Gezza

NO 43- FIVE (1,979,600) 7 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: KEEP ON MOVIN (421,000) The bad-boy boyband it was cool to like and the natural heirs to East 17, Five (also known as 5ive- that’s sooooo 90s) accumulated 7 straight top 10 hits in the last 25 months of the decade to accelerate into the top 50 for the decade! After steadily improving chart positions from their debut “Slam Dunk (Da Funk) which made No 10, the group final nabbed a No 1 in Nov 99 with just a month to spare. They must have been frustrated after a trio of No 2 hits in 1998-99 saw them top midweek charts in some cases but fail to hold onto the top slot. Their success remained solid until their demise in 2001 by which time their string of top 10 hits had expanded to eleven......

NO 44- U2 (1,968,800) 13 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: HOLD ME THRILL ME KISS ME KILL ME (471,000) whilst they had 10 top 20 hits in both decades the group managed a couple of chart toppers in the former decade, and 1995’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” being their best selling single to date when it was released. The band were never really a singles act, and whilst singles tended to enter and peak high, they tended to be 2 or 3 week affairs with a quick slump, the record mentioned being an exception mainly to its continual promotion on the “Batman Forever” film.... They sold just 16,000 singles more in the 90s than the 80s!

Sorry, made a boo boo but I corrected it!

NO 45- PETER ANDRE (1,910,000) 9 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: MYSTERIOUS GIRL (753,000) Before the “I’m a celeb” return to fame, before the Katie Price marriage, and the “heat” weekly appearances, Andre was a popstar. Famous in the mid 90s for his six pack and the hit “mysterious Girl” Andre raked in the cash. The singer actually had seven top 10 hits though most people would struggle to remember more than 2 at a push, with 96 being his biggest year. Incredibly he only sold about 500k outside of that year in which he was the 4th biggest act.

NO 46- PUFF DADDY (1,903,600) 11 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: I’LL BE MISSING YOU (1,384,000) Let’s file this one under he’s here and we can’t do much about it……..Part 1

NO 47- THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH (1,834,500) 15 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: A LITTLE TIME (382,000) Often overlooked, the Beautiful South quietly racked up a succession of hits throughout the 90s, evenly spreading the hits throughout the period. A return to form in 96 never really looking back for the remainder of the decade, but much like Erasure, they experienced some degree of longevity despite only claiming one chart topper. The group of course formed from the remnants of “The Housemartins” in 1988 and named themselves in irony, and sold more singles than I would have given them credit for.

NO 48- KYLIE MINOGUE (1,834,500) 18 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: TEARS ON MY PILLOW (245,000) Now people may dismiss her S/A/W/ days but she only makes this list thanks, in the main to her hits with them through 1990-92. Her comeback in 1994 "Confide In Me" was a welcome return to form but "Indie Kylie" of 97-99 proved to be less than successful for her in the Uk. A return to pop in 2000 ensured the hits returned, but her first hit of the decade remained her biggest hit of the decade too.....

NO 49- ERASURE (1,806,100) 16 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: ABBA-ESQUE EP (422,000) For a pop duo they had quite a long period of commercial success with constant top 20 hits from 1986 to 1997, 24 hits in all (not including a remix of “Am I right” which only made No 22 in 1991). Their sole chart topper came in 92 with the “Abba-Esque EP” but the group had 8 top 10’s in the 90s proving to be a chart force certainly for the first half of the decade. For a group that are primarily remembered for their 80s output it’s a great pleasure to see them so high on the 90s countdown, even outpacing their position on the 80s list (though not in sales)!

NO 50- M PEOPLE (1,801,500) 18 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: MOVING ON UP (199,000) With almost 600k of singles sold in 93 alone (making them the 10th biggest act of that year) the mancunian quartet were never NOT going to be on this list. They first charted back in 91 but hits were minor successes never making top 20, the breakthrough came in 93 with a remix of “How Can I Love You More” which became the first of 10 top 10 hits. They are an act conspicuously missing from the list of acts to have a No 1 single but then many on that list would kill for M People’s singles sales tally......

Here's the bottom half of the top 100 recap NO 100. JIMMY NAIL (1,086,900) NO 99. THE TELETUBBIES (1,103,000) NO 98. RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (1,109,100) NO 97. HANSON (1,119,000) NO 96. S CLUB 7 (1,129,400) NO 95- CHAKA DEMUS & PLIERS (1,131,200) NO 94- JASON DONOVAN (1,141.900) NO 93. EN VOGUE (1,148,200) NO 92- D:REAM (1,157,800) NO 91. THE SHAMEN (1,163,600) NO 90. TINA TURNER (1,164,600) NO.89- RIGHT SAID FRED (1,166,600) NO 88- RUN DMC (1,167,900) NO 87- BABYLON ZOO (1,170,000) NO 86- GINA G (1,174,900) NO 85- TEXAS (1,212,300) NO 84. PULP (1,233,400) NO 83- MICHAEL BOLTON (1,257,300) NO 82- THE KLF/ JUSTIFIED ANCIENTS OF MU-MU (1,262,000) NO 81- N-TRANCE (1,280,000) NO 80- DINA CARROLL (1,289,500) NO 79- NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK (1,290,300) NO 78- LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY (1,298,000) NO 77- BOYZ II MEN (1,323,500) NO 76- LISA STANSFIELD (1,334,300) NO 75- NATALIE IMBRUGLIA (1,343,100) NO 74. ANOTHER LEVEL (1,346,100) NO 73- EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL (1,351,600) NO 72- R.E.M (1,362,700) NO 71- BILLIE (1,375,600) NO 70- 911 (1,381,200) NO 69- SHANIA TWAIN (1,423,900) NO 68- WESTLIFE (1,432,300) NO 67- SAVAGE GARDEN (1,454,300) NO 66- T.L.C (1,486,500) NO 65- PET SHOP BOYS/ ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (1,492,200) NO 64- ROBERT MILES (1,508,000) NO 63- MARK MORRISON (1,539,000) NO 62- VARIOUS ARTISTS- PERFECT DAY (1,539,500) NO 61- MEAT LOAF (1,547,200) NO 60- ROXETTE (1,550,600) NO 59- TONI BRAXTON (1,570,900) NO 58- PRINCE/ SYMBOL/ THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS… (1,594,400) NO 57- SHAGGY (1,603,000) NO 56- THE OUTHERE BROTHERS (1,651,800) NO 55- WHIGFIELD (1,668,900) NO 54- UB40 (1,676,800) NO 53- ROD STEWART (1,691,300) NO 52- MANIC STREET PREACHERS (1,709,500) NO 51- JAMIROQUAI (1,720,900)

NO 51- JAMIROQUAI (1,720,900) 16 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST SELLER: VIRTUAL INSANITY (330,000) 7 top 10 hits and pretty much a hit in every year since 1992 pays dividends come the decade end countdown for Jay Kay and his crew. They were finally rewarded with a No 1 in 1998 when “Deeper Underground” did the honours but 1996 was their killer year when the hits from “Travelling Without Moving” added up to half a million. A high profile relationship with Denise Van Outen hardly hindered sales and kept him in the media glare right into the 00s....

NO 52- MANIC STREET PREACHERS (1,709,500) 22 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: IF YOU TOLERATE THIS YOU’RE CHILDREN WILL BE NEXT (315,000) A tally of 22 hits in the decade is rivalled by few acts but only 7 of them made the top 10. Notwithstanding sales topped the 1.7 million level in the decade thanks to a very successful latter part of the decade when they found their second wind in the Britpop explosion of the mid 90s. Their most successful year was 1996 when they sold a third of their overall total.... .

NO 53- ROD STEWART (1,691,300) 14 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: ALL FOR LOVE (292,000) Accruing 8 top 10 hits through the decade whilst almost anyone noticing Rod the Mod was one of the great survivor’s from the 70s (though not the only one to make their debut before the 80s, and of course that 90s chart topper evaded him). He's not hit number one in over 40 years now so the chance he will again seems unlikely, his closest brush through the decade coming in 1994 when “All For Love” hit the runner up spot....

I recall it got reasonable traction on MTV in the UK but we were seemingly unimpressed

NO 54- UB40 (1,676,800) 14 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: (I CAN’T HELP) FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU (609,000) Far bigger in the first half of the decade than the second half, UB40 had been getting top 10 hits as far back as 1980. They scored 12 top 10 in the 80s and added a further 5 in the 90s including the No 1 “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You” in 93 but their brand of reggae lite seemed to lose its synch with the British public, and after 98 and they disintegrated in various factions with much animosity.

NO 55- WHIGFIELD (1,668,900) 5 UK TOP 40 HITS BEST SELLER: SATURDAY NIGHT (1,092,000) The top selling wholly Danish act of the 90s was Whigfield who is, of course, best known for the million selling “Saturday Night”. She sold enough to be the 4th biggest singles act of 1994, and whilst barely anyone remembers any of her other hits she accumulated 4 top 10 hits in under 12 months. Like all massive hits “Saturday Night” ended up becoming a hindrance rather than an asset to her career, and the UK always considered her a novelty act, it didn’t help that subsequent hits sounded uncannily like a rewrite of her biggest hit.....

NO 56- THE OUTHERE BROTHERS (1,651,800) 5 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST SELLER: BOOM BOOM BOOM (652,000) The 4th biggest selling singles act of 1995 are next. A couple of No 1 singles with “Don’t Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)” and “Boom Boom Boom” made them, temporarily, quite big for about 6 months. Their “talent” was the ability to put some rather rude and crude lyrics together with dance music, and hey presto the kids lapped it up, but their success was really limited to a 12 month time frame. A rather lame reprisal of “ole ole” in 97 was their final hit but hung about for only 3 weeks and then silence, a prime example of why under 10s shouldn’t be allowed to buy singles.....

I think it was settled about 10 years if I recall correctly. I think it should be fine, also I don't know the technical aspects of it but it seems that TOTP owns the right to broadcast their own shows rather than the acts on it. Hence the fact that whilst the promo for Fragms was not on youtube, the TOTP performances of the track always were

Agree with this. I appreciate the point of the show is to promote the weekly shows but I think it also needs to reflect what went wrong with TOTP. Truth is that by 2000 it had largely lost its selling power overtaken not only by specific music channels but also terrestrial TV like CD:Uk and it was too late to make some changes whixh may have helped (for example moving the show to Sunday) which by the time they got round it had no effect at all given the damage was done. I think also it moving away from showing what was in the charts to "exclusives" didn't help as it should have reflected the charts and kept the prestige of appearing on the show only when you had a hit. I won't even mention showing the same performance sometimes 3 times! It wasn't like there was a dearth of new hits to promote weekly....

Yes certainly in terms of UK sales he was a lesser star compared to the others you mention, how far behind he was we'll see by the end of the thread! His 80s sales were 2.6 million compared to Jackson's 5.4m and Madonna’s 7m so even if you add Prince’s 80s and 90s sales together you don't equal the others 80s only sales....let alone their sales in the 90s....

NO 57- SHAGGY (1,603,000) 7 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: BOOMBASTIC (567,000) The most consistent reggae star of the 90s, Shaggy was a former Marine who abandoned the world of the Military for the life of a popstar. He had a rather erratic 90s and just when you thought he had disappeared he managed to emerge with another hit, debut hit “Oh Carolina” became his first No 1 in 1993 before waiting another two years for his next one “Boombastic”. Like Babylon Zoo he owed his success on that record to a Levi jeans advert, and it would be a further 6 years before he would collect another couple of number one songs in 2001 but all that is beyond the scope of this rundown.....

NO 58- PRINCE/ SYMBOL/ THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS… (1,594,400) 19 TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD (348,000) After going through more name changes than Fatboy slim in the decade Prince surfaces at No 58. He finally got a UK chart topper in 1994 after 11 years of trying but ironically, it was the beginning of the end of his commercial powers. His final “original” top 10 hit was back in 95 with “Gold” but 9 top 10 hits in the decade is nothing to be sniffed at and he deserves his place in our top 100.....,

NO 59- TONI BRAXTON (1,570,900) 8 UK TOP 40 HITS BIGGEST HIT: UNBREAK MY HEART (780,000) Her two smash hits “Un-Break My Heart” and “Breathe Again” are the two main contributors to Braxton’s total here, but the singer was always much bigger in the states throughout the 90s. She was unlucky not to make the top here with those two records as, together, they spent 4 weeks in the runner spot on the charts....

I think to be fair if people want to discuss the programs "Big Hits Of..." and "The story Of" then that's fine to discuss in the other thread. Just use this one for the weekly programes?