Jade

1970s Next up it's time for the seventies! My dad was born this decade so I'm a step closer to existing. The 1970s generally starts off well for me as there is some psychedelic sixties hangover. The number one hit 'Woodstock' by Matthews Southern Comfort springs to mind as an example. My interest in the chart toppers this decade begins to wane during the middle part of it, which is usually a slog during a #1s marathon. However, there is vast improvement, as the later part of the 1970s is by far my favourite portion of this time period in general. The invasion of genres such as disco and punk shakes things up well. But most of all, I like that the later years are laying a lot of ground-work for the synth-tastic '80s. My favourite film of the 1970s is another Stanley Kubrick title, A Clockwork Orange. It is deeply disturbing yet fascinating to me from a film-making and psychological perspective. Musically, the moog synth soundtrack by Wendy Carlos feels insanely ahead of its time for 1971. Other pioneers in this field will emerge too, from Yellow Magic Orchestra to Kraftwerk. So, although this decade doesn't have my heart as much as the sixties on the whole, there's still plenty to get excited about... #10 Blue Öyster Cult - '(Don’t Fear) The Reaper' (1976) #09 Serge Gainsbourg - 'Cargo culte' (1971) I gushed over the later 1970s years in that blurb but am actually starting off with tracks from the middle and early period! Cult and culte, no less. Rest assured there is still plenty from 1977-79 on the way. American rock band Blue Öyster Cult released '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' as the lead single from their fourth album Agents of Fortune. The track was written and sung by lead guitarist Buck Dharma and explores themes of eternal love, in addition to the inevitability of death. Dharma was inspired to write this after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, as he thought he might not live much longer. Instead, he is still with us today, currently 78 years old! The romantic side of the song is trying to convey the message that love transcends death, using Romeo and Juliet as a metaphor. The storyline of the track was wrongly interpreted by some as a suicide pact but Dharma fiercely denies this. There are some intriguing lines in this song, such as the "40,000 men and women everyday" part, which has been theorised as a representation of how many people were dying daily at the time. However, this would've only been accurate for the period if the intention of repeating 40,000 three times in that verse is because it equals 120,000, as that was roughly the correct figure. Away from the interesting lyrics, I also enjoy the production, especially the classic guitar riff and quirky cowbell addition. There are two instrumental bridges and I love the darker mood of the second one, as if the reaper has now arrived. I also enjoy the calm delivery of the vocals as they match up well with the writer's acceptance of death. This song is a firm favourite on my Halloween playlist. Blue Öyster Cult remain one hit wonders on the U.K. singles chart as this is their sole entry, peaking at #16. ••• As aforementioned, Wendy Carlos was working her futuristic magic in 1971, but there was another ahead of their time musical genius who also put out an influential body of work that year. Serge Gainsbourg had already brought a touch of the future to the Eurovision Song Contest when he wrote France Gall's 1965 winner 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', which sounded decidedly more edgy than your average entry. Then, in 1969, he along with Jane Birkin (at the time Serge's girlfriend and later his wife) shocked yet intrigued the British public - as their steamy duet 'Je t'aime... moi non plus' was banned by the BBC, but still went to #1. I was seriously considering that for my 1960s list but decided to keep Gainsbourg for this decade instead. In 1971, he released a controversial but important body of work that would go on to inspire many well-loved artists, from Jarvis Cocker to Portishead. This project in question was a concept album called Histoire de Melody Nelson. Like A Clockwork Orange, it's a disturbing yet intriguing piece of art. Perhaps fellow Kubrick film Lolita is a better comparison, as the story of Histoire de Melody Nelson follows a messed up tale of the middle-aged narrator's illicit romance with a 14-year-old girl called Melody Nelson, albeit portrayed by an adult Jane Birkin on the cover art and promotional films. She looks unrecognisable with her dark wig and also has rolled down jeans on to help cover up early stages of pregnancy. Perhaps it's for the best that I'm not fluent in French so I can have some disconnect from the heavy themes, as this is the first non-English language track to appear in the countdown. Never has "I can't speak French so I let the funky music do the talking" resonated so hard. Still, even without translating the lyrics, the intense delivery of Gainsbourg's spoken word vocals helps to effectively convey the darkness of the narrator's twisted mind. This concept album follows a similar template the whole way through but the sprawling, almost 8 minute long closer 'Cargo culte' commanded my attention the most. The track is a particularly dark end to the project as Melody dies in a plane crash, so the mood is very intense, as the narrator is lamenting her death. The spoken word vocals might be an acquired taste but I find Gainsbourg's delivery captivating. Jane Birkin also turns up for a chilling line or two in character as Melody beyond the grave. I adore the instrumental which was produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty. The ghostly choral parts and strings are incredible and so haunting. I think the bass and electric guitars shine through as well. Overall, this is remarkably ahead of its time for 1971 and feels like a precursor to trip-hop music. I was not aware of this project until I did a deep dive into the music side of Jane Birkin's career, following her death. A particularly fun piece of information I found out when listening through everything is that her song 'Je m'appelle Jane' is sampled in the Pussycat Dolls hit 'Whatcha Think About That'. I stumbled across the Melody Nelson album while diving into her work with Serge and my mind was blown. It is revered critically and was influential for many musicians but doesn't feel that widely discussed, possibly because it's a French language project, on top of the controversial subject matter. I sent 'Cargo culte' to the 1970s rock edition of The Best Song Contest in the World.....Ever! on this forum in 2023 and it only finished 11th out of 15 participants, but did receive points from some of the posters in this thread so far, so I shouldn't be totally alone with my appreciation of this.

+05 Olivia Rodrigo - the cure +04 Dolly Parton - 9 to 5 +03 Dolly Parton - Jolene +02 Sam Fender & Olivia Dean - Rein Me In +01 Olivia Dean - Man I Need -01 Sienna Spiro - Great Expectation -02 Ella Langley - Choosin’ Texas -03 Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton - Islands In The Stream -04 Stella Lefty - Boston -05 HUGEL, Imael Angel & Ultra Naté - Movin’ To The Sun

Wow completely forgot that just about made the top 10, thanks Bré (just realised that and Oasis' 'Falling Down' both reached #10)

^ omg I swear Gail Porter was wearing this exact same Playboy Bunny shirt tonight as well?? Melanie C had my favourite solo Spice career and 'Never Be The Same Again' is one of her best moments, so I approve of that chart-topper! I quite like 'The Time Is Now' and 'Smooth' from that top 5 as well. The return of Santana is a great chart story but not quite sure where Rob Thomas was in tonight's TOTP episode...! Wow I didn't realise how close that Westlife vs. Melanie C battle was. Shame the latter didn't hang on again as 'Fool Again' is pretty dull. On the subject of Westlife, I see both Brian McFadden and Kerry Katona performed on tonight's episode! Michelle now arriving in the Destiny's Child line-up *.* 'Say My Name' has really grown on me over the years so I approve of it being their most streamed nowadays.

Thanks so much for the comments TheSnake, Rollo, Jaz, Julian_, Chez and Jim - they're much appreciated 😊 glad these sixties picks have generally gone down well. Me too, a #27 peak would've been criminal for this! I'm happy the public later rectified the original non-top 20 peak of 'California Dreamin' as well. I did think you would approve of 'A White Shade Of Pale' being here! Great to see my #1 pick also amongst your highlights. Thanks for later posting your own top 10 as well. Love the Keith West and Walker Brothers book-ends of that list! Go for it, I think "I feel a playlist coming on" is my life motto! One of my favourite playlists I've curated is a 'chilled 1960s' one and some of those songs you mentioned are on it, namely: 'Waterloo Sunset' (it pains me that I didn't have enough room for The Kinks in this countdown), 'Mr. Tambourine Man', 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine', 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore', 'Baby Love' and '(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay' 🤩 I'm pleased this thread has given me the opportunity to be louder about my love for 'Stand By Me'! I did place it 2nd when Jester ranked the 1987 #1s but it was a weird one to rank as it stuck out like a sore thumb against the rest of those '80s songs. That instrumental break really is a thing of beauty. 🥹 If I've tracked down the right 1001 list then it looks like 'Venus In Furs' was on there, so the curator has taste. 🤩 That video is gold Thanks for later sharing your top 10 also! Great to see The Ronettes in there for you too. Otis Redding is my favourite of those that didn't quite make my own top 10 <3 Thanks for sharing your own list, love that you rate Revolver so much in general 'And Your Bird Can Sing' is one of many gems. Good to see 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' getting a couple of shoutouts in these replies as that wasn't too far off making my own top 10. I love 'Suzanne' as well and have you to thank for introducing it to me. Thanks for the reminder of your list - 'Nights In White Satin' is a fab favourite, not enough room for me but I really rate both that and 'Melancholy Man' by them. Love the instrumental representation in your list with 'Telstar' and 'Theme From 'A Summer Place' both being top 10 😍 the latter is the very first song I loved when listening to 1960s charts from the beginning. 'Sukiyaki' some awesome non-English language representation too, which my own '60s list lacked, but may be present in other time periods... I feel like I was a bit late to the party with 'Downtown' (maybe I needed to shake off knowing the Emma Bunton version first) but it has crept up on me so much over the years, great song. 'Space Oddity' is genius and one of my favourite Bowie songs but his appearance will have to wait for a different decade!

Couldn’t agree more I also like the Gina / Harry / Kojo unit so don’t want that to implode

Probably, the closest I can think of at the moment is the vocalists of 'Fairytale of New York' since Shane MacGowan passed away a few years ago!

Sienna was my preferred choice from this top 3 but I do prefer the Ella song to the HUGEL one at least!

5-4-3-2-1 by Manfred Mann also peaked at #5 (and was loosely used by the Spice Girls when promoting channel… 5 *.*)

Growing up in the 2000s means my brain was doing the Tom Jones and Nessa adlibs Shame if Dolly is out of the race for #1 but three in the top 10 is still great to see ❤️

I feel like it’d be very fitting for 2026 charts if the also Kevin Parker produced ‘Training Season’ gets into the top 10 over this fresher hit

'Training Season' is my favourite song from Radical Optimism and an overall Dua discography highlight, so I'm not mad about this second wind! There's a real ABBA-esque quality to it

'Marianne' is my favourite song in the chart at the moment good hold this week. Hope it can climb back into the top 20 soon.

Recovered slightly to #35 compared to that midweek position

August 2026 Artists (1067 unique artists scrobbled) 01 Ariana Grande (275) 02 The Beatles (173) 03 John Lennon (144) 04 George Harrison (91) 05 Charli xcx (81) 06 Slayyyter (58) 07 Girls Aloud (57) 08 Paul McCartney (47) 09 Olivia Rodrigo (45) 10 Overmono (41) 11 L'Rain (29) 12 Ringo Starr (29) 13 Ela Minus (28) 14 Kelela (28) 15 Cannelle (25) 16 Rebecca Black (24) 17 daine (23) 18 Phoebe Bridgers (23) 19 tlen (22) 20 Angèle (21) 21 Lana Del Rey (21) 22 Troye Sivan (21) 23 After (20) 24 CFCF (20) 25 Madonna (20) 26 FLO (19) 27 Jorja Smith (19) 28 The Beach Boys (19) 29 Lady Gaga (18) 30 waist (18) 31 Ashley Tisdale (17) 32 Katy Perry (17) 33 Man/Woman/Chainsaw (17) 34 akiaura (16) 35 Krystal Klear (16) 36 The Velvet Underground (16) 37 Westside Cowboy (16) 38 Britney Spears (15) 39 Neroche (15) 40 PinkPantheress (15) As you can see, I'm currently chipping away at a marathon of the entire Beatles and solo catalogue!

Noah Kahan highlighted as a new entry today

Afternoon all the unpredictability at the top should make today's show interesting. My top 3 songs from each throwback top 10 chart: 2025 01 Chappell Roan - The Subway 02 Sabrina Carpenter - Tears 03 Olivia Dean - Man I Need 2021 01 Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever 02 Lil Nas X - INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow) 03 The Kid LAROI - STAY (feat. Justin Bieber) 2016 01 Twenty One Pilots - Heathens 02 Major Lazer - Cold Water (feat. Justin Bieber & MØ) 03 Drake - One Dance (feat. WizKid & Kyla) 2011 01 Will Young - Jealousy 02 Calvin Harris - Feel So Close 03 Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat (feat. Rizzle Kicks) 2006 01 Shakira - Hips Don't Lie (feat. Wyclef Jean) 02 Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin' 03 Justin Timberlake - Sexyback 2001 01 Eve - Let Me Blow Ya Mind (feat. Gwen Stefani) 02 Nelly Furtado - Turn Off the Light 03 Jamiroquai - Little L 1996 01 Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity 02 Spice Girls - Wannabe 03 OMC - How Bizarre That gap between Example and Maroon 5 in 2011 😱

Apple Music: 93 Miley Cyrus - Bass Persuades

That Shygirl song was #1 in my personal chart last week, absolute banger

BJSC 79 is so nostalgic for me as it's the first edition I ever co-hosted, alongside JSG! 'Sit Still, Look Pretty' does feel quite un-Deandria in retrospect, although pretty cool you got to it before it became a hit in the U.S the following year. Your 18 that contest 'Resonate' was a stunner 😍 I remember both you and Lotti sending the 'Slow Dancing' songs in BJSC 80 <3 shame neither made it, Pupok's was in my semi and I'd given them 12 :'( I didn't see that coming as they'd been tipped to do quite well. My 10 was also booted out, Skall's 'Farewell G41' by Stephen Lopkin. I feel like that contest had quite a lot of unfortunate DNQs, my own Stranger Cat with 'Unzip Your Skin' also comes to mind and Bror's 'Kyoto' by Yung Lean. Btw 'I've Been Secretly Falling Apart' was my 18 as well, taste ❤️ I wish that was on streaming!

Thanks Rollo! Well done for your full house yesterday 🥳 today's game: Round 1: 36 (didn't get: Peaches & Herb - annoying miss) Round 2: 39 3-in-10: 3 (It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Bat Out Of Hell, Dead Ringer For Love)

'Take A Chance On Me' is my favourite of yesterday's trio for their at the time best seller, plus #4 in today's standings, I really haven't got bored of it at all. Interesting to look back on a time when 'Dancing Queen' wasn't the obvious front-runner of their catalogue sales-wise. 'Tiger Feet' is the best of Mud's three chart toppers but not a massive favourite. I do quite like 'If You Leave Me Now' though!

^ There's a triple whammy of 1991 #1s I'm very fond of as well so perhaps we all have the same run in mind! 'The Stonk' is dross so not complaining about that showing here. I don't mind 'Do The Bartman' although would've rather seen that Nomad song at the top. I remember reading that Nancy Cartwright and Sabrina Carpenter are related in some way, so chart-topping running in the family!

New trailer and poster:

banner courtesy of Joseph *.* Chart #492 | 03.09.26 01. Fontaines D.C. - Marianne [05-01] 02. Shygirl - Alyse [01-02] 03. Slayyyter - brand new chanel$ [01-01-01-02-03] 04. tlen - patnik [03-02-03-04] 05. Cannelle - BB Blue [05-03-01-01-02-02-03-04-05] 06. Ela Minus and Nick León - qué les pasó a mis amigos? [08-04-06-06] 07. Troye Sivan - She's the Best [05-07-07] 08. Charli xcx - Magic Metal Montana [04-03-04-06-09-08] 09. Olivia Rodrigo - the cure [08-05-03-02-01-01-01-01-02-02-04-05-07-10-09] 10. LONOWN & Asenssia - addiction 11. After - Take Me to Sunrise [10-08-07-06-08-11-11] 12. waist - bravado [08-12] 13. Radio Free Alice - Crying With You 14. CAIVA - Head In The Clouds 15. Collide - Freak Like Me [12-15] 16. Adult DVD - Rolling Face [15-13-16] 17. trentemøller - Terrified (feat. Jonas Bjerre) 18. Ariana Grande - nowhere, nobody [05-07-09-14-18] 19. Boy Harsher - Tough Luck (When You Don't Call) 20. Olivia Rodrigo - serena joy 21. LONOWN & Baby Jane - alone with you [01-01-01-02-02-02-02-03-03-06-09-10-15-21] 22. SOAK - death valley fridge magnet 23. Cyst - Needle [18-16-23] 24. Angèle - Une seule vie 25. Ghostly Kisses - Fade from Me 26. Ariana Grande - oh well [08-10-11-17-26] 27. Roly Porter - An Open Door [18-27] 28. Genesis Owusu & KYE - HUMAN AGAIN [15-13-10-09-11-12-19-28] 29. Serafina Steer - Night Before Mutiny [20-29] 30. Dusky - Bindweed 31. Ariana Grande - freak [10-12-13-21-31] 32. Mona Yim - Nevermind [26-22-32] 33. Ok Goodnight - Spiral [08-05-04-05-11-13-14-23-33] 34. Phoebe Bridgers - The Governor's Waltz [28-24-34] 35. daine - PQC [12-14-16-25-35] 36. underscores - Unlimited Love 37. Lola Leon - T Shirt [18-16-07-04-03-04-05-06-13-15-17-26-37] 38. Krystal Klear - PROJECT X [16-14-16-19-27-38] 39. Bleech 9:3 - Figure 8 [38-39] 40. Tom VR - Unlocked Love DROPOUTS xx Charli xcx - Camera [07-15-17-20-28-xx] xx Overmono - Slowmotion [18-21-29-xx] xx Kelela - point blank [20-18-15-10-09-06-06-09-16-19-22-30-xx] xx CFCF - Love Took Root (feat. dance arts center) [20-12-08-04-07-07-11-17-20-23-31-xx] xx Ariana Grande - kiss me [18-21-24-32-xx] xx Domenique Dumont - Visages Visages [33-xx] xx Overmono - After The Rain [33-39-34-xx] xx Westside Cowboy - Worried Age [35-xx] xx Olivia Rodrigo - maggots for brains [05-03-03-06-08-08-12-19-22-25-36-xx] xx Boy Harsher - Hard Beat [22-20-23-27-37-xx] xx yaego, jsn & Tamashī - Life* [09-13-21-24-29-39-xx] xx Jorja Smith - When It Gets Like That [40-xx] CHART FLASHBACK (2023) 01. Vandal Moon - Satellite [17-07-01] 02. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? [08-03-04-02-01-01-02] 03. Slowdive - the slab [08-04-03] 04. Avalon Emerson - Astrology Poisoning [33-08-05-04-02-04] 05. The Killers - Your Side of Town 06. NNHMN - Nrl [08-06] 07. Cameo Blush - Out There (feat. yunè pinku) 08. The Chemical Brothers - Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck) 09. Art School Girlfriend - Waves [10-05-03-09] 10. Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana [27-12-08-04-03-02-03-01-02-05-10] Congratulations to Fontaines D.C. for achieving their third #1 with 'Marianne' this follows previous chart-toppers 'Starburster' and 'Favourite' in 2024. thank you for the comments last week