January
In the UK, after having the christmas #1, MICHAEL JACKSON held the #1 for 
1 more week in January with "Earth song" before being replaced by GEORGE 
MICHAEL with his first single since his sony dispute, "Jesus to a child". 
That only spent a week on top before BABYLON ZOO took over for the rest 
of the month (2 weeks) with their futuristic techno single taken from the 
Levis Jeans Ad in the UK called "Spaceman". In terms of dance, BABY D hit 
#3 with "So pure", TLC were remixed for '96 with "creep" and COOLIO - 
"Too hot" made the top 10.

February
In the UK, BABYLON ZOO's "Spaceman" held on to the top for 3 more weeks
for a total of 5 on top, before succumbing to OASIS's "Don't look back in
anger" which stayed on top for just 1 week. Also of note, hitting well,
were JOAN OSBOURNE - "One of us", TECHNOHEAD - "I want to be a hippy",
MARIAH CAREY - "Open arms", ALCATRAZ - "Give me luv", GUSTO - "Disco's
Revenge", CELINE DION - "Falling into you" and ROBERT MILES who debuted at
the end of the month at #2 with "Children". 

March
In the UK, TAKE THAT debut at #1 with their last single together "How deep
is your love" which is the old BEE-GEES song. They held on for 3 weeks
before the techno-minded PRODIGY took over on top with "Firestarter" and
held for the last 2 weeks of the month. Both these #1's denyed ROBERT
MILES of #1 as "Children" was top 3 for the whole month.  Mark Snow's
version of the X-files theme made #2. Also hitting the top 10, GARBAGE's
"Stupid girl" (top 5), GABRIELLE's "Give me a little more time"  (top 5)
as well as MARK MORRISON's "Return of the mack" and GINA G's "Oooh ahh...
just a little bit" who would later go on do better things. 

April
In the UK, PRODIGY continue to hold on #1, but they last only for one more 
week. They get bumped off by MARK MORRISON and "Return to the mack" which 
held on to #1 for 2 weeks before, GEORGE MICHAEL scores his 2nd #1 of 1996 
with "Fast Love" which kind of gets him into trouble;) GINA G continues to 
climb the chart and makes #2. While "Wrong" is taking the charts in 
Toronto by storm, EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL use "Walking wounded" as a 
follow-up to "Missing" and reach the top 10. Talking of Storming, the 
highest climb on the UK chart was made by SUGGS (w/ LOUCHIE LOU & MICHIE
ONE) moving from 33 to 9 in one week. It would make the top 5. Also 
hitting the top 10, PRESIDENTS OF THE USA's "Peaches", MICHAEL JACKSON's 
"Don't care about us" (top 5), PET SHOP BOYS' "Before", 2PAC's "California 
Love", and LISA MARIE EXPERIENCE's version of "Keep on jumpin'".

May
In the UK, GEORGE MICHAEL continues to hold on to the #1 and does so with 
"Fast Love" for 2 more weeks for a total of 3 on top. He's replaced by 
GINA G's "Ooh aah... just a little bit" for #1, mostly on the strength of 
it having finished a ripped off 7th in the Eurovision Song Contest on 
that week. The winner was NOCTURNE with "Secret Garden" which didn't do 
that well anywhere. Gina G would go on to hit the top 20 in Toronto. At 
the end of the month, "3 lions" by BADDIEL & SKINNER took over #1. This 
charttopper was at the time when Euro 96 Football championships were 
about to take place in England. Also hitting the top 10, BUSTA RHYMES' 
"Woohah", KLUBBHEADS' "Klubbhopping", JX's "There's nothing I won't do" 
TONY RICH PROJECT's "Nobody knows" (top 3), PETER ANDRE's "Mysterious
Girl" (top 3).

June
Despite Euro 96 taking place, it's the FUGEES who takeover #1 with 
"Killing me softly" and hold on for 4 weeks until BADDIEL & SKINNER's "3 
lions" finally regain #1, by which time the Euro 96 was over and they 
hold on for the last week of June. Also hitting the top 10, MARIAH 
CAREY's "Always be my baby" (top 3), ROBERT MILES' "Fable", PIANOMAN 
with a sample of BLUR's "Girls n Boys" in "Blurred", LIVING JOY's 
followup to "Dreamer", "Don't stop movin'" (top 5), EVERYTHING BUT THE 
GIRL's "Wrong".

July
In the UK, FUGEES return to #1 for 1 more week with "Killing me softly",
before ex-TAKE THAT GARY BARLOW's "Forever love" took over #1 but alas
that was too for 1 week only, before the upstart girlie group SPICE GIRLS 
grab #1 with "Wannabe" and hold on for the rest of the month. In the 
meantime, Underworld took "Born Slippy" from the movie "Trainspotting" to 
#2, TONI BRAXTON grew more hair for a new sexy makeover and got a top 10 
with "You're making me high", TODD TERRY put his mixing skills on "Keep 
on jumpin'" with some great support from MARTHA WALSH and JOCELYN BROWN 
and made the top 10. REEL 2 REAL comeback single in the UK was "Jazz it 
up" as opposed to the North America getting "Are you ready for some 
more?" which hit over there at the same time. They got to #7. Also 
getting the remix treatment for a top 10 placement were ALISON LIMERICK's 
"Where love lives" and Wink's "Higher state of consciousness". Other Top 
10 hits were NENEH CHERRY's "Woman", ALANIS MORRISETTE'S "Head over feet"
and that thing called the "Macarena"

August
SPICE GIRLS continue to have a strangehold on the UK chart as they spend
the whole of August on top. Not even the mighty "Macarena" being 15 or so
weeks at #1 in the US could stop them. But Macarena fever was everywhere
except for Canada. The ironic thing is that it had caused a storm this
time back in 1995. The version of the "Macarena" that hit was by LOS DEL
RIO and made #2. Even GEORGE MICHAEL going for his 3rd consectutive #1 and
could not stop the SPICE GIRLS. The jazz-styled "Spinning the wheel" got
to #2. Also denyed by the SPICE GIRLS was another ex-TAKE THAT, ROBBIE 
WILLIAMS who took "Freedom" to #2 too. Talking of ex-group members, both 
ETERNAL themselves and ex-ETERNAL Louise both made the top 5 with 
"Someday" (following "good thing") and "Undivided Love" (following "Naked")
Also hitting the top 10, BONES THUGS N HARMONY's "Tha crossroads", OMC's 
"How Bizarre", PET SHOP BOYS' "Se a vida e", JAMIROQUAI's "Virutal 
Insanity" (top 3), REM's "E-Bow the letter" (top 5), 3T's "Why" with a 
bit of help from MJ, BACKSTREET BOYS' "We've got it going on".

September
The Spice Girls spend one more week at #1 for a total of 7 weeks before
finally relinquishing the topspot to PETER ANDRE with a bit of "flava"
but it holds on for 1 week before the FUGEES gain their 2nd #1 with
"Ready or not" but they give that up to the reissued DEEP BLUE SOMETHING's
"Breakfast at Tiffany's". OMC reach the top 5 with "How Bizarre" and BBE
vault into the top 3 with their trancy "7 days and 1 week". Also making the
top 10, SMURFS' "Smurfing party" (top 5), STRETCH & VERN's "I'm alive",
SHERYL CROW's "If it makes you happy", DINA CARROLL's "Escaping" (top 3),
DONNA LEWIS' "Always and forever" (top 5), LL COOL J's "Lounging", PHIL
COLLINS' "Dance into the light", SPACE's "Me and you vs the world" and
OCEAN COLOUR SCENE's "The circle". 

October
CHEMICAL BROTHERS take over #1 with "Setting Sun" but are themselves 
taken over a week later by BOYZONE and "Words". BOYZONE are a group 
consisting of relatives of the OSMONDS and MAXI PRIEST. Well they spend 
only a week at #1 before the SPICE GIRLS return to #1 with "Say you will 
be mine" and this spends the last 2 weeks of the month at #1. E17 teamed 
up with GABRIELLE to revive both their careers as "If you ever" got to 
#2. FAITHLESS' "Insomnia" was repackaged and reached #3 the second time 
around. CELINE DION clawed her way to #3 with "It's coming back to me now"
Also hitting the top 10, BLACKSTREET's "No diggity", MADONNA's "You must 
love me", LIVING JOY's "Follow the rules", TONI BRAXTON's "Unbreak my 
heart" (top 5).

November
ROBSON & JEROME take over #1 from the Spice Girls with a version of "What
becomes of the broken hearted" recently done by PAUL YOUNG. They hold on
for 2 weeks until THE PRODIGY get their second #1 of the year with
"Breathe". So the prodigy, spice girls, fugees, george michael and gary
barlow all have 2 #1s in 96. Also hitting the top 10, 911's "Don't make me
wait", SIMPLY RED's "Angel" (top 5), GINA G's "I belong to you",
BACKSTREET BOYS' "I'll never break your heart", ex-TAKE THAT MARK OWEN's
"Child", ROBERT MILES' "One and one", MICHAEL JACKSON's "Stranger in
Moscow" (top 5), GARBAGE's "Milk", The cover of "What's love got to do
with it" by WARREN G and ADINA HOWARD, TONI BRAXTON's "Unbreak my heart" 

December
The PRODIGY were knocked off top after 2 weeks on top by PETER ANDRE's 2nd
#1 of the year "I feel you". But falls to #5 the next week to make way for
BOYZONE's "A different beat" which was also their 2nd #1 of 1996.  But
that falls to #4 the following week to make for DUNBLANE's cover of BOB
DYLAN's "Knocking on Heaven's Door". The lyrics changed slightly to
reflect the tragedy in Dunblane when a madman came into school and shot 16
kids in March. But amazingly this only holds on for 1 week as it's
replaced by yep them SPICE GIRLS with "2 becomes 1" which is the prestiged
Christmas #1. It's their 3rd #1. Also TONI BRAXTON's "Unbreak my heart"
and ROBERT MILES' "One and one"  continue to press up the chart both
reaching the top 3. Also hitting the top 10 were 3T's "I need you" (top
3), ETERNAL's "Secrets", ELTON JOHN and LUCIANO PAVAROTTI joining forces
on "Live like horses", FAITHLESS' reissue of "Salva mea", CELINE DION's
cover of ERIC CARMEN's "All by myself" and a little bit unchristmas like,
MARK MORRISON's "Horny".

SUMMARY OF #1's
1. Earth Song - MICHAEL JACKSON  [1 week in 96]		(Jan)
2. Jesus to a child - GEORGE MICHAEL  [1 week]
3. Spaceman - BABYLON ZOO  [5 weeks]			(Feb)
4. Don't look back in anger - OASIS  [1 week]
5. How deep is your love? - TAKE THAT  [3 weeks]	(Mar)
6. Firestarter - PRODIGY  [3 weeks]			(Apr)
7. Return of the Mack - MARK MORRISON  [2 weeks]
8. Fast love - GEORGE MICHAEL  [3 weeks]		(May)
9. Ooh ahh just a little bit - GINA G  [1 week]
10. 3 Lions - BADDIEL AND SKINNER  [1 week]
11. Killing me softly - FUGEES  [4 weeks]		(Jun)
12. 3 Lions - BADDIEL AND SKINNER  [1 + 1 weeks]
13. Killing me softly - FUGEES  [1 + 4 weeks]		(Jul)
14. Forever love - GARY BARLOW  [1 week]
15. Wannabe - SPICE GIRLS  [7 weeks]			(Aug/Sep)
16. Flava - PETER ANDRE  [1 week]
17. Ready or not - FUGEES  [1 week]
18. Breakfast at Tiffany's - DEEP BLUE SOMETHING  [1 week]
19. Setting sun - CHEMICAL BROS  [1 week]		(Oct)
20. Words - BOYZONE  [1 week]
21. Say you'll be there - SPICE GIRLS  [2 weeks]
22. What becomes... - ROBSON AND JEROME  [2 weeks]	(Nov)
23. Breathe - PRODIGY  [2 weeks]
24. I feel you - PETER ANDRE  [1 week]			(Dec)
25. A different beat - BOYZONE  [1 week]
26. Knocking on Heaven's Door - DUNBLANE  [1 week]
27. 2 becomes 1 - SPICE GIRLS  [1 week+]

Number of #1's in 1996 (more than 1)
SPICE GIRLS - 3  [10 weeks]
FUGEES - 2  [6 weeks]
PRODIGY - 2  [5 weeks]
GEORGE MICHAEL - 2  [4 weeks]
GARY BARLOW/TAKE THAT - 2  [4 weeks]
PETER ANDRE - 2  [2 weeks]
BOYZONE - 2  [2 weeks]