Single File : w/c 31/7/05

I notice from CD:UK this morning that James Blunt's cut his hair, which must affect his standing among the girls. You're Beautiful is comfortably number one again, in any case, holding off Maroo... Daniel Powter, this year's entrant in the annual singer-songwriter one hit wonder to be used incessantly in montages and trails contest. A couple below at 4 is Eminem, somehow - yeah, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog jokes, that'll play with a British audience. Must be the retirement stories, as it's not like him to sell records this far into an album campaign.

A Bananarama comeback's been mooted for a while, but everyone thought it'd be for a quick arena tour with deely-boppers given out on the door, not the two of them picking up Kylie offcuts for a number 14 single on something called A & G Productions, which sounds less like a label and more like a video editing company run out of a back bedroom above a beauty salon by someone with the initials AG that you only find out about by glancing at the bankruptcy decisions in the local paper. Fair to say Gusto aren't going bust quickly, although Uniting Nations can only manage number 15 with the follow up to a record that might still be in the top ten for all I know. The ringtone advert can't be ready yet. Dancing DJs vs Roxette, which is indeed the ugliest prospect ever, enters at 18 and Nine Inch Nails are at 20. Martin Solveig, a DJ who likes his heavy bass sounds, is at 22, one ahead of Natalie Imbruglia. Assuming none of her ex-boyfriends thought to make home videos just for themselves it's hard to see where she's going to pick the momentum back up on her music career, it all proving very pleasant and well produced but nobody excited in the slightest.

Which is more than you'd have said about Tony Christie not long ago, the pointless reissue of Avenues And Alleyways entering at 26 as Amarillo sticks around for week 20 at 36. At least people were interested in him when circumstance informed they should be - El Presidente have had no end of top support slots and TV support but stall at 30. Lucie Silvas, who I bet you'd forgotten about, enters at 34. Now, whither Madness? The quintessential 80s singles act, as cliche has it, they were also, and let there be no bones about this, magnificent, as much for Yesterday's Men as One Step Beyond. Their new album is covers only and by all accounts makes their live reputation stronger, meaning only number 38 for Shame And Scandal, a folk standard covered by loads of people, including Bob Marley, but most notably Lance Percival, who took it to 37 in 1965. Who knew Lance Percival would get a mention in a chart review in 2005?