Jaz13music

Oh no, I’ve just read that Party Rock Anthem’s vocalist Lauren Bennett has died aged only 37. So sad. RIP 😢.

Papa Don’t Preach was the song I was thinking of when I thought there was one of my favourite Madonna number ones still to come. Excellent story telling and emotive vocals wrapped up in great pop song. I think it marked the moment it became obvious she was heading for a long lasting commercially successful, but also critically acclaimed, career.

I quite like Kesha, she had her sound with the autotune and the energy, but this wouldn’t be a favourite of hers. Read All About It is a bit Eminem/Rihanna lite, though I do like Emeli’s vocals on this.

Oh Hometown Glory is my favourite Adele single too! Great minds and all that.

Not quite reaching the heights of the last group, in fact there’s a few I had to miss off the 5 I chose in that section that would beat these. Still great songs though! The Style Council - My Ever Changing Moods Sade - Your Love Is King The Special AKA - Nelson Mandela Thompson Twins - You Take Me Up Scritti Politti - Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)

Another great group, what a start to ‘84. Killing Moon would also be my favourite, fantastic, moody and also cinematic! Break My Stride is fun and unusual. Heaven is indeed lovely. What Difference.. is great, though not among my favourite Smiths early songs, it has a meatier sound that I liked them using. I think it’s often forgotten, among their jangle pop reputation, how heavy their sound could get. They were my absolute favourite band as a teenager, and there’s loads of of fantastic stuff to come from them. Holiday is great and obviously important, but like you it’s not one of my favourite Madonna songs. Hyperactive is a perfect title for that song, very quirky and unique

Sorry, I won’t be able to make the listen though tonight (I’m at the Rugby League Magic Weekend) x

A lovely George ballad, beautifully sung if not quite my favourite of his. I suspect 7th would be roughly where I would put it too.

Here’s another estimated rolling chart of the 40 best sellers for the 12 months to the end of June ‘26 (Q2). As always thanks to Julian for his excellent sales data, and any corrections or comments are very welcome! Olivia Dean ~ Man I Need 2.440m Huntr/x ~ Golden 2.070m Alex Warren ~ Ordinary 1.924m Sam Fender and Olivia Dean ~ Rein Me In 1.910m Raye ~ Where Is My Husband! 1.470m Taylor Swift ~ The Fate Of Ophelia 1.470m Olivia Dean ~ Nice To Each Other 1.365m Disco Lines and Tinashe ~ No Broke Boys 1.180m Olivia Dean ~ So Easy (To Fall In Love) 1.160m Dave ~ Raindance (feat. Tems) 1.110m Sabrina Carpenter ~ Manchild 1.100m Sombr ~ 12 to 12 1.090m Sombr ~ Back To Friends 1.068m Ravyn Lenae ~ Love Me Not 1.022m Chappell Roan ~ Pink Pony Club 0.930m Taylor Swift ~ Opalite 0.900m Sombr ~ Undressed 0.895m Benson Boone ~ Beautiful Things 0.870m Justin Bieber ~ Daises 0.870m Killers ~ Mr Brightside 0.790m Goo Goo Dolls ~ Iris 0.790m Fleetwood Mac ~ Dreams 0.770m Zara Larsson ~ Lush Life 0.769m Bella Kay ~ iloveitiloveitiloveit 0.763m PinkPantheress ~ Stateside 0.750m Teddy Swims ~ Lose Control 0.740m Tame Impala ~ Dracula 0.710m Djo ~ End Of Beginning 0.703m Sienna Spiro ~ Die On This Hill 0.690m Fleetwood Mac ~ Everywhere 0.650m Dominic Fike ~ Babydoll 0.640m Myles Smith ~ Stargazing 0.620m Zara Larsson ~ Midnight Sun 0.590m Olivia Dean ~ Dive 0.577m Bruno Mars ~ I Just Might 0.575m Michael Jackson ~ Billie Jean 0.546m Sombr ~ Homewrecker 0.545m Olivia Dean ~ A Couple Minutes 0.540m Olivia Dean ~ Baby Steps 0.500m Hozier ~ Too Sweet 0.500m Of note, Ordinary finally loosens its iron grip at the top of these rolling charts, having been ahead since the end of Q3 in ‘25. Of course it’s Olivia Dean who takes over at the top with Man I Need, ‘selling’ amazingly close to 2.5 million in just 12 months. Her fantastically successful last 12 months also gives her a total of 7 songs in this top 40.

I’m not a fan of this, nor Olly with his cheeky chappie, ‘bit of a lad’ persona, same as Robbie Williams. This one is a poor attempt at a 50s throwback.

Rock Me Amadeus isn’t one of my favourites of the year but it certainly feels unique and stands out from the crowd, which a lot of the ‘86 number ones do to be fair! A very eclectic bunch.

Next single from the album, the brilliant Pin Up Boys out this week!

I’ve admitted before that I’m not a great fan of Bruno but this would be one of his better number ones

Relax would definitely be a 10 for me. An incredibly exciting groundbreaking sonic explosion, announcing the true arrival of the wonderful ZTT label. What a wonderful year they, Trevor Horn and FGTH would have. T shirt mission statements, fantastic videos, the whole package was brilliant and this was the just the start. There’s a lot of other great songs here too. Here Comes The Rain again is one of the Eurythmics best, really moody perfect synth pop. King Of Pain is one of my favourite Police singles, fantastic melody and harmonies. Wishful Thinking was indeed beautiful, while being perfectly understated. Love Is A Wonderful Colour is great, if not quite as brilliant as Birds Fly.

I love Reet Petite, what a great Christmas having both this and the Housemartins having a turn at the top. I agree, one of the very best uptempo 50s songs, it sounds way ahead of its time. The brass section is fantastic!

No Regrets is something I can take or leave, it’s nothing outstanding. I feel much the same about most of the output from the N-Dubz sphere (‘Number 1’ excepted of course)

Ah, now we’re into the good stuff! I was a big Housemartins fan during their short time as a band, and saw them live a couple of times. They made excellent pop with political themes and it was great to see them reach number one. They had a kind of tradition of putting an a capella cover version on their 12 inch singles and as part of radio sessions but I think this was the only one that became an A side. It has lovely positive pre Christmas vibes and great vocals, all the band could sing pretty well in their own right. Edit: I forgot to mention my little anecdote about the Housemartins. During their early days the original line up of the band slept on my friends bedroom floor after a local gig to save on accommodation costs!

RIP Village People frontman Victor Willis died aged 74. Trump associations with YMCA aside, he was a real icon. 😢. Maybe go for Go West for a tribute song on Sunday?

Heart Skips A Beat is pleasant enough but not outstanding. I just don’t think I ever really got Olly, he felt like a cut price Bruno Mars at times. I do think this is better than his other 2011 number one though, which I really don’t like.

Wow thanks! I’ve now got some reading to do to catch up with you, though I’m not surprised you ran out of steam for a bit, that’s a huge undertaking!

Have you covered ‘79 yet in any of your threads? I think, if pushed, I’d say that was my favourite year for music. It was like a coming together of the best of many genres, like punk, disco, new wave, synth etc in one brilliant concoction that felt like a blast of innovation. It was also the year I first bought records with my ‘own’ money and started making detailed chart records (though I had followed the charts before then). I suppose it’s a nostalgic period for me.

I really like Promises, I’d definitely have it a bit higher in the rankings. A treat to see dubstep getting some exposure.

I can’t say I like The Lady In Red, but I perhaps don’t hate it as much as many, though it’s a bit saccharine for me. Into the top 10 and I’ve now got a feeling yours is going to be (almost) the same as mine.

I really like Louder, great dubstep influence at the top of the charts and great vocals.

Had to make tough choices from this fantastic group of songs, I ended up with a shortlist of 20! Anyway here’s my 5 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax The Police - King Of Pain Echo And The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't It Be Good Nena - 99 Red Balloons