Jester

So I put Tame Impala’s Dracula at number 1 for 3 weeks last year on my personal chart, it’s still charting coming up to 30 weeks. But, I do love the recent success it’s had due to the Jennie remix. So, should I do a new entry for the remix? Does anyone else chart a remix and the original? Never had this chart dilemma before! Help.

Taio Cruz’s success always baffled me. I think this was the last number 1 before the late summer/autumn X factor related onslaught that year.

Why does he look like he just stepped on Lego?

8. Madonna – La Isla Bonita (Score: 8.5/10) 2 weeks at number 1 Kept off number 1: Judy Boucher – I Can’t Be With You Tonight Spanish for ‘The Beautiful Island’ La Isla Bonita is Madonna’s dreamiest and most Latin inspired number 1 (her 4th) and was released as the fifth and final single from the huge True Blue album. At this point in her career, Madonna was already an established pop phenomenon in Britain, her debut Madonna and breakthrough Like a Virgin had produced a run of defining mid‑80s hits, while True Blue had elevated her to another level topping the UK albums chart and confirming her as both a commercial force and a creative one as she co‑wrote and co‑produced the album’s material. Written by Madonna alongside Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch and produced by Madonna and Leonard, ‘La Isla Bonita’ began life as an instrumental demo originally offered to Michael Jackson (him again!) before being reshaped into a song that marked Madonna’s first clear embrace of Latin pop, with flamenco‑style guitar, Latin percussion and Spanish phrases woven into its romantic, dreamy, escapist mood. Critics and radio shows responded well to its melodic sophistication and softer atmosphere, seeing it as evidence of Madonna’s growing musical range while the heavily played video (portraying her as both a devout Catholic woman and a passionate flamenco dancer) helped cement its popularity. I only realised when researching this song that the San Pedro she dreamt of last night was a made up place and not a person! La Isla Bonita showed that Madonna could reinvent her sound with ease while still being incredibly popular. She stayed in this Latin groove for her follow up chart topper, but see much lower down my rate for that one. For me, this was probably the first Madonna track I was really aware of, I was entranced by the mood of the song and her red dress in the video. It easily remains one of her best UK number 1s and by far her best single released in 1987.

Holiday is ok, aside from the end bit it’s a bit bland and very 2009.

9. Aretha Franklin & George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (Score: 8.5/10) 2 weeks at number 1 Kept off number 1: Pepsi and Shirlie - Heartache Onto a fantastic duet now, with somehow oddly matched but perfectly complimented vocals of Aretha Franklin and George Michael. This was a huge number 1 on both the UK and US charts (Aretha’s only UK number 1) and a Grammy winner. Aretha Franklin is one of the best selling artists ever and is probably best known for the song Respect. She started her career in the early 60s after moving to New York where she capitalised on her gift of a singing voice after being part of a gospel choir in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. She signed to Columbia records at the age of 18 and by the mid 60s she was described as the Queen of Soul. She left Columbia after disappointing sales and moved to Atlantic records where she was convinced to take advantage of her gospel background and she recorded her version of Otis Reading’s Respect which reached number 1 on the US charts in 1967. She was a prominent activist for civil rights and was a good friend of Martin Luther-King. Her other big hits in the 60s included I Say A Little Prayer and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and these, with Respect, were adopted as both civil women’s rights anthems (The former was used very well in Bridget Jones!). Onto George Michael, I won’t go into his career too much, but more into where he was by 1987. At this point, Wham! had split up the year before following a massive farewell gig and George already had two solo number ones in the UK (Careless Whisper and A Different Corner). This was an in-between phase for George before his Faith era later in the year. A duet between George and Aretha had been on the cards since 1984 when George was asked to contribute a song to a soundtrack with Aretha, but George turned it down as he was too scared to record with such a massive talented singer at the time. However, Aretha was a big fan of George’s as she liked his unique sound in Wham! and this lead to the recording of I Knew You Were Waiting in May 1986, before the release in January 1987 (I was today years old when I found out the song was co-written by Simon Climie off of Climie Fisher!). The song was recorded together but the many ad-libs were added later and recorded separately. The video shows both singers performing the song on and off a big screen and eventually together in person with the screen showing other famous duets (the song has echoes of River Deep, Mountain High appropriately). This was George’s third solo number on the trot and Aretha’s sole UK number 1. The song entered at number 2 which was a big achievement at the time. It went onto be a US number 1 as well and eventually listed by Billboard as her biggest hit. I think this is one of the classic duets to reach the top of the charts and the voices of George and Aretha compliment and combine perfectly. It’s a really upbeat anthem and really showcases what a fantastic voice Aretha had. I find it a fitting legacy for two such iconic singers that passed away within a couple of years of each other. A word on the song stuck at number 2, this was, interestingly by Pepsi and Shirlie, George’s previous Wham! bandmates. Ironic huh? I think Heartache is a decent song but not number 1 material so the much better song won out.

I have a massive soft spot for Oh Carolina.

Chipmunk. Ha, forgot this ever existed. Awful!

Oooops! My bad! Will edit.

Jester’s Top Tunes 1049 1 (2) Sombr – Homewrecker // 10-8-4-4-2-2-5-4-2-1 (10 wks) 1 week at number 1 2 (3) Taylor Swift – Elizabeth Taylor // 21-16-14-20-23-35-27-21-12-8-7-6-3-3-2 (15 wks) 3 (1) Harry Styles – American Girls // 9-1-1-1-3 (5 wks) 4 (5) Tame Impala – My Old Ways // 13-5-4 (3 wks) 5 (6) Alex Warren – Fever Dream // 19-15-12-11-9-6-5 (7 wks) 6 (10) Dominic Fike – Babydoll // 17-10-6 (3 wks) 7 (4) Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – Rein Me In // 13-11-10-6-4-3-1-3-3-2-1-1-1-4-5-4-7 (17 wks) 8 (7) PinkPantheress feat. Zara Larsson – Stateside // 11-9-5-3-3-7-2-7-8 (9 wks) 9 (-) ANOTR & 54 Ultra – Talk To You // 9 (1 wk) 10 (21) Chris Stussy & Tom Did It – Wide Awake // 21-21-10 (3 wks) 11 (8) Gorillaz, Asha Puthii, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda & Black Thought – The Moon Cave // 14-11-8-2-6-8-11 (7 wks) 12 (9) Jessie Ware – Ride // 10-7-4-3-7-9-12 (7 wks) 13 (12) Harry Styles – Aperture // 10-5-2-1-3-3-5-5-8-8-12-13 (12 wks) 14 (14) Pulp – Background Noise // 7-5-1-1-3-4-6-7-7-9-13-14-14-14-14 (14 wks) 15 (15) Djo – The Crux // 4-1-3-4-6-6-7-8-8-10-14-15-15-15-15 (15 wks) 16 (13) Arctic Monkeys – Opening Night // 9-4-1-5-6-6-6-10-10-10-13-16 (12 wks) 17 (11) Ewan McVicar – Share The House // 19-12-11-11-17 (5 wks) 18 (16) BTS – SWIM // 13-12-16-18 (4 wks) 19 (20) Kasabian – GREAT PRETENDER // 20-19 (2 wks) 20 (17) 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 wks) 21 (-) Myles Smith – My Mess // 21 (1 wk) 22 (22) 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 (22 wks) 23 (19) RAYE – Nightingale Lane // 13-11-18-18-19-23 (6 wks) 24 (24) 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 (24 wks) 25 (18) Disclosure – The Sun Comes Up Tremendous // 18-25 (2 wks) 26 (23) Robyn – Blow My Mind // 21-20-19-23-26 (5 wks) 27 (25) Tame Impala – Dracula // 19-12-9-7-4-3-1-1-1-3-5-7-8-9-13-13-13-16-17-22-15-13-13-18-20-23-25-25-27 (29 wks) 28 (26) 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 (27 wks) 29 (27) Robbie Williams – All My Life // 16-11-8-7-2-5-9-14-17-22-27-27-29 (13 wks) 30 (28) BLACKPINK – GO // 20-18-16-22-28-30 (6 wks) 31 (30) RAYE – WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! // 12-10-15-17-22-26-28-27-29-29-29-26-29-30-31 (15 wks) 32 (32) 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 (32 wks) 33 (24) Niall Horan – Dinner Party // 19-24-24-33 (4 wks) 34 (31) Bright Light Bright Light + Ana Matronic - Cold Sweat, Hot Boys // 18-11-10-11-17-19-22-24-28-31-34 (11 wks) 35 (33) 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 (21 wks) 36 (34) Bruno Mars – I Just Might // 11-9-5-2-5-10-12-18-22-24-27-32-34-36 (14 wks) 37 (35) Calvin Harris X Kasabian – Release The Pressure // 9-9-10-15-17-23-29-32-35-37 (10 wks) 38 (36) A*Teens – Iconic // 15-15-21-24-32-34-37-34-36-36-38 (11 wks) 39 (39) 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 (36 wks) 40 (38) Sombr - … 12 to 12 // 5-3-2-2-6-8-15-17-24-28-28-30-31-21-20-17-15-13-1-4-6-7-9-14-17-18-26-32-33-36-38-38-40 (32 wks)

Love the way you pie

Rolling in the deer

10. T'Pau - China in Your Hand (score: 8/10) 5 weeks at number 1 Kept off number 1: George Harrison – Got My Mind Set On You, Rick Astley – When I Fall In Love Time for a power ballad now – 600th UK number 1 and according to ITV, the nations 11th favourite 80s number 1. Quite the pedigree! T’Pau were named after a Vulcan in the original series of Star Trek, slightly more distinctive than their original name of Talking America. I think they should have been called Spock, it sounds cooler! The band formed in Shrewsbury in 1986 and comprised of singer Carol Decker with various members joining and leaving over the years and currently has Carol and Ronnie Rogers as the line up. One was called Tim Burgess, but it wasn’t that Tim Burgess off the Charlatans. Their first single, Heart and Soul was a flop initially but hit the big time on the US chart after being the soundbed for a Pepe Jeans (remember them?) advert. It was re-issued in the UK and peaked at number 4 on both charts. This success set them up perfectly for the follow up, China In Your Hand. The song is apparently in reference to Frankenstein and the author Mary Shelley, but the references are obscured in the edit of the single. Carol has since stated that is based on the effect of holding a china cup to the light and seeing your hand through it – so the transparent china in your hand. Something fragile yet transparent. I may have to try this, where do I keep my china again?! The single was released in October 1987 and spent a whopping (at the time) 5 weeks at the top of the charts. Despite this, it was the lowest selling 5 week chart topper of the decade and, as an attractant to the number 5, was the 5th best seller of 1987. It kept George Harrison’s Got My Mind Set On You at number 2 for 4 out of it’s 5 weeks, very unlucky for George, it’s a great song and it would have been nice for him to have another number 1 in his liefetime, but sadly this wasn’t to be although My Sweet Lord got there posthumously. I won’t say much about the awful Rick Astley cover – a slushy mess. It was peaking at 2 for the next number 1 as well, but more on that one much later. I’ve always loved China In Your Hand, it sounds so epically 80s with it plucked strings and sax solo and Carol Decker sings it with much gusto (and a very wide mouth on TOTP!) and it is rightfully an 80s classic. I can find no china here to emulate the transparent effect, I more have pottery in my palm which is defiantly not see through!

Yep, dull Take That for sure.

Some great stuff! Love Mi Chico Latino, a much deserved number 1. Sing It Back, Mucho Mambo and Summer Son (also an early play of Moving). Outside the top 10, I adore Binary Finary’s 1999.

Bad Boys is quite iconic really, I remember how massive it sounded on the X Factor. I don’t love it but would definitely have it higher.

Love Let Forever Be, amazing video as well.

28 please!

I don’t like anything by JLS so the lower the better. What an awful slushy song though. Eurgh!

Pixie Lott is to music as what beige is to paint.

Open Your Mind (with its Total Recall sample) and Sweet Harmony are both superb.

So, here is what is in my top 10 in alphabetical order: Aretha Franklin & George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) Bee Gees - You Win Again Madonna - La Isla Bonita Mel & Kim - Respectable Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett - I Just Can't Stop Loving You Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now T'Pau - China In Your Hand Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) Where do you think I will place these?

11. Ben E. King - Stand by Me (Score: 7.5/10) Number 1 for 3 weeks Kept off number 1: Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman So at the start of this thread, I mentioned that there were a few 1987 number 1s that benefitted from either a feature in an advert or as part of a film soundtrack. Here we have Stand By Me, which benefitted from both. It was in vogue at the time to use 1960s songs in adverts, particularly nostalgia driven jean adverts (see also Reet Petite/I Get The Sweetest Feeling by Jackie Wilson) and this song was used in a Levis 501 advert which helped generate interest in the song. It then benefitted from being the base of the 1986/87 film Stand By Me, based on Stephen King’s novel The Body, starring (among others) River Phoenix and Wesley Crusher off Star Trek – The Next Generation. This era defining coming of age story was a huge hit at the box office and this, coupled with the Levi’s promo, prompted the re-issue. Stand By Me was originally a number 27 hit for Ben E. King in 1961. The song was based off a gospel hymn inspired by Psalm 46 of the same name and was originally intended for the Drifters (allegedly) but they rejected it so as King had some spare recording time after his sessions in 1960, he recorded it for himself. It was subsequently released and was a number 4 hit in the USA and a minor UK hit. The song actually has a version of the chord progression known as the 50s progression and is now also called the Stand By Me changes after this song. Onto the 1987 re-release, a new video was made with Ben E. King himself, based in a sort of lecture room with River Pheonix and Wil Wheaton goofing around. A good film tie-in and a well needed update for the video age. The re-issue entered at number 19, then climbed to number 1 for 3 weeks, ironically keeping another 1960s re-issue, Percy Sledge’s When A Man Loves A Woman, off the top of the charts. This re-issue, with its haunting percussion intro (and minimalist instrumentation that allowed a focus on the superb vocal), well deserved its 1980s success and really tapped into the nostalgia for the 60s at the time. I was a huge fan of the film once I saw it in the 90s and the whole sound evoked by the song really cemented it as an all time classic. Again, 1987 had such great number 1s that this would easily be top 10 in any other year.

I’m not annoyed by Rein Me In, still love it. Would prefer Dracula at number 1, but it won’t get there as it’s too far behind.

That Snap song isn’t well known given its chart peak, but it’s really good!