This week in 1992 saw the second-highest number of new top 150 entries peaking between number 101 and 150 for the year, with 11; although the only week that beats it, in November, contains a single that would later go on to peak within the top 40, and a combined re-release of two singles that also peaked within the top 40. To be fair, this week in 1992 contains a single that peaked within the top 60 in 1984. It also contains four singles that dented the Australian Music Report top 100 singles chart.
Before taking a look at this week's new entries, I wish to bring to your attention that there's a new electronic Australian singles chart book out authored by bulion from the australian-charts.com forum. The book, which is a large Excel spreadsheet file sold on a USB stick, contains Australian chart peaks dating back to 1940, covering through to the end of 2020, including peaks from the Go-Set charts, the Australian Music Report charts (through to 1998), and the ARIA-produced charts (June 1988 onwards). For the first time, this book contains ARIA top 100 singles chart peaks between numbers 51-100 from June 1988-December 1989 inclusive, as well as ARIA top 150 singles chart peaks from January 1989 through to December 1998. That's right - you can skip ahead a few years on my chart recaps if you are so inclined, to find out whether some of your favourite 90s flops charted locally! Also included are week by week chart runs for each release, as well as hyperlinks to where you can listen to each single/view the music video online. If you are interested in purchasing this book, scroll down to the bottom of this thread on the australian-charts.com forum, and send a private message to bulion (you may need to register an account there).
I have also updated the following earlier post:
* 27 July 1992 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Delbert McClinton.
Now, onto this week from 1992...
Dannii Minogue showed us the way not to go on the ARIA charts in 1992.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 104 "Show You the Way to Go" by Dannii Minogue
Peak: number 104
Peak date: 7 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 104-113-107-105-125-127
Weeks on chart: 8 weeks
Danielle Jane Minogue, better known as Dannii, first came to the attention of Australia when she appeared as one of the young singers on the TV program Young Talent Time between 1982 and 1988. It seemed inevitable that she would launch a recording career, and that turned out to be the case, although older sister Kylie, who initially gained fame as an actress on The Henderson Kids and Neighbours, beat her to it by three years, with the release of "Locomotion" (number 1 for seven weeks in August-September 1987). Due to Kylie's sustained international success, Dannii's recording career always seemed to be in the shadow of Kylie's, even though Dannii is the more-gifted vocalist of the two.
After leaving Young Talent Time, Dannii launched a range of children's clothing and landed an acting gig on Home and Away as the rebellious Emma Jackson. Dannii launched her recording career in 1990 with "Love and Kisses" (number 4, April 1990), which would oddly be her only top 10 hit in Australia, although she scored 20 ARIA top 100 singles between 1990 and 2007. "Love and Kisses" reached number 1 on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, which was the only time Dannii achieved a number 1 single anywhere in the world.
Dannii followed up "Love and Kisses" with "Success" (number 28, October 1990). I will always remember a comment about that single in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine: "After not having much success with, er... Success...". Her debut album Dannii (number 24, November 1990) achieved moderate success in Australia, but had a short chart life, spending 11 weeks on the chart, with only two of those in the top 50. A third single from the album, "I Don't Wanna Take This Pain" (number 92, December 1990), barely scraped into the top 100.
Dannii launched her music career in the UK in 1991, with a remix of "Love and Kisses" reaching number 8 there in April of that year. For her European releases, Dannii would regain the Minogue surname - something that did not happen with her Australian releases until 2001. I guess she didn't want to be forever known as Kylie's little sister. A reworked version of the Dannii album, Love and Kisses, was released in Europe, containing two new recordings - which were both covers - that were released as singles: "Jump to the Beat" (number 48, October 1991) and "Baby Love" (number 26, April 1992). A slightly different version of this album, with some 12" mixes tacked on to the end, titled Love and Kisses and... was released locally in February 1992 and reached number 98 on the ARIA albums chart in May 1992.
"Show You the Way to Go", a cover version of a song originally recorded by The Jacksons in 1977, was recorded for UK music newspaper NME's Ruby Trax (The NME's Roaring Forty) compilation, to raise funds for The Spastics Society (a somewhat politically incorrect name now). Forty artists recorded cover versions of 40 different UK number 1 singles to contribute to the compilation. I bought this 3-CD compilation in the late 90s from the now defunct Au Go Go bricks and mortar store (they still have an online presence) in the Melbourne CBD for Tori Amos' version of "Ring My Bell", which was exclusive to this release. If my memory serves me correctly, the mix of "Show You the Way to Go" used on Ruby Trax is slightly different to that released on the single. Another track recorded for Ruby Trax will bubble under in November 1992.
Internationally, Dannii's version of "Show You the Way to Go" peaked at number 30 in the UK in July 1992.
Locally, "Show You the Way to Go" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 77. It also made the Australian Music Report top 100 singles chart, peaking at number 87.
I would not have been aware of this song at the time if not for hearing it on the UK Chart Attack radio show. The song went on to appear on Dannii's second album proper, Get Into You (number 53, November 1993), which was preceded by another cover version, "This Is It" (number 13, September 1993). In between these two covers, Dannii released an original track, co-written by Cathy Dennis - whom we'll see next month - and D Mob's Danny D, "Love's on Every Corner". That single was not released in Australia, however; probably because it bombed in the UK, peaking at number 44 there in December 1992. Cathy would, of course, go on to co-write Kylie's biggest career hit, "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (number 1 for 4 weeks in September-October 2001).
Because I have no intention of still writing these chart posts when it gets to the 2010s, this will be the only time we see Dannii bubble under. She had two later low-charting singles, however, with "Holding On" (number 604, August 2017) and "Galaxy" (number 692, November 2017).
Even though the 2000s were not really my era musically, my favourite Dannii single is "You Won't Forget About Me" (number 20, November 2004). Another underappreciated single of hers I quite like is "Rescue Me", a collaboration with Eurogroove in 1995 that was only released in Japan.
Dannii went on to have a sucessful career as a judge on TV 'reality' contest shows, like The X Factor UK (she had the good fortune of seeing X Factor audition reject legend Rachel Lester's verbal tirade uncensored and in person, in 2007 - for which I am extremely envious), Australia's Got Talent and The Masked Singer.
Number 105 "California Here I Come" by Sophie B. Hawkins
Peak: number 104
Peak date: 14 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 105-104-109-115-113-118-117
Weeks on chart: 9 weeks
New York singer-songwriter Sophie Ballentine Hawkins, shortened to Sophie B. Hawkins for her recording career, landed a top 10 hit in Australia with her debut single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" (number 7, August 1992). Like Dannii above with her debut release, the single reached number 1 on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart.
"California Here I Come" was issued as the second single from Sophie's debut album Tongues and Tails (number 38, November 1992). Internationally, the single peaked at number 39 in Canada in September 1992, number 53 in the UK in September 1992, number 43 in New Zealand in September 1992, and number 77 in Germany in November 1992.
In Australia, "California Here I Come" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 67. The single peaked within the top 100 on all of the state charts, other than New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory. "California Here I Come" performed stronger nationally on the Australian Music Report top 100 singles chart, where it reached number 99.
I didn't actually hear "California Here I Come" in full until the second half of the 2000s decade, when it appeared on a German VHS compilation I bought. I only heard a snippet of the song in 1992 as a preview on the Take 40 Australia radio show, so it presumably suffered from a lack of promotion, which seems odd given that it was the follow-up to a top 10 hit and radio staple at the time. Sophie would have to wait until 1995 to score her second hit proper hit here. Before then, it seemed like Sophie might end up a one-hit wonder in Australia.
We'll next see Sophie in November 1992.
Number 116 "This Charming Man" by The Smiths (1992 re-issue)
Peak: number 108
Peak date: 28 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 116-114-119-108-112-122
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
This single originally peaked at number 52 in Australia in April 1984, spending 12 weeks in the top 100.
English band The Smiths formed in Manchester in 1982. While they accumulated 18 UK top 40 hits during their career, only two of their singles troubled the Australian top 100, with the biggest of those being the 1984 release of "This Charming Man", which peaked at number 52 in Australia in April of that year. The Smiths had two additional singles that registered on the Australian Music Report's list of singles achieving significant sales reports beyond the top 100. The band fared slightly better on the albums chart locally, achieving four top 40 albums, though none peaked higher than number 25 - that being The World Won't Listen (number 25, April 1987).
The Smiths split up in 1987, somewhat acrimoniously, with growing tensions between lead singer Morrissey and guitarist/pianist/keyboard and harmonica player Johnny Marr. The band's other two members at the time of the split, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, later sued Morrissey and Marr for their share of the band's royalties.
Morrissey embarked on a solo career after the dissolution of The Smiths, and we last saw him in 1991. Johnny Marr joined Pretenders in 1987, performing on a 1989 single of theirs, before leaving to join The The from 1989 until 1994. During 1989, he also formed Electronic with New Order singer Bernard Sumner, with Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tenant occasionally collaborating with them. We saw Electronic in 1991.
"This Charming Man", which tells the tale of a young male cyclist accepting a ride from an older man he flirts with after puncturing his bicycle tyre, was re-issued in 1992 to promote the release of The Smiths' compilation album Best ...1 (number 64, October 1992). Internationally, the 1992 release of "This Charming Man" peaked at number 8 in the UK in August 1992, bettering its original peak of number 25 there in November 1983. It also peaked at number 9 in Ireland in August 1992, where the original 1983 release did not chart.
In Australia, the 1992 release of "This Charming Man" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 88.
The Smiths' bassist Andy Rourke died in May 2023, aged 59, from pancreatic cancer.
We shall next see The Smiths in November 1992.
Number 127 "Your Mirror" by Simply Red
Peak: number 120
Peak date: 28 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 127-133-123-120-127-139-144
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
It was a little over two months ago that English band Simply Red graced our presence, and here they are with the second of three consecutive single releases to fall short of the top 100 in Australia. "Your Mirror" was issued as the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album Stars (number 7, April 1992). Unusually, there does not appear to have been a music video filmed to promote the single, although two live performances have been uploaded to Simply Red's official YouTube channel - one of which, from Hamburg in 1992, you can view here.
Internationally, "Your Mirror" peaked at number 17 in the UK in July 1992, number 28 in Ireland in July 1992, and number 59 in Germany in September 1992.
Locally, "Your Mirror" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 97 on the state chart.
I don't recall hearing this one before, although the chorus seemed vaguely familiar.
We will next see Simply Red in 1993.
Number 130 "Lowdown" by Adore
Peak: number 109
Peak date: 5 October 1992
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 130-110-121-113-109-133-141
Adore were Australian trio David Wilson, Jo Offe, and Susie Ahern. David had previously been the lead singer in Go 101, whom we saw bubble under in 1990. "Lowdown", which was the band's only release, was a cover version of the Boz Scaggs song, which surprisingly only peaked at number 94 in Australia in October 1976, before bettering its peak as the AA-side on the "We're All Alone" single, which reached number 54 in October 1977.
I remember seeing Adore perform "Lowdown" live on Hey Hey It's Saturday. Although I was aware of the song at the time, I had completely forgotten about it until picking up the music video for it on a VHS compilation I bought on eBay about 18 months ago, to upload it to one of my YouTube channels.
"Lowdown" fared better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 95.
Renegade Funktrain would incorporate the chorus of "Lowdown" into their single "I Wonder...", which originally peaked at number 68 in Australia in August 1995, before being re-issued as a AA-side single with "Renegade Funktrain", reaching number 49 in March 1996.
Number 131 "Pennies from Heaven" by Inner City
Peak: number 122
Peak date: 21 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 131-132-122-128-139-150
Weeks on chart: 8 weeks
We last saw American duo Inner City in October 1990.
"Pennies from Heaven" was released as the first and only single in Australia from Inner City's third studio album Praise (number 135, September 1992). Four other singles from the album were released internationally, including "Let It Reign", "Hallelujah '92", "Praise", and "Follow Your Heart".
Internationally, "Pennies from Heaven" peaked at number 24 in the UK in June 1992, and number 51 in the Netherlands in August 1992.
Within Australia, "Pennies from Heaven" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 58.
I remember seeing this single being reviewed in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine, but don't think I actually heard it until getting hold of the video on a UK VHS compilation in the 2000s. The song is quite uplifting, and should have had much more commercial success. Again, a lack of promotion was no doubt at play, at least in Australia.
"Pennies from Heaven" would be Inner City's last single released in Australia until the 1999 version of "Good Life" (number 52, March 1989) - the duo's biggest 'hit' in Australia, re-titled "Good Life (Buena Vida)". While I assume the 1999 single charted in Australia, based on the weeks in tally listed for "Good Life" (28 weeks, versus the 16 weeks the original spent in the top 150), I am unable to give you a chart peak for it at present, as the ARIA database unfortunately tends to combine separate releases of the 'same' title into one entry, and I do not currently possess the top 150 charts for 1999 to be able to tell you whether or not it made the top 150.
Inner City would have one further charting album in Australia, however, with Testament 93 (number 166, July 1993), which contained remixes of tracks from their first three studio albums.
Number 133 "I Believe" by Edrenalin
Peak: number 129
Peak date: 21 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 133-137-129-148-141
I can't tell you much about Edrenalin, other than they were an Australian act containing Greg Hopping and Jamie White. "I Believe", which I hadn't heard before, was their only release to trouble the ARIA top 150, and appeared on the album Carpe Diem.
Number 135 "Bring Me On" by K.I.C.
Peak: number 135
Peak date: 7 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 135-139-(out for 2 weeks)-150
K.I.C. was Australian artist Cristian Saliadarre. "Bring Me On", which I hadn't heard before, was one of two singles he released - the other being "The Right Way", which was released in July 1993 but missed the top 150. Both videos have been uploaded to Cristian’s YouTube channel, and if he is to be believed, the latter single made the top 10 in both Hong Kong and Singapore, though I have no way of verifying that.
"Bring Me On" performed better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 99.
Number 137 "River of Dreams" by Glenn Frey
Peak: number 137
Peak date: 7 September
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 137-142-146-145-(out for 1 week)-147
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Former Eagle Glenn Frey last joined us in July 1992.
"River of Dreams" - another one I hadn't heard before - was issued as the third single from Glenn's fourth solo studio album Strange Weather (number 120, September 1992), and matched the peak of the previous single in Australia.
Internationally, "River of Dreams" peaked at number 59 in Canada in October 1992.
Locally, "River of Dreams" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 105.
We will next see Glenn in November 1992.
Number 145 "School" by The Tin Lids with The Yunupingu Kids
Peak: number 131
Peak dates: 28 September 1992 and 5 October 1992
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 145-144-145-131-131-143-143
Australian band The Tin Lids - which, despite having Scottish heritage, I didn't know until recently was rhyming slang for 'kids' - were the offspring of Jimmy Barnes; namely, Mahalia, Eliza-Jane, Elly-May and Jackie. At this point in time, their ages ranged from 3 to 10. I strongly suspect that Elly-May is the youngest 'artist' to have ever made the ARIA chart - she was a mere 2 years and 6 months old when the group's debut single "Christmas Day" (number 40, December 1991) debuted on the chart in November 1991!
The Tin Lids followed that up with the Christmas-themed album Hey Rudolph! (number 6, December 1991). A second album Snakes & Ladders (number 54, October 1992) followed, led by the single "Walk the Dinosaur" (number 64, July 1992), which was a cover version of the Was (Not Was) track which peaked at number 9 in Australia in February 1988. I had forgotten I uploaded the video for The Tin Lids' version on of my YouTube channels.
"School" was issued as the second single from Snakes & Ladders, and was a collaboration with The Yunupingu Kids, which I assume were the offspring of the Yothu Yindi members with that surname. The track accordingly features some didgeridoo. I hadn't heard this one before, but liked it more than I was expecting to. Naturally, I think the song would be better if the vocals were performed by adults and sounded less like a school choir performance.
A music video for "School" was made, but has not yet found its way onto YouTube.
While The Tin Lids would not trouble the ARIA top 150 singles chart again, they had a later top 150 album with their final studio album Dinosaur Dreaming (number 128, January 1994).
Number 150 "The Idol" by W.A.S.P.
Peak: number 126
Peak date: 21 September 1992
Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 150-(out for 1 week)-126
We last saw American metal band W.A.S.P. in 1990.
"The Idol" appeared on the band's fifth studio album The Crimson Idol (number 104, September 1992). Internationally, "The Idol" peaked at number 41 in the UK in May 1992.
I hadn't heard this one before. While I don't mind some metal ballads, this one didn't strike me as anything special.
"The Idol" would be the final W.A.S.P. release to dent the ARIA top 150.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 163 "Dondé Esta La Pollo" by Headless Chickens
Peak: number 161
Peak date: 14 September 1992
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Kiwi band Headless Chickens received a mention previously in December 1991, with the 1991 release of "Cruise Control" - a single I was unable to give a peak for, given the way the ARIA database tends to combine separate releases of the same title. I cannot ascertain a peak for anything that peaks outside the top 150 (the lowest number a weekly chart can be extracted from their database) in such circumstances.
"Dondé Esta La Pollo", which translates from Spanish as "where's the chicken?", was the third single released from the second Headless Chickens album Body Blow (number 45, July 1993), following "Gaskrankinstation"/"Crash Hot" (released here in April 1990, did not chart) and the aforementioned "Cruise Control" (released August 1991).
Overseas, "Dondé Esta La Pollo" peaked at number 4 in New Zealand in July 1992. In Australia, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 140.
I have seen the music video for this track a couple of times on rage over the years, but couldn't remember how it went until listening to it again to write this post. It's not bad.
We'll next see Headless Chickens in 1993.
Number 180 "Slowly" by Stacy Earl
Peak: number 180
Peak date: 7 September 1992
Weeks on chart: 4 weeks
American singer Stacy Earl hails from Newton, Massachusetts. "Slowly" was her third single, though her second in Australia, following "Romeo & Juliet" (released May 1992, did not chart), which was a duet with The Wild Pair, who performed on Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract" (number 1 for two weeks in April 1990). Stacy's debut single in her homeland, "Love Me All Up", did not receive a local release. All three tracks would appear on Stacy's debut and only album Stacy Earl (released locally in June 1992, did not chart).
Internationally, "Slowly" - which is another one I had not heard before - peaked at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1992.
Locally, "Slowly" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 101.
I had heard Stacy's debut single "Love Me All Up" (linked above) before, due to it appearing in a 'song contest' (where participants enter a song from an obscure-ish artist for others to listen to and rate, Eurovision style, where you cannot vote for your own entry) I participate in on the Pop Justice forum, and quite like that one, but "Slowly" does not grab me. It's a shame the Australian record label didn't release "Love Me All Up", as I believe that one could have been a hit.
This would be Stacy's only release to chart in Australia.
Next week (14 September): Five top 150 entries and three bubbling WAY down under debuts.
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