Gezza

24TH MAY Against expectations Olive are No 1 for a second week and sales of “You’re Not Alone” off just fractionally at 74,000 as it shows remarkable consistency in the charts of 1997. It led from the off and indeed increased its lead as the week progressed which bodes well for a third week at the top next week. 5W3bf-wfdHQ Highest new entry of the week goes to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli, “Con Te Patiro” appeared on Bocelli’s 1995 album “Vivere” and was picked to be used for promotion of the final fight by boxer Henry Maske last year when it was turned into a duet with Sarah Brightman with some re-written lyrics in English. The pair performed the track at the fixture and it shot to No 1 in Germany by the year end where it stayed for 13 weeks and has since become the biggest selling single there ever! Since then its topped charts in many European countries and now threatens to repeat here as it smashes in at No 2 (60,000) marking Bocelli’s first appearance in the singles chart and the highest placing for Brightman who scored 5 previous top 10 singles but none as big as this. g3ENX3aHlqU Onto that Eurovision winner then, yes a fortnight ago Katrina & The Waves broke the UK’s 16 year wait for a winner and took top honours in Dublin romping home to an easy victory. It marks a return, not only for the UK in the competition, but also Katrina & The Waves who have only been in the top 20 once before, 12 years ago with “Walking On Sunshine”, so they must be thankful that they got involved in the competition. The track debuted at a rather lowly No 50 before shooting to No 13 in the tun in to the big day itself but now with its winning status it moves 13-3 (45,000) this week, all the UK’s previous outright winning entrants (Sandie Shaw, Brotherhood Of Man, and Bucks Fizz) took their tracks to No 1 but it looks as though “Love Shine A Light” may not follow in their footsteps as it slackened from its early No 2 midweek position. If it goes no further it will become the lowest peaking UK winning entrant to the competition! k6gDNlkS5fo No Mercy’s “Where Do You Go” remains one of the year’s biggest sellers which makes their follow up single all the more likely to be a substantive hit. “Please Don’t Go” duly obliges as it launches straight in at No 4 (43,000), the boys album is out next month and will be the real test of their popularity. 9IfZpngch6g R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” tumbles 5-8 (28,000) but is now well past the 500,000 mark, but he’s got another top 10 hit on his hands now though he isn’t the artist credited. Toni Braxton’s follow up to “Un-Break My Heart” is “I Don’t Want To” and yes it is produced and written by R Kelly who also provides all instrumentation and backing vocals for the track but its Braxton’s 4th top 10 hit and third within the last 10 months as it debuts at No 9 (26,000). uesdoK4Mji4 Cardigans drop 2-5 (36,000) but stay slightly ahead of Damage who retreat themselves 3-6 (34,000) and Shola Ama who slides 4-7 (29,000). DJ Quicksilver remains anchored to the top 10 after selling 25,000 copies last week. 1- YOU’RE NOT ALONE- Olive (74,000) 2- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andre Bocelli (60,000) 3- LOVE SHINE A LIGHT- Katrina & The Waves (45,000) 4- PLEASE DON’T GO- No Mercy (43,000) 5- LOVEFOOL- Cardigans (36,000) 6- WONDERFUL TONIGHT- Damage (34,000) 7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (29,000) 8- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (28,000) 9- I DON’T WANT TO- Toni Braxton (26,000) 10- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (25,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

Never read anything at the time so I think it was just straight forward message to express yourself and ask for what you want.....

Fair enough. I'll alter in the final post.

25. Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon Pop Smoke (6-9-12-20-25) 654,000 24. Guts- Olivia Rodrigo (41-24) 655,000 23. Legend Bob Marley & The Wailers (14-19-22-21-23) 699,000 (T/S 5,279,000) 22. (What's The Story) Morning Glory Oasis (21-24-25-22-22) 718,000 (T/S 5,304,500) 21. Lover Taylor Swift (37-48-41-24-21) 728,000 (T/S 883,000) Olivia Rodrigo proves she wasn’t a one era act with a double platinum second album, but otherwise more Oasis and Taylor in the mix along with the ever present Bob Marley GH album. zHuUlIoVSNM

30. Definitely Maybe Oasis (67-67-66-54-30) 554,000 (T/S 2,799,000) 29. Reputation- Taylor Swift (42-29) 565,000 (t/s 950,000) 28. Singles Maroon 5 (69-44-39-35-28) 566,000 (T/S 838,000) 27. 1989 Taylor Swift (97-71-47-26-27) 585,000 (T/S 1,861,000) 26. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Billie Eilish (4-13-17-23-26) 604,000 (T/S 1,065,000) Oasis have three albums in the top 30 which will be helped by their reunion tour later this year, Billie Eilish sees her best seller move over the million mark, and double Taylor though you suspect sales of the original “1989” will take the hit in rundowns to come, as will “Reputation” when we get the new version but its sold more in the 2020’s than it did in the 2010’s already. 99lzReqAYWI

19TH NOVEMBER Well after last week’s scramble for the top of the charts this was a relatively quiet week with a slim lead for Robin Beck turning into a relatively easy win for the singer in the end, she drove past the opposition 5-1 (58,701) with “First Time”, it means for a second time in 1988 and a second time EVER we have had three successive chart toppers from female soloists (Whitney Houston, Enya, and now Beck) and we also have a wholly female top 3 for the fourth time in history. It’s turned out to be something of a landmark year for the ladies finding domination for the first time since the inception of the charts 36 years ago. Runner up this week is Yazz who does climb 3-2 on paper but her sales are down 11% to 38,369 and Kylie tumbles 2-3 (34,476) but she can console herself with the fact that “Kylie” returns to No 1 on the album charts becoming the best selling album of the year, and “The Loco-Motion” currently sits at No 3 stateside. She also married last week, at least on screen at any rate, on “Neighbours” garnering a significant amount of press and viewing audience, what better time for a single by Kylie and Jason for Christmas to be announced- prepare yourself. oXk-PPmH5ak Her fellow Aussies are up next, INXS released their debut album 8 years ago and have conquered first their native charts scoring their first No 1 with “Original Sin” in 1984 there, and the US where “Need You Tonight” became a No 1 back in January this year and now, finally after years of trying the UK finally responds sending “Need You Tonight” scurrying 18-4 (33,031) to become their first top 20 single. Perhaps our current love of anything Australian is coming into play but the bands sixth album “Kick” which features this single has been a strong seller this year peaking at No 9 having sold over 400,000 copies thus far and delivering hits “New Sensation” (No 25) and “Never Tear Us Apart” (No 24) but nothing on this level. “Need You Tonight” peaked at a lowly No 58 last October upon first release but gets a second shot in the arm after their world tour this summer. WlPlfKHLvig Chris De Burgh has been celebrating already in 1988 when “Flying Colours” became his first No 1 album last month despite lead single “A Simple Truth (A Child Is Born)” failing at No 55 last Christmas. Second release “Missing You” is a far more substantial hit climbing 15-8 (30,532) to become only his second top 10 single, the first was of course “The Lady Is Red” which topped the charts for 3 weeks in 1986 on its way to 610,000 sales. cViqlTRdyCw Enya loses the crown this week dipping 1-5 (32,946) but it could have been far worse with just 2,400 copies separating her from De Burgh at No 8, Milli Vanilli slide 4-7 (31,443) and Robert Palmer is in retreat 6-9 (39,716). Better news for Brother Beyond who climb 8-6 (31,654) and Deacon Blue who hold at No 10 (27,540) but improve in sales. 1- THE FIRST TIME- Robin Beck (58,701) 2- STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS- Yazz (38,369) 3- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (34,476) 4- NEED YOU TONIGHT- INXS (33,031) 5- ORINIOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (32,946) 6- HE AIN’T NO COMPETITION- Brother Beyond (31,654) 7- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (31,433) 8- MISSING YOU- Chris De Burgh (30,532) 9- SHE MAKES MY DAY- Robert Palmer (29,716) 10- REAL GONE KID- Deacon Blue (27,540)

17TH MAY The charts throw up one of those surprises that keep us hooked on it this week as from nowhere Olive debut at No 1. Olive who? The three piece contain two members of former charting acts, Robin Taylor-Firth was formerly in Nightmares on Wax and Tim Kellett was in Simply Red for 10 years. They’ve combined with singer Ruth-Ann Boyle to form Olive and first single “You’re Not Alone” made it No 42 last Autumn followed by “Miracle” making No 41 in March. That debut single has now been remixed with help from Paul Oakenfold which has proved popular with Radio 1 and in the clubs to generate substantial interest in the track which enables it to land at No 1 with sales of 75,000. EsTZOLWJpzo Damage continue to grow in stature as a chart act, a carefully chosen cover of the Eric Clapton classic “Wonderful Tonight” provides them with their biggest hit yet as it arrives at No 3 (46,000). It’s the bands third top 10 in a row and makes up for the relative failure of the album “Forever” which at 5 weeks old still lingers outside the top 50. HR67Vp1MIpg A high profile music Svengali Tom Watkins has already helmed the careers of Pet Shop Boys, Bros, and East 17 and has now created the band North And South who have been promoted via the Children’s TV show “No Sweat”. The programme follows the band as they struggle to make it in the industry and it looks like they’ll not be struggling any more as first single “I’m A Man Not A Boy” debuts at No 7 (37,000). dR2AjtfSYb4 Primed and ready to release their fifth album “Vanishing Point”, Primal Scream are back in the top 10 for only the second time in their 7 year chart career. “Rocks” made No 7 back in 1994 and now “Kowalski” is new at No 8 (34,000), it comes with a promo by Irvine Welsh and features Kate Moss which only seems to have helped sales. 0xBzYsE4y1k Going one better than their debut single, Eels’ “Susan’s House” is new at No 9 (31,000). It features a sample of Gladys Knight’s “Love Finds Its Own Way” at its start, both Eels singles can be found on their album “Beautiful Freak” which is back in the top 30 this week but has yet to sell 100,000 copies. rZRDm-SthEs The Cardigans may look like a potential chart topper as they climb 4-2 but in fact they lost 31% week on week to record a sale of just 47,000 in making that move, that’s the lowest sale for a runner up since Michael Jackson’s “Earthsong” 15 months ago! Similarly Shola Ama reaches new heights 7-4 (46,000) but it losing ground at retail, and R Kelly maintains No 5 (42,000). Gary Barlow drops 1-6 (40,000) and DJ Quicksilver holds on 9-10 (30,000), all eyes will presumably be on Katrina & Waves track after they won Eurovision- could it become the first Eurovision winner to make the top since Nicole in 1982? It darts 50-13 this week. 1- YOU’RE NOT ALONE- Olive (75,000) 2- LOVEFOOL- Cardigans (47,000) 3- WONDERFUL TONIGHT- Damage (46,500) 4- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (46,000) 5- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (42,000) 6- LOVE WON’T WAIT- Gary Barlow (40,000) 7- I’M A MAN NOT A BOY- North & South (37,000) 8- KOWALSKI- Primal Scream (34,000) 9- SUSAN’S HOUSE- Eels (31,000) 10- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (30,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

It was scheduled to be the 5th single here in early 1989 here but ultimately got cancelled.

35. 1989 (Taylor’s Version)- Taylor Swift (77-35) 536,000 34. Dua Lipa Dua Lipa (25-27-29-32-34) 544,000 (T/S 1,108,000) 33. The Essential- Michael Jackson (65-33) 551,000 (t/s 1,840,000) 32. Between Us- Little Mix (38-31-32) 553,000 31. Legacy David Bowie (35-34-32-29-31) 553,000 (T/S 1,030,000) Taylor’s re-recordings strike again as “1989” shoots up the rankings, Michael Jackson’s other GH set outstrips “Number Ones”. Little Mix are also holding up better than many would expect! 3TaCca7n6X4

40. Evermore Taylor Swift (49-52-39-40) 506,000 39. Voyage ABBA (7-14-25-39) 513,000 38. Hollywood's Bleeding Post Malone (16-26-35-28-38) 514,000 (T/S 623,000) 37. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Arctic Monkeys (51-42-37-34-37) 527,000 (T/S 2,414,000) 36. Twenty Five George Michael (50-40-40-36-36) 532,000 (T/S 1,746,000) A Taylor album which drops on the survey- all true, albeit only by a place, ABBA prove more fleeting and are still struggling to go double platinum with their comeback. Second Arctic album which is approaching 2.5 million, and George Michael approaches 6x platinum. hWGWFa3jznI

12TH NOVEMBER “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” starts to show signs that the tide is heading out, it clings to the top spot but only just, selling just 47,617 copies (the lowest in 21 weeks) and only managed to stay ahead of Kylie Minogue by 442 copies- that's the lowest winning margin since Gallup took over running the charts 5 years ago! Indeed the whole top 4 are tightly packed with Yazz’s “Stand Up For Your love Rights” improving 4-3 (43,877) and Milli Vanilli falling 3-4 (43,146) but still under 5,000 short of Enya. It also marks the third time this year and third time EVER that the top 3 have been all female, Kylie being present on all three occasions. Interestingly the Enya track fails to top any of the individual format charts (7”, 12”, Cassette, or CD) with Kylie, Milli Vanilli, Pet Shop Boys, and Yazz taking those honours, its time must be up! Milli Vanilli were the only act in the top 4 not to get TOTP exposure and it could be argued that such an improvement without the aid of the show might have meant that with it the track could easily have been No 1 today, making next week anyone’s call. rn73-rtEq3E However they may all have to succumb to the record which charges 17-5 this week, Robin Beck was a backing singer in the 70s who ventured into the limelight in 1980 with a debut album which featured Luther Vandross and Irene Cara on backing vocals. They went on to successful careers in their own right leaving Beck behind as she started writing and singing jingles for radio which led to her writing for Coca-Cola and the song “The First Time” which was made into a commercial and now finally propels her into the charts and with 40,035 buyers last week and constant promotion via the advert at present- it could be unstoppable. isovfA2MJNs S/A/W have teamed up with Brother Beyond again to give us “He Ain’t No Competition” which skuttles 30-8 (21,386) for the group who now have named their fans Youndies and are mounting a challenge to Bros as the teenage girls band of choice, in the press at least. In terms of sales they are way behind Bros but the release of their debut album in a fortnight will be the deciding factor in who wins that battle. pjDvg2nKJ5M A US #3 hit in August this year with UK still playing catch up, “1-2-3” is the new Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine single, and their second top 10 hit in a row. The album “Anything For You” is in shops this week which may hamper progress to the top but for now the single charges 24-9 (20,961). v-XueHr-juc After the critical acclaim for their first album “Raintown” which has become a consistent if unspectacular seller, Deacon Blue finally see singles reward with their first single from their forthcoming second album due in 1989. “Real Gone Kid” is a song written about the Lone Justice lead singer Maria Mckee’s live performance, the group supported them on tour a few years ago so much so they seem to have impressed Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross enough to inspire this song. Mckee has of course already written a No 1 herself (Feargal Sharkey’s “A Good Heart” in 1985) and been the subject of a top 10 hit (again for Sharkey this time “You Little Thief”). The band released 5 singles from “Raintown” the biggest of which was “Dignity” which scraped in at No 31 back in February, but they’ve shown improvement flying 15-10 (20,111) with their current hit. lIfHN0pfLFY Robert Palmer inches 8-6 (33,728) as Art Of Noise & Tom Jones fall back 5-7 (27,455). 1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (47,617) 2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (47,175) 3- STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS- Yazz (43,877) 4- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (43,146) 5- THE FIRST TIME- Robin Beck (40,035) 6- SHE MAKES MY DAY- Robert Palmer (33,728) 7- KISS- Art Of Noise Featuring Tom Jones (27,455) 8- HE AIN’T NO COMPETITION- Brother Beyond (21,386) 9- 1-2-3- Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine (20,961) 10- REAL GONE KID- Deacon Blue (20,111)

I may as well continue to post daily until Friday as that will mean I'll be up to date after Friday too!

10TH MAY What an interesting chart week it turned into in the end and perhaps fitting for the first Labour government for 18 years. Last week’s chart topper from Michael Jackson gets pushed 1-8 (42,000) and for the first time in chart history the entire top 3 are new entries with a battle raging all week between former boyband members from different decades Gary Barlow and George Michael. Michael was ahead at the start of the week but in the end it’s Gary Barlow who lifts the trophy, his second solo single “Love Won’t Wait” comes from the pens of Shep Pettibone and Madonna and maintains Barlow’s 100% chart topping career since leaving Take That. It also completes an odd statistic for former members of Take That, Gary’s first two singles have gone to No 1, Robbie’s have both gone to No 2, and Mark Owen’s have both headed to No 3! “Love Won’t Wait sold 92,027 copies last week and comes with his version of Roachford’s “Cuddly Toy” which he’s performed on some TV shows. Q_DIF3aMgtA His album “Open Road” is out next month and he’ll be hoping it can do half as well as George Michael’s “Older” which has already cleared the 1.5 million mark as it boasts its fifth hit, the remixed and re-titled “Star People 97”. Michael has understandably given the track a work over from the album version and sampled the Gap Band’s “Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” a No 22 hit in 1981, as well as re-written some of the lyrics, it suffered the same fate as “Spinning The Wheel” starting off the week ahead of the field before ceding late in the game. The single attracted 84,000 buyers last week and allows the album to lift 25-21, “Older” will celebrate its year on release next week and has never left the top 25 illustrating just how it has become his biggest era ever in the UK at least. 6rhCwj4qWl0 Interestingly both of the top 2 being new entries used to be an unusual feat with that set of circumstances never occurring until December 1984 when Band Aid and Wham! created history. It was repeated in the summer of 1989 with Jason Donovan and Cliff Richard then it went all quiet, but since August 1995 it has happened a further 8 times illustrating once more the speed with which the top of the charts now turns the hits over! It’s the week for solo stars with John Squire’s new band The Seahorses completing our all new top 3. Squire of course left the Stone Roses last year and quickly formed the Seahorses with “Love Is The Law” becoming their first release and first hit as it sells 71,000 to enter at No 3. Some have noted that the band’s name is an anagram of “He hates Roses” but we’re assured this is just a co-incidence! Album next month. L9Ut7z8JuFQ Jamiroquai grab a third top 10 single from their “Travelling Without Moving” album and fifth overall, “Alright” continues where “Cosmic Girl” left off a fact reinforced by the promo which is shot as a follow up to the latter disc. The song sold 54,000 copies to debut at No 6. 0m6oLQiCsEU The Cardigans hold at No 4 (69,000) as R Kelly falls past them 2-5 (58,000) but it will sell its ½ millionth copy this week. Shola Ama slips 6-7 (53,000) but DJ Quicksilver looks spent as he falls 5-9 (38,000) and 911 disappear as soon as they arrive 3-10 (31,000). 1- LOVE WON’T WAIT- Gary Barlow (92,027) 2- STAR PEOPLE 97- George Michael (84,000) 3- LOVE IS THE LAW- Seahorses (71,000) 4- LOVEFOOL- The Cardigans (69,000) 5- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (58,000) 6- ALRIGHT- Jamiroquai (54,000) 7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (53,000) 8- BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR- Michael Jackson (42,000) 9- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (38,000) 10- BODYSHAKIN- 911 (31,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

I've never heard of anything personally!

Yes we're finally "up to date" after tomorrow's chart!

5TH NOVEMBER An easy week at the top for Enya as she gets a firm grip on the top spot with 71,604 copies being purchased last week which along with the album’s rise 10-5 would indicate that she’s on a roll at present. She leaves Kylie eating dust as “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” lingers on at No 2 (62,067) but both tracks are well clear of the pack with Milli Vanilli trundling 10-3 (38,794) a distant third plus Minogue and Enya will have TOTP to help them this week. O3d8JP3USp0 She’s lost the Plastic Population but Yazz continues unabated and is hoping to leave Minogue at No 2 again with her new song “Stand Up For Your Love Rights” which charges 11-4 (37,094) in its second week. Her last single was of course “The Only Way Is Up” which topped the charts for 5 weeks and sold 624,478 to become the biggest seller of 1988 thus far, it also condemned “The Loco-Motion” to four weeks in the runner up spot, Yazz’s debut album “Wanted” arrives in three weeks for those Christmas stockings. Incidentally The Beatmasters are the producers on this one fresh from their PP Arnold assisted single “Burn It Up”. n1u4hJ8EclA Tom Jones’ revival continues apace after his No 2 hit last year “A Boy From Nowhere”, he provides guest vocals on Art Of Noise’s cover of Prince’s “Kiss” which was only in the top 10 for the man himself 2 years ago when it hit No 6. Well the cover has already done better as it saunters 19-5 (35,938) to become AON’s third top 10 single and Tom’s 15th, the horns and guitar breakdown in the middle of the song is of course an opportunity to insert a few of Art Of Noise’s previous hits including “Close (To The Edit)” and “Peter Gunn” in case you thought they sounded familiar. iWPpwNKccmo Robert palmer’s last album “Riptide” saw him grab his first top 10 singles in the form of “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” and “Addicted To Love” two years ago but his follow up album “Heavy Nova” has so far underperformed peaking at No 17 and spending just 9 weeks on the charts since its release back in July. In part that’s due to the released singles “Sweet Lies” and “Simply Irresistible” failing to go top 40 though the latter was a No 2 hit Stateside, the album returns 59-45 this week in the wake of the success of “She Makes My Day” which continues to improve 18-8 (26,707) this week. Rx8Jt1PnhBI Four fallers to cover briefly, Whitney’s former chart topper “One Moment In Time” descends 3-6 (31,756), Wee Papa Girl Rappers give up 7-9 (25,925) and Erasure tumble 5-10 (25,194). D-Mob fall 4-7 (31,467) but were instrumental in the decision this week by TOTP to not play or promote any record containing the word "Acid" ("aceed") in either its title or lyrics due to complaints after showing the D-Mob promo. 1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (71,604) 2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (62,067) 3- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (38,794) 4- STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS- Yazz (37,094) 5- KISS- Art Of Noise Featuring Tom Jones (35,938) 6- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (31,756) 7- WE CALL IT ACIEED- D Mob Featuring Gary Haisman (31,467) 8- SHE MAKES MY DAY- Robert Palmer (26,707) 9- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (25,925) 10- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (25,194)

45. 1 The Beatles (34-31-28-27-45) 477,000 (T/S 3,996,000) 44. SOS- SZA (84-44) 482,000 43. Starboy- The Weeknd (71-43) 491,000 (t/s 864,000) 42. Born To Die- Lana Del Rey (97-51-42) 492,000 (T/S 1,683,000) 41. No 6 Collaborations Project Ed Sheeran (7-14-24-30-41) 496,000 (T/S 1,004,000) The Beatles feel the effect of sales getting diverted to their other collections and drop heavily but “1” is almost at 4 million sales, and Ed Sheeran bags himself another million seller. Strong surges up for SZA, Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd with his second album on the list. cMieuV5U_-4

50. Stick Season- Noah Kahan (NEW) 470,000 49. Teenage Dream Katy Perry (88-77-60-49) 471,000 (T/S 1,894,000) 48. 25 Adele (94-39-42-38-48) 474,000 (T/S 4,057,000) 47. Best Of- 50 Cent (57-47) 475,000 (t/s 612,000) 46. Greatest Hits Red Hot Chili Peppers (73-69-62-47-46) 475,000 (T/S 2,173,000) Our second biggest new entry marks the halfway point with Noah Kahan, more Adele with another 4 million selling album, whilst 50 cent provides a surprise strong seller- it took over 5 years to go platinum but then double platinum in just over 2 years! YJFc626Itug

3RD MAY It’s his 37th solo top 10 hit but just a 7th chart topper yes tonight Michael Jackson claims the top spot for the 4th time in the 90s and knocks the writer of his previous chart topper “You Are Not Alone” from the top in the process. R Kelly dips 1-2 (80,000) as he stretches his luck too far finally, and its Jackson’s “Blood On The Dancefloor” which replaces it, the song was written back in 1991 for his “Dangerous” album but didn’t make the cut so it has ended up on his forthcoming album “Blood On The Dancefloor-HIStory In The Mix” which, as the name implies, is a collection of remixes from his last album along with 5 new tracks including the current No 1. Sales of 83,767 saw Jackson to the top, his biggest first week tally since “Earthsong” back in 1995, it is also his 14th top 10 of the decade putting him behind only Madonna in an exact replica of the way the 80s ended- in that respect. It's also dedicated to Elton John FYI. 2tPHm8LC43I The Ascendency of 911 continues with a fifth hit and again it’s a bigger hit than their previous one, “Bodyshakin” enters at No 3 (79,000) narrowly failing to hold its midweek No 2 position. The boys album only managed No 13 before leaving the charts after just 3 weeks but raises its head at No 56 this week having only shifted 20,000 since release. iQYBSQUcuF4 The top 4 were all within just 5,000 of each other making it the tightest week of the year so far and it could have gone one of several ways. Not a million miles from the top was the re-issued Cardigans track “Lovefool” which features in the current box office smash “Romeo + Juliet”, a No 21 hit when issued last September despite being a substantial airplay hit. Now repacked with a new cover and promo video the song comes in at No 4 (78,000) to give their band the breakthrough they were seeking here, all previous 5 singles having missed out though garnering considerable favourable reviews from the critics. I-bISymz21A Republica are a band with pedigree, keyboardist Tim Dorney was formerly in Flowered up and lead singer Saffron featured in the promo for Chesney Hawkes “The One And Only” and performed the role of frontwoman with N-Joi though it’s worth noting she did not record any vocals with the band. The group have enjoyed a relatively high profile press wise over the past 6 months thanks to their last single “Ready To Go” making No 13 on re-issue and lead singer Saffron’s forthright opinions, now “Drop Dead Gorgeous” gives them the biggest hit yet with this new at No 7 (49,000). Qo5YILAWSHo Notorious B.I.G’s recent death (9th March) at just 24 resulted in his album “Life After Death” becoming an instant chart topper in the US and lead single “Hypnotize” followed suit this week to give him a double. Rap music isn’t as big over here so the single has to settle for a No 10 berth (34,000), Puff Daddy (whom Notorious knocks from the top spot in America) produces the track which samples Herb Ritz’s “Rise” and comes with a promo filmed a month before the singer’s murder in LA. glEiPXAYE-U Kudos to both DJ Quicksilver and Shola Ama who seem to be able to ride the new entries week after week to evade getting pushed out of the top 10, “Bellissima” dips 4-5 (58,000) whilst “You Might Need Somebody” finally makes inroads 7-6 (53,000). The former has now sold 237,000 and has its best week yet at retail five weeks into its run- unusual in the chart climate of 1997. Behaving more on trend are Robbie Williams (2-8, 46,000) and Blackstreet (6-9, 39,000) who will both probably be gone in 7 day’s time. This week sees the release of Gary Barlow’s second single- another instant No 1? 1- BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR- Michael Jackson (83,767) 2- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (80,000) 3- BODYSHAKIN- 911 (79,000) 4- LOVEFOOL- The Cardigans (78,000) 5- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (58,000) 6- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (53,000) 7- DROP DEAD GORGEOUS- Republica (49,000) 8- OLD BEFORE I DIE- Robbie Williams (46,000) 9- DON’T LEAVE ME- Blackstreet (39,000) 10- HYPNOTIZE- Notorious B.I.G (34,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

55. Piano Man- The Very Best Of Billy Joel (95-76-66-55) 444,000 (T/S 1,546,000) 54. Doo Wops & Hooligans Bruno Mars (75-65-52-54) 446,000 (T/S 2,317,000) 53. Back To Black Amy Winehouse (66-51-57-67-53) 448,000 (T/S 4,471,000) 52. Greatest Hits- God's Favourite Band Green Day (85-83-70-62-52) 463,000 (T/S 612,000) 51. Greatest Hits- Pitbull (49-51) 467,000 Rises here for Billy Joel, Amy Winehouse, and Green Day whilst Bruno and Pitbull hold more or less steady outside the top 50. fzQV5nnE_kI

60. In The Lonely Hour Sam Smith (70-61-54-53-60) 431,000 (T/S 3,024,000) 59. We're All Alone In This Together Dave (36-33-37-59) 433,000 58. After Hours The Weeknd (23-33-43-40-58) 433,000 57. Red (Taylor’s Version)- Taylor Swift (81-64-57) 436,000 56. 21 Adele (98-60-64-56-56) 436,000 (T/S 5,611,000) First of three albums from Adele holds steady (and on over 5.6 million sales) but Taylor is once again on the rise with a re-recorded “Red”. Meanwhile Smith’s debut inches past the 3 million mark iKm5-XtXcII

29TH OCTOBER For just the second time in chart history (and the second time in 1988!) all the top 3 comprise of female solo acts, that doesn’t mean that Whitney gets a third week at No 1 however, she actually slides 1-3 (47,957) after putting up a brave defence to her crown and unusually for a chart topper actually lost her lead after this week’s TOTP being the only act who wasn’t live in the studio. Instead it falls to Enya whose “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” proves the favourite with the UK public as it sails past the opposition and docks 5-1 (58,510), she’s the second entirely Irish act to top the charts of 1988 after U2 a matter of weeks ago, prior to that you have to go back to 1986 and Chris De Burgh to have an Irish chart topper. On the albums chart her LP “Watermark” cruises 24-10, she’ll be hoping that she can replicate the album success of both U2 and De Burgh’s recent albums which have topped the charts in the last 3 weeks! 0UPWepZSWXQ That just leaves the track which this week vaults 11-2 (54,264) and it comes from the woman of the year Kylie Minogue, “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” is a fourth cut from the singer’s debut album “Kylie” which has spent a month at No 1 already and is now well over the 800,000 and on track for the million before the end of 1988. The promo takes its cue from the famous picture “The Last Waltz on Bastille Day, 1945” by Robert Doisneau to give it a suitable Gallic flavour and comes with some critical acceptance for a change. Though not listed as such plans are that following in both Wham!’s and Rick Astley’s footsteps the single will be flipped and current B-Side “Made In Heaven” will be the main single when sales for this start to dwindle given that the latter track is a non album single. Seems to be doing just fine on its own at present but keep an eye on it- Kylie now has the best start to a career ever by a female vocalist with all four of her singles so far making the top 2 and only Gerry & The Pacemakers and Frankie Goes To Hollywood have ever had a brighter start in the charts. aeXEVdFPrW0 Long time pop Svengali Frank Farian has a long history of being the puppet master behind pop groups, most notably Boney M and Far Corporation and now he’s the guy behind duo Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan who go by the name of Milli Vanilli and has produced “Girl You Know It’s True” for them. The song was originally recorded and released by Numarx whose members wrote the track but it bombed pretty much everywhere but in a sleeker package it hits the spot topping the German charts for 6 weeks this summer and now jumping 20-10 (23,409) here. _slKwBdpUP8 Despite increasing sales to 39,389 D-Mob fall 3-4 amid claims of glamorising drugs and Erasure similarly dip a spot 4-5 (34,136) again with a better week at retail. More fallers to report, Bobby McFerrin dives 2-6 (32,980) as he proves too marmite, Wee Papa Girl Rappers dip 6-7 (30,498), and Kim Wilde collapses 7-9 (26,571), only The Christians have a good week but still struggle 9-8 (28,985). 1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (58,310) 2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (54,264) 3- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (47,957) 4- WE CALL IT ACIEED- D Mob Featuring Gary Haisman (39,389) 5- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (34,136) 6- DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY- Bobby McFerrin (32,980) 7- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (30,498) 8- HARVEST FOR THE WORLD- The Christians (28,985) 9- NEVER TRUST A STRANGER- Kim Wilde (26,571) 10- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (23,409)

26TH APRIL If there is such a thing as a lucky No 1 single then “I Believe I Can Fly” must surely qualify. Number one now for a third week it has been behind in midweek sales flashes and for a third time it fought back to clinch the honours at the last moment, and in each week it has had to increase sales to do so. This time it sold 15% more (87,000) to defeat new singles from Robbie Williams and U2 and has demonstrated that it really is a genuine hit. XwaqFwwJWhU Robbie Williams has probably spent more time in the papers than in the charts over the last year with only his cover of George Michael’s “Freedom” to count as solo career thus far. So the release of his first original single was always going to generate considerable interest and “Old Before I Die” was looking to all like a chart topper right through the week before the curse of R Kelly took him the way of Supergrass and Blur in recent weeks. The song is co-written by Williams and Desmond Child who is more used to generating hits for Bon Jovi, Cher, and Aerosmith and debuts at No 2 (76,000) enough for No 1 in the last two weeks, the self-referencing lyrics have gone down well with the press as has Williams’ recent comments about former band member Gary Barlow. Still controversy sells. U4nViuc45Yo U2 have their 17th top 10 hit with “Staring At The Sun” powering into the No 3 slot on a sale of 63,000. The band have never strung together four top 5 singles in a row so this appears to be their “purple” patch which isn’t bad for a band more than 15 years into their career and successful during all that time. dNAHBDh1woc French disco continues to prosper in the UK charts with Daft Punk scoring a second top 10 hit. “Around The World” comes with a rather trendy video which is memorable and has got the critics singing their praises, the single meanwhile debuts at No 5 (51,000). K0HSD_i2DvA Late last year 2Pac sampled DeBarge’s “A Dream” on his No 13 hit “I Ain’t Mad At Ya” and that same song now forms the basis for Blackstreet’s “Don’t Leave Me” which is an even bigger hit smashing in at No 6 (47,000). At a stroke it becomes their biggest hit but can’t revive the album which is currently uncharted and has only spent a solitary week in the top 40. pYfqgihxu2U Last Summer The Lightning Seeds were on a high after reaching No 1 with the Euro themed “3 Lions” but follow up singles “What If” and “Sugar Coated Iceburg” both missed the top 10, time maybe for a cover? Written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds “You Showed Me” became a US hit for The Turtles in 1968 but wasn’t a hit here until Salt N Pepa’s rap version six years ago. Now it’s revamped again into a pop track for Ian Broadie’s band and makes a new high of No 8 (43,000) it features in Mike Myers new film “Austin Powers” (not out here until September) and will also be present on a forthcoming Greatest Hits album by the group due this year, it is also the first “solo” top 10 hit for the band 8 years after their debut. -kiUKg-pko0 Faithless continue to produce top quality dance music and for a change aren't re-releasing their former minor hits, instead they give us the title track to their album “Reverence”. New at No 10 this week on a sale of 34,000 to become their third top 10 hit in a row. cyQ0s0J1fhY DJ Quicksilver maintains No 4 (56,000) but two of last week’s new entries have contrasting fortunes, Shola Ama remains static at No 7 (46,000) whilst The Course collapse 5-9 (39,000). 1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (87,000) 2- OLD BEFORE I DIE- Robbie Williams (76,000) 3- STARING AT THE SUN- U2 (63,000) 4- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (56,000) 5- AROUND THE WORLD- Daft Punk (51,000) 6- DON’T LEAVE ME- Blackstreet (47,000) 7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (46,000) 8- YOU SHOWED ME- Lightning Seeds (43,000) 9- READY OR NOT- The Course (39,000) 10- REVERENCE- Faithless (34,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

65. Christmas Michael Buble (57-52-56-58-65) 414,700 (T/S 3,443,800) 64. Direct Hits 2003-2013 The Killers (63-64-60-59-64) 417,000 (T/S 1,115,000) 63. Don't Smile At Me Billie Eilish (30-35-44-44-63) 421,000 (T/S 685,000) 62. Legends Never Die Juice WRLD (18-23-30-46-62) 424,000 61. Number Ones Michael Jackson (39-32-26-33-61) 426,000 (T/S 3,157,000) Michael Buble’s “Christmas” made its annual trek to No 1 last year but it’s actually dropping on this survey. A third album from Eilish, second from Juice WRLD and a Michael Jackson GH album is not the favoured one at present and responds by hurtling down the survey. ZengOKCUBHo

70. Heavy Is The Head Stormzy (5-18-27-43-70) 397,000 (T/S 484,000) 69. The Singles Phil Collins (93-87-75-73-69) 403,000 (T/S 780,000) 68. Happier Than Ever- Billie Eilish (67-70-68) 403,000 67. X Ed Sheeran (52-43-46-61-67) 405,000 (T/S 3,935,000) 66. The Fame- Lady Gaga (91-78-66) 406,000 (T/S 3,453,000) Hefty faller for Stormzy, but both Phil Collins and Billie Eilish (her second appearance) both climb the chart. Poor Ed only has four albums on the rundown now, and Gaga’s only appearance is predictably for “The Fame” which is a mere half million behind “X” in total sales as it darts past it here. EBwaflYUYrM