During the last few weeks, the chart news has been all George Michael, who has dominated the top pop lists with his "Faith" album and "Father Figure" single.

On the singles' list, "Father Figure" had looked unstoppable for a third week as champ because its closest challenger-Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"-had already been on the charts for 12 weeks. (Most songs peak in their 10th week; "Father Figure" was in its 8th week.) But although "Father Figure" remained the leader in radio airplay, it showed a big drop this week in record sales, which were won by "Never Gonna Give You Up."