Chart position for ‘Boy Happy’; your predictions please!

[Chartres]

How about 5 euro, so the winner at least gets the cd-single for free.

Sorry, can't make such a transfer. Any virtual thing perhaps? By the way, am I the only one or is the single unusualy expenisve?

 

[Maurice E]

I don't really know. I don't care either, to be honest. I'd like him regardless of sales, but I guess it would be nice for him to get chart recognition once in a while.

I know it's tempting for people to believe it's down to a slipping of standards, and I know the singles choices from ROTT were peculiar, but I do believe his lack of airplay and poor singles placings are a nod to modern times more than anything else. I think, nay, I know that there is becoming less and less room for someone like Morrissey, not because of the calibre of his music but because of a dumbing-down of musical tastes. If he does make top forty, I can guarantee before I even see the other thirty-nine singles that he will be the most intelligent person in the chart, and in a way, that's his problem.

He's being forced, kicking and screaming, into an age of downloads and multi-format deals, myspace and commericalism. He doesn't get airplay on most mainstream radio stations because most mainstream radio stations are too busy bowing down to more light-hearted or marketable commodities. Unless Morrissey's staff make some attempt to market his persona more effectively in future, fewer and fewer people are going to be made aware of him as a current recording artist. And I am extremely puzzled at the choices of singles from ROTT. Why no 'Pigsty'? Why even no 'Dear God Please Help Me' or 'I will see you in far off places'? Someone, somewhere has made some very strange choices, and I just hope that it isn't Morrissey.

The reason that chart positions are important is that it helps to sell albums. It's not really about chart recognition. Morrissey's chart form was at its lowest ebb in the Southpaw/Maladjusted era and record companies lost all interest in him. That's the issue really. It's not just about doing well in the charts for the sake of it.

Also, the idea that Moz is too intelligent for the dumbed-down radio stations is not entirely true. His biggest airplay hit in the last 10 years was First of the Gang; Virgin, Radio 2 and Xfm all played it to death simply because it was a much more upbeat, catchy and enjoyable song than any of his other singles. Radio 1 and most commercial stations won't play him regardless of song quality as they are not comfortable with his image and are afraid of losing listeners. But, as mentioned, there are several key and influential stations who will play his current stuff, including Radio 2 (Britain's biggest) but only if he releases fantastic, uplifting songs like FOTG. This does seem a little unfair, though, when similar stations will play any old rubbish by bands like Keane (brilliant first album, pants 2nd!), Coldplay, Weller and the Hot Peppers.

 

[Kuiper]

I think #25. I'm not rounding it to that number, that's the specific chart position I'm guessing.

 

[girlunafraid]

I'll say 29. With the only "new" song being Tweety Pants, there's not much incentive for fans to buy it, especially as it was available here for download. So that's one less sale that could have been.