Gezza

27TH FEBRUARY Wholesale support by Radio 1 and most music channels meant that the release of Britney Spears first single “Baby One More Time” was always going to result in a big hit here. The fact that it has already hit No 1 Stateside and made 17 year old Spears into a teen sensation has only helped to generate more interest in the youngster, it is helped by a promo which has certainly raised eyebrows and become a talking point itself featuring Spears as a schoolgirl making some rather suggestive moves. Incidentally the original concept for the video was an animated one before settling on the end product and the school used is Venice High, the same location that doubled as the school in “Grease”. All that meant that it was odds on to debut at No 1 but nobody predicted the sales that the single would generate. The song was allegedly written with a view to offering it to TLC who turned it down, and then to boyband Five- they must be kicking themselves now. First coming to fame through the US show “The Mickey Mouse Club”, Spears toured malls and supported US boyband N*Sync who incidentally also make their top 10 debut this week but more on that shortly. 463,722 copies were sold last week of Spears’ single meaning that only Elton John and Band Aid have sold more copies in a week than Britney Spears did certainly over the course of the last 20 years, “Baby One More Time” instantly scorches to No 1 on the YTD chart as well as it outsold the rest of the top 7 combined and taking over 26% of the entire market in the process. An incredible achievement! Britney’s arrival is bad news for The Corrs who would otherwise be celebrating their first chart topper in the UK tonight. Winners of best international group at the BRITS they performed the song “Runaway” which comes from their first album “Forgiven Not Forgotten” which has been selling consistently off the back of the larger success of “Talk On Corners”. It finally pushed into the top 10 in the new year and currently holds at No 7, but the group cleverly got Tin Tin Out to remix the song adding the remix to the special edition of “Talk On Corners” just before Christmas (it’s back at No 1 this week) and now the remix itself is made into a single which is new at No 2 (92,000). That’s a 4th straight top 10 single for the band and all with remixes of their original tracks, “Runaway” was released twice in 1996 making #49 and #60 but regardless it is now their biggest hit. There’s been some speculation that the new Lauryn Hill single “Ex Factor” is about former band member Wyclef Jean, whether true or not the song is new at No 4 (76,000) this week to give Hill her second top 10 single since The Fugees went on hiatus. It is based on a sample of Gladys Knight & The Pips “The Way We Were” via Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It All Be So Simple”, her album holds at No 4 selling more copies last week than in any other week since it was released. If you take the last letter of Justin, Chris, Joey, Jason and JC then you’ll get NSYNC who are touted as the next Backstreet Boys. The guys first hit the headlines in Germany as far back as 1996 where “I Want You Back” was a top 10 single before they broke all over Europe in 1997 and then the US with this single in early 1998. As per usual the UK proves a more resistant market with the song making No 62 in late 1997 initially but after the group supported Janet Jackson on her world tour they’re given another whirl here and now “I Want You Back” enters at No 5 (72,000). It’s written by Max Martin and the late Denniz Pop, the former also wrote Britney’s current chart topper as well as many a Backstreet Boys hit. The group have been supporting Britney in the US on tour and if you believe rumours then Britney and lead singer Justin Timberlake are dating which makes it appropriate that both acts score their first UK top 10 single in the same week. Lenny Kravitz is bounced 1-3 (81,000) doubtless affected by his album “5” lifting 31-22, Blondie’s new album “No Exit” enters at No 3 (losing a midweek No 1 spot) whilst lead single “Maria” exits 2-6 (68,000). Other fallers include DJ Sakin & Friends 4-7 (65,000), 2Pac 3-8 (59,000) and Offspring 6-9 (57,000), “Pretty Fly” becomes only the second single of the year to sell over 400,000 copies (after Britney). Steps hold at No 10 (35,000) in their 15th week on release, total sales of “Heartbeat/ Tragedy” now stand at 984,000- the million mark awaits this week. Next week should see Blur create a big splash but can they make a bigger impact than the new Cher single? 1- BABY ONE MORE TIME- Britney Spears (463,722) 2- RUNAWAY (REMIX)- The Corrs (92,000) 3- FLY AWAY- Lenny Kravitz (81,000) 4- EX-FACTOR- Lauryn Hill (76,000) 5- I WANT YOU BACK- N-Sync (72,000) 6- MARIA- Blondie (68,000) 7- PROTECT YOUR MIND (FOR THE LOVE OF A PRINCESS)- DJ Sakin & Friends (65,000) 8- CHANGES- 2Pac (59,000) 9- PRETTY FLY (FOR A WHITE GUY)- Offspring (57,000) 10- HEARTBEAT/ TRAGEDY- Steps (35,000)

20TH FEBRUARY Still setting records we now have an 11th different No 1 in as many weeks as the revolving door at the top continues to spin, this week it delivers a chart topper for Lenny Kravitz. His previous best (and only top 10 single) came way back in 1993 when “Are You Gonna Go My Way” peaked at No 4 alongside 14 other hits of varying size, notably his biggest hit though came when he co-authored Madonna’s “Justify My Love” (#2, 1990). Thanks to its use in the new Peugeot 206 advert though “Fly Away” has gained a foothold in the nation’s brain generating enough demand for the song to make it Kravitz’s choice as third release from his “5” album and here we are with a new No 1 after a sale of 123,383 copies. The album reactivates at No 31 six months after it left the chart peaking at No 18. 2Pac’s death in 1996 started a spawn of hits from the late rapper which we seemingly haven’t had enough of yet- indeed Tupac has been more prolific than many live acts over the last few years drumming up his 12th hit (including singles under the name Makavali) with “Changes”. The song stems from 1992 with lyrics appropriated from another of his songs “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto” which was itself dusted down and became a #21 hit last year. Now remixed and featuring a sample of Bruce Hornsby & The Range’s “That’s Just The Way It Is” (#15, 1986) with the chorus sung instead by rapper Talent, the song debuts at No 3 (78,000) to give him his third top 10 single but by far his biggest yet! It’s taken from his new “Greatest Hits” album which hit the shops before Christmas failing to hit the top 70 but has lifted recently 55-45-33 to peak. Trance is back on the rise in the form of DJ Sakin & Friends, Sakin is a Turkish born DJ who is now Germany based and had the “vision” to take the theme to the film “Braveheart” and transform it into a trance anthem. Originally released in 1997 it passed us all by but clearly its time has come as it slides in at No 4 (76,000). Formed in Canada way back in 1988 Barenaked Ladies struck it big domestically in 1992 but it’s really the release of current single “One Week” which has really sent them international topping the US charts for (appropriately) 7 days late last year and now debuts here at No 5 (68,000) after substantial radio support. Duo James Lavelle and Tom Goldsworthy make music under the name UNKLE with debut album “Psyence Fiction” surfacing last year produced by DJ Shadow (whose track “Entropy” was sampled on Fatboy Slim’s “Gangsta Trippin” you may recall). It contained a track called “Unreal” for which lyrics have now been written and sung by Ian Brown with a new title “Be There”, it becomes UNKLE’s first hit and fourth for Brown as a soloist as it arrives at No 8 (48,000). Four former No 1 hits are all on the move down this week, Blondie 1-2 (107,000), The Offspring 4-6 (64,000), Armand Van Helden 2-7 (64,000) and Steps 6-10 (43,000). A+ drops 5-9 (46,000) to complete the rundown, sales overall buoyed by half term. Next week could we be returning to school? 1- FLY AWAY- Lenny Kravitz (123,383) 2- MARIA- Blondie (107,000) 3- CHANGES- 2Pac (78,000) 4- PROTECT YOUR MIND (FOR THE LOVE OF A PRINCESS)- DJ Sakin & Friends (76,000) 5- ONE WEEK- Bare Naked Ladies (68,000) 6- PRETTY FLY (FOR A WHITE GUY)- Offspring (64,000) 7- YOU DON’T KNOW ME- Armand Van Helden (52,000) 8- BE THERE- UNKLE (48,000) 9- ENJOY YOURSELF- A+ (46,000) 10- HEARTBEAT/ TRAGEDY- Steps (43,000)

142. BAD DAY- Daniel Powter (405,900) YEAR: 2005 PEAK POSITION: 2 KS ON CHART: 38 A track with a long gestation period after being written in 2001 and touted to labels in 2002 with no takers. It was eventually picked up by Warner Bros in 2004 and licenced to Coca-Cola for a French TV ad that Christmas, that was all that was needed to push the track as a single and it became a hit on the continent. Cue a UK release that summer and it spent 3 weeks behind James Blunt whilst racking up reasonable sales for the period. It remains his sole UK top 40 single.

143. MUSIC- Madonna (404,100) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 23 A track that gave Madonna back to back UK chart toppers for the first time since 1987, her decision to use unknown producer Mirwais raised some eyebrows but this was a time when Madonna changed her sound album by album so it all seemed to work. With a promo that featured Ali G (before he became over exposed) in a role original designed for Chris Rock, it was designed to hide (or conceal) the fact that Madonna was pregnant at the time (hence the part animation) with everyone on set made to sign confidentiality clauses as this was not known at the time of filming in March 2000.

144. RUBY- Kaiser Chiefs (402,300) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 35 Written about the drum player’s black labrador dog (fun fact) “Ruby” became the group’s first (and only) chart topper and preceded their second album “Yours Truly, Angry Mob”. They only made the top 10 once after this track and were over as a chart force before the decade ended with Wilson going on to become a Reality TV judge on “The Voice”.

28TH MARCH Its lead is slashed to just 3,000 but “Stay” makes it 6 weeks at No 1 becoming the second longest chart topper of the 90s so far. It sold a mere 34,095 copies last week which continues its gentle decline, total sales are now 354,510- is that enough to be the year’s best seller so far? Find out next week but it will certainly become Fahey’s biggest seller overtaking “It Ain’t What You Do, It’s The Way That You Do” which sold 399,257 in 1982 over the next few weeks. The new challenger is CeCe Peniston who scorches 6-2 (31,125) with “Finally” and should be the new chart topper next week failing something unexpected, that something could be Mr Big who surge 8-3 (26,895) and are threatening Shakespears Sister as well. Or if you don’t fancy either of those then how about the new Right Said Fred single “Deeply Dippy”?, Written off as one hit wonders with a novelty track when “I’m Too Sexy” spent 6 weeks at No 2 last summer behind Bryan Adams, they confounded critics when next release “Don’t Talk Just Kiss” made No 3 in January and now their third single charges 16-4 (21,720). That move is despite the arrival at No 3 in the album charts of their debut album “Up” which houses all their singles, of course they also scored a three week chart topper in the US last month with “I’m Too Sexy”- it seems for now nothing can stop them. Just 5 weeks ago we had three new entries in the top 10 for only the second time since the chart went top 50 back in the 60s, now we’ve got that situation again. The highest debuts at No 6 (20,205) for a returning Def Leppard, “Let’s Get Rocked” was inspired by Bart Simpson and comes with a state of the art promo directed by Steve Barron who also produced “Money For Nothing” a fact that won’t escape you when you view the CGI video. It’s only the group’s second top tenner (“Animal” made No 6 in 1987) so any climb next week will result in the group’s biggest hit, a new album “Andrenalize” is out in a few weeks. It’s a real victory for pops survivors this week, Def Leppard first hit the charts back in 1979 and one year The Cure debuted with “A Forest”, since then they’ve scored 20 hits but only two top 10 singles but they now have a third. “High” previews their 9th studio album “Wish” which is out in May and becomes their highest debuting single ever as it enters at No 8 (19,980). Once place below them is the very first solo single by Annie Lennox, again she’s been knocking around since 1979 firstly in the Tourists then of course in Eurythmics enabling her to score 11 top 10 singles in total from those bands but with Eurythmics on hiatus it appears she’s done a solo album “Diva” which is in shops next month. First single “Why” becomes the first instance that she has debuted in the top 10 (17,940). Eric Clapton finds progress is interrupted as he holds at No 5 (20,925) but it’s all over for Shanice as she plummets 2-7 (20,190) and Crowded House reverse 7-10 (16,410) but as you can see with less than 2k seperating numbers 4 and 8 things could have ended up in any order! 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (34,095) 2- FINALLY- Ce Ce Peniston (31,125) 3- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big (26,895) 4- DEEPLY DIPPY- Right Said Fred (21,720) 5- TEARS IN HEAVEN- Eric Clapton (20,925) 6- LET’S GET ROCKED- Def Leppard (20,205) 7- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (20,190) 8- HIGH- The Cure (19,980) 9- WHY- Annie Lennox (17,940) 10- WEATHER WITH YOU- Crowded House (16,410)

145. LIFE IS A ROLLERCOASTER- Ronan Keating (398,700) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 14 2ND solo single from Keating was penned by Greg Alexander and Rick Nowels and was originally intended for a second New Radicals LP that never materialised. It became his second solo No 1 despite having a large swath of sales discounted due to ineligible enhanced content which caused a rush release of a second CD format before the week was out but it lost close to 100,000 sales in its first week and around 14,000 sales in its second week which cost it a second week at the top- an expensive mistake.

146. WOMANIZER- Britney Spears (395,765) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 3 WKS ON CHART: 20 Britney’s second song on the list was the first release from her sixth album “Circus” and after being performed on “X Factor” managed to peak at No 3 (her 19th top 10 single) whilst drawing some criticism for miming on the show. A steamy video was designed to show off Britney’s body after receiving criticism from the press over her figure, and returned her to the top in the US for the first time since her debut 9 years earlier, it flew 98-1 making it the biggest leap to the top spot in history.

147. SEXYBACK- Justin Timberlake (394,900) YEAR: 2006 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 31 The much heralded return of Justin Timberlake in 2006 was much anticipated, could he replicate the huge success of the “justified” period? Well the answer appeared to be yes as this track became his first solo chart topper on both sides of the Atlantic and saw him employ the talents of Timbaland to generate his new sound.

21ST MARCH The top four remain unchanged and are starting to form an impenetrable barrier at the top end of the charts which means that Shakespears Sister’s “Stay” is No 1 for a fifth week with Shanice, The Temptations, and The KLF completing the quartet, the figures behind this fact however show that all are in trouble with sales decreasing to 38,505 (-9%), 26,550 (-18%), 22,620 (-18%), and 19,500 (-24%) respectively with “Stay” increasing its winning margin from 10k to 12k ironically. It is now the longest chart topper of 1992 so far with the lowest tally for a chart topper in 47 weeks- odd thing the charts. Opening in the US in January, the film “Rush” won’t be in UK cinemas until June but it will now contain a top 10 single in the form of Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven”. It was written specifically for the film however the inspiration clearly comes from personal tragedy, namely the death of Clapton’s son last year. He’s never been in the top 10 as a solo artist before this, nor as part of Cream, in fact only his involvement with Derek and the Dominoes has produced a bigger hit when “Layla” peaked at No 4 ten years ago though of course he’s featured on several top 10 hits uncredited officially. A No 26 hit last October, and in the wake of the success of “We Got A Love Thang”, Ce Ce Peniston has re-issued “Finally” and finds herself with this week’s highest new entry at No 6 (18,570). Substantially remixed from the album version thanks to David Morales, it now encompasses a sample lifted from Cece Rogers “Someday” and immediately equals the peak of her previous single, the album made No 10 last month and re-floats 69-60 this week. Toppled from the US No 1 position this week is “To Be With You” by Mr Big, here it accelerates 21-8 (15,795) to launch the band’s career. Crowded House creep 8-7 (17,730) despite losing sales, U2 drop 7-9 (14,865) and Opus III dives 6-10 (14,775). 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (38,505) 2- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (26,550) 3- MY GIRL- The Temptations (22,620) 4- AMERICA: WHAT TIME IS LOVE?- The KLF (19,500) 5- TEARS IN HEAVEN- Eric Clapton (18,960) 6- FINALLY- Ce Ce Peniston (18,570) 7- WEATHER WITH YOU- Crowded House (17,730) 8- TO BE WITH YOU- Mr Big (15,795) 9- ONE- U2 (14,865) 10- IT’S A FINE DAY- Opus III (14,775)

148. WHAT MAKES A MAN- Westlife (394,600) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 13 2nd appearance for the Irish boyband and of course famously the track that stopped a run of 7 No 1 hits! It sold a whopping 230k in its defeat so hardly disgraced itself but was outsold by Bob The Builder in the race for the festive chart topper of 2000.

149. CHRISTMAS TIME (DON’T LET THE BELLS END)- The Darkness (394,500) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 8 Striking whilst the iron was hot, The Darkness were one of the breakthrough acts of 2003 with enormous press support for their own brand glam pop and an ever increasing better chart record. Their stab at the festive chart topper overtook the “Pop Idols” as the press favourite for the Christmas No 1 in the betting stakes and lead the chart race in the festive week but ultimately missed out despite an opening salvo on 222k. At least the band could joke that “we managed to get “bellend” into a Christmas song without it getting banned!”

150. SHINE- Take That (393,800) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 42 A sixth straight No 1 (and tenth overall) for the band, and their second appearance on this list for the outfit. This was written primarily as an olive branch to errand member Robbie Williams who had side stepped the reformed band when initially asked in 2006 and even picked up a BRIT award for best British Single at the 2008 awards.

14TH MARCH “Stay” remains the nation’s favourite song but it’s now in serious decline- 20% last week to 42,090 in fact, but it isn’t an overly serious situation given that the records below it are mostly in decline too, Shanice rises 3-2 (32,475) but is still 10k adrift and the Temptations drift 2-3 (28,770). Don’t put too much hope in the KLF either as they thrust 9-4 (26,190) or Guns N Roses who lose traction immediately as they drop 4-5 (22,395), both show little sign of overturning “Stay”. Excluding the 1987 import single “In God’s Country” U2 scored ten straight top 10 singles between 1984 and 1991 then “Mysterious Ways” underperformed making No 13 in December. “Achtung Baby” continues to deliver up hits though as the third single to be lifted from it “One” repairs some damage by launching 23-7 (18,825), picked out by many as one of the album’s highlights, its debut last week at 23 was due to the single not being available on CD, a situation now rectified. With proceeds goings to AIDS research it was apparently written by Bono to reflect the band’s feelings about the reunification of Germany. Formed in part from the remnants of Split Enz in the mid 80s Crowded House saw some initial success with “Don’t Dream It’s Over (No 27) which was remade into a top 20 single for Paul Young last year , but subsequent singles all failed to make a mark here until a first single from their third album “Woodface” made No 69 last year (“Chocolate Cake”) and they finally made the top 20 with the second single “Fall At Your Feet” (No 17). It’s a tale of improving chart positions for them though as a third release “Weather With You” breezes 11-8 (17,715). It leads on from Tim Finn’s departure from the group leaving them as a threesome, the album is the first to chart here in the UK and peaked at No 34 last July but now charges to a new peak 42-9, you can see the band who are also currently on tour in the UK. Meanwhile new challengers to the throne Nirvana also return to the top 10 this week with “Come As You Are”. Some have noted the similarity to Killing Joke’s “Eighties” or the Damned’s “Life Goes On” but no doubt about it the current music press darlings are starting to rack up the hits with this single cruising straight into the charts at No 9 (15,345), Opus III slips 5-6 (20,610) and Madness drop 6-10 (15,060) but do climb to No 1 on the album charts for just a second time in their career! 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (42,090) 2- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (32,475) 3- MY GIRL- The Temptations (28,770) 4- AMERICA: WHAT TIME IS LOVE- The KLF (26,190) 5- NOVEMBER RAIN- Guns N Roses (22,395) 6- IT’S A FINE DAY- Opus III (20,610) 7- ONE- U2 (18,825) 8- WEATHER WITH YOU- Crowded House (17,715) 9- COME AS YOU ARE- Nirvana (15,345) 10- IT MUST BE LOVE- Madness (15,060)

And here's the recap 150-200 200. CASTLES IN THE SKY- Ian Van Dahl (354,300) 199. GHETTO GOSPEL- 2Pac Featuring Elton John (354,600) 198. INFINITY 2008- Guru Josh Project (355,700) 197. TOXIC- Britney Spears (355,800) 196. LIVE YOUR LIFE- T.I Featuring Rihanna (358,700) 195. BREAK YOUR HEART- Taio Cruz (360,270) 194. RED- Daniel Merriweather (360,280) 193. RELEASE ME- Agnes (360,500) 192. I TURN TO YOU- Melanie C (361,400) 191. SOMETHING STUPID- Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman (361,900) 190. FREESTYLER- Bomfunk MC’s (362,000) 189. HEY YA- Outkast (362,800) 188. THE BOY DOES NOTHING- Alesha Dixon (364,600) 187. I WISH I WAS A PUNKROCKER (WITH FLOWERS IN MY HAIR)- Sandi Thom (365,100) 186. TAKE A BOW- Rihanna (365,800) 185. 21 SECONDS- So Solid Crew (367,400) 184. HEY THERE DELILAH- Plain White T’s (368,600) 183. BREATHE- Blu Cantrell Featuring Sean Paul (368,700) 182. ETERNITY/ THE ROAD TO MANDALAY- Robbie Williams (370,100) 181. AGAINST ALL ODDS- Mariah Carey & Westlife (370,400) 180. BEAUTIFUL LIAR- Shakira & Beyonce (371,900) 179. LIGHT MY FIRE- Will Young (372,700) 178. NO AIR- Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown (372,800) 177. DAY N NITE- Kid Cudi Vs Crookers (374,485) 176. NOT FAIR- Lily Allen (375,540) 175. GREATEST DAY- Take That (376,100) 174. EVACUATE THE DANCEFLOOR- Cascada (376,810) 173. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND- Jay Z Featuring Alicia Keys (377,075) 172. ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID- t.A.t.U (378,900) 171. THE MAN WHO CAN’T BE MOVED- The Script (379,300) 170. LOVE STORY- Taylor Swift (379,785) 169. THE CHEEKY SONG (TOUCH MY BUM)- The Cheeky Girls (380,400) 168. DON’T STOP THE MUSIC- Rihanna (381,000) 167. I’M YOURS- Jason Mraz (381,400) 166. MAMBO NO 5- Bob The Builder (381,500) 165. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?- City High (381,750) 164. AMERICAN PIE- Madonna (382,000) 163. YOU ARE NOT ALONE- X Factor Finalists (382,900) 162. THAT’S NOT MY NAME- Ting Tings (383,600) 161. ALL SUMMER LONG- Kid Rock (383,800) 160. STRONGER- Kanye West (384,100) 159. MANEATER- Nelly Furtado (385,700) 158. NUMB/ ENCORE- Linkin Park/ Jay Z (386,400) 157. HAVE YOU EVER- S Club 7 (387,200) 156. CHA CHA SLIDE- DJ Casper (387,300) 155. DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT- Toploader (387,600) 154. ETERNAL FLAME- Atomic Kitten (389,800) 153. CRAZY IN LOVE- Beyonce (391,400) 152. OUT OF YOUR MIND- Truesteppers Featuring Dane Bowers & Victoria Beckham (391,700) 151. BRING ME TO LIFE- Evanescence (392,100)

151. BRING ME TO LIFE- Evanescence (392,100) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 18 After being picked up for the film “Daredevil”, this was turned into their debut release and proved their only No 1 single into the bargain. Co-written by lead singer Amy Lee about an abusive relationship it launched them onto the pop landscape scoring 3 further top 10 hits in the decade and was certainly an unusual No 1 back in 2003.

152. OUT OF YOUR MIND- Truesteppers Featuring Dane Bowers & Victoria Beckham (391,700) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 20 If there were awards for the most hyped single ever this would surely be in contention? There was intense press around the first release as a solo act on the part of Victoria Beckham and initial sales reported that the track was leading going into Saturday but ultimately it failed to overcome Spiller in one the biggest chart battles that we had in the decade. It was popularly rumoured that Beckham wasn’t the first pick for fellow popstar Dane Bowers, that was going to be his girlfriend Jordan (Katie Price)- wonder why that was scrapped!

7TH MARCH Sales decrease by a measly 2% meaning that Shakespears Sister remain way ahead of the field for a third week, however their winning margin is reduced from 17k to 12k with The Temptations holding at No 2 (40,950) and Shanice at No 3 (38,040), not bad sales in the context of 1992 so far. That’s the Temptations biggest hit of their long career and for Shakespears Sister total sales of “Stay” now stand at 239,790 easing into second place for the year behind the Wets, it is also their best seller. Guns N Roses cement their place as one of the biggest bands on the planet at present with a fourth straight top 10 single and a third to be plucked from “Use Your Illusion I”. “November Rain” comes with a 9 minute promo which reputedly cost a million dollars and has quickly been heralded as a classic, it debuts at No 4 (26,070) but both “Illusion” albums remain outside the top 50 six months after release though the forthcoming European leg of their tour should help sort that out. The 7" version runs to 8 minutes 53 minutes- the third longest single on that format in chart history (The Winner on that front remains Grand funk Railroad's "Inside Looking Out" at 9 minutes and 23 seconds, with "Freebird" in second place at 9 minutes). Following on from a “memorable” BRITS performance with Extreme Noise Terror during which they appeared to announce their departure from the music business, The KLF have released what could be their last single, a substantive re-working of their 1990 No 6 hit “What Time Is Love” rebranded “America: What Time Is Love?” which is essentially the US mix of the track which was released last year stateside. It features a guitar riff borrowed from “Ace Of Spades” and added vocals by former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes, and naturally it’s all OTT, but that’s why we love(d) them? Anyway it smashes straight into the No 9 position with 15,855 sales. The arrival of GNR puts paid to a rise by Opus III who hold at No 5 (23,445), Madness rise 10-6 (19,425) as “Divine Madness” debuts at No 2, that’s four places higher than the new Pasadenas album which in turn means their single “I’m Doing Fine Now” dips 4-7 (18,345), and Bryan Adams holds at No 8 (16,860). Michael Jackson drops 6-10 (15,630) to round off the top 10. 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (53,265) 2- MY GIRL- The Temptations (40,950) 3- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (38,040) 4- NOVEMBER RAIN- Guns N Roses (26,070) 5- IT’S A FINE DAY- Opus III (23,445) 6- IT MUST BE LOVE- Madness (19,425) 7- I’M DOING FINE NOW- The Pasadenas (18,345) 8- THOUGHT I’D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN- Bryan Adams (16,860) 9- AMERICA: WHAT TIME IS LOVE?- The KLF (15,855) 10- REMEMBER THE TIME- Michael Jackson (15,630)

Recap time tomorrow of the bottom 50!

153. CRAZY IN LOVE- Beyonce (391,400) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 15 Not her first solo release but certainly the one that indicated we might have a superstar on our hands, An instant No 1 it pretty much ruled the summer of 2003, interesting to note now that her debut album was delayed from late 02 to allow her fellow Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland to release her album (as “Dilemma” had become a massive hit in the interim). The track has since gone on to record sales of over 1.2 million so certainly had the last laugh.

154. ETERNAL FLAME- Atomic Kitten (389,800) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 15 Probably the biggest girl group of 2001, they were of course riding on the high of their previous hit which resulted in their debut album being re-recorded with new member Jenny Frost and re-released with this track as the promo for it. Of course a cover of The Bangles 1989 #1, it wasted no time in becoming their second No 1 on the trot beating Destiny’s Child to the honours.

155. DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT- Toploader (387,600) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 7 WKS ON CHART: 32 Not their own track but certainly a breakthrough for them- twice. They released it in early 2000 when it became their first top 40 hit making No 19 but was picked up later in 2000 by Sainsbury’s for their adverts featuring Jamie Oliver. A smart remix by Stargate and the single was available again this time making No 7 in its 21st on the chart- a highly unusual feat for a single at the time. The original song dates back to 1970 by Boffalongo but was a hit in 72 for King Harvest in the US though it didn’t chart here.

29TH FEBRUARY Shakespears Sister take the name of their single literally and “Stay” at No 1 and increase their sales to 54,900 as their album “Hormonally Yours” debuts at No 3 seemingly doing nothing to impede the singles popularity. On paper it should be under pressure from The Temptations 5-2 (37,050) and Shanice 7-3 (35,985) but they aren’t even in the same ballpark at present, and neither are the Pasadenas who spend a month at No 4 though for the first time their sales are down to 22,485 so it’s now past its best, Opus III also improves 10-5 (22,410) and could easily be top 3 next week. Bryan Adams of course spent 16 weeks at No 1 last year but his next two singles peaked at No 12 and No 32 evidencing perhaps that we had had our fill of Adams for a while. Fourth single “Thought I’d Died And Gone To Heaven” reverses the trend though as it lifts 11-8 (17,460) to become his second top 10 hit, the album similarly heads north 21-15 and has sold over 600,000 since its October release. A new Madness compilation “Divine Madness” is released this week and their 1981 #4 cover of Labi Siffre’s “It Must Be Love” has been re-released to help promote the album along with tying in with Valentine’s Day. It bounds 15-10 (15,600) to become a top ten single all over again. Michael Jackson slackens 3-6 (21,090) and Wet Wet Wet drop 2-7 (18,810) whilst Simply Red hold at No 9 (16,155). The KLF and Guns N Roses both release singles this week and both acts debuted in the top 10 with their last 3 releases so expect high debuts again….. 1- STAY- Shakespears Sister (54,900) 2- MY GIRL- The Temptations (37,050) 3- I LOVE YOUR SMILE- Shanice (35,985) 4- I’M DOING FINE NOW- The Pasadenas (22,485) 5- IT’S A FINE DAY- Opus III (22,410) 6- REMEMBER THE TIME- Michael Jackson (21,090) 7- GOODNIGHT GIRL- Wet wet wet (18,810) 8- THOUGHT I’D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN- Bryan Adams (17,460) 9- FOR YOUR BABIES- Simply Red (16,155) 10- IT MUST BE LOVE- Madness (15,600)

156. CHA CHA SLIDE- DJ Casper (387,300) YEAR: 2004 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 18 Created by Casper for his nephew to use during his personal trainer session, this in turn led to an alternative version being created at some point in the early 00s which was sent to local radio stations in Chicago when it started to generate interest and soon it was a popular track on UK music TV Channels with its own dance. It proved to be his only real hit (there was another top 20 single but who remembers that!) and he passed in 2023.

157. HAVE YOU EVER- S Club 7 (387,200) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 14 Multiple entries on the list for the SClubbers, this was the Children In Need single for 2001 and another Cathy Dennis Co-penned track. It became their 4th chart topper and actually usurped their track “You” which was intended for release in late 01 but got pushed back to 2002 ultimately. The promo is filmed in the famous Ennis building in Los Angeles.