Ten days after launching mortar bombs at Downing-street, the IRA caused explosions after hiding bombs in litter bins at Victoria and Paddington stations. One person were killed, but the main effect was to add to the growing pile of litter as the BR board took away all the bins. Wary commuters caused far greater chaos by leaving their bags on trains, closing mainline stations for hours at a time.

The Gulf War II continued. Kuwaiti propagandists claimed that 7000 people had been killed in the six-and-a-half months of the Iraqi occupation; it subsequently emerged that this was only true if one counted the deaths caused by Allied Carpet bombing. On Day 33 (Monday 18th), the USSR proposed a negotiated settlement, but the blood-lust from the Connecticut drunkard in charge of the Allied Carpet forces was such that he rejected the settlement out of hand. By Day 36, the Allied Carpet had set their conditions to avoid a land war: Iraq should begin a withdrawal by 5pm UTC on Saturday (Day 38), completing the process from Kuwait City by Monday, and the entire withdrawal within a week. The USSR's proposal was ceasefire first, followed within a day by the start of a withdrawal, with three weeks to disengage. In retrospect, the key difference between the proposals was this line in the USSR idea: After withdrawal, all other Security Council resolutions will lose their meaning and be rescinded.

Labour's Bryan Gould criticised Michael Heseltine's plans to replace the poll tax; his party espoused a Fair Rates policy, but details were never made public. Boris Yeltsgin called on President Gorbachev to resign and hand power to the Council of the Federation, the leaders of the twelve (or fifteen, depending on who you ask) Soviet republics.

Robin Morgan was fired as editor of the Sunday Express; in 20 months, he had seen the circulation of the broadsheet fall from 1.95 million copies to 1.65 million. Paul Dacre succeeded John Leese as editor of London's Everezinstannar. The DPP asked for a re-hearing of the evidence against the Birmingham Six, suggesting that it would be withdrawing the evidence of police officers. There was a coup in Thailand. The death was announced of ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn.

Liverpool and Everton played their FA Cup Round of 16 tie twice: a 1:1 draw on Saturday was followed by a pulsating 4:4 draw on Wednesday. On Friday, Kenny Dalgleish stunned everyone by announcing that he was to resign. In his six years in the job, Dalgleish had won three Division I titles and two FA Cups. Owing to political interference by UEFA, his side was not allowed to compete in European competition. Nigel Short qualified for the last eight of the World Chess Championship, beating Jon Speelman. He'll meet Boris Gelfand in the quarter-finals in August. England beat Scotland to set up a Grand Slam match against France.

No space in the national top 75 for Scotland's number 39, The sun's gonna shine for me soon from the Wendys; nor for the number 11, Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie's Now we are married. With eight big fallers propping up the top 75, we'll start at number 67 with Susannah Hoffs's first solo single, My side of the bed. It has some climb to come. No further climb for Julee Cruise's Rockin' back inside my heart. Cruise had risen to fame the previous autumn, when Falling was used as the theme song to surreal drama Twin Pekes. The show, about two small champion showdogs, was the critical hype of autumn 1990, but rather lost itself in layer upon layer of surreal nonsense, enough to make less-observant viewers think it was about a murder. During this week, ABSuck had put Twin Peaks on hiatus, but a letter-writing campaign changed their mind sufficiently for the company to order six more episodes and wrap up a few loose ends. No such luck for Cruise, whose album Floating: Into the Night had been put together in association with Angelo Badalamenti, and tried to be a prairie take on the Cocteau Twins. Just about worked, to a point. Cruise's second album was The Voice of Love (1993), which didn't really match her first work, since when she's rather disappeared back into the ether she sung from.

New at 64 for Londonbeat's cover of No woman no cry. They'd had the biggest hit of their career the previous autumn, as I've been thinking about you rose to number 2; the immediate follow-up A better love stalled at number 52 at the end of the year, and this Bob Marley cover will get no higher. In at 62 come the River City People, led by former CBBC presenter Siobhan Meyer. They'd twice released (What's wrong with) dreaming to far less acclaim than the stonking song deserved (70 in summer 1989, 40 in September 1990), and their one hit single was the double-A sided Carry the blame (a song about the emotional aftermath of an abortion) and California Dreamin' (a cover of the Mamas and Papas classic). The cover was the side that radio played, and took to number 13 in the heatwave of summer 1990. Second follow-up When I was young will get no higher than this week's number 62.

It's only a year since Norman Cook and his group Beats International was riding at number 1 with Dub be good to me; after Won't talk about it made number 9, the rot set in: Burundi blues made number 51, and now Echo chamber made 60. Paul Heaton, his compatriot in the Housemartins, looked to have had a more successful career with his group the Beautiful South. In at 58 for Jealousy from The Adventures of Stevie V; they'd made number 2 in spring 1990 with Dirty cash, but could only ever be a one-hit wonder: Body language struggled to 29 in September '90, and Jealousy will get no higher. A slightly pointless re-release of Dirty cash made 69 in September 1997.

From the department of Goodness, Thought They'd Split Up Years Earlier comes Deep Purple. The group had been trying and failing to Follow That! since 1970. Black night and Strange kind of woman both made the top 10 in that year, but nothing else bothered the top end of the charts. Smoke on the water made 21 in 1977, Black night hit 43 in a 1980 re-issue. By 1991, the group was a throwback to a very long-ago era, though Love conquers all became their biggest hit in six years by making number 57. Barring a second re-release of Black night in 1995, it's the group's last hit; the surprise is only that they were recording new material into the 90s.

A career highpoint for Helloween; the German rockers peak at 56 with Kids of the century, an otherwise unremarkable song. Jesus Loves You climbed 14 to 55 with Bow down mister. How were The The doing in 1991? Not too well: they'd had a number 29 hit (Heartland in 1986, a song about the joys of reading Ceefax all day) and a number 18 (The beat(en) generation in 1989). This year's hit is Shades of blue, and it makes number 54. We're surprised to recall that it's the last The The single not to make the top 40: Dogs of lust was the first of three hit singles in 1993, and the Dis-infected ep (led by a re-recording of This is the day) hit 17 in early 1994.

New at 53 came the Bee Gees' Secret love, and in at 51 came True Faith's Take me away. Inner City are up 6 to 47 with Till we meet again, and Young Disciples are up 9 to 46 with Apparently nothing. Those two weren't going to become hits on this release, and it looked as though the record up 14 at 45 would become one of the greatest slipped disks of all time. In its first week of release, The one and only had failed to make the top 100. Then it just missed the top 75, staggered up to 59, and looked like it had topped out at this week's 45. In Scotland, Chesney Hawkes (for it was he) was slipping already, 37-38, and Ver Dumper beckoned. So, before it goes away for all time, here's the Great Lost Hit.

Not so for the Banderas, this week's fastest climber of 29 places to 44 with This is your life. Mica Paris was flop-bound, If I love u 2 nite was up 15 to its peak of 43. The Dream Warriors entered at 42 with Ludi, and Echo and the Bunnymen's minor 1988 hit People are strange had been re-issued, and returned at 41. Dina Carroll finally has the top 40 hit; her work with Quartz on It's too late climbs two places to number 40. The song's been out for five weeks already, and has moved 44-42-40. Mantronix, like the Banderas another former Simon Mayo Record of the Week, entered at 39 with Don't go messing with my heart.

A new entry at 35 for the Almighty with Free 'n' easy. The Glasgow rockers had broken through in 1990, making number 50 in the summer with the raw sex anthem Wild and wonderful. Their new release comes from the forthcoming album Devil's Toy, and will be the group's biggest hit of the year. A very quick Follow That! for Jesus Jones, Who? Where? Why? is their second hit single of the year, but only enters at number 34. N-Joi come in at 32 with the Adrenalin ep, and Massive Attack storm up 20 to 31 with Unfinished sympathy. Joey B Ellis and Tynetta Hare's Go for it! (Heart and fire) is up 10 to a peak at 23, DJH and Stefy's Think about... is up three to a peak at 22, and Thunder climbs one to a peak at 21 with Love walked in.

Living Colour had taken four weeks to climb from 48 to 30, then performed Love rears its ugly head on Top of the Pops. The staccatto song, atypical of the group's hardcore rock-soul-funk, moved straight up to number 19, and will have more climb ahead of it. We remember them more for their 1988 missed single Glamour boys, which just missed the top 75, and never got re-released. Living Colour would go on to more success in 1993 with their Stain album, then split.

A fast climb of 17 places to 18 for Stevie B's Because I love you (the postman song). Peaks for Chris Rea's Auberge, up seven to 16; MC Hammer's Here comes the hammer, up six to 15; and Kenny Thomas's Outstanding, up one to 12. The last song has taken six weeks to climb from 33 to 12. Out of the top ten goes Kim Appleby (10-17), Praise (5-14), Kylie Minogue (7-13), and Two In A Room (6-11). Only the Blankcanvas will return to the top ten.

Fastest climber within the top 40 is Move your body (elevation) from Xpansions, up 18 to 10. It's a faceless dance hit, like 808 State's In yer face, no move at 9. Only six of the current top ten are making their only appearance; the first of three re-issues is Free's All right now, up three to 8. KLF's former number one 3am eternal drops four to 7, and Oleta Adams's Get here drops two to 6.

A new entry - but not the highest - for the Clash, Should I stay or should I go is new at number 5, beating its 1982 peak position of number 17. We'll have more to say on this subject next week. Up four to 4 for The Source's You've got the love, the only song released since 1990 to make the top ten on three separate occasions. Number 4's top weight here, but it'll make 3 in 1997 and 7 in 2006. Nomad and MC Mikee Freedom drops a place to 3.

Highest new entry, back in at 2, for Madonna's Crazy for you. The original had been a number two hit in June 1985, kept from the top by Sister Sledge's classic Frankie. It's being re-released to promote Madonna's best-of album The Immaculate Collection, and (allegedly) had been remastered to sound spacier. We couldn't tell the difference, it was always an excuse to tune to a new station. There was a new notional B-side, Keep it together, one of the weakest songs Madonna ever recorded, and one we couldn't hum after we've just heard it. All of which meant there's no move, The Simpsons remain at the top for a third week, helped by half term in much of the UK. Which re-release will scupper them next time?

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