Weaver's UK Music Charts - September 2000

Weaver's Charts

September 2000

Heavy notice: These charts are not intended as any representation of sales or airplay data on any station. They are merely intended as a guide to the most successful records in the UK at the moment. Unauthorised reproduction in print, electronic, broadcast or other media is not permitted without the consent of the author.
Ps wk TITLE (album)
Act Peak Hon
1 4 LADY HEAR ME TONIGHT
Modjo 1 x 2
The group is French, and has a silent "d" in its name. The loop is a Chic b-side from 79, and the sound a fairly urgent call over a laid-back groove. It's OK, but it's not really up to much. The record-buying public, showing its usual ability to be led by radio bosses, lap it up in spades.
2 6 MUSIC (Music)
Madonna 1 x 2
It's been a strange year for Madge, giving birth to her second child just a few weeks before this record was released, shacking up with film director Guy Richie in central London. And also completely losing touch with her muse. February's barking cover of "American Pie" remained reasonably close to the original, while not being the original. This tune, however, is all beat and dodgy video, without having any of Madonna's known talent for rhythm, tune, or song structure. Please, let this be a one-off lapse in production; I fear it's the start of the decline of the undisputed Queen Of Pop. Four weeks at the top of the world chart, three in Canada, four in the US.
3 5 SKY (Hear My Cry)
Sonique 3 SS
Follow That! With something that is only 60% of the genius of "It Feels So Good," yet still makes more with less than many follow-ups. It's the swooping chorus that does it for me.
4 2 AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)
Mariah Carey and Westlife 1 x 2
Why? Because their careers need the help. Mariah Carey, massive in the US, has never quite graduated to the A-league of star performers such as Madonna or Whitney in the UK. Westlife, meanwhile, have become chart fixtures in the UK, but are yet to properly break in the US. They've not hammered "Flying Without Wings," though, which could explain a lot.
Anyway, despite being signed to two different multi-nationals, the two acts have combined for the ultimate in opportunistic releases. A version by Mariah alone did the rounds in Europe, and all the dance mixes are of Mariah's version. Westlife doesn't feature on the remixes on a UK promo. The video was clearly done on a budget of zero, looking like it was shot with a Super-8 camcorder. It's a mile away from Mariah's previous (and very expensive) promotional shots. The upshot was a single that sold six figures in one week, but attracted minimal airplay, and won't turn into a significant hit.
For the record, this is a cover of Phil Collins' 1984 original, from the film "Against All Odds." That was kept from the #1 slot by Lionel Richie's "Hello," and probably deserves its belated chart-topping status. It's the second UK #1 that Mariah Carey has appeared on, following 1994's "Without You." Though all six of Westlife's singles have topped the UK sales chart, this is only the third to top my listing.
5 7 GROOVEJET (FEEL SO GOOD)
Spiller 1 x 1
Spiller is an Italian DJ, who has teamed with Sophie Ellis-Bextor. SE-B was best known as the daughter of former Jigsaw and Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, and only slightly known as lead singer with indie band Theaudience. Lending her vocal talents to this track proved the making of her, as it crossed over to sell over 200,000 copies in one week and become the most played record in one week on UK radio ever. The only problem I have is that it's a rather one-dimensional track, there's no depth at all. Still, that many people may not be wrong.
6 7 LUCKY (Oops I Did It Again)
Britney Spears 4 SS
Completely overshadowed on release by the Spiller / Steppers battle, Spears' sixth single becomes her sixth to go top -- four. It's the second release from her sophomore album, and is the first single that is written in the third person. Is this evidence that Spears' solipsism knows bounds, that she can sing about something other than "me"? Watch this space.
7 9 DOESN'T REALLY MATTER (The Nutty Professor II OST)
Janet Jackson 5
Janet's first single in almost two years is something of a grower. What starts out as bog-standard US R&B eventually reveals the subtle defining touches of her regular work. File under interesting novelty, two week atop the world chart, and three weeks as US #1.
8 2 ZOMBIE NATION
Kernkraft 3000 2
It's a bit of a bizarre one, this. Thundering drums, a keyboard riff that might just owe something to too much buttercup dew, and a simple chant. I'm undecided as to whether this is genius or guff.
9 9 ROCK DJ (Sing When You're Winning)
Robbie Williams 1 x 1
The second single from his new album, it's a rip-off of the theme to 70s classic "Chorlton And the Wheelies" and Murray Head's "One Night In Bangkok" from the musical Chess. With that, plus Robbie's status as media darling par excellence, and a video too gruesome for television (and not just because Williams is in it) he has a massive hit. Shame the song really is a five-minute album filler.
10 4 IT DOESN'T MATTER (The Ecleftic)
Wyclef Jean 4
The lead single from the former Fugee's second solo album is a bit of a mess, ruined really by the rap from some grunt 'n' grapple chappie.
11 13 IT'S GONNA BE ME (No Strings Attached)
N'Sync 9 SS
How to follow up the perfect pop of "Bye Bye Bye"? With a broadly similar, yet slightly different song. One that is somehow a lot less refreshing than the last one. Two weeks on top in the US, with a belated UK release brought forward to the start of September.
12 11 JUMPIN JUMPIN (The Writing's On The Wall)
Destiny's Child 4
Fourth UK single, third in the US, and it's released just as the group loses its third member in less than a year. The track is an unremarkable piece of R&B that pales into insignificance against the delights of Bills.
13 3 ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS
Kylie Minogue 3
The return of the Australian squit continues. It's a cover of an obscure Eurodance track, devoid of any significant talent, and sounding a lot like album filler. If this is the second best track off the album, Kylie really is in trouble. A combination of great promotion and undeniable media hype gave a #2 sales entry, but it couldn't last, her only week in the top ten.
14 8 I TURN TO YOU (Northern Star)
Melanie C 1 x 1
Let's briefly recap on the most successful solo career from a Spice. There was Punk C (the under-rated Going Down, #6 last October). There was Torch Singer C (Northern Star, a #8 last December.) R&B C made #1 last time out, with a little help from Lisa Lopez. Unlike the here-today, gone-tomorrow pop pastiches of Geri Spice, these three tracks will stand the test of time. Single four from the album, though, is a pretty poor excuse. Dancey C is just a step too far.
15 3 NATURAL (7)
S Club 7 2
Single five samples Faure's Pavanne, as used by the BBC for the World Cup a couple of years ago. It's another piece of intelligent, well-sung pop. It might not be that demanding, but it's really rather good.
16 2 MOST GIRLS (Can't Take Me Home)
Pink 6
A bit of a grower, not the sh(l)ock tactics of her debut, but a more brooding number about the few men who are actually the slightest romantic. Fertile territory, nothing too new, but good nevertheless.
17 4 TAKE ON ME
A1 3
In 1985, Morten, Mags and Pal hit #1 everywhere in the world with their much re-recorded tune. It also came with the greatest video yet, the one with the cartoon drawings of Morten and the motorcycle. Fabulous. The only fly in the ointment was the UK, where the Norwegians launched their career with a #2 hit, kept from the top by Jennifer Rush. Fast forward to 2000, and boy band A1 try to resurrect their fast-fading career with a cover version. They've stayed close to the original, keeping the tune - including the chorus that goes from low baritone to high falsetto in just sixteen bars - and an expensive video. But where A-ha (for it was they) had soul and class, this version doesn't gel. Style over substance.
18 2 I'M OUTTA LOVE
Anastacia 5
When R&B met disco down a dark alley one night, this was the result. A little rough round the edges, but a fantastic tune that has already hit it across the continent
19 2 OVERLOAD
Sugababes 8 SS
This oozes class by the note. The first release by a young female group would usually be promoted heavily through the teen magazines, but this has come out with small ads in almost every publication going. The quiet but ubiquitous campaign would count for nothing if it weren't for the sublimely brilliant track itself, a dash of All Saints in a broth that owes a lot to Imani Coppola's 1998 "Legend Of A Cowgirl." Fantastic.
20 10 FREESTYLER (In Stereo)
Bomfunk MCs 3 SS
Any nearer naming those three famous acts from Finland? Here's #2. The Bomfunk MCs have been hitting big across Europe for most of the past year, and finally got their UK release at the end of July. The track isn't much on first hearing, but there's a certain something that draws the listener back. It's worth the effort. If you can't be bothered, just enjoy the video.
21 4 BIG BROTHER THEME (Songs From Big Brother)
Element Four 6
The hit game show of the summer in the UK has been "Big Brother," in which a bunch of egotists spend ten weeks in one building in London. The rest of the year, we call it Parliament... Anyway, the theme is legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold, and has all the urgency and oomph of a great tv theme, while remaining a credible dance single. Not quite my cup of tea, but the artistry is there to be admired.
22 13 BREATHLESS (In Blue)
Corrs 1 x 3 SS
It took over a year for 1997's "Talk On Corners" to properly break, but the wait was worth it. The album became the best seller of 1998, and remained a firm favourite well into 99. The gap since this album has been filled by re-releases of 95's "Forgiven Not Forgotten" and an acoustic album last autumn. That latter record provided the most recent single, "Radio", a minor hit last December. This, though, is the real deal. The trademark close-knit harmonies, the tight instrumentation, and probably their best track this side of the evergreen "What Can I Do." That it sounds like Belinda Carlisle circa "Runaway Horses" doesn't hurt proceedings.
23 2 SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE
Billie Piper 6
Even before Britney, there was Billie. This tune has some oomph and whoomph that reminds me of Janet Jackson circa "Control", her breakthrough album in the UK. Rather good, really.
24 12 LIFE IS A ROLLERCOASTER (Ronan)
Ronan Keating 3*
On paper, this is a great song. Written by Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals, it's structurally very similar to "You Get What You Give," the group's massive smash last year. The production is class, the talent - especially the backing vocals - shines through. Then in comes the notional star, with distinctly C-class vocals. It's not so much that Ronan has a rotten voice, just that it's so obviously the weakest part of the single. A crying shame, really. Ronan's (former) group, Boyzone, made a lot of country covers during their career, and I can see this being picked up by someone like Shelby Lynne or Alan Montgomery.
Then there's the farcical situation surrounding the record's chart places, explaining the asterisk in the line above. In its first week, "LIAR" sold 190,000 copies. That would be enough to give it #1 sales and #1 overall by a massive margin. However, over half the copies were of a CD single that contained three songs and an interactive interview with Ronan. "Ah!" said the bigwigs at the sales chart compilers. "That makes the single contain four tracks, and we've had an absurd and self-defeating three track rule for the past two years." The result was that these sales vanished, LIAR held #1 sales but slipped to #3 overall.
25 3 WIFEY
Next 18 SS
It was either going to be a heavy rap, or a sublime slice of R&B. Thankfully, it's the latter, transcending with a stunning, understated vocal performance.
26 10 SEVEN DAYS (Born To Do It)
Craig David 1 x 1
Would someone please tell me what this guy has? Youth? So did Jimmy Osmond. A half-decent singing voice? See Mariah Carey (but don't hear.) Shedloads of people who should know better touting him as the greatest thing since sliced bread? Maybe, but if this is the best the UK can offer, I am really worried. Oh, the track is yet another turgid slice of mumblings about some babe our hero has just met. It's not a patch on Sting's offering, of the same name, from his "Ten Summoner's Tales" album.
27 2 BULLET IN THE GUN
Planet Perfecto 16 SS
Originally released last November, this was a #22 weekly hit, and didn't trouble my top 400 of the year. Re-released this year, after conquering Ibiza clubs for the second straight year, it's shown something of the staying power. More tellingly, it's a straight re-release, without a millennium remix or anything like that.
28 7 OUT OF YOUR MIND
Truesteppers 2
Involved in a massive first-week battle with Spiller, this record's hype rested mainly on the vocal contribution by Victoria Posh-Spice-Aadams-Beckham. She toured Ibiza, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Marseilles, Newcastle, and Woolworth's at the Ealing Broadway Centre. Then rivals Spiller took out tv adverts with the line: "Great record. No hype." The Steppers, also featuring Dane Bowers (ex Another Level) lost the sales battle by 10%, and trailed 20% on airplay. More importantly, this record had nothing of the staying power of its rival, slumping 2-6 second week out.
29 1 ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY
Vanessa Amorosi 18 SS
One of the highlights of the Olympics was the fantastic performance of the UK team, collecting eleven golds. Another highlight was the piss-poor performance of the USA, bagging a mere 25. Yet another was the unofficial theme, this slice of high energy pop working like a siren.
30 2 ORDINARY WORLD
Aurora 15
The original was a #5 hit for Duran Duran in 1993, and launched their eponymous "Wedding" album. Seven years on, the dance covers that were around at the time suddenly get re-worked in a slightly more modern style, and turns into a massive hit all over again. We await the 2005 remake of "My Heart Will Go On" with interest.
31 3 UNFORGIVABLE SINNER (Playing My Game)
Lene Marlin 23 SS
The second single from the uber-talented Norwegian has been on hold for some months, pending the demise of "Sitting Down Here." It's finally released to muted sales, suggesting that Lene will be following the Macy Gray school of one single leading to huge album sales, with further tracks released to radio to help promote.
32 17 TRY AGAIN (Romeo Must Die OST)
Aaliyah 6
Mention should be made of this track, which became the first record ever to top the US charts without being available in stores. That will be the point that the track's remembered for, not for being a decent grower of a track. It may never quite be an A-grade track, but it is good.
33 14 THE REAL SLIM SHADY (The Marshall Mathers LP)
Eminem 1 x 1
It's fair to say that critical opinion is heavily divided on this chap. Some people think he is the bee's knees, a genius with the mouth, smart and witty. Others see him as a misogynistic squit, all mouth and no brain. This correspondent is firmly in the latter camp. According to those who transcribe the rantings, this one takes cheap shots at Christina Aguilera, in between all the profanity. He does have the first primarily rap #1 single since Run DMC and Jason Nevins spent two weeks at the top in April 1998. One week as the planet's biggest.
34 13 TAKE A LOOK AROUND (Mission Impossible 2 OST)
Limp Bizkit 3 Jul
Believe it or not, this is the first single release by America's biggest teen-rock band of the moment. Utterly massive stateside, they've never quite caught fire over here, in spite of having a large and growing fanbase. All that has changed now, with their first single being a re-working of the old Mission Impossible theme, with added vocals. It's the loudest, hardest thing to hit the top 10 since Iron Maiden, and provides a more-than-welcome change to the tedious screds of club music.
35 1 GIVE ME JUST ONE NIGHT
98 Degrees 27 NB
I'd kinda like to hear this...
36 14 BENT (Real World)
Matchbox Twenty 16 NB
It's a slow grower, but when it clicks into life, you'll know it. Unless you listen to British radio, when you'll never hear it. One week at the top in the US, four in Canada, five on the World Chart. UK release was threatened for September, but cancelled when it became clear it would sink without trace. As predicted here previously.
37 1 COME ON OVER (Christina Aguilera)
Christina Aguilera 28 NB
This is single four, and it's a return to the upbeat stuff. Pretty formulaic by now.
38 1 CAN I GET A... (You'll Love To Hate This)
Richard Blackwood 28
Talent implant? Purlease.
39 1 UNLEASH THE DRAGON (Unleash the Dragon)
Sisqo 16
Single three here is the title track from the album, "Thong Song II". The far superior US number one ballad, "Incomplete," is being held for the Christmas market.
40 1 (HOT SHIT) COUNTRY GRAMMAR (Country Grammar)
Nelly 33 NB
Another one I need to hear.
SureShots on yellow, Singles of the Month on red, records Not British hits on green.

Ps	wk	TITLE (album) Act	Peak	Hon
1	4	LADY HEAR ME TONIGHT Modjo	1 x 2
The group is French, and has a silent "d" in its name. The loop is a Chic b-side from 79, and the sound a fairly urgent call over a laid-back groove. It's OK, but it's not really up to much. The record-buying public, showing its usual ability to be led by radio bosses, lap it up in spades.
2	6	MUSIC (Music) Madonna	1 x 2
It's been a strange year for Madge, giving birth to her second child just a few weeks before this record was released, shacking up with film director Guy Richie in central London. And also completely losing touch with her muse. February's barking cover of "American Pie" remained reasonably close to the original, while not being the original. This tune, however, is all beat and dodgy video, without having any of Madonna's known talent for rhythm, tune, or song structure. Please, let this be a one-off lapse in production; I fear it's the start of the decline of the undisputed Queen Of Pop. Four weeks at the top of the world chart, three in Canada, four in the US.
3	5	SKY (Hear My Cry) Sonique	3	SS
Follow That! With something that is only 60% of the genius of "It Feels So Good," yet still makes more with less than many follow-ups. It's the swooping chorus that does it for me.
4	2	AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW) Mariah Carey and Westlife	1 x 2
Why? Because their careers need the help. Mariah Carey, massive in the US, has never quite graduated to the A-league of star performers such as Madonna or Whitney in the UK. Westlife, meanwhile, have become chart fixtures in the UK, but are yet to properly break in the US. They've not hammered "Flying Without Wings," though, which could explain a lot. Anyway, despite being signed to two different multi-nationals, the two acts have combined for the ultimate in opportunistic releases. A version by Mariah alone did the rounds in Europe, and all the dance mixes are of Mariah's version. Westlife doesn't feature on the remixes on a UK promo. The video was clearly done on a budget of zero, looking like it was shot with a Super-8 camcorder. It's a mile away from Mariah's previous (and very expensive) promotional shots. The upshot was a single that sold six figures in one week, but attracted minimal airplay, and won't turn into a significant hit. For the record, this is a cover of Phil Collins' 1984 original, from the film "Against All Odds." That was kept from the #1 slot by Lionel Richie's "Hello," and probably deserves its belated chart-topping status. It's the second UK #1 that Mariah Carey has appeared on, following 1994's "Without You." Though all six of Westlife's singles have topped the UK sales chart, this is only the third to top my listing.
5	7	GROOVEJET (FEEL SO GOOD) Spiller	1 x 1
Spiller is an Italian DJ, who has teamed with Sophie Ellis-Bextor. SE-B was best known as the daughter of former Jigsaw and Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, and only slightly known as lead singer with indie band Theaudience. Lending her vocal talents to this track proved the making of her, as it crossed over to sell over 200,000 copies in one week and become the most played record in one week on UK radio ever. The only problem I have is that it's a rather one-dimensional track, there's no depth at all. Still, that many people may not be wrong.
6	7	LUCKY (Oops I Did It Again) Britney Spears	4	SS
Completely overshadowed on release by the Spiller / Steppers battle, Spears' sixth single becomes her sixth to go top -- four. It's the second release from her sophomore album, and is the first single that is written in the third person. Is this evidence that Spears' solipsism knows bounds, that she can sing about something other than "me"? Watch this space.
7	9	DOESN'T REALLY MATTER (The Nutty Professor II OST) Janet Jackson	5
Janet's first single in almost two years is something of a grower. What starts out as bog-standard US R&B eventually reveals the subtle defining touches of her regular work. File under interesting novelty, two week atop the world chart, and three weeks as US #1.
8	2	ZOMBIE NATION Kernkraft 3000	2
It's a bit of a bizarre one, this. Thundering drums, a keyboard riff that might just owe something to too much buttercup dew, and a simple chant. I'm undecided as to whether this is genius or guff.
9	9	ROCK DJ (Sing When You're Winning) Robbie Williams	1 x 1
The second single from his new album, it's a rip-off of the theme to 70s classic "Chorlton And the Wheelies" and Murray Head's "One Night In Bangkok" from the musical Chess. With that, plus Robbie's status as media darling par excellence, and a video too gruesome for television (and not just because Williams is in it) he has a massive hit. Shame the song really is a five-minute album filler.
10	4	IT DOESN'T MATTER (The Ecleftic) Wyclef Jean	4
The lead single from the former Fugee's second solo album is a bit of a mess, ruined really by the rap from some grunt 'n' grapple chappie.
11	13	IT'S GONNA BE ME (No Strings Attached) N'Sync	9	SS
How to follow up the perfect pop of "Bye Bye Bye"? With a broadly similar, yet slightly different song. One that is somehow a lot less refreshing than the last one. Two weeks on top in the US, with a belated UK release brought forward to the start of September.
12	11	JUMPIN JUMPIN (The Writing's On The Wall) Destiny's Child	4
Fourth UK single, third in the US, and it's released just as the group loses its third member in less than a year. The track is an unremarkable piece of R&B that pales into insignificance against the delights of Bills.
13	3	ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS Kylie Minogue	3
The return of the Australian squit continues. It's a cover of an obscure Eurodance track, devoid of any significant talent, and sounding a lot like album filler. If this is the second best track off the album, Kylie really is in trouble. A combination of great promotion and undeniable media hype gave a #2 sales entry, but it couldn't last, her only week in the top ten.
14	8	I TURN TO YOU (Northern Star) Melanie C	1 x 1
Let's briefly recap on the most successful solo career from a Spice. There was Punk C (the under-rated Going Down, #6 last October). There was Torch Singer C (Northern Star, a #8 last December.) R&B C made #1 last time out, with a little help from Lisa Lopez. Unlike the here-today, gone-tomorrow pop pastiches of Geri Spice, these three tracks will stand the test of time. Single four from the album, though, is a pretty poor excuse. Dancey C is just a step too far.
15	3	NATURAL (7) S Club 7	2
Single five samples Faure's Pavanne, as used by the BBC for the World Cup a couple of years ago. It's another piece of intelligent, well-sung pop. It might not be that demanding, but it's really rather good.
16	2	MOST GIRLS (Can't Take Me Home) Pink	6
A bit of a grower, not the sh(l)ock tactics of her debut, but a more brooding number about the few men who are actually the slightest romantic. Fertile territory, nothing too new, but good nevertheless.
17	4	TAKE ON ME A1	3
In 1985, Morten, Mags and Pal hit #1 everywhere in the world with their much re-recorded tune. It also came with the greatest video yet, the one with the cartoon drawings of Morten and the motorcycle. Fabulous. The only fly in the ointment was the UK, where the Norwegians launched their career with a #2 hit, kept from the top by Jennifer Rush. Fast forward to 2000, and boy band A1 try to resurrect their fast-fading career with a cover version. They've stayed close to the original, keeping the tune - including the chorus that goes from low baritone to high falsetto in just sixteen bars - and an expensive video. But where A-ha (for it was they) had soul and class, this version doesn't gel. Style over substance.
18	2	I'M OUTTA LOVE Anastacia	5
When R&B met disco down a dark alley one night, this was the result. A little rough round the edges, but a fantastic tune that has already hit it across the continent
19	2	OVERLOAD Sugababes	8	SS
This oozes class by the note. The first release by a young female group would usually be promoted heavily through the teen magazines, but this has come out with small ads in almost every publication going. The quiet but ubiquitous campaign would count for nothing if it weren't for the sublimely brilliant track itself, a dash of All Saints in a broth that owes a lot to Imani Coppola's 1998 "Legend Of A Cowgirl." Fantastic.
20	10	FREESTYLER (In Stereo) Bomfunk MCs	3	SS
Any nearer naming those three famous acts from Finland? Here's #2. The Bomfunk MCs have been hitting big across Europe for most of the past year, and finally got their UK release at the end of July. The track isn't much on first hearing, but there's a certain something that draws the listener back. It's worth the effort. If you can't be bothered, just enjoy the video.
21	4	BIG BROTHER THEME (Songs From Big Brother) Element Four	6
The hit game show of the summer in the UK has been "Big Brother," in which a bunch of egotists spend ten weeks in one building in London. The rest of the year, we call it Parliament... Anyway, the theme is legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold, and has all the urgency and oomph of a great tv theme, while remaining a credible dance single. Not quite my cup of tea, but the artistry is there to be admired.
22	13	BREATHLESS (In Blue) Corrs	1 x 3	SS
It took over a year for 1997's "Talk On Corners" to properly break, but the wait was worth it. The album became the best seller of 1998, and remained a firm favourite well into 99. The gap since this album has been filled by re-releases of 95's "Forgiven Not Forgotten" and an acoustic album last autumn. That latter record provided the most recent single, "Radio", a minor hit last December. This, though, is the real deal. The trademark close-knit harmonies, the tight instrumentation, and probably their best track this side of the evergreen "What Can I Do." That it sounds like Belinda Carlisle circa "Runaway Horses" doesn't hurt proceedings.
23	2	SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE Billie Piper	6
Even before Britney, there was Billie. This tune has some oomph and whoomph that reminds me of Janet Jackson circa "Control", her breakthrough album in the UK. Rather good, really.
24	12	LIFE IS A ROLLERCOASTER (Ronan) Ronan Keating	3*
On paper, this is a great song. Written by Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals, it's structurally very similar to "You Get What You Give," the group's massive smash last year. The production is class, the talent - especially the backing vocals - shines through. Then in comes the notional star, with distinctly C-class vocals. It's not so much that Ronan has a rotten voice, just that it's so obviously the weakest part of the single. A crying shame, really. Ronan's (former) group, Boyzone, made a lot of country covers during their career, and I can see this being picked up by someone like Shelby Lynne or Alan Montgomery. Then there's the farcical situation surrounding the record's chart places, explaining the asterisk in the line above. In its first week, "LIAR" sold 190,000 copies. That would be enough to give it #1 sales and #1 overall by a massive margin. However, over half the copies were of a CD single that contained three songs and an interactive interview with Ronan. "Ah!" said the bigwigs at the sales chart compilers. "That makes the single contain four tracks, and we've had an absurd and self-defeating three track rule for the past two years." The result was that these sales vanished, LIAR held #1 sales but slipped to #3 overall.
25	3	WIFEY Next	18	SS
It was either going to be a heavy rap, or a sublime slice of R&B. Thankfully, it's the latter, transcending with a stunning, understated vocal performance.
26	10	SEVEN DAYS (Born To Do It) Craig David	1 x 1
Would someone please tell me what this guy has? Youth? So did Jimmy Osmond. A half-decent singing voice? See Mariah Carey (but don't hear.) Shedloads of people who should know better touting him as the greatest thing since sliced bread? Maybe, but if this is the best the UK can offer, I am really worried. Oh, the track is yet another turgid slice of mumblings about some babe our hero has just met. It's not a patch on Sting's offering, of the same name, from his "Ten Summoner's Tales" album.
27	2	BULLET IN THE GUN Planet Perfecto	16	SS
Originally released last November, this was a #22 weekly hit, and didn't trouble my top 400 of the year. Re-released this year, after conquering Ibiza clubs for the second straight year, it's shown something of the staying power. More tellingly, it's a straight re-release, without a millennium remix or anything like that.
28	7	OUT OF YOUR MIND Truesteppers	2
Involved in a massive first-week battle with Spiller, this record's hype rested mainly on the vocal contribution by Victoria Posh-Spice-Aadams-Beckham. She toured Ibiza, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Marseilles, Newcastle, and Woolworth's at the Ealing Broadway Centre. Then rivals Spiller took out tv adverts with the line: "Great record. No hype." The Steppers, also featuring Dane Bowers (ex Another Level) lost the sales battle by 10%, and trailed 20% on airplay. More importantly, this record had nothing of the staying power of its rival, slumping 2-6 second week out.
29	1	ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY Vanessa Amorosi	18	SS
One of the highlights of the Olympics was the fantastic performance of the UK team, collecting eleven golds. Another highlight was the piss-poor performance of the USA, bagging a mere 25. Yet another was the unofficial theme, this slice of high energy pop working like a siren.
30	2	ORDINARY WORLD Aurora	15
The original was a #5 hit for Duran Duran in 1993, and launched their eponymous "Wedding" album. Seven years on, the dance covers that were around at the time suddenly get re-worked in a slightly more modern style, and turns into a massive hit all over again. We await the 2005 remake of "My Heart Will Go On" with interest.
31	3	UNFORGIVABLE SINNER (Playing My Game) Lene Marlin	23	SS
The second single from the uber-talented Norwegian has been on hold for some months, pending the demise of "Sitting Down Here." It's finally released to muted sales, suggesting that Lene will be following the Macy Gray school of one single leading to huge album sales, with further tracks released to radio to help promote.
32	17	TRY AGAIN (Romeo Must Die OST) Aaliyah	6
Mention should be made of this track, which became the first record ever to top the US charts without being available in stores. That will be the point that the track's remembered for, not for being a decent grower of a track. It may never quite be an A-grade track, but it is good.
33	14	THE REAL SLIM SHADY (The Marshall Mathers LP) Eminem	1 x 1
It's fair to say that critical opinion is heavily divided on this chap. Some people think he is the bee's knees, a genius with the mouth, smart and witty. Others see him as a misogynistic squit, all mouth and no brain. This correspondent is firmly in the latter camp. According to those who transcribe the rantings, this one takes cheap shots at Christina Aguilera, in between all the profanity. He does have the first primarily rap #1 single since Run DMC and Jason Nevins spent two weeks at the top in April 1998. One week as the planet's biggest.
34	13	TAKE A LOOK AROUND (Mission Impossible 2 OST) Limp Bizkit	3	Jul
Believe it or not, this is the first single release by America's biggest teen-rock band of the moment. Utterly massive stateside, they've never quite caught fire over here, in spite of having a large and growing fanbase. All that has changed now, with their first single being a re-working of the old Mission Impossible theme, with added vocals. It's the loudest, hardest thing to hit the top 10 since Iron Maiden, and provides a more-than-welcome change to the tedious screds of club music.
35	1	GIVE ME JUST ONE NIGHT 98 Degrees	27	NB
I'd kinda like to hear this...
36	14	BENT (Real World) Matchbox Twenty	16	NB
It's a slow grower, but when it clicks into life, you'll know it. Unless you listen to British radio, when you'll never hear it. One week at the top in the US, four in Canada, five on the World Chart. UK release was threatened for September, but cancelled when it became clear it would sink without trace. As predicted here previously.
37	1	COME ON OVER (Christina Aguilera) Christina Aguilera	28	NB
This is single four, and it's a return to the upbeat stuff. Pretty formulaic by now.
38	1	CAN I GET A... (You'll Love To Hate This) Richard Blackwood	28
Talent implant? Purlease.
39	1	UNLEASH THE DRAGON (Unleash the Dragon) Sisqo	16
Single three here is the title track from the album, "Thong Song II". The far superior US number one ballad, "Incomplete," is being held for the Christmas market.
40	1	(HOT SHIT) COUNTRY GRAMMAR (Country Grammar) Nelly	33	NB
Another one I need to hear.

breakers...

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00-10-03