This week's Official UK Singles Chart
No. 39: NEW ENTRY. N-Trance feat. Kelly Llorenna - Set You Free
[Another of those new entries which 1994 James skipped due to having nothing constructive to say about them, this one maybe more noteworthy than most as it is the first brief chart appearance of one of the biggest hits of early 1995. So more on this in a few months].
No. 36: NEW ENTRY. Cranberries - Dreams
The long overdue British discovery of the Cranberries continues apace. The arguably classic Linger became one of the sleeper hits of the year so far back in February when it spent 10 weeks in the Top 40 without ever once climbing above No.14. The followup is one of the best tracks from the album, Dreams first released on an independent Irish label in October 1992 to be ignored by the public at large - a balance now redressed. Why not a major hit though?
No. 34: NEW ENTRY. Killing Joke - Millenium
Before you start wondering about that 'mint' that someone gave you at a club last night let me just reassure you that you are not seeing things. The masters of the obscure, Killing Joke release a new single after a gap of eight years and make the Top 40 for only the second time in their career. Between 1981 and 1986 the band, featuring amongst its members bass player Youth, now one of the leading lights in the dance world, charted 11 singles in the Top 75 without spectacular success. The only one to climb above No.42 was their 1985 cut Love Like Blood which made No.16 in February of that year.
No. 32: NEW ENTRY. Richard Marx - Silent Scream
Richard Marx's sporadic string of hits in this country continues with his second single of recent months, the follow-up to Now And Forever which made No.13 in February.
No. 29: NEW ENTRY. Meat Loaf - Objects In The Rear View Mirror
I suppose he really needn't worry given the colossal sales of the album but this single looks to disappoint. A favourite of Jim Steinman it may be but there is no disguising the fact that the track that opens side 2 is a rather dull, overlong Bruce Springsteen parody that is unlikely even to make the Top 20 as a followup to Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through which reached No.11. His run of massive hits may well have come to an end. Still, Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad *ouch*. [Delete your account].
No. 28: NEW ENTRY. Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm
Singer, model, Bond Girl, Russell Harty batterer, you name it Grace Jones has done it all. Her string of hits came in the mid-80s and Slave To The Rhythm was one of the biggest, making No.12 in October 1985. Its reappearance here is prompted by the decision of the ZTT label to followup the success of the Frankie Goes To Hollywood remixes with a complete set of revamps of their most famous hits to celebrate the label's 10th anniversary.
No. 26: NEW ENTRY. Wreckx-N-Effect - Wreckx Shop
Another in a line of sporadic hits for W-N-E who since 1990 have charted only twice before, the last hit being Rump Shaker which made No.24 in December 1992.
No. 25: CLIMBER. Frances Ruffelle - Lonely Symphony
Her final showing of 10th place in the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin on Saturday night may have been the UK's third worst ever showing but the exposure for the single during the week helps the single to turn around to equal its initial chart peak of four weeks ago. The chart next week will show what effect the exposure of the contest itself had, possibly prolonging the life of the single still further. I won't say anything rude about her performance as I want to die for her... [Red hair. A fatal weakness].
No. 24: NEW ENTRY. Sonic Youth - Bull In The Heather
Third Top 40 hit of their career for Sonic Youth, each one coming around 12 months after the last. This new hit enters 2 places higher than Sugar Kane last April to give them their biggest hit ever.
No. 20: NEW ENTRY. Cypress Hill - Lick A Shot
A similarly consistent run of success for Cypress Hill, now with a fourth Top 30 hit.
No. 19: NEW ENTRY. T-empo - Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
A string of new dance hits in from nowhere to the Top 20 comes this radical reworking of Thelma Houston's 1979 American Top 40 hit.
No. 17: NEW ENTRY. Judy Cheeks - Reach
Another hit for Judy Cheeks, following So In Love which made No.27 in November last year. [Did you have somewhere else you needed to be Mr Short And Perfunctory?]
No. 12: FALLER. Pretenders - I'll Stand By You
Well there is a surprise. The momentum they had last week meant it looked as if the Pretenders would go even further. What a waste of a hit.
No. 10: FALLER. Reel 2 Real - I Like To Move It
Looking by now to have finally peaked, the Mad Stuntman and his friends can congratulate themselves on one of the most enduring hits for months. The stats are worth repeating - this is now its 13th week in the charts, only 2 of which were spent outside the Top 10.
No. 8: CLIMBER. Manchester United Football Squad - Come On You Reds
..and up they go too. As I write Man Utd have just been confirmed champions of the FA Premier league and now a week on Saturday they go for the double. On top of this they return to the Top 10 after a nine year absence with their biggest hit single ever. The last league football club to have a Top 10 hit was Liverpool FC whose witty Anfield Rap made No.3 in May 1988.
No. 5: NEW ENTRY. Siltskin - Inside
It's regarded as one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever. In 1986 the advertising agency Bartle Bootle Hegarty were commissioned to develop TV and Cinema ads for Levis Jeans. The initial ads followed the same pattern, evocative 1950s tinged storylines to the accompaniment of classic Blues and Soul records. Most of those records used were re-released creating a nostalgia boom that lasted most of the mid-80s and exposed a new generation to Marvin Gaye, Percy Sledge, Muddy Waters and Eddie Cochran whilst sending oldies by Ben E. King, Steve Miller Band and the Clash to No.1. Recently the tone of the ads have changed and the current campaign features an original track for the first time ever. Hence this new hit, the first ever single from Scottish band Siltskin crashes into an instant Top 5 position and looks to be making a play for No.1 next week.
No. 1: FIRST WEEK. Tony Di Bart - The Real Thing
Possibly one of the more surprising but no less deserving No.1s for a long time. Prince is deposed after only 2 weeks by the rising star of Tony Di Bart. By entering the chart at No.13 it has the lowest initial entry of any No.1 record since Culture Beat's Mr Vain back in the summer. It also entered the chart the same week as its predecessor at the top, the first time a new No.1 has been older (or the same age) as the record it replaced since Tasmin Archer's Sleeping Satellite slipped from No.1 in its 8th chart week, whilst End Of The Road by Boyz II Men rose to replace her in their 9th chart week - way back in October 1992. [In years to come this sort of thing would be publicised and analysed to death, but in a more information-starved era it only emerged later that this was one of the most freakish singles charts of all time, the Top 3 singles all selling in roughly equal quantities. Tony Di Bart sneaked to the top by a hairs breadth, but it could so easily have been Prince or even CJ Lewis taking his place].
