Gezza

66. GRACE KELLY- Mika (554,400) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 40 This was only the second track ever to top the charts on downloads alone when it rose 3-1 in January 2007 as Mika become one of the biggest chart stars of the year. Titled after the Hollywood actress (her film “The Country Girl” is sampled at the start of the track), this was inspired after the singer was advised that he should change his style to become more in tune with what was doing well in the charts at the time. He didn’t pay attention and reaped the rewards

67. AXEL F- Crazy Frog (552,600) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Created in 2003 by a Swede Erik Wernquist as a character called “The Annoying Thing” (how prophetic), he posted it on the web and CGTalk Forum. It soon attracted attention and got the attention of Ringtone Europe and Jamster who got the licence to use the character to promote ringtones around Europe. So the Crazy Frog (as it was renamed) was born and what could be next but a record of course, step forward Harold Faltermeyer’s 1985 #2 track “Axel F” which got the “honour” and the single went up against Coldplay’s “Speed Of Sound” in a highly publicised chart battle. Not there was much of a battle once the dust had settled- Crazy Frog won by a mighty 113k, smaller hits followed but by the time 2005 came to an end we had all got rather tired of it.

3RD OCTOBER “Ebeneezer Goode” remains ahead of the pack selling another 36,435 copies to take its overall sales to 184,845. It would be hard to deny that the controversy that helped to generate sales initially has also been harmful to it by the limited promo it has had on radio and TV overall. Having said that it is still good enough to hold Dr Alban off the top spot, he maintains No 2 though his sales are down to 32,775 and slashes The Shamen's lead to 3.7k, whilst Undercover hold the No 3 position on 24,375. Bradford lass Tasmin Archer is one of Britain’s new talents with her critically lauded first single “Sleeping Satellite”. Lyrically it deals with the Space race and subsequent decline in interest for it, relatively unusual thematically, it pushes 13-4 (24,150) and could easily challenge The Shamen next week though she won’t have TOTP to help her. At No 1 stateside for the last 8 weeks Boyz II Men’s “End Of The Road” has a much slower ascent here moving 36-31-22-14 so far in its first month. They take their name from the New Edition song “Boys To Men” which when you know how they came to fame you’ll understand. The US quartet got their break after they sneaked backstage at a Bel Biv DeVoe concert in 1989 and impressed Michael Bivin who helped to produce them and secure them a record contract, he even provides a rap on their next single here, a re-issue of “Motownphilly”. The US hits started coming last year and the boys toured with Hammer earlier this year which led to a request to provide a track for the new Eddie Murphy film “Boomerang” and “End Of The Road” was the result. It was written and produced by L.A Reid and Babyface and becomes the group’s first UK hit as it lifts 14-6 (20,325). Bob Marley & The Wailers “Songs Of Freedom” debuts at No 10 this week as the single “Iron Lion Zion” creeps 6-5 (21,000) whilst losing sales, and similarly inching up is Lionel Richie 8-7 (18,825) but sliding out are Brian May 5-8 (17,895), Manic Street Preachers/ Fatima Mansions 7-9 (17,295) and Snap! 4-10 (17,280). 1- EBENEEZER GOODE- The Shamen (36,435) 2- IT’S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (32,775) 3- BAKER STREET- Undercover (24,375) 4- SLEEPING SATELLITE- Tasmin Archer (24,150) 5- IRON LION ZION- Bob Marley & The Wailers (21,000) 6- END OF THE ROAD- Boyz II Men (20,325) 7- MY DESTINY- Lionel Richie (18,825) 8- TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU- Brian May (17,895) 9- THEME FROM MASH/ EVERYTHING I DO- Manic Street Preachers/ Fatima Mansions (17,295) 10- RHYTHM IS A DANCER- Snap! (17,280)

68. TOCA’S MIRACLE- Fragma (549,900) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 19 Jesus I remember the wait for this song to be available! Coco’s “I Need A Miracle” made No 38 in late 97 and pretty much passed most by but became a slow burning hit in clubland. It was the release of the instrumental “Toca Me” in 1999 which struck a certain DJ Vimto (not a typo) who thought the two fitted well together and made a bootleg mash up. Clearances obtained and the track exploded on week 1 with 187k sales. It didn’t end well with Coco falling out over royalties and alleged contract breaches which saw the track withdrawn from all platforms until 2022 when it was finally decided.

69. LEAVE RIGHT NOW- Will Young (549,300) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 18 Proving that he was more than just a reality TV show winner, “Leave Right Now” surprised many in late 2003 not least of all the record company who only pressed up 40,000 copies predicting that (after the performance of the most recent Gareth single) it would be a reasonable top 5 hit but were then shocked when it sold out after the first day on sale! Cue a mad scramble to produce more copies and get them into the record shops in time to meet demand and overturn a midweek deficit to Shane Richie. Blushes saved all round when Young did debut at No 1 if only by 5k

70.HUNG UP- Madonna (548,500) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 29 Madonna’s 4th entry on the list and her biggest hit of the decade was first heard on an advert for Motorola phones and of course famously features a sample of ABBA’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)” for which Madonna sent a handwritten letter to the ABBA boys to get permission to use the track. It all worked and formed the basis for another famed “comeback” as she hit No 1 for the 11th time.

You're not missing much!

26TH SEPTEMBER Not much activity in the top 10 again this week so it was a relatively easy time at the top for The Shamen’s “Ebeneezer Goode” which is the top seller for a second week on 44,730 despite the arrival of the group’s album “Boss Drum” at No 3, a considerable improvement on the previous album “Progeny” which made No 23 last year. As predicted last week Dr Alban is the new challenger as he leaps 4-2 (33,945) but in truth he’s further behind the Shamen than Undercover were last week, and indeed Undercover complete the top 3 as they dip 2-3 (30,570). A new compilation of his work “Songs Of Freedom” is out this week and to help generate sales Bob Marley & The Wailers record label have released “Iron Lion Zion” which is a track which dates back to either 1973 or 74 when recorded. It is the group’s 7th top 10 single but only three of those were while Marley was alive making his chart career better since his death than before. The single climbs 11-6 (22,560). One place behind are Manic Street Preachers and Fatima Mansions who improve 9-7 (21,720). The rest of the chart are either fallers or stickers, the latter include Brian May at No 5 (22,575) and Lionel Richie at No 8 (21,600), whilst the fallers encompass Snap! 3-4 (23,955) as it trips over the half million mark, Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross 6-9 (18,645) and Jon Secada 7-10 (15,810). 1- EBENEEZER GOODE- The Shamen (44,730) 2- IT’S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (33,945) 3- BAKER STREET- Undercover (30,570) 4- RHYTHM IS A DANCER- Snap! (23,955) 5- TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU- Brian May(22,575) 6- IRON LION ZION- Bob Marley & The Wailers (22,560) 7- THEME FROM MASH/ EVERYTHING I DO- Manic Street Preachers/ Fatima Mansions (21,720) 8- MY DESTINY- Lionel Richie (21,600) 9- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross (18,645) 10- JUST ANOTHER DAY- Jon Secada (15,810)

Almost certainly, they did a lot of TV and magazines etc, there seemed to be enormous good will toward them from the industry who appeared to be eager to find the next big thing. As to the Shamen performance.............that was a choice

71. NUMBER 1- Tinchy Stryder Featuring N-Dubz (547,255) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 28 Another graduate of the Roll Deep collective (Like Dizzee and Wiley) Stryder’s first album failed to generate a hit but his follow up is where he struck big and in 2009 he generated two chart toppers of which only this one makes the list. Dappy from N-Dubz provides some vocals on this one and it was the first chart topper to contain the fabled “Number One” in its title!

72. WITHOUT ME- Eminem (541,700) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Eminem’s third chart topper is up next and lead single to the “Eminem Show”. “Without Me” samples “Buffalo Gals” by Malcolm Mclaren (also giving Trevor Horn a writing credit on the hit) and once again takes aims at Eminem’s critics including Limp Bizkit, Dick Cheney and Chris Kirkpatrick along with sly digs at Elvis and Prince. Yes generating comment and provoking was always the order of the day with a new Eminem lead single at this point and to be fair, more often than not, a chart topper! He was the only rapper to score a third UK No 1 at the time.

73. I DON’T FEEL LIKE DANCING- Scissor Sisters (539,900) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 33 Their first era was an unqualified success giving the group the biggest selling album of 2004 so you can appreciate that much was expected from a second Scissor Sisters album and the lead single did not disappoint. Elton John was drafted in to play the piano on “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” and it debuted at No 4 on downloads alone before the physical release lifted it to the top where it spent a month, job done I’d say

19TH SEPTEMBER It only registers an increase of 22% but it’s enough to give The Shamen a No 1 with “Ebeneezer Goode” ironically in the week BBC Radio 1 has its drugs awareness week. Anyway for obvious reasons radio has had a lukewarm response to the single and TOTP has reluctantly embracing it clearly having learnt the lesson that “banning” does little good. For now it seems therefore to be selling to some extent on controversy but that convinced 41,040 buyers last week. It helped of course that the main opposition it had is now so old, Snap!’s 6 week tenure at the top is over as it slides 1-3 (34,200) and Undercover finally rise 3-2 (34,860) in its sixth week on the chart, Snap!’s hit is in its 12th week and has now sold 497,055 making it the biggest selling single of 1992. Interestingly "Baker Street" was midweek No 2 on two occasions and ended up at No 3 on each occasion- last week they trailed in third place midweek and finally end up at No 2! If you want to look for the next chart topper however then Dr Alban is a real contender to repeat his Europe wide domination as it launches 8-4 (29,580), Brian May completes the top 5 as “Too Much Love Will Kill You” rises 6-5 (24,240) and becomes his biggest solo hit. Clearing the half million mark in 16 weeks, Lionel Richie’s new best of album “Back To Front” has never left the top 10 after spending its first 6 weeks at No 1 over the summer. The first new single from it “Do It To Me” only made No 33 but he’s done much better with his new single “My Destiny” and this week rises 11-8 (19,080), it’s his 8th top 10 hit as a solo act but his first in 6 years. Covering tracks for the forthcoming NME/ Radio 1 compilation album “Ruby Trax” Manic Street Preachers have covered MASH’s 1980 chart topper “Suicide Is Painless” whilst indie rockers Fatima Mansions have taken on Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do” and to help promote the project the tracks have been issued as a double A side. Mansions have never made it higher than No 59, but The Manic Street Preachers have seen, with the exception of a brief blip, ever higher peak positions of 62,40,26,16,20, and 17 so will be delighted to make the top 10 even if it is with a cover version. Being marketed as an alternative to Take That, East 17 are the newest group aimed at the teenage female audience and first fruits “House Of Love” has found fans as it rises 15-10 (17,400). They take their name from the postcode for Walthamstow where they all hail from and before finding fame the boys were a mixture of roofers, shop assistants, Printers, and a plumber. An album is already apparently in the pipeline (pun intended). Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson continue their slow descent 4-6 (23,955) and Jon Secada holds at No 7 (19,245). 1- EBENEEZER GOODE- The Shamen (41,040) 2- BAKER STREET- Undercover (34,860) 3- RHYTHM IS A DANCER- Snap! (34,200) 4- IT’S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (29,580) 5- TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU- Brian May (24,240) 6- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross (23,955) 7- JUST ANOTHER DAY- Jon Secada (19,245) 8- MY DESTINY- Lionel Richie (19,080) 9- THEME FROM MASH/ EVERYTHING I DO- Manic St Preachers/ Fatima Mansions (18,555) 10- HOUSE OF LOVE- East 17 (17,400)

Maybe it will be back... you never know!

74. BECAUSE I GOT HIGH- Afroman (537,100) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 22 Surprising at the time that this flew over the radar given how blatant the drug references are, but it was ultimately deemed that the track was more highlighting the pitfalls of drugs use than promoting it! It was No 1 on the week the iPod was launched (fun fact) and was racing up the US chart to No 13 when the events of 9/11 happened and send the song rapidly down the charts there.

75. DON’T CHA- Pussycat Dolls Featuring Busta Rhymes (536,700) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 38 A track which started its life way back in 1988 when Sir Mix-A-Lot recorded a track called “Swass” which ultimately formed the basis for the instrumental for “Don’t Cha”. It was turned into the track we know and love by Tori Alamaze in 2004 (she was a backing singer for Outkast) and produced by then unknown Cee-Lo Green. It flopped but was kept in mind by the record label and later on in 2005 Interscope were looking for opportunities to transform the burlesque act Pussycat Dolls into the pop mainstream and this song was offered to them (after being turned down by The Sugababes and Paris Hilton). Shove in a rap from Busta Rhymes and they were away with a chart topper.

76. VALERIE- Mark Ronson Featuring Amy Winehouse (532,000) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 39 Written about make up artist Valerie Star by Zutons member (and her friend) Dave McCabe. She had been arrested in the states whilst suspended from driving and the song tells of how he asks her to come over to the UK to see him. It only made No 9 in the charts but was later picked up as a cover by Mark Ronson for his “Version” album which featured an alternative singer for each track and so Amy Winehouse was invited to provide vocals for this one, she was already a fan of the track having recorded a solo version for the deluxe version of “Back To Black” prior to being asked by Ronson to record it again.

12TH SEPTEMBER Taking a further 20% sales hit “Rhythm Is A Dancer” remains the No 1 song for a sixth week but it sold just 38,790 copies, the lowest tally for 9 weeks. Still the song’s total of 462,855 copies means it is now the third biggest hit of 1992, it's likely to top the YTD list next week and will become the first single to breach the 500,000 mark in a matter of weeks. Erasure's tally of 98,295 remains the biggest weekly sale of the year thus far in a year which is now in its 36th week, that's a new record wait for a 6 figure weekly sale and indicates that it may be the first year when nothing sells in such quantities! The Shamen move 6-2 (34,485) finally sailing past Undercover at the death who are left at No 3 (33,270) and unable for the second week in a row to hold runner up spot in the mids, also making room for them are Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross who slip 2-4 (27,765) and Billy Ray Cyrus 4-5 (27,570). Brian May is up 9-6 (23,655) to equal his personal best, but bad news follows Jon Secada 5-7 (22,215), Annie Lennox 8-9 (19,515) and Felix 7-10 (18,585). Our sole new track in the big ten rises 17-8 (19,710) for Nigerian born Dr Alban with this massive continental hit “It’s My Life”. Alban moved to Sweden when he was 23 to study dentistry and began DJing on the side to finance his studies, he scored a top 10 single on most European Charts over the course of summer with this track. It was picked up by Tampax and used on their adverts here in the UK at present helping to promote the single 1- RHYTHM IS A DANCER- Snap! (38,790) 2- EBENEEZER GOODE- The Shamen (34,485) 3- BAKER STREET- Undercover (33,270) 4- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross (27,765) 5- ACHY BREAKY HEART- Billy Ray Cyrus (27,570) 6- TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU- Brian May (23,655) 7- JUST ANOTHER DAY- Jon Secada (22,215) 8- IT’S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (19,710) 9- WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS- Annie Lennox (19,515) 10- DON’T YOU WANT ME- Felix (18,585)

77. HOW YOU REMIND ME- Nickelback (529,400) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 4 WKS ON CHART: 23 A big hit at the time that rock was fading as a chart force, it topped the US charts but only made No 4 here- indeed it was the second highest peaking non top 3 hit of the decade! The track served as lead single from their third album and was written following an argument between lead singer Kroeger and his girlfriend.

78. HEAVEN- DJ Sammy featuring Yanou and Do (527,600) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 24 A No 38 hit here in 1985 (but a US #1) the song was relatively well known in the UK before DJ Sammy took it and dance makeover a la 2002. It was widely expected to make No 1 and did so on release but had a prolonged shelf life after the “Candlelight Mix” became popular in the run up towards Christmas that year.

79. IGNITION (REMIX)- R Kelly (524,700) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 20 Well he’s here and we can’t change that, remixed as the album had been leaked the previous year so in a bit to salvage the era some tracks got a work over. Former Mr Mariah Carey Nick Cannon appears in the promo. Last time we’ll meet the rapper I promise!

5TH SEPTEMBER Snap! make it five weeks at the top though again they lose sales and post 48,540 copies bought last week, The album “Madman returns” also fails to continue its upward climb as it drops 20-28. Its failure to ignite at retail in any real way has paradoxically helped “Rhythm Is A Dancer” to maintain its sales dominance, and it nips past "The Power" as their personal best seller to boot! Undercover move 4-3 (36,750) and put pressure on Luther & Janet who had to up their sales to cling onto the runner up spot which they did with 36,795 partakers thanks in part to TOTP, and don’t discount Billy Ray Cyrus either, he drops 3-4 but his sales are up to 35,925. The three tracks were separated by just 1,200 copies last week and this week by only 800, it really could have been in any order, and also slash Snap!'s lead in half week on week. The highest new entry lands at No 6 (28,155) and is the third straight top 10 single from the Shamen who’ve enlisted the help of comedian Jerry Sadowitz in the promo for “Ebeneezer Goode”. The song has generated some controversy in the press given its chorus and drug references but that certainly hasn’t hampered initial sales with the group penciled in to do TOTP this week. You won’t have long to wait for the album either, “Boss Drum” is out in three weeks. Further down the top 10 and we have a song that was first recorded in 1988 by Queen for “The Miracle” album but it didn’t make the cut. Written solely by Brian May he premiered it publicly at the Freddie Mercury concert back in April and lyrically it deals with the breakdown of his first marriage and the start of his relationship with Anita Dobson, it enters at No 9 (22,095) to become his second solo top 10 single in just 10 months. By the way we’ve now chalked up 43 new entries in the top 10 this year (including remixes, re-issues and re-releases) making it a record year for these high debuts. Jon Secada remains at No 5 (30,855) for a third week and Annie Lennox struggles up a spot 9-8 (22,095) but moving the wrong way are Felix 6-7 (23,415) and KWS 8-10 (18,540). 1- RHYTHM IS A DANCER- Snap! (48,540) 2- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross (36,795) 3- BAKER STREET- Undercover (36,750) 4- ACHY BREAKY HEART- Billy Ray Cyrus (35,925) 5- JUST ANOTHER DAY- Jon Secada (30,855) 6- EBENEEZER GOODE- The Shamen (28,155) 7- DON’T YOU WANT ME- Felix (23,415) 8- WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS- Annie Lennox (22,095) 9- TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU- Brian May (22,095) 10- ROCK YOUR BABY/ TOTAL STATE OF KONFUSION- KWS (18,540)

80. DANCE WIV ME- Dizzee Rascal Featuring Calvin Harris (521,820) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 39 The first of a hattrick of chart toppers from Dizzee and clearly the biggest, Rascal met Harris at Radio 1’s big weekend in 2007 expressing admiration for Harris’ single “Acceptable in the 80s” and asked to work together. The track was made separately by each act and sent back and forth by phone marking a departure for the rapper in musical style, a performance of it at Glastonbury 2008 also helped to launch the single straight to the top.

81. IF YOU’RE NOT THE ONE- Daniel Bedingfield (521,300) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 This is what happens when you take Westlife as inspiration for writing a song apparently. Even Bedingfield considered it cheesy and wanted to remove it from his debut album but the record company insisted and it seemed they were right becoming a massive seller for him. It was his second chart topper and came with a promo directed by a member of boyband A1 and a “Metro Mix” with was popular in the clubs and on radio.

82. SEXY CHICK/ BITCH- David Guetta Featuring Akon (517,237) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 By the end of 2009 David Guetta was pretty much one of the biggest names in dance music having already scored a No 1 with “When Love Takes Over” and also producing the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” which this replaced at the top! In doing so Guetta became the first French male artist to score multiple chart toppers in the UK and also gave Akon a third chart topper. It was another track rushed to market early after counterfeit versions were released which enabled a No 21 to 1 jump for the track which is actually titled “Sexy Bitch” but got a sanitised version for radio.