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Music Singles Reviews
Chart Review with DJ Chris Plant (2/3) (1/3), (2/3), (3/3).
www.djchrisplant.co.uk
The tsunami on the other hand has been at the forefront of people's minds ever since it happened.

Spontaneously and without prompting, the public dug deep to raise millions in aid. Making a charity record - especially one as bad as this - actually adds little and serves more as an ego trip for those involved rather than the altruistic gesture that was intended.
Time to move on to better things and new in at Number 6 is Shine by Lovefreekz, the new alias for dance veteran Mark Hadfield. His career stretches back to the early 1990s when he contributed mixing skills to live tours by the likes of SL2 and The Prodigy.

His first chart records came as a member of Loveland who notched up four Top 40 hits in the mid-90s, the biggest of which was Let The Music Lift You Up which hit Number 16 in April 1994.
In the late 90s he reinvented himself as a trancemeister and was behind the three Lucid hits (including I can't Help Myself) which charted in 1998 and 1999.
His last chart incarnation was in 2003 when as Lovebug he hit Number 35 with the track Who's The Daddy and in keeping with the theme has now become Lovefreekz.

The single itself appeared in clubs as a breath of fresh air over Christmas, despite being something of a throwback to the mutant disco sound that dominated the start of the decade.
Shine is based heavily on ELO's 1979 hit Shine A Little Love, its chorus having been ripped out and turned into the heart of this club stormer. Yes, it breaks no new ground and yes, it is based heavily on a tried and tested disco tune but a club track that makes you break into a huge grin even when it just appears on the radio (also Lola's Theme) is a joy to experience and frankly this knocks the rest of this weeks new offerings out of the park.
At Number 8 are Freefaller whose debut single emerges just in time to potentially fill the gap left behind by the demise of Busted. Yes, they are another rock act aimed firmly at the teen market, Ollie, Dean, Gary and Rich having been pushed as much as sex symbols as they are musicians.

Lead singer Ollie is no stranger to the screaming girl market having once been a member of Point Break who had a run of hit singles back in 2000.
Yes, they are as manufactured as the chair you are sitting on right now but that doesn't stop Do This Do That having the same kind of charm that makes you sit up and take notice.
If Busted left behind one legacy it was the reinvention of the concept of a pop act who played real music rather than miming to backing tapes. If Freefaller are the result of that then it wasn't all in vain.
Making his first chart appearance in almost three years this week is rapper Xzibit who storms a busy Top 10 at Number 9 with Hey Now (Mean Muggin).

It is his third ever chart single and far and away the biggest, soaring past the Number 14 peak of his debut track X which charted in March 2001 and which incidentally holds the record for the shortest ever title, being as it is just a single letter. My reaction to this track takes just two letters. Eh.
Yet again this week the record is equalled as no less than seven new singles enter the Top 10. The last one arrives at Number 10 in the shape of a comeback for some none more 90s child stars.

The three brothers of Hanson made their name as long-haired teenagers in 1997 with the release of the instant classic Mmmbop which charged to the top of the charts all around the world and became an airplay staple for years afterwards, even if nobody could ever work out what they were singing about.
Two more Top 10 hits followed in the shape of Where's The Love and seasonal ballad I Will Come To You and whilst they weren't bad singles overall they never managed to recapture the magical sparkle of their debut. Two comebacks followed in 1998 and 2000, their last chart single coming almost five years ago when If Only limped to Number 15.
Now eight years on from their debut and with the albatross of Mmmbop little more than a distant memory the boys (or rather deep voiced adults as they are now) return with a brand new single and their first Top 10 hit since those heady days of 1997. Penny And Me is chirpy and catchy enough and strays just on the right side of the line marked country to work as a pop-rock single.
continued ...next page

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