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Post by suedehead on Aug 31, 2020 10:45:08 GMT 1
Thirty-five songs down and there’s only been one from the 1960s. At number 25 we finally get the second and it takes us all the way back to my first birthday in 1961. Relatively few Welsh acts have ever had a UK number one single and Shirley Bassey is the only one to have topped the chart at the right time of year to make this list. She became the first Welsh artist to top the chart with As I Love You in February 1959 and got her second chart-topper with Reach For The Stars / Climb Ev’ry Mountain in September 1961, overturning John Leyton’s Johnny Remember Me. The John Leyton song was one of the “death records” which were rather popular at the time. Bassey spent just a week at the top before Leyton’s record returned to the summit.
This double a-sided single for Shirley Bassey had an Austrian theme. Reach For The Stars was co-written by an Austrian and Climb Ev’ry Mountain, of course, comes from the musical The Sound Of Music which is set in Austria. The song is sung by the Mother Abbess. In the film, released in 1965, that role is played by Peggy Wood but this song is performed by someone else as Wood was unable to reach the high notes.
The chart that week included two versions of Michael Row The Boat Ashore, one by Lonnie Donegan (who was at number one with Gamblin’ Man / Putting On The Style on the day my parents got married) and another (simply called Michael) by The Highwaymen. Also in the chart were Sam Cooke’s Cupid, Billy Fury’s Halfway To Paradise and Ricky Nelson’s rendition of Hello Mary Lou.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 31, 2020 17:33:27 GMT 1
You wait ages for a sixties song and then two come along at once with the number 24 from that decade as well. Fast forward to 1967 and, in the year of flower power and all that, Englebert Humperdinck was at number one with The Last Waltz. Forty-five years before he became the bizarre choice to represent the UK at Eurovision he started his career with five successive top three singles. The Last Waltz was the third of these and the second number one after Release Me.
The Last Waltz entered the chart in August and took just three weeks to climb to the top. It replaced the more typically 1967 song San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) by Scott McKenzie. On a similar theme, The Flowerpot Men were in the top five two weeks later in time for my birthday chart.
Now, how about this for an “also in the chart line-up? The number two song was Excerpt From ‘A Teenage Opera’ by Keith West, better known as Grocer Jack. We also had the first complete song played on Radio 1, Flowers In The Rain by The Move and The Small Faces’ Itchycoo Park. All of those songs were in the top ten. Outside the top ten we had Massachusetts by the Bee Gees, The Beach Boys’ Heroes And Villains and The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love. For the record, both of Englebert Humperdinck’s previous singles were still in the top forty.
The Last Waltz spent five weeks at the top before the Bee Gees took over to get their first (of five) number one single. Massachusetts was the last of an extraordinary six-month run of number one singles of which The Last Waltz was probably the weakest. As well as Scott McKenzie’s floral classic, the run also comprised Silence Is Golden by The Tremeloes, Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale and All You Need Is Love.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 1, 2020 18:37:01 GMT 1
After two songs from the 1960s, it’s back to the 2010s for the song at number 23. It is the highest-placed song by a Canadian in this list and the fourth highest-placed song from the 2010s. Yes, it’s Justin Bieber who was at number one in 2015 with What Do You Mean.
Bieber’s career has been, let’s face it, rather a strange one. His early hits were throwaway pop songs such as Baby and Eenie Meenie. Many of us hoped that his appeal would decline once his voice had broken and we could forget he ever existed. However, as boy Bieber gave way to young man Bieber, there was a massive improvement in his musical output.
The first big clue that he was developing as a musician came with Where Are U Know on which he was the featured artist with Skrillex and Diplo. After the shock of Bieber putting out a decent song, along came another. What Do You Mean went straight to the top of the chart at the beginning of September, replacing Rachel Platten’s Fight Song. Bieber’s first number one single stayed at the summit for just a week before Sigala’s Easy Love took over. However, the following week it was back at the top and that is the relevant chart here.
Among the other songs in the chart that week were The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face, Walk The Moon’s Shut Up And Dance and Shine by Years & Years. What Do You Mean’s second spell at the top lasted a fortnight before Sam Smith toppled him with Writing’s On The Wall. After another week, What Do You Mean became one of very few songs to get a third spell at number one in the same chart run. Its final two-week run was ended by KDA’s Turn The Music Louder which featured Tinie Tempah and Katy B. Later that year Bieber became the first artist in chart history to occupy the top three places in the singles chart and also pulled off the rare feat of replacing himself at number one.
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Roo.
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Post by Roo. on Sept 1, 2020 18:54:00 GMT 1
The Purpose album was really the high point of Bieber's career - What Do You Mean / Sorry / Love Yourself was a fantastic run of singles, it's a shame he couldn't keep that up and just spent the next few years doing features on songs of highly variable quality.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 1, 2020 21:43:21 GMT 1
The Purpose album was really the high point of Bieber's career - What Do You Mean / Sorry / Love Yourself was a fantastic run of singles, it's a shame he couldn't keep that up and just spent the next few years doing features on songs of highly variable quality. It's almost as if an impostor took his place for one album!
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Post by greendemon on Sept 1, 2020 21:48:33 GMT 1
The Purpose album was really the high point of Bieber's career - What Do You Mean / Sorry / Love Yourself was a fantastic run of singles, it's a shame he couldn't keep that up and just spent the next few years doing features on songs of highly variable quality. It's almost as if an impostor took his place for one album! *conspiracy theory intensifies*
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Post by suedehead on Sept 2, 2020 16:05:13 GMT 1
We stay in the 2010s for the number 22 and the highest-placed song from television talent show graduates. It’s One Direction’s debut hit What Makes You Beautiful which topped the chart in 2011 and finishes as the third highest song from the most recent decade.
One Direction can be said to be the epitome of a manufactured band. The five members all failed as individual contestants on 2010’s X Factor but were then brought together to form a band. The people responsible even made sure that all five members were good-looking in their own way to ensure the band appealed to as wide an audience as possible.
The release of their debut single was, naturally, delayed until they could promote it on the next series of the show. Equally predictably it went straight to number one, replacing Pixie Lott’s All About Tonight. It was to be one of six songs in seven weeks to keep Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera’s Move Like Jagger from the top spot. Thankfully it is a decent enough pop song so it finishes just outside the top twenty. What Makes You Beautiful was itself replaced after just a week by Dappy’s No Regrets, a song that would have finished comfortably in the bottom ten.
Three other talent show alumni were in the top ten that week including Olly Murs with Hearty Skips A Beat, featuring Rizzle Kicks. Rizzle Kicks were also in the chart in their own right with Down With The Trumpets and the chart also included Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds with AKA What A Life and Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain.
One Direction had to wait a little over a year before Little Things gave them a second number one. By the time they split up (or went on hiatus to give the official version), they had accumulated a total of four number one singles. The members’ solo careers have resulted in varying degrees of success. Harry Styles has been the most successful of the five. His current album, Fine Lines, has been in the top ten since it was released late last year and has, therefore, accumulated almost as many weeks in the top ten (37) as all five of of One Direction’s albums put together (41).
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Roo.
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Post by Roo. on Sept 2, 2020 20:00:47 GMT 1
Think I'm one of the few on here who actually really likes One Direction, I think they have mostly really great pop songs. That said...
What Makes You Beautiful really annoys me! It's probably just overexposure, but I think they have way better catchier stuff and I wouldn't even put it in a top 20 of my favourite songs of theirs. They've definitely done worse too though.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 2, 2020 20:38:00 GMT 1
Think I'm one of the few on here who actually really likes One Direction, I think they have mostly really great pop songs. That said... What Makes You Beautiful really annoys me! It's probably just overexposure, but I think they have way better catchier stuff and I wouldn't even put it in a top 20 of my favourite songs of theirs. They've definitely done worse too though. It's the only one of their songs that qualifies for this list! It's easy to dismiss them as a manufactured pop band but I'd far rather listen to One Direction than, for example the Spice Girls. Equally manufactured but overwhelmingly sh*te.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 3, 2020 18:08:54 GMT 1
The last one before we get into the top twenty is also the last birthday number one before I entered my 20s. It’s the 1979 chart-topper from The Police, Message In A Bottle with its classic line about sending out a ness-oh-ess. Message In A Bottle was Sting and co’s third hit single and their first number one. Four more chart-toppers followed in the next four years. As one of the earlier singles, it dates from before the time when they got rather boring and samey.
Message In A Bottle entered the chart at number eight and climbed to the summit the following week, displacing Gary Numan’s Cars. If that song had held on for another week, it would have been in the top twenty of this list.
The highest new entry that week was Blondie’s brilliant Dreaming. The first chart of the last year of my teens also included The Prince, the debut single from Madness, another excellent debut Gangsters by The Special AKA, Dave Edmunds’ Queen Of Hearts and his Rockpile bandmate Nick Lowe’s Cruel To Be Kind. Having mentioned the highest new entry, I also feel the need to mention the lowest, at number 40. It was the sublime The Loneliest Man In The World by The Tourists featuring a pre-Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox.
Message In A Bottle spent three weeks at the top before being replaced by The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star, the song that was later used to launch MTV. After The Police split rather acrimoniously, Sting went on to enjoy a successful solo career as well as getting a reputation for being somewhat earnest in his political campaigning. They re-formed in 2007 to embark on a reunion tour before going their separate ways again.
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Post by greendemon on Sept 3, 2020 18:27:10 GMT 1
This might be the song I most regret not using when I was mentoring The Police in Haven Factor 8! It was my original pick for the triple elimination round but I replaced it with 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. Would have played it towards the end but didn't stick around long enough.
Haven Factor ramblings aside, I have an interesting history with this one. It is the first Police song I can ever remember discovering, because they made us sing it in primary school choir for some reason. I hated it then and for a really long time afterwards, even after I got more into their other material, but it's one of my favourites now. I also think that, out of their older numbers, this is one of the ones that has best stood up to time.
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Post by onehitwonder on Sept 4, 2020 17:30:23 GMT 1
Think I'm one of the few on here who actually really likes One Direction, I think they have mostly really great pop songs. That said... What Makes You Beautiful really annoys me! It's probably just overexposure, but I think they have way better catchier stuff and I wouldn't even put it in a top 20 of my favourite songs of theirs. They've definitely done worse too though. I liked their last records (?) such as Night changes, Little things and You and I. Really good songs. My favorite is Story of my life though.
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Post by onehitwonder on Sept 4, 2020 17:31:04 GMT 1
The last one before we get into the top twenty is also the last birthday number one before I entered my 20s. It’s the 1979 chart-topper from The Police, Message In A Bottle with its classic line about sending out a ness-oh-ess. Message In A Bottle was Sting and co’s third hit single and their first number one. Four more chart-toppers followed in the next four years. As one of the earlier singles, it dates from before the time when they got rather boring and samey. Message In A Bottle entered the chart at number eight and climbed to the summit the following week, displacing Gary Numan’s Cars. If that song had held on for another week, it would have been in the top twenty of this list. The highest new entry that week was Blondie’s brilliant Dreaming. The first chart of the last year of my teens also included The Prince, the debut single from Madness, another excellent debut Gangsters by The Special AKA, Dave Edmunds’ Queen Of Hearts and his Rockpile bandmate Nick Lowe’s Cruel To Be Kind. Having mentioned the highest new entry, I also feel the need to mention the lowest, at number 40. It was the sublime The Loneliest Man In The World by The Tourists featuring a pre-Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox. Message In A Bottle spent three weeks at the top before being replaced by The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star, the song that was later used to launch MTV. After The Police split rather acrimoniously, Sting went on to enjoy a successful solo career as well as getting a reputation for being somewhat earnest in his political campaigning. They re-formed in 2007 to embark on a reunion tour before going their separate ways again. All Saints covered this one quite recently.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 4, 2020 17:40:43 GMT 1
The last one before we get into the top twenty is also the last birthday number one before I entered my 20s. It’s the 1979 chart-topper from The Police, Message In A Bottle with its classic line about sending out a ness-oh-ess. Message In A Bottle was Sting and co’s third hit single and their first number one. Four more chart-toppers followed in the next four years. As one of the earlier singles, it dates from before the time when they got rather boring and samey. Message In A Bottle entered the chart at number eight and climbed to the summit the following week, displacing Gary Numan’s Cars. If that song had held on for another week, it would have been in the top twenty of this list. The highest new entry that week was Blondie’s brilliant Dreaming. The first chart of the last year of my teens also included The Prince, the debut single from Madness, another excellent debut Gangsters by The Special AKA, Dave Edmunds’ Queen Of Hearts and his Rockpile bandmate Nick Lowe’s Cruel To Be Kind. Having mentioned the highest new entry, I also feel the need to mention the lowest, at number 40. It was the sublime The Loneliest Man In The World by The Tourists featuring a pre-Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox. Message In A Bottle spent three weeks at the top before being replaced by The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star, the song that was later used to launch MTV. After The Police split rather acrimoniously, Sting went on to enjoy a successful solo career as well as getting a reputation for being somewhat earnest in his political campaigning. They re-formed in 2007 to embark on a reunion tour before going their separate ways again. All Saints covered this one quite recently. I must have missed that!
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Post by onehitwonder on Sept 4, 2020 17:43:05 GMT 1
All Saints covered this one quite recently. I must have missed that! It had zero promotion! It was in my weekly recommendations on Spotify, otherwise I would have missed it as well.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 5, 2020 17:55:39 GMT 1
Into the top twenty, then, and another dip into the 1980s. Two of the bottom three places were occupied by songs from this decade but just two others have appeared so far. Six of the top twenty, therefore, are songs that were considered by some to be acceptable in the ‘80s. The first of them, Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon, is at number twenty.
John Peel’s description of Boy George as a Brian Clough lookalike (see above) did nothing to stop Do You Really Want To Hurt Me going on to top the chart in 1982 and stay there for three weeks. The next two singles, Time (Clock Of The Heart) and Church Of The Poison Mind, both reached the top three, thereby installing Culture Club as one of the big names of the early 80s.
Karma Chameleon was the second single from Culture Club’s second album Colour By Numbers. It was released in early September 1983 with the album following in October. The single entered at number three and was announced as the new number one on my birthday the following week, ending the three-week run for UB40’s version on the Neil Diamond-penned Red Red Wine.
New Order’s classic Blue Monday was also in the top forty that week, heading for the top ten six months after it first entered the chart. Two places behind it that week was the same band’s Confusion. Also in the top forty were David Bowie’s Modern Love, Wings Of A Dove by Madness and The Kinks’ massively underrated Come Dancing.
Karma Chameleon spent six weeks at the top, selling well over one million copies to become the best-selling single of 1983. Culture Club had four more top ten hits before Boy George chose to pursue a solo career. They re-formed in the late 1990s and reached the top ten once again. Karma Chameleon’s run at the summit was ended by Billy Joel’s only UK number one U[town Girl, a song later brutally murdered by Westlife. By then, Colour By Numbers had become their first (and only) number one album.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 6, 2020 19:41:08 GMT 1
The band at number nineteen are a prime example of an act whose first top forty hit was almost criminally bad but who then followed it up with a string of much better singles. The Scissor Sisters (none of whom are sisters and none of whom are called Scissor) made their top forty debut in early 2004 with a diabolical cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. After that was a hit, they followed up with Take Your Mama and then Laura. The latter had been a very minor hit before Comfortably Numb but didn’t reach the top forty until afterwards.
In September 2006, they released I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, their first single since the beginning of the previous year and one co-written by Elton John. This piece of deliciously camp pop entered at number four and climbed to the summit the following week, displacing Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back. It stayed there the following week to top the qualifying chart.
The highest (and best) new entry of that birthday chart was The Killers’ When You Were Young, the first hit from their second album Sam’s Town. Other highlights that week included Muse’s Starlight, Arctic Monkeys’ Leave Before The Lights Come On and two songs that went on to suffer massively from over-exposure, The Fratellis’ Chelsea Dagger and Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars.
When You Were Young climbed to number two the following week and stayed there for the week after that, both times behind I Don’t Feel Like Dancing. When Scissor Sisters’ four-week reign came to an end it was, sadly, too late for Brandon Flowers and co. The new number one was Razorlight’s America. I Don’t Feel Like Dancing proved to be the peak of Scissor Sisters’ UK chart career. They haven’t returned to the top ten since then.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 6, 2020 20:35:50 GMT 1
The single entered at number three and was announced as the new number one on my birthday the following week, ending the six-week run for UB40’s version on the Neil Diamond-penned Red Red Wine. Three-week.
It was the chameleon that had the six week run.
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Post by suedehead on Sept 6, 2020 20:59:05 GMT 1
The single entered at number three and was announced as the new number one on my birthday the following week, ending the six-week run for UB40’s version on the Neil Diamond-penned Red Red Wine. Three-week.
It was the chameleon that had the six week run.
Oops
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Post by suedehead on Sept 7, 2020 17:45:27 GMT 1
Just three acts - The Beatles, Spice Girls and, erm, Ladbaby - have topped the Christmas chart in successive years. The first two had three successive number ones. Ladbaby may yet join them this year. For an act to have a number one single on my birthday in successive years is even more of a rarity. There has been just one occasion when exactly the same act has done this.
We have already seen (at number 21) that The Police topped the chart as I entered the final year of my teens. Twelve months later, as I entered my twenties, they were there again with Don’t Stand So Close To Me which finishes at number eighteen here.. The song harks back to Sting’s days as a teacher and the perils of a teacher falling for one of his pupils. Perhaps a rewritten 2020 version would be a hymn to social distancing.
By entering at number one on 21 September, The Police did me a double favour. First, they knocked Kelly Marie’s Feels Like I’m In Love off the top. Second, they stopped Randy Crawford warbling her way to the summit with One Day I’ll Fly Away. Feels Like I’m In Love was written by Ray Dorset (of Mungo Jerry) with the intention of offering it to Elvis Presley. Presley’s death put paid to that idea. However, three years after his death Presley was still having posthumous hits. He was in the top ten that week with It’s Only Love / Beyond The Reef. Bob Marey was also in the top ten with what was to become his last hit before his death the following year, No Woman No Cry. Three Little Birds gave Marley a second top forty hit that week.
This was another chart with an embarrassment of highlights. Other songs in the top ten included Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust, Baggy Trousers by Madness and Hazel O’Connor’s Eighth Day. Below that in the top forty were Start by The Jam, David Bowie’s Ashes To Ashes, The Clash’s Bankrobber, Stereotype by The Specials and Ian Dury’s I Want To Be Straight. The title of that last one might raise a few eyebrows today. It could certainly have been misconstrued if it had been recorded by either of the bands responsible for the last two songs.
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