2April
The election campaign continued. Allan Stewart, the Conservative MP for Eastwood, withdrew from his candidature after wielding a pickaxe at a protest. Tim Smith, the former minister who accepted cash from Mohamed Fayed to ask questions, said he would not defend his Beaconsfield seat. The Labour candidate in Tatton pulled out, saying that he would not fight Neil Hamilton, also accused of taking Mr. Fayed's cash. Piers Merchant fought on, with the backing of his Beckenham association, after denying allegations that he had been having an affair with Anna Cox (17). Sir Michael Hirst withdrew from the Eastwood seat even before being selected, after it emerged he had had sex with a junior party worker. The politics of the election campaign focussed on trade union recognition and VAT on fuel, but these matters were completely overshadowed by the soap opera amongst the Conservative candidates.
A tunnel was discovered in the Maze prison, just 30 yards from the perimeter wall. Sinn Fein organised a demonstration against the tougher regime on IRA inmates. The Interior Ministry declined to re-open the case of James Hanratty, hanged for a 1961 murder. Two IRA bombs exploded at Wilmslow station; they were believed to herald a possible pre-election campaign. Doncaster station was evacuated in the usual sort of bomb scare.
More than 80 people died when an Albanian refugee boat collided with an Italian warship. A computer failure in the clearing system of the banks meant that many employees were not paid for Easter. 39 people were found dead in a house at Rancho Santo Fe; the Heaven's Gate was another Hale-Bopp cult. Canada was amazed when Bre-X announced that its find of gold in Busang, Indonesia, was completely made up; the company's chief geologist was pushed out of a helicopter. Cambridge beat Oxford in the University boat race.
| Number One | Block rockin' beats, Chemical Brothers, 1st week |
|---|---|
| Second Highest new entry | North country boy, The Charlatans, number 4 |
| Fastest climber (within top 40) | Don't let go (love), En Vogue, up 1 to 32 |
| Fastest climber (within top 75) | Two become one, Spice Girls, up 13 to 31 |
| Lemming-like fall (within top 40) | Can't nobody hold me down, Puff Daddy, down 19 to 38 |
| Lemming-like fall (within top 75) | A red letter day, Pet Shop Boys, down 33 to 42 |
| Top 40 debuts | JT Playaz, Yvette Michelle, DJ Quicksilver, Silverchair |
| Top 40 ends | JT Playaz, Yvette Michelle |
| Top 75 debuts | Clueless, Frankie Cutlass, David Devant And His Spirit Wife, DJ's Rule, JT Playaz, Yvette Michelle, DJ Quicksilver, Spacemaid |
| Top 75 ends | Clueless, Frankie Cutlass, Dinosaur Jr, DJ Kool, DJ's Rule, Spacemaid |
Nine new entries into the lower end of the top 75, plus a re-entry for the Prodigy's Breathe
. Does anyone remember Spacemaid (the best band from Hull, 70), DJs Rule (dance collective, 65), Clueless (61), Frankie Cutlass (hip-hopper, 59), or David Devant and his Spirit Wife (there's a link above, 54)? Thought not. Clueless's song, incidentally, was a dance cover of Don't speak
, the smash hit for No Doubt; in the late 1990s, cheesy dance covers of recent hits were two-a-penny, most sold just a few hundred copies, and very few even threatened the top 75.
Thunder - new at 60 with Love worth dying for
is a heavy rock act that was popular in the early 1990s, perhaps best known for Backstreet symphony
and Dirty love
. Their only top 20 hit was A better man
from February 1993, but the group continued to have hit singles through the 1990s. And, indeed, to the present day. Another early 90s rock act, Dinosaur Junior, had its final hit, Take a run at the sun
, place at 53. Their top 20 hit came just two weeks before Thunder's. Norwich singer-songwriter Beth Orton was on the rise; her second single, Someone's daughter
, placed at 49, which would turn out to be about par for her career.
Horse (unofficial) was both one of the great lost talents and one of the great survivors of the late-80s Glasgow boom. The six-piece group was fronted by Horse McDonald, whose distinctive vocal style could be heard on their 1990 release Careful
. Though a top 20 hit in their native Scotland, success south of the border was strictly limited, the single stalling at 52 on the nationals. It's a shame - McDonald's vocals show clear signs of the nodule-removing surgery she underwent just before recording this track, and it has a string arrangement from Anne Dudley. Following sustained success on the dancefloor - Sasha had mixed the tune in 1992, Brothers in Rhythm and James Wiltshire more recently - the group re-released their big near-miss, only to find it stalling at position 44. It was the biggest UK hit of their career, and the song remains one of the best never to quite make the national top 40. We've two versions for your consideration - the 1990 original, and James Wiltshire's Ambient Mix.
There was the usual slew of records plummeting down the charts - Fun Loving Criminals and Lamb dropped 28, Sheryl Crow went down 29. Lemming of the week was from the Pet Shop Boys, whose Red letter day
dropped from number 9 right out of the top 40. The Shoppies had the first record to drop out of the chart from the top 10 since the invention of the top 30 in 1956. It wouldn't be the last.
Four records entered in the bottom reaches of the top 40. At 37, Brian Kennedy performed Put the message in the box
, a note-for-note cover of World Party's minor hit from 1990. Mr. Kennedy peaked two places higher. At 36, Yvette Michelle sang I'm not feeling you
; we're not remembering this one-week wonder at all. Aussie band Silverchair put Freak
in at 34. Fronted by the attractive Daniel Johns, Silverchair had had a couple of small hit singles in summer 1995. This was their biggest hit. Mr. Johns is now best known for marrying Natalie Imbruglia (of whom more later in the year); his group followed a similar career path to Tokio Hotel.
In at 30, the JT Playaz were Just playin'
; again, we remember nothing of these people. Sixteen fallers in a row came next, including a 12 place drop for the Backstreet Boys (4-16), a 13 place fall for BBE (5-18), a 16 place plunge for Seal (13-29), but Madonna capped them all, diving from 7 to 24.
Eight new entries into the top 13 was, yes, a record for front-loaded sales. Consideration
from Reef anchored the list, their third hit single in six months. The group would never return to the top ten they'd recently had with Come back brighter
and Place your hands
, but would continue to place in the top 20 through the remainder of the decade. Where can I find love
was in for Italian disco dancers Living Joy at 12; hit single four was the first to miss the top 10. N-Trance covered DISCO
at number 11, somewhat smaller than their 1995 cover Do you think I'm sexy?
. N-Trance was another cheesy disco group, this time from the north of England; their biggest hit was Set you free
, a top 5 hit in 1995 and again in 2001.
3T came in at 10 with Gotta be you
, a vocal credit to Herbie there, whoever he was. Sash! dropped three places to 9. B Real and Busta Rhymes came in at 8 with Hit 'em high (the monstars' anthem)
, a cheery rap taken from some motion picture or another. Liverpool band Cast came in at 7 with Free me
, their fourth top 10 hit in a row. The group's biggest hit was Flying
in autumn 1996.
More Italian dance from Turkish DJ Quicksilver at 6, with the entry of Bellissima
, a very radio-friendly piano dance creation. R Kelly dropped three places to 5, making way for the Charlatans' North country boy
. Originally the prime reason that the 1990 Madchester scene had imploded into a gory mess, the Charlatans also sucked much of the energy from the Britpop explosion, promoting their tired and dull noodlings. Somehow, they were in the middle of three top ten hits in a row - One to another
had become their biggest hit the previous September. The group has one of the thickest skins in rock, and is currently recording its tenth (count 'em!) studio album, still waiting for just one to be half-way decent.
No move for No Doubt at 3, and the Spice Girls lose the top spot after three weeks. Taking over the top, though not set to open any television channels, are the Chemical Brothers, recording their second best-selling single in as many releases. Setting sun
was the number one single in early October 1996, now Block rocking beats
took over pole position. The group is still active, though has only released one album in the past five years, and can be relied upon to make at least one massive hit single from each album.
