Charting 1997: 6th December

01. (1) Various Artists - Perfect Day
02.(NE) Boyzone - Baby Can I Hold You/Shooting Star
Stuck in the runner-up slot again, even with two ballads for the price of one. The lead track sees Ronan Keating tackle the other Tracy Chapman song that everyone knows, even though this one only got to 94 in the charts: as a result, Chapman's 1988 debut album apparently dominated the mid-price album chart for months. On the other side, Steven Gately sings a song from the latest Disney film, although any hopes that this would break the band in America were dashed.
03. (2) Aqua - Barbie Girl
04. (3) Steven Houghton - Wind Beneath My Wings
05. (4) Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
06. (5) All Saints - Never Ever
07.(NE) The Verve - Lucky Man
Third single off the Urban Hymns album, which was ticking off its millionth sale about now - it subsequently became the first album to sell in seven figures two years running. This was never one of my favourites of theirs, feeling a bit more like the Richard Ashcroft solo track it originally was. And his echoed vocal at the start always reminded me of the "you slag" sample in 'Professional Widow' at the start of the year, which probably wasn't the effect he was aiming for. 
08. (7) Barbra Streisand And Celine Dion - Tell Him
09. (6) Lutricia McNeal - Ain't That Just The Way
10.(11) Elton John - Something About The Way You Look/Candle In The Wind
11.(NE) Gala - Let A Boy Cry
In the late 1990s European dance acts could easily score significant second hits. Not a bad tune, although the meter sounds very odd to a native English speaker. The first YouTube hit I found was a different version of the song from the UK hit, but it did have the benefit of a comment from Gala herself refuting rumours that she'd died.
12.(NE) Reds United - Sing Up For The Champions!
40 Man United fans chanting. England aside I think they're the football team with the most associated chart hits.
13.(12) Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing {1997}
14.(NE) Kylie Minogue - Did It Again
First stage in the rethink after the underperformance of 'Some Kind Of Bliss'. Presumably the song was already intended to be the next single, but the video, which depicts avatars of various Kylie images fighting, has an air of reassurance (and media-friendliness) about it. 
15.(10) Louise - Let's Go Round Again
16.(NE) Todd Terry Presents Shannon - It's Over Love
One of the many appearances for Shannon as a credited vocalist. Todd Terry was still ploughing his usual disco-influenced furrow although it was getting a bit tired by this point.
17.(16) Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me
18.(17) The PF Project - Choose Life ft Ewan McGregor
19. (9) Aaron Carter - Crush On You
20. (8) The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up
21.(NE) USURA - Open Your Mind '97
Remix of the 1993 hit. Not necessarily an improvement.
22.(NE) Dru Hill - 5 Steps
The juxtaposition of this and the act below is vastly more interesting than the song.
23.(22) Steps - 5, 6, 7, 8
24.(20) Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life
25.(14) Hanson - I Will Come To You
26.(21) Sash! - Stay ft La Trec
27.(NE) Super Furry Animals - Demons
There is an official video for this single, but it's not very good by their standards. The song is a brilliant surreal epic, complete with the lyric "By the year four million, our skins will be vermillion". 
28.(NE) Meredith Brooks - I Need
It's not a great idea to follow up a list song with another list song. 
29.(13) Shola Ama - Who's Loving My Baby
30.(NE) Paul Weller - Mermaids
Yet another fourth single from an album, and indeed this is the final track on Heavy Soul to boot. It's not the one I would have chosen to be honest, although I did buy the 7" and the B-sides are pretty good. 
31.(NE) Huff And Herb - Feeling Good ft Nina Simone
When they say "featuring Nina Simone" they mean that they've sampled the vocals from her classic track (which had only charted in 1994, thanks to an advert). It might have worked better had the rest of the track been in time with her. 
32.(NE) Sex-O-Sonique - I Thought It Was You
Another act who'd been hanging round the Jazz section of the second-hand record shop, this being a cover of Herbie Hancock's vocodery disco single. It's not an interesting version, at least not once you've heard the original. Perhaps that's why they used this pseudonym, rather than any of the other names under which they'd had hits. 
33.(NE) M People - Fantasy Island
A bit of a comedown as the follow-up to a Top 10 hit from an established act. It's not a great song but neither were a lot of their others.
34.(NE) Boyz II Men - A Song For Mama
Er, shouldn't they have released this in the spring? 
35.(15) Robert Miles - Freedom ft Kathy Sledge
36.(31) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
37.(23) Ocean Colour Scene - Better Day
38.(25) The Woolpackers - Line Dance Party
39.(NE) Sleeper - Romeo Me
What proved to be their last single. The 7" B-side had a very rude title but if that was supposed to be a publicity stunt it didn't work.
40.(28) N-Trance - Do You Think I'm Sexy? ft Rod Stewart

44.(NE) Keith Sweat - I Want Her {1997 remix}
46.(NE) Del Amitri - Some Other Sucker's Parade
In September, the record company announced that a planned single 'Medicine' had been cancelled due to lyrics which were felt inappropriate in the light of Diana's death. The band themselves were happy to admit that it was really dropped due to lack of interest. Either way this title track from the album was chosen instead to little effect.
53.(NE) Partizan - Keep Your Love ft Natalie Robb
56.(NE) The Saw Doctors - Simple Things
60.(NE) Sinead O'Connor - This Is A Rebel Song
62.(NE) Bizzi - Bizzi's Party
64.(NE) Tanya Donelly - The Bright Light
65.(NE) Buckshot LeFonque - Another Day (In The Hood)
70.(NE) Chimera - Show Me Heaven
73.(NE) Machine Head - Take My Scars
No, really, you can keep them.

Charting 1997: 29th November

Warning: this week's chart contains material that some may find offensive.

01.(NE) Various Artists - Perfect Day
So here's the track that was orginally commissioned as a promo for the licence fee, with a cast of star musicians performing Lou Reed's alleged drug anthem for "scale" fees. Due to apparent popular demand, it was finally released as 1997's official Children In Need single, the first release from this particular appeal to top the chart. It's also the only Number One single for Various Artists, who have tended to be more successful as an album act.
In fact, you may find it handy for pub quizzes to know that this is, to the best of my knowledge the only Number One single featuring the following performers: Skye Edwards [then a member of Morcheeba], Burning Spear, Thomas Allen, the Brodsky Quartet, Sheona White, Dr John, Robert Cray, Evan Dando, Emmylou Harris, Courtney Pine, Andrew Davis, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Heather Small [of M People], Visual Ministry Choir, Suzanne Vega, Lesley Garrett, Shane MacGowan, Huey Morgan [of Fun Lovin' Criminals], Brett Anderson [of Suede and later The Tears], Joan Armatrading and Laurie Anderson. It's also the only such success for Reed himself, who sings the last line: this means that three of the four UK Top 40 hits he had are connected to his album Transformer.
02. (1) Aqua - Barbie Girl
03.(NE) Steven Houghton - Wind Beneath My Wings
The second actor from London's Burning to score a chart hit, after John Alford's briefly successful career. Simon Cowell presumably saw him as the new Robson & Jerome, although he couldn't quite match the same heights of success: whilst this lost out on the top position behind two massive sellers, the follow-up (a cover of Lionel Richie's 'Truly' released in February 1998) missed the Top 20 and despite a gold-selling album that was it.
04. (2) Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
05. (3) All Saints - Never Ever
06.(NE) Lutricia McNeal - Ain't That Just The Way
Debut hit from the Swedish-based American singer who was, like Connor Reeves, signed to the Capital FM-sponsored Wildstar label. It's a cover of a song by American singer and former Playboy model Barbi Benton.
07. (4) Barbra Streisand And Celine Dion - Tell Him
08.(NE) The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up
The highest new entry that was actually written in the 1990s, apart from the fact that the title lyric is sampled from a 1988 song by the Ultramagnetic MCs. It's fair to say that the title was more controversial than its source and indeed this track was not played nor even named on the Top 40 rundown that week - instead an instrumental B-side was announced as "from their new EP". The equally notorious promo video was seldom seen before midnight either, although the Prodge were big enough at this point to sell plenty of copies of this anyway. Apparently it even made Number One in Finland. 
09.(NE) Aaron Carter - Crush On You
So here's a record that's offensive in an entirely different way, in which the younger (9, at the time) brother of a Backstreet Boy caterwauls his way through a version of the Jets hit (also covered by Nero in 2011). Amazingly he managed as many as six hit singles over the next five years. 
10.(NE) Louise - Let's Go Round Again
Second single off the second album and she was already resorting to covers, in this case of the Average White Band's final hit. The first word of that group's name also describes this version. 
11. (7) Elton John - Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind 97
12. (6) Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing {1997 re-issue}
13.(NE) Shola Ama - Who's Loving My Baby
So by my maths this is the highest wholly original new entry, albeit not the most thrillingly inventive song ever recorded. 
14. (5) Hanson - I Will Come To You
15.(NE) Robert Miles Featuring Kathy Sledge - Freedom
In the context of this chart, you'd half expect this to be a cover of the Wham! song. It's more of an attempt to repeat the big crossover success of his hit 'One And One' the previous year.
16.(12) Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me
17.(11) The PF Project Featuring Ewan McGregor - Choose Life
18.(NE) The Firm Featuring Dawn Robinson - Firm Biz
Sadly not the same people who did 'Arthur Daley (E's Alright)' and 'Star Trekkin', nor indeed the Led Zep spin-off group who charted an album in the 1980s. This was a gangsta rap supergroup including Nas and Foxy Brown, as well as En Vogue member Robinson.
19.(NE) Mary J Blige - Missing You
The ballady single releases really start to stack up in the Christmas shopping season. 
20.(10) Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life
21.(15) Sash! Featuring La Trec - Stay
22.(18) Steps - 5, 6, 7, 8
23. (9) Ocean Colour Scene - Better Day
24.(NE) Salt-N-Pepa - R U Ready
Doesn't look people were, really.
25.(NE) The Woolpackers - Line Dance Party
In most people's lists of things the world needed in 1997, a second single by a country band of actors from Emmerdale would be a long way down. But with Steps proving the continued appeal of the line-dance craze, Simon Cowell must have thought otherwise. 
26.(16) Moby - James Bond Theme
27. (8) Pulp - Help The Aged
28.(17) N-Trance Featuring Rod Stewart - Do You Think I'm Sexy?
29.(NE) Finley Quaye - It's Great When We're Together
I must admit I've warmed to the guy over the years and this isn't a bad song, helped by the relaxed vibe which makes his voice less grating.
30.(19) Gary Barlow - Open Road
31.(20) Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
32.(14) Conner Reeves - Earthbound
33.(NE) Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott Featuring Da Brat - SockIt2Me
They'd never have recouped that video had this not been a hit in America. Perhaps it would have done better a few years later when DVD singles were popular.
34.(21) Dario G - Sunchyme
35.(23) Eternal - Angel Of Mine
36.(NE) Way Out West - Ajare {remix}
This had been their debut single exactly three years earlier, only peaking at 52 on that occasion. 
37.(22) Clock - U Sexy Thing
38.(13) Metallica - The Memory Remains
39.(NE) Rosie Gaines - I Surrender
Not the Rainbow song.
40.(26) Texas - Put Your Arms Around Me


41.(NE) BT - Love, Peace And Grease

47.(NE) Erykah Badu - Apple Tree (To Be Free)

54.(NE) Teenage Fanclub - Start Again
I'm sure the official video for this track used to be on YouTube. I'm not bothered though because it wasn't that good anyway. Fair to say they're not a band who rely heavily on their visual appeal.
56.(NE) The Jungle Brothers - Jungle Brother
Supported by Drum & Bass remixes, as I believe they were signed to a UK-based label at the time. This would also explain why they're riding a London bus in the video. A repromotion took this to the Top 20 in 1998.
62.(NE) The Cure - Wrong Number
Which was doubtless what Robert Smith thought when he saw the chart position. The obligatory new track on their second volume of singles compilation.
66.(NE) 98 Degrees - Invisible Man
71.(NE) Truce - Nothin' But A Party
73.(NE) Capricorn - 20Hz (New Frequencies)