JHME - Chart Chat

Possible favourites are Pied Piper And The Masters Of Ceremony with 'Do You Really Like It'. It's one of those dance records which has been around for absolutely ages but you probably don't know the title of. It's not especially ground breaking, but it is quite good and judging on recent chart trends it stands an excellent chance of entering at number one.

Dido may have other thoughts on that though as she releases the second single from the album entitled 'Thank You'. You will already know most of this song - its opening verse is sampled on Eminem's 'Stan'. It's a classic song but with so many people owning the Dido album and / or the Eminem single you have to question exactly how will it will end up doing in the charts.

Another boy band launches chart bound this week and could find themselves amongst the top ten. Blue release 'All Rise' and judging by the airplay it has been picking up it should be destined for a good run in the charts. Again, it's not ground breaking but I'm sure it will keep a few teenage girls happy during their lunch break from school!

'Kid A' was one of last years most eagerly awaited albums. Imagine the average Radiohead fans dismay when instead of a bunch of new hit singles the album contained a vast array of experimental tracks produced by the band over a two year period. Despite the lack of obvious songs, and its panning by the critics, the album still made number one though it did drop to number thirteen after two weeks at the top. Tha band have bounced back quickly and this week release their first single from the new album. 'Pyramid Song' is as dark and moody as you might expect from Radiohead, and on its first listen is not substantially more commercial than the tracks assembled on 'Kid A'. That said it is still worth a listen, and for £3 you would own one of the best singles released this week. It may not be immediate, but bands should not be criticised if the deviate from the hit making formula that made them big.

To my knowledge, an Anderson has never made number one. Angry Anderson made number three with 'Suddenly', Lynn Anderson made number three with 'Rose Garden' while Ian Anderson's Jethro Tull peaked at number three with 'Living In The Past'. Even Jon Anderson's Yes failed to get higher than number seven with 'Wonderous Stories'. Hoping to right that is the latest member of my distant family, Sunshine Anderson. An immensely talented young lady, Sunshine has had the critics falling over themselves to praise 'Heard It All Before'. As with Dido and Blue, a top ten outing is possible but sadly I don't expect this to break the Anderson jinx and make number one.

Another talented lady destined for chart success this week is Anastacia. Following in the footsteps of 'Not That Kind' and 'Outta Love' comes 'Cowboys and Kisses', a slightly slower track than its predecessors. The album has been an immense success and this single is further proof why. I suspect many people have the album already, and as such I don't quite expect to see this inside the top ten, though it should be inside the top twenty.

Air are one of the few credible chart acts to cross over from France to the UK. 'Kelly Watch The Stars' and 'Sexy Boy' were the two main hits enjoyed by the band back in 1998 and now comes 'Radio #1'. It's fairly atmospheric and in the same mould as the introductory hits, so if you liked them then it is probably worth you buying this one.

Following the vast success of Geri Halliwell and Gabrielle with their hit songs from the 'Bridget Jones Diary' movie, this week sees the third single to be lifted from the soundtrack - Aaron Soul with 'Ring, Ring, Ring'. This might not have usually attracted much attention but on the back of the film I would expect to see this challenging the top twenty on Sunday afternoon.

'You Sexy Thing' was a top ten hit in 1975, 1987 and 1997. Few songs can claim such success across three decades! However with Hot Chocolate now no longer with us it has fallen to lead man Errol Brown to record the second part of the famous hit song. Entitled 'Still Sexy (Yes U Are)' it is of course nowhere near as good as the original. However it is still a pleasure to hear Errol's silky smooth voice on the radio. With such a formula proving instrumental in relaunching the careers of Meatloaf (See 'Bat Out Of Hell 2') and Mike Oldfield (see 'Tubular Bells 2') you can't blame Errol for cashing in on his former glories.

Nas has guested on various rappers singles and this time he helps out on 3LW's 'No More'. This is a mean slice of American rap, and if you want to hear more of what this sounds like then it is on this weeks Pepsi Chart show on Channel 5. It has been a while since Nas hit the top twenty, but this could well be the record to see him back there. Originally reviewed in last weeks column, I can confirm this is now out in the shops this week.

Just as the summer sounding records are beginning to get their airplay, Nick Cave completely bucks the trend with his mean and moody 'Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow'. It's as dour and dirgy as you would expect from Nick, and despite backing from the Radio One afternoon show with Mark and Lard it is likely to fall short of the top forty.

Finally sample of the week goes to Musique who have looped the guitar from 'New Years Day' and turned it into a dance track called 'New Years Dub'. Avoiding the problems that Kiss AMC ran into when their rap tune 'A Bit Of...' had to be renamed 'A Bit Of U2', the song is credited to Musique vs U2. Of course this credit has the nice side effect that it may now appeal to the Irish supergroups massive army of fans.

With singles such as Wheatus 'Teenage Dirtbag' and Atomic Kitten 'Whole Again' still hanging around the top twenty after fifteen weeks the charts could do with a clearout! As good as those two records are it would be nice to hear some new songs, but this week it seems that quantity may end up edging out the quality. Help is just around the corner though with the excellent Eddy Grant and Shaggy both due for release next week and the wonderful 'Until The End Of Time' by 2 Pac (which samples 'Broken Wings' by Mr. Mister) due for release on the 11th June.

With S Club 7 sales surely weakening in this, its fifth week of release, I would predict glory for Pied Piper And The Master Of Ceremony. See you back here in seven days to see if I am right.