Gezza

126. SANDSTORM- Darude (428,000) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 3 WKS ON CHART: 15 The first act from Finland to grab a UK top 10 single fact fans (and only just beating Bomfunk MC’s in that respect) this was a hit all across Europe in early 2000 before venturing across the channel in the summer of 2000. With Trance music still very much the order of the day in the UK Charts, it’s a reminder of where dance music was at the start of the decade.

9TH MAY So a fortnight ago SL2 didn’t get any airtime on TOTP and paid the price and last week they got promo and again they came off second best. The nation has a new chart topper but it isn’t the boys from London who are celebrating but the lads from Nottingham, yes KWS rocket 9-1 (33,405) with their cover of “Please Don’t Go/ Game Boy” and to add to the insult Double You (the originator of the arrangement of this version) move 47-41 this week to narrowly miss out on a top 40 hit. KWS are only the 4th act to score a No 1 in 1992 in what is rapidly becoming a very slow year for turnover at the top, by this point (Wk 18) in previous years there were 6 in 1988, 6 in 1989, 7 in 1990, and 8 last year. SL2 did improve their sales by 20% to 31,200 but it wasn’t quite enough at the end of the day. Metallica lift 12-6 (17,955) with a third single from their eponymous album “Nothing Else Matters”. The group only made No 15 last time out with “Unforgiven” just before Christmas but they now have the second biggest hit of their career and comes with live versions of their biggest hits on the CD single. They opened the Freddie Mercury tribute concert a few weeks ago and are donating proceeds from the single to charity. Things haven’t been too great for Curiosity Killed The Cat since their first album generated three top 20 singles back in 1987, a second album gave them one hit but their label dropped them when the album bombed. A change of name to simply Curiosity and now a three piece with a new label they return with “Hang On In There Baby” a cover of the Johnny Bristol 1974 #3 track, it’s now their second biggest hit as it flies 15-7 (16,935) matching the peak of “Misfit”. The outgoing chart topper from Right Said Fred falls 1-3 (24,195), and Marc Almond holds at No 4 (19,245) just above a falling Sisters of Mercy 3-5 (17,955) who see their greatest hits also debut at No 5. Curtis Stigers goes the wrong way 6-8 (15,930) and Michael Jackson also slips 8-9 (15,720) but both sold more than last week!, Ten Sharp meanwhile spend a third week at No 10 increasing to 13,965 as their album arrives without fanfare at No 46! 1- PLEASE DON’T GO/ GAME BOY- KWS (33,405) 2- ON A RAGGA TIP- SL2 (31,200) 3- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (24,195) 4- THE DAYS OF PEARLY SPENCER- Marc Almond (19,245) 5- TEMPLE OF LOVE (1992)- Sisters Of Mercy (17,955) 6- NOTHING ELSE MATTERS- Metallica (17,430) 7- HANG ON IN THERE BABY- Curiosity (16,935) 8- YOU’RE ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME- Curtis Stigers (15,930) 9- IN THE CLOSET- Michael Jackson & Mystery Girl (15,720) 10- YOU- 10 Sharp (13,965)

Yes to make way for their next single.

127. PUSH THE BUTTON- The Sugababes (423,750) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 23 Co=penned by Dallas Austin and stemming from a real incidence in the recording studio where Keisha was apparently quite interested in another artist that Auston was working with. The guy didn’t get the hints that she was giving him and so the idea for the song presented itself- it became their 4th chart topper and their first track on this rundown.

128. YOU RAISE ME UP- Westlife (422,800) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 17 Meanwhile here’s the third track from the Irish boyband turned manband (is that a thing?)- By 2005 they were certainly relying more on mums and grans than teenage girls (probably)- and this cover gave them a 13th chart topper. It had a history intertwined with Eurovision, it was composed by members of the group Secret Garden who won the competition in 1995 and wrote this song with Johnny Logan in mind (himself a two time winner of the competition)- but ultimately they changed their mind and wanted to give some distance between the track and the competition. It wasn’t a hit on release in 2001 for the duo but was picked up and covered by multiple acts in the next few years most famously by Josh Grogan (in the US) and Daniel O’Donnell (in the UK who made No 22 in late 2003) and eventually proved the just the right song to launch a new Westlife single in November 2005.

129. YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND/ ALL ABOUT YOU- McFly (421,300) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 13 Comic Relief’s 6th straight (and 7th overall) chart topper alongside McFly’s third chart topper yet the only one that appears on this list. That was because their singles never stuck around long enough to rack up the sales generally but this had some legs moving 165k in its first week and of course had the charity link to carry it further.

2ND MAY Finally Right Said Fred can say that they are No 1 and led all week! They can be thankful to TOTP for not having SL2 on the show as “Deeply Dippy” only sold 29,070 last week down 38% week on week and were lucky to fend off “On A Ragga Tip” who themselves increased sales but only modestly to 24,600 and with some additional airtime could easily have overwhelmed the boys. For only the second time since 1980 only the top 2 tracks sold in excess of 20,000- sales again impacted by Easter and Easter Monday which are included in the sales period for the chart. The Sisters Of Mercy have new retrospective “Some Girls Wander By Mistake” is out this week and to help promote it the group have re-recorded their 1983 single “Temple Of Love” with additional backing vocals by Ofra Haza. The groups tour with Public Enemy last year infamously only played half the dates after fears of violence between the two sets of fans saw many US dates cancelled and ultimately led to WEA cancelled their US distribution deal and souring relations between them and the group of which the group have been vocal about. It seems that the GH album and the re-recording of the song seem to have been at the record company’s instance but it is also their biggest hit to date as it sold 18,075 to debut at No 3- the lowest figure ever needed (since 1980) for bronze position. Credited on the album “Dangerous” as a duet with a mystery girl, “In The Closet” is the third single from the LP to get single status by Michael Jackson. Popular rumour is that the female vocals are provided by Madonna who is known to have worked with Jackson last year on material, or indeed that it could be Naomi Campbell who appears with Jackson in the promo but either way the single arrives at No 8 (13,665). The album slipped out of the top 40 for a week but has since moved 41-31-29-28-23 as the promo for this single kicked in. KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Please Don’t Go” originally made No 3 here and hit No 1 Stateside but it was updated earlier this year by Italian dance act Double You who scored a substantive hit throughout Europe but failed to secure a UK distribution deal, cue a rush released “cover” based on their arrangement of the tune by Nottingham’s KWS which has rather trumped the Double You “original” as it only debuts at No 47 whilst the KWS version soars 30-9 (13,530). The word is that Double You are none too happy about the affair with the lawyers hovering! It is nominally at least a double A-Side with “Game Boy” but there’s no doubt which side is getting all the promo. Marc Almond advances 9-4 (16,320), Curtis Stigers inches 7-6 (14,070) despite losing sales and Carter USM nudge 8-7 (13,755) again with a sales loss, and Ten Sharp hold at No 10 (13,365). Vanessa Williams falls 4-5 (14,250) to complete our recap. In addition to Sisters Of Mercy at No 3, this week's sales mark new lows for positions 4 to 7- the days of sub 10,000 for a top 10 single are not too far away if something does not happen soon. 1- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (29,070) 2- ON A RAGGA TIP- SL2 (24,600) 3- TEMPLE OF LOVE (1992)- Sisters Of Mercy (18,075) 4- THE DAYS OF PEARLY SPENCER- Marc Almond (16,320) 5- SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST- Vanessa Williams (14,250) 6- YOU’RE ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME- Curtis Stigers (14,070) 7- THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW CROSS- Carter the Unstoppable sex machine (13,755) 8- IN THE CLOSET- Michael Jackson and Mystery Girl (13,665) 9- PLEASE DON’T GO/ GAME BOY- KWS (13,530) 10- YOU- 10 Sharp (13,365)

130. DISTURBIA- Rihanna (419,700) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 3 WKS ON CHART: 32 Third release from Rihanna’s “Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded” and a song which was co-written by Chris Brown for inclusion on his album “Exclusive” but it didn’t make the cut, Brown instead choosing “Forever”. It was then passed onto Rihanna as Brown thought it suited a female vocal better and voila- another top 3 hit for her, and her 4th showing on this list!

131. YEAH!- Usher Featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris (418,300) YEAR: 2004 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 14 A return to the top for Usher after a 6 year wait with this banger which also made No 1 in the US for 12 weeks! The song was originally composed by Lil Jon for an album by Mystikal who passed on a few tracks (including this one) and was offered out to Petey Pablo without Lil Jon’s consent. Jon was in the meantime asked to compose a lead single for Usher’s 4th album “Confessions” and used (what he thought) was the unused beat from one of his compositions which in the interim had been turned into the track “Freek-A-Leek” by Pablo. No matter as the songs ended up substantially different, even Usher changed his mind and go with this track over “Burn” as the lead.

132. FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK- The Pogues Featuring Kirsty McColl (417,400) YEAR : 2005 PEAK POSITION: 3 (in the 00s) WKS ON CHART: 25 Who would have thought given what happened in the 10s and 20s that this would be the biggest festive retro hit of the decade. It was helped of course by getting a formal re-issue in 2005 making No 3 and then on subsequent Christmas charts hitting No 6, 4, 12 and 12 and giving it a two year advantage before download only tracks could chart from Xmas 07 onwards.

25TH APRIL For the second time in as many weeks Right Said Fred are No 1 and also had to come from behind to do it. They can claim a double this week with “Up” finally make the top spot on the album charts, it shows no sign yet of denting the progress of “Deeply Dippy” which sold a new high of 48,120 last week, total sales of the single? Well they currently stand at 173,535 easily in the top 10 YTD. Topping the midweek charts was the new single from Iron Maiden, the group only scored one top 10 single from 16 releases between 1980 and 1988 but since then they have put together a string of 7 straight singles which have all made the top 6 with five of those debuting straight into the upper reaches of the chart. “Be Quick Or Be Dead” is the first release from their forthcoming 9th studio album “Fear Of The Dark” and is also of course the follow up to their first chart topper “Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter”, as we noted it was quick out of the starting blocks but faded as the week progressed ending up with 28,755 copies sold by close of play. What a year Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine had in 1991, their third single “Bloodsport for All” was critical of the army at a time when the Gulf War had started and was subsequently not playlisted by the BBC, fifth single After The Watershed” became their biggest hit when it made No 11 but caused a legal case with the Rolling Stones over the lyrics, and was followed by a memorable Smash Hits Award ceremony appearance where they rugby tackled host Phillip Schofield. Their new single “The Only Living Boy In New Cross” marks their debut on the Chrysalis label after Rough Trade faltered last year, it’s a good start as well as the song enters at No 8 (16,740), the title is based on the Simon & Garfunkel track of a similar name except their boy is in New York. Expect the album in three weeks! Written and recorded by David McWilliams and a hit in the continent back in 1967 “The Days Of Pearly Spencer” was written as a commentary on the poor in his local town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It was never a hit in the UK thanks to Radio 1 not playing it but he was managed by Phil Soloman who was the executive of Radio Caroline and who also gave considerable exposure to the song and were the main rivals to the newly launched station Radio 1. Anyway Marc Almond has plucked the song from being a “radio oldie” into a commercial hit at last by doing his cover which is a new entry at No 9 (15,855) instantly becoming his biggest “solo” hit. Of course he’s gone higher with Soft Cell, Bronski Beat and in duet with Gene Pitney but he’s hoping to prove he can do it alone with this release. In these days of quick moving charts it’s unusual to find a record which climbs over a number of weeks to reach the top 10 but that’s what we have with Ten Sharp. The Dutch duo formed in 1984 and had some local success but the single “You” has been a hit across Europe and now makes its move here. It’s moved 44-40-32-18-12-10 so far as it’s grown at radio and sold 15,765 in its latest frame. SL2 float 7-3 (23,760) displacing Vanessa Williams 3-4 (23,235) who increases her sales nevertheless, and Curtis Stigers is also moving in the right direction 9-7 (17,820). Shakespears Sister continue to drop 2-5 (23,100) and Mr Big dive 4-6 (18,615), next week sees a new Michael Jackson single and another expensive promo! 1- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (48,120) 2- BE QUICK OR BE DEAD- Iron Maiden (28,755) 3- ON A RAGGA TIP- SL2 (23,760) 4- SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST- Vanessa Williams (23,235) 5- STAY- Shakespears Sister (23,100) 6- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big (18,615) 7- YOU’RE ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME- Curtis Stigers (17,820) 8- THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW CROSS- Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (16,740) 9- THE DAYS OF PEARLY SPENCER- Marc Almond (15,855) 10- YOU- Ten Sharp (15,756)

Just for fun i looked up the sales of "Stay" in it's final week (28,170) and where an identical sale would have placed it in the same week in the last ten years 1991- 3 1990- 8 1989- 5 1988- 6 1987- 7 1986- 8 1985- 9 1984- 5 1983- 10 Which pretty much tells the sales story of the previous decade.

133. THE TIDE IS HIGH (GET THE FEELING)- Atomic Kitten (417,200) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Second appearance for the Kittens with their cover of the Paragons “Tide Is High” which was taken to the top by Blondie in 1980, and to which they fused a bridge from a track called “Get The Feeling” which had been abandoned by the group in terms of a full track to record. It gave them their third and final chart topper.

134. JAI HO (YOU ARE MY DESTINY)- The Pussycat Dolls & A.R Rahman Featuring Nicole Scherzinger (415,500) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 3 WKS ON CHART: 22 Based on an original Hindi song “Jai Ho” this appeared in the film “Slum Dog Millionaire” which was produced by Rahman. In turn it was picked up by Producers Jimmy Lovine and Ron Fiar who had the idea to convert it into a pop track and worked with Scherzinger to write the lyrics (among others). This was the result and was used as the launch to the re-release of the Pussycat Dolls “Doll Domination” but the solo billing for Scherzinger caused friction within the group ultimately leading to them splitting within a year.

135. THE OFFICIAL CHILDREN IN NEED MEDLEY- Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band (415,475) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 8 Becoming the first “medley” No 1 since 1989 (3 or more tracks) Kay became quite the successful popstar in the 00s thanks not only to his stint on Tony Cbristie’s “Amarillo” but also under his alter-ego Geraldine McQueen, Brian Potter and then on this “Children In Need” hit medley. It entered at No 18 on the strength of sales in 1 day, then shot 18-1 on sales for the first entire week and kept the top spot after the release a second DVD including an eye catching animation video. Great care was taken, where possible, to source the original puppets for the promo and to get the original voices and it all paid off!

18TH APRIL Shakespears Sister’s “Stay” at No 1 is finally over as it drops 1-2 (23,715) after 2 solid months at the top of the charts. Its total sales of 441,015 for a chart topper of such length is disappointing but highlights the current depressed market not helped of course by the recession. It gives way to Right Said Fred who finally score the chart topper they were cruelly denied by Bryan Adams last summer, “Deeply Dippy” sold an improved 32,025 and felt the benefit of TOTP and another revealing outfit worn by frontman Richard Fairbrass. The album “Up” remains at No 2 getting trumped this week by Annie Lennox’s debut solo album. The highest new entry on the charts arrives at No 7 (14,685) for rave act SL2 otherwise known as due Slipmatt & Lime. Based around a sample of Jah Screechie’s “Walk The Skank” it is the highest ever start for the XL label and beats “Charly” by The Prodigy by 2 places, their first single “DJ’s Take Control/ Way In My Brain” agonisingly peaked at No 11 but this has picked up considerable airplay in mainstream dance clubs and could go much further. Capitalising on the success of “I Wonder Why” Curtis Stigers is back with second single “You’re All That Matters To Me”, he’s been doing brisk trade with his album which made No 7 on release two months ago and has revived 24-17-12 over the past three weeks as the single powers 15-9 (13,770) to be his second top 10 single of 1992. It’s greatest hits time for ZZ Top and to preview the album the group have recorded their version of Elvis’s “Viva Las Vegas” which peaked at No 17 in 1964. Already the cover has outperformed the original as it climbs 17-10 (13,425) and also equals their previous best outing with “Give Me All Your Lovin’” 8 years ago. Sales continue to be dire, to be quite frank, Vanessa Williams moves 8-3 (20,490) and Altern 8 glide 10-6 (16,635), Chris Peat (of Altern 8) came fourth in the constituency where he stood for those interested in his general election result! Bad news for the following acts, Mr Big slide 3-4 (18,825) Soul II Soul aren’t full of Joy 4-5 (18,570) and Ce Ce Peniston drops 6-8 (14,535). All of these sales help to explain why The Wedding Present were at No 1 in the midweek sales flashes with a limited edition of just 10,000 copies of their track “Silver Shorts”- it eventually entered at No 14. 1- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (32,025) 2- STAY- Shakespear’s Sister (23,715) 3- SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST- Vanessa Williams (20,490) 4- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big (18,825) 5- JOY- Soul II Soul (18,570) 6- EVAPOR 8- Altern 8/ PP Arnold (16,635) 7- ON A RAGGA TIP- SL2 (14,685) 8- FINALLY- Ce Ce Peniston (14,535) 9- YOU’RE ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME- Curtis Stigers (13,770) 10- VIVA LAS VEGAS- ZZ Top (13,425)

136. CLOSER- Ne-Yo (409,700) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 31 Returning to the production team that created his first No 1, Ne-Yo’s third album got launched with this chart topper. As was the norm at the time, the single went to No 1 with the help of the physical single release though the phenomenon was coming to an end by this point.

137. NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN- Melanie C Featuring Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes (409,600) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Debut solo era’s from the former Spice Girls were certainly the most successful as you might suspect, and Mel C’s was no different. After 3 consecutive top 5 hits her 4th release was this track which featured T.L.C’s Lisa Lopes and saw the pair make the top spot, it also saw the singer get embroiled with Westlife in the second week of the song’s release as the two acts fought it out for No 1 with Mel C making her thoughts on the band clear in interviews, ultimately she would lose out to them but had the bigger seller overall.

138. KISS KISS- Holly Valance (409,200) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Taking the well established (by 2002) route from “Neighbours” into the charts, Valance quit the show in early the year to launch herself as a popstar taking on an English version of the Turkish hit “Simarik” by Tarkan which had been a hit in Europe in 1998/1999. The song had subsequently been turned into an English version by Stella Soleil in 2001 becoming a minor US hit but missing the charts here. So it was a relatively unknown track to the UK when Valance chose it as a first single, coupled with a suitably steamy video in which she appeared naked (disguised by strategic glare from lighting) was all we needed to send it the top.

11TH APRIL Proving harder to shift than many suspected Shakespears Sister claim an 8th week at No 1 with “Stay”. The song, and indeed the top 3, are all performing well despite all having albums in the top 30 at present, at least on the surface, however the sales of “Stay” are only 28,170, that’s the second lowest sale for a chart topper this side of 1980 for sure and is only narrowly ahead of the sales nadir of 28,067 recorded by NKOTB back in January 1990. Indeed the song only topped one format chart, that of the cassingle, it loses out to Altern 8 in terms of 12” sales, Annie Lennox in the CD’s and Right Said Fred on the 7” front. Its victory over Right Said Fred was just over 255 copies as “Deeply Dippy” itself starts to lose sales though parent album “Up” is also sitting at No 2 in the album charts behind a new entry by Def Leppard, their single “Let’s Get Rocked” responds by diving 2-7 (17,430), and Mr Big completes the top 3 with a non mover on 23,445. Outside that some hope is returned by both Soul II Soul 9-4 (21,555) and Annie Lennox 6-5 (19,590) but they have a long way to go especially for Lennox who loses 25% at retail yet still climbs, and CeCe Peniston dips 5-6 (19,470). First attracting attention for becoming the first black Miss America 8 years ago though she had to resign from that post quite promptly, Vanessa Williams has gone on to become a popstar scoring hits in the US though none made the top 60 here, her latest single “Save The Best For Last” is currently in its 4th week atop the US charts and now rises 11-8 (16,860) here. The song was allegedly turned down by both Whitney and Mariah, not that Williams will mind. In case you hadn’t noticed there’s a general election this Thursday which of course accounts for the rise 12-9 of a new version of Alice Cooper’s 1972 #4 track “Elected”. It’s been rebranded “(I Want To Be) Elected” and comes to us courtesy of Rowan Atkinson’s TV character Mr Bean backed with rock group Taste and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson with proceeds going to Comic Relief. The only new entry straight into the top 10 comes from Altern 8 with “Evapor 8” their second time in the big 10 after selling 13,410 and features the vocals of PP Arnold, and for her this is her first time among the big sellers, 25 years after her first hit. Talking of the election the band’s Chris Peat will stand as an independent candidate in the group’s hometown of Stoke On Trent. 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (28,170) 2- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (27,915) 3- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big (23,445) 4- JOY- Soul II Soul (21,555) 5- WHY- Annie Lennox (19,590) 6- FINALLY- Ce Ce Peniston (19,470) 7- LET’S GET ROCKED –Def Leppard (17,430) 8- SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST- Vanessa Williams (16,860) 9- (I WANT TO BE) ELECTED- Mr Bean & Smear Campaign (16,470) 10- EVAPOR 8- Altern 8 & PP Arnold. (13,410)

I recall much of the loss of sales was explained as people shifting to a new format (cd) coupled with the rise of computer games, the recession, and music by "faceless" dance groups that couldn't/ wouldn't be marketed by magazines and the normal pop music routes. In addition some tracks I suspect sounded a lot better in the clubs when drunk/ on other things than they sounded on radio which limited cross over appeal.

139. THE LOGICAL SONG- Scooter (407,400) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 15 Described variously as “happy Hardcore”, “Rave” or “Techno, this German outfit had been churning out hits in Europe since 1994 but only managed 5 charting tracks in the UK in the 90s with “Back In the UK” being the largest at No 18. Their 23rd single “Ramp (The Logical Song)” was released from a “Best fOf” compilation in December 2001 in Germany and becoming a hit all over Europe thanks in part to its extensive use of the Supertramp 1979 #7 hit “The Logical Song”. It then became their first substantial UK hit when it almost went to the top in the summer of 02 and remains their biggest seller here.

140. HOW TO SAVE A LIFE- The Fray (406,700) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 4 WKS ON CHART: 42 Written by lead singer Isaac Slade about his real life experiences as a mentor at camp for teenagers with behavioural issues, this was their breakthrough track and only top 10 hit here. It came with three promo’s, one intercut with scenes from “Grey’s Anatomy” after it was used in an episode.

141. LONELY- Akon (406,300) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 16 Much was made publicity wise of Akon’s criminal past when he rose to fame and indeed he traded on it with debut release “Locked Up” and second album “Konvicted” but as it later transpired he had received only 1 conviction which resulted in 3 years probation! Anyway that was all in the future when “Lonely” was released as his second single and became his first UK chart topper- it features a sample of Bobby Vinton’s “Mr Lonely” so did at least give the veteran singer an appearance on a No 1 here.

4TH APRIL Becoming only the 7th track in the last 20 years to spend as long as 7 weeks at No 1 Shakespears Sister’s “Stay” is proving worthy of its title and refusing to budge. The pair sold 34,620 egistering a small increase week on week, as it is a quarter of the way through the year let’s see where that places it on the YTD: 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister 389,130 2- GOODNIGHT GIRL- Wet Wet Wet 317,715 3- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/ THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES- Queen 227,100 4- MY GIRL- The Temptations 199,890 5- I LOVE YOUR SMILE (REMIX)- Shanice 194,175 6- TWILIGHT ZONE- 2 Unlimited 183,150 7- I’M DOING FINE NOW- The Pasadenas 174,675 8- I WONDER WHY- Curtis Stigers 153,525 9- EVERYBODY IN THE PLACE EP- The Prodigy 138,660 10- GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME- Kylie Minogue 134,565 Yes a few weeks ago “Stay” did indeed become the biggest seller of 1992 so far and is now 72,000 clear of the field, it’s still at No 1 and will pass the 400,000 mark this week. Shanice also moves 6-5 on the YTD as she dips 7-10 (13,380) on the weekly charts. CeCe Peniston’s expected coronation never occurred as she backslides 2-5 (28,245) and allows Def Leppard to become new heir apparent’s as they lift 6-2 (31,860) but their album is now out and may scupper the opportunity for that final place rise. Mr Big and Right Said Fred both hold at No’s 3 & 4 and were within a few hundred of each other (180 copies in total), those increases in sales for the two tracks might point to a continue threat to “Stay”’s dominance with the whole top 4 just 3.2k apart! Erasure’s last single “Am I Right” faltered in the Christmas market only making No 13 but a calmer market means better things for their fourth cut from “Chorus” with “Breath Of Life” moving 12-8 (18,480). It’s the boys 11th top 10 single in just over 5 years. Also returning to the charts are Soul II Soul who will be hoping for a return to the glory days of 1989/90 with a third album due in 3 weeks. Nelle Hooper has left the outfit but they have a new vocalist in Ritchie Stevens and lead single “Joy” becomes their 5th top 10 single and a third to arrive instantly in the top flight as it enters at No 9 (14,805). Annie Lennox rises 9-6 (26,205) as Eric Clapton is left sobbing 5-7 (20,145). 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (34,620) 2- LET’S GET ROCKED- Def Leppard (31,860) 3- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big ( 31,665) 4- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (31,485) 5- FINALLY- Ce Ce Peniston (28,245) 6- WHY- Annie Lennox (26,205) 7- TEARS IN HEAVEN- Eric Clapton (20,145) 8- BREATH OF LIFE- Erasure (18,480) 9- JOY- Soul II Soul (14,805) 10- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (13,380)