Friday, November 09, 2012

Charting 1997: 15th November


01. (1) Aqua - Barbie Girl
02. (2) Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
03.(NE) Barbra Streisand And Celine Dion - Tell Him
Below the unchanged Top 2, this is the highest new entry, a song every bit as subtle and understated as you'd expect. Apparently from a film called The Mirror Has Two Faces.
04. (3) Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life
05. (4) Elton John - Something About The Way You Look/Candle In The Wind
06.(NE) The PF Project - Choose Life ft Ewan McGregor
Another film tie-in, sampling McGregor's opening monologue from Trainspotting. The track itself is obviously not in the film but appears on the second volume of the soundtrack album.
07.(NE) Gary Barlow - Open Road
Title track from his solo album becomes the fourth single from it. Actually not bad as solo Barlow goes, but for a song about leaving greyness behind it's a little, er, grey.
08.(NE) Moby - James Bond Theme
Back to the movies with our second Bond-theme hit of the year, but the first official one. This was connected to the soundtrack of that year's Bond picture Tomorrow Never Dies, though it's just a cover of the familiar Monty Norman theme.
09. (5) Sash! - Stay ft La Trec
10.(NE) Texas - Put Your Arms Around Me
Another fourth single to remind people the album was out in time for Christmas shopping. I remember Sharleen Spiteri bringing a ghetto-blaster on stage to provide the (muted) beats for this song (shades of Stop Making Sense perhaps?), although the single mix is a bit more conventional. I see from the YouTube upload that this on the soundtrack to something called Ever After.
11. (7) Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me
12. (9) N-Trance - Do You Think I'm Sexy? ft Rod Stewart
13.(NE) Jon Bon Jovi - Janie, Don't Take Your Love To Town
Technically, this is from a film too, but Jon Bon Jovi made a film of his own album so that doesn't quite count.
14.(NE) Cast - I'm So Lonely
A song that was never in a film at all, apparently! Another fourth single, and the track that ended their run of Top 10 hits (they did manage one more in 1999). It's not a bad track, if not earth-shattering. I'm tempted to say Jake Bugg was listening, but he'd only have been a toddler at this point. 
15.(10) Dario G - Sunchyme
16.(NE) 187 Lockdown - Gunman
Well, the video is a movie parody, so it fits the theme. It might actually date from the 1998 re-release of the track, but it's good enough anyway. 
17.(12) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
18.(11) Eternal - Angel Of Mine
19.(16) Clock - U Sexy Thing
20.(NE) Roni Size/Reprazent - Brown Paper Bag
Rare Top 20 appearance for the Mercury winners. One of their most commercially appealing singles, a great jazzy rap track, although I couldn't be bothered with the nine-minute album version.
21.(NE) Faithless - Don't Leave {1997 remix}
Third hit associated with A Life Less Ordinary, albeit a remix of a song that had already been a hit for them. A bit of a different sound from their most famous tracks.
22. (6) Peter Andre - Lonely
23.(19) Double 99 - RIP Groove {1997 Re-Release}
24.(NE) Peter Cox - If You Walk Away
Sounds like Westlife with a more soulful singer. 
25.(17) The Brand New Heavies - You've Got A Friend
26. (8) Embrace - All You Good Good People EP
27.(13) 911 - Party People... Friday Night
28.(21) Tina Moore - Never Gonna Let You Go
29.(15) LL Cool J - Phenomenon
30.(14) Michael Bolton - The Best Of Love/Go The Distance
31.(22) Toni Braxton With Kenny G - How Could An Angel Break My Heart
32.(25) Dannii Minogue - Everything I Wanted
33.(NE) Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Inkanyezi Nezazi (The Star And The Wiseman)
As featured in an advert for baked beans in case you were wondering.
34.(NE) Fabulous Baker Boys - Oh Boy
If house tracks with chipmunk vocals are your thing, enjoy this. Just don't expect to see Michelle Pfeiffer.
35.(30) The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work
36.(NE) Delirious? - DeEPer {1997 Re-release}
[Deeper; Summer Of Love; Touch; Sanctify]
Second appearance this year for the lead track, though the other three were new to the chart. Not sure what the point of this re-release was, it didn't seem to get any more airplay than first time around and charted lower.
37.(29) Janet Jackson - Got 'Til It's Gone ft Q-Tip And Joni Mitchell
38.(18) The Bee Gees - Still Waters (Run Deep)
39.(40) Oasis - Stand By Me
40.(31) Diana King - I Say A Little Prayer

47.(NE) Dust Junkys - (Nonstoperation)
One of those many British acts combining hip-hop, dance and rock who were tipped for big things at the end of Britpop but never quite made it, led by sometime 808 State rapper MC Tunes. Maybe if they'd been able to spell the word "junkies" it might have helped.
50.(NE) Radish - Simple Sincerity

52.(NE) Gina G - Every Time I Fall
Six singles was at least one too many.
53.(NE) UB40 - Always There
54.(NE) Paul Van Dyk - Words/Moonlighting ft Toni Halliday
57.(NE) Quad City DJ's - Space Jam

59.(NE) D*Note - Lost And Found
60.(NE) Randy Crawford - Give Me The Night '97
68.(NE) Karen Young - Hot Shot '97



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