This week's Official UK Singles Chart
1 BRING ME TO LIFE (Evanescence)
A friend of mine who is on the production team for a certain radio chart show was commenting to me at the end of last week that the show for the weekend was going to be very hard to do, given the lack of any exciting new releases that were destined to charge up the singles chart. So indeed it proves as what new releases there are do not manage to come anywhere near the top end, leaving Evanescence almost by default to retain the Number One position with the Fast Food Rockers clinging doggedly on in second place. This is Bring Me To Life's fourth week at the summit, matching the total notched up by the song it replaced at the top, R Kelly's Ignition Remix. Strange though it may seem this is actually the first time two consecutive Number One singles have spent four weeks at the top since the end of 1995 when Robson and Jerome's I Believe had a four-week run before surrendering to Michael Jackson's Earth Song for six weeks.
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3 WE JUST BE DREAMIN' (Blazin' Squad)
At the start of the week there was every indication that the Blazin' Squad were heading for the top of the charts, their sales on Monday and Tuesday being enough to give them a slender lead over Evanescence. For some odd reason though unlike most other pop hits, their sales momentum did not build as the weekend approached and in the event the Squad have to content themselves with a Number 3 single. Not that they will complain of course as since their debut single Crossroads topped the charts in August last year, they have had a hard time maintaining that initial momentum. The follow-up Love On The Line peaked at Number 6 whilst Reminisce could only make Number 8 in February before plummeting straight out of the Top 40 three weeks later. Hence We Just Be Dreamin' represents for them a more impressive turnaround in chart fortunes, although of course it will be interesting to see what the single does next week and whether it can manage a longer run in the upper reaches. To date their four singles have only spent a combined total of six weeks in the Top 10, only Crossroads managing more than one.
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Honours for the second biggest hit of the week go to Metallica, the anti-piracy rockers whose Top 40 career stretches way back to 1987. The kick-arse first single from a forthcoming new album, St Anger is their first chart hit since their contribution to the MI:2 soundtrack I Disappear made Number 35 in August 2000. Most impressively the single returns them to the Top 10 for the first time in over seven years, the last time they climbed this high being in June 1996 when Until It Sleeps hit Number 5. Said single shares the honour of being their biggest ever chart hit along with Enter Sandman which was also a Top 5 record in August 1991. Their only other Top 10 appearance was in 1992 when Nothing Else Matters made Number 6 on the back of their rousing set at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert held a few weeks before.
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We should have had a competition really, giving people a chance to guess what kind of act Tommi are just from the name. Girl group with street attitude is the answer in case you are wondering, the five 18 year olds are being launched with high hopes that they can become the next big thing in female pop. Their sound is unashamedly urban but with deep commercial appeal built in. Their cachet comes from the writing credits of this new single which credits both T-Boz and Kandi as authors and the track is produced by Ms Dynamite's producer Bloodshy. Want the truth? This is actually a very good single and nothing short of a breath of fresh air. A fair number of people will be quite disappointed that it could not do better than a Number 12 entry.
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13 CRAZIER (Gary Numan vs Rico)
One year on from making a chart comeback with RIP (a Number 29 hit in July 2002), Gary Numan hits the sales listings once more with this limited edition release. Crazier is the theme tune to a new German film called Vinzent but has here been granted a UK release to satisfy the appetite for his still loyal legion of fans. Originally due for release last week, the single was delayed to this rather quieter chart week to help give it more of an edge and the tactic appears to have worked, the single making an impressive Number 13 first week out. Astoundingly this is enough to give the veteran popstar his biggest chart hit for 21 years. The last time he was placed this high was in June 1982 when We Take Mystery (To Bed) made Number 9, incidentally his last ever Top 10 hit. Of course it would be wrong once again to fail acknowledge the fact that one of his most famous songs - Are 'Friends' Electric - was used as the basis of the Sugababes' Freak Like Me which topped the chart just over a year ago.
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Another Scooter single and yes, the format is exactly the same right down to the speeded up female vocals which are doubtless sampled from some old European hit (I await the emails to detail exactly what). [The Night by Valerie Dore, a Eurohit from 1984] Put it on in a club and watch the crowd go nuts. If you don't love them you never will but they are admittedly hard to hate. The Night lands at Number 16 to match the mid-table chart positions of their last two hits Posse and Weekend which made 15 and 12 respectively.
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Regarded by most as the standout track on their current album, Moloko storm back into the charts with the single release of Forever More. This is the follow-up to the Top 10 hit Familiar Feeling and gives them their fourth Top 20 hit.
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19 OVERRATED (Siobhan Donaghy)
Ooh, what a risky title for a single. The need to make a joke is almost overwhelming. 19 year old Siobhan Donaghy is, despite her tender years, something of a chart veteran. She was part of the original lineup of the Sugababes, singing on the classics from their first album including the still memorable Overload. Around the time that the girls were dumped from their first label, so too was she ousted from the group, a clash of personalities being blamed. Not to be outdone though she is back in the limelight with a solo deal and a set of songs that she has helped to pen herself. Needless to say she is regarded as a high priority act and one who is going to be pushed to the moon prior to her debut album being released in September. Sad to say then that all the work appears to have come to naught for the moment. Far from being the biggest new hit of the week, the appealing Overrated has failed to capitalise on its TV exposure and limps apologetically into the Top 20. Make no mistake, this is far and away the biggest chart shock of the week and the kind of performance that will cause many a furrowed brow at London records.
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Move on, nothing to see here.. just the latest single from the Foo Fighters landing nicely in the Top 30, the long overdue follow-up to Times Like These which hit Number 12 back in January. As the third single from the One By One album its slightly understated chart performance was perhaps to be expected.
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25 JOGI/BEWARE OF THE BOYS (Panjabi MC featuring Jay-Z)
Now here is a clash of cultures if ever there was one. After making a massive splash at the start of the year with the Top 5 hit Mundian To Bach Ke, Panjabi MC goes stateside for his second hit single, teaming up with Jay-Z. His Bhangra sound remains intact however and even if this is a smaller hit than its predecessor it is still something of a joy to see it in the singles charts. The single also features Jay-Z's remix of Mundian To Bach Ke which played a large part in helping it to cross over into mainstream clubs in the first place.
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You can permit yourself to shed a small tear that the sheer genius of the Flaming Lips has yet to translate itself into major chart success. The follow-up to the hauntingly lovely Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (a Number 18 hit in January), this single sees their chart fortunes take a slight dip back to the level they were at last summer when the albums first single Do You Realise could only hit Number 32. Die-hard fans will be snapping up all formats of the single, including the DVD which features their now famous version of Radiohead's Knives Out which of course has to be heard to be believed.
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Perhaps the only group to be named after the chorus of a Beatles song, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs return to the singles chart now that the dust has settled after the much-hyped release of their album. Pin perhaps has less mainstream appeal than their last single Date With The Night which saw them penetrate the Top 20 for the first time ever.
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34 BECAUSE YOU (Cosmic Rough Riders)
Bringing up the rear this week are the returning Cosmic Rough Riders, celebrated Alan McGee signings from 2001 whose deliciously retro sound won them many admirers when they first burst onto the scene. Two years on from their celebrated debut the band are back with this brand new single, albeit one that sees them remain a frustratingly well-kept secret. Neither of their previous two chart hits Revolution and The Pain Inside were able to break through into the Top 30 and the same is almost certain to be true for this track. As to why, your guess is as good as mine.