Gezza

18TH DECEMBER Christmas just got very interesting indeed! Confounding most expectations major releases by Enrique Iglesias, Lou Bega, and Thunderbugs all miss the top 40 and even new releases by Daniel O’Donnell, Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews, TLC and B*Witched all fall short of the top 10. To top all that Cliff Richard remains at No 1 and increases his sales for a fourth week in a row to an impressive 159,369 passing over the half million mark enough to make the YTD top 20. With the Christmas chart next week could this hang on- at three weeks he’s already equaled the record for most weeks at the top this year- sharing it with Ricky Martin and Eiffel 65. Incidentally Cliff's track is the first single to increase its sales three weeks in a row and top the 100,000 mark ine ach week since Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" almost exactly 4 years ago. One of the boys has been replaced (Robin Pors) but the Vengabus continues to roll on with a new Vengaboys album in the new year and a new single “Kiss (When The Sun Don’t Shine)”. It couldn’t hold on to the midweek No 2 position eventually falling behind The Artful Dodger’s “Re-Rewind” to enter at No 3 just 2,000 copies behind the 91,000 posted for the latter’s track. It looks like it will break the acts string of chart toppers which saw them score two chart toppers this year but they have sold well over a million copies in 1999 which is impressive nonetheless, and they become the first act from the Netherlands to score 5 consecutive top five singles in the UK. William Orbit is naturally a name you’ll be familiar with thanks to the producers recent work with the likes of Madonna and Blur but he was an artist in his own right back to the late 80s. He was of course the man behind Bass-o-matic who scored a top 10 hit in 1990 with “Fascinating Rhythm” and then went on to score a minor #59 with “Water From A Vine Leaf” in 1993, his current project involves interpreting pieces of classical music into modern day dance music. The project first saw the light back in 1995 when it was released under the title of “Adagio” by Pieces In A Modern Style (another Orbit alias) but now Orbit becomes the artist in person and “Barber’s Adagio For Strings” gets a single release. The piece itself was written back in 1938 by Samuel Barber and is a piece you’ll doubtful know, Orbit will re-release the album under the title “Pieces In A Modern Style” next month- hope that all made sense! Anyway the single becomes a hit new at No 4 (77,000) though the single version is a remix by Ferry Corsten. DJ Rob Webster is otherwise known as Progress who “presents” Boy Wunda on the dance track “Everybody” which essentially samples the orchestral introduction used on Madonna’s 1986 #1 track “Papa Don’t Preach” and turns it into a techno hit. It enters at No 7 (57,000) to become a surprise Christmas hit and shows how much Madonna’s star has risen again. Canadian duo Len are brother and sister Mark and Sharon Costanzo whose first two albums gained a small following without much commercial success but their third album will certainly be different thanks to the fact that they have their first hit single. “Steal My Sunshine” was picked for inclusion in the soundtrack to the film “Go” and picked up airplay sufficient to turn into a US #9 hit last month and create buzz here in the UK where it now enters at No 8 (56,000), it samples Andrea True Connection’s “More More More” and was inspired by the call & response structure of the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” according to the band. The arrival of big hits means there is little room for Alice Deejay to progress and they reverse 4-5 (64,000) but do increase sales slightly, Wamdue Project continue to fade 3-6 (61,000), Boyzone fall 6-9 (53,000) and hats off to R Kelly who maintains his top flight status 7-10 (50,000) and will sell his 500,000th copy of “If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time” this week sometime. So the race is on for the Christmas No 1 then, can anyone depose Cliff who is after all king of the Christmas chart topper? John Lennon, Steps, Westlife, and S Club 7 are all certainly going to give it a shot! 1- THE MILLENIUM PRAYER- Cliff Richard (159,369) 2- RE-REWIND THE CROWD SAY BO SELECTA- Artful Dodger (91,000) 3- KISS (WHEN THE SUN DON’T SHINE)- Vengaboys (89,000) 4- BARBER’S ADAGIO FOR STRINGS- William Orbit (77,000) 5- BACK IN MY LIFE- Alice Deejay (64,000) 6- KING OF MY CASTLE- Wamdue Project (61,000) 7- EVERYBODY- Progress Presents Wunda Boy (57,000) 8- STEAL MY SUNSHINE- Len (56,000) 9- EVERYDAY I LOVE YOU- Boyzone (53,000) 10- IF I COULD TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME- R Kelly (50,000)

Let's just hope no scandal hits Jamie Theakston or we won't be getting many episodes!

Don't recall I'm afraid. But it's a side issue really. In answer to OP it probably helped with those high new entries towards the mid 90s.

TOTP repeats on BBC4 should commence in late June/Early July so just getting ready!

TOTP moves into 2000, this thread designed to "best guess" the sales week by week for the year. We'll count down all the sounds of the year and hopefully generate a few "almost forgotten gems" along the way. As always thanks go to Youtube, Wikipedia, MW, popscene, James Masterton, Discogs, and a few other sources who have helped over the years. Here's the links to to the 80s/ 90s threads if this isn't your year! https://www.buzzjack.com/forums/topic/270540-gezzas-yearly-sales-threads/#comment-7539423 In doing this I've tried to take into account TOTP performances and other factors which may have effected sales and chart positions throughout the decade. The format will be the same every week with TOTP performances where available for those songs new to the top 10. So sit back and enjoy every top 10 hit of the first half of the 00s (eventually) because things would never be the same again.

From Music Week 16/1/99- It was for a slightly different reason but it did involve the practice I mentioned- I'm glad I didn't make it up! I'm guessing other acts were wiser and waited until their bigger hit had left the top 40.

Well the links I posted will tell you that!

11TH DECEMBER It was Cliff all the way this week, “Millennium Prayer” is going from strength to strength selling another 158,328 copies last week and lifting its 21 day total to 393,993, whilst it may be dividing opinion it certainly seems a hit at retail. It’s now Richard’s biggest seller of the decade and biggest personal seller since “Mistletoe & Wine” 11 years ago, questions are now being asked- COULD this be Christmas No 1? Only a fortnight to go. Highest new entry of the week comes from Southampton duo The Artful Dodger and a garage tune which has been picking up considerable airplay and features vocals by teenager Craig David. The duo’s name comes from the Dicken’s character from “Oliver Twist” and reflects the fact that the pair have released many bootlegs on the underground scene (this is their 5th release though the first through a major label), the basis of this song appears to be a rift lifted from a demo by David called “Last Night”. After selling 107,000 the song arrives at No 2. It’s almost Christmas so it must be time for those novelty hit, and combining novelty with dance music brings us to Italian DJ Mario Piú, he’s had the genius idea of turning the sound a mobile phone makes when placed near a speaker and a call is made into a tune. “Communication (Somebody Answer The Phone)” is new at No 5 (59,000). Three feisty girls from Liverpool are up next with their debut single “Right Now”, they’re called Atomic Kitten and the single is written by none other than Stewart Kershaw and Andy McClusky who are of course otherwise known as OMD. They had 7 top 10 singles between 1980 and 1991 and were last in the top 20 three years ago with “Walking On The Milky Way” but are now the brains behind the Kittens. The girls meanwhile are working on that first album- expect more from these lot in 2000. Wamdue Project slip 2-3 (88,000) but Alice Deejay climb 5-4 (63,000) and again confound expectations. Big hits on their way out include Boyzone 3-6 (58,000), Martine McCutcheon 6-8 (48,000) and Melanie C 4-9 (46,000), meanwhile R Kelly continues to find favour rebounding 8-7 (53,000) and has now sold over 400,000 since its release. A whole host of Christmas contenders are out this week including Vengaboys, Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews, Lou Bega, Daniel O’Donnell, and B*Witched. 1- MILLENNIUM PRAYER- Cliff Richard (158,328) 2- RE-REWIND THE CROWD SAY BO SELECTA- Artful Dodger Ft Craig David (107,000) 3- KING OF MY CASTLE- Wamdue Project (88,000) 4- BACK IN MY LIFE- Alice Deejay (63,000) 5- COMMUNICATION (SOMEBODY ANSWER THE PHONE)- Mario Piu (59,000) 6- EVERYDAY I LOVE YOU- Boyzone (58,000) 7- IF I COULD TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME –R Kelly (53,000) 8- TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP/ LOVE ME- Martine McCutcheon (48,000) 9- NORTHERN STAR- Mel C (46,000) 10- RIGHT NOW- Atomic Kitten (44,000)

4TH DECEMBER There weren't many who saw this coming a few weeks ago! Cliff Richard has scored his 14th chart topper with “Millennium Prayer”, it becomes the first song to climb to the top since Steps almost 12 months ago and is now his 14th No 1 single moving him within three of the Beatles and Elvis Presley. It’s also been over 40 years since his first chart topper giving him the record for longest span of number ones, it’s fair to say it has divided public opinion with radio largely ignoring the song but it has generated enough publicity in the press to raise the song in public consciousness. Its sales swell to 147,947 which would indicate a genuine public warming to the song and one that must give Richard some satisfaction that he chose wisely and EMI were wrong. The new Boyzone record was running a close second at the beginning of the week but faded badly into the weekend and “Everyday I Love You” ends up entering at No 3 (96,000) after being eclipsed too by Wamdue Project 1-2 (122,000). This is the group’s 16th single and 16th top 5 hit- the best start to any chart career in history but incredibly this is the first single since 1996’s “Coming Home Now” to fail to make the top 2. With the group now on “hiatus” it may very well mean the end for one of the most successful boybands. Whilst the biggest girl group of the 90s are undoubtedly The Spice Girls who have already gone off on their solo careers with four of the five already having extra—curricular hits. Melanie C’s debut album “Northern Star” debuted at No 10 after her first solo hit “Goin’ Down” peaked at No 4 in October, now the second single from it and title track also debuts at No 4 (74,000)- well up on the 49,000 that her previous solo release managed. The album has remained in the top 40 and bounces 40-38 this week with sales rapidly approaching 100,000. DJ Jurgen has been dropped and now we get Alice Deejay all alone for the project’s next single “Back In My Life”, not that that affects the outcome with the song new at No 5 (71,000). It has some way to go to match the platinum selling “Better Off Alone” but we are apparently going to get an album from them which they are recording at present. “Children In Need” has obviously cottoned onto the Comic Relief idea of getting a high profile act to release a single to support the event, over the last few years “Perfect Day” and “Especially For You” have been the covers chosen and generated top 3 hits in both cases. This year the charity has collaborated with Martine McCutcheon who has provided two cover versions for the double A-Side “Talking In Your Sleep/ Love Me” the former a cover of the Crystal Gayle 1978 #11 hit, the other a #6 hit for Yvonne Elliman in 1976 though written by the Bee Gees. They become McCutcheon’s third top 10 hit in 8 months debuting at No 6 (68,000) this week, a marked comedown for songs in aid of the charity, and with the big event itself now past it may struggle to go any higher. The first hint that Christmas is round the corner comes in the form of Lolly’s third single “Big Boys Don’t Cry/ Rockin Robin”. BBDC is a new song but of course the promo is in the main focusing on “Rockin Robin” which now charts in its third version having previously made No 29 (Bobby Day, 1958) and No 3 (Michael Jackson, 1972) and gives Lolly a third top 10 sliding in at anchor position on a sale of 40,000. Robbie Williams collapses 3-7 (64,000) but below him again R Kelly and Macy Gray survive the cull to remain in the top tier. “If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time” does fall 5-8 but increases its sales to 54,000, whilst “I Try” is forced 6-9 but increases to 41,000 in the process. The festive rush must have started. Next week sees new releases from Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and The Corrs! 1- MILLENNIUM PRAYER- Cliff Richard (147,947) 2- KING OF MY CASTLE- Wamdue Project (122,000) 3- EVERYDAY I LOVE YOU- Boyzone (96,000) 4- NORTHERN STAR- Mel C (74,000) 5- BACK IN MY LIFE- Alice Deejay (71,000) 6- TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP/ LOVE ME- Martine McCutcheon (68,000) 7- IT’S ONLY US/ SHE’S THE ONE- Robbie Williams (64,000) 8- IF I COULD TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME- R Kelly (54,000) 9- I TRY- Macy Gray (41,000) 10- BIG BOYS DON’T CRY/ ROCKIN ROBIN- Lolly (40,000)

Not sure that overly had an effect to be honest. From a stats perspective: Sales of 7" in 1990 accounted for 49.11% of all single sales, by 1993 they accounted for just 14.10% CD sales for singles however rose from 9.31% to 41.66% between the same period and accounted for more than 50% weekly by early 1994 so the flip happened sooner.than 94 It was primarily for two reasons as already stated, Airplay and promotion shifting from post to pre release (up to 6 weeks before tthe song was available) and pricing in the first week which drove people to 1st week purchase. Indeed after the first week on the chart promotion for singles pretty much trailed off except commerical radio play. The only thing not mentioned so far (which was prevelent in the mid 90s) was an act bringing out a sngle which featured previous hits on the single CD, so for some acts you were getting a greatest hits CD for the price of a single, it was eventually curtailed by new rules by the chart organisers, the most famous example of that was "No Matter What" by Boyzone which was gently descending the charts in 1998 when it suddely disappeared from No 34, if i recall correctly, because their new single "I Love The Way You Love Me" contained the song. i can;t find anything on the internet to back that up though so that's just from memory.

Yes TOTP threads will continue in the noughties forum. There will be a new thread in this forum before the end of the month though!

And just like that it was all over! That concludes the "Gallup" threads that I hope have kept you all entertained over the last 3 years! With TOTP 1999 coming to end in the next few weeks it will give us a full archive of top 10 sales from 1980-1999 for you to look back on. Thanks as always to those who commented and made the threads so hugely enjoyable and don't worry we aren't done with the decade just yet..................... Over and out.

5TH FEBRUARY The final Gallup produced chart contains nothing much new with D:Ream ending an era which started back in January 1983 with Phil Collins’s “You Can’t Hurry Love” at the top. “Things Can Only Get Better” is now in its third week at the top as it tops the 200,000 mark by selling a very healthy 66,181 copies, well ahead of the 39,321 that Toni Braxton’s “Breathe Again” sold in its charge 7-2, clearly it will have to go some to make that final step. D:Ream’s achievements are all the more impressive as their album is re-issued and debuts at No 5 nearly 40 places higher than it made last year. Bryan Adams/ Rod Stewart and Sting continue atop the US charts but slide here 2-3 (34,238) despite increasing sales again, they almost lost their top 3 placing as Enigma shoot 9-4 (32,725) in a very tight part of the chart where under 9,000 copies separated numbers 2 to 5, K7 complete the top 5 as they fall 3-5 (30,447). “The Power Of Love” was of course a 5 week chart topper and the best selling single of 1985 in the UK on its way to selling a million copies and becoming one of the top 10 best selling singles of the decade. For all of that it stiffed outside the top 50 in the US where the highest charting version of the song before this year was the No 26 version by Laura Branigan in 1987. That may help to explain the current version by Celine Dion and why it’s doing so well stateside (No 3 at the moment). It has now become top 10 here for a second time in 9 years as it saunters 20-7 (23,681), it simultaneously becomes her biggest UK hit as it goes 2 places better than her only other UK top 10 hit “Beauty & The Beast” in 1992. Dion’s album “The Colour Of My Love” is out next month. Going strong for ten years, it was Red Hot Chili Peppers decision to sign to Warner Brothers in 1990 that started to generate record sales for the group, their last album “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” provided them with their biggest single, the No 26 hit “Under The Bridge”…until now. Also from the same album “Give It Away” was the lead track from the album but bombed when released in 1991, since then its grown into a fan favourite and gets a second chance becoming their biggest hit debuting at No 9 (21,743) and causes the album to re-enter at the dizzy heights of No 66! Elsewhere Tori Amos falls 4-6 (25,976), Culture Beat relent 6-8 (22,117) and Haddaway holds at No 10 (20,774)- Haddaway has actually increased sales in the last two weeks despite moving 9-10-10. 1- THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER- D: Ream (66,181) 2- BREATHE AGAIN- Toni Braxton (39,321) 3- ALL FOR YOU- Bryan Adams/ Rod Stewart/ Sting (34,238) 4- RETURN TO INNOCENCE- Enigma (32,725) 5- COME BABY COME- K7 (30,447) 6- CORNFLAKE GIRL- Tori Amos (25,976) 7- THE POWER OF LOVE- Celine Dion (23,681) 8- ANYTHING- Culture Beat (22,117) 9- GIVE IT AWAY- Red Hot Chili Peppers (21,743) 10- I MISS YOU- Haddaway (20,774)

29TH JANUARY D:Ream continue to dominate having an easy time of it as “Things Can Only Get Better” makes it two weeks at the top, it also increases sales to 63,308 and triples its distance from the chasing pack! New challenger “All For Love” moves 4-2 but actually lost sales in the move to 32,725, it was already the biggest hit for Sting but now becomes Rod’s biggest hit in 8 years, Adams was of course in the runner up spot just a few months ago with “Please Forgive Me”, the track is also currently No 1 Stateside. The D:Ream track has now sold 166,718 as it takes over from Chaka Demus & Pliers “Twist And Shout” at the top of the YTD, the latter sold another 26,146 to take its tally to 125,052 though of course its total sales (inc 1993) are a much healthier 352,422 and indeed will be their personal best seller within a few weeks when it inches past “Tease Me”. Their album was re-issued this week and enters at No 1 capping off a hugely successful 7 months. The remaining top 5 is filled with K7 who hold at No 3 (30,974) and Tori Amos who rises 7-4 (28,424). Already a No 3 hit in the US Toni Braxton hasn’t looked back since leaving her sisters behind and heading out solo. Her first single “Another Sad Love Song” only made No 51 here but No 7 in the US, new single “Breathe Again” has given her a UK hit now as it climbs 13-7 (24,089). The song is another from the pen of Babyface who also co-produces it with L.A Reid and if you like the sound you might want to check out Braxton’s debut solo album which is new at No 33 this week. For the first time in their long career Depeche Mode have pulled three top 10 singles from an album, the album in question is of course “Songs Of Faith & Devotion” which has yielded three singles “I Feel You” (No 8), “Walking In My Shoes” (No 14) and “Condemnation” (No 9) whilst selling just under 200,000 copies. It re-enters at No 71 this week whilst fourth hit “In Your Room” expands 18-8 (21,760) proving it was wise of the band to hold back the 2nd and 3rd CD versions of the single to this week, it’s their 30th UK single and has been remixed by Butch Vig for single release. Enigma’s first album “MCMXC.AD” surprised many when it dislodged Madonna’s “Immaculate Collection” at the top of the charts three years ago this week, it of course housed the chart topping single “Sadness (Part 1)”, well they’re back with a new album “Cross Of Changes” and lead track “Return To Innocence”. It features European chanteuse Sandra (her only UK hit was the No 45 cover of “Everlasting Love”) who is also married to the main man in the outfit Michael Cretu, along with sampled chants which have now become their stock in trade. The track debuts at No 9 (19,312). Culture Beat drop 5-6 (25,738) and Haddaway similarly descends gently 9-10 (19,023). 1- THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER- D:Ream (63,308) 2- ALL FOR LOVE- Bryan Adams/ Rod Stewart/ Sting (32,725) 3- COME BABY COME- K7 (30,974) 4- CORNFLAKE GIRL- Tori Amos (28,424) 5- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (26,146) 6- ANYTHING- Culture Beat (25,738) 7- BREATHE AGAIN- Toni Braxton (24,089) 8- IN YOUR ROOM- Depeche Mode (21,760) 9- RETURN TO INNOCENCE- Enigma (19,312) 10- I MISS YOU- Haddaway (19,023)

Just quick note (which I should have posted a few days ago)- the 1994 figures are once again the ones that were reported at the time and not the revised figures

22ND JANUARY Sprinting way ahead of the field D:Ream become the first new chart topper of 1994, nothing could stop “Things Can Only Get Better” from ascending to pole position as it lead from the off, the outfit is essentially vocalist Peter Cunnah and some part time musicians who now seemed to have moved into the big time. The song sold 57,273 copies last week as they become the first Northern Irish act to top the charts since Feargul Sharkey in 1985. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-TfcD6E7oY K7 rise 4-3 (37,434) but they can’t catch the outgoing chart topper from Chaka Demus & Pliers which sold 47,124, challengers mount up below though with Bryan Adams/ Sting/ and Rod Stewart moving 7-4 (36,550) and Culture Beat hold at No 5 (33,592) even with a sales boost. East 17 drop 3-6 (28,203) but below them we have 4 new tracks to discuss as the new year clean out really hits home. Grabbing considerable critical acclaim with her debut album “Little Earthquakes” Tori Amos also scored three top 40 singles with “Crucify” becoming the biggest making No 15 in 1992. Her second album “Under The Pink” is primed and ready and first release “Cornflake Girl” establishes her as a rising star as it debuts at No 7 (18,547), CD2 is out this week and will contain covers of songs by Joni Mitchell, Billie Holliday, and Jimi Hendrix. Typically for Amos the song deals with a rather controversial issue that of female genital mutilation, wonder if the censor’s will notice or care? UK Girl Group’s are alive and kicking with Eternal currently flying the flag for the genre, their second single “Save Our Love” floats 12-8 (18,496) this week to give them a 100% success rate with their releases. Their album “Always And Forever” got lost in the Christmas rush peaking at No 33 before the big day but it has improved over recent weeks with the new single to promote it climbing 24-11 this week to breach the top 20 for the first time. Released as a half-cocked attempt at grabbing the festive top spot, Haddaway’s “I Miss You” rather underperformed initially but with the tinsel a distant memory it seems that this has turned into a winter warmer rising slowly 11-9 (18,309) in its 6th week. For all his single success the album has spent just 5 weeks on the charts peaking at No 19 though it is now being re-promoted. Making up for the disappointment of his last single “Pass It On” making No 35 Bitty Mclean continues to ride the current Reggae revival with “Here I Stand” which charges 21-10 (15,827). It’s also an historic week for the CD single which accounted for over 50% of all singles sold last week, a new high for the format. 1- THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER- D: Ream (57,273) 2- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (47,124) 3- COME BABY COME- K7 (37,434) 4- ALL FOR LOVE- Bryan Adams/ Rod Stewart/ Sting (36,550) 5- ANYTHING- Culture Beat (33,592) 6- IT’S ALRIGHT- East 17 (28,203) 7- CORNFLAKE GIRL- Tori Amos (18,547) 8- SAVE OUR LOVE- Eternal (18,496) 9- I MISS YOU- Haddaway (18,309) 10- HERE I STAND- Bitty McLean (15,827)

15TH JANUARY 1994 starts with a second week at the top for “Twist And Shout” which improves its sales to 51,782, it was never in any danger of being caught by the chasing pack, if you’re wondering where the album “Tease Me” is it’s being re-released in a fortnight and will now include the track. It’s time at the top might be short however with D:Ream charging 10-2 (34,782), notionally East 17 continuing to inch nearer 4-3 but it gained sales only fractionally to 31,875 and looks to have run out of steam. Highest new entry of the week comes from Culture Beat and their third release from “Serenity” entitled “Anything”. It follows the usual Culture Beat blue plan and proves the adage if isn’t broke, the song gets off to a best start yet for them by debuting at No 5 (24,276). In cinema’s next month “Three Musketeers” stars Charlie Sheen and Keifer Sutherland, it also comes with an all star theme in “All For Love” which is sung by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting. The song is currently No 2 in the states and now debuts here at No 7 (20,587) instantly becoming Sting’s solo best outing ever but its Rod’s 25th top 10 hit and Adams’ 4th. It is also co-written by Adams and caps an excellent week for the Canadian who also celebrates his album “So Far So Good” finally making No 1 here although it doesn’t feature the new single. He is also now the biggest selling singles act of the 90s again having wrestled the accolade from Whitney Houston. K7 rise 7-4 (25,891) but heading south are Dina Carroll 5-6 (20,995), Bee Gees 6-8 (20,519) Mr Blobby 3-9 (19,703) and Take That 2-10 (19,567). 1- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (51,782) 2- THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER- D: Ream (34,782) 3- IT’S ALRIGHT- East 17 (31,875) 4- COME BABY COME- K7 (25,891) 5- ANYTHING- Culture Beat (24,276) 6- THE PERFECT YEAR- Dina Carroll (20,995) 7- ALL FOR LOVE- Bryan Adams/ Rod Stewart/ Sting (20,587) 8- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS- Bee Gees (20,519) 9- MR BLOBBY- Mr Blobby (19,703) 10- BABE- Take That (19,567)

Yes I have to agree the ending seemed rather....anticlimactic. Probably only because the actual episodes were all so great and twisty!

Quick reminder- Gallup continued to produce the charts for a further 4 weeks so I'll add them to this thread- meaning we will finish on Friday!

8TH JANUARY So 1993 comes to an end and we sneak a final new chart topper into it in the form of Chaka Demus & Pliers, their version of “Twist & Shout” becomes the 700th chart topper ever as it moves 3-1 (46,530) despite registering a 41% sales decrease, it’s the highest that either the duo or the song have ever been and rounds off a superb year for the genre to boot. The explanation for the rise may be that firstly it is less seasonal than offerings from Mr Blobby or Take That and being more aimed at the party season including New Year’s Eve but certainly the fact that it has never exploded at retail through the festive season now appears to have reaped rewards. Take That remain at No 2 for a third week (40,485) as they came behind to overtake the outgoing chart topper from Mr Blobby which as expected is fading fast 1-3 (38,700) that’s a 74% sales haemorrhage week on week. The slump of the big two Christmas hits gives hope of further rises for East 17 and Dina Carroll, they both advance 5-4 (30,720) and 6-5 (28,320) despite losing sales but may hold up better than tracks above them. East 17 now have their biggest hit on their hands and if they can overtake Take That next week then that will be a bonus, the Take That boys have the No 1 album this week as “Everything Changes” returns to the summit which will further drain sales. Bee Gees drop 4-6 (24,855) but kept ahead of K7 who rise 10-7 (21,705), and below him there’s another Meat Loaf double, the best selling single of the year “I’d Do Anything For Love” drops 7-8 (19,635) and “Bat Out Of Hell” dips 8-9 (15,195). The sole new song is a new entry from D: Ream who spent most of 1992 and 1993 drumming up fans in dance circles and generating four top 30 singles without troubling the top 10. One of those tracks “Things Can Only Get Better” was re-issued last week to take advantage of the release lull and to capitalise on the exposure they achieved supporting Take That on tour last year and it has done the trick by re-entering at No 10 (11,355), 14 places higher than it peaked last February. That sale however is the lowest since Peter Gabriel registered a mere 11,310 sales W/E 31/1/93. 1- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (46,530) 2- BABE- Take That (40,485) 3- MR BLOBBY- Mr Blobby (38,700) 4- IT’S ALRIGHT- East 17 (30,720) 5- THE PERFECT YEAR- Dina Carroll (28,320) 6- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS- Bee Gees (24,855) 7- COME BABY COME- K7 (21,705) 8- I’D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON’T DO THAT)- Meat Loaf (19,635) 9- BAT OUT OF HELL- Meat Loaf (15,195) 10- THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER- D: Ream (11,355)

1ST JANUARY Even though there was only 5 days of trading the Christmas run in kept sales very lively. Mr Blobby grabs a third week at the top with a 50% sales increase which went along with the kudos of having the festive chart topper, sales of 147,435 this week takes its total to 473,460 that’s enough for 6th place on the YTD chart with a week to go (and needless to say the highest weekly sale of the year). Meanwhile the rest of the top 5 remains static too, Take That are No 2 (83,235) and Chaka Demus & Pliers are just below them on 79,050 they may well swap places next week. Bee Gees freeze at No 4 (62,865) and East 17 are alright at No 5 (48,825) Formerly a member of Latin Freestyle act, TKA Louis Sharpe has now left the group and using the moniker K7 has scored a big hit in the form of “Come Baby Come” which is the sole new hit in the top 10 rising 13-10 (23,730). The song has just made the US top 20 and so is actually behind the UK who seem to have embraced the song far quicker, it contains a few samples including Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”. Aside from Take That the only song in the top 10 to lose sales is Elton John & Kiki Dee who hold at No 9 (24,150) everything else gains sales regardless of movement. In keeping with the traditional Christmas freeze there isn’t much change in positions, Dina Carroll nudges 7-6 (44,475) and the two Meat Loaf tracks are side by side in the charts, “I’d Do Anything For Love” drops 6-7 (43,335) and “Bat Out Of Hell” holds at No 8 (26,880) the former disc now passes the 700,000 mark as predicted. 1- MR BLOBBY- Mr Blobby (147,435) 2- BABE- Take That (83,235) 3- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (79,050) 4- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS- Bee Gees (62,865) 5- IT’S ALRIGHT- East 17 (48,825) 6- THE PERFECT YEAR- Dina Carroll (44,475) 7- I’D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON’T DO THAT)- Meat Loaf (43,335) 8- BAT OUT OF HELL- Meat Loaf (26,880) 9- TRUE LOVE- Elton John & Kiki Dee (24,150) 10- COME BABY COME- K7 (23,730)

25TH DECEMBER The Christmas chart throws a major surprise this week, for the first time in 24 years a song returns to the top of the charts in the same chart run and that song comes from Mr Blobby. With the money firmly on Take That it’s left the bookies not best pleased but in the end the teen heart throbs couldn’t keep the spot and, instead of Blobby, they become the first 1 week chart toppers since U2’s “The Fly” unless they too can return to No 1. The track also becomes only the second single ever to debut at No 1 then immediately lose pole position, the other was of course Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers "Let's Party" exactly 4 years ago this week. It was all down to the percentage decrease of the two records “Mr Blobby” reducing sales by 20% to 98,595 and “Babe” depleting by 31% to 92,385 which allowed the novelty disc to be crowned the festive chart topper for 1993, it has sold a healthy 326,025 in its first month on sale and may yet clear the 500,000 mark before the year end, incidentally it has already shipped 600,000 which may have proved optimistic but then it should have another good week this week. Sales for the Christmas chart took place as far away from the big day as is possible, December 13-18th, which accounts for the lack of anything selling 100,000+ and should mean that sales increase next week with the run in to Christmas included a week later. Don’t discount Chaka Demus & Pliers either, they rise 4-3 and not only have the highest peaking version of “Twist & Shout” plus also record a 60% sales increase to 62,730. Also making positive steps are The Bee Gees 5-4 (46,335) with their biggest hit since “You Win Again”, East 17 lift 7-5 (40,665) and Dina Carroll’s “The Perfect Year” is also on the move 10-7 (28,980) whilst former hit “Don’t Be A Stranger” gets deleted and thusly falls 8-16. Former big hits on their way down include Elton John & Kiki Dee 6-9 (24,855) and Meat Loaf 3-6 (39,765) as it creeps nearer the 700,000 mark Meat Loaf remains at No 1 in the album charts for an 11th week and has now sold a million as it becomes the biggest seller of the year too, the original “Bat Out Of Hell” is also back rising 41-32 and the title track has been re-issued by Epic as it cashes in on his current popularity. The song was a single back in 1979 making No 15 and has become Loaf’s signature tune over the years, but already it is a bigger hit 14 years later moving 11-8 (25,695), Meat Loaf therefore becomes the third act in 1993 to have two simultaneous top 10 singles after Dina Carroll and Whitney Houston. Also re-released is 1984’s Frankie Goes To Hollywood Christmas single “The Power Of Love”, it famously became the band’s third chart topper from three releases. The new best of “Bang” went top 5 and has sold over 100,000 copies since its release, the last single re-issue was “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” which could only make No 18 but “The Power Of Love” storms 15-10 (21,630), it sold over half a million its original release including a solitary week at the top before Band Aid came along. 1- MR BLOBBY- Mr Blobby (98,595) 2- BABE- Take That (92,385) 3- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (62,730) 4- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS- Bee Gees (46,335) 5- IT’S ALRIGHT – East 17 (40,665) 6- I’D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON’T DO THAT)- Meat Loaf (39,765) 7- THE PERFECT YEAR- Dina Carroll (28,980) 8- BAT OUT OF HELL- Meat Loaf (25,695) 9- TRUE LOVE- Elton John & Kiki Dee (24,855) 10- THE POWER OF LOVE- Frankie Goes To Hollywood (21,630)

27TH NOVEMBER Dance music again rules the chart this week as Wamdue Project’s “King Of My Castle” arrives fresh from the dancefloor to the No 1 spot after shifting 148,000 copies. Wamdue Project is really a pseudonym for US producer Chris Brann who asked singer Gaelle Adisson to provide vocals to this track and released it first in the summer of 1998 when it could only make No 121, it got a new lease of life this summer when Italian producer Roy Malone remixed it into a big European chart hit. Making No 61 last week on imports meant that the splash this week was always going to be big and so it turns out. Where to start with the track which is new at No 2……Cliff Richard had been with EMI for over 40 years but their decision not to release “The Millennium Prayer” on the grounds of not being commercial enough resulted in Richards effectively leaving the label. The single itself is a relatively simple idea, marry the lyrics of the Lord’s Prayer to the music of “Auld Lang Syne” and Cliff previewed it on his “Audience with…” earlier this month and helped the song to a first week sale of 87,718. Already it is his biggest hit since “Saviour’s Day” way back in 1990, it’s also his 122nd hit and 64th top 10 single (a record), on top of all that the proceeds go to the charity Children’s Promise. Glamma Kid has turned his sampling skills from Sade to Carly Simon for his new single “Why” which, yes, samples the Simon single from 1982 which made No 10. It seems like history repeats itself with this track also smashing into the charts at No 10 (31,000) and equals the peak of his last single “Taboo” even without the help of Shola Ama. Robbie Williams falls 1-3 (74,000) still just ahead of Will Smith 2-4 (44,000)- Smith’s album is new at No 11 rather frustratingly for the singer. Two tracks showing remarkable tenacity are R Kelly and Macy Gray, Kelly holds at No 5 (39,000) and has sold 323,000 in the last 5 weeks of top 5 action while Gray has amazingly managed to reach a new peak 7-6 (37,100) 8 weeks into a chart career and all of those weeks in the top 10, and all that despite it falling at retail week on week for the last fortnight! Geri Halliwell falls 4-7 (35,000), Five ebb 6-8 (35,000) and A1 retreat 3-9 (32,000). Next week sees Boyzone return to the charts and face a new Melanie C single! Could there be some Spice revenge? 1- KING OF MY CASTLE- Wamdue Project (148,000) 2- THE MILLENNIUM PRAYER- Cliff Richard (87,718) 3- IT’S ONLY US/ SHE’S THE ONE- Robbie Williams (74,000) 4- WILL 2K- Will Smith (44,000) 5- IF I COULD TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME- R Kelly (39,000) 6- I TRY- Macy Gray (37,100) 7- LIFT ME UP- Geri Halliwell (35,000) 8- KEEP ON MOVIN- Five (35,000) 9- EVERYTIME/ READY OR NOT- A1 (32,000) 10- WHY?- Glamma Kid (31,000) Christmas is a month away so time to take our annual look at the potential victors….. KISS WHEN THE SUN DON’T SHINE- The Vengaboys Their last two singles both topped the charts- how can this fail? BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW/ SAY YOU’LL BE MINE- Steps Steps covering Kylie- surely a firm dancefloor favourite for millennium night? TWO IN A MILLION/ YOU’RE MY NUMBER ONE- S Club 7 Third single from this bunch and has to be there or thereabouts I HAVE A DREAM/ SEASONS IN THE SUN- Westlife A faultless record of three No 1 songs from 3 releases and now the Irish boyband go for the big one- only a history of low opening tallies goes against this I GOT A GIRL- Lou Bega Following a massive no 1 can Bega make it two on the trot? I SHALL BE THERE- B*Witched Featuring Ladysmith Black Mambaza Not the big deal they once were maybe but their festive single last year was No 1 the week before the big day! A CHRISTMAS KISS- Daniel O’Donnell Something more traditional for the big day? O’Donnell delivers this- could it surprise us all? BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE- Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews Bound to be big for the renewed Jones in this all Welsh affair COGNOSCENTI VS INTELLIGENSIA- Cuban Boys The novelty track for Christmas?- another thing to thank the Internet for… IT’S ONLY ROCK N ROLL- Various Artists Cliff’s current single is for Children’s Promise charity and so is this superstar collaboration which includes Spice Girls, Corrs, S Club 7 and Ronan Keating among others THE CHRISTMAS POO- Mr Hanky Who can forget Chef’s “Chocolate Salty Balls” last year- don’t discount this one either! IMAGINE- John Lennon Re-released as the “national anthem” for the millennium this is apparently going to be played across radio and in the dome when the day comes.

20TH NOVEMBER With the furore of last week over and no more Chris Evans updates, Geri Halliwell tumbles 1-4 (62,000) and in the process sees three new entries sail past by her. The highest of which comes from Robbie Williams who scores his second solo No 1, it’s a double A-Side “She’s The One/ It’s Only Us” the former track taken from his year old album “I’ve Been Expecting You” and comes with an Ice-Skating promo. It’s actually a cover of a World Party track from 1997 which turned into a concert favourite for Williams and on which much of the publicity has been focused. Meanwhile “It’s Only Us” is an original track which Williams has written for the video game “FIFA 2000” and is apparently its “Official” theme. The song outstripped all rivals by almost 2:1 romping in with sales of 122,600 by the end of the week. Will Smith’s impressive chart run continues, his new single “Will 2K” is an advance celebration of the forthcoming new Millennium and enters at No 2 (69,000) to become his 6th top 3 single on the trot. Smith’s second solo album “Willennium” is released this week and contains his last two singles, as per usual the single is based around a sample and this time it’s the Clash’s “Rock The Casbah”, Prince’s “1999” and Grandmaster Flash’s “Superrappin” along with some vocals courtesy of K-Ci. 1999 has been quite the year for boybands and for A1, the quartet have put together a string of three top 10 singles peaking at No 6, 5, and now No 3 (65,500) with another double A-Side “Everytime/ Read Or Not”. The former is a ballad typical of the winter market whilst the more uptempo “Ready Or Not” is getting most of the airplay. All four tracks are on their debut album “Here We Are” due in a fortnight. Another band who can reflect on a happy 1999 are Travis who finally converted columns of critical appreciation into sales, their second album “The Man Who” has so far sold 600,000 and is the 7th biggest album of the year, it now generates a fourth top 20 single and the biggest yet in “Turn”. The song comes with a promo featuring actress Julie Smith and a cover of Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” on the CD all helping to drive them to new heights with 39,000 buyers. R Kelly proves he has broad appeal gently drifting 4-5 (53,000) whilst the song that held it off the top drops 3-6 (51,000) for Five although their album does debut at No 4 providing an explanation. Macy Gray spends a 7th week in the top 10 and sticks at No 7 (42,000), total sales of “I Try” now stand at 282,000, Tin Tin Out Featuring Emma Bunton cool 2-9 (39,000) and Jennifer Lopez hangs on in there 5-10 (38,000). 1- IT’S ONLY US/ SHE’S THE ONE- Robbie Williams (122,600) 2- WILL 2K- Will Smith (69,000) 3- EVERYTIME/ READY OR NOT- A1 (65,500) 4- LIFT ME UP- Geri Halliwell (62,000) 5- IF I COULD TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME- R Kelly (53,000) 6- KEEP ON MOVIN- Five (51,000) 7- I TRY- Macy Gray (42,000) 8- TURN- Travis (39,000) 9- WHAT I AM- Tin Tin Out Ft Emma Bunton (39,000) 10- WAITING FOR TONIGHT- Jennifer Lopez (38,000)

18TH DECEMBER Well they’ve done it! And in style! Take That become the first act in UK Chart history to enter the charts at No 1 with three consecutive singles, “Babe” is the track to do it and it sold a mighty 133,080 a best for the year so far and the first time we've broke through the 6 figure weekly mark! The song is Britain’s 699th chart topper and Take That are the 11th act to score three No 1’s in a calendar year and the first since Jive Bunny in 1989, the second to have three debuts at the top in a year (after Slade in 1973), but the first to have three consecutive singles all debut at No 1 ever. On top of all of that it means the group pull level with Queen as the only acts in the 90s to have as many as three No 1 hits. Parent album “Everything Changes” hasn’t left the top 10 since its release 9 weeks ago as it rises 6-4 with sales approaching half a million. The band have clearly benefited from a recent 20 date UK tour which has only just ended and has been evidenced by the group picking a record 8 awards at the annual Smash Hits awards. All that is rather tough on Mr Blobby who himself saw sales of his single improve by 77% to 123,735 as he chased Take That from the off with the gap actually closing as the week progressed though not by enough and so Mr Blobby becomes the first one week chart topper since U2’s “The Fly” back in 1991. Meat Loaf completes the top 3 as he drops 2-3 (45,135) but that’s enough to make “I’d Do Anything For Love” the best selling single of 1993 and unless Take That continue to shift copies then it’s likely to remain there with 3 weeks left of the year. Chaka Demus & Pliers have also had a great 1993 with two top 4 singles “Tease Me” and “She Don’t Let Nobody” , now they return with a cover of the Top Notes “Twist & Shout” which was made popular by the Beatles but was a No 4 hit for both Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and Salt N Pepa and now for this pair as it debuts at No 4 (39,060). It is in part thanks to a bit of re-organisation on the part of the record label, originally the duo were to release “Murder She Wrote” as their follow up but they had a guest spot on “Twist And Shout” which was officially credited as “Jack Radics & The Taxi Gang Featuring Chaka Demus & Pliers” and was intended as a rather low key release the week before “Murder She Wrote”. Plans changed and so did the credit and voila we have a major hit on our hands. Andrew Lloyd Webber has a habit of generating chart hits from his musicals, see Sarah Brightman and Michael Ball in the 80s, and Jason Donovan in the 90s for examples, his new musical “Sunset Boulevard” is no different providing the song “The Perfect Year” which is a new hit for Dina Carroll. Her last single “Don’t Be A Stranger” holds at No 8 (25,290) as her new release rises 14-10 (20,385) , she becomes the first female since Whitney Houston to score two simultaneous top 10 hits, obviously with New Year a few weeks away this should continue to rack up the sales in the interim plus it isn’t on her 600,000 debut album “So Close”. Bee Gees move 6-5 (38,145) and East 17 rise 9-7 (30,570), but it’s over for Elton John & Kiki Dee who drop 3-6 (32,025) and Bryan Adams is stuck in that Dina Carroll sandwich 7-9 (21,525). So next week is the Christmas chart- Take That look to have it in the bag but their victory was only slender- could it be Chaka Demus & Pliers or even Mr Blobby, but then no record has ever returned to the top after being deposed (re-issues and re-makes aside)since 1969! Next week should be interesting. 1- BABE- Take That (133,080) 2- MR BLOBBY- Mr Blobby (123,735) 3- I’D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON’T DO THAT)- Meat Loaf (45,135) 4- TWIST AND SHOUT- Chaka Demus & Pliers (39,060) 5- FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLLS- Bee Gees (38,145) 6- TRUE LOVE- Elton John & Kiki Dee (32,025) 7- IT’S ALRIGHT- East 17 (30,570) 8- DON’T BE A STRANGER- Dina Carroll (25,290) 9- PLEASE FORGIVE ME- Bryan Adams (21,525) 10- THE PERFECT YEAR- Dina Carroll (20,385)