Veteran pop-crooner Tony Christie has bagged a seventh week on the top of the UK singles chart with ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’, so the countdown now begins to see if the single will extend its run to surpass the Bryan Adams slushfest ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’, which managed a whopping 16 weeks at the top.
The Peter Kay-induced charity single held off challenges from Snoop, Elvis (again) and the fading Destiny’s Child, a group that we expect to become defunct by the end of the year.
This week’s UK Top 10:
- Tony Christie, With Peter Kay – ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’
- Snoop Dogg, Wilson, Timberlake – ‘Signs’
- Elvis Vs Jxl – ‘A Little Less Conversation’
- Bodyrockers – ‘I Like The Way’
- Will Smith – ‘Switch’
Some grammatical-minded chart-watchers believe the use of parentheses at the start of a song title can help accelerate a tune up the chart and extend longevity.
Other UK number ones using parentheses in this manner include John Lennon’s ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’, Robson & Jerome’s ‘(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover’ and Sandie Shaw’s ‘(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me’.
The Best Use Of Parentheses Award goes to The Beastie Boys, for their ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’, although it peaked at number 11 so that’s this whole theory blown out of the water.
Others that missed top spot: Britney’s ‘(You Drive Me) Crazy’, Fun Boy Three’s ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing’ and Blondie’s majestic ‘(I’m Always) Touched By Your Presence Dear’.
What other punctuation-based tunes have we missed?
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What about You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)? Number One February 1985
Here are some interesting examples of the use of parentheses in song titles:
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) – The Rolling Stones. Just why the song is primarily known by the Doo Doo bit, we may never know.
Animal (F*ck Like A Beast) – W.A.S.P. You have to hear it to realise why they included the parentheses in the title.
I (Who Have Nothing) – Tom Jones. Probably unique in that the primary title is one letter and dwarfed by the parentheses.
Sonic Youth – ‘Tunic (Song For Carol)’ from the mighty Goo.
Pavement’s ‘Westing (By Musket And Sextant)’ has the song Heckler Spray on it… any relation, hecklerdudes?
Odyssey’s ‘Hands Up (Gimme Your Heart)’ for those memories of being in single figures.
Up the bracket!
(I’m Gonna) Cry Myself Blind – Primal Scream
Rockin’