Suedehead2

.In 2007 Rihanna spent ten weeks at number one with Umbrella. While it would be an exaggeration to say that it never stopped raining in that time, we did have a rather wet summer. In 2026, Rein Me in (let’s not worry about minor details such as spelling) has now notched up a 22nd week at number one and rain has become something people talk about nostalgically. Indeed, it has been at number one for so long that it is easy to forget that it climbed to the top at a time when we desperately longed for just a couple dry days. Yesterday (Thursday), it became the first song to be at the top of the UK singles chart exactly six months after climbing to the summit. The betting companies might want to start thinking about the odds for Last Christmas to be the next number one. On a more quirky note, my general rule is to spell out numbers up to twenty and to use numbers thereafter. This is the first time I have used numbers to indicate how long a song has spent at number one. If it is still number one next week, I might demonstrate an exception to the rule. A long-running number one almost inevitably leads to at least one particularly unlucky number two. That label can be applied to Shakira and Burna Boy’s Dai Dai which gets a fifth consecutive week in the runner-up position. Ella Langley is still Choosin’ Texas at number three. Hugel, Imael Angel and Ultra Nate stay at number four with Movin’ To The Sun. From where? The Daily Express? Stella Lefty has her first top five hit as Boston climbs to number five. I assume that is a second US geographical; reference in the top five rather than being about the town in Lincolnshire. As the summer draws to a close, it is not unusual for some utterly naff track to hit the charts. This trend dates back at least as far as Y Viva Espana in 1970-something. That serves as an introduction to the fact that Katseye have their fifth top forty hit of the year with something called Hootie Frutti at number sixteen. Tutti Frutti it ain’t. It is roughly the same length as the Little Richard classic, but definitely does not leave this listener wanting more. Noah Kahan’s Orbiter has been making its way round the charts for a coup[le months, mostly in the forties but briefly dropping into the fifties as well as a short spell in the top forty. Now it is back in the main chart at number 32, a new peak. Robyn’s wonderful Dancing On My Own reappeared in the top forty for a couple weeks while I have been away, before dropping out last week. This week it is back again at number 34. Raye’s Where Is My Husband is still in the top forty. Can’t she swap it for a version of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for? The Killers’ Mr Brightside moves back up two places to number 38. Its current top forty run is its longest. At five weeks it easily surpasses the classic song’s initial three-week run back in 2004. Despite being on permanent AACR (meaning that its streams have only half the value of most songs in the chart), it has been in the top 100 almost continuously since the start of 2021. It typically drops out for a week or two over the festive period. This is its 519th week in the top 100, but only its twelfth in the top forty. When American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers released her debut album, most people in the UK took no notice whatsoever. It entered the lower reaches of the downloads chart, but didn’t make the main chart at all. Three years later, album number two performed much better, reaching the top ten. After a six-year gap, she has finally released her third album. Lost Weekend, and has grabbed herself a first UK number one. The title track is also a new entry in the singles chart, at number 39. Lost Weekend is the 24th album to top the chart since Rein Me In first topped the singles chart. Bear in mind that four other swings have topped the chart since then while Sam Fender and Olivia Dean were having a little rest. People who think they can stand a full album of Katseye got their wish last week with the release of Wild. It lands at number two this week. Oh joy. While they haven’t had a top forty single for over a decade, Dublin band The Script continue to enjoy chart success with their albums. All of their first seven studio albums have reached the top two. However, the midweek updates suggested that their eighth collection, The User’s Guide To Being Human might see that run come to an end. Today (Friday) sees that confirmed. It is a new entry at number three. A look at the Script’s upcoming dates in the UK shows something of a contrast, After dates at the Bournemouth International Centre, a large venue I know well, and the O2 Arena in London. They have a date at the 600-capacity Concorde 2 in Brighton. This must either be a special treat for a select number of Sussex-based fans, or an acknowledgement that there would be a lot of empty seats in the Brighton Centre. If one album title could sum up the summer of 2026 in much of Europe, Jungle’s Sunshine would be a good contender. Sadly, neither Eric Morecambe nor Ernie Wise is alive to be able to walk into a record shop and ask someone behind the counter to “Bring Me Sunshine”. Nevertheless, sufficient people are alive to buy or stream the album for it to have got to number four. The top five is completed by The Essential Michael Jackson. The Kris Barras band, fronted by a former UFC fighter, are at number 21 with Monsters We Made. Marilyn Manson gets a twelfth top forty album with One Assassination Under God - Chapter 2 at number 27. Chapter 1 reached number 36 in 2024. Finally, many thanks to popchartfreak for his commentaries in five of the last six weeks.

Arsenal 2-1 Coventry Hull 0-2 Man Utd Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace Ipswich 1-2 Sunderland Nottingham Forest 0-2 Leeds Brentford 2-2 Tottenham Brighton 2-0 Aston Villa Man City 2-0 Bournemouth Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool Fulham 1-1 Chelsea

And that day was today. I agree with Chez that Roger's role was somewhat downplayed. In the book he is portrayed as being at least as awful as Jack, if not worse. Piggy (Nicky)'s general intelligence and decency was a lot more prominent in the BBC adaptation than in the original film. That part was more true to the book. The portrayal of his death, and burial, perhaps increased the impact, although it is arguable that they shouldn't have strayed so far from the book. The BBC adaptation hinted strongly at Simon having a crush on Jack. While the book described Simon as both queer and gay, that was using the 1950s definition of the words, but I can still see that there might have been the hint of a crush. It is interesting to note, BTW, that the actor who played Jack is playing Draco Malfoy in the HBO Harry Potter series. I hope he gets to play someone nice at some point,

Believe me, he would have done.

A depressingly long list

Did you do an EMF RIP?

Exactly. If the work needs doing, pay people at least the minimum wage to do it.

Part of their plan includes a change in the payment of sick pay. They claim it will be cost-neutral for companies. If that is true, what is the point?

Sheffield Wednesday’s win yesterday means they have already got more points than last season!

Stand by for next week’s scandal when it emerges that someone once bought Andy Burnham a Mars bar.

Yes, I’m due back next week. Still in SW France but I start to make my way home tomorrow. On the subject of short attention spans, which you touched upon, I read Pride and Prejudice earlier this week. Some of the long sentences would potentially be a problem for today’s youngsters.

Please let today be forever known as Bin Day.

Why would previous Tory voters who switched to the Lib Dems two years ago revert to an even more right-wing Tory party?

Many of the seats won by the Lib Dems in 2024 have been Tory seats for many decades, if not for ever.

The closer she moves towards Farage, the closer she gets to writing off the 60-odd seats the party lost to the Lib Dems, as well as risking losing even more.

The Reytons’ album is really good. Hope it holds on to thee top spot.

So I’ll be back in time for the obscure song that was Christmas number one that year.

2-2-ring

Doors - Moon Of Alabama (and the Bowie version) Eagles - Hotel California Mamas and Papas - California Dreamin’ Billy Joel - New York State Of mind

A leaked document shows that the international Olympic Committee is considering changes to some events for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Athletics Some of the races will be split with hydration breaks in between. For example, the 5000m will be run as three 1500m races followed by 100m and 400m. The times will be combined to determine the winner. There will be no hydration break between the 400m and 100m races. If all US athletes have been eliminated, the events will resume their traditional format as no US network will show the race, thereby eliminating the need for a hydration break. Marathon This will be run over 13 days with competitors running one mile in the morning, and another mile in the afternoon. There will be a hydration break between the end of the 26th mile and the final 385 yards. Some athletes will be exempt from the final 385 yards with their time for that distance officially recorded as zero. Those athletes will be selected by Donald J Trump. Javelin This will become a more archery-based event. Competitors will aim for a target on the ground, centred around a picture of someone Donald J Trump doesn’t like. The bull’s eye will be in a place yet to be determined, probably the heart or the centre of the forehead. Diving The rigid system of scoring will be abandoned. All dives will be judged by Donald J Trump. Baseball Only countries with a team that has won the World Series will be able to take part. Golf Donald J Trump will be presented with the gold medal at the opening ceremony. Cricket The International Cricket Council has been instructed to consider new ways for dismissing a batter to provide more opportunity for hydration breaks. This includes allowing the fielding side to obstruct batters running between wickets, thereby increasing the number of run outs. This may only be allowed if three complete overs have been bowled without a wicket being taken. Football Before the Games begin FIFA will auction off “bonus goals”. At the end of each match there will be a hydration break which teams can use to decide whether to use any of their bonus goals. Gianni Infantino will claim a 20% commission from each payment. The host nation will be given one free bonus goal for each match. Penalty shootouts will be abolished. If a match is tied after 90 minutes in the knock-out stage, the teams will bid for an extra bonus goal. The higher bid will win. If both teams make the same bid, extra time will be played. If the teams are still tied, there will be another bonus goal bid. Bids will continue until one side wins. Again, a 20% commission will be awarded to Infantino. Under the terms of the agreement with the Trump administration, this commission is payable to Infantino personally, not the incumbent president of FIFA. Bigly Good This new event will see gold medals handed out to any athlete judged to have done bigly good. The event will be judged by the host nation’s president, Donald J Trump. There will be no limit to the number of medals awarded.

Master and Servant Madam Butterfly The Day Before You Came Seven Seas Lament Worst I Just Called… Agadoo Agadoo again

No doubt Infantino will still claim it as a success as the idea lasted longer than the European Super League plan.

After various changes in the rules, I never thought Frankie Laine’s record would be beaten in a single chart run. Last Christmas will surpass 18 weeks in the next few years, but those will have been accumulated over many chart runs. It’s also extraordinary that a song that took so long to get to the top in the first place has broken the record. I’ve been a fan of Sam Fender for a number of years. Rein Me In is far from his best piece of work, but congratulations to him on beating a record that has stood for nearly three-quarters of a century, longer than even you and I have been alive. The fire near Bordeaux has mostly been contained now, although it is still raging. I remain thankful that I decided a few months go to take an alternative route home, avoiding Bordeaux.

Because of streaming, “sales” are now calculated to a number of decimal places. Therefore, a tie is highly unlikely. Even if the figures for two songs were the same when rounded to the nearest whole number, I suspect the OCC would round one figure up and the other down to give a winning margin of one sale.

Al Martino’s Here In Me Heart was the first UK number one, and stayed there for nine weeks. Frankie Laine’s I Believe also had a nine-week run before returning to the top for uns on six and three weeks. If Rein Me In is number one tomorrow, it will be only the third song to hold the record, and the first by British artists.