Gezza

14TH AUGUST A very quiet week in the charts this week with the entire top 6 being non movers in the album charts (meaning that Dexy's Midnight Runners play second fiddle to Kids From Fame) whilst on the singles chart the whole top 5 are static! That means that Dexy's Midnight Runners get their revenge for that album defeat with a blistering singles victory, "Come On Eileen" shifted 174,000 copies and is already the 11th biggest of the year after moving 510,000 copies and should become the groups biggest single next week failing a massive downturn. fHMeZef_74c One of the records in front of them on the YTD list remains "Fame" which clings to the No 2 position on a sale of 71,000 which is enough to see the song move 4-2 on that list with just Tight Fit's "Lion Sleeps Tonight" ahead of it, and with 751,000 copies sold in total it is still just over 44,000 copies behind ensuring that "Fame" will become the biggest selling single of the year within the next fortnight. Though Yazoo, Madness and Hot Chocolate all hold at No's 3,4,and 5 respectively all lose sales at 61,000 (30% sales slump), 46,000 (30% loss) and 44,000 (28% decline). A bit more action outside the top 5, firstly from Survivor who formed in 1978 and had some minor US success last year but nothing that compares to "Eye Of The Tiger". You may recognise the song as the theme to the current "Rocky III" film starring Sylvester Stallone who asked the band to record a track for the film after the film makers were refused permission to use Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust". He proved a wise man as the song is currently in its fourth week at No 1 Stateside, and scorches 29-6 (43,000) here. PuxADhIKd5o The Stranglers are on the move, not just in the charts but also in relation to record labels. The band are moving to Epic and as part of the severance deal with EMI they are releasing a compilation album which will feature their singles since 1977 along with "Strange Little Girl" which this weeks moves northward 11-8 (39,000). The track was actually written in 1974 and handed as a demo to EMI who passed on them (they ended up getting signed to Liberty records which were taken over by EMI last year) so perhaps the band are having the last laugh on the label by making this a top 10 single. mLETqulvWKk Written by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs back in 1956 as "My Girl Lollypop" the track first found fame in 1964 in the alternative gender take of "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie which made No 2 in the UK. It's now been reverted back to its original form by Bad Manners who must have feared their chart stock has fallen irrevocably after their previous two singles peaked at No's 34 and 44 but this new single leaps 21-9 (38,000) to prove they are far from done. YIJL9peVbnc Rounding off the top 10 Kid Creole & The Coconuts climb 8-7 (41,000) and Bananarama dip 7-10 (36,000) 1- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (174,000) 2- FAME- Irene Cara (71,000) 3- DON’T GO- Yazoo (61,000) 4- DRIVING IN MY CAR- Madness (46,000) 5- IT STARTED WITH A KISS- Hot Chocolate (44,000) 6- EYE OF THE TIGER- Survivor (43,000) 7- STOOL PIGEON- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (41,000) 8- STRANGE LITTLE GIRL- The Stranglers (39,000) 9- MY GIRL LOLLIPOP (MY BOY LOLLIPOP)- Bad Manners (38,000) 10- SHY BOY- Bananarama (36,000)

Thanks to all who voted and commented- it's been fun! :D

Full results NO 1- Sometimes- 311 pts NO 2- Blue Savannah- 304 pts NO 3- A Little Respect- 304 pts NO 4- Love To Hate You- 284 pts NO 5- Always- 283 pts NO 6- Stop!- 235 pts NO 7- Chorus- 214 pts NO 8- Ship Of Fools- 210 pts NO 9- Oh L'Amour- 194 pts NO 10- Drama- 163 pts NO 11- The Circus- 153 pts NO 12- Who Needs Love Like That- 153 pts NO 13- Chains Of Love- 149 pts NO 14- Victim Of Love- 142 pts NO 15- Breathe- 141 pts NO 16- Lay All Your Love On Me- 140 pts NO 17- I Love Saturday- 139 pts NO 18- You Surround Me- 138 pts NO 19- Stay With Me- 137 pts NO 20- Breath Of Life- 134 pts NO 21- Fingers & Thumbs (Cold Summer’s Day)- 133pts NO 22- In My Arms- 120 pts NO 23- Am I Right?- 112 pts NO 24- Run To The Sun- 111 pts NO 25- Take A Chance On Me- 109 pts NO 26- Star- 109 pts NO 27- It Doesn't Have To Be- 106 pts NO 28- Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me- 99pts NO 29- Voulez-Vous- 88 pts NO 30- Make It Wonderful- 74 pts NO 31- Heavenly Action- 72pts NO 32- Don't Say You Love Me- 62 pts NO 33- I Could Fall In Love With You- 58 pts NO 34- Solsbury Hill- 50pts NO 35- SOS- 47 pts NO 36- Here I Go Impossible Again- 43 pts NO 37- Storm In A Teacup- 31 pts NO 38- Moon & Sky- 27 pts NO 39- Reason- 26 pts NO 40- Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)- 25pts NO 41- When I Start To (Break It All Down)- 25 pts NO 42- Nerves Of Steel- 25pts NO 43- Freedom- 23 pts NO 44- Fill Us With Fire- 22 pts NO 45- Gaudete- 14pts NO 46- Elevation- 13pts NO 47- Sacred- 13pts NO 48- Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling)- 10pts NO 49- All Of This Still Falling Out Of Love- 7 pts NO 50- Be With You- 5pts NO 51- World Be Gone- 4 pts NO 52- 2 POINTS Boy Love You To The Sky NO 54- 0 POINTS Rain Sunday Girl Just A Little Love Fallen Angel Secrets

YEAR: 1986 PEAK POSITION: 2 VOTER: Padamic Tension- 29pts, Bjork- 29pts, Chartjack2- 29pts, Jimwatts- 29pts, JulianT- 29pts, King Rollo- 28pts, Popchartfreak- 28pts, Jester- 26pts, AHGold- 26pts, Gezza- 23pts, Mango- 18pts, Dandy*- 17pts The record that started it all and put them on the pop map! It peaked at No 2 behind Europe’s “Final Countdown” in late 1986. Its lyrics were changed at the last minute (as you can see in the clip below) which obviously didn’t affect its prospects. It became the first of 17 top 10 hits in a 19 year span. Bell: “We were writing for the second album upstairs from the rough trade office and suddenly this song came out “Sometimes”. As the song developed and we got this hook we knew it was going to be a hit”. It wins the rate DESPITE not getting a single maximum points from anyone and being outside the top 10 for two voters though it was in 7 voters top 3. S1a8QABKNo0 S-LquTgY2m0

YEAR: 1990 PEAK POSITION : 3 VOTER: Popchartfreak- 30pts, Mango- 30pts, King Rollo- 30pts, JulianT- 30pts, Dandy*- 25pts, Padamic Tension- 24pts, Jester- 24pts, Chartjack2- 23pts, Bjork- 23pts, AHGold- 23pts, Gezza- 21pts, Jimwatts- 21pts Third release from “Wild!” ended up becoming the biggest single from it! The promo was directed Kevin Godley. We all put this in our top 10's and it gathered the most maximum points from voters in the entire rate! HZPQtb6NWKM 3QEyBO3KcDs

7TH AUGUST "Fame" loses its hold on both charts this week, well kind of. On the album charts the soundtrack to the 1980 film falls 1-3 but is replaced by "Kids From Fame" from the current TV show which must please the franchise owners to the series as the money continues to roll in, the first single from the TV cast is released this week called "Hi Fidelity" we'll see if it can replicate the album's success over the next few weeks. On the singles chart Irene Cara's time is up with "Fame" fading 1-2 but on a bumper sale of 159,000 copies, by far the best sale for a No 2 in the year so far, the song has now sold 680,000 copies and moves 4-2 on the YTD list. 6BODDyZRF6A Cara is replaced at the top by Dexy's Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express with "Come On Eileen" which saw a 113% sales increase two weeks ago and this week jumps by an incredible 82% as it really ignites at retail to sell a whopping 165,000 copies with every indication that sales will increase again next week! The track is already on a cumulative total of 336,000 easily in the top 40 of the year after just 6 weeks, their previous best seller is of course "Geno" on sales of 584,000, it also doesn't appear to be suffering for also appearing on the group's album "Too Rye Ay" which debuts at No 2 this week behind "Kids From Fame". It ate away at Cara's lead all week finally sliding past "Fame" on Saturday! Their latest album "Tropical Gangsters" is currently sitting at No 6 on the album chart having so far peaked at No 4 and is now home to two top 10 hits as "Stool Pigeon" propels itself 11-8 (37,000) and has a little way to go to match the No 4 peak of their last single "I'm A Wonderful Thing (Baby)". PpHJGCVIfvo His 22nd studio album is due later this month entitled "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" and to herald it Cliff Richard is back in the top 10 for the 47th time since his first hit 24 years ago. "The Only Way Out" climbs 14-10 (35,000) this week and is co-produced by the man himself! pUZT7cBA3Ds One other climber within the top 10 this week, Hot Chocolate leap 7-5 (62,000) but Trio (5-6, 42,000), and Bananarama (6-7, 39,000) head in the opposite direction. unusually there are also three non movers, Japan at No 9 (36,000) Madness at No 4 (67,000) and Yazoo at No 3 who had a TOTP appearance and see their sales swell to 88,000, which five weeks ago would have given them the No 1 spot but this week is way short of the mark! 1- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (165,000) 2- FAME- Irene Cara (159,000) 3- DON’T GO- Yazoo (88,000) 4- DRIVING IN MY CAR- Madness (67,000) 5- IT STARTED WITH A KISS- Hot Chocolate (62,000) 6- DA DA DA- Trio (42,000) 7- SHY BOY- Bananarama (39,000) 8- STOOL PIGEON- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (37,000) 9- I SECOND THAT EMOTION- Japan (36,000) 10- THE ONLY WAY OUT- Cliff Richard (35,000)

So your winner is either BLUE SAVANNAH OR SOMETIMES

YEAR: 1988 PEAK POSITION: 4 VOTER: Dandy*- 30pts, Jester- 30pts, Jimwatts- 30pts, King Rollo- 29pts, Popchartfreak- 29pts, Bjork- 28pts, Padamic Tension- 28pts, JulianT- 27pts, Chartjack2- 25pts, Mango- 19pts, Gezza- 13pts, AHGold- 13pts Their most famous hit? Well certainly streaming suggests so, current sales of the track are now a whopping 1.4 million sales making it, at least, their best seller! The song was of course covered by a few acts including Bjorn Again in 1992 (#25) and Wheatus in 2001 when it improved on the original’s chart position by 1 place. Fun fact: It was released at the same time as the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea and the rumour was at the time that this song was released as the unofficial UK theme: “Seoul, I hear you calling Oh, baby, please Give a little respect to me” It won the first Erasure rate and pre voting I suspected this would be the winner so I'm pleasantly surprised! x34icYC8zA0 FS9OQbgmlIU

31ST JULY It's another "Fame" double this week as it continues to dominate the field with a further 13% sales increase to 189,000 copies, that's the highest weekly total of 1982, similarly the original Soundtrack holds at No 1 on the album charts which is joined at No 2 by "Kids From Fame" this week, Britain just can't get enough it appears. Irene Cara has now sold 521,000 copies and still increasing Cara could be looking at the first million seller of the decade! It's already the 4th biggest single of the year. i_Pflkb0fRw Registering a 113% sales increase are Dexy's Midnight Runners who rise 9-2, the 91,000 copies it sold to make the runner up spot is the highest total since "Mickey" scored 96,000 copies back in March, Cara may be too far ahead for "Come On Eileen" to worry about Dexy's but the group can already celebrate their second biggest hit of their career, album "Too Rye Ay" is released this week and may ultimately harm the single's chances of going any further. The sole new song in the top 10 comes courtesy of Japan, their cover of the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles "I Second That Emotion" crawls 14-9 (36,000) this week to become their second top 10 single and must be a mighty relief to the band whose last single "Cantonese Boy" couldn't progress beyond No 24. The previously highest placed version of the track came from Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations who could only make No 18 back in 1969. yYrKe8K9lEY Though there aren't any more new tracks to discuss the top 10 is far from static, Madness can be perhaps a little disappointed with "Driving In My Car" which shot into the charts at No 6 last week and this week can only advance to No 4 (65,000). Both Yazoo and Hot Chocolate also improve 5-3 (66,000) and 8-7 (42,000) respectively. Four tracks are on their way out, Trio's minimalistic take on pop drops 2-5 (50,000) as it fades as fast as it arrives, Bananarama hit the skids 4-6 (46,000), Steve Miller Band can't turn the trick 3-8 (37,000) and Shalamar forget to climb 7-10 (34,000). 1- FAME- Irene Cara (189,000) 2- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (91,000) 3- DON’T GO- Yazoo (66,000) 4- DRIVING IN MY CAR- Madness (65,000) 5- DA DA DA- Trio (50,000) 6- SHY BOY- Bananarama (46,000) 7- IT STARTED WITH A KISS- Hot Chocolate (42,000) 8- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (37,000) 9- I SECOND THAT EMOTION- Japan (36,000) 10- A NIGHT TO REMEMBER- Shalamar (34,000)

YEAR: 1991 PEAK POSITION: 4 VOTER: Mango- 29pts, jester- 28pts, Bjork- 27pts, Gezza- 27pts, Popchartfreak- 26pts, King Rollo- 25pts, AHGold- 24pts, Chartjack2- 24pts, JulianT- 22pts, Dandy*- 22pts, Padamic Tension- 20 pts, Jimwatts- 10pts Owing a small debt to “I Will Survive” on that synth break. Though it didn't collect any voter's maximum points, we all placed in out top 10 except for two voters. ygLy02y7_n8 mDk52-0pucQ

24TH JULY Britain truly goes "Fame" crazy this week with the single holding at the No 1 spot and the original soundtrack dethroning ABC on the album charts. Irene Cara goes from strength to strength as she sells an impressive 167,000 copies last week that's the biggest weekly tally in 21 weeks, the biggest in fact since "A Town Called Malice" stood at the pole position, and accounted for 1 in 11 singles sold last week, the highest ratio of the year. The song has now sold 332,000 copies and has finally provided a bit of life to an otherwise currently depressed market. o2jh7N7Fldk Trio climb 7-2 with "Da Da Da" but it sold just 88,000 copies last week to pose no real threat to "Fame" at the top spot. Next month sees the release of the debut album by Yazoo "Upstairs At Eric's" and to preview it their second single "Don't Go" wastes no time joining their debut single "Only You" as a top 5 hit. It rockets 24-5 this week on a sale of 60,000 in just it's second week becoming a far more instantaneous hit than their debut release- it's also another Clarke composition which again has eclipsed any hit that Depeche Mode have so far had. qgNIrxZg_Co The big news of the week however goes to Madness who prove that the high debut of their last hit (and first No 1) "House Of Fun" was no one off. The follow up track "Driving In My Car" smashes straight into No 6 (58,000) this week to get off to an even better start than their last single, but the band are planning on the single being a stand alone track and not featuring on their next album which is due before Christmas. n1iOLKRxaXg Meanwhile Hot Chocolate score their 12th top 10 single with "It Started With A Kiss" which records a 12-8 (54,000) improvement this week. It marks the first time the group have been able to record back to back top 10 hits since 1977, not a bad track record for a group which have been written off more than once since their emergence back in 1970. U4rF2W0XZc0 Talking of comebacks, Dexy's Midnight Runners have been rather quiet since their first flush of success with the No 1 hit "Geno" in 1980, indeed only one of their three previous singles made the top 40 and their last release (and first from their forthcoming second album) fizzled out at No 45. Part of that time has been spent in dispute with their record label but in the meantime Kevin Rowland has enlisted support with a string of fiddlers known collectively as the Emerald Express and the project is again chart bound with "Come On Eileen" screeching 31-9 ( 43,000) Co-star in the video and on the cover of the single is one Marie Fahey, sister of Siobhan, one third of Bananarama- a family affair this week! zyfo2Uw3XF8 Just one other climber to note, Bananarama score their joint biggest hit as "Shy Boy" jumps 9-4 (61,000) as three other hits give up the chase, Steve Miller Band fall 2-3 (64,000), Shalamar dive 5-7 (57,000), and Odyssey slump 4-10 (40,000) 1- FAME- Irene Cara (167,000) 2- DA DA DA- Trio (88,000) 3- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (64,000) 4- SHY BOY- Bananarama (61,000) 5- DON’T GO- Yazoo (60,000) 6- DRIVING IN MY CAR- Madness (58,000) 7- A NIGHT TO REMEMBER- Shalamar (57,000) 8- IT STARTED WITH A KISS- Hot Chocolate (54,000) 9- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (43,000) 10- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (40,000)

YEAR: 1994 PEAK POSITION: 4 VOTER: Chartjack2- 30pts, AHGold- 30pts, Mango- 28pts, JulianT- 28pts, Bjork- 26pts, PadamicTension- 25pts. Jimwatts- 23pts, Dandy*- 23pts, Popchartfreak- 22 pts, Gezza- 22pts, King Rollo- 21pts, Jester- 5pts We’ll never know for sure if the three year break in albums (or indeed the almost 2 year break in new singles) was the turning point for Erasure, but it certainly seemed we had missed them when this debuted in the top 5 on release in 1994. It became their third (and final) US top 20 hit. All but 1 of us put this in our top 10's. lWqJTKdznaM o3zAXqvB-aw

NTDAG is certainly up there with my fave BF singles. "Fame" (TV series) started to be aired directly after TOTP in June 1982 proving to be an instant hit with the UK public. BBC records snapped up the rights to the show and the albums, though oddly not the singles, another reason why "Fame" appeared.

I don't NOT like it- I was just never bowled over by it :dance:

17TH JULY Whichever record was going to be No 1 this week it certainly wasn't going to be "Happy Talk", it recedes 1-3 on a sale of just 67,000 as the British public seems to have stopped laughing at the joke (if they started that is) but it has at least now sold 251,000 copies so something to be happy about. Indeed two records were out in front from the off and were vying for the top spot with Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra" making the early running before "Fame" benefitted from exposure on TOTP and of course the "Fame" TV series shown after it, in the end that swung it for Irene Cara as she outstripped Steve Miller towards the end of the week selling 98,000 to the latter's 79,000 copies. ChhCpSVrjvU German band Trio have their debut UK hit on their hands, "Da Da Da" has already been a hit in most of Europe and finally makes its mark here thanks doubtless to tourists returning from their summer holidays. Whilst some critics are less impressed with it lyrically it expands 30-7 (46,000) this week and has its sights set firmly on the No 1 spot where it has already peaked in Switzerland and Austria. 0nDRSJPvr_8 Trio had better watch out though as Bucks Fizz are also on the look out for a No 1 and that would be their third chart topper on the trot! "Now Those Days Are Gone" climbs 13-8 (45,000) and is a break from their usual full on pop being as it is a ballad from the group and also features a lead vocal from Mike Nolan. m_dYbvk0mOM Bananarama finally have the confidence to go it alone without Fun Boy Three and no wonder with "Shy Boy" being written and produced by Jolly & Swain (famous for their work in crafting the sound of Imagination) and a promo directed by Midge Ure. All that support results in "Shy Boy" moving 20-9 (43,000) this week, the debut album from the girls has just been confirmed and they are due to enter the studio to record it later this year. qg5mjs9Tmgg Telling the tale of a collision of two sets of Mardi Gras Indians at a parade in New Orleans, "Iko Iko" was originally a No 23 hit in 1965 by the Dixie Cups and was subject this year to two competing versions of the track. The Belle Stars version petered out at No 35 last month by a rival version by Natasha England (known by her forename for the purposes of the hit) jumps 12-10 (38,000) this week. Bc3m3-yp73c One other climber on this weeks top 10, Shalamar climb 6-5 (60,000) whilst Odyssey drop 3-4 (61,000) and Imagination also topple 5-6 (53,000) but all improve at retail. 1- FAME- Irene Cara (98,000) 2- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (79,000) 3- HAPPY TALK- Captain Sensible (67,000) 4- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (61,000) 5- A NIGHT TO REMEMBER- Shalamar (60,000) 6- MUSIC AND LIGHTS- Imagination (53,000) 7- DA DA DA- Trio (46,000) 8- NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE- Bucks Fizz (45,000) 9- SHY BOY- Bananarama (43,000) 10- IKO IKO- Natasha (38,000)

So that makes our top 5: A LITTLE RESPECT ALWAYS BLUE SAVANNAH LOVE TO HATE YOU SOMETIMES 9 Voters got their 30 pointers into the top 5 and, up until now, no song has got points from all voters but ALL of the top 5 picked up points from all voters.

YEAR: 1988 PEAK POSITION: 2 VOYTER: Padamic Tension- 30pts, Jester- 29pts, Chartjack2- 28pts, Mango- 27pts, Jimwatts- 22pts, King Rollo- 19pts, Popchartfreak- 17pts, AHGold- 17pts, JulianT- 17pts, Gezza- 15pts, Dandy*- 14pts Officially an EP (“Crackers International EP”,) there was no doubt that “Stop” got almost all the airplay and promo. It equalled “Sometimes” in becoming their biggest hit to date when it made No 2 but that chart topper was still some years away! ITyXjY5L-_E mNzgdP_hg9U

21ST SEPTEMBER The three year wait is over! Yes the last song to debut at No 2 then rise to No 1 was Gabrielle’s “Dreams” in June 1993, but this week the Fugees surprise us all as they slide up a spot to the top of the pile even though they lost 24% week on week at retail. “Ready Or Not” had the advantage thanks in part to the fact that last week they released a second CD version of the single whilst Peter Andre’s record label released both CDs and the Cassingle versions of his hit in the first week. “Flava” falls 1-2 (71,500) losing 44% as a result and ultimately the format release schedule proves fatal for its chart topping ability, it was a close run thing however with just 500 copies separating the pair. For the Fugees it makes a second chart topper of the year for them drawing them level with George Michael in that respect, whilst the Peter Andre track becomes the 5th solitary week chart topper of the year- the last year to have more 1 weekers was all the way back in 1977. WZC938RBfVY First released at the end of June in the UK Deep Blue Something’s Single “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” left some disappointed at its No 55 peak but it has had rather consistent airplay at radio meaning that a re-release was always on the cards as pent up demand sees the song rechart at No 3 (63,000). The song was actually inspired by Audrey’s Hepburn’s character in “Roman Holiday” but the band thought that “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” was a catchier title, its already made No 5 in the US and is finally a hit here now. 1ClCpfeIELw Belinda Carlisle’s return to the top 10 continues apace with new single “Always Breaking My Heart” debuting at No 8 (27,000). It’s written by Roxette’s Per Gessle, whilst this is Carlisle’s 7th top 10 single it’s the first time she’s placed back to back top tenners since 1988. NY5-QvcogwA “All I Wanna Do” remains Sheryl Crow’s biggest selling single but she now returns with a second album and another top 10 single as “If It Makes You Happy” slides in at No 9 (24,000). The song is apparently a reflection on her life during her last album. uwlpKWUKZKo The Spice Girls fall 3-4 (58,000) and the Smurfs are also pushed down 4-5 (36,000) whilst Stretch N Vern hold at No 6 (32,000). Further down Jamiroquai drift 5-7 (31,000) as they also miss out on the top spot on the albums behind REM, and OMC dip 8-10 (23,000). 1- READY OR NOT- The Fugees (72,000) 2- FLAVA- Peter Andre (71,500) 3- BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S- Deep Blue Something (63,000) 4- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (58,000) 5- I’VE GOT A LITTLE PUPPY- The Smurfs (36,000) 6- I’M ALIVE- Stretch N Verne (32,000) 7- VIRTUAL INSANITY- Jamiroquai (31,000) 8- ALWAYS BREAKING MY HEART- Belinda Carlise (27,000) 9- IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY- Sheryl Crow (24,000) 10- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (23,000)

14TH SEPTEMBER From the time that the first set of midweeks came through it was clear that the reign of The Spice Girls was over and in the end Peter Andre is the act to do it. The man who has quickly become as known for his pretty boy looks and six pack as his music can do little wrong at the moment and his new single “Flava” wasting no time in debuting at No 1. It is, apparently, written about Andre’s inspirations Mark Morrison and Bobby Brown and convinced 129,000 people to buy a copy a copy last week. 45fKiMTFdFU Andre’s last single “Mysterious Girl” got lodged at No 2 behind The Fugees “Killing Me Softly” but he gets his revenge this week as the new Fugees single “Ready Or Not” debuts behind him. Sales of 95,000 are enough to earn the Fugees runner up spot, the song itself is based around the delfonics track “Ready Or Not Here I Come” and features a sample of Enya’s “Boadicea”. It all comes with a promo costing $1.3 million. aIXyKmElvv8 The top 3 is completed by those Spice Girls who dip 1-3 (75,000) which of course means it is now 1996’s third million seller with sales of 1,027,000. With a sample of a loop from Earth Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” running through it, Stretch N Verne’s “I’m Alive” is the only other new entry in the top 10 this week at No 6 (36,000). It has been a hit in the dance clubs for the last few months and finally gets a release to rapturous reviews in specialist magazines. Ig9Sgz8iARQ The Smurfs hold at No 4 (42,000) and Jamiroquai do the same one place below on 40,000. Kula Shaker however dive 2-7 (35,000) but showing more resilience are OMC who stick it out at No 8 (31,000) and Los Del Rio who ebb 7-9 (29,000), The Charlatans anchor the top flight by falling 3-10 (28,000). 1- FLAVA- Peter Andre (129,000) 2- READY OR NOT- The Fugees (95,000) 3- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (75,000) 4- I’VE GOT A LITTLE PUPPY- The Smurfs (42,000) 5- VIRTUAL INSANITY- Jamiroquai (40,000) 6- I’M ALIVE- Stretch N Vern (36,000) 7- HEY DUDE- Kula Shaker (35,000) 8- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (31,000) 9- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (29,000) 10- ONE TO ANOTHER- The Charlatans (28,000)

10TH JULY After his meteoric leap to No 1 last week Captain Sensible maintains his position with "Happy Talk" which sells another 92,000 copies to help pull the chart from its summer slumber. Now having sold 184,287 copies it becomes the biggest seller of his career overtaking the Damned's "Love Song" a No 20 hit in 1979 and the previous holder of that accolade. 8ieBaHGOXBw Although it was never ahead of "Happy Talk" (there was only clear blue sea between "Abracadabra" and the former track after Thursday's TOTP which assured an easier victory than it at first looked for Captain Sensible), Steve Miller Band sold 71,000 copies in the end, enough for No 1 in 3 of the last four weeks. Back in 1980 you may recall a film called "Fame" and its theme song of the same name by Irene Cara (who also starred in the film), it made the US No 4 in that year but was a flop in the UK. The Film has now spawned a TV spin off which has started to be aired on BBC prime time Thursday last month and has seen the show explode in popularity, that prompted a rush release of the theme, it should be noted that Cara does not appear in the TV Series (being replaced by Erica Gimpel in the role she took in the film), nor is it her voice you hear in the opening credits to the TV show (again that's Gimpel's re-recorded vocals) but it's Cara's version that takes off this week as it soars 51-4 (56,000) a massive climb of 47 places which doesn't quite match the all time record leap of 55 places which occurred to Paul McCartney's "Coming Up" in May 1980. With continued exposure weekly it may run "Happy Talk" close next week! In case you're wondering why we have Cara's version and not Gimpel's as a single, well that's because the BBC passed on the rights to release the track as a single leaving RSO free to push Cara's single- silly move. dF4P4Gcwcps Arriving 17-6 (42,000) are Shalamar who top even the performance of their only other Top 10 single "I Can Make You Feel Good" which peaked at No 7 in May this year. "A Night To Remember" gained considerable expose thanks to some fancy moves on TOTP by group member Jeffrey Daniel which have generated some headlines and helped the song on its way. 1qokA5khruY There is seemingly some new chart record to report every week and this week is no different thanks to the Jam. "Just Who Is The Five O'clock Hero" debuted at No 13 last week but now climbs to No 8 (38,000) despite the fact that the single is only available on Dutch import, it is now the highest peaking track to be available only on import, taking the record from another Jam import, namely "That's Entertainment" which peaked at No 21 last year. The single is available on the current Jam album "The Gift" which became their first No 1 album but has not returned to the top 20 since it left there back in April. 4dYR_HJD5rY Midge Ure has had top 10 hits with both Slik, Visage, and of course Ultravox, he can now add a solo top 10 single to his repertoire as "No Regrets" accelerates 11-9 (35,000). The song is a cover of a 1968 track by Tom Rush which was covered by the Walker Brothers in 1975 an made No 7 marking their return to the top 10 after a ten year absence, it now gets another appearance in the upper reaches of the chart thanks to Ure's cover. nJJbaJch6AU Elsewhere there are two non movers, Odyssey hold at No 3 (57,000) and Imagination are static at No 5 (51,000) whilst two songs are on their way out, Charlene drops 2-7 (38,000), and Diana Ross dips 7-10 (34,000) 1- HAPPY TALK- Captain Sensible (92,000) 2- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (71,000) 3- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (57,000) 4- FAME- Irene Cara (56,000) 5- MUSIC AND LIGHTS- Imagination (51,000) 6- A NIGHT TO REMEMBER- Shalamar (42,000) 7- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (38,000) 8- JUST WHO IS THE FIVE O’CLOCK HERO- The Jam (38,000) 9- NO REGRETS- Midge Ure (35,000) 10- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross (34,000) As we are now half way through the year here's the YTD top 10 1- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit 795,098 2- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance band 655,615 3- EBONY AND IVORY- Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney 608,051 4- PRECIOUS/ A TOWN CALLED MALICE- The Jam 596,942 5- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers 548,653 6- MICKEY- Toni Basil 521,287 7- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100 515,165 8- COMPUTER LOVE/ THE MODEL- Kraftwerk 514,257 9- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens 511,083 10- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant 479.596

YEAR: 1991 PEAK POSITION: 3 VOTER: Dandy*- 29pts, King Rollo- 27pts, Mango- 26pts, Padamic Tension- 26pts, Jester- 23pts, Bjork- 22pts, JulianT- 18pts, Chartjack2- 15pts, Jimwatts- 14pts, Popchartfreak- 14pts In the summer of 1991 Erasure were back, back BACK with their first single in a year. It became their highest debuting single to that point by smashing straight into the top 3 though it progressed no further. A8LV75PMseU lDbg4N9omRE

YEAR: 1988 PEAK POSITION: 6 VOTER: Bjork- 30pts, Chartjack2- 27pts, Jimwatts- 27pts, King Rollo- 26pts, Dandy*- 21pts, Gezza- 19pts, Jester- 17pts, JulianT- 16pts, Mango- 12pts, AHGold- 8pts, Popchartfreak- 7pts Lead single from “The Innocents” this became the group’s 4th top 10 single on release. ekc_aR5LyAk f4sEXrhAu_8

3RD JULY Another slice of chart history is made today as former "Damned" guitarist Raymond Burns (Better known as "Captain Sensible") leaps 33-1 with his version of "Happy Talk", originally a song from the musical "South Pacific". That's the biggest jump to the top spot in chart history and can thank in part a low sales climate for performing the miraculous feat as the song sold just 77,000 copies, not spectacular however that is a marked (25%) increase on the performance of Charlene last week. Captain Sensible is joined by the Dolly Mixtures on backing vocals who have had a lot of radio 1 support thanks to John Peel but this is their first slice of chart fame. it's the third Rogers & Hammerstein composition to make No 1 after "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". 291ET6Py6H8 "I've Never Been To Me" drops 1-2 this week and sells a further 56,000 copies into the bargain but again TOTP didn't help its cause at all indicating that its appeal is limited and dare I say it, a fortunate No 1. Three new hits to cover this week, first up are the Steve Miller Band who's only previous UK hit was "Rock N Me" which peaked at No 11 back in 1976. Six years down the line the band return with "Abracadabra" which jumps 12-4 (54,000) to easily score the biggest hit of their career to date. J3uqwdhCIHo Not quite the climb that Captain Sensible experienced this week, but then not far off either. for Imagination whose "Music and Lights" rocket 31-5 (53,000) and is the band's third top 10 single and follow up to the No 2 hit "Just An Illusion". September sees the release of a second album for the trio and will be produced by Jolly & Swain who are now much in demand among chart acts. K1e8u_58bmI Thought the medley craze was over? Not quite- after holding off for a year Parlophone finally assented to the release of a Beatles Medley of music from their various films and this week sees the return of the fab 4 to the top 10 for the first time since 1976 and is their 24th visit to the upper reaches. The song heads up 18-10 (35,000) this week and will hopefully help to sell the album "Reel Music" which has not met expectations so far and perhaps explains the u-turn on this track which was originally only a US release making it, until now, a rarity for UK collectors. _8X8MR4dNkM On to the climbers this week which include Odyssey (7-3, 56,000),and Diana Ross 8-7 (41,000), and three fallers. Kid Creole & The Coconuts (4-6, 41,000), Duran Duran 5-8 (39,000), and Adam Ant who trails off 2-9 (38,000). You'll note that Charlene's fall could have been far more substantial! 1- HAPPY TALK- Captain Sensible (77,000) 2- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (56,000) 3- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (56,000) 4- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (54,000) 5- MUSIC AND LIGHTS- Imagination (53,000) 6- I’M A WONDERFUL THING BABY- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (41,000) 7- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross (41,000) 8- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (39,000) 9- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (38,000) 10- BEATLES MOVIE MEDLEY- The Beatles (35,000)

OH L’AMOUR YEAR: 1986/ 2003 PEAK POSITION: 85/13 VOTER: AHGold- 29pts, Mango- 24pts, King Rollo- 24pts, JulianT- 23pts, Padamic Tension- 21pts, Jester- 20pts, Bjork- 18pts, Jimwatts- 18pts, Dandy*- 10pts, Chartjack2- 5pts, Popchartfreak- 2pts Odd to think now that “Oh L’amour” bombed on its first release in early 1986, it has gone on to be one of their more famous hits making the top 10 in 1988 for Dollar and finally getiing a top 20 position for the group themselves upon being remixed in 2003 to promote another “best of” compilation. On the b-side of the original was a cover of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme”- that ABBA cover might be something they revisit later….. Bell: “by the time the third single was released that was a euro-hit for us. We’d also been a club band anyway, and they picked up on the single and it was a hit in France and by that time we’d created a stir and because of that our next single started to get a lot of airplay” kFduy8qQIOg YgTut7WBmtw

YEAR: 1989 PEAK POSITION: 4 VOTER: Dandy*- 28pts, Gezza- 28pts, Jester- 18pts, Chartjack2- 17pts, Popchartfreak- 15pts, King Rollo- 14pts, Mango- 14pts, Jimwatts- 11pts, Bjork- 9pts, Padamic Tension- 7pts, JulianT- 2pts Erasure’s first single in 9 months had some hype with interest high in whether it would top the charts given the success of the previous single “Stop”. It debuted high at No 7 but petered out at No 4, the backing vocals on the cry “Guilty!” comes in part from Sisters Of Mercy who were recording in the next studio at the time. 4gwiInUNf_s NoLo1HUrOGw