And I had such high hopes of staying up to date.  Ah well.  At least this number one managed two weeks at the top, so we’re kind-of-sort-of still current.  And it’s a slightly unexpected number one, because the same week saw the release of “Shame” by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow.  That single was generally assumed to have a clear run at the top, if only for the gimmick factor of having them both appear on the same track.

But no.  The new number one is Cee Lo Green‘s viral YouTube hit, which the Official Chart Company is electing to call “Forget You.” That’s the name of the radio edit – and to be fair, judging from the iTunes chart, people are actually buying that version too, in pretty substantial numbers.  But, understandably enough, most people are going for the original.

The song does have a proper video now, but here’s the original animated-typography version.

Caution: there will be swearing once we get past the cut.

You can also watch the video in Spanish and German translation, if you want.

According to Wikipedia, this song only got to number 21 on the Billboard charts in America, despite getting just as much online attention there.  That’s perhaps a reflection of the fact that Billboard still includes airplay, while the UK charts are only concerned with sales, and of the fact that the radio edit isn’t quite the same.

You’d think a song called “Fuck You” would be a novelty record, but in fact it’s a proper Motown pop song, and a good one at that.  It’s just… uncommonly blunt.  In fact, it’s not even the first number one single with the F-word in the title – that would be Eamon’s 2004 hit “F**k It (I Don’t Want You Back)” – yes, the official title has the asterisks in it – which really did get to the top on novelty swearing alone, and is probably best forgotten.

That said, for fairly obvious reasons, record companies tend to steer clear of releasing singles with titles that can’t be used on the radio.  Only five top 40 hits have ever used the word “fuck” in the title, and they’re a strange mix of artists who weren’t much concerned about radio play, and novelty censor-baiters.  (See if you can guess which category Pete Doherty falls into.)  They are:-

• “Too Drunk to Fuck” by the Dead Kennedys, which reached number 36 in 1981.
• “Living Next to Alice (Who The Fuck is Alice)” by Smokie featuring Roy “Chubby” Brown, a number 3 hit from 1995, which is a long story.  Put very briefly, a long-forgotten 70s rock band discovered that somebody in Holland had covered one of their old hits with added swearing and roped in a comedian to do the same thing for the British market.  It’s absolutely terrible, but a case can be made that it’s ironically bad.
• “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck” by the Super Furry Animals – number 22 in 1996, and number 16 in 2004.  All-purpose protest song by the Welsh indie band, which they’ve been using as a set-closer for years, apparently.  Much of the song is based on a looped Steely Dan sample (“And he don’t give a fuck about anybody else”).  Bafflingly, the video features a radio edit.
• “Fuck the Millennium” by 2K – number 28 in 1997.  A tenth-anniversary coda to the recording career of the KLF.  It’s basically another remix of “What Time Is Love”.  The video is footage of a bizarre live performance they did to promote the single.  Features a brass band and degenerates into a choir of lifeboat men singing a hymn.  Nobody makes records this ludicrous any more, and what a loss that is.
• And “Fuck Forever” by Babyshambles – number 4 in 2005 – the biggest hit for Peter Doherty’s second band.

Artists particularly desperate for attention may wish to note that the C-word has yet to feature in the title of a top 75 hit, so there’s a boundary just waiting to be gratuitously pushed.  (It is, however, the title of an instrumental by Caustic Window, which was an Aphex Twin alias, so don’t go thinking it hasn’t been tried.)

Oh, and just in case anyone reading this somehow didn’t know, Cee-Lo Green is the lead singer from Gnarls Barkley, who have had three UK hits, including 2006’s “Crazy”, which was number one for an impressive 9 weeks.

Back with last week’s chart, the number 2 slot goes to “Shame” by Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, which isn’t embeddable.  A bit of context for the Americans: Robbie Williams was the member of 90s boy band Take That who split shortly before the group’s end, had a massive and public falling out with group leader Gary Barlow, and went on to a triumphant solo career – only for that solo career to start faltering just as the rest of Take That made an unexpected comeback as a reconstituted adult pop act.  Robbie has now finally agreed to rejoin Take That for a new album, but this reunion single is actually the token new track on his solo greatest hits album.  You could make a case that it’s really a Take That record, but it does make more sense as a two-man duet.

The video is a gentle pastiche of Brokeback Mountain, which pretty much tells you how they see their love-hate public relationship (or, at least, how they’d like you to think they see it).

It’s Gary Barlow’s seventh hit as an individual, the last coming back in 1999.  It brings Robbie’s total to a dizzying 32, and of course both also appear on all the original Take That singles (even the ones after Robbie left, since they come from the group’s final album, recorded as a five-piece).  There are another 16 of those, plus a further seven by the reunited group.

Other singles entering last week:

• “Miami 2 Ibiza” by the Swedish House Mafia featuring Tinie Tempah at number 5 (climbing to 4 this week).  Unusual scheduling here, since it’s only been two weeks since Tinie Tempah’s last single “Written in the Stars” entered at number 1.  Second hit for the Swedish producers following “One” (which is still in the charts), and a fourth for Tinie Tempah.  It’s got a rap that would normally be a bit plodding but works well against the SHM’s syncopated synth chords.  Video is not subtle, but what did you expect from a song called “Miami 2 Ibiza”?
• “Radioactive” by the Kings of Leon at number 7.  Their tenth hit, and the lead single from their new album.  I suspect they’re more of an albums act, and this isn’t an obvious anthem like “Sex on Fire” – it doesn’t quite have the big chorus.  It’s still good, though, and the video’s a nice cheerful affair.
• “Perfect Stranger” by Magnetic Man featuring Katie B at number 16.  Second hit for both acts – Magnetic Man is a trio of producers who reached number 10 with “I Need Air” a couple of months ago, while Katy B’s “Katy on a Mission” peaked at 5 and is still hanging around.  Video strives manfully for an artily-shot depth that the song doesn’t really possess, but it’s a good dance record.
• “Cooler Than Me” by Mike Posner at number 22, climbing into the top ten this week.  Debut single for an American singer, which peaked at 6 in his home country.  Mr Posner professes his desire to impress the woman of his dreams, and then spends the rest of the song complaining about her and dissecting her shortcomings.  Hmm.
• “Monster” by Professor Green at number 29.  His third and smallest hit – and the only one not based heavily on a sample.  That rave breakbeat’s coming back into fashion, isn’t it?
• “The Recluse” by Plan B at number 35.  His fifth hit, but it’s a minor in-and-out appearance.  At this point, if you’re interested in his soul/rap crossover stuff, you’ve probably bought the album.  Song doesn’t actually start until 0:45 of the video (after an extended trailer for yet another track).  Love those strings, though.