Chartfile
FOR THE second week in a row, last week saw a photo finish in the battle for singles chart supremacy. A fortnight ago, Philip Bailey and Phil Collins came under strong pressure from Frankie Goes To Hollywood but clung to the top spot by a margin of just three per cent. Last week, USA For Africa shaded the unlucky Tears For Fears by the same margin to begin what, I fancy, will be an extended run at the summit.
Before examining the USA For Africa number one, it’s worth noting the Frankies’ inability to maintain their 100 per cent record; despite the timely release of a groovy picture disc of ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’ shaped like an apple, when it came to the crunch they just ran out of juice.
With three number ones followed by a number two, their report card is still an exact mirror of that compiled by Gerry And The Pacemakers 21 years ago. The Pacemakers subsequently fell from favour very rapidly, disappearing from the chart after a further five hits. Could such a fate befall Frankie? As Patrick Moore is wont to say, we just don’t know, but there’s more than a few furrowed brows at ZTT.