Chart for stowaways – May 2021

May saw some reissues piling into the album chart – here’s the chart for 22 May:

1. Erasure – Chorus
2. The Human League – Octopus
3. The Future Sound of London – Cascade 2020
4. New Order – Education Entertainment Recreation
5. Pet Shop Boys – Discovery
6. Air – Le Voyage Dans La Lune
7. Air – Love 2
8. Pet Shop Boys – Concrete
9. Erasure – Tomorrow’s World
10. Voodoo Child – The End of Everything

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Stowaway World Cup – Quarter Final 3

So we commence the third quarter final, with Pet Shop Boys versus Air. The former team has had a fairly clear path to this stage, blitzing the group stages and then flying through the group of 16 with relative ease. The latter team were the surprise winner of their group, knocking out 80s and 90s stalwarts alike, and have got to this stage fairly easily as well. This might be a surprising statement, but it really could go either way. First half, then.

1. 1+6. No goal.
2. 2+6. Goal for percentage of members who have remained. No goal.
3. 1+6. No goal.
4. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Easy goal for PSB. 1-0.
5. 2+2. No goal.

So, at the halfway point in the game, Pet Shop Boys are just 1-0 up, so this could still be anybody’s game. Where will the second half take us?

1. 3+2. No goal.
2. 1+3. No goal.
3. 5+2. No goal.
4. 4+5. Goal for most hits on UK album chart. 2-0.
5. 1+3. No goal.

So that’s it! The whistle blows, and Pet Shop Boys advance to the semi-finals, after a 2-0 win.

Stowaway World Cup – Week 3

After the relative excitement of Erasure versus Kraftwerk yesterday, this seems a good time to take a quick breather. The last week has seen us work through the group of 16 and half of the quarter finals, so we now know half of our semi-finalists. We’ve had a number of shocks and surprises, and there are two quarter finals left:

1. Pet Shop Boys versus Air, which will be played tomorrow
2. David Bowie versus New Order, coming up on Wednesday

So this is what the semi-finals look like right now:

1. Depeche Mode versus Erasure, which will be on Thursday
2. Pet Shop Boys or Air, versus David Bowie or New Order, on Friday

Hopefully Depeche Mode‘s match against Erasure won’t involve another penalty shoot-out, as Erasure‘s last two games have been thrilling, nail-biting, events. Would have been, anyway, if this contest were actually of any interest to anybody.

Saturday will see the battle for third and fourth place, and the all-unimportant final is this Sunday. So let’s enter the last week of this “thrilling” competition, and see how it all pans out.

Stowaway World Cup – Group of 16 – Games 5 & 6

Game 5: Pet Shop Boys versus Röyksopp

Our first game today pits the winner of Group E against the runner up of group F.

1. 6+4. Goal for worst performance in previous games. Röyksopp lost a game and drew one, so 0-1.
2. 4+1. Goal for most weeks on UK single chart. Equaliser – 1-1.
3. 2+4. An aggressive start to the game. Goal for quality of last album. Well that’s Hotspot and The Inevitable End. Both are good, but the latter is great. 1-2.
4. 6+2. Another shot! Goal for best album. Probably Behaviour, so 2-2.
5. 5+4. No goal.
6. 5+3. No goal.
7. 2+6. Goal for percentage of members who have remained. Both have always had two, so no goal.
8. 3+3. No goal.
9. 1+3. No goal.
10. 4+3. Late shot after a very quiet second half. Goal for most album releases. Pet Shop Boys score and win 3-2.

Game 6: Air versus I Monster

Next up, the winner of Group F against the runner up of group E.

1. 5+1. No goal.
2. 6+4. Goal for worst performance in previous games. That wildcard, which has turned up in nearly every game so far. Both won two and lost one in the group stages. Air won 2-0, were awarded a win after a dirty 0-0 draw, and lost 1-2. I Monster won 2-0, and 3-0 and lost 0-3. So this is close enough that the referee is ruling no goal.
3. 5+6. No goal.
4. 6+6. No goal.
5. 4+2. Goal for most single releases. Air score. 1-0.
6. 4+4. No goal.
7. 6+1. Goal for best song. Le Soleil est Près de Moi plays maybe Hey Mrs.? 2-0.
8. 1+3. No goal.
9. 6+1. Foul. 1+3. Penalty for I Monster, who score! 2-1.
10. 4+4. No goal. Air win 2-1.

Stowaway World Cup – Week 2

So, we reach the end of the group stages, in this entirely pointless competition. There were a few surprises. Group A saw Jean-Michel Jarre and Madonna and Yazoo advance. Group B was led by Kylie Minogue and Depeche Mode, while Sparks crashed out without a single win. Group C was led by Erasure and Massive Attack, and Group D by Kraftwerk and Goldfrapp. Group E saw The Beloved knocked out, with Pet Shop Boys and I Monster leading the pack. Group F was led by Air and Röyksopp, with OMD and Enigma knocked out. Group G was led by David Bowie and The Human League, and Group H by New Order and The Future Sound of London.

So those are the Group of 16, with some tricky games coming up this week, and at the end of this week we’ll also enter the all-unexciting quarter finals. So it’s a good time for some tweaks to the rules for the remainder of the competition.

Going forward:

1. You need an outright win – no more draws. We’ll have 4 throws of extra time, followed by penalties.
2. 6+6 is no longer a foul. Instead, a repeated throw is a foul, but only if it was going to be a goal attempt. If it’s a pair, we’ll ignore it, but if not, the foul was committed by the higher-scoring side (left = left team, right = right team). If the sum of the dice is even, it’s a scored penalty.
3. To reduce the number of goal chances, any double throws are no goal from now on.
4. Most of the goal-scoring categories will change to a new set of spurious deciders.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 37-40

Game 37: Pet Shop Boys versus I Monster

1. 5+6. No goal.
2. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Easy goal for Pet Shop Boys. 1-0.
3. 1+3. No goal.
4. 1+3. No goal.
5. 5+4. No goal.
6. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. 2-0.
7. 5+2. No goal.
8. 2+4. Re-roll. 2+4. Re-roll. 5+5. No goal.
9. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. 3-0.
10. 2+4. Re-roll. 5+2. No goal. Pet Shop Boys win 3-0.

Game 38: Röyksopp versus Air

1. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. 0-1.
2. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Röyksopp can claim 2001-2014, and Air just 1998-2004. 1-1.
3. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. Air cheat a bit by having such a common name, and I couldn’t really get the results down to a sensible number, so we’ll say no goal.
4. 3+3. No goal.
5. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Looks likely to be Röyksopp, so 2-1.
6. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. No goal.
7. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. No goal.
8. 3+3. No goal.
9. 1+6. No goal.
10. 5+2. No goal. Röyksopp sneak a 2-1 win over the leaders of their group.

Game 39: David Bowie versus Leftfield

1. 5+1. No goal.
2. 1+6. No goal.
3. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. 1-0.
4. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. 2-0.
5. 1+2. No goal.
6. 5+5. No goal.
7. 2+3. Goal for quality of first album. Easy goal for Leftfield. 2-1.
8. 6+1. Re-roll. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. 3-1.
9. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. 4-1.
10. 1+6. No goal. Bowie, undefeated in his group, wins 4-1.

Game 40: New Order versus The Radiophonic Workshop

1. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. 1-0.
2. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. New Order, for Music Complete and probably various others. 2-0.
3. 1+3. No goal.
4. 1+5. No goal.
5. 5+2. No goal.
6. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. 3-0.
7. 1+2. No goal.
8. 1+2. No goal.
9. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Since The Radiophonic Workshop has been something of a revolving door, this is likely New Order, but it would be near-impossible to verify. Since it won’t make a difference to the result, we’ll rule this to be no goal.
10. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. New Order, with one. They win 4-0.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 29-32

Game 29: I Monster versus Client

1. 5+3. No goal.
2. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Neither has any, so no goal.
3. 3+6. No goal.
4. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. I Monster‘s discography isn’t easy to decipher, but I think they have the edge. 1-0.
5. 3+5. No goal.
6. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 2-0.
7. 2+2. Re-roll. 5+2. No goal.
8. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Client have one, and I’m pretty sure I Monster have two, so 3-0.
9. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. There’s no real way of confirming this, so I’ll rule this a no-goal.
10. 1+4. No goal. I Monster win 3-0.

Game 30: Air versus Enigma

1. 6+6. A shocking foul at the start of the game! 1+5 tells us that a player is sent off from the right-hand team. That would be Michael Cretu playing dirty for Enigma, and since he’s their only remaining player, the game ends. 0-0, but the referee is awarding the win to Air.

Game 31: Ladytron versus Leftfield

1. 1+2. No goal.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 3+6. No goal.
4. 3+4. No goal.
5. 1+1. No goal.
6. 3+6. Still no goal!
7. 5+1. No goal.
8. 2+2. Finally. Goal for number of studio albums to date. 1-0.
9. 5+2. No goal.
10. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 1-1. Draw!

Game 32: William Orbit versus The Radiophonic Workshop

1. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. William Orbit scores! 1-0.
2. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Some great options for both teams, but I’m going to say 1-1.
3. 1+2. No goal.
4. 5+3. No goal.
5. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. William Orbit has a few hits, while The Radiophonic Workshop don’t appear to have any (I don’t entirely believe this). 2-1.
6. 3+5. No goal.
7. 3+4. No goal.
8. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. 3-1.
9. 3+4. No goal.
10. 5+5. No goal. William Orbit wins 3-1.

Stowaway World Cup – Week 1

So we reach the half way point of the group stages, and we’ve already had a lot of surprises. I’m sure you won’t have missed them in all the excitement, but just in case, here’s a recap.

Group A

The group is currently firmly led by Jean-Michel Jarre, with the Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One supergroup as runners-up, but any of the teams could still qualify.

Group B

Depeche Mode are well ahead, and after two disappointing losses for Sparks and a surprise win for Kylie Minogue, the latter currently looks likely to sneak into the group of sixteen.

Group C

Erasure have a strong lead, with Saint Etienne just holding onto second place, but with a game in hand.

Group D

Kraftwerk lead with two strong wins, and Hot Chip are currently holding onto second place after drawing against Goldfrapp in their first game.

Group E

Pet Shop Boys are leading, and after two dirty games from The Beloved, I Monster currently hold the runner-up spot.

Group F

Big surprises here. The favourites are currently right at the bottom of the table, with Enigma in first place, Air in second, and Röyksopp and OMD in third and fourth.

Group G

David Bowie is comfortably leading, with The Human League in second place.

Group H

New Order lead, with The Future Sound of London in second.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 13-16

Game 13: The Beloved versus I Monster

1. 1+4. No goal.
2. 1+2. No goal.
3. 3+3. No goal.
4. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. Neither has many, but I Monster clinch it. 0-1.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Another goal for I Monster, who have held on to both of their members. 0-2.
7. 6+6. Foul. 5+1. The higher number on the left means that one of The Beloved gets sent off, and since they only officially have Jon Marsh at the moment, that means the game is over. 0-2.

Game 14: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark versus Air

1. 5+6. No goal.
2. 3+5. No goal.
3. 2+3. Goal for quality of first album. OK, that’s OMD‘s flawed but lovely eponymous album, or Moon Safari. Both great candidates, but I think that’s Air edging ahead. 0-1.
4. 1+6. No goal.
5. 3+4. No goal.
6. 1+4. No goal.
7. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Clear win for Air. 0-2.
8. 5+2. No goal.
9. 5+3. No goal.
10. 3+5. No goal. Surprise win for Air there – 0-2.

Game 15: The Human League versus Leftfield

1. 5+3. No goal.
2. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Well, The Human League‘s Credo wasn’t great, while Leftfield‘s last release was. 0-1.
3. 1+4. No goal.
4. 1+1. No goal.
5. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Closer than I’d have thought, but that sees The Human League equalise. 1-1.
6. 4+6 again, so let’s re-roll (the rules aren’t entirely clear about this, but referee’s decision is final). 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Both have had some great moments, but Dare is the most iconic. 2-1.
7. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Hard to be certain, but it seems likely The Human League. 3-1.
8. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Easy win for The Human League. 4-1.
9. 5+2. No goal.
10. 2+5. Let’s give Leftfield a go, since Leftism is great too. 4-2.

Game 16: The Future Sound of London versus The Radiophonic Workshop

1. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Easy goal for FSOL. 1-0.
2. 3+5. No goal.
3. 5+2. No goal.
4. 3+1. No goal.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 3+2. No goal.
7. 5+3. No goal.
8. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Tricky. FSOL have a range of 1992-2001. The Radiophonic Workshop have probably had hits – I just couldn’t find any. We’ll call it no goal.
9. 3+3. No goal.
10. 5+2. No goal. So a low scoring game, but FSOL win 1-0.

Stowaway World Cup – Start of Play

So, as of yesterday’s post, we know how the groups are looking. The upcoming week will see four games per day, so in a week’s time we should be starting to have a feel for how the results are starting to shape up.

As a reminder, we’re about to start the group stages, with eight groups:

• Group A, with Jean-Michel Jarre as favourite, but any of the other three could qualify
• Group B, a competitive group containing Depeche Mode, Sparks, and Kylie Minogue
• Group C, another competitive group with Erasure, Saint Etienne, and Massive Attack
• Group D, with Goldfrapp, Kraftwerk, and Hot Chip
• Group E, with Pet Shop Boys and three other strong contenders
• Group F, with Röyksopp, OMD, Air, and Enigma
• Group G, with David Bowie and The Human League
• Group H, with New Order and three other strong teams

The excitement begins (and potentially also ends) tomorrow. Stay tuned!