No change at the top of the charts this week and not many high new entries either.

 

In last week’s commentary I said that Poker Face was the first song to fall from number one before the physical release. That was wrong. Flo Rida’s Right Round did the same thing just a few weeks ago. My memory told me that he fell from the top in the week of release. I should have checked.

 

Calvin Harris was always likely to stay for a second week at the top of the singles chart and he has duly done so. He thus becomes the first British male solo artist to have two weeks at number one since Leon Jackson at the beginning of last year. La Roux continue their climb, up this week to number two which, I suspect, will be as far as they get.

 

The highest new entry comes from Eminem. We made You enters at number eight. Predictably, it’s terrible. Isn’t it time someone broke him?

 

The only other entrant to the top ten is Lily Allen’s Not Fair which climbs a whole one place to number ten. Her former number one, The Fear, hasn’t moved quite so much. That stays at number 19 for a third week.

 

Leaving the top ten (and good riddance to both of them) are Flo Rida and Taylor Swift.

 

The Liverpool Collective looked to be heading straight back out of the chart at the start of the week. However, following the Hillsborough memorial service, sales quickened and it has actually gone up two places to number 14. The service also led to Gerry and the Pacemakers definitive version of You’ll Never Walk Alone spending some time at the lower end of the rolling 24-hour download chart. Surely an official re-release of that song would have been a better tribute to the Hillsborough victims.

 

Many fans had high hopes of The Enemy’s No Time For Tears. Some of them may be crying after hearing that it has entered at a disappointing number 16. It deserves to do better but this seems to be par for the course for bands like this these days.

 

Miley Cyrus continues to demonstrate that she has even less talent than her brother with her latest effort, The Climb which enters at 24.

 

Vincent Frank who performs under the name Frankmusik had the misfortune to be born in Croydon. However, he hasn’t let that hold him back and Better Off As Two enters at number 26.

 

Green Day’s new single, Know Your Enemy, was only made available to download on Thursday but it has still sold enough copies to eager fans to make it to this week’s number 30. I hope they feel it was worth the wait but they could have just listened to their previous singles. After all, they aren’t much different from the new one. That’s not to say it’s bad, just unoriginal. With a whole week’s sales, could it give them their first number one next week? Or will that happen with the physical release on 27 April? Or not at all.

 

Girls Aloud’s new single, Untouchable, has been hovering outside the top 40 for the last few weeks. This week it finally gathers sufficient momentum to make it up to number 36. At least the song is one of their better efforts. Indeed, most of their recent songs have been a vast improvement on their early material.

 

Bat For Lashes has managed to hold on for a second week in the top 40 although she has fallen a couple places to 38.

 

When last week’s albums chart was announced, there was always a feeling that the battle at the top between Lady GaGa and Doves was close. However, nobody really expected it to be close as four copies. Curiously, the last time there was a gap of just four sales was exactly eleven years before when Robbie Williams’ (remember him?) Life Thru A Lens beat Celine Dion by that margin. There’s another little quirk about tight races at the top. In July 1982, ABC’s debut Lexicon of Love had a fourth week at the top. However, that album was a joint number one with the Fame soundtrack. Lady GaGa’s album is, of course, called The Fame. The only other album with the word Fame in the title to top the chart was Kids From Fame which replaced the soundtrack album at number one in August 1982.

 

When the race is as tight as that there are bound to be a few “if onlys”. If only Doves had appeared on Jools Holland’s show in the week of release rather than last Tuesday, they may have sold the few extra copies they needed. Perhaps even Easter made a difference. I can’t help feeling there might have been a few grandparents visiting their grandchildren and handing them a tenner. A tenner that was then used on Saturday to buy the Lady GaGa album. Anyway, this week she holds on for a third week at number one, thus matching the two singles.

 

At two this week, almost inevitably, are Kings Of Leon. Only By The Night has now spent nine weeks at number two in 2009 so far. Doves slip one place to number three.

 

When lists of the worst ever number ones are compiled (preferably excluding novelty songs), Chris de Burgh’s Lady In Red deservedly finishes somewhere near the top. He only had one other top ten single (which still made a total of two too many) but has fared better with his albums. Even so, Footsteps is his first top ten album since 1997. There can be only one explanation for this entering as high as number four. Doves fans, angry at their granny for funding their younger sibling’s purchase of The Fame went out and bought this dross and then made granny listen to it. All of it.

 

Madeleine Peyroux’s fourth album, Bare Bones, is the first to comprise only songs wot she wrote. Like the previous two albums, it has made the top twenty, entering at twelve.

 

It is now ten years since Dusty Springfield died of cancer just a few weeks before her 60th birthday. To mark what would have been her 70th birthday last Thursday, a new collection of her greatest hits has been released and it enters this week at 18.

 

For much of her career, Dusty Springfield described herself as bisexual. AC/DC is a euphemism for bisexual. The band of the same name have been touring the UK and their latest album, Black Ice, returns to the top 40 at 28.

 

Dark Days / Light Years is the tenth studio album from Super Furry Animals. All but one of them has made the top 20, including the Welsh language Mwng which made number 11. In contrast, they have never had a top ten single. The new album contains a number of songs which couldn’t be by anyone other than SFA but also has some which are less obviously by Gruff Rhys and his mates. The album is a new entry at 23.

 

Finally, and for the second time this month, Nickelback are back. Dark Horse is back up to number 37.

 

Many thanks to Charts+, ChC and chartstats.com

 

OMG the bit about Chris De Burgh/Doves/Lady GaGa albums was hilarious xD

Brilliant commentary as always.

No change at the top of the charts this week and not many high new entries either.

 

In last week’s commentary I said that Poker Face was the first song to fall from number one before the physical release. That was wrong. Flo Rida’s Right Round did the same thing just a few weeks ago. My memory told me that he fell from the top in the week of release. I should have checked.

 

Calvin Harris was always likely to stay for a second week at the top of the singles chart and he has duly done so. He thus becomes the first British male solo artist to have two weeks at number one since Leon Jackson at the beginning of last year. La Roux continue their climb, up this week to number two which, I suspect, will be as far as they get.

 

The highest new entry comes from Eminem. We made You enters at number eight. Predictably, it’s terrible. Isn’t it time someone broke him?

 

The only other entrant to the top ten is Lily Allen’s Not Fair which climbs a whole one place to number ten. Her former number one, The Fear, hasn’t moved quite so much. That stays at number 19 for a third week.

 

Leaving the top ten (and good riddance to both of them) are Flo Rida and Taylor Swift.

 

The Liverpool Collective looked to be heading straight back out of the chart at the start of the week. However, following the Hillsborough memorial service, sales quickened and it has actually gone up two places to number 14. The service also led to Gerry and the Pacemakers definitive version of You’ll Never Walk Alone spending some time at the lower end of the rolling 24-hour download chart. Surely an official re-release of that song would have been a better tribute to the Hillsborough victims.

 

Many fans had high hopes of The Enemy’s No Time For Tears. Some of them may be crying after hearing that it has entered at a disappointing number 16. It deserves to do better but this seems to be par for the course for bands like this these days.

 

Miley Cyrus continues to demonstrate that she has even less talent than her brother with her latest effort, The Climb which enters at 24.

 

Vincent Frank who performs under the name Frankmusik had the misfortune to be born in Croydon. However, he hasn’t let that hold him back and Better Off As Two enters at number 26.

 

Green Day’s new single, Know Your Enemy, was only made available to download on Thursday but it has still sold enough copies to eager fans to make it to this week’s number 30. I hope they feel it was worth the wait but they could have just listened to their previous singles. After all, they aren’t much different from the new one. That’s not to say it’s bad, just unoriginal. With a whole week’s sales, could it give them their first number one next week? Or will that happen with the physical release on 27 April? Or not at all.

 

Girls Aloud’s new single, Untouchable, has been hovering outside the top 40 for the last few weeks. This week it finally gathers sufficient momentum to make it up to number 36. At least the song is one of their better efforts. Indeed, most of their recent songs have been a vast improvement on their early material.

 

Bat For Lashes has managed to hold on for a second week in the top 40 although she has fallen a couple places to 38.

 

When last week’s albums chart was announced, there was always a feeling that the battle at the top between Lady GaGa and Doves was close. However, nobody really expected it to be close as four copies. Curiously, the last time there was a gap of just four sales was exactly eleven years before when Robbie Williams’ (remember him?) Life Thru A Lens beat Celine Dion by that margin. There’s another little quirk about tight races at the top. In July 1982, ABC’s debut Lexicon of Love had a fourth week at the top. However, that album was a joint number one with the Fame soundtrack. Lady GaGa’s album is, of course, called The Fame. The only other album with the word Fame in the title to top the chart was Kids From Fame which replaced the soundtrack album at number one in August 1982.

 

When the race is as tight as that there are bound to be a few “if onlys”. If only Doves had appeared on Jools Holland’s show in the week of release rather than last Tuesday, they may have sold the few extra copies they needed. Perhaps even Easter made a difference. I can’t help feeling there might have been a few grandparents visiting their grandchildren and handing them a tenner. A tenner that was then used on Saturday to buy the Lady GaGa album. Anyway, this week she holds on for a third week at number one, thus matching the two singles.

 

At two this week, almost inevitably, are Kings Of Leon. Only By The Night has now spent nine weeks at number two in 2009 so far. Doves slip one place to number three.

 

When lists of the worst ever number ones are compiled (preferably excluding novelty songs), Chris de Burgh’s Lady In Red deservedly finishes somewhere near the top. He only had one other top ten single (which still made a total of two too many) but has fared better with his albums. Even so, Footsteps is his first top ten album since 1997. There can be only one explanation for this entering as high as number four. Doves fans, angry at their granny for funding their younger sibling’s purchase of The Fame went out and bought this dross and then made granny listen to it. All of it.

 

Madeleine Peyroux’s fourth album, Bare Bones, is the first to comprise only songs wot she wrote. Like the previous two albums, it has made the top twenty, entering at twelve.

 

It is now ten years since Dusty Springfield died of cancer just a few weeks before her 60th birthday. To mark what would have been her 70th birthday last Thursday, a new collection of her greatest hits has been released and it enters this week at 18.

 

For much of her career, Dusty Springfield described herself as bisexual. AC/DC is a euphemism for bisexual. The band of the same name have been touring the UK and their latest album, Black Ice, returns to the top 40 at 28.

 

Dark Days / Light Years is the tenth studio album from Super Furry Animals. All but one of them has made the top 20, including the Welsh language Mwng which made number 11. In contrast, they have never had a top ten single. The new album contains a number of songs which couldn’t be by anyone other than SFA but also has some which are less obviously by Gruff Rhys and his mates. The album is a new entry at 23.

 

Finally, and for the second time this month, Nickelback are back. Dark Horse is back up to number 37.

 

Many thanks to Charts+, ChC and chartstats.com

 

 

 

Very good. I think the Dusty Collection is regarding the 10th anniversary of her dead in 1999. In that spring her single You don't have to say (written by the italian Pino Donaggio) was included in the NOW compilation

 

Very good. I think the Dusty Collection is regarding the 10th anniversary of her dead in 1999. In that spring her single You don't have to say (written by the italian Pino Donaggio) was included in the NOW compilation

It's closer to what would have been her 70th birthday so I think that's the main reason. Although, obviously, it's also very close to the tenth anniversary of her death. So it's probably a bit of both really.

In last week’s commentary I said that Poker Face was the first song to fall from number one before the physical release. That was wrong. Flo Rida’s Right Round did the same thing just a few weeks ago. My memory told me that he fell from the top in the week of release. I should have checked.

 

So did Kelly Clarkson before Flo Rida got to #1 on downloads.

 

So did Kelly Clarkson before Flo Rida got to #1 on downloads.

Didn't Kelly Clarkson fall from number one in the week of the physical release? Flo Rida and Lady GaGa had fallen from the top by the time of the physical release.

Didn't Kelly Clarkson fall from number one in the week of the physical release? Flo Rida and Lady GaGa had fallen from the top by the time of the physical release.

 

ahh, I got you now, yes she fell to #2 on her physical release.

 

ahh, I got you now, yes she fell to #2 on her physical release.

 

#4

I wonder why we can't have this commentary at the Front News?

 

Anyway, great commentary. :D

A very entertaining and dry commentary - good to see you foray outside the retro section too.