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Although we did hint last
week that Fragma stood a good chance of deposing
Craig David from the top slot, few could have
forecast the scale of the victory. Last
week Craig was ahead of the combined sales of
positions two and three, yet this week Fragma
became the fastest selling number one of the year,
selling 170,000 in its first week. Even the
record company could not match the demand!
Competition is strong this week,
notably from Oasis who return with 'Who Feels
Love'. The album is patchy at best and this
is one of the weaker tracks. A rousing
version of 'Helter Skelter' picks it up on the
flip side, but only the success of Fragma will
determine whether Liam and the boys can notch up
chart topper number six.
Toni Braxton returns to the fray
with her first single for two years this week.
Entitled 'He Wasn't Man Enough' this is very much
in the tradition of singles such as 'Unbreak My
Heart' which turned her from soul diva to singing
superstar. Fans should note that the CD
also comes complete with a video of the single,
so it's well worth snapping up.
Also on the comeback trail are
Cypress Hill who aim for top forty success with 'Superstar'.
If you are a fan you will be hooked as this
provides more of what you would expect from the
American rappers, though to the impartial
listener you could be forgiven for thinking this
is no real departure from previous efforts.
Eagle Eye Cherry will be hoping
his new song follows 'Save Tonight' and 'Falling
In Love Again' into the Top Ten rather than 'Permanent
Tears' into obscurity. It is very much a
return to form, and with a Santana aided b-side I
think this will see him the right side of number
20, but maybe not quite the top ten.
A surprisingly low key release
this week is Ricky Martin with 'Private Emotion'.
For a man who loves the razmatatzz of the
celebrity circuit this effort has gained very
little radio and TV coverage. Ricky is in
danger of becoming a one hit wonder in the UK -
maybe he should wait for the British summer to
arrive before he forces more of his latino
smoothness upon us?
Hanson, the original child prodigy's,
are also back this week with 'If Only'. It's
a reasonable slice of pop pie, but not really an
inspirational return to form. As with many
teeny bands before them they may find the adoring
females who worshipped them the first time round
have completely disappeared while no new fans
have really been converted. A hit me thinks,
but maybe not one of their biggest.
Most original tune of the week
comes from fellow Lutonian David Arnold (previous
collaborator with Bjork on 'Play Dead') and Nina
Persson (from the Cardigans) who release 'Theme
From Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'. With
the huge success of the Reeves and Mortimer
remakes on BBC on a Saturday night this could
bring sales from far flung corners of the record
buying public. I will stick my neck
out and suggest this may enter inside the top ten.
So there you have it - Oasis v
Fragma for the top slot - and my money is on
Fragma to retain the top slot.
JHME Music Correspondent
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