Gezza

27TH FEBRUARY Claiming a third week at the top The Jam are holding up pretty well with double A-Side "Town Called Malice/ Precious", it was helped by a double performance on TOTP which is unusual indeed (if not unprecedented) and assisted in selling another 106,000 copies last week to bring its 3 week tally to 407,000, a very impressive 21 day total and one that could indicate a million seller were it not for the fact that this is the Jam we're talking about and the record took a 40% cut in sales though last week wasn't exactly a normal week. WmyRVEnHefo It was only after TOTP that the Jam made their surge, until that point Tight Fit were leading as they ultimately rise 6-2 (104,000) with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and are due for a TOTP performance themselves this week. No 1 in the US for the last 4 weeks "Centerfold" makes its mark in the UK this week charging 17-3 (95,000) today on its way to replicating its Stateside feat, one has to suspect that in 7 days time this could very well be top of the tree. The band have only had one hit here before "One Last Kiss" peaked at No 74 in 1979. BqDjMZKf-wg Debut album "Pelican West" is released this week and contains the hit single "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (No 4, 1981) and now "Love Plus One" which shoots 11-4 (70,000) for the band Haircut 100. Already amassing considering interest in the UK teen mags, and press in general, the photogenic lads are shaping up to be one of the biggest acts of the year, their first hit set a high benchmark selling 326,000 copies. 9u4r7OLfsOk Hall & Oates have long been a big name in the US where they've racked up 10 top 20 hits including 4 No 1 hits there, that count encompasses "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" which follows fellow US chart topper "Centerfold" into the top 10 in the UK this week rushing 12-8 (50,000). Previously the duo's biggest UK hit was 1980's "Kiss On My List" which peaked at No 33 but they'll be hoping to recreate that US magic touch with their current track. QlpY8plvdNQ The new entries keep on coming with Fun Boy Three who are of course formed of Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding formerly of the Specials who all left after the group splintered last summer. Their debut hit "The Lunatics "Have Taken Over The Asylum)" peaked at No 20 last year but their cover of a 1939 track "It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It" rises 36-9 (45,000) today to easily become their biggest hit in their current reincarnation. It's actually credited as a duet between them and Bananarama, three girls from London whose first single "Aie a Mwana" narrowly missed out on being a hit last year but did bring them some media attention and an article in "The Face" magazine which brought them to attention of Hall who got them in to record this track. vfbR__bcuKY Following the shock departure of Vince Clarke, the band's main songwriter, Depeche Mode show they can do it alone with a new single "See You" which this week proceeds 31-10 (43,000) to give them their second top 10 hit in a row, It's written by lead singer Gore and will be the first single from their as yet untitled second album due in the autumn. CUPRSEn8Y5w Three fallers left to discuss, Soft Cell surprisingly drop back 3-5 (68,000), The Stranglers look spent as they fall 2-6 (54,000) and OMD fall back 4-7 (52,000) sales buoyed by half-term. 1- A TOWN CALLED MALICE/ PRECIOUS- The Jam (106,000) 2- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (104,000) 3- CENTERFOLD- J Geils Band (95,000) 4- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100. (70,000) 5- SAY HELLO WAVE GOODBYE- Soft Cell (68,000) 6- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers (54,000) 7- MAID OF ORLEANS- O.M.D (52,000) 8- I CAN’T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO)- Hall & Oates (50,000) 9- IT AINT WHAT YOU DO IT’S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT- Fun Boy Three & Bananarama (45,000) 10- SEE YOU- Depeche Mode. (43,000)

YEAR: 2014 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: Popchartfreak= 10pts, Gezza- 3pts Lead track from “The Violet Flame” which was co-produced by Richard X. 8bpZvM-16hk

YEAR: 2015 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: JulianT- 9pts, Popchartfreak- 1pt Third single from “Violet Flame” but like the rest didn’t chart. 7Bv8fnSwxrM

Yes that one

The original vocal on SHWG is awful sadly however when he rerecorded the song for the best of in the early 90s he sorted it all out and really is a glorious track. Thankfully that was the first version I had heard of it so I was somewhat surprised by the original mix when I heard it.

I read a stat a long time ago that back in the physical era Friday and Saturdays were by far the biggest sales days and accounted for roughly 60% of weekly sales so it also matters which days were included, I doubt an extra Tuesday and Wednesday (for example) would have resulted in much difference.

20TH FEBRUARY When "Town Called Malice/ Precious" deposed "The Model/ Computer Love" at the top last week it became the first instance in the 30 year history of the charts that a double A Side replaced a double A side at No 1 a fact I omitted to mention last week. Perhaps more interestingly this week was the news that EMI had lodged an official complaint with BMRB over the Jam Single, in short that it had an unfair advantage over other records as the 12" has a live version of "Town Called Malice" and that fans had in effect bought both versions "artificially" inflating sales of the disc. EMI is of course home to the Stranglers who lost out on what was otherwise a dead cert for the No1 spot. With the investigation concluded BMRB have decided that no chart regulations have been infringed and that therefore the Jam track is allowed to stand. This week the track holds at No 1 on a sale of 178,000 copies bolstered by, in effect, two Fridays and Saturdays as the chart returns to a Monday- Saturday week, the song has now sold 301,000 copies in just 14 days and has really ignited the charts of 1982 from their slumber with the highest weekly tally so far of 1982. B5C5alwMh_o It left The Stranglers once again stranded at No 2 on a strong sales itself of 117,000. Most eyes are turned to the track below which prove to the main challenger to The Jam next week..... That's because the major beneficiary from TOTP were Soft Cell whose "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" shoots 18-3 (112,000) to become the bands third top 10 single on the trot. The band's debut album "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret" is home to all three singles and this week surges 8-5 to reach a new peak for the LP. w0Z6gA8k6L0 With fifth album "English Settlement" due this week, XTC are no strangers to the charts with 4 top 40 hits to their credit over the last 3 years but never, to date, a top 10 hit. Not any more as "Senses Working Overtime" climbs 17-10 (45,000) this week to become their biggest hit. nDijdnnCo7U The general sales bonanza mean some impressive figures this week, OMD climb 6-4 (110,000), and Tight Fit continue to improve 8-6 (76,000). Almost everything does better sales wise even though they drop Kraftwerk drop 4-5 (77,000) Shaky drops 3-7 (67,000), Christopher Cross eases 7-8 (54,000) and Meat Loaf declines 5-9 (51,000) 1- A TOWN CALLED MALICE- The Jam (178,000) 2- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers (117,000) 3- SAY HELLO WAVE GOODBYE- Soft Cell (112,000) 4- MAID OF ORLEANS- O.M.D (110,000) 5- THE MODEL/ COMPUTER LOVE- Kraftwerk (77,000) 6- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (76,000) 7- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens (67,000) 8- ARTHUR’S THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO)- Christopher Cross (54,000) 9- DEAD RINGER FOR LOVE- Meatloaf (51,000) 10- SENSES WORKING OVERTIME- XTC (45,000)

YEAR: 2020 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: Gezza Lead track from their last album proper “The Neon” which got rave reviews and A-Iist on Radio 2 for a month. It was originally going to be called “Hey Now, Walk Through The City singing “Hallelujah” but it didn’t seem appropriate in Covid so got renamed. Bell confirmed “It’s like a call to arms really”. VKBuqVHEGEo

yes the banner for that entry is incorrectly titled- sorry

YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 25 VOTER: Padamic Tension- 5pts, Dandy*- 2pts Double A-Side with “Here I Go Impossible Again” SM5oM9EiDCY

I don't recall "Precious" from the time but at least it sounds like the Jam are doing something different from their usual sound.

13TH FEBRUARY For the fourth time in the 80s a record has debuted at No 1 and for a second time in the decade that track comes from the Jam. A precursor to the album "The Gift" which is due for release next month, the double A side "Town Called Malice/ Precious" smashes into the top spot on a sale of 123,000 showing that last year's relatively poor chart track record of two No 4 hits and a No 21 track (although that was on import only) was not a terminal decline in the group's popularity. Much like last year's "Absolute Beginners" it has a literary connection being named after the novel "A Town Called Alice" only this time Weller is reflecting on life in Woking, it becomes the third Jam single to make No 1 bringing them equal with Blondie, John Lennon and Shakin' Stevens in the list of acts with the most No 1 singles in the 80s, however it is the first Jam single to have a 12" release! YfpRm-p7qlY T0mDmabbR1E The Jam sprinted to an early lead as you might expect and left the Stranglers "Golden Brown" stranded as it moved 3-2 (98,000) this week, has their opportunity slipped past them? It's still their biggest hit to date so reasons to be cheerful. Only one other new entry this week from Tight Fit. You may recall last year the outfit scored a top 5 hit with the medley "Back To The Sixties" and followed that with part two of the medley which fizzled out at No 33, well when this lot appeared on TOTP you might be forgiven for wondering if it was an entirely new band as none of the members were the same. The group (in both instances) were assembled after the songs were made by session singers and are there for promotional purposes and TV appearances and so it is that the group has been totally "re-invented" although of course the UK Public seem not to care. Their cover of The Tokens 1961 US No 1 single "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" leaps 29-8 (43,000) this week. The track originally dates back to 30s in recorded form though it is a Zulu folk song dating back for some time before that, it has already been a UK hit in three versions, The Tokens (#11), Karl Denver (#4) and Dave Newman (#34) so this is already the second most successful version here. EFR99kTVY2c Elsewhere there are four fallers, Shakin Stevens 2-3 (63,000), and Kraftwerk who drop 1-4 (61,000) with a marked decrease in sales, Bucks Fizz continue to slide 4-9 (39,000) and the Mobiles drop 9-10 (37,000). Shaky and Kraftwerk are the first back to back 1 week chart toppers since Althea & Donna and Brotherhood of Man in early 1978 by way of trivia. Otherwise there are three non movers for Meat Loaf at No 5 (55,000), OMD at No 6 (51,000) and Christopher Cross at No 7 (44,000). A reminder that next week's chart will essentially contain two Fridays and Saturdays as the charts return to "Normal" which will be a relief for the Music Industry which has been vocal in its opposition to the changes implemented by BMRB back in the new year- expect big sales! 1- A TOWN CALLED MALICE/ PRECIOUS- The Jam (123,000) 2- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers (98,000) 3- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens (63,000) 4- THE MODEL/ COMPUTER LOVE- Kraftwerk (61,000) 5- DEAD RINGER FOR LOVE- Meat Loaf (55,000) 6- MAID OF ORLEANS- O.M.D (51,000) 7- ARTHUR’S THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO)- Christopher Cross (44,000) 8- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit. (43,000) 9- LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE- Bucks Fizz. (39,000) 10- DROWNING IN BERLIN- The Mobiles (37,000)

YEAR: 2011 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTERS: AH Gold Tinters has nothing about this one- second single from “Tomorrow’s World”. Bell: “It’s quite Scandinavian sounding and it’s very high as well and I’m dreading singing it, and also singers tend to stay away from singing “e”’s because they don’t sound very nice and we’ve got lots of “e”’s on the end, so it was quite shrill and we had to kind of soften it all up” B7zSL2C_MZc

YEAR: 2017 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: King Rollo- 3pts, Bjork- 1pt From the 17th album of the same title and it’s second single but the highest placed on the rate! tCSKfRzVUgA

yes were it not for BMRB playing about with the chart week then Kraftwerk would likely have been No 1 for 2 weeks and "Oh Julie" would probably not have made it.

6TH FEBRUARY "The Model/ Computer Love" this week glides 3-1 on the singles chart to bring Shakin' Stevens reign at the top to an end after just one week and in the process sells a much better 108,000 as singles sales seem to finally get off the ground. As noted last week the new chart week is largely responsible for the odd climb for the Kraftwerk single 10-2-3-1 and indeed the first song to hit No 1 via a drop in the chart (once it had charted in the top 75) since John Lennon's understandable 10-21-1 drive in December 1980. The track has now sold 389,991 in total including its run in 1981, as noted it is also a bit of a victory for the record company but it remains to be seen if the group will perform it on TOTP. In reaching the top spot they are arguably the first West German band to hit the top of the UK singles chart depending on how you view Boney M. GEnx9xS79Lc That isn't to say that Shaky was left out in the cold this week, even though "Oh Julie" recedes 1-2 it sold 106,000 a nice uplift of 44% from last week but it wasn't enough in the end and probably lost out due to TOTP. It's a little bit of chart karma after Shaky took the spot by just 2,000 last week he now loses out by the same figure despite leading all week! Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are back with a fourth straight top 10 hit but their obsession with Joan Of Arc continues. Their last single was named after the historical figure and sold 336,000 copies in its run to No 5, follow up "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Of Joan Of Arc)" is wasting little time rushing 17-6 (49,000). Parent album "Architecture and Morality" is back in the top 5 this week and looks like it could improve on its original peak of No 3 back in November and has just tipped over the 300,000 mark. If you do purchase (or have already) then look at the b-side, the group had initially wanted "Experiments In Vertical TakeOff" to be used and first pressings of the single had it as the flip side, however they changed their minds to "All The Things We've Made" so if you have the former then you could have a rarity! hHxT6vfPRpg Eastbourne based group Mobiles are a new name on the charts and strike it big first time around with "Drowning In Berlin" which ascends 14-9 (34,000). The band are signed to Rialto records which are owned by sons of former PM Edward Heath! BCq0yS3CXYw The Stranglers continue to impress as "Golden Brown" climbs 4-3 (87,000) and Meat Loaf yo-yo's 9-5 (52,000) with Christopher Cross sticking to him as he climbs 10-7 (43,000). Three fallers come from Bucks Fizz 2-4 (54,000), Kool & The Gang 5-8 (34,000) and Human League 6-10 (32,000) 1- THE MODEL/ COMPUTER LOVE- Kraftwerk (108,000) 2- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens (106,000) 3- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers (87,000) 4- LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE- Bucks Fizz (54,000) 5- DEAD RINGER FOR LOVE- Meat Loaf (52,000) 6- MAID OF ORLEANS- O.M.D (49,000) 7- ARTHUR’S THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO)- Christopher Cross (43,000) 8- GET DOWN ON IT- Kool & The Gang (34,000) 9- DROWNING IN BERLIN- Mobiles (34,000) 10- BEING BOILED- Human League (32,000)

YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: Ineligible VOTER: Gezza Their third ineligible EP that they released- it previewed the album “Union Street” which saw the duo reinterpret their tracks in either acoustic or country and western ways. This was originally a track on their “Cowboy” album. UkRYz6lDY6s

YEAR: 2017 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart VOTER: Bjork Lead track from “World Be Gone” 2P2Pd9JRIos

I did try to message but your mailbox is full :(

30TH JANUARY Another week of doldrum sales and erratic moves coupled with music label objections sees BMRB announce it’s to reverse its decision of last month and will be going back to the status quo re a chart week of Monday- Saturday from the Chart dated 20th February. Its current set up probably cost Kraftwerk a No 1 this week with “The Model/ Computer Love” which did appear on this weeks TOTP but falls 2-3 (68,000) but should perversely see an increase in sales next week. None of that saves Bucks Fizz who drop 1-2 (72,000) and were never in contention for retaining the crown which instead passes to Shakin Stevens, Attaining his third No 1 single in the space of just 10 months it seems everything he touches at present has top 10 written on it and this time he is finally making some serious money himself having written it himself. With the TOTP working the way it does however it should be Kraftwerk and Bucks Fizz who get the boost next week- interesting times, “Oh Julie” sold a poor 74,000 this week but it is the first chart topper since "Mary's Boy Child" by Boney M to feature a woman's name in it fact fans. InmjV_SDsOc (Includes the top 20 countdown) Punk survivors The Stranglers have been absent from the top 10 since 1977 but this week “Golden Brown” jumps 16-4 (56,000) which has been oddly championed by Radio 2 of all radio stations! There are a few theories currently doing the rounds as to the meaning of the song but a spot of mild controversy never harmed sales and this is now their highest charting single of their career! If2TfkHEpHg The reappearance of Dollar at No 8 (42,000) is again entirely down to the TOTP effect which raises the track 11-8 proving just how unworkable the current set up is, but two places below them is Christopher Cross’ “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do” which is on the move 18-10 (38,000). It’s the theme (as you could guess) to the current Dudley Moore film which opened in the UK a few weeks ago, it got its original release last October when the film debuted Stateside and it became Cross’ second US No 1 single later that month but petered out here at No 56, better luck for him now though as it is already by some stretch his biggest UK hit. 2quQ7A-vDiw Elsewhere three songs tumble, Kool & The Gang continue their slow come down dropping 4-5 (49,000), Jon & Vangelis finally recede 6-7 (46,000) and Meat Loaf back tracks 7-9 (41,000) but better news for Human League whose “Being Boiled” continues to improve 9-6 (48,000) though you’ll note that’s a marginal increase sales wise. 1- OH JULIE- Shakin Stevens (74,000) 2- LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE- Bucks Fizz (72,000) 3- THE MODEL/ COMPUTER LOVE- Kraftwerk. (68,000) 4- GOLDEN BROWN- The Stranglers (56,000) 5- GET DOWN ON IT- Kool & The Gang (49,000) 6- BEING BOILED- Human League (48,000) 7- I’LL FIND MY WAY HOME- Jon & Vangelis (46,000) 8- MIRROR MIRROR- Dollar (42,000) 9- DEAD RINGER FOR LOVE- Meat Loaf (41,000) 10- ARTHUR THEME (BEST THAT YOU CAN DO)- Christopher Cross (38,000)

That's it for the zero pointers- onto the pointed songs tomorrow!

YEAR: 2021 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart Culled from the “Neon Remixed” project, this was a new track written for the album. 8n77X65Aquw

YEAR: 2020 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart Containing many of the elements and participants from the “Nerves Of Steel” promo, this was the third release from “The Neon” but had a more Halloween theme as it got an October release. Bell added “It kind of reminds me of Human League crossed with Jane Wiedlin” tAgkT1yEhT8

Final two zero pointers tomorrow

YEAR: 2017 PEAK POSITION: Did not chart Third and final single from “World Be Gone”. Zero points is perhaps a little harsh- it's nice enough. yfz2m27acsE