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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

22ND OCTOBER Whitney Houston pushes ahead of the competition this week, sales of “One Moment In Time” increasing to a much better 63,716 leaving Bobby McFerrin as the new challenger, yet he only increases sales marginally to 39,610 to rise 3-2. udONnpjejQg Next week’s No 1 could however come from the track which glides 20-3 (32,606) this week from D-Mob Featuring Gary Haisman, D-Mob is essentially a vehicle for Daniel Poku, otherwise known as Dancin’ Danny D, and “We Call It Acieed” is one of the first examples of the new “Acid House” records to make a major impact chart wise. Of course much has been made of the movement in the press about the drugs scene that is popularly thought to accompany the music but for now TOTP seems happy to promote and the records continue to sell. ZrscxwrVRQ8 From Acid house to new age pop in the form of former Clannad member Enya who came to our attention in 1986 when she composed the music for the BBC series “The Celts” and now is back with new album “Watermark” and her first hit “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” which rockets 29-5 (31,093). It name checks many places in the lyrics and Rob Dickens, the current head of Warner Music UK. LTrk4X9ACtw Putting together back to back top 10 singles for the third time in her career, Kim Wilde sees “Never Trust A Stranger” advance 15-7 (27,778) to follow up the No 3 hit “You Came”. Although she’s undergoing something of a revival in her career, parent album “Close” has really struggled failing so far to make the top 40 despite the singles released, though undoubtedly supporting Michael Jackson this summer has paid dividends, this is her 7th top 10 single. H_5eZqvlCYw Launching their career with 5 top 30 singles (though none made the top 10) The Christians have married catchy tunes to critical acclaim since they emerged last year and sold almost 750,000 copies of their debut album. A cover of the Isley Brothers “Harvest Of The World” is a stand alone single recorded for charity with proceeds going to the Disasters Emergency Committee and features on the “One Moment In Time” album along with the current chart topper, it’s taken just a fortnight to become their biggest hit as it powers 21-9 (25,415). 6s-SHrzXbU8 Erasure are still heading in the right direction 7-4 (32,589), Wee Papa Girl Rappers are also moving up 8-6 (29,189) but Rick Astley has finally had enough and slips 6-8 (27,676) and Womack & Womack plunge 4-10 (24,786). Kylie debuts at No 11 incidentally but is largely expected to climb next week, meanwhile U2 sink 2-17 becoming the first track since "Happy Talk" to be a chart topper but spend only 3 weeks in the top 10. 1- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (63,716) 2- DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY- Bobby McFerrin (39,610) 3- WE CALL IT ACIEED- D Mob Featuring Gary Haisman (32,606) 4- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (32,589) 5- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (31,093) 6- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (29,189) 7- NEVER TRUST A STRANGER- Kim Wilde (27,778) 8- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (27,676) 9- HARVEST FOR THE WORLD- The Christians (25,415) 10- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (24,786)

19TH APRIL R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” increased sales by 50% and it needed to do it in order to hold the top position- it managed it- just! Sales of 76,000 take “Fly”s total to 257,000 after its first month, not a bad haul. axhOdD9i8ZQ Just as last week, Kelly was running in second place all week but managed to overhaul the midweek leader again, this time it was Blur’s “Song 2” . Their last single “Beetlebum” created chart history for all the wrong reasons when it fell 1-7-29 then out of the top 40 making it the shortest lived top 40 career for a chart topper then in moving 42-68-OUT the shortest time in the charts for a No 1, so they’ll be hoping for more longevity out of this single. Intended as a parody of grunge the song, if it progresses no further, which is likely, then it will be rather apt as it is the second single from an album on which it is track 2, has peaked at No 2 on the chart and is 2:02 in length. The 75,000 copies it sold last week is still a good start and has halted the decline of the parent album which has since lifted 35-29-18-10 over the last month. Na9AqJXS-VE Blur are the first of a record 7 new entries in the top 10- the highest tally yet and another step toward the whole of the top flight being new entries such is the pace of change at the top end. Lots of new hits to discuss then and next up in the parade are Orbital. “Satan (Live)” you may recall became their biggest hit when it made No 3 back in January and now they’ve done it again with “The Saint”. Proving that anything that Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton can do these guys can do, they’ve taken a theme from a 60s TV show and remade it for the 90s with a movie tie-in. “The Saint” stars Van Kilmer and is on release here this coming week and should help the theme in sales with 52,000 of them last week. Eu4u2oKsKSA Coming just a year after The Fugees turned the Delfonics “Ready Or Not” into a chart topper we get a europop version courtesy of the Course. They are a Dutch duo who have had some European success with this version which is now a UK hit as it arrives at No 5 (43,000). H6lxifd-EmI Although known in the UK primarily as a hit for Randy Crawford (#11, 1981) “You Might Need Somebody” was originally performed by Turley Richards but is now a top 10 smash for 18 year old Shola Ama. She was discovered singing on a tube station platform at just 15 and signed on her 16th Birthday to WEA, her first single “You’re The one I Love” failed to ignite at No 81 at the end of last year but this cover does the business and is new at No 7 (35,000) and is a reflection of her positive reviews following her support slot on the recent 3T tour. MJV941Tvh9M Fellow teenager Kavana continues to accrue the hits with new single “M.F.E.O” which stands for “made for each other” if you want to know. His debut album is out next month and will house a couple of top 10 hits with this new at No 8 (31,000) replicating the peak position of his last single “I Can Make You Feel Good”. His next single is confirmed as a remix of his first single “Crazy Chance” which was co-penned by former Take That member Howard Donald. kHkSw4giiqA Suede’s rebirth continues to be an outstanding success with a fourth cut from “Coming Up” securing a top 10 position. “Lazy” is new at No 9 (28,000) enabling the band to score a top tier hit with every release from the album and it responds positively too as it rockets 51-38 and pushes over the 300,000 mark, it is already confirmed as their biggest selling album ever. pKizQ4B_Pok Another band who have a launched a successful comeback in 1997 are undoubtedly Texas who score their second top 10 single of the year in “Halo” new at No 10 (27,000). The single has been heavily supported by radio (It's airplay #5) and the album has reversed since it started getting exposure lifting 27-22-9-4 in the last month. aq6dtDuyTHU DJ Quicksilver rises 7-4 (47,000) proving popular in spite of all those new entries and No Doubt drop 3-6 (37,000) but it remains atop the airplay chart as radio seems to continue to love it. New singles from U2 and Robbie Williams are vying for the top next week- are R Kelly’s days numbered? 1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (76,000) 2- SONG 2- Blur (75,000) 3- THE SAINT- Orbital (52,000) 4- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (47,000) 5- READY OR NOT- The Course (43,000) 6- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (37,000) 7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (35,000) 8- MFEO- Kavana (31,000) 9- LAZY- Suede (28,000) 10- HALO- Texas (27,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

75. Goodbye & Good Riddance Juice WRLD (40-41-55-68-75) 382,000 (T/S 512,000) 74. Planet Her Doja Cat (74-45-55-74) 383,000 73. Singles Collection- Britney Spears (100-87-73) 388,000 (T/S 603,000) 72. Certified Lover Boy Drake (81-51-48-72) 388,000 71. Elv1s- 30 Number One Hits- Elvis Presley (93-71) 397,000 (T/S 2,349,000) The clear winners here are Britney and Elvis who both see GH sets race up the countdown, Spears seeing her album go double platinum! pc7rR7VupIw

80. Nirvana- Nirvana (92-80) 378,000 (t/s 1,453,000) 79. Greatest Hits….So Far Pink (89-89-79-79) 379,000 (t/s 1,500,000) 78. Definitive Collection Stevie Wonder (76-76-74-75-78) 379,000 (T/S 1,628,000) 77. Get To Know Becky Hill (27-28-34-45-77) 380,000 (T/S 414,000) 76. Seventeen Going Under- Sam Fender (58-63-76) 381,000 Sales get diverted to “Nirvana” as it accelerates up the survey at the expense of “Nevermind” which slumps. Meanwhile more GH sets show their sticking power with Pink hitting the 1.5 million mark, and a second and final showing for Sam Fender. PwfVyp7guY4

12TH APRIL With Easter over the singles market collapses by almost a third which left the field wide open in terms of the No 1. Leading in midweek flashes was “Richard III” by Supergrass but it was overtaken at the death by R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” which makes a dramatic bounce back 5-1 (51,000), that despite a 17% loss at retail. For Kelly as writer it marks his second chart topper as he also wrote Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone”, but more interestingly it is the first song to climb to No 1 for the first time after falling during its chart run since Gina G last year and the first to take as long as its 3rd consecutive week to make No 1 since Deep Blue Something back in October. That sales figure is however the lowest required for a chart topper since Tony Di Bart made No 1 in May 1994. axhOdD9i8ZQ Onto that new Supergrass single then and “Richard III” has little to do with either kings or the play but is named after the band’s habit of giving their songs names and this was the third one called Richard. You only have to wait three weeks for their second album “In It For The Money” but the campaign is off to a good start with almost 51,000 buyers last week just 300 copies behind R Kelly. kDk8uJZlho0 The blessing of a Levi advert strikes again with Smoke City’s “Underwater Love” the latest track to be used by the company in its ads. The track was originally released in 1994 to minimal interest but with the right promotion it now debuts at No 4 (39,000), the song itself features a host of samples including James Brown. mk6Q8VeDOnI It’s a busy Spring with a new album also due in a fortnight from Depeche Mode. “It’s No Good” is now their 11th top 10 hit but the group have now put together a string of 4 top flight hits in a row- a first for them, “Ultra” should be a big seller once it hit the shops with their new hit new at No 5 (37,000). 0FAHDA8xueo Makaveli is, as you may know, a new stage name adopted by 2Pac before the late rapper’s death last year, he recorded one album under the pseudonym “The Don Killuminati” which contains the single “To Live And Die In LA” itself now a top 10 hit as it strikes in at anchor position on sales of 25,000 and contains a sample of Prince’s “Do Me Baby”. fDjMSiECbgg No Doubt remain at No 3 (43,000) a position they replicate on the album charts, while the Spice Girls tumble 2-6 (34,000) and DJ Quicksilver slips up 6-7 (31,000). Sash! holds at No 9 (27,000) but The Chemical Brothers hurtle 1-8 (28,000)- that’s the second biggest fall from the top slot of the 90s behind Iron Maiden’s “Bring Your Daughter” and the biggest tumble ever for a track which debuted at No 1 the previous week. 1- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (51,200) 2- RICHARD III- Supergrass (50,900) 3- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (43,000) 4- UNDERWATER LOVE- Smoke City (39,000) 5- IT’S NO GOOD- Depeche Mode (37,000) 6- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE- Spice Girls (34,000) 7- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (31,000) 8- BLOCK ROCKIN BEATS- Chemical Brothers (28,000) 9- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (27,000) 10- TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA- Makaveli (25,000) http://i.imgur.com/q5DvLjB.jpg

15TH OCTOBER Normally when a song climbs to No 1 it gets an addition sales boost but not in the case of U2 whose “Desire” immediately falls back 1-2 (42,857) and loses 30% of its week on week sales, presumably their fans are saving their pennies for “Rattle & Hum” which is out this week and will be competing with the Pet Shop Boys new album “Introspective” but after the poor show from its lead single it might not be the competition it once promised to be. The new chart topper is from Ms Whitney Houston who can now boast a third No 1 as “One Moment In Time” eases 3-1 (47,855) and follows in the footsteps of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Saving All My Love For You” to the top. She's just the third female soloists to hit the triple No 1 mark following Sandie Shaw and Madonna but she’s had 7 US No 1 singles in a row creating a new record over there for the singer, sadly her last single “Love Will Save The Day” only made No 10 which was something of a let down. Regardless it is the lowest weekly sale for a chart topper in 16 weeks- 1988 is surely a tumultuous time given we had the top 2 over 100,000 just last month. 96aAx0kxVSA A US chart topper for 2 weeks recently Bobby McFerrin’s acappella track “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is one of the more unusual tracks to grace our top 10 this year. Originally it flopped when first released earlier this year but gets a second chance after the song saw US success with an airing in the film “Cocktail” which is currently a hit in the US though not due for release here until January, here the song at least is riding high 11-3 (37,604) just nipping ahead marginally of Womack & Womack who again hold at No 4 (31,195), a sixth week in the charts at either No 3 or No 4- remarkable. The promo features actors Robin Williams and Bill Irwin d-diB65scQU After the agony of seeing “Chains Of Love” peak at No 11 earlier this year Erasure are back on form with “A Little Respect” shooting 12-7 (27,234) to become their 5th top 10 single in under 2 years. The album “The Innocents” became their first No 1 album and responds in kind this week rising 43-25, its sales of some 300,000 means it is on track to become their biggest album by the year end. Rt4gTj3oLmY Sisters Sandra and Sam Lawrence are two former backing singers for Feargal Sharkey who have seen successive releases make more of an impact chartwise, their first release bombed then subsequent releases peaked at No’s 60, and 23, now with “Wee Rule” the Wee Papa Girl Rappers move 17-8 (27,081). The sisters take their name from a phrase used by their father and are also the composers of the current version of the theme to “Jim’ll Fix It”. jFKw0bQAIU4 Rick Astley pushes up again but only by a spot 7-6 (29,342) thanks to TOTP, he can’t catch the falling Hollies 2-5 (29,988) though, lower down Jason Donovan is almost out 6-9 (26,265) and Phil Collins bottoms out 5-10 (24,123). Keep your eye on the top spot as well, there’s a new Kylie single out this week, expect a high new entry! 1- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (47,855) 2- DESIRE- U2 (42,857) 3- DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY- Bobby McFerrin (37,604) 4- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (31,195) 5- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (29,988) 6- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (29,342) 7- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (27,234) 8- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (27,081) 9- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (26,265) 10- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (24,123)

It would have been 1997 when she equalled Barbra Streisand. "Evita" would have put Madonna ahead on 5.

He was on RCA not PWL as regards record label and they would have probably chosen singles. As the whole first album was SAW written and produced it didn't matter what the singles were. Plus the relationship had broken down between SAW and Astley in the main. That was in part due exhaustion on Astley's part after breaking the USA, he was ordered to take some months off earlier in 88 by doctors so I suppose he was determined to do things his way for the second album which inevitably meant less reliance on SAW.

85. High Expectations Mabel (17-22-31-50-85) 367,000 (T/S 441,000) 84. The Sound Of….- The Smiths (NEW) 368,000 (t/s 908,000) 83. I Will Always Love You- The Best Of- Whitney Houston (NEW) 369,000 (T/S 506,000) 82. Short N Sweet- Sabrina Carpenter (NEW) 373,000 81. Curtain Call 2- Eminem (NEW) 376,000 A mildly exciting section with Mabel scoring the biggest faller on the survey compared to two years ago and four new entries- albeit three are GH sets. At least we have something new from Sabrina Carpenter- the saviour of 2024! rOQcetiARFg

90. Hit Me Hard And Soft- Billie Eilish (NEW) 346,000 89. Without Fear Dermot Kennedy (47-37-49-69-89) 347,000 (T/S 395,000) 88. Favourite Worst Nightmare- Arctic Monkeys (95-89-88) 352,000 (T/S 1,395,000) 87. Greatest Hits Guns N Roses (84-93-84-86-87) 355,000 (T/S 2,514,000) 86. ? Xxxtentacion (44-45-59-74-86) 357,000 (T/S 597,000) First of 4 Billie Eilish albums (and most recent) sneaks in to the countdown, and Arctic Monkeys have 3 albums on the list with this one still improving position wise year after year. J9leUoU96KU

5TH APRIL Containing samples from 6 tracks including a vocal hook lifted from Schoolly D’s “Gucci Again” from 1985, The Chemical Brothers “Block Rockin’ Beats” becomes their second No 1 single on the trot this week after moving 84,700 copies. The duo’s second album “Dig Your Own Hole” is out in a fortnight and is widely expected to top the charts. jKdHa6-M2cg It was a close run thing though with The Spice Girls selling approximately 700 copies less than the Chemical Brothers, No Doubt however stick at No 3 but increase sales to 67,000- the reason both songs have held up so well is of course because it is the Easter weekend and the schools are currently on holiday. Both Spice Girls and No Doubt are of course among the biggest hits of the year and as we’re a ¼ of the way through it’s an apt time to look at the YTD charts 1- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt 692,000 2- WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE/ MAMA- Spice Girls 569,000 3- WHERE DO YOU GO- No Mercy 514,000 4- DON’T LET GO (LOVE)- En Vogue 387,000 5- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! 369,000 6- YOUR WOMAN- White Town 326,000 7- 2 BECOME 1- The Spice Girls 296,000 8- PROFESSIONAL WIDOW (IT’S GOTTA BE BIG)- Tori Amos 287,000 9- REMEMBER ME- Blue Boy 280,000 10- SAY WHAT YOU WANT- Texas 258,000 Last September The Charlatans released “One To Another” and it became their biggest hit making No 3, they’ve taken a whole 8 months to record an album and with “Tellin Stories” almost good to go we get the second single from it “North Country Boy”. It storms in at No 4 (64,000) to become their second top 10 hit on the trot but only the third of their 7 year chart history. i9oAHPgEAdw Turkish born DJ Quicksilver yet again proves the power of the clubs to influence the charts, his track “Bellissima” has already been a club hit all over Europe and now gets UK recognition. Credited as a double A-side in Europe with the Martin Luther King sampling “I Have A Dream” it seems that the latter track has been downgraded for us though it can still be found on the CD version here, the package arrives at No 6 (45,000). Dh5S-vnVEH8 Cast’s second album “Mother Nature Calls” lands in three weeks and will feature their new single “Free Me” which itself touches down at No 7 (42,000). That’s a fourth top 10 single in a row and something of an achievement for the Liverpool foursome who have established themselves in the Britpop field and will be hoping for big things for the album. 3gsjmLp0j2k The film “Space Jam” may have met with a lukewarm reception but it has delivered up the hits with Seal’s “Fly like An Eagle” (No 13) and R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” (which this week falls 2-5, 62,000) registered on the charts, it now provides a No 8 (38,000) hit for Busta Rhymes/ Coolio/ LL Cool J/ Method Man/ and B Real. It’s certainly a rap supergroup with only B Real the new name to the charts, Method Man and Busta Rhymes have a solitary top 10 single to their credit before today, Coolio had two (including the million selling “Gangsta’s Paradise”) and JJ Cool J is the daddy of them all with three prior top flight hits with his last “Ain’t Nobody” a chart topper only 2 months ago. QkdgFwizJx0 3T continue to mine their debut album “Brotherhood” for singles and a fifth cut “Gotta Be You” provides them with a fourth top 10 single. It features (officially) Herbie Crichlow who produces the track for the boys as it flies in at No 10 (33,000). t4eoKE8wo7Q Six new entries again this week means that we only have four survivors and the only song not discussed yet is Sash! who slips 6-9 (35,000) 1- BLOCK ROCKIN BEATS- Chemical Brothers (84,700) 2- MAMA/ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE- Spice Girls (84,000) 3- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt (67,000) 4- NORTH COUNTRY BOY- Charlatans (64,000) 5- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (62,000) 6- BELISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver (45,000) 7- FREE ME- Cast (42,000) 8- HIT EM HIGH- Busta Rhymes/ Coolio/ LL Cool J/ Method Man/ B Real (38,000) 9- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (35,000) 10- GOTTA BE YOU- 3T (33,000)

so we're missing quite a few weeks out now because of you know who. I'll post a chart a day to bring us up to speed slowly!

8TH OCTOBER A rare week, outside Christmas, when there are no new entries to discuss at all in the top 10, that being said it doesn’t mean that we don’t get a new No 1! After 8 years of trying U2 can finally celebrate grabbing a UK chart topper with “Desire” lifting 3-1 (62,118) helped by the release of the 12" version of the song, they overcome The Hollies who dip 1-2 (55,233)- that sale takes the title to 394,536 and in terms of 1988 here’s the YTD chart as we enter the final quarter: 1- I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY- Kylie Minogue 611,371 2- THE ONLY WAY IS UP- Yazz & The Plastic Population 608,617 3- I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW- Tiffany 496,383 4- NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU- Glenn Medeiros 493,527 5- WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS/ SHE’S LEAVING HOME- Wet, Wet, Wet/ Billy Bragg & Cara Tivey 408,425 6- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies 394,536 7- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins 384,812 8- THE LOCO-MOTION- Kylie Minogue 362,355 9- PERFECT- Fairground Attraction 340,017 10- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack 299,795 z8rQ575DWD8 “Desire” also becomes the first original composition to make the top slot since Bros back in July!, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” meanwhile is now the 6th biggest hit of the year (as you can see), and you’ll note no doubt that Phil Collins slides in beneath them at No 7 for the year, he’s also at No 5 on the weekly charts after selling 38,097 copies last week. Whitney Houston dashes 8-3 (43,843) to score her biggest hit since “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” topped the charts last year, Womack & Womack meanwhile show remarkable staying power to hold at No 4 (43,588) who themselves now almost top the 300,000 mark better than some of the year’s chart toppers and are at No 10 on the YTD. A PWL double bill at No’s 6 & 7 this week, Rick Astley continues to inch up 10-7 (32,572) whilst the song he rejected “Nothing Can Divide Us” holds at No 6 (36,074) for Jason Donovan, Bill Withers drops 5-8 (30,685) and the Pet Shop Boys go into decline 7-9 (26,741) whilst Inner City continue to slide 9-10 (26,605). 1- DESIRE- U2 (62,118) 2- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (55,233) 3- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (43,843) 4- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (43,588) 5- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (38,097) 6- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (36,074) 7- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (32,572) 8- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (30,685) 9- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (26,741) 10- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (26,605)

Can we avoid mentioning stuff that will make the top 10 please?

Phil Harding and Ian Curnow were in house producers for PWL which is probably why so it isn't entirely S/A/W free.

95. The Diamond Collection- Post Malone (NEW) 333,000 94. Music To Be Murdered By Eminem (11-25-36-72-94) 336,000 93. Staying At Tamara's George Ezra (43-59-63-85-93) 340,000 (T/S 1,363,000) 92. The Eminem Show- Eminem (NEW) 341,000 (t/s 2,150,000) 91. Nevermind Nirvana (85-68-76-91) 346,000 (T/S 2,629,000) Double Eminem as his 20+ year old album overtakes his 2020 album, and Post Malone’s compilation set proves a winner. IzPQ_jA00bk