Weaver's UK Music Charts

Weaver's Charts

November 2000

Disclaimer: These charts are intended as a guide to the most successful records, measured by influence on public taste, in the UK during the period above. There is no representation of sales or airplay data in any market. 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 7 WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (Who Let the Dogs Out?)
Baja Men 1 x 1
Who, indeed. A collective from the Bahamas, responsible for a track that one either loves or hates on the first listen. It's been handled around the world by pop impressario Johnathan King, whom one also either loves or loathes after about ten seconds. This was shaping up to be a significant minor hit, peaking just outside the top 10, until a slow week and increased distribution combined to push the track to #2, inches behind U2. The viral qualities ensured it then turned into a massive hit, used by sports fans all over the world. Three weeks at #2 looked to be it for this track, but a gap in the market suddenly opened and the track claimed its rightful place as Britain's #1 on every chart - except the sales one.
2 4 SHE BANGS (Sound Loaded)
Ricky Martin 4 SS
Finally, an up-tempo follow-up to last year's "Livin' La Vida Loca," the one that broke Ricky in the US. Since that trans-atlantic topper, he's released the rather good ballads "She's All I Ever Had" (not in the UK) and "Private Emotion" (with Meja,) and the singularly rubbish "Shake Your Bonbon." This is a stomper of a track, with plenty of opportunity to cross over and become a massive hit. Four weeks as the planet's biggest.
3 4 MY LOVE (Coast To Coast)
Westlife 1 x 1
Don't believe the hype. This is their sixth record without assistance, and (by my ranking) is only the third to become the most popular hit of its moment in the UK. Everyone agrees that "I Have A Dream" was #1 over Christmas and New Year last year; and most observers give the nod to "Flying Without Wings" in October 99. There's a strong argument that in its peak week, this was less popular than the Baja Men.
As to the song itself, it's Westlife-by-numbers. A dull ballad, lushly produced, great harmonies, yet completely devoid of emotion. Move on, there's nothing to hear here.
4 5 HOLLER (Forever)
Spice Girls 1 x 1
Single number 10 - promoted as a double-A with sappy "Let Love Lead the Way" - is the tenth number one of their career, leaving them just one behind the Beatles' all-time record. However, if any other act released this, it wouldn't be anything like so big. It's actually a dull mess of lite R&B, without any of the charm that marked the group's earlier work. It seems they're missing Geri more than they think. The album slumped out of the top 20 after just two weeks, suggesting that the Spices are Over. The contractual Greatest Hits seems very close.
5 2 CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT (Coyote Ugly OST)
Leann Rimes 1 x 1 SS
Leann's career launched in 1996, with the album "Blue." Acres of press coverage for the star, then just 13, translated into precious few sales. "How Do I Live?" changed all that, setting records on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the longest-running hits ever - a surely unbreakable 69 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100; and 30 weeks in the UK Top 40, the longest run of the decade. She's not had a big hit since, but has been able to have a number of smaller releases tickle the bottom end of the chart.
Now enter a flick with plenty of barmaids dancing on the bar, and (er) that's about it. "Coyote Ugly" is a turkey, but the soundtrack is one of the few redeeming features. The lead track is this one, an upbeat track (just for a change) that plays to Rimes' strengths.
6 3 SHAPE OF MY HEART (Black And Blue)
Backstreet Boys 4
The first single lifted from their fourth (count 'em!) album is a slushy number. Maybe this group is coming to the end of its life, too.
7 8 BLACK COFFEE (Saints And Sinners)
All Saints 1 x 1 SS
The second single (after February's massive Leo-induced frenzy) could never quite top the brilliance of "Pure Shores," though it pushes all the right buttons. The former release remains the year's biggest hit; the latter tops the listings on sales of barely 50,000, the smallest sale for a #1 single since Hangover Week, the week after new year.
8 3 NUMBER ONE
Tweenies 6 SS
Enjoy this on two levels. One is that it is a kick-ass pop song, of the sort that the Spice Girls used to turn out in their sleep, and even S Club 7 and Steps would happily kill for. Combining an upbeat lyric with a strong rhythm, the song is happiness in a nutshell.
The other is as the logical follow-up to the 1997 Number One, "Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh." That was from the BBC's new pre-school programme, featuring the brightly coloured aliens gadding about the countryside sprouting inane rubbish. So far, so New Labour's agricultural policy. The Tubbies were adopted by students up and down the land, and became the ultimate kitsch icon of the year.
Fast forward to 2000, and it's a year since Bella, Milo, Jake and Fizz burst onto the screen in a shower of glitter and action. If the Teletubbies' show is sedate and repetetive, the Tweenies' is fast, all action and requires a lot of concentration. Maybe that's why the fab four haven't quite achieved the same cult following as the Tubbies.
(Bear with me on this one.) Every episode of the Tweenies features the group singing a little song, which leads neatly into one of the marketing moves: an album. And an album needs a single. It's a tribute to the underlying quality of the song that it's got as high as it has with no radio airplay, and very little critical attention.
9 9 COME ON OVER (Christina Aguilera)
Christina Aguilera 5
This is single four, and it's a return to the upbeat stuff. Pretty formulaic by now. Three weeks as the US #1.
10 10 I'M OUTTA LOVE (Not That Kind)
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. A real grower in the UK, Anastacia has continued long past her expected sell-by date and turned into a major hit that just won't go away.
11 3 DON'T THINK I'M NOT
Kandi 9 SS
This is a rather perky number, with an added dose of nastiness lurking just behind the glittery veneer. It's rather good, all told.
12 7 BEAUTIFUL DAY (All That You Can't Leave Behind)
U2 1 x 2 Oct
In recent years, the first single off a U2 album has been something of an experimental track, unlike anything else on the disc. "The Fly," the first release from 1991's "Achtung Baby!" was a loud buzzing melody, while "Discotheque," first off 1997's "Pop" had a stomp that never turned up on the rest of the album. The roots of this single are there for all to see on tracks like "Stay (Faraway So Close)" off 1993's "Zooropa," and the more recent "If God Will Send His Angels" and "Last Night On Earth." A rootsy, guitar-based sound, like they've made all along the line. Despite the best efforts to convince otherwise. Two weeks at #1 on the World Chart.
13 14 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. Seven weeks at the top of the world chart, three in Canada, four in the US.
14 1 INDEPENDENT WOMEN I (Charlie's Angels OST)
Destiny's Child 1 x 1
The lead single from the latest hip-chick flick comes from the group that seems to have taken up permanent residence on the listings. Destiny's Child has now had five massive hits in slightly less than 18 months. This is the biggest hit of the set, and becomes their first UK number one. It's spent three weeks topping the Hot 100.
15 4 I'M OVER YOU (Wishing)
Martine Mcucheon 6
The singing bar steward returns for a second album. Though a sappy ballad, like everything else she records, this is a rather good sappy ballad. One that does sound good recorded here.
16 2 ONE MORE TIME
Daft Punk 3
The French trio is probably still best known for their bizarre video to 1997's "Da Funk," featuring a man in a beagle costume going around his life, carrying a ghettoblaster from which the tune played. That was inspirational; this is somehow cliched by comparison. It treads the same boards as Stardust's massive - and massively-overplayed - 1998 hit "Music Sounds Better With You." That shouldn't come as a total surprise, as Thomas Bangalter was in both acts. That he hasn't managed to move his style on in the two and a half years since, and the record isn't exciting, should be a worry.
Incidentally, the group has declined to promote this release in any way, and there's no video to rave about in four years time. A pity.
17 12 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. It has shown remarkable tenacity, sticking on radio playlists for over four months so far.
18 7 SILENCE
Delerium feat Sarah MacLachlan 4 SS
Another of those records that has worked its passage right round the world before becoming a UK hit. I first heard this on the back of its Australian success in the third quarter of 99, and loved it then. Slightly remixed for the UK market, MacLachlan's banshee wail counterpoints a great bass melody. With any decent marketing prowess, this will be the launchpad for the Halifax export, reviving interest in her previous albums.
19 6 (HOT SHIT) COUNTRY GRAMMAR (Country Grammar)
Nelly 14
Based on a traditional American rhyme (well, as traditional as anything from the US can be), Nelly comes firing in with all guns blazing. Sadly, the hook makes sense in the US, and nothing at all in the UK. This fatally undermines the logic of the single, rendering it pointless.
20 2 ORIGINAL PRANKSTER
The Offspring 15
So, was the idea of giving this track away as an MP3 to promote the album a good one? The jury is still out on the group's abortive stunt, pulled at the insistence of their record company. The track itself is no great shakes, not quite scaling the genius of "Why Don't You Get a Job" and "Pretty Fly," but still keeping on the right side of respectable.
21 6 STOMP / TRAGEDY (Buzz)
Steps 3 SS
The single credits inspiration and pays tribute to Nile Rogers, the driving force behind 70s disco band Chic. It's a credit totally in place, as "Stomp" brings to mind classics like "Good Times" and (er) whatever else it was that Chic did, without actually ripping off any particular track. The single is backed with a fantastic 12" mix of "Tragedy," the band's first chart-topper from the beginning of 1999. This package might have to go down as the unluckiest release of the year - #1 on sales, but so weak on airplay that it was overtaken by the Baja Men, and then both were trumped by U2. An increase of just 0.6% would have given Steps the top slot.
22 2 SAME OLD BRAND NEW YOU (The A List)
A1 8
Same old tired old boy band pap. Can someone please explain how this can *possibly* be considered a greater hit than the Baja Men? Though A1 did just manage to sell more in their first week of release than the Bajas, which tune is more likely to be remembered in six months, never mind sixty years?
23 10 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.
24 7 KIDS (Sing When You're Winning / Light Years)
Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue 2
Bosses at Virgin Records, home to both these acts, must have been worried that people would see through the new clothes for their Emperor and Empress of Pap. Both acts have put out cliched re-treads of their previous glories, devoid of original thought. This is just about the worst excess in that direction, an opportunistic wannabe-anthem that can't see a stereotype without exploiting it. The gabbled hook line, the off-kilter guitar, the male-female line interplay. Dull as anything.
25 8 BODY GROOVE
Architechs 6
Crap. Next.
26 3 TROUBLE (Parachutes)
Coldplay 23 SS
The follow-up to the massive "Yellow" isn't quite as big a hit, but its maudlin strings cement one heck of a grower.
27 1 PLEASE DON'T TURN ME ON (Gotta Tell You)
Artful Dodger 6
The third release from one of the most over-hyped groups of the year. Anything to do with "garage", this year's media-created scene, has been loved; anything else has been ignored. Oh to be able to leave this instantly forgettable stuff on the shelf where it belongs.
28 7 COULD I HAVE THIS KISS FOREVER (Greatest Hits)
Whitney Houston & Enrique Iglesias 9
Her greatest hits album contained four new tracks, of which this is the second. His UK career has stalled somewhat since the breakthrough "Bailamos" in summer last year. The combination is a decent enough track, breaking no new ground, but a pleasant enough listen. Oddly, it took a long time to be accepted by the radio playlisters here.
29 13 SKY (Hear My Cry)
Sonique 3 SS
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. An airplay favourite, though the record-buying public was less impressed.
30 1 WALKING AWAY (Born To Do It)
Craig David 4
If only he were. This is completely anodyne, limp, wannabe soul that must have been made by vampires.
31 6 BODY TO BODY (Gotta Tell You)
Samantha Mumba 7
With her first single going top 10 Stateside, the Irish lassie releases the second single here. It's loosely based on David Bowie's 1980 chart-topper "Ashes To Ashes," and is another delightful pop confection.
32 17 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, but that can be applied to almost the whole of his album.
33 15 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.
34 14 GOTTA TELL YOU
Samantha Mumba 5
The latest product of the stable that produced Westlife and Boyzone, Mumba is a 17 year old Irish lass. Even after it's become massive in the US, I still say this is a completely unremarkable piece of pop, with here-today-gone-tomorrow written all over it.
35 5 PINCH ME (Maroon)
Barenaked Ladies 32 SS
The Canadian masters of quirk are back, and though there may be less quirk on this single, it's still a great listen.
36 7 THE WAY I AM (The Marshall Mathers LP)
Eminem 10
Would the real Slim Shady please shut the chuff up? He has no talent.
37 6 I WISH / BAD MAN (TP-2.com)
R Kelly 19 SS
The lead single from his new album is an homage to R's deceased mother. Beautiful, reflective stuff. It's backed with the lead single in North America, which is also less angry and more melodic. Eminem, Craig David, please take note - this is how to do it.
38 3 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT (Onka's Big Monka)
Toploader 22 Nov
Originally released in February, this looked to fall into the dreaded "lost classic" stable when it scraped into the listings, only to fall away sharply. It's remained as one of Toploader's most popular tracks, though, and is re-released. The lead track features a really annoying remix, complete with the sort of annoying DJ instructions that gave the job a bad name ten years ago. It doesn't affect the brilliance of the track too much.
39 1 FEEL THE BEAT
Darrude 18
It's "Sandstorm" Part Two! Whay-hey!
40 1 GRAVEL PIT (The W)
Wu-Tang Clan 20
The first hit single is based on a sample from Cameo's 1987 hit "Back And Forth", and doesn't sound up to much on first listen. After a few times round, the track begins to work on multiple levels, and actually sounds rather good.
SureShots on yellow, Singles of the Month on red, records Not British hits on green.

Ps	wk	TITLE (album) Act	Peak	Hon
1	7	WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (Who Let the Dogs Out?) Baja Men	1 x 1
Who, indeed. A collective from the Bahamas, responsible for a track that one either loves or hates on the first listen. It's been handled around the world by pop impressario Johnathan King, whom one also either loves or loathes after about ten seconds. This was shaping up to be a significant minor hit, peaking just outside the top 10, until a slow week and increased distribution combined to push the track to #2, inches behind U2. The viral qualities ensured it then turned into a massive hit, used by sports fans all over the world. Three weeks at #2 looked to be it for this track, but a gap in the market suddenly opened and the track claimed its rightful place as Britain's #1 on every chart - except the sales one.
2	4	SHE BANGS (Sound Loaded) Ricky Martin	4	SS
Finally, an up-tempo follow-up to last year's "Livin' La Vida Loca," the one that broke Ricky in the US. Since that trans-atlantic topper, he's released the rather good ballads "She's All I Ever Had" (not in the UK) and "Private Emotion" (with Meja,) and the singularly rubbish "Shake Your Bonbon." This is a stomper of a track, with plenty of opportunity to cross over and become a massive hit. Four weeks as the planet's biggest.
3	4	MY LOVE (Coast To Coast) Westlife	1 x 1
Don't believe the hype. This is their sixth record without assistance, and (by my ranking) is only the third to become the most popular hit of its moment in the UK. Everyone agrees that "I Have A Dream" was #1 over Christmas and New Year last year; and most observers give the nod to "Flying Without Wings" in October 99. There's a strong argument that in its peak week, this was less popular than the Baja Men. As to the song itself, it's Westlife-by-numbers. A dull ballad, lushly produced, great harmonies, yet completely devoid of emotion. Move on, there's nothing to hear here.
4	5	HOLLER (Forever) Spice Girls	1 x 1
Single number 10 - promoted as a double-A with sappy "Let Love Lead the Way" - is the tenth number one of their career, leaving them just one behind the Beatles' all-time record. However, if any other act released this, it wouldn't be anything like so big. It's actually a dull mess of lite R&B, without any of the charm that marked the group's earlier work. It seems they're missing Geri more than they think. The album slumped out of the top 20 after just two weeks, suggesting that the Spices are Over. The contractual Greatest Hits seems very close.
5	2	CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT (Coyote Ugly OST) Leann Rimes	1 x 1	SS
Leann's career launched in 1996, with the album "Blue." Acres of press coverage for the star, then just 13, translated into precious few sales. "How Do I Live?" changed all that, setting records on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the longest-running hits ever - a surely unbreakable 69 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100; and 30 weeks in the UK Top 40, the longest run of the decade. She's not had a big hit since, but has been able to have a number of smaller releases tickle the bottom end of the chart. Now enter a flick with plenty of barmaids dancing on the bar, and (er) that's about it. "Coyote Ugly" is a turkey, but the soundtrack is one of the few redeeming features. The lead track is this one, an upbeat track (just for a change) that plays to Rimes' strengths.
6	3	SHAPE OF MY HEART (Black And Blue) Backstreet Boys	4
The first single lifted from their fourth (count 'em!) album is a slushy number. Maybe this group is coming to the end of its life, too.
7	8	BLACK COFFEE (Saints And Sinners) All Saints	1 x 1	SS
The second single (after February's massive Leo-induced frenzy) could never quite top the brilliance of "Pure Shores," though it pushes all the right buttons. The former release remains the year's biggest hit; the latter tops the listings on sales of barely 50,000, the smallest sale for a #1 single since Hangover Week, the week after new year.
8	3	NUMBER ONE Tweenies	6	SS
Enjoy this on two levels. One is that it is a kick-ass pop song, of the sort that the Spice Girls used to turn out in their sleep, and even S Club 7 and Steps would happily kill for. Combining an upbeat lyric with a strong rhythm, the song is happiness in a nutshell. The other is as the logical follow-up to the 1997 Number One, "Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh." That was from the BBC's new pre-school programme, featuring the brightly coloured aliens gadding about the countryside sprouting inane rubbish. So far, so New Labour's agricultural policy. The Tubbies were adopted by students up and down the land, and became the ultimate kitsch icon of the year. Fast forward to 2000, and it's a year since Bella, Milo, Jake and Fizz burst onto the screen in a shower of glitter and action. If the Teletubbies' show is sedate and repetetive, the Tweenies' is fast, all action and requires a lot of concentration. Maybe that's why the fab four haven't quite achieved the same cult following as the Tubbies. (Bear with me on this one.) Every episode of the Tweenies features the group singing a little song, which leads neatly into one of the marketing moves: an album. And an album needs a single. It's a tribute to the underlying quality of the song that it's got as high as it has with no radio airplay, and very little critical attention.
9	9	COME ON OVER (Christina Aguilera) Christina Aguilera	5
This is single four, and it's a return to the upbeat stuff. Pretty formulaic by now. Three weeks as the US #1.
10	10	I'M OUTTA LOVE (Not That Kind) 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. A real grower in the UK, Anastacia has continued long past her expected sell-by date and turned into a major hit that just won't go away.
11	3	DON'T THINK I'M NOT Kandi	9	SS
This is a rather perky number, with an added dose of nastiness lurking just behind the glittery veneer. It's rather good, all told.
12	7	BEAUTIFUL DAY (All That You Can't Leave Behind) U2	1 x 2	Oct
In recent years, the first single off a U2 album has been something of an experimental track, unlike anything else on the disc. "The Fly," the first release from 1991's "Achtung Baby!" was a loud buzzing melody, while "Discotheque," first off 1997's "Pop" had a stomp that never turned up on the rest of the album. The roots of this single are there for all to see on tracks like "Stay (Faraway So Close)" off 1993's "Zooropa," and the more recent "If God Will Send His Angels" and "Last Night On Earth." A rootsy, guitar-based sound, like they've made all along the line. Despite the best efforts to convince otherwise. Two weeks at #1 on the World Chart.
13	14	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. Seven weeks at the top of the world chart, three in Canada, four in the US.
14	1	INDEPENDENT WOMEN I (Charlie's Angels OST) Destiny's Child	1 x 1
The lead single from the latest hip-chick flick comes from the group that seems to have taken up permanent residence on the listings. Destiny's Child has now had five massive hits in slightly less than 18 months. This is the biggest hit of the set, and becomes their first UK number one. It's spent three weeks topping the Hot 100.
15	4	I'M OVER YOU (Wishing) Martine Mcucheon	6
The singing bar steward returns for a second album. Though a sappy ballad, like everything else she records, this is a rather good sappy ballad. One that does sound good recorded here.
16	2	ONE MORE TIME Daft Punk	3
The French trio is probably still best known for their bizarre video to 1997's "Da Funk," featuring a man in a beagle costume going around his life, carrying a ghettoblaster from which the tune played. That was inspirational; this is somehow cliched by comparison. It treads the same boards as Stardust's massive - and massively-overplayed - 1998 hit "Music Sounds Better With You." That shouldn't come as a total surprise, as Thomas Bangalter was in both acts. That he hasn't managed to move his style on in the two and a half years since, and the record isn't exciting, should be a worry. Incidentally, the group has declined to promote this release in any way, and there's no video to rave about in four years time. A pity.
17	12	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. It has shown remarkable tenacity, sticking on radio playlists for over four months so far.
18	7	SILENCE Delerium feat Sarah MacLachlan	4	SS
Another of those records that has worked its passage right round the world before becoming a UK hit. I first heard this on the back of its Australian success in the third quarter of 99, and loved it then. Slightly remixed for the UK market, MacLachlan's banshee wail counterpoints a great bass melody. With any decent marketing prowess, this will be the launchpad for the Halifax export, reviving interest in her previous albums.
19	6	(HOT SHIT) COUNTRY GRAMMAR (Country Grammar) Nelly	14
Based on a traditional American rhyme (well, as traditional as anything from the US can be), Nelly comes firing in with all guns blazing. Sadly, the hook makes sense in the US, and nothing at all in the UK. This fatally undermines the logic of the single, rendering it pointless.
20	2	ORIGINAL PRANKSTER The Offspring	15
So, was the idea of giving this track away as an MP3 to promote the album a good one? The jury is still out on the group's abortive stunt, pulled at the insistence of their record company. The track itself is no great shakes, not quite scaling the genius of "Why Don't You Get a Job" and "Pretty Fly," but still keeping on the right side of respectable.
21	6	STOMP / TRAGEDY (Buzz) Steps	3	SS
The single credits inspiration and pays tribute to Nile Rogers, the driving force behind 70s disco band Chic. It's a credit totally in place, as "Stomp" brings to mind classics like "Good Times" and (er) whatever else it was that Chic did, without actually ripping off any particular track. The single is backed with a fantastic 12" mix of "Tragedy," the band's first chart-topper from the beginning of 1999. This package might have to go down as the unluckiest release of the year - #1 on sales, but so weak on airplay that it was overtaken by the Baja Men, and then both were trumped by U2. An increase of just 0.6% would have given Steps the top slot.
22	2	SAME OLD BRAND NEW YOU (The A List) A1	8
Same old tired old boy band pap. Can someone please explain how this can possibly be considered a greater hit than the Baja Men? Though A1 did just manage to sell more in their first week of release than the Bajas, which tune is more likely to be remembered in six months, never mind sixty years?
23	10	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.
24	7	KIDS (Sing When You're Winning / Light Years) Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue	2
Bosses at Virgin Records, home to both these acts, must have been worried that people would see through the new clothes for their Emperor and Empress of Pap. Both acts have put out cliched re-treads of their previous glories, devoid of original thought. This is just about the worst excess in that direction, an opportunistic wannabe-anthem that can't see a stereotype without exploiting it. The gabbled hook line, the off-kilter guitar, the male-female line interplay. Dull as anything.
25	8	BODY GROOVE Architechs	6
Crap. Next.
26	3	TROUBLE (Parachutes) Coldplay	23	SS
The follow-up to the massive "Yellow" isn't quite as big a hit, but its maudlin strings cement one heck of a grower.
27	1	PLEASE DON'T TURN ME ON (Gotta Tell You) Artful Dodger	6
The third release from one of the most over-hyped groups of the year. Anything to do with "garage", this year's media-created scene, has been loved; anything else has been ignored. Oh to be able to leave this instantly forgettable stuff on the shelf where it belongs.
28	7	COULD I HAVE THIS KISS FOREVER (Greatest Hits) Whitney Houston & Enrique Iglesias	9
Her greatest hits album contained four new tracks, of which this is the second. His UK career has stalled somewhat since the breakthrough "Bailamos" in summer last year. The combination is a decent enough track, breaking no new ground, but a pleasant enough listen. Oddly, it took a long time to be accepted by the radio playlisters here.
29	13	SKY (Hear My Cry) Sonique	3	SS
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. An airplay favourite, though the record-buying public was less impressed.
30	1	WALKING AWAY (Born To Do It) Craig David	4
If only he were. This is completely anodyne, limp, wannabe soul that must have been made by vampires.
31	6	BODY TO BODY (Gotta Tell You) Samantha Mumba	7
With her first single going top 10 Stateside, the Irish lassie releases the second single here. It's loosely based on David Bowie's 1980 chart-topper "Ashes To Ashes," and is another delightful pop confection.
32	17	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, but that can be applied to almost the whole of his album.
33	15	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.
34	14	GOTTA TELL YOU Samantha Mumba	5
The latest product of the stable that produced Westlife and Boyzone, Mumba is a 17 year old Irish lass. Even after it's become massive in the US, I still say this is a completely unremarkable piece of pop, with here-today-gone-tomorrow written all over it.
35	5	PINCH ME (Maroon) Barenaked Ladies	32	SS
The Canadian masters of quirk are back, and though there may be less quirk on this single, it's still a great listen.
36	7	THE WAY I AM (The Marshall Mathers LP) Eminem	10
Would the real Slim Shady please shut the chuff up? He has no talent.
37	6	I WISH / BAD MAN (TP-2.com) R Kelly	19	SS
The lead single from his new album is an homage to R's deceased mother. Beautiful, reflective stuff. It's backed with the lead single in North America, which is also less angry and more melodic. Eminem, Craig David, please take note - this is how to do it.
38	3	DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT (Onka's Big Monka) Toploader	22	Nov
Originally released in February, this looked to fall into the dreaded "lost classic" stable when it scraped into the listings, only to fall away sharply. It's remained as one of Toploader's most popular tracks, though, and is re-released. The lead track features a really annoying remix, complete with the sort of annoying DJ instructions that gave the job a bad name ten years ago. It doesn't affect the brilliance of the track too much.
39	1	FEEL THE BEAT Darrude	18
It's "Sandstorm" Part Two! Whay-hey!
40	1	GRAVEL PIT (The W) Wu-Tang Clan	20
The first hit single is based on a sample from Cameo's 1987 hit "Back And Forth", and doesn't sound up to much on first listen. After a few times round, the track begins to work on multiple levels, and actually sounds rather good.

breakers...

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00-11-27