The return to popularity of a pop favorite from almost 40 years ago and the commercial appeal of a 60-year-old legend were among the features of the new U.K. sales charts yesterday (Sept. 16). A highly active album chart also contained good news for several chart regulars, including Jamiroquai’s “2001: A Funk Odyssey” (Sony S2), which impressively withheld all challengers to start a second week at the top.
The Charlatans’ “Wonderland” (Universal) debuted at No. 2, followed by Bob Dylan’s “Love and Theft” (Columbia) at No. 3. For Dylan, it was his best showing with a new album since “Saved” peaked at the same position in 1980.
Pepper/Jive’s cutting-edge club act Grove Armada entered at No. 5 with “Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)” and English pop vocalist Louise, once of 1990s chart mainstay Eternal, bowed at No. 9 with her “Changing Faces: The Best Of” collection. Below those, with only
the fifth highest new entry of the week, was Mariah Carey’s “Glitter” (Virgin), which just made the top-10 at No. 10.
On the singles survey, after a close battle all week with Bob the Builder’s “Mambo No. 5” (BBC Music), Austrian artist DJ Otzi emerged triumphant at No. 1 with “Hey! Baby (Uhh Ahh)” (EMI). The track, a remake of Bruce Channel’s U.S. No. 1 from 1962, first charted in Austria and Germany last October.
More recently, it reached No. 1 in Ireland this summer and No. 2 in Denmark, where it was in the top-10 from May until two weeks ago. Otzi, otherwise known as Austrian-born Gerry Friedle, had already reached No. 41 with the single in the U.K. on import sales alone.
Also on the singles chart, N-Trance’s crossover club anthem “Set You Free (All Around the World)” proved its durability by becoming a top-5 hit for the second time in less than seven years, and a top-40 entry for the third time in little more than that. The track, by production duo Dale Longworth and Kevin O’Toole, reached No. 39 in May 1994 and No. 2 the following January. It reappears with another set of mixes this week at No. 4.
Europe’s record markets as a whole also announced the Jamiroquai album as their new favorite, as it went straight to the top of Music & Media’s European Top 100 Albums chart. The band’s last set, 1999’s “Synkronized,” also hit that peak, but in its second chart week. “A Funk Odyssey” also enjoyed strong first-week sales in Germany (No. 2), Ireland (No. 3), Austria (No. 4), and Finland (No. 7). The opening single “Little L” holds at No. 1 in Spain.
“Let Me Blow Ya Mind” by Eve featuring Gwen Stefani (Interscope) spends a second week at the top of the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles tally, on which the recent French hit “Starlight” by Supermen Lovers (Vogue) rockets 68-7. The single, which has spent six months on the chart, debuted last week at No. 2 in the U.K.
