Top 50 Summer 2013 Sub-Charts

In this section you will find all manner of sub-charts breaking down the Manics Fans' Chart in various ways, these include:

• Album Chart (by scores)
• Album Chart (by average score per song, so no cheating 'Generation Terrorists'!)
• Number Ones (from the individual charts)
• Chart for each Album (Songs ordered by scores)
• B-Sides Top 20
• Covers Top 20
• National Treasures Chart (see how those big songs got on at a glance)
• Highest Scorers by Album/Era (which person gave most points to each album/era?)
• Producers Chart

So did you have an idea what would come out on top of the favourite album chart?  I certainly wasn't surprised by the first chart where it shows which album purely scored the most.  But in the second chart, where those total scores are divided by the number of eligible songs on the album I was very surprised at what came in at number two!!  Not in as much as my personal preferences, but just general expectations!!  It certainly looks like those albums with more songs (GT and KYE) are dragged down by those songs featured which aren't as popular.

Album Chart By Scores

1. The Holy Bible 12446

2. Generation Terrorists 10499

3. Everything Must Go 8546

4. Gold Against the Soul 7169

5. Journal for Plague Lovers 6090

6. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 5597

7. Know Your Enemy 4244

8. Send Away the Tigers 4035

9. Postcards From a Young Man 3818

10. Lifeblood 3542

Album Chart by Average Score per Song

1. The Holy Bible 957

2. Gold Against the Soul 717

3. Everything Must Go 712

4. Generation Terrorists 618

5. Journal for Plague Lovers 435

6. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 431

7. Send Away the Tigers 367

8. Postcards From a Young Man 318

9. Lifeblood 295

10. Know Your Enemy 250

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So, out of 62 charts, we had 28 different number ones!!!  That's a lot of variation, although we still had some recurring favourites, as you can see below.  Also, 10 of the number one selections didn't even make the final top 50!!  So, look at your chart and feel content with the fact that other people also like your number one choice as much as you do, or that you are unique!!

Number Ones

1. Motorcycle Emptiness 11

2. Faster 8

3. Yes 7

4. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) 5

5. Motown Junk 4

6. A Design for Life 3

7. Stay Beautiful 3

8. 1985 1

= Another Invented Disease 1

= Archives of Pain 1

= Autumnsong 1

= Cardiff Afterlife 1

= Journal for Plague Lovers 1

= Little Baby Nothing 1

= Love's Sweet Exile 1

= No Surface All Feeling 1

= Nostalgic Pushead 1

= Ocean Spray 1

= PCP 1

= Postcards From a Young Man 1

= Ready for Drowning 1

= Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky 1

= Solitude Sometimes Is 1

= This Joke Sport Severed 1

= To Repel Ghosts 1

= Tsunami 1

= Underdogs 1

= Your Love Alone is not Enough 1

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So, you may have your favourite on all the albums, but do others agree with you?  Personally, there weren't many placings in these charts that surprised me, one or two here and there, but nothing major.  Hands up whose eyes are going straight to the bottom of the list just as much as the top?!!  I find JFPL an interesting chart because there isn't a massive variation between the songs, maybe due to there being no official singles taken from it.  Other albums have their big hitters and the less-liked tracks which even themselves out to a degree.  Still amazed that all of the album tracks got at least one vote!!

Generation Terrorists

1. Motorcycle Emptiness 2436

2. Little Baby Nothing 1512

3. Stay Beautiful 1506

4. You Love Us 1358

5. Slash N' Burn 796

6. Love's Sweet Exile 563

7. Spectators of Suicide 419

8. Another Invented Disease 332

9. Born to End 286

10. Repeat 285

11. Condemned to Rock 'N' Roll 235

12. Crucifix Kiss 169

13. Nat West - Barclays - Midlands - Lloyds 168

14. Damn Dog 152

15. Methadone Pretty 105

16. Tennessee 98

17. So Dead 79

Gold Against the Soul

1. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) 1796

2. From Despair to Where 1472

3. Roses in the Hospital 1179

4. Sleepflower 974

5. Life Becoming a Landslide 910

6. Yourself 304

7. Drug Drug Druggy 224

8. Nostalgic Pushead 128

9. Gold Against the Soul 102

10. Symphony of Tourette 80

The Holy Bible

1. Faster 2525

2. Yes 1959

3. PCP 1291

4. This is Yesterday 1004

5. 4st 7lb 943

6. Revol 873

7. ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart 727

8. Archives of Pain 653

9. Die in the Summertime 615

10. Of Walking Abortion 610

11. She is Suffering 564

12. Mausoleum 490

13. The Intense Humming of Evil 192

Everything Must Go

1. A Design for Life 2076

2. No Surface All Feeling 1134

3. Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky 899

4. Everything Must Go 835

5. Kevin Carter 667

6. Australia 645

7. Enola/Alone 630

8. The Girl Who Wanted to be God 501

9. Further Away 485

10. Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier 319

11. Removables 210

12. Interiors (Song for Willem de Kooning) 145

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

1. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next 1175

2. The Everlasting 737

3. You Stole the Sun from my Heart 664

4. Ready for Drowning 583

5. Tsunami 522

6. My Little Empire 427

7. Nobody Loved You 405

8. Black Dog on my Shoulder 347

9. Born a Girl 270

10. You're Tender and you're Tired 177

11. I'm Not Working 149

12. Be Natural 115

13. S.Y.M.M. 26

Know Your Enemy

1. Found that Soul 712

2. Ocean Spray 594

3. Let Robeson Sing 475

4. Intravenous Agnostic 377

5. Baby Elian 293

6. Miss Europa Disco Dancer 230

7. Freedom of Speech Won't Feed my Children 184

8. His Last Painting 161

9. My Guernica 159

10. We Are All Bourgeois Now 155

11. So Why So Sad 153

12. Epicentre 152

13. Dead Martyrs 148

14. The Year of Purification 134

15. The Convalescent 125

16. Wattsville Blues 123

17. Royal Correspondent 69

Lifeblood

1. Solitude Sometimes Is 627

2. Empty Souls 558

3. 1985 497

4. The Love of Richard Nixon 351

5. Glasnost 310

6. A Song for Departure 270

7. Cardiff Afterlife 240

8. I Live to Fall Asleep 228

9. To Repel Ghosts 176

10. Emily 113

11. Always/Never 101

12. Fragments 71

Send Away the Tigers

1. Your Love Alone is Not Enough 1081

2. Autumnsong 725

3. Send Away the Tigers 615

4. Underdogs 433

5. Indian Summer 346

6. Imperial Bodybags 217

7. The Second Great Depression 216

8. I'm Just a Patsy 177

9. Rendition 110

10. Winterlovers 65

11. Working Class Hero 50

Journal for Plague Lovers

1. Jackie Collins Existential Question Time 800

2. Peeled Apples 676

3. This Joke Sport Severed 600

4. Marlon JD 578

5. William's Last Words 566

6. All is Vanity 535

7. Me and Stephen Hawking 441

8. Facing Page: Top Left 424

9. Pretension/Repulsion 287

10. Journal for Plague Lovers 275

11. Virginia State Epileptic Colony 252

12. Bag Lady 249

13. She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach 228

14. Doors Closing Slowly 179

Postcards From a Young Man

1. Some Kind of Nothingness 792

2. (It's Not War) Just the End of Love 699

3. Golden Platitudes 551

4. Postcards From a Young Man 497

5. A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun 322

6. All We Make is Entertainment 231

7. The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever 203

8. I Think I Found It 171

9. Hazelton Avenue 153

10. Don't be Evil 78

11. Auto-Intoxication 72

12. The Descent (Pages 1 & 2) 49

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I must admit I've been intrigued by the battle to be top B-side, but in the end a late rush saw only one real contender and also the only B-side to make the final top 50.  The majority of the entries can be found on 'Lipstick Traces', which may have helped them on their way a bit, and there are a distinct lack of entries for later B-sides, 'Lifeblood' doing particularly badly in this respect with eight zero vote songs from a choice of ten B-sides.

B-Sides

1. Prologue to History 641

2. Donkeys 424

3. Sepia 388

4. Comfort Comes 345

5. Patrick Bateman 299

6. Hibernation 263

7. Sorrow 16 232

8. Mr Carbohydrate 207

9. Bored Out of my Mind 175

10. Close my Eyes 156

11. Democracy Coma 138

12. Too Cold Here 132

13. Dead Trees and Traffic Islands 126

14. Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head 113

15. RP McMurphy 108

16. Cant Take My Eyes Off You 105

17. Just a Kid 98

18. Ballad of the Bangkok Novotel 88

19. Starlover 87

20. Valley Boy 82

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As you can see from the chart below, cover versions seemed to be relatively unpopular in terms of votes.  'Faster' and 'Motorcycle Emptiness' both got more votes each than all of the covers put together!! Maybe it's because a lot of them are tucked away, hidden from view and memory as B-sides/hidden tracks etc. or maybe they just don't stand up as well when you put them next to the originals.  Whichever it is, another interesting fact is that over a quarter of the no-vote songs were actually covers.  No surprises with the chart topper here, the only cover to make the final 50.

Covers

1. Suicide is Painless (Theme from MASH) 695
2. This is the Day 265
3. Umbrella 206
4. We Are All Bourgeois Now 155
5. Damn Dog 152
6. Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head 113
7. Can't Take My Eyes Off You 105
8. The Drowners 70
9. Velocity Girl 65
10. It's So Easy 56
11. Take the Skinheads Bowling 50
12. Working Class Hero 50
13. Vision Blurred 39
14. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel 38
15. Bright Eyes 37
16. Out of Time 30
17. The Instrumental 30
18. Last Christmas 26
19. What's My Name 26
20. Been a Son 9

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With 38 songs on it, you would expect all of the 'National Treasures' songs to get in the top 50 wouldn't you?  Not at all, competition for places was fierce and ten of them ended up missing out, leaving plenty of places for your favourite album tracks.  14 out of the final top 20 were singles though, so they did provide many of the high scorers.

National Treasures

1. Faster 2525

2. Motorcycle Emptiness 2436

3. A Design for Life 2076

5. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) 1796

6. Motown Junk 1677

7. Little Baby Nothing 1512

8. Stay Beautiful 1506

9. From Despair to Where 1472

10. You Love Us 1358

12. Roses in the Hospital 1179

13. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next 1175

15. Your Love Alone is not Enough 1081

16. The Masses Against the Classes 1006

20. Life Becoming a Landslide 910

23. Revol 873

24. Everything Must Go 835

26. Slash N' Burn 796

27. Some Kind of Nothingness 792

28. The Everlasting 737

30. Autumnsong 725

31. Found that Soul 712

32. (It's Not War) Just the End of Love 699

33. Suicide is Painless (Theme from MASH) 695

35. Kevin Carter 667

36. You Stole the Sun from my Heart 664

38. Australia 645

46. Ocean Spray 594

50. She is Suffering 564

51. Love's Sweet Exile 563

52. Empty Souls 558

55. Tsunami 522

58. Postcards From a Young Man 497

61. Let Robeson Sing 475

73. The Love of Richard Nixon 351

75. Indian Summer 346

90. This is the Day 265

108. There by the Grace of God 200

126. So Why So Sad 153

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We all have our favourite album, but which person gave the most points to songs from each album/era?  As expected some people highly favoured 'Generation Terrorists' and 'The Holy Bible', while 'Lifeblood' never managed to break through the 200 points mark from anyone.

Highest Scorers by Album/Era
Generation Terrorists @BenMyers1 576
Gold Against the Soul @DominikDiamond 318
The Holy Bible @RorsDM 506
Everything Must Go @heather1917 315
This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours @sglaithwaite 264
Know Your Enemy @wade_fletch 203
Lifeblood @KB2X 193
Send Away the Tigers @lonelyaesthetic 201
Journal for Plague Lovers @JackyBhoy 263
Postcards From a Young Man @clarahopscotch 201
Others @pluralistbaby 286

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The Producers Chart (compiled by JamGaw)

The Manifest:

• Each producer is allocated the points awarded to ‘their’ songs in accordance with the Final Unofficial Top 50 Results.  This includes all 234 tracks that were voted for.
• Where there are multiple producers behind a song, the points have been shared equally between them.
• Where there have been multiple versions of a song, the points have been shared equally between the producers behind each version.
• Where there is no producer credit attached to a song, it is deemed a self produced track (e.g. much of The Holy Bible, early b-sides).
• Further to 4, engineers have not been included as substitute producer figures. Even though they are technical and arguably more important.*
• Where various sources indicate different producers, the earliest release has been deemed correct.
• No live tracks have been included.
• The final score for each producer is weighted, to account for the total tracks they may have recorded.  For example, if producer A has been involved with 20 tracks, and producer B has only 1 to his name, his score will be multiplied by a factor of 20 to ‘balance the books’.

*there may be a Top Engineers Chart at some point**

** for sanity’s sake, stop this Chartageddon!

The Results
(in brackets: no. of individual productions / no. of joint productions in full chart / points)

10/ Greg Haver (23 / 2 / 11,793):
Major album – Lifeblood
Influential on - Send Away the Tigers
Played percussion live. Helped to shape Lifeblood and of course, Little Trolls. Worked with Melanie C. Small chance of Lifeblood II.

9/   Steve Osborne: (2 / 0 / 16,318):
Significant recordings – 4 Ever Delayed & Unstoppable Salvation
They didn’t even make the Top 50, but the weighting gross up rule placed him.  Next producer credit on Charlie “Busted” Simpson’s upcoming album.  Manics not even listed on his Wikipedia page.

8/   Dave Eringa: (67 / 15 / 23,050):
Major albums - Gold Against the Soul / Know Your Enemy
Influential on – This is My Truth Tell Me Yours / Send Away the Tigers / Postcards From a Young Man
Singles – The Masses Against the Classes / Judge Yr’Self
Plus too many b-sides to list! (inc Patrick Bateman / Socialist Serenade)
Also behind the new live legendary O2 gig recordings.  Nuff said!

7/   Manic Street Preachers: (36 / 21 / 23,628):
Major album – The Holy Bible
Influential on – Postcards From a Young Man
Singles – Suicide Alley and Suicide is Painless
Early b-sides
Always with a hand in production duties themselves lately, with their own Faster studios in Cardiff. But Suicide Alley was self produced, and UK Channel Boredom a mere £25 to record! They’ve literally been there from the start.

6/   Tony Visconti: (3 / 0 / 26,787):
Significant recordings: 3 tracks from Lifeblood tracks (Solitude Sometimes Is, Emily and Cardiff Afterlife)
Has history on his side it seems.  Bowie, Bolan, forget Kaiser Chiefs, Thin Lizzy. A shoe in for when MSP arrive in their 60s.

5/   Howard Gray: (2 / 0 / 27,306):
Significant recordings: 2 b-sides – Prologue to History & Montana/Autumn/78
Who? Australian born, Liverpool raised. 80s saw him work with UB40 & The Cure.  He co-founded dance rock troupe Apollo 440.

4/   Steve Albini: (9 / 0 / 37,684):
Major album: Journal for Plague Lovers
Recording genius, some would say. Plugs in and listens. He brought most of Richey’s words to your ears nearly 15 years after they were written; Edwards would have approved you feel: Nirvana, Pixies, Harvey.

3/   Mike Hedges: (26 / 3 / 38,459):
Major albums: Everything Must Go / This is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Brought strings and Raindrops. Probable mythical rumour that he was approached to produce Holy Bible.  Actually worked on a Harry Potter soundtrack.

2/   Robin Evans: (6 / 0 / 39,517):
Significant recordings: The Early Singles - Motown Junk & Heavenly
Saw and understood the raw and flawed manifesto bleeding tight jean spray painted Manics.

1/   Steve Brown: (19/ 0 / 44,377):
Major album: Generation Terrorists
Started out as Elton John’s road manager and went on to work on Mansun’s unfinished album.  Plenty of GT in the Top 50 so perhaps not surprising his work has adoration.


Unbelievably no placing for Loz Williams, co producer of many a recent b-side, Postcards and the just arrived Rewind the Film; nor Alex Silva, who only has a few b-sides to his name (covers aside, Sepia and First Republic), but was technically behind The Holy Bible, as engineer for that album.

And so the "Steve Brown Campaign for Manics’ Album No. 13” starts here!