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Post by Panda on Jan 26, 2021 0:48:20 GMT 1
Onto 1994 now and it's another year where most of you will already know what is at the top of the chart. But it's a very close battle for the no.2 position.
Once again, the number of no.1 singles was low, with only 15 reaching the top but we had broad range of styles with dance, rock, reggae, pop and even a football team topping the charts.
The big story of the year was the emergence of Britpop with the likes of Blur and Oasis making multiple top 10 appearances, leading to their much-hyped chart battle in 1995. It paved the way for many more bands to appear in the higher reaches of the chart over the coming years.
While British acts were struggling in the States, American acts weren't getting much of a look-in over here with only two topping the chart all year and none from May onwards.
A reminder of the points system: 1 point for no.40 in the singles chart, 2 points for no.39, all the way up to 37 points for no.4, then it's 40 points for no.3, 45 points for no.2 and 50 points for no.1.
Before the countdown, here are some of the songs that didn't make the top 40:
(position in end-of-year sales chart in brackets)
45(58) SHERYL CROW - All I Wanna Do (252 points)
The breakthrough hit for Michael Jackson's former backing singer. It reached no.4 towards the end of the year and would be the first of four top 10 hits, all of them very good, for the US singer.
46(51) DAWN PENN - You Don't Love Me (No No No) (249 points)
This song is based on Willie Cobbs' 1960 track and was originally recorded by Penn in 1967. She recorded this new dancehall version in 1994 and it gave the Jamaican her only UK hit at the age of 42, eventually reaching no.3
53(20) TAKE THAT - Everything Changes (222 points)
Take That had two no.1 singles and one no.3 during 1994 but none make the top 40 of this list, thanks to their tendency to have big first-week sales before dropping off sharply (this track only spent six weeks in the top 40 despite being at no.1 for two of them). This was the fifth single from their album of the same name and notable due to it being their only chart-topper to feature Robbie Williams on lead vocals.
77(68) M-BEAT ft GENERAL LEVY - Incredible (172 points)
The first big jungle hit, this was like being woken up by being hit in the face with a frying pan. My sister and I used to like putting the subtitles on TOTP so we could almost treat it as a karaoke show. For this track, they simply said "HE RAPS AND SQUEAKS".
81(93) PRETENDERS - I'll Stand By You (162 points)
The band's first top 40 (and indeed top 10) hit since 1986, it deserved much better than to peak at no.10. The song would later top the charts in 2004, thanks to Girls Aloud's typically emotionless cover.
82(56) KYLIE MINOGUE - Confide In Me (161 points)
A track that caused a sensation at the time. Was this really the same woman who, a few years earlier, had been SAW's chart-topping pop puppet? This was a radical reinvention, which ultimately didn't lead to big chart success but it was the first step towards her being taken seriously as an artist. In subsequent years, she would work with Nick Cave and Manic Street Preachers (who she'd turned down years earlier) as she pursued a more alternative sound, before undergoing another reinvention that would lead to the most successful spell of her career.
96(-) BLUR - Girls And Boys (140 points)
The song that got the Britpop ball rolling in earnest. Blur hadn't had huge chart success since their debut but 1993's album "Modern Life Is Rubbish" planted the seeds for what would follow and the band exploded in a big way in 1994. The album "Parklife" topped the UK chart with the single of the same name also reaching the top 10.
98(-) TORI AMOS - Cornflake Girl (136 points)
The lead single from her second solo album "Under The Pink", this was her first top 10 hit, with "Pretty Good Year" following a couple of months later. She would later achieve a no.1 single in 1997 with Armand van Helden's remix of "Professional Widow".
115(-) STONE ROSES - Love Spreads (102 points)
The first single from their second album "Second Coming", released five and a half years after their eponymous debut. The album divided fans, with many not liking their harder sound but nevertheless, this track gave them the biggest hit of their career, storming into the chart at no.2. Within two years, the band had split acrimoniously and wouldn't reform until 2011, playing sold out stadium shows over the following years and releasing their first new music in two decades in 2016.
125(-) OASIS - Live Forever (89 points)
We couldn't have Blur in this post without also having Oasis, who, along with Blur were critical to the Britpop popularity boom. This was the band's third top 40 single after "Supersonic" and "Shakermaker" and the first to reach the top 10. They would go on to have 22 consecutive UK top 10 hits between 1994 and 2008. They even had an audacious stab at the Christmas no.1 in 1994, with standalone single "Whatever" coming in at no.3.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 26, 2021 10:08:46 GMT 1
And Pulp far too low to work out where it finished, but in my chart they had the #1 of the year with "Babies" from the Sisters EP.
My #2 of the year "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" by Morrissey will also be nowhere on this list (albeit above Pulp). "Vauxhall & I" was my #1 album of the year of 1994.
1994 is considered in my chart to be the year that had the slowest / worst start ever, i.e. January, although that continued on from the end of 1993. Going through my retro charts I can say that 1969 and 1971 also had very slow starts, and those years I was drawing from the US chart too, which I had stopped doing in 1994 because it was all Boyz II Men and s**t like that.
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Post by Panda on Jan 26, 2021 15:41:05 GMT 1
And Pulp far too low to work out where it finished, but in my chart they had the #1 of the year with "Babies" from the Sisters EP. My #2 of the year "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" by Morrissey will also be nowhere on this list (albeit above Pulp). "Vauxhall & I" was my #1 album of the year of 1994. When compiling the list, I only track top 10 singles so Pulp don't have a position. I do add in the points afterwards for any non-top 10 singles that make the end of year top 100 sales chart. Morrissey's 43 points was the lowest score of the year.
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Post by Panda on Jan 27, 2021 18:26:43 GMT 1
Part 1 (40-36):
40(57) SNAP! ft SUMMER - Welcome To Tomorrow (Are You Ready?) (273 points) Top 40 run: 27-25-22-20-12-9-8-6-9-16-24
The dance act's ninth and final UK top 10 hit. It featured new singer Summer and was a bit of a backwards step from their second album, though credit to them for continuing to try something different. The song's 273 points is the highest score so far for a no.40 track. In 1982, that would've been enough to appear at no.18 on the list.
39(50) MAXX - Get-A-Way (277 points) Top 40 run: 13-5-4-4-5-9-12-21-24-36
More annoying eurodance at no.39. The rapper makes Turbo B seem like Jay-Z. Maxx even managed a second top 10 hit later in the year with "No More (I Can't Stand It).
38(39) EAST 17 - Around The World (279 points) Top 40 run: 7-3-3-3-5-11-14-22-31-38
East 17 had been struggling to match the success of their rivals Take That but 1994 was the year they seemed to hit on the right formula. After "It's Alright" had climbed to no.3 at the start of the year, they had another no.3 hit with this track, showing off Brian Harvey's vocals to their best effect, throwing in a bit of Tony Mortimer and a hint of John Lennon's "Imagine". They even got Terry to do something. It set the tone for what was to come at the end of the year...
37(41) CJ LEWIS - Sweets For My Sweet (280 points) Top 40 run: 11-5-3-4-5-7-8-15-33
The reggae trend hadn't gone away in 1994 and this was the first hit for British singer CJ Lewis (real name Steven). He'd have three top 20 hits - all covers - and featured on the Music Relief charity single (a cover of "What's Going On?") at the end of the year, alongside the likes of Edwin Starr, Yazz and Apache Indian.
36(3) EAST 17 - Stay Another Day (284 points) Top 40 run: 7-1-1-1-1-1-1
The Christmas no.1, holding off a strong challenge from Mariah Carey and Oasis, this was easily the biggest hit of the group's career. They would never be able to top this and the band imploded in 1997 after Brian Harvey was sacked following newspaper revelations about his drug use. Main songwriter Tony Mortimer quit soon after and that seemed to be the end, only for Harvey to reunite with Terry Coldwell and John Hendy a year later as E17, having a no.2 hit with the not-bad-at-all "Each Time". This success would be shortlived and the group split again a year later. All four members reunited briefly in 2006 only for Mortimer to walk away for a second time after a row with Harvey. Since then there have been numerous comings and goings with Mortimer having a third stint, Harvey leaving again and Hendy departing in 2018, leaving Coldwell as the only original member of the group.
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 27, 2021 20:02:36 GMT 1
Wow - thought Confide In Me would be a little higher.
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Post by Panda on Jan 27, 2021 20:11:33 GMT 1
Wow - thought Confide In Me would be a little higher. Only 6 weeks in the top 40, with a run of 2-4-6-15-26-38. In the early 80s, the scores were so tightly packed, that wouldn't have got her in the top 100.
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Post by Panda on Jan 28, 2021 20:18:50 GMT 1
Part 2 (35-31):
35(53) K7 - Come Baby Come (288 points) Top 40 run: 7-4-3-3-5-7-13-17-27-40
K7 was the alias of Puerto Rican rapper Louis Sharpe. This hip-hop track was released towards the end of 1993 and quickly climbed up the chart after debuting outside the top 40. Its combined points total across both years would've put it at no.18 on this list. His only other top 40 hit would be "Hi De Ho", based on Cab Calloway's "Minnie The Moocher", which featured on the soundtrack to the Jim Carrey film "The Mask".
34(49) PRODIGY - No Good (Start The Dance) (289 points) Top 40 run: 9-5-6-4-6-8-13-16-22-32
The second single from their second album "Music For The Jilted Generation" but released seven months after the first single "One Love". The album would show their diversified sound as they progressed from simply a rave act to a group that combined dance, rap and rock, shown by the very different styles of the singles. Their sound would evolve further in 1996 with the release of the absolutely massive "Firestarter".
33(18) BABY D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy (300 points) Top 40 run: 3-1-1-2-9-13-14-13
The UK was regaining the edge over the rest of Europe in terms of quality dance hits and this was proof. Originally released on Phil Fearon's Production House Records label, the song featured vocals by his wife Dee (who had been a member of Galaxy alongside Phil in the 80s, and whom Baby D was named after). The song was written by producer Floyd Dyce. The track hit no.1 in November and they would go on to have no.3 hits in 1995 and 1996 with "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" and "So Pure".
32(31) (MC SAR &) THE REAL MCCOY - Another Night (309 points) Top 40 run: 17-7-2-3-4-6-13-19-20-18
Meanwhile, Europe was still coming up with stuff like this. Whilst an improvement on the godawful Maxx it still followed the predictable formula of beats, female vocals and crap rapping. It reached no.2 in November, almost exactly a year after it had originally missed the top 40. The group pulled a Technotronic with this track as MC Sar was simply a lip sync artist and the vocals actually came from a guy called Olaf Jeglitza. The track was surprisingly popular in the US, reaching no.3, spending 40 weeks on the chart and becoming the biggest selling single by a German act in the States.
31(47) ASWAD - Shine (313 points) Top 40 run: 28-19-9-9-6-5-8-7-16-20-26-26
The group's first top 10 hit since chart-topper "Don't Turn Around" in 1988, this became a big summer hit, helped by a remix by the Beatmasters. The song was designed as a motivational track, particularly for the black community and features a rap in the middle name-checking several black British sports stars of the time: Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Linford Christie, Colin Jackson and Ian Wright.
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 28, 2021 20:33:01 GMT 1
I will wholeheartedly say, I love Shine. I have a Uni story about Baby D - but will save it for another day. K7 was huge in clubs, but really did not like it.
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Post by Panda on Jan 28, 2021 20:37:19 GMT 1
I will wholeheartedly say, I love Shine. I have a Uni story about Baby D - but will save it for another day. K7 was huge in clubs, but really did not like it. Shine's definitely a lot better than I remember. The K7 track has aged surprisingly well. Ooooh! Baby D gossip!!
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 28, 2021 21:09:53 GMT 1
I will wholeheartedly say, I love Shine. I have a Uni story about Baby D - but will save it for another day. K7 was huge in clubs, but really did not like it. Shine's definitely a lot better than I remember. The K7 track has aged surprisingly well. Ooooh! Baby D gossip!! Well not exactly Baby D gossip as such! When I was in my first year at Uni, I lived with fashion students and I was asked (because I basically lived on crisps) to demonstrate their coursework designs to Baby D on a catwalk to get their marks for the course, but the jeans they designed were not skin tight enough - so they spray painted my legs in gold with touch up paint instead in - so walked down the catwalk in pants and spray painted legs in front of Uni adjudicators - it took three weeks to wash it off. I can’t listen to the song without remembering that moment.
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Post by Panda on Jan 28, 2021 21:48:25 GMT 1
YOU ASSISTED CHEATING
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Post by Panda on Jan 28, 2021 21:50:30 GMT 1
Really you should've been doing your thing on the catwalk to Shine...
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Post by Smurfie on Jan 28, 2021 21:59:13 GMT 1
Omg. What’s number 30 Hammy?
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 29, 2021 0:41:16 GMT 1
Baby D was pretty much a number one for Phil Fearon & Galaxy under a new name with a new style.
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Post by Panda on Jan 29, 2021 22:37:05 GMT 1
Part 3 (30-26):
30(23) STILTSKIN - Inside (313 points) Top 40 run: 5-1-2-4-6-8-15-17-28-28-40
A rare hard rock track at no.1, though it was helped immensely by its appearance in a jeans ad, which was a still a sure-fire way to get a huge hit at the time. The track was actually written especially for the ad by Peter Lawlor, who then recruited Ray Wilson as vocalist. The band released one album but split during the recording of their second, after which Wilson joined Genesis as Phil Collins' replacement.
29(21) BC-52'S - (Meet) The Flintstones (318 points) Top 40 run: 5-4-3-3-3-5-9-14-19-33
The second top 10 hit for the B-52s (appearing here as the BC-52s), following "Love Shack" four years earlier. This was simply a cover of the Flintstones theme tune, played in typical B-52s style, with humorous/annoying sound effects thrown in. It was taken from the live action film version of the classic cartoon starring John Goodman.
28(32) TONY DI BART - The Real Thing (321 points) Top 40 run: 13-6-3-3-1-3-6-11-24-35
A bit of a forgotten number one by a forgotten act but this was genuinely not bad. Originally released in November 1993, it failed to chart, but hit the top a few months later after being remixed. The former car salesman would have one more top 40 hit before fading back into obscurity.
27(22) BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Streets Of Philadelphia (325 points) Top 40 run: 4-3-2-3-3-6-9-14-21-32
Springsteen's biggest UK hit and his first top 10 appearance in nine years. The heart-breaking song was taken from the Tom Hanks film "Philadelphia"and won the Oscar for Best Original Song. The video, shot in the city, features Springsteen singing live instead of lip synching. It remains his last top 10 hit on either side of the Atlantic.
26(40) LISA LOEB & NINE STORIES - Stay (I Missed You) (326 points) Top 40 run: 27-21-18-12-6-8-8-8-10-10-18-25-36
Another movie hit, this taken from the soundtrack to Ben Stiller's "Reality Bites". Ethan Hawke, who co-starred with Stiller, directed the video. It reached no.1 in the US, making Loeb the first artist to top the chart without being signed to a record label. She went on to win Best International Newcomer at the 1995 Brits and continues to release music, as well as making numerous TV appearances, both as herself and as an actress.
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Post by Panda on Feb 1, 2021 18:49:14 GMT 1
Part 4 (25-21):
25(37) BRYAN ADAMS, ROD STEWART & STING - All For Love (328 points) Top 40 run: 7-4-2-3-6-8-6-9-18-28-40
Another big movie hit, this one from "The Three Musketeers". It spent a week at no.2 early in the year. Adams would go on to have several more top 10 hits, Sting would have another later in the year with "When We Dance" but this remains Stewart's last, apart from a dubious credit alongside N-Trance in 1997.
24(13) CORONA - The Rhythm Of The Night (328 points) Top 40 run: 9-5-2-2-3-6-11-14-21-25-39
The debut hit for the Brazilian-Italian duo of Olga de Souza and Lee Marrow (the alias of Checco Bontempi). Souza didn't actually appear on the track, despite being in the video. The vocals were actually provided by an Italian singer called Jenny B. The track reached no.2 in the UK and was a success in the US, reaching no.11. Follow-up singles "Baby Baby" and "Try Me Out" also made the top 10 in the UK.
23(10) DOOP - Doop (328 points) Top 40 run: 3-1-1-1-2-4-13-21-33
Perhaps the oddest no.1 of the year, this was a Dutch project that combined electronic dance and the Charleston. Several version of the track were made, with the one that was a (lesser) hit in Europe sounding much more like a conventional house record, while the UK release had the Charleston elements turned up to the max. This was Doop's only UK hit but they had several more in Holland. They'd also already had a no.1 hit in Australia under the name Hocus Pocus with a track called "Here's Johnny".
22(38) CYNDI LAUPER - Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun) (331 points) Top 40 run: 13-11-5-4-5-5-7-8-13-21-28
A re-working of her no.2 hit from 1984, this gave the song a reggae feel with the chorus based on Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love". It was Lauper's first top 10 hit for five years and, to date, her last. It was taken from her greatest hits collection "Twelve Deadly Cyns... And Then Some".
21(27) RED DRAGON ft BRIAN & TONY GOLD - Compliments On Your Kiss (331 points) Top 40 run: 17-12-7-5-3-2-4-8-14-21-35
The reggae hits kept coming in 1994. This one saw the dancehall DJ and MC team up with Brian and Tony, who weren't actually related. None of the trio would have another UK hit after this. Red Dragon (real name Leroy May) died in 2015, aged 49. The track was co-written and produced by Sly & Robbie, who also performed the track's b-side "Beat Up" under the name Taxi Gang. Under that moniker, they also appeared alongside Chaka Demus & Pliers on their version of "Twist And Shout", which reached no.1 in January but narrowly misses out on the top 40 of this list.
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Post by Panda on Feb 3, 2021 23:37:25 GMT 1
Part 5 (20-16):
20(35) WARREN G & NATE DOGG - Regulate (341 points) Top 40 run: 9-5-6-6-7-8-9-8-12-20-25-36
The breakthrough international hit for the rap duo. Warren G (stepbrother of Dr. Dre) had previously been in a group called 213 alongside Nate Dogg and his cousin Snoop Dogg. The track spent 12 weeks in the UK top 40 and reached no.2 in the US. The track featured a sample of Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" but it has been removed from official versions of the track available online (the above video is an unofficial remix but is very close to the version released in 1994). Warren G went on to have two UK no.2 singles with covers of "What's Love Got To Do With It?" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Nate Dogg died in 2011, aged 41, having suffered a number of health issues over the years.
19(24) PRINCE - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (349 points) Top 40 run: 4-2-1-1-2-6-11-17-20-29
Prince's first single release after he'd changed his name to an unpronouncable symbol to p*ss off Warner Bros, this was his sole UK no.1. He would only have one more top 10 hit after this (apart from a re-release of "1999" for the new millennium) and would later switch to releasing his music almost exclusively through his own online subscription service, with his work largely absent from popular streaming sites until his death in 2016.
18(36) MICHELLE GAYLE - Sweetness (359 points) Top 40 run: 15-11-9-7-6-5-4-6-11-16-24-29-31
The first top 10 hit for the former Grange Hill and EastEnders actress. Gayle would have a total of seven top 40 hits between 1993 and 1997. She would later star in the West End version of "Beauty And The Beast". She later finished as runner-up to Tony Hadley on the ITV Show "Reborn In The USA" and narrowly missed out on being selected as the UK's Eurovision entry in 2008, losing out to Andy Abraham.
17(31) TONI BRAXTON - Breathe Again (361 points) Top 40 run: 26-13-7-2-2-3-5-4-4-10-28
Having previously featured with her four sisters in The Braxtons, Toni went solo and had two top 10 hits in the US before, this track reached no.2 in the UK in January. It would be the first of five top 10 hits she would have in the UK, including the worldwide smash "Un-Break My Heart" in 1996.
16(30) BIG MOUNTAIN - Baby I Love Your Way (364 points) Top 40 run: 7-2-2-2-4-6-8-12-15-19-30-39
Another song from the "Reality Bites" soundtrack, this reggae version of Peter Frampton's 1975 track was the band's sole UK top 40 hit. It spent three weeks at no.2 and reached no.6 in the US.
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Post by Panda on Feb 4, 2021 18:45:16 GMT 1
Part 6 (15-11):
15(25) CHINA BLACK - Searching (366 points) Top 40 run: 17-11-7-5-4-4-5-5-7-14-21-27-40
China Black were the duo of Simon Fung and Errol Reid. Fung was of Chinese descent and Reid of Jamaican descent, hence the group's name. This track was originally released in 1992 but their label went bust before it had the chance to break into the mainstream. Second time around it reached no.4 and was the first of four top 40 hits for the duo, one of which was the England rugby union team's official World Cup song for 1995, a version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", alongside South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
14(28) ENIGMA - Return To Innocence (377 points) Top 40 run: 9-4-3-4-4-3-6-8-12-18-17-31
A second top 40 hit for Romanian-German producer Michael Cretu, three years after his first. The track was based around an Amis people chant with the English language vocals coming from Andreas Harde, plus a spoken word segment from Cretu's wife Sandra. An out of court settlement was later reached over the Amis sample, with Cretu having mistakenly believed the recording was in the public domain.
13(16) YOUSSOU N'DOUR & NENEH CHERRY - 7 Seconds (380 points) Top 40 run: 40-35-36-26-24-24-18-11-8-4-4-3-7-9-14-25-35-37
The slow burner hit of the year, this track enjoyed a nine-week climb to the top 10, eventually peaking at no.3. N'Dour, from Senegal, is arguably the most successful African act of all-time but this was his first hit in Europe. It gave Cherry her first top 10 hit since "Manchild" five years earlier. The song features lyrics in English, French and the West African language Wolof.
12(12) MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL SQUAD - Come On You Reds (385 points) Top 40 run: 16-8-2-1-1-2-3-10-11-20-32-35
This collaboration with Status Quo was a reworked version of Quo's 1988 hit "Burning Bridges". It featured new Manchester United-related lyrics sung by the players themselves. It was the first FA Cup final song to reach the top 10 since Liverpool's "Anfield Rap" in 1988 and the first ever single by a club side to top the chart. It sparked a mini-revival of Cup final singles, something of a tradition during the 70s and 80s, with United also reaching the top 10 in 1995 and '96. United's 1994 final opponents Chelsea also reached the top 40 and between 1994 and 2000 there were chart appearances for Everton (no.24 in 1995), Liverpool (no.4 in 1996), Chelsea (no.22 with Suggs in 1997 and no.22 in 2000), Middlesbrough (no.44 with Bob Mortimer and Chris Rea in 1997), Arsenal (no.9 in 1998 and no.46 in 2000 even though they hadn't won the league or reached the cup final) and Manchester United again (no.11 in 1999).
11(6) MARIAH CAREY - Without You (402 points) Top 40 run: 1-1-1-1-2-4-6-9-13-25-32
Effectively a cover of a cover, this was based on Harry Nilsson's version of Badfinger's 1970 song. It was Carey's first UK no.1 but surprisingly only reached no.3 in the US, where she'd already had eight chart-toppers. Her second UK no.1 would come with her version of "Against All Odds" alongside Westlife and she'd then have to two decades for another when "All I Want For Christmas Is You" finally reached the top after 26 years.
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Post by Panda on Feb 5, 2021 19:37:51 GMT 1
Part 7 (10-6):
10(11) ACE OF BASE - The Sign (403 points) Top 40 run: 7-2-2-3-2-3-5-5-10-17-22-33
The second top 10 hit for the Swedish group and a more upbeat number than their no.1 from the previous year. It spent a total of three weeks at no.2 and nine weeks in the top 10. The follow-up, a cover of "Don't Turn Around", also reached the top 5.
9(17) THE GRID - Swamp Thing (427 points) Top 40 run: 11-11-8-4-3-4-5-4-9-8-15-19-23-29-37
Something of a surprise hit for the electronic journeymen and a track that made banjos cool again. The Grid were musicians Richard Norris and David Ball, the latter being the one from Soft Cell who wasn't Marc Almond. This was the first of a run of three consecutive top 20 hits. Norris has since gone on to form Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, while Ball later reformed Soft Cell with Almond.
8(9) D:REAM - Things Can Only Get Better (479 points) Top 40 run: 10-2-1-1-1-1-2-2-5-13-20-26-34-35
D:Ream were the duo of Irish singer Peter Cunnah and musician Al Mackenzie. This track originally reached no.24 a year earlier but shot to no.1 at the second attempt. Follow-up "U R The Best Thing" also went top 5 when it was released (for the third time). This track also got a third release in 1997, returning to the top 20 when it was used as Labour's anthem for their successful General Election campaign. Physics expert Professor Brian Cox played keyboard's as part of the act's live band during the 90s and contributed to their comeback album "In Memory Of..." in 2011.
7(15) REEL 2 REAL ft THE MAD STUNTMAN - I Like To Move It (483 points) Top 40 run: 9-10-12-12-10-9-7-5-8-7-7-8-10-11-19-30-40
Reel 2 Real was an early project of DJ Erick Morillo and had had some success in the US before this track became his first UK hit. Despite only reaching no.5, it appears this high in the list thanks to its crazy 17-week run in the top 40, which saw it yo-yo-ing in and around the top 10. The track featured Trinidadian toaster The Mad Stuntman, who also appeared on later Reel 2 Real releases. Morillo died of a drug overdose in September last year, days before he was due to appear in court charged with sexual battery.
6(8) LET LOOSE - Crazy For You (491 points) Top 40 run: 24-18-14-10-6-4-4-3-2-2-3-6-11-17-23-34
A group that seemed destined for big things but it never materialised after this big hit. Part boy band, part actual band, this song seemed to appeal to many but ultimately, they were perhaps not quite pop enough for the teenyboppers and nowhere near credible enough for the indie fans who suddenly had a wealth of bands to choose from thanks to the Britpop explosion. This track reached no.2, having first been released in 1993 and was the first of three top 10 hits but nothing came close to matching this. Lead singer Richie Wermerling later joined a band called Bottlefly, with the other members becoming session musicians for other acts.
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Post by Panda on Feb 7, 2021 0:36:05 GMT 1
Part 8 (5-1):
5(7) BON JOVI - Always (519 points) Top 40 run: 5-3-2-3-4-3-2-2-4-9-10-18-21-22-25-28
The band's biggest UK hit and the second of eight consecutive top 10 hits they had between 1994 and 1996. They would go on to have 18 in total, plus two for lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. This track, taken from their 'Best Of' compilation "Cross Road", hit the chart in mid-September and was still in the top 40 at the end of the year, having spent 11 weeks inside the top 10. It reached no.4 in the US, bucking a downward trend which had seen them struggle to match their 80s success over there, which saw them have four no.1 singles.
4(4) PATO BANTON ft ALI & ROBIN CAMPBELL - Baby Come Back (555 points) Top 40 run: 16-6-4-2-1-1-1-1-2-5-7-16-17-17-16
Pato Banton (real name Patrick Murray) had been a name on the Birmingham reggae and ska scene for over a decade, working with the likes of The Beat and UB40 but hadn't enjoyed any commercial success in his own right, until this Equals cover hit the top with some help from the Campbell brothers from UB40. Banton would go on to have four more top 40 hits, two of which were collaborations with Sting.
3(5) ALL-4-ONE - I Swear (571 points) Top 40 run: 17-7-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-6-7-10-16-23-28-39
In another year, this might have been the biggest hit of the year but it ran into a behemoth in the form of our no.1 song, spending seven weeks behind it at no.2. Unsurprisingly, it was a massive hit in America, spending 11 weeks at no.1. The group would only have one more UK top 40 hit after this, and struggled to fare much better in the US. "I Swear" was a cover of a track originally released by country singer John Michael Montgomery in 1993.
2(2) WHIGFIELD - Saturday Night (576 points) Top 40 run: 1-1-1-1-2-3-2-3-5-10-13-18-21-24-21-22-29
The song that ended the 15-week run at no.1 for the track that tops the list. Whigfield was the alias of Italian-based Dane Sannie Carlson and this track shot to no.1, having previously been a hit in Italy and Spain. Its success in the latter led to it becoming very popular with holidaymakers. The song also sparked its own dance routine, despite not featuring in the video but it helped spark the track's success in the UK even further. Whigfield would go on to have two more UK top 10 hits but hasn't featured in the top 40 since the end of 1995. She did continue to have hits elsewhere in Europe and in 2018, tried unsuccessfully to become Denmark's Eurovision entry.
1(1) WET WET WET - Love Is All Around (1008 points) Top 40 run: 4-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-4-8-16-21-35-39 / 37-37
A monster movie hit, taken from "Four Weddings And A Funeral", this cover of the Troggs' 1967 no.5 hit looked set to match Bryan Adams' 16-week run at the top, but fell one short thanks to Whigfield, despite almost doubling its sales from the previous week as media coverage of the chart battle increased. This was the band's third no.1 but by far the biggest and although matching that success would be impossible, it did create renewed interest in an act that had been struggling for big hits since their second no.1 "Goodnight Girl". After "Love Is All Around", all their subsequent singles during their first run reached the top 20, including five top 10 hits, but drummer Tommy Cunningham quit in 1997 amid a row over royalties. The rest of the band split the following year, with singer Marti Pellow going into rehab for drug and alcohol issues. The quintet reformed in 2004 for a greatest hits album and even returned to the top 10 of the singles chart in 2008 with "Weightless". Pellow left again in 2018 to concentrate on his solo career, with the band now fronted by former Liberty X singer Kevin Simm.
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