Popchartfreak

round 1: 39 round 2: 36 David Gray 3 in 10: Tainted Love, Torch, Say Hello Wave Goodbye

Rihanna's is one of her best, still sounds great play loud. Cheeky Girls, err, yes well, pass.

2 Unlimited put a string of goodies together before they started to sound a bit samey, and Wet Wet Wet's much better than the last chart-topper, it's a nice ballad - though I don't love it as much as I did at the time, unlike Wishing I Was Lucky, still sounds fresh that one.

Hey James! 🙂 Phew! I thought I'd missed a week somehow! Sunday is my chart day too, always has been, its just easier on a weekend - in theory! In practice I'm always late! 😄 The Jade/Ophelia double-top not going anywhere just yet! Church looking poised to keep it going too! Still growing on me that one! So is Opalite so nice to see that rebound top 10. Eat Me Alive and Holiday Road still upwards, and Turn The Lights Off is a newie that will grow I expect for me too. Good to see XMAS still climbing (snap!) I hope that pops back in the charts next christmas, and Supernature as a new entry, big fave and former BJSC entry for me there in Cerrone's original version. great charts! 😎

2nd February 1976 It's 5 weeks on top for ABBA as they line-up to knock them off, and all fall short, this week it's the turn of Answer Me at 2, Barbara Dickson's first and biggest in my charts, still sweetly melodic and holding off Amen Corner at 3, and The Miracles at 4. The highest new entry is a severely back-on-form Four Seasons, all modern-sounding on the retro referring December '63, for those who loved Frankie & the gang first time round, at 11 and hot on the heels of Who Loves You. In at 19, it's another kiddie fave, the Junior's Choice regular for 2 decades on radio, and the very amusing Hello Muddah Hello Faddah, comedian Allan Sherman's 1963 (appropriately) comedy story-song from the point of view of a letter written by a kid sent off to summer camp in the USA, and set to the tune of Dance Of The Hours, from the Ponchielli opera La Gioconda. It's still loveable, and I've never got to the stage where it annoys me from overplay. Loved it aged 6, loved it ever since. The comedy record is a lost artform. Lower down, Dooley Silverspoon enters at 36 with disco number Let Me Be The Number One, one it's fair to say hasn't troubled radio since 1976 unfortunately, as it was quite pleasant. At 38, another early 60's kiddie fave oldie from the great Henry Mancini, he could knock off a tune when he felt like it, not least nearly topping my charts with Moon River as covered by Greyhound in 1972. This time it's his famous theme tune to the film and TV cartoon show The Pink Panther: Peter Sellers as his famous Inspector Clouseau, and the title sequence panther-wot-is-pink animation that led to the TV series of the same. Unique in being silent, pretty much, just the theme music and sound effects. Finally Cliff Richard is back after his very first UK chart-flop year, not a single hit, criminally, because his future-cool-synth-pop sound with Alan Tarney (It's Only Me You've Left Behind) should have been big, and wasn't, and he undermined the Country song Honky Tonk Angel himself when he was informed the song was about ladies of the evening. Miss You Nights is on another scale, though - it's a tender, tasteful ballad, with multi-track harmonies and vocals, and his classiest record since....err The Next Time in 1962. In other words, quite probably his best record to date, even though it wasn't necessarily obvious at the time, being so under-stated and all. There are Cliff songs I'm more fond of - The Day I Met Marie, Summer Holiday, f'rinstance - but this is a goodie. I wonder if he'll keep up the quality with the next track off I'm Nearly Famous...? 1 ( 1 ) MAMMA MIA ABBA 2 ( 5 ) ANSWER ME Barbara Dickson 3 ( 6 ) (IF PARADISE WAS) HALF AS NICE Amen Corner 4 ( 9 ) LOVE MACHINE The Miracles 5 ( 3 ) ON HORSEBACK Mike Oldfield 6 ( 2 ) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen 7 ( 4 ) EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra 8 ( 10 ) SUNSHINE DAY Osibisa 9 ( 11 ) BABY FACE Wing & A Prayer, Fife & Drum Corps 10 ( 7 ) LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull 11 ( NEW ) DECEMBER ’63 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) The Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli 12 ( 12 ) MIDNIGHT RIDER Paul Davidson 13 ( 20 ) WALK AWAY FROM LOVE David Ruffin 14 ( 8 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko and The Harlem Community Choir 15 ( 30 ) LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY Donna Summer 16 ( 18 ) FOREVER AND EVER Slik 17 ( 24 ) JUST ONE LOOK Faith, Hope & Charity 18 ( 32 ) ONCE A FOOL Kiki Dee 19 ( NEW ) HELLO MUDDAH HELLO FADDAH Allan Sherman 20 ( 26 ) THE LIES IN YOUR EYES The Sweet 21 ( 14 ) HOW HIGH THE MOON Gloria Gaynor 22 ( 34 ) DEEP PURPLE Donny & Marie Osmond 23 ( 29 ) THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU The Captain & Tenille 24 ( 25 ) 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER Paul Simon 25 ( 15 ) GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE Sailor 26 ( 16 ) ART FOR ART’S SAKE 10CC 27 ( 13 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake 28 ( 17 ) GOLDEN YEARS David Bowie 29 ( 22 ) BOTH ENDS BURNING Roxy Music 30 ( 50 ) NO REGRETS The Walker Brothers 31 ( 21 ) ITCHYCOO PARK The Small Faces 32 ( 23 ) IN DULCE JUBILO Mike Oldfield 33 ( 47 ) LOW RIDER War 34 ( 27 ) GET IT TOGETHER Crispy & Company 35 ( 19 ) DO THE BUS STOP The Fatback Band 36 ( NEW ) LET ME BE THE NUMBER ONE Dooley Silverspoon 37 ( 28 ) COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) Glen Campbell 38 ( NEW ) THEME FROM THE PINK PANTHER Henry Mancini 39 ( 33 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Barry White 40 ( 31 ) THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO?) Diana Ross 41 ( RE ) LADY Supertramp 42 ( 43 ) SOMETHING’S BEEN MAKING ME BLUE Smokie 43 ( 45 ) JIMMY MACK Martha Reeves & The Vandellas 44 ( 37 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe 45 ( 38 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman 46 ( 39 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell 47 ( 35 ) VOLARE Rock Bottom 48 ( 36 ) VOLARE Al Martino 49 ( 42 ) LISTEN THE SNOW IS FALLING Yoko Ono 50 ( NEW ) MISS YOU NIGHTS Cliff Richard

well done on the 39 Jade 🤩 and I only just got Tender out in time Rollo, the Gladys Knight tracks were nearly there! round 1: 39 round 2: 39 3 in 10: Back To Life, Get A Life and then struggled to recall Keep On Movin' so just 2, tch. Yay, Mansfield Town and the accent of me relatives (and me, once upon a time)

Oh we are well into Cool Hip Swinging 60's London era now, as I move from suburban Chesham/Tube access to urban Liverpool Kirkdale/St James Park so it's a mix of vibes for me some are massive emotional call-backs, some are obscure. The Vince Hill track I though was obscure, but it's actually one I know well but didnt know I knew it! Awww I always liked Vince, and this one is old-fashioned but sweet. Dave Dee and co always big faves, but You Make It Move is another that is more familiar than I thought it would be, sort of pseudo-Hold Tight but weaker. Like it. Hello Dolly was always Louis Armstrong, or Barbra Streisand, in my memory, so The Bacholers must have come and gone with little hurrah, that said it does sound familiar. But not as good. The competing Michelle's I'm not so sure either of them punctured my awareness at the time as it was always Beatles to me - that said covering Beatles songs was a major thing on telly in those days as everyone rushed to get a hit cover when the albums dropped, so it's not so surprising. David & Jonathan (aka Rogers Cook & Greenaway aka major hit songwriters aka Blue Mink Mr Cook) is not as good as Overlanders, which apes The Beatles note for note but more shambolic. The Beatles would have been my fave record at the time, loved it. You Were On My Mind, didnt know it was an older song, but it was very much in the pop protest ballad vibe of 65/66, and a great record, one of my lesser faves at the time and still rate it. A Groovy Kind Of Love, though, big fave of mine in 1966 and part of that whole period nostalgia for me, always has been, and still the definitive version, what a classic, and what a pedigree bouncing from it, with 10CC, The Archies and Carole Bayer-Sager all having future hits and faves for me - Toni Wine is the female voice on Sugar Sugar. All 3 are happily all still with us.

The two Hurley tracks were pretty good, way better than his number one, and the added bonus of sniggering for poor Ce Ce if anyone pronounced her surname wrong. Kiss. Take a classic Argent song. Ruin it with bombast. Hey ho. Genesis, the video was much better than the record.

House Of Fun does what it says on the label, quirky, very British, and amusing. I doubt anyone but Madness could have made embarrassed laddiness so appealing, and fairground sounds to boot. 9/10. Torch has always been a Soft Cell chart-topping for me fave, sophisti-synth with a groove of 60's in it. 10/10. Temptation, yes New Order were at the bubbling under stage still, popping up with new stuff and finding their feet 7/10 though I havent heard this in years. Fireworks not quite top notch Siouxsie but good, 8/10, The Back Of Love ditto really but with a promise of better things ahead 8/10. Cantonese Boy I liked the sounds but not so taken with the song 7/10. Toyah's Brave New World wasn't quite as catchy as usual but not bad, no-one else sounded like Toyah and she always had her own style! 7/10. The Telephone Always Rings not amongst their great tracks, but it was interesting enough 6/10. Pinky Blue bit of a more of the same single, but it's a pleasant format 7/10. Goody Two Shoes a rip at the media looking for dirt and another good video - but really there was no need to retire the Ants brand it just looked more like an ego thing when it was more Marco getting fed up with the lifestyle 9/10. Paperlate was the Genesis lead track and it was so forgettable I'd forgotten about it - funny how it never turns up on pop quizzes yet Invisible Touch is on every week to continue taunting me of my Quiz shame. 7/10. Kid Creole was fun and 40's bandleader referencing in style, plus Caribbean/salsa roots, Wonderful Thing was a goodie 8/10. Charlene has mystified me for over 40 years. A minor 1978 bland US ballad suddenly hits the top in the UK 4 years later, old-fashioned and annoying and remains that way for me. 4/10. And for heavens sake it's on Motown!! What on Earth....! UB40 is treading water on Love Is All Is Alright, must do better. "See me" would be on their exercise book. 5/10.

26th January 1976 It's a 4th week on top for ABBA as Mike Oldfield shoots up to 3 with On Horseback, his third top 3 and 4th top 10, and just ahead of Barbara Dickson getting her first top10 with Answer Me, but not her last. The Miracles have been there before with Smokey Robinson, but now they do it on their todd, Love Machine just ahead of Osibisa's Sunshine Day. The highest new entry at 18 features a young Scottish singer named Midge Ure on a wannabe Bay City Rollers-styled sound, except a bit darker. Forever And Ever will top the UK charts as a song title twice in 1976, but only once in my charts. Not this one, though, Midge has great things ahead in the band after next. Crispy and Company debut Get It Together with a funky workout that I got in a bargain bin, and then never heard it again outside my record collection I think. New at 27, while Kiki Dee makes it a 4th year in sucession to feature a Kiki Dee track, as Once A Fool opens at 32 - not a hit, and not played on radio since 1976, mostly cos it's laid-back and pleasant but not especially memorable. Smokie, no longer Smokey due to threat of court action from Mr. Robinson, return on a third hit Something's Been Making Me Blue, a lesser UK hit but better than the previous two to me, in at 43. Jimmy Mack is a 60's Motown classic that had two minor UK chart runs, but I missed both of 'em despite knowing the song quite well, so it finally charts at 45 thirs time lucky for Martha & The Vandellas, with War's gruff Low Rider riding in at 47, funky in a low-key vibe, and at 50 The Walker Brothers have reunited for the first time 1967 or so, and return to the charts with the great No Regrets, Scott on lead getting his first since Lights Of Cincinatti in 1969, but I will shortly be buying a budget Best Of 1968 compilation album which sees me going mad on his Jackie (new to me, being banned at the time) and Dave Dee's Last Night In Soho. Midge Ure, meanwhile, probably shared Top Of The Pops with the 60's gems, as he will have a hit cover of it in 1982, his first solo hit. 1 ( 1 ) MAMMA MIA ABBA 2 ( 6 ) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen 3 ( 19 ) ON HORSEBACK Mike Oldfield 4 ( 3 ) EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra 5 ( 11 ) ANSWER ME Barbara Dickson 6 ( 10 ) (IF PARADISE WAS) HALF AS NICE Amen Corner 7 ( 2 ) LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull 8 ( 4 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko and The Harlem Community Choir 9 ( 12 ) LOVE MACHINE The Miracles 10 ( 16 ) SUNSHINE DAY Osibisa 11 ( 21 ) BABY FACE Wing & A Prayer, Fife & Drum Corps 12 ( 23 ) MIDNIGHT RIDER Paul Davidson 13 ( 7 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake 14 ( 5 ) HOW HIGH THE MOON Gloria Gaynor 15 ( 9 ) GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE Sailor 16 ( 8 ) ART FOR ART’S SAKE 10CC 17 ( 14 ) GOLDEN YEARS David Bowie 18 ( NEW ) FOREVER AND EVER Slik 19 ( 13 ) DO THE BUS STOP The Fatback Band 20 ( 28 ) WALK AWAY FROM LOVE David Ruffin 21 ( 17 ) ITCHYCOO PARK The Small Faces 22 ( 18 ) BOTH ENDS BURNING Roxy Music 23 ( 15 ) IN DULCE JUBILO Mike Oldfield 24 ( 30 ) JUST ONE LOOK Faith, Hope & Charity 25 ( 27 ) 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER Paul Simon 26 ( 26 ) THE LIES IN YOUR EYES The Sweet 27 ( NEW ) GET IT TOGETHER Crispy & Company 28 ( 22 ) COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) Glen Campbell 29 ( 20 ) THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU The Captain & Tenille 30 ( 39 ) LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY Donna Summer 31 ( 29 ) THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO?) Diana Ross 32 ( NEW ) ONCE A FOOL Kiki Dee 33 ( 43 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Barry White 34 ( 35 ) DEEP PURPLE Donny & Marie Osmond 35 ( 25 ) VOLARE Rock Bottom 36 ( 31 ) VOLARE Al Martino 37 ( 36 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe 38 ( 37 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman 39 ( 38 ) RHINESTONE COWBOY Glen Campbell 40 ( 24 ) WE DO IT R & J Stone 41 ( 32 ) ALL AROUND MY HAT Steeleye Span 42 ( 33 ) LISTEN THE SNOW IS FALLING Yoko Ono 43 ( NEW ) SOMETHING’S BEEN MAKING ME BLUE Smokie 44 ( 42 ) LITTLE DARLING The Rubettes 45 ( NEW ) JIMMY MACK Martha Reeves & The Vandellas 46 ( 50 ) OH MY MY Ringo Starr 47 ( NEW ) LOW RIDER War 48 ( 41 ) THE LUMBERJACK SONG Monty Python’s Flying Circus 49 ( 34 ) LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF A FOOL Roy Wood 50 ( NEW ) NO REGRETS The Walker Brothers

31st December 1995 It's back up to the top spot for another week on top for Earth Song, as few new releases, and not much chart movement means the final chart of the year waves bye bye modestly. Oh Father finally makes my top 10 at 10 6 years late - quite a few Madonna singles have peaked at 10 in the last year or two, suggesting I was a fan enough to want to rate them top 10, but most likely they aren't really quite good enough for that if it was anyone else! Skee-Lo's is a genuinely good pop track though, up to 9, and still endearingly catchy. Goldbug vamp up the old Led Zep song, as used on Top Of The Pops for years via C.C.S. and grab an entry at 22, it's rather good. Nick Heyward may have lost his UK chart slots, but he's always welcome in my charts with his melodic guitar pop (including in 2025), Rollerblade new at 30 14 years on from debuting Haircut 100. Jinny I recall not, but they are in with Wanna Be With You at 48 for some cheesy Eurodance-stylee, while down t'bottom end, Coolio is back low-key with Too Hot, a re-imagining of the Kool & The Gang 1981 hit that's pretty good, Billie Ray Martin post Electribe 101 continues to do OK on Imitation Of Life. 1 ( 2 ) EARTH SONG Michael Jackson 2 ( 1 ) FREE AS A BIRD The Beatles 3 ( 7 ) ONE BY ONE Cher 4 ( 3 ) MAKE ME SMILE (COME UP AND SEE ME) Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 5 ( 4 ) UP ON THE ROOF/ I BELIEVE Robson Jerome 6 ( 5 ) WONDERWALL Oasis 7 ( 6 ) THE UNIVERSAL Blur 8 ( 10 ) CHILD STAR Marc Almond 9 ( 15 ) I WISH Skee-Lo 10 ( 26 ) OH FATHER Madonna 11 ( 18 ) I DON’T WANNA BE A STAR Corona 12 ( 8 ) WONDERWALL The Mike Flowers Pops Orchestra 13 ( 19 ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE/ THROW YOUR HANDS UP LV 14 ( 9 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL (LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN) Mary J. Blige 15 ( 12 ) MISSING (TODD TERRY REMIX) Everything But The Girl 16 ( 11 ) PASS THE VIBES Definition Of Sound 17 ( 13 ) GOLD Prince 18 ( 14 ) DISCO 2000 Pulp 19 ( 25 ) JUST THE ONE The Levellers 20 ( 24 ) A WINTER’S TALE Queen 21 ( 21 ) JESUS TO A CHILD George Michael 22 ( NEW ) WHOLE LOTTA LOVE Goldbug 23 ( 20 ) ANYWHERE IS Enya 24 ( 59 ) NOT SO MANIC NOW Dubstar 25 ( 17 ) IT’S OH SO QUIET Bjork 26 ( 28 ) ONE SWEET DAY Mariah Carey & BoyzIIMen 27 ( 16 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 28 ( 22 ) PERFECT PJ & Duncan 29 ( 40 ) YOU’LL SEE Madonna 30 ( NEW ) ROLLERBLADE Nick Heyward 31 ( 31 ) LUCKY LOVE Ace Of Base 32 ( 37 ) REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME Simply Red 33 ( 30 ) WE’VE GOT TO WORK IT OUT Bel Canto 34 ( 34 ) BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE (REMIX) Janet Jackson & Luther vandross 35 ( 27 ) PRAYER FOR THE DYING/ DON’T CRY Seal 36 ( 23 ) SLEEPING IN Menswear 37 ( 32 ) HELLO HELLO (I’M BACK AGAIN) Gary Glitter 38 ( 35 ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE Coolio featuring LV 39 ( 38 ) ALRIGHT Cast 40 ( 43 ) FATHER AND SON Boyzone 41 ( 33 ) KELLY’S HEROES Black Grape 42 ( 29 ) HAD TO BE Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 43 ( 36 ) CRAZY HORSES (UTAH SAINTS REMIX) The Osmonds 44 ( 69 ) WHY YOU TREAT ME SO BAD Shaggy 45 ( 39 ) WHATEVER Oasis 46 ( 46 ) GOLDENEYE Tina Turner 47 ( 44 ) HE’S ON THE PHONE Saint Etienne 48 ( NEW ) WANNA BE WITH YOU Jinny 49 ( 42 ) WISHES OF HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY Sacred Spirit 50 ( 50 ) LIFTED The Lighthouse Family 51 ( 47 ) FANTASY Mariah Carey 52 ( 48 ) THEME FROM “PEOPLE’S CENTURY” Zbignieuw Preisner 53 ( 51 ) FAIRGROUND Simply Red 54 ( RE ) HEAVEN FOR EVERYONE Queen 55 ( 65 ) COME TOGETHER The Smokin’ Mojo Filters featuring Paul Weller 56 ( 56 ) LIFE Blair 57 ( 41 ) FINGERS AND THUMBS (COLD SUMMER’S DAY) Erasure 58 ( 58 ) WATERFALLS TLC 59 ( 54 ) UNTIL MY DYING DAY UB40 60 ( RE ) LUMP Presidents Of The United States Of America 61 ( RE ) ITCHYCOO PARK M People 62 ( 62 ) HAND IN MY POCKET Alanis Morissette 63 ( 45 ) SHE’S ALL ON MY MIND Wet Wet Wet 64 ( 64 ) DANCING QUEEN/EAGLE Abba 65 ( 53 ) MISS SARAJEVO The Passengers 66 ( 63 ) I FEEL LOVE ’95 Donna Summer 67 ( 70 ) I AM BLESSED Eternal 68 ( 68 ) YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING The Righteous Brothers 69 ( 52 ) MIGHT BE STARS The Wannadies 70 ( 61 ) STAYIN’ ALIVE N’Trance 71 ( 71 ) A CHANGE IS GONNA COME/A KIND OF CHRISTMAS CARD Morten Harket 72 ( NEW ) TOO HOT Coolio 73 ( 55 ) IF EYE LOVE U TONIGHT Mayte 74 ( NEW ) IMITATION OF LIFE Billie Ray Martin 75 ( 75 ) NO MORE ‘I LOVE YOU’S Annie Lennox playlist 1 HEY JUDE The Beatles 2 CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN Sound Of Music O.S. 3 REVOLUTION The Beatles Beatles Anthology on telly and The Sound Of Music obv topping my festive viewing. As it ever was, so is it in 2025/6.

24th December 1995 It's 2 weeks on top as The Beatles preside over the Christmas chart, with Steve Harley's 1975 classic back for another run, hitting 3 this time, and for the first time in decades 2 songs make my top 10 in 2 different versions: Wonderwall at 5 for Oasis, and Mike Flowers Pops at 8. I'm sure Noel & Liam loved the gag. Two versions of Gangsta's Paradise also join the club lower down. In a not-very-tinsel-ey chart Dubstar are new at 59 with the good Not So Manic Now, and a tad higher solo act Blair debuts Life, Jimmy Nail sneaks Love into the chart - John Lennon's song had already charted for me - Shaggy drops a lesser-known track at 69, and an actual new christmas track is in at 72 for charity purposes. It has no life beyond the New Year into 1996 anywhere that I'm aware of though. 1 ( 1 ) FREE AS A BIRD The Beatles 2 ( 2 ) EARTH SONG Michael Jackson 3 ( NEW ) MAKE ME SMILE (COME UP AND SEE ME) Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 4 ( 5 ) UP ON THE ROOF/ I BELIEVE Robson Jerome 5 ( 4 ) WONDERWALL Oasis 6 ( 3 ) THE UNIVERSAL Blur 7 ( 7 ) ONE BY ONE Cher 8 ( 20 ) WONDERWALL The Mike Flowers Pops Orchestra 9 ( 6 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL (LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN) Mary J. Blige 10 ( 10 ) CHILD STAR Marc Almond 11 ( 11 ) PASS THE VIBES Definition Of Sound 12 ( 12 ) MISSING (TODD TERRY REMIX) Everything But The Girl 13 ( 13 ) GOLD Prince 14 ( 9 ) DISCO 2000 Pulp 15 ( 19 ) I WISH Skee-Lo 16 ( 8 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 17 ( 14 ) IT’S OH SO QUIET Bjork 18 ( 25 ) I DON’T WANNA BE A STAR Corona 19 ( 50 ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE/ THROW YOUR HANDS UP LV 20 ( 18 ) ANYWHERE IS Enya 21 ( 23 ) JESUS TO A CHILD George Michael 22 ( 16 ) PERFECT PJ & Duncan 23 ( 36 ) SLEEPING IN Menswear 24 ( 56 ) A WINTER’S TALE Queen 25 ( 59 ) JUST THE ONE The Levellers 26 ( 33 ) OH FATHER Madonna 27 ( 27 ) PRAYER FOR THE DYING/ DON’T CRY Seal 28 ( 28 ) ONE SWEET DAY Mariah Carey & BoyzIIMen 29 ( 17 ) HAD TO BE Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 30 ( 15 ) WE’VE GOT TO WORK IT OUT Bel Canto 31 ( 21 ) LUCKY LOVE Ace Of Base 32 ( 32 ) HELLO HELLO (I’M BACK AGAIN) Gary Glitter 33 ( 24 ) KELLY’S HEROES Black Grape 34 ( 30 ) BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE (REMIX) Janet Jackson & Luther vandross 35 ( 35 ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE Coolio featuring LV 36 ( 22 ) CRAZY HORSES (UTAH SAINTS REMIX) The Osmonds 37 ( 39 ) REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME Simply Red 38 ( 29 ) ALRIGHT Cast 39 ( 37 ) WHATEVER Oasis 40 ( 53 ) YOU’LL SEE Madonna 41 ( 26 ) FINGERS AND THUMBS (COLD SUMMER’S DAY) Erasure 42 ( 31 ) WISHES OF HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY Sacred Spirit 43 ( 70 ) FATHER AND SON Boyzone 44 ( 44 ) HE’S ON THE PHONE Saint Etienne 45 ( 38 ) SHE’S ALL ON MY MIND Wet Wet Wet 46 ( 46 ) GOLDENEYE Tina Turner 47 ( 43 ) FANTASY Mariah Carey 48 ( 41 ) THEME FROM “PEOPLE’S CENTURY” Zbignieuw Preisner 49 ( 69 ) LOVE HANGOVER Pauline Henry 50 ( 34 ) LIFTED The Lighthouse Family 51 ( 51 ) FAIRGROUND Simply Red 52 ( 47 ) MIGHT BE STARS The Wannadies 53 ( 45 ) MISS SARAJEVO The Passengers 54 ( 48 ) UNTIL MY DYING DAY UB40 55 ( 49 ) IF EYE LOVE U TONIGHT Mayte 56 ( NEW ) LIFE Blair 57 ( 40 ) THE TUNE Suggs 58 ( 60 ) WATERFALLS TLC 59 ( NEW ) NOT SO MANIC NOW Dubstar 60 ( 42 ) SHOW ME HEAVEN Tina Arena 61 ( 57 ) STAYIN’ ALIVE N’Trance 62 ( 52 ) HAND IN MY POCKET Alanis Morissette 63 ( 63 ) I FEEL LOVE ’95 Donna Summer 64 ( 64 ) DANCING QUEEN/EAGLE Abba 65 ( 65 ) COME TOGETHER The Smokin’ Mojo Filters featuring Paul Weller 66 ( 62 ) WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDE Def Leppard 67 ( 61 ) I’D LIE FOR YOU (AND THAT’S THE TRUTH) Meat Loaf 68 ( 68 ) YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING The Righteous Brothers 69 ( NEW ) WHY YOU TREAT ME SO BAD Shaggy 70 ( RE ) I AM BLESSED Eternal 71 ( 71 ) A CHANGE IS GONNA COME/A KIND OF CHRISTMAS CARD Morten Harket 72 ( NEW ) THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS The Childliners 73 ( 72 ) WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue 74 ( NEW ) LOVE Jimmy Nail 75 ( 75 ) NO MORE ‘I LOVE YOU’S Annie Lennox playlist Madness, Suzi Quatro & Gary Glitter Live at the Bournemouth International Centre 1 Devil Gate Drive Suzi Quatro 2 If You Can’t Give Me Love Suzi Quatro 3 Stumblin’ In Suzi Quatro 4 It Must Be Love Madness 5 Wings Of A Dove Madness 6 One Step Beyond Madness 7 Rock & Roll Parts 1 & 2 Gary Glitter 8 Oh Yes You’re Beautiful Gary Glitter 9 Embarrassment Madness 10 Can The Can Suzi Quatro 2 gigs this week, a spliff-filled Madness gig of men of a certain age po-going, and a Glam Rock Christmas annual goodtime with Gary Glitter guaranteeing a great night out. Suzi Quatro on support, though, had my seal of approval in my list of the best tracks those nights as best of the 3. I have my ticket for 2026's tour for Suzi now in her 70's. Mr Gadd these days can never guarantee he will be available free from His Majesty's Pleasure and in those days his exaggerated ego on stage was getting ever-more comical to watch.

Thanks Jade & Rollo and well done on the nearly-there's and another 39 Rollo! round 1: 33 Die Another Day tch. round 2: 39 3 in 10: Come Back & Finish What You Started, The Way We Were, Midnight Train To Georgia.

17th December 1995 It's nearly Christmas and The Beatles finally get to the top spot, helped by the fab nostalgic video, Free As A Bird becoming their first "new" material to top since 1970, though many oldies had done it along the way, including most singles since Eleanor Rigby and a couple of earlier ones. Cher sets up a stall for 1996 as her wonderful One By One debuts at 7, great song and Cher is singing out of her usual range, which gives it a lot more emotion and impact. Meanwhile I buy the CD version of Hungry Heart in the bargain bins and it leaps back up to a new peak of 8 for Springsteen 15 years late. Pulp make it 3 out 3 top 10's with Disco 2000. George Michael previews his forthcoming single for the new year, Jesus To A Child is a heartbreaking ballad about loss, and enters at 23 after a quiet few years bar live performance singles, Corona get another follow-up to their chart-topper, but I dont recall I Don't Wanna Be A Star! Seal, meanwhile, has a double A, I already have Prayer For The Dying so that takes the lead at 27. Madonna is still bunging out old singles and non-singles, this time it's the rather morose Oh Father, a Like A Prayer track that was a US single, but not a UK single, though it did chart for me, so 2nd time around it's in at 33. Suggs has a track I've forgotten, The Tune escapes me, ironically, at 40, as LV does his own solo take on Gangsta's Paradise along with new track Throw Your Hands Up, and is rewarded with a number 50. Queen return with another single from their album of leftovers, A Winter's Tale not to be confused with Mike Batt's old song for David Essex, and about as Christmassy as this chart gets, bar Morten Harket's 1994 leftover. The Levellers' Just The One keeps their chart entries onward-facing at 59, while Pauline Henry's ongoing genre-hopping takes in Diana Ross' 1976 disco classic Love Hangover at 69. 1 ( 2 ) FREE AS A BIRD The Beatles 2 ( 1 ) EARTH SONG Michael Jackson 3 ( 3 ) THE UNIVERSAL Blur 4 ( 7 ) WONDERWALL Oasis 5 ( 5 ) UP ON THE ROOF/ I BELIEVE Robson Jerome 6 ( 17 ) YOU MAKE ME FEEL (LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN) Mary J. Blige 7 ( NEW ) ONE BY ONE Cher 8 ( 52 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 9 ( 15 ) DISCO 2000 Pulp 10 ( 10 ) CHILD STAR Marc Almond 11 ( 4 ) PASS THE VIBES Definition Of Sound 12 ( 6 ) MISSING (TODD TERRY REMIX) Everything But The Girl 13 ( 11 ) GOLD Prince 14 ( 13 ) IT’S OH SO QUIET Bjork 15 ( 8 ) WE’VE GOT TO WORK IT OUT Bel Canto 16 ( 9 ) PERFECT PJ & Duncan 17 ( 24 ) HAD TO BE Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 18 ( 16 ) ANYWHERE IS Enya 19 ( 19 ) I WISH Skee-Lo 20 ( 58 ) WONDERWALL The Mike Flowers Pops 21 ( 12 ) LUCKY LOVE Ace Of Base 22 ( 14 ) CRAZY HORSES (UTAH SAINTS REMIX) The Osmonds 23 ( NEW ) JESUS TO A CHILD George Michael 24 ( 43 ) KELLY’S HEROES Black Grape 25 ( NEW ) I DON’T WANNA BE A STAR Corona 26 ( 18 ) FINGERS AND THUMBS (COLD SUMMER’S DAY) Erasure 27 ( NEW ) PRAYER FOR THE DYING/ DON’T CRY Seal 28 ( 63 ) ONE SWEET DAY Mariah Carey & BoyzIIMen 29 ( 23 ) ALRIGHT Cast 30 ( 48 ) BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE (REMIX) Janet Jackson & Luther vandross 31 ( 20 ) WISHES OF HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY Sacred Spirit 32 ( 32 ) HELLO HELLO (I’M BACK AGAIN) Gary Glitter 33 ( NEW ) OH FATHER Madonna 34 ( 34 ) LIFTED The Lighthouse Family 35 ( 27 ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE Coolio featuring LV 36 ( 70 ) SLEEPING IN Menswear 37 ( 47 ) WHATEVER Oasis 38 ( 49 ) SHE’S ALL ON MY MIND Wet Wet Wet 39 ( 40 ) REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME Simply Red 40 ( NEW ) THE TUNE Suggs 41 ( 25 ) THEME FROM “PEOPLE’S CENTURY” Zbignieuw Preisner 42 ( 21 ) SHOW ME HEAVEN Tina Arena 43 ( 39 ) FANTASY Mariah Carey 44 ( 26 ) HE’S ON THE PHONE Saint Etienne 45 ( 22 ) MISS SARAJEVO The Passengers 46 ( 31 ) GOLDENEYE Tina Turner 47 ( 30 ) MIGHT BE STARS The Wannadies 48 ( 33 ) UNTIL MY DYING DAY UB40 49 ( 35 ) IF EYE LOVE U TONIGHT Mayte 50 ( NEW ) GANGSTA’S PARADISE/ THROW YOUR HANDS UP LV 51 ( 45 ) FAIRGROUND Simply Red 52 ( 38 ) HAND IN MY POCKET Alanis Morissette 53 ( 28 ) YOU’LL SEE Madonna 54 ( 36 ) LIE TO ME Bon Jovi 55 ( 37 ) MISLED Celine Dion 56 ( NEW ) A WINTER’S TALE Queen 57 ( 44 ) STAYIN’ ALIVE N’Trance 58 ( 29 ) SOMETHING SO RIGHT Annie Lennox featuring Paul Simon 59 ( NEW ) JUST THE ONE The Levellers 60 ( 55 ) WATERFALLS TLC 61 ( 46 ) I’D LIE FOR YOU (AND THAT’S THE TRUTH) Meat Loaf 62 ( 50 ) WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDE Def Leppard 63 ( 61 ) I FEEL LOVE ’95 Donna Summer 64 ( 64 ) DANCING QUEEN/EAGLE Abba 65 ( 65 ) COME TOGETHER The Smokin’ Mojo Filters featuring Paul Weller 66 ( 62 ) THE LOOK ’95 Roxette 67 ( 42 ) HAPPINESS Pizzaman featuring Norman Cook 68 ( 67 ) YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING The Righteous Brothers 69 ( NEW ) LOVE HANGOVER Pauline Henry 70 ( 60 ) FATHER AND SON Boyzone 71 ( 56 ) A CHANGE IS GONNA COME/A KIND OF CHRISTMAS CARD Morten Harket 72 ( 69 ) WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue 73 ( 54 ) MAKING LOVE (OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL) Bonnie Tyler 74 ( NEW ) LUMP Presidents Of The United States Of America 75 ( 73 ) NO MORE ‘I LOVE YOU’S Annie Lennox playlist 1 SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT Nirvana 2 WITH A SMILE AND A SONG Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs Soundtrack 3 “How To Make Friends And Influence People” LP Terrorvision I think it's fair to say not many people would include Snow White, Nirvana and Terrorvision's album on an "I most enjoyed oldies and albums this week" list....😮

Yes thanks Rollo for the countdown! It's a great year for chart-toppers.