Ghoulian

Went for Joey Negro - had forgotten that actually won!

Yay at this final! I absolutely love both but I’ll go for Snoop as M.I.A. has won before.

The ridiculous level of scores so far this year was never you g to last and there’s nothing quite at the 9 level here. There’s still a lot to enjoy though, especially a couple of very fine ballad discoveries from Billy and Howard. 8 Billy Joel An Innocent Man This is a rather excellent ballad as well as an outstanding vocal performance: what a contrast with "Uptown Girl" 8 Van Halen Jump 1st Top 40 for this US rock band and a Stateside #1 about a suicidal jumper: it's anthemic with an incredible riff 8 Howard Jones Hide And Seek His only Top 10 miss in his 1st 7, but very undeservedly as it's another beautifully intense and striking ballad 7 Re-Flex The Politics Of Dancing Only hit for this UK new wave band about people coming together and letting go: this has a great energy to it 7 The Style Council My Ever Changing Moods Another big hit for them: this reflects on life's highs and lows and has a lovely, gently flowing and soulful feel to it 7 Henry Mancini And His Orchestra Main Theme From 'The Thorn Birds' Mancini's 2nd and last Top 40, also from this drama: a beautiful track with the theme led by guitars and violins 6 Matt Bianco Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed 1st hit for this band whose name is a fictional spy: this is an enjoyable slice of jazz with a throwback feel to it 6 Carmel More More More Their 2nd and last Top 40: this doesn't have the uniqueness of "Bad Day" but is another enjoyable throwback 5 Kool And The Gang Joanna/Tonight Their highest peaking hit coming deep into their career: both tracks are good but very much in the MOR lane 5 Richard Hartley And The Michael Reed Orchestra The Music Of Torvill And Dean EP I'm not a fan of Ravel's "Bolero", but otherwise this is a fun collection of pop and classical skating related tracks 4 Soft Cell Down In The Subway Their last hit before their split although they will eventually be back: Marc's vocals almost feel too full on here 4 Hot Chocolate I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) Their last new hit though they'll have some reissues: I find this breaks no new ground and is on the boring side 3 Alexei Sayle 'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? Only hit for this UK comedian: it is rather grating but has a certain rhythmic power and isn't the worst of novelty 2 Marilyn Cry And Be Free He's clearly trying for something epic here with the gospel choir and big emotive style, but it ends up being turgid 1984 Group 5: #1324 18/02/1984 The Fraggles Fraggle Rock Theme 33 74-46-37-{33}-36-44-64-73->8 #1325 03/03/1984 Julia And Company Breakin' Down (Sugar Samba) 15 38-19-{15}-19-24-35-46-71->8 #1326 18/02/1984 Mel Brooks To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap) 12 67-57-39-31-17-{12}-18-24-42-66->10 #1327 10/03/1984 Lionel Richie Hello 1 25-5-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-4-10-15-29-39-47-60->15 #1328 10/03/1984 Phil Fearon And Galaxy What Do I Do 5 27-13-7-{5}-8-11-23-37-51-75->10 #1329 03/03/1984 Tracey Ullman My Guy's Mad At Me 23 46-32-24-{23}-34-63->6 #1330 28/01/1984 Wang Chung Dance Hall Days 21 73-55-56-46-43-42-34-26-{21}-22-28-53->12 #1331 27/08/1983 The Weather Girls It's Raining Men 2 73-74-73-47R(25)-36-11-5-{2}-6-8-18-27-42-61->14 #1332 25/02/1984 Sade Your Love Is King 6 59-43-37-20-9-{6}-10-15-30-42-61-75R(2)->12 #1333 03/03/1984 Bananarama Robert De Niro's Waiting 3 48-38-22-8-{3}-3-5-12-23-39-64->11 #1334 10/03/1984 Afrika Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Force The Renegades Of Funk 30 39-{30}-32-54->4 #1335 25/02/1984 Tina Turner Help 40 54-49-{40}-40-40-47->6 #1336 03/03/1984 Kajagoogoo The Lion's Mouth 25 50-41-37-{25}-25-38-65->7 #1337 24/03/1984 Culture Club It's A Miracle 4 14-{4}-7-7-16-28-44-63-66->9

I’m feeling much more enthusiastic about 10-7 than 6-4 overall. “Papa Don’t Preach” is very good though - it has an exciting build to match the hard hitting lyrics. “Chain Reaction” is objectively an excellently written song but I can’t find myself getting excited about it. “The Final Countdown” is brilliantly over the top and has a great riff. It’s enjoyable rather than great I think.

“Goodies” is decent but a bit plodding. “Trouble” is quite repetitive but despite that it does work well.

I was obsessed with “Price Tag” at the time. Less so now, but it might well still be my #1 here. I still think it has a general sparkle about it that not many 21st century pop songs have achieved.

We were delighted to come 7th in the first competition we have entered on time - Worldvision VIII representing Tunisia. BJSC 186: Alana Henderson - Wax & Wane Alana Henderson is an Irish singer songwriter and cellist who has toured with Hozier. Her debut EP, also called “Wax & Wane” was released in 2013. The above is a lovely live version of the track which gives it even a bit more intimacy and character. Understated acoustic material with thoughtful and beautiful songwriting and lyrics is the lane we are occupying in New Helvetica at the moment. We hope that some other countries can find a place for this in their hearts amid the sea of electronica.

2 Anastasia Vinnikova - I Love Belarus (2011, DNQ) Disclaimer: I don’t love Belarus. But this is a huge guilty pleasure: a hugely catchy track with delightful guitar parts and big rocky production. And if you are going to sing the praises of a country with a dodgy human rights record you might as well go all out with it. 1 Pete Elfimov - Eyes That Never Lie (2009, DNQ) This didn’t miss out on qualifying by much, but still how on Earth did it miss. It’s a marvellous and classily done rock track with a big and thrilling chorus. The live performance is wonderful, and also has the most amazing piece of camerawork from 2:00 to 2:10. This hasn’t really aged and still feels fresh and exciting.

ChartsPlus for this week is showing the weekly album chart as the year do date gah.

Some rather WTF results there with t.A.T.u and PSD. I’m not especially fond of “Don’t Cha” but it was undeniably a very strong debut and I thought it was well regarded here.

9/7: 1 2 Rein me in (1) 2 1 Man I need (1) 3 3 Stupid song (2) 4 4 Billie Jean (1) 5 9 American girls (1) 6 7 Hate that I made you love me (1) 7 5 The cure (3) 8 10 Ordinary (1) 9 12 Midnight sun (9) 10 8 I knew it, I knew you (1) 11 6 Drop dead (1) 12 13 Choosin’ Texas (12) 13 14 Lush life (3) 14 11 Dracula (4) 15 19 Homewrecker (10) 16 18 Free your mind (16) 17 15 IloveitIloveitIloveit (2) 18 20 Fever dream (4) 19 16 Where is my husband! (3) 20 17 Beat it (3) 21 21 So easy (5) 22 25 Stateside (5) 23 23 Janice STFU (3) 24 24 Golden (1) 25 27 Raindance (2) 26 30 Mr Brightside (10) 27 26 Nice to each other (5) 28 29 The fate of Ophelia (1) 29 32 Beauty and a beat (5) 30 34 Material lover (30) 31 33 On 2nite (31) 32 40 Earrings (26) 33 22 Go (5) 34 35 Talk to you (34) 35 31 Human nature (9) 36 28 Honeybee (9) 37 36 Don’t stop ‘til you get enough (3) 38 - Dai dai (38) 39 39 12 to 12 (8) 40 48 Boston (40) 41 - Sign of the times (1) 42 41 Dreams (22) 43 - Cinderella (43) 44 - Daisies (2) 45 44 Babydoll (12) 46 49 Beautiful things (1) 47 43 Just the way you are (8) 48 50 I just might (7) 49 47 Iris (3) 50 38 Maggots for brains (11)

Amazed how long it took to get here. Must have been doing less than 1k per week until April, which also explains why it’s dropping off faster than other old songs.

Week 27: 1 1 Olivia Dean Man I Need 1,380,000 2,480,000 2 2 Sam Fender and Olivia Dean Rein Me In 1,266,000 1,950,000 3 3 Raye Where Is My Husband! 886,000 1,490,000 4 4 Dave featuring Tems Raindance 880,000 1,120,000 5 5 Alex Warren Ordinary 863,000 3,040,000 6 6 Olivia Dean So Easy (To Fall In Love) 800,000 1,180,000 7 7 Bella Kay Iloveitiloveitiloveit 784,000 8 8 Huntr/x, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast Golden 752,000 2,080,000 9 10 Zara Larsson Lush Life 743,000 3,780,000 10 9 Taylor Swift The Fate Of Ophelia 742,000 1,490,000 11 11 PinkPantheress Stateside 680,000 810,000 12 12 Djo End Of Beginning 665,000 1,850,000 13 13 Olivia Dean Nice To Each Other 635,000 1,410,000 14 14 Tame Impala Dracula 603,000 740,000 15 15 Bruno Mars I Just Might 589,000 16 16 Sombr 12 To 12 577,000 1,100,000 17 17 Sombr Homewrecker 567,000 18 18 Sienna Spiro Die On This Hill 536,000 710,000 19 19 Zara Larsson Midnight Sun 515,000 620,000 20 21 Alex Warren Fever Dream 506,000 21 20 Taylor Swift Opalite 502,000 910,000 22 23 Harry Styles American Girls 489,000 23 22 Harry Styles Aperture 489,000 24 24 Dominic Fike Babydoll 475,000 1,220,000 25 25 Disco Lines and Tinashe No Broke Boys 471,000 1,190,000 26 26 Sombr Back To Friends 469,000 1,380,000 27 29 Michael Jackson Billie Jean 452,000 3,970,000 28 28 The Killers Mr Brightside 449,000 7,250,000 29 27 Milky Just The Way You Are 446,000 560,000 30 32 Ella Langley Choosin' Texas 419,000 450,000 31 30 Sabrina Carpenter Manchild 418,000 1,230,000 32 31 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 407,000 1,550,000 33 34 Fleetwood Mac Dreams 405,000 4,340,000 34 35 Goo Goo Dolls Iris 404,000 4,970,000 35 33 Dominic Fike White Keys 403,000 410,000 36 37 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 395,000 3,330,000 37 36 Olivia Dean The Hardest Part 395,000 1,120,000 38 38 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 393,000 2,200,000 39 39 Justin Bieber Daisies 382,000 880,000 40 40 Olivia Dean A Couple Minutes 371,000 550,000 42 45 Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj Beauty And A Beat 361,000 1,600,000 45 47 Olivia Rodrigo Drop Dead 356,000 49 50 Michael Jackson Beat It 331,000 2,570,000 54 56 Myles Smith Stargazing 312,000 2,120,000 76 78 Michael Jackson Dirty Diana 272,000 1,400,000 79 80 Michael Jackson Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough 269,000 1,970,000 84 87 Harry Styles Sign Of The Times 257,000 2,450,000 88 89 The Verve Bitter Sweet Symphony 248,000 3,230,000 90 95 Michael Jackson Human Nature 246,000 660,000 94 - Malcolm Todd Earrings 239,000 270,000 97 99 Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way 237,000 2,630,000 98 - Chemical Brothers Go 236,000 670,000 99 - Harry Styles As It Was 236,000 3,570,000 - 97 Fleetwood Mac Silver Springs 236,000 950,000 - 100 The Neighbourhood Sweater Weather 235,000 2,740,000 - 98 Fred Again…, Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax Victory Lap 235,000 730,000

Anyone know what’s going on with “I Run”? Its sales seem to have almost totally dried up in a similar way to Jimin’s “Who” after it left the charts.

Nu Generation and then we’re on for a marvellous final!

This week we’re shuffling 💔

“Give Me Everything” is certainly elevated by the Ne-Yo chorus, and some of the Pitbull rapping is iconic as you say. All in all it’s fun but nothing amazing “We R Who We R” is OK - she did the trash bop style well but the likes of “Tik Tok” and “Take It Off” are much better. Not big on “Read All About It” really - the chorus rap thing feels quite tired. Still it’s better than the dreary Emeli solo version.

5 Uzari and Maimuna - Time (2015, DNQ) This reminds me a bit of the 2026 Finnish entry with the female violinist and male vocalist. It’s a catchy and compelling number that feels like it should have qualified. 4 Alekseev - Forever (2018, DNQ) Unfortunately I think the studio version of this works better - both the low pitched vocals at the beginning and the falsetto chorus don’t come over as well live. But it’s nonetheless a lovely haunting song that deserved better. 3 Koldun - Work Your Magic (2007, 6th) By far their best result, in fact their only top 15 finish in a final. You can absolutely see why as it’s a very accomplished performance and well crafted song with good energy and dramatic violins. But there are a couple I personally enjoy more.

I don’t think I’ve given any batch as high an average as 6.9 in any of my threads. It’s very hard to separate most of these: Duran Duran and Slade fielding some of their weaker songs made it slightly easier but otherwise it’s a brilliant group. So much so that the 3 best known classics have ended up 4th, 5th and 7th. At the top we have a one hit wonder that sounds not much like anything else I’ve heard, and a couple of top notch hip hop and dance pop songs respectively. 9 Swans Way Soul Train Only hit for this UK trio: I find it incredibly enchanting and unique sounding, with a mix of jazz and other styles 9 Break Machine Street Dance 1st hit for this US hip hop act whose producers had worked for the Village People: a special and influential track 9 Shannon Let The Music Play 1st hit for this US singer that's incredibly exuberant, punchy and ahead of its time: an outstanding elecropop hit 8 Queen Radio Ga Ga A very rousing and beaufifully produced part stadium rock style track defending the radio broadcasting format 8 Rockwell Somebody's Watching Me Only hit for US musician Kennedy Gordy with an uncredited Michael Jackson vocal: a marvellous creepy classic 8 Ultravox One Small Day After 7 straight Top 20s surprising that this lead single missed, especially as it's a beautifully expressive track 7 Nena 99 Red Balloons 532nd #1: only Top 40 for this German singer and I do prefer the German original, but it's a great anti war song 7 Marillion Punch And Judy About a marriage that's gone wrong, this is very punchy and another greatly enjoyable sound world from them 7 Nik Kershaw Wouldn't It Be Good 1st Top 40 for this UK singer who will have a huge couple of years, and it's a lovely and wistful synth pop track 6 Thompson Twins Doctor Doctor Another new highest peak for them: I prefer some of their others but it's a compelling listen and well performed 6 Juan Martin Love Theme From 'The Thorn Birds' Only hit for this Spanish guitarist from a US drama series: it's a lovely if not entirely memorable classical piece 5 Madness Michael Caine The lead from their 5th album surprisingly missing the Top 10: a lyrically interesting and enjoyable track overall 4 Slade Run Runaway Their last Top 10 in the wake of the success of "My Oh My" inspired by the Celtic jig sound: it's no more than OK 3 Duran Duran New Moon On Monday Another successful release for them but I don't enjoy it: it's a little repetitive and I find the vocals slightly grating 1984 Group 4: #1310 18/02/1984 The Style Council My Ever Changing Moods 5 8-{5}-9-17-27-35-51->7 #1311 18/02/1984 Howard Jones Hide And Seek 12 24-15-14-{12}-12-18-23-42-64->9 #1312 11/02/1984 Kool And The Gang Joanna/Tonight 2 50-26-10-3-{2}-2-4-10-17-33-57->11 #1313 18/02/1984 Billy Joel An Innocent Man 8 28-12-{8}-8-8-11-17-19-40-56->10 #1314 11/02/1984 Henry Mancini And His Orchestra Main Theme From 'The Thorn Birds' 23 43-31-25-{23}-29-38-61->7 #1315 11/02/1984 Matt Bianco Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed 15 47-36-21-17-{15}-23-31-50->8 #1316 04/02/1984 Hot Chocolate I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) 13 59-42-38-28-19-{13}-16-24-35-49->10 #1317 04/02/1984 Van Halen Jump 7 60-54-47-31-20-10-{7}-10-16-22-37-50-69->13 #1318 28/01/1984 Re-Flex The Politics Of Dancing 28 63-46-41-49-34-{28}-28-34-51->9 #1319 11/02/1984 Carmel More More More 23 69-55-35-25-{23}-31-48->7 #1320 25/02/1984 Soft Cell Down In The Subway 24 38-30-{24}-29-42-70->6 #1321 11/02/1984 Marilyn Cry And Be Free 31 48-43-39-{31}-35-45->6 #1322 03/03/1984 Richard Hartley And The Michael Reed Orchestra The Music Of Torvill And Dean EP 9 26-11-10-13-14-{9}-23-39-51->9 #1323 25/02/1984 Alexei Sayle 'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? 15 63-35-21-18-{15}-19-29-44->8

10 Angelica Agurbash (2005, DNQ) A bit of old school Eurovision kitsch here, but it’s quite an enjoyable tune. 9 Litesound - We Are The Heroes (2012, DNQ) This has a really nice atmospheric opening, although it ends up being a little generic. 8th Ivan - Help You Fly (2016, DNQ) This has a really strong refrain and I like the rocky track, although the rest of the song doesn’t quite live up to it. 7 Zena - Like It (2019, 24th) Very much an earworm here and I enjoy it, though it’s perhaps a little one dimensional. 6 Teo - Cheesecake (2014, 16th) This is catchy with good production and I can see why it was one of their strongest results, even if it’s lyrically a little naff.

VS - what a limp track

Wow a brilliant and varied top 10 so far! “A Different Corner” is one of George’s very best and most heartfelt vocal performances, and “Rock Me Amadeus” is brilliantly quirky.

I also think “Heart Skips A Beat” is the better of the Olly songs, and Rizzle Kicks were always good fun. “Dance With Me Tonight” isn’t bad though and I quite like the retro feel of it. “No Regrets” isn’t something I’d seek out but it’s actually alright. “Grenade” is certainly much more dynamic than “The Lazy Song”, although “Rolling In The Deep” deserved to get there.

Not sure “It’s just not going down like that” would stand up in court. One of their weakest singles. Nothing much of note out - the Ashlee song is alright.

Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon China Crisis - Wishful Thinking Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me Swansway - Soul Train