14TH DECEMBER



The runners and riders for the big sellers over the festive period are starting to line up but George Michael and Elton John remain at the top of the roost boosting sales to 82,960 and may prove harder to dislodge next week than many had thought. It’s the second chart topper for both in duet, George of course took Aretha Franklin with him to the top in 1987 and Elton duetted with Kiki way back in 1976.

The new challenger to their throne is Diana Ross who ascends 4-2 (54,816) just edging ahead of The KLF Featuring Tammy Wynette who glide 5-3 (50,288), the appearance of the re-issue of Ross’s album (which debuts at No 14) seems to have not affected the single.



Freddie Mercury’s death on 24th November marked a great surge in Queen’s sales which sees 4 of their albums in the top 75 with both “Greatest Hits” packages doing a roaring trade at No’s 1 & 8, by sheer co-incidence Brian May has been hard at work recording a solo album due next year and the first single “Driven By You” had the promotion of an ad campaign behind it to get it lodged into the public’s mind. Yes Ford is the culprit, but it’s worked as the single revs 14-6 (26,512), it’s not May’s first solo credit after he made No 65 in 1983 with “Star Fleet” so it’s certainly his highest solo effort but the real show of public mourning for Mercury should be evident next week.

Leaping up the charts 22-7 (22,064) is “Too Blind To See It” by US dance diva Kym Sims. It’s her first UK single and comes with the production of Steve “Silk” Hurley who is no stranger to the No 1 himself having taken “Jack Your Body” to the top in January 1987.

Already a million seller just 10 weeks into its chart life, Simply Red’s fourth album “Stars” has produced its second hit single after lead track “Something Got Me Started” stalled at No 11. The title track from the album lifts 11-8 (20,864) to give the group only their 3rd top 10 single, both the others went to No 2 so watch out for this, though maybe once Christmas is out of the way!

The highest new entry of the week isn’t from U2 who can only make a splash at No 13 but from New Kids On The Block. When “Games” peaked at No 14 back in February many wrote them off as yesterday’s teen favourites but they’ve come back from the edge with “Call It What You Want” making No 12 and now new single “If You Go Away” debuting at No 9 (19,792). It’s their 9th top 10 single in only 2 years but the first not to be produced by Maurice Starr who parted ways with the group, it’s co-written by John Bettis who also co-wrote the current Diana Ross single. A greatest hits album is out this week and the boys remain the 3rd biggest selling singles act of the decade behind only Madonna and leader Bryan Adams.

Michael Jackson slides 2-4 (36,928) but he does sell his 200,000 copy of “Black Or White”, he keeps above East Side Beat who also fall 3-5 (31,840), and Nirvana drop 7-10 (19,216) as “Nevermind” also falls for the first time in 7 weeks as it blips 33-36. Next week sees the re-release of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and if pre orders are anything to go by we’ll be in 6 figures for week 1!


1- DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME- George Michael & Elton John (82,960)
2- WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME- Diana Ross (54,816)
3- JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT- The KLF/ Tammy Wynette (50,288)
4- BLACK OR WHITE- Michael Jackson (36,928)
5- RIDE LIKE THE WIND- East Side Beat (31,840)
6- DRIVEN BY YOU- Brian May (26,512)
7- TOO BLIND TO SEE IT- Kym Sims (22,064)
8- STARS- Simply Red (20,864)
9- IF YOU GO AWAY- New Kids On The Block (19,792)
10- SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT- Nirvana (19,216)

'Playing With Knives' is such a classic

Do we have any other forum members, who hate/strongly dislike 90s dance music like me ?

35 minutes ago, Last Dreamer said:

Do we have any other forum members, who hate/strongly dislike 90s dance music like me ?

Why do you always have to make it so negative?

I forgot that Freddy Mercury died at this point, I’d always thought it was strange that Dangerous only spent one week at #1 but it makes much more sense to see it would have been 3 weeks without Queen going back to the top

4 hours ago, Last Dreamer said:

Do we have any other forum members, who hate/strongly dislike 90s dance music like me ?

I’m pleased to say probably not.

In fact I like 90s dance music as much as you like Lithuanian girl bands.

The KLF & Tammy is one of my favourite songs of the year, it's just so bonkers in such a brilliant way and I can't really think of another song that's like it.

It was my #1 that year for christmas, even managing to topple my favourite band at the time (Erasure) with Am I Right? - hopefully it doesn't count as a spoiler to say that missed the top 10 and I was really gutted after both Chorus and Love To Hate You had done so well. It's obviously a much less commercial single but I really still love it and think it's one of their more intriguing song structures

5 hours ago, Last Dreamer said:

Do we have any other forum members, who hate/strongly dislike 90s dance music like me ?

Out of genuine interest, do you have any genres or songs that you just kinda like. I think out of everyone I've met on this forum, you tend to have the most polar taste with quite extreme views about songs being either really good or really bad.

44 minutes ago, dandy* said:

Out of genuine interest, do you have any genres or songs that you just kinda like. I think out of everyone I've met on this forum, you tend to have the most polar taste with quite extreme views about songs being either really good or really bad.

I'm very "greedy" person, when it comes to songs rate. There were some years (even in retro period), when my SOTY was 8/10. Josefin Nilsson - Heaven And Hell from 1993 year is a good sample. 6/10 is a good score, which is enough for a lowest part of my weekly chart in "dead" periods. The most songs will get 3 or 4 out of 10.

My rate system:

10 - Almost as good as "Beautiful Song" from Anmary

9 - Iconic

8 - Wonderful

7 - Very good

6 - Good

5 - Average

4 - Forgettable

3 - Weak

2 - Bad

1 - Very bad

0 - Awful

Is it possible to get 10 ?

Yes, but there are only 20 (21) songs in all history of pop music, which got a perfect 10 from me.

Oh I've just taken a listen to 'Beautiful Song'. Is that your favourite song of all time?

8 hours ago, dandy* said:

Oh I've just taken a listen to 'Beautiful Song'. Is that your favourite song of all time?

YES !!!

some meh new entries there, bar dance banger Too Blind To See It - I preferred Something Got Me Started to Stars, and that album def had overkill at the time, didnt like Driven By You at all - though obv I had a lot of Queen love - and the Starfleet oldie was much more fun! John Bettis wrote some good stuff with Richard Carpenter back in the Carpenters day, but his stuff was even more MOR by this time, and they lacked the class of the old stuff like Goodbye To Love, Human Nature (Jacko), and were more like his One Moment In Time Whitney biggie. Jordan Knight, meanwhile, had the best potential in NKOTB....

21ST DECEMBER

It set a blistering pace from the off and the re-issue of “Bohemian Rhapsody” does exactly what everyone thought it would, debut instantly at the top. The song was of course No 1 for Christmas 1975 spending 9 weeks at the top and selling a million as well as launching the concept of the pop promo as we know it. Its re-release is of course thanks to the untimely death of Freddie Mercury last month which has seen “Greatest Hits II” shift incredible numbers at No 1 in the album charts, and in making the top it becomes the first song to make No 1 twice for the same act. Officially it is a double A-Side with new song “These Are The Days Of Our Lives” which appears on the groups “Innuendo” album, the video for which is done mostly in black and white to partly hide the extent of Mercury’s failing health.

All told the package sold over 100,000 in its first day alone and an amazing total of 330,800 copies in 6 days, the last single to sell at that rate? Band Aid of course. It is also either the 5th or 6th song to debut at No 1 in 1991 depending on how you view Iron Maiden’s “Bring Your Daughter” which hit the top on 30th December 1990 but with an official chart date of 5th January 1991- either way it puts 1991 in the record books for entries at No 1. Finally it also becomes the first song to re-enter the charts at the top and also the 11th biggest seller of the year after just a week!

Also arriving this week but with a less emphatic sales tally is the new Guns N Roses single “Live And Let Die”, their version of the 1973 No 9 Wings classic. The band have been performing the song live for a few years now and put their version on “Use Your Illusion I”, interestingly both I & II are side by side this week just outside the top 50. It’s a 6th top 10 for the band in the last 2 years as they continue to be one of the biggest groups around, this is new at No 5 (34,896).

Those who thought that “I’m Too Sexy” was a one off are proved entirely wrong with the new Right Said Fred single “Don’t Talk Just Kiss” which once again feature the vocals of Jocelyn Brown who is getting spoiled with all these official credits these days. The single fires 17-9 (25,280) with an album coming in spring!

Cliff topped the Christmas charts in 1988 and 1990 and was also part of Band Aid II in 1989 but it looks like he won’t be getting a fourth year in 1991, his attempt at the big one is “We Should Be Together” which is a cut from his “Together With Cliff” album currently residing at No 10 on the album charts. It jumps 19-10 (22,656) this week to become his 60th top 10 single- an amazing achievement by anyone’s standards even if it doesn’t make the top.

George Michael and Elton John can do nothing to stop losing the pole position this week and fall back 1-2 (65,536) a whole 265,000 behind Queen, again the biggest gap between the top 2 since Band Aid and Wham! seven years ago. The KLF and Tammy Wynette hold steady at No 3 (50,176) managing to outpace Diana Ross who falls back 2-4 (49,552), further down Michael Jackson is also falling 4-8 (27,584) but with “Dangerous” still top 5 and selling a million I doubt he’ll care.

Two records stuck in groove are side by side, Brian May at No 6 (31,280) and Kym Sims at No 7 (30,944). Next week it’s Christmas- can anything dislodge Queen?


1- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/ THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES- Queen (330,800)
2- DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME- George Michael & Elton John (65,536)
3- JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT- The KLF/ Tammy Wynette (50,176)
4- WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME- Diana Ross (49,552)
5- LIVE AND LET DIE- Guns N Roses (34,896)
6- DRIVEN BY YOU- Brian May (31,280)
7- TOO BLIND TO SEE IT- Kym Sims (30,944)
8- BLACK OR WHITE- Michael Jackson (27,584)
9- DON’T TALK JUST KISS- Right Said Fred/ Jocelyn Brown (25,280)
10- WE SHOULD BE TOGETHER- Cliff Richard (22,656)

Dont Talk Just Kiss was surprsingly good (not least due to Jocelyn), Cliff's I dont recall much of and I can see why playing it now (pleasantly forgettable), and Guns n Roses not a patch on Wings' original. So I bought the new Queen single for the other side, for charity, and to replace my worn-out original Bo Rap vinyl single. Years of using coins to stop vinyl singles skipping grooves was not friendly on sound quality when buying new record decks with better stylus'. So many precious singles ruined! Happily I found a fire-damaged mega-batch of previously mint singles in a second-hand record shop in the 80's that had unplayed copies of many of my damaged copies. They smelled a bit smokey, but hey, a bargain is a bargain. Bo Rap, I am of course fed up hearing now, I think this run was starting to tarnish the love, but the next re-entry was one too many, I can play it in my head the whole way through who needs to ever hear it again!. Days Of Our Lives still makes me sad though.

'Too Blind To See It' is such a classic anthem of that time and one I give regular plays.

28TH DECEMBER

In the end the destination of the Christmas No 1 for 1991 was too big an ask for anyone after the death of Freddie Mercury and the decision to re-issue “Bohemian Rhapsody” with the song making a second week at the top on a reduced sale of 263,392, a 20% loss but they were so far ahead that it didn’t matter. That means that the double A-Side has sold 594,192 in just a fortnight as it rushes 11-2 on the YTD list with only Bryan Adams ahead of it, and with only one week left that might be too out of sight to consider, even for Queen.

Christmas No 2 surprises many with most expecting George Michael & Elton John to play bridesmaids but they slump 2-3 (57,424) leaving the way clear for Diana Ross to re-climb 4-2 (62,816), The KLF & Tammy Wynette end up at No 4 (57,056) but all three were fighting for the scraps really. The top 5 are completed by a climbing Right Said Fred & Jocelyn Brown 9-5 (41,952) and are well worth a bet for a post new year chart topper.



Opening in Cinemas a fortnight ago “The Addams Family” has been a sizeable hit and it’s also helping put MC Hammer’s career back on track. He scored 6 top 20 singles from his first UK album in 1990 but this year he returned, dropped the MC and saw his first single (and title track from the album) “2 Legit 2 Quit” stall at No 60, a major surprise. He provides the theme to the new movie however and was helped by the showing of the video before the movie in most cinema’s on its opening week which sees the song power 16-9 (32,272), it samples part of the original TV theme into the track and provides Hammer with a 4th top 10 single in 18 months.

When Mark Summers made No 27 back in February with “Summers Magic” he started a trend for 1991, in that track he sampled the theme from “The Magic Roundabout” marrying together dance music and children’s TV themes, then followed the Prodigy and “Charly” and now Shaft with “Roobard And Custard” which you won’t be surprised to read samples part of the cartoon series of the same name from the 70s, it seems to be a winning combo as the song rises 13-10 (31,904) to keep those Christmas ravers happy.

Kym Sims spends a third week at No 7 (37,408) but it’s not so good for Guns N Roses who dip 5-6 (41,792) and Brian May who puts the brakes on 6-8 (35,952), all songs, apart from George & Elton and Queen recorded an increase as per usual at Christmas time.

After 9 consecutive weeks of at least 1 new entry in the top 10 the record feat comes to an end- could it be topped in 1992?  With nothing likely to debut in the top 10 next week we can reflect on 1991- a record 43 singles arrived in the top flight, six debuted at No 1 and 20 inside the top 5- all records.  Conversely only 17 tracks made No 1- the lowest tally in 7 years, you can thank Bryan Adams for that!


1- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/ THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES- Queen (263,392)
2- WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME- Diana Ross (62,816)
3- DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME- George Michael & Elton John (57,424)
4- JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT- The KLF/ Tammy Wynette (57,056)
5- DON’T TALK JUST KISS- Right Said Fred/ Jocelyn Brown (41,952)
6- LIVE AND LET DIE- Guns N Roses (41,792)
7- TOO BLIND TO SEE IT- Kym Sims (37,408)
8- DRIVEN BY YOU- Brian May (35,952)
9- ADDAMS GROOVE- Hammer (32,272)
10- ROOBARB AND CUSTARD- Shaft (31,904)

Nothing new and essential here! Hammer's Addams Groove was welcome to a child of the 60's with big love for the TV series, but the theme tune is still iconic as they are bigger than ever in the 20's. I have the US-format box set of DVD's, I bought my Uncle Fester sweet dispenser in Florida in the autumn as the hype for the film built up (still have it, sitting next to my Snoopy plastic figure) and I love Wedneday, as does my great niece. The record is better than Roobarb & Custard, which I was too old to get nostalgic about, and the theme tune just annoyed, so never that fussed about a rave version. 😄

4TH JANUARY

1991 ends with not much to report, “Bohemian Rhapsody/ These Are The Days Of Our Lives” remains No 1 for a third week though it can’t keep the frantic pace of its first fortnight and loses 53% of its sales week to week, but it was so far in front even that doesn’t signal the end of its reign as it walks past the winning post on 123,472, but still 717,664 in three weeks is nothing short of amazing in current times.

Two days of pre Christmas sales keeps the top 10 buoyant but The KLF and Tammy Wynette take full advantage to overhaul Diana Ross and push 4-2 (37,136) and could be in with a shot at the top depending how quickly Queen fade in the next week. Ross fades 2-3 (32,320) and George & Elton continue that slow descent 3-4 (31,200) but will cross the 300,000 mark next week, rounding off the top 5 are Right Said Fred and Jocelyn Brown who stick it out at No 5 (30,224).

Not much movement in the bottom half of the big 10 with Brian May tripping 8-10 (20,304) which allows Shaft and Hammer to move up a place each 10-9 (21,776) and 9-8 (22,640) respectively. Guns N Roses hold at No 6 (23,504) and Kym Sims makes a month stuck at No 7 (23,424) something she didn’t foresee!


1- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/ THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES- Queen (123,472)
2- JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT- The KLF/ Tammy Wynette (37,136)
3- WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME- Diana Ross (32,320)
4- DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME- George Michael & Elton John (31,200)
5- DON’T TALK JUST KISS- Right Said Fred/ Jocelyn Brown (30,224)
6- LIVE AND LET DIE- Guns N Roses (23,504)
7- TOO BLIND TO SEE IT- Kym Sims (23,424)
8- ADDAMS GROOVE- Hammer (22,640)
9- ROOBARB AND CUSTARD- Shaft (21,776)
10- DRIVEN BY YOU- Brian May (20,304)

And so ends 1991- thanks everyone for your comments in the thread!

A word on future threads- 1992 will start in January, followed by 1993 and the four weeks of 1994 in April. That should bring the Gallup threads to an end in the summer. which along with TOTP 1999 should mean we end the 90s at somepoint in June/July.