Welcome back readers to this blog! I have missed writing these posts over the last 12 months while I underwent treatment for cancer. While I am still receiving treatment, I decided to resume my posts anyway. There may be times when I am not able to make a post on the expected day, however.
I mentioned in my December 2023 update that I have a stack of peaks below number 150 to add to earlier posts covering January 1989 to April 1992. I haven't gotten around to adding these yet, but will make a note when I do.
Now onto this week in 1992...
Top 150 debuts:
Number 116 Theatre of Gnomes E.P. by Tumbleweed
Peak: number 116
Peak date: 27 April 1992
Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks
Australian band Tumbleweed formed in Woolongong in 1990. Theatre of Gnomes, their first release to crack the top 150, was an extended play consisting of five tracks, led by "Carousel" (embedded below). Two previous singles, "Captain's Log" and "Stoned"/"Holy Moses" were issued in July and December 1991, respectively. The latter two tracks also appeared on this EP.
I was not aware of Tumbleweed until their 1993 single "Sundial" (number 35, April 1993) broke into the rage top 60. Their first taste of top 100 ARIA chart success came with the single "Acid Rain" (number 88, November 1992).
We shall next see Tumbleweed in August 1992.
Number 128 "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" by P.M. Dawn
Peak: number 118
Peak date: 4 May 1992
Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks
Weeks on chart: 4 weeks
American hip-hop/r&b duo P.M. Dawn, consisting of brothers Attrell (stage name Prince Be) and Jarrett Cordes (known as Eternal or DJ Minutemix), burst onto the scene in 1991 with "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (number 7, November 1991), which made heavy use of Spandau Ballet's "True" (number 4, September 1983). When follow-up single "Paper Doll" (number 61, February 1992) stalled on the chart, I had a feeling that the group were destined to become one-hit wonders. While third single "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" - the title of which was mentioned in the lyrics of "Set Adrift..." - did not reverse their chart fortunes, I would be proven wrong.
"Reality..." was remixed by CJ Macintosh for its single release in Europe and Australasia (embedded in the video below). You can hear the original version of the track, used for the video in North America, here. The track was lifted from the duo's debut album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (number 89, January 1992).
Internationally, "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" peaked at number 29 in the UK in February 1992. Within Australia, "Reality..." performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 107.
A fourth track from P.M. Dawn's debut album, "Comatose", received a promotional release in the US later in 1992, and a music video was filmed - but it does not appear to have received a commercial release anywhere, although it was used as a B-side on the "Reality..." single.
Prince Be sadly passed away in 2016, aged 46, due to complications of diabetes. We will next see P.M. Dawn in 1993.
Number 142 "Pressure" by Sunscreem
Peak: number 137
Peak date: 11 May 1992
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Weeks on chart: 10 weeks
English band Sunscreem formed in Essex in 1991. "Pressure" was their second UK release, peaking at number 60 there in February 1992. In Australia, "Pressure" was their debut single, falling short of the top 100, peaking at number 137. A remixed version of the track, re-branded "Pressure Us", was released in 1993, peaking at number 19 in the UK in March 1993, and number 64 in Australia in July 1993. "Pressure" appears on Sunscreem's debut album
Number 144 "Half the World" by Belinda Carlisle
Peak: number 129
Peak dates: 4 May 1992 and 11 May 1992
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
We last saw Belinda Carlisle in 1990. "Half the World" was the third single released from Belinda's fourth solo studio album Live Your Life Be Free (number 27, November 1991). It followed the singles "Live Your Life Be Free" (number 13, November 1991) and "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" (number 42, March 1992).
Internationally, "Half the World" peaked at number 35 in the UK in January 1992, and number 62 in Germany in February 1992. Within Australia, "Half the World" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 115 on the state chart.
I remember seeing "Half the World" being reviewed in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine at the time, but did not actually hear the track until about seven years ago. It's quite a pleasant ballad; its chart success was no doubt hampered from a lack of promotion.
We will see Belinda underperform with another Live Your Life Be Free single in August 1992.
Number 147 "Baby When I Call Your Name" by Corey Hart
Peak: number 139
Peak date: 18 May 1992
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Canadian singer Corey Hart scored his biggest hit in Australia with "Sunglasses at Night" (number 16, October 1984) in 1984. He landed another two top 40 hits locally with "It Ain't Enough" (number 37, February 1985) and "Never Surrender" (number 20, September 1985). Corey was last seen on the Australian chart with the single "A Little Love" (number 73, June 1990) and album Bang! (number 150, September 1990).
"Baby When I Call Your Name", which I hadn't heart before, was lifted from Corey's sixth studio album Attitude & Virtue, which failed to chart in Australia - although it does not appear to have been released locally.
In Corey's homeland, "Baby When I Call Your Name" peaked at number 14 in August 1992. I am surprised that it charted some months earlier in Australia!
On the state charts, "Baby When I Call Your Name" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 113. This was Corey's final charting release in Australia.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 197 "Das Boot" by U96
Peak: number 197
Peak date: 27 April 1992
Weeks on chart: 1 week
German techno act U96 hail from Hamburg, forming in 1991. "Das Boot", translating as 'the boat', was their debut release, topping the German singles chart in January 1992, where it remained for a mammoth 13 weeks!
Elsewhere, "Das Boot" peaked at number 1 in Switzerland for 8 weeks, number 1 in Austria for 7 non-consecutive weeks between March and May 1992, number number 5 in Sweden in April 1992, number 1 in Norway, number 11 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1992, number 18 in the UK in September 1992, and number 19 in Ireland.
Domestically, "Das Boot" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 156. The track appeared on U96's debut album - their only one to chart in Australia, U96 (number 201, October 1992).
I don't recall hearing this track before, other than when I checked it out on YouTube a couple of years ago.
We will next see U96 in 1994.
Number 198 "Make It on My Own" by Alison Limerick
Peak: number 179
Peak date: 18 May 1992
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks
British singer-songwriter Alison Limerick scored her first hit in the UK with "Where Love Lives" (number 27, April 1991), which was issued in Australia in June 1991 but failed to chart. Alison's second Australian release, "Make It on My Own" scraped into the lower end of the ARIA top 200. The track appears on her debut album And Still I Rise (number 179, June 1992), which was her only album to chart in Australia. In her native UK, "Make It on My Own" peaked at number 16 in March 1992.
I wasn't aware of this track at the time, but it sounds pleasant enough. Within Australia, "Make It on My Own" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 160 on the state chart.
Alison will join us again once more in 1994.
Next week (4 May): Four top 150 debuts and two bubbling WAY down under entries.
