Hey, activity!

1. LF System – “Afraid to Feel”

Not here, admittedly. That’s four weeks. It’s way past its peak so in theory it’s vulnerable to challengers. Speaking of which…

2. Central Cee – “Doja”

Mmm. Well, that’s… not for me. More of a fragment than an actual song (it’s 1:37), it’s still Central Cee’s highest placed single to date. His previous peak was number 4, with last year’s “Obsessed With You”. The sample is from “Let Me Blow Your Mind” by Eve featuring Gwen Stefani, which is now over 20 years old (it got to number 4 in 2001). It’s (presumably) the first single from his next album, even though the previous one only came out in February.

Still, it’s the highest new entry we’ve had in ages… and it remains an outlier, as we now head all the way down to…

23. Billie Eilish – “TV”
33. Billie Eilish – “The 30th”

This is essentially a double A-side, though it’s billed as a two-track EP called “Guitar Songs”. You’d have thought it would place a bit higher than this, considering it’s the first new thing she’s released in 2022 – and they’re both really good, too. Maybe the EP format isn’t the best way of promoting tracks, and winds up marking something as a folk side project.

26. Rosa Linn – “Snap”

Well, I don’t think this has happened before. “Snap” was the Armenian entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which didn’t make much of an impact at the time – it came 20th. That’s normally the end of the road for Eurovision songs, but this vaguely Mumford & Sons track has resurfaced as viral hit, and started charting around western Europe. It’s pretty decent, actually, and I’m surprised it didn’t do better at the time. Obviously, it’s Linn’s debut hit.

37. Luude & Mattafix – “Big City Life”

Luude is the DJ whose version of “Down Under” reached the top 5 earlier this year. This is a remix of Mattafix’s “Big City Life”, hence their co-credit. Mattafix were a production/vocal duo from London, but “Big City Life” was their only hit in the UK, and it only got to number 15 in 2005. It did better internationally, and reached number 1 in several European countries.

To be honest, they didn’t really manage to follow it up in Europe either, though a track called “Living Darfur” did get to number 2 in Italy. Singer Marlon Roudette did have a few solo hits in Europe, and had a top 10 hit in 2015 with “When The Beat Drops Out”. He’s also written a few recent hit singles, for people like Mabel and Jax Jones.

This week’s climbers:

• “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic climbs 13-12.
• “Stay the Night” by Sigala & Talia Mar climbs 15-14. Yes, it’s one of those weeks.
• “Bad Habit” by Steve Lacy climbs 25-18, which is a bit more like it.
• “Stay With Me” by Calvin Harris featuring Justin Timberlake, Halsey & Pharrell Williams climbs 29-22, so maybe it’s just taking a while to get momentum.
• “Ferrari” by James Hype & Miggy Dela Rosa climbs 40-36.

The five records leaving the top 40 are:

• “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran, after 52 weeks in the top 40. Don’t worry, he still has a single in the top 40 – he’s on Burna Boy’s “For My Hand”, still at number 32. It is a law of nature that there must always be an Ed Sheeran single in the top 40.
• “Remember” by Becky Hill & David Guetta, which peaked at number 3.
• “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga, which got to 24.
• “Hello Mate” by ArrDee featuring Kyla, which got a week at number 37.
• “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, which has spent a total of 60 weeks in the top 40 by this point.

On the album chart:

1. Jamie T – “The Theory of Whatever”

That’s his first number one, though his previous four albums all placed between 2 and 4, so it’s hardly surprising that he got one in the end. It’s been six years since the last album.

4. Jack White – “Entering Heaven Alive”

Jack White albums always place in the top 5 – well, except for 2016’s “Acoustic Recordings – 1998-2016”, but what do you expect? – so no surprise here.

22. Bananarama – “Masquerade”

Bananarama, in this context, being Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, two of the three founding members. This is their 40th anniversary album, but they already released a comeback album in 2019 (which got to 29). Technically their highest placed album is their 1988 greatest hits collection, which got to number 3, but their highest placed studio album was their 1983 debut, the magnificently titled “Deep Sea Skiving”. Which is the one with “Really Saying Something” and “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” on it, so fair enough, really. The single above it… much better than I was expecting, to be honest.

26. Gilbert O’Sullivan – “Driven”

O’Sullivan’s previous self-titled album from 2018 got to number 20, which was his first appearance in the album chart (other than with greatest hits collections) since 1974. Apparently it wasn’t a fluke.

34. The Kooks – “10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark”

Uh-oh. The Kooks have never placed lower than 16 with a studio album, and their previous album – 2018’s “Let’s Go Sunshine” – made the top 10. Something’s gone wrong here.