Ghoulian

A strong start to the year with a stacked top end and with nothing worse than boring. “Down Under” must be one of the biggest Australian hits ever but it’s a genuinely wonderful quirky song. And U2 sound so fresh and exciting on “New Year’s Day”, despite the very long and mixed run of hits ahead. 9 Men At Work Down Under 514th #1: 1st Top 40 for the Australian group and a huge cultural anthem; in every way a fantastic and unique record 9 U2 New Year's Day Their 1st big hit: this has a fresh, exciting and hopeful feel to it and it's not surprising that huge success is coming 8 Wah! The Story Of The Blues 1st hit for Pete Wylie's band and raucously sung but very lovely and heartfelt song with a classy string arrangement 8 Eddy Grant Electric Avenue A big Carribean culture anthem inspired by the 1981 Brixton riots: his best song and much better than his recent #1 8 Laura Branigan Gloria 1st hit for this US singer that was originally an Italian song by Umberto Tozzi: it's an infectious high energy pop song 7 Joe Jackson Steppin' Out His last big hit and a very compelling slice of electropop with a pulsating bassline that Gabriela Cilmi will sample 7 The Stranglers European Female A 3rd Top 10 within 12 months for them and a sultry track with almost whispered vocals and an exotic instrumental 6 The Belle Stars Sign Of The Times They wrote their own song here after releasing several covers and it gave them their biggest hit by far: a catchy track 6 Fleetwood Mac Oh Diane This has been compared to Bobby Vinton and it has a '60s and youtful energy to it; not a highlight of theirs but cute 5 Imagination Changes Like their others this relies heavily on a mesmerising bassline: this is quite nice but their big hits are behind them 4 Dire Straits Twisting By The Pool Quite extraordinary that this cheery rock and roll number was the follow up to "Private Investigations": it's alright 4 Billy Griffin Hold Me Tighter In The Rain Only Top 40 for this former Miracles lead singer: this has strong falsetto vocals but the song doesn't stand out at all 3 Melba Moore Mind Up Tonight Her last Top 40, with little to differentiate it from the equally unmemorable "Love's Comin' At Ya" a few months ago 3 Marvin Gaye My Love Is Waiting Last Top 40 in his lifetime - unfortunately it's very similar in style to "Sexual Healing" but vastly inferior and rather dull 1983 Group 2: #961 22/01/1983 Echo And The Bunnymen The Cutter 8 27-11-{8}-11-18-32-48-75->8 #962 15/01/1983 Joe Cocker And Jennifer Warnes Up Where We Belong 7 41-31-25-12-{7}-7-7-11-19-23-37-53-56->13 22/01/1983 The Beatles Please Please Me {1983} 29 32-{29}-31-49->4 #963 22/01/1983 Kajagoogoo Too Shy 1 33-10-5-2-{1}-1-3-6-14-29-42-54-72->13 #964 15/01/1983 Level 42 The Chinese Way 24 58-35-35-25-{24}-29-39-56->8 #965 15/01/1983 Sharon Redd In The Name Of Love 31 53-38-{31}-37-55->5 #966 22/01/1983 Indeep Last Night A DJ Saved My Life 13 65-24-15-14-{13}-18-27-36-60->9 #967 15/01/1983 Wham! Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) 8 63-41-34-11-9-{8}-10-14-23-39-54->11 22/01/1983 The Jam Down In The Tube Station At Midnight {1983} 30 49-36-{30}-34-51-71->6 22/01/1983 The Jam Going Underground/Dreams Of Children {1983} 21 51-37-{21}-22-36-53->6 22/01/1983 The Jam In The City {1983} 47 54-49-{47}-71->4 22/01/1983 The Jam News Of The World {1983} 39 45-{39}-43-62->4 #968 22/01/1983 Central Line Nature Boy 21 55-40-27-{21}-25-31-47-67->8 #969 05/02/1983 Tears For Fears Change 4 19-5-{4}-4-7-16-25-44-61->9 #970 29/01/1983 Michael Jackson Billie Jean 1 57-20-17-5-2-{1}-2-3-8-11-20-25-36-41-58->15 #971 22/01/1983 China Crisis Christian 12 63-42-22-18-{12}-15-24-34-64->9 #972 29/01/1983 Rockers Revenge Featuring Donnie Calvin The Harder They Come 30 46-32-{30}-32-33-41-48->7 #973 29/01/1983 Prince 1999 25 48-33-{25}-26-34-35-54->7 #974 22/01/1983 Haysi Fantayzee Shiny Shiny 16 61-45-36-28-23-{16}-20-26-41-66->10

1983 Group 1: #947 25/12/1982 Wah! The Story Of The Blues 3 59-59-34-6-{3}-4-7-12-20-28-42-70->12 #948 08/01/1983 Men At Work Down Under 1 38-7-2-{1}-1-1-2-6-22-32-52-69->12 #949 11/12/1982 Imagination Changes 31 66-45-43-43-39-{31}-40-66->8 #950 08/01/1983 The Stranglers European Female 9 40-16-{9}-13-28-48->6 #951 08/01/1983 Joe Jackson Steppin' Out 6 50-19-8-{6}-9-16-30-43->8 #952 15/01/1983 Eddy Grant Electric Avenue 2 22-4-3-{2}-4-10-23-36-63->9 #953 18/12/1982 Laura Branigan Gloria 6 66-51-51-41-32-20-8-{6}-6-11-20-29-49->13 #954 08/01/1983 Marvin Gaye My Love Is Waiting 34 61-35-{34}-54-74->5 #955 15/01/1983 Melba Moore Mind Up Tonight 22 36-25-{22}-24-36-63->6 #956 18/12/1982 Fleetwood Mac Oh Diane 9 69-60-60-48-37-26-18-16-10-{9}-13-23-30-53-71->15 #957 08/01/1983 Billy Griffin Hold Me Tighter In The Rain 17 68-38-28-19-{17}-20-31-45-63->9 #958 15/01/1983 The Belle Stars Sign Of The Times 3 51-19-5-4-{3}-3-5-16-27-46-68->11 #959 22/01/1983 U2 New Year's Day 10 23-12-{10}-13-21-36-55-72->8 #960 22/01/1983 Dire Straits Twisting By The Pool 14 24-17-{14}-15-19-38-54->7

Week 16: 1 1 Olivia Dean Man I Need 884,000 1,980,000 2 2 Sam Fender and Olivia Dean Rein Me In 726,000 1,410,000 3 3 Dave featuring Tems Raindance 630,000 870,000 4 4 Raye Where Is My Husband! 608,000 1,210,000 5 5 Alex Warren Ordinary 542,000 2,720,000 6 7 Olivia Dean So Easy (To Fall In Love) 528,000 900,000 7 6 Taylor Swift The Fate Of Ophelia 525,000 1,270,000 8 8 Huntr/x, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast Golden 524,000 1,850,000 9 9 Djo End Of Beginning 501,000 1,680,000 10 10 Zara Larsson Lush Life 464,000 3,500,000 11 12 Bella Kay Iloveitiloveitiloveit 442,000 12 11 PinkPantheress Stateside 438,000 570,000 13 13 Olivia Dean Nice To Each Other 413,000 1,190,000 14 14 Bruno Mars I Just Might 399,000 15 15 Sienna Spiro Die On This Hill 377,000 550,000 16 16 Sombr 12 To 12 373,000 900,000 17 17 Harry Styles Aperture 357,000 18 18 Taylor Swift Opalite 349,000 760,000 19 19 Sombr Back To Friends 317,000 1,230,000 20 20 Disco Lines and Tinashe No Broke Boys 306,000 1,030,000 21 21 Sombr Homewrecker 294,000 22 22 Haven featuring Kaitlin Aragon I Run 270,000 370,000 23 29 Tame Impala Dracula 269,000 400,000 24 23 Sabrina Carpenter Manchild 267,000 1,070,000 25 30 Dominic Fike Babydoll 261,000 1,000,000 26 24 The Killers Mr Brightside 256,000 7,060,000 27 25 Olivia Dean The Hardest Part 252,000 970,000 28 26 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 252,000 2,060,000 29 27 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 250,000 1,390,000 30 28 Olivia Dean A Couple Minutes 246,000 430,000 31 31 Goo Goo Dolls Iris 241,000 4,800,000 32 32 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 238,000 3,170,000 33 33 Sombr Undressed 237,000 1,120,000 34 37 Milky Just The Way You Are 235,000 340,000 35 34 Olivia Dean Dive 234,000 900,000 36 35 Fleetwood Mac Dreams 234,000 4,170,000 37 36 Zara Larsson Midnight Sun 231,000 330,000 38 39 Harry Styles American Girls 228,000 39 42 Alex Warren Fever Dream 226,000 40 38 Olivia Dean OK Love You Bye 223,000 720,000 48 54 Dominic Fike White Keys 200,000 67 77 Ella Langley Choosin' Texas 171,000 71 73 Alex Warren Carry You Home 165,000 1,210,000 80 81 Sam Fender Seventeen Going Under 158,000 2,810,000 81 83 Sean Paul featuring Keyshia Cole (When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me 157,000 450,000 100 - Sabrina Carpenter Taste 144,000 1,780,000 - 99 The Cure Boys Don't Cry 142,000 1,240,000

Week 16: 1 1 Olivia Dean The Art Of Loving 266,000 540,000 2 2 Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. 257,000 3 3 Fleetwood Mac 50 Years: Don't Stop 136,000 1,970,000 4 4 The Weeknd Highlights 112,000 1,700,000 5 5 Sabrina Carpenter Man's Best Friend 106,000 410,000 6 6 Ed Sheeran +-=÷x (Tour Collection) 104,000 620,000 7 7 Michael Jackson The Essential 104,000 2,200,000 8 8 Alex Warren You'll Be Alright Kid (Chapter 1) 95,000 400,000 9 9 Taylor Swift The Life Of A Showgirl 86,000 720,000 10 10 Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet 86,000 980,000 11 11 Noah Kahan Stick Season 85,000 980,000 12 12 Oasis Time Flies... 1994-2009 83,000 2,490,000 13 13 Linkin Park Papercuts 82,000 480,000 14 14 Tate McRae So Close To What 80,000 340,000 15 15 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 78,000 3,630,000 16 16 ABBA Gold 77,000 6,220,000 17 18 BTS Arirang 74,000 18 21 Raye This Music May Contain Hope 73,000 19 17 Elton John Diamonds 71,000 2,000,000 20 19 Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory 68,000 5,680,000 21 20 Arctic Monkeys AM 68,000 2,390,000 22 22 Sombr I Barely Know Her 65,000 160,000 23 23 Eminem Curtain Call: The Hits 63,000 3,600,000 24 24 EsDeeKid Rebel 59,000 130,000 25 25 50 Cent Best Of 50 Cent 58,000 820,000 26 26 Olivia Rodrigo Sour 58,000 1,310,000 27 27 Olivia Rodrigo Guts 55,000 750,000 28 30 Pitbull Greatest Hits 54,000 680,000 29 29 Maroon 5 Singles 54,000 1,040,000 30 28 Mumford & Sons Prizefighter 52,000 31 31 Queen Greatest Hits 51,000 3,260,000 32 32 Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And Soft 50,000 650,000 33 33 Sam Fender People Watching 50,000 330,000 34 40 Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits 49,000 2,360,000 35 37 Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans 49,000 2,480,000 36 34 Gorillaz The Mountain 48,000 37 39 Oasis Definitely Maybe 48,000 3,060,000 38 36 Zach Bryan With Heaven On Top 48,000 39 38 Lily Allen West End Girl 47,000 130,000 40 43 Post Malone The Diamond Collection 47,000 540,000 43 44 Calvin Harris 96 Months 46,000 280,000 54 56 Lady Gaga The Fame 42,000 3,630,000 57 59 Green Day Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band 42,000 790,000 64 65 Britney Spears The Singles Collection 40,000 760,000 68 70 Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You 38,000 670,000 72 73 Avicii Avicii Forever 38,000 110,000 73 78 Kanye West Graduation 38,000 1,100,000 85 86 The Killers Rebel Diamonds 34,000 270,000 95 97 Madonna Finally Enough Love - #1s Remixed 32,000 330,000

23/4: 1 1 Rein me in (1) 2 3 Iloveitiloveitiloveit (2) 3 2 Man I need (1) 4 7 Dracula (4) 5 4 Ordinary (1) 6 5 Where is my husband! (3) 7 6 Raindance (2) 8 8 Stateside (5) 9 11 Fever dream (4) 10 12 Homewrecker (10) 11 9 So easy (5) 12 13 Babydoll (12) 13 10 Lush life (3) 14 19 White keys (14) 15 14 Golden (1) 16 15 American girls (1) 17 16 The fate of Ophelia (1) 18 17 I just might (7) 19 18 Nice to each other (5) 20 21 12 to 12 (8) 21 - Beauty and a beat (16) 22 20 Just the way you are (8) 23 22 End of beginning (2) 24 32 Choosin’ Texas (24) 25 37 Manchild (1) 26 25 Back to friends (7) 27 23 Die on this hill (12) 28 - Pinky up (28) 29 - Daisies (2) 30 28 Click clack symphony (19) 31 27 Midnight Sun (27) 32 24 Aperture (1) 33 30 No broke boys (3) 34 26 Opalite (1) 35 29 Dreams (22) 36 - House tour (11) 37 31 Mr Brightside (10) 38 38 Iris (3) 39 39 Love me not (2) 40 35 Beautiful things (1) 41 34 The visitor (15) 42 36 Pink pony club (2) 43 41 Undressed (4) 44 40 The hardest part (23) 45 33 Swim (2) 46 44 Dive (28) 47 42 Everywhere (4) 48 - Yukon (20) 49 - Baby (3) 50 47 Give it up to me (31)

Oh my have I finally found the inspiration behind the best #46 hit of all time? Thank you 1973!

LONOWN is my favourite track over the 2 weeks. I don’t like voting for NOTA so I’ve gone for “Pinky Up” which is in so bad it’s good territory.

Oh those reveals were pretty much what I expected but well done @electroboy for doing your bit with Conan and giving him back! 😝

Well done Lily (I do still think “Smile” is an exceptionally good debut hit) and commiserations to Conan who has been a real revelation for so many of us!

Great run for Scissors. Their mentor has done a brilliant job to get them this far and I think has showcased their very best material.

Well done ABBA and Kelly - I feel like it’s between Lily and Conan for the final spot with Conan getting a groundswell of insurgent support!

Cascada’s 2 biggest hits are the only ones I quite like - everything else I can remember from them sounds cheap and recycled. “1, 2 Step” should have been a #1 instead of the rather similar “Beat Again” but that was still one of their better efforts. Mid table is about right for “Mama Do” - has a nice vintage soul feel to it but without the emotional depth of Amy’s records.

Went for Britney - probably her weakest single up to that point (before she became quite regularly rubbish hehe).

1982 had an average score of 5.71, one of the highest of all the years I’ve done so far and comfortably beating 1980 and 1981. There were only 7 scores of 1 given, mostly towards the end of the year. However the worst hit of the year is quite comfortably “Chalk Dust - The Umpire Strikes Back” by Brat. There were 3 scores of 10, a further 26 9s and another 40 8s. Here’s my Top 40 of the year - it’s a close call between #1 and #2 but the frame of mind I’m in now is saying that “The Day Before You Came” is one of the most extraordinary pop songs ever made for all the reasons discussed in this thread. Besides “The Winner Takes It All” only managed my 3rd place for 1980 and I doubt ABBA will be winning any of the 1970s years when I cover them so I don’t feel like too extreme a fan. 1 ABBA - The Day Before You Came 2 Yazoo - Only You 3 Stranglers - Golden Brown 4 The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go / Straight To Hell 5 Duran Duran - Save A Prayer 6 Associates - Party Fears Two 7 The Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra 8 Blancmange - Living On The Ceiling 9 Tears For Fears - Mad World 10 ABC - Poison Arrow 11 The Clash - Rock The Casbah 12 Soft Cell - Say Hello Wave Goodbye 13 Japan - Ghosts 14 Ultravox - Hymn 15 Daryl Hall And John Oates - Maneater 16 Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five - The Message 17 The Human League - Being Boiled 18 Theatre Of Hate - Do You Believe In The Westworld 19 Bucks Fizz - Now These Days Are Gone 20 Yazoo - Don't Go 21 Madness - House Of Fun 22 The Stranglers - Strange Little Girl 23 Japan - Night Porter 24 Clannad - Theme From "Harry's Game" 25 ABC - The Look Of Love 26 Carly Simon - Why 27 Incantation - Cacharpaya (Andes Pumpsa Desi) 28 Soft Cell - Torch 29 Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'N' Roll 30 The Jam - Town Called Malice / Precious 31 Sylvian Sakamoto - Bamboo Houses / Bamboo Music 32 Dire Straits - Private Investigations 33 A Flock Of Seagulls - Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) 34 Blue Zoo - Cry Boy Cry 35 Roxy Music - More Than This 36 Dollar - Videotheque 37 Rhoda With The Special AKA - The Boiler 38 Talk Talk - Today 39 Orchestral Manouveres In The Dark - Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Of Joan Of Arc) 40 Classix Nouveaux - Is It A Dream Would be interested to have rankings from @Jade , @King Rollo and anyone else who feels so inclined!

Pressing on the doorbell

I have voted. Good luck to all the finalists!

WardyGPT strikes again 🧐

I would love to see how “Atomic” would have gone down as I bet quite a few here wouldn’t know it and it’s more of a grower. It’s one of my favourite dance pop songs of all time though.

Also I didn’t understand why they spent the night in a hotel before getting the taxi in the morning… why not just get a taxi immediately if that’s what you’re going to do?

The one about the Christmas tree please

Commiserations to two wonderful mentors! Neither act quite my thing but you’ve both done incredibly well. @Lukuzz you’re such a great sport and lovely presence in this, and I think that’s why you took the Kittens further than anyone could have thought humanly possible based on their discography. @gooddelta the passion you have for your artist showed throughout, and you’ve done her extremely proud. Not only that but I’ve enjoyed many of the songs way more than I expected. You’ve shown off her best with love and care, and that’s what this is all about.

“Number 1” is quite a fun 2009 time capsule I suppose. But it was criminal that “In For The Kill” missed out, and Peter Kay deserved that Top 20 spot here frankly with that gloriously silly medley. “Break Your Heart” is so middling I couldn’t think of anything to say.

I see. Well you can always put it forward and see what they think.

You’ll be vetoed if your song WAS a UK Top 10, not if it wasn’t.

Reminds me that we never got the covers round.