Gezza

33. USE SOMEBODY- Kings Of Leon (698,695) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 61 Released in the slip stream of “Sex On Fire” it consolidated their position as the rock group of choice in late 08/ early 09. It had a 12 week climb to No 2 only held off becoming their second chart topper in a row thanks to Leona Lewis (No 45) so some revenge was gained on the decade list. It’s the third highest non No.1 on the list

34. UMBRELLA- Rihanna Featuring Jay Z (676,200) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 51 Rihanna’s first No 1 came with the infamous “Umbrella” which was at the top of the charts for 10 whole weeks in the summer of 2007 (a record for the decade), a summer which ended up being a particularly rainy one by sheer co-incidence, but much commented on at the time. The lead single from her “Good Girl Gone Bad” album it was just the third track to make the top on download only sales overturning a midweek deficit to Maroon 5 and giving his Jay Z his second credit on a chart topper after “Déjà vu” the previous year. It was another track that did the rounds being written for Britney Spears whose label rejected it, then offered to Taio Cruz and Mary J Blige- odd to think it could have been anyone but Rihanna who recorded it- but there you go.

35. KILLING IN THE NAME- Rage Against The Machine (664,481) YEAR: 1993/ 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 3 Two claims to fame on this one, firstly that when the song charted originally in 1993 the uncensored version of the track containing an expletive repeated several times was accidently played on the Radio 1 chart show! Forward 16 years and it was chosen as part of a facebook campaign to defeat the “X Factor” winning single becoming the Christmas No 1 (as it had been for the previous 4 years), picked precisely due to its refrain of “f*** you I won’t do what you tell me” as a message to the show that (an element of) the British public won’t just make something the festive chart topper because the show told them to. It captured the public imagination with press coverage giving daily updates on the race for the xmas No 1, interestingly this track was ahead all week but never by a solid amount with the lead a mere 9k by the end of Thursday, a surprise come Sunday that it ended up a healthy 52k ahead of Joe McElderry.

19TH DECEMBER Not much happens on this week’s chart with the top 4 all non movers and in reality it’s all over bar the shouting, Houston spends a third week at No 1 but she sold another 1992 record of 156,960 copies to take its total to 513,510 as it flies to No 2 on the YTD chart and will very probably soar past Snap! sometime next week to take pole position. Michael Jackson remains a distant runner up this week, his sales actually ebbed slightly to just 73,575 but he in turn remains well clear of Charles & Eddie, their sale of 41,115. “Would I Lie To You” has now shifted 420,300 copies and is the 6th biggest hit of the year, meanwhile the bookies will be happy that WWF superstars fail to make any inroads to the top 3 with sales only increasing by 24% to 38,085 though they pushed hard toward the weekend. Better news for both Take That who rise 9-5 (36,465) to score their biggest hit, and Madonna who heads north 10-6 (29,070). Highest new entry of the week belongs to The Shamen with their shot at the Christmas No 1 “Phorever People”. All 4 of their 1992 releases have debuted instantly into the top 10 and this is no different as it enters at No 7 (24,390) and causes the parent album “Boss Drum” to bounce 17-14 and should be a strong seller throughout the festive period. Once again it gets a remix from the Beatmasters who are the unsung heroes of the campaign having created the single versions of all the Shamen's releases for this album. A flop when first released in 1986 Freddie Mercury’s “In My Defence” has been dusted down and given a posthumous release and jumps 11-8 (24,285). It was originally written for the musical “Time” in which it was performed as a duet with Cliff Richard, the only live version of the song was performed by the two in April 1988 and marked the last time Mercury sang live in public, like the Shamen, Mercury has albums to shift this Christmas and he isn’t doing badly moving 8-7 this week having already peaked at No 4. They put together an impressive run of nine top 10 singles between 1976 and 1979 including two No 1 singles which sold a million each, Boney M were one of the biggest acts in the charts for a brief time. With the 80s brought tougher times and the group split when the hits stopped, but all things 70s seem to be back in fashion and Frank Farian (the man behind the band) has produced the “Boney M Megamix” which has been coupled with the suitably festive “Mary’s Boy Child- Oh My Lord” which was itself Christmas No 1 in 1978 and have now ended their 13 year wait for a tenth top ten hit with the Megamix flying 13-10 (21,150). Clearly it’s going down a storm at the office parties and indeed doing much better than a previous megamix four years ago which bottomed out at No 52- sometimes you have to wait until the time is right! Finally Rod Stewart falls 6-9 (22,740) and must have hoped for more. Next week it’s the big one- the Christmas chart! 1- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston (156,960) 2- HEAL THE WORLD- Michael Jackson (73,575) 3- WOULD I LIE TO YOU- Charles & Eddie (41,115) 4- SLAM JAM- WWF Superstars (38,085) 5- COULD IT BE MAGIC- Take That (36,465) 6- DEEPER AND DEEPER- Madonna (29,070) 7- PHOREVER PEOPLE- The Shamen (24,390) 8- IN MY DEFENCE- Freddie Mercury (24,285) 9- TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES (WALTZING MATILDA)- Rod Stewart (22,740) 10- BONEY M MEGAMIX- Boney M (21,150)

36. IN FOR THE KILL- La Roux (670,390) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 33 Enjoying considerable support from radio and critics, La Roux exploded into the charts in the spring of 2009 with this little ditty which spent an entire month at No 2 behind Calvin Harris (No 122) and Tinchy Stryder (No 71) so as you can see it was the winner overall by the Y/E. The song re-emerged in 2022 on Tion Wayne’s “IFTK” where it went top 10 again.

37. FEELS SO GOOD- Sonique (667,200) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 17 In many ways the chart race of June 2000 was a portent of the Spiller Vs Posh battle later that summer, highly promoted track by a pop act Vs an in demand club tune spread mainly through word of mouth- in this instance Sonique went up against S Club 7 (No 87) and once again the chart threw up a surprise. “It Feels So Good” was first released in 1998 peaking at No 24 and was largely forgotten about it started to make waves over in the US in 2000 and after it went top 10 a re-issue was inevitable and it stormed to the top.

38. WHENEVER WHEREVER- Shakira (660,400) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 19 It had the bravery/ foolishness to go up against Will Young’s “Pop Idol” winning single so it is no surprise that this never made No 1 here but it belies the fact that it announced the arrival of Shakira to the world outside of Latin music and was something of a sensation itself for a memorable promo and some lyrics about her breasts. She was the first act from Columbia to score a hit on the UK charts, and to prove its credentials it sold an impressive 109k in its first week, enough to be No 1 in more than half the weeks of 2002

12TH DECEMBER His sales swell by 154% but in the end he had too much ground to make up and thusly Michael Jackson’s “Heal The World” can only rise 3-2 on a sale of 73,665. The extra bit of bad news is that Whitney Houston has accelerated away from the field, she sold a stunning 137,880 copies last week, that’s the biggest weekly sale of the year, the third highest by a single in the 90s (Righteous Brothers and Queen both ahead of her) and the biggest 7 day tally for a record by a female solo act in over 7 years, it also gets a fast pass into the top 10 YTD. So bookies favourite for the festive top spot WWF Superstars “Slam Jam” obliges becoming the highest new entry on this week’s chart coming in at No 4 (31,965). It’s co-written and co-produced by Stock and Waterman and marks their first top 10 single as producers since Kylie Minogue back in February. There is an album and a tour coming in Spring apparently but all eyes will be on how this one does next week. A hit now for the third time “Could It Be Magic” has been reworked by the Rapino Brothers for current teen favourites Take That, it becomes their third top 10 single in seven months. The single was co-written by Barry Manilow in the 70s and is based around the chord progression from Chopin’s “Prelude In C Minor” and made it to single status in 1975 though it failed to chart here until a 1978 release took it to No 25. Before that Donna Summer discofied it in 1976 and that arrangement forms the backbone of the new Take That version. The track isn’t available on the vinyl version of the album which will help sales as it wastes no time grabbing the No 9 (21,780) spot- instantly their biggest weekly sale to date. The song comes with a suitably sexy video with the boys showing enough flesh to motivate their teen fans who voted them on to win a plethora of awards at the Smash Hits awards last week. And just one place behind Take That is Madonna with her 28th top 10 single “Deeper And Deeper”, Another cut from the “Erotica” album it should bolster the sales of the album which are just over the 200,000 mark as it lifts slightly 13-12 while the single debuts at No 10 (20,430). The promo is an homage to Andy Warhol and features actor Udo Kier who appeared in a few Warhol films himself back in the 70s. Charles & Eddie’s album debuts at No 20 as their single dips 2-3 (57,105), Heaven 17 regress 4-5 (26,025) and the Prodigy lapse 5-8 (25,515). Rod Stewart climbs 8-6 (25,995) and Cliff can only move 9-7 (25,545)- both look like they won’t pose a threat to Whitney now. 1- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston (137,880) 2- HEAL THE WORLD- Michael Jackson (73,665) 3- WOULD I LIE TO YOU- Charles & Eddie (57,105) 4- SLAM JAM- WWF Superstars (31,965) 5- TEMPTATION- Heaven 17 (26,025) 6- TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES (WALTZING MATILDA)- Rod Stewart (25,995) 7- I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU- Cliff Richard (25,545) 8- OUT OF SPACE/ RUFF IN THE JUNGLE BIZNESS- The Prodigy (25,515) 9- COULD IT BE MAGIC?- Take That (21,780) 10- DEEPER AND DEEPER- Madonna (20,430)

39. YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL- James Blunt (658,200) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 40 Famously this was a slow burner (for 2005) moving 12-6-2-3-3-3-1 in the charts whilst it embedded into all our brains. Inspired by a real life event it seemed to capture the public and grow into a monster hit, it was actually the slowest ascent to No 1 since Steps in 1998 and the first chart topper to enter outside the top 10 before it made No 1 since The Outhere Brothers in 1995- chart rule changes in 2006 would make this much more common though.

40. SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND- Girls Aloud (642,700) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 The start of a beautiful relationship between production team Xenomania and one of the biggest girlgroups of the decade. The group were of course formed on the reality show “Popstars: The Rivals” and this was a launch single and a bid at the festive No 1 which it achieved in some style beating boyband (and rival group also formed on the show) One True Voice to the top by 213k to 147k. The song itself had been knocking around for a while and first recorded by failed girlgroup Orchid in 2001 who disbanded before getting a deal, then it was offered as a Samantha Mumba single for 2002 before “I’m Right Here” got chosen instead, all of which meant it was still available for Girls Aloud to record as their first single once the group had been formed. It was originally recorded with all the vocals of the last 10 girls left in the group with Zenomania removing the vocals of the eliminated contestant week by week until only the five winning girls were left! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsnzQ_SWBZk&list=RDJsnzQ_SWBZk&start_radio=1

41. ROCK DJ- Robbie Williams (639,600) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 20 A song on the radio every 10 minutes in the summer of 2000, the controversial video which could only be shown after 9pm, the infamous tiger pants, and even a made-up relationship with Geri Halliwell, yes everything was thrown in to make sure that Robbie’s first single from his third album topped the charts. It did, in style, with 199k of sales in 6 days, and also helped the revival of Barry White who had already “assisted” Black Legend to No 1 a month before Robbie, his track “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Next To Me” is used throughout “Rock DJ”

5TH DECEMBER Christmas is off with a bang this week as many contenders smash straight into the upper reaches but more on them in a second. Charles & Eddie only take a 8% dip in sales but it demotes them to No 2 (87,240) this week, and so the crown passes (as widely expected) to Whitney Houston who scores her fourth UK No 1 single today with a best sale for the year of 104,010. It's the first time the No 1 has sold in 6 figures in the year and took until the 48th week of the year- a new record over the last 12 years at least and a sign of how poor sales have been in 1992. However it will be interesting to see where both tracks end up on the YTD charts- “Would I Lie To You” currently has sales of 322,080 whilst “I Will Always Love You” is on a more modest 218,670, two of only 22 records to cross the 200,000 mark so far this year. Another one of those records is “End Of The Road” which falls 3-6 (21,660) on a current tally of 379,980 which currently places them at No 5 on that chart. Whitney’s position at the top isn’t necessarily assured to extent for a long time as the contenders for the Christmas top spot are lining up behind her, none more so than Michael Jackson with a new single “Heal The World”. It debuts at No 3 (29,730), it’s an incredible 6th top 20 hit from “Dangerous” which is itself up 38-25 this week, it’s also his third album to generate 6 top 20 hit singles from it, no other act can claim a feat like that and demonstrates his ability to keep pulling hit singles from album which have themselves sold millions. Jackson has also set up a charity called “The Heal The World Foundation” to which the proceeds of this track will go as indeed the profits from his “Dangerous” tour did, it’s his 28th individually credited top 10 single in a solo career now 20 years in the making- keep an eye on this one as it could explode at retail next week. Written in 1895 and published in 1903 “Waltzing Matilda” is something of an unofficial nation anthem for Australians, it was taken and used extensively as the melody for Tom Waits song “Tom Traubert’s Blues” released in 1976. His song has now been covered by Rod Stewart as a lead single from a new album due next year, produced by Trevor Horn the CD version also contains new re-recordings of “Sailing” and “I Don’t Want To Talk About It” for extra value for money. The package debuts at No 8 (19,590). Rod Stewart may have built up 23 top 10 singles during his career but that’s small fry compared to Cliff who now has 61 top tenners to his credit in an admittedly longer career to date. His latest “I Still Believe In You” debuts at No 9 (19,230) and if anything we’ve learnt never write off Cliff at Christmas, this song was co-written by Dean Pitchford who also co-wrote Irene Cara’s “Fame” so it comes with good pedigree. Heaven 17 hold at No 4 (27,270) fending off The Prodigy who threaten 6-5 (26,730), Undercover slump 5-7 (20,820) but do see their album become the highest new entry this week albeit at No 26, and Arrested Development are down 7-10 (16,590). 1- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston (104,010) 2- WOULD I LIE TO YOU- Charles & Eddie (87,240) 3- HEAL THE WORLD- Michael Jackson (29,730) 4- TEMPTATION- Heaven 17 (27,270) 5- OUT OF SPACE/ RUFF IN THE JUNGLE BIZNESS- The Prodigy (26,730) 6- END OF THE ROAD- Boyz II Men (21,660) 7- NEVER LET HER SLIP AWAY- Undercover (20,820) 8- TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES (WALTZING MATILDA)- Rod Stewart (19,590) 9- I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU- Cliff Richard (19,230) 10- PEOPLE EVERYDAY- Arrested Development (16,590)

8TH MAY TOTP may not be the force it was once but just sometimes it can still make the difference. All week the new Offspring single “Why Don’t You Get A Job” tracked Westlife’s “Swear It Again” never more than a few thousand behind until the end of the week when Westlife’s appearances on both TOTP and CD:UK helped it secure a second week at the top with an advantage of 6,000 copies. The Offspring were narrowly denied a second chart topper on the trot then but after selling 72,000 copies they’ve proved they are more than a one hit wonder (or certainly one big hit wonder at any rate). The promo for “Why Don’t You Get A Job?” was shot at universal studios and uses the sets from some famous movies including “Back To The Future”, and if the track reminds you of the Beatles “Ob-La-Di” then you wouldn’t be alone. After a wait of 18 months Cast are back with their third album “Magic Hour” out in 3 weeks and new single “Beat Mama” scorching in at No 9 (31,000). It’s the band’s 10th single release and the 7th to make the top 10 and the other three going top 20- an impressive track record. A rather quiet week for new releases means we get some erratic moves in the top 10 none more so than TLC who leap 9-3 (53,000) with a new best week sale to date improving just 13%. It’s enough to overcome Fatboy Slim 2-4 (48,000) and Martine McCutcheon 3-5 (47,000), also falling are Basement Jaxx 5-6 (42,000) but Phats & Small continue their yo-yo’ing 8-7 (38,000) though sales are off week on week. Texas fall 4-8 (34,000) and Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson complete the top tier 6-10 (29,000). 1- SWEAR IT AGAIN- Westlife (78,000) 2- WHY DON’T YOU GET A JOB?- Offspring (72,000) 3- NO SCRUBS- TLC (53,000) 4- RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW- Fatboy Slim (48,000) 5- PERFECT MOMENT- Martine McCutcheon (47,000) 6- RED ALERT- Basement Jaxx (42,000) 7- TURN AROUND- Phats & Small (38,000) 8- IN OUR LIFETIME- Texas (34,000) 9- BEAT MAMA- Cast (31,000) 10- WHAT’S IT GONNA BE- Busta Rhymes Feat Janet Jackson (29,000)

1ST MAY Another week, another boyband, well not quite, Westlife are the newest Irish boyband who have been getting considerable press in the teen mags and come co-managed by Louis Walsh and Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, a fact that will only speed up those “Boyzone Split” stories. The five piece were only put together last year though three members had been in the band IOYOU who released one flop single before being overhauled into their current line up using the name Westside but had to rename after another band using that name threatened to sue. The band opened for Boyzone and Backstreet Boys in Dublin and premiered their debut single “Swear It Again” at last year’s “Smash Hits Awards” where they picked up the roadshow award previously picked up by Five. Well the single justifies the hype by entering at No 1 (102,000) and contains a version of Damage’s “Forever” on the flipside, it’s also been atop the Irish chart for the past month. Man of the moment Fatboy Slim has had a great 1999 with a chart topper last time out with “Praise You” and No 1 album with “You’ve Come A Long Way Baby” which is currently the 3rd biggest selling album of the year. Fourth single “Right Here, Right Now” takes a sample of James Gang “Ashes, The Rain & I” (1970) and lifts a line from Angela Bassett in the film “Strange Days” to give us the song, the video meanwhile tells the story of man’s evolution! All told 83,000 people bought the track to send it straight into the No 2 slot, a fourth top 10 single on the trot for Cook. It’s use on a series of Adidas adverts this year has made it already familiar to many before single release. The anticipated return of Texas was touted as one of the events of the year way back in January and finally we get the first single “In Our Lifetime” new at No 4 (78,000) in an especially tightly packed top 4. It’s a 6th top 10 single in a row for the Scots who will be releasing new album “The Hush” later this month. Garnering a cult following on the dance scene for some years now, Basement Jaxx (duo Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe) supported Daft Punk on tour back in 1997 which helped push single “Fly Life” to No 19. They’ve been busy at work on that debut album ever since and now we get a new single “Red Alert” which enters at No 5 (60,000), the song is based around a sample of Lockdown’s “Chinese Funk Song” which was a B-side to their only UK hit “Unlock The Funk” (No 42, 1980), the album “Remedy” is out in 3 weeks. Janet Jackson may have failed to make the top 10 with her last solo single (“Everytime” flopped at No 46) or with her last featured hit (Blackstreet’s “Girlfriend/ Boyfriend” which made No 11) but her new feature does the trick. “What’s It Gonna Be” is actually a Busta Rhymes single which features the lady herself and piles in at No 6 (58,000) this week to give Busta his 4th top 10 single and Jackson’s 13th (or 14th depending on how you count the remix of “Best Things In Life”). Catch the promo if you can, it reportedly cost over £2 million to make and is rather sexual, hard to believe from the woman who once gave us abstinence advice in “Let’s Wait Awhile”. His album “They Never Saw Me Coming” hits the shops today but it can now boast two top 10 singles with TQ’s new single “Bye Bye Baby” crashing in at No 7 (53,000) and proving as popular as his first hit “Westside” (No 4 back in February). Not many survivors from last week but Martine McCutcheon slips 1-3 (80,000) going gold in the process, Phats & Small collapse 2-8 (49,000), TLC retract again 6-9 (47,000) and Cartoons fall 7-10 (35,000). TLC had their best week ever at retail and remain No 1 Stateside for a 4th week! 1- SWEAR IT AGAIN- Westlife (102,000) 2- RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW- Fatboy Slim (83,000) 3- PERFECT MOMENT- Martine McCutcheon (80,000) 4- IN OUR LIFETIME- Texas (78,000) 5- RED ALERT- Basement Jaxx (60,000) 6- WHAT’S IT GONNA BE?- Busta Rhymes Ft Janet Jackson (58,000) 7- BYE BYE BABY- TQ (53,000) 8- TURN AROUND- Phats & Small (49,000) 9- NO SCRUBS- TLC (47,000) 10- WITCH DOCTOR- Cartoons (35,000)

42. TEENAGE DIRTBAG- Wheatus (636,400) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART :20 First appearing in the 2000 film “Loser” (hence the promo), it actually took it’s inspiration from real life events as singer and writer Brown stated: “It came from the summer of 1984 on Long Island, when I was 10 years old. That summer in the woods behind my house, there was a Satanic, drug-induced ritual teen homicide that went down; and the kid who did it was called Ricky Kasso, and he was arrested wearing an AC/DC T-shirt. That made all the papers, and the television, obviously; and here I was, 10 years old, walking around with a case full of AC/DC and Iron Maiden and Metallica – and all the parents and the teachers and the cops thought I was some kind of Satan worshipper. So that's the backdrop for that song” It was released up against Atomic Kitten’s “Whole Again” and came off second best, it’s the 5th highest non number one on the list!

43. NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE- S Club 7 (627,500) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 18 “Children In Need” was the benefactor here for S Club’s 6th top 3 single- only the second UK group to score six top 3 hits from their first releases after the Spice’s. Co-written by the writer of choice for early 00’s hits (that’s Cathy Dennis) the song was first heard in demo form as the theme to the show “S Club 7 Go Wild” in the autumn of 2000 before getting the single mix and topping the charts, this is their 3rd track on the list!

44. ANGEL- Shaggy Featuring Reyvon (622,100) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Shaggy’s second No 1 of 2001 arrived there on a sale of 178k, it samples Steve Miller Band’s “Joker” and interpolated “Angel Of The Morning” by Evie Sands in the chorus and became his fourth chart topper overall. That meant that he became the most successful reggae act ever (by that metric) and the first to top the singles and albums chart simultaneously fact fans

28TH NOVEMBER It rushes 12-1 in the US and Whitney almost pulled it off here, sales of “I Will Always Love You” increase by 143% to 70,215, a new record for the No 2 record in 1992 and the biggest sale at that position since "Ice Ice Baby" in December 1990. Even that wasn’t enough to deprive Charles & Eddie of a second week at No 1, “Would I Lie To You” increased its own sales by a more modest 24% but that enough to sell an impressive 95,655 at the top (itself the second highest weekly sale for a chart topper in the year behind Erasure). It bodes well the duo’s debut album which is in shops in a fortnight. Incidentally it is Houston’s 10th US chart topper drawing her level again with Madonna in the record books. They really were the only two tracks in the race for the top this week, Boyz II Men continue their slow descent 2-3 (29,955) having now sold 358,320 copies of “End Of The Road”- that’s enough to be the 6th best seller of the year and will clear 400,000 before year end. Heaven 17 charge 9-4 (27,435) keeping Undercover stranded at No 5 (25,845). The Prodigy are back with another cut from “Experience” and a double A-Side to boot, “Out Of Space/ Ruff In The Jungle Bizness”. The former features a sample of Max Romeo’s “Chase The Devil” and hopes must be that it finally launches the album into the big sellers over the festive period, the album debuted at No 12 eight weeks ago but has since left the top 60 and now revives 61-40. The single meanwhile becomes the group’s 3rd top 10 single in 15 months as it rallies 14-6 (24,015). Talking of double A-Sides Guns N Roses are also getting in on the act, “Yesterdays” comes with the LP version of their earlier hit “November Rain” (aptly re-issued in the right month?). The group is still on a hot streak at present with a fifth top 10 on the trot as the current release floats 12-8 (19,470) but both “Use Your Illusion”’s remain outside the top 60 on the album charts, the single rise in part due to a belated release of a 12” picture disk, a tactic being used increasingly by record companies to boost chart positions after the initial splash. Three fallers to cover briefly Arrested Development drop 3-7 (21,450), The Shamen dive 6-9 (19,170) and Genesis fade 7-10 (18,270) 1- WOULD I LIE TO YOU- Charles & Eddie (95,655) 2- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston (70,215) 3- END OF THE ROAD- Boyz II Men (29,955) 4- TEMPTATION- Heaven 17 (27,435) 5- NEVER LET HER SLIP AWAY- Undercover (25,845) 6- OUT OF SPACE/ RUFF IN THE JUNGLE BIZNESS- The Prodigy (24,015) 7- PEOPLE EVERYDAY- Arrested Development (21,450) 8- YESTERDAYS/ NOVEMBER RAIN- Guns N Roses (19,470) 9- BOSS DRUM- The Shamen (19,170) 10- INVISIBLE TOUCH- Genesis (17,270) So with Christmas a month away time to review the runners and riders: BJORN AGAIN- Santa Claus Is Comin To Town It’s been a great year for all things ABBA related as they’re back in fashion and could these copycats steal a march on the festive top spot? BOYZ II MEN- Motownphilly Follow up to “End Of The Road” could do the business for them though it perhaps isn’t festive enough? CLIFF RICHARD- I Still Believe In You Who would bet against Cliff at Christmas? He’s done it in 1988 and 1990 so he’s due again this year! DARLENE LOVE- All Alone On Christmas Return to the charts for the 60s star, this features in the film “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York”- festive and linked to a major film- could be a winning formula! DIANA ROSS- If We Hold On Together Don’t dismiss Diana- she scored a massive hit last Christmas with “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”- this comes with a cute video from the film “The Land Before Time”. MICHAEL JACKSON- Heal The World Yes it’s the 27th (or 6th we think) single from “Dangerous” but this is for charity and features kids so expect additional sales. FREDDIE MERCURY- In My Defence Queen triumphed last year can a solo Freddie Record do it- Public desire for his old work remains strong! MADONNA- Deeper & Deeper It seems we always put Madonna in the rundown for a festive chart topper and she’s always there or thereabouts but never at No 1- could this be her year? THE SHAMEN- Phorever People A great year for this band with three top 10 singles in the last 6 months including a No 1- could this be their second? ROD STEWART- Tom Trubert’s Blues Rod’s done his version of Waltzing Matilda- could it surprise us all and take the top spot? WWF SUPERSTARS- Slam Jam The bookies favourite apparently- combining kids, wrestling, and Christmas- could prove unstoppable. WHITNEY HOUSTON- I Will Always Love You On target for No 1 on Sunday so could have peaked too early- but promo for the film “Bodyguard” will be getting ramped up as we approach Boxing day so you never know.

45. RUN- Leona Lewis (617,415) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 25 The original was of course by Snow Patrol (#5, 2004) but Lewis’ version was repeatedly requested on Radio 1 after its first performance on “Live Lounge” in October 2007 convincing all that a studio version would be a seller. In September 2008 it happened and appeared on the “Deluxe” version of her “Spirit” album which again bounced back to No 1 but the song was still not intended to be a single, however after the song was performed on “X Factor” the reaction changed the plan and a single edit of “Run” was announced and debuted at No 1 without any physical copies available on a sale of 131k- the highest weekly tally for a digital release only (at that time).

46. BOOM BOOM POW- Black Eyed Peas (616,981) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 31 A first release in 3 years for the group that had been off pursuing separate interests in the interim with mixed results it’s fair to say. We’ve already one of the singles they made in 2009 (No 62) but this was the lead single from the album but what has it do with the X Factor? Well the track samples a song called “Reach Out” by Sweet Mercy which featured the vocals of a certain Rowetta Idah- yes the same Rowetta that was a finalist on the X Factor back in 2004 but also did backing vocals on many Happy Mondays tracks. Anyway it provided them with a second No 1 some 6 years after their first.

47. HIPS DON’T LIE- Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean (614,700) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 38 Emerging first on the soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing 2- Havana Nights” in 2004 as a duet between Wyclef and Claudette Ortiz, though its origin dates back further as “Lips Don’t Lie” which was intended as a Fugees reunion track that never ultimately happened. This was revisited and re-written by Jean and Shakira to revive her poorly selling “Oral Fixation Vol 2 album” which had made No 22 and disappeared after 3 weeks following the No 9 hit “Don’t Bother”. Cue a quick dash to try and re-invigorate the era with this addition which got tagged on to the re-issue of the album, it worked as it became Shakira’s first UK No 1 and had two spells at No 1 separated by 3 weeks- the longest such break since Celine Dion 8 years prior.

21ST NOVEMBER Charles & Eddie make their expected climb to No 1, it’s just the 11th chart topper of 1992 though in what could turn out to be a record year for a low turnaround (excluding 1952 obviously). It sold a very respectable 77,070 copies (third highest weekly tally behind Erasure) as the first flushes of the festive period start to show. The remainder of the top 3 consist of the falling Boyz II Men 1-2 (46,365) and Arrested Development who cling to the No 3 position with 30,330 buyers. Recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973 as a farewell to her mentor and former partner Porter Wagoner when she decided to go solo, it was a country hit the following year before becoming a hit again for the singer in 1982 when it featured in the film “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” and topped the Country charts on both occasions though it never charted here. It’s now been recorded by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of her film “The Bodyguard” which marks her acting debut and is out here on Boxing Day, she was apparently meant to record a version of “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” but it has been used recently in “Fried Green Tomatoes” so this song was chosen. It drives 12-4 (29,895) to become Houston’s biggest hit since 1988’s “One Moment In Time” topped the survey. Recorded in Hanover in July 1992 during their recent “We Can’t Dance” tour, Genesis’ “Invisible Touch” was a No 15 hit in 1986 and now comes in a limited edition live release which predictably becomes instantly a bigger hit the second time around arriving at No 7 (23,415). An 8th top 10 single it previews the first of two live albums “Live- The Way We Walk Volume I: The Shorts” which is out this week. Lots of re-hashes about this week, along with Whitney and Genesis we have Heaven 17 who have been absent from the charts these last 5 years but this week see their biggest hit “Temptation” debut at No 9 (21,315), it made No 2 back in 1983 behind Spandau Ballet's "True". It comes in a remixed form by Brothers In Rhythm and will be included on a new compilation of their work due in the Spring. Undercover sneak 7-5 (29,865) as they help push The Shamen 4-6 (26,850), Vanessa Paradis slips 6-8 (22,260) and Rage bottom out 5-10 (20,850). 1- WOULD I LIE TO YOU- Charles & Eddie (77,070) 2- END OF THE ROAD- Boyz II Men (46,365) 3- PEOPLE EVERYDAY- Arrested Development (30,330) 4- I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU- Whitney Houston (29,895) 5- NEVER LET HER SLIP AWAY- Undercover (29,865) 6- BOSS DRUM- The Shamen (26,850) 7- INVISIBLE TOUCH- Genesis (23,415) 8- BE MY BABY- Vanessa Paradis (22,260) 9- TEMPTATION- Heaven 17 (21,315) 10- RUN TO YOU- Rage (20,850)

48. CHASING CARS- Snow Patrol (611,400) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 6 WKS ON CHART: 95 The original download long laster even charted for longer than “Mr Brightside” within the confines of the decade, it also demonstrated the power of downloading as it was the main beneficiary of chart rules when compilation changed in January 2007 to mean that all downloads (as opposed to those with an associated physical product) could count towards the chart. It re-emerged to enter at No 9 six weeks after being deleted and therefore ineligible for the charts at that point, safe to say that we were all sick of it by the time it left the charts but 95 weeks in the top 75 is by some stretch the longest charting track on the rundown not to mention the highest placed non top 2 hit, and the last song ever performed on the regular weekly TOTP.

49. MERCY- Duffy (604,700) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 44 Way back in 2008 Duffy and Adele were viewed as rivals with constant comparisons thanks to the two appearing as the top 2 in BBC sound of 2008 poll, and both breaking the charts within a few weeks of each other. Most predicated (and the charts suggested) that it would be Duffy who would prove the bigger star as this single flew to No 1 for 5 weeks and her album becoming the biggest seller of the year, however her second album underperformed and she was widely panned for her participation in a Coca-Cola advert but in 2020 she revealed that years out of the limelight was due to an horrific abduction and rape some years prior which truly shocked.

50. LOSE YOURSELF- Eminem (598,100) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 22 His first US chart topper but a fourth here in the UK and a third track on this rundown for the rapper. Written for the soundtrack to the film “8 Mile” it was the first rap song to collect an Oscar and marks the end of the sub platinum singles (within the decade obviously).