Week commencing 7 June 1993

A couple of themes stick out from this week in 1993’s new entries peaking outside the Australian top 100 singles chart.  One of the themes is grunge, and how it made 80s ‘hair metal’ seemingly irrelevant overnight.  Another theme is re-released singles.  A third theme is double A-side singles - or those that might have been.  Intrigued?  Read on!

Boy Krazy: Australia was not ‘krazy’ for this release.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 123 “Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)” by Poison

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 28 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 123-114-120-104-125

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

American glam metal band Poison last joined us in 1992.

“Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)” was the second single lifted from Poison’s fourth studio album Native Tongue (number 60, May 1993).  It followed the release of “Stand” (number 80, March 1993).

Internationally, “Until You Suffer Some…” peaked at number 32 in the UK in April 1993, and number 4 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 in May 1993.

In Australia, “Until You Suffer Some…” performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it reached number 64.  Nationally, the single peaked higher on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 94.

While I heard “Stand” a couple of times in early 1993, I hadn’t heard this one before.  It’s another mid-tempo rock song, I guess Poison tried to tone down their over the top ‘glam’ image from the 80s, as it was quite past its use-by date at this point in the 90s, as grunge and alternative made metal suddenly obsolete.

This was Poison’s final single to chart in Australia.  They had later low-charting albums with Crack a Smile… and More (number 367, November 2000), The Best of - 20 Years of Rock (number 233, April 2006), and Double Dose: Ultimate Hits (number 545, July 2011).

Number 125 “Rooster” by Alice In Chains

Peak: number 121

Peak dates: 21 June 1993 and 5 July 1993

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 125-128-121-125-121-128-139

American rock band Alice In Chains, formed in Seattle in 1987, were the perfect example of the type of band who would replace the likes of Poison on the charts in the 1990s.  “Rooster” was the second single issued in Australia from Alice In Chains’ second studio album Dirt (number 13, November 1993), following "Would?" (number 69, April 1993).  The song was written by guitarist/backing singer Jerry Cantrell for his father, who served in the Vietnam war and whose childhood nickname was Rooster.  The music video for “Rooster” contains documentary and news footage from the Vietnam war.

Internationally, “Rooster” peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in April 1993.

Like numerous Seattle grunge band lead singers, Alice In Chains lead singer Layne Staley died in 2002, aged 34, from an accidental drug overdose.

We’ll next see Alice In Chains in 1996.

Number 127 “Crazy, Crazy Eyes” by Hard-Ons

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 21 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 127-118-104-111-109

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

The alternative ‘hits’ keep coming this week, this time from Aussie band Hard-Ons, whom we last saw in 1991.

“Crazy, Crazy Eyes” was the lead single from Hard-Ons’ fifth studio album Too Far Gone (number 107, June 1993).  On the state charts, the single was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 69.

I hadn’t heard this one before.  It’s a bit too much of a noisy racket for me to appreciate.

We’ll next see Hard-Ons in 1994.

Number 129 “That’s What Love Can Do” by Boy Krazy

Peak: number 124

Peak date: 14 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 129-124-130-136-138

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Now here’s one with an interesting back story - or so I think.  Boy Krazy were initially a 5-piece American vocal quintet, who were paired with English producers Stock Aitken Waterman to record their debut, and only, album Boy Krazy (released in Australia in May 1993, did not chart).  “That’s What Love Can Do” was released as their debut single, and its original 1991 release bombed on the chart, reaching number 98 (number 86 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in July 1991.  The Boy Krazy album was one of the last Stock Aitken Waterman productions, before Matt Aitken split from the trio in mid-1991.  Interestingly, “That’s What Love Can Do” was also offered to Samantha Fox, while recording her fourth album Just One Night (number 167, August 1991).  Samantha recorded vocals for the track, but it was otherwise not finished.  In 2012, producer Matt Pop gave the track a SAW-esque early 90s production for inclusion on a re-issued and expanded version of Sam’s Just One Night album.  You can hear her version here.

A second Boy Krazy single, “All You Have to Do”, was released in the UK, reaching number 116 (number 91 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75).  Band member Renee Veneziale had left the group by this point.  The band then effectively dissolved, until “That’s What Love Can Do” started receiving club and airplay in the US towards the end of 1992.  The song got a second lease of life, receiving a commercial release in North America, and a re-release across Europe.  “That’s What Love Can Do” peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in February-March 1993, number 6 in Canada in April 1993, number 89 (number 80 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in April 1993, number 29 in the Netherlands in June 1993, and number 54 in Germany in June 1993.

In Australia, “That’s What Love Can Do” performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 97 on the state chart.  The single peaked higher nationally on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 97.

Despite being a Stock Aitken Waterman fan, I didn’t actually hear this one until 2007, when someone embedded the video on a pop music forum I frequented at the time.  Boy Krazy member Johnna Lee Cummings sings lead on this track, and many have commented that her voice sounds similar to Kylie Minogue’s, which I can hear - although I would say that Johnna’s vocals are much stronger than Kylie’s.  Despite not hearing “That’s What Love Can Do” at the time, I was aware of Boy Krazy’s existence, as they were mentioned as a new act in a Smash Hits article pondering whether the songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman were now down the dumper (i.e. their hit-making days were over).  Rather unexpectedly, “That’s What Love Can Do” was playing over the PA system while I was getting a script filled at the hospital pharmacy last year.

While we will not be seeing Boy Krazy on the chart again, the lead singer of “That’s What Love Can Do”, Johnna, had a brief solo career, and we shall see her bubble under in 1996.

Number 130 “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by Bryan Ferry

Peak: number 127

Peak date: 14 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 130-127-132-132-133-145

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks 

English singer-songwriter Bryan Ferry last joined us in 1989.

“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was the second single lifted from Bryan’s eighth solo studio album Taxi (number 26, May 1993), which was a covers album, other than one original written by Bryan that was tacked onto the end.  The song, written by Garry Goffin and Carole King, is a cover of The Shirelles from 1960, and followed "I Put a Spell on You" (number 68, May 1993).  If you ask me, covers albums are almost universally bad, and I can only think of one that I actually like (Pauline Henry’s Do Over from 1996 - probably because I didn’t know most of the originals).  This version of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” is really quite mundane and pointless.

Internationally, Bryan’s version of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” peaked at number 23 in the UK in May 1993, and number 79 in Germany in July 1993.

Locally, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 101.

We’ll next see Bryan in 1994.

Number 137 “Sax-A-Go-Go” by Candy Dulfer

Peak: number 107

Peak date: 19 July 1993

Weeks in top 150: 10 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 137-134-133-127-114-113-107-115-121-121

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Dutch saxophone maestro Candy Dulfer previously paid us a visit in 1991.

“Sax-A-Go-Go” was the lead single from Candy’s second studio album Sax-A-Go-Go (number 79, July 1993).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 87 (number 83 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in February 1993, number 12 in the Netherlands in March 1993, number 32 in the Flanders region of Belgium in April 1993, and number 33 in Switzerland in April 1993.

In Australia, “Sax-A-Go-Go” performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 81 on the state chart.

American hip-hop producer Easy Moe Bee performs the rap on this track, but does not receive a featured artist credit.

We shall see Candy next in August 1993.

Number 146 “My Hippy Angel” by Bob Geldof

Peak: number 143

Peak date: 28 June 1993

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Chart run: 146-146-149-143

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Irish singer-songwriter/philanthropist Bob Geldof last paid us a visit in 1992.

“My Hippy Angel” was released as the second single from Bob’s third solo studio album The Happy Club (number 91, May 1993).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 146 (number 100 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK.

Domestically, “My Hippy Angel” was most popular in Queensland, where it reached number 125 on the state chart.

I hadn’t heard this one before; it’s not bad.  Bob’s then-wife Paula Yates appears in the music video.

We shall see Bob again in 1994.

Number 150 “Sex Type Thing” by Stone Temple Pilots

Peak: number 138

Peak date: 2 August 1993

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 150-(out of top 150 for 4 weeks)-150-(out of top 150 for 1 week)-144-138-139-140

Weeks on chart: 16 weeks

American grunge/alternative rock band Stone Temple Pilots formed in San Diego, California in 1989.  “Sex Type Thing” was the band’s debut single, lifted from their debut album Core (number 29, August 1993).

In the opening of this post, I mentioned there being some confusion about whether a single was a double A-side release or not.  Well, this single is one of the culprits.  The ARIA database initially lists it as just “Sex Type Thing”, but then on the 16 August 1993 chart, a week that “Sex Type Thing” is out of the top 150, “Sex Type Thing”/“Wicked Game” (sic) is listed as a double A-side release, entering at number 140, before dropping off the chart the following week.  The “Wicked Game” in question should actually be “Wicked Garden”, as Stone Temple Pilots do not have a song with the former title.  “Wicked Garden” was a promotional-only single in the US, but does not appear to have been released as a commercial single in its own right, although it has a music video!  To complicate matters further, “Wicked Garden” was the second track on the “Sex Type Thing” CD single, but is not listed on the front cover or spine, as you would expect for a double A-side release.  I assumed that this anomaly was just an error on the ARIA database, but they have listed it with its own unique catalogue number (7567873644), and I cannot find any release matching this catalogue number on discogs.com or through googling it.  Can anyone out there shed some light on this?

Internationally, “Sex Type Thing” initially peaked at number 60 in the UK in March 1993, before being re-released later in the year when it reached a slightly higher peak of number 55 in November 1993.  The song also registered on two US Billboard genre-specific charts, peaking at number 23 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in January 1993, and number 8 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart in December 2015.

Locally, “Sex Type Thing” performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 119 on the state chart.

Stone Temple Pilots would crack the ARIA top 100 singles chart with their next release, “Plush” (number 47, October 1993).  Their biggest hit in Australia, “Vasoline” (number 24, August 1994) - note the spelling difference from the petroleum jelly brand Vaseline - would come from their second album Purple (number 1 for one week in June 1994).

Like numerous front men from grunge/alternative bands from the 90s, Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Welland died prematurely, aged 48, after an accidental drug overdose, in 2015.

We’ll next see Stone Temple Pilots in 1996.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 191 The Only Living Boy in New York EP by Everything But the Girl

Peak: number 191

Peak date: 7 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

We last saw English musical and romantic (although this was not publicised, and they did not marry until 2009) duo Everything But the Girl in 1992.

The The Only Living Boy in New York EP, led by the title track, was the lead single and a new track recorded for the compilation album Home Movies (number 183, July 1993).  “The Only Living Boy in New York” was a cover version of the Simon & Garfunkel song from 1969.  Internationally, the EP peaked at number 42 on the UK singles chart in May 1993.

In Australia, The Only Living Boy in New York EP was most popular in Queensland, reaching number 178 on the state chart.

The duo’s next release, I Didn’t Know I Was Looking for Love EP, does not appear to have been released in Australia, but the title track from it would become a hit across Europe in 1998, and a number 47 minor hit in Australia in October 1998, when covered by Karen Ramirez, and its title shortened to “Looking for Love”.  Although I wouldn’t have heard the Everything But the Girl original at the time, somehow I could instantly tell it was a song of theirs when I first heard the Karen Ramirez version.

Everything But the Girl will next grace our presence in 1996.

.

Number 194 “Prodigal Son”/“Better Off Alone” by Graeme Connors

Peak: number 194

Peak date: 7 June 1991

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Now for an actual double A-side single!  We saw Aussie country singer Graeme Connors a mere two weeks ago.  Despite its later debut on the chart than its follow-up release, this was actually the first single lifted from Graeme’s sixth studio album The Return (number 90, March 1993).  The album’s title was presumably taken from the chorus lyric “the return of the prodigal son”.

“Prodigal Son”/“Better Off Alone” performed strongest on the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory state chart, where it reached number 172.

This would be Graeme’s last top 150 single.  He had a low-charting single last year with “The Road Less Travelled” (number 1062, April 2024), which originally appeared on his 1996 album The Road Less Travelled (number 62, September 1996).

Number 203 “Black Gold” by Soul Asylum

Peak: number 197

Peak date: 7 February 1994

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

American band Soul Asylum last joined us in March 1993.

“Black Gold” was the second single release from the band’s sixth studio album Grave Dancers Union (number 63, February 1994).  Internationally, “Black Gold” initially peaked at number 76 in the UK in March 1993, number 58 in Canada in May 1993, number 25 in New Zealand in December 1993, and number 26 in the UK in March 1994 when re-released after the success of follow-up release “Runaway Train” (number 11, November 1993).  “Black Gold” also registered on two US Billboard genre-specific charts, reaching number 6 on the Alternative Airplay chart in February 1993, and number 4 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in May 1993.

In Australia, “Black Gold” was initially released on 19 April 1993, taking nearly two months to spend a solitary week at number 203.  I am assuming there was a re-release in early 1994, where it re-entered the chart reaching a slightly higher peak; but nothing is listed in The ARIA Report’s lists of new release titles.  On the state charts, “Black Gold” was most popular in Queensland, where it reached number 176.

We’ll next see Soul Asylum in 1995.

Number 205 Back Again* “In Trance” by General Base

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 21 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

Here’s the second new entry this week that I am not sure whether it was a double A-side single or not.  In the ARIA Report’s weekly lists of new release titles, “In Trance” and “Back Again” by General Base are listed as separate releases, released simultaneously on 29 March 1993.  But then on 21 June 1993, a double A-side single, “Back Again”/“In Trance” is listed, with a different catalogue number to either earlier release - and this coincides with the single re-entering the chart at its peak (obviously, the double A-side single had to have been released in the week prior to the 21st, which was the chart survey date).  I have embedded both songs below to cover all bases.

General Base was essentially German DJ and Eurodance artist/producer Thomas Kukula.  Both “In Trance” and “Back Again”, which are largely instrumental, appear on General Base’s debut and only album First (released in Australia in June 1994, did not chart).  Interestingly, I cannot find evidence of either track charting elsewhere.  Who knew that Australia could be ahead of the curve in the commercial success of Eurodance?!  On the state charts, “In Trance” performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 126.

General Base never had a top 100 entry in Australia, though came rather close.  We’ll next see General Base in November 1993.

Number 208 “You’ve Got Me Thinking” by The Beloved

Peak: number 200

Peak date: 28 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

Finally, here’s a third release debuting this week for which there is some ambiguity over whether it was a double A-side single or not.  On UK and European pressings of the 12” vinyl single for this release, “Celebrate Your Life” is listed as the lead track on the single artwork, and two mixes of this track appear on the CD single, but not as the first track.  “You’ve Got Me Thinking” is relegated to the B-side on the 12” pressings.

Both “You’ve Got Me Thinking” and “Celebrate Your Life” are lifted from The Beloved’s - whom we last saw in April 1993 - second studio album Conscience (number 144, April 1993).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 23 in the UK in April 1993, and number 21 in Ireland in April 1993.

In Australia, “You’ve Got Me Thinking” was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 182 on the state chart.

One thing I didn’t know until recently is that “You’ve Got Me Thinking” was originally meant to be a duet between The Beloved and Neneh Cherry.  A demo featuring Neneh has made its way online - you can listen to it here.

A third single from Conscience, “Outerspace Girl”, was released in Australia in November 1993, but failed to chart.  Oddly, despite its lack of chart success, “Outerspace Girl” was the only single from Conscience I heard in 1993.

We shall next see The Beloved in 1996.

Next week (14 June): Five top 150 entries and two bubbling WAY down under debuts.

< Previous week: 31 May 1993                Next week: 14 June 1993 >