Did not know it was that close for westlife and mel! Damn wish she had kept them off the top spot! 😭

28 minutes ago, Spiceboy said:

Did not know it was that close for westlife and mel! Damn wish she had kept them off the top spot! 😭

They could've also been denied two #1s here, Alice Deejay was behind 'If I Let You Go' by an even closer margin - which is much more painful as they never made it in the end!

(Although 'If I Let You Go' is one of their better ones for me)

1 hour ago, Jessie Where said:

They could've also been denied two #1s here, Alice Deejay was behind 'If I Let You Go' by an even closer margin - which is much more painful as they never made it in the end!

(Although 'If I Let You Go' is one of their better ones for me)

I don’t particularly dislike many westlife songs personally but then again I don’t really love many either (when you’re looking like that is amazing!!). They are just a bit meh and not worthy of so many #1s, I mean the rose later on in their career is such a lazy paint by numbers turd for instance!

10 minutes ago, Spiceboy said:

I don’t particularly dislike many westlife songs personally but then again I don’t really love many either (when you’re looking like that is amazing!!). They are just a bit meh and not worthy of so many #1s, I mean the rose later on in their career is such a lazy paint by numbers turd for instance!

I'll probably give them World Of Our Own, If I Let You Go, When You're Looking Like That and Hello My Love (also one of the newer ones I heard sounded alright, but I forget what it was called). That's literally IT.

24 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

I'll probably give them World Of Our Own, If I Let You Go, When You're Looking Like That and Hello My Love (also one of the newer ones I heard sounded alright, but I forget what it was called). That's literally IT.

I quite like World of our own, Uptown girl, When you're looking like that and If I let you go. So almost the same!

No shows tomorrow. Back on the 18th

15TH APRIL




For the first time in chart history (ignoring the first chart of all in 1952 obviously) the entire top six are all new entries, that tally swells to seven when looking at the top 10 in its entirety. Survivors from last week are thin on the ground but the top 3 cling on, Melanie C & Lisa Lopes do best of all falling 2-7 (46,000) but Westlife hurtle 1-8 (42,000) illustrating what a fanbase buy “Fool Again” was, and Destiny’s Child relax 3-9 (38,000).  The influx sees the total number of entries into the top 10 in 2000 rise to 60, trailing only 1999 (64) and 1997 (73) to date.

The new chart topper comes from Craig David who some may remember as the vocalist on Artful Dodger’s “Re-Rewind” when it made No 2 before Christmas. His debut solo affair “Fill Me In” is co-written by Mark Hill of the Artful Dodger so he hasn’t strayed far but it gives Britain another garage No 1 single at least convincing 165,526 to part with their money last week to easy outstrip all competition. At just 18 he’s the youngest solo male artist to make No 1 since Glenn Medeiros in 1988 but he’s the youngest British male soloist ever! David is working hard on his first album due in the summer.

Birmingham female duo Sweet Female Duo are also giving a garage feel to the charts with their single “Flowers” which started out as a ballad before being remixed by Sunship last year and causing a stir on white label. It led to the girls getting picked up by a major label and “Flowers” now gets a full release making its presence felt at No 2 (80,000).

Since the Verve split up last Spring speculation has been rife about Richard Ashcroft’s first solo single and this week it finally arrived. Many in the know tipped this as the No 1 but it started relatively brightly just behind Craig David but scaled back in the course of the week ended up at No 3 after selling 70,144. The song started out life as a demo for the Verve’s “Urban Hymns” LP but didn’t make the grade but Ashcroft obviously kept faith with it and it because it gives him a great Launchpad for his solo career.

Those who forecast the slow slide into breakup of Steps seem to have been premature, whilst they no longer command a top 3 entry with every release their new single “Deeper Shade Of Blue” has no trouble debuting at No 4 (67,000). Originally designed as a Tina Cousins track for which she recorded the demo version, it now becomes Steps’ 9th top 10 single and naturally comes with its own dance moves and mixes which have gone down well in the clubs.

Building a fanbase in Europe and the US over the past few years The Bloodhound Gang finally breakthrough in the UK with the tongue in cheek track “The Bad Touch” new at No 5 (59,000). The innuendo laced lyrics have raised some eyebrows but in the main the track is seen as a light hearted ode to sex, their only previous hit single was back in 1997 when “Why’s Everyone Always Pickin On Me?” which struggled to No 56.

Frank van Rooijen and Niels Pijpers are a dutch duo who record under the name Lock N Load and created the track “Blow Ya Mind” a few years ago using it in their DJ sets to promote the song which samples Soundscape’s underground dance hit “Take Me Up”. It arrives at No 6 (48,000) to add some European flair to the top tier.

And talking of Dutch dance, or rather trance, are duo Rank 1 and their single “Airwave” who are also new at No 10 (35,000), The only thing of mild interest is that the drum loop is sampled from the Red Bone remix of Crystal Waters “Gypsy Woman” from 1991.

1- FILL ME IN- Craig David (165,526)
2- FLOWERS- Sweet Female Attitude (80,000)
3- A SONG FOR THE LOVERS- Richard Ashcroft (70,144)
4- DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE- Steps (67,000)
5- THE BAD TOUCH- Bloodhound Gang (59,000)
6- BLOW YA MIND- Lock N Load (48,000)
7- NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN- Mel C Ft Lisa Left Eye Lopes (46,000)
8- FOOL AGAIN- Westlife (42,000)
9- SAY MY NAME- Destiny’s Child (38,000)
10- AIRWAVE- Rank 1 (35,000)

Flowers is an enduring classic, Deeper Shade of Blue is one of their ultimate best and Airwave is a great trance track!

22ND APRIL




Craig David’s “Fill Me In” continues to impress at retail with a further 93,000 takers pushing its total to 257,000 in 14 days enough for No 8 on the YTD but it can’t keep the top spot as it slides 1-2. Instead Britain’s new No 1 is Fragma and “Toca’s Miracle” which is essentially a mash up of two singles Fragma’s own “Toca Me” (#11, 1999) and Coco’s “I Need A Miracle (#39, 1997) and started to form in the summer of 1999 when Fragma’s single “Toca Me” was doing business on the dancefloors of Ibiza. DJ Vimto heard the song and thought it would go perfectly with the Coco track and created a bootleg late last year which was given to DJ’s and eventually came into the hands of the German trance group Fragma. They liked it so much they got permission from Coco and “Toca’s Miracle” was born, “I Need A Miracle” is incidentally written by former Mud member Rob Davis earning him a No 1 songwriting credit, his first as both of Mud’s chart toppers were written by Chinn/ Chapman.

The package sold a mighty 187,859 copies last week evidencing the pent up desire for the track which has been delayed on two occasions for unknown reasons, that’s the second highest opening of the year so far!

Proving he can make it on his own former Dru Hill lead vocalist Sisqo’s second solo release “Thong Song” makes a splash at No 3 (88,000) thanks no doubt in part to its mildly controversial video featuring a plethora of woman in just that. The promo comes with cameo appearances from his former Dru Hill bandmates, plus LL Cool J, and Ja Rule and if you’re wondering where that string sample come from it is from Wes Montgomery’s version of “Eleanor Rigby” and features an interpolation of “Livin La Vida Loca”. It’s a vast improvement on the No 14 peak of his first release “Got To Get It” and has just entered the US top 5.

A US #3 hit late last year Jessica Simpson is the latest US teen sensation to transport herself over here and onto the chart, her debut single “I Wanna Love You Forever” making its presence felt at No 7 (35,000). The song was co-written by Sam Watters who was a member of Color Me Badd, and marketing wise she’s been portrayed as an anti-spears/Aguilera meaning a less sexualised image and of course interviews in which she stresses her virginal status.

Last time Sash! had a single out it peaked at No 2 (“Adelante”) and the last time they teamed up with Tina Cousins they also made No 2 (“Mysterious Times”) so it must be a disappointment that in tandem again they can only score a No 8 hit with “Just Around The Hill”. The single is a second release from Sash!’s third album appropriately called “Trilenium” which is out this week but the single can only sell 33,000 copies last week.

Sweet Female Attitude wilt 2-4 (56,000) but getting stuck in the groove are Bloodhound Gang at #5 (51,000) and Lock N Load at #6 (38,000) though both ease at retail. Melanie C Featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes relax 7-9 (32,000) and Steps complete the recap 4-10 (31,000).

1- TOCA’S MIRACLE- Fragma (187,859)
2- FILL ME IN- Craig David (93,000)
3- THONG SONG- Sisqo (88,000)
4- FLOWERS- Sweet Female Attitude (56,000)
5- THE BAD TOUCH- Bloodhound Gang (51,000)
6- BLOW YA MIND- Lock N Load (38,000)
7- I WANNA LOVE YOU FOREVER- Jessica Simpson (35,000)
8- JUST AROUND THE HILL- Sash! (33,000)
9- NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN- Mel C Ft Lisa Left Eye Lopes (32,000)
10- DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE- Steps (31,000)

Toca's Miracle really was huge! Shame about all the tricky legal wranglings that have gone on with it in the latter days.

I think Just Around The Hill is actually one of his best!

i dont remember that Sash song but im loving these flashbacks to when i loved the charts!!

Sara Cox looks so young!!

The Bloodhound Gang and some questionable expletive editing

Really liked the slower version of 'Just Around The Hill' but both versions are nice.

'The Bad Touch' 'Toca's Miracle' is a classic and 'Fill Me In' a banger too.

Lonestar's Amazed was one of those to linger around quite a bit before peaking weeks later! The complete opposite of the rest of the charts at the time. It definitely picked up a lot of fans along the way.

Wow at Fraser T Smith being the guitarist on with Craig David! Quite liked that acoustic version of Fill Me In.

I always thought Black Box Recorder were far too cool for me

facts of life should have been much bigger!

Glad Toca's Miracle and Fill Me In beat the Thong Song lol, classiness wins lyrically, although the production and vocal in the final chorus of the Sisqo track is epic.

Toca's Miracle is great I wish I could remember it more from the time but I was only 8 and not into dance music really.

Edited September 18Sep 18 by TheSnake

Point Break 🫠 all of those strings musicians just casually playing along to a song about sex like it's nothing. In fact, a very sexed up edition here with Thong Song too!