Gezza

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

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

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

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

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

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

26TH JUNE The Summer lull continues and as Charlene's "I've Never Been To Me" climbs to the top spot 3-1 it sells a mere 62,000 copies, the record for the 2nd lowest tally required for a No 1 record in the decade so far, despite a TOTP appearance it registers a small 14% sales increase. The track has been on the charts for 7 weeks and has so far sold just 227,000 copies hardly a massive song. it is however the first wholly American No 1 act since Michael Jackson almost a year ago, co-incidentally they are both on the Motown label and both tracks that were 6 years old by the time they made No 1- spooky. ImHHKw8LMcM In the top 10 for a fifth time Odyssey have a new album out "Happy Together" and the lead track "Inside Out" propels itself 18-7 (46,000) this week to become their biggest hit since "Going Back To My Roots" last year. HrkvzmVrX50 Earlier this year Bow Wow Wow made No 7 with "Go Wild In The Country" and looked set for fame but follow up "See Jungle" unexpectedly failed to make the top 40 peaking at No 45, that downward spiral is arrested with the bands cover of "I Want Candy". It was originally sung by the Strangeloves in 1965 which made the US top 20 but flopped here, it was covered by Brian Poole & The Tremeloes later that year when it made No 25, so it now hits the top 10 for the first time as it reaches 14-9 (42,000). WBN19FnT13Y Wonder continues to reap the rewards of his first UK No 1 single ("Ebony & Ivory") as "Do I Do" arrives this week 15-10 (39,000) for the US superstar. It comes from his greatest hits album (of sorts) "Stevie Wonder's Musiquarium I" which has underperformed comparative to his "Hotter Than The Sun" period. bQEBZfG5SaY Adam Ant falls from the top spot this week 1-2 (60,000) after losing the top spot to Charlene at the last gasp of the week, he manages to outstrip "Torch" this week as that song dips 2-3 (50,000) in a week when the famous "sex dwarf" video got pulled from general release in a blaze of bad headlines- Did it deprive them of a No 1?, and ABC tumble 4-6 (46,000) but they will be concentrating on their debut album which is out this week. Climbers come from Kid Creole & The Coconuts 7-4 (49,000) who just manage to leapfrog Duran Duran 6-5 (49,000) and Diana Ross 10-8 (44,000). Only 20,000 copies separate No's 1 and 9- next week anything could happen! 1- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (62,000) 2- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (60,000) 3- TORCH- Soft Cell (50,000) 4- I’M A WONDERFUL THING BABY- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (49,000) 5- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (49,000) 6- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (46,000) 7- INSIDE OUT- Odyssey (46,000) 8- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross (44,000) 9- I WANT CANDY- Bow Wow Wow (42,000) 10- DO I DO- Stevie Wonder (39,000)

YEAR: 1987 PEAK POSITION: 6 VOTER: Jimwatts- 26pts, JulianT- 26pts, King Rollo- 22pts, Jester- 22pts, AHGold- 20pts, Dandy*- 18pts, Mango- 7pts, Bjork- 6pts, Popchartfreak- 6pts Erasure do politics! Well briefly at least. Lamenting the loss of the manufacturing base in the UK which occurred in the 80s, the song was interpreted as a critique of Thatcherism and was heavily edited down from its 5:30 album version to 3:50 for the single mix. 8U2lpnwa1ow lUwLJLD0F5I

YEAR: 1985/ 1992 PEAK POSITION: 55/10 VOTER: Jimwatts- 28pts, Chartjack2- 26pts, JulianT- 25pts, AHGold- 25pts, Jester- 21pts, Padamic Tension- 15pts, Mango- 8pts, Bjork- 5pts “There was a programme on Tele called “Evil Roy Slade” and that inspired the video. We started writing a spoof of a Western- I mean it’s got nothing to do with the song or anything but we thought it would be a giggle”- Vince Clarke Debut single from the boys which missed the top 40 initially but generated sufficient interest to merit the duo being asked to produce an album. It was remixed in 1992 to promote “Pop- The First 20 hits” and became a top 10 single finally! Bell recalled “It was one of the songs I did at my audition for Vince, and it needed quite a high vocal and so it was the first time I sang in falsetto” zll8APJ8SEA vXj6ZeQvnX4

19TH JUNE Adam Ant holds the top spot but the summer slump has set in well and truly and this week "Goody Two Shoes" sells just 74,000 copies- a 2% boost for the track which at least halts its reversal in sales but is hardly conclusive! The track has sold 362,000 copies in total a pale shadow of the kind of figures that he was shifting last year, his debut solo album is currently pencilled in for September to catch that Christmas market. YEuQX6Eoarc He also overtakes (in terms of total sales) his constant rival with this single "House Of Fun" toppling 2-5 (44,000) ABC hold at No 4 on 53,000 (again a further sales decrease) and two climbers threatening Ant's reign, Soft Cell climb 3-2 (70,000) but they will be without TOTP this week and could struggle, and Charlene climbing 9-3 (55,000) who should pose the biggest threat seven days hence. The first new hit comes from August Darnell who is better known as lead vocalist with Kid Creole and his band The Coconuts. The band's debut album produced the No 32 hit "Me No Pop I" last year but it looks like their second album could be the break through they were after with lead single "I'm A Wonderful Thing (Baby)" rising 17-7 (43,000) following their first UK tour last month. X9h6eakBlD0 Also seeing a September release will be the sixth Gary Numan album "I, Assassin", first release "Music For Chameleons" disappointed by peaking at No 19 but that looks like a blip as this week "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" debuts at No 9 (37,000), the 25th single to enter the charts in the top 10 in the decade and his third track to do the honours in the last 2 years. The singer has famously relocated to the US to become a tax exile a few months ago but that hasn't seemed to dent his popularity here. H5dleLT9Joo Surging 22-10 (36,000) is the new single from Diana Ross "Work That Body" with a video that draws inspiration from the current craze for keeping fit. The Sight of Ross in a leotard might not be everyone's cup of tea but it does become her 16th top 10 hit (if you ignore those tracks credited to just the Supremes), incidentally the song seems like something Donna Summer might sing then there's a reason for it, it's co-penned by Paul Jabara who co-wrote Summer's "Last Dance". I1wMHLOjEIg Also to briefly mention that Duran Duran can't seem to move at No 6 (44,000) and Tight Fit drop 5-8 (40,000). 1- GOODY TWO SHOES- Adam Ant (74,000) 2- TORCH- Soft Cell (70,000) 3- I’VE NEVER BEEN TO ME- Charlene (55,000) 4- THE LOOK OF LOVE- ABC (53,000) 5- HOUSE OF FUN- Madness (44,000) 6- HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF- Duran Duran (44,000) 7- I’M A WONDERFUL THING (BABY)- Kid Creole & The Coconuts (43,000) 8- FANTASY ISLAND- Tight Fit (40,000) 9- WE TAKE MYSTERY TO BED- Gary Numan (37,000) 10- WORK THAT BODY- Diana Ross. (36,000)

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!