Gezza

I can't offer you a definitive reason but it may be that the song never really embedded itself into people minds as it rose 33-5-2-1 then down, so maybe it only got 4 weeks exposure and naturally tv wouldn't support it any longer. I doubt radio was behind it either (or "oh Julie" for that matter) given that they were seen as uncool at the time. TLOMB isn't a fair comparison as that had longer to click and hung around over the festive period to ensure mass exposure. Maybe?.

YEAR: 1987 PEAK POSITION: 12 VOTER: Bjork- 25pts, Padamic Tension- 22pts, AHGold- 12pts, Chartjack2- 11pts, Jester- 10pts, Popchartfreak- 8pts, Jimwatts- 7pts, Gezza- 6pts, Mango- 5pts Erasure’s follow up to “Sometimes” narrowly missed the top 10 but kept the momentum going for the pair. Rumoured to be about apartheid but this was never confirmed by the group. UWOd1N-njlc XPzNJQRlNic

YEAR: 1997 PEAK POSITION: 23 VOTER: Mango- 25pts, AHGold- 22pts, Bjork- 19pts, Padamic Tension- 11pts, gezza- 9pts, Jimwatts- 8pts, Chartjack2- 4pts, King Rollo- 1pt The single that broke a string of 24 consecutive top 20 singles in the UK. It featured their version of the Blondie classic “Heart Of Glass” on the CD version. R2MKgOrSzDw mqLp0ZUvlAM

1ST MAY As you were at the top of the charts this week as "Ebony And Ivory" sprints away from the rest of the top 10 selling almost as much as the No 2 and 3 combined and was never in danger of losing its grip. 144,000 people decided it was worth purchasing last week to being its four week tally to 336,000 and is proving very popular at radio, it's also already McCartney's biggest hit of the 80s but only Wonder's 4th biggest- an indication of how the respective acts are finding life in the charts of the decade. fXAlfh6QKQs They may not have fared very well at Eurovision but fortunately a rather poorly received performance on the night came after the shops closed on Saturday which all helped "One Step Further" leap 6-2 (87,000). If you believe that any publicity is better than no publicity at all then the song should at least be top 10 next week though in finishing 7th it is perhaps doubtful that it can progress one step further! One place below Pigbag are holding at No 3 on a near identical sale of 71,000. The world cup doesn't start in Spain until next month but that doesn't stop the England Squad from releasing "This Time (We'll Get It Right)" which this week equals the performance of the Scotland Team in 1978 (in the charts at least) when "Ole Ola" made No 4. The only previous track recorded by footballers to go higher was in 1970 when "Back Home" topped the charts for the England team, they aren't doing too shoddily in 1982 though as the track penetrates 11-4 (65,000) EYDS3O1KIUc CI9_DTvKVDo Proving that their previous hit "It Ain't What You Do" was no one off the Fun Boy Three are back with Bananarama in tow for a second hit single, this time a cover of a failed Motown track recorded by The Velvettes in 1964. Billing has been altered to put the girl group first this time around and listeners will note that Bananarama perform the bulk of the track with the boys provided backing vocals alone, a fact which doesn't seem to have dented demand as the song climbs 17-5 (60,000). 7wAB9A_5mO8 Watch out Paul & Stevie- Shaky is back attempting to score his fourth No 1 single in just 14 months, this time the track is called "Shirley" and is once again a cover this time of a 1959 track by John Fred and His Playboys which failed to hit it big here. The song is off to a very good start after debuting at No 22 last week it now rockets to No 6 (58,000), the parent album incidentally isn't due until the autumn and so this could pose a serious threat to the top- keep an eye on it. It seems that Shakey's record label have learnt from his last single "Oh Julie"- the fanclub had more than 500 requests to join from Julie's after that hit and they clearly believe that this is the way to increase membership! 0e3bVo48qcA Haircut 100 also have cause to celebrate today as "Fantastic Day" rises 12-9 (47,000) to become their third top 10 hit from 3 singles, a dream start for the group. Debut album "Pelican West" continues to entice buyers and spends its ninth week in the top 6 albums and has so far peaked at No 2 and is shaping up to be one of 1982's biggest albums. RYWWh1ztqxQ One climber to note and that comes from Shalamar who float 10-7 (58,000) and a couple of fallers Dollar fall back 4-8 (54,000) and Elton recedes 8-10 (45,000) 1- EBONY & IVORY- Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (144,000) 2- ONE STEP FURTHER- Bardo (87,000) 3- PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW PIGBAG- Pigbag. (71,000) 4- THIS TIME WE’LL FLY THE FLAG- England World Cup Squad (65,000) 5- REALLY SAYING SOMETHING- Bananarama and The Fun Boy Three (60,000) 6- SHIRLEY- Shakin Stevens (58,000) 7- I CAN MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD- Shalamar (58,000) 8- GIVE ME BACK MY HEART- Dollar (54,000) 9- FANTASTIC DAY- Haircut 100 (47,000) 10- BLUE EYES- Elton John (45,000)

24TH APRIL After 34 hit singles Stevie Wonder finally hits No 1 on the singles chart even if it takes the helping hand of Paul McCartney to do it. McCartney had 17 No 1 hits as part of the Beatles plus once with Wings, but has never been at the top in his own right, so relief all around this week that "Ebony And Ivory" climbs 3-1 selling 92,000 copies into the bargain to easily triumph over the field, with nothing looking like a challenger it should be a shoe-in for keeping the top slot next week as well. The tracks come with two promo's- one with Wonder and a solo version by McCartney- allegedly because McCartney was doing a promo film for his forthcoming album "Tug Of War" and needed a promo of the song to use. Frustrated at waiting for Wonder to do his part McCartney did his own! Ppyr0bpD8IA By one of the quirks of chart compilation had last week been organised in the same fashion as BMRB had done in Jan-March of this year then it would have been Chas and Dave who had celebrated the top slot last week, given that perhaps the track would not have headed in reverse this week 2-5 (66,000). It would also have meant that Bucks Fizz wouldn't have recorded a No 1 single in "My Camera Never Lies" but no matter how it was compiled there was no chance the song was going hold that position this week, it ebbs 1-2 (90,000) though it naturally gets a boost in sales thanks to TOTP which saw it almost catch up to "Ebony & Ivory" but in the end it proved too big an ask. I omitted to note last week that all three of Bucks Fizz's chart toppers all moved 5-2-1. Throw into the mix a couple of climbers, namely Pigbag who threaten the top with "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" which jumps 9-3 (71,000) and Dollar who inch 5-4 (69,000) and this weeks top positions were very closely contested. Another Bucks Fizz link coming up, last year they won the Eurovision of course and the contest has come around again this time being held in Harrogate this Saturday. The UK Entry comes from Bardo a duo comprising Sally Ann Triplett and Stephen Fischer, Triplett was formerly in the Eurovision as a member of Prima Donna, the UK entrant in 1980, also in the group? well a certain Lance Aston brother of the current Bucks Fizz member Jay Aston, a small world Eurovision. We can go further in fact, Fischer was actually offered a place in Bucks Fizz but turned it down as he had another offer on stage at the time. The track is already a firm favourite with the bookies to win and this week the UK public seem to agree as the track surges 16-6 (48,000) Yq_n3zMkfVs An 11th top 10 hit in the making, "Blue Eyes" marks a return to the top 10 for Elton John who has been missing from the upper reaches for 4 years now. Parent album "Jump Up" pushes 31-16 this week, Elton will be hoping that it becomes his first top 10 album of the decade as the lead single jostles 17-8 (45,000). NI4yIaVkgKs Growing an ever larger fan base Shakatak finally get their reward with a top 10 single "Night Birds". Their debut period failed to produce any top 40 hits but new album (also called "Night Birds") will be home to two top 20 hits after their last track "Easier Said Than Done" peaked at No 12. They now float 15-9 (43,000) and look to have a bright future. MQxQScUeRW8 Already on their sixth album Shalamar are best known for their 1980 hit "I Owe You One" which made No 13, they can now celebrate going even better with "I Can Make You Make You Feel Good" which makes its presence felt as it accelerates 20-10 (42,000).for the US trio, wAZnf0IJcS0 Roxy Music drop a spot 6-7 (47,000) and are out of the picture. 1- EBONY & IVORY- Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (92,000) 2- MY CAMERA NEVER LIES- Bucks Fizz (90,000) 3- PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW PIGBAG- Pigbag (71,000) 4- GIVE ME BACK MY HEART- Dollar (69,000) 5- AIN’T NO PLEASING YOU- Chas & Dave (66,000) 6- ONE STEP FURTHER- Bardo (48,000) 7- MORE THAN THIS- Roxy Music (47,000) 8- BLUE EYES- Elton John (45,000) 9- NIGHT BIRDS- Shakatak (43,000) 10- I CAN MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD- Shalamar (42,000)

YEAR: 1992 PEAK POSITION: 1 VOTER: Jester- 25pts, JulianT- 20pts, King Rollo- 13pts, Mango- 11pts, Padamic Tension- 10pts, Chartjack2- 7pts, AHGold- 1pt, Dandy*- 1pt A No 3 hit for Abba on release, this was one of four covers that formed the “Abba-Esque EP” which FINALLY gave the group their first and only UK Chart topping single. On recording Bell recanted “I think it was a case of getting ABBA out of my system really. I’ve been a fan since I can remember, and it was always me and my best friend at school who admitted that we liked ABBA…I know mot of the songs by heart really”. WblFcLctZQE AxCqwVXD4w4

YEAR: 2013 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: Gezza- 26 pts, Popchartfreak- 19pts, Jimwatts- 17 pts, JulianT- 12pts Criminally overlooked second festive hit from “Snowglobe” which should really have been a hit! It was my find of the rate and ends up with the accolade of our favourite Erasure track of the 2010s! U3PmcPcxl7I

24TH AUGUST Five weeks and counting for The Spice Girls whose “Wannabe” now ties Babylon Zoo’s “Spaceman” for most weeks at No 1 this year. Saleswise it is barely moving selling another 125,000 copies last week as it glides over the 750,000 mark making it the best selling single ever by an all girl group and the longest chart topper by the genre as well. Ye-tWGGnJuU The highest new entry of the week slips easily into the No 2 spot for 3T featuring their uncle Michael Jackson. The Song was written by Babyface and produced by Jackson himself for his nephews, originally it was given to Jackson for his album “HIStory” but didn’t make the cut meaning he could hand it down. It becomes the second No 2 hit for 3T following on from “Anything” earlier this year, it sold 63,000 copies last week. 86Hyjx5U8Ns With Take That’s demise the crown of top boyband must be up for grabs, with both Boyzone and East 17 due back before Christmas could it be that US act Backstreet Boys steal the march? “We’ve Got It Goin On” was their first single which became a substantial hit in Europe though it failed here at No 54. It now gets a re-issue after they broke the UK charts with their last single “Get Down” which leveled out at No 14 a few months back, it re-emerges at No 3 (52,000) to indicate a bright future for the US fivesome. Like Boyzone they won the smash hits award as best up and coming band last year. O5rUZ6N81mw Pet Shop Boys now have a 16th top 10 single to their credit, the Portuguese titled “Se A Vida E” crashes straight in at No 8 (28,000). It is the second single to be lifted from their forthcoming sixth album “Bilingual” which is out next month and is Latin themed. kiZeYrchWYk After scoring 10 hit singles as PJ & Duncan Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have reverted to their real names and ditched the Byker Grove link but the hits continue. Their previous best was 1994’s “Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble” which made No 9 and they almost do better with their first release as Ant & Dec but in the end “Better Watch Out” just misses out at No 10 (23,000). mHGefs8Q_SQ Los Del Rio increase their sales to 51,000 but regress 2-4 just fending off OMC who climb 8-5 (39,000). Top of the airplay charts seems to be paying off for Dodgy who hold at No 6 (32,000) as Eternal slide past them 4-7 (30,000) and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony boomerang 10-9 (24,000). This week sees a new George Michael single released- his last two both entered at No 1 can he do it again? 1- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (125,000) 2- WHY- 3T Ft Michael Jackson (63,000) 3- WE’VE GOT IT GOIN ON- Backstreet Boys (52,000) 4- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (51,000) 5- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (39,000) 6- GOOD ENOUGH- Dodgy (32,000) 7- SOMEDAY- Eternal (30,000) 8- SE A VIDA E (THAT’S THE WAY LIFE IS)- Pet Shop Boys (28,000) 9- THA CROSSROADS- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (24,000) 10- BETTER WATCH OUT- Ant & Dec (23,000)

17TH AUGUST “Wannabe” continues show girlpower at the top as it earns a fourth week at No 1 on a sale of 145,000, another 3% drop week on week following on from the 2% dip last week. That shows the consistency of the figures that the Spice Girls are putting in, enough for it to go platinum (600,000) in a mere 5 weeks. 5Q7vEVWUzhw Los Del Rio surge 5-2 (48,000) now that those new entries last week have subsided but “Macarena” actually lost sales last week and indicating that replicating its current US No 1 status here looks really beyond it. Robbie Williams’ sales are off a whopping 72% to just 41,000 in its second week evidencing the rather niche appeal of the song which doesn’t seem to expand to the general public. Spice Girls may be the newest girlgroup on the block but they’ve some way to go to match the success of Eternal who this week secure an 8th top 10 single with “Someday”. The song is taken from the new Disney film “Hunchback Of Notre Dame” which features Eric Clapton on guitar, the song is actually recorded by different acts in varying countries, All-4-one in the US, Luis Miguel in Latin America, and Neri Per Caso in Italian but it is Eternal who get the gig here. It is perhaps a reminder to the Spices that they have competition though of course a top 3 hit still eludes Eternal- this enters at No 4 (36,000) to equal their best ever showing. It’s also the highest placed Disney film track ever. w38BE4URI_Q Eternal have Eric Clapton and the new Paul Weller single has Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Craddock on guitar of his new single which narrowly fails to be the biggest new entry of the week as it crashes in at No 5 (33,000). That makes it Weller’s highest placed solo single and indeed biggest hit since “Groovin” made No 5 in May 1984 as the Style Council. aYGDH0afM0k OMC stands for Otara Millionaires club (Otara is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Auckland so it used somewhat in irony) and is the recording name of brothers Phil and Pauly Fuemana and Alan Jansson. The outfit’s debut international release is “How Bizarre” which has already made No 1 in earlier in the year in both New Zealand and Australia and finally makes inroads here lifting 11-8 (26,000)- who said that “Macarena” was the song for the summer? VkExkcrMfs8 Dodgy dip 4-6 (33,000) while The Fugees continue a slow descent 6-7 (28,000) as the song nears the 1.2 million mark even though it remains top 10! Underworld hold steady at No 9 (22,000) with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony dipping 8-10 (20,000). 1- WANNABE- Spice Girls (145,000) 2- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (48,000) 3- FREEDOM- Robbie Williams (41,000) 4- SOMEDAY- Eternal (36,000) 5- PEACOCK SUIT- Paul Weller (33,000) 6- GOOD ENOUGH- Dodgy (33,000) 7- KILLING ME SOFTLY- The Fugees (28,000) 8- HOW BIZARRE- OMC (26,000) 9- BORN SLIPPY- Underworld (22,000) 10- THA CROSSROADS- Bone Thugs N Harmony (20,000)

17TH APRIL The events of last week in the South Atlantic appear to have little effect on the charts except to drain it of sales (though that was more to do with the Easter Bank Holiday). It ended up being a mad scramble for the top slot with the entire top 3 all being within 10,000 copies of each other in by far the tightest race for No 1 this year, in the end Bucks Fizz emerged victorious even with a slender7% increase to 79,000- that's the third lowest tally of 1982 a unwanted accolade as now two of those three weeks were when the group at No 1! Back in January "Land Of Make Believe" sold a few thousand less in its first week at the top but this week in their return to the top (a third chart topper you'll note) they hold off Chas And Dave's "Ain't No Pleasing You" by under 1,000 copies, the belated release of the 12" made all the difference for the Bucks giving them the edge just when needed! 80BMeQR3_hs Joining the battle late, but almost stealing the show is "Ebony And Ivory" a new superstar duet between Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It's taken from the new McCartney album "Tug Of War" which is due in a fortnight and was penned by the man himself and is a fourth straight top 10 hit for the former Beatle. With guest vocals from Stevie Wonder he recorded his part of the promo at an entirely separate time due to work commitments and this is now his 14th top 10 single and makes up for the disappointment of "That Girl" which peaked at No 39 in January. It rockets this week 19-3 (69,000). The song dates back to 1980 when it was demoed for a Wings album before the group disbanded, Wonder and McCartney have long been friends since the 60s and was a first choice of a duet partner for McCartney. fXAlfh6QKQs Released on Rough Trade records twice last spring and summer "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" failed to chart though becoming a nightclub favourite and consistently selling around 1,000 copies a week without charting . The band have been touring and promoting the song for most of the year and have rekindled demand for the track which this week becomes their first top 40 single (though they have two minor hits to their credit already) the track arrives 30-9 (46,000). The label finally cottoned on to the fact that if they actually deleted the single and build up demand then a third re-issue might give it enough impetus to finally break through and become a hit. V-BX-99xkm8 Moving onto their 14th top 10 hit Status Quo can never be written off it appears, they return with "Dear John" (13-10, 42,000) which becomes their 3rd top 10 hit on the trot, not quite their best run as they managed 5 consecutive top tenners during 1973-1976. It comes from their what will be their 15th album "1982" which is released this week and will seek to replace Iron Maiden at the top on that chart and reassert the Quo's right to be called Britain's biggest rock band and is the first to feature their new drummer. U-zIM7ofJSw Goombay Dance Band drop 1-4 with "Seven Tears" on a sale of 67,000 and are one of 3 fallers in the top 10, the others being Japan who ebb 5-7 (49,000) and Imagination who collapse 3-8 (47,000). Better news for Roxy Music who hold at No 6 (63,000) and Dollar who rise 7-5 (65,000). 1- MY CAMERA NEVER LIES- Bucks Fizz (79,000) 2- AIN’T NO PLEASING YOU- Chas & Dave (78,000) 3- EBONY & IVORY- Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (69,000) 4- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (67,000) 5- GIVE ME BACK MY HEART- Dollar (65,000) 6- MORE THAN THIS- Roxy Music (63,000) 7- GHOSTS- Japan (49,000) 8- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (47,000) 9- PAPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW PIGBAG- Pigbag (46,000) 10- DEAR JOHN- Status Quo (42,000)

And the top 30 consist of (by decade) 80s- 12 90s- 16 00s- 1 10s- 1 20s- 0

YEAR: 1985 PEAK POSITION: 100 VOTER: AHGold- 21pts, Mango- 17pts, Jester- 13pts, Bjork- 11pts, Gezza- 7pts, Chartjack2- 3pts The duo’s lowest charting single of the 80s and 90s, this slipped in the bottom rung of the top 100- I think it’s very cheap video certainly didn’t help matters Clarke: “The good thing about the first few singles flopping was that it really brought us down to earth, well it brought me down to earth, and also it brought me and Andy together, made us much stronger”. dfO9Jd-Y1K8 9xCKUCxZeok

YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 15 VOTER: King Rollo- 20pts, Mango- 16pts, Bjork- 13pts, Dandy*- 5pts, JulianT- 4pts, AHGold- 2pts, Jimwatts- 2pts The duo’s final top 20 single in the UK. zjDLUFOY0h8

The rate results tell a different story.....

10TH APRIL It holds fast but yet again "Seven Tears" takes a dip sales wise down to a still healthy 87,000 taking it's overall sales to just over half a million and rises to No 6 in the YTD lists. It will all depend on the relative strength of the market next week as to who (if anyone) can prevent a fourth week at the top for Goombay Dance Band. o5gymHHV1Ew As we've mentioned the YTD chart here's the top 10 at the end of Quarter 1 1- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit 755,101 2- A TOWN CALLED MALICE/ PRECIOUS- The Jam 590,099 3- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers 548,653 4- THE MODEL/ COMPUTER LOVE- Kraftwerk 514,257 5- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens 511,083 6- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band 500,687 7- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100 500,461 8- MICKEY- Toni Basil 485,852 9- THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE- Bucks Fizz 424,465 10- MAID OF ORLEANS- OMD 420,934 As you can see No's 4-8 are very tight on the YTD but Tight Fit are some way ahead of the field as they exit the top 10 this week. Due at the end of May is Roxy Music's next album "Avalon" which should follow in the footsteps of their last LP "Flesh And Blood" in 1980, and to promote it the lead single "More Than This" became their joint highest debuting single when it entered at No 18 last week (equalling 1980's "Over You"). This week it outperforms the latter single by doing one better and leaping to No 6 (51,000) it is also the follow up the half million selling single (and their first No 1 single) "Jealous Guy"- this should go on to do great things for the band and is their 10th top tenner in a career now a decade long. DasFNDmAYD8 Arriving 15-7 (48,000) this week is the 4th top 10 smash for David Van Day and Thereza Bazar, better known as Dollar. With the group still ensconced in the studio with Trevor Horn the album seems to be taking its time but the singles continue to flow as "Give Me Back My Heart" proves the group are on a roll. W4tHA_WVGaU Proving you can never really write off Leo Sayer he returns back to the top 10 today as he climbs 14-10 (39,000) with "Have You Ever Been In Love". Just like Roxy Music this is Sayer's tenth top 10 hit and is his first single since 1980's "More Than I Can Say". It's co-written by Peter Sinfield and Andy Hill, better known as the songwriters for Bucks Fizz, and is the lead track from his 9th album "World Radio" due next month. oCURaqTpJlA Talking of Bucks Fizz they leap 5-2 this week but belies the fact that the track is unlikely to make no 1 given that even with TOTP it only increases sales by 43% to 74,000 and could struggle next week. That was still enough to overcome Imagination who slip 2-3 (74,000) and lost runner up spot at the death, two climbers are shaping up nicely at No's 4 & 5- Chas & Dave move 7-4 (66,000) and Japan accelerate 9-5 (56,000). Two fallers to mention briefly, Derek & The Dominoes drop 4-8 (42,000) and Julio Iglesias can't make it two chart toppers in a row as he dives 3-9 (41,000) 1- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (87,000) 2- MY CAMERA NEVER LIES- Bucks Fizz (74,000) 3- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (74,000) 4- AIN’T NO PLEASING YOU- Chas & Dave (66,000) 5- GHOSTS- Japan (56,000) 6- MORE THAN THIS- Roxy Music (51,000) 7- GIVE ME BACK MY HEART- Dollar (48,000) 8- LAYLA- Derek & The Dominoes (42,000) 9- QUIEREME MUCHO (YOURS)- Julio Iglesias (41,000) 10- HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE- Leo Sayer (39,000)

YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 21 VOTER: Popchartfreak- 20pts, Gezza- 13pts, Chartjack2- 12 pts, Dandy*- 8pts, Bjork- 4pts, Jimwatts- 1pt First single from “Light At The End Of The World” and was their last top 30 single. Clarke recalls “This is one of the few songs that existed in part before the Maine hotel room writing sessions. Before we started this album, I was really keen for it not to be mid-tempo—I'm having a mid-tempo crisis! Our albums seem to have got slower and slower, so I started searching for classic funk or disco bass lines, put some ideas together with chord changes and bass lines underneath, and emailed them to Andy for him to sing over the top. The song, like this album, is quite 'up' and uptempo because we're both in good spaces right now” It has two promos- one featuring the band in a supermarket and one made with fan submit short clips on the theme of falling in love. M51pKXP1i5Y LMVplKAIlcI

YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 10 VOTER: Popchartfreak- 13pts, King Rollo- 12pts, Jester- 11pts, Chartjack2- 8pts, Padamic Tension- 6pts The original concept for the album “Other People’s songs” was that it would be a solo Andy Bell album covering songs he’d always liked and doing predominately Phil Spector tracks turning them into gay love songs. In the end it morphed into an Erasure album. This was of course a cover of Peter Gabriel’s 1977 #13 hit for which the duo had to change the tempo to suit Bell’s vocals, it returned them to the top 10 for the first time in 9 years- so job done! yNwD2X3kjlk JZLPpKGzBYc

3RD APRIL "Seven Tears" is still atop of the charts this week but it's retreating sales wise almost immediately, it shifted a further 106,000 copies to bring the title's total to 413,000 after just 6 weeks, nothing to be sniffed at. Perhaps the fact that singles have increased by 10p affected sales? (that increase has been blamed on manufacturing picture discs which are increasingly popular by fans along with other gimmicks currently being employed by record labels to attract purchases). 57fsyyejKVs The Goombay Dance Band climb into the YTD top 10 which we'll reveal next week but they are still way behind Tight Fit who trip over 700,000 as it slides 2-6 (52,000). Also in the top 10 YTD are Bucks Fizz who are back in the weekly top 10 today with the follow up to "Land Of Make Believe" called "My Camera Never Lies". Debuting last week at No 33 it rockets to No 5 on a sale of 52,000 copies and becomes the second fastest selling single of their brief one year career so far naturally behind "Making Your Mind Up", their second album "Are You Ready" is due later this month and will contain both of their last two tracks. It seems the band are building on that initial Eurovision victory. QYDy4oSegNQ It's now been over a year since Chas & Dave scored their first top 10 hit with "Rabbit" but the wait is over as this week "Ain't No Pleasing You" jumps 14-7 (50,000) to beat their previous best chart position attained by the aforementioned "Rabbit" of No 8 in Jan 1981. V1bxWAFgV1I Knocking around since 1974 it took until 1980 for Japan to score their first hit single "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (No 60) and now a further 2 years to score their first top 10 single "Ghosts" as it jolts 16-9 (43,000). The group have been garnering considerable press recently for their looks and presentation but there is clearly some good music on offer as well as we can see, the parent album "Tin Drum" peaked at No 12 upon release back in November but it re-climbs this week to No 13, tantalisingly close to re-peaking. oXQJ8f-HgZo Away from the new entries and Imagination are now within touching distance of that elusive No 1 spot with "Just An Illusion" climbing 4-2 (73,000) thanks to TOTP, and a similar story for Derek & The Dominoes as "Layla" leaps 7-4 (60,000). Julio Iglesias meanwhile stumbles at No 3 (70,000) without TOTP whilst ABC tumble 6-8 (44,000) and the Associates drop 9-10 (41,000) 1- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (106,000) 2- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (73,000) 3- QUIEREME MUCHO (YOURS)- Julio Iglesias (70,000) 4- LAYLA- Derek & The Dominoes (60,000) 5- MY CAMERA NEVER LIES- Bucks Fizz (52,000) 6- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (52,000) 7- AIN’T NO PLEASING YOU- Chas & Dave (50,000) 8- POISON ARROW- ABC (44,000) 9- GHOSTS- Japan (43,000) 10- PARTY FEARS II- The Associates (41,000)

YEAR: 1992 PEAK POSITION: 1 VOTER: Jester- 19pts, Chartjack2- 18pts, King Rollo- 7pts, Mango- 3pts 1975 Abba classic revamped for the “Abba-Esque EP”. Improved on the peak of the original (No 6) Clarke commented on the success of the EP “I’m really pleased with how it’s done but at the same time, for me, it’s not Erasure. It’s an aside, a bit of a laugh. We copied the arrangements pretty much as the originals, but there isn’t the same satisfaction, it’s not really us” QvR72DYtYHw OvDzOprkBTE

YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 25 VOTER: Bjork- 21pts, Mango- 10pts, Gezza- 8pts, Padamic Tension- 4pts Third release from “Nightbird” which at least kept their top 30 run intact. akdTCnuv574

27TH MARCH Just 7 weeks after Kraftwerk became the first West German band to make No 1 in the UK we now have a second West German act to make the books as Goombay Dance Band make the expected move 2-1 (119,000) and it's an easy victory for the band as well as they were clear from the off with little doubt that they would triumph. That of course means that Tight Fit relinquish the top spot but as they slide 1-2 (73,000) which brings their total to 674,000, easily now the biggest hit of the year, though it looks it won't be passing "Tainted Love" as the decade's biggest seller! ULqxiUK6kOs Although a long way off the top, history suggests not writing off Julio Iglesias just yet. His last single "Begin The Beguine" topped the charts for a week in December 1981, now follow up "Quiereme Mucho (Yours)" powers 12-3 (71,000) this week, the title translates as "Love Me Much" and it seems the UK public currently wants to indulge Iglesias- could he sneak another No 1? 9BviGACC7G8 Though only together for under 2 years Derek and The Dominoes produced one album in their time and from that the track "Layla" made No 7 in 1972. Co-written by Eric Clapton about his unrequited love for George Harrison's then wife Pattie Boyd it has gone on to become something of a classic and for proof Boyd and Clapton of course married in 1978, the re-issue this year is the full version not the heavily edited cut which was made into a single in 1972 and is used to promote the re-release of "Time Pieces- The Best of". Sb1qpuQoMxo Scottish pop is back this time courtesy of the Associates who have been knocking around since 1979 without troubling the charts but as they move onto Album No 3 "Sulk" due in May they find the magic bullet. "Party Fears II" this week floats 15-9 (46,000) for the northerners backed with an eccentric TOTP performance. fZSMDaewz2A Outside of the new entries there are climbers for Imagination 8-4 (58,000) and Adrian Gurvitz 10-8 (46,000) whilst ABC hold at No 6 (53,000), falling down the listings however are Toni Basil 3-5 (58,000) and Haircut 100 4-10 (43,000). 1- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (119,000) 2- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (73,000) 3- QUIEREME MUCHO (YOURS)- Julio Iglesias (71,000) 4- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (58,000) 5- MICKEY- Toni Basil (58,000) 6- POISON ARROW- ABC (53,000) 7- LAYLA- Derek & The Dominoes (47,000) 8- CLASSIC- Adrian Gurvitz (46,000) 9- PARTY FEARS TWO- The Associates (46,000) 10- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100 (43,000)

YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: Dandy*- 15pts, Gezza- 11pts, King Rollo- 5pts Erasure’s first “flop” chart wise though Wiki says it peaked at 172!!- this was part of the “Storm Chaser EP” which again meant that CD single sales were not counted towards the chart so that may have been a factor. Bell commented “The riff in the song was amazing, it’s like an ABBA song for the riff alone” sxN_qNOmU5Y

YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: Ineligible VOTER: Padamic Tension- 14pts, King Rollo- 10pts, Dandy*- 3pts Another single packaged into an EP which overran on timings to make it ineligible for the UK charts. It was heavily remixed from the album version. Originally the plan was that the second single would be “Alien” but in the end it was swapped out. O3p7BxvEYyc

You're quite right it was the Rapino brothers not brothers in rhythm!