I will start catching up on the reviews.  Honest.  And there are some chart rule changes coming up, but we’ll cover those next week…

1.  Artists for Grenfell – “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

This is a rush-release charity single following the Grenfell Tower fire.  The single came out on a Wednesday, so it makes number one on the strength of two days’ sales.  And I use the word “sales” advisedly – the track is available for streaming, but its actual sales were just under 169,000, and the streaming points brought the total to 170,360.  This is fairly typical for charity releases, which remain essentially a purchase format.

It’s a Simon Cowell production, and given that the response to this disaster has been more than usually politicised, I did wonder whether that was going to be in line with the national mood.  Evidently it is.  It is (obviously) a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel track which was number 1 in 1970, in the familiar “one line per star” format.  There’s some rapping as well, and Stormzy’s opening segment has been well received.

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” was also covered by the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir in their 2015 Christmas number one “A Bridge Over You” (a medley with Coldplay’s “Fix You”), and it’s also charted twice in dance versions – once for Linda Clifford in 1979, and once for PJB featuring Hannah & Her Sisters in 1991.

3.  DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s heavily recycled from “Maria Maria” by Santana (number 6 in 2000).  DJ Khaled’s previous single “I’m the One” is still at number 9, but it’s been in the top ten for two months, so you can see why they’re moving on with the album promotion.  Rihanna makes her first top 40 appearance of 2017 and Bryson Tiller is charting for the first time.

“Power” by Little Mix climbs three places to 10.

11.  Rita Ora – “Your Song”

This entered at 13 three week ago and drifted down to 15, before rebounding.  It’s got a video now.  Quite a good one, in fact – the backwards footage is quite subtly used.  This one is growing on me.

“Crying in the Club” by Camila Cabello climbs three places to 20.

21.  Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean – “Feels”

One last single before the release of the parent album at the end of the month.  It’s called “Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1”.  I know.  Still, he really has broken from his formula, even if it’s mainly to embrace somebody else’s. Surprisingly, this is the highest chart position Pharrell Williams has reached since “Happy” at the start of 2014.  Big Sean has never had a hit single under his own power in the UK but he shows up regularly as a collaborator; this is his highest position since Jessie J’s “Wild” in mid-2013.

“Came Here for Love” by Sigala featuring Ella Eyre” moves 26-23; “Know No Better” by Major Lazer featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo is 35-31.

33.  Selena Gomez – “Bad Liar”

This is the one that samples “Psycho Killer”.  It entered at 35 a few weeks ago and dropped straight out, but the release of the video seems to have helped it back.  I can’t say I care much for the video, which feels too full of whimsical distractions from a song that needs something more brittle and minimal.  Honestly, even though I’ve embedded the video above, you’re better off with the still photo version.

“Thunder” by Imagine Dragons moves 38-36, and that’s the singles chart.

On the album chart:

• “How Did We Get So Dark” by Royal Blood at 1.  Second album, second number one.  Single: “Lights Out”.
• “Feed The Machine” by Nickelback at 3.  Nickelback haven’t had a hit single since 2008 but they’ve graduated into the album senior tour.  But this is actually their highest chart position since 2010 – normally they float around the bottom end of the top 10.  Single: “Song on Fire”.
• “Melodrama” by Lorde at 5.  The previous album, “Pure Heroine”, got to 4, so a gap of more than three years seems to have made little difference.  The single “Green Light” got to number 20 in March.
• “Crack-Up” by Fleet Foxes at 9.  Their third top ten album.  Hyper-retro single: “Fool’s Errand”.  The video is downright odd.
• “Weather Diaries” by Ride at 11.  Reunion album – their last studio release was “Tarantula” in 1996.  Ride did actually have a top ten hit back in the day, with “Leave Them All Behind” managing a week at number 9 in 1992 (um, before plunging out of the top 40 in a fortnight).  Single: “All I Want”.
• “Other” by Alison Moyet at 12.  Her twelfth top 40 album, though there are a few compilations in there.  Single: “Reassuring Pinches”.
• “The Nashville Sound” by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit at 26.  The title speaks for itself.  Isbell charted solo in 2015, and he’s also a former member of the Drive-By Truckers – though they didn’t have any hits during that period.  Single: “If We Were Vampires”.