I think I’d put The One And Only in a similar, lower top 10 position. It’s great fun and enthusiastic. You’re right Julian, I met Chesney last year and I can confirm he was lovely and personable, giving a lot of his time up chatting, taking photos and signing stuff for my family.

I’ve had the pleasure to see James three times live Jim, once pre fame (and pre Sit Down), when supporting The Smiths (wonderful gig), then twice as main act and they played Sit Down both those times. The first time the ‘sitting down’ seemed to be happening organically and was fantastic (apart from sitting on the sticky beer soaked floor of course), a great communal experience!

"The One And Only" is one of the best #1's of 1991 for me - a great pop song and among my Top 5 #1's for 1991 for sure.

'The One And Only' is another good one from the year!

2 hours ago, Jaz13music said:

I’ve had the pleasure to see James three times live Jim, once pre fame (and pre Sit Down), when supporting The Smiths (wonderful gig), then twice as main act and they played Sit Down both those times. The first time the ‘sitting down’ seemed to be happening organically and was fantastic (apart from sitting on the sticky beer soaked floor of course), a great communal experience!

Oh wow Jaz, I would love to have been able to see The Smiths live! Apparently, Morrissey's 'We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful' was written about James. Those James gigs sound like a lot of fun too! I've not delved too far into their discography, but aside from 'Sit Down' there are several others of theirs I know and like.

9 Cher - The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)

5 weeks in April / May 1991: 58-23-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-3-4-9-18-38-61->15

Kept off #1: The KLF feat. The Children Of The Revolution - Last Train To Trancentral (2 weeks); Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)

#3 in EOY 1991

Weekly sales at #1: 70k; 88k; 65k; 60k; 47k

Now for the only credited female artist in this countdown, unless we count Victoria Wood's lesser known half double A-side. American singer Cheryl Sarkisian shot to fame as one half of folk rock duo Sonny & Cher, whose duet 'I Got You Babe' went to #1 in the UK and US in 1965. A number of further hits followed, both solo and with her partner Sonny Bono whom she married later in the 60s. However following their split in the mid-70s, Cher's musical output became sporadic and restricted mainly to the US, with only an uncredited appearance on Meat Loaf's 1981 #5 'Dead Ringer For Love' in the UK singles chart between 1974 and 1987. By the time of her return, she had established an acting career, and this song - a cover which had been a US #6 for Betty Everett in 1964 - was lifted from the film Mermaids in which she starred alongside Winona Ryder and a debuting Christina Ricci, both of whom feature in the music video. The song was an international hit, giving Cher her first solo UK #1 more than 25 years after her solo debut, and ensuring she had reached the UK Top 10 in a fourth consecutive decade, to which she would add a fifth in 2001.

I remember hearing this song after school but had no idea what it was called, and I thought she was singing "it's in his keys" to begin with. The cover is faithful to the 60s girl group styling of the original, with some commercial rock backing to make it more current, and Cher providing the responses to the backing singers. It's a gutsy vocal performance from Cher that plays into the soul origins with plenty of "whoa-whoa" bridges, and although the backing singers are buried in the mix, the titular "shoop shoop" and "that's where it is" hooks give a lilting momentum. However, little did we know there would be an even bigger and better hit for Cher by the end of the decade!

Onto the #2s, and Cher's fourth week at the top saw an all-female Top 2, a week after Crystal Waters had become the first ever artist to debut on the UK charts as high as #3. It's a memorable dance hit, as much for its minimalist keyboard hook as for its lyrical story of the titular gypsy and especially the "la da dee la da da" hook which was impossible to avoid. However The KLF's hit at #2 for Cher's second and third week's is my favourite to be covered so far - although I didn't hear it until a few years later. The MC'ed voices and crowd noise lift the euphoria, but then in come the synthesised riffs and the beats with "all aboard, all aboard" and it sounds huge. My favourite moments are when the instrumental melodies glide upwards into the middle eight section, and then the final chorus with the "whoa, whoa!" and trademark "K-L-F!" shouts. I'd indeed rate this ahead of their one which did reach the top, but that will have its time!

I’m not a huge fan of The Shoop Shoop Song, Cher had many better singles before and after.

I agree Last Train To Trancentral is one of the best of the very consistently great KLF singles!

The Shoop Shoop cover Song is annoying - was never a fan of it. One of Cher's weakest efforts - no Top 10 for me!

Would be in my top ten for sure, I wasn't aware of the original so always loved this and remember hearing it a lot when I was young. She suited it really well. Two long running No.1s for Cher in the 90s!

Good memories of playing this on my childminder's jukebox in the 90s as a child - good cover.

It's a pity that 'Last Train to Trancentral' couldn't get a week at #1 though.

Edited Sunday at 22:352 days by TheSnake

Shoop Shoop is tacky and cheesy, but I actually love it!

I was aware 'The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)' is tied to Mermaids but I don't think I knew 'The One And Only' was from a film too! I feel like I should enjoy the former more, with its '60s origins, but I don't care for it all that much. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about 'The One And Only' either, but not bad. However, I really like 'Sit Down', 'Gypsy Woman' and especially 'Last Train To Trancentral' - all aboard, all aboard wooooah! 😍 so a shame all were blocked.

She did do this cover very well and authentically, but it would only just scrape #10 here for me. Speaking of #10 her follow up single, “Love And Understanding”, peaked there and was one of her very best.

Yeah, "Love and Understanding" is so much better than Shoop Shoop Song. "Sit Down" and "Last Train To Trancentral" would have well deserved the #1 spot -> they both would have made easily made my Top 3 here. #2's overall were so much better than #1's in 1991.

One and only is better than shoop shoop. Great to have both acts top the chart but Cher has endless classics way better than this and i love linda lewis 1975 disco version best. Chesneys recent singles have been pretty good too as has cher's charting xmas track. Cher was way overdue a number one but if we had to have a pre believe track it should have been one by one.

Sit Down and KLF wuz both robbed though.

Another big fan of Love and Understanding by Cher, it was the first song of hers I ever bought... which means that I did not buy the Shoop Shoop Song and have always found it a bit naff. I'd probably have it just outside of the top 10 maybe. I do like the Chesney track though, that's one that is also kinda naff but actually does have quite a strong melody and it's very much a fun listen

8 Michael Jackson - Black Or White

2 weeks in November 1991: {1}-1-2-4-8-11-11-34-68-75 // {14}-20-45-69 // {18}-67-45R(164)-25-29-49-75->10+4+7

Kept off #1: none

#13 in EOY 1991

Weekly sales at #1: 77k; 76k

Autumn 1991 saw the return of the biggest popstar on the planet. Although Michael Jackson only released two studio albums in the 80s, they had seen him complete the transformation from breakout star of his brothers' group to game changing megastardom, and as single after single was lifted from them, they practically played like his greatest hits. Therefore it was little surprise that the buzz for forthcoming album Dangerous, his first new material of the 90s, would help the lead single to become his fourth UK #1, and his first to debut there. Like many of his biggest 80s hits, it came with a blockbuster video, of which a version shortened to around 6:20 is embedded above, which ends with a sequence of men and women of different racial backgrounds dancing as their images morph from one into another, an effect which was cutting edge at the time. The full 11 minute version which ends with several minutes of silent dancing, window smashing and roaring was broadcast in full on Top Of The Pops. Both versions begin with 1:45 of dialogue featuring a pre-teen Macaulay Culkin, following his starring role in the previous year's Home Alone.

There's one hell of a potential rabbit hole associated not just with the above, but the context of the song alongside the very real changes in MJ's appearance leading up to this time. Notwithstanding, the song has a clear message about racial harmony, and MJ delivers it in his defiant sharp vocals. Many of his trademark ad libs ("owwww!", "ee-hee!") are present and correct, and the beats are snappier than previously with a looping guitar riff, and co-producer Bill Bottrell supplies the rap in the middle eight section. It was an effective comeback statement - you couldn't miss people singing it at the time. I've never been the biggest MJ fan and haven't warmed particularly to Dangerous as an album at any stage, but I can appreciate what he was doing here and think it holds up well on a musical level, even if it isn't quite in the same league as some of his earlier smashes. In terms of lead singles, it has a stronger legacy than 'The Girl Is Mine' and 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You' at least.

Though it’s not one of MJs best singles, I still like Black Or White and would probably have it a bit higher. The inclusive message is a laudable one even if the lyrics are a bit clunky, but I like the music a lot.

I suspect I'd put that one a bit higher up, possibly top 5. It is quite of its time but I have a real soft spot for (nearly) all of the singles from the Dangerous album as I loved it as a kid.

I think Black or White's my favourite to come so far, it's not up there with the likes of Billie Jean and Smooth Criminal, but still a great song and probably the best thing he did in what was a pretty dismal decade for him musically. The video's a lot of fun, as bloated and over the top as they always were, and the effects at the end with the changing people still look very impressive for 1991 (though they do creep me out a bit x)

Both The One and Only and The Shoop Shoop Song are very cheesy, but pretty hard to dislike and they'd probably rank around the same for me. Not that keen on anything else, I do greatly appreciate Iron Maiden for getting a January number 1 through some smart tactics and full on rock, let alone metal, number 1s are so rare overall, but it's a shame it wasn't Run for the Hills or Number of the Beast.

I really like this one from him! It's addictive, and Dangerous is definitely my favourite MJ album overall.