Weaver's UK Music Charts

Weaver's Charts

June 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 7 IT FEELS SO GOOD (Hear My Cry)
Sonique 1x5 May
Sonique was the singer with S-Express through their period of success, from 88 to 91. Since the group disbanded, she carved out a small niche as a club DJ who sang over the tracks, with a lucrative sideline as a session singer, belting out some great vocals to unappreciative audiences. Two single releases in 1998 drew minor attention, this track the larger of the pair peaking at #40 in late November. This track gained attention on farmclub.com, a dance music site. That led to massive play on US radio, where the single went top 10 - the first UK act to pull that trick since Five in November 98. Re-promotion in the UK led to a deserved #1 hit at the end of May. Two weeks at the top of the Canadian charts further advanced her international credentials.
2 6 REACH (7)
S Club 7 2 SS
A year on from their debut, the smashing seven return with their second album, tying in with the UK showing of the second TV series. The lead single is a fantastic cod-Mowtown number, showcasing all the zip and zing of the group. They're beginning to conquer the US, though this won't be a single there for some months, if ever.
3 9 OOPS I DID IT AGAIN (Oops I Did It Again)
Britney Spears 1
x3 SS
Is this going to go down as the ultimate Martin / Cherion record? Probably, coz they're going to have to go the distance to beat it. This became a classic in its own pre-release, scoring unprecedented support on video and radio request lines, and it would be churlish to join the line of Birtney's knockers. Instead, I will point out that it's uberproducer Max Martin who speaks the lines in the slow bit in the middle, replacing the written-for Leonardo di Caprio. And that the chorus really is a dead ringer for that of Barbara Streisand's 1980 chart-topper "Woman In Love." Toni Braxton kept her off being the planet's biggest hit, Britney holding at #2 for an amazing seven weeks. The track had the last laugh, though, remaining top three in June after winning May.
4 4 SHACKLES (PRAISE YOU) (Thankful)
Mary Mary 3 SS
It's pretty darned rare for gospel vocalists to make an impact in Britain. Two of the Winans family have managed a hit single credit each - BeBe with Eternal on 1997's "I Wanna Be The Only One", and CeCe with Whitney Houston on the somewhat overlooked "Count On Me" in 1996. Yet neither has had any success on their own account, and the same story holds for other gospel acts. Until, that is, the sudden success of these two sisters - neither called Mary - from California. "Shackles" is a corking, soulful tune that underachieved in the US, reaching its deserved top ten place in the UK. Time will tell whether this group turns into a one-hit wonder. Hope not.
5 6 IT'S MY LIFE (Crush)
Bon Jovi 4 SS
It's been a very long time since the last BJ project. We have to go back to 1995 for the "Dry County" album, and 1994 for the group's biggest hit, the million-seller "Always." This is something of a return to the hard-rocking anthems that made the group's name in the mid-80s, while not sounding particularly slightest dated.
6 12 THERE YOU GO (Can't Take Me Home)
Pink 12
One part Destiny's Child to two parts insipid R&B does not make for a memorable single. Small amounts of UK airplay led to a respectable commercial success on UK release, though it's likely to be the start of a decent career.
7 11 HE WASN'T MAN ENOUGH (The Heat)
Toni Braxton 5
It's three years since Toni's last entry, and that was an airplay-led re-activation of "Unbreak My Heart" in the first week of September 97. After filing for bankruptcy, taking time out, and composing some killer tunes, the Braxton is Back! This release follows the man-baiting theme common to Whitney, TLC and Destiny's Child albums last year, and deserves its high placings on both sides of the Atlantic. It's not been a huge seller in the UK, but has become a firm airplay favourite. It's spent eight weeks as the planet's #1, and six weeks on top in Canada.
8 3 YOU SEE THE TROUBLE WITH ME
Black Legend 2
Originally this had the vocals of soul legend Barry White; then he wanted more than the producers were willing to pay, and so the commercial release doesn't have his vocals. The song itself is therefore nothing more and nothing less than a dance-ish remake of an old soul song.
9 8 DON'T CALL ME BABY
Madison Avenue 3
Originally released in November last year, when it peaked at #55, the Australian duo's track is re-released owing to public demand. It's anodyne stuff, without an obvious attraction. Radio went ape over it for two months, helping to keep the track bizarrely popular for a second month.
10 13 THONG SONG (Unleash The Dragon)
Sisqo 3
The former Dru Hill frontman releases the second single off his album, in honour of a stripper he and his brother saw on a night out. It cannot be taken seriously, and ripped up the chart on its release. Radio proved far more friendly to this than anyone could have expected, and the track remained popular well into June.
11 17 AMAZED (Lonely Grill)
Lonestar 13 SS
Back last summer, this record spent a record-busting eleven weeks on top of the country charts in the US, and made a respectable showing on the overall airplay listings over there. We expected that to be the end of the story, leaving the group without the crossover hit they deserved. Then, just before Christmas, AC radio picked up on the track in a big way. It returned to the listings, obtained a single release, and shot to the top of the Hot 100. The stage was set for the group to take the UK market by storm; New Country has been hyped as flavour of the year for the past couple of years, but this was the first real chance to prove its value in single terms.
If South Park's Officer Barbrady were around, he have called for shenanigans on this record. It struggled to attract airplay away from Radio 2 and a few AC stations for two months, wasn't stocked by two leading record store chains, yet attracted massive interest on every television appearance. Yet it refused to go away, turning into a classic hit that everyone will know. The record remained in the sales top 40 for ten weeks without breaking the top 20, an achievement that hasn't been equalled in donkey's years. Then, in early June, the other record chains came on board, major radio groups woke up to the hit that had been passing them by since March, and it stalled agonisingly short of the weekly top 10.
Over on the sales chart, "Amazed" has now spent 13 weeks hovering between positions 21 and 36. Only six other records took a quarter year between 21 and 40: the complete list is exclusive to this site:
"Green Jeans" - Flee-Rekkers, #23 in 13 weeks, summer 1960. I know nothing about this one.
"Wheels Cha Cha" - Joe Loss, #21 in 19 weeks, summer - autumn 1961. Joe Loss led a big jazz orchestra in the early days of rock and roll.
"Adios Amigo" - Jim Reeves, #23 in 16 weeks, summer 1962. Jim was a country singer.
"Somewhere My Love" - Mike Sarmes Singers - #22 in 15 weeks, late 1966. An easy listening combo; this track went on to make #14 the following summer.
"Big Spender" - Shirley Bassey - #21 in 15 weeks, late 1967. Something of a classic.
"Snowbird" - Anne Murray - #23 in 15 weeks, late 1970 into 1971. The debut hit for the Canadian country performer who also provided Boyzone with a big hit last year.
Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions.
12 4 OTB (ON THE BEACH)
York 5
The German dance fundamentalists have lifted the hook from a 1980s Chris Rea track and built a sonic soundscape round it. Sadly, and slightly unfairly, the spectre of an unoriginal version of Robert Milani springs to mind.
13 3 THE ONE (Millennium)
Backstreet Boys 6 SS
The fourth single from the album is nothing particularly special, not all that inspired, but enough of a good thing to mark itself out from the rest of the crowd.
14 12 THE BAD TOUCH (Hooray For Boobies)
Bloodhound Gang 2 SS
The breakthrough single for this group is a raunchy number, that will never allow anyone who hears it to watch discovery.ca in the same way. Radio was slow to pick up on this track, but made up for their omission with a vengeance - and an edit. Sales held up far better than anyone could have predicted, with the track just the fifth in six months to climb above its entry position on the weekly sales listings. It persisted as a popular tune right through May, finishing second only to the Spearsmeistress herself.
15 8 SEX BOMB (Reload)
Tom Jones & Mousse T 13
The fourth single off Tom's album of duets with contemporary hitmakers is long on how sexy some people find the Welsh greasemeister, and short on anything approaching a groove.
16 1 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.
17 2 SANDSTORM
Darrude 3
Quickly, name three famous acts from Finland. Never mind, no-one does well on that question. Darrude is the first of three Finnish acts expected to do big things this summer, and the dance end of the country's style. This is a fairly hardcore, heavy tune that has attracted almost nil airplay.
18 2 SPINNING AROUND
Kylie Minogue 3
It's twelve years since the Pixie Of Pop graduated from the cast of Aussie soap Neighbours to the music charts, thanks to the mass-produced sounds of Messers Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Since then, Kylie has dated Michael Hutchence (Better The Devil You Know, 1990), made one classic dance record (Confide In Me, 1994), recorded a Manic Street Preachers cast-off (Some Kind Of Bliss, 1997), and kept plodding away. This is her biggest hit since the aforementioned "Confide In Me," and looked to give her first #1 single since "Tears On My Pillow" in January 1990. She would have become the first act to have a #1 single in the 80s, 90s and 00s, but in spite of strong first week sales, she couldn't get past Sonique.
19 3 WHEN A WOMAN (Rise)
Gabrielle 10
The third single from the album, it's a pretty enough tune, but doesn't quite have the hook of the title track.
20 4 MAMA WHO DA MAN
Richard Blackwood 3
To the roll call of pointless, unmusical celebrity cash-ins (Paul Gascoine, the Chicken Shed Theatre, Boyzone) we can add alternative comedian Blackwood. The alternative sort of comedian that isn't actually funny re-works a track first made popular by his uncle, Junior Giscombe, in 1982. Shall we call it pointless and move on?
21 4 FORGET ABOUT DRE (Dr Dre 2001)
Dr Dre 15
This one features Dre's protoge Eminem, and some lyrics that get totally cut to shreds by television and radio censors. The track really suffers as a result, and that's not helped it attain popularity.
22 15 NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN (Northern Star)
Mel C featuring Lisa Lopez 1x1
The Tony Slattery of TLC makes her second guest appearance on a massive hit, following her work with Donell Jones in January. This is a satisfying confection of pop and soul, but isn't at all a filling. It's not a patch on the minor (#55 in 1989) Danny Wilson hit of the same name, though attracted streets more airplay.
23 4 IF I TOLD YOU THAT (Whitney's Greatest Hits)
Whitney Houston & George Michael 18
The superstar pairing that everyone wanted to hear turns up a smaller hit than anyone expected. That's what I said back in December 98 when Whitney combined with Mariah, and repeat here for this one. It looks good on paper, but loses a lot on record.
24 7 DAY AND NIGHT
Billie Piper 6
It's been a long time out of the spotlight for The Artiste Formerly Known As Billie. Originally launched on a pop magazine promo campaign in early 98, Billie took some slightly rebellious numbers to the top end of the chart later that year, before showing a more funky side on later singles. By then, Birtney Spears had stolen the innocent-ish girl crown from her, and Billie retired to consider her next album. Over a year later, she comes back with a track that - depending on your point of view - is aping Birts to the nth degree, or is a slice of funk that the US team wouldn't dream of. Either way, Billie has maintained a large fan base, though it's not big enough to better Spears' popularity in her first week out. Followers of the UK sales charts have Billie down as the youngest solo female to make three #1s; I'm still waiting for her to beat the #3 peak of second single "Girlfriend."
25 4 NEW BEGINNING
Stephen Gatley 3
The first solo Boyzoner, Ronan Keating, hit the top of the sales charts in August last year, and follows up in late July. The third solo Zoner, Mikey Graham, fell flat on his face with his single, peaking at #37. The second was Gatley, who has released a loud, blustering ballad. It calls to mind the more pompous excesses attributed to Celine or Whitney, but without the restraint that those divas often show. Some have compared Gatley to Robbie Williams, the former Take Thatter whose career hasn't run into the rails. We reckon he's more like Mark Owen - two decent hits, a flop album, then turn up in five years time making poor programmes for minority tv channels.
26 12 BE WITH YOU (Bailamos)
Enrique Iglesias 18 NB
The third single off the album is a mid-tempo tune, not quite as fast as "Bailamos" but a lot more memorable than his Christmas release, whatever that was called, which stiffed out of sight. This has moderately large UK hit written over it, and one week at #1 in the US.
27 10 YOU SANG TO ME (Marc Anthony)
Marc Anthony 23 NB
After his first release stiffed on sales in spite of huge airplay, Marc returns to his roots for a strange beast of a follow-up. It's clearly Latin in influence and structure, yet is much slower than any other hit Latin track. It reminds me of sultry nights on a tropical beach, with someone strumming his guitar. One for a long hot summer. The UK release, though, waits behind a re-release for his last release, as predicted here last November.
28 6 I TURN TO YOU (Christina Aguilera)
Christina Aguilera 28
The scheduled third single from her album missed the release date on May 22 after Aggie fell ill with a knee problem. Or was that Birtney? Anyway, the record company isn't confident enough to release the single without the star promoting it - which suggests a distinct lack of confidence in their product. Try again in late June, and the extra time just might have allowed the song to grow on listeners a little. This Diane Warren song was originally recorded by "I Swear" heroes All-4-One in 1997, without significant success.
29 4 COMING AROUND AGAIN
Travis 7
The lead-off single from the third album was always going to be a tough prospect. The Scottish band is following up "The Man Who", an album that has won more plaudits and sold more copies than any other during its first year on release. Indeed, the prospect seems to have been a little daunting, as this track shows. It's perfectly formed, but it toddles about aimlessly, scared to say anything lest it gets criticised for speaking its mind. That is not the recipe for good music.
30 16 SAY MY NAME (The Writing's On the Wall)
Destiny's Child 2
Third UK release from this album, second in the States, a typical Child number. Well-structured soul vocals, but it still doesn't showcase the band as well as it might. Three weeks as the US #1, one in Canada, and lingering airplay support in the UK.
31 11 PRIVATE EMOTION (Ricky Martin)
Meja / Ricky Martin 9 SS
After the faux-Latin stomp of "Livin La Vida Loca" turned him into an A-list star, Martin returned to his crooner roots for the epic ballad "She's All I Ever Had." That was a deserved hit everywhere. Except, that is, in the UK, where the single was overlooked in favour of the singularly abysmal "Shake Your Bon-Bon." With a shattered reputation to recover, and cries of "He looks like a muppet" ringing in his ears, Martin delved into the celebrity phone book and turned up trumps. Enter Meja, the Swedish songstrel who put the squeaky-good "All About the Money" into the top ten in autumn 98, but who disappeared as swiftly as she rose. Put the two together and the result is this atmospheric, slightly spooky, ballad, that stands or falls on Meja's contribution. In the UK, the record sold strongly and received major airplay, but without quite crossing over to become the major hit it deserves to be.
32 12 TOCA'S MIRACLE
Fragma 1x2
The story behind this record is well known. "I Need a Miracle" (Coco, #39 sales, 1997, vocals) + "Toca Me" (Fragma, #26, #408 for the year, 1999, instrumental). Result: massive seller, airplay fave, and bad interviews as Coco complains she's not getting her fair slice of the royalties.
33 1 BABYLON (White Ladder)
David Gray 10 June
The breakthrough single for the Welsh rocker who has been on the verge of something big for a couple of years now. This is a rocky ballad with a hard edge, not unlike Shawn Mullin's "Lullabye" from the early part of 99. I'm hopeful that Gray will surpass Mullin's total of one hit.
34 20 MARIA MARIA (Supernatural)
Santana 12 NB
Vocals this time from Wyclef Jean, under the name Product G&B. This is more of a showcase for Carlos Santana's languid guitar skills than the frenetic "Smooth", and would sound utterly wonderful on a hot summer's afternoon with a cool breeze and cool drink to hand. UK release is scheduled for the middle of July, when we'll be in the height of the rainy season. Ten weeks at the top in the US, seven on the World Chart, two in Canada.
35 2 PORCELAIN (Play)
Moby 7 SS
The most-licensed record ever yields a sixth single, for which the epithet "classic" doesn't seem too far out of place. This is a gentle, soft number, which could just be the internal chimes of a piece of china.
36 4 TRY AGAIN (Romeo Must Die OST)
Aaliyah 29
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 overshadow a decent grower of a track, though not one that's going to be an A-grade track.
37 2 GIRLS LIKE US
B-15 Project 14
Anonymous, anodyne, vaguely-dancey track.
38 2 BENT (Real World)
Matchbox Twenty 34 NB
It's a slow grower, but when it clicks into life, you'll know it.
39 8 EVERYTHING YOU WANT (Everything You Want)
Vertical Horizon 27 SS
This starts out with a piece of guitar feedback that can only herald two types of tune: the abysmal, and the fantastic. This falls into the latter category, falling squarely into the sort of adult rock that ships by the bucketload in the USA yet never ever gets a crack of the whip in the UK. I hope this will turn out to be the exception to test the rule, but I doubt it will. The band suffered a major embarrassment when the US commercial single of this tune was pulled at the very last minute in late May. Had it reached the stores and sold anything like as many copies as expected, it would have made at least a week at the #1 slot. Instead, they had to settle for #3. The belated release, at the end of June, clashed with an N'Sync single, resulting in #2.
40 39 I TRY (On How Life Is)
Macy Gray 5 Oct
Where Lauryn Hill has picked up flak for being too rich to have been miseducated, Macy appears to be the real item. She sounds like R&B diva Hill after a few too many ciggies - though her voice is entirely natural - and has come out with an absolute belter of a track. If you've never heard it, do so at once; if you've turned it off halfway through because it's going nowhere, go back and listen to it in full. The song projects a big city, late at night, and received hyper-enthusiastic airplay on London's breakfast show. It also set eyebrows aflame on the UK sales chart, for daring to climb up the chart for seven consecutive weeks. Such is the abuse of the sales list by record companies that no record has managed this trick since Celine Dion in 1994-5. Just to confuse matters further, this track made an upswing during the spring owing to new success in foreign markets, spending five weeks leading the Canadian pack, and four leading the World Chart.
SureShots on yellow, Singles of the Month on red, records Not British hits on green.

Ps	wk	TITLE (album) Act	Peak	Hon
1	7	IT FEELS SO GOOD (Hear My Cry) Sonique	1x5	May
Sonique was the singer with S-Express through their period of success, from 88 to 91. Since the group disbanded, she carved out a small niche as a club DJ who sang over the tracks, with a lucrative sideline as a session singer, belting out some great vocals to unappreciative audiences. Two single releases in 1998 drew minor attention, this track the larger of the pair peaking at #40 in late November. This track gained attention on farmclub.com, a dance music site. That led to massive play on US radio, where the single went top 10 - the first UK act to pull that trick since Five in November 98. Re-promotion in the UK led to a deserved #1 hit at the end of May. Two weeks at the top of the Canadian charts further advanced her international credentials.
2	6	REACH (7) S Club 7	2	SS
A year on from their debut, the smashing seven return with their second album, tying in with the UK showing of the second TV series. The lead single is a fantastic cod-Mowtown number, showcasing all the zip and zing of the group. They're beginning to conquer the US, though this won't be a single there for some months, if ever.
3	9	OOPS I DID IT AGAIN (Oops I Did It Again) Britney Spears	1 x3	SS
Is this going to go down as the ultimate Martin / Cherion record? Probably, coz they're going to have to go the distance to beat it. This became a classic in its own pre-release, scoring unprecedented support on video and radio request lines, and it would be churlish to join the line of Birtney's knockers. Instead, I will point out that it's uberproducer Max Martin who speaks the lines in the slow bit in the middle, replacing the written-for Leonardo di Caprio. And that the chorus really is a dead ringer for that of Barbara Streisand's 1980 chart-topper "Woman In Love." Toni Braxton kept her off being the planet's biggest hit, Britney holding at #2 for an amazing seven weeks. The track had the last laugh, though, remaining top three in June after winning May.
4	4	SHACKLES (PRAISE YOU) (Thankful) Mary Mary	3	SS
It's pretty darned rare for gospel vocalists to make an impact in Britain. Two of the Winans family have managed a hit single credit each - BeBe with Eternal on 1997's "I Wanna Be The Only One", and CeCe with Whitney Houston on the somewhat overlooked "Count On Me" in 1996. Yet neither has had any success on their own account, and the same story holds for other gospel acts. Until, that is, the sudden success of these two sisters - neither called Mary - from California. "Shackles" is a corking, soulful tune that underachieved in the US, reaching its deserved top ten place in the UK. Time will tell whether this group turns into a one-hit wonder. Hope not.
5	6	IT'S MY LIFE (Crush) Bon Jovi	4	SS
It's been a very long time since the last BJ project. We have to go back to 1995 for the "Dry County" album, and 1994 for the group's biggest hit, the million-seller "Always." This is something of a return to the hard-rocking anthems that made the group's name in the mid-80s, while not sounding particularly slightest dated.
6	12	THERE YOU GO (Can't Take Me Home) Pink	12
One part Destiny's Child to two parts insipid R&B does not make for a memorable single. Small amounts of UK airplay led to a respectable commercial success on UK release, though it's likely to be the start of a decent career.
7	11	HE WASN'T MAN ENOUGH (The Heat) Toni Braxton	5
It's three years since Toni's last entry, and that was an airplay-led re-activation of "Unbreak My Heart" in the first week of September 97. After filing for bankruptcy, taking time out, and composing some killer tunes, the Braxton is Back! This release follows the man-baiting theme common to Whitney, TLC and Destiny's Child albums last year, and deserves its high placings on both sides of the Atlantic. It's not been a huge seller in the UK, but has become a firm airplay favourite. It's spent eight weeks as the planet's #1, and six weeks on top in Canada.
8	3	YOU SEE THE TROUBLE WITH ME Black Legend	2
Originally this had the vocals of soul legend Barry White; then he wanted more than the producers were willing to pay, and so the commercial release doesn't have his vocals. The song itself is therefore nothing more and nothing less than a dance-ish remake of an old soul song.
9	8	DON'T CALL ME BABY Madison Avenue	3
Originally released in November last year, when it peaked at #55, the Australian duo's track is re-released owing to public demand. It's anodyne stuff, without an obvious attraction. Radio went ape over it for two months, helping to keep the track bizarrely popular for a second month.
10	13	THONG SONG (Unleash The Dragon) Sisqo	3
The former Dru Hill frontman releases the second single off his album, in honour of a stripper he and his brother saw on a night out. It cannot be taken seriously, and ripped up the chart on its release. Radio proved far more friendly to this than anyone could have expected, and the track remained popular well into June.
11	17	AMAZED (Lonely Grill) Lonestar	13	SS
Back last summer, this record spent a record-busting eleven weeks on top of the country charts in the US, and made a respectable showing on the overall airplay listings over there. We expected that to be the end of the story, leaving the group without the crossover hit they deserved. Then, just before Christmas, AC radio picked up on the track in a big way. It returned to the listings, obtained a single release, and shot to the top of the Hot 100. The stage was set for the group to take the UK market by storm; New Country has been hyped as flavour of the year for the past couple of years, but this was the first real chance to prove its value in single terms. If South Park's Officer Barbrady were around, he have called for shenanigans on this record. It struggled to attract airplay away from Radio 2 and a few AC stations for two months, wasn't stocked by two leading record store chains, yet attracted massive interest on every television appearance. Yet it refused to go away, turning into a classic hit that everyone will know. The record remained in the sales top 40 for ten weeks without breaking the top 20, an achievement that hasn't been equalled in donkey's years. Then, in early June, the other record chains came on board, major radio groups woke up to the hit that had been passing them by since March, and it stalled agonisingly short of the weekly top 10. Over on the sales chart, "Amazed" has now spent 13 weeks hovering between positions 21 and 36. Only six other records took a quarter year between 21 and 40: the complete list is exclusive to this site: "Green Jeans" - Flee-Rekkers, #23 in 13 weeks, summer 1960. I know nothing about this one. "Wheels Cha Cha" - Joe Loss, #21 in 19 weeks, summer - autumn 1961. Joe Loss led a big jazz orchestra in the early days of rock and roll. "Adios Amigo" - Jim Reeves, #23 in 16 weeks, summer 1962. Jim was a country singer. "Somewhere My Love" - Mike Sarmes Singers - #22 in 15 weeks, late 1966. An easy listening combo; this track went on to make #14 the following summer. "Big Spender" - Shirley Bassey - #21 in 15 weeks, late 1967. Something of a classic. "Snowbird" - Anne Murray - #23 in 15 weeks, late 1970 into 1971. The debut hit for the Canadian country performer who also provided Boyzone with a big hit last year. Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions.
12	4	OTB (ON THE BEACH) York	5
The German dance fundamentalists have lifted the hook from a 1980s Chris Rea track and built a sonic soundscape round it. Sadly, and slightly unfairly, the spectre of an unoriginal version of Robert Milani springs to mind.
13	3	THE ONE (Millennium) Backstreet Boys	6	SS
The fourth single from the album is nothing particularly special, not all that inspired, but enough of a good thing to mark itself out from the rest of the crowd.
14	12	THE BAD TOUCH (Hooray For Boobies) Bloodhound Gang	2	SS
The breakthrough single for this group is a raunchy number, that will never allow anyone who hears it to watch discovery.ca in the same way. Radio was slow to pick up on this track, but made up for their omission with a vengeance - and an edit. Sales held up far better than anyone could have predicted, with the track just the fifth in six months to climb above its entry position on the weekly sales listings. It persisted as a popular tune right through May, finishing second only to the Spearsmeistress herself.
15	8	SEX BOMB (Reload) Tom Jones & Mousse T	13
The fourth single off Tom's album of duets with contemporary hitmakers is long on how sexy some people find the Welsh greasemeister, and short on anything approaching a groove.
16	1	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.
17	2	SANDSTORM Darrude	3
Quickly, name three famous acts from Finland. Never mind, no-one does well on that question. Darrude is the first of three Finnish acts expected to do big things this summer, and the dance end of the country's style. This is a fairly hardcore, heavy tune that has attracted almost nil airplay.
18	2	SPINNING AROUND Kylie Minogue	3
It's twelve years since the Pixie Of Pop graduated from the cast of Aussie soap Neighbours to the music charts, thanks to the mass-produced sounds of Messers Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Since then, Kylie has dated Michael Hutchence (Better The Devil You Know, 1990), made one classic dance record (Confide In Me, 1994), recorded a Manic Street Preachers cast-off (Some Kind Of Bliss, 1997), and kept plodding away. This is her biggest hit since the aforementioned "Confide In Me," and looked to give her first #1 single since "Tears On My Pillow" in January 1990. She would have become the first act to have a #1 single in the 80s, 90s and 00s, but in spite of strong first week sales, she couldn't get past Sonique.
19	3	WHEN A WOMAN (Rise) Gabrielle	10
The third single from the album, it's a pretty enough tune, but doesn't quite have the hook of the title track.
20	4	MAMA WHO DA MAN Richard Blackwood	3
To the roll call of pointless, unmusical celebrity cash-ins (Paul Gascoine, the Chicken Shed Theatre, Boyzone) we can add alternative comedian Blackwood. The alternative sort of comedian that isn't actually funny re-works a track first made popular by his uncle, Junior Giscombe, in 1982. Shall we call it pointless and move on?
21	4	FORGET ABOUT DRE (Dr Dre 2001) Dr Dre	15
This one features Dre's protoge Eminem, and some lyrics that get totally cut to shreds by television and radio censors. The track really suffers as a result, and that's not helped it attain popularity.
22	15	NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN (Northern Star) Mel C featuring Lisa Lopez	1x1
The Tony Slattery of TLC makes her second guest appearance on a massive hit, following her work with Donell Jones in January. This is a satisfying confection of pop and soul, but isn't at all a filling. It's not a patch on the minor (#55 in 1989) Danny Wilson hit of the same name, though attracted streets more airplay.
23	4	IF I TOLD YOU THAT (Whitney's Greatest Hits) Whitney Houston & George Michael	18
The superstar pairing that everyone wanted to hear turns up a smaller hit than anyone expected. That's what I said back in December 98 when Whitney combined with Mariah, and repeat here for this one. It looks good on paper, but loses a lot on record.
24	7	DAY AND NIGHT Billie Piper	6
It's been a long time out of the spotlight for The Artiste Formerly Known As Billie. Originally launched on a pop magazine promo campaign in early 98, Billie took some slightly rebellious numbers to the top end of the chart later that year, before showing a more funky side on later singles. By then, Birtney Spears had stolen the innocent-ish girl crown from her, and Billie retired to consider her next album. Over a year later, she comes back with a track that - depending on your point of view - is aping Birts to the nth degree, or is a slice of funk that the US team wouldn't dream of. Either way, Billie has maintained a large fan base, though it's not big enough to better Spears' popularity in her first week out. Followers of the UK sales charts have Billie down as the youngest solo female to make three #1s; I'm still waiting for her to beat the #3 peak of second single "Girlfriend."
25	4	NEW BEGINNING Stephen Gatley	3
The first solo Boyzoner, Ronan Keating, hit the top of the sales charts in August last year, and follows up in late July. The third solo Zoner, Mikey Graham, fell flat on his face with his single, peaking at #37. The second was Gatley, who has released a loud, blustering ballad. It calls to mind the more pompous excesses attributed to Celine or Whitney, but without the restraint that those divas often show. Some have compared Gatley to Robbie Williams, the former Take Thatter whose career hasn't run into the rails. We reckon he's more like Mark Owen - two decent hits, a flop album, then turn up in five years time making poor programmes for minority tv channels.
26	12	BE WITH YOU (Bailamos) Enrique Iglesias	18	NB
The third single off the album is a mid-tempo tune, not quite as fast as "Bailamos" but a lot more memorable than his Christmas release, whatever that was called, which stiffed out of sight. This has moderately large UK hit written over it, and one week at #1 in the US.
27	10	YOU SANG TO ME (Marc Anthony) Marc Anthony	23	NB
After his first release stiffed on sales in spite of huge airplay, Marc returns to his roots for a strange beast of a follow-up. It's clearly Latin in influence and structure, yet is much slower than any other hit Latin track. It reminds me of sultry nights on a tropical beach, with someone strumming his guitar. One for a long hot summer. The UK release, though, waits behind a re-release for his last release, as predicted here last November.
28	6	I TURN TO YOU (Christina Aguilera) Christina Aguilera	28
The scheduled third single from her album missed the release date on May 22 after Aggie fell ill with a knee problem. Or was that Birtney? Anyway, the record company isn't confident enough to release the single without the star promoting it - which suggests a distinct lack of confidence in their product. Try again in late June, and the extra time just might have allowed the song to grow on listeners a little. This Diane Warren song was originally recorded by "I Swear" heroes All-4-One in 1997, without significant success.
29	4	COMING AROUND AGAIN Travis	7
The lead-off single from the third album was always going to be a tough prospect. The Scottish band is following up "The Man Who", an album that has won more plaudits and sold more copies than any other during its first year on release. Indeed, the prospect seems to have been a little daunting, as this track shows. It's perfectly formed, but it toddles about aimlessly, scared to say anything lest it gets criticised for speaking its mind. That is not the recipe for good music.
30	16	SAY MY NAME (The Writing's On the Wall) Destiny's Child	2
Third UK release from this album, second in the States, a typical Child number. Well-structured soul vocals, but it still doesn't showcase the band as well as it might. Three weeks as the US #1, one in Canada, and lingering airplay support in the UK.
31	11	PRIVATE EMOTION (Ricky Martin) Meja / Ricky Martin	9	SS
After the faux-Latin stomp of "Livin La Vida Loca" turned him into an A-list star, Martin returned to his crooner roots for the epic ballad "She's All I Ever Had." That was a deserved hit everywhere. Except, that is, in the UK, where the single was overlooked in favour of the singularly abysmal "Shake Your Bon-Bon." With a shattered reputation to recover, and cries of "He looks like a muppet" ringing in his ears, Martin delved into the celebrity phone book and turned up trumps. Enter Meja, the Swedish songstrel who put the squeaky-good "All About the Money" into the top ten in autumn 98, but who disappeared as swiftly as she rose. Put the two together and the result is this atmospheric, slightly spooky, ballad, that stands or falls on Meja's contribution. In the UK, the record sold strongly and received major airplay, but without quite crossing over to become the major hit it deserves to be.
32	12	TOCA'S MIRACLE Fragma	1x2
The story behind this record is well known. "I Need a Miracle" (Coco, #39 sales, 1997, vocals) + "Toca Me" (Fragma, #26, #408 for the year, 1999, instrumental). Result: massive seller, airplay fave, and bad interviews as Coco complains she's not getting her fair slice of the royalties.
33	1	BABYLON (White Ladder) David Gray	10	June
The breakthrough single for the Welsh rocker who has been on the verge of something big for a couple of years now. This is a rocky ballad with a hard edge, not unlike Shawn Mullin's "Lullabye" from the early part of 99. I'm hopeful that Gray will surpass Mullin's total of one hit.
34	20	MARIA MARIA (Supernatural) Santana	12	NB
Vocals this time from Wyclef Jean, under the name Product G&B. This is more of a showcase for Carlos Santana's languid guitar skills than the frenetic "Smooth", and would sound utterly wonderful on a hot summer's afternoon with a cool breeze and cool drink to hand. UK release is scheduled for the middle of July, when we'll be in the height of the rainy season. Ten weeks at the top in the US, seven on the World Chart, two in Canada.
35	2	PORCELAIN (Play) Moby	7	SS
The most-licensed record ever yields a sixth single, for which the epithet "classic" doesn't seem too far out of place. This is a gentle, soft number, which could just be the internal chimes of a piece of china.
36	4	TRY AGAIN (Romeo Must Die OST) Aaliyah	29
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 overshadow a decent grower of a track, though not one that's going to be an A-grade track.
37	2	GIRLS LIKE US B-15 Project	14
Anonymous, anodyne, vaguely-dancey track.
38	2	BENT (Real World) Matchbox Twenty	34	NB
It's a slow grower, but when it clicks into life, you'll know it.
39	8	EVERYTHING YOU WANT (Everything You Want) Vertical Horizon	27	SS
This starts out with a piece of guitar feedback that can only herald two types of tune: the abysmal, and the fantastic. This falls into the latter category, falling squarely into the sort of adult rock that ships by the bucketload in the USA yet never ever gets a crack of the whip in the UK. I hope this will turn out to be the exception to test the rule, but I doubt it will. The band suffered a major embarrassment when the US commercial single of this tune was pulled at the very last minute in late May. Had it reached the stores and sold anything like as many copies as expected, it would have made at least a week at the #1 slot. Instead, they had to settle for #3. The belated release, at the end of June, clashed with an N'Sync single, resulting in #2.
40	39	I TRY (On How Life Is) Macy Gray	5	Oct
Where Lauryn Hill has picked up flak for being too rich to have been miseducated, Macy appears to be the real item. She sounds like R&B diva Hill after a few too many ciggies - though her voice is entirely natural - and has come out with an absolute belter of a track. If you've never heard it, do so at once; if you've turned it off halfway through because it's going nowhere, go back and listen to it in full. The song projects a big city, late at night, and received hyper-enthusiastic airplay on London's breakfast show. It also set eyebrows aflame on the UK sales chart, for daring to climb up the chart for seven consecutive weeks. Such is the abuse of the sales list by record companies that no record has managed this trick since Celine Dion in 1994-5. Just to confuse matters further, this track made an upswing during the spring owing to new success in foreign markets, spending five weeks leading the Canadian pack, and four leading the World Chart.

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