Gezza

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

100. Greatest Hits- The Platinum Collection Queen (54-84-92-99-100) 327,000 (T/S 2,581,000) 98. Hypersonic Missiles Sam Fender (72-90-72-90-99) 328,000 (T/S 442,000) 98. Timeless- The All Time Greatest Hits Bee Gees (86-82-91-98) 330,000 (T/S 454,000) 97. Good Girl Gone Bad- Rihanna (NEW) 330,000 (t/s 2,390,000) 96. Harry Styles Harry Styles (94-73-80-96) 330,000 (T/S 579,000) The highlight in our first selection is the return of Rihanna! Who needs new music when we clearly still love her golden era from almost 20 years ago! More greatest hits from Queen and Bee Gees are still selling and the first of 3 albums from Harry makes an appearance. g_v1rVGlwbY

New decade- new albums. The album market certainly isn't what it was once but that doesn't stop us counting down the top 100 best selling albums of the decade so far, if only so we can complain about the lack of new albums. 33 of albums on the list are greatest hits compilations so where possible I'll try to focus on albums released in this decade..... Charts covered are 09.01.2020- 04.01.2025. The top positions will probably be well known so no spoilers please!

1ST OCTOBER With total sales now almost 340,000 The Hollies spend a second week at the top with “He Ain’t Heavy, he’s My brother”, its sales again on the slide at 81,226, it’s slender victory over Phil Collins last week is much easier this week as though Collins holds at No 2 he sold 57,307 copies, his total is 346,715 as he runs slightly ahead of the Hollies. The re-issued 1969 track is incidentally the fourth 1960’s cover/ re-issue to make the top in 1988. U2Avmrcnql0 For a third week in a row there’s a new entry inside the top 10, this time it’s U2 who place “Desire” at No 3 on a strong sales of 51,782, it is the best start by any U2 track either in terms of first week sales or chart debut position. It clocks in at just under 3 minutes and is the first release from their new album “Rattle & Hum” which will go head to head with the new Pet Shop Boys album in just 3 weeks. Talking of the Pet Shop Boys they rise just two spots 9-7 (42,347) with “Domino Dancing” and look to be in trouble with the track, a third No 1 on the trot now looks unlikely! d9TiEWVlTKg Composed for NBC’s Olympic coverage in Seoul by Albert Hammond and produced by long time collaborator Narada Michael Walden, Whitney Houston returns to the upper reaches with “One Moment In Time” to give her a seventh top 10 single as it flies 24-8 (30,651) 7L9EMe-7Z4w An opening salvo of four Top 3 singles is nothing to be sniffed, especially when one of those tracks spent 5 weeks at No 1 here and two of them made the US No 1 spot, that’s the enviable track record of Rick Astley thus far. That second album is nearing completion and the lead single “She Wants To Dance With Me” has surprised many by struggling so far, relatively speaking, it debuted at No 16 (his lowest entry since his debut hit) and this week can only rise 16-10 (29,342). Some point to the fact that he’s written this song himself and not relied on the S/A/W writing machine to generate another hit for him, or the fact that the magic trio are not even the producers on the track, that duty being performed by Ian Curnow and Phil Harding, or maybe the Astley phenomena is just wearing out, whatever the reason the progress of this single will be much scrutinised by the record industry. Me8nwfpqAAI The arrival of U2 pushes a series of tracks down a spot, they include Womack & Womack 3-4 (51,782)- yes that's exactly the same sale but naturally registers a lesser sales increase than U2 , Bill Withers 4-5 (46,410) and Jason Donovan 5-6 (44,523), Inner City also dip 8-9 (30,175). 1- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (81,226) 2- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (57,307) 3- DESIRE- U2 (51,782) 4- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (51,782) 5- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (46,410) 6- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (44,523) 7- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (42,347) 8- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (30,651) 9- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (30,175) 10- SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME- Rick Astley (29,342)

24TH SEPTEMBER The market takes a general decline this week but the decline sees a new UK No 1 in the form of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies. It becomes their second chart topper and their first in 23 years, a record gap, it suffered a 5% decrease in sales to 98,192 but a chart topper is a chart topper, Phil Collins drops 1-2 (95,336) a more severe 15% drop in sales doubtless lost to the soundtrack which debuts at No 6 on the album charts, Womack & Womack, who hold at No 3, make little more progress to them as they register an increase of just 2% to 54,383. Fears that Bill Medley's alternative version may cost The Hollies a No 1 prove unfounded but Medley revealed this week that he was actually offered the track back in the 60s before The Hollies got it yet turned it down, silly move! WV72d4udVbY We’ve had Charlene so it must be time for Scott! Yes “Neighbours” star Jason Donovan makes the move from Ramsey Street to the charts with the help of S/A/W and the song “Nothing Can Divide Us”. It was originally destined for the new Rick Astley album but he passed on it and so it ends up in the hands of Donovan who scores himself a first top 10 as it flies 13-5 (46,954) PHDzLXTr-wE The newest dance act on the block are Detroit duo Inner City who have been exciting dance aficionado’s this year and translate that into chart success with their debut release “Big Fun”. The song powers 20-8 (27,319) as it seeks to emulate its dance No 1 status, though it is credited as Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson he is actually one of the duo- his reputation as a dance innovator in certain circles was clearly seen as something worth promoting. The track appears on the "Detroit Techno" compilation album which has been getting promotion through DJ Paul Oakenfold creating underground support for the song. Gr-zG-IXDyo Heralded by many as their fifth chart topper The Pet Shop Boys are back with “Domino Dancing” lead single from their forthcoming third album “Introspective” due next month. Their new found Latin edge hasn’t been a hit with all their fans but the song does debut at No 9 (27,217), it’s their 8th top 10 single and the fifth to shoot straight into the top 10, watch out for this one next week. 4Ht7HGxhKVM Last week’s big new entry Bros flounder this week dipping 4-6 (36,363) perhaps pointing to overkill for the group this year and Yazz & The Plastic Population fall 7-10 (24,463) and is now about 50,000 short of Kylie in the YTD race. Bill Withers rises 6-4 (49,062) and thus gives a second No 4 hit for remixer Liebrand this year, and Yello climb 8-7 (27,676) and are now the second highest peaking Swiss act ever. 1- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (98,192) 2- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (95,336) 3- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (54,383) 4- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (49,062) 5- NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US- Jason Donovan (46,954) 6- I QUIT- Bros (33,363) 7- THE RACE- Yello (27,676) 8- BIG FUN- Inner City Featuring Kevin Saunderson (27,319) 9- DOMINO DANCING- Pet Shop Boys (27,217) 10- THE ONLY WAY IS UP- Yazz & The Plastic Population (24,463)

He could play and did so on tour but he's not playing on the album

It was worse than that. Luke and Craig didn't do anything on the album. It was Matt and session singers plus the producer, though of course that didn't come out until years later. That aside they are a fascinating case study in the phenomenon of a teen scream act and the music industry.

It is their worst single in 88 i agree. There is actually better on the album "shocked" of "liar" for example. Not that it mattered much at this point as they were so huge! Also the first line of the song always puzzles me "most of my friends were strangers when I met them", well yes they would be...

17TH SEPTEMBER Strong sales at the top this week deprive Bros of another sensational debut near the top of the charts but more on that in a moment, for now Phil Collins spends a second week in the penthouse after almost doubling his sales again to a whopping 112,965 the sixth time in 1988 a six figure sale was registered for the No 1 spot, but more importantly he wasn't the only contender with the Hollies sprinting 5-2 (104,448) which means that both the top 2 sold in six figure quantities, the first time that's happened since April 1987. Both tracks are being promoted via other media (namely a film and a TV advert) which could account for the explosion in sales and sets up an interesting battle next week. For the Hollies it marks a new peak for the 19 year old track and if it doesn't make No 1 then they may well feel aggrieved that sales for the Bill Medley version (which is still top 30) may have detracted sales. FvhAKBhLKwk So onto Bros, briefly at No 3 on initial sales flashes it faded as the week progressed and sold a respectable 39,168 copies in the end to debut at No 4, it’s the fourth single from “Push” which itself is back in resurgence 21-14 this week. It sold poorly in the latter part of the week only just fending off rival boy banders Brother Beyond who slide 2-5 (39,049) when the dust settled. It is worth noting however that opening sale for "I Quit" were in fact higher than "I Owe You Nothing" when the latter debuted at No 2! mSJmvWv-iwU Ben Liebrand’s remixes are quite the thing these days, he recently took Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” to No 4 and now he works the magic on Bill Withers “Lovely Day” which first appeared on one of his mix tapes and which are highly sought after themselves. The original peaked at No 7 in 1978 but this remix has taken just 14 days to outperform it as it surges 21-6 (37,621) spurred on by its use in the current Ford Escort adverts. Withers manages to hold a note on the track for 18 seconds which is, I’m reliably informed, a record! WswAX8c959I It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Miami Sound Machine, the hits have continued in the US but they haven’t found favour here, a slight credit change to promote frontwoman Gloria Estefan seems to have helped as “Anything For You” finally makes the top 10 jumping 15-10 (26,911) in its 10th week on the survey, The song has topped the charts over in America back in May this year. G_bLJiJJLbM Womack & Womack have another great week as they continue to climb 4-3 (53,618), Yazz & The Plastic population continue to slacken 3-7 (36,703) while Yello hold at No 8 (35,751) and Bomb The Bass drop 6-9 (32,147). Finally this week sees old enemies Pet Shop Boys and Rick Astley return to the charts with lead singles from new albums, the two fought it out in the top 2 back in December, can Astley get revenge or will it be a third chart topper on the trot for the PSB? 1- A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE- Phil Collins (112,965) 2- HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER- The Hollies (104,448) 3- TEARDROPS- Womack & Womack (53,618) 4- I QUIT- Bros (39,168) 5- THE HARDER I TRY- Brother Beyond (39,049) 6- LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX)- Bill Withers (37,621) 7- THE ONLY WAY IS UP- Yazz & The Plastic Population (36,703) 8- THE RACE- Yello (35,751) 9- MEGABLAST/ DON’T MAKE ME WAIT- Bomb The Bass (32,147) 10- ANYTHING FOR YOU- Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine (26,911)

Plus Shakey's entire oeuvre which thankfully, in terms of the top 10 was now over by 1988

12 yr old me had Brother Beyond, Womack & Womack, The hollies, Julio & Stevie, and Kylie on 7"