Ironic that last headline...

We're going on hiatus. I'm not finding this as fun as I used to and sadly it's become rather a chore to do this every week, especially since I've no real idea of how many regular readers I have. Thank you to the few people who have left some nice comments and I hope you enjoyed our stroll down the memory lane of the first six months of 1994, but I just can't bring myself to finish the journey. Having said that, 1994 has been dead for 17 years already so there's no particular reason why I can't come back and finish it later on.. perhaps we'll pick things up in July 2012. Keep a bookmark just in case!

Don't worry. Here are some links which may help you get through this terrible terrible news.

The full episodes of The Chart Show were borrowed from Steve H's Myspace page. Chart facts were borrowed from old issues of Music Week, available for download here, and the old James Masterton chart commentaries I sometimes referred to are still online here. My old blog, the original Pop Unlimited, which was where between 2007 and 2009 I chatted shit about 90s pop music is still online here.

I want to share one last record with you - my favourite record of 1994. It reached number two in November of that year, but for some reason by 1996 it had been completely forgotten. It's the song that for me sums up why I loved the music of '94 so much. It might not be clever, but it made my 8-year-old self very happy.



Finally, some end-of-year lists that I would have saved until December. The sales figures in these lists may contradict each other, but never mind.


THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 200 SINGLES OF 1994

1 Love Is All Around - Wet Wet Wet (Precious) 1,752,000
2 Saturday Night - Whigfield (Systematic) 1,092,000
3 Stay Another Day - East 17 (London) 778,000
4 Baby Come Back - Pato Banton (Virgin) 727,000
5 I Swear - All-4-One (Atlantic) 706,000
6 Without You - Mariah Carey (Columbia) 580,000
7 Always - BonJovi (Jambco) 547,000
8 Crazy For You - Let Loose (Mercury) 506,000
9 Things Can Only Get Better - D:ream (Magnet) 485,000
10 Doop - Doop (Citybeat) 467,000
11 The Sign - Ace of Base (London) 453,000
12 Come On You Reds - Manchester Utd. FC (Polydor) 423,000
13 The Rhythm Of The Night - Corona (WEA) 399,000
14 All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey (Columbia) 395,000
15 I Like To Move It - Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman (Positiva) 390,000
16 7 Seconds - Youssou N'dour & Neneh Cherry (Columbia) 387,000
17 Swamp Thing - The Grid (Deconstruction) 385,000
18 Let Me Be Your Fantasy - Baby D (Systematic) 380,000
19 Love Me For A Reason - Boyzone (Polydor) 376,000
20 Everything Changes - Take That (RCA) 367,000
21 (Meet) The Flintstones - BC-52's (MCA) 359,000
22 Streets Of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen (Columbia) 345,500
23 Inside - Stiltskin (White Water) 349,000
24 The Most Beautiful Girl In The World - Prince (NPG) 348,200
25 Searching - China Black (Wild Card) 347,400
26 Crocodile Shoes - Jimmy Nail (East West) 346,800
27 Compliments On Your Kiss - Red Dragon with Brian & Tony Gold (Mango) 332,000
28 Return To Innocence - Enigma (Virgin) 330,000
29 We Have All The Time In The World - Louis Armstrong (EMI) 323,000
30 Baby I Love Your Way - Big Mountain (RCA) 317,000
31 Another Night - (MC Sar &) The Real McCoy (Logic) 312,000
32 The Real Thing - Tony di Bart (Cleveland City Blues) 310,000
33 Breathe Again - Toni Braxton (LaFace) 308,000
34 Think Twice - Celine Dion (Epic) 306,000
35 Regulate - Warren G. & Nate Dogg (Interscope) 300,000
36 Sweetness - Michelle Gayle (RCA) 295,000
37 All For Love - Bryan Adams / Rod Stewart / Sting (A&M) 291,000
38 Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun) - Cyndi Lauper (Epic) 285,000
39 Around The World - East 17 (London) 275,000
40 Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (RCA) 265,000
41 Sweets For My Sweet - CJ Lewis (Black Market) 262,000
42 Sure - Take That (RCA) 260,000
43 I'll Make Love To You - Boyz II Men (Motown) 257,000
44 Endless Love - Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey (Epic) 255,000
45 Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex (Internal Affairs) 252,000
46 Power Rangers - Mighty Morph'n Power Rangers (RCA) 249,000
47 Shine - Aswad (Bubblin') 248,000
48 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies (RCA) 243,000
49 No Good (Start The Dance) - The Prodigy (XL) 235,000
50 Get Away - Maxx (Pulse-8) 225,000
51 You Don't Love Me (No No No) - Dawn Penn (Big Beat) 220,000
52 Love Ain't Here Anymore - Take That (RCA) 218,000
53 Come Baby Come - K7 (Big Life) 215,000
54 She's Got That Vibe - R. Kelly (Jive) 212,000
55 Oh Baby I ... - Eternal (EMI) 212,000
56 Confide In Me - Kylie Minogue (Deconstruction) 209,000
57 Welcome To Tomorrow - Snap feat. Summer (Arista) 207,000
58 All I Wanna Do - Shweryl Crow (A&M) 198,000
59 What's Up - DJ Miko (Systematic) 198,000
60 Twist And Shout - Chaka Demus & Pliers (Mango) 194,000
61 The Power Of Love - Celine Dion (Epic) 192,000
62 U R The Best Thing - D:ream (Magnet) 185,000
63 Don't Turn Around - Ace of Base (London) 180,000
64 Trouble - Shampoo (Food) 175,000
65 Always - Erasure (Mute) 171,000
66 Them Girls Them Girls - Zig & Zag (RCA) 168,000
67 Whatever - Oasis (Creation) 166,000
68 Incredible - M-Beat feat. General Levy (Renk) 165,000
69 Just A Step From Heaven - Eternal (EMI) 163,000
70 Let The Beat Control Your Body - 2 Unlimited (PWL) 162,000
71 Let's Get Ready To Rhumble - PJ & Duncan (XSrhythm) 160,000
72 Whatta Man - Salt'n'Pepa with En Vogue (ffrr) 158,000
73 Circle Of Life - Elton John (Rocket) 156,000
74 Linger - The Cranberries (Island) 153,000
75 Right Beside You - Sophie B. Hawkins (Columbia) 150,000
76 Dedicated To The One I Love - Bitty McLean (Brilliant) 148,000
77 Anything - Culture Beat (Epic) 145,000
78 Steam - East 17 (London) 142,000
79 Please Come Home For Christmas - BonJovi (Jambco) 140,000
80 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - Gloria Estefan (Epic) 139,000
81 Everybody Gonfi Gon - Two Cowboys (Ffrreedom) 137,000
82 Sight For Sore Eyes - M People (Deconstruction) 136,000
83 Secret - Madonna (Maverick) 135,000
84 Move On Baby - Cappella (Internal Dance) 135,000
85 I Miss You - Haddaway (Logic) 134,000
86 Another Day - Whigfield (Systematic) 133,000
87 Carry Me Home - Gloworm (Go! Beat) 132,000
88 Rock My Heart - Haddaway (Logic) 131,000
89 Light My Fire - Clubhouse (PWL) 130,000
90 Come On In Out Of The Rain - Wendy Moten (EMI) 129,000
91 Eighteen Strings - Tinman (ffrr) 128,000
92 I'll Remember - Madonna (Maverick) 127,000
93 I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders (WEA) 126,000
94 Eternal Love - PJ & Duncan (XSrhythm) 125,000
95 It's Alright - East 17 (London) 124,000
96 Love Spreads - The Stone Roses (Geffen) 123,000
97 Shine On - Degress of Motion feat. Biti (ffrr) 122,000
98 Go On Move - Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman (Positiva) 121,000
99 No More (I Can't Stand It) - Maxx (Pulse-8) 120,000
100 A Deeper Love - Aretha Franklin (Arista) 119,000
101 Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos (East West) 118,000
102 What's The Frequency, Kenneth? - REM (Warner Bros.) 117,000
103 Anytime You Need A Friend - Mariah Carey (Columbia) 116,000
104 Some Girls - Ultimate Kaos (Wild Card) 115,000
105 Renaissance - M People (Deconstruction) 114,000
106 I Believe - Marcella Detroit (London) 113,000
107 The Real Thing - 2 Unlimited (PWL) 112,000
108 Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Ru Paul (Rocket) 111,000
109 Girls & Boys - Blur (Food) 110,000
110 Put Yourself In My Place - Kylie Minogue (PWL) 109,000
111 Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Fabulous feat. the Pet Shop Boys (Parlophone) 108,000
112 Word Up - Gun (A&M) 107,000
113 Can You Feel The Love Tonight - Elton John (Rocket) 106,000
114 Everybody's Talkin' - The Beautiful South (Go! Discs) 105,000
115 Stay Together - Suede (Nude) 104,000
116 Everything's Alright (Uptight) - CJ Lesis (Black Market) 103,000
117 The Way You Work It - EYC (MCA) 102,000
118 More To This World - Bad Boys Inc. (A&M) 101,000
119 Rock & Roll Dreams Come True - Meat Loaf (Virgin) 100,000
120 Sweet Lullaby - Deep Forest (Columbia) 99,000
121 Parklife - Blur (Food) 98,000
122 Live Forever - Oasis (Creation) 97,000
123 Another Sad Love Song - Toni Braxton (LaFace) 96,000
124 Save Our Love - Eternal (EMI) 95,000
125 So Good - Eternal (EMI) 94,000
126 If I Only Knew - Tom Jones (ZTT) 93,000
127 All I Have To Do Is Dream / Miss You Nights - Cliff Richard & Phil Everly (EMI) 92,000
128 Someone To Love - Sean Maguire (Parlophone) 91,000
129 100% Pure Love - Crystal Waters (A&M) 90,000
130 True Faith '94 - New Order (London) 89,000
131 Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros.) 88,000
132 Shoop - Salt'n'Pepa (ffrr) 87,000
133 U & Me - Cappella (Internal Dance) 86,000
134 Midnight At The Oasis - The Brand New Heavies (ffrr) 85,000
135 Son Of A Gun - JX (Internal Dance) 84,000
136 Since I Don't Have You - Guns'n'Roses (Geffen) 83,000
137 If I Give You My Number - PJ & Duncan (XSrhythm) 82,000
138 Take A Bow - Madonna (Maverick) 81,000
139 When We Dance - Sting (A&M) 80,000
140 For Whom The Bell Tolls - Bee Gees (Polydor) 79,000
141 No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) - Jocelyn Brown & Kym Mazelle (Bell) 78,000
142 Only To Be With You - Roachford (Columbia) 77,000
143 Seventeen - Let Loose (Mercury) 76,000
144 Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden (A&M) 75,000
145 Dry County - BonJovi (Jambco) 74,000
146 Zombie - The Cranberries (Island) 73,000
147 Best Of My Love - CJ Lewis (Black Market) 72,000
148 You Gotta Be - Des'ree (Sony S²) 71,000
149 Whispeing Your Name - Alison Moyet (Columbia) 70,000
150 Run To The Sun - Erasure (Mute) 69,000
151 Cigarettes & Alcohol - Oasis (Creation) 68,000
152 Now And Forever - Richard Marx (Capitol) 68,000
153 Lean On Me - Michael Bolton (Columbia) 67,000
154 Stars - China Black (Wild Card) 67,000
155 Loser - Beck (Geffen) 66,000
156 Here I Stand (Come & Take Me) - Bitty McLean (Brilliant) 66,000
157 Black Book - EYC (MCA) 65,000
158 Sleeping In My Car - Roxette (EMI) 65,000
159 The Perfect Year - Dina Carroll (A&M) 64,000
160 Riverdance - Bill Whelan feat Anuna & the RTE Concert Orchestra (Son) 64,000
161 Willing To Forgive - Aretha Franklin (Arista) 63,000
162 Dreamer - Livin' Joy (Undiscovered) 63,000
163 Thank You For Hearing Me - Sinéad O'Connor (Ensign) 62,000
164 Half The Man - Jamiroquai (Sony S²) 62,000
165 Move It Up / Big Beat - Cappella (Internal Dance) 61,000
166 Waterfall - Atlantic Ocean (Easten Bloc) 61,000
167 Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros.) 60,000
168 Voodoo People - The Prodigy (XL) 60,000
169 Cany You Feel It - Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman (Positiva) 59,000
170 Rocks / Funky Jam - Primal Scream (Creation) 59,000
171 Mr. Blobby - Mr. Blobby (Destiny) 58,000
172 This DJ - Warren G. (RAL) 58,000
173 The Red Strokes / I Ain't Goin' Down - Garth Brooks (Liberty) 57,000
174 Babe - Take That (RCA) 57,000
175 Sweet Love - M-Beat feat. Nazlyn (Renk) 56,000
176 Prayer For The Dying - Seal (ZTT) 56,000
177 No One - 2 Unlimited (PWL) 55,000
178 Could It Be I'm Falling In Love - Worlds Apart (Bell) 55,000
179 I Wanna Be Your Man - Chaka Demus & Pliers (Mango) 54,000
180 To The End - Blur (Food) 54,000
181 Crazy - Eternal (EMI) 53,000
182 A Whole New World - Peabo Bryson & Regina Bell (Columbia) 53,000
183 How Gee - Black Machine (London) 52,000
184 You Never Love The Same Way Twice - Rozalla (Epic) 52,000
185 Any Time Any Place - Janet Jackson (Virgin) 51,000
186 Turn The Beat Around - Gloria Estefan (Epic) 51,000
187 Violently Happy - Björk (One Little Indian) 51,000
188 Lover - Joe Roberts (ffrr) 50,000
189 In Your Room - Depeche Mode (Mute) 50,000
190 Space Cowboy - Jamiroquai (Sony S²) 50,000
191 Something In Common - Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston (MCA) 49,000
192 Shakermaker - Oasis (Creation) 49,000
193 Liberation - Pet Shop Boys (Parlophone) 49,000
194 Good As Gold - The Beautiful South (Go! Discs) 48,000
195 Uptight - Shara Nelson (Cooltempo) 48,000
196 I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff (Columbia) 48,000
197 I Want The World - 2wo Third3 (Epic) 47,000
198 Locked Out - Crowded House (Capitol) 47,000
199 Lonely Symphony (I Want To Be Fre) - Frances Ruffelle (Virgin) 47,000
200 Let The Music (Lift You Up) - Loveland vs. Darlene Lewis (KMS) 47,000


THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 100 SINGLES ARTISTS OF 1994

1 1782800 Wet Wet Wet
2 1349700 Mariah Carey
3 1320700 East 17
4 1228500 Whigfield
5 909000 Take That
6 767200 BonJovi
7 759500 D:ream
8 726800 Pato Banton
9 721500 All-4-One
10 653400 Ace of Base
11 620800 Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman
12 599500 Eternal
13 586300 Let Loose
14 522600 Celine Dion
15 470200 The Grid
16 466900 Doop
17 455800 CJ Lewis
18 450300 Toni Braxton
19 423500 Manchester Utd. FC
20 419700 Oasis
21 418700 Prince
22 418000 China Black
23 411600 Elton John
24 409400 Enigma
25 402800 PJ & Duncan
26 401400 Sting
27 398600 Corona
28 386900 Youssou N'dour
29 385500 Baby D
30 376600 Boyzone
31 376200 Maxx
32 369700 Stiltskin
33 363400 Warren G.
34 358700 BC-52's
35 349500 Madonna
36 349500 Bruce Springsteen
37 348400 Tony di Bart
38 346800 Jimmy Nail
39 341700 Michelle Gayle
40 333900 Chaka Demus & Pliers
41 331800 Red Dragon with Brian & Tony Gold
42 323100 Louis Armstrong
43 322000 2 Unlimited
44 321700 Big Mountain
45 319243 Bryan Adams
46 312600 (MC Sar &) The Real McCoy
47 312500 Cyndi Lauper
48 309600 The Cranberries
49 308200 Kylie Minogue
50 300400 R. Kelly
51 295600 Erasure
52 295000 M People
53 292600 Rod Stewart
54 291000 The Prodigy
55 289300 Cappella
56 284800 Boyz II Men
57 284300 Luther Vandross
58 282000 Blur
59 281500 Crash Test Dummies
60 281400 Salt'n'Pepa
61 279400 EYC
62 276000 K7
63 274300 Haddaway
64 270300 Aswad
65 265400 Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
66 252000 Rednex
67 249200 Mighty Morph'n Power Rangers
68 247800 M-Beat
69 242900 Bitty McLean
70 225000 Dawn Penn
71 223300 The Beautiful South
72 218600 Shampoo
73 216900 Pet Shop Boys / Absolutely Fabulous
74 206900 Snap feat. Summer
75 205100 Brand New Heavies
76 200800 Gloria Estefan
77 200300 Tori Amos
78 199000 Sheryl Crow
79 198500 DJ Miko
80 195900 Meat Loaf
81 189100 Culture Beat
82 189000 Bad Boys Inc.
83 182200 Aretha Franklin
84 178800 Roxette
85 176500 Terrorvision
86 173600 Clubhouse
87 172300 The Pretenders
88 167800 Zig & Zag
89 167000 Marcella Detroit
90 165300 Suede
91 162400 Wendy Moten
92 158400 En Vogue
93 156800 Janet Jackson
94 155000 Degress of Motion feat. Biti
95 154600 Sophie B. Hawkins
96 148400 Red Hot Chili Peppers
97 147400 REM
98 145400 Deep Forest
99 136900 Two Cowboys
100 135300 Gloworm


THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 200 ALBUMS OF 1994

1 NOW! 29 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
2 Cross Road - The Best Of ... - BonJovi (Jambco)
3 Carry On Up The Charts - The Beautiful South (Go! Discs)
4 Music Box - Mariah Carey (Columbia)
5 Always And Forever - Eternal (EMI)
6 The Division Bell - Pink Floyd (EMI)
7 NOW! 28 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
8 End Of Part One - Greatest Hits - Wet Wet Wet (Precious)
9 The Best Rock Album In The World ... Ever! - v.a. (Virgin)
10 Monster - REM (Warner Bros.)
11 Parklife - Blur (Food)
12 The Love Album - v.a. (Virgin)
13 Live At The BBC - The Beatles (Parlophone)
14 Steam - East 17 (London)
15 In Concert '94 - Carreras / Domingo / Pavarotti / Mehta (Teldec)
16 Pure Moods - v.a. (Virgin)
17 Crocodile Shoes - Jimmy Nail (East West)
18 NOW! 27 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
19 Fields Of Gold - Best Of ... - Sting (A&M)
20 Cross Of Changes - Enigma (Virgin Int.)
21 The Hit List - Cliff Richard (EMI)
22 12 Deadly Cyns ... And Then Some - Cyndi Lauper (Epic)
23 Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We - The Cranberries (Island)
24 Our Town - Greatest Hits - Deacon Blue (Columbia)
25 Happy Nation - Ace of Base (London)
26 Elegant Slumming - M People (Deconstruction)
27 Definitely Maybe - Oasis (Creation)
28 Everything Changes - Take That (RCA)
29 One Woman - Ultimate Collection - Dina Ross (EMI)
30 Bedtime Stories - Madonna (Maverick)
31 Bizarre Fruit - M People (Deconstruction)
32 Crazy - Julio Iglesias (Columbia)
33 NOW! 1994 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
34 Labour Of Love Vols. 1 &2 - UB40 (Virgin)
35 Music For The Jilted Generation - The Prodigy (XL)
36 The Greatest Hits - InXS (Mercury)
37 Debut - Björk (One Little Indian)
38 Dance Zone '94 - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
39 Unplugged In New York - Nirvana (Geffen)
40 The Very Best Of Lloyd Webber - v.a. (Really Useful)
41 The Essential Collection - Elvis Presley (RCA)
42 The Best Of ... - Chris Rea (East West)
43 No Need To Argue - The Cranberries (Island)
44 Brother Sister - Brand New Heavies (ffrr)
45 Songs - Luther Vandross (Epic)
46 Seal - Seal (ZTT)
47 Back Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell - Meat Loaf (Virgin)
48 The Best Of ... - New Order (London)
49 The Best Of ... - Sade (Epic)
50 Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss me - Gloria Estefan (Epic)
51 Four Weddings & A Funeral OST - v.a. (Vertigo)
52 So Close - Dina Carroll (A&M)
53 D:ream On Vol. 1 - D:ream (Magnet)
54 Rock Anthems - v.a. (Dino)
55 Big Ones - Aerosmith (Geffen)
56 So Far So Good - Bryan Adams (A&M)
57 The Best Rock'n'Roll Album In The World ... Ever! - v.a. (Virgin)
58 Psyche - The Album - PJ & Duncan (XSrhythm)
59 Soul Devotion - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
60 Tease Me - Chaka Demus & Pliers (Mango)
61 Under The Pink - Tori Amos (East West)
62 Dance Zone - Level 3 - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
63 Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton (LaFace)
64 Top Gear - v.a. (Epic)
65 The Best Country Album ... Ever! - v.a. (EMI)
66 God SWhuffled His Field - The Crash Test Dummies (RCA)
67 Second Coming - The Stone Roses (Geffen)
68 The Lion King OST - v.a. (Mercury)
69 Dance Zone - Level One - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
70 Voodoo Lounge - The Rolling Stones (Virgin)
71 It's The Ultimate Dance Album - v.a. (Telstar)
72 It's Electric - v.a. (Dino)
73 Automatic For The People - REM (Warner Bros.)
74 The Glory Of Gershwin - Larry Adler (Mercury)
75 Motown - Ultimate Hits Collection - v.a. (Motown)
76 Canto Gregoriano - Monks Chorus Silos (EMI Classics)
77 Forrest Gump OST - v.a. (Epic)
78 We Have All The Time In The World - Louis Armstrong (EMI)
79 Now Dance - Best Of '94 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin)
80 Nevermind - Nirvana (Geffen)
81 The Best Of ... - Marvin Gaye (Motown)
82 Now Dance - Summer '94 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin)
83 Ten Summoner's Tales - Sting (A&M)
84 The Best Dance Album In The World ... Ever! 3 - v.a. (Virgin)
85 Legend - Bob Marley (Tuff Gong)
86 Dance Hits '94 Vol. 1 - v.a. (Telstar)
87 Return Of The Space Cowboy - Jamiroquai (Sony S²)
88 From The Cradle - Eric Clapton (Duck)
89 100% Reggae Vol. 3 - v.a. (Telstar)
90 The Ultimate Eighties - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
91 All Woman 3 - v.a. (Quality TV)
92 The Bodyguard OST - v.a. (Arista)
93 Gold - Greatest Hits - Abba (Polydor)
94 The Commitments OST - The Commitments (MCA)
95 Dance Hits '94 Vol. 2 - v.a. (Telstar)
96 Miaow - The Beautiful South (Go! Discs)
97 I Say I Say I Say - Erasure (Mute)
98 Simply The Best - Tina Turner (Capitol)
99 The Very Best Of ... - The Eagles (Elektra)
100 Both Sides - Phil Collins (Virgin)
101 Give Out But Don't Give Up - Primal Scream (Creation)
102 Dance Zone - Level Two - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
103 Superunknown - Soundgarden (A&M)
104 Black Sunday - Cypress Hill (Columbia)
105 Philadelphia OST - v.a. (Epic)
106 Vitalogy - Pearl Jam (Epic)
107 The Best Christmas ... Ever! - v.a. (Virgin)
108 The Very Best Of That Loving Feeling - v.a. (Dino)
109 The Best Of ... - Hank Marvin & The Shadows (PolyGram TV)
110 Jazz Moods - v.a. (Telstar)
111 Greatest Hits - Queen (Parlophone)
112 Crash! Boom! Bang! - Roxette (EMI)
113 In Pieces - Garth Brooks (Liberty)
114 Pulp Fiction OST - v.a. (MCA)
115 The Heart Of ... - Chicago (Warner Bros.)
116 The Best Reggae Album In The World - v.a. (Virgin)
117 Best Of UB40 Vol. 1 - UB40 (Virgin)
118 The Best Of ... - Van Morrison (Polydor)
119 Sweet Soul Harmonies - v.a. (Virgin)
120 August & Everything After - Counting Crows (Geffen)
121 Greatest Hits Of 1994 - v.a. (Telstar)
122 Carnival Of Hits - Judith Durham & The Seekers (EMI)
123 Power And Soul - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
124 Greatest Hits - Whitesnake (EMI)
125 Woodface - Crowded House (Capitol)
126 Stars - Simply Red (East West)
127 The Best Dance Album In The World 4 - v.a. (Virgin)
128 Blues Brother Soul Sister 3 - v.a. (Dino)
129 12 Play - R. Kelly (Jive)
130 100% Christmas - v.a. (Telstar)
131 100% Reggae - v.a. (Telstar)
132 Time Rice - I Know Them So Well - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
133 Divine Madness - Madness (Virgin)
134 Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf (Virgin)
135 Unplugged - Eric Clapton (Duck)
136 No Quarter - Jimmy Page & Robert Plant (Fontana)
137 Back To Front - Lionel Richie (Motown)
138 That's Christmas - v.a. (EMI)
139 100% Rap - v.a. (Telstar)
140 In Utero - Nirvana (Geffen)
141 The One Thing - Michael Bolton (Columbia)
142 Together Alone - Crowded House (Capitol)
143 100% Summer - v.a. (Telstar)
144 Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue (Deconstruction)
145 Come - Prince (Warner Bros.)
146 Jungle Mania '94 - v.a. (Telstar)
147 The Definitive - Simon & Garfunkel (Columbia)
148 Wild Wood - Paul Weller (Go! Discs)
149 Shepherd Moons - Enya (WEA)
150 The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (Sire)
151 Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd (EMI)
152 Dance Massive - v.a. (Dino)
153 The Very Best Of ... - ELO (Dino)
154 Promises & Lies - UB40 (Virgin)
155 Doggystyle - Snoop Doggy Dogg (Interscope)
156 MCMXC AD - Enigma (Virgin)
157 The Piano OST - Michael Nyman (Virgin)
158 Connected - Stereo MCs (4th % & Broadway)
159 Energy Rush Dance Hits '94 - v.a. (Dino)
160 Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson (Virgin)
161 Sleeps With Angels - Neil Young & Crazy Horse (Reprise)
162 Hits '94 Vol. 1 - v.a. (Telstar)
163 The Best Of Dance '94 - v.a. (Telstar)
164 Energy Rush - Xtermin8 - v.a. (Dino)
165 Dance To The Max - v.a. (Virgin)
166 Permanet Shade Of Blue - Roachford (Columbia)
167 Dog Man Star - Suede (Nude)
168 The Best Of Disney 2 - v.a. (Pickwick)
169 Originals 2 - v.a. (Columbia)
170 Softly With These Songs - Best of ... - Roberta Flack (Atlantic)
171 Awesome Dance - v.a. (Telstar)
172 How To Make Friends And Influence People - Terrorvision (Total Vegas)
173 The Best Of ... - Michael Ball (PolyGram TV)
174 Get A Grip - Aerosmith (Geffen)
175 Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros.)
176 Now Dance 1994 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
177 The Best Of ... - Rod Stewart (Warner Bros.)
178 Smash Hits '94 - v.a. (Telstar)
179 Troublegum - Therapy? (A&M)
180 100% Dance Vol. 4 - v.a. (Telstar)
181 In Harmony - Richard Clayderman & James Last (Polydor)
182 Vauxhall & I - Morrissey (Parlophone)
183 Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow (A&M)
184 Deep Forrest - Deep Forrest (Columbia)
185 His 'n' Hers - Pulp (Islands)
186 VS - Pearl Jam (Epic)
187 Merry Christmas - Mariah Carey (Columbia)
188 Groovin' - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
189 It's Christmas Time - v.a. (EMI)
190 That Loving Feeling Vol. VII - v.a. (Dino)
191 Ten - Pearl Jam (Epic)
192 Satin & Steel - Women In Rock - v.a. (PolyGram TV)
193 Ill Communication - The Beastie Boys (Capitol)
194 Blues Brother Soul Sister - v.a. (Dino)
195 Money For Nothing - Dires Straits (Vertigo)
196 NOW! 26 - v.a. (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram)
197 Haddaway - The Album - Haddaway (Logic)
198 Ingenue - kd Lang (Sire)
199 Breathless - Kenny G (Arista)
200 The Hits 2 - Prince (Paisley Park)


THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 100 ALBUMS ARTISTS OF 1994

1 1319700 Bon Jovi
2 1204500 The Beautiful South
3 1086600 Mariah Carey
4 1053600 Pink Floyd
5 1023000 REM
6 855400 Eternal
7 798000 The Beatles
8 757000 M People
9 714600 The Cranberries
10 679000 Nirvana
11 673700 Wet Wet Wet
12 669700 Blur
13 628900 Sting
14 616800 Carreras / Domingo / Pavarotti / Mehta
15 612700 East 17
16 578500 Meat Loaf
17 566000 UB40
18 551300 Enigma
19 499400 Madonna
20 492500 Jimmy Nail
21 470300 Cliff Richard
22 439200 Cyndi Lauper
23 431500 Take That
24 418300 Deacon Blue
25 412400 Dina Ross
26 406800 Ace of Base
27 395600 Aerosmith
28 395000 Eric Clapton
29 392350 Elvis Presley
30 384000 Oasis
31 382000 Chris Rea
32 351100 Queen
33 349300 The Prodigy
34 345600 Gloria Estefan
35 335600 InXS
36 328400 Björk
37 328100 Julio Iglesias
38 327400 Pearl Jam
39 327000 The Eagles
40 309500 Prince
41 305800 New Order
42 305200 Brand New Heavies
43 304700 Daniel O'Donnell
44 303600 Seal
45 300600 Bryan Adams
46 299100 The Rolling Stones
47 289800 Crowded House
48 286400 Sade
49 282700 Luther Vandross
50 263700 Tori Amos
51 261000 The Stone Roses
52 251000 Dina Carroll
53 243700 Phil Collins
54 243200 Jamiroquai
55 241300 D:ream
56 241200 Louis Armstrong
57 236700 PJ & Duncan
58 232900 Enya
59 230000 Chaka Demus & Pliers
60 222800 Monks Chorus Silos
61 221400 Toni Braxton
62 215700 Erasure
63 215500 Crash Test Dummies
64 211600 Garth Brooks
65 210000 Guns'n'Roses
66 208700 Neil Young
67 206900 Van Morrison
68 193700 Marvin Gaye
69 193500 Michael Bolton
70 192600 Abba
71 192300 Bob Marley
72 190300 Tina Turner
73 188500 Dire Straits
74 186800 U2
75 186700 Larry Adler
76 183100 Primal Scream
77 177500 Roxette
78 176900 Cypress Hill
79 174600 The Commitments
80 173300 Suede
81 173200 Pet Shop Boys / Absolutely Fabulous
82 162800 Paul Weller
83 162500 Simply Red
84 159000 Frank Sinatra
85 155000 The Carpenters
86 152900 Rod Stewart
87 152700 Hank Marvin & The Shadows
88 148000 Elvis Costello
89 144500 Soundgarden
90 142700 Madness
91 142400 Barbra Streisand
92 142200 R. Kelly
93 139600 Elton John
94 137600 Joe Cocker
95 136600 Mike Oldfield
96 136600 James Last
97 136400 The Spin Doctors
98 134500 Fleetwood Mac
99 131900 Red Hot Chili Peppers
100 130200 Chicago


Much love,

AcerBen

We won't give up when there's so much left to do

We may have missed a week's chart, but we didn't miss much as the top three hold steady this week. Wet Wet Wet hold at number one for a fourth week, Big Mountain spend a frustrating third week locked at number two and Dawn Penn makes no move at number three after climbing six places last week. Nobody could have known that the Wets would go on to spend 15 weeks at the top, but the signs were there - this week they sold more copies than numbers two, three and four put together.

As Music Weeks points out, it's "like the 80s and 90s never happened", as all top three records are new versions of songs all first recorded prior to 1976. With no new entries in the top 20 this week it's rather the story of the week - eight of the top 12 singles are either covers or based on old songs, which was worrying at the time, but people needn't have worried as of course the mid-90s went down in history as one of the most creative times in British pop music.



Ace Of Base make good progress to number five with Don't Turn Around, boosted by a performance on ITV's The Brian Conley Show, which you can see above. They're too busy to make it to Top Of The Pops, as they are jetting around the world to keep up with the demand for live appearances. Mariah Carey's Anytime You Need A Friend becomes the fourth top ten hit to be lifted from her Music Box album, which has become far more successful in the UK than her two previous albums - it was eventually certified five times platinum by the BPI. Conversely, this single became Mariah's first U.S. single to miss the Billboard Top 10, peaking at number 12.



British chancers Rodney and Kelly score their third top 20 hit fronting Italian dance act Cappella this week, as U & Me rises to number 12. After a disasterous live performance of their last hit Move On Baby, the producers at Top Of The Pops will wisely allow them to mime on next week's show... The "you and me you and me" looped vocal is illegally sampled from Vicki Shepard's Love Has Changed My Mind. There's an interview online where Vicki says she felt "raped of her artistery", which seems a bit over the top considering it's only four words, which frankly could have been sung by anybody...



At this half-way point in 1994, Peter Cunnah and D:Ream are the year's best-selling singles act so far, with Things Can Only Get Better and U R The Best Thing selling half a million copies between them. They return this week with Take Me Away: their third single of the year (though it's the first one that hasn't been out before). It climbs one place to number 18. It's pleasant enough if not a little repetitive, and was swiftly forgotten as soon as it left the top 40.



Unusally for the mid-90s, the highest new entry of the week lands at a lowly number 21. Italian producer Gianfranco Bortolotti is the man behind Cappella, and just for shits and giggles he has another act called Anticappella. I don't really know why he didn't just put this out as Cappella, since the rap on this single Move Your Body is performed by MC Fixx It, who almost certainly did the raps to most of the Cappella singles too, he's just not credited. This should have actually debuted at number 22 behind Let Loose's Crazy For You, but the 12-inch vinyl format of that was disqualified this week due to some overly complicated running-length/multi-song rule, so as a result that debuts at number 24. Not that they need worry about it...



Taking a quick look at the airplay chart, it's interesting to see that radio is already starting to tire of Love Is All Around, with Baby I Love Your Way overtaking it to be the number 1 record at radio right now.

01 (02) BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY, Big Mountain
02 (01) LOVE IS ALL AROUND, Wet Wet Wet
03 (05) EVERYBODY'S TALKIN', The Beautiful South
04 (13) DON'T TURN AROUND, Ace Of Base
05 (07) JUST A STEP FROM HEAVEN, Eternal
06 (08) ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND, Mariah Carey
07 (03) AROUND THE WORLD, East 17
08 (04) SWEETS FOR MY SWEET, CJ Lewis
09 (12) YOU DON'T LOVE ME (NO, NO, NO) Dawn Penn
10 (09) THE REAL THING, Tony Di Bart

The Beautiful South's current single Everybody's Talkin' is also getting massive support, but the single is going the wrong way down the chart to number 16. It won't all be for nothing though because they have a greatest hits compilation coming out soon...



There might be no new entries in the top 20, but there are plenty of records lower down which are destined to do big things over the coming weeks - e.g. Aswad's comeback single Shine, and Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry's 7 Seconds which flops in at number 40 - it'll be some weeks before that makes the top 10, and even longer for Bobby Brown's Two Can Play That Game which enters at number 38. That one will of course get another chance in 1995...

Finally, let's take a look at the album chart, where The Cranberries rise to number one with their U.S. million-selling debut - interestingly their single Linger fell out of the top 40 quite quickly but clearly made a big impression as people are quite happy to shell out £12.99 for the album.



01 (02) EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT, SO WHY CAN'T WE, The Cranberries
02 (03) OUR TOWN - GREATEST HITS, Deacon Blue
03 (08) MUSIC BOX, Mariah Carey
04 (01) REAL THINGS, 2 Unlimited
05 (07) THE DIVISION BELL, Pink Floyd
06 (--) POMME FRITZ, The Orb
07 (19) HAPPY NATION, Ace Of Base
08 (04) SEAL, Seal
09 (re) ONE WOMAN - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, Diana Ross
10 (05) ALWAYS AND FOREVER, Eternal

Ace Of Base return to the top ten with Happy Nation thanks to big airplay support of new single Don't Turn Around, and 2 Unlimited slip to number four with Real Things, which last week helped them become the first dance act (as well as first Dutch act) to score two UK number one albums. Here's a single from it which wasn't released in the UK, the ballad(!) Nothing Like The Rain.



THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 40
19 June 1994

01 (01) LOVE IS ALL AROUND, Wet Wet Wet
02 (02) BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY, Big Mountain
03 (03) YOU DON'T LOVE ME (NO, NO, NO), Dawn Penn
04 (08) SWAMP THING, The Grid
05 (07) DON'T TURN AROUND, Ace Of Base
06 (04) NO GOOD (START THE DANCE), The Prodigy
07 (17) I SWEAR, All-4-One
08 (09) ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND, Mariah Carey
09 (05) GET-A-WAY, Maxx
10 (06) ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, Absolutely Fabulous
11 (10) COME ON YOU REDS, Manchester United Football Squad
12 (21) U & ME, Cappella
13 (20) ANY TIME, ANY PLACE, Janet Jackson
14 (11) AROUND THE WORLD, East 17
15 (13) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH), Kym Mazelle & Jocelyn Brown
16 (14) EVERYBODY'S TALKIN', The Beautiful South
17 (15) INSIDE, Stiltskin
18 (19) TAKE ME AWAY, D:Ream
19 (28) SHINE, Aswad
20 (24) I WANNA BE YOUR MAN, Chaka Demus & Pliers
21 (--) MOVE YOUR BODY, Anticappella feat. MC Fixx It
22 (12) SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU, Guns N' Roses
23 (--) WILLING TO FORGIVE, Aretha Franklin
24 (--) CRAZY FOR YOU, Let Loose
25 (18) CARRY ME HOME, Gloworm
26 (--) DO YOU WANT IT RIGHT NOW?, Degrees Of Motion
27 (--) MIDDLE MAN, Terrorvision
28 (--) DOLPHIN, Shed Seven
29 (--) CLEOPATRA'S CAT, Spin Doctors
30 (16) TO THE END, Blur
31 (22) CRAYZY MAN, Blast feat. VDC
32 (--) I STILL THINK OF YOU, Utah Saints
33 (--) FEEL WHAT YOU WANT, Kristine W
34 (--) THE ONE FOR ME, Joe
35 (23) BACK TO LOVE, Brand New Heavies
36 (--) LAY YOUR LOVE ON ME, Roachford
37 (26) SHOOP, Salt-N-Pepa
38 (--) TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME, Bobby Brown
39 (40) INCREDIBLE, M-Beat feat. General Levy
40 (--) 7 SECONDS, Youssou N'Dour feat. Neneh Cherry

Compiled by Millward Brown for CIN. © The Official Charts Company.

Top Of The Pops 16/06/94

Well I've tried the last two weeks to upload full episodes of TOTP to my YouTube channel but they're now rejecting them for being too long - even though they let me upload two episodes before that. I'll go back to uploading to Vimeo from next week.

In the meantime, you can check out these highlights you've missed: performances from Kym Mazelle & Jocelyn Brown, Maxx, The Grid and D:Ream.

The Chart Show 11/06/94

Just do your best darling

Wet Wet Wet hold on to the top of the charts, with Love Is All Around selling another 104,210 copies this week, selling two and a half times more copies than the number two by Big Mountain. It's the first time the top two records have both been from a film soundtrack since late 1992 when I Will Always Love You and End Of The Road held the top two slots. The highest new entry lands in at number seven for the Pet Shop Boys who have teamed up with comedic actresses Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley on Absolutely Fabulous, a novelty Techno Techno Bloody Techno Darling track dedicated to the hit sitcom of the same name, helping to raise money for Comic Relief - even though a Red Nose Day event is on its year off. It's the second chart hit Jennifer has been involved in, having also been part of La Na Nee Nee Noo Noo's Help in 1989.



Already a top 30 airplay chart hit for the last couple of weeks, Dawn Penn makes her singles chart debut at number nine with You Don't Love Me (No, No, No). The Jamaican songwriter wrote the song back in 1965 when she was just 17 years old, becoming a number 26 hit the following year for Gary Walker. She later went on to write hits for Bob Marley and Cat Stevens. Now 46 years old (though she looks at least 15 years older!), she turns the evergreen reggae track into a hit of her own, and is fancied as the record most likely to give the Wets a run for their money over the coming weeks.



Swedish group Ace Of Base this week hold positions six and seven in the Billboard Hot 100, and have so far sold four million copies of their debut LP Happy Nation. They debut at 14 in the UK today with the Diane Warren-penned Don't Turn Around, recorded at the insistance of Arista Records boss Clive Davis. The song, which started life as a Tina Turner B-side, was a UK number one hit in 1988 but was not as successful in the States as it was in Europe. But only six years on it's impressive that AoB have managed to turn the song into a hit again in this new meloncholic minor key arrangement.



Two well-respected disco divas have cleverly decided to form a duo - Kym Mazelle and Jocelyn Brown have been working with producers Stock and Aitken and this is their first single together. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) was originally a number three hit for Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand in late 1979 and has now been updated for the 90s, without taking anything away from the campness of the original. Kym grew up in the 1960s on the same street as The Jacksons but didn't score a major hit until 1989, duetting with Robert Howard on the number seven hit Wait. Last year she appeared on Celebrity Masterchef. Jocelyn scored a major hit towards the end of the disco era with Somebody Else's Guy, and was unlawfully sampled on Snap!'s number one hit The Power. She also scored a couple of big hits in 1997 with Todd Terry, and tonight (in 2011 that is) she will appear on ITV1's Popstar To Operastar.



Having scored a major breakthrough hit with Girls And Boys earlier in the year, Blur return at number 22 with To The End - a bizarre choice of second single from their critically acclaimed Parklife album. An orchestral ballad with sweeping strings, and French lyrics performed by Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab, it probably wasn't the best decision to release this as a single. But in the long run it did their career no harm of course.



Still living in the shadows of her bigger sister Kylie (even though she hasn't released a record herself in 18 months), 22-year-old Dannii Minogue returns at number 36 with Get Into You, a big rock-tinged song which really deserved to do better than this, as it's a huge improvement on the sugary pop she usually churns out. Still, it's a tenth top 40 hit out of ten attempts. She's just moved to New York and enrolled at the Sandra Lee School of Acting after her performance in the 1993 film Secrets was critically panned. But she can't have stayed there very long because she ended up doing a stint as a presenter on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast and recorded another album, which ended up getting shelved - finally being released in 2008 as The 1995 Sessions.



Making slow progress on their last hit which peaked at number 48, synthpop trio 2wo Third3 return at number 45 with Ease The Pressure. This sounds very much like an East 17 track from the time, with a Tony Mortimer-esque rap, but without any eyecandy in the group the teenage girls aren't interested, and they will (for now at least) remain a niche act more popular in gay clubs than anywhere else.



And finally at number 61, Captain Hollywood returns with an extraordinarily lazy re-hash of his 1993 hit More And More. It even has the same ridiculous dance routine!



This week we finally say goodbye to Reel 2 Real's I Like To Move It, which leaves the top 40 after 18 weeks. It's the longest any non-chart-topping singles has spent on the chart since The Tweets spent 20 weeks inside the 40 in 1981. Here's this week's top 40 in full.

THE OFFICIAL UK TOP 40
5 June 1994

01 (01) LOVE IS ALL AROUND, Wet Wet Wet
02 (07) BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY, Big Mountain
03 (02) COME ON YOU REDS, Manchester United Football Squad
04 (04) GET-A-WAY, Maxx
05 (03) AROUND THE WORLD, East 17
06 (05) NO GOOD (START THE DANCE), The Prodigy
07 (--) ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, Absolutely Fabulous
08 (06) INSIDE, Stiltskin
09 (--) YOU DON'T LOVE ME (NO, NO, NO), Dawn Penn
10 (22) SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU, Guns N' Roses
11 (11) SWAMP THING, The Grid
12 (15) EVERYBODY's TALKIN', The Beautiful South
13 (09) CARRY ME HOME, Gloworm
14 (--) DON'T TURN AROUND, Ace Of Base
15 (--) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH), Kym Mazelle & Jocelyn Brown
16 (--) FASTER/PCP, Manic Street Preachers
17 (08) SWEETS FOR MY SWEET, CJ Lewis
18 (13) SHOOP, Salt-N-Pepa
19 (10) THE REAL THING, 2 Unlimited
20 (12) MORE TO THIS WORLD, Bad Boys Inc.
21 (17) OMEN III, Magic Affair
22 (--) TO THE END, Blur
23 (16) JUST A STEP FROM HEAVEN, Eternal
24 (--) ANYTHING, SWV
25 (--) FINGERS OF LOVE, Crowded House
26 (37) CRASH! BOOM! BANG!, Roxette
27 (19) THE SISTERS EP, Pulp
28 (--) BACK TO LOVE, The Brand New Heavies
29 (--) DIE LAUGHING, Therapy?
30 (21) MMM MMM MMM MMM, Crash Test Dummies
31 (20) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD, Prince
32 (18) THE BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE, Prince
33 (33) PATIENCE OF ANGELS, Eddi Reader
34 (24) THE REAL THING, Tony Di Bart
35 (39) LEAN ON ME, Michael Bolton
36 (--) GET INTO YOU, Dannii Minogue
37 (23) TAKE IT BACk, Pink Floyd
38 (--) EVERYDAY THANG, Melanie Williams
39 (28) I'LL STAND BY YOU, The Pretenders
40 (14) DISSIDENT, Pearl Jam

Compiled by Millward Brown for CIN. © The Official Charts Company.

The Chart Show 04/06/94

Top Of The Pops 02/06/94

Another full episode with performances from Big Mountain, The Beautiful South, Salt-N-Pepa, Pulp, Mariah Carey and Wet Wet Wet.