Julian_

^ Band Aid actually 3rd

Fallin’ to pieces in Round 7 are The Script. It’s unusual for a non Top 20 hit to make the year end lists but this 2008 single was a real slow burner. It peaked at #21 on its 12th week and eventually notched up 31 weeks in the Top 75. 4th: The Script - Breakeven 12/30 votes (40%) 5th: Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent 12/30 votes (30%) 6th: U2 - Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (38%) 7th: Scooter - Nessaja 9/35 votes (26%) 8th: Jamelia - Something About You 8/27 votes (30%) 9th: Shaznay Lewis - Never Felt Like This Before 7/28 votes (25%) 10th: True Steppers featuring Dane Bowers - Buggin’ 14/34 votes (41%)

Trippin’ up in Round 4 are Goldtrix. This was a cover of Jill Scott’s 2000 song “It’s Love”. It was the only hit for the house duo, reaching #6 in January 2002. 7th: Goldtrix - It’s Love (Trippin’) 16/33 votes (48%) 8th: Hear’Say - Everybody 16/30 votes (53%) 9th: Wyclef Jean featuring The Rock and Melky Sedeck - It Doesn’t Matter 9/29 votes (31%) 10th: Jennifer Lopez featuring Fat Joe - Hold You Down 12/32 votes (38%)

Went for Artful Dodger - they became boring after a few great singles

The Hermes House Band have been sent home where they belong. John Denver’s original “Take Me Home, Country Roads” from 1971 wasn’t a UK hit. The Dutch group’s version reached #7 in December 2001 and spent 5 weeks in the Top 10, and was their only Top 40 hit. 10th: Hermes House Band - Country Roads 11/31 votes (35%)

Another very strong bunch here: any of the top 4 could have been a top pick but I’ve put the best known classic at the top. 9 Martha And The Muffins Echo Beach Only hit for this Canadian band about escaping to a fictional paradise: a wonderful new wave track with driving energy and great delivery 9 Rush The Spirit Of Radio Another Canadian rock band with their highest peaking hit: a wonderfully intriguing complex song with tempo changes and swirling guitars 8 Siouxsie And The Banshees Happy House 4th Top 40 for them with a sarcastic song about the perfect portrayal of families in the media: it's an excellent biting reggae tinged track 8 Squeeze Another Nail In My Heart Not one of their biggest hits but an excellent and captivating, interestingly structured track with good use of marimba and a guitar solo 7 Genesis Turn It On Again A song about someone who is TV obsessed and believes the characters to be friends: it's great and draws you into this person's mind 7 Tony Rallo And The Midnite Band Holdin' On A Tunisian born jazz musician here with his only hit that seems forgotten, but it's a very good song with interesting instrumental features 6 The Brothers Johnson Stomp By far the biggest hit for this US duo: it's a fairly typical disco sound but has a striking chorus and it's not hard to see why it did so well 6 Liquid Gold Dance Yourself Dizzy After a #41 and some other misses, a huge hit for this UK disco group: it doesn't have anything remarkable but is very fun and danceable 5 The Lambrettas Poison Ivy A UK mod revival band giving The Coasters' 1959 hit its highest peak and bringing it up to date, though I think I still prefer the original 5 The Dooleys Love Patrol Last stop 40 for this UK family band: this has a Bee Gges disco like sound to it and is nothing remarkable but quite an enjoyable track 4 UK Subs Warhead A UK hardcore punk band here in the middle of their string of hits: it's good at its style but quite shouty and the vocals a little grating for me 4 The Detroit Spinners Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl 455th #1: the Four Seasons version feels soulful whereas this is a little bland, and I don't think the added bridge makes much difference 3 Narada Michael Walden Tonight I'm Alright 1st of a couple of hits for this US jazz fusion artist: it's not a bad funky sounding style but the track drags on rather and is quite repetitive 2 Jon Pertwee Worzel's Song Only hit for this "Doctor Who" actor in his "Worzel Gummidge" role: a pleasant enough child friendly track but with limited replay value 1980 Group 6: #73 08/03/1980 Secret Affair My World 16 72-40-28-27-17-{16}-18-19-62->9 #74 22/03/1980 The Jam Going Underground/Dreams Of Children 1 {1}-1-1-3-6-20-33-49-72->9 #75 15/03/1980 Barbara Dickson January February 11 59-29-19-12-{11}-11-13-18-46-66->10 #76 15/03/1980 The Bodysnatchers Let's Do Rock Steady 22 44-31-24-27-{22}-22-24-26-60->9 #77 15/03/1980 Leon Haywood Don't Push It, Don't Force It 12 56-35-30-19-18-14-{12}-12-19-28-60->11 #78 08/03/1980 UB40 King/Food For Thought 4 65-55-40-20-10-5-{4}-4-6-13-35-51-68->13 #79 29/03/1980 Judas Priest Living After Midnight 12 25-15-{12}-16-18-47-71->7 #80 01/03/1980 B.A. Robertson Kool In The Kaftan 17 73-51-51-45-28-25-25-19-{17}-22-38-69->12 #81 19/01/1980 Sad Cafe Strange Little Girl 32 53-35-{32}-36-53->5 #82 29/03/1980 John Foxx No-One Driving 32 {32}-32-35-59->4 #83 01/03/1980 Bad Manners Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu 28 64-55-62-49-34-39-38-36-36-{28}-33-29-33-39->14 15/03/1980 The Monkees The Monkees EP 33 63-46-35-38-34-{33}-37-49-66->9 #84 22/03/1980 The Stranglers Bear Cage 36 55-{36}-41-48-64->5 #85 29/03/1980 Dr Hook Sexy Eyes 4 38-9-{4}-5-5-8-16-34-54->9 #86 22/03/1980 Dexy's Midnight Runners Geno 1 61-40-37-29-12-2-{1}-1-2-5-10-17-35-54->14

1 Lorde 2 Wet Leg 3 Royal Otis

I noticed “I Trance” did quite poorly in the 2019 heats for Record Of The Decade last year though! I guess many people just vote for what they know in that, but maybe there’s still hope for everyone else.

Not remotely a fan but it’s extraordinary that crying should be seen as some sort of sackable offence. No wonder we end up with so much inauthenticity in politics. Whatever she was upset about, someone should have suggested she sit it out.

I haven’t been tracking that lately but it’s certainly not far off. It’s been hanging around #110-120 in the weekly chart so should be in the 40-45k zone for the year.

#67 with 60k Any specific requests?

But the songs by the less well known artists could be much better. 🤨

Correct! Benson is all but guaranteed now (doing 24k per week and only needs to average 13.5k from now on). Billie needs to average 13.6k to the end of the year and did 19k last week - pretty nailed on. Chappell needs 14.6k per week and doing 18k - less sure but decent chance. Teddy needs 16.8k per week and is only 1k above that so looking less likely, though the longevity so far has been crazy so you never know. Sabrina is doing 17k and needs to average 17k so very likely to fall short, though new material could give a small boost.

There was never really any doubt about what was going to be my first 10 in this series, though maybe some of the other discoveries could creep up on it in future. “Atomic” doesn’t have the big catchy chorus of Blondie’s other chart toppers, but it’s a work of pure art. To me it makes me think of when you’re having a wonderful time with someone or a group of people and everything seems wonderful and everyone is beautiful and you’re lost in the moment. Not to neglect the other great stuff here: “Turning Japanese” is an absolute stonker and there’s some wonderfully trippy madness from Bowie. 10 Blondie Atomic 452nd #1 and my favourite of their many greats: an immersive instrumental led track, but with vocal parts that are gorgeous and intense 9 The Vapors Turning Japanese Only Top 40 for this UK band: masterful use of the Oriental riff and a relentless track that creates a sense of a crazy ride you can't get off 8 David Bowie Alabama Song Originally a 1920s German song, this was a very uncommercial release for him, but it's wonderfully jarring and captivatingly unhinged 8 The Police So Lonely It's still the first 12 months of their commercial success: I love the punchiness of this and find the strident raspy vocals are very effective 7 Stiff Little Fingers At The Edge 1st and biggest Top 40 for this Northern Irish punk band: it's very raucous with gruff vocals but a highly compelling and energetic track 7 The Gibson Brothers Cuba/Better Do It Salsa {1980} These 2 tracks are incredibly similar but both excellent authentically Latin tracks with good use of instruments and a catchy vocal refrain 6 Donna Summer On The Radio This feels much bigger than its peak: it's lyrically an interesting and emotive number well sung, but the overall package is fairly ordinary 6 Fern Kinney Together We Are Beautiful 453rd #1: only hit for this US disco singer and it's a sweet and uplifting track: it just lacks any musical features to make it really stand out 5 The Beat Hands Off, She's Mine 2nd hit for this ska influenced UK band not dissimilar to Madness: this doesn't stand out from the crowd but is a fun and pulsating track 4 Shakin' Stevens Hot Dog 1st of a big run of hits for this Welsh performer with a rockabilly cover: this doesn't do anything unexpected but is a competent version 4 Marti Webb Take That Look Off Your Face 1st hit for this actress, reaching the Top 3 with a Lloyd Webber song; it's quite a nice track for its genre but as a hit single feels quite wooden 3 Iron Maiden Running Free 1st of a very long run of hits for this UK band: already their style is clearly established and they will have better examples of it to come 2 Sammy Hagar I've Done Everything For You Only Top 40 for this US glam rocker: despite its energetic and vigorous style somehow this track manages to be quite flaccid and dull 2 Captain And Tennille Do That To Me One More Time A US #1 and here the biggest and last hit for the married duo: a dreary piece of easy listening; the saxophone is the only interesting part 1980 Group 5: #59 23/02/1980 Liquid Gold Dance Yourself Dizzy 2 73-47-23-14-5-4-{2}-2-3-8-17-40-54-71->14 #60 23/02/1980 The Detroit Spinners Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl 1 70-48-31-20-8-5-3-{1}-1-3-7-18-42-69->14 #61 23/02/1980 The Brothers Johnson Stomp 6 65-44-32-25-14-11-{6}-9-15-29-46-68->12 #62 01/03/1980 Jon Pertwee Worzel's Song 33 57-35-{33}-39-47-59-67->7 #63 23/02/1980 Narada Michael Walden Tonight I'm Alright 34 68-45-38-37-{34}-37-43-59-74->9 #64 01/03/1980 Martha And The Muffins Echo Beach 10 67-39-21-15-{10}-11-15-21-42-69->10 #65 01/03/1980 Squeeze Another Nail In My Heart 17 65-40-27-26-{17}-18-23-27-75->9 #66 15/03/1980 Rush The Spirit Of Radio 13 23-16-{13}-23-28-39-71->7 #67 01/03/1980 The Lambrettas Poison Ivy 7 69-44-28-27-12-{7}-8-10-15-21-47-63->12 #68 08/03/1980 UK Subs Warhead 30 42-{30}-38-54->4 #69 23/02/1980 Tony Rallo And The Midnite Band Holdin' On 34 69-50-41-{34}-42-50-56-66->8 #70 15/03/1980 Genesis Turn It On Again 8 35-25-23-{8}-10-13-16-42-70-73->10 #71 15/03/1980 Siouxsie And The Banshees Happy House 17 36-23-21-20-{17}-20-22-50->8 #72 08/03/1980 The Dooleys Love Patrol 29 68-39-30-{29}-29-31-43->7

1 Pet Shop Boys - Go West 2 CHVRCHES - Bitter End 3 A-ha - You Are the One 4 Ellie Goulding - Army 5 Lady Gaga feat. Christina Aguilera - Do What U Want 6 Louise - Arms Around the World 7 Avril Lavigne - Don’t Tell Me 8 Mary J. Blige & U2 - One 9 The Saturdays - Disco Love