Charting 1997: 1st November

01. (2) Aqua - Barbie Girl
Of course, the Spice Girls began their chart career with a new entry at 2 behind a more established act, which climbed to the top the following week. So it's only fitting that they became victims of the same process just over a year later.

02. (1) Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life
03. (3) Elton John - Something About The Way You Look/Candle In The Wind
04. (4) Sash! - Stay ft La Trec
05.(NE) 911 - Party People... Friday Night
So this is the highest new entry, and they were already onto the first single from their second album. This is one of their better efforts, wisely sticking to the disco-influenced style rather than doing another sloppy ballad. 
06. (5) Dario G - Sunchyme
07.(NE) N-Trance - Do You Think I'm Sexy? ft Rod Stewart
And speaking of disco... Another attempt to exploit the formula of their previous hit versions of 'Stayin Alive' and 'DISCO', though this ups the ante somewhat by sampling the original, hence Rod Stewarts co-credit.
08. (6) Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me
09.(NE) LL Cool J - Phenomenon
Not his biggest UK hit ever, or even this year, but it seems like one of the songs he's most associated with nowadays. It's a catchy track, although mainly because it uses (with permission) the bassline from 'Who Is He What Is He To You' by Bill Withers (actually sampled from a cover version). LL's whispered boasting sounds to me like his mum's in the next room and he doesn't want her to overhear. 
10. (8) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
11. (7) Eternal - Angel Of Mine
12. (9) The Brand New Heavies - You've Got A Friend
13.(NE) Goldie - Digital ft KRS One
His first album had made him a very high-profile person without any major hit singles, so he had to wait until this single from the second one to make the Top 20. KRS One's lyric makes this, I believe, the first hit single to mention the Internet. 
14.(NE) Double 99 - RIP Groove {remixes}
One of the big speed garage hits of the year returns. I'm slightly surprised this wasn't an even bigger hit, it seemed massive at the time.
15.(NE) Dannii Minogue - Everything I Wanted
Heavily used in trails for ITV at the time, if I remember correctly.
16.(NE) The Charlatans - Tellin' Stories
An unprecedented fourth hit single from a Charlatans album. No wonder they were too tired to make a proper video. I do love this track though. Incidentally, the B-sides of this single are their first songs with writing credits to new keyboard player Tony Rogers.
17.(NE) Diana King - I Say A Little Prayer
A rather belated follow-up to her 2005 hit 'Shy Guy', though I presume she'd released other singles elsewhere in the world in the meantime. I'm not sure why she bothered to cover this. 
18.(11) Clock - U Sexy Thing
19.(NE) Hurricane #1 - Step Into My World {Perfecto remix}
Six months after it had been their first single, this remixed verion became their first Top 20 hit. Though a fairly straight trad-rock band most of the time, Hurricane #1 did encourage remixes of their work - or more to the point, made more of a feature of it than most rock groups who just used the mixes to pad out B-sides.
I bought this single on 7" and got a receipt that said "HURRICA STEPISS".
20.(NE) Puff Daddy And The Family - Been Around The World
Puffy's fondness for unlikely samples continues with the beat from Bowie's 'Let's Dance' and a chorus derived from Lisa Stansfield's 'All Around The World'. If only the original parts of this were as memorable.
21.(12) Janet Jackson - Got 'Til It's Gone ft Q-Tip And Joni Mitchell
22.(NE) Roy Davis Jr - Gabriel ft Peven Everett
Rather decent soulful house track, as it turns out.
23.(15) Tina Moore - Never Gonna Let You Go
24.(NE) Black Grape - Get Higher
Yet another first single from a much-awaited second album. Well, I say that but compared to the Top 10 success of the singles from their first album, this didn't make much impact and the album itself was something of a flop. That can be the trouble with following a suprise hit sometimes. I suppose the creatively-edited Ronald Reagan samples are the main point of interest. 
25.(16) Will Smith - Men In Black
26.(13) Jimmy Ray - Are You Jimmy Ray?
27.(20) The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work
28.(NE) Depeche Mode - Useless
Yes, they really did have a song called 'Useless' on the same album as one called 'It's No Good'. They weren't really helping themselves there. 
29.(NE) Scott Garcia - A London Thing ft MC Styles
Another of the big garage tracks of the era. The title gives a hint as to why it wasn't in the Top 20 though.
30.(NE) Natural Born Chillers - Rock The Funky Beat
More conventional dance here. I didn't mind this one. 
31.(19) Smash Mouth - Walkin' On The Sun
32.(10) Ash - A Life Less Ordinary
33.(14) Propellerheads With David Arnold - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
34.(NE) Fatboy Slim - Everybody Needs A 303
Norman Cook's first Top 40 hit under what was probably his best-known alias, and certainly his longest-lasting. This was a remix package of track that had been released the previous year without charting. A 303, for those not in the know, was a type of drum machine.
35.(18) Lighthouse Family - Raincloud
36.(21) Louise - Arms Around The World
37.(22) Oasis - Stand By Me
38.(NE) Byron Stingily - Sing A Song
Apparently he's a teacher now.
39.(24) M People - Just For You
40.(NE) Laguna - Spiller From Rio (Do It Easy)
No connection to the dance act Spiller, as far as I know.

42.(NE) Changing Faces - I Got Somebody Else
47.(NE) Revival 3000 - The Mighty High
48.(NE) Nalin And Kane - Beachball
49.(NE) Bush - Bone Driven
51.(NE) Death In Vegas - Rocco
56.(NE) Tindersticks - Rented Rooms
The video is for the swing version on the second CD format. Maybe I should have bought this one.
60.(NE) Deep Dish - Stranded
72.(NE) Pizzicato Five - Mon Amour Tokyo
75.(RE) Peter Andre - All About Us