Chart Commentary by James Masterton 04/07/09

Part 1

It doesn't require me to point out that the cynical industry view of death being the best career move an artist can make has time and time again been shown to be perfectly correct. Past deaths of superstars such as Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Freddie Mercury have instantly resulted in surges of interest in their work and vastly increased sales for recordings which all of sudden have become must-own, despite being available for years and having sold countless millions already.

Back then it took time to get the extra product into the shops to capitalise on this demand. Not so in the new digital age, and so as a result the death of Michael Jackson last Thursday could hardly fail to have a dramatic impact on charts around the world, so much so that most of the other hits of the week are reduced to little more than a footnote.

As you might expect, it is on the singles chart that the impact is felt the most. The news broke too late in the week for these posthumous sales to have too dramatic an impact on the upper end of the chart, but his sales were strong enough to ensure that the mourners download of choice 'Man In The Mirror' storms to Number 11. It is an appropriate but nonetheless surprising choice of track for people to focus on. The fourth single to be taken from his 'Bad' album, despite topping the American charts with ease, the track was a rather surprising chart failure here, failing to climb higher than Number 21 when released here in February 1988. When the program of dualdisc re-releases of his old hits sent a string of Jackson hits back into the charts back in 2006, 'Man In The Mirror' was not one of them and indeed its only other chart outing since then was a brief Top 75 entry at the back end of last year following the celebrated Diana Vickers rendition of the song on X Factor. To further add to the puzzle, it was one of just two tracks on 'Bad' that Jackson himself did not have a hand in writing, the song penned by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. Nonetheless out of all his hits, the song's message about making the world a better place one step at a time by improving yourself seems an appropriate way for fans to express their love for the fallen star.

'Man In The Mirror' is joined on the Top 40 by 'Thriller' (Number 23), 'Billie Jean' (25), 'Smooth Criminal' (28), 'Beat It' (30) and 'Earth Song' (38) thus giving him six concurrent hits and a hugely significant modern day record. Technically the record for most complete domination of the Top 40 belongs to Elvis Presley, who during the course of two weeks in November 1957 was listed in no less than seven different places on the NME chart - itself just a Top 30 at the time. This total was however inflated by the presence of three b-sides which had been given chart runs alongside their respective lead tracks. Hence his seven hits actually consisted of just four different records. Four Top 40 hits at once has until now been considered the modern day record to beat, a total achieved by John Lennon in 1981, The Jam in 1982 and Oasis in 1996. Needless to say there is always an exception - that being the week of February 19th 2005 when the Elvis Presley re-release programme was in full swing. Despite the limited edition nature of the week by week releases, The King still managed to occupy six slots in the Top 40. At the very least this is a record equalled by Jackson.

In all there are sixteen different Michael Jackson singles occupying places in the Top 75, their numbers swelled by three further Jackson 5 oldies ('I Want You Back' leading the way at Number 55) and one further Jacksons track ('Blame It On The Boogie' creeping in at Number 75). That makes for no less than 20 of the 75 biggest selling singles in the UK this week which feature Jackson either as solo or lead singer. Whichever way you look at it, this sets a brand new record. It eclipses the previous benchmark of 13 set on February 5th 1982 when The Jam had an 17.33% share of the Top 75 following a mass re-release of their entire catalogue following their split.

As you might expect, the Jackson clean sweep of the album chart is a little less pronounced, by and large due to the less than prolific nature of his later recording career. Nonetheless he does top this chart, 2003 compilation 'Number Ones' leaping to the top of the pile, its first appearance at Number One since its original release five and a half years ago. Lower down he also has 'Thriller' at Number 7, 'King Of Pop' at 14, 'Off The Wall' at 17, 'The Essential' at 20, 'Thriller 25' at 45 and 'Bad' at 59 for a grand total of seven chart albums. Although an impressive number, this is still a long way short of the grand total of 12 Top 40 albums charted by Elvis Presley on September 10th 1977 just after his own premature demise.

As one final aside, it is worth noting that the presence of so many "golden oldies" on the singles chart has had the effect of skewing the average age of the recordings it contains to make this far and away the "oldest" list of current hit singles ever. Four of the charting Jackson singles are former Number Ones, and adding to that the presence of 2009 chart-toppers by Lady Gaga (2), Calvin Harris, Tinchy Stryder, Dizzee Rascal, Pixie Lott, Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta and naturally this weeks debuting chart-toppers La Roux it means that no less than 13 of the Top 75 singles this week are either current or former Number One hits.

It seems almost inappropriate to talk about more contemporary happenings in the same posting, so a full account of the "real" hits of the week will appear here shortly. Finally for those interested, I've dug into the archives for every word I ever wrote about Michael Jackson singles between 1992 and 2003, and you can find the collected musings here. Enjoy your memories of the man who, love him or hate him, was one of the biggest global superstars the world has ever seen.

Part 2

So what of the non-Jackson bits of the chart? This is the place to learn all.

When the news broke late on Thursday night, some friends were quick to make the pithy but still prescient comment "Poor La Roux". Although the worst fears that they would be eclipsed totally by the Jackson bandwagon were not realised, it is still a rather regrettable fact that their sensational debut at Number One with their second single 'Bulletproof' will be all but overlooked by all but the dedicated few.

Ben and Elly can already boast one of the biggest selling singles of the year so far, with 'In For The Kill' having sold close on half a million copies already. Still selling strongly (it is locked at Number 16 this week), the track is the year's third biggest seller to date, despite never having made Number One. It is a stat that 'Bulletproof' corrects with some style. The track itself sounds for all the world like a four minute tribute to the entire career of Vince Clarke. At the risk of presenting an incredibly tortured metaphor, it is like Erasure performing a Yazoo single with a chorus lifted straight from the early works of Depeche Mode. Perhaps more so than any other single so far this year, 'Bulletproof' wears its 80s influences proudly on its sleeve in what is not so much a celebration of the sounds of the decade as an out and out homage to it.

As an interesting aside, 'Bulletproof' is the 1099th Number One single in chart history which naturally means whichever track supplants it at the top will go down in history as yet another centennial chart-topper. Naturally the possibility exists that 'Man In The Mirror' will make the leap, assuming its sales hold up during the course of the week (which is for sure by no means a given). At the time of writing it has finally overhauled 'Bulletproof' at the top of the iTunes live chart, something it had previously been unable to do. Watching the battle develop over the next seven days should be quite fascinating.

It is the world of the electrogirls which gives us the highest "new" entry of the week as Florence & The Machine fly to Number 12 with 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)'. It is the first Top 40 hit for Florence Welch and her collaborators and only their second chart hit of any kind. Debut release 'Kiss With A Fist' made Number 51 just over a year ago whilst follow-up singles 'Dog Days Are Over' and 'You've Got The Love' both missed the Top 75. All four tracks are taken from their debut album 'Lungs' which hits the stores next month. If you are tired of 80s synth throwbacks then you could do far worse than to check this single out, an enigmatic and ethereal track which climaxes in an anthemic chorus which makes everything seem worthwhile. Yes, there are 80s influences in there, but they are Siouxsie and the Banshees and Kate Bush which is nothing less than a joy.

The rest of the Top 20 is characterised by the usual frustrating lineup of hot new singles which find themselves crashing against the glass ceiling of the Top 10. They can't even blame Jackson sales for this lack of progress. The Freemasons' 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)' stalls at Number 13, Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield' slips back three to Number 14 whilst even more surprisingly 'Hush Hush ; Hush Hush' from the Pussycat Dolls holds firm at Number 18. The double-barrelled title is designed to flag up that this is actually two songs in one. The original 'Hush Hush' was a ballad and was one of the tracks on their 'Doll Domination' album. The new version is taken from a special edition which is being released as "version 2.0" of the album in some territories but in a sensible move is being pushed here as a six track mini-album featuring the reworked tracks from the new version. The single rendition of 'Hush Hush' was the arrangement the girls performed on tour, leaving the first verse of the single intact before it takes off in a totally different direction in a house remix that ultimately climaxes in a rendition of 'I Will Survive' just for the hell of it. I'm a huge fan of records that change tone or tempo or shoot off at right angles and to me this has the same kind of fun vibe as disco classic 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)'. I hope this isn't the end of this story.

Also new at Number 21 are Basement Jaxx who make a chart return after a long absence with 'Raindrops'. Messrs Buxton and Ratcliffe have been silent since the release of 2006 album 'Crazy Itch Radio' but now return with this bhangra flavoured track which duly settles in to become their biggest chart single since 'Oh My Gosh' made Number 8 in early 2005. New album 'Scars' is currently pencilled in for a September release.

Finally there is also a Top 40 new entry for 'Never Forget You' from the Noisettes which moves 48-31. The follow-up to smash hit 'Don't Upset The Rhythm, the differences between the two tracks could not be more marked. The new track is a rock/reggae fusion complete with pizzicato strings and a girly vocal from Shingai which all combine to make this one of the summeriest, brightest most nostalgic singles you will hear all week.

There is a genuine fear that a whole string of worthwhile hits are about to be roughly shouldered out of the way by the continuing Jackson bandwagon. As I mentioned earlier, the tribute sales of his records have continued unabated over the weekend and you can bet your life that there are plenty of acts and their labels who are about to find their carefully laid release schedules and promotional plans swept away in a tide of mourning. The only relief is that radio stations got bored of back to back Jacko records by Friday afternoon and reinstated their usual playlists. Normality is still just around the corner, it just depends how many more steps we have to take to get there.