Well, hello there!

It’s going to take me a little while to get back up to speed with the comics – I’m now about three weeks behind, at least on the books I buy physically.  But in the meantime, let’s get gently back into the swing of things by catching up with the charts.  NB: The really interesting chart is arguably the one after this, which has the effects of the Olympic opening ceremony, but, oh well.  (This Sunday’s chart, which has the knock on effects of the closing ceremony, looks set to be a veritable back catalogue orgy.)

Frankly, there are quite a few records on the next few charts that I haven’t heard yet.  Let’s see if any pleasant surprises await!

1.  Florence & The Machine, “Spectrum”

Third and final week at number one.  We’ve talked about this before.  Next!

4.  Conor Maynard, “Vegas Girl”

Conor Maynard is a teenage singer who was tentatively being pushed in some quarters as Britain’s answer to Justin Bieber, a comparison to which he strenuously objects (not unreasonably, since they don’t sound much alike).  This is the follow-up to his debut “Can’t Say No” which made number 2 in April; as usual with acts marketed heavily to the teen audience, both singles tailed off pretty quickly after their first week.

The single is actually okay.  As for the video… well, it’s not a completely horrible concept, but the execution is a bit clumsy.  And those first thirty seconds… owww.

6.  Karmin, “Brokenhearted”

The first UK single by an American duo who (according to Wikipedia) launched their career through a combination of YouTube videos and appearances on Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime TV show.  It’s a bouncy little 80s pop song, and I can see why it was their big hit in America (though I also see the follow-up single didn’t have much impact).  It’s still in the top ten after three weeks.

26.  Cedric Gervais, “Molly”

Ah, controversy-baiting.  This is the debut hit for a French DJ now living in Miami.  By 2012 standards, it’s an unusually minimal dance record to be making the chart.  But then it also has a video with mild lesbianism, and the song itself features an uncredited Siri attempting to locate Molly.  “She makes my life happier, more exciting.  She makes me want to dance.”  Subtle, isn’t it?

This dropped out of the top 40 after two weeks, so the market for this sort of thing isn’t what it once was.

27.  Public Enemy, “Harder Than You Think”

Well, this is a surprise. “Harder Than You Think” was the lead single from Public Enemy’s 20th anniversary album, “How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?”  The track came out back in 2007, and did absolutely nothing in chart terms.  It spent a single week in the chart after Channel 4 used it in trailers for their upcoming coverage of the Paralympics.  Frankly, it’s a good sample without much else going for it, and I can see why it didn’t gain momentum.

Still, it’s not a re-entry, and so it brings Public Enemy’s total of hit singles to 10.  They were last in the chart in 1998 when “He Got Game” reached 16, their highest UK chart placing.  The Anthrax collaboration “Bring The Noise” actually reached 14, but for some reason the UK chart only credited Chuck D on that one.

35.  Madeon, “Finale”

Madeon apparently doesn’t do videos.  This was a one-week wonder.  It’s the follow-up to Madeon’s debut “Icarus”, which reached number 22 in March; he also cropped up recently remixing “The Night Out” by Martin Solveig.  It’s got Madeon’s typical wall-of-sound 80s shimmering, but this time he’s added vocals.  The uncredited singer is Nicholas Pettrica of Cincinnati indie group Walk The Moon, which was enough of an American connection to encourage NBC to use it in a trailer over the summer.  So if you’re American, that’s why it sounds familiar.

38.  Clement Marfo & The Frontline, “Champion”

Finally, yet another debut hit (which plunged straight out of the chart and left the top 75 after two weeks). Clement Marfo & The Frontline are an unusual act – a London rapper backed by a live band.  I’m surprised this didn’t go further, given that they’re on Warners and ought to have some publicity budget behind them, and that the song itself is rather good.  If you’re thinking it sounds like something tailor-made for use in an Olympics trailer, well, apparently none of the UK’s broadcasters agreed.  But Ireland’s RTE did, which might have had some spillover effect.