Brer

And... that's it, because unfortunately !!! didn't submit votes and we don't have any guest votes, sorry if that's anticlimactic! Her votes couldn't have changed the winner anyway and a 33% deduction doesn't even change the position of her own entry. Said entry comes from American alternative rock geeks They Might Be Giants whose big hit was 1990's #6 peaking 'Birdhouse In Your Soul', though they came very close to a second top 20 hit in 2001 with Malcolm In The Middle theme 'Boss Of Me' peaking at #21. Their entry here predates their chart hits, 'Purple Toupee' coming out in 1989 and not charting anywhere. It's not made much noise throughout the results unfortunately and finishes 3rd from last. (oh and let's clear out all of that Blobby infestation - he's really been nothing but a nuisance as a co-host -_-) FINAL SCOREBOARD 1 120 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [danG] 2 105 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 93 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 90 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 76 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 6 74 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 73 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 71 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 9 65 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 10 62 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 11 59 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 12 58 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 57 Annerley - Save Me [CowTzy] 14 52 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] (9 votes) 15 52 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] (8 votes) 16 49 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 17 45 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 36 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 19 35 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 28 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 26 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [Brer] 22 25 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 12.73 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [!!!] {33% deduction} 24 11 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] (4 votes) 25 11 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [Julian_] (2 votes) Congratulations to danG who officially clinches a first victory in this contest, and here's our winning song, Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody

Vote 24 CowTzy is behind the most recently released song in this contest - British eurodance singer Annerley's 'Save Me' came out as an under the radar release in 2021, but her commercial heyday was in 1999 when, under her former artist name Ann Lee, she got to #2 with '2 Times'. She's been a top 10 threat throughout most of the reveal but has faded in the home stretch and dropped down to 12th. 1 120 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [danG] 2 105 The Blobedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 93 Army Of Blobbers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 90 Modern Blobbing - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 76 Classix Blobbeaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 6 74 The Blobcicle Blobs - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 73 Blobbero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 71 Pink Blob - Undressed [Jester] 9 65 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 10 62 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 11 59 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 12 58 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 57 Blobberley - Save Me [CowTzy] 14 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 52 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 16 49 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 17 45 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 36 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 19 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 26 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [Brer] 22 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 11 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [Julian_] And that could just be the death blow for The Psychedelic Furs, they get a point here but 7 points go Alphaville's way giving them a 15 point lead again. It's still Army Of Lovers 3rd but another medal for Modern Talking moves them very close behind in 4th, while a medal also going to Classix Nouveaux sees them finish very strong in these late scoreboards as they're in the top 5 for the first time, up 8-5 and knocking The Icicle Works back down a place to 6th. Another song gets its first 12 (18 out of 25 songs have now received one!), Young MC nonetheless only lifting 1 place to 16th as a result. Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin at last get a second vote and more than double their score but it's not enough to lift them out of the wooden spoon position. Thanks Cow for the highest points yet for Zager & Evans also! BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY

Vote 23 Now that my entry has been revealed I'm sure no one is really interested who's behind the others... oh ok then let's unveil the person who's in the lead. That would be danG who's sent German synthpop band Alphaville, these days probably best known for 'Forever Young' although their one UK hit was 'Big In Japan' which peaked at #8 in 1984. Both songs came from the same album as their entry here, 'Sounds Like A Melody' which is another one that was big across Europe but couldn't crack the UK, not even going top 100 here. 'Forever Young' was in the first edition of this contest where it came 11th, and Alphaville have also come top 15 in BJSC with the SCHILLER version of their track 'Summer In Berlin', but they're definitely on for a much bigger hit here and have been sitting pretty at #1 ever since the 9th vote, at times with a quite commanding lead. We're very near the end now so not much time for the competition to make a comeback but let's see if Dan shoots himself in the foot... 1 113 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [danG] 2 104 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 93 Army Of Blobbers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 80 Modern Blobbing - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 74 The Blobcicle Blobs - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 6 73 Blobbero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 7 71 Pink Blob - Undressed [Jester] 8 68 Classix Blobbeaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 9 65 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 10 62 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 11 58 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 57 Blobberley - Save Me [???] 13 55 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 14 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 52 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 16 42 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 17 37 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 18 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 19 34 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 20 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 21 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [Brer] 23 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [Julian_] Well the potential for greater foot-shooting was there but still, Dan sends some points over to his closest rival The Psychedelic Furs which pushes them over the 100 point mark and puts the gap into single digits, only 9 points separating the top 2 now Army Of Lovers continue to stick in 3rd but it's now a 3rd 12 to Modern Talking who are back in the top 5 once again moving up 6-4. The Icicle Works drop a place to 5th and White Town are down 2 to 7th, also re-overtaken by Cicero who gets another medal position here.

Vote 22 Finally revealing my own entry now (Brer), I went for American folk-pop duo Zager & Evans who were a discovery for me from the SyncTube sessions listening through every UK #1, I found their chart topper 'In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)' from 1969 rather unique and striking and always wondered if they had any similarly strong songs elsewhere in their catalogue. They are a true one hit wonder both here and in their native US with that song hitting #1 in both countries but none of their other songs going top 100 in either, nor do any of their other songs clock far above 100,000 total streams on Spotify. I found what I thought to be another pretty haunting track from them in the form of their third single 'Listen To The People' which also came out in 1969. I certainly didn't expect it to be putting me in contention for another win here anyway and indeed it's been pretty near the bottom throughout, currently 4th from last. I hope some of you found it an interesting listen anyway even if you didn't vote for it, and thank you to the 7 people who have thrown it a few points (nothing higher than 4 points so far so cheers to my joint biggest fans AH Gold, Chez, Julian and Rollo plus the further mealworm points from Addy, Severin and Suedehead x). 1 113 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 98 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 86 Army Of Blobbers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 72 The Blobcicle Blobs - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 5 71 Pink Blob - Undressed [Jester] 6 68 Modern Blobbing - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 7 67 Classix Blobbeaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 8 65 Blobbero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 9 65 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 10 62 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 11 57 Blobberley - Save Me [???] 12 53 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 14 52 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 15 42 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 16 42 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 17 37 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 18 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 19 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 20 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 21 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [Brer] 23 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [Julian_] The gap between the top 2 is cut down again to 15 points after my medal to The Psychedelic Furs and only small points to Alphaville. The Furs are now on the cusp of being the second act to hit 100 points. Army Of Lovers stay in third, while I give a boost to The Icicle Works who are back into the top 5, up 2 to 4th, knocking White Town and Modern Talking down a place each to 5th and 6th. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds now become the first act to have 3 12s and are finally back in the top 10 as a result, up 2 places to 9th displacing Annerley. I also push Classix Nouveaux up 2 to 7th. #BLOBBYTIDE HAS NEARLY CLAIMED ALL VICTIMS

Vote 21 Next to be unveiled is the current holder of the wooden spoon, Julian_ definitely providing quite a standout entry here but unfortunately not one that's converted to points - the one hit wonder in question is American jazz/a cappella vocalist Bobby McFerrin who is most known for his 1988 UK #2 hit 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. The song in this contest, 'Stars', comes from a 1992 collaborative album with French-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who has no hit singles to his name. It was the last song to get off 0 points and its 5 points from gooddelta sadly remain the only ones it has received, oops! 1 110 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 88 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 82 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 71 Pink Blob - Undressed [Jester] 5 68 Modern Blobbing - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 6 65 The Blobcicle Blobs - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 65 Blobbero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 62 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 9 61 Classix Blobbeaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 10 57 Blobberley - Save Me [???] 11 53 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 12 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 13 51 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 14 44 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 15 42 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 16 37 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 17 36 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 18 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 19 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 20 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 21 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 23 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [Julian_] My narrative of a late comeback for The Psychedelic Furs takes a hit as Alphaville pick up 7 points to their 0, re-establishing a 22 point lead. Is it too late now...? Army Of Lovers pick up a few points and close the gap to 2nd to 6 points, still staying in contention for that runner-up slot at least. Pink Blob - er, White Town - stay in 4th and Modern Blo- Talking in 5th (I think the broadcast is being hacked again xx). Helen Reddy climbs again to 8th. Shocking Blue now get their first 12 and rise 20-16.

Vote 20 Bjork sent the legendary American folk singer Tracy Chapman with her 1995 single 'Give Me One Reason'. Over in her home nation this is actually surprisingly her highest charting single, reaching #3 on the US Hot 100 while 'Fast Car' could only manage #6. The latter is of course her one big UK hit, originally hitting #5 in 1988 although not peaking until 2011 after a performance on Britain's Got Talent by some guy propelled it to #4. 'Give Me One Reason' could only manage #95 here and its parent album somehow didn't chart at all despite two of her previous albums getting to #1 here, curious how that happened. It's not been lighting up the scoreboard here earlier having been in the lower half of most of the scoreboards, currently in 17th. 1 103 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 88 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 79 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 71 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 6 65 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 65 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 59 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 9 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 10 54 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 11 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 12 51 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 47 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 42 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 15 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 16 34 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 17 31 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 18 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 19 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 20 25 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 21 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 23 17 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville keep racking up points but The Psychedelic Furs outpace them again and the gap reduces to 15 points, could they be slowly but surely clawing back victory? Army Of Lovers are unmoved in 3rd while White Town has another resurgence to the top 5, up 3 places to 4th, knocking Modern Talking down a place, while Cicero drops 2 to 7th. Nu Shooz are the latest to register a first 12, they move back closer to top 10 contention again with a 14-11 climb.

Vote 19 Suedehead2's entrant is another British post-punk/new wave act The Icicle Works. Their only UK top 40 single was 1983's #15 peaking 'Love Is A Wonderful Colour', but they had several further minor hits throughout the 80s and into early 1990. The entry here is 'Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)' which was their first UK top 100 entry, initially peaking at #90 in 1983 but getting to #53 with a re-release the following year following the success of their bigger hit. This isn't the first time Suedey has sent The Icicle Works to a song contest as he sent another of their minor hits 'Understanding Jane' to BJSC, that fell some way short of qualifying for the final but they've been received much more warmly here, having been in the lead at one point and remaining as top 5 contenders since, currently in 5th place. 1 100 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 81 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 79 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 65 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 6 61 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 8 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 54 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 10 53 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 47 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 12 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 14 40 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 34 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 31 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 17 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 19 27 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 21 24 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 22 17 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 23 17 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville become the first to reach 100 points, just about. But it's another medal here for The Psychedelic Furs which puts them once again in the silver medal position and now cutting the gap to 19 points. Army Of Lovers also outscore Alphaville here but nonetheless drop into the bronze position. Modern Talking hold in 4th, while a medal position here for Cicero pushes him into the top 5 for the first time, up 2 places to 5th. He knocks Suede's own entry The Icicle Works back down to 6th. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds get their second 12 and rally closer to the top 10, up 3 to 11th. Nothing at all unusual is happening to the scoreboard.

Vote 18 awardinary sent 'Betcha'll Never Find', a non-charting 1993 single by American R&B singer Chantay Savage who would have her greatest success in the UK 3 years later with her version of Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' which peaked at #12. Chantay was in the initial top 10 but has been struggling since then and is second in line for the wooden spoon as it stands. 1 97 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 74 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 71 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 4 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 61 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 6 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 57 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 50 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 10 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 13 40 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 14 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 31 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 17 28 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 18 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 27 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 24 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 21 18 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 23 16 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Nothing for Alphaville here, also nothing for The Psychedelic Furs though and a medal to Army Of Lovers allowing them to retake 2nd place, 23 points off the lead. Modern Talking collect a second 12 in relatively quick succession placing them back in the top 5, up 2 to 4th. The Icicle Works hold in 5th, treading water ahead of White Town who drops to 6th. A silver here for Cicero pushes him up 2 places to 7th.

Vote 17 AH Gold's entry comes from American group Nu Shooz from the difficult to define 'freestyle' scene. They're best known for 1986 UK #2 hit 'I Can't Wait' (later sampled in Mann's 'Buzzin' as I always feel obligated to mention) and are represented here by the follow-up single 'Point Of No Return' which peaked at #48 and is not to be confused with the song of the same name from around the same time by another freestyle act Exposé. Exposé's track was previously sent to a retro themed edition of the Pop Forum Song Contest where it came 4th, Nu Shooz got off to a similarly strong start being in the initial top 5 but have cooled off a bit and are now in 14th place. 1 97 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 71 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 66 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 60 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 6 55 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 7 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 8 48 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 47 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 13 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 17 27 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 18 24 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 16 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] More points for Alphaville and nothing for Army Od Lovers... but the gap between the top 2 remains at 26 points as we actually have a new runner-up, former leaders The Psychedelic Furs become the second act to have 2 12s and work their way back into 2nd place, 5 points ahead of Army Of Lovers. Can the late voters favour them to overcome that lead? White Town is up a place again to 4th, swapping with The Icicle Works. Also good news here for Helen Reddy who's up 2 to 8th.

Vote 16 jimwatts saw fit to give us a bit of diversity in the contest with a hip-hop entry and the only one by a one hit wonder from outside the UK - American rapper Young MC fits the bill in his home nation where his one big hit is 1989's 'Bust A Move' which hit #7 (it also made him an Australian one hit wonder where it got all the way to #1 but he had no other top 40 hits). 'Bust A Move' only got to #73 in the UK with two later singles charting higher but none cracking the top 40. The song here, 'Know How', was actually released just before 'Bust A Move' in 1988 and didn't chart at all in the US but did get to #95 here. It's been performing reasonably well for a hip-hop entry, having spent some time in the top 15 and currently just outside it. 1 92 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 66 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 59 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 4 57 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 5 53 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 6 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 7 48 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 8 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 9 45 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 42 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 11 41 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 12 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 17 27 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 18 24 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville continue to race ahead and now near the triple figure mark, expanding their lead over Army Of Lovers to 26 points. The Psychedelic Furs now knock The Icicle Works off the podium as they swap over in 3rd and 4th, while White Town still can't be held down as he's back in the top 5 again jumping back ahead of Annerley. Helen Reddy is back in the top 10 again, once again knocking out Donna Lewis. And we have yet another new 12 this time for Mr. Oizo who rises 4 places to 15th as a result. A silver here is also good for Classix Nouveaux rising 2 places to 8th.

Vote 15 Herbs caused a very mild stir with his choice of entry, American singer Paula Cole's 'I Don't Want To Wait' - she certainly fits the bill for the contest as her only UK top 40 entry was 1997 #15 hit 'Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?' but this track which peaked at #43 the following year could arguably be considered to be her most well-known song these days, most likely thanks to being used as the theme song to Dawson's Creek which is a show I recognise the name of but could tell you absolutely nothing about. It has 114 million streams on Spotify compared to 34 million for her actual UK hit. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem to be benefiting too greatly from familiarity so far - it had a good start being in the initial top 3 but has had a gradual tumble since then and is currently in a surprisingly low 17th place. It was the first choice for ChrisJK as well but is only a little ahead of his replacement entry. 1 85 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 64 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 54 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 5 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 6 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 48 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 8 45 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 9 41 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 10 37 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 13 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 14 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 16 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 17 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 18 23 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville slightly expand their lead again to 21 points as there's nothing for Army Of Lovers here. The Icicle Works stay in 3rd but are now tied in points with The Psychedelic Furs, climbing to 4th after they pick up a bronze medal here. Annerley hops into the top 5 for the first time, knocking White Town down two to 6th. (I laughed at that Steps comment - this Annerley song is from the same year as the last Steps album so maybe the cover is coming next time they reunite xx). Modern Talking are the latest to register a 12 pointer - that's now 14 different 12s from the first 15 voters! - pushing them back up 2 to 7th. Donna Lewis is back in the top 10 in place of The Vapors, while at the other end of the scoreboard Chantay Savage makes it to double figures leaving only Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin below 10 points.

Vote 14 Dobbo provided some classic europop from German duo Modern Talking, they had a number of big European hits in the mid 80s including this one, 'Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love)', but in the UK it could only make it to #55 in 1986 leaving their only big UK hit as previous release 'Brother Louie' from the same year which hit #4. Another of their big in Europe but less so in the UK hits 'You're My Heart, You're My Soul' was sent to BJSC recently and came 17th, they're currently on track to do a bit better here, having been top 10 since the beginning, getting as high as 2nd at one point and currently in 6th place. 1 81 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 64 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 46 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 45 Annerley - Save Me [???] 7 37 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 8 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 9 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 10 35 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 11 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 12 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 13 33 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 14 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 16 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 17 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 18 23 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 20 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 22 13 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Nothing for Alphaville here but a medal for Army Of Lovers so the gap closes a little again to 17 points. The Icicle Works, White Town and The Psychedelic Furs all hold their positions also gaining no points. We're back to the first 12s as Annerley gets a gold medal here and climbs 4 places to a best-yet 6th place. Good hauls here for Classix Nouveaux and The Vapors place both back in the top 10, knocking out former leader Donna Lewis as well as Helen Reddy.

Vote 13 dandy* reaches into the 21st century for his entry, 2004 track 'Stunt' by French electronic producer Mr. Oizo who was a true one hit wonder in the UK, hitting #1 in 1999 with the iconic 'Flat Beat' and never sniffing the top 100 again afterwards. 'Stunt' took its time to get off 0 points but has worked its way up to low midtable at least, currently in 16th. Maybe it'd be doing better if he invited Flat Eric back for the music video again. 1 81 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 46 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 34 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 33 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 31 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 12 30 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 13 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 29 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 15 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 16 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 17 23 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 19 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 20 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The streak of unique 12 pointers finally ends and it's current leaders Alphaville who become the first to double up. Even better for them, there are no points here for Army Of Lovers so their lead balloons to a very healthy 25 points, is it all over already?! The Icicle Works continue to close in again on the top 2, as 8 points here moves them within 2 of Army Of Lovers. Strong points for White Town and The Psychedelic Furs also see them cement themselves more comfortably in their current positions in the top 5. A silver for Young MC pushes him up 5 places into the top 15.

Vote 12 First time song contest participant ChrisJK is next to be unveiled as we approach the halfway point, he sent electropop group 2wo Third3 who Wikipedia somewhat amusingly finds it important to label as being gay but doesn't bother specifying a nationality (I'm pretty sure they're British). They're probably best known for being the career origin of songwriter Richard "Biff" Stannard who would go on to play a pivotal role in many Spice Girls hits. 'Hear Me Calling' was their debut single and peaked at #48 in the UK in 1994, they only just qualified by the specification of this contest as they had one top 20 hit, 'I Want The World' getting to #20 later that year. 2wo Third3 were briefly top 10 in one of the early scoreboards but have struggled since and are presently in the bottom 5. 1 69 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 46 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 43 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 39 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 34 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 33 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 30 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 12 28 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 13 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 14 24 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 23 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 16 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 17 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 21 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 20 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 21 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] No points here for either of the top 2 allowing the field a chance to catch up a little. The Icicle Works stay in 3rd and cut the deficit to the top 2 to 10 points. White Town is back in the top 5 again, back up 2 places to 4th, pushing The Psychedelic Furs down a place to 5th. 12 votes and 12 different 12 pointers, how long can this continue? This time it's Paula Cole getting her first gold medal, and she climbs 6 places to 15th. A medal position for Cicero pushes him back into the top 10 which he's been in and out of throughout so far.

Vote 11 A big hitter unveiled now and can we ever be surprised to see Addy! near the top of a song contest leaderboard? He's behind the current runner-up and former leader 'Obsession' by Swedish dance-pop group Army Of Lovers (who Mangø also tried to send with a different song). This charted at #67 in the UK in 1991 as a follow-up to 'Crucified' which originally peaked at #47, but a re-release the following year made it their only top 40 hit with a peak of #31. Both songs were big hits in several other European countries. 'Crucified' had its turn in BJSC where it placed 21st, 'Obsession' certainly looks to be comfortably bettering that. 1 69 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 39 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 39 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 5 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 6 35 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 33 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 8 29 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 29 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 10 25 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 13 24 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 14 24 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 16 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 17 21 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 19 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 20 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 21 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 23 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY ...Addy engages in some prime foot shooting as he delivers Alphaville their 4th straight medal position and of course cannot vote for himself, meaning they jump out to a nice 13 point lead. He does however maintain his lead over an unmoved 3rd and 4th of The Icicle Works and The Psychedelic Furs, while Modern Talking return to the top 5 displacing White Town. Once again it's a first 12 pointer this time for Tracy Chapman, more than doubling her total score and pushing her up 5 places to 17th.