 2002, and remixes were also produced, so it must have been considered for a release.

https://www.discogs.com/release/4433594-Various-958-FMs-Party-In-The-Park-For-The-Princes-Trust-2002-The-Album-Of-The-Event

I suspect the singles run was supposed to be:

Don't Stop Movin' (May 2001), You (October/November 2001), Stronger (Feb/March 2002), but then Have You Ever and the Children In Need opportunity came along and got in the way and they changed their plans and we didn't get Stronger. I'm sure You was always planned in though as it was the theme to their TV show.

The #1s of 2001 that have featured in #ThrowbackThursday series and what I said about them:

#5- S Club 7- Don't Stop Movin'

The first song for this week is from I apologize I know we saw them last week but it is another song from S Club 7 with 'Don't Stop Movin' which was the lead single from their third studio album 'Sunshine'. This would have feature lead vocals from Bradley and Jo. This would go and reach #1 in the UK and become the first song in 3 years to have two runs at #1. This was probably their signature song, this is an anthem from them and it is a pop classic from them. I remember listening to this a heck of a lot. I remember thinking when thinking one of the lyrics was the ass club beat, not S Club beat.

Ah yes 'Whole Again' and the several music videos lol. I did like it but do prefer other songs they released.

'Don't Stop Movin' is a pop banger and brings me back to the good old days of Butlins.

Don't Stop Movin' <3

A great pop single... and another one I bought so that makes it just this and Another Chance so far

I think DSM suffered from overplay for me back at the time but, looking back, it’s definitely them at their creative peak and actually the SC7 I play most these days. A classic!

#4

Rui Da Silva feat. Cassandra – Touch Me

Date Charted: 13/01/2001

Weeks at #1: 1

UK Chart Run: {1}-2-2-4-10-15-21-32-36-47-61-56-57-57->14

Chart Commentary

The first UK #1 of 2001 came from dance outfit Rui Da Silva. It was perhaps known as being one of the first progressive house singles to reach #1 in the United Kingdom. It officially became the first #1 by a Portuguese artist as well. 'Touch Me' earned Rui Da Silva an award for Best Single in the Muzik magazine Dance Awards 2001. On a personal level, it shines as one of the highlights of 2001 albeit a hit that nobody saw coming at the time, and I always thought it seemed unique and very mature as a dance single compared with some of the more novelty singles that would often get to the top. It certainly did not seem in any way a commercially intended release at the time, and it was perhaps deemed a little too leftfield to be included on the compilation 'Now 48' but it did make other compilations such as Hits 2001, Hits 50, Music: The Definitive Hits Collection and Floorfillers. In it's single week at the top it denied Steps a #1 single, plus a higher peak for Fragma.

That's a great track, what a delight to see it so high. I'd have it in my top five too, a really hypnotic dance track and a great one to have crossed over into the mainstream. Wasn't it the first No.1 by an act from Portugal? And a brilliant vocal too from Cass(andra) Fox. It gives me a similar feeling to Motorcycle's As The Rush Comes from 2004. It was indeed quite a coup for Hits 2001 to have it on because that was released a good month or so before the single was released.

Shame for Steps though, who had a distribution leak the week before and climbed from No.72 to No.2 (but the sales they lost that first week weren't enough to make up the deficit anyway). It's The Way You Make Me Feel is a far better song than Stomp. Interestingly, all of the top three that week had distribution leaks - Touch Me actually went 112-1 while Fragma's Everytime You Need Me went 129-3.

BTW, it was on a label that was a strand of BMG, hence Now 48 not getting it. BMG/Sony stuff always went to Hits.

Edited Wednesday at 12:321 day by gooddelta

Aww I hoped “Touch Me” was going to win. It’s not only my favourite Number 1 of the year but my favourite hit of the year full stop. The way that sizzling production builds up and surrounds the vocal like a hug is incredible.

There’s nothing I love in the Top 3, but 2 I like a lot that I think are reasonable top choices.

The #1s of 2001 that have featured in #ThrowbackThursday series and what I said about them:

#4- Rui Da Silva ft Cassandra- Touch Me

'Touch Me' was an collaboration between Portuguese house music producer Rui da Silva and British singer Cassandra Fox. This would go on and peak at #1 in the UK where it would stay there for one week. This was the first time that an act from Portugal had topped the UK charts. I couldn't find the official music video for this, I do apologize.

Hypnotic, dark, sensual

What a bloodbath release week that was though!

39 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

Hypnotic, dark, sensual

What a bloodbath release week that was though!

For sure, that top three was all 10/10 songs for me. One of my favourite ever top threes.

A brooding and beautiful dance classic, Steps with a career highlight, and a Fragma follow up that wasn't the usual Eurodance pattern of 'more of the same but slightly worse' but was a great sparkling pop/dance single in its own right that had a very solid top five run of four weeks so was no flash in the pan either.