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.

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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 – 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 – 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 – March 2021

March saw limited movement on the charts, with The Future Sound of London close to claiming half a year at the top spot on the album chart. Hopefully as the lockdown ends, things will start to liven up again, but here are the albums from the last week in March:

1. The Future Sound of London – Cascade 2020
2. Front Line Assembly – WarMech
3. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
4. Pet Shop Boys – Battleship Potemkin (OST)
5. Étienne de Crécy – Super Discount 3
6. Deep Forest – Essence of the Forest
7. The Radiophonic Workshop – Burials in Several Earths
8. Apollo 440 – Millennium Fever
9. Sarah Nixey – Night Walks
10. Olive – Trickle

Chart for stowaways – January 2020

I’m afraid this won’t be a huge comeback quite yet, but I did want to check in with everyone. Hope you’re doing well in spite of the current difficulties. Let’s take a look back at the charts for stowaways from back in January.

January saw Pet Shop Boys dominating the singles chart, with Burning the heather grabbing the top spot for one week, and then Dreamland returning for the rest of the month. Decide and Monkey business floated around in the top ten as well. Vince Clarke‘s astonishingly good remix of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark‘s Almost kept it in the top three for the whole month, and Sparks‘ new 7″ release of Let’s Go Surfing spent the month steadily climbing as well. Both also spent the whole month holding onto the top two of the new Catalogue Singles chart.

Sparks also dominated the album chart, with their wonderful three-disc reissue of 1995’s Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins holding onto the top spot for the whole month, and their new Past Tense singles compilation holding the number two spot. It was a quiet month all round, with Hot Chip holding onto the number three spot as well.

Here are the singles for 18th January:

1. Pet Shop Boys feat. Years & Years – Dreamland
2. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Almost
3. Sparks – Let’s Go Surfing
4. Pet Shop Boys – Burning the heather
5. Pet Shop Boys – Decide

And the albums:

1. Sparks – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
2. Sparks – Past Tense – The Best Of
3. Hot Chip – A Bath Full Of Ecstasy
4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
5. The Radiophonic Workshop – Burials in Several Earths

Chart for stowaways – Albums 2019

These are the top albums for stowaways for last year:

1. Hot Chip – A Bath Full Of Ecstasy
2. Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe Infinity
3. Ladytron – Ladytron
4. Jean-Michel Jarre – Planet Jarre
5. Sparks – Past Tense – The Best Of
6. The Future Sound of London – My Kingdom (Re-Imagined)
7. Sparks – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
8. Kylie Minogue – Step Back In Time – The Definitive
9. The Future Sound of London – Yage 2019
10. Dido – Still On My Mind
11. Erasure – Wild!
12. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
13. The Chemical Brothers – No Geography
14. The Radiophonic Workshop – Possum (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
15. Madonna – Madame X
16. Divine Comedy – Office Politics
17. Rammstein – Rammstein
18. The Prodigy – No Tourists
19. Pet Shop Boys – Inner Sanctum
20. Lighthouse Family – Blue Sky In Your Head

Chart for stowaways – Singles 2019

Here are the top singles for 2019:

1. Pet Shop Boys – Agenda EP
2. Frances Barber & Pet Shop Boys – Musik (Original Cast Recording) – EP
3. Hot Chip – Hungry Child
4. Pet Shop Boys feat. Years & Years – Dreamland
5. Ladytron – Horrorscope
6. The Beloved – For Your Love
7. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Almost
8. Marshmello Ft Chvrches – Here With Me
9. Jean-Michel Jarre – Flying Totems
10. The Future Sound of London – Yage
11. Tiësto / Jonas Blue / Rita Ora – Ritual
12. Ladytron – The Animals
13. Sparks – Let’s Go Surfing
14. The Beloved – Your Love Takes Me Higher (Evil Mix) / Awoke
15. Mark Ronson Ft Lykke Li – Late Night Feelings
16. The Radiophonic Workshop – Arrival Home
17. New Order – Ceremony
18. Gesaffelstein Ft Weeknd – Lost In The Fire
19. Tiësto & Mabel – God Is A Dancer
20. The Beloved – It’s Alright Now

Chart for stowaways – 9 March 2019

Here’s the latest album chart:

1. Ladytron – Ladytron
2. Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe Infinity
3. Jean-Michel Jarre – Planet Jarre
4. The Future Sound of London – My Kingdom (Re-Imagined)
5. The Radiophonic Workshop – Possum (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
6. The Prodigy – No Tourists
7. Gary Numan – I Assassin
8. Moby – Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep.
9. The Radiophonic Workshop – Burials in Several Earths
10. Inspiral Carpets – Devil Hopping

Chart for stowaways – 2 March 2019

Here are the week’s top singles:

1. Pet Shop Boys – Agenda EP
2. Ladytron – Horrorscope
3. The Beloved – It’s Alright Now
4. Jean-Michel Jarre – Flying Totems
5. The Radiophonic Workshop – Arrival Home
6. Ladytron – Far from Home
7. Ladytron – The Animals
8. Gesaffelstein feat. The Weeknd – Lost In The Fire
9. The Future Sound of London – My Kingdom
10. Dave Gahan – Saw Something / Deeper and Deeper