Gezza

172. ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID- t.A.t.U (378,900) YEAR; 2003 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 17 God remember the mild controversy at the time this was released- Russian, schoolgirls and Lesbians- could there be such a thing? Well in 2003 it certainly got them the headlines- were they dating or weren’t they? The song itself was a reworking of the original 2000 release “Ya Soshla s Uma” which was then re-written in English by Trevor Horn and got released here becoming the first UK chart topper by a Russian act. It later transpired that the girls were neither Lesbians nor in a relationship and it was a P.A stunt, still it worked in terms of tabloid headlines and a banning of the promo on both TOTP and CD:UK.

173. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND- Jay Z Featuring Alicia Keys (377,075) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 16 The original writers of the track submitted this song to Roc Music who were not impressed and rejected it leading the composers to tout it around record labels, and though EMI also rejected it they suggested they submit it to Jay Z who liked it enough to keep the chorus whilst he re-wrote the verses. Having considered Mary J Blige, the song was ultimately offered to Keys to redo the chorus.

11th JANUARY 18 New entries in the top 40 and 33 in the top 75 are both records which are set this week as 1992 explodes into action, but you won’t see much evidence in the top 10 of that turnaround. Queen make it four weeks on the trot as “Bohemian Rhapsody/ These Are The Days Of Our Lives” shifts another 46,845 sales to take its monthly tally to 764,509 as it now looks unlikely to break the million mark in its current incarnation. Its victory was easy in the end, The KLF and Tammy Wynette keep the pressure on nominally at No 2 but with just 23,550 sales they’re still trailing way behind, and don’t hold out hope for the new Right Said Fred single, they climb 5-3 but their sales are off 35% to just 19,290, and even Hammer takes a hit of 22% to 17,475 as he progresses 8-4, that’s now his second highest peaking single of his career lagging behind only 1990’s “U Can’t Touch This” which made No 3. In short never have we had a week where only 2 tracks clear the 20,000 mark- not a good start to 92, and even at that the KLF's tally is lowest ever needed to hit No 2 certainly since 1980. After 4 weeks at the No 7 position Kym Sims’ “Too Blind To See It” is finally on the move again rising 7-5 (15,930) and Shaft lift 9-7 (13,950). Heading the wrong way are Diana Ross 3-6 (15,810) and George Michael & Elton John 4-8 (13,395) as it slips past the 300,000 mark, easily Michael’s biggest hit since “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”. Onto the new hits and bounding 20-9 (12,120) this week is the new single by Wet, wet, wet called “Goodnight Girl”. The group’s first 7 singles all made the top 20 but since then 4 releases have all missed that same marker with their last single “Put The Light On” flopping at No 56 last year. It looks as though releasing a new single as this quiet time of year has reaped rewards though as it now becomes their biggest hit in over 2 years, parent album “High On The Happy Side” had been held back in lieu of a big hit single and should now be in shops next month. Suffering a distribution leak last week which saw it enter at No 48 The Prodigy’s third single “Everybody In The Place EP” improves 48-10 (12,075) to become their second top 10 hit on the trot. The title track to the EP was actually available in a substantially different version on their first release “What Evil Lurks EP” last year and so they appear to be pulling off the same trick that the KLF proved could be so lucrative of recycling old tracks and souping them up for a new release. An album is promised later in the year. This week sees the lowest tally needed since 1980 not only for No 2 spot (KLF as already noted who take the unwanted accolade from Jason Donovan in January 1990) but also all the other tracks in the top 10 except Queen at No 1 and George and Elton at No 8- sobering times. 1- BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/ THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES- Queen (46,845) 2- JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT- The KLF/ Tammy Wynette (23,550) 3- DON’T TALK JUST KISS- Right Said Fred (19,290) 4- ADDAMS GROOVE- Hammer (17,475) 5- TOO BLIND TO SEE IT- Kym Sims (15,930) 6- WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME- Diana Ross (15,810) 7- ROOBARB AND CUSTARD- Shaft (13,950) 8- DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME- Elton John & George Michael (13,395) 9- GOODNIGHT GIRL- Wet, wet, wet (12,120) 10- EVERYBODY IN THE PLACE E.P- The Prodigy (12,075)

174. EVACUATE THE DANCEFLOOR- Cascada (376,810) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 17 Otherwise known as the song that denied Michael Jackson a posthumous No 1 after it clawed back a midweek lead to push “Man In The Mirror” down to No 2. The German outfit contained a certain Yanou who of course featured on DJ Sammy’s “Heaven” 7 years earlier, he also co-wrote and co-produced this track.

175. GREATEST DAY- Take That (376,100) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 I think we can safely say that when Take That reformed in 2006 the nation were clearly delighted rewarding them with multiple appearances on this list! This was the lead single to the album “The Circus” and became their 11th chart topper though it only held the top spot for a solitary week, not a bad output for a song that took 3 or 4 hours to write!

176. NOT FAIR- Lily Allen (375,540) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 5 WKS ON CHART: 24 The biggest selling No 5 hit of the 00s! Not her biggest hit of the decade but a solid follow up to “The Fear” which saw Allen lament the “performance” of her boyfriend, and all done with a country twinge. The promo recreated the 70s country show “Porter Wagnor” show, Porter incidentally was the inspiration for the Parton song “I Will Always Love You”.

I sat my GCSE's so the first half of the year was all about study and the second half i started my A level's so quite a big year all told. Music wise I was on cassette mainly for albums and CD for singles though i didn't buy that much as I was still taping from the radio !

As with all these threads I would appreciate no spoilers in terms of peak positions so that those who follow it in "real time" don't get spoilers (as Indeed I write them in this fashion i.e as though they were written in the respective weeks). Your co-operation is much appreciated.

It's 1992 in this thread and the 90s have really began. We'll count down all the sounds of the year and hopefully generate a few "almost forgotten gems" along the way. As always thanks go to MFR, Vas tariner, Youtube, Wikipedia, MW, popscene, James Masterton and a few other sources who have helped over the years. Here's the links to previous threads if this isn't your year! Gallup sales Index Actual weekly sales have recently come to light, my thanks go to Robbie and kobyhadrain for sourcing the information and presenting it. So sit back and enjoy every top 10 hit of the year (eventually), before spring we'll see there ain't no doubt it's:

177. DAY N NITE- Kid Cudi Vs Crookers (374,485) YEAR: 2009 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 22 Back to a time when we found popstars on “MySpace”, this was premiered on the website in 2007 before getting a first release on Cudi’s first mixtape the same year. The tape brought him to the attention of Kanye West who then signed him up and this song got the remix treatment from Crookers. It’s this version that became a hit with a new promo which apparently Cudi disliked.

178. NO AIR- Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown (372,800) YEAR: 2008 PEAK POSITION: 3 WKS ON CHART: 27 Our longest charting track of the rate (so far)- Sparks of course won “American Idol” in 2007 and launched her debut album for which this served as the second single. It was the best seller for both acts and came during a time of considerable success for Brown pre THAT incident with Rihanna.

179. LIGHT MY FIRE- Will Young (372,700) YEAR: 2002 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 20 The Doors classic that had already been a top 10 single for three acts (The Doors, Amii Stewart, and Jose Feliciano) was picked by Young as a performance on “Pop Idol”. Young’s version was based on the Feliciano interpretation and effortlessly became his second chart topper after selling 177,000 in its first week.

Sorry didn't update the Beatles total pre 1994- added in now.

180. BEAUTIFUL LIAR- Shakira & Beyonce (371,900) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 21 A first appearance for two acts who will be back! This was a song recorded for Beyonce’s Deluxe version of “B’ Day” and became a third chart topper for Beyonce and a second for Shakira. It was helped considerably by the Freemasons remix which received most of the attention on radio and TV.

181. AGAINST ALL ODDS- Mariah Carey & Westlife (370,400) YEAR: 2000 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: 12 Of course written by Phil Collins for the film of the same name in 1984, this surfaced as a solo version by Carey on her “Rainbow” album but when it came to be released in UK it was thought it needed a little something to make it a bigger hit. Step forward boyband of the moment Westlife who added their vocals, shot a promo and it thusly became Carey’s 2nd UK No 1 and Westlife’s 6th. The promo of course became noteworthy at the time for McFadden getting visibly enticed by Carey’s “charms”

182. ETERNITY/ THE ROAD TO MANDALAY- Robbie Williams (370,100) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART: Robbie’s second biggest seller of the decade, the double A-Side came with promo’s which were designed to view together and tell the full story of a heist masterminded by Williams. Whilst “Mandalay” was already available on “Sing When You’re Winning”, “Eternity” was a new track written about his friendship with Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and featured Brian May on Guitar, the pair became Williams’ 4th chart topper in as many years.

And with that- thanks to everyone who commented and we'll count them down again in 12 months.

Full List of best selling albums 2020-2025 100. Timeless- The All Time Greatest Hits Bee Gees (86-82-91-98) 413,000 (T/S 537,000) 99. Hypersonic Missiles Sam Fender (72-90-72-90-99) 417,000 (T/S 531,000) 98. The Eminem Show- Eminem (92) 420,000 (t/s 2,229,000) 97. Favourite Worst Nightmare- Arctic Monkeys (95-89-88) 423,000 (T/S 1,466,000) 96. Psychodrama- Dave (RE) (46-54-50-81-xx) 423,000 (t/s 590,000) 95. Direct Hits 2003-2013 The Killers (63-64-60-59-64) 424,000 (T/S 1,122,000) 94. Heavy Is The Head Stormzy (5-18-27-43-70) 427,000 (T/S 514,000) 93. Goodbye & Good Riddance Juice WRLD (40-41-55-68-75) 429,000 (T/S 559,000) 92. Number Ones Michael Jackson (39-32-26-33-61) 429,000 (T/S 3,160,000) 91. Graduation- Kanye West (NEW) 430,000 (t/s 1,061,000) 90. Nevermind Nirvana (85-68-76-91) 435,000 (T/S 2,718,000) 89. Planet Her Doja Cat (74-45-55-74) 442,000 88. Greatest Hits Guns N Roses (84-93-84-86-87) 442,000 (T/S 2,601,000) 87. My love- The Essential Collection- Celine Dion (NEW) (337,000) (t/s 1,520,000) 86. Don't Smile At Me Billie Eilish (30-35-44-44-63) 454,000 (T/S 718,000) 85. Good Girl Gone Bad- Rihanna (97) 459,000 (t/s 2,519,000) 84. Greatest Hits….So Far Pink (89-89-79-79) 460,000 (t/s 1,581,000) 83. Legends Never Die Juice WRLD (18-23-30-46-62) 465,000 82. Certified Lover Boy Drake (81-51-48-72) 467,000 81. Seventeen Going Under- Sam Fender (58-63-76) 468,000 80. Definitive Collection Stevie Wonder (76-76-74-75-78) 475,000 (T/S 1,724,000) 79. After Hours The Weeknd (23-33-43-40-58) 477,000 78. Nirvana- Nirvana (92-80) 482,000 (t/s 1,557,000) 77. 1967-1970- The Beatles (NEW) 483,000 (t/s 1,930,000) 76. Christmas Michael Buble (57-52-56-58-65) 483,300 (T/S 3,512,400) 75. X Ed Sheeran (52-43-46-61-67) 487,000 (T/S 4,017,000) 74. 1 The Beatles (34-31-28-27-45) 489,000 (T/S 4,008,000) 73. The Sound Of….- The Smiths (84) 491,000 (t/s 1,031,000) 72. We're All Alone In This Together Dave (36-33-37-59) 494,000 71. I Will Always Love You- The Best Of- Whitney Houston (83) 495,000 (T/S 632,000) 70. The Diamond Collection- Post Malone (95) 497,000 69. Singles Collection- Britney Spears (100-87-73) 505,000 (T/S 720,000) 68. Red (Taylor’s Version)- Taylor Swift (81-64-57) 506,000 67. Curtain Call 2- Eminem (81) 507,000 66. The Singles Phil Collins (93-87-75-73-69) 509,000 (T/S 886,000) 65. +-=÷x (Tour Collection)_ Ed Sheeran (NEW) 510,000 64. Happier Than Ever- Billie Eilish (67-70-68) 514,000 63. 21 Adele (98-60-64-56-56) 518,000 (T/S 5,693,000) 62. Starboy- The Weeknd (71-43) 525,000 (t/s 898,000) 61. Elv1s- 30 Number One Hits- Elvis Presley (93-71) 525,000 (T/S 2,477,000) 60. BRAT- Charli XCX (NEW) (530,000) 59. In The Lonely Hour Sam Smith (70-61-54-53-60) 532,000 (T/S 3,125,000) 58. The Fame- Lady Gaga (91-78-66) 544,000 (T/S 3,591,000) 57. Back To Black Amy Winehouse (66-51-57-67-53) 548,000 (T/S 4,571,000) 56. Voyage ABBA (7-14-25-38) 550,000 55. Doo Wops & Hooligans Bruno Mars (75-65-52-54) 558,000 (T/S 2,429,000) 54. 25 Adele (94-39-42-38-48) 560,000 (T/S 4,143,000) 53. The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess- Chappell Roan (NEW) 560,000 52. Hollywood's Bleeding Post Malone (16-26-35-28-37) 568,000 (T/S 677,000) 51. Evermore Taylor Swift (49-52-39-39) 580,000 50. No 6 Collaborations Project Ed Sheeran (7-14-24-30-40) 592,000 (T/S 1,100,000) 49. Hit Me Hard And Soft- Billie Eilish (90) 595,000 48. Greatest Hits- God's Favourite Band Green Day (85-83-70-62-52) 595,000 (T/S 744,000) 47. Piano Man- The Very Best Of Billy Joel (95-76-66-55) 601,000 (T/S 1,703,000) 46. Teenage Dream Katy Perry (88-77-60-49) 610,000 (T/S 2,033,000) 45. Greatest Hits Red Hot Chili Peppers (73-69-62-47-46) 613,000 (T/S 2,311,000) 44. Born To Die- Lana Del Rey (97-51-42) 624,000 (T/S 1,815,000) 43. Greatest Hits- Pitbull (49-51) 625,000 42. Best Of- 50 Cent (57-47) 628,000 (t/s 765,000) 41. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Arctic Monkeys (51-42-37-34-36) 641,000 (T/S 2,528,000) 40. The Life Of A Showgirl- Taylor Swift (NEW) 642,400 39. 1989 (Taylor’s Version)- Taylor Swift (77-34) 644,000 38. Dua Lipa Dua Lipa (25-27-29-32-33) 657,000 (T/S 1,221,000) 37. Between Us- Little Mix (38-31-31) 663,000 36. 1989 Taylor Swift (97-71-47-26-26) 670,000 (T/S 1,946,000) 35. Legacy David Bowie (35-34-32-29-30) 673,000 (T/S 1,150,000) 34. Twenty Five George Michael (50-40-40-36-35) 676,000 (T/S 1,890,000) 33. Reputation- Taylor Swift (42-28) 694,000 (t/s 1,079,000) 32. Guts- Olivia Rodrigo (41-41) 696,000 31. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Billie Eilish (4-13-17-23-25) 708,000 (T/S 1,169,000) 30. Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon Pop Smoke (6-9-12-20-24) 711,000 29. Singles Maroon 5 (69-44-39-35-27) 718,000 (T/S 990,000) 28. Stick Season- Noah Kahan (50) 720,000 27. SOS- SZA (84-44) 720,000 26. Definitely Maybe Oasis (67-67-66-54-29) 773,000 (T/S 3,018,000) 25. The Essential- Michael Jackson (65-32) 808,000 (t/s 2,097,000) 24. Legend Bob Marley & The Wailers (14-19-22-21-23) 836,000 (T/S 5,416,000) 23. Lover Taylor Swift (37-48-41-24-21) 853,000 (T/S 1,008,000) 22. Future Nostalgia Dua Lipa (3-3-7-15-19) 887,000 21. Short N Sweet- Sabrina Carpenter (82) 892,000 20. 30 Adele (2-3-8-18) 927,000 19. Harry’s House- Harry Styles (15-13-15) 928,000 18. Fine Line Harry Styles (2-4-4-9-13) 951,000 (T/S 1,021,000) 17. Folklore Taylor Swift (12-17-21-19-17) 984,000 16. The Tortured Poets Department- Taylor Swift (20) 991,000 15. (What's The Story) Morning Glory Oasis (21-24-25-22-22) 1,030,000 (T/S 5,616,000) 14 ÷ Ed Sheeran (13-12-10-14-12) 1,039,000 (T/S 4,489,000) 13. Midnights- Taylor Swift (20-10-10) 1,078,000 12. AM Arctic Monkeys (41-30-23-16-14) 1,079,000 (T/S 2,325,000) 11. Rumours Fleetwood Mac (15-16-16-17-16) 1,083,000 (T/S 5,317,000) 10. Greatest Hits Queen (8-6-6-7-8) 1,170,000 (T/S 6,475,000) 9. Curtain Call- The Hits Eminem (28-21-13-11-7) 1,234,000 (T/S 3,532,000) 8. Gold- Greatest Hits Abba (20-15-11-12-9) 1,234,000 (T/S 7,117,000) 7. Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent Lewis Capaldi (1-1-2-2-5) 1,237,000 (T/S 1,878,000) 6. = Ed Sheeran (5-1-1-3) 1,240,000 5. Sour Olivia Rodrigo (8-5-6-6) 1,249,000 4. Time Flies 1994-2009 Oasis (24-20-19-18-11) 1,287,000 (T/S 2,412,000) 3. Diamonds Elton John (9-10-8-3-2) 1,441,000 (T/S 1,928,000) 2. 50 Years: Don't Stop Fleetwood Mac (10-11-9-4-4) 1,507,000 (T/S 1,831,000) 1. The Highlights The Weeknd (38-18-5-1) 1,584,000

5. Sour Olivia Rodrigo (8-5-6-6) 1,249,000 4. Time Flies 1994-2009 Oasis (24-20-19-18-11) 1,287,000 (T/S 2,412,000) 3. Diamonds Elton John (9-10-8-3-2) 1,441,000 (T/S 1,928,000) 2. 50 Years: Don't Stop Fleetwood Mac (10-11-9-4-4) 1,507,000 (T/S 1,831,000) 1. The Highlights The Weeknd (38-18-5-1) 1,584,000 Olivia is back in the top 5 with over 1.2 million now sold, and Oasis are the sole climbers into the top 10 as they did well topping the charts again in 2025 and are now over the 2.4 million mark. Elton makes way for Fleetwood Mac (both should hit the 2 million mark in 2026) but the Weeknd remains the biggest seller of the decade so far by 77k!

10. Greatest Hits Queen (8-6-6-7-8) 1,170,000 (T/S 6,475,000) 9. Curtain Call- The Hits Eminem (28-21-13-11-7) 1,234,000 (T/S 3,532,000) 8. Gold- Greatest Hits Abba (20-15-11-12-9) 1,234,000 (T/S 7,117,000) 7. Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent Lewis Capaldi (1-1-2-2-5) 1,237,000 (T/S 1,878,000) 6. = Ed Sheeran (5-1-1-3) 1,240,000 GH are all over this section but Queen and Eminem are falling down this rundown but the ever popular ABBA continue to lift to No 8 and have now sold 7.1 million. Queen on 6.4 million and Eminem on 3.5 million illustrate just how strong these compilations are. New (er) material has a strong showing in Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran who both have led this list at various points.

30TH JANUARY Another record breaking week as for the first time we have 8 different chart toppers in 8 weeks, this week’s chart champions are The Offspring who have never even had a top 30 single before today. Formed way back in 1984 they took 11 years to score their first UK hit in “Self Esteem” (No 37) and until 1997 to score their biggest hit (until now) “All I Want” (#31), but a combination of lack of big releases plus widespread radio support for “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” leads to 140,000 copies sold of the song last week for a berth at No 1. The song deals, in a light-hearted manner, with white middle class appropriation of Black culture and certainly delivers the band their moment in the sun. The Offspring’s debut is bad news for Terrorvision who nevertheless also have the biggest hit of their career so far with “Tequila” arriving at No 2 on a sale of 58,000. This is the band’s 14th hit though only three have made the top 10 (“Bad Actress” and “Perseverance” both in 1996) but none had gone top three, after their last single “Josephine” made No 23 the band asked fans to pick the next single and seemed to settle on “Day After Day” until “Tequila” was remixed by Mint Royale (original producer was none other than Edwyn Collins!) -and given a substantial overhaul which attracted a fan in Zoe Ball who promoted it on the Breakfast Show on Radio 1. In turn the band opted to release it and here we are. A No 12 hit in the US late last year, rapper TQ now arrives on our shores with his first single “Westside” in at No 4 (50,000). Dedicated to late rappers Tupac and Eazy-E the song uses Joe Sample’s “In All My Wildest Dreams” and couldn’t quite keep its top 3 midweek position falling behind Steps (54,071) by close of play. Busta Rhymes is also back, he of course made No 2 just last Easter with the “Knight Rider” sampling “Turn It Up/ Fire It Up”, he followed that up with the stand alone single “One” which fizzled out at No 23 and previewed his third album “Extinction Level Event”. Whilst the album has been a poor seller since its release 6 weeks ago it reaches a new peak of #54 this week in part due to the release of “Gimme Some More” which debuts at No 5 (43,000) and lifts a sample Bernard Herrman’s “Psycho Theme”. Touted by those in the know as the next big thing Gay Dad finally give us their debut single “To Earth With Love” and zoom straight into the top 10 at anchor position (29,000). Heavily pushed by Radio 1 and co-produced by Tony Visconti, the band have already had covers with Select, NME, and Melody Maker before even releasing a single. Let’s see if they live up to the hype. Last week’s chart topper from 911 drops quickly 1-6 (41,000) only just managing to outstrip Mel C & Bryan Adams at the last, they fall 6-7 (40,000), total sales of “When You’re Gone” has now sold 429,000. Two other fallers to mention, Another Level & Ghostface Killah tumble 2-8 (34,000) whilst Fatboy Slim heads south 4-9 (32,000) but keeps the top spot on the album charts. 1- PRETTY FLY (FOR A WHITE GUY)- Offspring (140,000) 2- TEQUILA- Terrorvision (58,000) 3- HEARTBEAT/ TRAGEDY- Steps (54,071) 4- WESTSIDE- TQ (50,000) 5- GIMME SOME MORE- Busta Rhymes (43,000) 6- A LITTLE BIT MORE- 911 (41,000) 7- WHEN YOU’RE GONE- Bryan Adams/ Mel C (40,000) 8- I WANT YOU FOR MYSELF- Another Level/ Ghostface Killah (34,000) 9- PRAISE YOU- Fatboy Slim (32,000) 10- TO EARTH WITH LOVE- Gay Dad (29,000)

23RD JANUARY It turned into the boyband battle hot enough to excite your average teenage girl as 911 went head to head with Another Level, 911 took an early substantial lead which was whittled down to just 32 copies at one point but in the end they won by a slightly larger margin of 3,400 copies even they topped none of the individual format charts (Paul Weller is No 1 on 7", Blockster in 12", Steps on Cassingle and Fatboy Slim on CD charts). For 911 it is their first chart topper ever some 11 singles into their career even if it took a cover, “A Little Bit More” is a cover of the Dr Hook #2 hit from 1976 which spent a month behind Elton John & Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, to do it but they’ve made the top instantly. Third album “There It Is” is released in just a fortnight and may be their biggest yet. Onto the losers then and Another Level have recruited rap heavyweight Ghostface Killah to perform the rap on “I Want You For Myself” which duly becomes their fourth top ten single from as many releases. The fact that the group are signed to Jay-Z’s US label gives them access to these big names, Ghostface has only been in the top 40 once so far (back in 1997 on the #11 hit “All That I Got Is You”) which means the No 2 debut of this song is his biggest hit selling a mighty 72,000 copies last week. Their album scurries up to No 18, the first time it’s been in the top 20 since it was released. It’s amazing who you can meet at parties, Emma Morton-Smith turned up to one in Stockport and met producer Mark Hadfield (previously of Urban Cookie Collective) who asked her if she wanted to provide vocals to a new dance version he’d done of Roxy Music’s “More Than This” (#6, 1982) and she scores an even bigger hit with it than they managed. It’s new at No 5 (37,000) but it isn’t her first taste of success, she was the vocalist on DJ Flavours 1997 #19 track “Your Caress (All I Need)”. Daft Punk aren’t the only French dance duo in the charts these days, step forward Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass who record under the name Cassius. Their first release “Foxxy” creates some waves in the dance world but new single “Cassius 1999” darts straight in at No 7 (29,000). The sample you can hear (sped up) comes Donna Summer on her track “(If It) Hurts Just A Little” from 1982. Sheffield trio The All Seeing I arrived on the charts last year with a cover of “The Beat Goes On” which made No 11 and now they go one better with “Walk Like A Panther”. Co-written by none other than Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker it was Cocker’s idea to contact 70s popstar Tony Christie to ask if he would provide the vocals and so it is that Christie scores his first hit in 23 years as this debuts at No 10 (24,000). Steps continue to hold up well tripping 2-3 (66,617), Fatboy Slim descends 1-4 (63,000) but the success of the single has now pushed his album 6-1 this week, and proving just as persistent as Steps, Mel C & Bryan Adams spend a 7th week in the top 10 and a third at No 6 (31,000)- it should go gold next week (400,000). Blockstar dive 3-8 (28,000) and Chef completes our review 4-9 (25,000). 1- A LITTLE BIT MORE- 911 (75,400) 2- I WANT YOU FOR MYSELF- Another Level/ Ghostface Killah (72,000) 3- HEARTBEAT/ TRAGEDY- Steps (66,617) 4- PRAISE YOU- Fatboy Slim (63,000) 5- MORE THAN THIS- Emmie (37,000) 6- WHEN YOU’RE GONE- Bryan Adams/ Mel C (31,000) 7- CASSIUS 1999- Cassius (29,000) 8- YOU SHOULD BE- Blockster (28,000) 9- CHOCOLATE SALTY BALLS- Chef (25,000) 10- WALK LIKE PANTHER 99- All Seeing I/ Tony Christie (24,000)

183. BREATHE- Blu Cantrell Featuring Sean Paul (368,700) YEAR: 2003 PEAK POSITION: 2003 WKS ON CHART: 21 Ah 2003….the year of Sean Paul when he seemed to be on almost every weekly chart! For all of his presence this was his sole stint at No 1 and even then only as a featured artist. Blu Cantrell actually recorded the track as a solo track for her album using samples of Dr Dre’s “What’s The Difference” which featured (among others) Eminem thus awarding him another writer’s credit for a chart topper. For the single release Paul’s rap was added and it shot to the top though it buckled at No 70 in the US.

184. HEY THERE DELILAH- Plain White T’s (368,600) YEAR: 2007 PEAK POSITION: 2 WKS ON CHART: 31 The band were onto their 4th album by the time this track was released, written by Frontman Tom Higgenson about his meeting with (and subsequent imagined relationship with) cross country runner Delilah Di Crescenzo. She apparently was flattered (thou not enough to leave her boyfriend for him) it became a US chart topper and made No 2 here behind Sean Kingston, it remains their only top 40 entry here.

185. 21 SECONDS- So Solid Crew (367,400) YEAR: 2001 PEAK POSITION: 1 WKS ON CHART:15 A title derived from the fact that the record company asked the collective to record a song 3 and half minutes long which meant that all the members got roughly 21 seconds to deliver their parts. It was their first hit after their debut “Oh No (Sentimental Things)” was ineligible for the chart due to play time, but after the big time the group were mired in a serious of altercations with the law which overtook their chart success but many of the members went on to have successful careers outside of music.