Jester

Jester’s Top Tunes 1053 1 (1) Tame Impala feat. JENNIE – Dracula (JENNIE Remix) // 2-1-1 (3 wks) 2 weeks at number 1 2 (2) ANOTR & 54 Ultra – Talk To You // 9-6-4-2-2 (5 wks) 3 (4) Sombr – Potential // 10-7-4-3 (4 wks) 4 (5) Madonna – I Feel So Free // 10-5-4 (3 wks) 5 (3) Alex Warren – Fever Dream // 19-15-12-11-9-6-5-3-1-3-5 (11 wks) 6 (9) Olivia Rodrigo – Drop Dead // 11-11-9-6 (4 wks) 7 (21) Prospa & Cloonee – Free Your Mind // 21-7 (2 wks) 8 (7) Harry Styles – American Girls // 9-1-1-1-3-5-6-7-8 (9 wks) 9 (-) Noah Kahan – Doors // 9 (1 wk) 10 (6) Sombr – Homewrecker // 10-8-4-4-2-2-5-4-2-1-1-3-6-10 (14 wks) 11 (13) Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – Bring Your Love // 13-11 (2 wks) 12 (-) Temper City – Self Aware // 12 (1 wk) 13 (11) Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – Rein Me In // 13-11-10-6-4-3-1-3-3-2-1-1-1-4-5-4-7-8-9-11-13 (21 wks) 14 (8) Tame Impala – My Old Ways // 13-5-4-2-5-8-14 (7 wks) 15 (20) Becky Hill - >>>hands on me<<< // 20-15 (2 wks) 16 (10) Lady Gaga & Doechii – RUNWAY // 18-15-10-16 (4 wks) 17 (12) Taylor Swift – Elizabeth Taylor // 21-16-14-20-23-35-27-21-12-8-7-6-3-3-2-4-8-12-17 (19 wks) 18 (15) Harry Styles – Aperture // 10-5-2-1-3-3-5-5-8-8-12-13-14-14-15-18 (16 wks) 19 (17) Pulp – Background Noise // 7-5-1-1-3-4-6-7-7-9-13-14-14-14-14-15-16-17-19 (18 wks) 20 (18) Djo – The Crux // 4-1-3-4-6-6-7-8-8-10-14-15-15-15-15-16-17-18-20 (19 wks) 21 (16) PinkPantheress feat. Zara Larsson – Stateside // 11-9-5-3-3-7-2-7-8-9-13-16-21 (13 wks) 22 (14) Chris Stussy & Tom Did It – Wide Awake // 21-21-10-7-12-14-22 (7 wks) 23 (19) Gorillaz, Asha Puthii, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda & Black Thought – The Moon Cave // 14-11-8-2-6-8-11-13-18-19-23 (11 wks) 24 (27) Jessie Ware – Ride // 10-7-4-3-7-9-12-17-22-27-24 (11 wks) 25 (22) Arctic Monkeys – Opening Night // 9-4-1-5-6-6-6-10-10-10-13-16-19-21-22-25 (16 wks) 26 (23) Taylor Swift – Opalite // 18-15-11-9-4-7-6-3-2-5-6-11-18-4-1-2-4-6-9-16-17-20-22-23-23-26 (26 wks) 27 (25) Romy – Love Who You Love // 10-6-3-1-1-1-3-5-6-6-8-11-12-13-14-16-16-16-17-20-22-22-23-24-25-27 (26 wks) 28 (28) Ewan McVicar – Share The House // 19-12-11-11-17-21-26-28-28 (9 wks) 29 (26) Bauuer – Better // 20-26-29 (3 wks) 30 (29) Myles Smith – My Mess // 21-20-25-29-30 (5 wks) 31 (24) Dominic Fike – Babydoll // 17-10-6-12-19-24-31 (7 wks) 32 (30) Olivia Dean – So Easy (To Fall In Love) // 15-13-7-4-2-2-2-2-1-5-7-7-8-10-12-16-15-11-12-15-21-23-24-24-25-27-30-32 (28 wks) 33 (32) Kasabian – GREAT PRETENDER // 20-19-26-29-32-33 (6 wks) 34 (34) Robbie Williams – All My Life // 16-11-8-7-2-5-9-14-17-22-27-27-29-32-32-34-34 (17 wks) 35 (33) RAYE – Nightingale Lane // 13-11-18-18-19-23-27-30-33-35 (10 wks) 36 (31) BTS – SWIM // 13-12-16-18-24-28-31-36 (8 wks) 37 (36) Radiohead – Let Down // 9-5-1-1-4-6-5-6-7-8-9-10-10-10-14-14-16-15-15-17-18-20-24-26-28-28-28-28-30-31-32-32-34-34-36-37 (36 wks) 38 (35) Pulp – Tina // 5-1-1-1-3-4-6-6-7-8-9-10-14-12-12-14-16-17-16-20-23-23-25-25-26-26-28-30-31-35-38 (31 wks) 39 (37) RAYE – WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! // 12-10-15-17-22-26-28-27-29-29-29-26-29-30-31-31-33-37-39 (19 wks) 40 (40) Oasis – Slide Away // 10-7-4-4-1-1-3-5-6-8-9-10-11-12-13-13-17-17-20-20-20-23-23-24-24-27-28-30-32-35-35-35-37-39-39-39-40-40-40-40 (40 wks)

I’m still annoyed by the dross that kept The Flood off number 1.

Dull, boring, beige, bland. Oh hi Joe.

Eurgh, Sure is beyond bland. Would be right near the bottom for me.

I adore Go, so good to see it chart properly.

I think the Human Nature mix of Right Here is my favourite song of 1993.

I was on a wet holiday in Devon when Cristina Aguilera beat B*witched and it was a big shock! Great songs from Ann Lee, Jordan Knight, Gabrielle & Christina. I like Goin Down is a very overlooked and forgotten Mel C top 5.

3 truly abysmal number 1s so far. There really was some trash at the top in 2010.

Definitely deserves to be near the bottom. Hackneyed and overplayed.

Amazing countdown, thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll post my order later. Fantastic number 1 of course, I fully agree with its placing, what a song!

I’d love to do 2014 if you need anyone!

Great year for albums, less so for number 1 singles! Thanks for doing this, looking forward to seeing where you rank my favourites.

Thanks Chez!

Thanks for commenting Jaz!

I like this one but she did way better many times.

Thanks for your comments throughout!

Thanks for commenting everyone! 1 Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin 2 The Bee Gees - You Win Again 3 Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) 4 Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now 5 Mel and Kim - Respectable 6 Michael Jackson - I Just Can't Stop Loving You 7 Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind 8 Madonna - La Isla Bonita 9 Aretha Franklin & George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) 10 T'Pau - China in Your Hand 11 Ben E. King - Stand by Me 12 Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up 13 M/A/R/R/S - Pump up the Volume 14 Los Lobos - La Bamba 15 Madonna - Who's That Girl 16 Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite 17 The Firm - Star Trekkin' 18 Steve 'Silk' Hurley - Jack Your Body 19 Boy George - Everything I Own 20 Ferry Aid - Let It Be

1. Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin (Score 10/10) 3 weeks at number 1 Kept off number 1: Bruce Willis - Under The Boardwalk Number 1 time at last and the second best Pet Shop Boys song of 1987 and my favourite number of the 80s. A pretty clear winner for me amoungst an incredibly stong top 4. Few singles in the Pet Shop Boys’ catalogue carry the sheer dramatic weight of It’s A Sin, a song that transforms Neil Tennant’s memories of Catholic school guilt into a towering, operatic synth‑pop confession. Written in a burst of inspiration — Tennant has said the lyrics poured out in about 15 minutes — the track channels years of internalised judgement into something both deeply personal and theatrically grand. It’s a song where autobiography becomes spectacle, and where the Pet Shop Boys’ signature cool detachment is fused with overwhelming emotional force. The production is Chris Lowe at his most maximalist. The track opens with ominous synth chords that feel like the doors of a cathedral swinging shut, followed by thunderous electronic drums, orchestral stabs, and a choral arrangement that evokes the grandeur of a Latin mass. The arrangement is deliberately over the top — almost baroque in its scale — but the band lean into the drama with total conviction. Tennant’s vocal, cool and precise, cuts through the bombast with lines that turn personal shame into a kind of defiant performance. The contrast between his deadpan delivery and the apocalyptic production is what gives the song its power: he sings about sin with such clarity that the whole thing becomes a critique rather than a confession. Released in 1987 as the lead single from Actually, It’s A Sin became one of the Pet Shop Boys’ biggest hits, spending three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and resonating strongly across Europe. Its themes of guilt, repression and identity struck a chord with LGBTQ+ listeners in particular, even though Tennant didn’t publicly come out until years later. The song’s emotional core — the sense of being judged simply for existing — gave it a resonance far beyond the charts, turning it into an anthem of defiance for anyone who had ever been told they were “wrong” for who they were. The track also generated controversy. A theology professor accused the band of plagiarising Catholic hymns, a claim so absurd that the Pet Shop Boys responded with characteristic wit by donating money to charity in his name. The incident only reinforced the song’s status as a cultural flashpoint — a pop record that dared to confront the institutions that shaped (and scarred) its writer. Decades later, It’s A Sin remains one of the most iconic singles of the 1980s, a moment where pop music, personal history and social commentary collided with spectacular force. It’s grand, it’s camp, it’s serious and it captures the Pet Shop Boys at the height of their powers, turning private pain into a universal, unforgettable pop statement. What a strong 1987 for the Pet Shop Boys - their best song kept off the top of the charts (What Have I Done To Deserve This?), the best number of the 80s (It's A Sin), the Christmas number 1 (Always On My Mind). The final single from Actually is also superb - Rent. Amazing! I have nothing to add about the Bruce Willis song at number 2.

2. The Bee Gees - You Win Again (Score - 10/10) 4 weeks at number 1 Kept off number 1: Full Metal Jacket - I Want To Be Your Drill Instructor, Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme & George Micheal - Faith So, crunch time with the top 2! The runner up is by far the best Bee Gees song and their only 80s chart topper (this got them the accolade of having number 1s in the 60s, 70s and the 80s). Let the drumbeat begin! By the mid‑1980s the Bee Gees were in a strange cultural limbo, still writing global hits for other artists like Chain Reaction, Islands in the Stream and Heartbreaker, yet as performers they were still carrying the stigma of the disco backlash that had unfairly turned them into shorthand for an entire genre’s collapse. They were respected but not fashionable, admired but not embraced. You Win Again became the moment they decided to reclaim their identity on their own terms, and they did it by crafting a single that sounded like nothing else in 1987. The key to the track’s impact is the drum sound, which the brothers obsessed over. Barry, Robin and Maurice wanted something that felt like a physical jolt — not a typical LinnDrum or Simmons pad, but a beat that hit like a weapon. They built it using a LinnDrum LM‑1 as the base, then heavily processed it with gated reverb, compression and manual EQ sculpting to create that “cannon‑shot” effect Maurice described. They layered additional percussive samples, pitched and distorted them, and pushed the attack so hard that the drum almost becomes a hook in itself. It’s mechanical, but it pulses with intent — a heartbeat turned into a war drum. Over that foundation, the brothers delivered one of their most confident late‑career melodies. Barry’s lead vocal is controlled but urgent, carrying the emotional weight of a relationship where surrender feels inevitable. Robin’s quivering harmonies add tension, and Maurice’s production instincts keep everything sleek and modern without losing the warmth of their classic sound. The lyrics frame love as a battlefield, but the delivery gives it a triumphant swagger — the “defeat” in the title feels almost playful, as if the narrator knows he’s already lost but is choosing to lose with style. When the song was released, radio programmers were sceptical. The Bee Gees weren’t supposed to sound contemporary anymore, and the industry didn’t quite know what to do with a track that felt both futuristic and unmistakably them. But the public responded instantly. You Win Again shot to No. 1 in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and across Europe, giving the Bee Gees their first UK chart‑topper since Tragedy in 1979. The song’s success effectively rebooted their career. It reminded the world that the Bee Gees were not relics of the disco era but master craftsmen capable of reinventing themselves whenever they chose. Today, You Win Again stands as one of their most important late‑period singles — a bold, muscular, meticulously produced track that proved the brothers still had the power to surprise, innovate and dominate the charts long after the trends they’d once defined had moved on. I love how the Bee Gees did something different and how successful this was for them - its a huge earworm and rightfully stands as thier best song for me. A word on what was kept off the top of the charts, Jan Hammer's Crocketts Theme is one of the best 80s number 2s imo, a brilliant instrumental and its a real shame that it didn't quite reach it to the top. The Full Metal Jacket song is just shouty noise and of course Faith is a classic.

That was my guess on your other bottom 2! Your wife has good taste 😁

Pray is easily one of my favourite Take That number 1s, a real step up for them. MJs Will You Be There is great - all those key changes!

Jester’s Top Tunes 1052 1 (2) Tame Impala feat. JENNIE – Dracula (JENNIE Remix) // 2-1 (2 wks) 1 week at number 1 2 (4) ANOTR & 54 Ultra – Talk To You // 9-6-4-2 (4 wks) 3 (1) Alex Warren – Fever Dream // 19-15-12-11-9-6-5-3-1-3 (10 wks) 4 (7) Sombr – Potential // 10-7-4 (3 wks) 5 (10) Madonna – I Feel So Free // 10-5 (2 wks) 6 (3) Sombr – Homewrecker // 10-8-4-4-2-2-5-4-2-1-1-3-6 (13 wks) 7 (6) Harry Styles – American Girls // 9-1-1-1-3-5-6-7 (8 wks) 8 (5) Tame Impala – My Old Ways // 13-5-4-2-5-8 (6 wks) 9 (11) Olivia Rodrigo – Drop Dead // 11-11-9 (3 wks) 10 (15) Lady Gaga & Doechii – RUNWAY // 18-15-10 (3 wks) 11 (9) Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – Rein Me In // 13-11-10-6-4-3-1-3-3-2-1-1-1-4-5-4-7-8-9-11 (20 wks) 12 (8) Taylor Swift – Elizabeth Taylor // 21-16-14-20-23-35-27-21-12-8-7-6-3-3-2-4-8-12 (18 wks) 13 (-) Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – Bring Your Love // 13 (1 wk) 14 (12) Chris Stussy & Tom Did It – Wide Awake // 21-21-10-7-12-14 (6 wks) 15 (14) Harry Styles – Aperture // 10-5-2-1-3-3-5-5-8-8-12-13-14-14-15 (15 wks) 16 (13) PinkPantheress feat. Zara Larsson – Stateside // 11-9-5-3-3-7-2-7-8-9-13-16 (12 wks) 17 (16) Pulp – Background Noise // 7-5-1-1-3-4-6-7-7-9-13-14-14-14-14-15-16-17 (17 wks) 18 (17) Djo – The Crux // 4-1-3-4-6-6-7-8-8-10-14-15-15-15-15-16-17-18 (18 wks) 19 (18) Gorillaz, Asha Puthii, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda & Black Thought – The Moon Cave // 14-11-8-2-6-8-11-13-18-19 (10 wks) 20 (-) Becky Hill - >>>hands on me<<< // 20 (1 wk) 21 (-) Prospa & Cloonee – Free Your Mind // 21 (1 wk) 22 (21) Arctic Monkeys – Opening Night // 9-4-1-5-6-6-6-10-10-10-13-16-19-21-22 (15 wks) 23 (23) Taylor Swift – Opalite // 18-15-11-9-4-7-6-3-2-5-6-11-18-4-1-2-4-6-9-16-17-20-22-23-23 (25 wks) 24 (19) Dominic Fike – Babydoll // 17-10-6-12-19-24 (6 wks) 25 (24) Romy – Love Who You Love // 10-6-3-1-1-1-3-5-6-6-8-11-12-13-14-16-16-16-17-20-22-22-23-24-25 (25 wks) 26 (20) Bauuer – Better // 20-26 (2 wks) 27 (22) Jessie Ware – Ride // 10-7-4-3-7-9-12-17-22-27 (10 wks) 28 (26) Ewan McVicar – Share The House // 19-12-11-11-17-21-26-28 (8 wks) 29 (25) Myles Smith – My Mess // 21-20-25-29 (4 wks) 30 (27) Olivia Dean – So Easy (To Fall In Love) // 15-13-7-4-2-2-2-2-1-5-7-7-8-10-12-16-15-11-12-15-21-23-24-24-25-27-30 (27 wks) 31 (28) BTS – SWIM // 13-12-16-18-24-28-31 (7 wks) 32 (29) Kasabian – GREAT PRETENDER // 20-19-26-29-32 (5 wks) 33 (30) RAYE – Nightingale Lane // 13-11-18-18-19-23-27-30-33 (9 wks) 34 (32) Robbie Williams – All My Life // 16-11-8-7-2-5-9-14-17-22-27-27-29-32-32-34 (16 wks) 35 (31) Pulp – Tina // 5-1-1-1-3-4-6-6-7-8-9-10-14-12-12-14-16-17-16-20-23-23-25-25-26-26-28-30-31-35 (30 wks) 36 (34) Radiohead – Let Down // 9-5-1-1-4-6-5-6-7-8-9-10-10-10-14-14-16-15-15-17-18-20-24-26-28-28-28-28-30-31-32-32-34-34-36 (35 wks) 37 (33) RAYE – WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! // 12-10-15-17-22-26-28-27-29-29-29-26-29-30-31-31-33-37 (18 wks) 38 (38) Bright Light Bright Light + Ana Matronic - Cold Sweat, Hot Boys // 18-11-10-11-17-19-22-24-28-31-34-37-38-38 (14 wks) 39 (39) HAVEN feat. Karen Aargon – I Run // 14-12-6-4-4-2-3-2-2-7-8-13-14-17-20-24-27-28-30-33-35-38-39-39 (24 wks) 40 (40) Oasis – Slide Away // 10-7-4-4-1-1-3-5-6-8-9-10-11-12-13-13-17-17-20-20-20-23-23-24-24-27-28-30-32-35-35-35-37-39-39-39-40-40-40 (39 wks)

I alternately despised some Akon songs and really liked others - this is in the latter category. The other is the superb Sweet Escape.

Their last album was fantastic, so fingers crossed I like their new music.

I agree, she looks so happy and seems so fresh and alive.