Week commencing 27 January 1992

Here's another week where I'd heard none of this week's debuts peaking outside the ARIA top 100 until writing this post.  Perhaps it's your first time hearing these songs, too?  Let's take a look.

 

Simple Minds: let there be flops.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 103 "Real Life" by Simple Minds

Peak: number 103

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

We last saw Scottish band Simple Minds in 1989, and also saw them in 1981.

"Real Life" was the title track and fourth single lifted from the band's ninth studio album Real Life (number 13, May 1991).  It followed "Let There Be Love" (number 15, May 1991), "See the Lights" (number 100, July 1991), and "Stand by Love" (number 70, October 1991).

 

Internationally, "Real Life" peaked at number 34 in the UK in November 1991.

Within Australia, the "Real Life" single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 73.  Nationally, the single performed marginally better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, peaking at number 100.

I don't recall hearing this one before.  I like it.

Simple Minds would go on to have one further single to peak outside the top 100 in Australia, in 2009.  Since it's extremely unlikely I will be still writing these posts beyond the very early 2000s, I will reveal the peak now: "Rockets" peaked at number 410 in June 2009.

A number of forthcoming Simple Minds albums also peaked outside the top 100 in Australia - Néapolis (number 182, April 1998), Neon Lights (number 362, November 2001), Cry (number 313, June 2002), Graffiti Soul (number 128, June 2009), Celebrate – The Greatest Hits+ Tour 2013 (number 736, April 2013), Big Music (number 273, December 2014), Acoustic (number 156, November 2016), and Live in the City of Angels (number 258, October 2019).

 

Number 140 Real Soul Pleaser (EP) by Psyclone Smyle

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Here's an act I'd never heard of before.  Psyclone Smyle were an Australian band, formed in Sydney in 1990, and splitting in 1994.  The Real Soul Pleaser EP was the band's only major label release during their tenure.  I have embedded the title track from the EP below, but the first track on the EP was the instrumental "Line Up".

Number 147 "Steady Mobbin'" by Ice Cube

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

American rapper Ice Cube, born O'Shea Jackson, has graced our presence once before, as part of N.W.A., in December 1990.

"Steady Mobbin'" was the lead single from Ice's second solo album Death Certificate (number 141, February 1992).

 

Internationally, "Steady Mobbin'" peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart in February 1992, and number 30 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart during the same month.

 

Ice Cube will join us next in 1993.

Number 148 "Power Windows" by Billy Falcon

Peak: number 136

Peak date: 10 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

 

American singer-songwriter Billy Falcon, who I'd never heard of before, started his recording career in 1977.

 

"Power Windows" the lead single from Billy's sixth studio album Pretty Blue World.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October 1991.  It was Billy's only Hot 100 entry, and his only release to dent the ARIA top 150.

 

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 170 "All She Wrote" by Firehouse

Peak: number 169

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

American glam metal band Firehouse formed in 1989, at the tail end of hair metal's popularity.  The band scored two ARIA top 100 singles, with "Don't Treat Me Bad" (number 57, September 1991) and "Love of a Lifetime" (number 97, December 1991).

"All She Wrote" was the third and final single lifted from the FireHouse album (number 137, September 1991) in Australia.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1992.

On the ARIA state charts, "All She Wrote" was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 140.

Firehouse will next join us in November.

Next week (3 February): Four top 150 debuts and four bubbling WAY down under entries.

 

< Previous week: 20 January 1992                                   Next week: 3 February 1992 >

Week commencing 20 January 1992

There isn't a common thread linking this week in 1992's new entries peaking outside the top 100, so let's just dive straight in.

 

Jo Beth Taylor: you probably don't own this single.

  

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 129 "Big Sky Country" by Chris Whitley

Peak: number 125

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

 

American blues/rock singer-songwriter Chris Whitley is an artist I'd never heard of until researching him for this post.  "Big Sky Country" was the second single released in Australia from Chris' debut album Living with the Law (number 109, November 1991).  It followed the album's title track, which was released locally in August 1991.

 

Internationally, "Big Sky Country" peaked at number 71 in the Netherlands in March 1992.  The song also reached number 35 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1991.

Chris died from lung cancer in 2005, aged 45.

We shall see Chris again in April.

 

 

Number 131 "Pump This House Boy" by Choice

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 17 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

 

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything about this track, other than it appears to be by an Australian house act.  The single was released in October 1991, and was only available on vinyl and cassette.  I could not find this track anywhere online to listen to.

 

 

Number 133 "Shameless" by Billy Joel

Peak: number 133

Peak dates: 20 January 1992 and 3 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

We last saw Billy Joel in February 1991.  "Shameless" was the sixth single in a row from Billy's Storm Front (number 1, November 1989) album to miss the top 100.  I am not sure why singles were still being released from the album more than two years after its release.

Internationally, "Shameless" peaked at number 40 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in January 1992.

Domestically, "Shameless" was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 99.

 

We'll next see Billy in 1994.

 

 

Number 138 "You Don't Own Me" by Jo Beth Taylor

Peak: number 137

Peak dates: 27 January 1992 and 3 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

 

Born Joanne Guilfoyle, Jo Beth Taylor hails from Perth, Australia.  Jo Beth's first taste of chart success came as a backing vocalist on Melodian Records' (Molly Meldrum's record label) label mates Indecent Obsession's "Tell Me Something" (number 17, October 1989), on which she also appears in the music video.

Jo Beth's debut single "99 Reasons" dented the lower region of the top 40, peaking at number 31 in September 1991.

"You Don't Own Me", which is not a cover version of the Lesley Gore track of the same name, was the second and final single lifted from Jo Beth's only album 99 Reasons (number 109, August 1991).

 

I remember seeing the video for this one on Coca-Cola Power Cuts towards the end of 1991.  Peter Andre, who was also signed to Melodian Records but had not yet released anything, appears as a dancer in the video, as does actor Simon Baker, who was then known as Simon Denny.

 

Jo Beth released two singles after this, which dented the lower half of the top 100, "A Prayer for Jane" (number 61, September 1993) and "I Love My Dog" (number 95, January 1997).  Jo Beth is probably more known for her TV hosting gigs on Hey Hey It's Saturday and Australia's Funniest Home Video Show than for her music.

 

 

Number 139 "True Companion" by Marc Cohn

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

 

We last saw Marc Cohn in September 1991. 

"True Companion" was issued as the third single from Marc's debut album Marc Cohn (number 31, September 1991).  Internationally, "True Companion" peaked at number 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1991.

 

"True Companion" peaked 29 places higher on the Australian Music Report singles chart, reaching number 88.

I hadn't heard this one before.  It's nice.

 

We'll see Marc again in March.

 

 

Number 147 Splinter (EP) by Splinter

Peak: number 135

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

 

Splinter were an American band from Ohio.  Unfortunately, this is another release I cannot tell you much about, other than it was a 4-track EP, and the lead track (which is not on YouTube) was titled "225".

 

 

Number 149 "Rhythm Is a Mystery" by K-Klass

Peak: number 130 (in 1994); number 138 (in 1992)

Peak dates: 27 January 1992 (original release); 14 November 1994 (1994 release)

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks (3 weeks in 1992; 5 weeks in 1994)

Weeks on chart: 18 weeks (1992 and 1994 chart runs combined)

 

British electronic music group K-Klass formed in 1988.  "Rhythm Is a Mystery" was their debut Australian release, and would go on to appear on their 1993 album Universal (number 140, May 1994).

 

Internationally, "Rhythm Is a Mystery" peaked at number 3 in the UK in November 1991, after originally peaking at number 61 there in May 1991.  The single also reached number 7 in Ireland in November 1991.

 

In Australia, "Rhythm Is a Mystery" had two separate chart runs, with the single being re-issued in 1994 following the success of "Let Me Show You" (number 18, April 1994) - the band's only top 100 entry in Australia.  "Rhythm Is a Mystery" peaked eight places higher in November 1994.  The single peaked on all of the ARIA state charts in 1994, except Western Australia, where it reached number 98 in 1992.  "Rhythm Is a Mystery" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 85.

K-Klass will join us next in June.

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under: 

Number 171 "Move to Memphis" by a-ha

Peak: number 171

Peak date: 20 January 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

Norwegian band a-ha last graced our presence in January 1991. 

"Move to Memphis" was recorded as a new track for a-ha's first compilation album Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of a-ha (number 162, February 1992).

 

Overseas, "Move to Memphis" peaked at number 2 in Norway, number 29 in Ireland in October 1991, number 47 in the UK in October 1991, number 61 in the Netherlands in November 1991, and number 39 in Germany in December 1991.

 

Domestically, "Move to Memphis" was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 144.

I do not enjoy the little I've heard of a-ha's 90s output in comparison to their 80s hits.

a-ha will join us again in 1993.

Next week (27 January): Four top 150 debuts and one bubbling WAY down under entry.

< Previous week: 13 January 1992                                  Next week: 27 January 1992 >

Kent Music Report beyond the top 100: 17 January 1983

Welcome to my 1983 recaps of the Kent Music Report 'singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100' lists.

 

1983 was the year I started kindergarten, which in my state is the year before you commence primary school (it is known as pre-school in some other states).  Judging by the few photographs I have of myself at kindergarten, I was clearly not enjoying the experience, as I look so incredibly unhappy in all of them.  Or maybe I just hated posing for photographs from an early age...  I was also page boy at my uncle's wedding in early 1983 - another thing I hated doing, evident from the photographs.

 

Although it would still be a few years before I started following music and charts, 1983 was kind of the first year I took notice of the songs that radio were playing frequently.

 

Phil Collins couldn't break through the wall into the top 100 with this release.

 

Beyond the top 100:

 

 

Position 2 "Thru' These Walls" by Phil Collins

Highest rank: 1st

Peak date: 14 February 1983

Weeks on below list: 2 weeks

 

English singer-songwriter Phil Collins came to fame as part of the band Genesis.  Phil launched his solo career in 1981 with the single "In the Air Tonight" (number 3, May 1981) and the album Face Value (number 2, June 1981).

Despite Phil's initial success with his solo career, he didn't land a second hit proper in Australia until 1983, with his version of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" (number 3, February 1983).  Before then, "Thru' These Walls" was issued as the lead single from Phil's second solo album Hello, I Must Be Going! (number 15, March 1983).

"Thru' These Walls" was released in Australia in early November 1982, but took just over two months to bubble under the top 100.  Its eventual peak was reached following the release of the next single, "You Can't Hurry Love".

Internationally, "Thru' These Walls" also underperformed, peaking at number 56 in the UK in October 1982, number 27 in Ireland, and number 48 in the Netherlands in November 1982.

Of course, Phil would go on to become a more-consistent hit maker during the 1980s and early 1990s.

We'll see Phil bubble under next in 1991.

Next post (14 February): Two new singles bubbling under the top 100.

< Previous post: 1 November 1982                                  Next post: 14 February 1983 >

Week commencing 13 January 1992

Among this week in 1992's debuts peaking outside the top 100, we have two acts who had limited chart success in Australia, and a band who scored a decent number of hits but only ever had one top 10 single.  Shall we take a look?

 

Kirsty MacColl: all she ever wanted was a hit in Australia!

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 139 "Fly Girl"/"Nature of a Sista'" by Queen Latifah

Peak: number 110

Peak date: 20 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

 

American rapper, actress and singer Queen Latifah was born Dana Elaine Owens.  Her first taste of Australian chart success - of sorts - came in 1990, when she was a featured rapper on the B-side mix of David Bowie "Fame 90" (number 85, May 1990).

 

"Fly Girl"/"Nature of a Sista'" was the lead single from Queen Latifah's second album Nature of a Sista.  Surprisingly, this release was Queen Latifah's only ARIA top 150 entry in her own right.

 

Internationally, "Fly Girl"/"Nature of a Sista'" peaked at number 67 in the UK in August 1991, and number 38 in New Zealand in March 1992.  The single also had some success on the dubious US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, where it peaked at number 19 in October 1991, and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it reached number 16 in November 1991.

 

The Queen Latifah song I am most familiar with, owing to catching the video several times on music TV program rage, is "U.N.I.T.Y." from 1994.

 

 

Number 145 "Castles in the Air" by Hoodoo Gurus

Peak: number 113

Peak date: 20 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Australian band Hoodoo Gurus formed in Sydney in 1981.  Between 1983 and 1991, the group placed 17 singles on the Australian top 100, with "What's My Scene" (number 3, May 1987) being their biggest hit and only top 10 single.

"Castles in the Air" was issued as the fourth and final single from Hoodoo Gurus' fifth studio album Kinky (number 4, May 1991).  It followed the singles "Miss Freelove '69" (number 19, April 1991), "1000 Miles Away" (number 37, July 1991), and "A Place in the Sun" (number 89, August 1991).

On the state charts, "Castles in the Air" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 95.

There does not appear to have been a music video filmed for "Castles in the Air".

Hoodoo Gurus will next join us in 1994.

 

 
 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 173 "All I Ever Wanted" by Kirsty MacColl

Peak: number 154

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

We last saw English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl in 1989. 

"All I Ever Wanted" was released as the third single - though second in Australia - from Kirsty's third studio album Electric Landlady (number 86, October 1991).  It followed "Walking Down Madison" (number 58, September 1991), which was Kirsty's only solo top 100 single in Australia.

 

Kirsty's collaborations with other artists have landed her some minor success on the Australian charts.  She sang backing vocals and appeared in the music video for Billy Bragg's "Sexuality" (number 46, September 1991), and also played a prominent role on The Wonder Stuff's "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" (number 64, May 1992), on which she also features in the video.

 

More-recently, Kirsty's duet with The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York", which never charted in Australia upon its original release in December 1987, has gained popularity around Christmas time, and to date has reached a peak of number 45 locally, in January 2023.

"All I Ever Wanted" missed the top 75 in Kirsty's homeland, where "My Affair" was issued as the second Electric Landlady single, peaking at number 56 in the UK in August 1991.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "All I Ever Wanted" was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 142.

We shall next see Kirsty in 1993.

 

 

Next week (20 January): Seven new top 150 debuts and one bubbling WAY down under entry.  Also, stay tuned for my 1983 recaps, commencing on Tuesday 17 January 2023.

< Previous week: 6 January 1992                                        Next week: 20 January 1992 >

Week commencing 6 January 1992

Welcome to my 1992 chart recaps!  1992 was the first year I was a teenager for the whole year, having turned 13 towards the end of 1991.  In 1992, I was in year 8, which is the second year of high school in Victoria.  My memories of 1992 are that it was a good year, both personally and for music.

 

Some particular things I recall about 1992 are getting our first computer at home, getting braces on my bottom teeth, buying my first CD single, and listening to a lot of Shakespears Sister.  I started taking piano lessons in 1992, and continued with these for five and a half years, though only practised the afternoon of my lesson for about the final three years... which is probably one reason I'm now writing blog posts and not giving piano recitals.

 

1992 was the year that I discovered the radio program UK Chart Attack, which I'll no doubt make many references to in my posts for this year.

 

I continued to buy Smash Hits magazine in 1992, although I felt increasingly alienated from its target audience, having zero interest in Beverly Hills 90210 and its spin-off shows - which the magazine seemed to become filled with and, of course, have nothing to do with pop music.  In 1992, I widened my music magazine-reading circle by picking up the free monthly Brashs magazines you could get from their retail outlets.

In 1992, I decided to start collecting the ARIA top 50 chart print-outs available in record stores properly, only missing two or three weeks from the whole year (the last one of those being in February or March 1992) - thanks to my mother dutifully popping into Brashs to pick up the chart during her lunch break on Mondays.  I even asked my mother to not bend the charts, if she could, and she would roll them up and place a rubber band around them to prevent creases.  The things our parents do for us, hey?  Before 1992, I collected the printed charts much more sporadically.

 

What were your memories of 1992?  Were they good or bad?  Join me as we take a look back at songs that flopped on the Australian charts in 1992.  There were 263 singles that peaked in the 101-150 region of the ARIA singles chart in 1992, including two that no-one knows what they are (one of which we'll see this week).  At the time of writing, there are also another 114 singles peaking outside the top 150 that I have chart information for.

Lloyd Cole did not exactly cause a commotion on the Australian charts with his releases.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 142 "So Tell Me Why" by Poison

Peak: number 142

Peak date: 6 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

We last saw hair metal band Poison in March 1991.

 

"So Tell Me Why" was one of four studio tracks included as a bonus on the otherwise live album  Swallow This Live (number 46, December 1991).  I remember seeing the cassingle for this one in the shops, but had not actually heard the song until writing this post.

Internationally, "So Tell Me Why" peaked at number 25 in the UK in November 1991.

Locally, "So Tell Me Why" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 114 on the state chart.

I don't normally buy into the lazy 'grunge changed everything' narrative for the 90s, but Poison's brand of metal/rock, combined with their image, was clearly well on the way out by the start of 1992.

That being said, we will see Poison bubble under again in 1993.

Number 144 Unknown Single by Unknown Artist

Peak: number 143

Peak dates: 13 January 1992 and 20 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Like everything else, the ARIA database is not immune from mistakes/errors, and here we have a blank title from an unknown artist that dented the top 150.  Spoiler alert: another such title appears in November 1992.

I asked my contact at ARIA if they could look into this, and, unfortunately, the identity of either song was not able to be determined.  My contact even dug up the old version of the database, and the titles were also blank then!

Number 145 "Boys to Men" by New Edition

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

 

American r&b vocal group New Edition formed in 1978, when each of its members were teenagers or younger.  Originally a five-piece, the group landed a major international hit in 1983 with "Candy Girl" (number 10, August 1983), which also made its way into the top 10 in Australia.  Unfortunately for the group, that would be their only real hit in Australia... until 1996, when a reformed New Edition released "Hit Me Off" (number 16, September 1996).

In the interim years, Bobby Brown quit the group in 1985 to launch a solo career, and he was replaced by Johnny Gill in 1987.  Of course, the group also spawned the successful careers of Bell Biv DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant.

"Boys to Men", which I assume was the inspiration behind the band name of Boyz II Men, originally appeared on New Edition's fifth studio album Heart Break, released in 1988.  Neither that album nor any of its singles charted in Australia.

"Boys to Men" was issued as a single in late 1991 to promote New Edition's Greatest Hits Volume 1 (number 140, January 1992) compilation album.  The track does not appear to have received a single release in 1988, but I assume was chosen in 1991 given the success of Boyz II Men.

 

I cannot find evidence of "Boys to Men" charting elsewhere.  On the ARIA state charts, the single performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 121.

 

This would be New Edition's last single to peak outside the top 100 in Australia.  Two later albums, however, bubbled (well) under: One Love (number 296, November 2004) and Gold (number 479, January 2006).

Number 146 Spin (EP) by The Killjoys

Peak: number 136

Peak date: 27 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Before researching this track, I had assumed, from the band's name, that The Killjoys might be a pub rock trash metal kind of act.  How wrong I was!

Australian band The Killjoys formed in Melbourne in 1987, with Anna Burley on lead vocals and guitar, and Craig Pilkington on lead guitar and vocals.

The lead track from the EP, "Calling Me On" - which I have embedded the music video for below, has an early 90s female vocal folky/alternative vibe that could have had greater chart success (well, maybe top 75) - perhaps if it had been released after the success of Frente!

The Killjoys had previously charted on the albums chart with Ruby (number 144, February 1991).  Both that and the Spin EP would be the band's only ARIA top 150 entries.

Number 148 "D-O-G Me Out" by Guy

Peak: number 148

Peak date: 6 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

We last saw American r&b group Guy in February 1991.

 

"D-O-G Me Out" was lifted from Guy's second album The Future (number 129, February 1991).

Internationally, "D-O-G Me Out" peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in October 1991.  This would be the last Guy single to dent the ARIA top 150.

I don't normally like this sort of music a whole lot, but I thought this track, which I hadn't heard before, wasn't bad.

Number 149 "She's a Girl and I'm a Man" by Lloyd Cole

Peak: number 149

Peak date: 6 January 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

English singer Lloyd Cole came to fame as the named front man of the band Lloyd Cole and The Commotions, who placed five singles on the Australian top 100 across 1985 and 1986.   The band's biggest 'hit' in Australia was "Lost Weekend", which peaked at number 49 in February 1986.  Interestingly, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions placed another three singles on the Kent/Australian Music Report's singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100 lists between 1986 and 1988.

Lloyd embarked on a solo career in 1990, placing one single in the ARIA top 100, with "No Blue Skies" (number 86, April 1990).

"She's a Girl and I'm a Man" was the lead single from Lloyd's second solo album Don't Get Weird on Me Babe (number 108, November 1991).

Internationally, "She's a Girl..." peaked at number 55 in the UK in August 1991, and number 27 in Sweden in October 1991.

"She's a Girl and I'm a Man" would become Lloyd's final ARIA top 150 entry.

Number 150 "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Bassheads

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 10 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Bassheads were a British house duo hailing from Wirral.  "Is There Anybody Out There?" was their debut single.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 5 in the UK in November 1991, number 10 in Ireland in November 1991, number 19 in the Netherlands in February 1992, number 47 in the Flanders region of Belgium in February 1992, and number 48 in New Zealand in March 1992.

 

This track would be Bassheads' only top 150 entry in Australia.

Next week (13 January): A mere two top 150 debuts, joined by one bubbling WAY down under entry.

< Previous post: 16 December 1991                                      Next week: 13 January 1992 >