14May

British finance minister Gordon Brown raised interest rates by ¼% to 6¼%, then said that he would allow the Bank of England to set its own rates. He established a nine-person committee, with a remit to keep inflation in a band between 1½% and 3½% per year. Labour pledged to end the "conflict" with Europe, and ended the opt-out on the Social Chapter. Other priorities included devolution for Wales and Scotland, reducing class sizes in infant schools, and reducing Prime Minister's Questions to a weekly 30-minute event from 15 minutes twice a week. It was not clear what had happened to Humphrey, the Downing-street cat.

The candidates for the Conservative party leadership election emerged as Kenneth Clarke, Peter Lilley, Michael Howaerd, John Redwood, Stephen Dorrell, and William Hague. Mr. Hague is standing only after going back on a deal to support Mr. Howaerd. There will be a canvass of about one month, with the first round of ballotting amongst the party's MPs in the middle of June. Michael Shersby, the Conservative MP for Uxbridge, died unexpectedly.

Rebel forces under Laurent Kabila continued their pressure on President Mobutu of Zaire; the president flew out on Wednesday. A report confirmed that the Busang gold strike, claimed to be the biggest find this century, was a fraud. The consultants found that Bre-X had not found any gold, just some tampering with samples. Richard Branson sold Virgin Radio to Capital, pending regulatory approval. Schools began to ban the Tamagotchi virtual pets. The warm April gave way to a cold snap, with snow falling on hills as far south as Oxfordshire. Police announced an amnesty for students who had stolen traffic cones.

Ken Doherty won the world snooker title, defeating Stephen Hendry 18-12. Manchester United topped Division I for the fourth time in five seasons. Newcastle clinched second place and entry to the European Cup, beating Arsenal and Liverpool on goal difference. Leicester defeated Sale 9-3 in the rugby union cup final.

Blue Peter marked its 3000th edition by inviting back former presenters Valerie Singleton and Mark Curry. After just five weeks on air, Teletubbies was attacked for not being educational enough. Neilandchristine Hamilton was the guest star on this week's Have I Got News For You. The Spice Girls performed their first live concert in the UK, at Manchester Opera House. Critics called the gig "safe". The group announced a tie-up with a soft drinks company, including a single that will not be available in the shops.

For the first time in 44 weeks - back to June last year - there are no Spice Girls songs in the top 40; their most recent hit, Mama/Who do you think you are was the victim of the biggest clear-out in chart history. Thirty new entries into the top 75, including 19 into the top forty. And three re-entries - U2's Discotheque landed at 72, Boyz One's Isn't it a wonder at 67, and the Spices' Two become one at 54.

Do we remember Ann Nesby (Hold on 75), Rootjoose (Can't keep living this way 73) , Angel Moraes (I like it 70), or Rebekah Ryan (Woman in love 64)? Not a bit of it. Paul van Dyk would go on to more successful things than Forbidden fruit at 69, while Belgian group Salad put the last of five hits in at 65 - that was Cardboy king. It's ten years since Billy Bragg last graced the top 75 with The boy done good at 55. More people we don't recall: Blue Amazon (And then the rain falls, 53), Ca$ino (Sound of eden, 52), and Team Deep (Morning light, 42). Scooter had had four hits over the last year and a half, but Fire fell short at 45; they wouldn't release anything more here for five years.

In at 40 came Spybreak! from the Propellerheads, the big dumb drum group's first top 40 hit. Babybird's Cornershop was in at 37, just two singles behind their big hit. Laurie Johnson and the London Big Band put the theme from The Professionals in at 36, after it had been used in a car ad. Laurie's 1794 week (35 and a half years) wait for a new hit was beaten only by Perez Prado's forty-year intermission to Guaglione. Embrace had the first hit of their long career with the Fireworks ep at 34; one place higher was the end of a fourteen-year career for Paul Young, I wish you love was his fourteenth top 40 hit, but he'd only spent three weeks in the top 20 since summer 1985. The curse of the BPI Best Newcomer was slow to strike, but strike it did.

Sinead O'Connor had the Gospel Oak ep in at 28, lead track This is to mother you. It's her last top 40 hit to date, seven years after her only top 10 hit. My Life Story had their fourth hit single in ten months, Strumpet new at 27. One place higher, Suggs and the Chelsea Team sang Blue day, made to celebrate their appearance in the F.A. Cup Final the following week-end. If it were a battle of songs against Middlesbrough, who didn't record a disk, then the trophy would be sitting in Ayresome Park already. Boyband OTT landed at 24 with Forever girl and the Space Brothers' Shine entered at 23.

Good news for Simon Mayo, as his favourite band Delerious? get their first top 40 hit; Deeper lands at 20, and thanks to the group's articulate expression of their faith, is promptly not played anywhere else on the radio. If only the same could be said for C.J. Bolland's The prophet, new at 19. Mary J. Blige came in at 15 with Love is all we need, but the top ten hit still eluded her. The Eurovision winner Love shine a light climbed from 50 to 13, and would have gone higher if only the record company had pressed enough copies to go round. Brownstone, a gospel-influenced female vocal group, had had a couple of decent hits in 1995, and came back with Five miles to empty at number 12.

Five of last week's top ten drop out; 911 move 10-16, Michael Jackson slumps 8-21, Jamiroquai deserves no better than 6-18, the Seahorses fall 3-11 (in spite of a Mark and Lard cover), and George Michael plunges 2-14. DJ Quicksilver retains his status for one final week, dropping one place at 10.

New in at number nine came the Eels, performing Susan's house. The key to this song is the sample from Love finds a way, as recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips in the mid-70s. But it would be nothing without the acutely aware lyrics, painting a picture in word and sound alone. The use of vocal changers helps, but we reckon the song would still work without them.

Primal Scream bagged only their second top ten hit with Kowalski at number 8. In at 7 came North And South, performing I'm a man not a boy. Yep, another boy band, but this time they'd also been the stars of No Sweat, a drama that had gone out in children's programming on BBC-1. The group's career would be done and dusted by the end of the year, but inspired Simon Fuller to do something with a little more staying power - S Club 7 was the eventual result. Last week's number one from Gary Barlow came down to number 6. The former number one from R. Kelly was now outselling both of the subsequent chart-toppers, and held station at 5. Shola Ama climbed from 7 to 4, reaching her peak in her fifth week on the chart.

New at number 3 came London soul-funk band Damage, with an oily cover of Eric Clapton's Wonderful tonight. The Cardigans never quite had a UK number one, but came within 2000 sales this week; Lovefool rose from 4 to 2. Blocking the Swedes were a group from Sheffield who had twice stalled agonisingly short of the top 40. When first released in September 1996, You're not alone had stopped at number 42, denied a place at the top table by long-runners from Toni Braxton and Tony Rich. Eight weeks ago, Miracle had made it to number 41. Now Olive came from nowhere to put the re-released You're not alone in as the UK's best seller.

| Permanent link