Popchartfreak

Hey Seltin! 🙂 Thanks for the picks! None of them dropping yet in the new chart! cheers! 😎

Hi Sergej!🙂 Hope all is fab! These are my faves of the climbers and new entries: 1 14 1(x1) 6 Irama – Cabana reminds me of La Isla Bonita intro, but not the rest of the song 12 13 12 10 sombr – Potential 15 59 15 2 Olivia Rodrigo – stupid song 18 26 18 4 Shakira & Burna Boy – Dai Dai 25 RE 25 9 Teddy Swims – Mr. Know It All 42 NE 42 1 Olivia Rodrigo, Robert Smith – what's wrong with me 53 77 53 2 Mark Medlock – Back Into The Sun 54 54 54 4 Harry Styles – Dance No More 67 NE 67 1 Shaboozey – Cowgirl 85 100 85 2 Slayyyter – DANCE... 93 RE 73 4 Holly Humberstone – Make It All Better 94 NE 94 1 Rose Gray – Club To Your Arms so much new stuff I havent room for in my charts yet! So far at any rate, maybe next week some will sneak in...! great charts! 😎

Hi Sergej! 🙂 Ooh glad to hear Emma is still popular in Germany, it rarely gets played in the UK as it's "too depressing" and radio prefers upbeat songs! 😮Thanks as always for the climber picks! cheers! 😎

Get Away is a fun enough Georgie Fame track, but never one of my faves of his. I lost a point in the music round of a quiz Thursday by not listing The Blue Flames on Yeh Yeh. Outrageous 😄Dont know that Fran Ifield track, but it sounds a bit like a Roy Orbison impressionist having a go at a song a bit like Nobody's Child, and quite nice. The More I See You has always been a laid-back fave song of mine as done by Chris Montez, Joy's voice has none of that summery vibe, and the recording's not really a sound I go for much. I have Herman's Hermits Greatest Hits CD and this track isn't on it (they had so many bigger hits, no room!) and it's not one I remember from the time. Pleasant and way better than their awful huge US hits I'm Henery The 8th I Am and Mrs Brown You've Got A Luvverly Daughter Vaudeville oldies that Mickie Most had the good taste not to release as singles in the UK. So in the battle for the top, it's not Out Of Time, much as I like Chris farlowe's vocal on it. I first noticed it in the summer of 75 when The Rolling Stones, Dan McCafferty and Chris all charted with it after Dan's cover was released outside of Nazereth. At which time Dan's was my fave version - but Chris should get the kudos really. Bus Stop, though, is a brilliant song and given it was written by a teenager is amazingly mature. One of the great records of the 60's for me. Oddly I never got to see The Hollies in concert, but I am seeing Graham Gouldman at the end of July in a church in Poole doing his career overview as opposed to 10CC stuff, so should get a version then hopefully. One of the best things about living in Poole is we are spoilt for music venues, not just large venues in Poole & Bournemouth, but loads of outlying ones in Ringwood, Pavilions in Bournemouth and Weymouth, historical charity run Wimborne Tivoli, The Firestation for bands in small settings, Boscombe O2 for bands not quite big enough for a large venue. The comedy circuit is well-werved as is the tribute band/shows and musicals. And there's still venues out in the sticks or nearby Southampton. The only gap is the megastar - Southampton St Mary's in the summer or London for those.

Swagger Jagger, only half recall that one, playing it now. Never a fan of Cher lloyd though, and it's a bit of a mess, that annoying back drop vuvu-thing sound and the nicking of O My darling Clementine for the chorus hook do nothing to endear me now. Peaked at 64 for me, I feel that was generous enough for the overall fun vibe. Pixie Lott I also have no real memory of, other than I generally liked her. Ah yes, coming back to me now, very much a Taio Cruz vibe to it, and for some reason I must have been getting fed up with the sound about then as it only peaked at 73 in my chart, where she'd had top 10's before. It sounds much better than Cher Lloyd and some others on the list so I think I have done her a wrong there!

well done again both on the 39's and thanks both too! The weather has broken in Dorset hooray, fresher today, after cooking for days where temps were literally higher than Singapore, and Singapore is always hot year-round, being on the equator, more or less. round 1: 36 Bryan adams, doh! round 2: 36 one year out 3 in 10: 1: Flying Without Wings and then brain freeze even for the awful covers

None of those three essential acts of the decade, though two of them are pleasnt enough. Sorry about the laptop Gezza! Been there, I obsessively back up on a memory stick now! Hope it gets sorted!

Norman Greenbaum's version is a classic, this is a sort of amusing pastiche bringing back hippie fashions through an 80's Goth vibe, and looking great on Top Of The Pops. I still enjoy it, but it's not as powerful as the original, though even that one has a sort of dark twinkle in its' eye. Burn is much better, though I may be in a minority there....

MINOR PLOT SPOILER IN THIS, Sorry though they give it away fairly early in the film! I was referring to the plot device of super-advanced-aliens coming to Earth, (which has been going on since the 1950's in movies) rather than this movie having a super-advanced alien plot, which I agree it definitely wasn't, it was more of the same, aliens as our saviours/conquerers, its usually one or the other plot. ET had a twist on that basic theme, human beings as being the ones to be frightened of. Spielberg's biggest plot-hole was more to do with the lack of interest following up a mission that had gone disastrously wrong 80 years earlier, when they are seemingly intent on spreading their message enough to turn up in person just after a massive global World War. If they are that advanced, why not just study language from a distance, film a statement with very clear subtitles and post on global TV, movie or internet and follow-it up afterwards in person when invited in. Boring plot maybe - Childhood's End, Contact have a variation on this but I still love the books and a lesser extent the films/series anyway 🙂- but peddling the old Aliens Roswell myth is a bit old hat these days, it's been done to death since Close Encounters (which was my all-time fave film for quite a while afterwards) and I was disappointed Stephen S was revisiting it when it wasnt really needed with a bit of plot rewriting.

Oh LMFAO is great fun, works well in a party atmosphere club especially if the video (without the annoying non-music intro) is on screen. Not heard it ina while and its sounding good still. Good natured laugh. Went top 20 for me so I wouldnt say it was a big fave as such at the time, but it's aged well, I think I enjoy it more now in these fun-free chart times.

KLF very happy to see on the list for 5 singles and nothing else. Classic pop of the era and the best act of 1991 hilariously higher than Michael Bolton. Michael could chuck out the odd decent single and song, but his awful "set to 11" foghorn ballads were excruciating. I always gave him leeway though for bigging up David Cassidy as a vocalist when no-one else did, other than George Michael and those of us of a certain age.

This Charming Man has aged like a fine wine, it sounded good at the time and even better decades later 10/10. Owner Of A Lonely Heart, ditto, and annoying it was such a minor UK hit along with the great follow-up Leave It, Trevor Horn has the golden touch, and Yes hadnt been this interesting before, and not this good since Wondrous Stories. 9/10. Hold Me Now was a step-up on previous singles from Thompson Twins, the gospel vibes soon to be a thing for them and a great song 9/10. What Is Love is a fab track, better than New Song, and showcasing Howard could bung out very different singles successfully. 9/10. That's All is decent Genesis but nothing out-of-the-expectation like Mama 7/10. Bark At The Moon may be Ozzy's best solo record, but there's not a lot of competition 6/10. Tom Robinson's was nice enough 7/10. Waterfront the sign of things to come, the percussion is amazing 8/10. My dad loved Only You, and the band, and they did an interesting version of the original Yazoo that should have been a number one 7/10. Thank You For The Music would have topped the charts had it been paired with Eagle in the summer of 78, both tracks are cornerstones of the ABBA Voyage show. Eagle is the 11/10 classic but Thank You For The Music is the one everyone can sing, it's basically an old-fashioned singalong that sounds like it has always existed and Vera Lynn sung it 30 years earlier. 9/10. Let's Stay Together is the big Tina Turner comeback, courtesy of Heaven 17's team and The Tube TV show. This set up Private Danvcer and everything else, but it's not as timeless as Al Green's original, but great to have the song back 8/10. My Oh My is a christmas singalong comeback anthem for Slade, something they'd never really managed first-time round, and it's a great song with a Celtic vibe to it - it sounds like a traditional folk song 10/10. Islands In The Stream yet again showing that The Bee Gees might have stopped having hits as an act due to stupid media backlashes but they can still bung out hit songs at the drop of a hat (Dionne, Diana, this) while Robin had gone full on synth pop with European smashes like Juliet. The UK and USA hadnt yet got the memo though. Karaoke classic obv here 8/10. Tracey's cover of Doris Day's warm, lovely movie theme song (fab movie too) was OK, but not a patch on the original which would hit again in 1987 7/10. Club Megamix was released without band agreement and not promoted in any way, bit of a mish-mash, 5/10. Mike Batt can always knock off a decent melody, soppy or otherwise, and Cliff's is quite nice if nothing groundbreaking 7/10. Roland Rat, annoying kids TV puppet with a cult-ish habit of getting away with slagging off quips, the record was drivel and I had to suffer through it so I'm going there with that 1/10 even if it prob is better than that. 😇

lovely seeing the old friends again, and deals with a modern topic when it comes to kids and making friends in the ipad generations - or as grown-ups like to see it, babysitting devices while you do other stuff - it's Jessie's film, pretty much, but it's not as fun as TS4, nor as good as the first trilogy. 6/10. Still worth seeing though.

7/10. Emily's performance is award-worthy and it should have been titled Close Encounters Of The Fourth Kind. The logic of the situation is a bit plot-holed (and always will be when one is dealing with super-advanced alien plots) - but the moral of the film is pretty-much spot on with it's heart in the right place. Project Hail Mary did it better though, but Spielberg direction/cinematography is always a treat.

had an appointment yesterday sorry, but caught round 1 in the car (39). Well done on the 39's both! 🤩 off to join other (some elderly) folk in the cool as ice cinema later for the 4th day in a row, certainly catching up with current movies, Toy Story, Masters Of The Universe and Supergirl. Roll on tomorrow evening and the end of the heatwave round here! Ageing bodies just cant regulate temperature the way they easily did 40 years ago! round 1: 39 round 2: 39 3 in 10: 2: Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart, 24 Hours From Tulsa then brain-freeze fighting to remember the title of my all-time Gene fave record I'm Gonna Be Strong. tch!

Film of the year so far, for me, excellent all round, and it made me shed tears. Not least as the ending was obvisouly filmed locally at Durdle Door...!

16 1 18 APT. - ROSE & Bruno Mars 846900 An old-fashioned chanty pop bop in the tradition of Mickey, Hollaback Girl and others, and will no doubt have driven some people mad, and kids to love it. I was converted while on holiday in Florida and it's a rare moment of global chart upbeat joy and to be cherished! Bruno made the 2024 list with Die With A Smile...

17 2 28 END OF THE WORLD - Miley Cyrus 828850 ..and suddenly Miley isn't getting big hits, just like that. Fickle pop biz etc. She's as good as ever regardless, and this is a great record. Her second on the list and equals sis Noah in 2026, so far.

18 1 20 I GUESS U NEVER REALLY CARED ABOUT ME - Artemas 822500 Dark indie-dance that wasn't a hit, annoyingly. One of the follow-ups to a surprise one-off hit that is just as good. Second on the list for Artemas.

19 1 27 PEOPLE WATCHING - Sam Fender 793450 Rein Me In not on the list, nor for 2026 probably, but this touching Springsteen-esque song is.

20 1 22 HOW BAD DO U WANT ME - Lady Gaga 788950 Gaga's best track in 15 years, bar one, and it's not even a single, tch! Sounds like a Taylor Swift song here and there, and a bit Yazoo Only You.

I wonder if anyone's ever done a list of acts who've never had a UK number one single or album. Hall & Oates should be in the running for that one....

Not sure it's technically a ballad, but my top record of the last 25 years is Princess Of China (Coldplay & Rihanna). Epic. Unusual and perfect in every way beginning to end. The video helps too.

Great to see Texas and Pulp make the list, two acts that easily deserved to have several huge sellers, but as mentioned they shifted albums. Texas remain under-rated and Sharleen one of the best live pop singers/frontspeople of the era, and that's still true, she makes it sound effortless when it isn't. The shift from Scottish Americana to Blue-eyed retro soul eventually paid off bigtime thanks to Chris Evans pushing Say What You Want and then back again on that BRITS mash-up.

Harold Melvin's original is an amazing peak Philadelphia moment, and also virtually belatedly the final goodbye to that era (give or take Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now). Teddy's vocals are emotional and powerful, he sounds like he believes the words he's singing, his last hurrah before that very suspicious car accident left him paralysed. Thelma's cover was a disco decent effort, but this very 80's cover went OTT, manic and shrill. Teddy's passionate vocal might make you change your mind about leaving, Jimmy's would reinforce it was the right choice - histrionic and needy, albeit a bop. It sounded good at the time, but overplay has left me a tad bored with it when the original is still there and perfect. You Are My World or So Cold The Night, meanwhile, never get played, much more preferable Communards tracks to hear again. Wham! still the best so far to go out, with this behind that.