Time for another trio of randomly selected (thanks to Random.org) number two hits from this date in chart history. Or, as I like to call them, our Random Runners-Up…

‘You See the Trouble With Me’, by Barry White – 2 weeks at #2, from 28th March – 10th April 1976 (behind ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’)

First up, a perfect marriage of disco and soul from the master of merging disco with soul, Barry White. In this song, the lyrics are limited, and way back in the mix, as if the most important thing here is the beat, and that’s hard to disagree with. The final minute of what is only a three and a half minute track is just grooving. Just what is the trouble with Barry? He can’t do nothing without his baby…

This was White’s fifth and final UK Top 10 hit, though he remained very much active until his death in 2003. A few years before that, ‘You See the Trouble With Me’ had been reduced to something of a novelty by dance act Black Legend… and reached to #1. They had to use a Barry White soundalike, as he refused to clear a sample, saying the remix was “cheap, and had no soul”.

‘Love Shack’, by the B-52’s – 3 weeks at #2, from 18th March – 14th April 1990 (behind ‘Dub Be Good to Me’ and ‘The Power’)

On this day in 1990 – though not a song you could possibly date just by hearing it – the B-52’s were enjoying their biggest UK chart success in an already decade-long career. Wikipedia lists ‘Love Shack’ as pop rock, dance rock, surf rock and funk rock, as well as new-wave. (The B-52’s were originally new-wave, but I don’t think you could still have called them that in 1990.) Anyway, that melange of genres pretty much sums up this devilishly catchy tune.

‘Love Shack’ was a comeback for the band, after less than stellar chart fortunes, and the death of founding member Ricky Wilson in 1985. With lyrics about partying in a rusty shed, it is exuberant, and danceable, even if I have to be honest and admit that I’ve always found it a little irritating.

‘Richard III’, by Supergrass – 1 week at #2, from 6th – 13th April 1997 (behind ‘I Believe I Can Fly’)

I will argue long and hard for Supergrass as Britpop’s fourth best band… Okay, maybe 5th, after Suede. This banging track is now long forgotten, while the similarly heavy Britpop classic that made #2 the week after (‘Song 2’) lives on and on and on.

Supergrass could blend proper rock with perfect pop melodies, and this is one of their greatest songs, in a peerless run of singles between the mid-nineties and the mid-noughties. Oh, and it features a theramin, which always sounds fun. It is not about the famously hunchbacked king, nor about the Shakespeare play on the subject. It is a placeholder title – Supergrass gave all their tracks-in-progress people’s names – though they have since drawn a connection between the dark and menacing lyrics and the much-maligned historical character. And tell me that a line like Spent too much time, Wondering why, I got an opinion… isn’t Shakespearean-level thinking for the modern age.

Hope you enjoyed this threesome of #2s… Back to the regular stuff in a couple of days!