Week commencing 31 May 1993

Before we take a look at this week in 1993's new entries peaking outside the Australian top 100, I have updated the following posts:

* 10 July 1989 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Neville Brothers;

* 26 March 1990 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Joe Satriani;

* 20 August 1990 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Neville Brothers;

* 1 October 1990 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Neville Brothers;

* 3 December 1990 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Judas Priest;

* 25 March 1991 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Waterboys;

* 24 August 1992 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Joe Satriani;

* 14 December 1992 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from You Am I;

* 22 February 1993 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Neville Brothers.

 

 

Tasmin Archer: Australia didn’t show much ‘care’ for this release.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 118 “Don’t Tear Me Up” by Mick Jagger

Peak: number 108

Peak date: 21 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 118-119-120-108-119-119-131-136

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

Being the front man of one of the most successful bands ever does not necessarily mean you’ll have a successful solo career, as Mick Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones, whom we last saw in 1991, can attest to.  Mick’s solo career began in 1984 with a collaboration with The Jacksons, “State of Shock” (number 10, July 1984).  His debut solo album She’s the Boss (number 6, March 1985) was released the following year, led by “Just Another Night” (number 13, March 1985), his first solo single proper.  Between 1984 and 1993, Mick placed seven singles on the Australian top 100, with his Live Aid duet with David Bowie, “Dancing in the Street” (number 1 for two weeks in October 1985), being the biggest of those.

In early 1993, solo Mick had been absent from the Australian singles chart for five years, since “Say You Will" (number 21, February 1988).  “Don’t Tear Me Up” was the second single issued from Mick’s third solo album Wandering Spirit (number 12, March 1993).  It followed “Sweet Thing” (number 18, March 1993), which would become Mick’s seventh and final top 100 single in Australia.

Internationally, “Don’t Tear Me Up” peaked at number 97 (number 86 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in April 1993, 31 in the Netherlands in May 1993, number 39 in the Flanders region of Belgium in May 1993, and number 77 in Germany in June 1993.  The song also peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in February 1993.

In Australia, “Don’t Tear Me Up” performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 58 on the state chart.  The single peaked higher nationally on the Australian Music Report, where it reached number 81.

I hadn’t heard this one before.  I liked it more than I was expecting to.

Mick will join us next in August 1993.

Number 121 “Merry Go Round” by Living Daylights

Peak: number 105

Peak date: 14 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 121-(out for 1 week)-105

Aussie band Living Daylights last joined us in March 1993.  “Merry Go Round” was their third and final top 150 entry in Australia, and their highest-charting single.

I hadn’t heard this one before; it’s quite good.  Pity this didn’t have more success.

Number 135 Coprolalia EP by You Am I

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 5 July 1993

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 135-136-129-124-123-117-127-118

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

We have previously seen Australian band You Am I in 1992.  The Coprolalia EP was the band's third EP release.  'Coprolalia', in case you didn't know, basically means foul language.  Track 2 on the EP, "Last Thing You Can Depend On", appears to have been the main track used to promote this release, as a music video (embedded below) was filmed for it.  Interestingly, "Can't Get Started", the title track of the band's previous EP, appears on this release, although it was not on the Can't Get Started EP!  That makes it twice in a row that the band have done this - include the title of an EP on the follow-up release.  Following this pattern, the song "Coprolalia" does not appear on this EP, but is on the band's second album Sound As Ever (number 56, July 2013 - initially peaked at number 61 in June 1994).

 

On the state charts, the Coprolalia EP was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 91.

 

We'll next see You Am I in November 1993.

Number 138 “The Return of Pan” by The Waterboys

Peak: number 127

Peak date: 21 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Chart run: 138-132-132-127-131-139-148

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

Scottish lads The Waterboys last joined us in 1991.

 

"The Return of Pan" was the lead single from The Waterboys' sixth studio album Dream Harder (number 69, June 1993).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 24 in the UK in May 1993, number 28 in Ireland in May 1993, and number 64 in Canada in July 1993.  The song also peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in May 1993.

 

In Australia, "The Return of Pan' performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 110 on the state chart.

 

This will be the last occasion we see The Waterboys in the top 150.  They had later low-charting singles in the streaming era with “Where the Action Is” (number 2040, April 2019) and “Blackberry Girl” (number 4475, October 2022).

 

Number 145 “In Your Care” by Tasmin Archer

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 31 May 1993

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 145-149-(out of top 150 for 1 week)-148

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

Hailing from Bradford, England, Tasmin Archer arrived out of nowhere with her debut single “Sleeping Satellite” (number 14, April 1993), which topped the UK singles chart for two weeks in October 1992, topped the Irish singles chart, became a top 10 hit across Europe, and a top 40 hit in the US.  As a somewhat reluctant pop star, Tasmin later said that she was disappointed when her debut release went to number 1, as there was then nowhere else to go.

“Sleeping Satellite” was more of a ‘sleeper’ hit in Australia.  I first heard the song on the UK Chart Attack radio program in September 1992 and liked it instantly.  The single debuted at number 137 on the ARIA singles chart on 23 November 1992, and didn’t creep into the top 100 until the first chart of 1993.  I thought its chance of becoming a hit had passed until it debuted at number 60 on the rage top 60 in mid-February 1993.  “Sleeping Satellite” would take another two months to reach its Australian peak of number 14, five months after its local release.

“In Your Care” was the second release from Tasmin’s debut album Great Expectations (number 56, May 1993).  Unfortunately for Tasmin (or maybe fortunately, since she didn’t seem to like being famous), “In Your Care” was not nearly as successful as its predecessor.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 16 in the UK in February 1993, and number 37 in New Zealand in May 1993.

In Australia, “In Your Care” performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 123 on the state chart.

While not as commercially successful as “Sleeping Satellite”, “In Your Care” was an artistic triumph.  The song tells the harrowing tale of child abuse from a child’s perspective, which is illustrated effectively in the poignant music video.  Subsequently, proceeds from the single in the UK were donated to Child Line, a phone counselling service for children and adolescents.  The “son of a bitch, you broke my heart” chorus lyric doesn’t really bode well for airplay.  This was a bold single choice.

While I toyed with the idea of purchasing Tasmin’s Great Expectations album in 1993, for some reason I didn’t buy it until the late 2000s.  I remember reading in Smash Hits magazine that “In Your Care” was the next single, but I didn’t hear the song or see the music video until 2005, when I downloaded the song out of curiosity.  I was taken aback by how raw the song was, and its subject matter.  I was similarly shocked by the stark music video when I first saw it.  There is an alternative edit of the music video, toned down slightly, which I didn’t know about until researching for this post, here.

Subsequent singles from Great Expectations, “Lords of the New Church” (released locally in July 1993 - I did catch this one on rage as a new release) and “Arienne” (released locally in February 1994), failed to chart in Australia.

We shall see Tasmin again in 1996.

Number 147 “Let Your Hair Down” by Starclub

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 31 May 1993

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 147

English band Starclub formed in 1991.  “Let Your Hair Down” was their debut single, lifted from the band’s only album Starclub (released in Australia in February 1993, missed the top 150).

Internationally, “Let Your Hair Down” peaked at number 90 (number 83 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in November 1992.  The band never entered the UK top 75.

This would be Starclub’s only single released in Australia.  The band were dropped by their record label and split in 1994.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 168 “Don’t Take Away My Heaven” by Aaron Neville

Peak: number 162

Peak date: 7 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 13 weeks

We last saw American R&B/soul singer Aaron Neville with his brothers, The Neville Brothers, in February 1993.

Despite releasing two solo albums in the 1960s and a couple of non-album singles in the 1970s, Aaron didn’t make his solo debut on the Australian chart until November 1989 with “Don’t Know Much” (number 2, February 1990), a duet with Linda Ronstadt.  Aaron followed that up with another, less successful duet with Linda on "All My Life" (number 57, May 1990), and his first truly solo charting single in Australia with “Everybody Plays the Fool” (number 52, September 1991).

“Don’t Take Away My Heaven” was the lead single from Aaron’s fifth solo studio album The Grand Tour (number 154, June 1993).  The song was written by beige songwriter extraordinaire Diane Warren.

Internationally, “Don’t Take Away My Heaven” peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1993, number 17 in Canada in July 1993, and number 10 in New Zealand in August 1993.  The song registered on two US Billboard genre-specific charts, reaching number 37 on the Radio Songs chart in July 1993, and number 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart in August 1993.

Domestically, “Don’t Take Away My Heaven” was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 104 on the state chart.

I hadn’t heard this one before.  At first I thought I wasn’t going to like it, but the song grew on me as it went on.

This would be Aaron’s last solo single to chart in Australia.  He had later top 200 albums with Soulful Christmas (number 176, December 1993) and Tattooed Heart (number 150, July 1995).

Number 176 “Gepetto” by Belly

Peak: number 176

Peak date: 31 May 1993

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

American alternative rock band Belly last joined us in February 1993.

“Gepetto” was Belly’s second single release in Australia, in November 1992, when it failed to chart.  The single was re-released locally in April 1993, becoming their second Australian top 200 ‘hit’.  On the state charts, “Gepetto” performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 160.

Internationally, “Gepetto” peaked at number 49 in the UK in April 1993.  The single peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under chart in October 1992, and number 8 on the Alternative Songs chart.

“Gepetto”, which was the name of Pinocchio’s creator, was lifted from Belly’s debut album Star (number 74, June 1993).

We’ll see Belly next in 1995.

Number 192 “House of the Rising Sun” by Rage

Peak: number 171

Peak date: 7 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

English dance group Rage formed in 1992, and had landed a UK number 3 single by the end of the year, with a dance version of Bryan Adams’ “Run to You” (number 56, February 1993).  The band were fronted by singer Tony Jackson, who had previously been a member of Ritz, who had a top 20 hit in Australia with their disco version of “Locomotion” (number 12, March 1980).

“House of the Rising Sun”, a cover of the traditional American folk song, was the third Rage single in their homeland, but their second Australian release.  It would later appear on their debut and only album Saviour (number 144, July 1993).

Internationally, “House of the Rising Sun” peaked at number 41 in the UK in May 1993, number 23 in Sweden in June 1993, and number 20 in Austria in June 1993.  In Australia, the single was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 140 on the state chart.

I don’t recall hearing this one at the time, but got hold of the music video in the 2000s.  I like this arrangement of the song.

 

Tony Jackson died in 2001.

We will see Rage again in August 1993.

Number 194 “We’re on a Mission” by Frankë

Peak: number 194

Peak date: 31 May 1993

Weeks on chart: 1 week

We last saw American singer Frankë Pharoah in March 1993.  “We’re on a Mission” was his second Australian release, and like its predecessor, it peaked in the 190s, performing strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 177 on the state chart.

Internationally, “We’re on a Mission” peaked at number 100 (number 86 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in March 1993.

I hadn’t heard this one before.  Vocally, Frankë reminds me of Seal, with clubbier backing music.  I think this could have become a hit if it received better promotion.

This would be Frankë’s final charting release in Australia.

Number 199 “Plan 9” by 808 State

Peak: number 199

Peak date: 31 May 1993

Weeks on chart: 1 week

English electronic group 808 State last joined us in February 1993.  “Plan 9” was issued as the second single in Australia from their fifth studio album Gorgeous (number 131, March 1993).

Internationally, “Plan 9” peaked at number 50 in the UK in January 1993.  In Australia, the single performed strongest in Queensland, reaching number 177 on the state chart.

I hadn’t heard this one before.  I was not expecting an acoustic guitar to feature so prominently on an 808 track.

We’ll see 808 State one more time, in September 1993.

Next week (7 June): Eight top 150 entries and five bubbling WAY down under debuts.

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