Suedehead2

Saturday 2nd May Brentford 2-1 West Ham United Newcastle United 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Sunderland Arsenal 2-0 Fulham (17:30) Sunday 3rd May AFC Bournemouth 3-1 Crystal Palace (14:00) Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool (15:30) Aston Villa 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (19:00) Monday 4th May Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest Everton 0-2 Manchester City (20:00)

Leeds 2-0 Burnley

This week's musings can be found from the Blogs page or the Forums Index page. Happy May Day.

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In returns to number one again, making it a total of nine weeks at the top for the song. It also means that one Olivia replaces another Olivia at the top for the second successive week. As nobody has pointed out any previous occasions since last week, I am assuming that this is only the second time in chart history that somebody has replaced another singer with the same forename at number one. Olivia Dean has another new entry with Baby Steps at number 31. It is the eighth song from The Art Of Loving to enter the top forty. Rein Me In is only the eighth song in UK singles chart history to have three spells at number one in a single chart run. However, a closer look at the history of this phenomenon is an illustration of how things have changed since streaming data was included in the compilation of the chart. The first song to have three separate spells at number one in the same chart run did so when the UK singles chart was less than a year old. Frankie Laine’s I Believe climbed to the summit in June 1953. It spent nine weeks at number one before dropping to number two. Just a week later, it returned to the top, spending a further six weeks there. After slipping back to number two for another week, it went back to the top for another three weeks. The total of eighteen weeks at number one remains a record over 70 years later. In early 1957, Guy Mitchell’s version of Singing The Blues was the next song to have three goes at the top although each one lasted just seven days. One of the singles to topple Mitchell was Tommy Steele’s version of the same song. It didn’t happen again until 2014 when Pharell Williams’ Happy accumulated four weeks at number one in three spells with a five-week gap between the second and third. Since then it has also been achieved by Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean (2015, five weeks), Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber (2017, eleven weeks), The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights (2020, eight weeks) and Golden from K-Pop Demon Hunters and co. (2025, ten weeks). The fact that we now have six songs in just twelve years achieving this (compared with two in the previous 62 years) suggests that this will soon be an unremarkable feat. We will, instead, be waiting for the first song to have four spells at number one in a single chart run. The other Olivia is, of course, Ms Rodrigo who was at number one last week with Drop Dead. That song slips to number two this week. Justin Bieber stays at number three with Beauty And A Beat (with Nicki Minaj). Bieber is also at number six with Daisies while Yukon is at 27. Tame Impala remains at number four with Dracula. Alex Warren’s Fever Dream is back up to number five. The other new entry is from the number one album with five re-entries also linked to the albums chart, so let’s just deal with the other re-entry before moving on to the albums. That other re-entry is Sombr’s 12 To 12 at number 39. On this May Day, there is, alas, no sign of a re-entry for The Beatles’ Help or Abba’s SOS. Naoh Kahan’s Stick Season album clocked up 150 weeks in the chart last week. In those 150 weeks it became a rather unusual number one album in two, linked, ways. First, it came after his first two albums (released in 2019 and 2021) had made no impact on the chart whatsoever. Second, it took a very long time to get there. The album was released in 2022 and, initially, it suffered the same fate as the previous two. It finally entered the chart in June 2023. Then, as the title track took off as a single, the album returned to the chart and has stayed there ever since. It eventually spent a week at the summit in February 2024, sixteen months after it was released and in its 35th week in the top 100. The continuing success of Stick Season meant that the follow-up was bound to get off to a far better start than Noah Kahan’s first three albums. That has proved to be the case, and in spectacular style. Not only did Monday’s update show that The Great Divide was at number one, it held a large lead over all others, including a new Foo Fighters album. It, therefore, becomes Kahan’s second number one album. Three songs from The Great Divide are in the singles chart. Doors is a new entry at number twelve. Porch Light (which you might find very near a door) re-enters at number twenty. The title track, which reached number ten in February, is back at number seventeen. As mentioned above, Foo Fighters released a new album last week. As their last three albums (and five of the last six) had all reached number one, the expectation was that Your Favorite Toy would provide stiff competition for Noah Kahan. However, as we have seen, that didn’t happen. It is a new entry at number two. Despite largely poor reviews, the Michael Jackson biopic has attracted large audiences, making more money in its first weekend than any previous musical biopic. The soundtrack from the album is at number four this week. While most soundtrack albums are now only eligible for the compilations chart, this qualifies for the main chart as all songs are performed by Jackson, including some with the Jackson 5. . Normally, the chart rules mean that only one compilation album by an artist qualifies for the chart. Streams of a song can only count towards one compilation album by that artist. However, if the albums have a significantly different tracklisting, more than one album can make the chart. This week, two more Michael Jackson collections have qualified. Number Ones is at number five with The Essential collection at fourteen. Furthermore, his classic 1982 album Thriller is at number eight and 1987’s Bad is at thirteen. Three Michael Jackson songs have re-entered the singles chart. Billie Jean, a number one in 1983, is at number thirteen. Beat It (also 1983) is at number 22, one place ahead of Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough (1979). The latter two songs both peaked at number three in their original chart run. Paul Weller is at number nineteen with Weller At The BBC (Vol 2). It features recordings from the whole of his career, including with The Jam and Style Council. There is also a version of What Was I Made For, performed with Billie Eilish. Californian singer-songwriter Kehlani is at number 28 with an eponymous album, giving her a third top forty success.

If you completed registration last year (around August), you should still be registered. Assuming you know where the polling station is (it will almost certainly be where it was the last time you voted), go to the polling station and you should be able to vote. You don't need a polling card, but you will need some form of ID.

Best Blancmange - Waves Orange Juice - Rip It Up New Order - Blue Monday David Bowie - Let's Dance Kissing The Pink - Last Film Worst Leo Sayer - Orchard Road Kenny Everett - Snot Rap Sunfire - Young Free And Single

As a number of councils who had elections last year are finding out, things can go horribly wrong if one party goes from having few, if any, councillors to having overall control overnight. The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems have all provided similar examples in the past.

An extension over the Bank Holiday weekend would be useful.

Saturday 25th April Fulham 1-2 Aston Villa (12;30) Liverpool 3-0 Crystal Palace West Ham United 1-1 Everton Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal 3-1 Newcastle United (17:30) Monday 27th April Manchester United 3-0 Brentford (20:00)

Sunderland 2-0 Forest

This week's commentary is available from the Blogs page or the Forums Index page.

One Olivia replaces another at the top of the singles chart as Olivia Rodrigo goes straight to the top to bag her fourth number one with the cheerfully-titled Drop Dead. While it has a fairly slow start, the song does pick up to become another pleasant Olivia Rodrigo song. Her fourth number one is the first in an even year. It is the first number one single to contain the worf dead in its title, although Dead Or Alive topped the chart with You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) in 1985. I can't think of a previous occasion when there were successive number ones by different people with the same forename, but two of Michael Jackson’s number ones were followed by George Michael (one of them with Elton John). The other Olivia, Ms Dean, falls to number two alongside Sam Fender with Rein Me In. That song has now accumulated eight weeks at the top. Justin Bieber’s songs continue to enjoy a boost after his Coachella appearance. Beauty And A Beat (with Nicki Minaj) jumps eight places to number three to reach the top ten for the first time. Former number one Daisies is up to number five while Baby is a re-entry at number seventeen. That song, which features Ludacris, originally reached number three. As he gets second billing behind Sean Kingston on Ennie Meenie, the song does not count towards Bieber’s three-song limit. It is, therefore, able to re-enter at number 32. It is an unexpected return to the chart for Kingston whose last hit was in 2011. Tame Impala’s Dracula falls two places to number four. Tyla and Sara Larsson have a new entry at number 40 with She Did It Again. It is Tyla’s fifth top forty hit but only the second to have more than one word in the title. The battle for supremacy in the albums chart was between two new releases by very different acts. Monday’s sales figures suggested that Olivia Dean could outsell them both, but the closeness of the race encouraged Skindread and Jessie Ware’s marketing teams to make a big push for the top spot. As a result, both albums picked up significant sales throughout the week, unlike many new releases. The eventual winners were Skindred who describe themselves as a Welsh ragga punk metal band. At least that means they can claim to be the first act of that description to have another number one album. Their last album, Smile, missed out on the top spot by just 150 sales so this victory should be especially sweet for them. Commenting to the Official Charts Company, they described the win as “a fairytale of Newport”. Skindred were also very generous towards Jessie Ware, describing her album Superbloom as “amazing”. While the album has missed out on first palace in the main chart, it is at number one in the Official Record Store chart which measures sales from independent record shops. Ware has now had six top ten albums but still awaits her first number one. Olivia Dean finishes at number three with The Art Of Loving. In its 30 weeks in the charty, it has not yet left the top five. Zayn (Malik, formerly of One Direction) is at number four with his fifth studio album Konnakol. According to Wikipedia, Konnakol is a south Indian art of performing percussion rhythms vocally. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael has not been well-received by the critics, particularly as there is no mention of certain parts of his life. As his family was closely involved with the project, that omission is hardly a surprise. The Essential Michael Jackson collection climbs to number five. Tom Rowlands of Chemical Brothers has joined forces with Norwegian singer Aurora to form Tomora. Their album Come Closer is at number sixteen. All together now - The sun will come out Tomora, bet your bottom dollar that Tomora there’ll be sun. Last Saturday was Record Store Day which saw lots of limited editions released. One of them was a new edition of The Cure’s Greatest Hits. The album returns to the top forty at number 27.

Tuesday 21st April Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Chelsea (20:00) Wednesday 22nd April AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Leeds United (20:00) Burnley 0-2 Manchester City (20:00)

The sun will come out tomora, bet your bottom dollar that tomora...

Best Wah! - The Story Of The Blues Echo And The Bunnymen - The Cutter Icehouse - Hey Little Girl Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Genetic Engineering Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) There were other good songs, but these five are easily the best. Worst Imagination - Changes Joe Cocker And Jennifer Warnes - Up Where We Belong Sharon Redd - In The Name Of Love

The Barry hawkins v Matthew Stevens match was paused this evening berceuse the advertising screens were a distraction. What numpty thought that moving advertising screens were a good idea for snooker?

Saturday 18th April Brentford 2-1 Fulham (12;30) Leeds United 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Newcastle United 1-2 AFC Bournemouth Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion (17:30) Chelsea 2-2 Manchester United (20:00) Sunday 19th April Aston Villa 2-1 Sunderland (14:00) Everton 1-2 Liverpool (14:00) Nottingham Forest 2-0 Burnley (14:00) Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal (16:30) Monday 20th April Crystal Palace 0-1 West Ham United (20:00)

Looking at some of the entries that have been accepted, maybe I should have gone for my first choice from my year

This week's ramblings, with no shoehorned references to Artemis II and space travel, is available from the Blogs page or the Forums Index page.

There’s still no stopping Sam Fender and Olivia Dean who get an eighth week att the top of the singles chart with Rein Me In. It is the longest run at number one since Huntrx and a cast of thousands spent a total of ten weeks at the summit starting in August last year. Golden is still in the top forty today. Tame Impala’s Dracula entered the top forty between two of Golden’s three runs at the top of the singles chart. It climbed to number 21 before dropping out of the chart altogether in November. It returned to the top forty in February and started to gain momentum, climbing nine places to number three two weeks ago. This week it climbs one more place to number two. Alex Warren’s Fever Dream climbs two places to number three. The top five is completed by two other songs climbing two places. Sombr’s Homewrecker is at number four, one place ahead of Dominic Fike’s Babydoll. It is Fike’s first top five appearance since 3 Nights in August 2019. It is no secret that I am not generally a fan of K-Pop. Therefore, the chances of me liking a song by a Los Angeles-based group clearly inspired by K-Pop were never going to be great. However, I wasn't quite prepared for just how awful the song in question, Pinky Up by Katseye, would be. Pinky Up, a new entry at number fourteen, is their third top forty hit. It is the first to reach the top twenty. One of the surprise hits of last year was Doechii’s Anxiety which peaked at number three. The success of that song has earned her the chance to work with Lady Gaga, a performer with a chart history dating back to 2009. The result, Runway, is a new entry at number 32. It deserves to go higher. Prospa are a DJ duo from Leeds. They had minor hits in 2020 and last year, neither of which came anywhere near the top forty. They have teamed up with another DJ by the name of Cloonee to record their latest singleFree Your Mind. The combination of two acts with little chart success has worked as they enter at number 39. In the week that Olivia Dean gets an eighth week with the number one single alongside Sam Fender, she also gets an eighth week at the top of the albums chart The Art Of Loving climbs back up to number one. It first topped the chart on its release last October and was most recently at the top in February. It has been in the top five for its whole 29-week run in the chart with all but two of those weeks in the top three. Jack Savoretti’s ninth studio album, We Will Always Be The Way We Were, was at number one in the two chart updates this week. However, with fewer that 10,000 sales by Wednesday it always looked likely to miss out by the end of the week. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of that figure came from actual sales, both physical copies and downloads. As real sales are heavily weighted towards the beginning of the chart week, it was unlikely that he would add many sales to that total in the final two days. It is, therefore, no surprise to see him entering at number two. It is at number one in the Official Record Store chart which only counts physical sales from independent record shops. It comes as a pleasure to note that Holly Humberstone is the singer-songwriter’s real name. When you are blessed with a name like that, why change it? Her first full-length album reached number five in 2023. Her second has narrowly outperformed it; Cruel World is at number four. It is number one in the vinyl albums chart. Raye falls one place to number three with This Music May Contain Hope. BTS are still at number five with Arirang. I’m still not sure whether they are referring to Ari Styles, or what he might have been ringing about. Ella Langley’s first album got precisely nowhere in the UK albums chart However, with a big hit single to her name in the form of Choosin’ Texas, her second release was always likely to do significantly better. And so it has come to pass; Dandelion is at number seven. British rock band Enter Shikari are at number sixteen with Lose Your Self, an album that was a surprise release last week. Alfie Boe enters at number 32 with Face Myself. Unlike his previous albums, this includes some songs written by Boe himself. Justin Bieber’s Purpose returns at number 37 following his performance at the Coachella festival last weekend. He also returns to the singles chart with Beauty And A Beat (with Nicki Minaj) at number eleven, five places above its original peak position in 2012. Daisies, a number one hit last year, has sprouted at number fifteen and Yukon is back at number 26. Yukon reached number eighteen last year.

Kinky Boobs

Swedehead

Things Will Only Get Bitter Thongs Will Only Get Better

Killed Queen

The Winner Fakes It All