My May-Aug 2019 Charts

Ruthless megalomaniac at the London Film & Comic Con, and some Daleks.

 

18th August 2019

It’s 3 weeks on top for Agnes, still Trancing strongly, what a fabulous track it is, so strong it holds off an 80’s grade A classic from a-ha, as 1986 chart-topper The Sun Always Shines On TV returns at 2 following a feature in the good Blinded By The Light movie, set in 1987, and showcasing pop at that time (see It’s A Sin entering lower down) and Bruce Springsteen songs – though not the track up to 13 off his new album, still making great music 44 years since Born To Run debuted in my chart – and which is also back thanks to the film.

Highest climber is Paul Kalkbrenner up 63 to 4 – I could do with some decent clubs to jiggle about a bit to this and Agnes, chances are low I’ll find one with a DJ to my taste that opens from 6pm to 9.30pm! Highest new track is Liam Gallagher, replacing himself in my 40 with his second Oasis-sounding top 10 of the year – One Of Us is not an Abba cover, it’s clearly another mouthing off about his older, more-talented brother. Yes, Noel, the one who drops out the top 10 and who wrote a good song called Slide Away. No, not the Slide Away entering at 8 for Miley Cyrus, that’s another fab new song, her second top of the year, and I’m really rating her new stuff lately.

Kaiser Chiefs also get a second top 10 of the year, Shallou and Colin get a big top 40 climb, Lana Del Ray gets a second top 40 of 2019 with Looking For America. So am I, but I think it may be some time. LEON has a decent climb, she’s not Falling at all, and P.P. Arnold gets her first-ever solo top 40 only 51 years late….! Dario G is back 5 years on from his top 20 track with Shirley Bassey, and 21 years on from topping with his Carnaval De Paris, and finally Dolly Parton’s Here You Come Again returns 41 years on since it fell short of my top 40. It’s sounding fab in a current advert, so that peak chart position needs correcting belatedly!

1 1 1 2 I TRANCE Agnes 340000
2 NEW 2 1 THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV a-ha 115000
3 2 2 4 PEACE OF MIND Avicii featuring Vargas & Lagola 255100
4 67 4 2 NO GOODBYE Paul Kalkbrenner featuring Chiara Hunter 71600
5 3 1 14 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 1386500
6 6 4 14 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 571900
7 NEW 7 1 ONE OF US Liam Gallagher 50000
8 NEW 8 1 SLIDE AWAY Miley Cyrus 48000
9 10 9 8 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 220750
10 15 10 6 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 146700

11 5 1 9 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 1092000
12 11 3 12 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 657000
13 19 13 3 THE WAYFARER Bruce Springsteen 63500
14 4 3 10 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 557500
15 8 8 8 MAD LOVE Mabel 214450
16 16 16 3 TIME WON’T GO SLOWLY Snow Patrol 67400
17 7 5 13 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 430450
18 18 18 10 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 177400
19 20 19 3 FRIENDS Dido 58100
20 12 12 8 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 193800

21 9 1 8 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 401550
22 45 22 3 COUNT ON Shallou & Colin 37700
23 13 6 11 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 346250
24 14 5 7 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 272000
25 26 25 3 EMOTION Purple Disco Machine featuring The Emotions 50250
26 28 26 6 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 83000
27 39 27 5 FORGIVE OR FORGET Ina Wrolsden 60900
28 35 28 3 DAYS GO BY (CAMELPHAT REMIX) Dirty Vegas 46800
29 23 23 7 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 115750
30 37 30 3 GREYHOUND Collard 45900

31 17 7 13 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 358650
32 32 32 3 I’M GOOD Wafia 43000
33 74 33 2 LOOKING FOR AMERICA Lana Del Ray 22900
34 40 34 3 FAVORITE SOUND Audien & Echosmith 46700
35 48 35 3 FALLING LEON 36600
36 21 10 15 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 315750
37 43 37 3 BABY BLUE P.P. Arnold 40900
38 38 26 10 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 140100
39 24 8 13 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 283950
40 31 1 15 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 972250

41 36 36 4 SOMEONE LIKE YOU (ATARI HERO REMIX) The Sugarhill Gang Grandmaster Mele Mel & SCORPIO Furious5 featuring Barshon 54800
42 53 42 3 ONLY WHEN YOU’RE AROUND The Dualers 35000
43 34 29 7 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 98900
44 22 10 7 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 159100
45 46 45 5 GO! Public Service Broadcasting 56400
46 27 5 11 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 353050
47 25 11 7 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 166550
48 50 48 5 SCHOOL’S OUT Alice Cooper 54900
49 49 49 4 FADE OUT Seeb & Olivia O’Brien & Space Primates 37500
50 58 50 6 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 51000

51 44 1 18 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 889400
52 30 22 8 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 111350
53 56 53 5 CASTLES Freya Ridings 35450
54 59 54 3 MONEY Michael Kiwanuka & Tom Misch 28600
55 33 20 7 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars 116100
56 NEW 56 1 SHOOT ME DOWN Fiona Walden 10600
57 65 57 3 TRUE LOVE Ariana & The Rose 23000
58 60 58 4 HOW GLAD I AM Chrissie Hynde with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble 32800
59 77 59 2 LOVE TOO MUCH Keane 14700
60 63 60 3 HIGHER LOVE Kygo & Whitney Houston 23400

61 41 3 15 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 607900
62 54 1 12 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 563050
63 29 29 10 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 121100
64 66 64 3 YOUNG AND IN LOVE Ingrid Michaelson 18700
65 69 65 3 SILHOUETTES Friendly Fires 18200
66 68 66 3 TWO NIGHTS PART II Lykke Li, Skrillex & Ty Dolla $ign 19600
67 NEW 67 1 BORN TO RUN Bruce Springsteen 6600
68 76 20 8 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 121150
69 47 35 8 6AM Max Pope 88100
70 NEW 70 1 IT’S A SIN Pet Shop Boys 6000

71 72 71 2 TRUTH Mark Ronson featuring Alicia Keys & The Last Artful, Dodgr 11400
72 75 72 3 MINE RIGHT NOW Sigrid 14600
73 73 73 3 EVER AGAIN (SINGLE MIX) Robyn 15400
74 79 74 2 ONLY HUMAN The Jonas Brothers 9400
75 78 75 3 MEN BEHAVING BADLY Chiedu Oraka & Deezkid featuring Jacob Aaron 13800
76 NEW 76 1 HERE YOU COME AGAIN Dolly Parton 4800
77 80 77 2 LITTLE HELP The BossHoss featuring Mimy & Josy 8600
78 42 17 8 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 134500
79 NEW 79 1 HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 4200
80 NEW 80 1 HOLA (RADIO EDIT) Dario G 4000

DROP OUTS
51 34 7 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 85650
52 37 7 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 75300
55 55 6 LULLABY The Cure 47000
57 43 6 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 51700
61 30 6 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 74600
62 62 4 BRIGHT BLUE SKIES Mitch James 25600
64 48 5 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 39900
70 70 4 SHINE Emeli Sande 22400
71 71 3 GONE Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens 17400

 

11th August 2019

It’s a 2nd week on top for the fab Agnes I Trance, holding off the late Avicii and his Vargas & Lagola combo Peace Of Mind at 2, his highest-charting track, beating Hey Brother which peaked at 5. Post malone & Swae Lee get a first top 10, Snow Patrol climb bigly into the 20, their first to do that since Chasing Cars 12 years back, Dido gets another top 20 of this year, and Brooooce also does the same on the day I saw the fab Blinded By The Light. Springsteen still has it, 44 years on from his debut Born To Run – which featured in the movie, quite rightly.

A second top 40 in a row for Purple Disco Machine, Wafia climbs up fast, loads of others climb in a week of few new entries – there just is no more room in my chart with so many climbing! Highest is Paul Kalkbrenner, who charted with a Leonard Cohen remix previously, Mark Ronson also pops back with a 5th track off his album, giving Alicia Keys a rare chart entry these days – 18 years since Fallin’ and 9 years since Empire State Of Mind topped with Jay-Z. Lana Del Ray and Keane make swift chart returns on the previous singles, JOnas Brothers get a 3rd off the new LP, and The BossHoss are back 2 years on from Word Up.

1 1 1 2 I TRANCE Agnes 340000
2 8 2 3 PEACE OF MIND Avicii featuring Vargas & Lagola 170100
3 2 1 13 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 1326500
4 4 3 9 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 528500
5 3 1 8 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 1055000
6 7 4 13 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 516900
7 5 5 12 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 407450
8 10 8 7 MAD LOVE Mabel 187450
9 6 1 7 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 381800
10 14 10 7 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 175750

11 11 3 11 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 622000
12 13 12 7 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 173800
13 9 6 10 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 327000
14 12 5 6 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 253000
15 15 15 5 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 104700
16 36 16 2 TIME WON’T GO SLOWLY Snow Patrol 42400
17 23 7 12 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 341750
18 18 18 9 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 155400
19 57 19 2 THE WAYFARER Bruce Springsteen 31500
20 39 20 2 FRIENDS Dido 37100

21 19 10 14 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 298350
22 16 10 6 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 145850
23 25 23 6 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 97550
24 24 8 12 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 266850
25 17 11 6 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 153950
26 45 26 2 EMOTION Purple Disco Machine featuring The Emotions 31500
27 21 5 10 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 340300
28 32 28 5 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 64500
29 33 29 9 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 113900
30 22 22 7 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 99850

31 26 1 14 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 955250
32 62 32 2 I’M GOOD Wafia 25200
33 20 20 6 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars 105550
34 29 29 6 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 85400
35 54 35 2 DAYS GO BY (CAMELPHAT REMIX) Dirty Vegas 28500
36 40 36 3 SOMEONE LIKE YOU (ATARI HERO REMIX) The Sugarhill Gang Grandmaster Mele Mel & SCORPIO Furious5 featuring Barshon 40800
37 56 37 2 GREYHOUND Collard 27900
38 28 26 9 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 122900
39 52 39 4 FORGIVE OR FORGET Ina Wrolsden 42500
40 49 40 2 FAVORITE SOUND Audien & Echosmith 29100

41 31 3 14 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 600400
42 27 17 7 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 130100
43 59 43 2 BABY BLUE P.P. Arnold 23600
44 38 1 17 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 877650
45 74 45 2 COUNT ON Shallou & Colin 18200
46 46 46 4 GO! Public Service Broadcasting 43400
47 35 35 7 6AM Max Pope 81900
48 66 48 2 FALLING LEON 19100
49 64 49 3 FADE OUT Seeb & Olivia O’Brien & Space Primates 25400
50 51 50 4 SCHOOL’S OUT Alice Cooper 42600

51 34 34 7 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 85650
52 37 37 7 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 75300
53 60 53 2 ONLY WHEN YOU’RE AROUND The Dualers 21250
54 47 1 11 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 555650
55 55 55 6 LULLABY The Cure 47000
56 73 56 4 CASTLES Freya Ridings 24200
57 43 43 6 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 51700
58 58 58 5 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 39000
59 61 59 2 MONEY Michael Kiwanuka & Tom Misch 17600
60 65 60 3 HOW GLAD I AM Chrissie Hynde with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble 22600

61 30 30 6 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 74600
62 67 62 4 BRIGHT BLUE SKIES Mitch James 25600
63 69 63 2 HIGHER LOVE Kygo & Whitney Houston 13400
64 48 48 5 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 39900
65 72 65 2 TRUE LOVE Ariana & The Rose 12600
66 76 66 2 YOUNG AND IN LOVE Ingrid Michaelson 11600
67 NEW 67 1 NO GOODBYE Paul Kalkbrenner featuring Chiara Hunter 6600
68 68 68 2 TWO NIGHTS PART II Lykke Li, Skrillex & Ty Dolla $ign 12800
69 75 69 2 SILHOUETTES Friendly Fires 11200
70 70 70 4 SHINE Emeli Sande 22400

71 71 71 3 GONE Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens 17400
72 NEW 72 1 TRUTH Mark Ronson featuring Alicia Keys & The Last Artful, Dodgr 5600
73 77 73 2 EVER AGAIN (SINGLE MIX) Robyn 10000
74 NEW 74 1 LOOKING FOR AMERICA Lana Del Ray 5200
75 80 75 2 MINE RIGHT NOW Sigrid 9000
76 42 20 7 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 114750
77 NEW 77 1 LOVE TOO MUCH Keane 4600
78 78 78 2 MEN BEHAVING BADLY Chiedu Oraka & Deezkid featuring Jacob Aaron 8800
79 NEW 79 1 ONLY HUMAN The Jonas Brothers 4200
80 NEW 80 1 LITTLE HELP The BossHoss featuring Mimy & Josy 4000

DROP OUTS
41 24 7 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 102200
44 28 8 GOD CONTROL Madonna 100450
50 37 4 SING IT WITH ME JP Cooper & Astrid S 50950
53 53 5 PRAYING Keiino 44100
63 63 4 STILL THE GOOD OLD DAYS Sheryl Crow featuring Joe Walsh 19800
79 10 12 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 236250

 

 

4th August 2019

It’s straight in on top for a track I’ve known for less than 24 hours, Agnes and her self-descriptive fab single I Trance. Her 2009 chart-topper Release Me was a bit of an anthem in my Gran Canaria late-night holiday club days, but she hasnt charted since 2012, and this is only her 4th chart entry. At 8 a huge leap for Avicii, posthumously claiming his 5th top 10 with the sad-themed Peace Of Mind, with Vargas & Lagola also getting a 2nd top 10 of the year. Mabel gets a 2nd too.

All the action is lower-down the chart though, as there is another mass invasion, this time new tracks, and I’ve had to extend my chart to 80 again to accomodate them. In at 36 Snow Patrol get a first top 40 in 9 years (and that was a re-entry) and their 8th in total after a break of 8 years away, with Time Won’t Go Slowly. So true! Dido’s back for a 3rd top 40 0f 2019, The Sugarhill gang get a 3rd top 40 40 years since their first, and Grandmaster Flash/Mele Mel a 4th 36 years on. Purple Disco Machine replace themselves in my chart at 45 with the Emotions-sampling Emotion, which charted 42 years ago as I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love and has been sampled heavily since, notably by Primal Scream in 1990 on Loaded.

Dirty Vegas have been camelphat-ed at 54, a shocking 18 years on from Days Go By peaking at 4, and 17 years since the remix peaked at 3 in my charts. 3rd time lucky? Collard’s Greyhound is a smooth new soul track which came up as an advert on Youtube just for me, as I was looking at 60’s soul tracks, and which made a change from being bombarded endlessly by a bloody Grammarly hype. Collard is one of the few times in my life when an advert has got a sale out of me. Cos it’s good. Springsteen is back with a 2nd hit of the year, still Born To Run 44 years on. That’s nothing though…

In at 59 with Baby Blue gives P.P. Arnold her first-ever solo hit – 52 years late. P.P. had UK soul success in the late 60’s, but too early for my first charts, despite later failed attempts by Barry Gibb to get an album release for her of stuff he had produced. Following the death of her daughter she concentrated on guest vocals in the 70’s onwards, and last charted with Ocean Colour Scene in 1998. Steve Cradock is a huge fan, and drafted in his big mate, also a fan, Paul Weller for a brand new album, of which this is the first track. So, 52 years-late here she is, still soulful. Check her guest spots on, ooh 3am Eternal (KLF), Itchycoo Park (The Small faces), the original version of Cat Stevens’ First Cut Is The Deepest, Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, Beatmasters Burn It Up and more.

Whitney is also back, a decade literally late, with her Kygo revamp of her cover of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love. The first track on the aforementioned PP arnold Barry Gibb album was a Steve Winwood track – the album eventually got released a few years back thanks to the efforts of Steve Cradock. I love a circular anecdote.

1 NEW 1 1 I TRANCE Agnes 170000
2 3 1 12 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 1241500
3 2 1 7 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 995000
4 4 3 8 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 463500
5 5 5 11 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 357450
6 1 1 6 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 336800
7 7 4 12 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 461900
8 64 8 2 PEACE OF MIND Avicii featuring Vargas & Lagola 55100
9 6 6 9 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 295000
10 12 10 6 MAD LOVE Mabel 139450

11 9 3 10 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 585000
12 8 5 5 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 224000
13 15 13 6 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 138800
14 16 14 6 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 133750
15 19 15 4 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 77700
16 10 10 5 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 126350
17 11 11 5 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 135200
18 18 18 8 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 133400
19 13 10 13 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 278600
20 22 20 5 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars 87850

21 14 5 9 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 321900
22 23 22 6 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 81850
23 20 7 11 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 318750
24 17 8 11 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 247850
25 25 25 5 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 78300
26 21 1 13 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 937350
27 27 17 6 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 116350
28 31 26 8 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 105700
29 30 29 5 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 67800
30 40 30 5 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 67100

31 26 3 13 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 586400
32 34 32 4 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 46200
33 33 33 8 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 95700
34 35 34 6 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 73900
35 36 35 6 6AM Max Pope 69400
36 NEW 36 1 TIME WON’T GO SLOWLY Snow Patrol 17400
37 38 37 6 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 63800
38 32 1 16 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 864400
39 NEW 39 1 FRIENDS Dido 17100
40 68 40 2 SOMEONE LIKE YOU (ATARI HERO REMIX) The Sugarhill Gang Grandmaster Mele Mel & SCORPIO Furious5 featuring Barshon 23400

41 24 24 7 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 102200
42 29 20 6 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 109950
43 50 43 5 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 41300
44 28 28 8 GOD CONTROL Madonna 100450
45 NEW 45 1 EMOTION Purple Disco Machine featuring The Emotions 13000
46 49 46 3 GO! Public Service Broadcasting 30650
47 39 1 10 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 544650
48 52 48 4 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 32800
49 NEW 49 1 FAVORITE SOUND Audien & Echosmith 12100
50 37 37 4 SING IT WITH ME JP Cooper & Astrid S 50950

51 51 51 3 SCHOOL’S OUT Alice Cooper 30600
52 59 52 3 FORGIVE OR FORGET Ina Wrolsden 25400
53 53 53 5 PRAYING Keiino 44100
54 NEW 54 1 DAYS GO BY (CAMELPHAT REMIX) Dirty Vegas 11000
55 55 55 5 LULLABY The Cure 36200
56 NEW 56 1 GREYHOUND Collard 10600
57 NEW 57 1 THE WAYFARER Bruce Springsteen 10400
58 58 58 4 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 28800
59 NEW 59 1 BABY BLUE P.P. Arnold 10100
60 NEW 60 1 ONLY WHEN YOU’RE AROUND The Dualers 10000

61 NEW 61 1 MONEY Michael Kiwanuka & Tom Misch 7500
62 NEW 62 1 I’M GOOD Wafia 7400
63 63 63 4 STILL THE GOOD OLD DAYS Sheryl Crow featuring Joe Walsh 19800
64 69 64 2 FADE OUT Seeb & Olivia O’Brien & Space Primates 13300
65 72 65 2 HOW GLAD I AM Chrissie Hynde with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble 12600
66 NEW 66 1 FALLING LEON 6800
67 67 67 3 BRIGHT BLUE SKIES Mitch James 18200
68 NEW 68 1 TWO NIGHTS PART II Lykke Li, Skrillex & Ty Dolla $ign 6400
69 NEW 69 1 HIGHER LOVE Kygo & Whitney Houston 6200
70 70 70 3 SHINE Emeli Sande 16400

71 71 71 2 GONE Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens 11600
72 NEW 72 1 TRUE LOVE Ariana & The Rose 5600
73 75 73 3 CASTLES Freya Ridings 13600
74 NEW 74 1 COUNT ON Shallou & Colin 5200
75 NEW 75 1 SILHOUETTES Friendly Fires 5000
76 NEW 76 1 YOUNG AND IN LOVE Ingrid Michaelson 4800
77 NEW 77 1 EVER AGAIN (SINGLE MIX) Robyn 4600
78 NEW 78 1 MEN BEHAVING BADLY Chiedu Oraka & Deezkid featuring Jacob Aaron 4400
79 46 10 12 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 236250
80 NEW 80 1 MINE RIGHT NOW Sigrid 4000

DROP OUTS
41 28 7 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 93300
42 12 13 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 239500
43 43 7 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 61700
44 26 9 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 123300
45 18 12 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 208550
47 47 5 WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG The Killers 39850
48 36 5 CROWN Stormzy 77000
54 9 12 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 299650
56 40 5 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 56800
57 57 2 INFO FREAKO Jesus Jones 15000
60 60 5 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 30200
61 1 15 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 632400
62 9 13 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 278650
65 65 4 WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Craig David 24400
66 46 6 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 49350
73 1 21 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 846900
74 74 2 FEEL THE BENEFIT 10c.c. 8200

 

 

That’s Conchita Wurst on stage in Gran Canaria – you’ll have to take my word for it! 🙂

 

28th July 2019

It’s a return to the top spot for classic 2011 chart-topper Titanium, now getting it’s 3rd week on top. It was the first of 2 chart-toppers from the Nothing But The Beat album which I bought in a posh Florida shopping mall record store – one of the few left that I could find in the 21 years since my first visit when stores were everywhere and malls were full. It’s still also Sia’s only chart-topper, though her other oldie (with Zero 7) gives a double top ten week.

Kaiser Chiefs also meet themselves in the top 20 as the new climbs to 19, Jack Savoretti keeps his top 40’s going, and Mika gets a credit to boot – his 16th top 40 in 12 years, including one number one (not the one you think, either, it’s Rain). Blossoms get a big climb into the 40 and I cut my chart down to 75, having a bit of a clear-out of oldies now Glasto is gone. There are few new entries, but Seeb get a second in the 75 with Fade Out entering, Avicii gets another posthumous entry, this one with Vargas & Lagola’s 3rd chart entry, Charli XCX joins forces with Christine and both return – and some golden oldies return, both from 1979 debuts:

Chrissie Hynde debuted with The Pretenders’ Stop Your Sobbing and has never really stopped charting since, just not as regularly as of old – well, she’s back with an orchestra (of sorts) and a cover of the 1964 Nancy Wilson blues/jazz classic How Glad I Am – which belatedly made my top 10 in 2013, and first charted for me in a version by Kiki Dee in 1975. The other comeback? The Sugarhill Gang! First charting with Rapper’s Delight, the first proper “rap” record as such to be a crossover hit. Most recently in my top 10 in 2015 with oldie Apache, this is their first new material to chart since the early 80’s! It’s also bringing back Grandmaster Mele Mel – why the ‘L’ he’s dropped an L from his name I don’t know but he’s the brains and voice behind The Message and White Lines, the greatest rap records of the 80’s for me, not to mention Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, let me love Chaka Khan on I Feel For You. He brings along his Furious5, who are probably livid rather than furious these days.

1 6 1 5 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 281800
2 1 1 6 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 910000
3 2 1 11 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 1126500
4 3 3 7 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 398500
5 7 5 10 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 297450
6 8 6 8 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 250000
7 4 4 11 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 411900
8 5 5 4 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 189000
9 9 3 9 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 548000
10 14 10 4 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 101350

11 11 11 4 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 112200
12 16 12 5 MAD LOVE Mabel 97450
13 10 10 12 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 257600
14 12 5 8 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 302150
15 17 15 5 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 106800
16 18 16 5 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 104750
17 13 8 10 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 228850
18 21 18 7 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 111400
19 33 19 3 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 50700
20 19 7 10 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 299500

21 15 1 12 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 918850
22 25 22 4 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars 67850
23 35 23 5 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 62350
24 27 24 6 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 88200
25 37 25 4 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 59550
26 24 3 12 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 568500
27 22 17 5 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 97950
28 30 28 7 GOD CONTROL Madonna 87200
29 20 20 5 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 96200
30 41 30 4 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 49600

31 26 26 7 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 87400
32 29 1 15 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 847200
33 40 33 7 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 78000
34 70 34 3 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 28400
35 38 35 5 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 56300
36 45 36 5 6AM Max Pope 51900
37 53 37 3 SING IT WITH ME JP Cooper & Astrid S 38950
38 43 38 5 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 46500
39 39 1 9 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 532150
40 42 40 4 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 49100

41 28 28 7 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 93300
42 23 12 13 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 239500
43 52 43 7 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 61700
44 31 26 9 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 123300
45 34 18 12 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 208550
46 32 10 11 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 232050
47 51 47 5 WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG The Killers 39850
48 36 36 5 CROWN Stormzy 77000
49 71 49 2 GO! Public Service Broadcasting 17900
50 63 50 4 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 27800

51 64 51 2 SCHOOL’S OUT Alice Cooper 18850
52 72 52 3 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 20500
53 54 53 4 PRAYING Keiino 32850
54 44 9 12 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 299650
55 66 55 4 LULLABY The Cure 25400
56 50 40 5 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 56800
57 77 57 2 INFO FREAKO Jesus Jones 15000
58 69 58 3 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 18600
59 81 59 2 FORGIVE OR FORGET Ina Wrolsden 13900
60 68 60 5 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 30200

61 59 1 15 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 632400
62 60 9 13 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 278650
63 83 63 3 STILL THE GOOD OLD DAYS Sheryl Crow featuring Joe Walsh 12600
64 NEW 64 1 PEACE OF MIND Avicii featuring Vargas & Lagola 7100
65 67 65 4 WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Craig David 24400
66 46 46 6 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 49350
67 75 67 2 BRIGHT BLUE SKIES Mitch James 11600
68 NEW 68 1 SOMEONE LIKE YOU (ATARI HERO REMIX) The Sugarhill Gang Grandmaster Mele Mel & SCORPIO Furious5 featuring Barshon 6400
69 NEW 69 1 FADE OUT Seeb & Olivia O’Brien & Space Primates 6200
70 78 70 2 SHINE Emeli Sande 10400

71 NEW 71 1 GONE Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens 5800
72 NEW 72 1 HOW GLAD I AM Chrissie Hyne with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble 5600
73 73 1 21 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 846900
74 85 74 2 FEEL THE BENEFIT 10c.c. 8200
75 84 75 2 CASTLES Freya Ridings 8200

DROP OUTS
47 47 6 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 54600
48 20 9 MY LOVE Will Young 135200
49 32 5 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 76600
55 55 3 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT Kylie Minogue 24300
56 5 10 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 326950
57 3 10 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 374350
58 9 10 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 256100
61 8 12 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 279000
62 29 11 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 144600
65 28 9 ALONE Richard Hawley 103900
74 48 6 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 50150
76 76 3 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD Kylie Minogue 11400
79 79 3 BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Kylie Minogue 12200
80 10 12 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 220450
82 6 15 DATE STAMP ABC 291950

 

 

21st July 2019

It’s four weeks on top for ELO, 6 in total, as nothing new comes along to challenge it, the nearest fresh challenger is The Regrettes at 5, their second chart hit, and first top 40. Fun! Titanium goes top 10 7 years after topping my chart, and Sia’s other oldie beats it’s previous peak of 16 in 2000 for Zero 7’s lovely Destiny, which I under-rated at the time. Dominic Fike finally makes the top 10 after 11 weeks of trying.

Meanwhile, 50 years ago on the 21st July I was watching footage of the Moon Landing on our black and white TV, specially allowed to broadcast overnight and in the morning – though I didn’t get woken up for the glorious actual moment which contrary to media coverage happened in the UK on the 21st, not the 20th! I still say GMT should be the primary source when events happen off-planet It was enormously impressive as any achievement to this 11-year-old, and hugely risky, so all the more awesome. As a sort-of tribute, Public Service Broadcasting enter belatedly with Go! based on Apollo 11, and sampling Nasa heavily, in at 71. While School’s Out made the itunes chart, and although it was 3 years too late for Apollo, it was sort of appropriate as Primary School was indeed Out for me around that time. Alice Cooper made my top 5 in 1972, and charted again in 1974.

The Kaisers get a big climb into the 40, Lykke Li gets a second top 40, ditto Lizzo, and Shawn Mendes overtakes himself with Camila,as Senorita goes into the 40. Shawn’s 3rd top 40, and Camila’s 3rd too. I finally get to cut down the size of the chart to 85 in a quiet week for newcomers, as a load of Glasto oldies depart in a rush, Mitch James being the highest actual new current track at 75! Even with PVRIS and P!nk climbing into the 75 that’s historically low for a top 75 chart. It has been manic of late though, so it gives room for lots of climbers to grab a more representative chart position. Jesus Jones return 29 years on with the fab Info Freako, a non-hit of the time that deserved better.

1 1 1 5 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 795000
2 2 1 10 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 1041500
3 3 3 6 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 333500
4 4 4 10 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 361900
5 5 5 3 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 141000
6 11 6 4 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 111800
7 8 7 9 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 237450
8 9 8 7 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 195000
9 6 3 8 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 503000
10 14 10 11 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 225600

11 19 11 3 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 75200
12 7 5 7 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 273150
13 10 8 9 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 205850
14 34 14 3 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 59350
15 13 1 11 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 899100
16 33 16 4 MAD LOVE Mabel 62450
17 20 17 4 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 79800
18 18 18 4 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 79750
19 15 7 9 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 279500
20 21 20 4 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 78000

21 25 21 6 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 89400
22 17 17 4 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 79550
23 12 12 12 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 225750
24 16 3 11 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 550000
25 39 25 3 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars 48350
26 35 26 6 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 69500
27 30 27 5 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 69200
28 28 28 6 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 79300
29 24 1 14 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 829400
30 36 30 6 GOD CONTROL Madonna 68900

31 26 26 8 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 110050
32 23 10 10 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 219300
33 50 33 2 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 29700
34 22 18 11 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 195550
35 59 35 4 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 43100
36 37 36 4 CROWN Stormzy 64700
37 47 37 3 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 40800
38 58 38 4 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 38800
39 29 1 8 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 515050
40 49 40 6 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 60300

41 54 41 3 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 31600
42 53 42 3 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 32100
43 70 43 4 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 29300
44 38 9 11 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 288650
45 63 45 4 6AM Max Pope 34500
46 60 46 5 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 42550
47 56 47 6 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 54600
48 31 20 9 MY LOVE Will Young 135200
49 32 32 5 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 76600
50 40 40 4 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 46200

51 62 51 4 WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG The Killers 27350
52 55 52 6 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 48200
53 57 53 2 SING IT WITH ME JP Cooper & Astrid S 21650
54 68 54 3 PRAYING Keiino 21600
55 64 55 3 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT Kylie Minogue 24300
56 46 5 10 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 326950
57 44 3 10 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 374350
58 45 9 10 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 256100
59 52 1 14 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 624900
60 51 9 12 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 271250

61 42 8 12 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 279000
62 43 29 11 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 144600
63 75 63 3 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 15800
64 NEW 64 1 SCHOOL’S OUT Alice Cooper 7100
65 41 28 9 ALONE Richard Hawley 103900
66 77 66 3 LULLABY The Cure 14600
67 72 67 3 WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Craig David 17400
68 73 68 4 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 20200
69 89 69 2 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 8400
70 76 70 2 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 10800

71 NEW 71 1 GO! Public Service Broadcasting 5800
72 83 72 2 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 9000
73 69 1 20 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 841500
74 48 48 6 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 50150
75 NEW 75 1 BRIGHT BLUE SKIES Mitch James 5000
76 81 76 3 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD Kylie Minogue 11400
77 NEW 77 1 INFO FREAKO Jesus Jones 4600
78 NEW 78 1 SHINE Emeli Sande 4400
79 79 79 3 BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Kylie Minogue 12200
80 61 10 12 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 220450

81 NEW 81 1 FORGIVE OR FORGET Ina Wrolsden 3800
82 27 6 15 DATE STAMP ABC 291950
83 90 83 2 STILL THE GOOD OLD DAYS Sheryl Crow featuring Joe Walsh 5400
84 NEW 84 1 CASTLES Freya Ridings 3200
85 NEW 85 1 FEEL THE BENEFIT 10c.c. 3000

DROP OUTS
65 50 6 JOY Bastille 50600
66 18 9 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 164750
67 67 3 SUMMERTIME DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 18000
71 1 13 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 647200
74 13 12 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 221700
78 78 2 THE LOVECATS The Cure 7400
80 80 2 CLOSE TO ME The Cure 8000
82 82 2 WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 7000
84 84 2 HUMAN The Killers 5200
85 15 11 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 168450
86 86 2 SPINNING AROUND Kylie Minogue 5000
87 87 2 IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure 5200
88 88 2 BOYS DON’T CRY The Cure 4800

 

 

14th July 2019

It’s 3 weeks on top for ELO, 5 weeks in total, cos it still sounds so fab played loud these 43 years later, and becomes their longest-running number one. Noel Gallagher gets his highest-charting solo record, ahead of AKA..What A Life which peaked at 5 in 2011, with Sail On – though obviously not quite up their Oasis chart-toppers like Whatever, Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger and The Importance Of Being Idle. Up debuting inside the top 5, with their second chart hit, it’s The Regrettes and the fab I Dare You, while Keith Urban gets his second top 10, following 2017 number 2 The Fighter with Drop Top Down. Miley Cyrus gets her 6th top 10, as Titanium rockets up 30 places to 11 – 8 years on from topping my charts and it still sounds fresh and exciting, one of the great singles of the decade.

OneRepublic shoot up into the top 20 for the 9th time, Mark Ronson for the 7th, while Madonna goes top 40 with God Control, her 4th of the year. Ed Sheeran replaces himself in the 40, which is a bit of a BLOW, I’m sure, while highest new entry is Kaiser Chiefs at 50 with People Know How To Love One Another, their 2nd on the list. JP Cooper returns with a newie at 57. Sing It With Me! Blossoms also return with Your Girlfriend. She certainly isn’t mine. PVRIS enter in my still-extended chart rundown of 90, at 83, much lower than they would be without all the Glasto oldies hogging the chart spots, Pink gets a 5th track off Hurts 2 B Human entering, and Sheryl Crow returns, extending her run to 25 years of chart hits – this time bringing along Joe Walsh. Joe has charted umpteen times as part of The Eagles, going back to New Kid In Town around the time Livin’ Thing was charting, but he’d been on records back in the 60’s, 70’s and beyond, for his guitar skills, a whole who’s who in music it is too from The Beach Boys to The Foo Fighters. As a solo act, though, he debuted in 1978 with Life’s Been Good, a fab single, and…that was it. 41 years later and he gets a follow-up co-credit, that must be a record wait for a follow-up to a one-hit-wonder with new material!

1 1 1 4 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 625000
2 2 1 9 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 926500
3 4 3 5 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 248500
4 7 4 9 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 296900
5 19 5 2 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 81000
6 3 3 7 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 458000
7 5 5 6 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 238150
8 12 8 8 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 187450
9 11 9 6 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 147000
10 8 8 8 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 173850

11 41 11 3 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 56800
12 13 12 11 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 206500
13 6 1 10 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 872100
14 14 14 10 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 183600
15 9 7 8 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 258500
16 10 3 10 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 531000
17 23 17 3 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 60050
18 25 18 3 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 57750
19 38 19 2 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 38200
20 26 20 3 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 56800

21 22 21 3 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 58000
22 18 18 10 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 177950
23 15 10 9 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 201500
24 17 1 13 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 811200
25 30 25 5 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 69650
26 31 26 7 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 92150
27 16 6 14 DATE STAMP ABC 288350
28 35 28 5 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 61000
29 21 1 7 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 497950
30 36 30 4 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 50800

31 20 20 8 MY LOVE Will Young 122900
32 37 32 4 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 64500
33 42 33 3 MAD LOVE Mabel 37450
34 46 34 2 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 30350
35 48 35 5 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 51000
36 49 36 5 GOD CONTROL Madonna 50900
37 40 37 3 CROWN Stormzy 47300
38 24 9 10 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 275400
39 47 39 2 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapeleton & Bruno Mars 29600
40 55 40 3 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 34200

41 28 28 8 ALONE Richard Hawley 96900
42 27 8 11 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 271500
43 29 29 10 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 137200
44 33 3 9 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 363950
45 34 9 9 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 245900
46 39 5 9 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 316350
47 54 47 2 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 23500
48 53 48 5 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 44950
49 56 49 5 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 43300
50 NEW 50 1 PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER The Kaiser Chiefs 12000

51 45 9 11 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 261250
52 44 1 13 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 614800
53 64 53 2 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 18350
54 67 54 2 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 17600
55 59 55 5 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 36700
56 57 56 5 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 42100
57 NEW 57 1 SING IT WITH ME JP Cooper & Astrid S 10400
58 70 58 3 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 21600
59 61 59 3 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 25600
60 62 60 4 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 29800

61 43 10 11 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 216450
62 77 62 3 WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG The Killers 16600
63 63 63 3 6AM Max Pope 21500
64 68 64 2 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT Kylie Minogue 13500
65 50 50 6 JOY Bastille 50600
66 32 18 9 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 164750
67 71 67 3 SUMMERTIME DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 18000
68 79 68 2 PRAYING Keiino 10600
69 69 1 19 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 836100
70 73 70 3 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 15800

71 60 1 13 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 647200
72 74 72 2 WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Craig David 10800
73 78 73 3 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 13800
74 51 13 12 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 221700
75 82 75 2 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 8600
76 NEW 76 1 YOUR GIRLFRIEND Blossoms 4800
77 84 77 2 LULLABY The Cure 7800
78 85 78 2 THE LOVECATS The Cure 7400
79 81 79 2 BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Kylie Minogue 8000
80 80 80 2 CLOSE TO ME The Cure 8000

81 86 81 2 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD Kylie Minogue 6600
82 83 82 2 WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 7000
83 NEW 83 1 DEATH OF ME PVRIS 3400
84 90 84 2 HUMAN The Killers 5200
85 75 15 11 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 168450
86 89 86 2 SPINNING AROUND Kylie Minogue 5000
87 87 87 2 IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure 5200
88 88 88 2 BOYS DON’T CRY The Cure 4800
89 NEW 89 1 CAN WE PRETEND Pink featuring Cash Cash 2200
90 NEW 90 1 STILL THE GOOD OLD DAYS Sheryl Crow featuring Joe Walsh 2000

DROP OUTS
52 44 7 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 64950
58 23 6 TINY DANCER Elton John 88750
65 65 6 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 33400
66 50 7 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 62250
72 72 5 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 23600
76 48 8 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 69550

 

 

7th July 2019

It’s a second week on top, and the fourth week in total, for 1976 sweeping strings classic Livin’ Thing, not the first chart-topping ELO oldie by any means. Noel Gallagher leapfrogs his younger brother at 4, and Bananarama get a second top 10 of the year 38 years since their debut. The highest new entry is from The Regrettes channeling The Strokes in a poppy fashion, and the chart has been extended thanks to an invasion of Kylie & Cure tracks from Glastonbury which sold well on itunes for a few days afterwards.

OneRepublic return, straight in the 40 at 38 for Rescue Me, giving them 11 years of entries since Stop And Stare went top 3 in 2008. Sia has 2 oldies on the chart as her 2000 top 20 returns, the lovely Destiny with Zero 7, at 47, and Ed Sheeran gets a hat-trick with 2 more tracks off his collaborations album doing what none of his previous albums has managed, at least simultaneously. Highest placed is a right old rock-it-up with Chris Stapleton and Bruno Mars, t’other a more soulful Sheeran with Khalid lending a hand, both of them vast improvements on Whiny Romantic Ed.

Lizzo gets a second chart entry, Jack Savoretti is back yet again like a bullet, this time in a collab with Mika, who’s knocking on 15 years of hits before too long, nestling by a former chart-topper from his previous duet partner Kylie. Craig David is on the re-re-wind for 2 decades of hits as his latest pops in, and Keiino get a quick follow-up with a track that’s not entirely unlike their Eurovision popular-vote-winner.

1 1 1 3 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 455000
2 2 1 8 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 811500
3 3 3 6 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 403000
4 9 4 4 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 163500
5 5 5 5 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 188150
6 4 1 9 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 840100
7 8 7 8 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 231900
8 22 8 7 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 131850
9 11 7 7 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 231500
10 7 3 9 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 506000

11 16 11 5 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 102000
12 14 12 7 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 139450
13 19 13 10 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 171500
14 23 14 9 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 154600
15 10 10 8 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 191250
16 6 6 13 DATE STAMP ABC 269950
17 13 1 12 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 792200
18 21 18 9 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 158450
19 NEW 19 1 I DARE YOU The Regrettes 21000
20 30 20 7 MY LOVE Will Young 105000

21 12 1 6 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 479750
22 25 22 2 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 38250
23 32 23 2 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 37050
24 15 9 9 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 258200
25 40 25 2 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 35750
26 28 26 2 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 36800
27 17 8 10 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 257750
28 29 28 7 ALONE Richard Hawley 82900
29 31 29 9 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 123700
30 37 30 4 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 50900

31 36 31 6 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 73650
32 18 18 8 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 157950
33 20 3 8 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 350700
34 24 9 8 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 232900
35 49 35 4 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 42700
36 54 36 3 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 32800
37 39 37 3 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 46700
38 NEW 38 1 RESCUE ME OneRepublic 17200
39 26 5 8 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 303600
40 45 40 2 CROWN Stormzy 30000
41 41 42 2 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 19800
42 42 43 2 MAD LOVE Mabel 19750
43 43 10 10 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 208950
44 44 1 12 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 603300
45 45 9 10 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 249500
46 46 47 1 DESTINY Zero 7 featuring Sia 12750
47 47 48 1 BLOW Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapeleton & Bruno Mars 12500
48 48 49 4 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 33500
49 49 50 4 GOD CONTROL Madonna 33500
50 50 51 5 JOY Bastille 43600

51 51 13 11 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 216500
52 52 44 7 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 64950
53 53 54 4 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 32650
54 54 55 1 GOOD AS HELL Lizzo 11000
55 55 56 2 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 17200
56 56 57 4 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 31200
57 57 58 4 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 31500
58 58 23 6 TINY DANCER Elton John 88750
59 59 60 4 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 25900
60 60 1 12 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 641400

61 61 62 2 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 14500
62 62 63 3 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 19800
63 63 64 2 6AM Max Pope 14300
64 NEW 64 1 ALL THE LOVERS Kylie Minogue 7100
65 69 65 6 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 33400
66 50 50 7 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 62250
67 NEW 67 1 YOUTH & LOVE Jack Savoretti featuring Mika 6600
68 NEW 68 1 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT Kylie Minogue 6400
69 63 1 18 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 829900
70 73 70 2 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 11400

71 72 71 2 SUMMERTIME DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 11400
72 75 72 5 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 23600
73 78 73 2 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 9800
74 NEW 74 1 WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Craig David 5200
75 47 15 10 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 165450
76 48 48 8 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 69550
77 77 77 2 WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG The Killers 9200
78 80 78 2 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 8400
79 NEW 79 1 PRAYING Keiino 4200
80 NEW 80 1 CLOSE TO ME The Cure 4000

81 NEW 81 1 BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Kylie Minogue 3800
82 NEW 82 1 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid 3600
83 NEW 83 1 WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 3400
84 NEW 84 1 LULLABY The Cure 3200
85 NEW 85 1 THE LOVECATS The Cure 3000
86 NEW 86 1 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD Kylie Minogue 2800
87 NEW 87 1 IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure 2600
88 NEW 88 1 BOYS DON’T CRY The Cure 2400
89 NEW 89 1 SPINNING AROUND Kylie Minogue 2200
90 NEW 90 1 HUMAN The Killers 2000

 

 

DROP OUTS
41 6 12 SHOW ME ABC 241000
42 20 7 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 116900
46 7 7 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 205200
51 23 5 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 79600
52 36 7 I RISE Madonna 95500
53 3 10 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 357050
57 4 10 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 292650
61 17 10 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 162450
74 19 11 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 167650
76 20 9 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 127550
79 16 9 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 150000

 

30th June 2019

It’s a third week on top for ELO as Livin’ Thing returns to the top almost 43 years later, since Steely Dan knocked them off the top with a Haitian Divorce. Thanks to the Toy Story 4 trailer, which is a solid 8/10 film, still got it does Pixar. I also bought the Spiderman multiverse DVD which belatedly brings Sunflower into my chart for Post Malone & Swae Lee, while voice actor in it Hailee Steinfeld goes up a few spots with her guest vocal. I saw Hailee support Katy Perry in Barcelona a year or two back, she was good, and Katy was fab, she makes the top 40 with her latest, just ahead of former frenemy Taylor Swift. Talking of concerts, Stormzy got a boost at Glasto and enters with Crown, while The Killers return with When We were Young due to back catalogue itunes boosting after their set with the Pet Shop Boys and Johnny Marr. Only fair since the Pets got his support at the Brits a decade ago, and they have also worked with Johnny consistently over the years, The Smiths entering again with their Glasto cover from Brandon. His two fave acts and albums don’t cha know, both together. Suedey and I both saw Marr, Tennant & Lowe them in The Royal Albert Hall t’other year. They were fab. Name-dropper!

2 Gallaghers sailing in the top 10 for the price of one, bit of a Shockwave, MIley Cyrus grabs another top 20, Kool & The Gang also get one after decades of drought, with their earliest track and one that never charted for me originally. The advert is good too! Highest new entry – prepare yourselves – is, err Celine Dion. 6 years since she last graced my top 20, and 30 years since she first scraped into my chart, she’s only gone and done a dance banger where for once her OTT vocals suit it. Celine has had the occasional top 10 from me (around one a decade on average and she’s overdue another…). Mark Ronson gets a 3rd album track in my chart, another goodie, while Lykke Li fresh of his chart-topper, also enters with her own track. Mabel’s back with a follow-up, David Guetta gets a second – well Titanium is back, thanks to an advert, for a third run in my chart. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello both get a simultaneous 2nd charter, and Keane sneak in extending their chart run to knocking on 15 years.

1 2 1 2 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 285000
2 1 1 7 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 696500
3 4 3 5 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 318000
4 3 1 8 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 785100
5 9 5 4 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 128150
6 8 6 12 DATE STAMP ABC 244950
7 5 3 8 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 464000
8 10 8 7 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 181900
9 12 9 3 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 98500
10 16 10 7 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 164250

11 7 7 6 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 186500
12 6 1 5 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 460000
13 13 1 11 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 769200
14 22 14 6 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 104450
15 15 9 8 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 239200
16 29 16 4 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 65000
17 11 8 9 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 239350
18 18 18 7 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 140150
19 27 19 9 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 139500
20 14 3 7 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 333000

21 24 21 8 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 136450
22 28 22 6 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 83850
23 26 23 8 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 125600
24 17 9 7 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 215300
25 NEW 25 1 FLYING ON MY OWN Celine Dion 18750
26 19 5 7 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 286500
27 20 10 9 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 195450
28 NEW 28 1 DON’T LET ME BE LONELY Mark Ronson featuring YEBBA 18300
29 37 29 6 ALONE Richard Hawley 64600
30 35 30 6 MY LOVE Will Young 85000

31 38 31 8 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 105500
32 NEW 32 1 RENAISSANCE Culture Shock 17800
33 25 13 10 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 204750
34 23 23 5 TINY DANCER Elton John 78550
35 30 9 9 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 236500
36 42 36 5 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 55750
37 56 37 3 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 32900
38 40 1 11 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 590050
39 48 39 2 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 29400
40 NEW 40 1 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 17000

41 21 6 12 SHOW ME ABC 241000
42 32 20 7 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 116900
43 31 1 11 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 631400
44 49 44 6 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 53450
45 NEW 45 1 CROWN Stormzy 13000
46 33 7 7 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 205200
47 44 15 9 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 160450
48 50 48 7 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 64750
49 64 49 3 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 25200
50 53 50 6 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 55450

51 34 23 5 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 79600
52 36 36 7 I RISE Madonna 95500
53 46 3 10 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 357050
54 78 54 2 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 15400
55 60 55 4 JOY Bastille 31600
56 73 56 3 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 21400
57 43 4 10 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 292650
58 70 58 3 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 20600
59 71 59 3 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 21100
60 67 60 3 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 21200

61 45 17 10 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 162450
62 62 62 3 GOD CONTROL Madonna 21400
63 61 1 17 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 823700
64 NEW 64 1 6AM Max Pope 7100
65 NEW 65 1 SEX MONEY FEELINGS DIE Lykke Li 7000
66 72 66 2 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 12400
67 74 67 3 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 15800
68 NEW 68 1 STARRY NIGHT Peggy Gou 6400
69 69 69 5 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 26400
70 NEW 70 1 MAD LOVE Mabel 6000

71 NEW 71 1 TITANIUM David Guetta featuring Sia 5800
72 NEW 72 1 SUMMERTIME DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 5600
73 NEW 73 1 SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 5400
74 52 19 11 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 167650
75 76 75 4 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 18000
76 54 20 9 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 127550
77 NEW 77 1 WHEN WE WERE YOUNG The Killers 4600
78 NEW 78 1 THE WAY I FEEL Keane 4400
79 51 16 9 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 150000
80 NEW 80 1 THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths 4000

DROP OUTS
39 39 6 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) (168900) Roisin Murphy 73950
41 41 4 BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 50500
47 31 6 REPLAY Tamta 91200
55 48 6 LIKE IT ZENA 63600
57 37 6 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 71450
58 58 5 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 39600
59 8 9 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 186700
63 10 12 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 218500
65 65 4 SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING) Elton John 25800
66 66 4 CROCODILE ROCK (947700) Elton John 25600
68 52 7 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 55700
75 39 6 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 67950
77 57 7 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 54400
79 53 7 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 59400
80 1 13 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 811800

 

 

23rd June 2019

It’s 2 weeks on top for the two Norwegian duos as ELO enter at 2 following Livin’ Thing’s use in Toy Story 4’s movie trailer – possibly my fave ELO song, topping my charts around December 1976 as we headed into huge snowfalls in Mansfield (where I lived at that time aged 18). Ah memories, nice to see it featuring again. ABC also get an oldies top 10, this time it’s the turn of Date Stamp from The Lexicon Of Love, the 6th following on the heels of the 5th top 10 from the classic album. If you haven’t heard the album, shame! (rings bell) Shame! (rings bell) Shame! (rings bell)

Liam Gallagher knocks his older bruv out my top 10, as Noel gets 11 and 12, so they are both winners really. I’m sure if they saw my charts they would approve of both getting one up on the other. Now, now children! Richard Hawley gets his 12th top 40 entry in 17 years. Liam’s on his 3rd top 10 and 5th top 40, some way to go to catch up with Noel or Oasis. Sheeran & Bieber go top 40 too, so how many have they had? Justin is on 7 now, over 7 years, which is one more a year than I was expecting – HHOK – while Ed’s on his 4th. In fact Sheeran has only had 10 including collaborations make my chart at all in 8 years and only 2 of them went top 10. Hey ho, over-rated IMHO. Nice bloke though.

Few new entries this week, bit of a relief, I:m hoping to get back to a 75 soon, but Prince has a new album of his original versions of his songs gifted to others – I’m sure he would have not approved of breaking into his sealed vault and bunging them out, most of them not a patch on the hit versions, sounding a bit demo-ey for a reason, but The Glamorous Life is a pretty good version of his production/song for Sheila E, his protege. Which is a polite way of saying girlfriend and co-worker. Sheila’s version only peaked at 33 in my 1985 charts, so just 15 places to go to equal it then!

1 1 1 6 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 581500
2 NEW 2 1 LIVIN’ THING Electric Light Orchestra 115000
3 3 1 7 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 720100
4 5 4 4 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 233000
5 4 3 7 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 414000
6 2 1 4 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 425000
7 7 7 5 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 149500
8 16 8 11 DATE STAMP ABC 189950
9 25 9 3 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 68150
10 15 10 6 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 133900

11 8 8 8 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 216350
12 26 12 2 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 53500
13 9 1 10 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 737200
14 10 3 6 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 313000
15 14 9 7 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 212200
16 17 16 6 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 122250
17 11 9 6 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 196300
18 19 18 6 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 118150
19 13 5 6 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 268000
20 12 10 8 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 177050

21 6 6 11 SHOW ME ABC 227000
22 27 22 5 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 75450
23 29 23 4 TINY DANCER Elton John 60950
24 30 24 7 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 116700
25 18 13 9 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 187050
26 28 26 7 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 106350
27 31 27 8 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 118500
28 33 28 5 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 64350
29 38 29 3 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 40000
30 22 9 8 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 219000

31 24 1 10 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 617900
32 20 20 6 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 103150
33 21 7 6 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 192450
34 23 23 4 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 67850
35 36 35 5 MY LOVE Will Young 67000
36 40 36 6 I RISE Madonna 84000
37 58 37 5 ALONE Richard Hawley 46400
38 45 38 7 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 87600
39 42 39 6 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 73950
40 32 1 10 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 572850

41 43 41 4 BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 50500
42 50 42 4 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 38350
43 34 4 9 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 282250
44 39 15 8 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 147950
45 35 17 9 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 154950
46 37 3 9 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 345800
47 41 31 6 REPLAY Tamta 91200
48 NEW 48 1 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Prince 12300
49 56 49 5 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 40200
50 53 50 6 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 52450

51 44 16 8 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 145800
52 46 19 10 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 162450
53 54 53 5 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 43450
54 47 20 8 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 122750
55 48 48 6 LIKE IT ZENA 63600
56 75 56 2 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 15600
57 51 37 6 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 71450
58 60 58 5 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 39600
59 49 8 9 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 186700
60 71 60 3 JOY Bastille 20800

61 55 1 16 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 816500
62 67 62 2 GOD CONTROL Madonna 14000
63 57 10 12 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 218500
64 70 64 2 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 13100
65 65 65 4 SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING) Elton John 25800
66 66 66 4 CROCODILE ROCK Elton John 25600
67 77 67 2 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 11200
68 59 52 7 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 55700
69 76 69 4 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 20200
70 78 70 2 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 10400

71 74 71 2 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 11000
72 NEW 72 1 WOKE UP LATE Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld 5600
73 73 73 2 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 10800
74 80 74 2 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 9200
75 52 39 6 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 67950
76 79 76 3 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 13000
77 63 57 7 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 54400
78 NEW 78 1 RUNAWAY RUNAWAY Mars Argo 4400
79 61 53 7 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 59400
80 64 1 13 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 811800

DROP OUTS
62 28 5 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 75250
68 59 5 STORM Victor Crone 35900
69 56 5 SOLDI Mahmood 42000
72 72 4 RUNAWAY TRAIN Boy George & Culture Club featuring Gladys Knight 20000

 

16th June 2019

It’s a first week on top for 2 Norwegian duo’s Seeb, and Highasakite, Free To Go comfortably beating previous chart entries, Seeb’s Under YOur Skin hit 10 in 2017, and Highasakite err, none at all. ABC belatedly get a 5th top 10 from The Lexicon Of Love album 37 years late, and Kaiser Chiefs make it 15 years of top 10’s since they started with a bang, chart-toppingly I Predict A Riot. Liam Gallagher creates shockwaves rocketing up one place above the new entry from his older brother Noel – though Noel still has one in the top 10, to throw raspberries at each other.

Miley Cyrus climbs big into the 40, Madonna gets a 4th track on the chart with the last remaining good track on her new album. I’m guessing she got an autotune programmer for Xmas cos it quite gets on yer tits over the course of an album when overdone. Or even done. I’m getting severely teed-off at the cliched drivel disguised by the bleepings and fartings on numerous chart tracks when it’s totally unnecessary. If you can’t sing hire someone who can. If you want to remove all emotion from a song, hire a robot. Suddenly Ed Sheeran sounds super-human in comparison!

Still waiting for chart spaces, new entries cluster round the bottom end, Shawn Mendes belatedly adding to his modest handful of chart entries, Sigala a few more, David Guetta oodles and oodles (well, 20-odd) since 2006, including 2 number ones. That leaves Vangelis oldie Chung Kuo sneaking in, one I rated muchly back in the 80’s but which never charted as I only discovered it as an oldie (and they were banned unless they were in the UK charts) – it was written inspirationally based on music from China, back in those days still behind an Iron Curtain culturally and politically. I loved Chinese instruments and sounds from my days in Singapore as a child/teen, and the synth sounds made it sound modern. Vangelis had topped my chart in 1980 with Jon Anderson, and first charted in 1975 with Aphrodite’s Child, along with Demis Roussos.

1 2 1 5 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 411500
2 1 1 3 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 370000
3 3 1 6 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 635100
4 4 3 6 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 354000
5 5 5 3 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 168000
6 14 6 10 SHOW ME ABC 207250
7 15 7 4 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 99500
8 8 8 7 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 179350
9 6 1 9 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 705200
10 11 3 5 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 284000

11 9 9 5 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 173300
12 10 10 7 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 157050
13 7 5 5 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 247000
14 12 9 6 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 185200
15 24 15 5 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 91900
16 22 16 10 DATE STAMP ABC 141950
17 17 17 5 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 97250
18 13 13 8 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 168300
19 20 19 5 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 96150
20 23 20 5 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 85350

21 16 7 5 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 174750
22 18 9 7 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 201000
23 26 23 3 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 50250
24 19 1 9 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 600000
25 78 25 2 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 23150
26 NEW 26 1 SAIL ON Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 18500
27 27 27 4 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 55950
28 30 28 6 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 87800
29 35 29 3 TINY DANCER Elton John 41700
30 33 30 6 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 97700

31 34 31 7 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 100100
32 28 1 9 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 555850
33 51 33 4 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 46050
34 21 4 8 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 268750
35 29 17 8 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 141950
36 44 36 4 MY LOVE Will Young 49500
37 25 3 8 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 333050
38 77 38 2 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 21800
39 41 15 7 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 134700
40 40 40 5 I RISE Madonna 66600

41 31 31 5 REPLAY Tamta 78700
42 45 42 5 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 56850
43 50 43 3 BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 36500
44 36 16 7 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 134050
45 46 45 6 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 70400
46 32 19 9 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 150950
47 38 20 7 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 111750
48 49 48 5 LIKE IT ZENA 52800
49 37 8 8 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 176600
50 65 50 3 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 24600

51 43 37 5 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 61050
52 39 39 5 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 62950
53 55 53 5 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 40450
54 60 54 4 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 32200
55 47 1 15 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 809000
56 64 56 4 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 28100
57 48 10 11 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 211300
58 61 58 4 ALONE Richard Hawley 29100
59 52 52 6 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 49300
60 62 60 4 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 29400

61 53 53 6 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 55200
62 42 28 5 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 75250
63 57 57 6 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 49800
64 58 1 12 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 807800
65 66 65 3 SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING) Elton John 18800
66 67 66 3 CROCODILE ROCK Elton John 18800
67 NEW 67 1 GOD CONTROL Madonna 6600
68 59 59 5 STORM Victor Crone 35900
69 56 56 5 SOLDI Mahmood 42000
70 NEW 70 1 STRANGER NIGHTS Patrick Martin 6000

71 75 71 2 JOY Bastille 10800
72 72 72 4 RUNAWAY TRAIN Boy George & Culture Club featuring Gladys Knight 20000
73 NEW 73 1 INTO HAPPINESS Phantogram 5400
74 NEW 74 1 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Shawn Mendes 5200
75 NEW 75 1 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 5000
76 76 76 3 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 14000
77 NEW 77 1 WISH YOU WELL Sigala featuring Becky Hill 4600
78 NEW 78 1 STAY (DON’T GO AWAY) David Guetta featuring Raye 4400
79 80 79 2 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 8200
80 NEW 80 1 CHUNG KUO Vangelis 4000

DROP OUTS
54 54 8 ONE STEP BEYOND (439400) Madness 66600
63 6 8 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 237850
68 68 2 I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES (553100) Elton John 12600
69 5 5 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 129600
70 70 2 BOYS GO WILD LP 11200
71 71 2 DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART (606450) Elton John & Kiki Dee 10400
73 73 2 IN THESE SHOES (134100) Kirsty MacColl 9600
74 30 8 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 81900
79 79 2 LA VENDA Miki Nunez 8200

 

 

9th June 2019

It’s a first week on top for a key biopic track on Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road came out during a period of great records back in late 1973 as I was moving to Gloucester and a new school, and so never topped the chart as Crocodile Rock had done, and Bennie & The Jets would do in 1974, but better 45 years late than never, it becomes his 13th chart-topper – or 14th if you count Scissor Sisters’ I Don’t Feel Like Dancing co-write which has Elton written large all over it. See his Taron Egerton duet for more examples of that style, while Taron takes Rocket Man into the 10. Pity his solo stuff since 1990 has ignored fun in favour of “serious” music styles.

Seeb and Highasakite just miss out on top spot, as KDA give Angie Stone a career peak almost 2 decades on, and a higher peak than Human League’s Sound Of The Crowd has had to date. Oops! Unfair! A sudden big climb for Noel Gallagher as his younger estranged brother enters low with a Shockwave, Noel’s third solo top 10 in 8 years to add to the 14 or 15 Oasis have. Big climbs for Kaiser Chiefs 11th top 20 in 14 years, Dido and Keith Urban go top 40, and the only other newies are Bastille with a spot of Joy at getting a 6th chart entry, Miley Cyrus replacing her dad in the chart, and BTS debuting helping Charli XCX to another notch on the bedpost of her chart positions – 5th.

1 3 1 2 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 255000
2 4 2 4 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 241500
3 2 1 5 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 550100
4 5 3 5 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 289000
5 8 5 2 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 108000
6 1 1 8 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 660200
7 7 5 4 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 215000
8 26 8 6 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 131350
9 10 9 4 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 136300
10 11 10 6 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 122050

11 6 3 4 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 242000
12 9 9 5 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 156200
13 15 13 7 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 146300
14 18 14 9 SHOW ME ABC 152250
15 35 15 3 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 49500
16 13 7 4 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 155000
17 23 17 4 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 74250
18 16 9 6 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 181500
19 14 1 8 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 581000
20 25 20 4 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 75150

21 12 4 7 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 251150
22 32 22 9 DATE STAMP ABC 116950
23 31 23 4 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 65350
24 29 24 4 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 64900
25 17 3 7 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 315750
26 49 26 2 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 31000
27 46 27 3 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 37550
28 21 1 8 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 538050
29 24 17 7 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 124450
30 34 30 5 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 69500

31 33 31 4 REPLAY Tamta 64700
32 19 19 8 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 138200
33 38 33 5 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 79700
34 39 34 6 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 82200
35 70 35 2 TINY DANCER Elton John 23500
36 27 16 6 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 120800
37 22 8 7 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 164500
38 20 20 6 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 99250
39 40 39 4 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 51450
40 43 40 4 I RISE Madonna 49600

41 30 15 6 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 117600
42 28 28 4 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 67850
43 37 37 4 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 49300
44 44 44 3 MY LOVE Will Young 32100
45 47 45 4 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 43100
46 48 46 5 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 57400
47 41 1 14 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 798200
48 42 10 10 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 200900
49 50 49 4 LIKE IT ZENA 40500
50 54 50 2 BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 23000

51 57 51 3 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 28350
52 52 52 5 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 39200
53 53 53 5 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 47700
54 59 54 8 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 66600
55 64 55 4 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 29200
56 56 56 4 SOLDI Mahmood 35800
57 60 57 5 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 42600
58 51 1 11 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 800700
59 62 59 4 STORM Victor Crone 29500
60 68 60 3 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 21200

61 65 61 3 ALONE Richard Hawley 18900
62 67 62 3 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 19400
63 36 6 8 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 237850
64 71 64 3 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 17500
65 72 65 2 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 12600
66 75 66 2 SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING) Elton John 11800
67 73 67 2 CROCODILE ROCK Elton John 12000
68 69 68 2 I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES Elton John 12600
69 45 5 5 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 129600
70 74 70 2 BOYS GO WILD LP 11200

71 77 71 2 DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART Elton John & Kiki Dee 10400
72 76 72 3 RUNAWAY TRAIN Boy George & Culture Club featuring Gladys Knight 14400
73 79 73 2 IN THESE SHOES Kirsty MacColl 9600
74 55 30 8 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 81900
75 NEW 75 1 JOY Bastille 5000
76 78 76 2 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 9200
77 NEW 77 1 MOTHER’S DAUGHTER Miley Cyrus 4600
78 NEW 78 1 SHOCKWAVE Liam Gallagher 4400
79 80 79 2 LA VENDA Miki Nunez 8200
80 NEW 80 1 DREAM GLOW BTS & Charli XCX 4000

DROP OUTS
58 18 7 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 125150
61 3 13 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 510250
63 15 8 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey featuring Billie Joe Armstrong & Lydia Night 142950
66 1 10 JACKIE (1685300) Scott Walker 583200

 

2nd June 2019

It’s a first week on top at last for Mark Ronson and Lykke Li, Mark’s 2nd of the year and 3rd in total, and Lykke Li’s first-ever. They just overhauled Arcade and the highest new entry from the Elton John chart invasion off the back of Rocketman – which I’ve seen twice already and is rather fab. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has a key feature in the climax of the film, Taron Egerton does a fantastic acting job, and a singing job too, the new versions are often great in new ways, not least Rocket man rocketing up to 11 for Taron’s version – Elton’s version has already charted 3 times and topped my chart. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has always been a fave Elton track from the Autumn of 1973 when it just fell short of Number 1 in my charts – but it’s never had another run until now.

It’s another load of new entries pushing out great tracks far too early, and not allowing me to reduce my chart back to 75 – quite frankly I could easily have expanded it to 100, but am trying not to as it’s too much work! In at 8 it’s a KDA re-imagining of Angie Stone’s 2002 I Wish I Didn’t Miss You, which peaked at 23 first time round in my charts, backed up with the non-credited rhythm-track to Human League’s Sound Of The Crowd. It works so well! Lana Del ray grabs yet another top 10, her 9th in 8 years, and The Kaiser Chiefs shoot into the 40 with the very La Roux Bulletproof-inspired Record Collection, their 16th in 14 years.

Dido gets a 3rd chart entry of the year, her 17th in 18 years, and the Elton John mini-invasion continues with my 1974 chart-topper (it was banished in the UK to a B-side of the tedious Candle In The Wind) Bennie & The Jets, the 1972 chart-topper Crocodile Rock, 1976 chart-topper Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, and a batch of others, with other huge Elton tracks not charting as they’ve already had big runs. Elton has had a load of Number Ones in my charts….

Lower down, Katy Perry returns with her 2nd of the year, LP is back with Boys Go Wild, but songs charting in different years are not re-entries to me, they are new chart runs, Mark Ronson gets a 3rd of 2019, this time with Camila Cabello, the late great Kirsty is back with her shoes, a 2000 number 16 track shortly before she died tragically, and Miki Nunez sneaks in with his Spanish Eurovision entry as I have a fab gatefold CD with lyric sheets from Eurovision in Israel especially for me – via a friend who was there.

1 2 1 7 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 605200
2 1 1 4 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 465100
3 NEW 3 1 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Elton John 85000
4 8 4 3 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 126500
5 3 3 4 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 224000
6 4 3 3 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 205000
7 5 5 3 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 165000
8 NEW 8 1 THE HUMAN STONE KDA featuring Angie Stone 48000
9 9 9 4 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 121200
10 13 10 3 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 91300

11 36 11 5 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 80050
12 6 4 6 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 231400
13 7 7 3 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 130000
14 10 1 7 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 560000
15 15 15 6 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 114300
16 11 9 5 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 159500
17 12 3 6 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 297000
18 20 18 8 SHOW ME ABC 123250
19 22 19 7 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 120400
20 21 20 5 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 82050

21 16 1 7 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 519750
22 14 8 6 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 147200
23 25 23 3 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 51250
24 17 17 6 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 106250
25 26 25 3 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 55150
26 28 26 5 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 83350
27 18 16 5 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 103400
28 29 28 3 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 54100
29 35 29 3 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 45900
30 19 15 5 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 103600

31 38 31 3 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 46100
32 32 32 8 DATE STAMP ABC 97450
33 40 33 3 REPLAY Tamta 46800
34 37 34 4 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 51500
35 75 35 2 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 22500
36 23 6 7 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 230650
37 43 37 3 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 35800
38 39 38 4 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 62000
39 41 39 5 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 64600
40 46 40 3 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 34350

41 33 1 13 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 785700
42 24 10 9 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 188600
43 47 43 3 I RISE Madonna 32600
44 72 44 2 MY LOVE Will Young 18850
45 27 5 4 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 123400
46 68 46 2 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 19150
47 55 47 3 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 30100
48 51 48 4 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 44650
49 NEW 49 1 TAKE YOU HOME Dido 12100
50 50 50 3 LIKE IT ZENA 28400

51 45 1 10 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 790500
52 52 52 4 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 27700
53 54 53 4 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 36450
54 NEW 54 1 BENNIE AND THE JETS Elton John 11000
55 30 30 7 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 76700
56 56 56 3 SOLDI Mahmood 25200
57 69 57 2 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 16600
58 42 18 7 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 125150
59 59 59 7 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 55600
60 60 60 4 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 32200

61 44 3 13 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 510250
62 63 62 3 STORM Victor Crone 19400
63 53 15 8 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey featuring Billie Joe Armstrong & Lydia Night 142950
64 64 64 3 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 18400
65 78 65 2 ALONE Richard Hawley 11400
66 61 1 10 JACKIE Scott Walker 583200
67 73 67 2 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 12000
68 76 68 2 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 11200
69 NEW 69 1 I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES Elton John 6200
70 NEW 70 1 TINY DANCER Elton John 6000

71 77 71 2 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 10400
72 NEW 72 1 NEVER REALLY OVER Katy Perry 5600
73 NEW 73 1 CROCODILE ROCK Elton John 5400
74 NEW 74 1 BOYS GO WILD LP 5200
75 NEW 75 1 SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING) Elton John 5000
76 80 76 2 RUNAWAY TRAIN Boy George & Culture Club featuring Gladys Knight 8800
77 NEW 77 1 DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART Elton John & Kiki Dee 4600
78 NEW 78 1 FIND U AGAIN Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello 4400
79 NEW 79 1 IN THESE SHOES Kirsty MacColl 4200
80 NEW 80 1 LA VENDA Miki Nunez 4000

DROP OUTS
31 18 4 AS LONG AS I HAVE TO Vargas & Lagola 79900
34 11 10 PATIENCE Tame Impala 204250
48 7 12 OCEAN EYES Billie Eilish 284450
49 25 3 MOVE OVER DARLING (508150) Doris Day 49050
57 6 12 YOU BELONG TO ME Cat Pierce 470100
58 7 12 DON’T CALL ME UP Mabel 240300
62 22 7 BORDERLINE Tame Impala 99200
65 65 4 VENUS Shocking Blue 23800
66 11 10 FEEL THE SAME Olly Murs featuring Nile Rodgers 202800
67 38 6 THINK OF ME The Veronicas 66400
70 1 13 AMERICAN GENERATION (457750) The Ritchie Family 452550
71 5 12 STUFF LIKE THAT Bananarama 325700
74 74 3 SOFIA Alvaro Soler 15600
79 79 1 BOYS KEEP SWINGING (550650) David Bowie 4200

 

 

26th May 2019

It’s a second week on top for Arcade, meaning poor ol Mark Ronson & Lykke Li get 3 weeks stuck at 2. Eurovision songs consolidate their hold throughout the chart, and it remains an expanded 80 due to more great new tracks out. Caravan Palace climb to 3, while massive climbs for SEEB & Highasakite to enter the top from outside the 40, and Sam Bluer climbs to 9.

Lana Del Ray gets a great climb to 13 with her Summertime rewrite, still clocking up regular high chart slots several years on from her debut, Jax Jones & co go top 20, as does Taylor Swift and Brendan whose run of hits is Lana Del Ray-ish in terms of years, longer for PATD. ABC get a 5th track from absolute classic album The Lexicon Of Love to go top 20 – some 37 years since the last one – MARUV and Pnau go top 40, Taron Egerton gets a top 40 with an Elton song as they both climb with a new combo, and climbers galore outside the top 40 in a massively busy chart.

New entries from Keith Urban, clearly all pop not country right now, Bananarama’s 3rd off the new album to chart, Will Young’s 2nd, Kaiser Chief’s return after a couple of years away, and a 14-year chart run since they started with a couple of chart-toppers in 2005. Emma BUnton is spicefully back with a Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell cover, Vampire Weekend, Jess Glynne, Jax Jones getting a 2nd in the chart, all return, while Richard Hawley is back after 4-years away and extends his chart run to 17 years. Bowie returns after being released and making the sales charts, 3rd-time round for Boys Keep Swinging his 1979 cross-dressing gem, and Bog George & Culture Club sneak in with a duet with Gladys Knight, certainly one I never expected to see! Runaway Train means George gets his first chart entry for 5 years, Culture Club get their first for 20 years, and Gladys for getting on 30 years (barring oldies)! Culture Club first charted 37 years ago, Gladys 47 years ago, though her career predates my personal charts and she def would have charted in 1967 had I started earlier.

1 1 1 3 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 350100
2 2 2 6 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 435200
3 7 3 3 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 164000
4 3 3 2 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 150000
5 6 5 2 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 115000
6 4 4 5 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 196400
7 8 7 2 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 98000
8 43 8 2 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 61500
9 19 9 3 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 76200
10 5 1 6 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 531000

11 9 9 4 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 134500
12 10 3 5 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 274000
13 37 13 2 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 49300
14 12 8 5 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 127700
15 29 15 5 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 87300
16 11 1 6 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 500000
17 21 17 5 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 87250
18 16 16 4 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 85000
19 15 15 4 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 85600
20 26 20 7 SHOW ME ABC 101250

21 28 21 4 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 62050
22 22 22 6 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 99400
23 14 6 6 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 213250
24 17 10 8 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 174850
25 44 25 2 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 32000
26 31 26 2 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 36400
27 13 5 3 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 110400
28 33 28 4 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 64850
29 34 29 2 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 35800
30 30 30 6 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 65900

31 18 18 4 AS LONG AS I HAVE TO Vargas & Lagola 79900
32 32 32 7 DATE STAMP ABC 79650
33 20 1 12 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 771700
34 23 11 10 PATIENCE Tame Impala 204250
35 58 35 2 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 27700
36 46 36 4 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 43050
37 55 37 3 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 33900
38 54 38 2 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 28200
39 39 39 3 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 44800
40 49 40 2 REPLAY Tamta 29100

41 47 41 4 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 47500
42 24 18 6 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 114950
43 75 43 2 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 18500
44 27 3 12 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 502750
45 40 1 9 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 778750
46 77 46 2 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 17350
47 67 47 2 I RISE Madonna 19100
48 35 7 12 OCEAN EYES Billie Eilish 284450
49 25 25 3 MOVE OVER DARLING Doris Day 49050
50 78 50 2 LIKE IT ZENA 16400

51 56 51 3 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 32350
52 61 52 3 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 26200
53 41 15 7 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey featuring Billie Joe Armstrong & Lydia Night 135750
54 64 54 3 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 25200
55 66 55 2 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 17600
56 80 56 2 SOLDI Mahmood 14600
57 48 6 12 YOU BELONG TO ME Cat Pierce 470100
58 52 7 12 DON’T CALL ME UP Mabel 240300
59 62 59 6 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 45500
60 69 60 3 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 22200

61 50 1 9 JACKIE Scott Walker 576400
62 38 22 7 BORDERLINE Tame Impala 99200
63 76 63 2 STORM Victor Crone 12000
64 79 64 2 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 11300
65 72 65 4 VENUS Shocking Blue 23800
66 42 11 10 FEEL THE SAME Olly Murs featuring Nile Rodgers 202800
67 51 38 6 THINK OF ME The Veronicas 66400
68 NEW 68 1 DROP TOP Keith Urban featuring Kassi Ashton 6400
69 NEW 69 1 LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (RADIO MIX) Bananarama 6200
70 70 1 13 AMERICAN GENERATION (457750) The Ritchie Family 352550

71 36 5 12 STUFF LIKE THAT Bananarama 325700
72 NEW 72 1 MY LOVE Will Young 5600
73 NEW 73 1 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY Emma Bunton featuring Jade Jones 5400
74 74 74 3 SOFIA Alvaro Soler 15600
75 NEW 75 1 RECORD COLLECTION The Kaiser Chiefs 5000
76 NEW 76 1 THIS LIFE Vampire Weekend 4800
77 NEW 77 1 ONE TOUCH Jess Glynne & Jax Jones 4600
78 NEW 78 1 ALONE Richard Hawley 4400
79 NEW 79 1 BOYS KEEP SWINGING David Bowie 4200
80 NEW 80 1 RUNAWAY TRAIN Boy George & Culture Club featuring Gladys Knight 4000

DROP OUTS
45 25 6 HUSTLE P!nk 104950
53 39 5 SO CLOSE NOTD, Felix Jaehn & Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku 67350
57 18 6 SOS Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc 106400
59 35 6 PIECE OF YOUR HEART Meduza featuring GOODBOYS 91700
60 48 4 LOVE IS ON THE LINE Jack Savoretti 40600
63 2 14 365 Zedd & Katy Perry 600150
65 46 5 MAIN TITLE (GAME OF THRONES) Ramin Djawadi 52400
68 52 4 YOU SAY Lauren Daigle 36150
71 37 2 SECRET LOVE (133950) Doris Day 22800
73 3 14 BEST 54 (ALL GOOD NOW) Jungle 589800

 

19th May 2019

It’s a huge climb of 58 places for the Eurovision winner from Duncan Laurence – I didn’t actually know it was entered last week, oops, I just liked it! Arcade is the highest climb to the top for ages, and also the first Eurovision song to top for 5 years and the first winner to top since 2010. An actual great Coldplay-ish song, and deserved winner for The Netherlands who topped my chart in 1975 with Ding A Dong (Teach-In). Elsewhere there’s a Eurovision invasion, I’ve had to expand my charts to 80 to cope with the huge influx of new tracks and not enough dropping out. Keiino won the popular vote and enter at 3 for Norway, Australia did an amazing performance and are at 6, and Azerbaijan as always put their oil money where their music mouth is and buy in another great pop song, in at 8. That all means Mark Ronson stays at 2, and a bunch of hot tracks are kicked out of the 10.

Sam Bluer rockets into the 20, an old early 70’s soul fave has made the itunes chart (I’ve no idea why but it gives me an excuse to finally chart it 20-odd years after I’d come across it on US oldies stations): Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose’s Too Late To Turn Back Now, in at 31. Madonna gets 2 new entries, fresh from her Eurovision performance of Future, in at 34, and I Rise at 67. A one-time popular pop star plugging his greatest hits said this week that Madonna would do anything for money, as criticism of her turning up in Israel. 1. No she doesn’t, you dont catch her doing TV adverts for cash like many I could mention 2. You can rely on Madonna to be controversial and make political or social comments ESPECIALLY if she’s told not to do something 3. It’s a music competition, slag off her, slag off every country for taking part, and every performer, or accept it’s supposed to be above politics as sporting events are.

Lana Del Ray is back with a rewrite of the classic Summertime, a George Gershwin cover hit for Fun Boy Three in 1983, and dating back to 1934 and the definitive Billie Holliday version sometime after. The number of ancient songs in my chart just grows, not least the 60’s Jimmy Fortuna song heavily unnoficially reworked by Offer Nissim in at 54! Highasakite are back after a gap of a few years, Pnau also return as Empire Of The Sun hang on to a top 20 spot, spot the connection! Finally, Elton has a film soundtrack duet with Taron Egerton to go with Taron’s climbing Rocket Man cover.

1 59 1 2 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 180100
2 2 2 5 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 320200
3 NEW 3 1 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Keiino 85000
4 7 4 4 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 141400
5 1 1 5 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 489000
6 NEW 6 1 ZERO GRAVITY Kate Miller-Heidke 55000
7 14 7 2 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 79000
8 NEW 8 1 TRUTH (RADIO EDIT) Chingiz 48000
9 9 9 3 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 97500
10 3 3 4 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 239000

11 4 1 5 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 475000
12 8 8 4 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 98700
13 5 5 2 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 92000
14 6 6 5 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 194000
15 15 15 3 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 64600
16 20 16 3 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 63000
17 10 10 7 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 155850
18 19 18 3 AS LONG AS I HAVE TO Vargas & Lagola 62000
19 58 19 2 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 31200
20 13 1 11 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 754000

21 36 21 4 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 64250
22 26 22 5 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 79900
23 11 11 9 PATIENCE Tame Impala 186650
24 18 18 5 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 101200
25 29 25 2 MOVE OVER DARLING Doris Day 36950
26 28 26 6 SHOW ME ABC 81250
27 12 3 11 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 489500
28 40 28 3 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR (EDIT) Georgia 42300
29 32 29 4 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 60300
30 33 30 5 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 47900

31 NEW 31 1 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 17900
32 42 32 6 DATE STAMP ABC 61850
33 34 33 3 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 46550
34 NEW 34 1 FUTURE Madonna & Quavo 17600
35 17 7 11 OCEAN EYES Billie Eilish 272100
36 16 5 11 STUFF LIKE THAT Bananarama 319900
37 NEW 37 1 DOIN’ TIME Lana Del Ray 17300
38 22 22 6 BORDERLINE Tame Impala 91800
39 56 39 2 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 27700
40 21 1 8 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 765750

41 24 15 6 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey featuring Billie Joe Armstrong & Lydia Night 124500
42 23 11 9 FEEL THE SAME Olly Murs featuring Nile Rodgers 196000
43 NEW 43 1 FREE TO GO Seeb & Highasakite 13500
44 NEW 44 1 FOCUS ON ME MARUV 13250
45 25 25 6 HUSTLE P!nk 104950
46 61 46 3 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 25650
47 54 47 3 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 33500
48 27 6 11 YOU BELONG TO ME Cat Pierce 459700
49 NEW 49 1 REPLAY Tamta 12100
50 31 1 8 JACKIE Scott Walker 568900

51 38 38 5 THINK OF ME The Veronicas 59800
52 41 7 11 DON’T CALL ME UP Mabel 230100
53 39 39 5 SO CLOSE NOTD, Felix Jaehn & Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku 67350
54 NEW 54 1 EL MUNDO Offer Nissim Presents Jimmy Fontana 11000
55 71 55 2 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 16600
56 60 56 2 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 20600
57 30 18 6 SOS Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc 106400
58 NEW 58 1 SOLID GOLD PNAU featuring Kira Divine & Marques Toliver 10200
59 35 35 6 PIECE OF YOUR HEART Meduza featuring GOODBOYS 91700
60 48 48 4 LOVE IS ON THE LINE Jack Savoretti 40600

61 63 61 2 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 14700
62 62 62 5 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 35400
63 44 2 14 365 Zedd & Katy Perry 600150
64 64 64 2 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 14200
65 46 46 5 MAIN TITLE (GAME OF THRONES) Ramin Djawadi 52400
66 NEW 66 1 LET ME KNOW (RADIO EDIT) Roisin Murphy 6800
67 NEW 67 1 I RISE Madonna 6600
68 65 52 4 YOU SAY Lauren Daigle 36150
69 70 69 2 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 12200
70 55 1 12 AMERICAN GENERATION The Ritchie Family 446550

71 37 37 2 SECRET LOVE Doris Day 22800
72 72 72 3 VENUS Shocking Blue 16800
73 47 3 14 BEST 54 (ALL GOOD NOW) Jungle 589800
74 74 74 2 SOFIA Alvaro Soler 10400
75 NEW 75 1 SHE GOT ME Luca Hanni 5000
76 NEW 76 1 STORM Victor Crone 4800
77 NEW 77 1 (I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN Elton John & Taron Egerton 4600
78 NEW 78 1 LIKE IT ZENA 4400
79 NEW 79 1 NAKED ALONE L Devine & INDIIA 4200
80 NEW 80 1 SOLDI Mahmood 4000

DROP OUTS
43 25 4 FEELINGS John Newman 61150
45 1 12 YOUR EX Paloma Faith 635300
49 12 10 OLD WILD MEN 10cc 142800
50 50 3 SUPERSONIC ROCKETSHIP (352900) The Kinks 35500
51 28 7 MY SHIP IS COMING IN The Walker Brothers 90300
52 9 10 SUCKER Jonas Brothers 275850
53 16 6 STRETCH Louise 103450
57 57 2 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE (729000) Redbone 20600
66 10 13 TALK Khalid & Disclosure 349000
67 67 1 WHATEVER WILL BE, WILL BE (QUE SERA, SERA Doris Day 6600
68 68 3 LE FREAK (12” MIX) (672200) Chic 17800
69 39 4 YOU AND I LEON 48900
73 1 10 IT’S OVER Morrissey featuring LP 529700
75 75 1 ALL THIS LOVE Robin Schulz featuring Harloe 5000

 

 

12th May 2019

It’s a first week on top for Madonna & Maluma, ahead of her Eurovision appearance, with the fab latin rhythms of Medellin, which came swanning out of speakers by my gloriously sunny and hot hotel pool in Gran Canaria last week. How appropriate! Hence the lateness of this chart. That becomes Madonna’s first number one in 4 years, and her 20th in total, her oldest track to top my chart being 1984’s Holiday, though the first was 1986’s Papa Don’t Preach.

As yet another legend passes away, the 97-year-old movie star fave Doris Day – who I was watching in a movie musicals bar only days before – enters with 4 tracks that meant the most to me, largely from Calamity Jane or Move Over Darling (my fave movies of hers), the highest being the debut for Black Hills Of Dakota at 5. Move Over Darling topped my charts in 1987. With the 40’s Harry James at 3, and Doris’ 50’s track at 5, and the Raleigh Ritchie’s featured 30’s sounding sample at 4, it’s easily the oldest top 5 ever for me, and bung in 60-year-old Madonna as well, a positive youngster compared to Doris!

The top end of the chart gets frantic as loads of great new tracks take my fancy, headed by Springsteen’s first top 10 in a few years, Florence + The Machine’s haunting Game Of Thrones song taking her back into the top 10 for a 10th occasion in 10 years, and Hot Chip getting a second top 10 11 years late. Bruce ‘n’ Flo have both topped my charts previously. Highest new track is Caravan Palace with a very naughty video at 14, fab, and a massive climb into the 20 for Kylie – never far away from my charts since 1988 – and New York City.

Noel Gallagher goes top 40, Georgia gets a biggie climb for a second top 40 in a row, Purple Disco Machine debut with a Funkytown-ish funk-out, the first Eurovision song this year pops in at 59, Gesaffelstein (bless you!), Pharrell, Two-Door Cinema Club all return at the lower end, Pharrell will be knocking on 16 years with his NERD debut, Billie Eilish yet again gets 2 in the chart simultaneously, and a former Buzzjack song that I heard on my hols also pops in at 74.

1 2 1 4 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 429000
2 4 2 4 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 205200
3 3 3 3 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 197000
4 1 1 4 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 438000
5 NEW 5 1 BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA Doris Day & Howard Keel 60000
6 6 6 4 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 165000
7 20 7 3 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 76400
8 59 8 3 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 63700
9 61 9 2 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 52500
10 16 10 6 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 132850

11 17 11 8 PATIENCE Tame Impala 167400
12 5 3 10 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 471100
13 10 1 10 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 734000
14 NEW 14 1 MIRACLE Caravan Palace 29000
15 56 15 2 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 37600
16 8 5 10 STUFF LIKE THAT Bananarama 302500
17 7 7 10 OCEAN EYES Billie Eilish 254600
18 19 18 4 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 82200
19 24 19 2 AS LONG AS I HAVE TO Vargas & Lagola 40000
20 30 20 2 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 38000

21 9 1 7 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 748750
22 22 22 5 BORDERLINE Tame Impala 74600
23 11 11 8 FEEL THE SAME Olly Murs featuring Nile Rodgers 182250
24 15 15 5 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey featuring Billie Joe Armstrong & Lydia Night 110500
25 27 25 5 HUSTLE P!nk 91950
26 31 26 4 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 60400
27 14 6 10 YOU BELONG TO ME Cat Pierce 447400
28 32 28 5 SHOW ME ABC 62750
29 NEW 29 1 MOVE OVER DARLING Doris Day 18200
30 18 18 5 SOS Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc 96000

31 13 1 7 JACKIE Scott Walker 556900
32 35 32 3 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 42100
33 45 33 4 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 29900
34 53 34 2 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 28850
35 36 35 5 PIECE OF YOUR HEART Meduza featuring GOODBOYS 81600
36 39 36 3 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 44500
37 NEW 37 1 SECRET LOVE Doris Day 17300
38 46 38 4 THINK OF ME The Veronicas 48050
39 40 39 4 SO CLOSE NOTD, Felix Jaehn & Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku 56100
40 65 40 2 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR Georgia 24000

41 21 7 10 DON’T CALL ME UP Mabel 218600
42 47 42 5 DATE STAMP ABC 44050
43 25 25 4 FEELINGS John Newman 61150
44 33 2 13 365 Zedd & Katy Perry 592950
45 26 1 12 YOUR EX Paloma Faith 635300
46 51 46 4 MAIN TITLE (GAME OF THRONES) Ramin Djawadi 45400
47 37 3 13 BEST 54 (ALL GOOD NOW) Jungle 584400
48 49 48 3 LOVE IS ON THE LINE Jack Savoretti 30600
49 12 12 10 OLD WILD MEN 10cc 142800
50 50 50 3 SUPERSONIC ROCKETSHIP The Kinks 35500

51 28 28 7 MY SHIP IS COMING IN The Walker Brothers 90300
52 34 9 10 SUCKER Jonas Brothers 275850
53 29 16 6 STRETCH Louise 103450
54 60 54 2 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 21000
55 48 1 11 AMERICAN GENERATION The Ritchie Family 440550
56 NEW 56 1 BODY FUNK Purple Disco Machine 10600
57 58 57 2 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE Redbone 20600
58 NEW 58 1 BODY HIGH Sam Bluer 10200
59 NEW 59 1 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 10100
60 NEW 60 1 I DON’T CARE Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 10000

61 73 61 2 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 12900
62 62 62 4 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 28000
63 NEW 63 1 BLAST OFF Gesaffelstein & Pharrell Williams 7200
64 NEW 64 1 TALK (SINGLE EDIT) Two Door Cinema Club 7100
65 52 52 3 YOU SAY Lauren Daigle 29750
66 38 10 13 TALK Khalid & Disclosure 349000
67 NEW 67 1 WHATEVER WILL BE, WILL BE (QUE SERA, SERA Doris Day 6600
68 68 68 3 LE FREAK (12” MIX) Chic 17800
69 43 39 4 YOU AND I LEON 48900
70 NEW 70 1 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 6000

71 NEW 71 1 3 NIGHTS Dominic Fike 5800
72 72 72 2 VENUS Shocking Blue 11200
73 54 1 10 IT’S OVER Morrissey featuring LP 529700
74 NEW 74 1 SOFIA Alvaro Soler 5200
75 NEW 75 1 ALL THIS LOVE Robin Schulz featuring Harloe 5000

DROP OUTS
23 3 6 ROCK THE BOAT The Hues Corporation 317250
41 2 8 SPARROW Emeli Sande 436250
42 30 9 WE’RE THROUGH The Hollies 122950
44 37 6 HERE WITH ME Marshmello Featuring CHVRCHES 66800
55 36 4 DRUM Noa Kirel 62900
57 9 6 MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF The Walker Brothers 139500
63 13 9 NEVER COMIN DOWN Keith Urban 181400
64 28 9 CASIO Jungle 127100
66 47 9 SO AM I Ava Max 80300
67 51 5 COOL The Jonas Brothers 48450
69 56 5 KING JAMES Anderson .Paak 39200
70 70 2 SUMMER DAYS Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore & Patrick Stump pf Fall Out Boy 12000
71 71 2 LOVE ME ANYWAY P!nk featuring Chris Stapleton 11600
74 10 9 LIFTED Parker Bossley 187650
75 75 1 OVERKILL Motorhead 5000

 

 

5th March 2019

It’s a second week on top for Raleigh Ritchie’s lovely track which speaks to me as much as him, I expect – the sentiment is something I can relate to, being as my life is a rollercoaster of busy-ness interspersed with the odd bit of time doing charts. Just sitting and enjoying life gently passing by isn’t something I get to do much. Madonna is still at 2 for a second week and Harry James & Kitty Kallen shoot up to 3, which easily makes it the highest-placed charting track to predate the 1950’s, courtesy of Endgame’s closing credits.

Mark Ronson makes it 2 in a row top 10’s, and his 4th in total, Lykke Li getting her first, while Dennis Lloyd does the same. Bruce Springsteen leaps into the 20 in a single bound, his first top 20 charting track in 5 years, or his 10th in the last 20 years, and umpteenth since his first in 1975. Yes that one. Born To Run peaked outside the top 10 first time round but topped my chart in 2009. Vargas and Legoland get a second simultaneous top 30 as As Long As I Have To enters, while Selfish goes top 20, and a debut for New Hope Club at 30 outdoes more established acts entering like Noel Gallagher at 53, making 26 Oasisfestfilled years, Kylie in New York City – with some way to go to match T.Rex’s 1975 song of the same name – Redbone returning for a fourth run courtesy of Avengers again, one from 1974 and the rest from Marvel film boosts.

Kool & The Gang have never charted with Jungle Boogie, which is a bit surprising for a track and I knew at the time and quite liked, but then my chart was limited to a top 30 in those days – even Redbone only just scraped in, and turnover was fast to try and squeeze records in back in 1974. It’s also one of their best records and is currently getting blanket TV ad plays, much better than their bland disco phase that lasted for eternity. So, 27 years since they last charted, and 46 years since it was released, that would be impressive if Harry James wasn’t making it look quite recent in comparison.

It’s been 9 years since Hot Chip last charted, but they belatedly get their 6th some 13 years after their first, in at 61 with a funky workout, Georgia gets a second, Shocking Blue get a 3rd-time-round hit with a World Record Store vinyl release of Venus almost 50 years since the first time, Taron Egertin is about to star in the Fantasy Elton John biopic, and enters with Rocket Man, his second charting song (the first was in 2016 with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark & Hugh Jackman, from the Eddie The eagle biopic spin-off album, Thrill Me), a former Elton chart-topper from 1972, and Motorhead return for a third WRS Day vinyl-pushed blowout with a spot of Overkill.

1 1 1 3 TIME IN A TREE Raleigh Ritchie 373000
2 2 2 3 MEDELLIN Madonna & Maluma 259000
3 15 3 2 IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Harry James & His Orchestra & Kitty Kallen 112000
4 29 4 3 LATE NIGHT FEELINGS Mark Ronson featuring Lykke Li 90200
5 3 3 9 KIND OF LOVE Rat City featuring Isak Heim 436100
6 12 6 3 NEVERMIND Dennis Lloyd 110000
7 7 7 9 OCEAN EYES Billie Eilish 231600
8 5 5 9 STUFF LIKE THAT Bananarama 277500
9 4 1 6 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers 729000
10 6 1 9 CHRYSALIS Empire Of The Sun 702000

11 14 11 7 FEEL THE SAME Olly Murs featuring Nile Rodgers 163000
12 18 12 9 OLD WILD MEN 10cc 130700
13 10 1 6 JACKIE Scott Walker 539000
14 8 6 9 YOU BELONG TO ME Cat Pierce 429000
15 17 15 4 WEDDING BELL BLUES Morrissey 91500
16 32 16 5 SELFISH Vargas & Lagola 90850
17 20 17 7 PATIENCE Tame Impala 130400
18 21 18 4 SOS Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc 78000
19 19 19 3 OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus 60200
20 68 20 2 HELLO SUNSHINE Bruce Springsteen 26400

21 11 7 9 DON’T CALL ME UP Mabel 204600
22 33 22 4 BORDERLINE Tame Impala 55100
23 9 3 6 ROCK THE BOAT The Hues Corporation 317250
24 NEW 24 1 AS LONG AS I HAVE TO Vargas & Lagola 19000
25 28 25 3 FEELINGS John Newman 47650
26 13 1 11 YOUR EX Paloma Faith 622300
27 27 27 4 HUSTLE P!nk 73200
28 35 28 6 MY SHIP IS COMING IN The Walker Brothers 78550
29 16 16 5 STRETCH Louise 92200
30 NEW 30 1 LOVE AGAIN New Hope Club 18000

31 34 31 3 LET ME DOWN SLOWLY Alec Benjamin featuring Alessia Cara 41900
32 46 32 4 SHOW ME ABC 44450
33 26 2 12 365 Zedd & Katy Perry 579700
34 22 9 9 SUCKER Jonas Brothers 264350
35 66 35 2 ALL DAY AND NIGHT Jax Jones, Martin Solveig (aka Europa) & Madison Beer 24300
36 38 36 4 PIECE OF YOUR HEART Meduza featuring GOODBOYS 64100
37 25 3 12 BEST 54 (ALL GOOD NOW) Jungle 571900
38 24 10 12 TALK Khalid & Disclosure 342200
39 60 39 2 ME! Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco 27100
40 50 40 3 SO CLOSE NOTD, Felix Jaehn & Captain Cuts featuring Georgia Ku 39000

41 23 2 8 SPARROW Emeli Sande 436250
42 30 30 9 WE’RE THROUGH The Hollies 122950
43 39 39 3 YOU AND I LEON 42700
44 37 37 6 HERE WITH ME Marshmello Featuring CHVRCHES 66800
45 58 45 3 RAINBOW Kacey Musgraves 29800
46 49 46 3 THINK OF ME The Veronicas 30850
47 62 47 4 DATE STAMP ABC 30300
48 43 1 10 AMERICAN GENERATION The Ritchie Family 429750
49 69 49 2 LOVE IS ON THE LINE Jack Savoretti 18300
50 52 50 2 SUPERSONIC ROCKETSHIP The Kinks 23500

51 55 51 3 MAIN TITLE (GAME OF THRONES) Ramin Djawadi 32650
52 53 52 2 YOU SAY Lauren Daigle 22750
53 NEW 53 1 BLACK STAR DANCING Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 11250
54 40 1 9 IT’S OVER Morrissey featuring LP 524300
55 36 36 4 DRUM Noa Kirel 62900
56 NEW 56 1 NEW YORK CITY Kylie Minogue 10600
57 31 9 6 MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF The Walker Brothers 139500
58 NEW 58 1 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE Redbone 10200
59 72 59 2 JENNY OF OLDSTONES (GAME OF THRONES) Florence + The Machine 15700
60 NEW 60 1 JUNGLE BOOGIE Kool & The Gang 10000

61 NEW 61 1 HUNGRY CHILD Hot Chip 7500
62 65 62 3 ONE STEP BEYOND Madness 20600
63 45 13 9 NEVER COMIN DOWN Keith Urban 181400
64 41 28 9 CASIO Jungle 127100
65 NEW 65 1 ABOUT WORK THE DANCEFLOOR Georgia 7000
66 47 47 9 SO AM I Ava Max 80300
67 51 51 5 COOL The Jonas Brothers 48450
68 75 68 2 LE FREAK (12” MIX) Chic 11400
69 56 56 5 KING JAMES Anderson .Paak 39200
70 70 70 2 SUMMER DAYS Martin Garrix featuring Macklemore & Patrick Stump pf Fall Out Boy 12000

71 71 71 2 LOVE ME ANYWAY P!nk featuring Chris Stapleton 11600
72 NEW 72 1 VENUS Shocking Blue 5600
73 NEW 73 1 ROCKET MAN Taron Egerton 5400
74 42 10 9 LIFTED Parker Bossley 187650
75 NEW 75 1 OVERKILL Motorhead 5000

DROP OUTS
44 39 8 THE BIRD SYML 87500
48 40 7 HURRICANES Dido 80650
54 13 8 WHAT MORE CAN I DO? Jack Savoretti 155100
57 14 10 WALK ME HOME P!nk 179900
59 14 11 COLD IN LA Why Don’t We 193200
61 5 8 SON OF MAN GG/06 aka 10cc (Kevin Godley & Graham Gouldman) featuring Hotlegs 220400
63 33 6 ALL THE SONGS Will Young 74850
64 2 14 SWAN SONG Dua Lipa 463900
67 64 4 JUST YOU AND I Tom Walker 25300
73 73 3 MIRACLE Alan Parsons featuring Jason Mraz 15800
74 21 9 KILLING MY TIME G-Flip 147350

 

My 1985 Charts – March

5th March 1985

New number one for David Cassidy (and uncredited George Michael), The last Kiss being his 4th in total and first solo number one since his 3 toppers with The Partridge Family in 1971 and 1972 (it counts because they were all “featuring David Cassidy” credits). George’s doesn’t count, sadly, otherwise it would have been his 3rd. It’s very George Michael ballad-style, it has to be said, but the way it builds to a iamspamspamamisink and all climax is terrific. Prince gets his 4th or 5th or 6th Top 10, depending on how you judge the reissued single of 2 previous top tenners, and the double A delight of Take Me With U and Let’s Go Crazy, both of which are strong enough to have had independent runs in the 10. Then there’s Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You, and new at 75 it’s a Prince song and production for UK sweetheart Sheena Easton, and UK flop because it’s very very naughty lyrically, going on as it does about the spending night inside Sheena’s Sugar Walls. Turns out she IS a Modern Girl after all (and Sugar Walls is fab).

Jagger gets his one and only solo top 10 track, Just Another Night, in which he moves like Jagger in the dance video, and gives him actual 16 years of top 10’s (the rest with The Stones or Bowie). John Lydon is also back in the top 20 under another name, Time Zone, with Afrika Bambaata, and some World Destruction, a sort of rock/hip-hop fusion ahead of it’s time, just ahead of a synth/jazz fusion from Sharpe & Numan. This one was less influential, sadly, as it’s great. At 20 the Smiths How Soon Is Now under-performs again, as it’s brilliance takes time to sink in properly, those riffs, oohhhh just magic.

Highest new entry is Shaky. 31. I feel I should have some exclamation marks attached, as it’s not one anyone recalls, and it’s not from the 50’s or 60’s, but actually it’s not bad at all. Matt Bianco enter with another cool jazz number at 38, and it’s not more than I can bear, and although I may not want to kiss Stephen Duffy, it’s a good pop track at 40. The classic is at 44, though, the GORGEOUS Cry, from Godley & Creme, ex-10CC members and video innovators, on the single where it all came together as they morphed a world of faces into each other in the video showcasing a brilliant affecting synth ballad that was even better than previous topper Under Your Thumb (1981) and most of 10CC’s brilliant output. Alvin Stardust is back again, 12 years in, with Got A Little Heartache at 58, The Bluebells are new at 59 with one I’ve forgotten, David Essex is also 12 years in and singing of Fallen Angels Riding at 65, while British soul shows it’s as good as the US with Loose Ends terrific Hanging On A String at 68. Finally Eddy Grant is back again with Baby Come Back, sadly he never did get the UK number one with his own reggae version of his own band’s UK 1968 number one – that was to be years away, and Pato Banton with UB40 who did that.

1 ( 4 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( 1 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
3 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
4 ( 6 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
5 ( 16 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
6 ( 5 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
7 ( 2 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8 ( 10 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
9 ( 15 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
10 ( 7 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group

11 ( 8 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
12 ( 11 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
13 ( 14 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
14 ( 27 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
15 ( 29 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
16 ( 9 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
17 ( 13 ) IT’S…IT’S…THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
18 ( 18 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
19 ( 20 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
20 ( 26 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths

21 ( 12 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
22 ( 28 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
23 ( 19 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
24 ( 23 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
25 ( 37 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
26 ( 38 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
27 ( 22 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
28 ( 32 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
29 ( 17 ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
30 ( 24 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade

31 ( NEW ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
32 ( 30 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
33 ( 42 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
34 ( 21 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
35 ( 33 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
36 ( 41 ) LEGS ZZ Top
37 ( 44 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
38 ( NEW ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
39 ( 46 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
40 ( NEW ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy

41 ( 31 ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority
42 ( 35 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
43 ( 43 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
44 ( NEW ) CRY Godley And Creme
45 ( 59 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
46 ( 56 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
47 ( 40 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
48 ( 62 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
49 ( 34 ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
50 ( 36 ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth

51 ( 39 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
52 ( 48 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
53 ( 25 ) “20/20” George Benson
54 ( 54 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
55 ( 71 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John
56 ( 47 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
57 ( 45 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
58 ( NEW ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
59 ( NEW ) ALL I AM (IS LOVING YOU) The Bluebells
60 ( 60 ) LAY ME DOWN EASY The Stranglers

61 ( 52 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
62 ( 69 ) I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN Tina Turner
63 ( 57 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
64 ( 66 ) MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING Cyndi Lauper
65 ( NEW ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
66 ( 53 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
67 ( 51 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
68 ( NEW ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
69 ( 65 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
70 ( NEW ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant

71 ( 58 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
72 ( NEW ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
73 ( 73 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
74 ( NEW ) STARVATION Starvation
75 ( NEW ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton

TV Mar 2nd-8th
1 Airplane: film
2 Cheers
3 Top Of The Pops
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Hill Street Blues
6 Calamity Jane: film
7 Bewitched
8 The Addams Family
9 Grange Hill
10 QED

At work, the paranoia of our boss was coming out in all sorts of odd stroppy unreasonable behaviour, all based on insecurity. Psychiatrists would have had a field day with him. I think he was terrified we would apply for the supervisor job which was now vacant and which he was going for. To be fair, I was so pissed off with him, I also DID apply for it just to stir things up for being such a tw*t. Hey ho, I react badly anyone ordering me to do things – I’ll go out of my way if someone asks nicely, but I have no respect for command-statements or anyone making them.

On sunday, the Miner’s strike ended. This meant my brother could have a job again – temporarily until they closed his pit, along with every other single coal mine in the Mansfield area. Essentially, it was a community of scabs and strikers forever more, Thatcher won because the miners were split by Scargill’s confrontational attitude and lack of democracy, and Thatcher’s bold-faced lies and promises not close all pits. That’s exactly what happened, and as a consequence the UK’s unions were pretty much made toothless from here on, the government and the rich manipulating political elite had won, and in the long run (despite periods of prosperity for large parts of the nation, but not all) the seeds were sown for the catastrophic policies which led to the crash of 2008, and the rich who had caused it laughing their tits off at the poor who ended up paying for it (quite literally). Moral: greedy rich people will always take opportunities to line their own pockets even if it’s illegal, immoral and devastating to the well-being of others. This is why, we have checks and balances on them. The ones that Thatcher removed as big banks turned into nation-shafting mega-corporations, and everything came down to short-term profit, not long-term usefulness. Of course, I may be biased….


12th March 1985

2 weeks for David on top, as Shakin’ Stevens gets his 3rd Top 10 record, Breaking Up My Heart not being one of his best-remembered, so judge for yourself on youtube…! Sharpe & Numan hit 8, Gary’s first top 10 since 1980 and his 6th in total, Bill’s 2nd. Matt Bianco get their first, surprisingly, with one of their minor hits, which is More Than I Can Bear, as do ZZ Top, proving they have Legs. I know I’m repeating myself, there, but hey, repeat till you get a laugh is my motto.

After pottering around the lower end, suddenly Madonna leaps to 11 with Material Girl and her 3rd biggest hit to date, while Earth, Wind & Genesis hit 12 – sort of – with Easy Lover. Highest new entry is Nik Kershaw, back with his 4th top 20, a bit of a Wide Boy it seems, but he was on a streak after seeing him in concert a few months previous. New Edition also get a top 20 entry again, 2 years since Candy Girl, while Alison Moyet covers a blues standard, an abrupt change in musical direction that worked for her, That Ole Devil Called Love entering at 26 for a 4th solo hit.

New at 35, Go West debut with the memorable We Close Our Eyes, while Starvation go up to 37 – as it sounds, it’s a charity regage single by members of the Specials, UB40, The Pioneers and Madness. In the case of The Pioneers that’s the first new stuff to chart since 1972. David Essex has less problems charting regularly, as his run of top 40 hits hits 12 years, Fallen Angels Riding at 38, Sheila E hits 40 with a little help from her friend (Prince), and Diana Ross enters at 39 with her Lionel Richie-written Missing You, a tribute to her late former Motown singing partners, Marvin Gaye, Florence Ballard and Paul Williams (of The Supremes, and The Temptations). In a nice bit of timing, Ali Campbell of UB40 does the bulk of the vocals on the Starvation record, and this week (April 2015) enters my chart with his version of the Diana Ross track.

That leaves new tracks from Eric Clapton (13 years on from Layla), The Cars (7 years on from My Best Friend’s Girl), Joan Armatrading (9 years since Love And Affection), and newer acts Paul Young, The fab Kane Gang track Gun Law, REO Speedwagon (former chart-toppers in 1981), Bryan Adams, China Crisis, and Julian Lennon.

1 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( 2 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
3 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
4 ( 5 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
5 ( 4 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
6 ( 31 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
7 ( 9 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
8 ( 15 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
9 ( 38 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
10 ( 36 ) LEGS ZZ Top

11 ( 45 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
12 ( 25 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 ( 6 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
14 ( 11 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
15 ( 22 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
16 ( 8 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
17 ( NEW ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
18 ( 10 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
19 ( 39 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
20 ( 18 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores

21 ( 7 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
22 ( 12 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
23 ( 37 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
24 ( 40 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
25 ( 17 ) IT’S…IT’S…THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
26 ( NEW ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
27 ( 14 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
28 ( 33 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
29 ( 19 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
30 ( 48 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This

31 ( 16 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
32 ( 13 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
33 ( 24 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
34 ( 68 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
35 ( NEW ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
36 ( 26 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
37 ( 74 ) STARVATION Starvation
38 ( 65 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
39 ( NEW ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
40 ( 54 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E

41 ( 27 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
42 ( 30 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
43 ( 44 ) CRY Godley And Creme
44 ( 21 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
45 ( 32 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
46 ( 46 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
47 ( 23 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
48 ( NEW ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
49 ( 58 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
50 ( 55 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John

51 ( 20 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
52 ( 72 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
53 ( 35 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
54 ( 75 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
55 ( 28 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
56 ( 34 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
57 ( NEW ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
58 ( 29 ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
59 ( 70 ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant
60 ( 52 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood

61 ( 42 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
62 ( NEW ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
63 ( 47 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
64 ( NEW ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
65 ( NEW ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
66 ( NEW ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
67 ( 63 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
68 ( 43 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
69 ( 62 ) I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN Tina Turner
70 ( 56 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid

71 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
72 ( NEW ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
73 ( 69 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
74 ( 61 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
75 ( NEW ) SAY YOU’RE WRONG Julian Lennon

TV March 9th-15th
1 Cheers
2 Hill Street Blues
3 Bewitched
4 Top Of The Pops
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 The Addams Family
7 The Bill Cosby Show
8 The Other Side Of The Tracks
9 Entertainment USA
10 Night Court

At work, my rather depressed and stressed state not helped by our flashing lights on the van not stopping a lady driver having an accident (pulling out of a junction into an oncoming car) by not taking care in the vicinity of our surveying on a bendy country road. Thursday was interview day at Dorchester County Council for a computing job, which was heavily maths based (failed the tough 1 hour algebra exam along with some other candidates). Watched Calamity Jane on TV as consolation! My other consolation was to buy myself a new spanky MSX music computer, the £529 clearing out my savings, but I saw it as a way of trying to get into creating music. Unfortunately I hadn’t reckoned on MSX computers flopping, on having no way of saving any recordings except onto pitiful slow cassette tape (as computer signals, NOT quality audio recordings), and me having no real training or obsession with learning how to play keyboards. Total waste of money, as I was pretty much 20 years too early for bedroom knob twiddling. Hey ho.

19th March 1985

3 weeks for Dave on top, now equalling his Partridge Family runs at 1, and straight in at 2, it’s a re-issue of the fab 1978 reggae cover of the O’Jays Now That We’ve Found Love, in one swoop out-peaking it’s previous top 10 run. In at 5, though, and an instant 4th top 5 hit, it’s the epic Tears For Fears track, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, for my money a perfect pop song, there is no way it can be improved on (as was shown by the charity remix in 1986). The chords, the melody, the multiple hooks, the guitar, the synths, the vocals, perfect perfect perfect start to finish, I still love, and have never ever stopped loving, every second of it. Overshadowing another classic, though, Godley & Creme get a third top 5 record outside of 10CC, as Cry rockets to 4, and Madonna makes it 3 top 10’s.

in at 31, Frankie are back with the 4th great single in a row, the title track from Welcome To The Pleasure Dome, and it seemed as though their Trevor Horn epics could do no wrong, and the world was theirs. Sadly, they decided Trevor Horn wasn’t essential. Bad choice. Into the 40, The Kane Gang and Sheena Easton are up, not to mention Eric, Paul and The Cars. At 47, it’s a cover of Bruce’s still-charting Dancing In The Dark – done 50’s harmony style by Big Daddy, a band who made a habit of covering modern songs in old music styles, to great effect. It’s a great cover, and nothing like the original in any way! At 60, another great cover, albeit very like the original Detroit Spinners 1972/3 hit, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love had already charted in 1973 and 1977 and David Grant, ex-Linx, and Jaki Graham do a fab smooth 80’s soul version version.

Elsewhere: Billy Bragg, Barry Manilow and Dionne Warwick (both a decade on from debuting), a fab Slade song 14 years on, Junior, and The Power Station (Robert Palmer plus Duran) all enter.

1 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( NEW ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
3 ( 4 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
4 ( 43 ) CRY Godley And Creme
5 ( NEW ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
6 ( 6 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
7 ( 10 ) LEGS ZZ Top
8 ( 9 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
9 ( 2 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
10 ( 11 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna

11 ( 17 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
12 ( 12 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
14 ( 5 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
15 ( 24 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
16 ( 8 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
17 ( 7 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
18 ( 19 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
19 ( 26 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
20 ( 23 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson

21 ( 34 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
22 ( 15 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
23 ( 14 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
24 ( 40 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
25 ( 13 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
26 ( 30 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
27 ( 35 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
28 ( 39 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
29 ( 38 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
30 ( 37 ) STARVATION Starvation

31 ( NEW ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( 16 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
33 ( 20 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
34 ( 18 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
35 ( 66 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
36 ( 54 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
37 ( 25 ) IT’S…IT’S…THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
38 ( 48 ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
39 ( 65 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
40 ( 57 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars

41 ( 71 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
42 ( 22 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
43 ( 63 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
44 ( 21 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 50 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John
46 ( 33 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
47 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
48 ( 31 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
49 ( 52 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
50 ( 72 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis

51 ( 29 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
52 ( 41 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
53 ( 42 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
54 ( 67 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
55 ( 49 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
56 ( 27 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
57 ( 46 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
58 ( 59 ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant
59 ( 28 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
60 ( NEW ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham

61 ( 32 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
62 ( 60 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
63 ( 44 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
64 ( 53 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
65 ( NEW ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
66 ( NEW ) RUN TO ME Dionne Warwicke and Barry Manilow
67 ( 36 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
68 ( 68 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
69 ( NEW ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
70 ( 70 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid

71 ( 61 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
72 ( NEW ) EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY The Roaring Boys
73 ( NEW ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
74 ( NEW ) INNER CITY BLUES Working Week
75 ( NEW ) DO YOU REALLY (WANT MY LOVE) Junior

TV 16-22 March
1 The Young Ones
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 The Bill Cosby Show
8 Newhart
9 Spitting Image
10 Television

On my MSX computer I was learning basic programming, lending records for copying to Bob, and my brother was down for a break fresh from returning to work at Blidworth pit after the endless strike, and to have a go on my new computer. Getting fed up with the very long bus trip to and from work – 9 miles but it took (and still takes) 90 minutes by bus door to door. I killed a bird driving the work van – it hit the windscreen and I felt awful about it. Most importantly, I got to see my new nephew (born the day after my birthday) Gavin, wide-eyed, tongue sticking out, and very quiet. 18-month-old Vicki had me up and down the stairs all day (kids always take to me cos I give them the attention they want), I predicted she was going to be an extrovert when she grew up. When you’re right you’re right!

26th March 1985

It’s a second brilliant number for Godley & Creme, as Cry does what Under Your Thumb did in 1981, and indeed what Donna did in 1972, Wall Street Shuffle in 1974, I’m Not In Love in 1975 and I’m Mandy Fly Me in 1976 for 10CC. My fave under-rated act of the 70’s. Frankie get a 4th top 5 in a row, and Pat Benatar returns with her 1984 top 20 track Love Is A Battlefield, at last a UK hit as well. David Grant and Jaki Graham get a big climb to 16, and in at 20, it’s a classic debut for Dream Academy and their awesome atmospheric Life In A Northern Town, so good it was to become the basis of a future dance sample hit with those Hail Mama’s. Fab!

At 24, it’s the USA response to Band Aid, a sentimental mish mash of big names created mostly by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. We Are The World was a who’s who of big names (and the one everyone in the UK went “who he?”: Steve Perry. yes him of Journey and the 21st century million-seller anthem Don’t Stop Believin’ that had stiffed a few years before in the UK. Last laugh, eh, Steve? At 32, Brooce is back with Cover Me, staying ahead of the Big Daddy cover of Dancing In The Dark, while Joan Armatrading and Slade add to their list of top 40 hits. Sarah Brightman is in the classical world for Pie Jesu, at 41, and 7 years since topping a Starship Trooper, while Al Green soul great is back 14 years on with Never Met Nobody Like You at 62.

1 ( 4 ) CRY Godley And Creme
2 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
3 ( 5 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
4 ( 2 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
5 ( 31 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
6 ( 3 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
7 ( NEW ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
8 ( 11 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
9 ( 15 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
10 ( 12 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins

11 ( 8 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
12 ( 9 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
13 ( 21 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
14 ( 6 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
15 ( 7 ) LEGS ZZ Top
16 ( 60 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
17 ( 10 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
18 ( 18 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
19 ( 13 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
20 ( NEW ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy

21 ( 20 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
22 ( 24 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
23 ( 14 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
24 ( NEW ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
25 ( 27 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
26 ( 40 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
27 ( 29 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
28 ( 39 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
29 ( 16 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
30 ( 17 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger

31 ( 19 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
32 ( NEW ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 35 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
34 ( 47 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
35 ( 36 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
36 ( 43 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
37 ( 70 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
38 ( 41 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
39 ( 22 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
40 ( 30 ) STARVATION Starvation

41 ( NEW ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
42 ( 26 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
43 ( 74 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
44 ( 66 ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
45 ( 37 ) IT’S…IT’S…THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
46 ( 23 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
47 ( 28 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
48 ( 32 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
49 ( 34 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
50 ( 50 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis

51 ( 57 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
52 ( 38 ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
53 ( 54 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
54 ( 25 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
55 ( 46 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
56 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
57 ( 48 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
58 ( NEW ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
59 ( NEW ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade
60 ( 53 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade

61 ( 52 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
62 ( NEW ) NEVER MET NOBODY LIKE YOU Al Green
63 ( 33 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
64 ( 42 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
65 ( 63 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
66 ( 55 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
67 ( 67 ) RUN TO ME Dionne Warwicke and Barry Manilow
68 ( NEW ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
69 ( 51 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
70 ( NEW ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned

71 ( 69 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
72 ( 49 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
73 ( 72 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
74 ( NEW ) LUCKY The Greg Kihn Band
75 ( 45 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John

TV 23-29 Mar
1 The Young Ones: Oil
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Pink Panther Strikes Back
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 Spitting Image
8 The Phil Silvers Show
9 The Addams Family
10 Newhart

Work was a week without boss-git, and it was bliss, just me and Bob able to get more work done and have a pleasant working environment along the country roads, even if Bob was throwing up ill on Tuesday. Had a meal at his parents which was nice of them, and I met his mum for the first time. It was Roy’s last day on friday, so we met up in the Westbourne pub for a goodbye drink. Roy had referred to our absent boss as “our venereal friend” so no love lost there! At home, I got frustrated being unable to save any synth sounds I created on the MSX, on the stupid sh*tty little tape recorder back up. That, I daresay, was the reason MSX computers failed miserably.

My 1984 Charts – October

Suki the cat

links to 1984 youtube videos in my other post…

3rd October 1984

Culture Club get their 5th number one, 4th in a row, with the under-rated The War Song, as The Cars get their biggest hit with Drive at 3, and U2 are proud to be at 6, also their biggest to date. The Bluebells make it 2 in a row with Cath in the top 10 too. Bowie takes his Blue Jean to 16, and Barry Gibb breaks into the 30 with one on my current playlist (having finally bought it the other week) – Shine Shine – and ditto Black Uhuru at 36. Stephanie Mills and Glen Frey go top 40, leaving the highest new entry at 37: Paul McCartney’s old-fashioned sweeping ballad taken from his Give My Regards To Broadway film, No More Lonely Nights. The single was fine, the film, err Magical Mystery Tour looks very good in comparison.

ZZ Top get a great new entry at 47, Gimme All Your Loving, complete with girls and car and guitars sexist video, paving the way for a zillion copycat variation videos. In at 60, George is back with Andrew as Wham! get that Freedom at 60, all Motown delight. At 63 it’s the Higsons with a cover of a song originally a hit for the recently late Bob Crewe – him of Four Seasons co-writer fame, Lady Marmalade co-write fame, and as featured heavily in the Jersey Boys musical. Before Andy Williams became the best-known (and best) reissued version of the song it was covered by UK punk-funk band The Higsons. Yes, you guessed it Charlie Higson, later well-known comedian of The Fast Show fame and others, take a bow, you made it in my charts first! At 65, Billy Ocean makes it 10 years of hits, and a major comeback record that catapulted him into the world-star class after only a decade of trying, the terrific Caribbean Queen.

In the real world, I started work this week, my first proper job, 4 years on from getting my degree. It still wasn’t well-paid, but as luck would have it I started the same day as Bob, who quickly became a great mate, for 30 years so far mutual laughs and support through bad times. At one of the low points of my life, Bob was a bright, happy beacon that helped me to feel normal again. The job, well I got to see a lot of Dorset, surveying roads on a hand-held brick (aka state-of-the-art data-input computer that the crappiest mobile phone would put to shame). As we headed into wet cold autumn that wasn’t quite so great being outside much, but it kept me busy. We worked in two teams of three, our team boss being a bit of what I termed “an old dab hand skiver” regaling us of tales of the days he worked for Radio Caroline as a DJ, and was a member of an army hit-squad flown in to Cyprus to take out baddies. Yes, that’s right, a total bullshitter. Spotted it right away, the vagueness and lack of specific details on questioning a bit of a giveaway. The first Survey location: Blandford Forum – or as Douglas Adams preferred a dull radio 4 talk show. After hideous long journeys by bus to Bournemouth from the outskirts of Poole (no change to that in 2014) I decided to get a moped. Happily (sort of) I ended up car sharing next day with Monic, who lived nearby and worked in Dorset house too, and was getting married the next week, all hyper and excited. She drove like that too…

The rest of the week was spent learning the driving rules for a van, warning signs, learning codes for verges (341, yes still remember the bloody things), street signs, lamp-posts, drains and so on. Using measuring wheel, getting wet, learning the art of pissing in woodland and hedges when there are no public loos anywhere (a first for me!). Bob had an argument with Boss-man over the national speed limit: it’s 60, we all know it’s 60mph, but Boss-man insisted it be 50. That was, I realised, fairly typical of the level of knowledge, and he resented us jumped-up smart-arses who learnt the work pretty quickly and had opinions not shared by him. hey ho! Got to have Radio 1 on while travelling and lunchtimes, so that’s me sorted anyway! Bob too, it turned out, he was a big pop music fan. Yay! The big boss from Dorchester, Peter, came out with us Thursday, so I of course drove the van into a bumpy kerb. Tch!

1 ( 4 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 1 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
3 ( 7 ) DRIVE The Cars
4 ( 5 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
5 ( 2 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
6 ( 10 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
7 ( 3 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
8 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
9 ( 14 ) CATH The Bluebells
10 ( 9 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk

11 ( 8 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
12 ( 16 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
13 ( 11 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
14 ( 12 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
15 ( 20 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
16 ( 22 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
17 ( 23 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
18 ( 13 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
19 ( 18 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
20 ( 15 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto

21 ( 19 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
22 ( 28 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
23 ( 27 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
24 ( 21 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
25 ( 17 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
26 ( 25 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
27 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
28 ( 24 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
29 ( 37 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
30 ( 53 ) WHY Bronski Beat

31 ( 40 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
32 ( 75 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
33 ( 34 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
34 ( 26 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
35 ( 50 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
36 ( 39 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
37 ( NEW ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
38 ( 32 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
39 ( 31 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
40 ( 43 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen

41 ( 30 ) HOT WATER Level 42
42 ( 35 ) DON’T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
43 ( 38 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
44 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 41 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
46 ( 48 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
47 ( NEW ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ZZ Top
48 ( 72 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
49 ( 42 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
50 ( 29 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths

51 ( 36 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
52 ( 45 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
53 ( 57 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
54 ( 49 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
55 ( 46 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
56 ( 58 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
57 ( 59 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
58 ( 69 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin’ Stevens
59 ( 60 ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!
60 ( NEW ) FREEDOM Wham!

61 ( 56 ) AGADOO Black Lace
62 ( 47 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
63 ( NEW ) MUSIC TO WATCH GIRLS BY The Higsons
64 ( 51 ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
65 ( NEW ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
66 ( 62 ) BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPIN’ US Ollie and Jerry
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 66 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
69 ( 64 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
70 ( 52 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17

71 ( 71 ) SHINE Frida
72 ( 63 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
73 ( NEW ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
74 ( 55 ) YOU HAVE Marc Almond
75 ( NEW ) EAST OF EDEN Big Country

TV
1 Star Trek: Shore Leave
2 Comic Strip Presents: Gino
3 Black Adder
4 Rhoda
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Martian Chronicles
8 Terrahawks
9 The Rockford Files
10 Pop Quiz

10th October 1984:

2 weeks for Culture Club, U2 up to 4, Ghostbusters goes top 5, and Sade gets a second Top 10 hit cos she’s a Smooth Operator. Macca rockets to 14, UB40, Freddie Mercury, Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakey all get more top 20 notches to their substantial belts. Which leaves the new entries, highest being The Stranglers melodic and rather catchy Skin Deep at 23, for a cool 7 and a half years of hits. John Lennon’s eldest boy Julian shows he can not only do a great impression of his dad, but he can make a great pop record to boot, as Too Late For Goodbyes reggaes for it now at 29.

Billy Ocean gets his first Top 40 entry for 6 years, and ZZ Top get their first, as meanwhile Chaka Khan follows up her remixed old hits recharting with a Prince song: I Feel For You was fresh-sounding state of the art dancerappop at the time, and it still sounds great – I think it’s fair to say it was influential mixing dance pop singers with rapping from Melle Mel. It may not have been the first to do it, but it was likely the first massive hit to do it. Yes, you can blame Chaka for the 21st century pop cliche obligatory rap break. Probably. Feargal Sharkey joins the list of solo-charting band frontmen, as he debuts with a bit of how’s your father, err listen, I mean! More follow-ups trot in from Laura Branigan, Spandau, Glitter & Idol. Billy Idol’s current singles (2014) are actually better than Flesh For Fantasy, which was OK at 75.

Back at my new job, pop music chatting to Bob on the way to the rural Blandford area, and Dorchester for a new works van to meet our (better-looking) counterpart team. I got a bit arrogant (to myself) about how quickly I picked up the computer and codes and work, which frankly was a doddle for me. Big-head! Just as well as I heard from NAAFI – didn’t get that job. Bemused at how crap I am at interviews. Got my latest Legion comic, shocked at the death of Karate Kid, and his widow leaving (Princess Projectra) after executing the baddie Nemesis Kid. Great stuff, trust me, very adult nearly 20 years on from debuting all 3 characters.

Friday at Milton Abbas for lunch, I had half a pint of lager and got quite light-headed from it. I didn’t like the taste, neither did Bob who had a cider – Bob enjoys a pint these days, though. I still don’t enjoy it (but have one socially). Had the weekend to myself, sitting for Suki, our cat with the plastic hip joint. Sadly, Leonard Rossiter died, so watched the tribute TV show for him, he was great in Rising Damp. Sad.

1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 3 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 2 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
4 ( 6 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
5 ( 8 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
6 ( 4 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
7 ( 9 ) CATH The Bluebells
8 ( 7 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
9 ( 5 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
10 ( 12 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade

11 ( 15 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
12 ( 17 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
13 ( 11 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
14 ( 37 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
15 ( 16 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
16 ( 22 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
17 ( 13 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
18 ( 10 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
19 ( 23 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
20 ( 31 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey

21 ( 30 ) WHY Bronski Beat
22 ( 14 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
23 ( NEW ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
24 ( 33 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
25 ( 19 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
26 ( 29 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
27 ( 21 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
28 ( 18 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
29 ( NEW ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
30 ( 40 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen

31 ( 20 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
32 ( 32 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
33 ( 26 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
34 ( 25 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
35 ( 24 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
36 ( 28 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
37 ( 65 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
38 ( 35 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
39 ( 56 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
40 ( 47 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ZZ Top

41 ( 36 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
42 ( 34 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
43 ( 27 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
44 ( 38 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
45 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
46 ( 39 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
47 ( 43 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
48 ( 60 ) FREEDOM Wham!
49 ( 45 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
50 ( NEW ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan

51 ( 41 ) HOT WATER Level 42
52 ( 48 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
53 ( 53 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
54 ( 42 ) DON’T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
55 ( 63 ) MUSIC TO WATCH GIRLS BY The Higsons
56 ( NEW ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
57 ( 57 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
58 ( 49 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
59 ( 46 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
60 ( 75 ) EAST OF EDEN Big Country

61 ( 54 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
62 ( 55 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
63 ( NEW ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
64 ( 61 ) AGADOO Black Lace
65 ( 58 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin’ Stevens
66 ( 50 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 68 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
69 ( 51 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
70 ( NEW ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet

71 ( 73 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
72 ( NEW ) SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT Gary Glitter
73 ( 52 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
74 ( 59 ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!
75 ( NEW ) FLESH FOR FANTASY Billy Idol

TV
1 Star Trek: Galileo 7
2 Black Adder
3 MASH
4 It’ll Be Alright On The Night 3
5 Bewitched
6 Tenko
7 Addams Family
8 Krull: film
9 Rising Damp
10 Top Of The Pops

17th October 1984

3 weeks for George & co, letting U2 climb to 3, and Macca to 4. The Stranglers are Skin Deep at 7, 7 years after first getting a string of top 10 entries, albeit mellower. John Waite gets his first Top 10 since topping with the Baby’s in 1978 (Isn’t It Strange?!), Missing You being a song later covered by Tina Turner, up to 35 with Better Be Good To me this week. Phil & Giorgio at last get together in top 10 Electric Dreams – I never did bother seeing the film, though.

Bronski get a 2nd top 20, Billy Ocean runs up 20 places to 17, and Julian Lennon 11 to 19. New entries, though, galore: Hall & Oates are the highest at 24 with the sublime Out Of Touch, stretching the run of hits to 8 years, big in the USA, minor hit in the UK, still sounding great live when I saw them for the third time a few months ago (2014). Springsteen, frustratingly, I still haven’t seen live (he only does big city tours, of course), but has 9 years of entries with Cover Me at 26, while Style Council Shout To The Top about their entry at 30, a fine single following on from the number one earlier in the year.

Huey Lewis is back again with a jolly pop song at 34, Paul Young covers Ann peebles (I think) as he tears your playhouse down at 37, and does it nicely, while Kim Wild is back, very much not for The Second Time, at 40 and a great pop track. Lionel’s back with a ditty at 53, Elton shoe gazes at 57, Limahl warbles on with the sweet popular movie theme tune, The Never Ending Story at 67, Alison Moyet gets a follow-up solo hit, cos she’s All Cried Out about being only at 75, while Mike Post’s TV theme The A Team is in at 73 a full 9 years after Rockford Files theme tune (still in my TV chart) became a big hit in my charts, and 2 years on since Hill Street Blues Tv theme did the same. He’s a great TV theme tune writer! Lastly, Alvin’s final big hit enters at 66, the 50’s sounding I Won’t Run Away, and I’ll play it in tribute here…

On TV it’s still Star Trek and 60’s and 70’s sitcoms mostly, but also Tenko, a soap with drama, death and survival stories, set in a Japanese prison camp for female war prisoners. Gripping stuff at times.

At work, team leader Phil was standing in for ol’ holidaying storyteller-boss, commuting from Dorchester, and he was a real treat, our age and a real Dorset farmer-boy, good-looking and congenial, and a pleasure to work with for 2 weeks. Phil confirmed my tall-tale-telling boss suspicions. When not at work and occupied, I still drifted towards depression and tenseness, still trying to work out what I wanted to do career-wise, mulling over Post grad teaching courses, but musing “What the hell. I want to be a pop star anyway.” Ha! Pity about the lack of talent! Mum & dad returned from Mansfield and looked after me quite a bit at home.

News drama on the 12th – Tory conference IRA bomb blast. My reaction? “Unfortunately, Thatcher will become a hero”. Bloody terrorists, bad enough they kill people without making bad politicians even more popular. Much worse for us, we got a phone call from Bud and Doreen, our good Singapore family friends, telling us that Dale, boyhood/teen friend a year younger than me had been killed horribly in a car crash along with his girlfriend, aged 25. It was shocking sleeplessness-inducing news, I liked Dale more than a lot, and went through a growing up phase together moving into adolescence. I’m still angry he never got to have a family and a proper life, and still shocked at the manner of his death, burnt alive when his car hit a tree, knocking them both out, and bursting into flames, passers-by unable to get them out. Life can be terrible sometimes. Bud also died a few years ago, ringing us up for an old-time chat shortly before he passed away: I think he must have known.

1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
4 ( 14 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
5 ( 3 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
6 ( 5 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 23 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
8 ( 24 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
9 ( 20 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
10 ( 10 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade

11 ( 6 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
12 ( 7 ) CATH The Bluebells
13 ( 21 ) WHY Bronski Beat
14 ( 16 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
15 ( 9 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
16 ( 8 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
17 ( 37 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
18 ( 29 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
19 ( 13 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
20 ( 17 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael

21 ( 19 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
22 ( 12 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
23 ( 11 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
24 ( NEW ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
25 ( 15 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
26 ( NEW ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
27 ( 32 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
28 ( 18 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
29 ( 22 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
30 ( NEW ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council

31 ( 25 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( 56 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
33 ( 48 ) FREEDOM Wham!
34 ( NEW ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
35 ( 53 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
36 ( 26 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
37 ( NEW ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
38 ( 27 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
39 ( 39 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
40 ( NEW ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde

41 ( 28 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
42 ( 31 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
43 ( 35 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
44 ( 34 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
45 ( 40 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ZZ Top
46 ( 71 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
47 ( 50 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
48 ( 45 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
49 ( 33 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
50 ( 30 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen

51 ( 70 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
52 ( 44 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
53 ( NEW ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
54 ( 49 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
55 ( 63 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
56 ( 42 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
57 ( NEW ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John
58 ( 47 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
59 ( 36 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
60 ( 38 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey

61 ( 57 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
62 ( 52 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
63 ( 46 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
64 ( 61 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
65 ( 58 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
66 ( NEW ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
67 ( NEW ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
68 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
69 ( 68 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
70 ( 41 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru

71 ( NEW ) FEEL IT Feelabilia
72 ( 43 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
73 ( NEW ) THE A TEAM Mike Post
74 ( 75 ) FLESH FOR FANTASY Billy Idol
75 ( NEW ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet

TV
1 Star Trek: Arena
2 A Night At The Opera: film
3 MASH
4 The Young Ones
5 Terrahawks
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Mary Tyler Moore Show
8 Tenko
9 Rockford Files
10 Addams Family

24th October 1984

4 weeks for Culture Club at 1, leaving The Cars at 2 for 3 weeks, with Phil and Giorgio hitting 4 – actually the lowest-placed Phil Oakey song since Sound Of The Crowd! It’s still a great live in concert show-stopper. Billy Ocean leaps to 6, his highest-placed record since he was On The Run (as Scorched Earth) in 1974. Julian Lennon gets his very own Top 10 hit months after his late dad, and The Style Council get a 4th Top 10 (or Paul Weller’s 10th or so).

Kim Wilde and Chaka Khan both leap into the 20, with Hall & Oates and Wham! taking a more leisurely-paced trip upwards. Highest new entry at 28, it’s Chicago with a 4th MOR-ballad, since topping the chart in 1976 with If You Leave Me Now. Alison Moyet has a 40-placed cried-out hurdle to 35, Limahl to 39 and Ultravox have a romping single with a great video at 40: Love’s Great Adventure. Meatloaf’s back with the fairly ordinary Modern Girl, at 54, while the utterly brilliant new-career-peak Nile-Rodgers-produced Mad-Max-epic-video of The Wild Boys takes Duran Duran up a step, and has the bonus of seeing Simon Le Bon dunked under water several times. I’m So Excited (say The Pointer Sisters, obviously having seen and heard it, at 65), Eddy Grant, Psychedelic Furs also pop in.

On TV a classic 60’s sci-fi movie – make that the first proper modern sci-fi classic movie, Planet Of The Apes, while new kids animated adventure series Dungeons And Dragons appealed to me. I had the board game, and no-one to play it with. So sad!

In My Life: I went along to the youth club, intending on telling them I was going to pack it in, and somehow got talked into committing more as the numbers of adults fell to 3, and I instead played darts with the kids. I’m such a pushover! Work: Milton Abbas, all thatched delight, Dorchester, guessing road widths before measuring them, space invaders at lunchtime in a pub. At home rang grandma in Liverpool who didn’t sound at all well, which caused me anxiety, and the next morning my pet budgie was in distress, which upset me as I’d seen the signs before. By the time I got home he was dead, the last of my many budgies (I had an aviary and used to breed them, I love animals what can I say!). He’d lived 8 years, was the first budgie born in my small aviary in April 1976, and outlived them all.

The weekend: took mum to see her friend from mansfield, Elsie, in Bournemouth, then drove to Poole on my own for a record fair, bought lots of singles I’d been after, then back to pick up mum. Got shown round Elsie and Keith’s hotel (very nice). Took mum to pick up some furniture and while parking touched the bumper of an old Rover in front, the even older driver jumped out and blew a fuse even though it was going at 2mph and caused no damage to either car. Had to swap insurance details anyway. Posh Git had me fuming inside!

Sunday we went to Chippenham, to see Bud and Doreen where young baby Jamie was now nearly-grown-up brainy James and we got the terrible whole story about Dale and his fiancee, and the events leading up to their death, out on a driving lesson doing 25 mph in a mini, which exploded when they hit a tree for some unknown reason. Dale’s room and fish tank was as he’d left it, quite some time later by now. Gary, the middle brother, also arrived with his wife to see us and we all went through some old Singapore photos and tapes of singing and laughing, I think the memories of happier times was both good and terribly sad. Bud said Dale would have loved being there that day, enjoying the memories. For both families, I think, Singapore was a time of great happiness, which can be a rare thing in life. Bud told me about his Falklands flights (still aircraft crew) and having enlisted again in the RAF now flying all over the world. Eventually we had to leave, wished everything could be made right for them all, I liked and admired them so much. I left thinking Dale dying was the most tragic thing to hit me personally, and I wished I could have been there to change events. I just did. Still having sleepless nights about it all.

As an aside, in my mind 1984 was my year from hell, and now I re-read events for the first time 30 years on from my diaries, it really WAS the year from hell for me. Sometimes in life there are long periods of mostly uneventful muddling along, and sometimes week after week after week there is no such thing as a nice quiet life. My life veers towards the latter quite often, and especially the last 16 or 17 years where many of the years make 1984 seem relatively bearable.

1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
4 ( 9 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
5 ( 3 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
6 ( 17 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
7 ( 7 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
8 ( 8 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
9 ( 18 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
10 ( 30 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council

11 ( 13 ) WHY Bronski Beat
12 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
13 ( 24 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
14 ( 40 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
15 ( 47 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
16 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
17 ( 33 ) FREEDOM Wham!
18 ( 10 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
19 ( 14 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
20 ( 11 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD

21 ( 37 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
22 ( 15 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
23 ( 12 ) CATH The Bluebells
24 ( 16 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
25 ( 26 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
26 ( 20 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
27 ( 19 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
28 ( NEW ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
29 ( 21 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
30 ( 32 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey

31 ( 34 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
32 ( 25 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
33 ( 27 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
34 ( 23 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
35 ( 75 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
36 ( 31 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
37 ( 22 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
38 ( 53 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
39 ( 67 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
40 ( NEW ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox

41 ( 29 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
42 ( 28 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
43 ( 51 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
44 ( 36 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
45 ( 45 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ZZ Top
46 ( 72 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
47 ( 38 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
48 ( 55 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
49 ( 35 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
50 ( 57 ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John

51 ( 48 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
52 ( 42 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
53 ( 41 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
54 ( NEW ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
55 ( 46 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
56 ( 43 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
57 ( NEW ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
58 ( 39 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
59 ( 60 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
60 ( 71 ) FEEL IT Feelabilia

61 ( 52 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
62 ( 54 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
63 ( 49 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
64 ( 44 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
65 ( NEW ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
66 ( 56 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
67 ( 50 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
68 ( 61 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
69 ( 68 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 69 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

71 ( NEW ) BOYS IN THE STREET Eddy Grant
72 ( NEW ) HEARTBEAT The Psychedelic Furs
73 ( 62 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
74 ( 58 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
75 ( NEW ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Page

TV
1 Planet Of The Apes: film
1 Star Trek: Today Is Yesterday
3 MASH
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Addams Family
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Terrahawks
8 Rockford Files
9 Whistle Test
10 Dungeons And Dragons

31st October 1984

After 3 weeks at 2, the sublime, hauntingly beautiful Drive parks at the top, The Cars getting a number one after 6 years of trying. Hot on their heels though, it’s Duran Duran’s Wild Boys punching their way to 2 from 57, their biggest record to date. Chaka Khan gets her third top 10 with a Prince song, and 10 years since her first (both previously with Rufus, so her first official solo top 10 hit). Kim Wilde is also back in the 10, just go for it, Kim! Not The Second Time, it’s her 4th, and first one since 1981.

Limahl is never ending at 13, while highest two new entries are UK flops, from Bucks Fizz (at 16 with Golden Days) and Cyndi Lauper (25 with another album single All Through The Night). Under-appreciated both. ZZ Top get a sudden reversal shooting up to 17, Heaven 17, like the seagulls in Finding Nemo say “Mine” at 34, a new entry, and Alvin really won’t run away as he re-enters at 39.

Quo are back covering Dion’s way better original version of The Wanderer at 47, Sheena Easton gets an early not-yet-released entry for her new raunchy image, as she struts her way to 67, strut, pah, put it out, that’s what you want from women. Apparently! Murray Head had a name in the first cast version of Jesus Christ Superstar, and is the brother of Anthony Head, who did some decent singing in Buffy The Vampire Slayer – the Abba boys obviously took notice as they got him to sing One Night In Bangkok for their new musical Chess. In the absence of Abba (forever, as it turned out) this was a mighty fine substitute, a tad seedy, a bit catchy, and very thumping. Lastly, at 71 it’s a good debut single from Rebbie Jackson, Michael’s oldest sister, then 34, and written by him and with him on backing vocals. Shame it’s obscure these days and wasn’t a UK hit – though it was big in the USA.

At home, mum dad and I still having problems getting over Dale’s death, which put other stuff into perspective, like the rejection letter I got from my old college (to do a postgrad teaching course), though I was getting quite stressed by now with the driving of Monic, still giving me lifts into work and I was sorta happy when the car stalled and forced her to slow down. I had a letter for an interview at Exeter, which made me worry at work asking for the day off after just starting. Doreen rang, Bud, James and her came down on Sunday, and showed them my room which made them think of Dale, as we liked a lot of the same stuff, music, fish tanks & animals, art, photography and so on. We took them to the marine camp and showed them round the NAAFI which they enjoyed I think. Popped to Sandbanks, let James play on my guitar while I listened to the charts rundown upstairs, and they left at 7. We all still wished we could do something to help in some way, but of course there isn’t really.

1 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
2 ( 57 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
3 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
4 ( 3 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
5 ( 6 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
6 ( 9 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
7 ( 4 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
8 ( 15 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
9 ( 7 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
10 ( 14 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde

11 ( 5 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
12 ( 10 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council
13 ( 39 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
14 ( 17 ) FREEDOM Wham!
15 ( 13 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
16 ( NEW ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz
17 ( 45 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ZZ Top
18 ( 12 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
19 ( 8 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
20 ( 28 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago

21 ( 35 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
22 ( 11 ) WHY Bronski Beat
23 ( 30 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
24 ( 16 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
25 ( NEW ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
26 ( 18 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
27 ( 31 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
28 ( 40 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox
29 ( 20 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
30 ( 22 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren

31 ( 19 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
32 ( 26 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
33 ( 27 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
34 ( NEW ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
35 ( 24 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
36 ( 21 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
37 ( 38 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
38 ( 23 ) CATH The Bluebells
39 ( RE ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
40 ( 43 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet

41 ( 25 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
42 ( 36 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
43 ( 29 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
44 ( 48 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
45 ( 65 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
46 ( 33 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
47 ( NEW ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
48 ( 32 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
49 ( 34 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
50 ( 50 ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John

51 ( 41 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
52 ( 37 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
53 ( 75 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Page
54 ( 54 ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
55 ( 51 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
56 ( 42 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
57 ( 47 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
58 ( 44 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
59 ( 46 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
60 ( 49 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner

61 ( 52 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
62 ( 53 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
63 ( 56 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
64 ( 62 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
65 ( 61 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
66 ( 72 ) HEARTBEAT The Psychedelic Furs
67 ( NEW ) STRUT Sheena Easton
68 ( NEW ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
69 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

71 ( NEW ) CENTIPEDE Rebbie Jackson
72 ( 59 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
73 ( 68 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
74 ( 63 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
75 ( RE ) ON THE WINGS OF A NIGHTINGALE The Everly Brothers

TV
1 National Lampoon’s Animal House: film
1 Star Trek: Court Martial
3 MASH
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Addams Family
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Terrahawks
8 The Professionals
9 Tenko
10 Entertainment USA