This week's Official UK Singles Chart
[Yes, it is this chart. The outcome of the Battle Of Britpop which had dominated mass media in a way no other musical event had done for years. Suddenly pop music, rock music and the chart countdown which registered its popularity was very big news indeed. Put simply, the charts 'mattered' in a way they had not done for aeons].
1 COUNTRY HOUSE (Blur)
There has never really been hype like it. The release on the same day of new singles by both Blur and Oasis prompted a media circus beyond any other in recent memory. The release of the two singles has, over the past week, been hyped up by the media into a true 'battle of the bands' with insults flying back and forth between both the musicians and fans alike and has resulted almost daily updates on the radio as to the sales progress of both singles. Not for a long time has there been quite so much speculation and interest in the potential chart positions of two records. As thee week progressed it became clear that one would end up the winner and become and instant Number One. Oasis with the larger dedicated fan base started out strongest with sales of their single outstripping Blur easily at the start of the week. Gradually though, the difference was clawed back as the more commercial Blur single picked up sales from the more casual record buyers at the end of the week and by the end of Saturday the result was in no doubt at all. So it is then that one of the most popular groups in the country land their first ever Number One hit. Country House is really a continuation of the style that characterised last year's Parklife album and which transformed them into something quite special. Wearing their influences on their sleeves, from the Kinks to the Small Faces yet at the same time producing a style of music that is indescribably Blur. It is no surprise at all that they should get a Number One single, following a string of hits since 1990 and the global attention that focussed on them following the release of Parklife. The single also continues the remarkable string of records this year to hit Number One on their very first week. 'Country House' is the tenth record to top the charts since January and the sixth to do so first week out, thus equalling the record set in 1991. All that is left to do now is to wonder how the losers will view this situation after a week of both sides postulating that whoever wons the battle would be confirmed as the bigger band...
2 ROLL WITH IT (Oasis)
So what of the 'losers'? Oasis, despite their large following around the country and despite the fact that their last single was an instant No.1, eventually had to give way to the larger commercial audience for the Blur single. Having said that, the acheivements of this single should not be overlooked. It gives Oasis a fifth Top 10 hit in a row and a hat trick of Top 3 hits. It also marks only the third occasion in chart history that the Top 2 records have both been new entries. Curiously enough both of the previous occasions were in weeks when media attention focused on the singles chart. The first was in December 1984 when Wham!s Last Christmas/Everything She Wants landed at No.2 behind the very first Band Aid single at Number One. The second occasion was in June 1989 when Jason Donovan's Sealed With A Kiss hit Number One to deny Cliff Richard a place at the top with his 100th single release The Best Of Me. After the hype though comes the reality and I suspect as the media interest fades away, so will the Oasis single leaving Blur high and dry at the top. Whilst many people I suspect watched on in bemusement as the release of two pop records made news items on TV and Radio it is worth at least reflecting on the fact that, if only for one week, the release of a single became a genuine event, worthy of attention and interest at the highest level. It brought people into record shops who would normally only visit at Christmas time and brought to the attention of millions the two bands currently leading the field in this golden age of British pop. Amen to that.
6 EVERYBODY (Clock)
Underneath all the Blur/Oasis hype was sensation of another kind as the shops were flooded in a rash of new releases by major acts, all of which ended up tussling for the lower chart places. It made for a very busy chart indeed with no less than 15 new entries inside the Top 40. The highest of the 'also-rans' were Clock, notching up their third Top 10 hit in a row following chart successes earlier this year with covers of Axel F and Whoomph! (There It Is). The new single fits snugly in the mould carved out by the previous two, a lively electronic dance record which is commercial enough to find appeal on the radio as well as the more mainstream dance floors. Part of the appeal of Clock is the way they are not just a bunch of faceless producers but an act with a consistent team of faces performing the singles and a brilliant line in dance routines. I remember commenting on this after they performed Axel F on television earlier this year only to receive a frustrated email from their management complaining that no TV shows seemed to want to book them. Hopefully that now is changing.
8 HUMAN NATURE (Madonna)
There was a time when a new Madonna release would be an event in itself. This week she was relegated almost to a footnote in the list of new releases but that did not stop her landing another instant Top 10 hit to further affirm her place as one of the most successful female artists in chart history. The failure at Christmas for Take A Bow to progress any further than No.16 brought her record of consecutive Top 10 hits to a screaming halt but she has bounced back since, first of all with Bedtime Story making No.4 back in February and now with Human Nature giving her her 35th Top 10 hit, more than any other artist ever save for the usual leaders of lists such as this - Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard with 55 and 63 to their names respectively. The success of this single still does not detract from the fact, however, that she is falling deeper and deeper into the rut that seems to affect all superstars at some stage in their career - releasing records that sell simply because of the name behind them rather than their quality as pop records. Even the most hardened Madonna fan would not argue that Human Nature is vastly inferior to many of the classics she has produced in the past and if she heads down this road she may find her commercial stock declining very quickly, especially now at 37 and over ten years into her career she is no longer the idol for millions of teenagers she once was. This kind of rut is by no means inescapable as the recent chart rehabilitation of artists like Diana Ross have proven - something which must give Stevie Wonder cause for hope.
[Funny to read in retrospect, the fact that my main concern over Madonna at the time was “is it possible she is getting all a bit too old for this”. Little did we know she was on the verge of her late 90s renaissance thanks to her “work with the hottest producer of the moment” phase.]
12 JUST WHEN YOU'RE THINKIN' THINGS OVER (Charlatans)
It seems to be a week for British groups. Whilst Blur celebrate the peak of their career so far, some of their contemporaries from almost five years ago find themselves with their biggest hit for a long time. When Blur first had a smash hit in 1991 they were building on the success of bands such as the Charlatans who had proved there was life after the baggy Manchester sound of the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and who were arguably one of the original 90s guitar bands. Their biggest commercial success came in 1990 when their debut chart hit The Only One I Know reached No.9. Despite the odd hit single they have in effect drifted into the background until now. Suddenly the music press have woken up the fact that the Charlatans are actually quite good and following minor hits earlier this year with Crashin' In and Just Lookin' (what do they have against the letter 'G'?) the band explode into the Top 20 with a single that matches the peak of Then in 1990 to become their second biggest hit ever. As the band prepare to release their fifth album it appears they are about to experience a second coming. After all, it took REM five albums to hit big and Parklife is from Blur's third long player...
13 ON THE BIBLE (Deuce)
A rush of hype and a rush of new entries also has an effect on the records already on the chart. Just one or two climbers in a week is by no means uncommon but this week, possibly as a direct result of all the attention paid to the week's new releases, sees a unique chart situation. For the first time ever there are no climbers at all inside the Top 40. Not one. Aside from the new entries, the only records to even maintain their positions from last week are Deuce at No.13 and Alanis Morrissette at No.22.
14 MOVE YOUR BODY (Xpansions 95)
Dance music's summer of rememberance continues as for the third week running a past hit is resurrected and given new life with a new set of remixes. Son Of A Gun and Don't You Want Me are joined in the Top 40 by this record from Xpanions. one which has had quite a chequered history. Back in 1991 it actually benefitted in the same way as many records today, Ritchie Malone's track first being released in October 1990 when it only reached No.49. After retitling the track after its hookline he tried again in February 1991 and was rewarded with a No.7 hit. Now, four years later the track is resurrected to crash straight back into the charts and entertain a new generation of clubbers. Where will it end? The trick now I suppose is not to despair for the future of dance music but to speculate which 90s dance hit is next for a revival. My money is on Cola Boy's 7 Ways To Love, all other suggestions are gratefully received.
15 HAPPY JUST TO BE WITH YOU (Michelle Gayle)
Michelle Gayle is possibly unique. Many former soap stars have released records in the past but Michelle Gayle is virtually the only one to have shaken off the 'actress' tag completely and transformed herself into a credible singing talent. Part of that is due to the quality of the songs she is given to sing. Sweetness was arguably the first, the Narada Michael Walden track which made No.4 in September 1994 and this has been followed by two more: I'll Find You and Freedom. Now comes her biggest and best hit since 'Sweetness', another slickly produced pop/dance track in the Eternal mould, complete with a rap at the start. I'm sorry if this throws credibility to the wind, but I like this enough to resist the temptation to make a cheeky comment about its use of an old Chic bassline. So I won't.
19 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE (Real McCoy)
The Real McCoy are a curious act, having managed to supplant most of the current rules and traditions and gone off and had hits in America as well as all over Europe. Their fourth hit is this one, a track currently climbing the US Hot 100 in the same manner as their previous hits. It is typical Euro dance, an uptempo beat, a high powered rap and a catchy female vocal, this time one which is too similar to Cyndi Lauper's (Hey Now) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) to be accidental but that is not to detract from the success of the track. It gives the German act four Top 20 hits in a row.
[Yep, walking musical encyclopaedia and avid student of pop music history that I was, I’d never heard of Redbone’s Come And Get Your Love at that point and had no inkling of where the Real McCoy track had come from. To think I was paid for this rubbish.]
23 ISOBEL (Bjork)
Bjork singles are usually quite a hit and miss affair, the sheer diversity of the music she puts on her albums means that no two releases are ever alike. One Little Indian records have quite sensibly waited for all the initial fuss surrounding the 'Post' album to die down before releasing a second single to follow Army Of Me which made No.10 back in May. Isobel finds the Icelandic pixie in an ethereal mood with one of those strange meandering songs which shows off her voice to brilliant effect yet hardly makes for a commercial pop single. Never mind, as any Bjork fan will tell you there is one track from the album which received all tje attention when it was first released and which is due for single release some time this autumn and which is almost certain to become one of her biggest hits ever. I won't spoil the surprise for those of you still in the dark...
25 LET YOUR YEAH BE YEAH (Ali Campbell)
Ali Campbell's first solo single That Look In Your Eye was released with little ceremony or fanfare yet quickly established itself as a radio favourite and had a creditable 8 week stay in the Top 40. His second single uses a trick he has used with UB40 on many occasions, resurrecting a long lost reggae classic and turning it into a commercial hit. Let Your Yeah Be Yeah was first a hit for the Pioneers back in 1971 when it reached No.5.
27 HOLD ON (Happy Clappers)
One of the more popular dance hits of the moment, the Happy Clappers chart slightly lower than was expected in many quarters. It is their second hit this year, following on from I Believe which made No.21 back in June.
32 SUMMERTIME HEALING (Eusebe)
Summer it is, as if you hadn't noticed, and there is always a market for a single crafted especially for the occasion. In the spirit of the age, the summer records this year have been based largely around past classics. Shaggy's remake of In The Summertime was the first and here comes another, Eusebe creating a new track around Marvin Gaye's 1982 classic Sexual Healing. A small hit I suspect, lacking as much chart potential as it does originality.
34 LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE (Smokie featuring Roy Chubby Brown)
OK deep breath, are you ready for this? For most of this year continental dance floors have been filled as a result of a very strange joke. It began in Holland when a DJ there 'rediscovered' the old Smokie classic Living Next Door To Alice (which first made No.5 here in 1976). Somewhere along the way the joke was created of pausing the song every time 'Alice' was mentioned so the crowd could shout "Alice? Who the f*** is Alice?" A record was duly made and Gompie's Alice (Who The X Is Alice) promptly raced up the charts all over Europe. Back in May the concept was exported over here along with the record and the track made a brief appearance in the Top 40 and reached No.34. Call it the British sense of humour if you will, but clearly not enough people got the joke. Around the same time the original artists attempted to cash in on the craze and recorded their own bowlderisation of the song that has kept them on the radio for the past 20 years, teaming up with foul-mouthed comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown to add the obscenities. This version made a brief appearance back in May at the lower end of the charts but ultimately lost out to Gompie's 'original' remake. Meanwhile the craze lingered on in Europe, long enough for the usual hoardes of British holidaymakers to hear it and create a demand for it back home. This has now prompted the re-release of both versions of the song only for Smokie's version to curiously emerge the winner at this stage. Quite what will happen now is anyone's guess. Radio of course will avoid the record like the plague whilst the rest of us will sit and wonder just why shouting 'Who The F*** is Alice?" should be so funny in the first place.
39 COME ON HOME (Cyndi Lauper)
'Nuff respect to Cyndi Lauper. Never one to fit into a traditional mould, virtually every single she releases has something to set it apart from all the others, even if this doesn't always translate into massive commercial success. Not that she is without smash hits though, her last success being her inspired remake of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun which soared to No.4 ten years after her own original version reached No.2. Since then she has fallen back into her usual pattern of having minor hit singles, Come On Home follows on from I'm Gonna Be Strong which reached No.37 earlier this year. It's a shame really as even her smaller hits are fabulous records, the cod-reggae of Come On Home proving the point exactly.
40 THE KEY (Matt Goss)
Wow, is this going to be fun. The late 1980s saw the phenomenon of the teen idol switch into overdrive. The demise of Wham! in 1986 had left a huge gap in the market for a band of pretty boys making pop music to sell to 13 year old girls. There seemed to be virtually one every year, from A-Ha to Curiosity Killed the Cat until we reached 1988 and Bros exploded onto the scene. They seemed to be a perfect idea, two pretty, blonde, identical twin boys along with a third not-so pretty unrelated member who was offloaded a year later. Matt and Luke Goss became the biggest pair of pin ups Britain had seen in years and scored a string of hit singles which included a Number One in June 1988 in the shape of I Owe You Nothing. There was, however, one crucial problem. Nobody liked them. You can have all the screaming girls you want buying your records and attending your concerts but if the massed ranks of the music press plus most other record buyers think you are a pair of berks then you are doomed to failure. This is what happened to the Goss twins, no matter what the quality of the music they put out, the industry spent a great deal of time sniggering up its sleeves at the group, noting down every platitude they uttered in interviews and watching, waiting for them to fall. 'Record Mirror' in the days when it was a weekly music magazine in its own right even ran a 'deface the Bros picture' competition. The end ultimately came, slowly and painfully in 1991 when their third album flopped and their last single Try (ironically one of the best things they ever did) only reached No.27. The brothers broke up, reportedly fell out with each other and set out to figure out why the record company had apparently made more money from the whole affair than they did. Inevitably the music business had not seen the last of the Goss twins. Luke Goss was the first to break cover, forming his own band 'Like Goss and the Band Of Thieves' in 1993. He released two singles which deserved better than to just miss the Top 50 and proved himself to be a pretty competent rock vocalist as well as a drummer. Now it is the turn of Matt, Bros' singer to attempt to launch a solo career. The Key is virtually indistinguishable from some Bros album tracks, a funky track that tries desperately to be credible yet spoiled by Matt Goss' insistence on screeching the vocals. To be fair it is really the choice of song that is wrong, many Bros ballads proved that the lad does have a decent voice but he will need better material than this if he is to end up in the upper reaches of the charts once more.
