19March

Three people died, and over 100 vehicles were written off, after a crash on the M-42 near Redditch. Health secretary Stephen Dorrell set out proposals to stop elderly people having to sell their homes to pay for residential care. The foster father of Billie-Jo Jenkins was charged over her murder. The situation in Albania worsened into chaos; an evacuation of British nationals was cancelled when the airport was closed. John Major agreed to a debate in the forthcoming election, but only against Tony Blair. Comet Hale Bopp entered the night sky. Wonder of the week this week was a scare over abattoir hygiene. New Loyalty Card of the Week came from Shell. In rugby, France won the grand slam with a 47:20 defeat of Scotland; England won the triple crown after beating Wales 34:13.

On Blue Peter, Richard Bacon was trekking with llamas. Highlights of Comic Relief included Ballykissdibley, The Great Big Stupid Celebrity Sketch Show, and Prime Cracker. Noel's House Party came from New Amsterdam, and the UK's Song for Europe was confirmed as Love shine a light.

UK Singles Chart for w/c 16 March 1997

Number One	Mama / Who do you think you are? - Spice Girls - 2nd week
Highest new entry	Isn't it a wonder - Boyzone - number 2
Fastest climber (within top 40)	Mama / Who do you think you are? by The Spice Girls, up 0 to 1
Fastest climber (within top 75)	Knocking on heaven's door by Dunblane, up 4 to 40
Lemming-like fall (within top 40)	Shout by Antan Dec, down 17 to 27 Spin spin sugar by The Sneaker Pimps, down 17 to 38
Lemming-like fall (within top 75)	Miracle by Olive, down 31 to 74
Top 40 debuts	Fountains of Wayne, Photek, Cake, Symposium
Top 40 ends	Babyface, DJ Kool, Dunblane, INXS, Photek, Zee
Top 75 debuts	Agent Provocateur, Angelheart, Eric Benet, Cake, Fountains of Wayne, Gold Blade, Grass Show, Photek, Roger Sanchez, Symposium
Top 75 ends	ABC, Agent Provocateur, Angelheart, Gold Blade, Ice Cube, Qattara, Yazz, Zee

75 to 41 was graced by new entries from Angelheart, Gold Blade, Eric Benet, Grass Show, and Agent Provocateur. One week wonders, all of them. Yazz's new song was a cover of Never can say goodbye; she could, it was her last, and it was almost seven years since she'd last graced the top 40. Final week on the chart for Ice Cube as a solo performer; The world is mine was his valedictory hit, and he'd only ever had the one top-40 smash. Stranger things happened in ABC's career - three top ten hits in 1982, big comeback in '87, small (but well-formed) one in '91, and a number 57 smash ten years ago proved the end of their career. Roger Sanchez entered at 43 with Release yo'self; his big hit was four years away.

Fourteen new entries into the top 40, and for Photek, the number 37 entry of Ni-ten-ichi-ryu was as good as their career ever got. Zee hit number 36 with Say my name; her second hit was five places smaller than the previous summer's very similar Dreamtime. Zee looked set to battle Jessica Garlick, Tricia Penrose, and Jonathan Maitland for the UK's Eurovision entry in 2002, but Never in a million years was disqualified from the final four after someone found a prior release in Hungary. Can anyone find a prior release of that Scooch record?

Fountains of Wayne began their chart career with Radiation vibe at number 32, but wouldn't break the top 20 until 2004. Symposium debuted at 25 with the rather brilliant Farewell to twilight - the group's three-single top 40 career would be done within six months, and that is a grade-1 shame. Fresh from the publicity surrounding their appearance on Brass Eye, Cake came in at 22 with The distance, their career highpoint; we never quite worked out why 2001's Short skirt long jacket wasn't larger than number 63.

INXS's glory days were in the past - their one top ten hit, Need you tonight was a 1987 smash, and though their 1992 album Welcome to Wherever You Are was thoroughly brilliant, the singles were not hits. Elegantly wasted entered at number 20, but by dipping to 41 next week, would turn out to be the group's final hit. Lead singer Michael Hutchence would be dead before the year's out.

Jean-Michel Jarre was a consistent hit-maker, always on the albums chart, but never the singles. Oxygene IV had been a number IV hit in 1977, but he didn't return until Oxygene 8 hit number 17 in 1997. At number 14 is Everybody knows (except you), the fourth hit single - and third top 20 smash - in nine months for the Divine Comedy. Neil wouldn't hit the top ten until 1999.

Anchoring the top ten this week was Clock; the group had been consistent hitmakers for a couple of years, making songs of great happiness and simplicity. The critics hated them with a vengeance, but no-one ever got poor by under-estimating the taste of the Grate British Public. It's over was new at 10.

Number 9 was The real thing, the big comeback hit single for Lisa Stansfield. She'd had her biggest hit single with All around the world in 1989, and 1991's All Woman album had spawned hit after hit after hit. The 1993 comeback had surprisingly flopped, and after just one hit single, the '97 return also ran out of steam. A shame.

The Fugees came down from 3 to 8, making way for Damage's Love guaranteed at 7. Third hit single for the young soul group, and their highspot was just nine weeks away. A comeback in 2000 didn't work at all.

Gina G had been the UK's representative at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, and Ooh aah... just a little bit spent a week at the top of the chart. Follow-up I belong to you made number 6, and her third single Fresh equalled that success in the new year. It's her last foray into the top ten; a court case against her manager rather wrecked Gina's stardom, and a comeback last October fizzled out at number 57.

Sash! dropped a place to 5, and No Doubt came down two to 4. In at 3 was Wet Wet Wet, performing If I never see you again. The group's career had spanned ten years, and would reach 25 hit singles by the end of the year. This was their tenth top-ten smash, and the first top five since Julia says two years earlier. It's hard to remember now, but the comparative failure of 1989's Holding Back the River album, followed by the very minor hits of Make it tonight (37) and Put the light on (56) in 1991 led to the postponement of High On The Happy Side into 1992. If Goodnight girl hadn't been a hit, The Dumper beckoned.

Boyzone were denied a hat-trick of number one singles as Isn't it a wonder entered at position 2; it did mark the first of their hat-trick of number 2 smashes. Keeping the Irish twats off the top was the Spice Girls' comic relief single.

It's Double Or Quits week for Two Songs a Week, as we offer the songs of Symposium and Lisa Stansfield for your delectation.

| Permanent link

Two Songs a Week