Chart Review 14th March 2005 with DJ Chris Plant (2/3)

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3).

Onto the Number 3 single now and this is where it starts to get a little complicated for it is, to all intents and purposes, identical to the record at Number 6. The problem all stems from an unseemly row over the sampling rights to Boy Meets Girl:'s Waiting For A Star To Fall which has resulted in two different versions of the club remake floating about - one by Cabin Crew which charted last week and one by Sunset Strippers which lands on the chart here at Number 3.

Working out which came first would take the best part of a month but suffice it to say much of the overseas buzz about the track came from the Cabin Crew version which originated down under. Their problem was they did not have clearance for the sample from the original - that is owned by BMG Records who had authorised its use by Brighton trio Sunset Strippers (the same names behind the Lost Brothers remix of Cry Little Sister which was a hit in December 2003).

As a result we now have the strange situation of the Sunset Strippers version claiming to be the original as it is the only one that samples the original single whilst the Cabin Crew claim theirs is original as they had the idea first over 18 months ago but who are stuck with a version that doesn't sample the, er, original but instead features re-recorded vocals by none other than Boy Meets Girl: themselves. Both versions of the track were originally scheduled for release on the same day, which would have been even more confusing.

Instead the Sunset Strippers arrive on the chart seven days later and for the moment appear to have won the battle, hitting Number 3 compared to the Number 4 entry point for Cabin Crew last week. Mutliple versions of the same club hit hitting the chart at the same time isn't actually totally unheard of. The most recent example came in March last year when the chart supremacy of DJ Casper's Cha-Cha Slide was briefly threatened by a spoiler cover version by MC Jig which fortunately stalled at Number 33. The last time two versions of the same club track were in the Top 10 together came back in 2000 when Zombie Nation's Kernkraft 400 went head to head with Azzido Da Bass' Dooms Night, both singles based around the same New Order bassline, although neither track had as much in common with each other as Falling Stars and Star To Fall do today.

Spookily enough our next new entry is by the act who inspired such a cover battle - New Order themselves. Krafty: is the lead single from a brand new album from the chart veterans, their first since 2001s Get Ready. Appropriately enough the new single charges nicely to Number 8, matching the peak of Crystal, which heralded their comeback after an absence of a decade four years ago. Whereas in 2001 the return of New Order to the charts was a huge event, this time around the anticipation has been more muted but Krafty: shows that even after 25 years of making records the group still sound as good as ever.

Some will bemoan the fact that the story of the chart this week is dominated by charity records and cover version battles rather than an impressive new single from one of the most important acts of all time but hey, for years that was New Order all over - making inspiring records almost without the mainstream noticing.

Rounding off the parade of Top 10 new entries are Phantom Planet, a five piece from California whose 2003 debut album won them many plaudits on the other side of the pond but which failed to make a chart impression over here. All that changes with California which charges in to the Top 10 almost from nowhere. As far as the mainstream is concerned they will take some getting used to, a cross somewhere between U2 and Led Zeppelin, but the noise they make is far from unpleasant.

Continued ...next page

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