Gezza

I was only joking, "Unchained Melody" was a double A-Side which is what I'm referring to, but I wouldn't want you to give the other side a listen or promo of ranking it 😁 Hard to argue with anything that has gone so far- all varying degrees of awful!

You haven't ranked the other a side? Sad times....

The song that started my obsession with Jay from Five.......................

20TH JUNE As predicted the country goes football mad this week. When the FA asked for song submissions for the official England World Cup theme a proposal to remake “Three Lions” with new lyrics was rejected by them and they instead went for the England United track which falls 9-19 this week. Not to be outdone Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds re-recorded the track anyway and “Three Lions 98” debuts atop of the charts this week after selling a mighty 232,075. The lyrics have been updated to include references to the Euro 96 tournament along with samples of the crowd chanting the song and clearly enough of the British public love the song enough to resend it to No 1, the 18th song to top the charts in multiple versions. Another unofficial World Cup anthem for the England Team comes from Fat Les, a conglomeration of famous faces including Alex James from Blur, the artist Damian Hurst and spearheaded by actor Keith Allen. Allen was of course co-writer of “World In Motion” by Englandneworder (#1, 1990) and “England’s Irie” (#6, 1996) and so has flair for the genre and his current title “Vindaloo” lodges in at No 2 (186,537). The promo (which is a parody of the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”) features comedians Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Rowland Rivron, and Paul Kaye. If it wasn’t for the World Cup then who would be No 1? Well that would be Five, their third single beats the peak of “Slam Dunk” (#10) and “When The Lights Go Out” (#4) to debut at No 3 (114,000). That strong sale should indicate that the group have quickly amassed a considerable following, they’ve turned to Swedish production house Cheiron to give them their sound, they also help out Backstreet Boys and Robyn and it certainly worked. The lads will release their debut album in a fortnight- expect a chart topper! Getting in on the World Cup action too are Dario G who finally follow up “Sunchyme” with new single “Carnival De Paris”. The song is inspired by a football chant which started in Holland and was bought back by fans of Sheffield Wednesday then quickly spread, it’s an appropriation of the song “Oh My Darling Clementine” and is deemed good enough to arrive at No 5 (80,000). It debuts at No 1 north of the boarder by a margin of 3:1 by way of trivia. Norman Cook is certainly something of a musical chameleon having scored hits as part of The Housemartins, Beats International, Freak Power, Pizzaman, Mighty Dub Katz, and has now gone solo under the name Fatboy Slim. In addition to this work he’s remixed Wildchild and Cornershop this year giving them both top 3 hits and finally finds himself in the top 10 as a solo act for the first time. Comprised of several samples with the vocal hook lifted from Lord Finesse’s “Vinyl Dog Vibe” the single “Rockerfella Skank” is new at No 6 (67,000) and will feature on the second album from Slim due before Christmas. Des’ree has always been one of those artists whose hits have always been more popular at radio than in shops. In part it explains why many of her hits have been bigger chart events the second time around as radio refuses to let them die. First single “Feel So High” (#51, 1991) made No 13 in early 1992 and then “You Gotta Be” (#20, 1994) made No 14 a year later after becoming a hit in the US. Third album “Supernatural” is out in a few weeks and first single is called “Life” which instantly becomes her biggest single at No 8 (44,000), the single has drawn fire from some over its rather banal lyrics and rhyming ghost and toast together rather pointlessly- but any publicity is good publicity it seems. B*Witched increase sales as they fall 1-4 (102,000) and mark the first time in over 16 years that the top four records in any week each sold six digits outside of the Christmas period, we’re in a golden period for sales it would appear. Mousse T Vs Hot N Juicy hurtle 2-7 (53,000) but stay ahead of Brandy & Monica who fall 3-9 (41,000) and the Mavericks who are down 6-10 (31,000). A reminder that the Tamperer made No 1 just 3 weeks ago on a sale which would have placed them just 8th this week! 1- 3 LIONS 98- Baddiel/ Skinner/ Lightning Seeds (232,075) 2- VINDALOO- Fat Les (186,537) 3- GOT THE FEELING- Five (114,000) 4- C’EST LA VIE- B*Witched (102,300) 5- CARNIVAL DE PARIS- Dario G (80,000) 6- THE ROCKAFELLA SKANK- Fatboy Slim (67,000) 7- HORNY- Mousse T vs Hot N Juicy (53,000) 8- LIFE- Des’ree (44,000) 9- THE BOY IS MINE- Brandy & Monica (41,000) 10- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (31,000)

13TH JUNE After the furore of last week’s new releases the charts settle slightly this week allowing B*Witched to consolidate their position at the top in the face of a 39% sales decrease to 93,000. A slight increase to 76,000 sees Mousse T Vs Hot N Juicy rise 3-2 and Brandy & Monica get squeezed out 2-3 (61,000). Mariah Carey’s last single “Butterfly” disappointed at No 22 breaking her run of 12 consecutive top 10 hits and caused the plug to be pulled on the “Butterfly” album here which has underperformed with just 220,000 copies sold. Subsequent singles weren’t released here but a strong club reaction to the David Morales remix of the song has convinced the record label to give “My All” a UK release and bang- a new entry at No 4 (49,000). The song has already been a US chart topper- her 13th there where the original version and the so-so def remix being the prominent mixes there. It’s a 14th top 10 hit here and all of them in the 90s, only Michael Jackson (15) and Madonna (23) are ahead of her in that respect. Proving that N-trance and Clock don’t have the monopoly over taking 70s tracks adding a dance beat and some rap lyrics, British quartet Bus Stop have sampled Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” and got themselves a top ten debut hit. The original made No 1 in 1974 but don’t discount this version progressing, it has so far moved 13-12-11-8 selling 28,000 in its latest frame. The World Cup starts in a few days and that of course means an influx of football related singles, Chumbawamba at #21, Del Amitri at #15 and the biggest of them all England United at No 9 (26,000). The collective are comprised of members of Space, Spice Girls, Ocean Colour Scene and Echo & The Bunnymen, the latter being significant as the song was written by Ian McCulloch. The track, which went unreleased by The Bunnymen, won the backing of the FA as the “Official” song of the England team this time around. As to whether it will be the biggest hit generated by the event we’ll see very shortly, but it does give you an interesting quiz question- the last promo shot by the Spice Girls that included Geri? The Tamperer fall 4-5 (45,000) as it moves over the 400,000 mark after 8 weeks in the top 5. Both The Mavericks and Lutricia McNeal lose sales but improve in chart placings the former 7-6 (31,000) and the latter 8-7 (29,000), and All Saints finish us off 5-10 (24,000). Next week we go football crazy! 1- C’EST LA VIE- B”Witched (93,000) 2- HORNY- Mousse T Vs Hot N Juicy (76,000) 3- THE BOY IS MINE- Brandy & Monica (61,000) 4- MY ALL- Mariah Carey (49,000) 5- FEEL IT- Tamperer Featuring Maya (45,000) 6- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (31,000) 7- STRANDED- Lutricia McNeal (29,000) 8- KUNG FU FIGHTING- Bus Stop Featuring Carl Douglas (28,000) 9- (HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE) ON TOP OF THE WORLD- England United (26,000) 10- UNDER THE BRIDGE/ LADY MARMALADE- All Saints (24,000)

Robson and Jerome for the top 4?

I don't think it could have been May as Geri left on 31/5 (although it was a week or so before in reality) which would have meant that a May release would have seen the promo filmed for the single before she left?!

If memory serves "Viva Forever" was originally intended for a mid June release but Geri leaving put the whole thing back so the screening wasn't, at the time, particularly far ahead of the intended release for the single. it was definitely put back that I recall.

6TH JUNE If last week was a dull chart week then this week is explosive as for only the second time in history the entire top 3 are new! It’s a great week for the Irish, on the album charts Boyzone storm to No 1 and The Corrs hit a new peak at No 3 whilst on the singles chart the Irish answer to The Spice Girls, B*Witched, debut at No 1 with their first single “C’est La Vie”. The foursome only got signed last year and at 25,19, and 18 years old they are the youngest girl group to ever make the No 1 spot, the group contains twins Keavy and Edele Lynch sisters of Boyzone member Shane Lynch and now follow their brother to the top of the charts. With Boyzone at No 1 in the album charts it marks only the second time in chart history where siblings in different groups have topped each chart simultaneously, the other time was way back in 1968 when the Beatles were No 1 on the album front (“The White Album”) whilst The Scaffold had the biggest single in the land (“Lily The Pink”) allowing brothers Paul McCartney and Mike McGee to claim the double. The song has been a staple on “The Box” and other music channels for the past month and debuts strongly on sales of 153,000 copies, almost as much as the No 2 and No 3 combined, and in a week which saw Geri leave the Spice Girls and put the future of the group in doubt could we have their successors ready and waiting? it's also the first French titled chart topper since 1977 ("Chanson D'Amour"). So for just the second time in chart history the whole top 3 are new entries and entering at No 2 is a song which this week surges 23-1 in the US for singers Brandy & Monica (the 2nd highest climb to the top ever). Brandy’s previous best was “Sittin Up In My Room” (#30, 1996) whilst Monica only made No 22 with “Before You Walk Out Of Life” (1996) but both acts now do far better with “The Boy Is Mine” which sold 83,000 copies last week. Partially inspired by Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney’s 1982 #8 hit “The Girl Is Mine” it’s a tale of the girls fighting over the same man and was conceived while Brandy watched an episode of “Jerry Springer”. Recorded as a solo track the singer thought it might work better as a duet and cue a call to Monica who (if you believe the press) had a rivalry with her and this is the result. Originally released last year by Mousse T, “Horny” was a minor club hit but didn’t dent the singles chart in part due to never being released here but just his native Germany, it’s now been remixed and credited to Mousse T Vs Hot N Juicy and crashes in at No 3 (72,000). Mousse is really DJ Mustafa Gundogdu and Hot N Juicy are duo Emma Langford and Nadine Richardson although the chorus is sung by Inaya Day. The next Oasis? Well if you believe some in the press then Embrace are just that, fourth single “Come Back To What You Know” continues their ever bettering chart fortunes by debuting at No 6 (36,000). It will feature on the forthcoming debut album “”The Good Will Out” which is in shops in a few weeks. With a sales increase of a whopping 40% to 68,000 last weeks No 1 from The Tamperer retreats 1-4 and must count itself very unlucky indeed, and the other former chart topper in the top 10 from All Saints dips 2-5 (38,000) and crosses the 300,000 mark at the same time. The Mavericks drop 4-7 (32,000) narrowly ahead of Lutricia NcNeal 3-8 (31,000) and Steps 6-9 (29,000). LeAnn Rimes rounds us off falling 9-10 (25,000) with her album debuting at No 11 which is actually the follow up LP to the one that contains the single! 1- C’EST LA VIE- B*Witched (153,000) 2- THE BOY IS MINE- Brandy & Monica (83,000) 3- HORNY- Mousse T Vs Hot N Juicy (72,000) 4- FEEL IT- The Tamperer Featuring Maya (68,000) 5- UNDER THE BRIDGE/ LADY MARMALADE- All Saints (38,000) 6- COME BACK TO WHAT YOU KNOW- Embrace (36,000) 7- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (32,000) 8- STRANDED- Lutricia McNeal (31,000) 9- LAST THING ON MY MIND- Steps (29,000) 10- HOW DO I LIVE- LeAnn Rimes (25,000)

30TH MAY An incredible week on the charts which results in no new entries in the top 10- practically unheard of outside of the Christmas/ New Year period, indeed you have to go back to W/E 11/02/1995 to find the last one, the highest new entry comes in at No 11 for Smashing pumpkins who had been in third place until Friday! So the deckchairs rearrange themselves but the surprise to everyone is that the new No 1 is the Tamperer Featuring Maya! “Feel It” has so far moved 3-4-3-5-2-1 and has sold an impressive 304,000 as it makes the top after shifting just 49,500 last week- a new low for the year. To find a track that hit the top spot for the first time after 6 weeks or more in the top 10 and dropped positions during that run, you’d have to go back to All saints at the beginning of the year. However it is the first song to have held every other position in the top 5 before making No 1 since Kenny Rogers "Lucille" in 1977. The only other track to break the 40,000 mark was last week’s chart topping All Saints disc (appropriately enough) which slips 1-2 (46,000). So it is that a few singles lose popularity at retail but move up the charts, they include Lutricia McNeal 5-3 (38,000), The Mavericks who fly 8-4 (35,000) selling less than they did when they were at No 10 a fortnight ago, Steps 7-6 (31,000) to equal their best placement, The Corrs 10-8 (27,000) and LeAnn Rimes who is back in the top ten 12-9 (26,000) after 13 weeks of mowing between No 7 and No 12- it’s sold just over 400,000 in that time- remarkable. The remainder of the top ten consist of fallers from Wyclef Jean 4-5 (34,000), Aqua 3-7 (29,000), and Cleopatra 6-10 (25,000). 1- FEEL IT- Tamperer Featuring Maya (49,500) 2- UNDER THE BRIDGE/ LADY MARMALADE- All Saints (46,000) 3- STRANDED- Lutricia McNeal (38,000) 4- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY- Mavericks (35,000) 5- GONE TIL NOVEMBER- Wyclef Jean (34,000) 6- LAST THING ON MY MIND- Steps (31,000) 7- TURN BACK TIME- Aqua (29,000) 8- DREAMS- The Corrs (27,000) 9- HOW DO I LIVE- LeAnn Rimes (26,000) 10- LIFE AIN’T EASY- Cleopatra (25,000) ]

Surely the point is that whatever the intention was behind the shooting it won't fulfil that purpose. It won't silence the MAGA crowd, it will only inflame them It will probably only mythologise and elevate the reputation of Kirk for the movement It will encourage the MAGA movement to hit back in (maybe) the same fashion It helps to continue the doom loop which deepens the rift in US society So even if you feel no sympathy for Kirk on a personal level, what it represents can't be good news for either side in the long run.

Exactly. For me the participle is the more important issue. Do we allow or turn a blind eye to someone being shot because of their beliefs on either side of the political spectrum. If we are saying that we don't care because his views don't align with ours then we are also condoning by implication the reverse, others can shoot people we agree with if they don't agree. The irony of the gun quote is noted though. It's all emblematic of the fact that increasingly the two sides of the culture war are no longer talking to each other and becoming more entrenched and we have lost the ability to agree to disagree or to play with ideas. The result is that we resort to other methods of dealing with those we don't agree with. As far as I'm aware this guy never advocated physical harm to any other party but I may be wrong.

And that's it for 1990- it's been a blast! Thanks to all who commented as per usual. We'll be back with 1991 next month.

5TH JANUARY Britain sneaks in its 17th No 1 single of 1990 right at the death and it isn’t, as many predicted, The Righteous Brothers or Enigma but a rather sensational new entry! Iron Maiden become the one and only act to debut at No 1 in the course of the year with “Bring Your Daughter….To The Slaughter”, a song written by Bruce Dickinson whilst on hiatus from the group and used on the soundtrack to “Nightmare On Elm Street 5” last year. The group decided they liked it so much they re-recorded it for their most recent album “No Prayer For The Dying” and released it on Christmas Eve as its second single. Of course the band are no strangers to entering straight into the top 10, this is now their 4th single to do so but they’ve never debuted nor been in the top 2 throughout their decade long career, that all changes as this single smashes into No 1 with 41,599 sales, yes the second lowest tally of the year beating only “Hangin Tough”’s sales of 28,067 to make the grade in January. it was helped by a limited release 7" hinge sleeve which gives the illusion that the single emerges from a skull head.....novel at least. It was an unusual week sales wise with Cliff Richard the best seller by some margin on Christmas Eve, but predictable its sales tailed off thereafter and was overtaken on Saturday by both Iron Maiden and Vanilla Ice. Maiden's victory though was minimal to say the least, Vanilla Ice clung onto the No 2 position selling 39,440 copies to be denied the opportunity of becoming the first song in 21 years to return to the top after it is dethroned in its initial chart run. Outgoing No 1 from Cliff Richard eventually dipped 1-3 losing 63% saleswise (a phenomenal loss normally speaking) as it limped home with 37,621 sales. Everything in the top 10 is on the slide in terms of sales (surprise surprise so let’s see the numbers), Enigma hold at No 4 (34,578 – 48%), also holding are Olivia Newton John & John Travolta at No 5 (31,994- 50%), Righteous Brothers down 3-6 (31,399 – 55%), The Farm droop 6-7 (26,809- 50%), Madonna 7-8 (21,029 -52%) Snap! slip 8-9 (20,910- 45%) and MC Hammer falls 9-10 (20,298- 37%) 1- BRING YOUR DAUGHTER TO THE SLAUGHTER- Iron Maiden (41,599) 2- ICE ICE BABY- Vanilla Ice (39,440) 3- SAVIOUR’S DAY- Cliff Richard (37,621) 4- SADNESS PART ONE- Enigma (34,578) 5- THE GREASE MEGAMIX- John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (31,994) 6- YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING/ EBB TIDE- Righteous Brothers (31,399) 7- ALL TOGETHER NOW- The Farm (26,809) 8- JUSTIFY MY LOVE- Madonna (21,029) 9- MARY HAD A LITTLE BOY- Snap! (20,910) 10- PRAY- MC Hammer (20,298)

29TH DECEMBER So the big day arrives and its congratulations to……….Cliff Richard who sees “Saviour’s Day” move 2-1 right on queue with 100,946 copies to make sure of it. It’s Cliff’s third festive chart topper on the trot if we include his appearance on Band Aid II last year (the re-issue of that failed to make the chart which tells you just how much the S/A/W name has diminished in the course of the year- it's actually at No 101 this week). With Christmas Eve falling into next week for chart purposes we shouldn’t expect too dramatic a fall for Cliff in 7 days time but he certainly left it late closing the gap day by day until overtaking on Saturday! It also sets a record for longevity for Cliff- his chart topping career now stands at 31 years, and he's had chart toppers in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and now 90s- incredible! Outgoing No 1 from Vanilla Ice dropped just a spot 1-2 (96,101) as it increased sales as it led to almost the bitter end! It now stands at 542,776 and moves to 4th in the YTD but is unlikely to get any further with just a week left. The Righteous Brothers climb 4-3 (70,924) and Enigma float 6-4 (66,011) and both could be in with a shout next week depending on how badly Cliff sinks. Moving 14-5 (63,444) is “The Grease Megamix” a medley of hits from the movie of the same name which have been licenced by Polydor to PWL to remix, it includes “You’re The One That I Want” Greased Lightning” and “Summer Nights” which collectively spent 16 weeks at No 1 in 1978. PWL (or more specifically Harding and Curnow) have proved that they can turn this kind of thing into hits before, see 1988’s “I Want You Back” for Jackson 5 or the Four Tops “Reach Out I’ll Be There” and this will doubtless prove popular at office parties and New Year’s celebrations even if it doesn’t exactly enhance their reputation. Elsewhere only one climber, MC Hammer 10-9 (33,947) and Snap! hold ground at No 8 (38,947) but heading down are The Farm 5-6 (54,043), Madonna 3-7 (44,948) and EMF 7-10 (29,325) in a very healthy week for sales for all, especially for Madonna who sees “The Immaculate Collection” spend its 6th week at the top and selling 340,000 copies in 6 days as those Christmas buyers went crazy- it now passes the million mark. 1- SAVIOUR’S DAY- Cliff Richard (100,946) 2- ICE ICE BABY- Vanilla Ice (96,101) 3- YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING/ EBB TIDE- Righteous Brothers (70,924) 4- SADNESS PART ONE- Enigma (66,011) 5- THE GREASE MEGAMIX- John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (63,444) 6- ALL TOGETHER NOW- The Farm (54,043) 7- JUSTIFY MY LOVE- Madonna (44,948) 8- MARY HAD A LITTLE BOY- Snap! (38,947) 9- PRAY- MC Hammer (33,947) 10- UNBELIEVABLE- E.M.F (29,325)