Stowaway World Cup – Group Stages – Games 41-44

Game 41: Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One versus Madonna and Yazoo

1. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. 0-1.
2. 5+5. No goal.
3. 1+1. No goal.
4. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 0-2.
5. 3+3. No goal.
6. 2+3. Goal for quality of first album. Easy goal for Yazoo. 0-3.
7. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). Madonna. 0-4.
8. 6+4. Re-roll. 3+4. No goal.
9. 1+5. No goal.
10. 3+6. No goal. The odd pairing of Madonna and Yazoo win 0-4.

Game 42: Sparks versus Everything But The Girl

1. 3+2. No goal.
2. 3+5. No goal.
3. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Everything But The Girl take an early lead. 0-1.
4. 3+2. No goal.
5. 5+1. No goal.
6. 1+6. No goal.
7. 1+4. No goal.
8. 4+5. Re-roll. 5+2. No goal.
9. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Could go either way, but Walking Wounded and Temperamental are particularly great. 0-2.
10. 5+5. No goal, and a shocker! Everything But The Girl win 0-2, sadly pushing Sparks to the bottom of this tough group.

Game 43: Saint Etienne versus Massive Attack

1. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Difficult to know for sure, so no goal.
2. 2+6. Goal for number of permanent members. Saint Etienne score. 1-0.
3. 1+3. No goal.
4. 1+3. No goal.
5. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. 1-1.
6. 2+6. Re-roll. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 2-1.
7. 3+5. No goal.
8. 1+1. No goal.
9. 4+2. Goal for most years between first and last hit. Very close, but Massive Attack just have it. 2-2.
10. 5+2. No goal. Draw! 2-2.

Game 44: Kraftwerk versus Hot Chip

1. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. 1-0.
2. 2+2. Goal for number of studio albums to date. 2-0.
3. 5+5. No goal.
4. 3+1. No goal.
5. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. 3-0.
6. 2+1. Goal for most charismatic performer(s). 3-1.
7. 5+5. No goal.
8. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. 4-1.
9. 6+6. Foul. 2+4. One of Hot Chip gets sent off.
10. 1+5. No goal. Kraftwerk win 4-1.

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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 17-20

Game 17: Jean-Michel Jarre versus Delerium / Front Line Assembly / Conjure One

1. 1+2. No goal.
2. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Easy goal for Jarre. 1-0.
3. 5+3. No goal.
4. 3+2. No goal.
5. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. Jarre again. 2-0.
6. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Surprising goal for Delerium, who peaked at number 3 with Silence. 2-1.
7. 5+3. No goal.
8. 3+6. No goal.
9. 3+2. No goal.
10. 5+2. No goal. Win for Jean-Michel Jarre, 2-1.

Game 18: Depeche Mode versus Sparks

1. 1+5. No goal.
2. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. Sparks have a lot more albums, but a big gap in their chart history. 1-0.
3. 5+4. No goal.
4. 5+4. No goal.
5. 3+5. No goal.
6. 4+1. Goal for highest debut position on UK singles chart. Wow, Sparks equalise, having started their career at number 48. 1-1.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 4+6. Goal for total weeks on UK album chart. 2-1.
9. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Has to be the Mode. 3-1.
10. 2+5. Goal for best artwork. Tricky, as both have some epic wins and some epic fails. I’ll award it to Depeche Mode, for Violator. 4-1.

Game 19: Erasure versus Saint Etienne

1. 1+6. No goal.
2. 3+2. No goal.
3. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Goal for Erasure. 1-0.
4. 6+2. Goal for highest estimated total sales. Goal for Erasure. 2-0.
5. 6+3. Goal for highest number of mentions on blog. Another for Erasure. 3-0.
6. 6+2. We’ve had that before, so let’s throw again. 3+2. No goal.
7. 3+6. No goal.
8. 6+5. Goal for funniest band picture. Another goal for Erasure. 4-0.
9. 3+4. No goal.
10. 4+5. Goal for number of UK hit albums. An outstanding win for Erasure. 5-0.

Game 20: Goldfrapp versus Kraftwerk

1. 2+4. Goal for quality of last album. Kraftwerk‘s last wasn’t a fan favourite, but I think it was easily better than Goldfrapp‘s. 0-1.
2. 6+1. Goal for number of BRIT Award wins. Goldfrapp were nominated once, but no goal.
3. 6+4. Goal for highest number of search engine results. Easy goal for Kraftwerk. 0-2.
4. 4+4. Goal for number of UK top ten hits. Goldfrapp have three. 1-2.
5. 1+2. No goal.
6. 2+4. We’ve had before, so re-roll. 2+4. Same. 3+1. No goal.
7. 3+2. No goal.
8. 5+3. No goal.
9. 1+3. No goal.
10. 1+1. No goal. Kraftwerk win 1-2.

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 – 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

Festive jukebox – Saint Etienne feat. Tim Burgess

I’m pretty sure I’ve done all these before, but hey, it’s been a pretty crappy year all round, so let’s celebrate the end of it with the glorious Saint Etienne with Tim Burgess, and 1993’s I Was Born on Christmas Day in a lively performance from The Word. More next week!

Chart for stowaways – July 2020

July was a quiet month for the chart for stowaways. Pet Shop Boys sat on top of both the Singles and Catalogue Singles charts for the whole month with their recent lockdown version of West End girls, while recent single I don’t wanna and the My beautiful laundrette soundtrack hovered near the top of the Singles. After a quiet start on the album charts, Sparks‘ latest A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip finally re-entered at number 2 at the start of the month, and jumped to the top spot the following week, while various of their older albums hovered around too.

Here’s the album chart for 18th July:

1. Pet Shop Boys – Hotspot
2. Sparks – A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
3. Sparks – Past Tense – The Best Of
4. The Beloved – Where it Is
5. Sparks – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
6. Depeche Mode – Spirits In The Forest
7. Human League – The Essential
8. Saint Etienne – Words and Music by Saint Etienne
9. Kraftwerk – 3-D Der Katalog
10. Sparks – Hippopotamus

Random jukebox – Saint Etienne

Randomly selected from Saint Etienne‘s second album So Tough (1992), here’s Mario’s Cafe: