Stowaway World Cup – Group of 16 – Games 1 & 2

Game 1: Jean-Michel Jarre versus Depeche Mode

The first game after the group stages is a thrilling face-off between two giants, with the winner of Group A taking on the runner-up of Group B.

1. 3+2. No goal.
2. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). That’s an early goal for Dave Gahan. 0-1.
3. 6+1. Goal for best song. Enjoy the Silence clinches it. 0-2.
4. 5+6. No goal.
5. 6+1. Foul. 2+3. Penalty for Depeche Mode, but no goal.
6. 5+6. No goal.
7. 5+4. No goal.
8. 1+1. No goal.
9. 3+2. No goal.
10. 2+1. Foul. 5+5. The referee didn’t see it, whatever happened. Depeche Mode win 0-2, and progress to the quarter finals.

Game 2: Kylie Minogue versus Madonna and Yazoo

The Australian goddess takes on the bizarre supergroup of Madonna and Yazoo.

1. 3+4. No goal.
2. 2+2. No goal.
3. 1+1. No goal.
4. 1+5. No goal.
5. 5+3. No goal.
6. 3+1. No goal.
7. 4+5. Goal for most hits on UK album chart. Kylie has 30 and Madonna has 28, but it looks as though the reissues bring them to around 27 each. Yazoo‘s 3 could be added on to give them a slight edge, but that seems a bit unfair too. Referee rules no goal.
8. 3+5. No goal.
9. 2+3. Goal for highest number of views of a post on this blog. Yazoo to the rescue, with 210 views for the review of Only Yazoo. 0-1.
10. 6+4. Another last minute goal. Goal for worst performance in previous games. This was added to help the underdog from time to time, but there really isn’t one here. Kylie won every game so far, whereas Madonna and Yazoo lost to Jean-Michel Jarre in the first game of the tournament, so that clinches a win for the supergroup. 0-2.

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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 33-36

Game 33: Jean-Michel Jarre versus Little Boots

1. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. Early lead for Jarre. 1-0.
2. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. 2-0.
3. 3+4. No goal.
4. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. 2-1.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 1+1. No goal.
7. 5+1. No goal.
8. 5+3. No goal.
9. 6+3. Re-roll. 3+2. No goal.
10. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Very tough, especially at this stage in the game. I think Little Boots clinches this one. 2-2.

Game 34: Depeche Mode versus Kylie Minogue

1. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Interesting. Depeche Mode can boast 1981-2013, while Kylie has 1988-2021, so a very slight goal for Kylie. 0-1.
2. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. This is so close (15.6-15.8 million) so I’m going to rule no goal.
3. 5+6. No goal.
4. 3+2. No goal.
5. 5+3. No goal.
6. 1+5. No goal.
7. 1+5. No goal.
8. 3+4. No goal.
9. 5+2. No goal.
10. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Depeche Mode‘s wasn’t great, and I haven’t heard Kylie Minogue‘s, so this has to be no goal. Kylie wins 0-1 in a shock result, taking the lead in Group B.

Game 35: Erasure versus Shit Robot

1. 3+6. No goal.
2. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Erasure take a lead 1-0.
3. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Since Vince Clarke chose to play for Erasure, he takes a clear goal here. 2-0.
4. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Andy Bell FTW. 3-0.
5. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. Tough. Honestly, it could go either way, but since it’s unlikely to change the result of this game I’ll call this no goal.
6. 1+5. No goal.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 3+3. No goal.
9. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. 4-0.
10. 1+3. No goal. Erasure win comfortably, confirming the lead of their group and knocking Shit Robot out of the competition. 4-0.

Game 36: Goldfrapp versus Bent

1. 1+2. No goal.
2. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Astonishingly, Human and Swollen tie at number 87 (just two weeks apart in March 2001), so no goal.
3. 5+6. No goal.
4. 5+3. No goal.
5. 1+6. No goal.
6. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. 1-0 to Goldfrapp.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 1+4. No goal.
9. 5+2. No goal.
10. 5+3. No goal. Tight win for Goldfrapp there, 1-0, but I think this unfortunately means that neither progresses to the group of 16.

Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 25-28

Game 25: Little Boots versus Madonna and Yazoo

1. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. Madonna clinches a goal. 0-1.
2. 1+2. No goal.
3. 1+4. No goal.
4. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. 0-2.
5. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Little Boots is great, but Madonna has to take this one. 0-3.
6. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Little Boots has a few to her name, so 1-3.
7. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. Easy goal. 1-4.
8. 5+5. No goal.
9. 6+4. Replay. 1+6. No goal.
10. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. That’s Madonna again. 1-5.

Game 26: Kylie Minogue versus Everything But The Girl

1. 3+5. No goal.
2. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. 1-0.
3. 5+2. No goal.
4. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 2-0.
5. 1+1. No goal.
6. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. 3-0.
7. 3+1. No goal.
8. 1+5. No goal.
9. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. 4-0.
10. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Another easy win for Kylie. 5-0.

Game 27: Massive Attack versus Shit Robot

1. 5+1. No goal.
2. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. 1-0.
3. 3+6. No goal.
4. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. 2-0.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 1+3. No goal.
7. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Both have had some great moments, but let’s give this one to Massive Attack. 3-0.
8. 6+6. Foul. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Penalty goal for Massive Attack. 4-0.
9. 1+5. No goal.
10. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Another huge win – Massive Attack win 5-0.

Game 28: Hot Chip versus Bent

1. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Both are great, and I don’t think I can call this one. No goal.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. 1-0.
4. 5+1. No goal.
5. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. 2-0.
6. 1+4. No goal.
7. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. I’m awarding it to Bent for Ariels. 2-1.
8. 2+4. Re-roll. 5+5. No goal.
9. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 3-1.
10. 1+6. No goal. So Hot Chip win 3-1. Decisive, but not quite as big a win as the other games today.

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 9-12

Game 9: Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One versus Little Boots

1. 4+1. Goal for debut position on UK singles chart. Little Boots only entered at 97, so Delerium et al score. 1-0.
2. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. I tried them all, and got the most for Little Boots. 1-1.
3. 1+5. No goal.
4. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Probably a goal for Delerium and friends. 2-1.
5. 5+2. No goal.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Easy goal for Little Boots. 2-2.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). She’s so much more charismatic that she deserves another. Goal for Little Boots. 2-3.
9. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. Easy goal for Delerium and gang. 3-3.
10. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Delerium win the category and match with a single song. 4-3.

Game 10: Sparks versus Kylie Minogue

1. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Sparks only have a couple, but that’s enough to put them ahead. 1-0.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Easy goal for Kylie. 1-1.
4. 5+2. No goal.
5. 1+2. No goal.
6. 3+1. No goal.
7. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. Easy goal for Kylie. 1-2.
8. 1+4. No goal.
9. 3+3. No goal.
10. 1+3. No goal. Tough game for Sparks there, losing 1-2.

Game 11: Saint Etienne versus Shit Robot

1. 3+1. No goal.
2. 5+1. No goal.
3. 5+4. No goal.
4. 3+6. No goal.
5. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Well, Shit Robot have/has no hits, so 1-0.
6. 1+2. No goal.
7. 1+3. No goal.
8. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Same. 2-0.
9. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. Late goal for Shit Robot. 2-1.
10. 4+4. Referee’s decision is to be nice to the underdog and throw again. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Another goal for Saint Etienne. 3-1.

Game 12: Kraftwerk versus Bent

1. 5+5. No goal.
2. 3+3. No goal.
3. 5+1. No goal.
4. 5+2. No goal.
5. 4+3. Goal for highest number of remixes of another artist. Another slow game to get started, and an easy opening goal for Bent. 0-1.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Very tricky. Kraftwerk are hardly charismatic, but they have a certain Teutonic charm. 1-1.
7. 5+6. No goal.
8. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Easy goal for Kraftwerk. 2-1.
9. 1+2. No goal.
10. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Has to be Kraftwerk, even if they have been busy George Lucassing them in recent years. 3-1.

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!

Stowaway World Cup – The Draw

OK, time for the all-important draw. Pot A consists of the top 8 artists by mentions on this blog:

• Pet Shop Boys
• Depeche Mode
• Jean-Michel Jarre
• Röyksopp
• Erasure
• New Order
• David Bowie
• Goldfrapp

Pot B consists of the next eight, except that Moby is busy getting vegan tattoos, so won’t be taking part this year. Delerium, Front Line Assembly, and Conjure One are pretty much the same people anyway, so they have formed a single team together.

• Saint Etienne
• Kraftwerk
• Sparks
• Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One
• The Human League
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• The Future Sound of London
• The Beloved

Pot C sees a few disqualifications, with Vince Clarke taking part as part of Erasure, and Martin L. Gore playing for Depeche Mode:

• Air
• Little Boots
• Massive Attack
• Kylie Minogue
• I Monster
• William Orbit
• Ladytron
• Hot Chip

Finally, Pot D sees Dave Gahan disqualified for being part of Depeche Mode, plus U2 and Coldplay disqualified for not being very good. Yazoo formed a team with Madonna, for no particularly good reason.

• Madonna and Yazoo
• The Radiophonic Workshop
• Leftfield
• Everything But The Girl
• Shit Robot
• Client
• Enigma
• Bent

After the draw, the eight groups look like this:

• Group A: Jean-Michel Jarre, Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One, Little Boots, Madonna and Yazoo
• Group B: Depeche Mode, Sparks, Kylie Minogue, Everything But The Girl
• Group C: Erasure, Saint Etienne, Massive Attack, Shit Robot
• Group D: Goldfrapp, Kraftwerk, Hot Chip, Bent
• Group E: Pet Shop Boys, The Beloved, I Monster, Client
• Group F: Röyksopp, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Air, Enigma
• Group G: David Bowie, The Human League, Ladytron, Leftfield
• Group H: New Order, The Future Sound of London, William Orbit, The Radiophonic Workshop

So the first game will be Jean-Michel Jarre versus Madonna and Yazoo, in a couple of days’ time.

Chart for Stowaways – Singles 2020

I meant to post these last week, but managed to forget (sorry!) but here are the top Singles for stowaways, from 2020:

1. Pet Shop Boys – West End girls (primarily driven by the New Lockdown Version)
2. The Future Sound of London – Cascade (primarily driven by the new versions on Cascade 2020)
3. The Beloved – Grin
4. Pet Shop Boys – Will-o-the-wisp
5. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Crying at the Discotheque
6. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Enola Gay
7. Pet Shop Boys – Happy people
8. Sparks – Lawnmower
9. The Beloved – Forever Dancing
10. New Order – Be A Rebel
11. Pet Shop Boys – I don’t wanna
12. Kylie Minogue – Magic
13. Pet Shop Boys – Monkey Business
14. The Beloved – If Only
15. Frances Barber & Pet Shop Boys – Musik (Original Cast Recording) – EP (falling from number 2 in 2019)
16. Tiësto – The Business
17. David Bowie – Alabama Song
18. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Almost (falling from number 7 in 2019)
19. Pet Shop Boys – My beautiful laundrette
20. Scotts/Travis Scott/Kid Cudi – The Scotts

Chart for stowaways – Christmas 2020

Christmas charts the world over are showing some strange entries this year, and the Chart for stowaways is no exception. Here are the singles:

1. The Future Sound of London – Cascade
2. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Enola Gay
3. Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
4. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Crying at the Discotheque
5. New Order – Be A Rebel
6. Tiesto – The Business
7. Saint Etienne – I Was Born on Christmas Day
8. Kylie Minogue – Magic
9. Erasure – Crackers International EP
10. Röyksopp – Le Cantique de Noël