Charting 1997: 1st February

As we move further into January, the big names start to appear in earnest. And we get the first release I could claim to have been really looking forward to this year.

01.(NE) Blur - Beetlebum

Even allowing for the fact that sales are low in January, it says something of how big Blur were at this point that even a self-consciously anti-commercial move could give them a Number One single. They'd already been granted the rare honour of a pre-release appearance on Top of The Pops.
Blur were pretty much my favourite band at the time, but I was open to a new direction and went into town to get the red vinyl 7" and one of the two CDs - I'm not even sure I'd heard the song before but I was very pleased with what I got, a brilliant combination of experimentalism and accidental pop brilliance. 1997 Number One singles don't come much better than this in my opinion. 
02. (1) White Town - Your Woman
03.(NE) George Michael - Older/I Can't Make You Love Me

Just under a year after the big comeback single 'Jesus To A Child', George was still scoring hits from his Older album, though even adding a new flipside (albeit a cover version) to the title track wasn't enough for it to join his previous three singles in the Top 2. Just as we weren't told that 'Beetlebum' was (probably) about drugs, it wasn't common knowledge at this point that this song was about the death of his partner. 
04.(NE) Placebo - Nancy Boy

The hit that changed them from AN Other indie band only with a singer who looked a bit like a woman into household names of a sort. A heavily remixed version of the original album cut and a major improvement: I remember David Bowie requesting this track when guesting on Stuart Maconie's short-lived Radio 1 show but insisting on the single version. I always thought they sounded like a band trying too hard, but this was one time they at least got somewhere.
05. (5) No Mercy - Where Do You Go
06. (3) Texas - Say What You Want
07.(NE) Gabrielle - Walk On By

Well-produced, well-sung but utterly pointless cover, added to later pressings of her second album.
08. (2) Tori Amos - Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big)
09.(NE) The Blueboy - Remember Me

Not to be confused with twee indie act Blue Boy, utterly ubiquitous jazz-sampling dance hit of early 1997.
10. (9) En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
11. (4) Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
12. (7) Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
13.(NE) Skunk Anansie - Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)

Big fans of the bracketed song title (were Skunk Anansie). Their first proper slow single, albeit with a decidedly chunky rhythm section, and a song I could never totally make up my mind about. Nothing dates like newly-invented special effects in pop videos though. 
14.(NE) Babybird - Candy Girl

The week after 'You're Gorgeous' finally departed the Top 75, Stephen Jones reaches the Top 20 for the second (and last) time with a song that's even more irritating. I didn't think either of them was as good as 'Goodnight' from 1996. Or indeed 'Sugar-Coated Iceberg' further down this chart. 
15.(13) Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart
16.(17) Whitney Houston - Step By Step
17.(NE) Gene - We Could Be Kings

As it turned out, they couldn't, but they should have. Even though I didn't like Blur any less, Gene emerged as strong competitors for my affection as I began to look a little further afield for my music. I bought this on on 7" too, although with hindsight this edit isn't as good as the album version. Still the sort of thing that makes me wonder whether we're peaking a bit too soon.
18.(11) Spice Girls - 2 Become 1
19. (8) Reef - Come Back Brighter
20.(16) Ginuwine - Pony
21.(NE) Bally Sagoo - Tum Bin Jiya

This was the era when British Asian music (the sort of thing that's called Desi Beats nowadays) seemed to be on the verge of a big mainstream breakthrough, and there's no logical reason it shouldn't have but in the end it seemed more to be a matter of sporadic individual hits. Sagoo had made headlines when his previous single 'Dil Cheez' cracked the Top 20 but this slightly smaller follow-up hit seems to have been and gone without attracting much notice beyond the people who bought it. 
22.(10) Lisa Stansfield/Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - People Hold On (Bootleg Mixes)
23.(14) Byron Stingily - Get Up (Everybody)
24. (6) Suede - Saturday Night
25.(20) The Prodigy - Breathe
26.(12) Nas - Street Dreams
27.(NE) Cyndi Lauper - You Don't Know

And quite possibly you didn't know that she was still having hits as late as 1997, though this was her last and a fairly minor one at that. Even though she went on Noel's Houseparty and everything. 
28.(15) East 17 - Hey Child
29.(24) Mark Morrison - Horny
30.(21) Robert Miles Featuring Maria Nayler - One And One
31.(NE) The Offspring - All I Want

OK, I don't remember this at all, I didn't even realise they'd had an actual hit between 'Self Esteem' and 'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)' until much later. Not to be confused with a recent identically-titled hit by the aforementioned Skunk Anansie. 
32.(NE) The Braxtons - So Many Ways

Toni's sisters carry on after she'd gone solo. Hope they had a better accountant.
33.(22) The Lightning Seeds - Sugar Coated Iceberg
34.(19) Kavana - I Can Make You Feel Good
35.(18) The Outhere Brothers - Let Me Hear You Say 'Ole 'Ole
36.(23) Orbital - Satan (Live)
37.(25) MC Lyte - Cold Rock A Party
38.(NE) The Boo Radleys - Ride The Tiger

Their seventh and last Top 40 hit, as the reflected glory of 'Wake Up Boo' finally expired. Oddly enough, the only single of theirs I actually bought, though I've acquired some of the albums since. 
39.(31) The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her
40.(NE) Shaquille O'Neal - You Can't Stop The Reign

You wouldn't have thought the UK would be a fertile market for rap records by basketball players, but here he is having his only UK hit with a single that was a bit of a flop in the US. 


44.(NE) Jayn Hanna - Lost Without You
47.(NE) Paganini Traxx - Zoe/Make Me Come

60.(NE) Beth Orton - Touch Me With Your Love

Making a Top 75 debut with one of her dancier numbers. Sorry about the unflattering still on that embed.
61.(NE) Martine Girault - Revival {remix}
62.(NE) The Corrs - Love To Love You/Runaway
Already second time around for 'Runaway' - it'd take a remix two years later for it to break into the Top 40.
63.(NE) Redd Kross - Get Out Of Myself

Charting 1997: Album chart 1st February

Things finally start moving on the album chart, with Top 10 action and our first new Number One album of the year. Sort of.


01 (2) Original Soundtrack - Evita Spotify Amazon
New in the sense that it hadn't been Number One before, at least, it wasn't actually a new release. Madonna is credited on 14 of the 19 tracks, which is presumably how it scraped into the artist albums chart rather than the compilation one; it's sometimes counted among her tally of chart-topping albums and sometimes omitted. Also Jimmy Nail's only Number One album.
02 (1) Spice Girls - Spice
03 (3) The Beautiful South - Blue is the colour
04 (NE) Bush - Razorblade Suitcase (Spotify) (Amazon)
The archetypal British-band-who-were-bigger-in-America held back the release of this album over here in the hope of making a splash. And to shake off those Nirvana comparisons, who better to call in as producer than, er, Steve Albini?
05 (4) Celine Dion - Falling into you
06 (5) Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive
07 (6) Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
08 (NE) Daft Punk - Homework (Spotify) (Amazon)
Back in the days when you could still release an album before a single and still sell it off the back of airplay, (you can also see some examples of this in the climbers this week) they joined the select group of acts who'd had Top 10 albums before ever appearing in the singles chart. It's hard to express now how incredibly fashionable they were back then, but I couldn't be bothered to listen to the whole thing very often.
09 (9) George Michael - Older
10 (8) Simply Red - Greatest Hits
11 (18) The Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights
12 (10) Toni Braxton - Secrets
13 (11) Kula Shaker - K
14 (7) Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
15 (15) Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
16 (13) Fugees - The Score
17 (12) Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
18 (21) Suede - Coming Up
19 (14) Robert Miles - Dreamland
20 (32) No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
21 (16) Crowded House - Recurring Dream - The Very Best of
22 (19) Slade - Greatest Hits Feel The Noize
23 (22) Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
24 (30) Skunk Anansie - Stoosh
25 (17) East 17 - Around The World The Journey So Far
26 (24) Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley shoals
27 (27) Space - Spiders
28 (23) Robson And Jerome - Take Two
29 (29) The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
30 (26) Faithless - Reverence
31 (25) Boyzone - A Different Beat
32 (28) Enigma - Le roi est mort vive le roi
33 (33) Gabrielle - Gabrielle
34 (49) Baby Bird - Ugly Beautiful
35 (40) Whitney Houston - The Preacher's Wife
36 (20) Robson And Jerome - Robson & Jerome
37 (34) Beck - Odelay
38 (41) Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
39 (37) Garbage - Garbage
40 (60) Blur - Parklife

50 (RE) Mark Owen - Green man
The first ever solo album by a member of Take That.
53 (RE) The Corrs - Forgiven Not Forgotten
59 (RE) kd Lang - Ingenue
Already five years old by now...
61 (RE) Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
...But not as old as this. Must have been a special offer somewhere.
62 (RE) Simply Red - Stars
67 (RE) John Williams - Plays the Movies
74 (RE) Lionel Richie - Back To Front

Charting 1997: Chart Show Indie Chart 25th January

The Chart Show indie chart from this date in 1997. Maybe a bit of a spoiler for tomorrow's chart post, but somebody went to the effort of uploading it so let's all make the most of it. It also has that half a Wedding Present video from last week without the weird visual effects from The Vault channel.

Charting 1997: 25th January

It's still a little early in the year for the really big releases, but that at least leaves room for some new acts to be launched and a level of activity I can't help but envy by comparison with January 2012.

01.(NE) White Town - Your Woman

One of those slightly fairytale stories of an unsigned act being discovered by a big record company after one DJ took to it and scoring a big hit all over the world. It even has the predictable Hollywood ending of success being shortlived, but Jyoti Mishra seems happy enough nowadays.
02. (1) Tori Amos - Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big)
03. (7) Texas - Say What You Want
Yes, a genuine climber of the sort that was getting pretty rare by now.
04. (2) Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
05.(10) No Mercy - Where Do You Go
06.(NE) Suede - Saturday Night

For all the recent nostalgia about the Butler-era albums, it's easy to forget that this was the most commercially successful part of their career. Their third straight Top 10 single from the Coming Up album, even as the lyrics drifted into self-parody.
Londoners might also recognise the disused part of Holborn tube station in the video.
07. (5) Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
08.(NE) Reef - Come Back Brighter

You see, they had another Top 10 hit. This is possibly the better of the two, and certainly the less overplayed.
09. (9) En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
10. (4) Lisa Stansfield/Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - People Hold On (Bootleg Mixes)
11. (6) Spice Girls - 2 Become 1
12.(NE) Nas - Street Dreams

His second Number 12 hit in a row, and he's still never beaten that peak.
13. (8) Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart
14.(NE) Byron Stingily - Get Up (Everybody)

First in a batch of hit singles from the high-voiced disco man.
15. (3) East 17 - Hey Child
16.(NE) Ginuwine - Pony

Elgin Lumpkin's stage name of course inspired the short-lived Melody Maker feature "Gin Or Wine? With Ginuwine".
17.(18) Whitney Houston - Step By Step
18.(NE) The Outhere Brothers - Let Me Hear You Say 'Ole 'Ole

The sound of a welcome being outstayed.
19.(14) Kavana - I Can Make You Feel Good
20.(19) The Prodigy - Breathe
21.(16) Robert Miles - One And One ft Maria Nayler
22.(12) The Lightning Seeds - Sugar Coated Iceberg
23.(11) Orbital - Satan (Live)
24.(17) Mark Morrison - Horny
25.(15) MC Lyte - Cold Rock A Party
26.(NE) Enigma - Beyond The Invisible

Another act who don't quite seem to fit in with the times, and indeed this was his/their last Top 40 single.
27.(NE) Thunder - Don't Wait Up
Their 14th consecutive Top 40 hit, but only one of them made the Top 20 and few seem to have attracted much attention beyond the fanbase. This particular one seems to have dropped off the face of the internet.
28.(13) Erasure - In My Arms
29.(20) Puff Johnson - Over And Over
30.(21) QFX - Freedom 2
31.(25) The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her
32.(NE) Mr Jack - Wiggly World

Not sure why I particularly remember this of all minor dance hits I heard once on the chart rundown, but maybe it was the silly voice. 
33.(NE) Arkarna - House On Fire

The sort of techno-rock that was assumed to be the future in 1997. This is on one of the Batman movie soundtracks.
34.(29) Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl
35.(31) Warren G - What's Love Got To Do With It ft Adina Howard
36.(NE) Virus - Moon

An unsurprisingly common act name, but this is one of the many Oakenfold/Osborne pseudonyms. A record that doesn't seem to make any sense out of context. 
37.(32) Spacehog - In The Meantime
38.(23) Mary Kiani - 100%
39.(26) Damage - Forever
40.(NE) The Wedding Present - Montreal

There is an actual video for this, and you can see a snippet here before it hits the ITV Chart Show wall of death. I remember Mark Goodier announcing this as a product of their deal with "The UK's biggest indie label" Cooking Vinyl. I was no more than casually interested at the time but it's become rather a fave since, even though it must rank among the band's least remembered hits. 


52.(NE) Cliff Richard - Be With Me Always
61.(RE) The Prodigy - Firestarter
62.(NE) Passion - Share Your Love
63.(NE) Da Techno Bohemian - Bangin' Bass

Charting 1997: Album chart 25th January

Three weeks in and we actually have a couple of new entries!


01. (1) Spice Girls - Spice
02. (2) Original Soundtrack - Evita
03. (3) The Beautiful South - Blue is the colour
04. (4) Celine Dion - Falling into you
05. (6) Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive
06. (5) Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
07. (8) Manic Street Preachers - Everything must go
08. (9) Simply Red - Greatest Hits
09.(12) George Michael - Older
10.(11) Toni Braxton - Secrets
11.(10) Kula Shaker - K
12.(15) Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
13. (7) Fugees - The Score
14.(13) Robert Miles - Dreamland
15.(14) Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
16.(16) Crowded House - Recurring Dream - The Very Best of
17.(17) East 17 - Around The World The Journey So Far
18.(23) The Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights
19.(NE) Slade - Greatest Hits Feel The Noize (Amazon)
Strange though it might seem to release a Slade hits compilation just after Christmas, we can probably thank Oasis for creating the market. Anyway, here's one of the slightly less obvious tracks:

20.(RE) Robson And Jerome - Robson & Jerome
21.(26) Suede - Coming Up
22.(18) Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
23.(19) Robson And Jerome - Take Two
24.(22) Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley shoals
25.(21) Boyzone - A Different Beat
26.(28) Faithless - Reverence
27.(24) Space - Spiders
28.(25) Enigma - Le roi est mort vive le roi
29.(32) The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
30.(44) Skunk Anansie - Stoosh
31.(20) Michael Jackson - History - Past, Present and Future - Book 1
32.(62) No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
33.(36) Gabrielle - Gabrielle
34.(31) Beck - Odelay
35.(29) Jimmy Nail - Crocodile Shoes II
36.(30) Fine Young Cannibals - The Finest
37.(34) Garbage - Garbage
38.(27) Rod Stewart - If We Fall In Love Tonight
39.(37) Oasis - Definitely Maybe
40.(54) Whitney Houston - The Preachers Wife

48.(NE) Orbital - Satan
The double 12" single which was too long to qualify for the singles chart.
59.(RE) Shirley Bassey - The Show must go on
60.(RE) Blur - Parklife
62.(RE) Seal - Seal
Probably the second album.
69.(RE) Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
72.(RE) Ronan Hardiman - Michael Flatleys Lord Of The Dance
73.(RE) Terrorvision - Regular Urban Survivors Regular Urban Survivors
(Spotify)
74.(RE) ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits

Charting 1997: 18th January

Week 2 then and a very tight battle at the top end, possibly the last one ever to be swung by a Top Of The Pops appearance. Not only does last week's Number One slip down to Six, but the track that topped the first set of midweeks ends up in fourth place.


01. (2) Tori Amos - Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big)
As the only track in the Top 4 that wasn't a new entry this week, it had the advantage of a showing on TotP (presumably just the video) late in the week, which must have swung it on the Saturday.
02.(NE) Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)

They'd had Top 75 hits as early as 1995, but success elsewhere in Europe let to a relaunch over here in the second half of 1996 and by now they were within a thousand copies of their first UK chart-topper. Still effectively unknown in the US at this point, though this would eventually peak at 2 there as well.
03.(NE) East 17 - Hey Child

Since Take That had split in 1996, they might have expected to take over as Britain's biggest boyband, but in truth they were nearing the end of their own journey too, and this second single from their greatest hits was the last release by the original line-up. It probably would have been, even were it not for the controversy about Brian Harvey's supposed endorsement of drugs shortly before it was released. Ironically enough, this is their one hit with Tony Mortimer singing lead.
04.(NE) Lisa Stansfield/Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - People Hold On (Bootleg Mixes)

Stansfield's vocal from Coldcut's 'People Hold On' played over the instrumental version of the Tori Amos remix. Would have been funny if these had ended up as the Top 2 I suppose; but now we end up with an odd parallel to the chart 15 years later with fundamentally identical tracks by Flo Rida and Avicii at 1 and 4 in the chart. I remember Mark Goodier playing an interview clip from one of Coldcut who wasn't best pleased about this release.
One of the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels did upload the official video to YouTube, but in unwatchable quality. 
05.(10) Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
Boosted by the release of a remix, several weeks into the chart run. That's a practice that was falling somewhat into disuse by now, with the increased focus on first-week chart positions. 
06. (1) Spice Girls - 2 Become 1
07.(NE) Texas - Say What You Want

One thing we're going to see a fair bit of in 1997 is big comebacks or breakthroughs by struggling acts. Here a new image and slick, more modern sound rescue the Scottish group from one-hit-wonderdom. And there's more to come.
08. (4) Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart
09. (5) En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
10.(NE) No Mercy - Where Do You Go

One of Frank Farian's less fondly remembered projects. 
11. (3) Orbital - Satan (Live)
12.(NE) The Lightning Seeds - Sugar Coated Iceberg

His/their highest-charting original song not to mention lions. Co-written by Babybird, but I still liked it.
13.(NE) Erasure - In My Arms

Their chart-dominating phase (and, to be honest, most of the songs people actually remember) were already past; but even ten years after 'Sometimes' they could still pull off a significant hit by selling to the fans.
14. (8) Kavana - I Can Make You Feel Good
15.(NE) MC Lyte - Cold Rock A Party

Apparently she'd been around for years, but it took the production of Sean "Puffy" Combs and his Diana Ross samples to get her a major UK hit. 
16. (6) Robert Miles - One And One ft Maria Nayler
17. (9) Mark Morrison - Horny
18.(13) Whitney Houston - Step By Step
19. (7) The Prodigy - Breathe
20.(NE) Puff Johnson - Over And Over

Another key motif of this era would be the gradual arrival of urban RnB as a part of the British musical mainstream, rather than a cult interest. 
21.(NE) QFX - Freedom 2

Reissue of a near-hit from 1995. According to Wikipedia "They were featured on over 20 compilation albums world wide.^{[citation needed]"}
22.(NE) 3 Colours Red - Nuclear Holiday

At the time, this was the most successful debut single in the history of Creation Records.
23.(NE) Mary Kiani - 100%

Very much in the category of people whom I remember being pop stars, but don't remember any songs by.
24.(NE) Chakra - I Am

One of the early big trance hits to cross over. I have to admit most of this stuff was in one ear and out the other for me at the time. 
25.(19) The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her
26.(14) Damage - Forever
27.(12) Terrorvision - Easy
28.(11) Boyzone - A Different Beat
29.(18) Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl
30.(24) Kenickie - In Your Car
31.(21) Warren G - What's Love Got To Do With It ft Adina Howard
32.(32) Spacehog - In The Meantime
33.(16) Celine Dion - All By Myself
34.(25) Faithless - Salva Mea
35.(NE) The Kinks - The Days EP
[Days; You Really Got Me; Dead End Street; Lola]

Second version of this song to rechart within a couple of years, Kirsty MacColl having narrowly failed to return to the Top 40 a couple of years earlier. Both re-issues were for the same reason, the tracks having been featured in adverts. 
36.(17) The Woolpackers - Hillbilly Rock Hillbilly Roll
37.(29) Lighthouse Family - Loving Every Minute
38.(NE) The Absolute - I Believe ft Suzanne Palmer

39.(10) 3T - I Need You
40.(33) Chicane - Offshore

52.(NE) Geoffrey Williams - Drive
56.(NE) OMC - On The Run

See, he did have another hit. If you count 56 as a hit.
57.(NE) Serial Diva - Keep Hope Alive
71.(RE) Madonna - You Must Love Me
74.(RE) Garbage - Milk ft Tricky

Charting 1997: Album chart 18th January

Nobody releases albums in the first week of January so still not a lot of excitement here. The biggest movement seems to be Michael Jackson's leap from outside the Top 50 to the Top 20, and I can't even remember why that happened.

01. (1) Spice Girls - Spice
02.(10) Original Soundtrack - Evita
03. (3) The Beautiful South - Blue is the colour
04. (2) Celine Dion - Falling into you
05. (4) Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
06. (6) Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive
07. (5) Fugees - The Score
08. (8) Manic Street Preachers - Everything must go
09. (9) Simply Red - Greatest Hits
10. (7) Kula Shaker - K
11.(16) Toni Braxton - Secrets
12.(12) George Michael - Older
13.(17) Robert Miles - Dreamland
14.(11) Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
15.(14) Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
16.(18) Crowded House - Recurring Dream - The Very Best of
17.(19) East 17 - Around The World The Journey So Far
18.(20) Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
19.(15) Robson And Jerome - Take Two
20.(58) Michael Jackson - History - Past, Present and Future - Book 1
21.(13) Boyzone - A Different Beat
22.(21) Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley shoals
23.(31) The Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights
24.(22) Space - Spiders
25.(30) Enigma - Le roi est mort vive le roi
26.(32) Suede - Coming Up
27.(28) Rod Stewart - If We Fall In Love Tonight
28.(42) Faithless - Reverence
29.(26) Jimmy Nail - Crocodile Shoes II
30.(25) Fine Young Cannibals - The Finest
31.(45) Beck - Odelay
32.(37) The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
33.(27) Dodgy - Free Peace Sweet
34.(34) Garbage - Garbage
35.(33) The Woolpackers - Emmerdance
36.(36) Gabrielle - Gabrielle
37.(35) Oasis - Definitely Maybe
38.(29) Louise - Naked
39.(23) The Smurfs - The Smurfs Go Pop
40.(39) Alisha's Attic - Alisha Rules The World

54.(RE) Whitney Houston - The Preacher's Wife
As Houston-fronted soundtracks go, it was less of a blockbuster than The Bodyguard but hardly a flop.
62.(NE) No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
Bolstered by airplay for their next single.
64.(RE) Orbital - In Sides
I downloaded a version of this album that includes the hit version of 'Satan' but I don't think that was ever released phsycially in the UK. Presumably it raised their profile enough anyway.
72.(RE) Elvis Presley - Presley the all time greatest hits
Somebody must have mentioned that the anniversary of his death was coming up.
74.(RE) Celine Dion - The Colour of my love

Charting 1997: Album Chart, 11th January

From next week onward, my plan is actually to post the album charts first, but frankly there isn't much going on in this one, and most of the albums we'll be seeing again later this year, so it didn't quite seem dramatic enough a place to start. So just a quick post today.

01. (1) Spice Girls - Spice
Starting the year as they meant to go on, topping both charts. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say we'll be seeing a lot of this. 
02. (2) Celine Dion - Falling into you
03. (3) The Beautiful South - Blue is the colour
04. (7) Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
05. (6) Fugees - The Score
06.(10) Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive
07.(12) Kula Shaker - K
08.(19) Manic Street Preachers - Everything must go
09. (5) Simply Red - Greatest Hits
10.(11) Original Soundtrack - Evita
11.(18) Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
12. (8) George Michael - Older
13. (9) Boyzone - A Different Beat
14.(16) Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
15. (4) Robson And Jerome - Take Two
16.(14) Toni Braxton - Secrets
17.(21) Robert Miles - Dreamland
18.(13) Crowded House - Recurring Dream - The Very Best of
19.(15) East 17 - Around The World The Journey So Far
20.(23) Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
21.(24) Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley shoals
22.(26) Space - Spiders
23.(28) The Smurfs - The Smurfs Go Pop
24.(27) Peter Andre - Natural
25.(25) Fine Young Cannibals - The Finest
26.(17) Jimmy Nail - Crocodile Shoes II
27.(41) Dodgy - Free Peace Sweet
28.(20) Rod Stewart - If We Fall In Love Tonight
29.(37) Louise - Naked
30.(29) Enigma - Le roi est mort vive le roi
31.(38) The Lightning Seeds - Dizzy Heights
32.(47) Suede - Coming Up
33.(32) The Woolpackers - Emmerdance
34.(48) Garbage - Garbage
35.(45) Oasis - Definitely Maybe
36.(33) Gabrielle - Gabrielle
37.(56) The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
38.(40) REM - New Adventures In Hi-Fi
39.(46) Alisha's Attic - Alisha Rules The World
40.(35) Stevie Wonder - Song Review - A Greatest Hits Collection
41.(34) Bryan Adams - 18 til I Die
42.(58) Faithless - Reverence
43.(31) Buddy Holly - The Very best of
44.(30) Phil Collins - Dance into the light
45.(RE) Beck - Odelay
46.(39) Tina Turner - Wildest dreams
47.(59) Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
48.(62) Snoop Doggy Dogg - Tha Doggfather
49.(63) Cast - All Change
50.(42) Daniel O'Donnell - Songs of inspiration
51.(RE) Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself
52.(60) The Beatles - Anthology 3


Wonder how long that'll stay up?
53.(71) Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys
54.(52) Mark Owen - Green man
55.(RE) Massive Attack - Blue Lines
56.(36) Roy Orbison - The Very Best Of
57.(43) Michael Ball - The Musicals
58.(61) Michael Jackson - History - Past, Present and Future - Book 1
59.(51) Dina Carroll - Only Human
60.(68) Skunk Anansie - Stoosh
61.(RE) Radiohead - The Bends
62.(RE) Sleeper - The It Girl
63.(RE) 3T - Brotherhood
64.(RE) Pulp - Different Class
65.(75) The Beautiful South - Carry On Up The Charts The Best of
66.(22) The Smurfs - Christmas Party
67.(RE) The Prodigy - Experience
68.(RE) Shed Seven - A Maximum High
69.(44) Art Garfunkel - The Very Best Of: Across America
70.(57) The Moody Blues - The Very Best Of
71.(RE) Baby Bird - Ugly Beautiful
72.(RE) Blackstreet - Another Level
73.(RE) Paul Weller - Stanley Road
74.(67) M People - Bizarre Fruit/Bizarre Fruit II
75.(74) Runrig - Long Distance The Best Of

Charting 1997: 11th January

A quick word on dates first: by tradition the official date attached to any chart in reference works is the Saturday after it was announced, so as far as 1997 is concerned that's six days difference. This is why I don't count the chart dated 4th Jan as a 1997 chart, because it belongs to 1996 really. It's not much of a loss, hardly anything happened.

Anyway, as it's the start of the year I'm giving you the full Top 75, you lucky lucky people. And right at the start of the year, you can see one of the biggest differences between 1997 and 2012: there are a whole batch of singles released on the 30th of December 1996 to capitalise on what was then reliably the lowest-selling week of the year.


01. (1) Spice Girls - 2 Become 1

Incumbent Christmas chart-topper, of course.
02.(NE) Tori Amos - Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big)

I'm pretty sure this remix had been a B-side when the song was a minor hit the previous year, but soon picked up enough of a following to get a release in its own right and become her biggest hit, albeit an unrepresentative one. 
03.(NE) Orbital - Satan (Live)

As the NME advised at the time, if you bought all three CD formats you'd effectively get a live album for six quid. And the remixed studio version that got played on the chart rundown. 
04. (2) Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart
05.(NE) En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)

You'll know this one, it was in the Top 30 a couple of weeks ago. 
06. (4) Robert Miles - One And One ft Maria Nayler
07. (6) The Prodigy - Breathe
08.(NE) Kavana - I Can Make You Feel Good

Apparently song titles aren't covered by the Trades Descriptions Act.
09. (8) Mark Morrison - Horny
10. (5) Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
11. (7) Boyzone - A Different Beat
12.(NE) Terrorvision - Easy

Released as a double-grooved clear-vinyl 10" single. I can't believe I didn't buy it.
13.(15) Whitney Houston - Step By Step

Peaking (in chart position if not sales) this week. The song was originally the B-side of an Annie Lennox single I don't even remember the A-side of. 
14.(11) Damage - Forever
15. (3) Dunblane - Knockin' On Heaven's Door/Throw These Guns Away
16. (9) Celine Dion - All By Myself
17.(10) The Woolpackers - Hillbilly Rock Hillbilly Roll
18.(17) Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl
19.(12) The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her
20.(16) 3T - I Need You
21.(18) Warren G - What's Love Got To Do With It ft Adina Howard
22.(13) East 17 - If You Ever ft Gabrielle
23.(14) Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There
24.(NE) Kenickie - In Your Car

Sounds even better when they get the words right, doesn't it?
25.(20) Faithless - Salva Mea
26.(22) Fugees - No Woman No Cry
27.(21) Peter Andre - I Feel You
28.(NE) Tricky - Tricky Kid

As he was credited on some early Massive Attack tracks before he fell out with them. 
29.(24) Lighthouse Family - Loving Every Minute
30.(NE) Runrig - The Greatest Flame {1997 re-issue}

Or is it a 1996 re-issue?
31.(NE) The One - One More Chance
Again, song titles aren't always accurate since this was obviously their only single. Apparently they were some sort of boyband from GMTV.
32.(29) Spacehog - In The Meantime
33.(27) Chicane - Offshore
34.(26) Snoop Doggy Dogg - Snoop's Upside Ya Head ft Charlie Wilson
35.(23) Robson And Jerome - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted
36.(NE) Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy {1997 remix}

I can't really remember which mix it was. But have this one anyway as it's the last we heard of them. 
37.(30) 2Pac - I Ain't Mad At Cha
38.(33) Salt-N-Pepa - Champagne
39.(25) Babybird - You're Gorgeous
40.(19) The Smurfs - Your Christmas Wish
41.(34) Boyzone - Words
42.(39) Louise - One Kiss From Heaven
43.(NE) Nut - Scream
44.(42) Gina G - I Belong To You
45.(37) The Mike Flowers Pops - Don't Cry For Me Argentina
46.(NE) S-J - Fever
47.(28) Faithless - Insomnia {1996 mix}
48.(31) Mark Owen - Child
49.(40) Eternal - Secrets
50.(36) Manic Street Preachers - Australia
51.(NE) Global Communication - The Way/The Deep
52.(32) Prince And The New Power Generation - Betcha By Golly Wow!
53.(45) Oasis - Whatever
54.(35) No Way Sis - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing
Yes, this happened. 
55.(46) Simply Red - Angel
56.(28) Elton John And Luciano Pavarotti - Live Like Horses
57.(41) Heller And Farley Project - Ultra Flava {1996 Re-release}
58.(64) Underworld - Born Slippy (NUXX)
59.(48) Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow
60.(47) SWV - It's All About U
61.(43) Ant And Dec - When I Fall In Love
62.(50) Oasis - Wonderwall
63.(73) 911 - Don't Make Me Wait
64.(RE) The Lightning Seeds - What If...
65.(53) Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
66.(49) Kula Shaker - Govinda
67.(56) Oasis - Cigarettes And Alcohol
68.(58) Oasis - Some Might Say
69.(RE) PJ Proby And Marc Almond - Yesterday Has Gone
70.(57) Spice Girls - Wannabe
71.(RE) Dina Carroll - Only Human/Run To You
72.(59) Oasis - Live Forever
73.(62) Oasis - Roll With It
74.(61) Oasis - Shakermaker
75.(51) Diana Ross - In The Ones You Love

Charting 1997: Chart Show Rock Chart 4th January 1997

Before we start with the Sunday chart tomorrow, I had a quick look on the old YouTube for remnants of the old ITV Chart Show. All I could find of the first episode from what proved to be its last full year was the Rock Chart, but that might not be a bad thing since it cuts down on spoilers a bit.

Charting 1997: the soft launch

After the "massive" "success" of the 1996 chart I posted a few weeks ago, I somehow convinced myself it'd be a good idea to extend the #chart15yearsago hashtag for a full year; after all, 1997 is one of my favourite chart years that I can actually remember and even though it's not that long ago mathematically, it has that ring of a vanished world now, back in the days of multiple CD single formats, first-week discounting, fourth singles from albums going Top 10 and a very high turnover - unprecedentedly at the time in fact. Also unprecedented was the sheer volume of singles sold that year; as far as I know this year remains the high-water mark of physical single sales, though total sales are now higher in the download era.

So my plan is to start posting every weekly chart from the year 1997 in real time, for as long as I can stay motivated and assuming nobody tries to stop me - plus I'll be embedding as many of the new entries as I can (with apologies to people on slow connections or browsers). And I might drop in one or two of my own reminiscences if I can find anything worth saying. I contemplated setting up a new blog for this but I decided to leave it in the Hitparade blog because that's already linked from Popular and I thought I might get some interest from there. I have however set up a new Twitter account @Charting1997 where I'll be tweeting a lot of the same music, but with slightly shorter commentary. Feel free to interact through either channel.

The first chart(s) will be published on the fifth, so let's start the musical year with the three tracks I managed to  find from Jool's Holland's 1997 Hootennany. All three from acts we'll be seeing more of in future.

Kenickie - In Your Car



Paul Weller - Will It Go Round In Circles?

Simply Red - Everything Must Change

And if anyone wants a massive spoiler, here's a Spotify playlist of every charting single I could find from the entire year. That's 931 tracks even with a several omissions. What have I taken on?