Suedehead2

A lot has been said about how much oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, currently blocked by Iran. Rather less has been said about how much fertiliser passes through the same strait. This could have a massive effect on crops grown around the world, with an eventual impact on food prices. The orange imbecile looks like creating more economic damage than any other individual for a very long time.

A truly classic number one!

Slightly later than planned as the OCC's write-up missed out Jane McDonald's position (it can happen to anyone) nut this week's musings are available from the Blogs page and the Forums Index page.

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean hold on at the top of the singles chart. Rein Me In now has a total of five weeks at number one. It is the longest-running number one since Taylor Swift’s The Fate Of Ophelia spent seven weeks at the summit in October and November last year. Like Rein Me In, that song had two separate runs at the top. Last week BTS released a new album.There is more on that to come, but the album’s release has also had an impact on the singles chart with three tracks entering this week. The most popular by far is Swim which is at number two, becoming their fifth top ten single. Further down the chart, Body To Body is at number 28 and FYA is at 39. They have now had twelve top forty hits. Bella Kay falls to number three with a triple dose of Iloveit. Harry Styles’ American Girls is at number three. PinkPantheress falls one place to number five with Stateside. German Hans Zimmer is probably the second most famous composer of film soundtracks behind John Williams. His work includes soundtracks for Gladiator, the Pirates of the Caribbean films and Dunkirk. He had a hit single in 2007 with Spider Pig, one of the shortest “songs” ever to reach the chart. Nineteen years on, he enters the top forty for a second time, this time playing second fiddle (not literally) to Raye on the rather wonderful Click Clack Symphony. There has been just one previous chart hit with the word clack in the title. Bryan Hyland, best known for Sealed With A Kiss, had a number 29 hit with Four Little Heels (The CLickety Clack Song) in November 1960. It would be great to see this Raye song climb a loy higher than its current position of number ??? Ella Langley entered the top one hundred three months ago with Choosin’ Texas. A month later it reached the top forty. In all the time it has been in the chart it has either climbed or stayed in the same position. In its eighth week in the top fort, it climbs to a new high of number 32 this week. Tame Impala’s Dracula also continues to climb. It reaches a new peak of number twelve five months after first entering the top forty. Some people who usually oppose the idea of National Service may have found themselves grateful that it is still practised in South Korea. It has been responsible for BTS being unable to release any new music for the last three years. Other people will have disagreed. Regardless, it is a simple fact that BTS, one of the very biggest names in K-Pop, did release an album last week. Three years is a long gap for such a band, a gap which could easily have seen their fans move on to other acts. BTS seem to have risen above that as Arirang becomes their second number one album. The title is the name of a traditional Korean folk song. Several of the tracks have a dozen or more credited songwriters with the co-writers including OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. Harry Styles slips to number two after two weeks at number one with Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally. Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving is at number three, ending a run of nineteen consecutive weeks in the top two. It still hasn’t left the top five since it entered the chart exactly six months ago. Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years: Don’t Stop is at number five. Like most American country singers, Luke Combs remained pretty anonymous in the UK for many years. His albums made brief appearances in the chart but he didn’t receive much attention until his version of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car became a hit. While many albums these days are relatively short, Combs’ latest, The Way I Am’s 22 tracks clock in at a total of 73 minutes. It is a new entry at number four, one place ahead of his previous highest position. Back in the days when reality TV was unscripted and featured real people rather than people seeking fame, the BBC chowed a series called The Cruise, following the staff of a luxury cruise ship. The one member of staff who might have hoped that the series would lead to bigger things was the resident singer Jane McDonald. She proved popular with viewers which led to a recording contract and a debut album which reached number one in 1998. She has now released an eleventh studio album. Living The Dream, which is described as a nod to country music. It is a new entry at number ten.

This Raye / Hans Zimmer song is fabulous.

There have been five series in the Netherlands and the USA with several other countries having two or more. Yes, contestants might have more idea of how to play it tactically, but that doesn't mean another series wouldn't work. I wondered how may series The 1% Club could manage as people got more used to the style of the questions, but it is still going strong after five series.

A second series has been commissioned. I hope someone can persuade Hugh Dennis that he looks ridiculous with his dyed hair.

The best obscure Light songs are Red Frame White Light by OMD and Arclight by The Fat Lady Sings.

This week's chart-related ramblings can be found from the Blogs page or the Forums Index page.

After being replaced by Harry Styles last week, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean climb back to number one in the singles chart with Rein Me In. The song has now had four weeks at the summit. It used to be fairly rare for a song to return to number one in the same chart run, but nowadays it is hardly worth highlighting. Rein Me In is already the second song to return to the summit this year. Bella Kay’s Iloveitiloveitiloveit climbs back up to number two. Harry Styles’ American Girls falls to number two after a week at the top. Pink Pantheress climbs to number four with Stateside. Olivia Dean’s So Easy (To Fall In Love) is at five. Sienna Spiro gets her third top forty hit with The Visitor at number e;even. The instrumentation is rather lovely, but the vocals occasionally grate a bit. While I did not expect to find a long list of hit singles with the word Visitor in the title, I was rather surprised to find that this is the very first, even when extending the chart to a full top 100. After the huge success of the splendid Stick Season, it took Noah Kahan some time to get a second top ten hit on his own. That happened earlier this year when The Great Divide reached number ten. He is now looking for another one with Porch Light. It’s not there yet, but a new entry at number nineteen is a good start. Unsurprisingly, the word Light has appeared in the title of a lot of hit songs. Among those to use it as a singular noun are Blinded By The Light (Manfred Mann’s Earth band’s version of a Bruce Springsteen Song), Red Light Spells Danger (Billy Ocean) and the unforgettable Red Light, Green Light by Mitchell Torok. Zara Larsson’s Lush Life continues to be a big hit for the second time. It spent thirteen weeks in the top ten at the beginning of 2016, peaking at number three. Exactly ten years later, it returned to the top ten and, again, peaked at number three. Last week it dropped out of the top ten, but this week it is back up to number eight. Tame Ompala’s Dracula climbs to a new peak of number fourteen. His only top forty single entered the chart last October. After spending the last five weeks at number 35, Ella langley’s Choosin’ Texas climbs two places to a new peak of number 33. Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide slipped out of the top forty last week. This week it edges back in at number 40. To no great surprise, Harry Styles gets a second week at the top of the albums chart with the curiously-titled Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally. A combination of its huge sales last week and the lack of any serious competition from last week’s new releases made it almost inevitable. It is the first album by a male artist to get a second successive week at number one since Eminem’s The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace) in summer 2024. The last British male act to do so was Lewis Capaldi with Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent in May and June 2023 which immediately followed a two-week run for Ed sheeran’s -. Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving eventually provided Harry Styles with his nearest challenger. It remains at number two, extending its run in the gold and silver medal positions to nineteen consecutive weeks. While James Blake has never had a major hit single, he has had a good run of successful albums, beginning with his eponymous debut in 2011. This week he reaches the top three in the albums chart for the first time as Trying Times enters at number three. Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years: Don’t Stop is at number four. Tate McRae’s So Close To What entered the albums chart at number two in February of last year, somebody told me. It has remained in the top forty ever since and last week stood at number 22, stacked up there for a second consecutive week. Following the release of a double vinyl version of the deluxe edition, it soars back up to number five. The Official Charts Company’s review of the albums chart insists that there will be celebrations on the East Sussex coast tonight for Brighton band Yonaka. I can’t hear anything yet, but perhaps something will happen later this evening. That would be to celebrate Until You’re Satisfied becoming their second top forty album at number 25. The Black Crowes get their ninth top forty album with A Pound Of Feathers at number 37. It comes almost 35 years after their first top forty album back in August 1991.

Friday 20th March AFC Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United (20:00) Saturday 21st March Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Liverpool (12:30) Fulham 2-0 Burnley Everton 2-1 Chelsea (17:30) Leeds United 2-1 Brentford (20:00) Sunday 22nd March Newcastle United 3-1 Sunderland (12:00) Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham United (14:15) Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Nottingham Forest (14:15)

Will the OCC use the upgrade as an excuse to start charging for access to the archive?

As a fan of John Simm and a Brighton resident, I'm a big fan of this programme.

There is now a vide for the wonderful Jamie Oliver Petrol Station featuring the man himself CMAT - The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station (Official Video)

The Springsteen cover is great, so here's hoping the rest of the album is as good.