4TH SEPTEMBER

After last week’s big fight it’s rather plainer sailing for Culture Beat this week “Mr Vain” expanding at retail to a cool 75,315 and picking up major airplay boosts. Nearest challenger Bitty McLean may move 3-2 to reach a new peak but his sales were actually off 9% to 35,310 a slither ahead of re-peaking Billy Joel (5-3) on 35,235. It’s Joel’s second biggest hit now with only the 5 week chart topper “Uptown Girl” performing better.

The sole new song to cover is a new 2 Unlimited single, the group debut in the top 10 for a fourth time in seven releases with “Faces” which follows the usual trend of an amended UK version without the European version with rap by Slijngaard. It is the third single from their second album “No Limits” which hit the top in the Spring and remains in the top 40 sixteen weeks after release, far better than their debut release so whichever way you cut it this has been by far their best year. It arrives at No 10 (17,940).

Those getting good news this week are SWV who rise 7-5 (33,465) and Mariah Carey who nudges 10-9 (21,075) as she gets her 7th US chart topper with “Dreamlover” and UB40 hold at No 8 for a third week with sales of 25,680 but they score an impressive 7th week at the No 1 spot on the album charts with “Promises And Lies”.  Freddie Mercury slides 2-4 (34,545), former rivals Urban Cookie Collective are also on the way down 4-6 (31,455) whilst the gradual decline of Apache Indian continues 6-7 (27,735).  Next week we’ll be doubtless be discussing a new Nirvana single tipped by some to arrive at No 1- could it?


1- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (75,315)
2- IT KEEPS RAININ (TEARS FROM MY EYES)- Bitty McLean (35,310)
3- THE RIVER OF DREAMS- Billy Joel (35,235)
4- LIVING ON MY OWN- Freddie Mercury (34,545)
5- RIGHT HERE- SWV (33,465)
6- THE KEY: THE SECRET- Urban Cookie Collective (31,455)
7- NUFF VIBES EP- Apache Indian (27,735)
8- HIGHER GROUND- UB40 (25,680)
9- DREAMLOVER- Mariah Carey (21,075)
10- FACES- 2 Unlimited (17,940)

Absolutely love 'Faces'!

11TH SEPTEMBER

“Mr Vain” dominates for a third week but it’s finally in decline saleswise slipping 13% to 65,085 bringing its total to 246,210 and is shaping up to be one of 93’s biggest hits. Though well off its peak at retail Bitty McLean holds at No 2 (30,435) despite a 14% loss on top of his 9% decrease the week before, sometimes chart positions don’t tell the whole story, similarly SWV’s sales are off 11% to 29,730 yet they move 5-3, neither will be troubling Culture Beat.

There’s only one song in the top 10 which improve in sales, 2 Unlimited’s “Faces”, which moves 10-8 (18,885). Other movers in the wrong direction are Billy Joel 3-4 (26,550), Freddie Mercury 4-6 (21,750), Urban Cookie Collective 6-7 (20,025), Apache Indian 7-9 (18,465) and Mariah Carey 9-10 (17,715), she sees her album “Music Box” end UB40’s seven week reign at the top and becomes her first UK chart topper.

So that leaves just the No 5 position to discuss and yes it’s that new entry. Nirvana return with the lead single from their eagerly anticipated third album “In Utero”, entitled “Heart Shaped Box”. It started the week of brightly showing up as high as No 2 but it faded as the week progressed ending up selling 25,845, that’s still the best start to any Nirvana single and is already their highest charter. Doubtless the album will be a chart topper on release.

1- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (65,085)
2- IT KEEPS RAININ (TEARS FROM MY EYES)- Bitty McLean (30,435)
3- RIGHT HERE- SWV (29,730)
4- THE RIVER OF DREAMS- Billy Joel (26,550)
5- HEART SHAPED BOX- Nirvana (25,845)
6- LIVING ON MY OWN- Freddie Mercury (21,750)
7- THE KEY: THE SECRET- Urban Cookie Collective (20,025)
8- FACES- 2 Unlimited (18,885)
9- NUFF VIBES EP- Apache Indian (18,465)
10- DREAMLOVER- Mariah Carey (17,715)

Love the Nirvana song!

Both Nevermind and In Utero are great albums.

Glad Mr Vain got a couple of weeks at the top. We need a revival of that sort of dance music now!

On 09/05/2026 at 15:27, Jessie Where said:

Absolutely love 'Faces'!

Its deeper lyrically than their other songs.

Edited Sunday at 20:335 days by TheSnake

Mr Vain and Right Here are both wonderful. Like PCF said earlier, I’d argue SWV is better than the original. Urban Cookie Collective was also great fun.

18TH SEPTEMBER



It suffers another 15% sales decrease but Culture Beat’s “Mr Vain” easily retains the top spot after shifting 55,770 copies as it glided over the 300,000 mark on Saturday.

Whether or not it can make it a fifth week or not depends largely on the progress of the songs that make up the top three. With a title thought to have derived from Horace Greeley in the nineteenth century describing the acquiring of land by white colonialists, “Go West” is a song recorded by Village People in 1979 and became a No 15 hit for them as well as a gay anthem with San Francisco being seen as the mecca that homosexuals should be heading towards. Skip forward 13 years and David Jarman was holding an AIDS benefit concert last year and invited the Pet Shop Boys to play, they agreed and chose this song to do as a cover. It clearly went down well as the boys have done a version and teamed it with a Soviet themed video, the package arrives as a new entry at No 2 (43,200) becoming the boys 14th top 10 single and biggest since “Heart” in terms of peak position and in terms of biggest weekly sale.

Will Smith is of course best known for his part in “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” but even before that show he was a rapper and along with DJ Jazzy Jeff scoring a hit in 1986 with “Girls Ain’t Nothin But Trouble” and more notably the No 8 UK hit “Summertime” in 1991. The pair are back with a fifth album and a song “Boom! Shake The Room” which debuted at No 12 last week and now soars 12-3 (31,260), it features a sample of the Ohio Players “Funky Worm” which didn’t chart here though it went top 20 Stateside.

With more than a passing resemblance to The Hollies “The Air That I Breathe”, Radiohead’s “Creep” was initially a No 78 hit in late 1992 but has since gone on to become a US top 40 hit. In the interim the band have cracked the top 40 here with “Anyone Can Play Guitar” making No 32 in February and that’s all prompted a re-issue of their debut hit which comes along with altered lyrics and removes the odd swear word! It debuts at No 7 (17,520) and tells the tale of an inebriated man who essentially stalks a woman, the album “Pablo Honey” departed from the charts after three weeks making No 25, perhaps it can have a resurgence now?

Those new arrivals mean there’s little room for Bitty Mclean and SWV who both drop 2-4 (27,300) and 3-5 (27,000) respectively. Billy Joel is also on the way out 4-6 (21,780), 2 Unlimited hold at No 8 (15,990) and Mariah holds at No 10 (15,525) with Nirvana surprisingly dropping 5-9 (15,915) as fans must be waiting for the album.


1- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (55,770)
2- GO WEST- Pet Shop Boys (43,200)
3- BOOM SHAKE THE ROOM- DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (31,260)
4- IT KEEPS RAININ (TEARS FROM MY EYES)- Bitty McLean (27,300)
5- RIGHT HERE- SWV (27,270)
6- THE RIVER OF DREAMS- Billy Joel (21,780)
7- CREEP- Radiohead (17,520)
8- FACES- 2 Unlimited (15,990)
9- HEART SHAPED BOX- Nirvana (15,915)
10- DREAMLOVER- Mariah Carey (15,525)

'Go West' is very bottom rung of Pet Shop Boys singles for me, but I've softened towards it a bit in recent times.

Pet Shop Boys version of Go West I have fond memories of - the music video was on music channels a lot even later in the 90s and I liked it.

Never knew the song was about going to San Francisco though!

I do prefer it to the Village People original

________________________________________

Radiohead - Creep their best known song, just iconic if a bit depressing!

Edited Monday at 15:184 days by TheSnake

Go West huge in Germany, number one, the Soviet theme being more pertinent there, and should have been a UK number one. It's an anthem, and an exercise in how to take an average gay disco song and transform it into a pumping soaring lament for all the AIDS victims and commentary on modern politics at the same time - in concert it always goes down big. Boom! Shake The Room is great fun, always enjoyed Jeff and Will's stuff. Creep is still my fave Radiohead track, but not quite as great as Air That I Breathe 😇

25TH SEPTEMBER

An almighty tussle at the top of the charts this week with the top three all finishing within 3,000 copies of each other. To the victor the spoils and the number one spot, and celebrating this week, are DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, their “Boom! Shake The Room” leapfrogs the opposition 3-1 selling 45,480 in the process, it is the first chart topper on the Jive label since Billy Ocean back in 1986 and the first US chart topper since Shaggy back in March.  The tally for this week is also the second lowest for the year.

The midweek chart topper however was by the Pet Shop Boys, “Go West” started off brightly opening a good lead which eroded as the week progressed and it ended up merely 1,245 copies adrift of Jazzy and Fresh in the end, it narrowly fails therefore to become their fifth chart topper but their attention will turn to the release of their next album “Very” in a fortnight. Outgoing chart topper “Mr Vain” ends up in third place though it sold a respectable 42,750 last week, it was doubtless impacted by the release of their album “Serenity” which, though it enters at a lowly No 56, diverted precious sales from the single and probably cost it a fifth week.  That tightness at the top was reflected in the fact that "Boom" was only No 1 on the CD format, with "Go West" topping the 7" chart, and "Mr Vain" retaining top billing on the cassingle format.  The biggest 12" of the week?  Well that belonged to the highest new entry of the week below.

Just last February we saw three new entries inside the top 10 for the first time, this week we see chart history created again as FOUR songs all debut inside the top flight!

The highest new entry debuts at No 4 (28,485) and it’s a return for M People who grab a third top 10 single in 1993. Their album “Elegant Summing” is out next month but “Moving On Up” is instantly their biggest hit but has a big gap to bridge if it is to move up the charts on this occasion.

Their last single “Tease Me” peaked at No 3 after selling a mighty 362,460 copies to date and proved so popular that it had to be deleted by the record company to make way for the new Chaka Demus & Pliers single “She Don’t Let Nobody”. The latter disk now moves 18-6 (21,135) in its second week to make the Jamaican duo one of the hottest acts around at present. The single is a cover of the 1981 Curtis Mayfield track and is featured on their album “Tease Me” which only spent three weeks in the chart making No 26 before disappearing.

Currently No 1 in Sweden and top 10 in a host of other countries Haddaway’s second release “Life” smashes straight in at No 8 (19,290) and bodes well for his debut album next month. With the release of a new Gabrielle single next week he’ll be hoping that there’s no re-run of their last collision when her single “Dreams” kept his “What Is Love” from the top spot for a fortnight.

Scoring a second top 10 single in a calendar year for the first time in 9 years, Depeche Mode are back with “Condemnation EP” another cut from the “Songs Of Faith & Devotion” album. The band are currently in the US touring but will be back in time for Christmas, meanwhile that eighth top 10 single arrives at No 9 (18,090).

It’s been nearly 2 years since the last time we heard from the Wonder stuff, but they’ve busy recording a new album “Construction For The Modern Idiot” which finally hits the shops next month. First release “On The Ropes EP” is now their third straight top 10 single as it enters at No 10 (16,140) and is the perfect launch for the new era. The band are off on a tour of the US at Christmas in an attempt to break the market but all seems well with their UK career.

SWV hold at No 5 (22,020) and Bitty McLean continues to head out 4-7 (20,025) completing our recap.


1- BOOM SHAKE THE ROOM- DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (45,480)
2- GO WEST- Pet Shop Boys (44,235)
3- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (42,750)
4- MOVING ON UP- M People (28,485)
5- RIGHT HERE- SWV (22,020)
6- SHE DON’T LET NOBODY- Chaka Demus & Pliers (21,135)
7- IT KEEPS RAININ (TEARS FROM HEAVEN)- Bitty McLean (20,025)
8- LIFE- Haddaway (19,290)
9- CONDEMNATION- Depeche Mode (18,090)
10- ON THE ROPES EP- Wonder Stuff (16,140)

a number 4 hit for only 28000! Great song tho!

I do love 'Moving On Up', classic if a bit overplayed.

That Haddaway song is a shameless clone of his previous single.

The #1 is decent enough and a bit of fun. 'Go West' though also deserved a week at #1.

'Moving On Up' by M People is a bit generic but still a classic probably their most played song.

I think Haddaway - Life is very good, the synths are almost like early 80s synth new wave in production but with a house beat, it reminds me a bit of Talk Talk by Talk Talk.

Edited Tuesday at 16:173 days by TheSnake

Doh! So close at the top, PSB's were robbed! The Wonder Stuff I dont recall at all, I need to see which track got the airplay. Haddaway is fab, I always preferred Life to What Is Love, oddly. I just like the song more, I think, as they are pretty much equal otherwise. Chaka Demus & Pliers is quite pleasant, never knew it was a Curtis Mayfield song! M People's is a very popular radio oldie, which works against it a bit for me, though it wouldnt stop me going to see them a few years after this. Depeche Mode one of their goodies, it's more restrained than usual, the starkness works well.

2ND OCTOBER

Its sales are up just 25% to 56,085 but it’s a much more comprehensive victory this week for DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince and “Boom! Shake The Room”. M People rise 4-2 but their sales of just 33,375 show just how fortunate that chart rise is and is much more evidence of the collapse in sales for last week’s challengers Pet Shop Boys 2-3 (29,520) and Culture Beat 3-5 (26,370) than any real upsurge in popularity for the song. The other song in the top 5 belongs to Chaka Demus & Pliers and their second top 5 single “She Don’t Let Nobody” which moves 6-4 (27,795).

A rather more stable chart this week with just 2 new entries, first up are Frankie Goes To Hollywood who originally scored 7 top 40 singles including three No 1 hits between 1984 and 1987 before splitting. The group aren’t reforming but that’s not stopped ZTT re-issuing the catalogue in the form of a forthcoming new greatest hits album and a tenth anniversary release of “Relax” the song that started it all. It enters at No 6 (24,525) with a slew of new mixes to promote it.

Gabrielle’s last single “Dreams” spent three weeks at No 1 on way to selling half a million, it’s time for the follow up and right away “Going Nowhere” arrives at No 9 (14,010) as a precursor to her debut album out in 4 weeks. That makes Gabrielle the first chart act (certainly since we went to a top 50 at least) to have their first two singles both debut in the top 10. Rivals back in June, Haddaway’s new single “Life” keeps ahead of her this time around by climbing 8-7 (23,535) but will it remain so?

Following the terrestrial TV premiere of the film “Pretty Woman” last month the biggest single from its soundtrack has got a re-issue. Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” rises 12-10 (12,765) to become the first song to be a top 10 twice in the 90s without the aid of a remix or alteration.  That figure the lowest needed for the top 10 since January!

SWV climb to No 2 in the US behind Mariah Carey but here they fall 5-8 (16,755). Next week sees the new Take That single enter the charts hotly tipped to enter at the top- can they do it again?



1- BOOM SHAKE THE ROOM- DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (56,085)
2- MOVING ON UP- M People (33,375)
3- GO WEST- Pet Shop Boys (29,520)
4- SHE DON’T LET NOBODY- Chaka Demus & Pliers (27,795)
5- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (26,370)
6- RELAX- Frankie Goes To Hollywood (24,525)
7- LIFE- Haddaway (23,535)
8- RIGHT HERE- SWV (16,353)
9- GOING NOWHERE- Gabrielle (14,010)
10- IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE- Roxette (12,765)

Reading about Life by Haddaway, I didn't know he had that and a song called It's My Life...

Turns out he doesn't and the other one is actually Dr Alban.

I've thought it was Haddaway for years!!!

Relax and It Must Have Been Love being back makes this feel like 2026!

9TH OCTOBER

Well they did it! Becoming the first act in 20 years to enter the charts at No 1 with consecutive singles and only the second act ever to pull the feat off, Take That debut at No 1 with “Relight My Fire”. It features vocals from Lulu (reprising a role originally performed by Loleatta Holloway) who has never had a chart topper until now (surprisingly) making her wait for a chart topper of 29 years and 148 days from debut the longest ever, and is of course a cover of the 1979 Dan Hartman song which failed to chart in the UK though it became something of a disco classic. It’s the second Hartman cover to be a top 10 in the last 3 years after Yell! took “Instant Replay” into the big hitters back in 1990. For Take That it marks an exceptional year with 3 top 2 singles and a No 2 album, their new LP “Everything Changes” is in shops in a fortnight and should confirm their positions as the biggest band in the UK at the moment. In case you’re wondering the only other group to score consecutive No 1 hits at debut were Slade.

“Relight My Fire shifted 87,975 copies in the last week a new highest weekly tally for the group, it comfortably outsold DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince  as “Boom! Shake The Room” trailed in with just 56,235 copies to its credit (a slight increase week on week), and M People had a best yet weekly sale of 34,470 even though it drops 2-3. Indeed sales are up generally with the following tracks all sharing the bonanza: Chaka Demus & Pliers at No 4 (32,355 + 19%), Frankie Goes To Hollywood at No 5 (30,030 + 25%), and Haddaway at No 6 (24,555 + 6%).




Meat Loaf has had quite a comeback this year with “Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell”, it’s been out for a month and has so far sold 200,000 as it moved 1-2-1-2. Naming the album as a sequel to one of the biggest selling albums of all time helped no doubt but even he has admitted that the two albums have nothing to do with each other! No matter it’s a success and now spawns a top 10 single with “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” which enters at No 8 (22,695) ending a 12 year wait for the star as he’s searched for a top flight hit in the UK. The female part here is performed by Lorraine Crosby though the promo features Dana Patrick as the female lead, and like the majority of his most successful work is penned by Jim Steinman, it runs to almost 12 minutes in the album version though the single edit comes in at just 7:52 thankfully.

Marketed as the UK answer to En Vogue, Eternal are an all female four piece from London who have chosen an obscure Glenn Jones 1990 flop single “Stay” as their first release. They seem to prove there’s worth in the single as it climbs 16-10 (17,880) and if you like what you hear then there is an album planned for Christmas.

Culture Beat fall 5-9 (19,500) as The Pet Shop Boys fall 3-7 (23,520) but they do score their first ever album chart topper with “Very” debuting at the top today, before that they were the act with the most No 1 singles without a No 1 album- odd but true. For Culture Beat their single has done its purpose as it ranks as one of the top 10 hits of the year and as we’re ¾ of the way through it here’s the YTD top 10:



1- ALL THAT SHE WANTS- Ace Of Base 602,850
2- (I CAN’T HELP) FALLING IN LOVE- UB40 601,260
3- NO LIMIT- 2 Unlimited 531,120
4- DREAMS- Gabrielle 509,580
5- OH CAROLINA- Shaggy 454,650
6- WHAT IS LOVE- Haddaway 432,075
7- MR VAIN- Culture Beat 390,600
8- FIVE LIVE EP- George Michael/ Queen/ Lisa Stansfield 377,070
9- YOUNG AT HEART- The Bluebells 374,400
10- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston 365,340

The top 2 are in an ongoing duel with both still trickle selling.


Weekly sales
1- RELIGHT MY FIRE- Take That & Lulu (87,975)
2- BOOM SHAKE THE ROOM- DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (56,235)
3- MOVING ON UP- M People (34,470)
4- SHE DON’T LET NOBODY- Chaka Demus & Pliers (32,355)
5- RELAX- Frankie Goes To Hollywood (30,030)
6- LIFE- Haddaway (24,555)
7- GO WEST- Pet Shop Boys (23,520)
8- I’D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON’T DO THAT)- Meat Loaf (22,695)
9- MR VAIN- Culture Beat (19,500)
10- STAY- Eternal (17,880)

Relight My Fire, much preferable to a weedy Gary Barlow song, and their 2nd great record after Pray. Lulu finally getting a number was a huge delight, having been a chameleon pop star that had to morph her sound and change record labels throughout to get hits to changing pop scenes. She had more hits on more labels in the olden days than any other act, I think. I'm off to see her again in a few weeks. Relax was a welcome return, 10 years is a decent gap for a classic to stay fresh. It Must Have Been Love less so, 3 years is just the other week as you get older, but it was a goodie in 1990.

Very, brilliant album, another long-deserved chart-topper, Meat Loaf, nice to see him back on Steinman form, his non-Jim stuff was pretty ropey all in all, bar Rocky Horror. Talking of ropey, Stay sounded decent enough for Eternal but they outstayed their welcome with me as time went on and the drift into shrieking vocals, when over-excited, increased along with the bland ballads. Reminded me of some of the live vocals on Eurovision semi 1 Tuesday. Louise remains innocent though.