Gezza

02. UNCHAINED MELODY- Gareth Gates (1,411,200) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 30 For those of us who were there at the time you might recall that it was actually Gareth Gates who was the favourite to win “Pop Idol” when it reached the final episode, the boy with the stammer had been taken to our hearts and all looked set fair for his pop career. Taking a cover of a track which had already been No 1 for Jimmy Young (1955) Righteous Brothers (1990) and Robson & Jerome (1995) might seem like overkill but we were all proved wrong when it racked up sales of 850k in its first week- the third highest weekly tally ever and only looked less remarkable given Will Young’s sale a matter of 3 weeks prior to his debut. Indeed it was the 8th version of the track to chart and the first song ever to top the charts in 4 different versions, it was actually picked by Gareth to perform on the show where Cowell noted that his version could be a No1- it was on the cards! It made him the youngest ever British male solo act to make No 1 at 15 and enabled the song to become the second biggest of the decade repeating the its feat in the 90s (though by a different act).

I agree on "jack your body". I appreciate it for the expansion of the genre but it's never a song i liked or would return to. See also "pump up the volume".

Exactly

I feel it's wrong to single out Pepsi & Shirlie when The Nolans, Anne Diamond, Gloria Hunniford, Linda Lusardi, Ruth Madoc and Mike Read are all present 😆

03. (IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO?- Tony Christie Featuring Peter Kay (1,207,300) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 28 Co-written by Neil Sedaka this song flopped in the US when Christie originally released it in 1971 though it made No 18 here, it remained something of a cult hit and certainly has a place in the heart of comedian Peter Kay who used the track as the intro to his live shows for some time as well as in the show “Pheonix Nights” and had toyed with the idea of releasing it at intervals. The opportunity came in 2005 for Comic Relief and with Christie on board a memorable video featuring Cameo’s from various stars was aired and pretty much made the video something of a cultural moment. The single exploded at retail (even though it wasn’t the official Comic Relief single for the year) sending 7 weeks at No 1 and selling over 900,000 whilst there.

04. IT WASN’T ME- Shaggy Featuring Rik “Rok” Ducent (1,204,900) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 20 Shaggy doing gaslighting before it was even a recognised thing! One of only three tracks (to this point) where an import reached the top 40 before the official release indicating a major hit on the horizon and it certainly was as it blazed a trail to the top on a sale of 345k and sold over 100k for 4 weeks straight as it raced away to the best selling single of the year.

Quite right- I think what i meant (which is clealry not what i wrote) is that it hit No 1 and remained there to be the festive chart topper for the longest time before the big day itself.

05. HALLELUJAH- Alexander Burke (1,172,495) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 12 Another Christmas and another X Factor coronation single, but in some ways the chart race of Christmas 2008 had many portents for the following year RATM Vs Joe McElderry. When the winning single was revealed to be a cover of the 1984 Leonard Cohen track it prompted multiple facebook campaigns to suggest that buying alternative versions would register a good protest and so it was that not only was Burke’s version No 1 but Jeff Buckley’s cover stood at No 2 and even Chen’s original crept into the top 40. It was the first time that competing versions of the same track were top 2 was way back in 1957 but it showed the power of a well-orchestrated campaign- note made for 1 year later! Nothing would stop Burke in 2008 with a mighty 576k copies sold to become the year’s festive No 1.

06.DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS?- Band Aid 20 (1,127,300) YEAR: 2004 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 11 Right we aren’t going to mention Dizzee’s rap! Recorded to mark the 20th anniversary of the original Band Aid there was a whole heap of publicity when this was announced and it resulted in pretty much all the bookies not taking any bets on who would be the festive chart topper. They proved to be wise as the song sold a million during its 4 weeks at No 1 and easily became the biggest seller of 2004 so it did the job in terms of sales and raising revenue. Little fun fact- this was the first Christmas No 1 not released in the week of the Christmas chart since 1995.

5TH JUNE “Sweet Like Chocolate” suffers a 41% sales slash but it was so far ahead of the opposition last week that even that doesn’t prevent it retaining the top slot. The Shanks & Bigfoot track still sold more than double the total of any other track and was out in front from the off sending total sales of the song to 392,000 after a fortnight. The power of the TV ad sent Lenny Kravitz to No 1 earlier this year and now it almost sent Wiseguys there too! Their song “Ooh La La” is used in the current Budweiser advert, I say “their” but in reality the outfit is now a front for Theo Keating, his former partner in crime Paul Eve having left last year, he was there however when the song got its original release back in June 98 making No 55. The song is now re-issued with a new promo and powers in at No 2 (70,000). Last time out Jamiroquai topped the charts with “Deeper Underground” which of course had the backing of a major blockbuster behind it (“Godzilla”)- not so this time but “Canned Heat” becomes their 7th top 10 hit with ease as it emerges at No 4 (54,000). It’s the first single from their fourth album “Sykronized” which hits the shops at the end of the month. Striking whilst the proverbial iron is hot, Chicane score their biggest hit in tandem with Clannad’s Maire Brennan on “Saltwater”, the track uses re-recorded parts of Clannad’s 1982 #5 track “Theme From Harry’s Game” which was also their biggest hit. Brennan is the sister of popstar Enya as you may know, with neither sister having a top 20 single for the last 4 years, Chicane meanwhile were responsible for the recent Bryan Adams #6 hit “Cloud 9” which they remixed. The song is new at No 6 (44,000). Shania Twain spends a third week at No 3 (68,000) with sales slightly increased! It has sold 241,000 copies in three weeks and has now been included in the revamped “Come On Over” album which surges 29-3 this week to reach a new peak thanks to renewed promotion which has had a knock-on effect on the single. Sixpence None The Richer slip 4-5 (46,000), Boyzone trundle 2-7 (43,000) and Precious drop 6-8 (41,000). The latter held up well through the week looking as though it could clinch a No 5 place but unusually fell at the last hurdle and in coming in 12th at Eurovision on Saturday it is likely to drop further next week. Backstreet Boys descend 7-9 (38,000) and Geri Halliwell just clings to the top 10 doubling her position 5-10 (36,000). 1- SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE- Shanks & Bigfoot (141,000) 2- OOH LA LA- Wiseguys (70,000) 3- THAT DON’T IMPRESS ME MUCH- Shania Twain (68,000) 4- CANNED HEAT- Jamiroquai (54,000) 5- KISS ME- Sixpence None The Richer (46,000) 6- SALTWATER- Chicane (44,000) 7- YOU NEEDED ME- Boyzone (43,000) 8- SAY IT AGAIN- Precious (41,000) 9- I WANT IT THAT WAY- Backstreet Boys (38,000) 10- LOOK AT ME- Geri Halliwell (36,000)

29TH MAY After last week’s chart battle fought in the blaze of the media it was a quieter week this time around but no less impressive. The UK has its 17th chart topper of the year in the form of Shanks & Bigfoot’s “Sweet Like Chocolate”, released last Christmas as a limited edition brown 12” it immediately became a hit in the clubs for the duo (Steven Meade and David Langsman) and features the vocals of Sharon Woolf. Although the first hit under this moniker for the duo, they were in the top 20 just last year using the name Doolally but the success of this marks the first Garage chart topper ever and a real coming of age for the genre which has been growing steadily over the last few year. A very cutesy promo helped the song to a first week sale of 251,000 almost as much as the rest of the top 5 combined such was the demand. Currently top 3 in the US (having seemingly peaked at No 2 behind TLC) Sixpence None The Richer’s debut single “Kiss Me” makes its UK debut at No 4 (58,000). It features in the current flick “She’s All That” which has given it a nice boost into the top 5. With Eurovision fast approaching this year’s UK entrant is “Say It Again” by girlgroup Precious. The song was written by Paul Varney who some may recall as one half of Yell! Who made the top 10 back in 1990 with “Instant Replay”, if they win then expect this to surge up next week but for now it’s new at No 6 (54,000). Talking of former popstars writing tunes for new girl groups step forward Phil Thornalley formerly of both The Cure and Johnny Hates Jazz, he’s scored a major hit recently with Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” and has now written “I Quit” for new band Hepburn. The song was originally offered to Imbruglia herself though she obviously declined it and so it ends up in the hands of this quartet as their debut and promptly enters at No 8 (47,000). Sugar Ray are a US group who have been plugging away since the mid 80s but only produced their first album four years ago which, whilst bringing critical acclaim, failed to produce any hits. Second album “Floored” gave us the #58 single “Fly” in 1997 but it is only now with a third album that they score it big. “Every Morning” samples Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing In The Grass” and gives them a UK breakthrough new at No 10 (41,000). Boyzone can’t prevent the power of Shanks & Bigfoot and drop 1-2 (81,000) but remain well clear of Shania Twain who completes the top 3 (64,000). Post fanfare Geri Halliwell slides 2-5 (57,000) and the Backstreet Boys also decline 3-7 (49,000) but their album shoots straight in at No 2, TLC look to have finally given up the ghost 5-9 (45,000). 1- SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE- Shanks & Bigfoot (251,000) 2- YOU NEEDED ME- Boyzone (81,000) 3- THAT DON’T IMPRESS ME MUCH- Shania Twain (64,000) 4- KISS ME- Sixpence None The Richer (58,000) 5- LOOK AT ME- Geri Halliwell (57,000) 6- SAY IT AGAIN- Precious (54,000) 7- I WANT IT THAT WAY- Backstreet Boys (49,000) 8- I QUIT- Hepburn (47,000) 9- NO SCRUBS- TLC (45,000) 10- EVERY MORNING- Sugar Ray (41,000)

07. CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD- Kylie Minogue (1,104,600) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 25 If “Spinning Around” reminded us all that Kylie could still compete the younger generations as a chart force then this elevated her back to the heights she was last at in the late 80s- an international popstar who could command the best songs around. Written by former Mud member Ron Davis and Cathy Dennis (who were chucking out No 1 singles all over the place at this point), it was released in a much publicised chart battle with Victoria Beckham which included daily updates on sales via big breakfast news and a live performance by Beckham sporting a lip ring (which was fake but not revealed before the papers had spilled columns over it), in reality as soon as the first sales flashes were released it was clear that the battle was pretty anticlimactic with Kylie romping to the top with 306k.

08. THAT’S MY GOAL- Shayne Ward (1,098,400) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 Moving on 4 years from Hear’Say and “X Factor” was dominating the festive race with Shayne Ward winning in 2005 and rushing his single out he following day on downloads with a physical copy making the shops on the Wednesday before the festive chart was announced. First week sales made Hear’Say’s opening tally look like a flop week with a mighty 742k sold- the highest weekly tally of the whole decade, the song itself had been floating around for some time being offered to Westlife to record for the 2004 Special Olympics but turned down by them.

09. PURE AND SIMPLE- Hear’Say (1,081,700) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 25 Before “X Factor” and “Pop Idol” we had “Popstars”- the first time that the formation of a group was itself the focus of the show, the selection, the rehearsals, the drama, reality TV vs the pop world- and we lapped it up! Though it proved nothing we didn’t know (i.e give something prime TV week in and week out then it will get attention) the format was new and made the subsequent group Hear’Say the brightest thing in pop in March 2001. The song itself had a tortured past being written with the original intention of being given to Girl Thing and was co-written by Betty Boo (90s popstar) but it was “given away” by their management to the newly formed group with Girl Thing’s version appearing on their album which was not released in the UK until 2013. Regardless of the history the song sold 549k to enter at No 1 (an event which was filmed in real time to see the group react)- that was a weekly tally beaten only by Elton John (1997) and Band Aid (1984) but it spawned a new way of finding and marketing pop and one that change the music industry for years to come. The tale is cautionary however and it was all over 18 months later for the group.

10. CAN WE FIX IT?- Bob The Builder (1,009,400) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 22 So to the Christmas No 1 for 2000 and the one that denied the odds and beat a Westlife single to No 1 in its first week! It was only denied a No 1 berth by Eminem’s “Stan” and 10,000 copies but accelerated away to not only spend 3 weeks at No 1 but become the best seller of 2000 and the decade’s first million seller! The brand even proved themselves no one hit wonder with another chart topper in 2001 before not outstaying their welcome, the show itself was only at the end of season 3 when the record was released and went on until 2011 so it could have been worse!

11. BLEEDING LOVE- Leona Lewis (973,800) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 28 The song that proved precedent wrong- it became the first X Factor winners song to outperform their coronation single and it hit No 1 in the US as well making Lewis into a genuine international star. Written by OneRepublic Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney and recorded by the latter first though given away to Lewis ultimately, it immediately smashed into the charts at No 1 where it stayed for 7 weeks becoming the best selling single of 2007. The promo got remade for the US but the European version featured the now fabled £100,000 crystal D & G dress.

12. CRAZY- Gnarles Barkley (972,400) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 18 A history making track! It had been hanging around since Christmas 2005 when the track was initially leaked creating a fair amount of anticipation which was only added to when it was used to promote Zane Low’s Radio 1 show on the BBC. It was released digitally in early March 06 but could not chart due to chart regs needing a physical release to be available or available within a week (it would have made No 3 had it been eligible before it was). The week that it was eligible it flew to No 1 with no physical release- the first song in UK chart history to be No 1 on downloads alone- and there it stayed for a total of 9 weeks (the longest since Wet, Wet, Wet in 94). It was deleted whilst still at No 1 (again the first time this was done- rumours that Wet, Wet, Wet had done it in 1994 were a record label lie to generate a 16th week at the top) and so disappeared from the charts whilst at No 5 though it returned to the top 30 when the rule around physical copies was removed in January 2007.

13. WHOLE AGAIN- Atomic Kitten (965,200) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 23 It’s pretty well known now that this was the single that saved them from being dumped by the label who had lost patience with the group after their previous singe made No 20 and the album had underperformed. OMD’s Andy McClusky pleaded with the label to release one final track which succeeded and then Kerry Katona quit the band mid promotion for the track- it seemed doomed! But the track proved everyone wrong by becoming their first chart topper and led to a long career for the girlgroup who called it a day eventually in 2004

14. SEX ON FIRE- Kings Of Leon (903,070) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 67 Catapulting them to a whole new level of fame when it was released, this was, by the end of 2009 the second most downloaded track of all time. Nanthan Followill revealed the origin of the title “ It was actually going to be "Set Us on Fire", but one of the sound mixers in the studio walked in as we were playing and said, "'Sex on Fire', huh?" And it just kind of became a running joke, and we stuck with it.” It spent it’s first 35 weeks in the top 40- notable longevity for the time.

Just to clarify there were two CD's available though they had the same track listing. The only difference was that one contained postcards.

15. POKER FACE- Lady Gaga (882,059) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 50 Gaga’s biggest seller of the 00s was her second single, it seems so obvious now that it would be a No 1 with its iconic video but it’s easy to forget that it really struggled to make it there moving 30-26-28-24-22-15-3-3-4-1 and when it did make No 1 did so by just 221 copies (although its other weeks were by a larger margin). Gaga confirmed later on that the song was about bisexuality with more than a smattering of sexual innuendo which only contributed to the hype surrounding her at this time- Two chart toppers to start off your career (and one of them the best seller of the year) can’t be bad though!

16. A MOMENT LIKE THIS- Leona Lewis (862,000) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 14 You’ll recall no doubt that this started off as Kelly Clarkson’s winners single from the US “Pop Idol” series launching her into the pop charts with a US No 1 in 2002. As we never got the show we didn’t get the version released here so it was ripe for a UK version and when Lewis won “X Factor” this was handed to her to record and it didn’t disappoint selling 571k in week 1 breaking the record (for the time) of 50,000 downloads in its first 30 minutes of release and over 100,000 by the end of its first day bus she did at least buck the trend of X Factor winners (In the 00s at least) of actually outselling their coronation single! Co-written by John Reid of Nightcrawlers fame FYI.

17. I GOTTA FEELING- Black Eyed Peas (848,648) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 29 I’d forgotten that David Guetta both co-wrote and co-produced this track which was a second straight No 1 for the BEP in 2009 spending two non-consecutive weeks at the top (the second week they were actually knocked off by Guetta). It was even more successful in the US where it made No 1 for 14 weeks knocking themselves off the top and resulted in a record of 26 consecutive weeks at the top combined between the singles. Whilst it didn’t have that longevity in the UK charts it did end up as their biggest hit of the decade!

18. HERO- Enrique Iglesias (836,500) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 20 Iglesias became only the third act from Spain to hit no 1 when this track was released (Baccara in 1977 and his father Julio in 1981 being the other two). Therefore they became the first instance of son and father having separate solo chart toppers, “Hero” hung around for a month on top fuelled by Valentine’s day and a promo featuring Mickey Rourke and Jennifer Love Hewitt , pretty high budget for a pop promo. It was a hit in the US in late 2001 after 9/11.

19. HERO- X Factor Finalists (804,700) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 12 The format of getting all the finalists from a reality show together to record a single had been tried before (see the pop idol finalists in 2003), but come season 5 of “The X Factor” the idea got revived and this cover of the Mariah Carey #7, 1993 hit. The song was famously written to be given to Gloria Estefan to sing for the film of the same name but kept in the end by Carey, it had been a staple of shows like “X Factor” for some time and this version sold a mighty 313k in its first week lifting to over 600,000 after 3 weeks and was by far the biggest selling X Factor finalist single despite the format being replicated every year until 2011.