{"id":241,"date":"2010-03-06T21:09:27","date_gmt":"2010-03-06T21:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=241"},"modified":"2010-03-06T21:09:27","modified_gmt":"2010-03-06T21:09:27","slug":"number-1s-of-2010-28-february-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=241","title":{"rendered":"Number 1s of 2010: 28 February 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost a week late, I know.\u00a0 So I’d really better cover this one today, because it won’t be number one in 24 hours time…<\/p>\n

When last we spoke, the number one record was the charity single “Everybody Hurts”, credited to Helping Haiti.\u00a0 Despite a stellar start, its sales tailed off quickly.\u00a0 That was enough to give it two weeks at the top – it did start very<\/em> well – but this week it plummets to number 9.\u00a0 That’s a much bigger drop than normal, and suggests that the single is going to flare out very quickly.<\/p>\n

As for its American counterpart, “We Are The World” – well, that was released in the UK, but it didn’t get a huge amount of publicity, and it crashed out at number 50.\u00a0 So the British have less appetite for Haiti charity records than some people had predicted.\u00a0 In fairness, that’s partly because the singles emerged weeks into the fundraising effort, and there were plenty of ways to donate without buying mediocre cover versions.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, this all leaves the way clear for…<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

…“In My Head” by Jason Der\u00fclo<\/strong>.\u00a0 His real name is Jason Desrouleaux, but apparently he prefers it with a heavy metal umlaut.\u00a0\u00a0 This is his second hit (following “Whatcha Say”<\/a>, which got to number 3 last November), and his first number one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It helpfully opens with the “Beluga Heights” and “JR” jingles, always a good indication that this might be a good time to make a cup of tea.\u00a0 It’s tempting to dismiss this as another interchangeable effort from the house of autotune, but that wouldn’t be quite fair.\u00a0 It does have a somewhat distinctive electro\/soft rock arrangement, after all.\u00a0 According to Wikipedia, the song was originally called “In My Bed” until he thought better of it, which is quite sweet.<\/p>\n

There ends the complete list of even vaguely interesting things to be said about “In My Head” by Jason Der\u00fclo.<\/p>\n

It seems to have been a tight race for number one, with Der\u00fclo only pulling ahead at the end of the week.\u00a0\u00a0 The number two record is rather more interesting, and it was also the “shadow” number one that got stuck behind Helping Haiti last week, so let’s talk about that instead.\u00a0 It’s “You Got The Dirtee Love” by Florence & The Machine and Dizzee Rascal, a live performance from the Brit Awards a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 It’s actually a charity release too, but the charity in question is fairly obscure, so it’s probably selling because people like it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Where do we start?\u00a0 Well, let’s start with the Brit Awards.\u00a0 Notionally they’re the British equivalent of the Grammies, except that the Grammies are a highly polished tedious industry backslapping exercise, and the Brit Awards are a somewhat more eccentric tedious industry backslapping exercise.\u00a0 The event has still never quite lived down the stigma of the notoriously incompetent 1989 ceremony, which was so terrible that no broadcaster was willing to cover the 1990 show live.\u00a0 (The whole thing is on YouTube, for any masochists out there.)\u00a0 Later shows have been more professional, but attempts to capitalise on a reputation for “unpredictability” have still resulted in some really odd television.\u00a0 Take the 1992 show, which opened with the KLF performing “3am Eternal” alongside Extreme Noise Terror.\u00a0 Some people will tell you that this is a great piece of pop anarchy, although history has tended to gloss over its near-total lack of musical merit.<\/p>\n

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

Obviously, it’s become a much more polished event in recent years, but it still isn’t quite as soporific as the Grammies (which nobody in Britain pays much attention to).<\/p>\n

“You Got The Dirtee Love” is a mash-up.\u00a0 It’s the rap from Dizzee Rascal’s single “Dirtee Cash” (number 10 last October)…<\/p>\n

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

…over the arrangement from Florence & The Machine’s version of “You’ve Got The Love” (number 5 in January).<\/p>\n

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

But you can trace both components back further than that. “Dirtee Cash” is based around “Dirty Cash” by the Adventures of Stevie V (number 2 in 1990, though the track actually dates from 1988) – which has largely been eradicated from the Brits version.<\/p>\n

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

“You’ve Got The Love” is a much more complicated affair.\u00a0 It started life in 1986 as “You Got The Love” by the Source featuring Candi Staton, a song supposedly recorded for use on the soundtrack of a video-only documentary about obesity.\u00a0 “The Source” was apparently a record label pseudonym, and nobody seems to know who they were. Candi Staton is another matter – she had several hits in the mid-70s, the best known being “Young Hearts Run Free” (number 2 in 1976).<\/p>\n

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

And here’s what “You Got The Love” originally sounded like. Brace yourself for the eighties.<\/p>\n

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

This record is thoroughly obscure.\u00a0\u00a0 But it also included an acapella version, which was awfully handy for sampling.\u00a0 Consequently, it’s turned up in several versions over the years, combining Staton’s vocal with completely different backing tracks.\u00a0 It first charted in 1991, when it reached number 4 in this minimal electro version – still credited to “The Source featuring Candi Staton”, despite featuring none of the Source’s contribution.<\/p>\n

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

And this version too<\/em> was a mash-up – the backing track used here comes from “Your Love” by Jamie Principle<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“You Got The Love” cropped up again in 1997, when it reached number 3 in this version.\u00a0 This time the backing track is by Now Voyager (or John Truelove to his mum), but once again it was credited to the Source featuring Candi Staton.<\/p>\n

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

A more refined version of this mix came out in 2006, and reached number 7… but I can’t find an embeddable version of that one on YouTube, so you’ll just have to follow the link<\/a>.\u00a0 Anyhow, this seems to be the closest version to Florence & The Machine’s version.\u00a0 And so, by the time it’s filtered through to the Brits single, “You Got The Love” by the Source and Candi Staton has lost all of the\u00a0original\u00a0Source and almost all of Candi Staton.\u00a0 It’s practically homeopathic.<\/p>\n

Also entering the charts over the last two weeks:-<\/p>\n