Week commencing 5 October 1992

One thing all this week's new entries peaking outside the top 100 have in common is that they all peaked within the month of October 1992.  Let’s take a look.

 

Bananarama: movin' on and out of the ARIA top 100.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 132 "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by XTC

Peak: number 132

Peak date: 5 October 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 132

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

English band XTC formed in Swindon in 1972.  Between 1979 and 1992, they placed nine singles on the Australian top 100, with "Senses Working Overtime" (number 12, May 1982) being the biggest of those.  Their only other single to dent the top 40 during the 1980s was "Generals and Majors" (number 24, November 1980).

"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" was the second single issued from the band's twelfth studio album Nonsuch (number 75, July 1992).  It followed "The Disappointed" (number 32, July 1992), which was the band's third and final top 40 hit in Australia.

Internationally, "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" peaked at number 71 in the UK in June 1992, and number 48 in Canada in July 1992.  The single also registered on the meaningless US Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, peaking at number 46 in May 1992, and on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it reached number 1 in May 1992.

Locally, "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 91 on the state chart.

I don't recall hearing this one at the time.  My favourite XTC single is probably "Mayor of Simpleton" (number 89, April 1989).

We'll next see XTC in 2000 (if I'm still writing these posts for that year).  Before then, they had two albums bubble under in Australia: Fossil Fuel - The XTC Singles Collection (number 105, November 1996), and Homespun (number 308, November 1999).  We shall also see a cover version of "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" bubble under in 1995!

Number 144 "Chain of Fools" by Girl Overboard

Peak: number 138

Peak date: 12 October 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 144-138-145-149

Weeks on chart: 13 weeks

We last saw Melbourne band Girl Overboard in 1990.

"Chain of Fools" was the second single released from the band's second - and final - studio album Go (number 91, March 1993), following "Your Love" (number 70, August 1992).

 

On the state charts, "Chain of Fools" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 121.

 

I didn't know "Chain of Fools" at the time, but it is my favourite Girl Overboard single.  A fan of theirs sent me the music video on a DVD in the mid-2000s.  I have mentioned before that I participate in a 'song contest' on the Pop Justice music forum, where participants enter a pre-2000 song by an obscure-ish artist that was not a major chart hit in the US or UK, and come up with a list of their ten favourite tracks from the songs submitted, which are assigned points in Eurovision style (you cannot vote for your own submission).  I entered "Chain of Fools" a couple of years ago, not expecting it to do that well, and it came second out of about 30 songs, only missing the top spot by one or two points, so obviously other people liked it!  I think the single would have done better had it been promoted properly.

 

We shall see Girl Overboard on one more occasion, in 1993.

Number 145 "My Destiny" by Lionel Richie

Peak: number 125

Peak date: 12 October 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 145-125-135-133

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie was the lead singer in The Commodores, who placed nine singles on the Australian top 100 between 1974 and 1982, with "Three Times a Lady" (number 1 for five weeks in October-November 1978) being the biggest one of those.  "Three Times a Lady" was actually number one when I was born!

Lionel left The Commodores in 1982 and embarked on a solo career, although he had already tasted success as a solo artist, dueting with Diana Ross on "Endless Love" (number 1 for four weeks in October 1981).  Between 1981 and 1992, Lionel landed 14 solo top 100 singles in Australia, with the aforementioned "Endless Love", "All Night Long (All Night)" (number 1 for six weeks in December 1983-January 1984), and "Hello" (number 1 for three weeks in June 1984) topping the chart.

Lionel's previous major hit, and last one to make the top 40, in Australia was "Dancing on the Ceiling" (number 2, September 1986).  "My Destiny" was the second new track released as a single to promote Lionel's Back to Front (number 1, June 1992) compilation album.  It followed "Do It to Me" (number 45, June 1992).

Internationally, "My Destiny" peaked at number 1 in the Netherlands in September 1992, number 7 in the UK in September 1992, number 10 in Ireland, number 23 in Canada in October 1992, number 6 in the Flanders region of Belgium in October 1992, number 38 in New Zealand in October 1992, number 18 in France in November 1992, number 23 in Germany in November 1992, number 19 in Switzerland in November 1992, and number 22 in Austria in December 1992.  It also registered on three meaningless US Billboard genre-specific charts, peaking at number 56 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in September 1992, number 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart in October 1992, and number 75 on the Radio Songs chart in January 1993.

"My Destiny" was a much more-modest 'hit' in Australia, being most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 94 on the state chart.

We'll next see Lionel in December 1992.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 175 "Love Hates Stares" by Scarlet

Peak: number 164

Peak date: 19 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Scarlet were an Australian band, based in Sydney.  I didn't think I had heard this one before, but I may have heard part of it, as it appeared on the free Coca-Cola Australian Music Day 1992 CD compilation, which someone gave me about a year after its release.

"Love Hates Stares" was the band's debut release.  The single performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it reached number 159.  Given that the music video, embedded below, has garnered less than 1200 views in 14 years, I figure that not many people were aware of the band or this release.  Scarlet never landed a top 100 single or album in Australia.

"Love Hates Stares" does not appear on Scarlet's debut, and only, album Magnolia (number 144, October 1995).

We shall next see Scarlet in 1993.

 

 

Number 177 "Movin' On" by Bananarama

Peak: number 177

Peak date: 5 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

We last saw English vocal trio Bananarama in 1991.  Since then, the group had pared down to a duo, with Jacquie O'Sullivan, who joined the group in 1988 following Siobhan Fahey's departure, leaving - or rather, being told her services were no longer required - in the later months of 1991.  Founding members Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin intended to continue as a duo after Siobhan quit the group, but everyone around them insisted they needed a replacement, in keeping with the image of Bananarama as three girls.  Jacquie was essentially treated as an employee/the hired help during her tenure with the band, never having much of a say in the group's decisions or direction.  It didn't help that interviewers continued to refer to her as "the new girl", three years after she had joined the group.

"Movin' On" was the lead single from Bananarama's sixth studio album Please Yourself (number 222, June 1993).  The group had returned to producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman (of Stock Aitken Waterman - Matt Aitken left the partnership in mid-1991) for the recording of Please Yourself, after largely parting ways with them for their previous album Pop Life (number 146, August 1991), although that album contained two Stock Aitken Waterman compositions.  Bananarama's previous Stock Aitken Waterman-produced album, WOW! (number 1, June 1988), was their most successful in Australia.

 

The sound Stock Waterman were going for with Please Yourself was described as "ABBA Banana", inspired by the Swedish super-group.  It sounded somewhat dated, though, for 1992, even though the ABBA revival was on the cusp of happening.  After the experimental sounds (well, for Bananarama) on Pop Life, the Please Yourself era seemed a step backwards for Bananarama, and the album's lack of commercial success would ultimately cost the duo their 11-year contract with London Records.  Although the pair continued to record, they would not release music again in the UK until an attempted comeback in 2005 with the Drama album (number 334, April 2006).

Internationally, "Movin' On" peaked at number 24 in the UK in August 1992, number 52 in Germany in October 1992, number 34 in the Netherlands in October 1992, and number 33 in the Flanders region of Belgium in November 1992.

In Australia, "Movin' On" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 170 on the state chart.

I heard "Movin' On" on the UK Chart Attack radio program; I otherwise would not have been aware of its release at the time, though saw the single in the shops here during the term 3 school holidays (though I was looking for it).

 

"Movin' On" was the only single released from Please Yourself in Australia.  Two further singles were issued from the album in the UK/Europe - "Last Thing on My Mind" (number 71 in the UK in November 1992), and a cover version of Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More" (number 24 in the UK in March 1993).  "Last Thing on My Mind" would go on to become a much bigger hit when Steps released their version of the track in 1998, which peaked at number 5 in Australia in August 1998.  Steps also covered "Movin' On" as an album track for their Steptacular (number 25, November 1999) album.

I recall Keren and Sara bagging former band mate Siobhan Fahey's contribution to Shakespears Sister's "Stay" (number 3, May 1992), presumably feeling slighted after Siobhan's admission that she "hated" the music Bananarama were making (with Stock Aitken Waterman) when she left the group, on UK Chart Attack, following the release of "Last Thing on My Mind".  They described Siobhan's part in the song as "a real low point", while expressing fondness for Marcella Detroit's part.  Ooh er!  They made up with Siobhan in 1996, however, and the original line up of Bananarama finally toured in 2017.

We'll next see Bananarama in 1996.

Number 201 "I Was Right" by Underground Lovers

Peak: number 174

Peak date: 19 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

Melbourne band Underground Lovers formed in 1988 as GBVG, changing the band's name in 1990.

"I Was Right" was the band's first major label single, and appears on their second studio album Leaves Me Blind (number 133, March 1993).  The single was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 142 on the state chart.

I hadn't heard this one before.  The Underground Lovers tracks I was familiar with all have a male lead vocal, while this one doesn't.

 

Underground Lovers only managed to place one single on the ARIA top 100, "Losin' It" (number 93, September 1994).

We'll next see Underground Lovers in 1993.

Number 206 "Give It Up" by Wilson Phillips

Peak: number 206

Peak date: 5 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

We last saw American vocal trio Wilson Phillips in 1991.

"Give It Up" was issued as the second single from the group's second album Shadows and Light (number 30, August 1992), following "You Won't See Me Cry" (number 31, July 1992).

 

Internationally, "Give It Up" peaked at number 36 in the UK in August 1992, number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1992, number 54 in Germany in October 1992, and number 16 in Canada in October 1992.  It also registered on two US Billboard genre-specific charts, peaking at number 40 on the Radio Songs chart in September 1992, and number 12 on the Adult Contemporary chart in October 1992.

 

Domestically, "Give It Up" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 166 on the state chart.

 

I remember hearing this one on the American Top 40 radio show.  The production sounds quite similar to the album version of Amy Grant's "Every Heartbeat" (number 17, September 1991) to my ears.  I hadn't seen the video before, and forgot that Wendy sang lead vocal on this one instead of Chynna.

 

This would be Wilson Phillips' final single to chart in Australia, although a third single from Shadows and Light, "Flesh & Blood", was released locally in February 1993, with Carnie singing lead on the verses.

Wilson Phillips would split in 1993.  Chynna Phillips would go on to have some solo success in Australia, although, oddly, not much in the rest of the world.  Chynna landed two notable solo hits locally, with "Naked and Sacred" (number 15, June 1996) and "I Live for You" (number 9, November 1996).  She also had a minor 'hit' with "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me" (number 64, February 1997).  All three singles appear on Chynna's only solo album Naked and Sacred (number 35, November 1996).

Wilson Phillips would reform for a one-off performance in 2001, then again from 2004 to 2006, before reuniting properly in 2010.  They had three later low-charting albums in Australia, with Greatest Hits (number 414, November 2000), California (number 281, November 2004), and Dedicated (number 509, May 2012).

Number 214 "Bell Bottomed Tear" by The Beautiful South

Peak: number 214

Peak date: 5 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

English band The Beautiful South last visited us in 1991.

 

"Bell Bottomed Tear" was released as the second single in Australia from the band's third studio album 0898 Beautiful South (number 145, June 1992).  It followed "Old Red Eyes Is Back", which was released locally in March 1992 but did not chart.  In the band's homeland, "Bell Bottomed Tear" was the third single form the album, with "We Are Each Other" (not released in Australia) issued in between.

"Bell Bottomed Tear" peaked at number 16 in the UK in June 1992.  In Australia, the single was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 185 on the state chart.

 

I hadn't heard this one before.  It's nice enough, but not terribly exciting.

We'll next see The Beautiful South in 1994.

Next week (12 October): Three top 150 entries and four bubbling WAY down under debuts.

< Previous week: 28 September 1992                Next week: 12 October 1992 >

Week commencing 15 July 1991

It doesn't matter how big you are - everyone flops at some point, and we'll see that is definitely the case this week in 1991, when one of the most successful recording artists in the world - at the height of her popularity, no less - lands outside the ARIA top 100.  Shall we take a look?

 

Madonna took a 'holiday' from the ARIA top 100 this week in 1991.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 121 "When Love Comes Down" by The Slow Club

Peak: number 121

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 121-122-132-136-148

 

Australian band The Slow Club were fronted by Andrew Sefton, and also contained the lead guitarist from English band Japan, Rob Dean.  Surprisingly, Japan never landed a charting single in Australia, but their album Gentlemen Take Polaroids (number 86, March 1981) dented the top 100.  Japan's biggest hit in the UK was "Ghosts", which reached number 5 there in April 1982.

The Slow Club scored two ARIA top 50 hits with their first two releases, "Shout Me Down" (number 36, November 1990) and "Rosalie" (number 46, March 1991).

 

"When Love Comes Down" was issued as the third and final single from The Slow Club's only album World of Wonders (number 101, November 1990).  I don't recall hearing this one before.  A music video probably exists, but has not yet been uploaded online.

 

 

Number 148 "Holiday" by Madonna (re-issue)

Peak: number 144

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Top 150 chat run: 148-144-150

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

This single originally peaked at number 4 on 14 May 1984, and spent 22 weeks in the top 100.

 

Madonna Ciccone made her understated debut on the Australian chart in November 1983, when "Burning Up", her second single but first Australian release, spent a solitary week at number 95.  "Burning Up", which did not chart anywhere else, would go on to reach number 13 in June 1984 following the success of the next single.  And that next single in question would be... you guessed it, "Holiday", which peaked at number 4 in May 1984.

"Holiday" was the first in a string of 20 consecutive Australian top 40 hits for Madonna, with only one of those missing the top 20.  Madonna's hit streak in Australia came to a crashing halt with "Oh Father" (number 59, January 1990), which, ironically, was the first Madonna song I really connected with.  Yes, you read that right.  Madonna's ubiquity in the 1980s put me off her a bit; she seemed inescapable.  In retrospect, I can appreciate most of Madonna's pre-"Oh Father" singles, but I really liked "Oh Father"... shame the record buying public didn't.

Madonna followed up "Oh Father" with another flop I enjoyed, "Dear Jessie", which spent two consecutive weeks at number 51 in March 1990.  Just when it seemed like Madonna's chart fortunes were waning, she quickly bounced back with one of the biggest hits of her career, "Vogue", which spent five weeks at number one in April and May 1990, becoming the third highest-selling single of 1990 in Australia.  It would, however, be Madge's last Australian number one single for a decade, and none of her other 1990s singles peaked higher than number 4 in Australia.

Madonna's first greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection (number 1, November 1990) was released towards the end of 1990, with her film Truth Or Dare (titled In Bed with Madonna in Europe and Australasia) premiering in Australia on 27 June 1991.  Madonna seemed to be the biggest pop star in the world in 1991, despite only releasing two singles that year - one of which was a re-release - and nothing else on the musical front.

 

Following the controversial music video for the lead single from The Immaculate Collection, "Justify My Love" (number 4, December 1990), the follow-up release "Rescue Me" (number 15, March 1991) was released without any promotion, and no music video - though a montage video was put together for the UK market.

The 1991 release of "Holiday" in Australia was an even more-understated affair - I was not aware of its release at the time.  In fact, I had a 'debate' with a Madonna fan over whether "Holiday" was even released here in 1991, despite there being 7", 12" and CD singles listed in The ARIA Report's weekly list of new release titles on 8 July 1991.  Of course there had to have been a local release - whether an Australian pressing or just European imports - for "Holiday" to have registered enough sales to chart in 1991; albeit lowly.

A bunch of earlier Madonna singles were issued on CD in Australia (European imports, I am assuming) on the same date as the 1991 release of "Holiday", but only "Holiday" received vinyl releases at the same time.

 

The CD single for the 1991 release of "Holiday" was titled The Holiday Collection, and contained two of Madonna's earlier hits that were excluded from The Immaculate Collection, "True Blue" (number 5, November 1986) and "Causing a Commotion" (number 7, November 1987) - although the latter is, annoyingly, titled "Causin' a Commotion" on this release.  Only Madonna could leave off international top 10 hits from her greatest hits collection!

Internationally, the 1991 release of "Holiday" peaked at number 5 in the UK in June 1991, number 3 in Ireland, number 24 in the Netherlands in July 1991, number 40 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1991, and number 37 in France in August 1991.

The 1991 issue of "Holiday" was the third time the single had reached the UK top 10, after originally peaking at number 6 there in February 1984, and at number 2 in August 1985.  That must be some kind of record - in the pre-streaming era, anyway.  Only in the UK.

Within Australia, the 1991 release of "Holiday" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 107.

Madonna will join us on a surprising number of occasions over the next two and a half years, with the next one being in February 1992.

 

Number 150 "Borrowed Love" by Bingoboys featuring Arnold Jarvis and Princessa

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 150-148-140-112-104-123-119-127-140

 

Austrian dance music trio Bingoboys came out of nowhere to land a number 3 hit in Australia with "How to Dance" in May 1991, featuring Princessa on vocals.  It would be their only single to register a place in the ARIA top 100.

 

The act's second single, "Borrowed Love", featured vocals from both Princessa and Arnold Jarvis.  Both tracks were lifted from The Best of Bingoboys (number 72, June 1991), which, despite the title, was the group's first album and was not a compilation.  I recall seeing an infographic over the "How to Dance" music video on Coca-Cola Power Cuts, similar to the format Pop-Up Video later used, explaining that the album was titled The Best of because "it's the best", according to the band.  Hmm.

While "How to Dance" had been a hit across Europe (minus the UK) and even crept into the top 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Borrowed Love" did not follow suit, and the only other place it charted was the US, where it reached number 71 in July 1991.  That being said, only Australian and American pressings of the single are listed on discogs, so perhaps it did not receive a release in Europe.  Europe did receive "No Woman No Cry" which, despite sharing a title with a famous Bob Marley song, is not a cover version.  It was not issued as a single locally.

 

"Borrowed Love" performed better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it peaked at number 93.

 

I don't recall hearing "Borrowed Love" before.  It's very different to "How to Dance", but I like it.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 177 "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" by Clive Young

Peak: number 177

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

We last saw Australian singer-songwriter Clive Young in July 1989.  In the interim, Clive switched record companies from EMI to Mushroom, and the album that was scheduled for release in 1989, Naturally, was shelved.

"Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" was the lead single from Clive's debut album When the World Goes 'Round, which did not see the light of day until September 1992 (it did not chart).  "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" was released on 29 April 1991, and took almost three months to dent the ARIA top 200 for a solitary week.

On the ARIA state charts, "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, as Clive's previous two singles had done, reaching number 154.  The difference between state and national chart peaks for Clive's earlier singles was stark, with "Something Special" peaking at number 15 in Victoria/Tasmania vs. number 50 nationally, and "Naturally" peaking at number 50 in Victoria/Tasmania vs. number 102 nationally.

A music video was filmed for "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me", but nobody seems to have their hands on it...

Clive will join us again in 1992.

 

 

 

Number 179 "Long Train Running" by Bananarama

Peak: number 179

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Bananarama, whom we last saw in March 1991, really were in chart strife at this point in their career.  None of the four singles lifted from their fifth studio album Pop Life (number 146, August 1991) peaked higher than number 20 in the UK, and none of the album's singles dented the top 50 in Australia.  A combination of being perceived as an 80s act and the Bananarama girls now being in their 30s were probably factors.  The group had also made a deliberate attempt to move away from the Stock Aitken Waterman sound that permeated their work between 1986 and 1989, to lukewarm commercial results.

Although Bananarama made a point of not including any cover versions on their second album Bananarama (number 99, July 1984), which spawned the top 40 hits "Robert de Niro's Waiting" (number 40, August 1984) and "Cruel Summer" (number 32, February 1985), each of their studio albums since had included a cover version, which also ended up being released as a single.  The girls' attitude to releasing covers probably softened following the massive success of "Venus", which resurrected their career and was number 1 in Australia for seven weeks in September and October of 1986.  "Venus" also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1986.

The Nanas' fourth studio album WOW! (number 1, June 1988) contained a version of The Supremes' "Nathan Jones", which was not a huge hit in Australia, peaking at number 59 in March 1989, after being re-recorded with new band member Jacquie O'Sullivan and tacked onto their The Greatest Hits Collection (number 21, January 1989) compilation. 

A version of The Beatles' "Help!" (number 25, May 1989) was then recorded with French and Saunders' Bananarama parody act Lananeeneenoonoo, including Kathy Bourke as the third member, to raise funds for Comic Relief.

Bananarama covered The Doobie Brothers' 1973 single "Long Train Runnin'", adding a 'g' to the title, for their Pop Life album.  The Doobie Brothers' version peaked at number 58 on the Kent Music Report, but this was on the charts David Kent later compiled retrospectively (they were not published at the time), so I do not consider these official.  The 1993 Sure Is Pure remix of "Long Train Runnin'" peaked at number 67 in Australia in March 1994.

Released as the third Pop Life single, "Long Train Running" peaked at number 30 in the UK in April 1991, number 18 in Ireland in April 1991, number 47 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1991, and number 45 in Germany in June 1991.

Domestically, "Long Train Running" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 122.

I was (and still am, to a large degree) a Bananarama fan when this track was released.  The only place I heard "Long Train Running" at the time was on the Hot 30 Countdown on Fox FM, which was supposedly voted for by listeners.  I tuned in part-way through the song, and recognised that it was Bananarama quickly.  The song seemed familiar to me; I must have heard the original on the radio when growing up.

"Long Train Running" was somewhat different for Bananarama, featuring castanets and flamenco guitars performed by Gipsy Kings, using the name Alma De Noche.  That's the kind of thing Stock Aitken Waterman would never have done, and one of the Nanas commented in a Smash Hits interview in 1990 that their new producer Youth was open to things like putting seagulls on a track, whereas Stock Aitken Waterman would have "laughed that idea out the window".

For whatever reason, Bananarama's music was not connecting with the record-buying public in the early 1990s in the same way it had - albeit inconsistently - during the 1980s.  Following this album's era, the more-experimental sounds of Pop Life would be abandoned, and the girls would return to Stock Waterman (Aitken left in mid-1991) for their next album, which was creatively a step backwards.

 

But before then, a fourth single was released from Pop Life in Europe, "Tripping on Your Love", which was the first Bananarama single to miss the UK top 75 since "Aie a Mwana", their debut release in September 1981.  Jacquie O'Sullivan also quit the group around August 1991, after three and a half years, and there's a solo interview with Keren Woodward from that month where she admits they don't know where Jacquie is right now.  Jacquie speaks of her time in Bananarama in this interesting podcast interview from 2020, which is well worth checking out.  Sara Dallin also gave birth to her daughter Alice towards the end of 1991.

Bananarama have continued on as a duo since 1992, with original band member Siobhan Fahey (who went on to form Shakespears Sister) rejoining them for a live tour in 2017.  Bananarama have a new album Masquerade scheduled for release next week, with the video for the title track, which is the best new Bananarama track I have heard for some time, premiering last month.

We shall see Bananarama next in 1992.

 

 

Number 181 "Crazy" by Daisy Dee

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Daisy Dee, born Desiree Rollocks, is a Dutch "singer, actress, TV host, stylist, and television producer" (thanks Wikipedia).  She was a featured vocalist on MC B's version of Technotronic's 'This Beat Is Techntronic", which was a top 20 hit in the Netherlands, Austria and Germany in 1990.  That single was released in Australia in April 1990, but missed the top 150.

"Crazy" was Daisy's first solo release in Australia, was lifted from her 1992 debut album Daisy Dee.  "Crazy" peaked at number 29 in the Netherlands in September 1990, and number 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991.  The song was used in the Vanilla Ice movie Cool As Ice, but did not make its way onto the accompanying soundtrack album.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Crazy" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 145.

 

Daisy would land her biggest chart success in Australia with a remixed version of this track, "Crazy 96", which reached number 38 in September 1996.  This would be Daisy's only top 100 entry in Australia, although she came within a whisker of the top 100 again in 2000.

 

Daisy will join us next in 1996.

 

 

 

Number 182 "Piece of My Heart" by Tara Kemp

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 19 August 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

American r&b/new jack swing singer Tara Kemp landed her first chart 'hit' in Australia with her first release, "Hold You Tight", which peaked at number 68 in May 1991.  That single was vastly more successful in the US, where it reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991, becoming the first of two top 10 hits Tara would land in her home country.

 

"Piece of My Heart" was the second of Tara's US top 10 hits, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1991.  It was the second single from Tara's debut album Tara Kemp, which peaked at number 140 on the ARIA albums chart in April 1991.  Internationally, "Piece of My Heart" peaked at number 81 in Canada in August 1991.

Within Australia, "Piece of My Heart" was most successful in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 136 on the state chart.

 

I remember hearing both "Hold You Tight" and "Piece of My Heart" on the American Top 40 radio show.

 

A third single from Tara Kemp, "Too Much", was released locally in September 1991, but failed to chart. "Piece of My Heart" was Tara's last single to chart in Australia.

 

 

 

Number 194 "Don't Let Me Down" by The Farm

Peak: number 194

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 1 week 

We last saw The Farm in April 1991.

 

"Don't Let Me Down" was the third single issued from the band's first studio album Spartacus (number 106, May 1991).

 

Internationally, "Don't Let Me Down" peaked at number 36 in the UK in April 1991, number 29 in Ireland in May 1991, and number 78 in Germany in June 1991.

 

Locally, "Don't Let Me Down" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 169.

 

We'll next see The Farm in 1992. 

 

Next week (22 July): Four top 150 debuts and one bubbling WAY down under entry.

 

< Previous week: 8 July 1991                                         Next week: 22 July 1991 >

Week commencing 4 March 1991

Three of the four artists debuting in the top 150 this week in 1991 are artists who achieved major commercial success in the 1980s, but who were struggling now to maintain this in the 1990s.  The other artist debuting in the top 150 this week is a group who never achieved major success in Australia.

But before taking a closer look at this week in 1991's batch of new entries, I have updated some earlier posts with the following:

• 19 June 1989 - a bubbling WAY down under entry from Anita Baker;
  
• 31 July 1989 - a bubbling WAY down under entry from The Outfield;
• 5 February 1990 - a bubbling WAY down under entry from Steve Stevens Atomic Playboys.
  

Jason Donovan was not doing so fine on the Australian charts in 1991.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 123 "I'm Doing Fine" by Jason Donovan

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 123-129-126-128-140-137

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Former Neighbours actor Jason Donovan's recording career kicked off with a string of four consecutive top 10 singles - the first 3 of which went gold - and a platinum-certified album in Australia.  Jason's Ten Good Reasons (number 5, June 1989) was the highest-selling album of 1989 in the UK, and spawned three number 1 singles there.

 

Jason's biggest hit in his homeland had been his duet with then-romantic partner, both on and off screen, Kylie Minogue, "Especially for You" (number 2, December 1988).  Jason's biggest solo hit in Australia was his debut, "Nothing Can Divide Us" (number 3, November 1988), which topped the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart - a feat that "Especially for You" also achieved.

But then Australia seemed to fall out of love with Jason by the time of his fifth single, "Every Day (I Love You More)" (number 43, October 1989), which missed the top 40.

"When You Come Back to Me" (number 40, February 1990), released in the UK in time for Christmas - complete with Christmas chime instrumentation and lyrics such as "armful of presents", was stupidly not issued in Australia until late January 1990, and accordingly just scraped into the top 40.

Jason's Australian record label then seemed to get cold feet, and didn't even bother releasing his next two singles - "Hang on to Your Love", which only received a promo release, and "Another Night" - locally.  By this time, Jason was also starting to struggle on the UK chart, with the aforementioned singles 'only' reaching numbers 8 and 18, respectively.

Jason's second album Between the Lines (number 77, December 1990) was belatedly issued in Australia in November 1990, almost six months after its UK release.  "Rhythm of the Rain" (number 44, November 1990), a cover version, was released locally ahead of the album, and Jason again stalled in the 40s with it.

 

Mushroom Records gave Jason another go with "I'm Doing Fine", which was the fifth and final Between the Lines single in the UK.  The song marked a departure in sound - and image - for Jason, being a homage to The Beatles' early sound in the 1960s, complete with Jason sporting a very 'Beatles' look in the accompanying music video.

In my interactions with Stock Aitken Waterman fans online over the years, there seems to be almost a universal dislike for "I'm Doing Fine"; but I actually like this one, and think it was quite fun.  At least it was something different, for both Jason and SAW.

In the UK, where Jason's recording career was based, "I'm Doing Fine" was Jason's lowest-peaking single to date, reaching number 22 in November 1990.  The single performed stronger in Ireland, reaching number 9 there.  "I'm Doing Fine" crept into the top 40 in the Flanders region of Belgium, and the top 60 in Germany.

Locally, "I'm Doing Fine" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 90.

Jason's next single, "R.S.V.P." (number 97, June 1991) appeared on his premature Greatest Hits (number 132, February 1992) compilation - released after only two albums proper, and was his final single produced by Stock Aitken Waterman to be released in Australia.

As you may know, Jason landed the lead role of Joseph in the stage production of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1991.  A single from the musical, "Any Dream Will Do" (number 92, August 1991), temporarily restored Jason's popularity in the UK, topping the singles chart there, but this was not to last.

 

Jason's next studio album, 1993's All Around the World - his first without Stock Aitken Waterman, was not even released in Australia.

Jason did, however, land another charting album down under... well, technically.  Let It Be Me reached number 345 in November 2008.

 

Number 147 "Preacher Man" by Bananarama

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 147

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Releasing a greatest hits album often seems to herald the onset an artist's commercial decline with their subsequent releases, and Bananarama are a text-book example, with their commercial fortunes plummeting following 1988's The Greatest Hits Collection (number 21, January 1989).  We last saw the trio in 1989.

Bananarama's fourth studio album, the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced WOW!, topped the Australian albums chart in June 1988 and spawned four top 40 singles, two of which reached the top 5.  But following the release of The Greatest Hits Collection, only one of the band's singles, "Help" (number 25, May 1989) - a Beatles cover recorded for charity at that, troubled the Australian top 40.  The group, whittled down to a duo, came painfully close, though, when their comeback single "Move in My Direction" stalled at number 41 in March 2006.

Bananarama sought out new producers in 1990, working with Youth, who, coincidentally, was in the band Brilliant, who released two flop Stock Aitken Waterman-produced singles in Australia in 1986: "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (released in Australia in March 1986) and "Love Is War" (June 1986).

Bananarama's first Youth-produced single, "Only Your Love" (number 51, October 1990), was a commercial disappointment, both locally and in the UK, where it peaked at number 27 in August 1990.

"Preacher Man", remixed by Shep Pettibone, performed marginally better than its predecessor in the UK, reaching number 20 in the quieter post-Christmas market in January 1991.  It would be Bananarama's only single to reach the top 20 in the UK during the 1990s; 13 fewer top 20 hits than they achieved there in the 1980s.

Elsewhere, "Preacher Man" peaked at number 11 in Ireland in January 1991, number 40 in the Flanders region of Belgium in March 1991, and number 46 in Germany in April 1991.

On the Australian Music Report singles chart, "Preacher Man" peaked 47 places higher than on the ARIA chart, spending a solitary week at number 100.

On the ARIA state charts, "Preacher Man" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, reaching number 130.

Both "Only Your Love" and "Preacher Man" would go on to appear on Bananarama's fifth studio album Pop Life (number 146, August 1991), which peaked 145 places lower than WOW! in Australia.  That is some fall from grace!

 

Having a thing for liking flops, I bought both the "Only Your Love" and "Preacher Man" singles, on cassette.  I otherwise did not hear "Preacher Man" at the time, other than a 30 second preview shown on Video Smash Hits, where you could telephone a number to vote for whether it was to be shown in full the following week, competing against another new release video.  I didn't tune in to find out who won.

 

I think the four year-gap between albums, and not striking while the iron was hot with new band member Jacquie O'Sullivan and Stock Aitken Waterman's commercial peak in 1989, hindered Bananarama's career; although many '80s' acts struggled to maintain their popularity once 1990 clocked over.

 

While we will see Bananarama bubble under a few times in the coming years, they did not land another top 100 single in Australia again until 2006.
 

"Preacher Man" was one of two Jacquie O'Sullivan-era Bananarama tracks performed on the group's 2017 tour with original member Siobhan Fahey, who exited the group in 1988.  You can view a live performance of this here.

 

We shall next see Bananarama in July 1991.

 

 

Number 148 "Ride the Wind" by Poison

Peak: number 113

Peak date: 15 April 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 148-150-(out for 1 week)-137-136-129-113-116-121-125

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

Another '80s' act struggling to maintain their career into the 90s - although they didn't do too badly in 1990 itself - was American glam metal band Poison.  While their third studio album Flesh and Blood (number 2, July 1990) was their highest-peaking album in Australia, it did not have the staying power of Open Up and Say ...Ahh! (number 7, September 1988), which spent 70 weeks on the chart and landed the group four top 25 hits locally.

 

Poison's previous single, "Something to Believe In" (number 44, October 1990) fell short of the top 40, and "Unskinny Bop" (number 7, July 1990) was the only track from Flesh and Blood to reach the ARIA top 40.

 

The group also seemed to be falling out of favour in their native US, where "Ride the Wind" peaked at number 38 in March 1991.  The single also reached number 31 in Canada.

On the ARIA state charts, "Ride the Wind" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 70.

 

"Ride the Wind" peaked higher on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 85.

One reason "Ride the Wind" may have underperformed on the chart is that it seemed to receive minimal promotion.  I don't recall hearing the song at the time, though did see the single in the record stores.

Even though grunge music had not yet made its commercial breakthrough - that would come later in 1991 - metal bands seemed to be struggling to score major hits by this point, with the 'alternative' music invasion looming.  Off the top of my head (please correct me if I am wrong), Warrant's "Cherry Pie" (number 6, January 1991) was the last 'hair metal' song to reach the top 10 in Australia.

A fourth single from Flesh and Blood, "Life Goes On", was released in Australia in July 1991, but failed to chart.

 

Poison would not land another top 50 single in Australia, though crept into the lower region of the top 100 in 1993 with "Stand" (number 80, March 1993).  The band will, nonetheless, bubble under on a few more occasions, with the next one being in 1992.

 

Two members of Poison have experienced serious health problems in more-recent years.  Lead singer Bret Michaels (real name Bret Sychak) had a haemorrhagic stroke and a separate transient ischaemic attack (mini-stroke) in 2010, from which he recovered, and drummer Rikki Rockett (real name Richard Ream) was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2015.

 

 

 

Number 150 "Fly to the Angels" by Slaughter

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 18 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 150-(out for 1 week)-140-143-145

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

Another American glam metal band, Slaughter, made their debut on the Australian singles chart this week in 1991.

 

"Fly to the Angels" was the second single lifted from Slaughter's debut album Stick It to Ya (number 130, September 1990).  While I hadn't heard this song before, I am familiar with the band's previous single, "Up All Night" - thanks to hearing it on the American Top 40 radio show.  "Up All Night" was released in Australia in July 1990 but failed to chart.

 

Internationally, "Fly to the Angels" reached number 19 in the US, and number 55 in the UK in February 1991.

Locally, "Fly to the Angels" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 116.

Listening to "Fly to the Angels" for the first time, lead singer Mark Slaughter's (yes, that's his real name) voice reminds me of 70s Australian band Skyhooks' Shirley Strachan in his upper register.  Yes, really.  While I think this song is OK, I much prefer "Up All Night", and am surprised that one was not a bigger hit.

 

Slaughter will join us again in 1992.

 

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 163 "I Feel Better Than James Brown" by Was (Not Was)

Peak: number 163

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Wacky American band Was (Not Was) formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1979.  Their commercial breakthrough in Australia came in late 1987 with "Walk the Dinosaur" (number 9, February 1988), which was their only top 40 hit here.

 

"I Feel Better Than James Brown" was the second single released in Australia from their fourth studio album Are You Okay? (number 107, September 1990).  It followed "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" (number 75, August 1990).

 

Internationally, "I Feel Better Than James Brown" peaked at number 98 (number 91 on the compressed chart) in the UK in November 1990.

 

In Australia, "I Feel Better Than James Brown" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 150 on the state chart.

 

I hadn't heard this one until writing this post, but enjoyed it.

 

Was (Not Was) would go on to have one further minor hit in Australia with "Shake Your Head" (number 47, November 1992), an unlikely collaboration between them, Ozzy Osbourne and actress Kim Basinger.  Interestingly, a pre-fame Madonna cut vocals on an earlier version of the track in 1983!  They would also have a further charting album, with Hello Dad...I'm in Jail (number 132, August 1992).

Next week (11 March): A mere two top 150 debuts, but there are six bubbling WAY down under entries.

 

< Previous week: 25 February 1991                               Next week: 11 March 1991 >

Week commencing 7 August 1989

This week, I have seven new debuts to talk about, so let's jump straight in:

Bananarama's Jacquie O'Sullivan: since she was effectively left off her own record this week, I thought it only fair for her to represent this week's post.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 123 "Raindrops" by Kool & The Gang

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 7 August 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 123-130-131-137-131-135-134

Despite releasing material since the late 1960s, American group Kool & The Gang waited until 1981 for their first taste of chart success in Australia.  Between 1981 and 1987, the group placed 7 singles in the Australian top 100 singles chart, with the biggest of these being "Cherish", reaching number 8 in November 1985.  Surprisingly, their version (the original) of "Celebration" only peaked at number 33 in Australia in August 1981.  Fast forward to 1989, and "Raindrops" had minor chart success in Germany (number 42) and nowhere else.  Sweat, the album it was listed from, also failed to achieve significant chart success, peaking at number 28 in Germany, and number 103 on the Australian albums chart.  The group even visited Australia for a promotional visit around this time, performing "Celebration" on the then-new program, Countdown Revolution (with live vocals to boot!), rather than this single.

 

Number 140 "Crazy About Her" by Rod Stewart

Peak: number 130

Peak date: 21 August 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Chart run: 151-140-130-131-137-131-135-134

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

We saw Rod bubble WAY down under back in February with the third single from his 1988 Out of Touch album, and here was the fourth.  While "Crazy About Her" failed to chart in the UK, it peaked at number 11 in the US, and hit the top 10 in the Netherlands and the Flanders region of Belgium (Belgium has separate charts for the Dutch and French-speaking regions).  We will see Rod next as a featured artist in February 1992, and on his own in August 1992.

 

 

Number 148 "I'm That Type of Guy" by L.L. Cool J

Peak: number 148

Peak date: 7 August 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 148

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

The lead single from his third album Walking with a Panther (number 85, September 1989), "I'm That Type of Guy" was L.L. Cool J's first release to make the Australian charts.  Up until this point, rap had enjoyed little commercial success on the Australian singles chart, with most of the exceptions being either novelty (Morris Minor and The Majors) or novelty-like (Tone Lōc) tracks.  While that would change in 1990, L.L. Cool J would have to wait until 1996 for his first major hit on the Australian chart.  Across the ditch, New Zealand appreciated this track more, with it reaching number 11 there.  In the US, "I'm That Type of Guy" peaked at number 15 in May 1989.

In Australia, "I'm That Type of Guy" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, reaching number 136 on the state chart.

We’ll next see L.L. Cool J in 1993.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 158 "Cruel Summer '89" by Bananarama

Peak: number 158

Peak: 7 August 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Bananarama were on a roll on the Australian charts in 1988, with back-to-back top 5 singles, and even a number 1 album.  But since then, none of their singles had peaked higher than number 25.  Touring Australia (or anywhere, really) for the first time in April 1989 didn't seem to revive the group's popularity, with their tour-coinciding single "Nathan Jones" peaking at only number 59 in March.  Fast forward a few months to August, and this new version of their number 32 hit from February 1985 landed outside the top 100 - their first Australian single to miss the top 100 since "Do Not Disturb" in 1985.

The original version of "Cruel Summer" was released locally in November 1983, but failed to chart, despite being a number 8 hit in August 1983 in their native UK.  The song went on to peak at number 9 in the US in September 1984, after being used in The Karate Kid; this no doubt prompted the Australian record company to give it another shot.  "Cruel Summer '89" was meant to be the lead single from a greatest hits-type remix album, but plans for that were scrapped after this single barely scraped into the top 20 in the UK (number 19, June 1989).

 

In Australia, "Cruel Summer '89" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 135.

Two interesting things you probably didn't know about "Cruel Summer '89" are:

1. It's technically the first 'duo' Bananarama single!  Rather than re-record the vocals with then new-ish band member Jacquie O'Sullivan, vocals from a 1983 demo (not the original released recording), where each 'Nana's vocals were captured separately, were used, so they could eliminate ex-group member Siobhan Fahey's vocals from the mix.  Not bothering to add Jacquie's vocals in Siobhan's place was really quite a shady thing to do!  Poor Jacquie - whose face also wasn't included on the art-work for their late 1988 The Greatest Hits Collection album - has revealed in more-recent years that she was effectively treated as a paid employee, rather than an equal member, during her relatively brief (1988-1991) tenure with the group.  Jacquie elaborates on this further in an interesting podcast interview posted in March this year.

2. It contains an extra verse that wasn't on the original!  The "who can I find when I'm trapped here inside these four walls?" lyrics appear on the demo used, but were not included in the final version of the 1983 release.

Bananarama will join us again in 1991 - with Jacquie in tow!

Number 171 "Home and Away" by Mark Williams and Karen Boddington

Peak: number 171

Peak date: 7 August 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

Australian soap opera Home and Away, which continues to air until this day, first hit our TV screens in January 1988, centred around the lives of the Fletcher family, their caravan park, and the children Tom and Pippa Fletcher fostered.  The theme song, "Home and Away", is one I wouldn't mind receiving a dollar for each time I've heard it.  The original version of the theme song was sung by Kiwi singer Mark Williams, best known for his top 10 hit "Show No Mercy" (number 8, July 1990), and Karen Boddington... whoever she is. 

I'm not sure why it took a good 18 months for the theme song to be released as a single, but here we are.  Internationally, "Home and Away" fared better in the UK, where it peaked at number 73 in August 1989.

 

In Australia, the "Home and Away" theme song performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 144 on the state chart.

 

We'll see Mark Williams bubble under on his own next in 1991.

 

 

Number 178 "Someone Who Believes in You" by Carole King

Peak: number 167

Peak date: 14 August 1989

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

American singer-songwriter Carole King is best known for her 1971 album Tapestry, which was certified 8 times platinum in Australia in 1995, and for being a prolific and successful songwriter for other artists.  Her singles chart achievements as an artist in her own right in Australia are more modest, although she scored nine Australian top 100 singles between 1962 and 1989, with "It's Too Late" (number 5 on the Go Set chart in September 1971) being the biggest of those.

"Someone Who Believes in You" was the second single from Carole's fourteenth studio album City Streets (number 51, June 1989), following the title track, "City Streets" (number 74, May 1989).  I cannot find evidence of this single charting elsewhere.  On the state charts, "Someone Who Believes in You" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 116.

Carole will join us next in 1993.

Number 180 "Never" by The House of Love"

Peak: number 165

Peak date: 28 August 1989

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

Hailing from England, "Never" was the first single released from The House of Love's second of two albums titled The House of Love (number 134, May 1990).  Yes, you read that correctly: the band released two albums with the same name!

"Never" was also the first of two consecutive singles for the band to peak at number 41 in the UK, where it reached this peak in April 1989.

 

In Australia, "Never" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 125.

We will see The House of Love again in 1990.

Next week (14 August): Six new top 150 debuts, and another two bubbling WAY down under entries.  Among them is a song credited as being the first instance of a pop song with a featured rapper and one of the first (pre-Madonna) music videos to incorporate vogueing!  You can also follow my posts on facebook.

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