DJ slides to UK top slot

A DJ from Chicago has knocked Britney Spears off the top of the British charts with a novelty song he wrote eight years ago as an aerobics workout.

DJ Casper, aka Willie Perry Jr, urges dancers to “Slide to the Left! Now slide to the right!” with his song Cha Cha Slide, elbowing Britney’s Toxic into the second slot.

And with Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Kelis, and Peter André behind the top five hottest singles this week, the charts illustrate how older and younger music fans are divided when it comes to buying music.

In contrast to the light-hearted pop-dominated singles charts, the top-selling albums are either by young jazz singers or old-timers.

The likes of Katie Melua, Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum are vying for pole position with Lionel Richie, Daniel O’Donnell and Engelbert Humperdinck in the Top 10.

The biggest selling album this week is Katie Melua’s Call Off The Search, tailed by Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home in second place.

Daniel O’Donnell has pipped trendy Jamie Cullum to the third slot with The Jukebox Years, a nostalgic nod to the 1950s and 1960s. This compilation of O’Donnell’s favourite rock ‘n’ roll love songs leaves Cullum’s Twentysomething in fourth place.

Lionel Richie has made it straight into the top five with a bunch of new songs and his album, Just For You.

Harry Connick Jr is in at number six with Only You and Engelbert Humperdinck is trailing with His Greatest Love Songs.

Youngsters have long driven the singles charts. But now British fortysomethings are buying more albums than teenagers, British Phonographic Industry figures revealed last month.

The 12-19 age group accounted for 16.4% of album sales in 2002, a 22.1% drop on the 2000 figure.

Meanwhile, 40-49-year-olds were buying more albums, from 16.5% in 2000 to 19.1% in 2002.