This week's Official UK Singles Chart
No. 40: NEW ENTRY. Gin Blossoms - Found Out About You
Sneaking in just behind a huge run of falling records comes the second hit for the Gin Blossoms, hot on the heels of Hey Jealousy which belied its initial lowly entry of No.37 to peak at No.24. Will the same happen to this hit?
No. 36: FALLER. Cranberries - Linger
In what is almost certainly their last week on the chart, the Cranberries have bucked the trend of fast moving hits, spending 10 weeks in the Top 40 without ever climbing above No.14.
No. 30: NEW ENTRY. Bee Gees - How To Fall In Love Part 1
The years seemed to have passed the Bee Gees by at Christmas when they scored yet another Top 10 hit with For Whom The Bell Tolls. The fact that that hit charted at all over Christmas was a surprise given that they had not had two consecutive hits from one album since the late 1970s. Now they are back again with the third single from Size Isn't Everything, their 24th Top 30 hit in a career that stretches back to 1967.
No. 29: NEW ENTRY. Taylor Dayne - I'll Wait
Taylor Dayne ended a dry spell in the charts almost a year ago when her version of Barry White's Can't Get Enough Of Your Love peaked at No.14. Now she charts yet again, leaving 70s disco behind for a up-to-date dance track that may stand a chance of giving her another Top 20 hit.
No. 28: NEW ENTRY. Kate Bush - The Red Shoes
In the time I've been writing these articles it has become clear to me that for the masses of usenet there are some sacred cows which you are not allowed to criticise. Not least of which is this particular cow [I went there], scoring a third hit with the title track of her current album, two places behind the peak of Moments Of Pleasure back in November.
No. 25: NEW ENTRY. Frances Ruffelle - Lonely Symphony
[Eliza Doolittle's mum klaxon!] Its that time of year again. The annual media circus that is the Eurovision Song Contest has reared its head upon the chart landscape once more. The premise of the annual event is that each European country selects by various means a song which is then entered in a televised contest for the winner to be voted on by juries from each country represented. As a barometer of popular music trends it fails miserably but yet is somehow compulsive viewing. This year's contest is held in Ireland for the second year running thanks to the success of Niamh Kavanagh last year, who beat the British entry by Sonia by a whisker. Britain's 1994 entry is this one, sung by West End star Frances Ruffelle, a poppy ballad that perversely is actually a pretty good record but which may fail to find favour with audiences in the contest which is live from Dublin on April 30th.
No. 23: NEW ENTRY. Daniel O'Donnell - Singing The Blues
It seems the Irish country singer notches up one hit a year, his last chart appearance being the No.21 hit Good Old Fashioned Love in August 1993. This years bland piece of crooning takes the 1950s for its inspiration being a cover of the song taken to No.1 by Guy Mitchell in 1956 and covered the following year by Tommy Steele. The song has charted more recently than that though, with a version by Dave Edmunds peaking at No.28 in 1980.
No. 21: NEW ENTRY. Terrorvision - Oblivion
Quite why it took such a massive promotional campaign to make this a hit is beyond me really. Terrorvision confirm their status as this years crossover successes with the followup to January's My House which peaked at No.29. By far their most commercial offering ever, Oblivion combines an almost pop flavour with a chorus that owes as much to 1950s Doo-Wop as it does to anything else. If this fails to climb next week I am leaving.
No. 20: CLIMBER. Des'ree - You Gotta Be
The more I listen to this the more I am convinced it is a simple rewrite of her first hit Feel So High. Nonetheless it makes a strong climb, up 13 places to give her a second solo Top 20 hit and her third overall.
No. 17: CLIMBER. Black Machine - How Gee
The dancefloor smash at the moment is this one, the driving saxophone rhythms of 'How Gee' making it a favourite backing track for TV programmes at present, the resultant exposure propelling the single upwards.
No. 16: NEW ENTRY. Loveland vs Darlene Lewis - Let The Music (Lift You Up)
The 'Loveland vs Darlene Lewis' tag on this latest crossover smash is really a bit misleading as it is certainly Ms Lewis that carries this track off, bringing back memories of 1988 when dance music meant more than just bleeps but instead relied on singers who could really sing over a cracking piece of pop.
No. 15: CLIMBER. Toni Braxton - Another Sad Love Song
Upwards once more for Toni Braxton in a similar manner to Breathe Again which started slowly but was to eventually reach No.2.
No. 14: NEW ENTRY. Pet Shop Boys - Liberation
In a relatively quiet week for new hits the highest new entry comes from Tennant and Lowe with the fourth hit from the Very album, following on from I Wouldn't Normally... which peaked at No.13 just before Christmas. The single makes a strong showing, not least due to the fact that the gorgeous ballad is one of the best tracks from the album. What gives it an extra boost is the innovating virtual reality video, currently touring the country in a roadshow whereby punters can climb into a booth and experience the state of the art computer graphics at first hand. Even the standard 2D version is a wonder to behold, whatever happens to the single it is surely a candidate for video of the year.
No. 9: CLIMBER. Haddaway - Rock My Heart
How wrong it was to write him off. Despite slipping a place last week, Haddaway's fourth hit bounces back to give him a 100% strike rate of Top 10 hits.
No. 8: FALLER. Madonna - I'll Remember
No such luck for Madonna as I'll Remember becomes the first completely new single from her to peak outside the Top 5 since the start of her career.
No. 7: CLIMBER. Reel 2 Real - I Like To Move It
Can nothing stop this bloody record? Now 10 weeks in the charts and still refusing to die, climbing the chart for a third time and yet to drop beneath No.12.
No. 6: CLIMBER. Tony Di Bart - The Real Thing
Making an impact as big as Haddaway's What Is Love this time last year the debut hit from Tony Di Bart vaults into the Top 10 and is a strong candidate for Top 3 next week.
No. 2: CLIMBER. Prince - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Tantalisingly shut out by Take That, Prince settles into the runners up position for the third time, following 1999 in 1985 and Batdance in 1989. If this fails to progress any further it will mean he has had 14 Top 10 hits without ever reaching the top of the charts, beating the record of 13 held by Nat King Cole and The Who.
No. 1: SECOND WEEK. Take That - Everything Changes
For the moment though there is no stopping Take That as they remain on top for a second week. Everything Changes is their fourth No.1 hit in a row which pushes them further up yet another distinguished table. The only other acts to have 4 chart toppers in a row are T.Rex in 1971/2 and Elvis Presley in 1960/1. Elvis also managed a run of 5 in 1961/2 as did the Rolling Stones in 1964/5. The ultimate champions of consecutive chart topping runs are the Beatles (who else?) who not only had a run of 6 between 1967 and 1969 but had an incredible 11 consecutive No.1 hits between From Me To You in 1963 and Yellow Submarine in 1966. The boys from Manchester have a little way to go yet...
