This week's Official UK Singles Chart
Preamble:
Something of a springtime lull is upon us although that is no bad thing. Fewer new entries in the higher reaches than normal allows current hits to reassert themselves, increasing the amount of upward movement this week. 12 new entries, 8 climbers and 3 non-movers.
Analysis:
No. 37: NEW ENTRY. UB40 - C'est La Vie
First hit proper of 1994 for UB40 following the Christmas chart run of Bring Me Your Cup. As the fourth single from an already successful album it is unlikely to make much progress beyond this initial entry. It's the second time the French phrase has been used as a song title, Robbie Neville taking his song to No.3 in early 1987. Only Frank Sinatra has ever had a hit with its English equivalent though, his hit being That's Life which charted at No.46 in 1966.
No. 36: NEW ENTRY. Ce Ce Peniston - Keep Giving Me Your Love
Second hit single in recent months for Ce Ce Peniston following I'm In The Mood which made No.16 back in January.
No. 33: NEW ENTRY. Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time
[Superstar debut klaxon!] A long-awaited mainstream crossover for indie dreamers Pulp who have never charted before in any form despite a succession of popular releases. That they manage it now is full credit to the obvious commercial pull of this track, maybe not a major hit this time around but enough to launch what may well turn out to be a consistent Top 40 career.
No. 32: NEW ENTRY. Deacon Blue - I Was Right And You Were Wrong
My comments on Deacon Blue singles over the last year reflected a general view that the last album in its attempts to 'innovate' only served to alienate existing fans of the classy Scottish band. They return now with their first single since Hang Your Head made No.21 in July 1993. The new single is the first track to be released from a forthcoming Greatest Hits collection which will probably show the singles from the last album as the travesties that they were, paling into insignificance next to early classics such as Dignity and Chocolate Girl. Popular though the band may be in their entire career they have only ever had six Top 20 hits.
No. 30: NEW ENTRY. Toni Braxton - Another Sad Love Song
In yet another act of record company arrogance, Breathe Again was deleted a fortnight ago despite being one of the most successful singles of the year so far. The reason for it was to make way for the re-release of her first single which failed to make the Top 40 when first released last year despite being an American smash. The popularity of the last hit may well become even more puzzling when this rather average piece of soul fails to catch fire in such a big way. What it does serve to illustrate though is the stupidity of the whole chart situation at present. The loudest complaints about the speed of the chart are coming from the record companies, yet they are the ones releasing singles with a rapidity that would put a machine gun to shame, yet on the odd occasion a single becomes popular enough to hang around for longer than about 7 or 8 weeks it is suddenly deleted to prevent it colliding with the next release by the artist. Isn't there just a little humbug going on here?
No. 28: NEW ENTRY. Diana Ross - Best Years Of My Life
Currently on a chart run not seen since the early days of her solo career, Diana Ross scores yet another hit to follow up the No.14 hit Your Love at Christmas. The new single is more of the same, pure MOR schmaltz but enough to give her her 28th Top 30 hit in her solo career.
No. 24: NEW ENTRY. James - Say Something
Another act currently on a roll are James, with their third hit in recent months coming on the back of the No.18 hit Sometimes and Laid which made No.25 back in November. This track is boosted further by a set of radical new dance remixes and the promise of a forthcoming album assisted by non other than Brian Eno.
No. 20: NEW ENTRY. Culture Beat - World In Your Hands
Just when it seemed Culture Beat records could not get any faster they suddenly release a slow one. The fourth hit from the German dance act is a close to a ballad as they are likely to come with this being the first single which does not require a slowed-down tape to work out what rapper Jay Supreme is on about.
No. 19: CLIMBER. Wonder Stuff - Hot Love Now! EP
Strange though it may seem this is the first single by the Stuffies to improve on its inital chart placing since Welcome To The Cheap Seats climbed from No.11 to No.8 in January 1992.
No. 17: NEW ENTRY. K7 - Hi De Ho
Well the current chart obsession with the 1920s goes on with Doop languishing at the top and now the second single from K7 being a cover of an old Cab Calloway song. It's the followup to Come Baby Come which made No.3 back in January.
No. 13: NEW ENTRY. JX - Son Of A Gun
Ho hum. The latest dance track to set the nation alight now explodes from nowhere straight into the Top 20.
No. 11: NEW ENTRY. Haddaway - Rock My Heart
Whilst he may have appeared a major new talent when he first emerged last summer with What Is Love, I'm tempted to suggest that after 4 hits the songs are starting to get a little samey. Rock My Heart is his first single since the seasonal success of I Miss You which belied its initial low entry to climb steadily and to survive beyond Christmas to give him his third successive Top 10 single. The new hit goes back to the upbeat Europop formula to score yet another smash.
No. 10: NEW ENTRY. Madonna - I'll Remember
Whilst between albums and contemplating her next career move following the Erotica/Sex/Body Of Evidence debacle Madonna sticks to the relative safety of a film soundtrack. Her first new hit for 18 months shows that whatever straits her personal standing in the industry may be, her chart status is still beyond doubt. The ballad I'll Remember lands straight in the upper reaches to further her standing as the most successful female artist of all time, extending still further her seemingly unbeatable run of 31 consecutive Top 10 hits...
No. 4: CLIMBER. D:Ream - U R The Best Thing
The absence of any massive new entries to push other hits out of the way this week makes for an unusually high number of climbers within the Top 10 as the existing set of hits consolidate their positions rather than slipping back as would normally be the case. [A comment which doesn't actually work without the context of said list of climbers, but copyright means I can't reproduce them all here].
No. 1: THIRD WEEK. Doop - Doop
A surge by Bruce Springsteen in the wake of his Oscar success is still not enough to topple Doop with little other than Madonna in a position to mount a challenge next week.
