Gezza

YEAR: 1988 PEAK POSITION: 11 VOTER: Popchartfreak- 27pts, Bjork- 24pts, Padamic Tension- 19pts, King Rollo- 17pts, Dandy*- 16pts, Jimwatts- 16pts, Jester- 14pts, Chartjack2- 10pts, AHGold- 3pts, Mango- 2pts, JulianT- 1pt Missing the top 10 by just over 500 copies in the summer of 1988, this was their debut release in the US and was their biggest hit stateside peaking at No 12. The song was a subtle plea by the duo for the acceptance of same sex love, very daring for the 80s 6J2OlIpQgF8 AGnlPeahv1o

YEAR: 1987 PEAK POSITION: 7 VOTER: Gezza- 29pts, Padamic Tension- 16pts, Bjork- 15pts, Jester- 15pts, Jimwatts- 15pts, Chartjack2- 14pts, Dandy*- 13pts, King Rollo- 11pts, JulianT- 7pts, AHGold- 6pts, Mango- 1pt Third single from “The Circus” and another top 10 hit. VgvogQomSzc iyCvkX_lRTc

Yes I agree. Their previous single had broken them and ended up being a reasonably good seller over a period of time. There was more instant demand for this one so it peaked higher.

I meant to respond to this but forgot- Yes Cambodia did 229k, Water On Glass 180k and View From A Bridge 151k

12TH JUNE With a sales slump of 17% this week "House Of Fun" can't keep its grip on the No 1 slot as it tumbles to No 2 (73,000) though Madness do regain the top spot on the albums listings, it makes way for Adam Ant who himself sees a decrease of 8% to 73,000 but that's enough in this week to earn the singer a third chart topper in a little over a year by the slimmest of margins. Ant must have feared that the track wasn't going to make it to the summit but he has now sold 288,000 copies in its first month and last week saw a limited edition picture disc which once again may have proved the difference for the second time this year! i6mZekT4u0U Soft Cell hold at No 3 suffering a more modest decrease to 68,000, ABC continue to climb 5-4 (55,000) and now have their biggest hit on their hands even if it is cooling at retail. Also climbing are Duran Duran who rise 8-6 (50,000) and Tight Fit who bounce back 6-5 (54,000) with a sales increase of 13%, Junior holds at No 7 but a TOTP performance sees him improve on a sale of 49,000 which is enough for him just to pip Yazoo who drop 4-8 (47,000). Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo Oliver is a new name on the popscene and has reached the top 10 with a 15-9 (40,000) jump. Her track "I've Never Been To Me" was first released by Randy Crawford in 1976 but made No 97 in the US for Charlene the following year and that was pretty much the story until earlier this year when the track was picked up by a Tampa DJ who started playing it and was amazed by the response. Word got back to Motown records who resigned the singer and re-released the single went to No 3 last month facilitating its UK release and here we are, that was after they managed to locate the singer who was living with her husband and running a sweet shop in Ilford! ibfqP4GVvtU Genesis have a new live album today "3 Sides Live" which may impact on the single "Paperlate", the lead track from the "3X3" EP and this week gives the band a 4th top 10 hit rising 19-10 (39,000). The album contains three sides of live material from their "Abacab" tour plus one side of new tracks which contains three of the tracks on the EP, the cover incidentally is meant to be a near replicate that of The Beatles "Twist and Shout"- a nice homage. U-j3F08uLcI 1- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (73,000) 2- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (73,000) 3- TORCH- Soft Cell (68,000) 4- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (55,000) 5- FANTASY ISLAND- Tight Fit (54,000) 6- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (50,000) 7- MAMA USED TO SAY- Junior (49,000) 8- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (47,000) 9- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (40,000) 10-3 X 3 EP- Genesis (39,000)

YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 4 VOTER: Popchartfreak- 25pts, JulianT-24pts, Chartjack2- 20pts, Jimwatts- 19pts, AHGold- 18pts, Bjork- 17pts, Dandy*- 9pts, Mango- 6pts, Padamic Tension- 3pts Some might say they were taking advantage of the traditional January sales slump back in the physical age, however a top 5 hit is a top 5 hit, and this was their first in 11 years, it also proved to be their last. The CD:Rom version of the single (remember those) allowed buyers to download elements of the track and create their own remixes of the track. It is by far our favourite Erasure single of the 21st century. WVSe5M-Co48 rvv99g3toWA

YEAR: 1992 PEAK POSITION: 1 VOTER: King Rollo- 23pts, Chartjack2- 22pts, Mango- 22pts, Dandy*- 20pts, Padamic Tension- 17pts, Jester- 16pts, Popchartfreak- 12pts, Gezza- 4pts, AHGold- 4pts ' Released only 12” in 1981 thanks to resistance by the group over the single, Erasure turned it into a chart topper. Bell noted: I insisted on “”Voulez-vous”” and “”Lay All Your Love On Me”” while Vince insisted on “”SOS”” “Take A Chance On Me”” was just the next natural choice.” And it was our natural choice of the favourite track from the EP it seems. pn_59fAbCZw w1GQnS1D7dU

7TH SEPTEMBER Turning into something of a phenomenon The Spice Girls “Wannabe” is unstoppable at the top as it takes No 1 for a seventh week! Selling another 90,000 in the process it should sell its millionth copy sometime next week perhaps even whilst still at No 1. FXkBWVSGmwg For a third week on the trot the highest new entry comes flying in at No 2 and this time it’s Kula Shaker who are playing the bridesmaids. “Hey Dude” becomes their biggest hit improving on the No 4 peak of “Tattva” that the band attained back in May and sets it all up nicely for the release of their debut album “K” in three weeks. The new single sold an impressive 65,000 copies last week but didn’t look like unsettling the Spices at the top. bpZm2tVobRQ After losing their keyboardist and key member Rob Collins in a car crash last month there is considerable good feeling in the press and with the critics towards The Charlatans. Some tipped their new single “One To Another” as a possible No 1 and whilst it seems to have left that ambition unfilled it does it become their biggest seller by debuting at No 3 (57,000). _dzPqcsGA-Y It’s been 18 years since The Smurfs last had a hit record but whilst they are yesterday’s craze as far the UK goes there has been a lasting legacy in Europe where the occasional album of covers of recent hits have kept them in the public eye. And the so the time has come to try to make the little blue characters relevant once again, parent album “The Smurfs Go Pop” was released 10 weeks ago and has been in the top 10 ever since convincing the label that a single would sell and so we get “I’ve Got A Little Puppy” which is essentially a rehash of Technohead’s “I Wanna Be A Hippy” and is new at No 4 (54,000)- seems like we’ve missed them. Ida_5cV3X-E Britpop isn’t dead yet and the success of Space proves that, the Liverpool quartet cite The Who and The Kinks as their influences and have steadily improved their chart fortunes over the last year. Debut single “Money” missed the charts but follow up “Neighbourhood” was the chart debut at No 56 and then “Female Of The Species” became a summer hit (No 14) gaining substantive airplay and enables new single “Me And You Versus The World” to become their biggest hit yet at No 9 (30,000). Their debut album will go head to head with the Kula Shaker album in 3 weeks. IzPS7htjJhA Jamiroquai fall back 3-5 (54,000) but they stay ahead of the faster plummeting George Michael 2-6 (53,000), Los Del Rio hold at No 7 (37,000) and once again OMC stick close to them at No 8 (36,000) but both are in decline sales wise. Backstreet Boys dip 9-10 (29,000) to complete the run down. The Spice Girls will have competition this week from new singles by both The Fugees and Peter Andre, both acts hit it big last time around with singles selling over 700,000 so it should be an interesting chart battle. 1- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (90,000) 2- HEY DUDE- Kula Shaker (65,000) 3- ONE TO ANOTHER- The Charlatans (57,000) 4- I’VE GOT A LITTLE PUPPY- The Smurfs (54,000) 5- VIRTUAL INSANITY- Jamiroquai (54,000) 6- SPINNING THE WHEEL- George Michael (53,000) 7- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (37,000) 8- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (36,000) 9- ME AND YOU VERSES THE WORLD- Space (30,000) 10- WE’VE GOT IT GOIN ON- Backstreet Boys (29,000)

31ST AUGUST For the first time in history four of the top 5 tracks in the charts are new entries! The only remainer?- The Spice Girls of course, “Wannabe” continues to defy the odds and lodge a 6th week at No 1 selling another 110,000 copies to bring its total haul to 863,000 making it also the third biggest seller of 1996 so far. The girls are busy touring the single and finishing off their debut album due for Christmas. This is the 7th week that the No 1 record has sold in six figures- a new 90s record. pCYZTBlGEOA “Wannabe” was matched almost sale for sale by the new George Michael single “Spinning The Wheel” at the start of the week, it’s a third single from “Older” which has already sold over 750,000 so it is a remarkable achievement that it was even in the running to be fair. Buoyed up by popular club mixes of the single and also of former No 1 “Fastlove” the song sold a respectable 90,000 copies in its opening week, it also means that “Wannabe” has now deprived two Michael compositions the top slot after Robbie Williams’ version of “Freedom” took silver place earlier this month. qSoMTkn_Qfg Autumn is fast approaching and that means a hectic album schedule as everyone jockies for that prime spot on people’s Xmas wish list. New albums mean lead singles and two land in the top 5. Jamiroquai are first up with “Virtual Insanity” which is immediately their biggest hit at No 3 (79,000) and comes with a memorable video which has already picked up a lot of critical appreciation and comment. It is the third top 10 hit but by far the biggest single the band have ever come up with and gives the perfect start for their new album “Travelling Without Moving” out next month. AgucNh4U7uE In fact it will go head to head with the new REM album “New Adventures In Hi-Fi”. Round one goes to Jamiroquai as they just beat the REM lead single “E-Bow The Letter” into the charts by a spot. The group have of course just signed a 5 album deal with Warner Bros and have roped in legend Patti Smith to do vocals on the track, and an E-Bow (in case you wondered) is a device which modifies the sound of an electric guitar but the song is thematically about the actor River Phoenix who died in 1993. Stipe and Phoenix were friends and, allegedly, while Phoenix was collapsed outside The Viper Room in LA the house band were inside performing the song “Michael Stipe” so it is perhaps grim apropos that everything is connected. The single enters at No 4 (58,000) and is the group’s biggest hit to date. vLYScLZFI1A Former Climie Fisher member Simon Climie is the songwriting credit behind another single, this time Louise’s “Undivided Love”. Her album “Naked” went top 10 and is now home to three top 10 singles, it lifts 34-29 this week having already gone gold whilst the fourth single equals the peak of the single “Naked” and arrives at No 5 (51,000)- that’s her best opening week sale ever. CfAte_P2B4Q Incredible to think that 5 years ago Bryan Adams had his first top 10 single of his long career but then “Everything I Do” kind of made up for the wait. Since that point Adams has been a regular act in the top flight and “Let’s Make A Night To Remember” is now his 7th hit to make it as it rises 13-10 (27,000). Xm9GlSbxy78 All those high flyers mean there is no room for 3T and Michael Jackson who dive 2-6 (45,000) and even summer favourites for Los Del Rio (4-7, 42,000) and OMC (5-8, 39,000) find the going tough. Backstreet Boys complete the top 10 as they slide 3-9 (36,000) lacking staying power. 1- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (110,000) 2- SPINNING THE WHEEL- George Michael (90,000) 3- VIRTUAL INSANITY- Jamiroquai (79,000) 4- E-BOW THE LETTER- R.E.M (58,000) 5- UNDIVIDED LOVE- Louise (51,000) 6- WHY- 3T Ft Michael Jackson (45,000) 7- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (42,000) 8- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (39,000) 9- WE’VE GOT IT GOIN ON- Backstreet Boys (36,000) 10- LET’S MAKE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER- Bryan Adams (27,000)

5TH JUNE Roxy Music replace Madness at the top of the album charts but "House Of Fun" continues to dominate the singles survey after selling a respectable 88,000 copies (sales suppressed by another Bank Holiday) and can now boast an impressive 3 week total of 233,111. The success of the album may be detracting sales from the single which helps to explain how it can't quite shake of "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant, that holds at No 2 but on an decreased sale of 80,000 even without TOTP and overall the track is on 215,211 copies and not far behind "House Of Fun" in terms of cumulative sales. It may not be all over for Adam after all. SteOmgBukFQ It's time for Top 5 single No 4 from Soft Cell which may well have some say in the continued battle between Maness and Adam Ant. The band are releasing a remix album this month "Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing" later this month but don't be expecting to find "Torch" on it, the band have made the decision to exclude it and issue this as a standalone single. The song is essentially an uncredited duet between Almond and Cindy Ecstacy and does the trick for them commercially as it rockets 16-3 (69,000) in its second week- next week's No 1? ySHSKYOAo0c Duran Duran are a band who probably got more press than record sales in 1981 despite the top 10 single "Girls On Film". In part this was due to a rather risqué video directed by Godley & Crème and also the photogenic appeal of the band, now they can back it up with another top 10 hit in "Hungry Like The Wolf" which leaps 12-8 (45,000) and is the lead single to second album "Rio" which has already made No 2 where it stuck behind Madness. It comes with another glamorous video this time set in Sri Lanka and having a "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" feel to it which should only encourage further magazine covers for the group. mQLxz8Vp-YI Two other climbers this week, ABC rise a spot 6-5 (65,000) to become their highest peaking track, and Junior is on the move 9-7 (48,000) with only a minimal sales increase. Moving in the wrong direction are Yazoo 3-4 (65,000), Tight Fit 5-6 (48,000) Ph.D 7-9 (44,000) and the quickly depleting Nicole 4-10 (43,000). 1- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (88,000) 2- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (80,000) 3- TORCH- Soft Cell (69,000) 4- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (65,000) 5- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (65,000) 6- FANTASY ISLAND- Tight Fit (48,000) 7- MAMA USED TO SAY- Junior (48,000) 8- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (45,000) 9- I WON’T LET YOU DOWN- PhD (44,000) 10- A LITTLE PEACE- Nicole (43,000)

YEAR: 1994 PEAK POSITION: 20 VOTER: Jimwatts- 24pts, JulianT- 21pts, Popchartfreak- 21pts, AHGold- 19pts, Chartjack2- 19pts, Gezza- 17pts, Padamic Tension- 9pts, Dandy*- 6pts, Jester- 3pts Quite why it took 5 months between single 2 and 3 from “I Say I Say I Say” is a mystery but it’s fair to say the era was over before it was released in reality. Having missed the top 10 in the festive charts of 1989 and 1991 (their last two attempts at a Christmas big hit) I don’t why they thought this might do the trick even though it was technically an EP (perhaps trying to replicate the EP of 1988?). The promo was shot in Bell’s Majorcan villa. wmwPh6MHpcU lQdbGIFTBUI

YEAR: 1989 PEAK POSITION: 15 VOTER: Dandy*- 24pts, Gezza- 24pts, Mango- 21pts, Chartjack2- 21pts, Popchartfreak- 16pts, King Rollo- 9pts, Jester- 9pts, Padamic Tension- 8pts, Jimwatts- 6pts A slightly disappointing result for the final 80s Erasure single which got lost somewhat in the festive rush that year. B-side “Supernature” was something of a dance hit remixed by relatively unknown William Orbit. rLqKiqaS-DU IelUGQtqPwg

29TH MAY It took a 12th hit to do it but Madness finally grab a No 1 single today as "House Of Fun" sprints 8-1 on this weeks chart, and with "Complete Madness" also in pole position in the album charts it marks a double for the band who can now hold their heads high in the pantheon of 80s music. __i8VrFT3Ns That's the headline but the truth this week is what a scrap it was for the No 1 position with the top three all within 9,000 copies of each other. Early leaders Yazoo can blame the lack of TOTP for their inability to keep a hold of the lead as "Only You" slides 2-3 (83,000) despite another 8% hike in sales and was only overtaken at the weekend by the afore mentioned "House of Fun" (92,000) and also Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes" who both had the benefit of TOTP to propel them past "Only You" at the death. It was also tough luck for Adam Ant who is looking for his third No 1 in a year but that now looks unlikely. Nicole Falls back this week 1-4 (64,000) and was out of the running to maintain her No 1 position from the off, but we're not quite done with Eurovision yet though. Tight Fit currently have the biggest selling single of the year with their version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" which has now sold 794,000 copies and is the third biggest seller of the decade thus far playing second fiddle to "Tainted Love" and "Stand And Deliver" in that list. The follow up track "Fantasy Island" arrives this week climbing 11-5 (56,000) and is again a cover, this time the track was performed by the Millionaires in the heats for the Dutch entry for Eurovision earlier this year, Producer Tim Friese-Greene saw some worth in the track and plucked it from failure to become a Tight Fit single and now a top 5 UK hit, and the group actually sing on this one! chYzRL9zFpg Album "The Lexicon Of Love" is due next month and will now contain three top 20 hits as "Look Of Love" follows "Poison Arrow" into the big ten. With a promo taking some inspiration from "Mary Poppins" it asserts the clam that ABC are one of 1982's brightest lights and the single flies 13-6 (56,000) to equal their highest chart placing. FHoILOpQ8vI Former Lynx backing singer Junior is our final new entry to discuss as it glides 14-9 (44,000), it's the first single from his debut solo album "Ji" and narrowly missed the top 75 when released earlier this year but has now been remixed and the "American Remix" now propels it up the chart. d5EWp-oj-B4 Patrice Rushen also has reason to be happy with "Forget Me Nots" upward bound 10-8 (49,000) whilst Ph.D and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts have less luck both falling 3-7 (50,000) and 4-10 (43,000) respectively. 1- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (92,000) 2- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (84,000) 3- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (83,000) 4- A LITTLE PEACE- Nicole (64,000) 5- FANTASY ISLAND- Tight Fit (56,000) 6- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (56,000) 7- I WON’T LET YOU DOWN- Ph.D (50,000) 8- FORGET ME NOTS- Partrice Rushen (49,000) 9- MAMA USED TO SAY- Junior (44,000) 10- I LOVE ROCK N ROLL- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (43,000)

Y'all let me down!

YEAR: 1995 PEAK POSITION: 15 VOTER: AHGold- 28pts, Popchartfreak- 24pts, Jimwatts- 20pts, Gezza- 14pts, Bjork- 14pts, Dandy*- 12pts, Chartjack2- 9pts, JulianT- 8pts, King Rollo- 6pts, Jester- 2pts Leading an album with a ballad is always a challenging prospect especially for an act more renowned for the HI-NRG tunes but that’s what the boys did in 1995 and it saw them fall short of the big top 10 for the first time since their debut with a lead single. SgIU8D--cuw n6ZDUY1Enc4

YEAR: 1992 PEAK POSITION: 8 VOTER: Gezza- 30pts, Bjork- 20pts, Dandy*- 19pts, JulianT- 14pts, Jimwatts- 13pts, Padamic Tension- 13pts, AH Gold- 10pts, Mango- 9pts, Jester- 6pts Remixed from the album version (probably as it was a fourth single) it still went top 10. DRoo53diveo BO9vbTzQ2K0

22ND MAY Nicole's "A Little Peace" gets a much easier second week at the top and a full week at retail and sells a healthy 101,000 into the bargain bringing a three week haul to 236,000 copies- a poor showing for 1982 thus far. Incidentally I forgot to mention last week that it is now the 500th UK Number One single since the charts began 30 years ago, it's also taken 5 years and 3 months to get there since the 400th No 1 which was "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" back in February 1977. 0feIRduE6UY (Includes the top 10 rundown) Until 3 weeks ago the Jam's "Town Called Malice/ Precious" was the only song to debut in the top 10 this year, then a fortnight ago Nicole arrived at No 8 and this week two singles debut in the top 10 simultaneously- a first in the decade. Making the biggest splash is Adam Ant with his first solo hit after disbanding the ants last month, "Goody Two Shoes" smashes in at No 5 today after selling 51,000 copies, initial copies of the single note "Adam & The Ants" on the cover illustrating some confusion over the timing of the split of the band and with some justification. It is written by Adam along with former ant co-writer Marco Pirroni and co-produced by Chris Hughes (the drummer in the band) so some may argue over how "solo" this single is. The album is due before Christmas so a lot rides on how this performs- sigh's of relief all around today I suspect, thematically Ant returns to his relationship with the press and his perceived image. dXH3n5kgqtg The list of accolades that Madness have in the 80s is already impressive. In terms of singles sold they are second only to Adam & The Ants (how appropriate this week) but since they split Madness now must be favourite to pass then in the course of 1982 unless something dramatic happens, they also have more top 10 singles than any other group, 8 in total before today. Their last single "Cardiac Arrest" only made No 14 earlier this year breaking that run of 9 top 10 singles but all is back on track this week as not only do they score a 9th top tenner (in the 80s) but "House Of Fun" becomes their first single to debut inside the big 10 as it does today at No 8 (43,000) it also features on their first greatest Hits album "Complete Madness" which this week rises to No 1 on the album charts deposing Paul McCartney- their very first No 1 album. The song's mildly controversial theme (young boy's coming of age) may help slightly though of course it all comes with Madness' usual slice of tongue in cheek charm and the first 70,000 copies are available in picture disc- get them quick! GJ2X9SANsME Patrice Rushen is a name you might not have heard off, she's had one hit a year in the decade so far though "Haven't You Heard" (#62) and "Never Gonna Give You Up" (#66) hardly set the charts alight. "Forget Me Nots" has done far better in giving her the breakthrough as it rises 11-10 (42,000) today to sneak into the big 10. ggvGr8CV3BI There's lots happening elsewhere in the top 10 as well, Yazoo could very well be No 1 next week as they climb 7-2 (77,000) and Hot Chocolate still aren't done as they climb 9-7 (49,000). Ph.D and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts both hold at Numbers 3 and 4 but both are receding sales wise to 67,0000 and 60,000 respectively. Also falling are Scotland World Cup Squad 5-6 (50,000) and "Ebony & Ivory" which bombs 2-9 (43,000) and may have trouble hanging around for long. 1- A LITTLE PEACE- Nicole (101,000) 2- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (77,000) 3- I WON’T LET YOU DOWN- PhD (67,000) 4- I LOVE ROCK N ROLL- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (60,000) 5- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (51,000) 6- WE HAVE A DREAM- Scotland World Cup Squad (50,000) 7- GIRL CRAZY- Hot Chocolate (49,000) 8- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (43,000) 9- EBONY & IVORY- Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (43,000) 10- FORGET ME NOTS- Patrice Rushen. (42,000)

We start the top 20 with our first 30 pointer!

What's left by decade: 80s-11 90s- 8 00s- 1 10s-0 20s-0

YEAR: 1995 PEAK POSITION: 20 VOTER: Padamic Tension- 27pts, AHGold- 27pts, Dandy*- 26pts, Gezza- 18pts, JulianT- 11pts, Bjork- 10pts, Popchartfreak- 9pts, Jiimwatts- 4pts, Jester- 1pt Another December release and another song that scrapped the top 20 for them, it was heavily edited by over 2 minutes from the album version when released. The track appeared originally on the film “Wigstock- The Movie” which showcased the annual drag festival in New York and was re-recorded for the album later on in the year for the album. di1mBv3iHMQ Z4P2F1jpbj8

YEAR: 1997 PEAK POSITION: 13 VOTER: Gezza- 25pts, Popchartfreak- 23pts, Mango- 20pts, AHGold- 15pts, Bjork- 12pts, Dandy*- 11pts, Chartjack2- 6pts, JulianT- 5pts, Jimwatts- 3pts First single from the album “Cowboy” and indeed first single in over a year from the boys which became their last 20 single for 6 years, but conversely their biggest hit in three years! koHzQVVg8is

15TH MAY Three is the magic number today, that's how many weeks Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney managed at the top with "Ebony & Ivory" which this week drops a place to No 2 still selling a very healthy 83,000 copies to boot. It's replaced by the third Eurovision winning song in a row to make the top slot in the UK (and 7th overall), this time it's Nicole who sprints from No 8 (where she debuted last week) to No 1 today and outstripping the outgoing duo by just 4,000 copies in the main thanks to a studio performance by the singer on TOTP. Just 6 months ago an East or West German act had never topped the UK singles chart, now there have been three as Nicole follows Kraftwerk and Goombay Dance Band to the summit. At 17 she's the youngest act to make No 1 since St Winifred's school choir. Ne8K8wn3jZM The strength of the BBC show is apparent elsewhere, you'll note that both Ph.D and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts both hold at numbers 3 and 4 respectively, the sales difference? Well Ph.D performed and shoot up by 17% to 78,000 whilst "I Love Rock N Roll" had no such advantage and increases by 4% to 67,000 copies. The Scotland World Cup Squad are proving that anything England can do they can do. The team has now reached the top 20 for the last 3 world cup's. "Easy Easy" made No 20 in 1974, then "Ole Ola" made No 4 four years ago which is now followed by "We Have A Dream" which climbs 13-5 (59,000), it enlists the help of John Gordon Sinclair and is written by BA Robinson who seems only capable of writing of hits for other acts these days. On a World Cup theme, the England team plummet 2-8 (47,000) as they have peaked too early. gmzDOqUdu8A Proving there is life after Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke's new group Yazoo register on our radar this week with "Only You" which homes in on the top spot moving 14-7 (50,000). The band actually formed thanks to add in Melody Maker placed by the vocalist Alison Moyet to which Clarke replied shortly after he left "the mode" in late 1981 and this is the first fruits of their joint labour, the track is once again a Clarke composition and he can feel vindicated in his decision to branch out. qdjERa5BC_o It's been two long years since we last had a reason to discuss Hot Chocolate so it must be a relief to fans of the 70s supergroup that they can produce the goods as they score a tenth top 10 track in "Girl Crazy" (18-9, 45,000). It features on their new album "Mystery" which isn't exactly tearing up the charts at present, perhaps not a surprise given its first single" only made No 52 last year but they have better luck this time around. dfvMedSbIo0 The long heralded second Spandau Ballet album "Diamond" which is already home to three singles (Chant No 1 #3, Paint Me Down #30, and She Loved Like A Diamond #49) is now home to a fourth hit "Instinction". It's been heavily remixed by Trevor Horn from the version on the album and comes complete with a similar workover of "Chant No 1" on the 12" which hasn't harmed the singles progress as it leaps 17-10 (41,000), the album however has yet to progress higher than No 15 which must be a disappointment for the group. FEtt9devpTU The only other track to mention is "Really Saying Something" for Bananarama and Fun Boy Three which finally slips a spot 5-6 (52,000) 1- A LITTLE PEACE- Nicole (87,000) 2- EBONY & IVORY- Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (83,000) 3- I WON’T LET YOU DOWN- PhD (78,000) 4- I LOVE ROCK N ROLL- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (67,000) 5- WE HAVE A DREAM- Scotland World Cup Squad (59,000) 6- REALLY SAYING SOMETHING- Bananarama and Fun Boy Three (52,000) 7- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (50,000) 8- THIS TIME (WE'LL GET IT RIGHT} ENGLAND, WE'LL FLY THE FLAG- England World Cup Squad (47,000) 9- GIRL CRAZY- Hot Chocolate (45,000) 10- INSTINCTION- Spandau Ballet (41,000) Finally it was announced this week by the BPI that BMRB had lost the contract it has held since 1969 to compile the charts. Instead Gallup have been awarded the task on the promise to computerise compilation of the charts and improving the robustness of the process to give greater accuracy. They will take over in January!

I must have seen them on the same tour (for the first time) in Birmingham. He sounded as good as he did back in the 80s- remarkable really and well worth seeing them live.

YEAR: 1991 PEAK POSITION: 15/22 VOTER: Dandy*- 27pts, AHGold- 16ptsm Bjork- 16pts, JulianT- 15pts, Mango- 15pts, Jester- 7pts, Jimwatts- 5pts, Gezza- 5pts, Popchartfreak- 5pts, Padamic Tension- 1pt Another track that was lost in the run in to Christmas, the promo was filmed in Amsterdam with Bell visiting the “Homomonument” in the city. Due to chart regulations when a remix EP was released in January 92 it had to chart separately making No 22 itself. iquhCuzy1uw Ancr7edS0Pg