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Great Number One hits

Started by 23 Daves, May 26, 2004, 12:56:00 PM

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23 Daves

A bit of a challenge, this one.

The Number One is supposed to be the pinnacle of any artist's career, the holy grail to go for, the career-defining moment that assures people a career into old age performing in supper clubs around the world and elsewhere.

The reality, however, is often different.  When a list of all time best selling number ones is unveiled anywhere, it's impossible to find many of the bastards you actually like.  Novelty pop, bad teen fodder and blandness tend to dominate - the number one really tends to represent something that a lot of people like, but nobody really loves.

So here's the challenge - how many number ones can you name that you actually think are great tracks?  Try to justify the odder choices, too.

One proviso here is to not mention endless obvious tracks by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  We know they've had a good run of it, but an endless list of Beatles tunes for an entire post would probably make for rather dull reading.  In any case, there's actually a few exceptions - "Lady Madonna", "From Me To You", and "Ballad of John And Yoko" are all a bit ho-hum.

Anyway, here's my list (almost certainly incomplete):

KLF:  3am Eternal
Pet Shop Boys:  West End Girls.
MARRS:  Pump Up The Volume
Timelords:  Doctorin' The Tardis
Abba:  Dancing Queen
Oasis:  Don't Look Back In Anger
The Jam: Going Underground/ Dreams of Children
The Jam:  Beat Surrender
Slade:  Merry Xmas Everybody
White Town:  Your Woman
Blur:  Beetlebum
Manic Street Preachers:  If You Tolerate This...
Manic Street Preachers:  The Masses Against The Classes

The Culture Bunker

Hmm... as someone who's never really bought a top 10 single in his life, it's going to be hard for me to remember any great chart toppers.

Well, the other two #1's by the Jam, "Town Called Malice/Precious" and "Start!" need to be on this list.

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by the Clash.
"Atomic", "Hanging On The Telephone" by Blondie
"Brass In Pocket", the Pretenders
"House of Fun", Madness
"World In Motion" Englandneworder

Are the ones to spring to mind.

mayer

David Bowie -  Ashes to Ashes

i think its cool how it references his first # 1 (the Space Oddity re-release), but all in it's just a brilliant track. dark as hell but irresistibly catchy.

nice song, shame about the video. (which is quite funny if you think about it)


"Mad World" by Gary Jules
"Losing My Religion" by REM

Was anything by Radiohead ever number 1?

Probably a Talking Heads song or two...

as you can tell I'm not very well versed on things that have been number 1.

El Unicornio, mang

'The Model' by Kraftwerk, which held the Stranglers 'Golden Brown' (one of my all time favourites) at No.2 for aeons

'Everything I Do (I Do For You)' by Bryan Adams, which really should have been at number one for longer, it was so good

tetoffender

Quote from: "23 Daves"
So here's the challenge - how many number ones can you name that you actually think are great tracks?  Try to justify the odder choices, too.

Obvious ones to start:

Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean"

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - "Are "Friends" Electric?"

Donna Summer - "I Feel Love"

Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (the first song I remember liking, aged 3)

80s Pop/ Electro Pop that,  to my young ears didn't sound so special, but which, in retrospect, are bloody great:

Frankie Goes To Hollywood- "Relax"
Adam and the Ants - "Prince Charming", "Goody Two Shoes"
Soft Cell - "Tainted Love"
Dead or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"
Pet Shop Boys - "West End Girls"

Bowie song that I was sure I disliked until a few years ago, but was one of the few nuggets of gold within a sea of Fairground Attractions when I worked in an office that listened to commercial FM radio:

David Bowie - "Let's Dance"

The reason Madonna was put on this Earth:

Madonna - "Into the Groove"

For the total "What the fuck is this?"-ness of it all:

Steve "Silk" Hurley - Jack Your Body


And, hey, why the fuck not?

Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking

de selby

and..

Dave and Ansel Collins - Double Barrel

Peking O

Cornershop's Brimful of Asha was a good, if surprising, #1.

dan dirty ape

Deeee-Lite 'Groove Is In The Heart'
Not officially counted as a number 1, but it sold as many records as Steve Miller Band's sodding 'Joker' in the same week, and the powers that be gave the prize to what any human being with the ability to move rhythmically below the waist will be able to tell you was the wrong record.  Midnight bloody toker my arse.

Crazy Penis

Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me.
I liked this record more for the fact that they didn't mess around remixing it for the 12" version. Instead they included another verse.

The Outhere Brothers - Don't Stop (wiggle wiggle)
The x-rated version was played in dance clubs long before it hit the charts. Hearing it in the middle of a house set was very amusing.

Livin Joy - Dreamer.
Similar to above it was out for a long time before it got a full release. I think I bought this two years before it hit the charts. A clubbing classic. I do'nt play it too often but when I do the memories come flooding back. The same with
Tori Amos - Professional Widow.

Jive Bunny - Swing The mood, That's What I like, Let's Party
Just because I have respect for Andy Pickles (one half of Jive Bunny.) He teamed up with Amadeus Mozart to form one of the worlds biggest dance music labels, Tidy Trax, just in case you were wondering what happened to them.

the hum

I see someone's already mentioned Your Woman by White Town, that's the only decent one I can think of in recent history (and it's not even that recent).

New Order's World in Motion was good musically, but being from north of the border I can't possibly bring myself to like it too much.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Love Shack by the B52s was quite good.

DrJ

<chartgeek>
Losing my Religion was never number one, neither was Love Shack.  Groove is in The Heart was kept at number 2 by Everything I Do... and note that Radiohead and Talking Heads, along with Moz/Smiths, The Who, Elvis Costello and others have never had a number one.
</chartgeek>

Here's a brilliant yet misunderstood song: Come On Eileen by Dexys.

gazzyk1ns

I'd do Anything For Love... By Meatloaf (Hey, it was the first single I ever bought...)

Conversely, Gary Jules' version of Mad World was possibly my favourite song evarrr!!, until he released it as a Chrimbo single. The video was worse than terrible... I can imagine a primary school student literally doing a better job with the school video camera and his mobile he'd just taken down from his bedroom as he's too old.

Plus he's a bit of a sneaky queer, isn't he, he'd suck your cock in your sleep without permission if he got the chance... if you woke up and questioned him, he'd just slime "happy birthday.... happy birthday..." at you.

Schlippy

Bohemian Rhapsody, not least for being number 1 the day I was born :)

MonkeyDrummer

I quite like Midge Ure, Vienna. I especially love how "Shaddup a ya face" knocked it from number 1

dan dirty ape

Quote from: "DrJ"<chartgeek>
Losing my Religion was never number one, neither was Love Shack.  Groove is in The Heart was kept at number 2 by Everything I Do... and note that Radiohead and Talking Heads, along with Moz/Smiths, The Who, Elvis Costello and others have never had a number one.
</chartgeek>

Here's a brilliant yet misunderstood song: Come On Eileen by Dexys.

Nah, Groove In The Heart was definitely before Bryan's reign of terror, wasn't it? I distinctly remember there being some kind of minor hooh-hah about it selling as many records as 'The Joker' but still being number 2. The fact that  I can't be bothered to check this out probably means you're right and I'm wrong though.

Who's saying 'Come On Eileen''s shit? I'll batter 'em!

dan dirty ape

Quote from: "MonkeyDrummer"I quite like Midge Ure, Vienna. I especially love how "Shaddup a ya face" knocked it from number 1

<Less confident Chartgeek >
Shaddap ya Face kept it from being number 1. I think.

Almost Yearly

Quote from: "gazzyk1ns"I'd do Anything For Love... By Meatloaf (Hey, it was the first single I ever bought...)
8-[

What with that and your love for Sex And The City, no wonder no-one values a single word you say.


I'll go Firestarter, for one. Everyone went "Wha-?" when that popped up. In fact, the Horn has done that a couple of times hasn't he. Relax, for example, and did Slave To The Rhythm reach #1? How about Video Killed The Radio Star?

Morrisfan82

19 - Paul Hardcastle

The curly-haired prankster. Rich enough to have a sampler in the early 80s, yet talented enough to do something creative with it at the time, ie. NOT sampling yourself coughing and playing it up and down an octave.

Corking tune though anyways.

DrJ

Quote from: "dan dirty ape"
Quote from: "MonkeyDrummer"I quite like Midge Ure, Vienna. I especially love how "Shaddup a ya face" knocked it from number 1

<Less confident Chartgeek >
Shaddap ya Face kept it from being number 1. I think.

This is true, chartgeek Jr.

Quote from: "dan dirty ape"Nah, Groove In The Heart was definitely before Bryan's reign of terror, wasn't it? I distinctly remember there being some kind of minor hooh-hah about it selling as many records as 'The Joker' but still being number 2.

I couldn't find a google reference to sort this out, but it does appear that the joker was rereleased in 1990 and the others were 1991.  This is the tiny kind of trivia which will annoy me all day.

Quote from: "Muteki"19 - Paul Hardcastle

The curly-haired prankster. Rich enough to have a sampler in the early 80s, yet talented enough to do something creative with it at the time,

Moretrivia:  Hardcastle was the first successful act managed by Simon Fuller and in celebration of the number one was to call his company 19 Productions.

jutl

Quote from: "mayer"David Bowie -  Ashes to Ashes

First single I ever bought, that...

Anyway...

Steve Harley & The Cockney Rebels - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up The Volume

smoker

reg dwight - are you ready, are you ready for love?

MonkeyDrummer

Quotedan dirty ape wrote:
MonkeyDrummer wrote:
I quite like Midge Ure, Vienna. I especially love how "Shaddup a ya face" knocked it from number 1


<Less confident Chartgeek >
Shaddap ya Face kept it from being number 1. I think.

hangs head in shame

mayer

Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen

the hum

Quote from: "DrJ"<chartgeek>
Losing my Religion was never number one, neither was Love Shack.  Groove is in The Heart was kept at number 2 by Everything I Do... and note that Radiohead and Talking Heads, along with Moz/Smiths, The Who, Elvis Costello and others have never had a number one.
</chartgeek>

Love Shack wasn't no.1?? Hmmm, must've been one of those tunes that hung around the charts so long you just assumed it had been no.1.

El Unicornio, mang

Might be a good idea for a thread: "Songs which should have been number one but weren't"
My own choice:
The La's - There She Goes (no.13 in the UK after being released 2 separate times, once in 1988 when it got nowhere, and a different version of it in 1990 Was also re-released sometime in the mid 90's but didn't really get anywhere. Only just broke the top 40 in the US)

Lt Plonker

Lieutenant Pigeon - Mouldy Old Dough

Great little tune, is that. Reqeusted at my sister's 18th birthday by my dad and friends. Heh.

And Clair, by Gilbert O'Sullivan. Really, really sweet, I think.

Cambrian Times

Great songs that should have been No. 1 but weren't.

2 Words

Common People

<damn you forever Robson and Jerome>

23 Daves

A lot of the confusion surrounding Number Ones does seem to stem from the fact that different charts are used by different periodicals/ radio stations.  So in fact, The Who did have a number one with "Happy Jack" on the Melody Maker chart (I think?) but not on the official one used by Radio One, Top of the Pops and the BBC.  I also think "Love Shack" made number one on the Chart Show chart.

Anyhow, using the official chart, I can't believe I failed to mention:

Dexys MIdnight Runners:  Geno/ Come On Eileen
Specials:  Too Much Too Young/ Ghost Town
Pet Shop Boys:  It's A Sin