Gezza

4TH SEPTEMBER No 1 in countries as diverse as Canada, Japan, South Africa and Norway, the UK finally succumbs to the power of Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" this week as the track deposes Dexy's Midnight Runners moving 2-1 after seeing 137,000 buyers part with their cash. The song actually falls from No 1 stateside to make way for the Steve Miller Band after 6 weeks of chart domination there but its just getting off the ground here and has already sold 403,316 copies as it hits the top 8Q94pOU2eQ8 "Come On Eileen" ascends 3-2 on the YTD list overtaking Tight fit on a sale of 94,000 takes its tally to 863,155 copies making it the 4th best selling single of the 80s yet still behind "Fame" which remains the best seller of the year to date with 892,503 sales including 38,000 as it moves 7-10 this week. Both are chasing Soft Cell who bang on time ease pass the million mark this week with "Tainted Love" to become the decade's first million seller (current sales of 1,000,531) and it remains well clear of the field with "Fame" in second place, their current hit "What" can advance no more and trips 3-4 (76,000) despite increased sales. Producer and DJ Arthur Baker is the man behind Rocker's Revenge who have scored a US Dance No 1 with "Walkin' In The Sunshine" which is now a transatlantic hit progressing 19-7 (53,000). It's the only new song in the top 10 week and features vocals by Donnie Calvin, it's also a cover of an Eddy Grant song which was the title track to his 1979 album but this is now a bigger hit than any of Grant's solo work though of course two Equals tracks have peaked higher "Viva Bobby Joe" (No 6, 1969) and of course "Baby Come Back" (No 1, 1968). Smtn4kUdb1Q Other climbers this week include Duran Duran who leap 5-3 (81,000) without a TOTP appearance as the band are currently on tour supporting Blondie in the US, Kids From Fame turn in a good report and move 7-5 (64,000), Toto Coelo jolt 9-8 (49,000) and Haircut 100 surprisingly only move 10-9 (48,000). BoysTown Gang reverse 4-6 (60,000) to complete the top 10. 1- EYE OF THE TIGER- Survivor (137,000) 2- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (94,000) 3- SAVE A PRAYER- Duran Duran (81,000) 4- WHAT- Soft Cell (76,000) 5- HI FIDELITY- Kids From “Fame” (64,000) 6- CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU- Boys Town Gang (60,000) 7- WALKING ON SUNSHINE- Rocker’s Revenge (53,000) 8- I EAT CANNIBALS- Toto Coelo (49,000) 9- NOBODY’S FOOL- Haircut 100 (48,000) 10- FAME- Irene Cara (38,000)

5TH OCTOBER Autumn rolls around and to celebrate we have a new number one which everyone just about managed to see- yes Deep Blue Something have the UK number one single, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” ascends 2-1 with 85,000 sales, another leap of 19% and shows little sign of faltering yet. 7KzeKzurp1U So the Fugees fall 1-2 (64,000) but pay the price for people switching to their album which itself hits a new peak rising 4-2 this week behind Kula Shaker, they are also famously now in trouble with Enya for failing to clear the sample of “Boadicea” which forms the backbone of “Ready Or Not”. In total they have spent 7 weeks at the top tying with the Spice Girls for the honour of act with most weeks at the top in 1996. The rest of the top 5 are made up of BBE who rise 4-3 (46,000) by virtue of having a longer lasting appeal than the falling Dina Carroll who swaps places 3-4 (42,000) but both could be overtaken by a fast rising Donna Lewis who lifts 9-5 (39,000). Celine Dion now has 8 UK top 10 singles to her credit but she has never debuted higher than she has this week with the fabulously OTT “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”. It will surprise few I’m sure to find that the song was written by Jim Steinman and was inspired by the novel “Wuthering Heights”, the original was performed by Pandora’s Box who took the song to No 51 becoming something of a cult classic. It now resurfaces for Dion as her third single from “Falling Into You” and has been cut by a whole minute from the Pandora Box original but it still clocks in at 7.37 on her album whilst the radio edit reduces the song to 5.31. Meat Loaf is apparently none too impressed that Steinman has given the song to Dion stating that it was given to him to record for his “Bat Out Of Hell II” album but he held it over for a proposed forthcoming album, in any event it is new at No 6 (37,000) for Dion and is already No 3 in the US behind Donna Lewis and Los Del Rio. 1vd-Unc-9cI Talking about highest debuts in a long career the same applies to LL Cool J whose previous best was 1987’s “I Need Love” which peaked at No 8. Nine years later he finally tops it as “Loungin” arrives at No 7 (32,000) the song is also in the US top 10 although on the way down at No 8, he’s in the unusual position of having three songs released from the same album and all peaking higher than the other. 5AD9CAPKs9c He’s no longer the chart star he once was but Phil Collins can still command a top 10 single it seems. With a new album in the wings the lead single (and title song) “Dance Into The Light” now in the charts at No 9 (29,000) it’s all off to a promising start- it’s his 13th top 10 hit (if you count the two versions of “In The Air Tonight” as separate entries). The album is out in a month. nTYnK-KSm5g Peter Andre falls 5-8 (32,000) but his album is finally out this week so we’ll see if he can translate his single success to the album market. Finally the Spice Girls fall 8-10 (27,000) but has it done enough to become the year’s best seller?- As we reach the ¾ mark in the year let’s check out that list: 1- KILLING ME SOFTLY- The Fugees 1,253,000 2- WANNABE- The Spice Girls 1,145,000 3- SPACEMAN- Babylon Zoo 1,098,000 4- RETURN OF THE MACK- Mark Morrison 838,000 5- OOH AAH JUST A LITTLE BIT- Gina G 787,000 6- THREE LIONS- Skinner/ Baddiel/ Lightning Seeds 785,000 7- CHILDREN- Robert Miles 764,000 8- MYSTERIOUS GIRL- Peter Andre 738,000 9- DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER- Oasis 720,000 10- HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE- Take That 669,000 This week's chart: 1- BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S- Deep Blue Something (85,000) 2- READY OR NOT- The Fugees (64,000) 3- SEVEN DAYS AND ONE WEEK- BBE (46,000) 4- ESCAPING- Dina Carroll (42,000) 5- I LOVE YOU ALWAYS FOREVER- Donna Lewis (39,000) 6- IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW- Celine Dion (37,000) 7- LOUNGIN- LL Cool J (32,000) 8- FLAVA- Peter Andre (32,000) 9- DANCE INTO THE LIGHT- Phil Collins (29,000) 10- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (27,000)

28TH SEPTEMBER Another tight week at the top and another week that The Fugees just manage to fend off the competition though it took a 4% increase in sales to pull it off. It is also 4% ahead of Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” whose own sales increase by 15% to 72,000 just 3,000 behind The Fugees- could be an interesting competition between the two next week as the rest of the field are some way behind. XyTu7aMChr4 Dina Carroll leads the new entries this week with her first single in almost 3 years “Escaping”. It’s a cover of 1992 Asia single which only made No 50 but has been rejuvenated into a hit by Carroll as it equals instantly her best ever placing at No 3 (55,000). It is also picking up considerable sales thanks to the track “Mind Body & Soul” which is No 1 in the club charts. SYQT0FXWyHQ A massive hit all over Europe already BBE’s “Seven Days And One Week” finally got its UK release last week and slots in at No 4 (51,000). It was already selling well on imports and is the current dance No 1 for the French/ Italian outfit. lpkLcfbOra4 Two of the big new names in Britpop up next. Firstly Ocean Colour Scene whose album “Moseley Shoals” has already sold over half a million and made No 2 for 6 weeks so far this year. It delivers up a fourth hit in the form of “The Circle” which is new at No 6 (40,000), helped by a live of version of “Day Tripper” which features the Gallagher brothers. U-TKnhfzezs Just below them are The Bluetones who have released a standalone single called “Marblehead Johnson”, a tribute to the late comedian Bill Hicks. The single coincides with their UK tour at the moment, it debuts at No 7 (34,000). 3mfBJVpWJHU “Macarena” has been No 1 in the US for 9 weeks and for six of those weeks Donna Lewis has been runner up. She actually hails for Wales but had to gain US success before we took note, her single “I Love You Always Forever” is self written and she co-produces the single. It’s had a rather old fashioned climb in the charts so far 34-20-11-9 and has seen increasing radio support selling 28,000 in its current frame. wvyRxnZJHeE Former chart topper “Flava” fades 2-5 (49,000) whilst another former No 1 slides 4-8 (33,000) for the Spice Girls, that takes sales of “Wannabe” over the 1.1 million mark as it eases past “Spaceman” with only The Fugees” ahead of them! Stretch N Vern fade 6-10 (26,000) to complete the rundown. 1- READY OR NOT- The Fugees (75,000) 2- BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S- Deep Blue Something (72,000) 3- ESCAPING- Dina Carroll (55,000) 4- SEVEN DAYS AND ONE WEEK- BBE (51,000) 5- FLAVA- Peter Andre (49,000) 6- THE CIRCLE- Ocean Colour Scene (40,000) 7- MARBLEHEAD JOHNSTON- The Bluetones (34,000) 8- WANNABE- The Spice Girls (33,000) 9- I LOVE YOU ALWAYS FOREVER- Donna Lewis (28,000) 10- I’M ALIVE- Stretch N Verne (26,000)

28TH AUGUST After 3 weeks without much action at all this week sees half of the top 10 being comprised of new tracks! None of this affects Dexy's Midnight Runners who hold steady in the face of a 22% sales drop to 113,000 bringing its total to 768,000 in all, that's enough to move "Come On Eileen" to No 3 on the YTD list just 85,000 behind "Fame" which sold 48,000 this week on its way down 3-6, both are separated by Tight Fit's "Lion Sleeps Tonight" on 795,000. I'll be very surprised if we don't have a new YTD No 1 next week and it is also now the longest No 1 of the year! C3rg4psdHxw Whilst "Come On Eileen" might be on its way to No 1 on the yearly list it is likely to lose the weekly No 1 position after 4 weeks next week thanks to Survivor who profit from TOTP to see sales of "Eye Of The Tiger" increase by 21% to 107,000 to provide a genuine challenge as they outsold Dexy's on Saturday. Soft Cell have been plundering their back catalogue of Northern soul again to come up with a cover of a Judy Street's 1966 track "What" which failed to chart here in the UK, No trouble with this version though as the song debuted at No 13 last week (their highest debut) and glides to No 3 (68,000) but has quite a large gap to make up on the top 2 so progress might be too much to ask. It's taken from their second album "Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing" which peaked at No 7 back in June. zPtUbqBzt3c Things seem to be finally happening for Duran Duran, their second album "Rio" peaked at No 2 on release and has never been lower than No 21 after 15 weeks of release. It's now home to two top 10 hit singles (a better hit rate than their debut LP) as "Save A Prayer" becomes their most immediate hit bounding 27-5 (62,000) in its second week, helped no doubt by another Sri Lanka lensed video, the band are fast becoming associated with exotic videos which are now popular with US audiences on the new MTV channel and starting to create a stir on the other side of the pond. -O5_hTG9dqU Meanwhile the phenomenon of "Fame" continues as the soundtrack remains at No 7 whilst the "Kids From Fame" is in its fourth week at No 1 on the album charts, it contains the track "Hi Fidelity" with lead vocals by Valerie Landsberg (Doris in the show) which is the first single release and has taken just three weeks to similarly make the top 10 rising 26-7 (48,000)- can this replicate the albums success? fOpP6MRC4DI Barry Blue is best known for his 1973 No 2 hit "Dancin On A Saturday Night" but since the hits have dried up for the glam star he's turned to writing and producing other people's records and is back in the top 10 this week as writer and producer of "I eat Cannibals" by new girl group Toto Coelo. Their name is Latin and apparently translates as "by the whole extent of the heavens"- well the gods are smiling on them as the song bolts 12-9 (40,000)- the group contains the daughter of DJ and TV presenter Bob Holness by way of trivia! fxSxpk-Hv6s Pin up's Haircut 100 are back with a fourth top 10 hit from four releases! "Nobody's Fool" isn't on their debut album "Pelican West" which may account for why it is their quickest hit advancing 33-10 (39,000) and is being tipped by some as a future chart topper. The band will enter the studios later in the year to record their second album which should include this single but for now the hottest teen act on the charts can do little wrong. wFtw1w4Q0lw Boys Town Gang continue to climb 6-4 (63,000) marking the highest position it has ever attained, whilst Yazoo collapse 4-8 (45,000). 1- COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (113,000) 2- EYE OF THE TIGER- Survivor (107,000) 3- WHAT- Soft Cell (68,000) 4- CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU- Boys Town Gang (63,000) 5- SAVE A PRAYER- Duran Duran (62,000) 6- FAME- Irene Cara (48,000) 7- HI FIDELITY- Kids From “Fame” (48,000) 8- DON’T GO- Yazoo (45,000) 9- I EAT CANNIBALS- Toto Coelo (40,000) 10- NOBODY’S FOOL- Haircut 100 (38,000)

As i state it was written for "Rocky III".

21ST AUGUST Given its lead last week coupled with the huge margin of its victory it should be no surprise that "Come On Eileen" goes nowhere in the charts but the No 1 spot, though it is finally on the decline in terms of sales, again not a surprise after its stellar week last week. It sold 145,000 copies last week to increase its overall total to 655,000 copies as it moves into the TYD top 10. CZZvi06MQtQ All of which is bad news for Irene Cara, "Fame" drops 2-3 this week and sold a very respectable 54,000 copies to bring its total to 805,000 copies which is enough to replace Tight Fit at the top of the YTD list. the new challenger on the weekly charts to "Eileen"'s current dominance is Survivor who leap 6-2 in selling 89,000 copies but that is way off posing a serious risk to the top slot at present. Formed in 1980 to cater for the gay audience in San Francisco Boys Town Gang were soon speeding up the US Club charts and make their big breakthrough internationally with a cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" originally a hit for Franki Valli in the US and by Andy Williams in the UK in 1968 though it has become a staple at radio ever since. It's been turned into a Hi-Energy disco number and is already No 1 in the Netherlands whilst it rockets 21-6 (41,000) over here. sdWkaa0usSc Elsewhere there is only one climber, The Stranglers move 8-7 (39,000) and Hot Chocolate have a third week at No 5 (43,000) but are losing sales week on week. Four fallers not yet mentioned, Yazoo dip 3-4 (51,000), Madness dive 4-8 (38,000), Kid Creole slip 7-9 (36,000) and Bad Manners reverse 9-10 (35,000) 1-COME ON EILEEN- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (145,000) 2- EYE OF THE TIGER- Survivor (89,000) 3- FAME- Irene Cara (54,000) 4- DON’T GO- Yazoo (51,000) 5- IT STARTED WITH A KISS- Hot Chocolate (43,000) 6- CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU- Boystown Gang (41,000) 7- STRANGE LITTLE GIRL- The Stranglers (39,000) 8- DRIVING IN MY CAR- Madness (38,000) 9- STOOL PIGEON- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (36,000) 10- MY GIRL LOLLIPOP (MY BOY LOLLIPOP)- Bad Manners (35,000)

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)