Gezza

23RD JUNE With England struggling in the World Cup (2 draws so far) perhaps it’s no surprise that “World In Motion” also finds itself in trouble descending 1-2 (65,773) this week but it doesn’t make way for the expected coronation of New Kids On The Block who surprisingly fall themselves 2-5 (45,135)- that fall being the first track to debut as high as No 2 and to drop the next week since The Beatles "Let It Be" 20 years ago. Instead the new No 1 comes from Elton John who finally gets his first solo chart topper after 53 chart entries, he was of course at the top 14 years ago in duet with Kiki Dee on “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” but his previous solo best was 1972’s “Rocket Man” which stopped at No 2 behind T Rex’s “Metal Guru”. It’s ascendency to the top marks the 7th year on the trot that a charity record has made the top but for Elton it must be a sweet feeling to finally get the chart accolade that has always previously escaped him, no act has had as many chart hits before getting a solo chart topper. Proceeds to Terence Higgins Trust so it’s a good day for the charity too! Its coronation comes with 74,205 sales. More World Cup shenanigans at No 3 this week where Luciano Pavarotti’s version of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” (trans: None shall sleep”) which comes from the opera “Turandot” and was performed by Pavarotti on the opening night of the World Cup at the “Three Tenors” concert. The version used by the BBC on its coverage of the tournament is actually Pavarotti’s 1972 recording but it can also be found on his “Essential Pavarotti” album which rockets 8-1 on the album charts this week thanks to the exposure. Indeed that may be the problem, the single springs 21-3 (54,111) but it seems more people are investing in the album but we’ll see over the next few weeks. Snap! are back with their second single “Ooops Up” which doesn’t look like repeating the success of their debut “The Power” in topping the charts, the latter hit moved 12-1 in its first fortnight whilst this song can “merely” jumps 13-6 (34,850). In part that might be to do with the fact that their album “World Power” is now released though in its first 5 weeks it has only made No 39 though it does rally 54-43 this week in sympathy. That’s it for new songs in the top 10 which means that Roxette can advance 6-4 (49,232) and Wilson Phillips also rise but only 10-8 (29,685), it’s down for Chad Jackson 3-7 (30,617), Betty Boo 7-9 (27,319) and The Charlatans 9-10 (25,704) despite their best week at retail. The new Jason Donovan single arrives next week, his last 6 have all debuted in the top 10, can he recover lost ground from the No 8 peaking “Hang On To Your Love”? 1- SACRIFICE/ HEALING HANDS- Elton John (74,205) 2- WORLD IN MOTION- Englandneworder (65,773) 3- NESSUN DORMA- Luciano Pavarotti (54,111) 4- IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE- Roxette (49,232) 5- STEP BY STEP- New Kids On The Block (45,135) 6- OOOPS UP- Snap! (34,850) 7- HEAR THE DRUMMER (GET WICKED)- Chad Jackson (30,617) 8- HOLD ON- Wilson Phillips (29,665) 9- DOIN THE DO- Betty Boo (27,319) 10- THE ONLY ONE I KNOW- The Charlatans (25,704)

16TH JUNE It started off brightly for New Kids On The Block who were on course for a sensational No 1 debut but it proved to not quite have the legs, for this week at least, allowing “World In Motion” to fly past it at the weekend and retain a second week at the top of the charts on a sale of 78,149, another 17% increase week on week. It was of course helped by the considerable media coverage and hype of the tournament itself which commenced on Saturday with a 1-0 victory to Cameroon, odd to think that a football match in Italy would decide the fate of the UK No 1 single but there you go. Onto that new entry by the biggest Boyband in the land then, “Step By Step” is penned by their manager Maurice Starr for another one of his projects, The Superiors, who released it in 1987 as a single without success, it’s also already rapidly rising up the charts in the US whilst here it wastes no time smashing straight in at No 2 after selling 52,360 copies in its first 6 days, a best start for them both position wise and sales wise. UK fans have just a fortnight to wait for the album of the same name which is, again, widely tipped to arrive at the top spot, as for the single, well it must be a hot favourite to become the next chart topper next week and their third No 1. Can a football competition remain in its way? Here’s an unusual tale, a new Elton John album is hardly the news it once was and last year’s “Sleeping With The Past” made No 6 spending a mere 9 weeks on the chart. The two singles pulled from it “Sacrifice” and “Healing Hands” peaked at No’s 55 & 45 respectively and that appeared to be the end of the era, but now the songs have been put together as a double A-Side with the proceeds going to charity in part due to Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright who picked the song up and started playing it regularly on his show and partly due to the single becoming a top 30 US hit earlier in the year. It’s now back in demand as it scorches 26-5 (30,668) to become his biggest hit since the live version of “Candle In The Wind” two years ago. The album incidentally re-enters at No 64 but is now in short supply as it’s getting a full re-issue in a few weeks. Number one at present in the Cinema’s “Pretty Woman” is a film which is already spawning the hit singles, David Bowie’s “Fame 90” made No 28 back in April, Natalie Cole’s “Wild Woman Do” peaked at No 16 in May and now Roxette have a hit on their hands with “It Must Have Been Love” as it charges 21-6 (30,498). The band broke through last year with “The Look” which peaked at No 7 but follow up singles “Dressed For Success” and “Listen To Your Heart” failed to dent the top 40 so this is something of a return for the Swedish duo. The song actually dates back to 1987 when it was issued in Sweden with the suffix “Christmas For The Broken Hearted” becoming a top 10 single, a slight tweak to the lyrics and an updated production and it’s finally an international hit topping the US charts this week. The song that Roxette have just deposed Stateside also arrives in nice unison to the UK top 10 this week as well, Wilson Phillip’s “Hold On”. The trio are all daughters of rather famous parents, namely Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and John & Michelle Phillips of the Mamma’s & The Papa’s, the debut single flies 23-10 (19,873) as it gets leapfrogged by Roxette but expect both singles to be battling it out for honours higher up the charts in the next few weeks. Chad Jackson holds at No 3 this week but does post an increase of 12% to 43,231 as Adamski starts to find the going tough with “Killer” dropping 2-4 (32,419). Betty Boo nudges 8-7 (27,268) and The Charlatans inch 10-9 (22,916) but it’s over for Don Pablo’s Animals who slide 4-8 (27,013). 1- WORLD IN MOTION- EnglandNeworder (77,149) 2- STEP BY STEP- New Kids On The Block (52,360) 3- HEAR THE DRUMMER (GET WICKED)- Chad Jackson (43,231) 4- KILLER- Adamski (32,419) 5- SACRIFICE/ HEALING HANDS- Elton John (30,668) 6- IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE- Roxette (30,498) 7- DOIN THE DO- Betty Boo (27,268) 8- VENUS- Don Pablo’s Animals (27,013) 9- THE ONLY ONE I KNOW- The Charlatans (22,916) 10- HOLD ON- Wilson Phillips (19,873)

9TH JUNE It’s taken 20 years for them to climb back to the top but the England World Cup Squad are sitting at the top of the pile of this week with a considerable helping hand from New Order, “World In Motion” seems to auger well for the forthcoming World cup and England’s chances surging 2-1 after almost doubling its sales to 67,371. It was never in danger from Adamski whose “Killer” graciously descends 1-2 (50,116) and brings the tracks total to an impressive 403,767 copies and should clear the 500k mark with some ease when all is done. Hailing from St Helens, Mark Chadwick is better known as Chad Jackson and the Manchester based DJ is responsible for the song that charges 12-3 (39,117) this week. Jackson won the 1987 Disco Mix Club World Championship and launched his career earlier this year with “Freedom To Party” which flopped, his second single “Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked)” is proving much more successful, it’s largely based on a sample of “900 Number” by 45 King which also serves as the theme to Radio 1’s dance show “Big Beat” so should be familiar to the station’s regulars. Rumour is that Jackson presented this to 45 King as a remix of their track but the outfit turned it down suggesting he release himself as a track- et voila! You might not know the name Alison Clarkson but you may be familiar her alias Betty Boo as the singer on The Beatmasters No 7 hit “Hey DJ” last summer. Clarkson was formally a member of the She Rockers who managed to work with Public Enemy but failed to yield any top 75 singles before she left last year to guest on “DJ” and go solo. She’s back and she’s gone solo with her new single “Doin’ The Do” which samples Reparata and the Delron’s “Captain Of Your Ship”, a No 13 hit in 1968, it wastes little time moving 15-8 (21,930). You’d be forgiven for thinking that The Charlatans are the newest Madchester band on the scene but only the lead singer actually comes from Manchester. Their debut single “Indian Rope” was a hit on the Indie charts as it was issued on their own label Dead Dead Good records, but they’ve been snapped up by Beggars Banquet and “The One And Only”, which borrows some lines from the Byrds “Everybody’s Been Burned” coupled with a dash of Deep Purple’s guitar riff laden “Hush”, expands 24-10 (19,227) in its second week to show real intent on becoming a massive hit. An album will follow in the autumn! Don Pablo’s Animals “Venus” rises 7-4 (28,985) but will have trouble continuing to climb given how far it is behind the top 3, everything else is on the slide, The Adventures Of Stevie V fall 4-5 (22,831), Kylie ebbs 3-6 (22,831), En Vogue are out of fashion 5-7 (22,644) and The Chimes are lost 6-9 (20,451) as the summer sales slump really kicks in! That should be good news for the next New Kids On The Block single- expect a very high debut! Finally it's worth noting that in the last 97 chart weeks (back to 6/8/88) a record by S/A/W or PWL has been in the top 10 for 81 weeks- a dominance never before seen in the charts by a production team. 1- WORLD IN MOTION- Englandneworder (67,371) 2- KILLER- Adamski (50,116) 3- HEAR THE DRUMMER (GET WICKED)- Chad Jackson (39,117) 4- VENUS- Don Pablo’s Animals (28,985) 5- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (22,831) 6- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (22,831) 7- HOLD ON- En Vogue (22,644) 8- DOIN THE DO- Betty Boo (21,930) 9- I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR- The Chimes (20,451) 10- THE ONLY ONE I KNOW- The Charlatans (19,227)

2ND JUNE He thought it was all over, and it will probably be next week but Adamski was out in front from the off with “Killer” claiming a fourth week at the top. It sold just 60,860, a 17% decrease though it is still clear of the field and built up a decent lead though it was outpaced on Saturday by this week’s highest new entry which arrives at No 2 Starting out life as the theme to BBC 2’s “Reportage” TV series for which New Order wrote the track, they’ve gotten TV actor Keith Allen to write some lyrics for the track and a rap and come up with “World In Motion” which will serve as this year’s anthem to send the England World Cup Squad off to Italy with. The competition starts on June 8th so expect this track to be round until at least the team leaves the competition, it isn’t of course the highest placed England Football track, back in 1970 “Back Home” topped the charts and in 1982 “This Time” made No 2, but this track has attracted praise which exceeds the normal reception of a football related track with even John Barnes receiving the thumbs up for his rap. For New Order it becomes instantly their highest peaking chart hit topping the No 3 peak of 1988’s re-issued “Blue Monday”, though the track has had its lyrics re-written as the Football Association rejected the first version called “E is For England” as it was a bit too easy to misinterpret- ahem! The track got stronger through the week ending up with 37,553 copies and eyeing up No 1 next week…… “Venus” is a song which has already been a top 10 single for Shocking Blue and Bananarama reaching No 8 for both acts, now we have a new Italo house act Don Pablo’s Animals doing their version of the track. It rockets 12-7 (26,673) to give the song a new peak position, well kind of, it was featured on the Starsound medley “Stars On 45” and therefore did reach No 2 depending on how you view its inclusion. Michael Bolton is back and this time he’s helped by Desmond Child and Diane Warren on “How Can We Be Lovers” his second release from “Soul Provider”. During the album’s 12 week chart life it debuted at No 8 before dropping almost out of the top 40 but has been having a revival over the last 5 weeks climbing every week and now repeaks at it rises 9-7. The single can only hobble 11-10 (16,065) to sneak into the big 10 having already made US No 3 last month. The arrival of EnglandNewOrder means bad news for Kylie who slips 2-3 (30,804) and for Adventures Of Stevie V who similarly slip a place 3-4 (28,917). En Vogue hold at No 5 (28,662) but lose sales as their album debuts at No 32 this week, and the Chimes are also holding at No 6 (27,081) and can’t outstrip the peak of the original. New Kids On The Block drop 4-8 (20,179) but they have a new single out in a fortnight so don’t lament too much, and Madonna drops 8-9 (16,541) as “I’m Breathless” debuts at No 2 behind Soul II Soul, but she is No 1 Stateside. 1- KILLER- Adamski (60,860) 2- WORLD IN MOTION- Englandneworder (37,553) 3- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (30,804) 4- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (28,917) 5- HOLD ON- En Vogue (28,662) 6- I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR- The Chimes (27,081) 7- VENUS- Don Pablo’s Animals (26,673) 8- COVER GIRL- New Kids On The Block (20,179) 9- VOGUE- Madonna (16,541) 10- HOW CAN WE BE LOVERS- Michael Bolton (16,065)

I suppose we can at least say then she is the first indisputably to do so lol

26TH MAY “Killer” looks to be slowing but its commanding lead at the top last week means that even that can’t prevent it securing a third week at the top with a further 73,882 copies finding buyers, that brings its cumulative total to 292,791 easing itself into the top 10 YTD. Kylie does close the gap nominally as she suffered a smaller decrease of 3% to 40,783 And yet there isn’t much else around to challenge “Killer” either, The Adventures of Stevie V hold at No 3 on just 37,043 and the New Kids On The Block complete a static Top 4 on a mere 30,294 but you'll note the entire top 4 are in decline saleswise, En Vogue offer a ray of hope climbing 7-5 (27,047) but it’s a small one. Things look brighter at No 6 with a ten place climb for Scots band The Chimes. They’ve done an updated version of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” which made No 6, let’s hope the curse of that position can be broken by this version. Both their previous singles failed to dent the top 50 so it’s a marked upturn in their chart fortunes, this single shifted 26,418 copies last week. Getting their second top 10 single in a row Mantronix call upon Wondress again and “Take Your Time” has moved 19-11-10 (16,592) to nudge into the big ten. Beats International inch 10-9 (20,043) with a slight sales increase, and just above them are two fallers, Paula Abdul slips 5-7 (22,338) and Madonna slips 6-8 (21,199) but she’ll be focusing on her new album “I’m Breathless” which is in stores now. 1- KILLER- Adamski (73,882) 2- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (40,783) 3- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (37,043) 4- COVER GIRL- New Kids On The Block (30,294) 5- HOLD ON- En Vogue (27,047) 6- I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR- The Chimes (26,416) 7- OPPOSITES ATTRACT- Paula Abdul duet with Wild Pair (22,338) 8- VOGUE- Madonna (21,199) 9- WON’T TALK ABOUT IT- Beats International Ft Lindy Layton (20,043) 10- TAKE YOUR TIME- Mantronix (16,592)

I believe it is a record- can't think of another act (to this point) that had their first 10 singles go top 5.

"Made In Heaven" even with its shoestring budget video. NTL was the first Kylie Single that I wasn't mad about when it came out. I don't hate it but it just never connected in the same way.

It's 80s sales were 723k based on the Gallup multiplier of the time (that includes sales from the rest of the 80s). Those 2021 "revisions" are a hot mess😄

19TH MAY “Killer” finished off the competition easily this week extending its sales to an impressive 82,297 copies to now hold a commanding lead at the top of the charts, Kylie Minogue does zoom 5-2 but only managed to increase her sales by 30% to 42.891 with the possibility of a fifth chart topper in “Better The Devil You Know” a distant prospect. Indeed she only just managed to squeeze past Adventures of Stevie V (40,953) at the death so should consider herself lucky lucky lucky (pun intended). En Vogue are the latest US female vocal group to be garnering attention and praise on both sides of the Atlantic, their debut single “Hold On” finds itself powering 14-7 (21,709) to get them off to a perfect start. If you’re wondering what song they sing at the start of the track then it’s called “Who’s Lovin You” by the Miracles. Beats International are back with Lindy Layton again providing vocals to score a second top 10 hit with “Won’t Talk About It” climbing 18-10 (17,561), the album is back in the top 40 but is no-where near bettering the No 17 position it reached on debut. This song was written by Billy Bragg for his 1984 album “Brewing Up With” but didn’t make the cut though it should be noted much of the verses on this version are written by Norman Cook, it’s the second top 10 Bragg has written coming 5 years after Kirsty MacColl’s “A New England”. It was first released by former Housemartin Norman Cook last summer but featured the vocals of Bragg himself when it made No 29 so is doing substantially better this time around New Kids On The Block rise 8-4 (34,663) to score their 4th top 5 single in 6 months and still seem unstoppable, their new album will be arriving in a few months and another NKOTB single is pencilled in for next month, they’re making money whilst the sun shines for sure. Paula Abdul falls 3-5 (32,827) directly above the song that held it off the top, Madonna’s “Vogue” which is also down 4-6 (25,738) but is now her 8th chart topper in the US as well as approaching the 350,000 mark. Another one of “Vogue”’s victims Alannah Myles drops 7-8 (19,550) and Soul II Soul slide 6—9 (19,499) and must be considered a disappointment given their recent chart form. 1- KILLER- Adamski (82,297) 2- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (42,891) 3- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (40,953) 4- COVER GIRL- New Kids On The Block (34,663) 5- OPPOSITES ATTRACT- Paula Abdul duet with the Wild Pair (32,827) 6- VOGUE- Madonna (25,738) 7- HOLD ON- En Vogue (21,709) 8- BLACK VELVET- Alannah Myles (19,550) 9- A DREAM’S A DREAM- Soul II Soul (19,499) 10- WON’T TALK ABOUT IT- Beats International Ft Lindy Layton (17,561)

Yeah they didn't stick around back then for sure! Even then Wham! and Frankie's "The Power Of Love" (which also spent 5 weeks in the top 10 post No 1) had the festive period to buoy them up artificially. Other than that you'd be back in the times of "Relax" which of course took two stints in the top 10 so did accumulate more than 5 weeks post summit.

14TH MARCH Still selling in prodigious quantities each week there was always a chance, given the right circumstances, that Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” would reap the rewards of the top spot again given the ongoing success of the Titanic film. Circumstances happened this week, Madonna suffers a 54% decrease in sales to 91,000 and slumps 1-3 in part due to the arrival of her album “Ray Of Light” at No 1, that created a vacuum at the top which was filled by Dion as she rebounds 2-1 (112,000) a mere 20% slip week on week. Dion’s track is the 6th single to return to the top in the same run in the 90s, an usual feat until the last few years, it also turns platinum in celebration with a new tally of 663,000. She doesn’t have it all her own way though with the song toppled from the US No 1 spot by Will Smith, and it becomes the first chart topper since Puff Daddy last summer to be No 1 yet top none of the individual format charts with Madonna triumphing on 12", CD, and Cassingle and Cornershop the top selling 7". For the first time in 10 years the entire top 3 consist of female soloists with Natalie Imbruglia joining Dion and Madonna there. Her new single “Big Mistake” avoids the controversy over writing credits that “Torn” generated by being co-written by the woman herself and arrives at No 2 (96,000), it’s another cut from “Left Of The Middle” which has done almost 400,000 so far. Proving they were no one hit wonders Five are back with a second single hot on the heels of the No 10 smash “Slam Dunk (Da Funk)” in December. Former Dead Or Alive member Mike Percy co-writes this one (he’s already written top ten singles for Kenny Thomas and 911 this decade) and “When The Lights Go Out” easily tops of the achievement of Five’s first single by debuting at No 4 (65,000). An album is promised in the summer. “Casualty” has been on our screens for 12 years now and whilst many have gone on to be well known faces on the TV few have made the transition to chart stars but now the entire cast score a top 10 single. The recent storyline which resulted in the marriage of characters Charlie & Baz resulted in some of the cast performing this single at the reception spearheaded by Amy Howard (played by Rebecca Wheatley) on main vocals. They pile in at No 5 (57,000). Bereft of new entries in the lower half, tracks just re-arrange themselves, Cornershop drop 3-6 (54,000), Space & Cerys Matthews fall 4-7 (49,000), Savage Garden ebb 5-8 (44,000) as their album berths at No 14, LeAnn Rimes relents 7-9 (38,000) and Aqua hang in there 6-10 (36,000). So this week sees the release of the Spice Girls 7th single- could their lucky streak continue? 1- MY HEART WILL GO ON- Celine Dion (112,000) 2- BIG MISTAKE- Natalie Imbruglia (96,000) 3- FROZEN- Madonna (91,000) 4- WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT- Five (65,000) 5- EVERLASTING LOVE- Cast From “Casualty” (57,000) 6- BRIMFUL OF ASHA- Cornershop (54,000) 7- THE BALLAD OF TOM JONES- Space With Cerys Matthews (49,000) 8- TRULY MADLY DEPLY- Savage Garden (44,000) 9- HOW DO I LIVE?- Le Ann Rimes (38,000) 10- DOCTOR JONES- Aqua (36,000) http://i.imgur.com/Dt2ir56.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/yopOOH2.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/qyAYAVq.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/HJ6LnBe.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/LSn9znJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pxrEIUt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ZHK0Cbk.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/L9eTpOT.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/o1FvFoH.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/vFykSSd.jpg

7TH MARCH Written off for much of the decade as an artist whose creativity had peaked and was set for a slow gradual fade in pop history as a chart force, Madonna once again proves that you can never quite write her off. Heralding her first studio album in four years new single “Frozen” this week becomes her first instant No 1 selling a mighty 196,604 to prove the point helped by a memorable National Lottery show performance which garnered much attention. Where to start with the stats on Madonna is always a head scratcher but here goes, this is her 8th No 1 single drawing her level with Take That and Rolling Stones, and behind only Cliff, Elvis, The Beatles, and ABBA, the wait of 8 years since her last No 1 “Vogue” with new material is a longer wait than any act save Diana Ross, Queen, Cher, Don McLean, Frank Sinatra, Cliff, and The Bee Gees. It’s her 44th hit and 40th top 10 single more than double any other female soloist with only Elvis and Cliff ahead of her. The single naturally comes with another eye catching promo featuring Madonna shapeshifting and the song is produced by William Orbit (former member of “Fascinating Rhythm” hitmakers Bass-O-Matic) to give it its distinctive sound, you can get the album “Ray Of Light” this week if you like the sound of this. Interesting fact, no Madonna single has sold as much in one week as “Frozen” last week! The country is still “Titanic” crazy with the soundtrack still No 1 and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” still raking it in at No 2 (140,000)- it has sold a mighty 550,000 in 3 weeks and rockets to No 1 on the YTD chart in the process. With Catatonia’s “Mulder & Scully” still top 40, lead singer Cerys Matthews has gone AWOL to help out Space on their new single “Ballad Of Tom Jones”. The tale of warring lovers who come together through their love of the Welsh singer has found fans zooming straight in at No 4 (84,000) which makes it instantly the biggest hit of Space’s career. A massive US hit and finally arriving in the UK at No 7 (43,000) is LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live?”- it made No 2 stateside behind both Elton and Savage Garden spending a record 25 consecutive weeks in the top 5. The country song is written by Diane Warren expressly with Rimes in mind and for the film “Con Air” but once they heard 14yr old Rimes version the film studio said they would prefer an older singer to record the film version and country star Trisha Yearwood got the gig. Yearwood’s version made US #23 and UK #66 last year but Rimes gets the last laugh with the major hit. From 15yr old Rimes to 18 yr old Robin Carlsson who records under the name Robyn. Discovered via television in her native Sweden Robyn’s first album generated a couple of minor hits here but two top 10 hits in the US including “Show Me Love” which is new at No 8 (37,000) here this week. Long a star in his home country of Jamaica, Beenie Man is now a UK star with his song “Who Am I” crashing straight in at No 10 (32,000). It marks his debut with a major label (virgin) which gives the dancehall star an international platform. The song somewhat inexplicably turns into a cover, briefly, of Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much” half way through which at least makes it something unusual. Cornershop drop 1-3 (106,000) with Savage Garden off gently 4-5 (55,000). Aqua’s former chart topper falls 3-6 (47,000) and Another Level fall back 6-9 (35,000). 1- FROZEN- Madonna (196,604) 2- MY HEART WILL GO ON- Celine Dion (140,000) 3- BRIMFUL OF ASHA- Cornershop (106,000) 4- THE BALLAD OF TOM JONES- Space with Cerys Matthews (84,000) 5- TRULY MADLY DEEPLY- Savage Garden (55,000) 6- DOCTOR JONES- Aqua (47,000) 7- HOW DO I LIVE?- Le Ann Rimes (43,000) 8- SHOW ME LOVE- Robyn (37,000) 9- BE ALONE NO MORE- Another Level (35,000) 10- WHO AM I- Beenie Man (32,000)

12TH MAY Adamski is the nation’s new favourite act with “Killer” moving 4-1 (51,782). It easily fended off Adventures Of Stevie V who still threaten 5-2 (40,001) and manage to push Paula Abdul out of the way as she trips 2-3 (39,321), her album also re-peaks at No 3 which must have drained some sales away from the single. No similar excuse for Madonna as she hurtles 1-4 (35,649) but was unlucky to fall so far given the similar sales tallies. Below Madonna is the heir apparent (at present) to her title, Kylie Minogue. Her 10th single also becomes her 10th top 5 hit as it crashes into the charts at No 5 (33,388), it again comes from the pens of S/A/W who seem to be losing their touch with their other acts allowing Minogue to claim back the honour as their biggest act with the recent downturn in the fate of Donovan. The track is allegedly written about her relationship with Michael Hutchence which has attracted considerable press attention over the course of this year and has garnered more than usual praise from the critics who are liking the more sophisticated angle to her music, not to mention it comes with a racier than normal promo from the Ex-Neighbours star. This is her 6th hit to debut inside the top 5 but the previous 5 all debuted at No 2 so this is the first not to! For S/A/W and PWL this is their 63rd top 10 single and the 101st S/A/W produced single to be released apparently. Further down are current chart favourites New Kids On The Block who score a third top 10 single of 1990 and a fourth on the trot with “Cover Girl” which arrives at No 8 (24,871). The UK is still playing catch up with their native US where this song peaked at No 2 last November (albeit in a remixed version whereas we get the album version), the album “Hangin Tough” continues to sell well shifting 21-12 this week having already sold over 300.000. Soul II Soul appear to be floundering with their new single only climbing 8-6 (26,571) but that’s better than Alannah Myles who slides 3-7 (25,483), also going the wrong way are UB40 6-9 (20,111) and Snap! 7-10 (17,595). "The Power" has now spent five weeks in the top 10 post topping the charts, the first track to spend so long past its No 1 peak since Wham!'s "I'm Your Man" in 1985. 1- KILLER- Adamski (51,782) 2- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (40,001) 3- OPPOSITES ATTRACT- Paula Abdul Duet with Wild Pair (39,321) 4- VOGUE- Madonna (35,649) 5- BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW- Kylie Minogue (33,388) 6- A DREAM’S A DREAM- Soul II Soul (26,571) 7- BLACK VELVET- Alannah Myles (25,483) 8- COVER GIRL- New Kids On The Block (24,871) 9- KINGSTON TOWN- UB40 (20,111) 10- THE POWER- Snap! (17,595)

5TH MAY Well “Vogue” spends a month at the top equalling her personal best she achieved with “Into The Groove”, the track sold 51,680 copies putting in a very consistent performance, it was always out in front but whether it can become her first chart topper to last 5 weeks looks doubtful though. In part that’s because of Paula Abdul who climbs 3-2 selling 44,863 into the bargain which coupled with Madonna’s dropping sales could point to the end of her reign, Abdul could be curtailed by the new expanded version of her album “Forever Your Girl” getting a re-release which will include this hit. Incidentally “Vogue” has sold 255,153 copies during its 4 week tenure at the top, compare that to the 448,069 that “Into The Groove” did and you get an idea of the different market we’re in five years later. If not Abdul then one of the new entries to the big 10 could be worth a punt, “Dirty Cash” which has been doing well on 12” inch since its limited release back in December and had got as high as No 93 in February before being deleted and primed for a full release a few weeks ago. It’s since moved 28-11-5 securing sales of 33,779 in the process last week- it could go much higher! Another of 1989’s favourite acts returns this week and it’s the group that perhaps identified the “sound” of summer of 1989, Soul II Soul. It’s time for that second album and here’s the lead single “A Dreams A Dream” which features the vocals of Victoria Wilson James and precedes “Volume II” which is out in 3 weeks and will go head to head with the new Madonna album “I’m Breathless”. The single debuts at No 8 (26,214) and with the last 3 Soul II Soul singles all going top 5 this should see a nice rise next week. Alannah Myles’ challenge to the top spot is over as she trips 2-3 (43,486) as it duelled with Paula Abdul all week for the runner up spot, Adamski lifts 7-4 (38,760), below him and falling are UB40 5-6 (28,475), Snap! 4-7 (26,741) and Heart 8-9 (23,800) with Family Stand maintaining the anchor position with 21,080 sales. You may recall a few weeks ago I mentioned that the amount of eligible formats for the chart dropped from 5 to 4, well it has also seemingly contributed to the decline of the 7" single, most record labels are opting to go with a 7", 12" cassette, and CD version abandoning the practice of gatefold sleeve and multiple covers of 7" singles which were common up to that point. Sales of the format now account for 44% of the market with 12" sales still expanding to 38%. Next week old adversaries New Kids On The Block and Kylie Minogue go head to head with new singles- who’ll make the bigger splash? 1- VOGUE- Madonna (51,680) 2- OPPOSITES ATTRACT- Paula Abdul Duet with the Wild Pair (44,863) 3- BLACK VELVET- Alannah Myles (43,486) 4- KILLER- Adamski (38,760) 5- DIRTY CASH- Adventures Of Stevie V (33,779) 6- KINGSTON TOWN- UB40 (28,475) 7- THE POWER- Snap! (26,741) 8- A DREAM’S A DREAM- Soul II Soul (26,214) 9- ALL I WANNA DO IS MAKE LOVE TO YOU- Heart (23,800) 10- GHETTO HEAVEN- Family Stand (21,080)