What a fantastic choice of songs!

Justin, I salute you.
And I get the impression that you'd like my magazine...

I'm going to vote for 'My Mate Billy Had A Ten Foot Willy'

Others I forgot about:

"Make It Easy On Yourself" by The Walker Brothers
"Telstar" by The Tornados
"Up Town Top Ranking" by Althia & Donna
"Like A Prayer" by Madonna
"Ashes To Ashes" by Bowie
"Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
"Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury
"I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan
"Atomic" by Blondie

This is what I *think* will be the top ten, though:

1) "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
2) "Millennium" by Robbie Williams
3) "Dancing Queen" by Abba
4) "She Loves You" by The Beatles
5) "She's The One" by Robbie Williams
6) "Imagine" by John Lennon
7) "Wannabe" by The Spice Girls
8) "Hey Jude" by The Beatles
9) "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley
10)"Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis

See if I'm right. It's on near Christmas, apparently...

btw TJ - I shall be in touch very soon re: Paintbox!

Justin - stop stealing my favourite songs!!!

Isn't it amazing how your heart can soar one second after reading a potential list of songs (I agree with almost all of them) and then drop the next when your predicted votes list rings far too true.

Bohemian Rhapsody is a good song. I don't deny it. But.... Del Boy falling through a bar hatch was quote a good joke...

>Justin - stop stealing my favourite songs!!!

What do you reckon, TJ - can we hijack the poll and fix it in some way? Imagine Uptown Top Ranking at number three!

Seriously, there have not been that many great number one records in the UK. Compare with the US charts where you found the likes of The Box Tops, Stevie Wonder, Lovin' Spoonful, Sly & The Family Stone, Prince and Al Green regularly hitting number one. And then records like "Brown Sugar", "Rapture", "Fame" (Bowie), "Shaft" and the first four Jackson 5 singles.

People have always sneered at the American charts in this country, but in terms of number one records, we trail badly.

Unfortunately, I suspect that your predictions about the top ten will be right as C4 will have got experts (probaly Johnathan King) to pick a list of 100....

...which will probaly mean that there will be some real trite such as Elvis and Cliff Richard on the list.

The Lemon Pipers 'Green Tambourine', the greatest single of all time in my opinion, got to number one in the states, and it's one of the least commercial songs ever comitted to vinyl. It _has_ become even worse that our charts in recent years, but back in the mists of time the American charts were so much more receptive than ours.

Their last great moment was when EMF and Jesus Jones both got to number one over there on consecutive weeks, when they could barely scrape the top ten over here.

I *know* they bend these things to fit in with the likings of Joe Public, but does del Boy falling through the bar *really* count as a pop song?

Justin - slight mistake in your Top 10 - where's Angels by Robbie Williams?

Up Town Top Ranking - Only really heard the Black Box Recorder cover version - but hey, that sounds good to me.

>Justin - slight mistake in your Top 10 - where's Angels by Robbie Williams?
>
It would have undoubtedly won the whole thing, had it been a number one record. But it only got to number four.

>...which will probaly mean that there will be some real trite such as Elvis.

Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog and Suspicious Minds (three of Elvis's best) all reached #1 in the States, but all stopped at #2 in the UK. The very poor Way Down, meanwhile, raced to #1 in Britain purely because he'd just died (it was outside the Top 40 and in decline when the announcement was made, and it went 46-4-1) whereas it reached the more sensible US position of 18.

Best Elvis #1 record is (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame. Love it when the Smiths segue into it from Rusholme Ruffians on Rank.

>The Lemon Pipers 'Green Tambourine', the greatest single of all time in my opinion, got to number one in the states, and it's one of the least commercial songs ever comitted to vinyl. It _has_ become even worse that our charts in recent years...

From about 1981 onwards - I blame the British invasion (Tears For Fears had two number ones over there!). With you on Green Tambourine, TJ. What about "96 Tears" by ? & The Mysterians. And the awesome "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations?

Sorry, wasn't reading it properly - didn't realise it was just no. 1's. Whoops.

"People have always sneered at the American charts in this country, but in terms of number one records, we trail badly."

Quite so. "Unbelievable" by EMF was no.1 over there, but only managed no.2 over here.

Justin once told me that "Right Here Right Now" was a hit because it was played repeatedly on US forces radio during the Gulf War. Jesus Jones were always shit anyway. Well, "Info Freako" was alright in a late 80s sort-of-way. Their 1997 comeback passed entirely unnoticed by everybody. Well done everybody.

I can't think of many good songs that got to no.1, to be honest. Apart from The Beatles.

Like A Prayer... Ghost town... Jealous Guy (RM version)... My Name Is... no, sorry, can't think of any more.

Lots of brilliant bands never had no.1s and some never even went top 40. It's meaningless nowadays anyway, what with 1-week no1s.

Isn't the top 40 single chart just a representation of what kids like? Singles are pocket money, and Radio1, TOTP, and all the satdy morning shite are aimed at shifting top 40 records to 12 year olds.

Maybe it wasn't like that in the past, but it is now.

Charts are filled with the same shite they've always been - everything is just marketed (ruthlessly) a lot more nowadays, and there are generally a lot more groups around anyway (most of which fail to chart).
The British charts, it seems, are more of a representations of public tastes then the American charts, which are based on radio plays from stations which mostly focus of one genre.
Anyway, any sane person knows the charts are wank. I think the last number one (Modjo or whatever) was the first single to stay at no. 1 for more than a week this year which is a shocking propersition for 'the kids' nowadays, thanks to Radio 1 and others playing single months before they come out, so everybody knows exactly when a song comes out, buys it in the first week, and the next they are sick of the song.
Got to go now, and buy the Mariah Carey/Westlife duet... or should that be Robbie Williams/Kylie...

Well, I didn't say that it was a great idea for a TV show, or that the concept of a "number one record" actually means anything. But, if C4 are going ahead with such a programme idea, might as well hope that there might be some surprises in there.

There probably have been 100 good number one records, and with almost 900 having made it over the past 48 years, that's not a bad strike rate, I reckon.

Jon - "My Name Is" only got to number two. But "The Real Slim Shady" *did* get to number one.

>Well, I didn't say that it was a great idea for a TV show, or that the concept of a "number one record" actually means anything. But, if C4 are going ahead with such a programme idea, might as well hope that there might be some surprises in there.

But there won't be any surprises, because the same kids and braindead wankers will be voting for Robbie Williams et al. And C4 don't want surprises, because they know that the cattle-like audience wants to feel part of the public opinion on what defines good music.

It's trash TV, dressed up to look important.