Gezza

16TH AUGUST A moment of perfect symmetry between the film charts and the singles chart occurs this week with “Men In Black” topping both. The new flick features Mr Will Smith who raps the title track all the way to the top selling 182,000 in the process, of course it isn’t his first chart topper having reached the zenith back in 1993 with “Boom! Shake The Room” under the pseudonym Fresh Prince the role he played in the TV show “Fresh Prince Of Bel Air”. Since then he finished in that role and has carved out a role for himself in movies with a large degree of success and can add solo popstar to his CV. The song samples Patrice Rushen’s “Forget Me Nots” throughout which of course formed the basis of George Michael’s “Fastlove” chart topper last year “I’ll Be Missing You” can’t get a record 8th week over the 100,000 mark as it drops to 96,000- still impressive and raises its total to 1,031,000 the first million seller of the year and the 14th of the decade, already a marked improvement on the amount of 80s million sellers. The strong performance from the top 2 means there’s little room for Gala who falls back 2-3 (77,000) but quietly amassed sales of 375,000 during its 5 week run so far. Having already gifted us with the recent Boyzone single “Picture Of You” (falling 7-10, 38,000 this week) the new Mr Bean movie now gives up its second hit in the form of Wet, Wet, Wet’s “Yesterday” which is a double A-side with "Maybe, I'm In Love". The Wets have covered the Beatles twice before, their version of “I Feel Fine” made No 30 in 1990 but back in 1988 they reached No 1 with “With A Little Help From My Friends” and of course the last time they had a song in a movie “Love Is All Around” spent 15 weeks at No 1 three years ago so combining movie soundtrack with a Beatles cover had to be a success. It gives them a 12th top 10 single as it crashes in at No 4 (58,000) and becomes the highest charting version of the track which made No 8 for both Matt Monro and The Beatles themselves. Their one Wembley show has expanded to a 9 date UK tour kicking off in a fortnight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLJas1Ggmxk (Maybe I'm In Love- link won't embed) Not quite a cover but certainly heavily reliant on both James Brown’s “The Payback” and The Stylistics rendition of “You Are Everything”, Mary J Blige’s “Everything” is also a new hit in the top 10 at No 6 (46,000). Jam & Lewis are on production here to give Blige her biggest hit yet here. Backstreet Boys show they have sticking power as they dip 4-5 (48,000) in their third week, and Notorious B.I.G/ Puff Daddy similarly relent 6-7 (42,000). The lack of big releases sees Meredith Brookes hold at No 8 (41,000) and Coolio at No 9 (40,000) but both increase their sales. Also of note at No 37 is a new entry for Coldcut, the single “Meats, Beats & Pieces” is the first to take advantage of a change in chart rules to allow CD singles to contain video and text formatting and therefore to include the promo of the single. We’ll see if it catches on. 1- MEN IN BLACK- Will Smith (182,000) 2- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (96,000) 3- FREED FROM DESIRE- Gala (77,000) 4- YESTERDAY/ MAYBE I'M IN LOVE- Wet, wet, wet (58,000) 5- EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET’S BACK)- The Backstreet Boys (48,000) 6- EVERYTHING- Mary J Blige (46,000) 7- MO MONEY MO PROBLEMS- Notorious B.I.G (42,000) 8- BITCH- Meredith Brooks (41,000) 9- C U WHEN U GET THERE- Coolio Featuring 40 Thevz (40,000) 10- PICTURE OF YOU- Boyzone (38,000)

9TH AUGUST Another week that didn’t go to script results in Puff Daddy & Faith Evans managing a 6th week at the top, the longest run since Spice Girls “Wannabe” last August, and it also just squeezed past the 100,000 mark to mean that total sales now stand at 935,000, that puts it on course for the magic million mark next week. It’s the seventh week that the song has sold over 100,000 in each week, that’s a record for the 90s and indeed it has been 13 years since a record performed that well (that was Stevie Wonder in case you wondered), no record has done 8 weeks over that mark certainly since the beginning of the 80s. Puff Daddy’s LP moves 11-10 but it seems, for now, people aren’t overly willing to bet on an album’s worth of material. The Subject of the current No 1 is of course the death of Notorious B.I.G back in March and the man himself debuts at No 6 (44,000) this week to record his biggest hit. “Mo Money Mo Problems” features Puff Daddy as well along with Ma$e and samples Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” throughout though the vocal on that part comes from Kelly Price, and is climbing fast in the US currently sitting at No 2 behind….you guessed it Puff Daddy & Faith Evans! It wasn’t the highest new entry however, that went predictably to a returning Peter Andre who scored four top 10 hits from his last album including two chart toppers. Much was expected from his new single “All About Us”, which features an uncredited appearance from Montell Jordan (who co-writes the track) designed to break the US market, but it has underperformed only entering at No 3 (83,000) after it got overtaken by Gala (92,000) toward the end of the week. All eyes on his new album later this year to see if the bubble has burst for him. No such album worries for Texas, “White On Blonde” climbs 4-2 this week having already topped the charts in February and has shifted over half a million whilst now being able to boast three big hits. “Black Eyed Boy” becomes their third airplay chart topper this week as it enters at No 5 (48,000) proving just how popular the band have been this year. Hard to believe that prior to January the band only had a solitary top 10 hit to their name in a career dating back 8 years. Backstreet Boys fade 3-4 (61,000) but do much better than Boyzone who hurtle 2-7 (43,000). Elsewhere Meredith Brookes slides 6-8 (39,000) Coolio tumbles 7-9 (34,000) and Oasis are down and out 5-10 (31,000) but it will go platinum next week. Can Gala finally overcome Puff Daddy & Faith Evans next week? 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (100,000) 2- FREED FROM DESIRE- Gala (92,000) 3- ALL ABOUT US- Peter Andre (83,000) 4- EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET’S BACK)- The Backstreet Boys (61,000) 5- BLACK EYED BOY- Texas (48,000) 6- MO MONEY MO PROBLEMS- Notorious B.I.G (44,000) 7- PICTURE OF YOU- Boyzone (43,000) 8- BITCH- Meredith Brooks (39,000) 9- C U WHEN U GET THERE- Coolio Featuring 40 Thevz (34,000) 10- D’YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN- Oasis (31,000)

2ND AUGUST It wasn’t the midweek No 1 but Puff Daddy & Faith Evans staged a mighty comeback to claim a fifth week at the top making it the longest chart topper of the year so far. “I’ll Be Missing You” was far from a default chart topper however increasing sales by 3% to 127,000 enabling it (just) to become the best selling single of 1997 so far, and even the appearance of a Puff Daddy album at No 11 this week can't dent its success. That midweek chart topper came from Boyzone who for the second time in their chart career lose a midweek chart leader and must be querying their decision to price their CD at £3.99 from the off. Their last single “Is It Any Wonder” faltered against the Spice Girls and now “Picture Of You” fails against Puff Daddy, the last act to lose midweek chart topping honours with two successive releases was Kylie Minogue back in 1988, and with this 9th consecutive single making the top 5 it moves them one step nearer beating Minogue’s record of 13 top 5 singles from the off. The single features in the new “Bean: Ultimate Disaster Movie” which is out this Friday and is also the first single from their forthcoming third album and sold 98,000 copies last week. Boyzone at any rate beat the competition in the boyband battle, that was against Backstreet Boys who are themselves on the cusp of releasing their new album “Backstreet’s Back”- out in 3 weeks. A fifth top 10 single in a year “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” explodes into the chart at No 3 (75,000) this week and comes with a big budget promo which the band had to finance themselves after they failed to sell the idea to the record company, it features actor Antonio Fargas who is better known as Huggy Bear in “Starsky & Hutch”. No 2 in the US at present for a fourth week behind Puff Daddy & Faith Evans, Meredith Brookes’ “Bitch” can’t quite achieve the same feats in the UK where it’s new at No 6 (50,000). It marks the debut for Brookes who as drawn many Alanis Morissette comparisons. The power of the TV advert strikes again this time Carling Beer who use the Mamas & Papa’s “Califronia Dreamin” in their latest ad. The song was originally recorded in 1965 by Barry McGuire with John and Michelle Phillips on backing vocals before the Mamas & Papas did their version a year later which gave them their first hit at No 23. The song returned most recently in a version by The River City People (No 13, 1990) but the honour of highest charting version now returns to the Mamas & Papas as the re-issue makes a splash at No 9 (35,000). U2 have another top 10 on their hands, their 18th in total and third from the album “Pop”. The tour comes to the UK later this month in time to celebrate the success of “Last Night On Earth” which is new at No 10 (34,000). The song was one of the last to be recorded for the album and was done in such a rush that the band have re-recorded the vocals for the single version, let’s hope it helps the album which is still shy of the 300,000 mark. Gala gets squeezed out of the top 3 and drops to #4 (73,000) but increased sales as airplay picks up. Oasis fall 2-5 (59,000) and cross the 500,000 mark but they lose another 51% week on week, and Coolio dips 4-7 (42,000). Showing remarkable tenacity Ultra Nate drifts 5-8 (38,000) but dips below the 40,000 per week mark for the first time. Next week sees a challenge by Peter Andre- can the most famous six pack in pop dislodge Puff & Faith Evans? 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (127,000) 2- PICTURE OF YOU- Boyzone (98,000) 3- EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET’S BACK)- The Backstreet Boys (75,000) 4- FREED FROM DESIRE- Gala (73,000) 5- D’YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?- Oasis (59,000) 6- BITCH- Meredith Brooks (50,000) 7- C U WHEN U GET THERE- Coolio Featuring 40 Thevz (42,000) 8- FREE- Ultra Nate (38,000) 9- CALIFORNIA DREAMIN- Mama’s & Papa’s (35,000) 10- LAST NIGHT ON EARTH- U2 (34,000)

I'm away for the weekend so the thread will continue on Monday evening- we'll play catch up again!

26TH JULY So this certainly wasn’t on the cards! After selling a jaw dropping 377,000 copies last week it was widely expected that Oasis would remain at No 1 but they suffer an almighty 67% sales decrease to register 122,000- still impressive but not quite enough to retain the top spot. Instead Puff Daddy & Faith Evans return to the summit even though they lose 19% sales themselves to 124,000 and slipping past at the death, it’s the fifth week in a row that the track has scored a six figure tally, a degree of consistency not seen “Wannabe” last summer and “Killing Me Softly” if you only consider the first four weeks of chart life. It’s also the fourth track to return to the top since Mr Blobby broke the 24 year drought back in 1993 and since then both the Fugees and Baddiel/ Skinner/ Lightning Seeds turned the trick last year. The track has also sold 708,000 copies in that time frame as it powers to No 2 on the YTD chart with only No Doubt ahead of it but they will be overcome within a few weeks doubtless. With all the action really being between the top two it left the remainder of the top 5 to re-arrange themselves, Gala and Coolio swap places with sales of 61,000 and 49,000 (both down) and Ultra Nate is on the move up again 8-5 (45,000). “Free” has now sold 307,000 copies in total, impressive for a record which has never been in the top 3 and remains in the top 10 as we speak. Highest new entry of the week goes to the Seahorses who are back with a second hit single “Blinded By The Sun”. Culled from the “Do It Yourself” album it has helped turn around the album’s performance moving 21-13-15 in recent weeks after its peak at no 2, meanwhile the single arrives at No 7 (36,000). So onto what many had predicted would be the chart battle of the week- Robbie Williams Vs Gary Barlow both with new singles out. In the end Gary Barlow breaks his string of chart toppers and enters at No 11 whilst Robbie wins the battle coming in at No 8 (33,000). Of course some proviso’s need to be put on the two singles, Barlow’s single comes from an album (“Open Road”) which is available already whilst Williams is yet to release his solo album which is due in the Autumn, and Williams’ “Lazy Days” was available for £1.99 whereas Barlow’s “So Help Me Girl” was £3.99 everywhere but history won’t record that. For the promo Williams got day release from rehab and he continues to mount up the press columns in a way that Barlow could only dream of. You may not have heard of US duo Changing Faces or of Cassandra Lucas and Charisse Rose, but you’ve doubtless heard there vocals as they were long time backing singers to Sybil. Their first album provided the hit single “Stroke You Up” which was written by R Kelly and gave them a US #3 hit but it missed out here at No 43 in 1994, but with the forthcoming second album now ready they’ve returned to R Kelly who has again delivered the goods with “G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T”, already a US #8 hit it now enters at No 10 (29,000) to mark their arrival. Sash! hold at No 6 (43,000) and Michael Jackson descends 5-9 (32,000). This week sees Boybands Boyzone and Backstreet Boys go head to head with non album singles- surely Puff Daddy & Faith Evans can’t hold out? 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (124,000) 2- D’YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?- Oasis (122,000) 3- FREED FROM DESIRE- Gala (61,000) 4- C U WHEN U GET THERE- Coolio Featuring 40 Thevz (49,000) 5- FREE- Ultra Nate (45,000) 6- ECUADOR- Sash! (43,000) 7- BLINDED BY THE SUN- The Seahorses (36,000) 8- LAZY DAYS- Robbie Williams (33,000) 9- HISTORY/ GHOSTS- Michael Jackson (32,000) 10- G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T- Changing Faces (29,000)

19TH JULY When first sales reports came through for the week it was clear that Oasis’ new single “D’You Know What I Mean?” would debut at No 1 but few anticipated just how much it was going to sell. Moving 162,000 in its first day it had (as it turned out) done enough in those 24 hours to outsell everything else last week and promptly went on to sell an astonishing 377,000 copies cornering a fifth of the weeks singles market to boot. That’s not only the best start to any Oasis single but also the 4th highest tally of the decade, it’s also a third chart topper for the band which sets the group up nicely for the release of new album “Be Here Now” next month. Their sales total is over 4.4 million singles now as they regain second place on the decade chart which was briefly lost to the Spice Girls, Take That remain the biggest sellers of singles in the 90s, some 300,000 ahead, but that must only be a matter of time. Michael Jackson and R Kelly were also releasing follow up singles to No 1 hits last week and both enter the top 10 as well. Jackson picked double A-Side “History/ Ghosts” as his single and enters at No 5 (68,000), naturally as a Michael Jackson single it comes with another expensive video and if it all looks rather halloweeny then there’ s a reason- it was released in the US last October! Steven King once again directs it and it comes in at 32 minutes in its full version, it mirrors (to some extent) classic horror films but also the mayor in the promo who leads the mob resembles Tom Sneddon the real life prosecutor in Jackson’s child abuse case. “HIStory” is written by Jam & Lewis who of course normally provide hits for his sister Janet and is helped by Jackson’s world tour which rolls into the UK this week. Meanwhile R Kelly’s done another movie song and follows in the footsteps of Smashing Pumpkins in lifting a hit single from the “Batman & Robin” soundtrack. “Gotham City” becomes Kelly’s fourth top 10 single as it debuts at No 9 (45,000). There’s a record equaling 7 new entries in the top tier this week so plenty to be getting on with including the new Coolio single. “C U When U Get There” features 40 thevz and is based on Pachelbel’s “Canon In D Major” proving if nothing else the breadth of Coolio’s choice of samples, it was also the sample used by the Farm in “All Together Now”! It features in the new Tim Robbins film “Nothing To Lose” and becomes his second biggest hit as it smashes in at No 3 (87,000). Italian singer Gala Rizzatto has already a massive Europe wide hit over the last year with “Freed From Desire” which has also been hot property over here for DJ’s. Finally given a UK release it charges straight to No 4 (72,000). Cruelly overlooked by the British public until the boys at Levi Jean plucked it from obscurity and used it in one of their ads, Erma Franklin’s “Piece Of My Heart” became a belated hit here in 1992 making No 9. Shaggy could also spot a cracker of a tune and uses the chorus for his new single of the same title which becomes an even bigger hit cruising in at No 7 (55,000) and features the vocals of Marsha Morrison. As Todd Terry will tell you DJ’s are increasingly becoming popstars in their own right these days and Babyface is on the case too. His 1996 single “This Is For The Lover In You” was his previous best making No 12 but now “How Come, How Long” has done better giving him his first top 10 single as a named act. Inspired lyrically by the Nicole Brown Simpson case and spousal abuse, it’s co-written and sung by Stevie Wonder which is the true draw here (probably) for the 37,000 who bought it last week. It’s Wonder’s 18th top 10 hit but his first in 9 long years! The three survivors from the cull are Puff Daddy & Faith Evans who drop 1-2 (153,000) which nevertheless sold more to make the runner up spot than any track since “Roll With It” (ironically) if you exclude Christmas weeks. Sash! fall 2-6 (59,000), Ultra Nate falls 4-8 (46,000) and that despite selling more than any other week during its run! Next week will see the new singles by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow go head to head- who can come out on top and can any of them challenge Oasis? 1- D’YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?- Oasis (377,000) 2- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (153,000) 3- C U WHEN U GET THERE- Coolio Featuring 40 Thevz (87,000) 4- FREED FROM DESIRE- Gala (72,000) 5- HISTORY/ GHOSTS- Michael Jackson (68,500) 6- ECUADOR- Sash! (59,000) 7- PIECE OF MY HEART- Shaggy Featuring Marsha (55,000) 8- FREE- Ultra Nate (46,000) 9- GOTHAM CITY- R Kelly (45,000) 10- HOW COME HOW LONG- Babyface Featuring Stevie Wonder (37,000)

12TH JULY Puff Daddy and Faith Evans claim a third week at the top and once again “I’ll Be Missing You” increased sales (by 7%) to 166,000 to do it, it’s the first song to debut at No 1 and increase sales for the first three weeks since “Earth Song” which had Christmas to help it. In its first three weeks on sale the song has sold a total of 431,000 enough to put it in the top 10 for the year so far- an impressive feat. Sash! hold at No 2 (71,000) on a much decreased sale and will not be threatening the top spot this time around, and just below that is the highest new entry of the week. 911 are just over a year into their chart career but have accrued 6 chart hits each bigger than the last and culminating in their new single “The Journey” entering at No 3 (59,000) equalling their best start ever when their last release “Bodyshakin” made the same splash. Lead singer Lee Brennan’s battle with cancer at a young age proved the inspiration for the lyrics. Teaming up with Martha Wash and Jocelyn Brown again has brought more hits for Todd Terry, “Keep On Jumpin” made No 8 but “Something’s Going On” proves even more popular opening at No 5 (42,000). It’s a rarity that a fourth release and 4th hit from an album becomes its biggest but that’s just what happens to Sheryl Crow’s new single “A Change Would Do You Good”. It comes with two different promo’s and a healthy dollop of radio support which helps makes it be a No 8 (32,000) hit, only her 1994 single “All I Wanna Do” has ever gone higher for Crow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veDcBWebaHA (Video won't embed for some reason) Ultra Nate rises 6-4 (44,000) more by virtue of the lack of big new hits than any drive upwards in its own popularity. Verve dip 5-6 (36,000) ahead of Hanson who drift 4-7 (34,000) and Eternal who retreat 7-9 (31,000). No Doubt complete the top 10 dropping 3-10 (31,000). So it’s finally here the first new Oasis single in over a year and about as much hype as you can imagine- the question surely is not whether it can debut at No 1 but by how much! 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (166,000) 2- ECUADOR- Sash! (71,000) 3- THE JOURNEY- 911 (59,000) 4- FREE- Ultra Nate (44,000) 5- SOMETHING GOIN ON- Todd Terry (42,000) 6- BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY- The Verve (36,000) 7- MMMBOP- Hanson (34,000) 8- A CHANGE WOULD DO YOU GOOD- Sheryl Crow (32,000) 9- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans (31,000) 10- JUST A GIRL- No Doubt (31,000)

5TH JULY 1997 reaches the half way point but there’s no change at the top, Puff Daddy & Faith Evans continue to reign supreme with “I’ll Be Missing You” which had to increase sales by 44% to 156,000 to do it. It continues to top the US chart as well and should easily get a third week in the fray before the new Oasis single arrives. Proving a strong challenger to Puff & Faith Evans at the beginning of the week was the new Sash! single “Ecuador”. Sung in Spanish by vocalist Adrian Rodriguez the single equals the peak of their first release “Encore Une Fois” though it has a much stronger opening on 130,000 copies, both tracks are on the forthcoming “It’s My Life” album out in a fortnight. A No 38 hit last year No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” has now been re-issued as the follow up to the chart topper “Don’t Speak” and is predictably a much bigger hit second time around as it debuts at No 3 (81,000). Some revenge is gained by Sash! who was lodged at No 2 behind No Doubt earlier this year but now arrives a spot above them this time around. Incidentally both acts previous hits are still among the biggest hits of the year which looks like this at the half way point of the year: 1- DON’T SPEAK- No Doubt 834,000 2- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly 660,000 3- WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE/ MAMA- Spice Girls 658,000 4- MMMBOP- Hanson 595,000 5- WHERE DO YOU GO- No Mercy 536,000 6- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! 472,000 7- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Feat Bebe Winans 460,000 8- BELLISSIMA- DJ Quicksilver 422,000 9- DON’T LET GO (LOVE)- En Vogue 400,000 10- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli 392,000 Two tracks feature on the list above and on the current top 10, those being Hanson who dip 3-4 (59,000) and Eternal Featuring Bebe Winans who slip 6-7 (38,000). The Course return for a second top 10 single with another cover this time of the Chaka Khan & Rufus single “Ain’t Nobody”. A hit twice over the group in the 80s before of course becoming a chart topper for LL Cool J in February of this year, it charts again in this eurodance version at No 8 (34,000). The Pet Shop Boys have a residency at present in the Savoy Theatre in London, and to promote it we get their version of “Somewhere” a cover of the Bernstein/ Sondheim track from “West Side Story”. It made No 6 way back in 1964 for PJ Proby and is now a top 10 hit all over again as it charts at No 9 (32,000) to give the boys an 18th top ten hit, it was also featured on a new expanded version of their album “Bilingual” which is in shops in a fortnight. We’ll see if this single can do better than their last single “Red Letter Day” which became the first song to fall straight out of the top 40 from the top 10! The Verve collapse 2-5 (52,000), Ultra Nate bounds back up 7-6 (44,000) and Mr President show rare staying power too as they hold down anchor spot (26,000). 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (156,000) 2- ECUADOR- Sash! (130,000) 3- JUST A GIRL- No Doubt (81,000) 4- MMMBOP- Hanson (59,000) 5- BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY- The Verve (52,000) 6- FREE- Ultra Nate (44,000) 7- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans. (38,000) 8- AIN’T NOBODY- The Course (34,000) 9- SOMEWHERE- Pet Shop Boys (32,000) 10- COCO JAMBO- Mr President (26,000)

28TH JUNE The loggerhead at the top is finally broken this week, on the album charts Hanson drop 1-3, Brightman tumbles 2-8 and Eternal recede 4-6 and on the singles charts they all drop too! Hanson dive 1-3 (70,000), Eternal plummet 2-6 (42,000) and Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli fall out of the top 10 entirely! The new No 1 comes from US rapper Puff Daddy and is a tribute to his recently killed friend and fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G. “I’ll Be Missing You” features a large sample of Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and has vocals courtesy of Notorious B.I.G’s widow Faith Evans as well as vocal group 112, it’s the first hit for 112 but the third for Evans and Puff Daddy and the biggest for any of them. It sold 109,000 copies last week to enter at the top and in so doing becomes the first track to enter at the top on both sides of the Atlantic where the song now song now spends its third week at the summit. It’s also the first “tribute” record to another popstar track to make No 1 in 16 years, yet it wasn’t the early leader in the chart race and indeed it was not the best selling single in any individual format this week- the first No 1 not to do so since "Spaceman" spent its final week at the top in February 1996. That was the return of The Verve. A band famed for internal battles they had built up a strong following including the Gallagher brothers who supported the Verve on multiple occasions when they started out even writing “Cast No Shadow” about frontman Richard Ashcroft. Having produced two albums they split in 1995 acrimoniously but have reformed to give us “Bittersweet Symphony” which samples a loop for Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestral version of the Rolling Stones track “The Last Time”. The track comes with a promo which plays homage to the Massive Attack video for “Unfinished Sympathy” which is already on heavy rotation, it leapt into an early lead but finished on 91,000. 1996 was undoubtedly a good year for Ocean Colour Scene and now they’re back with a new album due in the Autumn and a new single which is new at No 4 (63,000) this week. “Hundred Mile High City” is their 4th top ten single and equals the peak of “The Day We Caught The Train” last June. Meanwhile the Blur bandwagon rolls on and new single “On Your Own” enters at No 5 (54,000) to give them the honour of being the only act to grab a trio of top five hits in the first half of the year. The band are currently on a US tour to promote the “Blur” album which has still to go platinum here, sales of the single were boosted by the fact that one CD contains the non-album release "Popscene" a single in 1992, which is unavailable otherwise. It’s the week for reformed groups it seems with the Verve at No 2 and Echo & The Bunnymen at No 8 (34,000). Scoring 13 hits between 1980 and 1988 when lead singer McCulloch quit the band, Echo & The Bunnymen were one of the leading names in 80s indie music and though they limped on until 1993 in various incarnations it failed to generate much interest among fans and the public. “Nothing Lasts Forever” is therefore being promoted as their first single in 9 years and duly enters at No 8 (34,000)- that equals their best ever showing formerly achieved by 1983’s “The Cutter”, the extent to which the backing vocals by Liam Gallagher have helped is debatable. You can’t fault Cast for consistency. The Liverpudlians have quietly amassed 5 straight top ten hits in 15 months with “Guiding Star” being the latest new at No 9 (30,000). Parent album “Mother Nature Calls” has already sailed past the 100,000 mark and lifts 32-23 this week in response to the single. Ultra Nate relaxes 4-7 (41,000) and Mr President slips 8-10 (27,000). 1- I’LL BE MISSING YOU- Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (109,000) 2- BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY- The Verve (91,000) 3- MMMBOP- Hanson (70,000) 4- HUNDRED MILE HIGH CITY- Ocean Colour Scene (63,000) 5- ON YOUR OWN- Blur (54,000) 6- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans (42,000) 7- FREE- Ultra Nate (41,000) 8- NOTHING LASTS FOREVER- Echo & The Bunnymen (34,000) 9- GUIDING STAR- Cast (30,000) 10- COCO JAMBO- Mr President (27,000)

The practice was actually starting to become less frequent by 1997 as the record companies started to realise how much money they were losing and were worried they had devalued the format. The reason why they were cheaper was due to the fact the the pluggers would do deals with record shops "if you take 300 copies of x single then we'll give you 200 free" essentially allowing the shops to lower the price and still make a profit on the singles. Deals were only really available to stores which had the EPOS machines (which fed detail to the CIN chart machines) and pluggers were only interested in offering deals where the result may be a better chart position, this pushed many more record shops to install the EPOS machines in order to get the deals but by 1997 the old "panel sales" method of compilation was abandoned by CIN as an estimated 97% of all outlets were now feeding data into CIN. Not to mention that supermarkets were now on board meaning that many independent record shops had closed but it perversely improved the information as there were less overall outlets.

21ST JUNE Hanson mania continues apace with “MMMBop” grabbing a third week at No 1 and the group get the double as well as “Middle Of Nowhere” arrives at the top over on the album charts. That means that they are the first act ever to score a No 1 simultaneously with their debut single and album. Sales of the single suffered however with just 86,000 copies passing the counter making it very vulnerable to challengers next week. For this week however it leads a top 5 without a new entry for the first time since new year (and if you exclude that famously slow chart then W/E 5/10/96 meets the criteria). The rest of the top 5 consist of older hits Eternal at No 2 (53,000) Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli at No 3 (45,000) and inching higher Ultra Nate 5-4 (42,000) and Rosie Gaines 6-5 (38,000). The achievements of the top 3 are all the more noteworthy as all the acts also have albums in the top 5 which feature the tracks, Hanson at No 1, Sarah Brightman at No 2 and Eternal at No 4. By contrast the bottom half of the top flight are all new entries with the exception of Mr President who hold No 8 (29,000). The Charlatans continue to enjoy renewed success with new single “How High”, a third top 10 single in a row from the group who can now boast another No 1 album in “Tellin Stories”. It can’t quite match the highs of the two previous singles (unsurprisingly) but it is the highest new hit of the week at No 6 (34,000). Prodigies of Babyface Az Yet are a new US vocal group who got their first US hit with “Last Night” thanks in part to being featured on the “Nutty Professor” soundtrack. It failed to crack the UK market but follow up “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” has hit it big for them, it’s a cover of the 1982 Chicago #4 hit and even features the group’s former frontman Peter Cetera on backing vocals. It’s new at No 7 (32,000). Also featured on the soundtrack to “Nutty Professor” are tracks by both Foxy Brown and Jay Z and they team up to give us “I’ll Be” which is new at No 9 (27,000). Brown is a 17 year old American rapper who came to attention after winning a local talent show in New York and being asked to provide verses for remixes of some big hits by Toni Braxton among others. Indeed her two previous hits in the UK were features on songs by Blackstreet and Jay Z and the latter returns the favour here to give Brown her first hit as lead act, the current single features a sample of Blondie’s “Rapture” through it. Supergrass have now scored five top 10 singles in a row, new release “Sun Hits The Sky” makes an appearance at No 10 (24,000) to provide some relief from the underperformance of the album “In It For The Money” which drops 29-36 regardless. The single features the band’s cover of the Smiths “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” if you’re interested. 1- MMMBOP- Hanson (86,000) 2- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans (53,000) 3- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli (45,000) 4- FREE- Ultra Nate (42,000) 5- CLOSER THAN CLOSE- Rosie Gaines (38,000) 6- HOW HIGH- The Charlatans (34,000) 7- HARD TO SAY I’M SORRY- Az Yet (32,000) 8- COCO JAMBO- Mr President (29,000) 9- I’LL BE- Foxy Brown Featuring Jay Z (27,000) 10- SUN HITS THE SKY- Supergrass (24,000)

As we're about to miss 6 episodes- I'll go to posting a chart a day to keep us on track!

14TH JUNE The brothers Hanson continue to dominate the charts with “MMMBop” proving far too popular at retail, it loses 54% in sales to record a still impressive 120,000 tally last week. The boys are in the midst of promotion for the single and album “Middle Of Nowhere” which is in shops this week and could pose a serious threat to a third week at the top for them. Eternal and Bebe Winans remain in the runner up spot (79,000) with Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli surfacing 4-3 (59,000). The three tracks are racking up impressive sales totals between them with Hanson on 380,000, Eternal on 327,000 and Brightman/ Bocelli on 305,000, it’s a rare feat the current top 3 all on over 300,000 sales each at that point pointing to the strength of the charts in general and the current hits in particular. That spells trouble for Jon Bon Jovi, his solo single “Midnight In Chelsea” narrowly fails to make the top 3 with a sale 57,000. Jon Bon Jovi’s first solo album “Blaze Of Glory” came out 7 years ago and featured music from the film “Young Guns II”, so it may come as no surprise that his new album “Destination Anywhere” also has a film to help promote and stars the man himself, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Whoopi Goldberg. The lead single is co-written by former Eurythmic Dave Stewart and is immediately the biggest solo hit by the Bon Jovi front man. Helped on production by the US producers Basement Boys Ultra Nate has delivered two house albums which have attracted good club reaction on both sides of the Atlantic though only three minor UK hits. Her move from Warner Bros to Strictly Rhythm now pays dividends with “Free” becoming her first major single and arriving at No 5 (45,000) and joins Rosie Gaines (No 6, 44,000) in the top 10 as big dance diva hits of the moment. The “Beavis And Butt-head Do America” soundtrack propelled LL Cool J to No 1 earlier this year and it now gives Red Hot Chili Peppers their biggest hit to date. A cover of the Ohio Players single “Love Rollercoaster” never charted here in 1975 though did become known for the urban legend that the scream heard during the instrumental break was the sound of a woman being murdered in the next door studio!. The Chili’s version becomes only their second top 10 single of their long career and eclipses the No 9 peak of “Give It Away” by debuting at No 7 (42,000) this week. Mr President are a German trio who are conquering all of Europe at present with the single “Coco Jambo”. The band’s first album generated some hits mainly in Austria/ Switzerland/ Germany but they seem to have finally made their way out of those regions with this single which serves as the first release from their second album and is new at No 8 (41,000) as the UK finally succumbs. The end of the month sees the latest in the “Batman” series of films “Batman & Robin”, naturally it comes with its own theme and it’s The Smashing Pumpkins who get to deliver it this time around. “The End Is The Beginning Is The End” can only make No 10 (36,000) despite all the promotion, that’s already their second highest peaking single behind last year’s “Tonight Tonight” (No 8). Radiohead complete the top 10 by falling 3-9 (39,000). 1- MMMBOP- Hanson (120,000) 2- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans (79,000) 3- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli (59,000) 4- MIDNIGHT IN CHELSEA- Jon Bon Jovi (57,000) 5- FREE- Ultra Nate (45,000) 6- CLOSER THAN CLOSE- Rosie Gaines (44,000) 7- LOVE ROLLERCOASTER- Red Hot Chili Peppers (42,000) 8- COCO JAMBO- Mr President (41,000) 9- PARANOID ANDROID- Radiohead (39,000) 10- THE END IS THE BEGINNING IS THE END- Smashing Pumpkins (36,000)

I think the triple counting of Queen albums is definitely wrong and a head scratcher by the OCC. Seems designed to allow it to remain forever the biggest selling album. It's certainly the only thing keeping it ahead of Abba "Gold" .

High praise

I genuinely don't think, having completed this, that 1988 is as bad as some would have you believe, nor is it as S/A/W dominated either as thought. Many non SAW tracks did sound "S/A/W- ish" which I think makes it seems worse to those that don't enjoy them- but I think the year has something for everyone (much like the rest of the 80s to be honest). Given the new found domination of young female acts and abundance of pure pop it is, in some ways, the most buzzjack friendly year of the 80s

And so it only remains to thank all who commented and contributed to the thread! See you for 1989 next month!

7TH JANUARY As expected the final week of 1988 proves to be particularly savage on sales with Christmas sales all jammed into one week in effect, almost everything in the top 10 slides saleswise with some spectacularly bad percentages coming into play. First up the good news, even with a 64% loss “Especially For You” rises 2-1 to finally hit the top and give Jason his first chart topper, Kylie her second, and S/A/W’s 6th as producers, it sold 66,827 copies to have a relatively easy victory in the end though they will doubtless be sad to miss out on the big one! The last record to spend 4 weeks at No 2 before hitting No 1 was Del Shannon's "Runaway" all the way back in 1961! Erasure are playing bridesmaid’s this week with “Crackers International EP” buoyed 3-2 (38,488) accompanied by a 55% drop in sales, and Angry Anderson proving sticking power with “Suddenly” rebounds 4-3 (29,971 – 57%). The very un-festive Inner City reach a new peak 6-4 (24,837 - 45%) a fact that bodes well in the Christmas shake out, probably, next week. Talking of Christmas the festive chart topper is, as expected, heading south, Cliff’s “Mistletoe & Wine” drops 1-5 (24,667 -89%), that percentage drop is eye watering and he may be lucky to be in the top 20 at all next week if that is replicated again, however it also means that the last three No 1 singles have all dropped 1-5, a unique chart feat! Neneh Cherry and The Four Tops can both be happy though as they continue momentum north, Cherry rises 7-6 (22,491- 36%) and the Tops 9-7 (16,983- 50%) but it looks to be all over for Status Quo who drop 5-8 (16,626-68%) and Bros who slump 8-10 (14,365- 58%) but "Cat" has spent 6 weeks in the top 10- their most enduring hit chart wise to date! The sole new song comes from Kim Wilde as she slices a fourth single from her “Close” album. Never before has she strung together three top 10 singles together but the decision to tour with Michael Jackson has been one of the best moves of her career with the revitalisation of her career something to behold. “Four Letter Word” climbs 14-9 (14,994) but despite that “Close” remains outside the top 5 and is yet to clear the 150,000 mark, disappointing as it seems that there aren’t many prepared to commit for an album’s worth from Wilde. So farewell 1988, as we welcome the last year on our 80s journey, 1989. 1- ESPECIALLY FOR YOU- Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan (66,827) 2- THE CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL EP- Erasure (38,488) 3- SUDDENLY- Angry Anderson (29,971) 4- GOOD LIFE- Inner City (24,837) 5- MISTLETOE AND WINE- Cliff Richard (24,667) 6- BUFFALO STANCE- Neneh Cherry (22,491) 7- LOCO IN ACAPULCO- The Four Tops (16,983) 8- BURNING BRIDGES (ON AND OFF AND ON AGAIN)- Status Quo (16,626) 9- FOUR LETTER WORD- Kim Wilde (14,994) 10- CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS/ SILENT NIGHT- Bros (14,365)

As expected, several shows are skipped over the summer of 97 due to P.Diddy so I'll have to return to daily posting after next week's shows

7TH JUNE And the records start to tumble….one of the most anticipated records of the past few months finally hit the shelves and as most predicted flew back off them. Hanson are three brothers from the US aged just 11,14, and 16, their debut single “MMMBop” is as catchy a piece of pop as you can envisage and is currently No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. So to the records… a) It is the first single to be No 1 simultaneously in the US and UK since Meat Loaf in 1993 b) The first debut hit to do since Rod Stewart in 1971 with “Maggie May” c) The first debut release ever (Stewart having released unsuccessful singles prior to “Maggie May”) d) The Youngest group to top the charts since St Winifred’s School Choir in 1980 e) The first family group to have a No 1 since the Bee Gees in 1987. The single sold an outstanding 260,000 copies last week that’s the biggest weekly tally of the year! It also rules the airwaves showing that this is pretty much the only record in the land right now- or you can be forgiven for thinking that at any rate! Having said that there was considerable interest in the first new Radiohead single in a few years, “Paranoid Android” takes its name from Douglas Adams’ character in “Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy” and was conceived as three different songs written by different members of the group then wielded together. The result has united critics and fans alike and becomes their biggest hit ever at No 3 (94,000) eventually falling behind Eternal’s “I Wanna Be The Only One” which slides 1-2 (98,000). At over 6 minutes long it is the longest top 3 hit since Meat Loaf in 1993. Re-released with new mixes, The Sneaker Pimps “Six Underground” is the latest beneficiary of being used in a film soundtrack. This time around the film in question is “The Saint” which has already provided a No 3 hit for Orbital and now gives the Sneaker Pimps a No 9 (28,000) an improvement of 6 places on its original showing last year. It’s helped by a new collection of mixes and even features a sample of “Golden Girl” from the Goldfinger soundtrack to add that magical touch. George Michael’s mother died in February this year and in response he has co-written “Waltz Away Dreaming” with new artist Toby Bourke. The track is the first song released on George Michael’s own label Aegean with Bourke his first signing and was promoted via the Sun newspaper who offered readers the opportunity to hear it via a pay per listen deal when calling a number. Whether that helped with sales or not the song debuts at No 10 (27,000) to become Michael’s 16th top 10 solo single and 9th consecutively in a run that extends back to 1991. Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli slip 2-4 (66,000) and Rosie Gaines drifts 4-5 (63,000). Former chart toppers Olive drop 3-6 (49,000) The Rembrandts retract 5-7 (44,000) and The Cardigans are spent 6-8 (31,000). In other news we've had 102 new entries into the top 10 year as it is on track to be another record setter with the tally of 170 set last year to beat. 1- MMMBOP- Hanson (260,000) 2- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal Featuring BeBe Winans (98,000) 3- PARANOID ANDROID- Radiohead (94,000) 4- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli (66,000) 5- CLOSER THAN CLOSE- Rosie Gaines (63,000) 6- YOU’RE NOT ALONE- Olive (49,000) 7- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (44,000) 8- LOVEFOOL- Cardigans (31,000) 9- SIX UNDERGROUND- Sneaker Pimps (28,000) 10- WALTZ AWAY DREAMING- George Michael & Toby Bourke (27,000)

31ST MAY Who said 13 was an unlucky number? Certainly not for Eternal who finally get a chart topper with their thirteenth release, “I Wanna Be The Only One” features gospel legend BeBe Winans but it isn’t their first collaboration, Winans wrote and co-produced the girls hit “Crazy” (No 15, 1994) meaning that he has helped the girls to both their smallest and biggest hit. The song sold an impressive 149,000 copies last week the fourth highest 7 day tally of 1997 so far and easily swept all competition aside, it also sent parent album “Before The Rain” soaring 36-14. Michael Jackson retains the top spot on the album charts but this week’s top 3 singles are now all available on albums which evens the playing field a little. Andrea Bocelli’s “Romanza” is new at No 10 whilst Olive’s “Extra Virgin” opens at No 15, on the singles front it is the same result between the two “Time To Say Goodbye” retains No 2 (120,000) whilst “You’re Not Alone” dives 1-3 (59,000). You’ll note the huge sales difference there, no single so far in 1997 has sold as many copies as the Brightman/ Bocelli collaboration and not been No 1 so they can feel somewhat aggrieved not to be sitting at the top this week. Former backing singer for Prince and a member of the New Power Generation Rosie Gains has long conducted a solo career whilst not singing with the purple one though it didn’t generate much interest. In 1995 she released her album “Closer than Close” and scored a minor hit with “I Want U” (#70) but the title track missed the charts. Now remixed and re-promoted it has finally caught on in the clubs and make its berth at No 4 (54,000). Proving that you can’t keep a good TV Theme down The Rembrandts “I’ll Be There For You” is of course the theme to “Friends” and was a No 3 hit just 2 years ago when the show was first shown on Channel 4 selling over 400,000 copies. Re-released now to coincide with the first two series being re-aired in preparation for season 3 later this year (plus the video release of season 1) the song has become a hit all over again lifting 11-5 (47,000) this week. It is the fourth song to be a top 10 hit twice in the 90s but only the second straightforward re-issue to do so. Otherwise it’s a quiet week in chartland, The Cardigans drift 5-6 (34,000), Shola Ama holds steady at No 7 (29,000), Katrina & The Waves ebb 3-8 (26,000), Damage glide 6-9 (25,000) and R Kelly dips 8-10 (22,000) but has sold 574,000 copies making it the 3rd biggest hit of 1997 so far. Next week sees the entry of three brothers called Hanson- prepare yourselves! 1- I WANNA BE THE ONLY ONE- Eternal/ Bebe Winans (149,000) 2- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli (120,000) 3- YOU’RE NOT ALONE- Olive (59,000) 4- CLOSER THAN CLOSE- Rosie Gaines (54,000) 5- I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- The Rembrandts (47,000) 6- LOVEFOOL- Cardigans (34,000) 7- YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY- Shola Ama (29,000) 8- LOVE SHINE A LIGHT- Katrina & The Waves (26,000) 9- WONDERFUL TONIGHT- Damage (25,000) 10- I BELIEVE I CAN FLY- R Kelly (22,000)

31ST DECEMBER So the big day arrives and somewhat bizarrely the Christmas Chart wasn’t revealed until Boxing Day but no matter for Cliff Richard who is celebrating both the festive No 1 single and album this week in a complete domination of the field. “Mistletoe & Wine” sold a simply astonishing 218,943 copies last week, the first single to break the 200,000 mark, and to sell 100,000 for 4 weeks on the trot, since Band Aid back in 1984. It brings the song’s total to 682,482 as it passes Yazz’s “The Only Way Is Up” as the year’s best seller inching past on Christmas Eve. In the end the victory was relatively convincing for Richard, Kylie & Jason spend a fourth week at the runner up spot but they are back to increasing their sales- by 72% in fact to 187,255 to see “Especially For You” chase “Mistletoe & Wine” through the YTD chart with 489,039 copies to date enough for No 6 on that list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU7V9KUOGEU Even though it’s Christmas there are two new tracks inside the top 10, Neneh Cherry is attracting pretty much universal critical acclaim at present with her single “Buffalo Stance” but most critics would be none too pleased to find out it started life as a S/A/W co-penned track for a group called Morgan-McVey and featured Cherry on guitar in the promo (McVey is Cherry’s boyfriend). The B-Side was an alternative version featured Cherry on lead vocals with alternative lyrics and it’s this version that forms the current “Buffalo Stance” single. She’s had the song produced by the infinitely more credible Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass who has slung in some samples from Malcolm McLaren’s “Buffalo Gals” (which explains in part the title) along with Miami’s “Chicken Yellow” to give us the single that moves 13-7 (35,666) “Two Hearts” dips 8-10 (32,266) this week but it’s now not the only Collins/ Dozier collaboration in the top 10 as it is joined by “Loco In Acapulco” which is performed by The Four Tops and comes from the “Buster” soundtrack hence the connection to Collins. The group have had something of a renaissance this year with a new album “Indestructible” and a remixed “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” making No 11 back in August thanks to a PWL remix, now they have a 11th top 10 single in their 25 year chart career though a first in 7 years. As you might expect with a sales period of 18-24th December sales are all but two tracks are on the up saleswise with some spectacular sales even below the top 2, Erasure hold at No 3 (85,578) and Angry Anderson sticks at No 4 (69,632) with Status Quo getting the Christmas party started right 7-5 (53,329). Bros fall 6-8 but get a sales increase to 34,017. The only fallers at retail are Inner city who sag 5-6 (45,849) and Phil Collins who drifts 8-10 (28,577). Of course after the high comes the drop, we’ll see just how bad in 7 days time! 1- MISTLETOE AND WINE- Cliff Richard (218,943) 2- ESPECIALLY FOR YOU- Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan (187,255) 3- CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL EP- Erasure (85,578) 4- SUDDENLY- Angry Anderson (69,632) 5- BURNING BRIDGES (ON AND OFF AND ON AGAIN)- Status Quo (53,329) 6- GOOD LIFE- Inner City (45,849) 7- BUFFALO STANCE- Neneh Cherry (35,666) 8- CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS/ SILENT NIGHT- Bros (34,017) 9- LOCO IN ACAPULCO- The Four Tops (32,266) 10- TWO HEARTS- Phil Collins (28,577)

I don't recall anything but "Stop" getting promoted

24TH DECEMBER The Cliff/ Kylie & Jason stranglehold on the top 2 continues with both tracks shifting over 100,000 copies to remain more than double ahead of the rest of the field. Cliff now looks certain to become the festive No 1 after selling a new 1988 record of 174,148 copies last week, that’s 495,227 copies to date placing at No 5 on the YTD with 2 weeks of the year left- it’s going to be tight as whether or not it can pass Yazz to become the year’s biggest seller. The single is the first one to sell over 100,000 for three weeks in a row since Nick Berry back in October 1986. Cliff also has the double as “Private Collection” ascends to the top to give him a chart double for a third time in his career. Meanwhile “Especially For You” spends a third week stuck behind “Mistletoe & Wine” selling another 109,174 copies, that’s a modest 16% decrease week on week but probably a decisive one as the far more overtly festive Cliff offering should sell by the bucket load next week taking in the full run up to the big day itself. Still 301,784 in 21 days is a prodigious rate of sales especially in 1988 and passes Jason Donovan’s “Nothing Can Divide Us” and Kylie’s “Got To Be Certain” and “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” in terms of their personal best sellers. It's also the first non-chart topper to sell over 100,000 for at least 2 weeks since Wham! 4 years ago. The only new entry into the top 10 is a remix of Petula Clark’s 1964 No 2 hit “Downtown” which was only denied the top spot by the Beatles “I Feel Fine” originally. The track has been remixed by Peter Slaghuis who is most famous for taking “I Can’t Wait” by Nu Shooz and turning it into a hit, and it puts Clark back in the top 10 after a 21 year wait! It has been fuelled in part thanks to a campaign by Philip Schofield on BBC1 who has raised the track’s profile and prompted some of the success of the single. Elsewhere Erasure continue to improve 4-3 (62,866), though they are in no danger of vying for the festive top spot, they do score their best 7 day tally ever. Angry Anderson takes a surprise fall 3-4 (61,727) as memories of that marriage fade and Inner City climb 6-5 (46,512). Status Quo are on the move 9-7 (32,912) and U2 also inch 10-9 (26,741), but both Bros and Phil Collins feel the winter chill tumbling 5-6 (33,813) and 7-8 (29,019) respectively, Bros have incidentally released the new promo for “Silent Night” and will perform the track to close the Christmas edition of TOTP, expect it to rebound. 1- MISTLETOE AND WINE- Cliff Richard (174,148) 2- ESPECIALLY FOR YOU- Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan (109,174) 3- CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL EP- Erasure (62,866) 4- SUDDENLY- Angry Anderson (61,727) 5- GOOD LIFE- Inner City (46,512) 6- CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS/ SILENT NIGHT- Bros (33,813) 7- BURNING BRIDGES (ON AND OFF AND ON AGAIN)- Status Quo (32,912) 8- TWO HEARTS- Phil Collins (29,019) 9- ANGEL OF HARLEM- U2 (26,741) 10- DOWNTOWN 88- Petula Clark (24,667)

So It's all sorted in terms of embeds and pics. Was fiddly but it's my first time etc.