Julian_

1994 (aged 10) was the big moment for me. I had watched TOTP casually before but I watched the week Whigfield knocked Wet Wet Wet off #1 after 15 weeks. Suddenly I became hooked on the charts and “Saturday Night” was instantly my favourite song. People around me were quite taken aback by how obsessed I suddenly became. The obsession came and went in my case. In 1997 I lost interest for a while and I was more interested in classical music. However I happened to tune into the first chart show of the new century in 2000, and suddenly I became hooked again. My interest level continued to ebb and flow a bit after that, until around 2015 when I found it really hard to adjust both to streaming and to the Friday move. I stopped following (other than taking a glance here and there) until the pandemic in 2020. Then I realised that I had finally got over the shock of streaming and Fridays and with the rest of life being restricted it would be a good time to rediscover my interest. And since then I’ve become more passionate than ever, and immersed myself in the history too.

It’s a strong bunch so I went for The Stereophonics - not the most exciting of covers plus a repeat.

Much to the satisfaction of (I believe) a record 93% of voters, Diddy and Kelly are out. Like several hits over the years it samples “I Got 5 On It” by The Luniz. It reached #8 in the very busy chart period of March 2000. 9th: Puff Daddy featuring R. Kelly - Satisfy You 27/29 votes (93%) 10th: Cliff Richard - Santa’s List 18/30 votes (60%)

I’m switching to the Arctics now - it is pretty unremarkable by their standards.

Mis-Teeq won’t b with us in the top half. This was the 4th in their run of 7 straight Top 10 hits, reaching #5 in February 2002. A garage remix of the song was chosen as the single version. 6th: Mis-Teeq - B With Me 9/28 votes (31%) 7th: Javine - Real Things 8/29 votes (28%) 8th: Pink - There You Go 8/30 votes (27%) 9th: Steps - Here And Now / You’ll Be Sorry 14/30 votes (47%) 10th: Basshunter - Angel In The Night 14/33 votes (42%)

Voting for Gorillaz - such a cute track and what a wonderful run of hits they had.

The weekend will be starting soon, but without Michael Gray who finishes 3rd. Unusually for a DJ chart act he goes by his real name, and this was the 1st of only 2 hits for him. It reached #7 in November 2006 and had worldwide success. 3rd: Michael Gray - The Weekend 12/29 votes (41%) 4th: Will Young - Who Am I 14/30 votes (47%) 5th: Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights 15/30 votes (50%) 6th: Holly Valance - Down Boy 19/31 votes (61%) 7th: U2 - City Of Blinding Lights 16/30 votes (53%) 8th: Jaimeson - Complete 10/31 votes (32%) 9th: ATB - Killer 9/30 votes (30%) 10th: P Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera - Tell Me 19/28 votes (68%)

It’s close between the top 2 here but I really see “Jist Like A Pill” as up with some of the best gritty storytelling pop tracks of the decade. 9 Pink Just Like A Pill 934th #1: a wonderful pop record with authentically delivered angst, a fab chorus in octaves and a superb opening riff 9 Aqualung Strange And Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You) Only big hit for Matthew Hales after an advert feature: the whole sound world of this glorious track is like a warm hug 8 Hundred Reasons Falter Much smaller than their last couple of singles but it's one of their best songs, with big emotional multi layered vocals 7 David Bowie Everyone Says 'Hi' He won't have another Top 40 for more than a decade: this is lovely with charming lyrics and quite an innocent feel 6 Suede Positivity Their 1st hit this century: it's a very warm and calm track with a dreamy riff, but without anything that exciting about it 6 Disturbed Prayer Only Top 40 for this US metal band apart from a certain '60s cover; I enjoy this but it lacks a really memorable chorus 5 Oxide And Neutrino Featuring Kowdean Dem Girlz (I Don't Know Why) Last of their 6 Top 20 hits: I really like the production which samples Kraftwerk, though the lyrics are a bit of a mess 5 Bon Jovi Everyday A similar style to "It's My Life" with the lyrics about living in the moment and anthemic chorus, but not special like that 5 Beenie Man Featuring Janet Feel It Boy It's his usual dancehall style and quite a successful hit: Janet's chorus here is lovely but the rest doesn't really grab me 4 Supergrass Grace Their 1st Top 40 this century: it's their usual style with the bouncy instrumental style and a decent tune, but quite safe 4 Ryan Adams Nuclear Another folk rocky number from him: there's nothing wrong with it but I find it all a bit insignificant and not memorable 4 Busted What I Go To School For 1st hit for this band who will have 8 straight Top 3s: it's amusing lyrically and endearing though musically fairly basic 3 Puddle Of Mudd She Hates Me Their last Top 40: this is quite fun for a couple of listens but it doesn't have the musical quality of their first two hits 3 Eminem Cleanin' Out My Closet A more personal 2nd single like "The Way I Am": it has good production and the rap flows well but the lyrics are horrid 2002 Week 40: #1505 05/10/2002 Will Young And Gareth Gates The Long And Winding Road/Suspicious Minds 1 {1}-1-3-10-13-18-26-37-49-62-57-61-64-50-48-54-63-73->18 #1506 05/10/2002 Oasis Little By Little/She Is Love 2 {2}-7-10-17-27-32-47-65->8 #1507 05/10/2002 Avril Lavigne Complicated 3 {3}-3-4-4-7-11-17-31-58->9 #1508 05/10/2002 Eve Featuring Alicia Keys Gangsta Lovin' 6 {6}-12-15-19-30-37-52-71->8 #1509 05/10/2002 Garbage Shut Your Mouth 20 {20}->1 #1510 05/10/2002 The Datsuns In Love 25 {25}-70->2 #1511 05/10/2002 The Strokes Someday 27 {27}-74->2 #1512 05/10/2002 Ludacris Saturday (Oooh Oooh) 31 {31}-62->2 #1513 05/10/2002 Cosmos Take Me With You 32 {32}-57->2 #1514 05/10/2002 Trucks It's Just Porn Mum 35 {35}-61->2 #1515 05/10/2002 Felix Da Housecat Silver Screen Shower Scene {2002} 39 {39}-65->2 #1516 05/10/2002 Puressence Walking Dead 40 {40}->1

“Who” watch: moved 50-56 this week and seems to have gone from around 193k-196k in the last 2 weeks. I haven’t seen anything in the YTD chart sell so little since I started this. “Defying Gravity” also doing the opposite now: 52-58.

The late ‘90s fast turnover certainly threw up a few candidates. “To You I Belong” by B*Witched, “Girlfriend” by Billie and “Forever Love” by Gary Barlow spring to mind.

Yeah musically it might qualify but the lyrics are quite extraordinary if you give them some attention. Hey girls we’ve had too much freedom so let’s all get back in our boxes. Oh and the “isle of Greece” bit. 😅

Week 18: 1 1 Lola Young Messy 772,000 950,000 2 2 Rosé and Bruno Mars APT. 732,000 1,090,000 3 3 Gracie Abrams That's So True 651,000 1,080,000 4 5 Alex Warren Ordinary 603,000 5 4 Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars Die With A Smile 601,000 1,230,000 6 6 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 530,000 980,000 7 7 Chrystal The Days 500,000 660,000 8 8 Billie Eilish Birds Of A Feather 470,000 1,690,000 9 9 Chappell Roan Good Luck, Babe! 459,000 1,660,000 10 10 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 457,000 2,240,000 11 11 Gigi Perez Sailor Song 446,000 1,040,000 12 12 Sabrina Carpenter Espresso 418,000 2,170,000 13 13 Sabrina Carpenter Taste 415,000 1,210,000 14 14 Teddy Swims Lose Control 412,000 2,250,000 15 16 Teddy Swims Bad Dreams 377,000 620,000 16 17 Teddy Swims The Door 369,000 1,040,000 17 15 Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us 369,000 990,000 18 18 Myles Smith Nice To Meet You 351,000 460,000 19 19 Tate McRae Sports Car 351,000 20 20 Shaboozey A Bar Song (Tipsy) 342,000 1,680,000 21 21 Hozier Too Sweet 329,000 1,800,000 22 22 Myles Smith Stargazing 328,000 1,340,000 23 24 Lady Gaga Abracadabra 325,000 24 23 Sabrina Carpenter Please Please Please 325,000 1,470,000 25 24 Noah Kahan Stick Season 315,000 2,830,000 26 25 Sabrina Carpenter Bed Chem 306,000 700,000 27 27 Sonny Fodera, Jazzy & D.O.D. Somedays 296,000 770,000 28 28 Kendrick Lamar & Sza Luther 290,000 390,000 29 31 Alex Warren Carry You Home 286,000 590,000 30 29 Gracie Abrams I Love You, I'm Sorry 283,000 770,000 31 30 Chappell Roan Hot To Go! 280,000 940,000 32 32 The Weeknd and Playboi Carti Timeless 268,000 490,000 33 36 Sabrina Carpenter Busy Woman 268,000 34 33 Sam Fender People Watching 262,000 370,000 35 35 Kendrick Lamar & Sza All The Stars 259,000 2,180,000 36 34 Doechii Denial Is A River 259,000 260,000 37 38 The Killers Mr Brightside 257,000 6,320,000 38 37 Billie Eilish Wildflower 256,000 770,000 39 41 Doechii Anxiety 249,000 40 40 Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen I Had Some Help 248,000 1,160,000 47 57 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 217,000 50 56 Drake Nokia 205,000 61 72 WizTheMc & Bees & Honey Show Me Love 191,000 63 69 Tate McRae Revolving Door 182,000 71 75 Chappell Roan The Giver 174,000 73 88 Leon Thomas Mutt 166,000 94 - Morgan Seatree featuring Florence + The Machine Say My Name (Remix) 151,000 “Say My Name” replacing “505”.

8/5: 1 1 Ordinary (1) 2 2 Pink pony club (2) 3 3 Messy (1) 4 6 Show me love (4) 5 4 APT (2) 6 5 Azizam (3) 7 14 Love me not (7) 8 7 Anxiety (4) 9 15 The days (5) 10 10 That’s so true (1) 11 9 Beautiful things (1) 12 8 Sports car (7) 13 17 Steve’s lava chicken (13) 14 11 Birds of a feather (3) 15 12 Die with a smile (3) 16 13 Busy woman (11) 17 - What Was That (17) 18 16 Bad dreams (13) 19 18 Good luck, babe! (2) 20 23 Lose control (2) 21 25 Undressed (21) 22 20 Taste (1) 23 21 The door (13) 24 24 Carry you home (17) 25 26 Nice to meet you (12) 26 22 Espresso (1) 27 19 Abracadabra (4) 28 39 Nokia (18) 29 27 Sailor song (2) 30 - Mystical magical (30) 31 31 A bar song (2) 32 28 The giver (2) 33 29 Mutt (29) 34 32 Back to friends (32) 35 34 Sorry I’m here for someone else (34) 36 36 Revolving door (17) 37 35 Too sweet (1) 38 - Damocles (38) 39 33 Stargazing (6) 40 49 Shake it to the max (40) 41 43 Somedays (10) 42 37 Stick season (1) 43 50 Tell me (43) 44 42 Mr Brightside (10) 45 40 Headphones on (40) 46 47 Iris (3) 47 46 I had some help (2) 48 - Austin (8) 49 39 Please please please (1) 50 - Say my name (50)

I certainly don’t recall any result like this ever!

@gooddelta @awardinary @dandy* @Scene @Chez Wombat

Katy Perry’s “Part Of Me” is the ultimate just had a huge era so the lead from the next album was going to go to #1 no matter what it was, and it turned out to be a non event of a song. “Dirtee Disco” by Dizzee Rascal is sort of similar - just very forgettable but he was so huge at the time.

It must have already been very close 3 weeks ago, and it’s moved 104-103-118 in the weekly chart which has just been enough to keep it in contention.

Week 18: 1 1 Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet 268,000 640,000 2 2 Sam Fender People Watching 160,000 3 3 Ed Sheeran +-=÷x (Tour Collection) 146,000 250,000 4 4 Chappell Roan The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess 123,000 420,000 5 5 SZA SOS 122,000 600,000 6 6 The Weeknd The Highlights 121,000 1,360,000 7 7 Fleetwood Mac 50 Years: Don't Stop 115,000 1,580,000 8 9 Elton John Diamonds 112,000 1,770,000 9 8 Central Cee Can't Rush Greatness 110,000 10 10 Lady Gaga Mayhem 107,000 11 11 Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department 106,000 890,000 12 12 Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And Soft 102,000 450,000 13 13 Charli XCX Brat 102,000 390,000 14 14 Tate McRae So Close To What 94,000 15 15 Noah Kahan Stick Season 94,000 570,000 16 16 Gracie Abrams The Secret Of Us 91,000 230,000 17 17 ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits 87,000 5,990,000 18 18 Oasis Time Flies... 1994-2009 87,000 2,120,000 19 19 Michael Jackson The Essential 87,000 1,920,000 20 20 Arctic Monkeys AM 86,000 2,180,000 21 21 Eminem Curtain Call: The Hits 83,000 3,400,000 22 23 Kendrick Lamar GNX 79,000 140,000 23 22 The Weeknd Hurry Up Tomorrow 79,000 24 24 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 77,000 2,620,000 25 25 Olivia Rodrigo Guts 73,000 570,000 26 26 Linkin Park Papercuts 71,000 240,000 27 27 Olivia Rodrigo Sour 70,000 1,120,000 28 29 Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine 69,000 250,000 29 28 PartyNextDoor & Drake $ome $exy $ongs 4 U 68,000 30 31 Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory 65,000 5,370,000 31 30 Teddy Swims I've Tried Everything But Therapy, Part 2 64,000 32 32 Calvin Harris 96 Months 62,000 130,000 33 34 Benson Boone Fireworks & Rollerblades 61,000 180,000 34 33 Queen Greatest Hits 61,000 3,100,000 35 35 Teddy Swims I've Tried Everything But Therapy, Part 1 57,000 210,000 36 36 Post Malone The Diamond Collection 57,000 390,000 37 37 Pitbull Greatest Hits 57,000 520,000 38 40 Alex Warren You'll Be Alright Kid (Chapter 1) 57,000 80,000 39 38 Fontaines D.C. Romance 56,000 170,000 40 41 Maroon 5 Singles 54,000 890,000 85 87 Elton John & Brandi Carlile Who Believes In Angels? 37,000 100 - Jennie Ruby 32,000 Entered this week: Foo Fighters - The Essential Jennie - Ruby Left this week: Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal XXXTentacion - Look At Me: The Album “Lover” now ahead of “Lover Live”

Thanks Jim for pointing out that it isn’t the Eurovision scoring system. 🙈 Votes edited. I agree 20 for the favourite seems a bit much, especially as my Top 2 are very close in enjoyment value.

Well that’s OK then! I’m definitely going to listen once more to the high up ones I didn’t vote for - maybe they were just a bit too subtle for me! Congratulations Rich and thanks Jade for hosting! Edit: sorry if I’m jumping the gun and there are more voters - was just going on what I saw earlier.

I’ll definitely owe Jim a pint if my guest vote (12 to Camp Claude and 0 to Yndling) has cost him the win oops!

Feels fitting that I gave my fellow birth weekers 12 and 10! I think this theme turned out not to be quite as much for me as I’d thought it might be but those 2 tracks really stood out. After a few more listens I did find some other really nice discoveries though.

All the hits from Death In Vegas I’ve reviewed have been hypnotic in different ways, but this is the first time they’ve won a group. 8 Death In Vegas Hands Around My Throat Featuring French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, a very captivating and retro styled dance track with nice synth effects 8 N.O.R.E. Nothin' Only hit for this US rapper and a mesmerising Neptunes produced track: I love the whispered chorus and "la la la" bridge 7 Sean Paul Gimme The Light 1st hit for the Jamaican dancehall rapper which will reach the Top 5 on re-issue: an infectious and effervescent debut 7 Sarah Whatmore When I Lost You 1st hit for this UK singer songwriter who appeared on "Pop Idol": a mature well written song that still sounds really good 6 Korn Thoughtless I find this slightly more laboured than "Here To Stay" but it's another emotion filled and very effective track from them 6 Milk Inc Walk On Water The style of this couldn't be more similar to "In My Eyes" and it's simple, but still enjoyable and giving euphoric energy 5 Scooter Nessaja A high pitched sung chorus juxtaposed with techno parts is their usual pattern, but I do think this one works quite well 5 Hampenberg Duck Toy Only hit for this Danish DJ featuring bizarre rubber duck noises, but aside from that quirk it is quite a strong club track 4 Liberty X Got To Have Your Love A very similar sounding version of the 1990 Mantronix hit here, so not much originality but it is a great song well sung 3 Kelly Osbourne Papa Don't Preach A 1986 Madonna cover: she does give this welly and it could be far worse, but it lacks the polish of the Liberty X effort 2 Ronan Keating I Love It When We Do Another "Life Is A Rollercoaster" style hit but that well is very much running dry: the "do what we do" lyric is a bit grating 2 Anastacia Why'd You Lie To Me Her worst hit so far: the less appealing aspects of her vocal style seem to be on full show and I find the lyrics a little silly 2002 Week 39: #1491 28/09/2002 Pink Just Like A Pill 1 {1}-4-5-6-11-8-15-22-30-42-65->11 #1492 28/09/2002 Busted What I Go To School For 3 {3}-7-10-14-18-17-22-31-43-57-66-73->12 #1493 28/09/2002 Eminem Cleanin' Out My Closet 4 {4}-8-13-16-21-25-30-38-39-46-71-75R(2)-67R(2)->13 #1494 28/09/2002 Bon Jovi Everyday 5 {5}-16-40-48-58R(4)-47->6 #1495 28/09/2002 Aqualung Strange And Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You) 7 {7}-9-21-33-52-69->6 #1496 28/09/2002 Beenie Man Featuring Janet Feel It Boy 9 {9}-13-23-31-42-61-75R(3)->7 #1497 28/09/2002 Oxide And Neutrino Featuring Kowdean Dem Girlz (I Don't Know Why) 10 {10}-17-32-41-75-64R(4)->6 #1498 28/09/2002 Supergrass Grace 13 {13}-30-53-65->4 #1499 28/09/2002 Puddle Of Mudd She Hates Me 14 {14}-14-22-28-32-42-58->7 #1500 28/09/2002 Suede Positivity 16 {16}-60->2 #1501 28/09/2002 David Bowie Everyone Says 'Hi' 20 {20}-46-72->3 #1502 28/09/2002 Disturbed Prayer 31 {31}-63->2 #1503 28/09/2002 Ryan Adams Nuclear 37 {37}->1 #1504 28/09/2002 Hundred Reasons Falter 38 {38}->1

Who am I to throw out such a lovely ballad? This was the 3rd single from Will’s 3rd album “Keep On”. After 9 consecutive Top 10 hits this just missed, peaking at #11 in April 2006, but it did notch up a 17 week run. 4th: Will Young - Who Am I 14/30 votes (47%) 5th: Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights 15/30 votes (50%) 6th: Holly Valance - Down Boy 19/31 votes (61%) 7th: U2 - City Of Blinding Lights 16/30 votes (53%) 8th: Jaimeson - Complete 10/31 votes (32%) 9th: ATB - Killer 9/30 votes (30%) 10th: P Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera - Tell Me 19/28 votes (68%)

It’s not fake news I’m afraid: Javine is out. After finishing 6th in “Popstars: The Rivals” and narrowly missing out on a place in Girls Aloud, she had 5 Top 20 solo hits, and represented the UK in Eurovision 2005. “Real Things” was her biggest hit, reaching #4 in July 2003. 7th: Javine - Real Things 8/29 votes (28%) 8th: Pink - There You Go 8/30 votes (27%) 9th: Steps - Here And Now / You’ll Be Sorry 14/30 votes (47%) 10th: Basshunter - Angel In The Night 14/33 votes (42%)