I like both of those as well. 'Twilight' was certainly a forget about it immediately upon exiting the chart.. hit, like has been mentioned already. A catchy track and I like the vocals too, really like the intro to it too.

'He Aint Heavy...' is a great song as it is and that's a solid rendition.

I assume Cover Drive had some kind of deal with Global. I'd stopped listening to Capital by 2012 but still tuned in the previous summer and they rinsed 'Lick Ya Down', which I found awful. 'Twilight' was more safe and I suppose a tenuous connection with the highly popular Twilight Saga franchise didn't hurt either! The final film was released later in 2012. A pleasant enough song but very forgettable, also assumed this had to be the song you were talking about haha.

Their lasting legacy for me is the lead singer appearing in Eric_Blob's BuzzJack signature even now, albeit the link no longer embeds properly

That cover of 'He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother' is not something I would seek out (especially as it's not on streaming anyway!) but it's not bad at all and for a worthy cause indeed, was moving to read about your own Hillsborough connection.

Oh - there is the missing one on Spotify. Will listen to it this evening and count that in.

3 hours ago, RabbitFurCoat said:

24. Cover Drive - Twilight

I don’t know her. Does she even go here?

🤣

It was quite a good cover and better than many of the other Christmas #1s in years around it.

1 hour ago, Jade said:

I assume Cover Drive had some kind of deal with Global.

Maybe they should bring back Global Talent records it might liven the chart up a bit.

'Twilight' was also the song I was expecting to appear a fair bit lower and defend; for me it'd be in the top... maybe not 5 because I think there are at least 5 number ones this year that are undeniably better than it but top 10. Very happy with that placement for it as I expect few people would have it so high given how forgotten it was. Also enjoyed 'Sparks' and a couple of other tracks off their album as well (though 'Lick Ya Down' is indeed terrible and after such a bad first impression it's a wonder that I latched onto them at all), I think I must have been one of a very few who actually bought that. Definitely also had Amanda in my signature at some point during 2012.

Main reason I got into Cover Drive was at this point my pop instincts were still very much following Rihanna, Alexis Jordan, that kinda pop-RnB-lite thing and the Caribbean sound helped, 'Twilight' especially has a few really good instrumental flourishes that hold up well today, the best of theirs, though that beach bar description is very apt, probably what it was for most. A number one I'm glad... somehow... got to the top spot and one I still have a big soft spot for these days, still surprises me it ever managed it though.

The rest to appear lately are very much... don't mind, that's not a bad charity single from Justice Collective and a worthy cause but as you say there is a limit to how good these kind of things can be to listen to for entertainment purposes.

That is a nice Hollies cover version - can't remember hearing it before.

Rating Update:

04. Jessie J - Domino (28)

14. will.i.am; Eva Simons - This Is Love (31)

17. Tulisa - Young (29)

20. Cover Drive - Twilight (24)

21. Maroon 5;Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (32)

22. Rita Ora;Tinie Tempah - R.I.P. (30)

24. The Justice Collective – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (23)

25. Rita Ora - How We Do (Party) (26)

27. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) (27)

31. One Direction - Little Things (25)

33. Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music (34)

34. James Arthur - Impossible (33)

35. Robbie Williams - Candy (36)

36. Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band - Sing (35)

I hated 'How We Do' at the time, I probably like it about 10% more now but still not exactly a fan. That's the third-rate 'Last Friday Night' I was referring to earlier.

Forgettable 1D song with some cringe lyrics thanks to Mr Sheeran.

I do actually really like 'Twilight', a complete surprise #1 but I very much enjoyed it throughout the year and still give it the occasional spin. We certainly never heard from them again after that 2012!

He Ain’t Heavy… is definitely one of the better charity cover versions of this era, and it helps that the original song is also great.

On 16/07/2026 at 14:59, jimwatts said:

I've now thought of another "most non-number one" contender, and it's an act that's much easier to forget even existed, let alone had a #1 hit.

Yes it was 'Twilight' I thought of. I do remember it reaching #1 but forgot about it pretty quickly afterwards, and have only been reminded of it by #1 marathons and the like. It's not a bad song but the production sounds very of its time. Amanda Reifer did however return to the Top 10, and some prominence, as the guest vocalist on Kendrick Lamar's 'Die Hard' in 2022.

Nice to see the Justice Collective nearing mid table, a very thoughtfully put together version in not only the names involved but the performances, with none of the oversinging or schmaltzy production some other charity ensemble singles have had.

Good to see other positivity about those two songs, particularly The Justice Collective. With Cover Drive it was simply a case of just not remembering it at all, and even though I thought it's perfectly fine, hard to put it above others where from now there's at least some positive memory from them!

22. Wiley feat. Ms. D - Heatwave
2 weeks at #1 (entered 5^th August) 01-01-02-03-06-13-23-28-32-40-46-72-70R(2)-73-74R(7) (15 weeks)
Kept off #1: Calvin Harris feat. Example – We’ll Be Coming Back
Sales: 114,121 & 69,713
EOY: #38 (416,000)

Heatwave was Wiley’s first solo number one. He was famous for being one of the more notable members of the Roll Deep collective, who had a couple of decent sized hits in 2005 and then a pair of #1s in 2010, and had been releasing a fair amount of solo material in-between to various levels of success, most notably in 2008 with Wearing My Rolex, a #2 hit that spent its first five weeks in each of the five positions below the #1, a big hit that mashed his usual grime style with the popular electro sound of the time, similar to the big hits from the likes of Bodyrox, Mason and Fedde Le Grande. It was a song I thought was alright but never truly got its popularity, and that sound worked much better without a grime vocal.

Similar to Rolex, Heatwave took influence from some of the popular sounds of the time, including having Ms D (now known as Dyo), reprising her role from Chipmunk’s 2009 #1 Oopsy Daisy as the female singer providing a catchy chorus, and it was a song designed for the summer dancefloor and it did that job very well. Dyo’s chorus is excellent and elevates this song, but I also much prefer his rapping on here to on Rolex, it’s nothing outstanding but there are few lines linking to heatwaves and various hot weather things which I enjoy ("I wanna get a slush puppy with both flavours" I’ve found quite humorous). It’s easy for this type of song to be terrible but this wasn’t, and even 14 years on Heatwave sounds good again in the summer.

Judging solely on the song it should somewhere around 6-8 places higher than this, but where this does fall a few places here is because… well, it’s Wiley and that therefore can't be justified. In the last few years he’s shown he’s something of an objectional character with some horrible views. Banned from various social media sites for some repeated antisemitic posts, and also charged and pled guilty to burglary and violence. He had been awarded an MBE, but was revoked in 2024. It feels quite wrong to listen to him in 2026, and he’s certainly not a good enough act that I’d look past his character to still want to.

The song it held off the top for both weeks was a new release from two of British music’s biggest names at the time, We’ll Be Coming Back from Calvin Harris and Example. It was Harris’ fourth #2 in a little over a year (following Bounce with Kelis, Feel So Close and Let’s Go with Ne-Yo), and the first of two in two months for Example, following his pair of #1s in 2011. It is fine but nothing special, not as good as most of their big hits from these years, a slightly disappointing collaboration which could’ve delivered a lot more. However, it was, very unlucky to not make the top, it was one of just three weeks in the year where the #2 sold over 100k, the other weeks being from former #1s.

Its good, bringing an afrobeats sound to the top of the chart and that makes it stand out from the other EDM-pop songs of the time. I quite liked it at the time.

Calvin Harris feat. Example – We’ll Be Coming Back is more generic for the time but its quite a nice song Example's voice is nostalgic. There were better progressive house songs though.

Edited Tuesday at 15:075 days by TheSnake

It seems "Wearing My Rolex" is the only song I like from Wiley. "Heatwave" is not unlistenable, but I think I won't come back to it as I find it very boring and I don't like Wiley's vocals. Place 30 for me.

04. Jessie J - Domino (28)

14. will.i.am; Eva Simons - This Is Love (31)

17. Tulisa - Young (29)

20. Cover Drive - Twilight (24)

21. Maroon 5;Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (32)

22. Rita Ora;Tinie Tempah - R.I.P. (30)

24. The Justice Collective – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (23)

25. Rita Ora - How We Do (Party) (26)

27. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) (27)

30. Wiley, Djo Feat. Ms. D - Heatwave (22)

31. One Direction - Little Things (25)

33. Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music (34)

34. James Arthur - Impossible (33)

35. Robbie Williams - Candy (36)

36. Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band - Sing (35)

Heatwave would be very appropriate for this summer! A goodish song, and though as others have mentioned, it’s no Wearing My Rolex, it gave the Godfather of Grime a well deserved number one so I’m very glad of that!

Cover Drive is a band I had completely forgotten about. 'Twilight' is fun and innocent, I suppose. However, I wouldn't listen to it over and over again.

'Heatwave' by Wiley is one of those songs that everyone raved about at the time but I just didn't understand the hype.

Edited Tuesday at 19:215 days by Charlielargepotatoes

'Heatwave' was fun at the time, but I don't give it the time of day now.

I've not really heard it anywhere since, surprisingly forgotten for a two-week number one!

The only Twilight song I known and love is ELO's, and I had totally forgotten this act and song. IT still doesnt ring a bell and Ive played it all the way through. I mean it's OK, not unpleasant apart from the twi-lalalalalala-light bit, but number one? And yet it got to 28 in my charts, so a middling rating for me too of those so far out.

Hillsborough. One of the daughters of a young victim is a family member of my mate, and The Sun is still not forgiven on Merseyside. So I'm all in favour of He Aint Heavy, helping to compensate for a massive wrong. It's never going to compare with The Hollies' version but it's listenable enough. I might even have bought it as it got as high as 11 for me, and everyone involved comes out of it well.

Wiley, wouldnt say as I was ever a fan, but generally upbeat and inoffensive without ever really hitting my sweet spot. Don't remember this one either, being as there's only that single hook to recall and that's overdone. 1 week at 73 on my chart for chart record purposes, less weeks than it spent on top of the charts, so that'll be down the lower end of my ratings then.

21. Gabrielle Aplin – The Power of Love
2 weeks at #1 (entered 11^th November, #1 9^th December) 36-05-07-06-01-04-09-13{-23-34-47-65} (12 weeks)
Kept off #1: Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven
Sales: 57,515
EOY: #53

Christmas adverts for John Lewis had become an event around the turn of the decade. It feels slightly insane just how popular and anticipated a TV advert for a department store could be, but they were as millions wanted to see it each year. From 2009 they were soundtracked by a song, usually by some form of stripped back cover, with Taken By Trees version of Sweet Child o’ Mine being the first one to make the chart, at #23. The year after they had a bigger name singing it, and Ellie Goulding’s version of Your Song was huge, but unfortunately peaked in popularity at the time the X-Factor Finalists released their customary cover version, so had two weeks at each #2 and #3.

2012 was the first year that the soundtrack song went to top the chart, and it was probably no coincidence that for the first time it had gone with a Christmas song, well one traditionally seen as a Christmas song at least, in The Power of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, sung by unknown female singer Gabrielle Aplin, who’d signed her first record deal earlier that year.

The advert for this year was the snowman journey, starting with children building male and female snow people who go on a bit of a journey. It’s far from what I’d rank as my favourite of them (though it’s not a trend I care about and have never sought the adverts out), with Gabrielle’s voice soundtracking the full 90 seconds. The Power of Love is a great song and it is one I consider a Christmas song, and whilst that isn’t explicitly the case it would seem so strange to hear it it any other season (if I were doing this later in the year it might rank higher – feels too out of place in June/July!). Gabrielle Aplin’s is a decent version, she has a nice voice that suits it and she sings it really well, it feels like it’d be hard to do a version in this style and it be bad, but it doesn’t touch the original. She was able to capitalise on its success to a certain extent, with a #2 album and three other charting singles in 2013.

The Power of Love was the third song to keep Bruno Mars off the top with Locked Out of Heaven.