{"id":1514,"date":"2012-08-17T10:15:47","date_gmt":"2012-08-17T09:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=1514"},"modified":"2012-08-17T10:03:19","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T09:03:19","slug":"charts-5-august-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=1514","title":{"rendered":"Charts – 5 August 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing our chart catch-up, this is the chart that includes sales over the week following the Olympic Opening Ceremony. \u00a0Since the soundtrack was helpfully made available on iTunes – with most of the tracks available for individual download – the result is three new entries from the show, and a couple of unexpected acts appearing.<\/p>\n

But first…<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Wiley featuring Ms D – “Heatwave”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Time once again for the grime pioneer to top up his pension fund with a straight summer dance record. \u00a0Actually, it’s a slightly more offbeat record than you might expect, with a bit more in the way of electronic burbling, and a bit less anthem, than you might expect. \u00a0On the other hand, lyrically, it’s completely phoned in.<\/p>\n

This is Wiley’s first solo number 1 hit, though he did reach number 1 twice in 2010 as a member of Roll Deep with “Green Light”<\/a> and “Good Times”<\/a>. \u00a0As a solo artist, his previous peak was “Wearing My Rolex”<\/a>, which reached number 2 in 2008. \u00a0His chart positions are extremely erratic, which at least illustrates that when his records sell, it’s on their own merits rather than just because the fans are picking them up.<\/p>\n

Ms D is an interesting case. \u00a0Her name is Doya Olatunji, and as you may have guessed, she is not one of the white girls miming to her vocal in the video. \u00a0Technically this is her debut hit. \u00a0However, she was also the singer on Chipmunk’s “Oopsy Daisy”, which was a number 1 hit in 2009. \u00a0Quite how she failed to get a formal credit on that record is a bit of a mystery, given that people have been given featured artist credits for far less.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Calvin Harris ft Example – “We’ll Be Coming Back”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

This is the fourth consecutive Calvin Harris single to make number 2, following “Bounce”, “Feel So Close” and “Let’s Go”. \u00a0(I’m choosing for these purposes to ignore his guest appearances on other people’s singles, since they spoil a nice piece of trivia.) It’s a slight departure from his usual formula, but only in the sense that his usual formula has become very predictable, so any more away from those synth chords stands out.<\/p>\n

12. \u00a0Underworld ft The Dockhead Choir, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Only Men Aloud, Elizabeth Roberts & Alex Trimble – “Caliban’s Dream”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

This is one of the original pieces of music written for the Olympic opening ceremony. \u00a0There’s no official video, but the unofficial compilation above is on Evelyn Glennie’s YouTube channel, so it’ll do me.<\/p>\n

This is not a piece of pop music in any conventional sense; it’s essentially seven and a half minutes of incidental music, though it does have an undeniable placid beauty. \u00a0The artist credit is a decidedly odd list of collaborators. \u00a0Its appearance in the chart, let alone as the top seller from the ceremony soundtrack album, is quite a surprise.<\/p>\n

Underworld were one of the main dance music acts of the 1990s, when their albums “Dubnobasswithmyheadman” and “Second Toughest In The Infants” were compulsory accessories for all British students. \u00a0They previously provided the soundtrack for ceremony director Danny Boyle’s film “Sunshine” in 2006. \u00a0Although they’ve continued to record, they haven’t had a hit single since 2003. \u00a0Their biggest UK hit was “Born Slippy” (or, if you’re a pedant, “Born Slippy .NUXX” – strictly speaking, “Born Slippy”<\/a> was an earlier and different track, but try telling the general public that). \u00a0It reached number 2 in 1996 on the back of its appearance in\u00a0(again) Danny Boyle’s film\u00a0Trainspotting<\/em>, despite being extremely minimal, and being accompanied by a blurry video of a man in a silly hat. \u00a0YouTube doesn’t have a decent quality version of that video, so instead here’s their 1996 single “Pearl’s Girl”, which reached number 22, and is probably a better illustration of what they usually sounded like (and their uniquely TV-unfriendly video style). \u00a0Those wanting to watch even more of this kind of thing might like to try the full ten minute video for “Rez”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

As for the other credited acts, the Dockhead Choir is the children’s choir that performed on this and other songs at the opening ceremony. \u00a0Its members are drawn from two church parishes in London. \u00a0They have, needless to say, not had a hit before.<\/p>\n

Dame Evelyn Glennie is a percussionist who plays at virtuoso level despite being profoundly deaf since the age of 12. \u00a0She says that feeling the music is the same as hearing it (at least with training). \u00a0It’s her first hit too.<\/p>\n

Only Men Aloud are a male voice choir who won the none-more-BBC reality show\u00a0Last Choir Standing in 2008. \u00a0Yes, that was a real show. \u00a0They’ve never had a hit single before, though they have had a couple of modest successes on the album chart around the time of their win.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Roberts is the soprano who sang on several pieces at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

And Alex Trimble is the lead singer of Irish indie group Two Door Cinema Club, whose album “Tourist History” sold decently in 2010-11, though it failed to produce any hit singles. \u00a0Heaven knows why not, since tracks like “Something Good Can Work” were eminently radio friendly and very good.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

21. \u00a0The Arctic Monkeys – “Come Together”<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a studio version of the cover version that they performed at the ceremony once the athletes had finally finished filing into the arena. \u00a0There’s no video for this, but hell, it’s “Come Together”, you know how it sounds. \u00a0It’s their biggest hit since “Crying Lightning” reached number 12 in 2009. \u00a0The Beatles’ original was a number 4 hit in 1969, as a double A-side with “Something.”<\/p>\n

34. \u00a0Drumsound & Bassline Smith – “Through The Night”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

The first proper hit for this drum and bass duo, though their remix of “What Can You Do For Me” by the Utah Saints reached number 28 in March. \u00a0The singer is called Tom Cane, but beyond that I know nothing about him.<\/p>\n

37. \u00a0Drake ft The Weeknd – “Crew Love”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

No video for this either – it’s an album track that was going to be a single, but then the record company changed their mind about it. \u00a0You can kind of see why, since it’s a strange beast, with pounding drums that cut in occasionally, then disappear for ages. \u00a0I assume they’d have remixed it. \u00a0Anyway, there was enough preliminary promotion to get it a bit of attention, and that’s why it’s in the charts.<\/p>\n

The Weeknd (yes, that’s how it’s spelt) is a Canadian R&B singer. \u00a0This is his first hit.<\/p>\n

40. \u00a0Frank Turner – “I Still Believe”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Another Olympic beneficiary. \u00a0This wasn’t even in the ceremony itself – it was the warm-up act. \u00a0Frank Turner has a loyal and devoted audience (such as Al), but he’s never had a hit single before, so the exposure has obviously done him good. \u00a0Mind you, his last album “England Keep My Bones” did make number 12, so he’s far from an unknown. \u00a0This was the lead single from that album back in 2010, but it failed to make the top 75 upon release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing our chart catch-up, this is the chart that includes sales over the week following the Olympic Opening Ceremony. \u00a0Since the soundtrack was helpfully made available on iTunes – with most of the tracks available for individual download – the result is three new entries from the show, and a couple of unexpected acts appearing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1514"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1519,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions\/1519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}