The UK Singles Top 40 1989-1999

For about 7 years of my life I listened to the UK Top 40 religiously every Sunday night on Radio 1.

One day I had the radio on and Bruno Brooks introduced a song that entered the chart at No 24. It was Metallica's "Harvester Of Sorrow". I was excited that such an uncommercial song could enter the top 40, but probably continued playing Jet Set Willy 2 with no further thought on the issue.

The real interest started when the best record I ever heard, Metallica's "One", entered the chart very highly (for 1989) at number 18. I heard it for the first time on TOTP, the video being introduced by Nicky Campbell and Sybil Roscoe (now both on Radio 5), with words that are embarrassingly etched into my mind: "And now on BBC1 and Radio 1, with 'One', it's Metallica!". TOTP surprisingly played 2 minutes of the thrashy part of the song. I kept it on tape for quite a while. Tommy Vance raved about the amazing song and chart position on his Friday Rock Show on Radio 1, and played the 7 minute song in full.

From then on I listened every week to see how the song performed, it actually proceeded to 13, dropped to 14 (shame, it would've been played on TOTP again if it had gone up another place), then 20 then 36. This is the kind of useless information I stored in my brain for the next 7 years!

As I write this essay in the year 2000, every number one has been a new entry and nearly every record to have entered at number one falls the next week. In fact, a song climbing the chart is very rare these days. This is the main reason why I have lost interest in listening to the charts. It's a music business thing.

When I were a lad, I song that entered the chart was almost guaranteed to climb the next week. If the song got to a certain height, then it would appear on TOTP, watched by the nation on Thursday night. This promotion would further propel the chart upwards, until it slowly reached a peak then drop down the chart again. The excitement was to see how well your favourite records performed on a week by week basis.

The UK Top 40 singles chart was once the most listened to radio station of the week. It amuses me what the mass public must have thought of these records when they entered the charts! It goes without saying I love all these songs.

Cover	Record title	Artist	Highest chart position	Comment
	Tremelo EP	My Bloody Valentine	29	Its a song that when you hear for the first few times appears to have no tune. Especially on a rubbish midi.
	Roots Bloody Roots	Sepultura	19	Top 20!!? So noisy that Mark Goodier had to warn listeners they might like to turn their stereos down.
	Come to Daddy	Aphex Twin	34	"I want your soul!". It's so scary, MTV banned the vid from daytime transmission.
	LFO	LFO	18	This simple underground dance song did very well in the chart. There is an American boy band called LFO. I'd love to see the incredulity on teenagers faces who accidentally buy the dance version. Indeed, Launch music web site features the LFO track as part of the boy band's web site section. They'd probably think it was a bit of a departure. Indeed, how would teenage girls react if their favourite boy band covered Sound Chaser by Yes?
	Chime	Orbital	18	One week the Hartnell bruvvers were working in a cafe, the next the turned up to the most embarrasing dance performance (with token BBC hired dancer) on TOTP you'll ever see!
	Incredible	MBeat featuring General Levy	8	An amazing success for this hardcore jungle song on an independent label, it sold by the bucketload!
	Masses for the Classes	Manic Street Preachers	1	It had to be a limited edition, to make this song a #1 for one week, but full marks to their record companies for occassionally releasing their punky songs (like Kevin Carter).
	Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due	Megadeth	26	6 minute thrash epic on one lovely piece of 7 inch vinyl. Hanger 18 was a song that did well in the Top 40 too.
I'd appreciate a scan!	We call it Aciied	D-Mob featuring Gary Haisman	3	TOTP played it twice then banned it at a time when it was falling down the charts
	Leave Them All Behind	Ride	9	Amazing to think that one of my favourite bands of the time reached the Top 10 (which meant a lot then) with this mediocre 8 minute plodder