Suedehead2

Whatever you may think of Lewis Capaldi’s music, it is surely hard as a fellow human being not to sympathise with him for his experience at Glastonbury two years ago. His Tourette’s syndrome forced him to abandon his set. This year, he chose to play his first live show since then at the same venue and he wowed the audience in a way many of his critics may be reluctant to acknowledge. Oh, and his first cousin once removed, former Doctor Peter Capaldi, joined Franz Ferdinand for Take Me Out in a genuine surprise appearance. Just for the record, Capaldi had enjoyed a highly successful acting career before becoming the twelfth Doctor. Where was I? I seem to have got distracted, just for a change. Ah yes, Lewis Capaldi. His Glastonbury appearance just happened to coincide with the release of a new single, Survive. Isn’t it amazing how these things work out? Coverage of his first live appearance for two years and a bunch of CD copies have combined to give Capaldi a sixth number one single. His debut album, Divinely Inspired To A Hellish Extent is back in the top forty at number fifteen. It was released in 2019, spending ten weeks at number one, and was last in the top forty in April last year. This is its 248th week inthe top forty. Dior by MK featuring Chrystal is still at number two. Sabrina Carpenter’s manchild falls to number three after a second non-consecutive week at number one. Ravyn Lenae is down one place to number four with Love Me Not. Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club is still at number five. It has been in the top five since the middle of February, a run of 21 weeks. Alex Warren’s first new song to be released after Ordinary’s marathon run at number one was ended by the application of chart rules might have been expected to be a high new entry. However, On My Mind enters at a rather modest number 37. It features Rosé which could have been bad news. Thankful, this song is a vast improvement on Apt. It is many years since I went to the cinema. The last film I saw there was The Imitation Game. One of the types of film least likely to tempt me back would be a K-Pop film. It is safe to say that I am not part of the target audience for K-Pop Demon Hunters. The song How It’s Done by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami does nothing to change that. The number of people who disagree with me and have streamed it makes it a new entry at number 40. How It’s Done is not the only thing from K-Pop Demon Hunters to enter the chart this week. There is more. Eek. Your Idol by (take a deep breath) Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee (yes, really) and K-Pop Demon Hunters Cast is at number 34. I assume Uncle Tom Cobley and all were unavailable. Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami do their lack of magic again on Golden which is at number 31. With all of the BTS members having completed their compulsory military service, they have promised a new album for next year. Oh joy. Among the many non-movers in the top forty this week is Lola Young’s One Thing. It has spent four of the last five weeks at number nineteen. It has become part of the Glastonbury tradition that there will be a few slots across the weekend designated either as TBA (To Be Announced) or by the use of an obviously fake band name. Some of the acts are a genuine surprise, while other names have been widely guessed before the festival gets underway. For example, it was no surprise that the band billed as Patchwork turned out to be Pulp. Note that the “denials” were very much along the lines of the “We have no plans to…” non-denial used by politicians. Obviously, Pulp were brilliant. Lewis Cpaldi’s set was also not on the original schedule. The earliest non-surprise was an appearance by Lorde, a riff from whose song Green Light was used to introduce the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage some years ago. She used her appearance to play her new album, Virgin, in full, an unusual way to use a festival appearance. It is more common to use it as a chance to do something akin to a greatest hits set, but why waste a golden opportunity to plug a new album? As with Lewis Capaldi, the free promotion of a Glastonbury slot has benefitted Lorde immensely. Although her previous three releases have all reached the top five, Virgin becomes her first album to top the chart. What Was That, a single from the album re-enters the top forty at number 35. It reached number eleven in May. Many people used the enforced extra spare time given by measures to protect thee population against Covid to learn new skills. Bruce Springstten used the time to trawl through his vast archive of unreleased songs. He released one such collection back in 1998 which covered material recorded before 1983. His new collection, Tracks II: The Lost Albums covers the period from 1983 to 2018. As the title suggests, the seven-CD set is not just a random collection of songs. Springsteen has arranged the songs effectively to create seven separate albums. Despite the inevitably high cost (although a single-CD highlights collection is also available), the album has made it to number two. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet is at number three in its 45th consecutive week in the top five. It was already the longest consecutive run in the top five for a studio album. Now it is also the longest run for a solo album, beating Elvis Presley’s GI Blues soundtrack album. Ed Sheeran’s Tour collection is at number four. London-born, US-based, self-proclaimed Scot Rod Stewart filled Glastonbury’s popular Legends slot on Sunday afternoon. Guess what? He just happened to release a new hits compilation last week. What are the chances? Despite the fact that hits compilations are a bit redundant in the streaming age, Ultimate Hits is at number five. Oasis’s long-awaited live comeback starts this weekend in Cardiff. Their hits compilation Time Flies is at number six. Definitely Maybe is at number 26 and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory is at number fourteen. Veteran singer Barbra Streisand just about sneaks a 30th top forty album. The Secret Of Life: Partners Volume Two is at number 40. It is a collection of duets featuring singers such as Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey and Sting.

Best Blondie - Atomic David Bowie - Alabama Song Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach Rush - The Spirit Of Radio The Jam - Going Underground Worst, just for the record Jon Pertwee - Worzel's Song Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy The Gibson Brothers - Cuba/Better Do It Salsa

Pulp (Patchwork) were predictably brilliant! Jarvis Cocker is still one of the greatest frontmen.

Still nothing happening. Channel 5 must be relieved they aren't showing this match.

Someone on the BBC website has just raised a very good question. What would happen if a match in the last round of group games was paused? Would the other match have to stop as well?

The Benfica v Chelsea match was paused with four minutes to play because of an imminent storm. That delay has so far lasted an hour with no definite time for a resumption. It isn't the first match in this tournament to be delayed for that reason. This time next year, the same stadiums will be hosting the World Cup. I suspect a lot of broadcasters won't be happy, particularly in the American continents where the matches will be played in peak-time.

Disappointed at the timing of Franz Ferdinand's appearance. The archduke who gave them their name was assassinated 111 years ago today.

A great final tonight with England winning in extra-time

This week's chart ramblings can be found in their usual place in the Blogs section of the Forum section index page.

After being dislodged from number one last week by the return of Alex Warren’s Ordinary, Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild returns the compliment by going back to the top this week. Three of Carpenter’s number one singles have now returned to the summit after being toppled. It used to be a rarity for songs to return to number one, but it has become more commonplace in recent years. However, an ABAB pattern (with songs alternating single weeks at number one) is still unusual. It last happened in 1969 when The Scaffold’s Lily the Pink and marmalade’s version of Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da spent four weeks swapping places with each other. One of the Scaffold members went under the name of Mike McGear. His real name was Mike McCartney whose brother was a Beatle and who wrote On-La-Di-Ob-L-Da. If we ever get an ABACAB pattern, perhaps there will be a Genesis rerelease to celebrate it. Thanks to Liam Sota at Buzzjack for pointing out that Sabrina Carpenter and Alex Warren have occupied the number one spot for an astonishing 36 of the last 62 weeks. Their total for all previous weeks was precisely zero. They did, of course, have an excuse for most of those weeks as they hadn’t been born. Even though Ordinary returned to number one last week, it did so with fewer streams than the previous week. A further decline means that it is now on the Accelerated Chart Ratio (ACR) and the value of its streams are now halved. As a result, it has fallen to number nine. It is almost certain that it would still be at number one if its streams were still counted in line with the Standard Chart Ratio (SCR). Readers will have their own views on whether a song should be denied weeks at number one by this chart rule. MK and Chrystal’s Dior moves up three places to number two while Ravyn Lenae stays at number three with Love Me Not. Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club falls to number five, its lowest position since February. Fred Again is back in the chart again with this week’s highest new entry at number four. He is joined on Victory Lap by skepta (who features on another new entry much lower down the chart) and PlagueBoyMax (not his real name) who enters the chart for the first time. Rossi. joins the ranks of artists who insist on having a full-stop as part of their name as he enters at number 33 with High On Me. It features Jazzy who gets a fifth top forty hit as a result. Pinkpantheress scores her sixth top forty single with Illegal at number 36. Her biggest hit remains Boy’s A Liar which reached number two in 2023. Sombr gets his third top forty single with We Never Dated, a song that certain Beach Boys feel to it. A fitting tribute to Brian Wilson, and a lovely new entry for the summer. His other two hits are still in the higher reaches of the chart. After several years performing without chart success, Sammy Virji enters the top forty for the first time with Cops And Robbers at number 39 with the help of featured artist Skepta, someone with a rather longer chart history. Let’s just say it’s not my thing. The best chart single with the word robber in its title remains The Clash’s Bankrobber. Gracie Abrams’ former chart-topper That’s So True returns at number 38. It hasn’t fallen any lower that number 41 since it entered the chart last October, surviving even the wave of Christmas songs. In most weeks, the first albums chart update shows a number of new entries spread throughout the top forty. Many of those albums won’t make the chart by the end of the week. This week, things were a little different.The number of new entries in the top forty was seven, a fairly standard number. However, all of them were in the top ten, including the whole of the top five. By Friday, the top four were all new entries. The one survivor from last week’s top five ensured that a chart record continued. Yungblud’s new album Idols started the week at the top and stayed there all week to give the Doncastrian born Dominic Harrison his third consecutive number one. It follows Weird! (2020) and Yungblud (2023). The UK chart’s favourite spoonerism Benjamin Coyle-Larner, recording as Loyle Carner (see what he did there?) enters at number two with his fourth album Hopefully. That optimistic title beats his two previous albums which both got to number three. American sister-fronted band Haim are at number three with I Quit. They are one of the bands rumoured to be filling one of the vacant slots at this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival. Another act rumoured to be playing are Pulp whose excellent album Moree topped the chart two weeks ago. It continues is relative gentle slide this week (compared with most similar acts) by falling to number 29. Benson Boone released his debut album Fireworks and Rollerblades in April last year, just after Beautiful Things climbed to the top of the singles chart. The album reached a rather disappointing number sixteen. His second album American Heart has done rather better by debuting at number four. Beautiful Things remains in the top forty, at number fourteen this week. The aforementioned sole survivor from last week’s top five is Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet. It therefore extends its record-breaking run (for a studio album) to 44 weeks in the top five. The Official Charts Company’s (OCC) chart summariser seems to have tired of using the word multihyphenate, so has resorted to hyperbole instead this week by describing Aitch as Manchester's finest. This comes in a piece which also describes the presence of three Oasis albums in the top forty. Aitch doesn’t appear to be Manchester’s finest mathematician (that, arguably is Alan Turing who worked at the university and has a statue there to commemorate him) either as he has called his sixth album 4. It is at number seven. Thankfully, the unnamed OCC writer didn’t describe the little-known metal band Malevolence as Sheffield’s finest. One of the genuine contenders for that title have already had a mention here. He has listed their names though and one of them (Alex Taylor) has a name very similar to that of the singer with another of the contenders. Malevolence make their chart debut with their fourth album Where Only The Truth Is Spoken at number 32. The final new entry comes from Lucy Spraggan who is at number 36 with Other Sides Of The Moon. Whether she is referring to sides other than the dark one, I know not. Among the re-entries are Lana Del Rey’s 2012 debut album Born To Die at number and Oasis’s Definitely Maybe at number 37. These are both due to current or imminent UK tours. There may be others next week resulting from coverage of Glastonbury on the BBC this weekend. Make the most of it. There is no festival this year and there are suggestions that a streaming service might outbid the BBC for the next contract, running from 2028.

Yeah, because Trump, Musk and Farage are well known for their poverty-stricken backgrounds.

The Tories aren't exactly well-placed to complain about this. They didn't publish an impact assessment on leaving the EU.

I doubt he knows, so I don't see why you should.

What could possibly go wrong with that?

Best Jon And Vangelis - I Hear You Now Joe Jackson - It's Different For Girls The Specials - Too Much Too Young (The Special AKA Live! EP) The Tourists - So Good To Be Back Home Again Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers Hon mention - Captain Beaky Worst Kool And The Gang - Too Hot Commodores - Wonderland Sister Sledge - Got To Love Somebody

Are you planning to catch up with the number one albums over the next few weeks rather than doing them all tonight?

The BBC are currently planning to show their set. However, I suspect the live feed will be subject to a short delay.

The new album is fantastic! If I go, I will definitely go for a seat! Battle Abbey is the location of one of the most significant events in English history. Unfortunately, Yr 7 students don't quite get just how big a deal it is. It is the site of the last successful invasion of England, and it was almost 1,000 years ago. Most of the current Yr 7s will be alive for the 1,000th anniversary even if we are not. I wonder if Alex Warren will still ne number one by then.

I suspect the Lords will pass some amendments. I also think that at least some of those amendments will be sensible. Issues like this can often see Parliament working at its best as it is not a party political matter. It is a lot easier for all parliamentarians to have respect for their opponents' arguments.

I went on a History trip to Battle Abbey yesterday. One of the History teachers had been to Hammersmith the previous night. She was about half our age and loved it! They are in Wolverhampton the day after we break up for summer. I'm still wondering whether to go.

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

After it was replaced at number one last week, people might have thought that Alex Warren’s Ordinary had had its time at the top. The first signs that they were wrong came on Sunday when it was back at number one in the first update of the week. It is still there at the end of the week, giving it a thirteenth week at number one in total. It thereby creates another chart record. Its return to the top after an initial twelve week run shatters the record set by Frankie Laine’s I Believe way back in 1953. That song’s first run at number one lasted for nine weeks before it lost its hold on the top spot. However, after just one week, it returned and stayed there for a further six weeks. It then bounced back up again for a three week run. Its total of eighteen weeks at number one remains a record over seventy years later. The return of Alex Warren to the top spot means that Sabrina Carpenter’s fourth number one Manjchild comes to an end after just one week. Of course, she may yet return to extend her run. Ravyn Lenae’s Love Me Not remains at number three with Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club another non-mover, at number four. The big mover of the week is MK and Chrystal’s Dior which jumps twelve places to number five. Most of this week’s new entries come from, or feature, acts with a relatively long chart history. The first (measured simply by the order in which I am covering them)comes from Twenty One Pilots who made their top forty debut with Stressed Out in 2016. They haven’t exactly been regular visitors to the top forty since then. The Contract, a new entry at number 33, is only their fourth single to reach the top forty although others have spent time in the lower reaches of the chart. Mark Ronson’s first chart outing came in 2003 when Ooh Wee reached number fifteen. His first major success came with his 2007 album Version, a collection of cover versions with guest singers. That included his version of The Zutons’ Valerie with Amy Winehouse on vocals. Ronson had previously produced many of the songs on Winehouse’s classic back To Black album. Suzanne, a new entry at number 34, features vocals from Raye and is Ronson’s thirteenth top forty hit, his first since 2019. Regular readers will know that I am a bit of a Sparks fan. Unfortunately, old age and the need to be up for work in the morning meant that I didn’t see either of their London gigs this week. However, thye band does join the list of chart acts whose name has also been the title of a top forty single. Rather unexpectedly, it has happened because Coldplay’s song Sparks, from their debut alum Parachutes released in 2000, is a new entry at number 40. Coldplay made their singles chart debut in the same year. The song which least deserves to be described as being from an act with a long chart history is the one where that act, Tinashe, is the featured artist. In fact, all three of her top forty hits since 2015 has seen her in a featuring role. On No Broke Boys, which enters at number 37, she plays second fiddle to Disco Lines, a new name to the top forty. The exception to the established acts rule comes from BTS member J-hope. His first top forty single as a solo artist came as recently as 2023. He now gets his second with Killin’ It girl at number 30. It features GloRilla which I’m guessing isn’t their real name. The Black Eyed Peas’ Rock That Body has been allowed back in to the top forty at number 35. It reached number eleven in 2010. The writer of the Official Chart Company’s write-up of the albums chart is still proudly using their new word, multihyphenate. This week they have used it to describe James Marriott, the Brighton-based musician who has a surprise number one album this week. His previous album reached number seventeen but a social media fanbase has propelled Don’t Tell The Dog all the way to the top. A combination of a new (very expensive) vinyl edition and the imminence of their live comeback has lifted Oasis’s Time Flies compilation to number two. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet is at number three. It has been in the top five for 43 consecutive weeks, a new record for a studio album. It has a little way to go to beat the South Pacific soundtrack album which entered the top five in April 1958 and stayed there until October 1961. It spent 114 weeks at number one, including the whole of 1959. For many years Van Morrison was one of the most highly-acclaimed singer-songwriters. Chart watchers have also been able to comment on the fact that Astral Weeks, an album which regularly features on critics’ lists of the best albums of all time, was not a hit. Later albums have been more successful. His reputation took a bit of a knock when he rai9led against measures taken to protect people from Covid, including recording a song about it. However, his latest album, Remembering Now, has been well received and it is a new entry at number eleven. To the delight of many, The Cure reached number one with their Songs Of A Lost World album topped the chart last year. They have now released an album of remixes o songs from that record and it is at number nine this week. New York rapper Lil Tecca is at number seventeen with Dopamine. AJ Tracey 37 with the cheerfully-titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead. Last week saw the sad news of the death of Brian Wilson, the last surviving of the three brothers who formed The Beach Boys. It is impossible to exaggerate just how revolutionary songs such as God Only Knows and Good Vibrations sounded when they were released in 1966, almost sixty years ago. The news came too late to influence last week’s chart but their 1983 compilation The Very Best Of The Beach Boys is at number 32 this week.

Ver pleased with a sixth place!

I make no excuse for entering Icicle Works for another contest. Both of my entries are great songs!

And it finishes 10-0. Auckland's xG reached the dizzy heights of 0.03. What a farce.