The UK Top 40: This Week in 1987...

[Patrick Bateman]

01.George Michael - Fastlove
02.Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack
03.Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit
04.Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life
05.Suggs And Louchie Lou/Michie One - Cecilia
06.Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us
07.Pet Shop Boys - Before
08.1996 Manchester United FA Cup Squad - Move Move Move (The Red Tribe)
09.Lisa Marie Experience - Keep On Jumpin'
10.Sleeper - Sale Of The Century
11.3T - 24/7
12.Chantay Savage - I Will Survive
13.The Prodigy - Firestarter
14.Robert Miles - Children
15.The Cure - The 13th
16.Ash - Goldfinger
17.The Presidents Of The United States Of America - Peaches
18.Def Leppard - Slang
19.Mark Snow - The X-Files
20.Terrorvision - Celebrity Hit List
21.Gabrielle - Give Me A Little More Time
22.Alanis Morissette - Ironic
23.Tony Rich Project - Nobody Knows
24.2Pac - California Love ft Dr Dre
25.Technohead - Happy Birthday
26.Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost Of Tom Joad
27.Orbital - The Box
28.Dana Dawson - Show Me
29.Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded
30.Babylon Zoo - Animal Army
31.Mary Kiani - Let The Music Play
32.Kadoc - The Nighttrain
33.Plux - Over And Over ft Georgia Jones
34.Coolio - 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)
35.Kula Shaker - Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There
36.Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
37.Adeva - I Thank You {1996}
38.Matt Goss - If You Were Here Tonight
39.Meat Loaf - Runnin' For The Red Light (I Gotta Life)
40.Skunk Anansie - Charity {1996}

So we're really going back in time here for Before's only week in the top ten because not only was Michael Jackson perched above the boys and his nephews (not for the first time, I'll wager) but the F.A. Cup still mattered. I'm rather fond of mid-1990s charts. It was probably the last time I took an interest in them and preceded the post-Spice holocaust of crap that pervaded them in the latter part of the decade. At this stage the charts were still extremely hetrogeneous; there's George at number one still playing the hetrosexual lover to good effect, hilarious bad boy Mark Morrison at two, Gina G-String at three, one of the Manics' finest moments at four, and, erm, Suggs at number five.



There's this.....



and this.....



and this.....



Great tunes one and all.

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19960504

[Undertaker]

October 23rd 2011

I thought i'd pt up the most current top 40 chart. Obviously plenty of dross but i actually (shamlessly) like a lot of Rhianna's songs and Katy Perry's tunes. Both are in this top 40 but i have to say, Lana Del Ray's 'Video Games' at number 9, has to be the best single this year.



01. Rihanna - We Found Love Ft Calvin Harris
02. The Wanted - Lightning
03. Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go
04. Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger Ft Christina Aguilera
05. Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts ft Adam Levine
06. Kelly Clarkson - Mr Know It All
07. Christina Perri - Jar Of Hearts
08. Lmfao - Sexy And I Know It
09. Lana Del Rey - Video Games
10. David Guetta - Without You Ft Usher
11. Sean Paul - Got 2 Luv U Ft Alexis Jordan
12. One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
13. Sak Noel - Loca People
14. Ed Sheeran - The A Team
15. Dappy - No Regrets
16. Calling - Wherever You Will Go
17. Nicki Minaj - Fly Ft Rihanna
18. Ed Sheeran - Lego House
19. Calvin Harris - Feel So Close
20. James Morrison - I Won't Let You Go
21. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
22. Katy Perry - The One That Got Away
23. Matt Cardle - Run For Your Life
24. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Aka What A Life
25. Delilah - Go
26. The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
27. Jason Derulo - It Girl
28. Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat Ft Rizzle Kicks
29. Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had
30. Bruno Mars - Marry You
31. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
32. Nero - Crush On You
33. Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
34. Bad Meets Evil - Lighters Ft Bruno Mars
35. Rihanna - Cheers (Drink To That)
36. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (t.g.i.f.)
37. Laidback Luke - Natural Disaster ft Example
38. Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
39. Lady Gaga - You And I
40. David Guetta - Little Bad Girl ft Taio Cruz & Ludacris

[raggatwin]

I've never heard most of them.....

[Patrick Bateman]

It's like a list of aural genocides.

[Undertaker]

July 29th, 1989

01. You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You
By Sonia
02. London Nights
By London Boys
03. Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)
By Soul II Soul
04. On Our Own
By Bobby Brown
05. Wind Beneath My Wings
By Bette Midler
06. Ain't Nobody {1989}
By Rufus And Chaka Khan
07. It's Alright
By Pet Shop Boys
08. Song For Whoever
By The Beautiful South
09. Don't Wanna Lose You
By Gloria Estefan
10. Licence To Kill
By Gladys Knight
11. Superwoman
By Karyn White
12. Voodoo Ray
By A Guy Called Gerald
13. Liberian Girl
By Michael Jackson
14. Batdance
By Prince
15. Days
By Kirsty MacColl
16. Grandpa's Party
By Monie Love
17. Cry
By Waterfront
18. Say No Go
By De La Soul
19. Patience
By Guns N' Roses
20. A New Flame
By Simply Red
21. Breakthru'
By Queen
22. Just Keep Rockin'
By Double Trouble And The Rebel MC
23. The Second Summer Of Love
By Danny Wilson
24. I Drove All Night
By Cyndi Lauper
25. Get Loose ft Jazzi P
By LA Mix
26. Pop Muzik {1989}
By M
27. Choice ft Sylvia Tella
By Blow Monkeys
28. Right Back Where We Started From
By Sinitta
29. Won't Talk About It/Blame It On The Bassline
By Norman Cook
30. Sealed With A Kiss
By Jason Donovan
31. Swing The Mood
By Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers
32. Edie (Ciao Baby)
By The Cult
33. Joy And Pain
By Donna Allen
34. All I Want Is You
By U2
35. It Is Time To Get Funky ft LRS
By D Mob
36. Let It Roll
By Raze Presents Doug Lazy
37. Express Yourself
By Madonna
38. Be With You
By The Bangles
39. Cha Cha Heels
By Eartha Kitt And Bronski Beat
40. Sweet Child O' Mine {1989}
By Guns N' Roses

Pet Shop Boys at #7 and at number 2 the London boys. Sadly, both passed away in 1996.

[Palpatine]

You'll never stop me loving you = AMAZING.

[FormerEnfantTerrible]

October 23rd 2011

I thought i'd pt up the most current top 40 chart. Obviously plenty of dross but i actually (shamlessly) like a lot of Rhianna's songs and Katy Perry's tunes. Both are in this top 40 but i have to say, Lana Del Ray's 'Video Games' at number 9, has to be the best single this year.



01. Rihanna - We Found Love Ft Calvin Harris
02. The Wanted - Lightning
03. Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go
04. Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger Ft Christina Aguilera
05. Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts ft Adam Levine
06. Kelly Clarkson - Mr Know It All
07. Christina Perri - Jar Of Hearts
08. Lmfao - Sexy And I Know It
09. Lana Del Rey - Video Games
10. David Guetta - Without You Ft Usher
11. Sean Paul - Got 2 Luv U Ft Alexis Jordan
12. One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
13. Sak Noel - Loca People
14. Ed Sheeran - The A Team
15. Dappy - No Regrets
16. Calling - Wherever You Will Go
17. Nicki Minaj - Fly Ft Rihanna
18. Ed Sheeran - Lego House
19. Calvin Harris - Feel So Close
20. James Morrison - I Won't Let You Go
21. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe
22. Katy Perry - The One That Got Away
23. Matt Cardle - Run For Your Life
24. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Aka What A Life
25. Delilah - Go
26. The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
27. Jason Derulo - It Girl
28. Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat Ft Rizzle Kicks
29. Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had
30. Bruno Mars - Marry You
31. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
32. Nero - Crush On You
33. Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
34. Bad Meets Evil - Lighters Ft Bruno Mars
35. Rihanna - Cheers (Drink To That)
36. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (t.g.i.f.)
37. Laidback Luke - Natural Disaster ft Example
38. Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
39. Lady Gaga - You And I
40. David Guetta - Little Bad Girl ft Taio Cruz & Ludacris

And I (shamelessly) like a lot of those tunes

[Undertaker]

A few Christmas charts with sales courtesy of Gezza @ Buzzjack forums.

1985

1- MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE- Shakin Stevens (145,000)
2- SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU- Whitney Houston (96,000)
3- DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS- Band Aid (84,000)
4- WEST END GIRLS- Pet Shop Boys (66,000)
5- WALKING IN THE AIR- Aled Jones (62,000)

1987

So to what so the Pet Shop Boys owe their Christmas No 1 placing to? Well obviously it’s a cracking tune but here once again the period covered for the Christmas chart was 14th-19th December which again probably heldback the major thrust of the sales for “Fairytale Of New York”. Indeed it is highly probable that FONY went even closer to the No 1 spot the following week which covered 20th-26th (no trading on 25th obviously) and indeed by my calculations the PSB would have clung on by the skin of their teeth (3k) and had the period been 19th-25th then it would have topped the chart.

Also there was the matter of Rick Astley. His version of “When I Fall In Love” had debuted at No 2 in the same week as the PSB’S Always on my mind went in at No 4, but Capitol had re-issued the original by Nat King Cole and as that track moved from 51-20 it took enough sales away from the Astley version and caused it to narrowly lose out to PSB and thus miss out on the promotion at TOTP and the honour of being No 1.

The release of Always on my mind was of course an accident of a kind, the duo originally having pencilled in “Kings Cross” as the single for December 87 but having to change their choice after the fire at the aforementioned station that November. Odd how fate conspires. Had Astley have gotten to the top it’s entirely possible that they never would have made No 1 and that FONY would have taken the honour from Astley W/E 02.01.88.

Other early favourites in the booking stakes came from Alison Moyet (with some help from French & Saunders) Michael Jackson, and Mel Smith & Kim Wilde (in aid of “Comic Relief”) but they all fell by the way side in the end.



1- ALWAYS ON MY MIND- Pet Shop Boys (107,000)
2- FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK- The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl (97,000)
3- ROCKIN AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE- Mel Smith & Kim Wilde (81,000)
4- WHEN I FALL IN LOVE/ MY ARMS KEEP MISSING YOU- Rick Astley (57,000)
5- LOVE LETTERS- Alison Moyet (53,000)
6- THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL- Michael Jackson (49,000)
7- WHEN I FALL IN LOVE- Nat “King” Cole (47,000)
8- HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH- Belinda Carlise (45,000)
9- CHINA IN YOUR HAND- T’Pau (44,000)
10- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE EYES AT ME FOR?- Shakin Stevens (42,000)

[Patrick Bateman]

Wasn't Shakey the most successful UK artist in the 80s? His finest moment was however this.....

[Drico One]

So to what so the Pet Shop Boys owe their Christmas No 1 placing to? Well obviously it’s a cracking tune but here once again the period covered for the Christmas chart was 14th-19th December which again probably heldback the major thrust of the sales for “Fairytale Of New York”. Indeed it is highly probable that FONY went even closer to the No 1 spot the following week which covered 20th-26th (no trading on 25th obviously) and indeed by my calculations the PSB would have clung on by the skin of their teeth (3k) and had the period been 19th-25th then it would have topped the chart.

Dearie me. So, even if the Christmas chart included Christmas week, Always on my mind would still have been number one.

And if you add together the sales of the two When I fall in love versions (Astley on 57,000 and Cole on 47,000), it was still 3,000 sales behind Always on my mind's 107,000 sales and so Pet Shop Boys would still have been number one.

And we're to somehow believe that Always on my mind was Christmas number one by default, by some tear in the space-time continuum? How dare they outsell all-comers.

Drico.

[Palpatine]

So to what so the Pet Shop Boys owe their Christmas No 1 placing to? Well obviously it’s a cracking tune but here once again the period covered for the Christmas chart was 14th-19th December which again probably heldback the major thrust of the sales for “Fairytale Of New York”. Indeed it is highly probable that FONY went even closer to the No 1 spot the following week which covered 20th-26th (no trading on 25th obviously) and indeed by my calculations the PSB would have clung on by the skin of their teeth (3k) and had the period been 19th-25th then it would have topped the chart.

Dearie me. So, even if the Christmas chart included Christmas week, Always on my mind would still have been number one.

And if you add together the sales of the two When I fall in love versions (Astley on 57,000 and Cole on 47,000), it was still 3,000 sales behind Always on my mind's 107,000 sales and so Pet Shop Boys would still have been number one.

And we're to somehow believe that Always on my mind was Christmas number one by default, by some tear in the space-time continuum? How dare they outsell all-comers.

Drico.

Also, he repeats the hoary old chestnut that King's Cross was planned as a single release. King's Cross was, IIRC, never planned to be released as a single. The Sun suggested that it be released as a charity single to benefit those affected by the fire but N&C said no. I don't think they would have released anything in December if they hadn't recorded Always on my mind.

[BlueSwan]

Exactly. Always On My Mind was more or less rush-released, very shortly after "Rent". There's no way they would have put anything else out so soon after Rent if it hadn't been for Always on my mind.

The FONY fans should just get over it. The superior single won out.

Also, on the Rick Astley debacle, I really doubt just how much the Nat King Cole release detracted from Ricks sales. It's not an either/or proposition - I'm sure lots of people who loved the song bought both versions.

[Kris]

Great to finally see the sales info for that Christmas chart; like many people I've always been curious about that final week. I'm shocked at how far behind Rick Astley was. I'd always imagined that the sales between positions 2-4 would have been tiny. Buzzjack really is a great site. I used to follow it religiously but I'm so far out of touch with current chart music these days that I only visit occasionally.

[Patrick Bateman]

I'm actually watching the Christmas TOTP.

There is something called the Womp on now which seems to be a less intellectual version of Doop by Doop.

[Undertaker]

April 1989

Number 7...



Falling from number 4 to Number 29




1 The Bangles Eternal Flame
2 Madonna Like A Prayer
3 Simply Red If You Don't Know Me By Now
4 Jason Donovan Too Many Broken Hearts
5 Transvision Vamp Baby I Don't Care
6 Paula Abdul Straight Up
7 Kon Kan I Beg Your Pardon
8 Holly Johnson Americanos
9 Donna Summer This Time I Know It's For Real
10 Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler Keep On Movin'
11 Guns N' Roses Paradise City
12 Coldcut featuring Lisa Stansfield People Hold On
13 Fine Young Cannibals Good Thing
14 Pat & Mick I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet
15 Bobby Brown Don't Be Cruel
16 U2 With BB King When Love Comes To Town
17 The Reynolds Girls I'd Rather Jack
18 Midnight Oil Beds Are Burning
19 The Cure Lullaby
20 The Cookie Crew Got To Keep On
21 INXS Mystify
22 We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It International Rescue
23 Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine Can't Stay Away From You
24 The Beatmasters With Merlin Who's In The House?
25 Kylie Minogue Hand On Your Heart
26 Paul Simpson featuring Adeva Musical Freedom (Moving On Up)
27 Inner City Ain't Nobody Better
28 Metallica One
29 London Boys Requiem
30 Yello Of Course I'm Lying
31 Natalie Cole Miss You Like Crazy
32 The Cult Fire Woman
33 De La Soul Me Myself And I
34 The The The Beat(en) Generation
35 Alyson Williams Sleep Talk
36 Bananarama & Lananeeneenoonoo Help!
37 Simple Minds This Is Your Land
38 Morrissey Interesting Drug
39 Chanelle One Man
40 T'Pau Only The Lonely